Chapter 11: Grave Message
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine~
PS: Please read the author note at the end.
"Everyone, gather around!" shouted Tezuka.
It's been a week since his 'argument' with Fuji, and even though the both of them showed no outward awkwardness, it was clear that they're avoiding each other. For one, he never spared with Fuji anymore, and Fuji has started calling him 'Prince Tezuka'. The others wisely kept quiet about it, though inside they were all intrigued.
But the matter was quickly pushed aside when a bird carrying a message from the scouting team arrived two days later. From the brief report, which was clearly written by Yanagi, they knew the layout of Chimera's base, along with their men power and weapons. It was also mentioned that the 'Goat' has betrayed Chimera's current leader, a fearsome woman whom they called Lady Yumiko.
The four princes had read it together with their personal soldiers, and Fuji stiffened unnoticeably at the last information. The scout team hadn't been discovered, though two members from the army were killed because their guises were discovered.
"Even though there have been no direct attack to us by the Chimera, Hyoutei, Rikkaidai, and Shitenhouji have been hit, so we should prepare ourselves." said Tezuka, with the three other princes beside him, to their personal soldiers. "We will not tolerate any slackers, and prepare for the worst. Now, dismiss!"
At that, these personal soldiers dispersed and went to their respective room to get a well-deserved night sleep, while the princes nodded towards each other and discussed the plan further. True, Seishun hasn't been hit, but that's what made them anxious.
For they knew the Chimera knew that the four princes were in Seishun. They may be blind about Chimera's goal, but this situation was indeed strange.
"Then, I'll go first. I need my beauty sleep," said Atobe after their discussion.
With that, that day's events ended, or so everyone thought.
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"Where do you think you're going, Fuji?" asked Atobe.
"…I never thought you of all people will know my plan, Prince Atobe," said Fuji, turning to face the prince.
"Hmph. It's clear to me now that you want you die for your prince," said Atobe sarcastically.
"…Then, what will you do know that you have discovered me?" asked Fuji, opening her eyes which seemed to shine under the moonlight. "I won't back down just because you said so, Prince Atobe. I've left a letter explaining everything in my shared room."
"Heh, I won't stop you or anything," said Atobe, taken aback by the intensity and beauty of Fuji's eyes but showed nothing. "…What do you plan to do, anyway?"
"…I'll go to Chimera's base and take the antidote for Emperor Tezuka, and avoid nee-san while doing so," answered Fuji, holding a pendant of what seemed like a ring; a sky-blue ring.
"Nee-san?" asked Atobe, arching a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "And what if you're caught?"
"Then the emperor will most probably die but I can say that I'm the last spy there. I'll help the others," said Fuji, closing her eyes once again.
"…So you're sacrificing yourself."
"…Thank you for your concern, Atobe, but I've decided my own path," said Fuji with a smile before going through the army's secret tunnel.
"Hmph... No one ever said I worry about you, Fuji," said Atobe with a smirk, seemingly to empty air.
'If you don't come back in a week, Fuji, I'll be sure to look for you. After all, a prince shouldn't let his princess get hurt,' thought Atobe as he got back to his room and mull over Fuji.
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"My princes, you have guests waiting for you," said Inui the next morning.
They were currently eating breakfast, when Inui entered the dining hall where the princes were.
"Ah, I'll be there shortly," said Tezuka with a nod, internally wondering who the guests might be. "Tell our soldiers to keep train as usual."
"As you wish," said Inui before disappearing once again.
"…Let's go. I want to know who your guests are," said Yukimura whilst standing up.
"Ah," responded Tezuka who also stood up, followed by Shiraishi and Atobe.
"But who would come this early in the morning?" asked Shiraishi.
"Well, we'll know when we enter the room, right."
As Yukimura said that, Atobe, who has been silent all day, opened the door to the throne room and entered it. They were greeted by a voice which made Tezuka twitch unnoticeably.
"Ah, Kunimitsu-kun. You're here!" exclaimed a young man with emerald-color hair who seemed to be the leader of the six-people group before them.
"Ku-Kuni-Mitsu-kun?" stuttered Shiraishi whilst looking back and forth from their 'guests' to a twitching Tezuka.
"…What do you want, Echizen-san?" asked Tezuka, trying to keep his cool.
"Eh, why so stiff? Or should I call you Prince Tezuka?"
"Um, who are you?" asked Yukimura uncertainly.
"Ah, I'm Echizen Ryoga. You knew my father, Echizen Nanjirou, right?" said the young man, Echizen Ryoga. "And these are my friends. From left to right, these are Tachibana Ann, Ryuuzaki Sakuno, Meino Nanako, Saeki Kojiroh, and Fuji Yuuta. Ah, no need to serve us with anything; we came unannounced after all."
