Just As I Promised
Chapter 11 – Revelations I
"Ugh…my head…" Rio blinked her golden eyes to adjust to the darkness. She tried to move her limbs but they were tied up. She looked around and felt her eyes start to tear up. "I'm so stupid…"
"You got that right." She snapped her head up when the lights turned on. In front of her was a male that looked like he was in university. His light brown hair was swept to the side and his brown eyes glared daggers at her.
"Is she the one that hurt my cousin, Jake?" A female that looked like she was the same age as the male stepped up. Her curly blond hair was tied up in a pony tail while her blue eyes had the same rage as the male next to her. "Ah, she is the one. Anna told me how you practically had her disabled for the rest of her life."
"She's not disabled! She can still walk and play tennis!"
"Shut up, kid!" Rio's head was snapped to side from the impact of the female's slap. "She said she can only play 2-3 games until she passes out from exhaustion."
"Maybe it's because she doesn't have the endurance to begin with."
"I said shut up!" Rio groaned when she kicked her stomach. "Teach her a lesson, Jake!" Cracking of knuckles could be heard as the weak female looked up.
"This is for my brother CJ." And soon it was black.
…..
It's been three days and still no sign of Echizen Rio. The situation with Akutsu Jin from Yamabuki has passed but not forgotten. In two days the semifinals and finals of the prefectuals will commence yet some of the regulars' hearts are not in the game. Or specifically, two people.
"Kikumaru, Echizen, 20 laps around the court!" The regulars watched with sad eyes as the two mentioned ran their laps.
"Mou, I can't take it anymore!" Momo exclaimed as he gripped his hair. "Haven't the police found any clue as to where Rio is?" His young best friend looked like he was ready to cry any moment now.
"Not that I know of and I've been in contact with Echizen's family." Oishi said as he watched his doubles partner suffer.
"What are you gathered around here for? 10 laps around the court!" The remaining regulars winced and sighed.
"If Tezuka-buchou's worried then he knows how to NOT show it." Momo mumbled as they all did their laps. Fuji walked up to Tezuka and opened his sapphire eyes.
"Tezuka, are you ok?"
"I am now go do your laps."
"Just tell us if you want to quit practice and look for Rio."
"20 laps."
Fuji chuckled and started running. At the corner of his eyes, Eiji and Ryoma were at a corner mumbling to each other. His eyes widened at their attempt to leave practice. And their success. He watched them leave the school grounds and stopped at where Tezuka was staring at the gates. "I think it's time for us to quit practice, ne?"
"First years, gather the balls and clean the courts! Second years, help them!"
"Hai!"
"Regulars, meeting in the clubroom!"
"Hai!"
In the clubroom, Tezuka stood up and addressed everyone, including Ryuzaki-sensei who knew what would happen. "Regulars, spilt up and continue to search for Rio. He might've not gone far from Tokyo." Everyone smiled and bowed.
"Hai!" And out they went. Ryuzaki-sensei walked up to Tezuka who was getting ready to go outside. She gave him the keys to the clubroom and patted him on the shoulder.
"Go, and you have the keys to the clubroom since everyone left their things." Tezuka nodded and left, leaving a smiling teacher behind.
…
During her three-day captivity, the two university students laughed manically as they watched Rio suffer blow after blow. After a few more hits from the men in black, they smirked at her bruised and bloody body. "That's what you get for messing with mafia families."
Rio looked up and spat blood at their feet. "If I didn't know any better," she coughed out. "You're just playing mafia."
Jake glared at her and gave her an uppercut. He grabbed her hair and pulled her up. "Shut up, kid. We're just returning the favor for my brother and her cousin." He threw her to the side and smirked when he heard her head connect to the wall. Immediately she was knocked out with blood flowing under her head.
"That'll teach you for ruining CJ and Anna's future." Jake smirked and looked at Sofia. She got out a knife and let it shine in the light. "I'll make sure you never have a future!"
The doors burst open to see a group of teens. A red haired teen glared at the men in black as he blew his green bubblegum. "Ah, this is troublesome. Why do we have to do this, Sanada?"