"Ah, so you're Echizen-san's son. And what do you need from us?" stated Shiraishi.
"We're here to discuss something," replied Ryoga with a grim expression, making the four princes more guarded. "Can we talk somewhere else?"
"Let's discuss this in my room. Follow us," said Tezuka.
With that, they all went to Tezuka's reception room and made themselves comfortable.
"Right; now that we've settled down, I'll start my story," began Ryoga. "The group who after your lives is called Chimera, right?"
"How do you know?" asked Tezuka sharply.
"Well, hear my explanation first, and then I'm sure you'll know. First, don't freak out when I say that we, the six of us, are the 'Goat' of Chimera," said Ryoga seriously, stopping the four princes from interfering. "But we have decided to 'betray' the current Chimera. Chimera's leader is Fuji Yumiko, older sister of our Fuji Yuuta here, and also my ex-fiancé. Though, Yumiko has change.
"Around a year ago, Yumiko, Yuuta, and I went to town because of a festival there. Shuu can't come, because of sickness, though. At that time, when we were going to go home, the former leader of Chimera, Ryuuzaki Sumire, approached us and gave Yumiko a ring which represents Chimera's leadership. She said that a daughter of the Fuji Family is to lead Chimera, with me and Yuuta as the 'Goat'.
"Long story short, we hurriedly went to the location Sumire-baa-san said and found Chimera's lair. At that time, the 'Lion' and 'Snake' were chosen already, so we know little to nothing about them. We started to work with them; in the beginning, Chimera's goal was to protect people's lives from bandits and the like. The 'Snake' particularly works in creating medicines and antidotes. But all change around six months ago.
"Yumiko suddenly left the Fuji household. Ah, Yumiko and Yuuta are nobles from the Fuji house. When Yumiko left, Shuu was so depressed and even attempted a suicide, though she had calmed down when we left to find Yumiko. We haven't heard from her in four months, though I believe she's safe. But when we found Yumiko at Chimera's lair, she has changed. I don't know what causes her to be like that, but we know it's not right.
"Then, a month ago, we decided to betray the Chimera and search for Shuu. But the Fuji mansion was bare and we assumed they have evacuated. So, we traveled here while avoiding Chimera. It's hard, you know. Well, that concludes our story," said Ryoga.
"…May we ask some questions?" inquired Yukimura.
"You already ask one, so a few more won't hurt. Shoot," replied Ryoga.
"Why do you search for us? Do you want a sanctuary?"
"No. We won't naively believe we will be granted such privilege," said Ryoga solemnly. "We want to help you fight the Chimera and steer it back to its original purpose. I just hope you allow us to fight alongside you."
"You may expect some bad vibes, but we welcomed every reinforcements we can have," said Tezuka.
"Thank you," said Ryoga.
"And who's this 'Shuu' you're looking for?" asked Shiraishi.
"Ah, Fuji Shuusuka," responded Ryoga, making the princes stiffened at the name. "She's Yumiko's little sister and Yuuta's older sister. Hm? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," said Tezuka. "It's just that she's my fiancée, though I haven't seen her myself. But I can assure you that she's safe."
"Oh, so that's what," said Ryoga, switching back to his laid-back self. "Any other question?"
"…Why are you looking for her?" asked Atobe suddenly.
"Huhh… Before she left her home, Yumiko gave her ring to Shuu; the ring which symbolizes Chimera's leader," explained Ryoga. "I don't exactly want the two sisters to fight each other, but the only one who can stop Yumiko is most probably Shuu. After all, I think Yumiko knew something would happen to her, so she left the ring to Shuu. Sumire-baa-san only said that 'a daughter of the Fuji Family' and that can mean either Yumiko or Fuji. "
"…Do you bring an antidote for a killing poison from Chimera?" asked Tezuka hopefully.
"No, sorry, we have no such resources," replied Ryoga, noticing Tezuka's disappointed look. "Is someone has been hit?"
"It's my fa-"
"Minna-sama," exclaimed Inui who barged in with ragged breath. "Fuji is, Fuji is gone!"
"What?" asked Tezuka, who stood up and toppled his chair in shock; after Ryoga's revelation, news about Fuji is the last thing Tezuka hoped for.
Truly, when it rain, it pours; after a shocking revelation, awaiting them is a grave message.
Hai, Phantom Sky 45 here~
First of all, I'd like to thank you for your patronage. *bow*
But, unfortunately, I have to put this story on hiatus, and I will probably remove it before long. The reason is that I (at last) finished downloading and watching Prince of Tennis, and I feel that the way I write them (the characters) were kind of OOC, so I decided to rewrite it and also searched someone to be my beta-reader. But still, I will not let you down and I will try to finish the first new chapter before March (hopefully).
Once again, thank you for your support.
Ciao~