A caped teen glared at him and hit him on the head. "Shut up and save her, Marui!"
A rat-tailed teen smirked and stared at the glaring men. "Puri~."
Jake and Sofia shook out of their shock and glared at them. "What are you waiting for? Get them!"
A seaweed haired teen licked his lips and smirked. "I'm going to crush you all!"
….
"Rio! Where are you, Rio?" Eiji and Ryoma yelled as they searched for their missing person. Behind them were the remaining regulars who split up to find her. It was already sunset when Ryoma got a phone call from his family.
"Ryoma, they found her!"
"They…found Rio…" Ryoma was about to drop his phone when it was taken away from him.
"Really? Where is he? Is he ok?" Eiji frantically screamed.
"Calm down, Kikumaru-san! At this moment she's in critical condition and is being flied to the Tokyo Hospital." Eiji did not notice the change of pronoun as he gave the phone to Ryoma and started running to the said hospital. Ryoma ran after him and started calling the others.
"Ok, I'm the nearest to the hospital. I'll make sure he's ok." Taka-san said as he hung up.
Ryoma and Eiji were the last ones to arrive and most of them had shocked and confused faces while some of them had worried ones. Ryoma ran up to his crying mother and tried to comfort her along with his father.
"Seigaku?" They turned around and saw a group of Rikkaidai students who had bandages on their faces.
"Rikkai? What are you guys doing here?" Oishi asked.
"We were asked to look after the girl we saved in Kanagawa. Her body was bloody and bruised, it was hard to recognize her under all that blood," Sanada said.
"We heard screaming coming from the warehouses near the beach and we thought we might check it out. When we saw being beaten up, we immediately went in to save her." Rinko looked up and gasped.
"You're the boys that saved Rio!" She walked up to them and started bowing. "Thank you so much for saving her and for helping us catch her kidnappers!"
"Did you really, Sanada?" Tezuka asked.
"Until now we didn't know her name but yes, I think we saved Rio."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Everyone turned to face a shocked Eiji. "Isn't Rio a guy? What's with all the 'girl' and 'her'?" Ryoma looked guiltily at his senpai. It was quiet, the regulars who knew her secret was silent.
"Senpai, nee-chan disguised herself as a guy because of this reason but it didn't work and she still got hurt." The young prodigy clutched his fists tighter. "If only I was stronger…" A hand grabbed his tight fist, making him look up. His mother sadly smiled and hugged him.
"You're strong, they just caught you both in surprise." The doctor appeared with a grave face. Nanjirou stood up to face the doctor.
"Is she ok?" The doctor looked in his clipboard and sighed.
"She's stabilized but at this moment she's in a coma and we don't know when she'll wake up."
"Is…is it ok for us to visit her?"
"Not recommended but I suppose you can." The Rikkaidai students sighed in relief and turned around.
"We see that she's in good hands." They waved as they watched the Seigaku regulars and the Echizen family enter the elevators.
Rio's POV
Where…where am I? Why do I only see black? Is this revenge for last year? I can't move my arms. I can't move my legs. Why am I having trouble breathing?
Am I dying?
I remember my head being smacked into the wall and the doors being burst open.
Who saved me?
…
Normal POV
It's been a week and Rio has yet to wake up. It was early in the morning when Eiji visited with a bouquet of daisies. There was no one with Rio because the doctors were worried about the family's well being after staying up late and Eiji had volunteered to come early in the morning to watch until someone comes. He replaced the wilting flowers on her bedside table and sat down on the chair next to her. He gently caressed her head and ran his hand through her long hair. "Why didn't you tell me…?" He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Please wake up…it's not the same without you…"
The door opened to reveal Sanada Gen'ichirou. He walked over to the depressed Eiji and patted him on the shoulder. The grateful acrobatic sadly smiled and continued to look at his first love. "Is there something you need, Sanada-san?"
"No, I just came by to see if she woke up. My team has been waiting to see if she did."
"Thank you for your concern. Rio still hasn't woken up but I wish she did… I want to hear her voice again…" Sanada sighed and adjusted the strap of his bag.
"Well, let me know when she wakes up." And with that he left.
Eiji put his head near their holding hands and felt his eyes tear up. He immediately wiped his tears and frowned. "Don't cry, Rio will make fun of me if she ever found out." The door opened once again and in came Ryoma with a bag of clothes. He placed the bag at the foot of her bed and sat down on the chair across from her.
"Has she woken up yet?" Eiji shook his head and tightened his grip on her hand. He glanced at her pale face and her long black hair.
"Why didn't she tell any of us? We could've helped you all."
"She didn't want any of you to get hurt. She's that kind of person," he looked at his sister with a poker face. "Are you angry at her?"
"At first I was but as I continue to listen to you, my anger died down and all I can think of is her getting better." They continued to talk until Rinko arrived around sunset.
"I think you should go home, Kikumaru-san. We'll tell you when she wakes up." Eiji nodded and was about to let go of her hand when he felt her finger move.
"Rio!" He retained his grip on her hand and looked at her with hopeful eyes. His sapphire eyes shone in happiness when he saw her eyes flicker and look at him.
"Sen…pai…" She coughed out.
"Shh, don't strain yourself. I'm here."
"Gomenasai…for lying to all of you…" Eiji smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Don't worry, nya. You have a good reason." Ryoma noticed his senpai's signature onomatopoeia and smiled. Rio closed her eyes and tears flowed down her cheeks.
"I can't feel any of my limbs… Will I be able to play tennis again…?" The acrobat smiled and wiped her tears.
"You'll be fine. I'm here, as well as your family and the tennis club." He gently placed her head on his chest and let her cry her heart out. "I never let you go, never again."
Rio fell asleep once again and Eiji lovingly smiled at her as he brushed a stray hair from her face.
"Never again, Midori-chan…"
…
Three days after Rio woke up, Yukimura Seiichi was admitted to the hospital for his Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The Rikkaidai team sullenly went inside the hospital and watched their captain being wheeled away from them. "He'll get better. He has to." Akaya said as he tried to keep his tears at bay. "We'll win the Kantou tournament for him!"
"Ara, Rikkai?" Sanada waved at the mother-hen of Seigaku. "Did I just see Yukimura-san?"
"He's being admitted…for his Guillain-Barre Syndrome."
"Oh I'm sorry to hear that. Please give our regards." Oishi was about to leave when he forgot something. "Ah, Sanada-san, Rio has woken up. She said she would like to meet her saviors." Sanada gave a small smile and nodded.
"Marui, Niou, Akaya, do you want to visit her?"
"Of course, puri."
"Let's greet the muse of Seigaku!"
The four stopped at the door and raised an eyebrow at the yelling inside.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'UGLY'?"
"Nya! What I meant was that you look sickly!"
"OF COURSE I LOOK SICKLY! THAT'S WHY I'M IN THE HOSPITAL RIGHT? AND YOU! STOP LAUGHING YOUR ASS OFF, BakaOma!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
They looked at each other with nervous chuckles. Sanada opened the door and raised an eyebrow at the cowering Eiji and the glaring twins. He cleared his throat to get their attention but nothing worked. He twitched and was about to yell at them when a tennis ball whizzed past his head. He saw Rio whose eyes were wide and calmed down on her bed. Ryoma looked at the door and raised an eyebrow. Eiji stood up and smiled. "Ah, Sanada-san! Nice to see you again!"
"Nice to see you too, Kikumaru-kun, but is this a bad time…?"
"Ah, nah, we just had a disagreement. Anyway, what can we do for you all, nya?"
"We heard that she's awake so we decided to drop by." Eiji smiled and bounced to Rio's side.
"Ne, Rio-chan, this is Sanada, Niou, Marui and Akaya. They were the ones that saved you in Kanagawa!" Rio smiled and bowed her head.
"Thank you for saving me. Sorry for all the trouble."
Akaya slightly blushed and bowed. "It's no trouble at all, especially if we get to save a cute girl like you!" He felt someone glaring at him and looked up to see an angry Eiji. He stood up straight and hid behind a laughing Marui.
"Don't you remember that Kikumaru's her boyfriend?" Niou said after a few giggles.
"Eh, I didn't know! I must be running laps when he said that."
"Ya, the laps I tricked you into doing, puri."
"Why you-!"
"Tarundoru!" Rio giggled and smiled at all of them.
"Thank you for the visit but how did you know I was awake?"
Sanada sat on the chair next to her and sighed. "Our captain, Yukimura, was admitted a few minutes ago for Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Oishi saw us and told us that you were awake so we decided to visit."
"Well, thank you again but I think you want to be with our captain more, right?" Sanada nodded and stood up.
"We'll visit again soon, Rio-san."
"And I'll be expecting you. Mata ne!"
The Rikkaidai regulars left, leaving a glaring Eiji and Rio and a sighing Ryoma. "Aahh, I'm leaving. I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." He left the room with a smirk on his face.
"URUSAI, BAKAOMA!"
It was silent for a while until Eiji sighed and carefully wrapped his arms around her waist, taking notice of the wires still connected to her. She smiled and leaned back, making herself comfortable in his arms. "Ne, senpai, can we go outside? The moon looks pretty tonight."
"Alright." He called for a nurse to help him with the wires and helped her into her wheelchair. With the IV drip placed above Rio, the nurse warned them not to be out too late since it's late at night. Eiji pushed her to the garden behind the hospital and smiled at her joyful face.
"Kya, it's so beautiful…" She smiled, clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. "I see the moon and the moon sees me, and the moon sees somebody that I want to see."
"What did you say, Rio-chan?" She opened her eyes and lovingly smiled at his confused face.
"Nothing, Ei-chan," Eiji chuckled and sat on the bench next to her. "Though I still wonder how you figured out I was Midori when we were young."
"Hehe, it's your long hair. Midori-chan always kept it long when we were young and I always commented on it. After seeing it, I had lots of flashbacks and I put two and two together and I got my long lost love." She blushed and smiled.
"Ne, senpai, you remember a few weeks ago…your confession?" Eiji nodded. "Well, um…I…" He smiled and hugged her.
"Arigatou, Rio-chan." Rio gave him the biggest grin she could muster and returned the hug. When they broke the hug, Eiji put his forehead on hers. "I might kiss you." She blushed and looked away.
"I might be bad at it." He chuckled and gently made her face him again.
"It's not possible." The two leaned for a kiss and felt like fireworks exploded within them. They broke the kiss and shared a blushing smile. They let the moonlight shine on them as they shared a comfortable silence.
"Senpai, aren't you going to ask about why they kidnapped me?" Eiji looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't pester but tell me soon ok?"
"But I feel like I should tell you now…" He grabbed her chin and kissed her nose. He chuckled when he saw her blushing face.
"Tell me when you're ready, nya?"
"Arigatou, Eiji-senpai."
"Mou, we're a couple now! Just call me Eiji, nya!"
"Ei-chan?"
"Even better!" She laughed as he did some acrobatic moves around her. "Yay, Rio-chan and I are finally together!"
"Be careful, you're gonna hit-!" BONK. "…the tree…" Rio was giggling as Eiji was seeing stars. She rolled up to him and tried to help him up as best as she could. Eiji smiled and placed his head on her lap, playfully meowing like a cat as she rubbed his head.
"Ne, Rio-chan, promise me one thing."
"Nani?"
"Let me protect you, just as I promised when we were children."
"You still remembered?"
"Of course, it's a promise that I intend to keep from now on."
2 days in a row! Man, this is a huge accomplishment! I should celebrate!
"I see the moon and the moon sees me, and the moon sees somebody that I want to see." - I found it online and I liked it! :)
Oooh and the reason for the title has been revealed! What'll happen next?
I used a few sentences from a movie, anyone could guess what movie it is? :D
REVIEW PLEASE! I wanna see how many people would like it. :)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis