Hi there! I am back again… every week tee hee hee… Enjoy this new chapter I guess.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never will.
Yumi014 – yeah it is alright tee hee hee…
Well, Teito is indeed older than Ryoma and Sakuno, in the 07-ghost anime, he's 15 years old but in my fic I'll make him 22 here same as his wife.
Tee hee hee… Fakir is getting Ooc here… he's becoming the other version of Ryoma, well Ahiru is clumsy in her own Anime… Hmmm…
That will be a secret for now… tee hee hee… if you are a manga lover maybe you will recognize her and if you did can you keep for a while and reveal it later on… tee hee hee…
It's okay… I didn't have a time to visit online anyway since my pc is not working properly. But thank you for the information… ^_^
Chapter 37: Starting Point
Chapter Summary: Just when they got some hints with their search, they hated the real results. They wouldn't like to start all over again without finding any result.
Greece:
They visited the place as they discovered the area. But the problem was; it was abandoned six years ago. No one was residing the place anymore. It was an ancestral house Rafael's immediate family used to live in when they were in Greece. Villagers told them that it was been vacant since they left without trace.
No one knew where they disappeared to.
"Can we look inside?" Shishido asked an old lady in English who explained everything to them.
"Go on, young man. No one dared to enter that house for it seemed creepy. But you can if you like." The old lady replied in English.
Shishido thanked her and went inside. Chotaro followed him as well. They searched the place and like what the old lady said, it was definitely creepy. The whole place was covered with cobweb and the furniture seemed to be old and useless without being used for years. Shishido touched the wall and a cabinet that were all dusty. Chotaro blew some dust to a picture that was hanging on the wall making him cough in the process. When recovered, Chotaro swept the dust with his fingers and stared at the picture.
"Shishido-san, look at this." Chotaro called the attention of his doubles partner and friend.
Shishido went near him and stared at the picture he was staring at, "This is…"
"Yeah, it was the same picture we saw in the library," he confirmed, "They did live here like what the picture said but it seemed this place was left abandoned six years ago."
"You are right but why would they leave this place?" Shishido wondered as he stared at the picture. It was a family portrait of Rafael's family, bigger than what we had in his hands. The dash specialist studied their looks. He could clearly recognize Rafael in the picture for an unknown reason.
He looked at the other people in the picture. There was a woman beside Rafael which he claimed as his wife. Her hair was hazel and beside her was a girl which he estimated as eleven or twelve years of age. They left the place when she turned seventeen or eighteen. He remembered Reinja telling them that the child's age would be twenty-two or twenty-three as of now. Making the possible heir's age would be five or six years of age.
The heir is very young but I think Rafael's child can take the role of his own child for a while. Shishido thought as he took the picture they found in the library and stared at the bottom part of it. It was the date where the picture was taken, exactly ten years ago. At the back, there was the address of the place which they found so easily.
"Where could they be?" Chotaro asked cutting his reverie.
"I don't know," Shishido answered as he yanked his phone, "Let's call Atobe." He dialed their captain's number and immediately answered;
'Did you find anything?'
'It's confirmed. They used to live here but not anymore.'
'So, they are not there now.'
'Seems like it. The place was left abandoned for six years and we didn't know the reason why?' Shishido said, 'I don't think that they are still here. Something must have happened on their stay here, I presume.'
'It was abandoned for six years you say?' Atobe asked on the other line.
'Hai.'
'And that's where the mystery takes place.'
'Eh?'
'The child's heir is probably five or six years old. The real culprit must have targeted the heir back then.'
'I thought of the same thing too, captain,' He confirmed, 'they made a move before the culprit assaulted them.'
'Hn, I see,' Atobe said, 'that's enough information. Go back here now and let's make another plan.'
'Hai.'
With that he ended the call and faced Chotaro, "Let's go back to Japan, our mission here is over."
"Hai."
They started to walk away but before they could leave at the entrance door, Shishido noticed something, "Wait, Chotaro."
Chotaro followed him with his eyes and went to a corner. Shishido looked at the wall and found something on it. Curious, Chotaro walked towards him and was surprised at what his doubles partner discovered;
"S-shishido-san…"
"I know… I'll give Atobe-buchou a call back on this." With that he called Atobe once again. The captain of Hyotei answered it quickly.
'What is it?'
'Buchou, I'll send you something in a minute, I think you better look carefully on this.'
Azerbaijan:
"Oshitari, I am tired. Can we rest for a bit?" Gakuto asked his doubles partner as they looked at the artifacts they where viewing in a museum.
"Not until we found a single clue." The Hyotei tensai answered him.
"But I am hungry; I am losing enough sugar for the day."
"Hush, Gakuto, I'll treat you something to eat if you ever find one."
"Really?"
He nodded exasperatedly earning praise from him, "quite it, stop making a scene here."
"Hai, hai." He said as he continued looking like he was doing as well.
The search to historical places was pretty tiring. They went to several places but they couldn't find any news from the people they were searching for. It was the third place that they searched for the week and they couldn't find any clue. Not even a single hint.
Could they be using a different alias so that it was hard for their pursuer to find them? No, that couldn't be. We are not pretty sure if they are on our side or not. They could be changing their names if they are really hiding from the real pursuer. If they did that, then it was really hard for us to find them. Oshitari thought really hard as he was staring at a rock that was in front of them. Finding no interesting info about the artifact they left the area.
They went to a different location of the museum. They found interesting things, yes but they didn't find anything that is related to their search. Gakuto kept whining about being hungry every minute. It was unfortunate for the acrobatic player because food was not allowed inside the museum. Oshitari wanted to hit his partner for being childish once again but refrained from doing so.
He left Gakuto where he was standing and looked for certain documents. He was busy studying those documents when he heard his doubles partner's voice;
"Hey, Oshitari, come here."
"What is it?" He thought about him complaining once again but his reaction was telling him otherwise.
He was somewhat shocked at what he was seeing right now. Without waiting for his reply, he quickly walked to his location and followed what he was staring at.
It was a painting. An Aurora borealis view on a hill that varies in color. It was a pleasant image for those people who came to stare at it. But it was not the painting that caught by the acrobatic player.
It was the painter.
"Ne, do you think that Rafael is a painter?" Gakuto asked him.
"I'm not sure," Oshitari looked at the signature of the painter. It was indeed Rafael's name that was scribbled on it. But he noticed something, "I am not really sure, look at the date."
Gakuto followed his trail of vision and saw what he was trying to imply, "It was painted 75 years ago. Man, this painting looked antique but why did it look so new?"
Oshitari sighed at Gakuto's innocence, "The painting was made seventy-years ago. It was impossible for Rafael to paint this one. The reason why it looked new was because of the museum's maintenance."
Gakuto looked away, "I knew that, geez."
"Yeah, right," he said as he yanked his phone, "We need to inform Atobe about this." It rang for three times before Atobe answered it.
'Buchou, I need you to see this. I'll send you a picture of a painting.'
'…A painting?'
'Hai… from Rafael.'
'So, Rafael is a painter.'
'We are not certain yet, I'll let you see the picture in a minute.'
'Okay, I also received a picture from Greece. After you send the picture to me, go back here immediately, we have important things to discuss.'
'Hai.' With that he ended the call and faced Gakuto, "We need to go back to Japan now."
"What?" Gakuto was a bit shocked, "Hey, you promised that you will treat me after this."
Oshitari sighed, "Okay, okay. Let's go to a cake shop or bakery or something. I am a bit hungry too."
Gakuto was delighted when he heard his doubles partner. At least they would be tasting Azerbaijan's delicacies before going home to Japan.
Memphis, Tennessee:
"How did that happen? How come Sakuno fell off that cliff?" Reinja asked them on the round table. Sakuno sat next to Reina. They were just arrived that night from Mud Island and settled on the table in the couple's room.
"We apologize for not paying attention around us." Wein and Drosselmeye bowed in front of them.
"Before the incident happened, I saw a flash straight at her location. I tried warning your daughter but it was too late." Fuji explained.
"Don't tell me that the culprit knew where we are right now?" Reina looked at Sakuno worriedly.
Everyone looked at each other and remained silent. Fuji broke it;
"I am afraid that will be the case."
"What are we going to do now?" Chris was the first one to ask, "Do we need to send Sakuno to a different country again?"
"That would be unnecessary." Fuji answered his question. Everyone looked at him.
"What do you mean by that?" Reinja asked the tensai.
Fuji sighed as he explained, "On what we had discovered today, it is clear that the culprit knew her whereabouts and located her right away after a few days of staying. It is not impossible that the culprit could do the same thing if she goes to a different country."
"What is in your mind then?" Chris asked him straight to the eye.
"The culprit from Mud Island disappeared quickly as long as Ryuzaki-chan fell off the cliff. Unfortunately, it was a swift plan that whoever did it thought really hard," Fuji said facing them, "since the place is pretty close here, and we don't know when the culprit will strike back, we need to guard your daughter twenty-fours a day."
"What do you want us to do?" Reina asked him.
Fuji looked at the worried face of the girl and said, "I am sorry Ryuzaki-chan but you have to lock yourself up in your room. I think transferring you to a different room without a terrace would be safer enough for you."
Sakuno was shocked at his words. She was going to be locked up in a room. Like a prisoner. Without freedom, without doing things that she desired. She looked down, "I… I understand."
Ryoma was silent all the time as he looked at the sad expression of the girl. The girl would be locked up for her safety, meaning that no one would see her except for her parents and the bodyguards. He couldn't see her for a while since they were going to search seriously this time. Both he and Fuji would start searching next thing in the morning. They should make a move now and they should do it fast.
They needed to find the heir as soon as possible.
"Wein how was your injury?" Reina asked after a series of silence.
Wein grabbed his arm lightly as he bowed a little, "I am fine, it's nothing. It's the least I could do for the mistress."
Sakuno looked at the injured soldier and smiled weakly at him, "M-meyers-san. Thank you… for covering for my life," She looked down and continued, "and I am sorry."
Wein bowed at her in respect, "No need to apologize milady. I am just doing my job."
"Everyone is tired now, it's been a long day," Reinja announced, "But Chris I need you to do something for me, come with me for a while. Dear, fix Sakuno's new room and escort her there."
"Okay," She said and then looked at the four people in front of her, "Come with us for a while."
The four followed the fair lady. Sakuno looked at Chris and smiled a bit. Chris approached her and kissed her cheek. He looked at her fondly and said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. I'll see you tomorrow then."
She smiled more at him and replied, "H-hai… thank you very much."
Unknown to them, Ryoma was staring from the very beginning. His expression was non-readable but deep inside he was raging. He hated the feeling. It was not like him to hold a grudge to someone.
It was not so like him.
He needed to return to his old self, his old self that was stoic, quiet and showing no emotion. Something that Sakuno couldn't read. He was good at that. But he couldn't hide his feelings anymore. Not that a lot of things happened to the girl.
He wanted to be her savior at all cost.
…Someone that she could lean on.
…Someone that she could look up to.
…Just liked the old times.
…With no interferes and show offs.
But he couldn't do it properly if someone wanted to share that role without him being asked permission to, much to his annoyance.
He never wanted to share that special role, over his not-so-dead body.
No one knew how much he wanted to punch someone.
…Except for a tensai of course. He looked at him as he tapped his shoulder;
"You know all too well who she's really thankful for."
He looked at him just that, without replying any word to him. Sensing that he was not saying anything, the tensai closed his eyes and walked ahead of him, "Keep your cool, she will love that."
Ryoma stared at his back then a smirk formed on his lips, "Heh, you are such a good adviser now."
He just whispered those words but Fuji still heard him. He just smiled as he always did.
Later on:
Everything was very fast in one night. They transferred her to a smaller room but were free and comfortable enough to breath and enough to move around. There was no window that she could look from outside and that was the sad part of it.
It was like a prison as she imagined it.
She was left alone as everyone went to their rooms. Although Drosselmeye was guarding her outside as Wein was being instructed to rest for the night so that they could switch place in the morning. Reina promised to see her everyday and kept her company as possible as she could. Reinja would the same thing as well.
Now she was alone in that hollow place, sitting on her new comfy bed. What am I going to do now? She thought as she was busy thinking and looking down the ground. She didn't notice someone entered the room and was already standing in front of her.
"You let your guard down at this moment."
She flinched when someone talked in front of her. She quickly looked up and saw him in front of her.
"You didn't notice me coming, remember buchou's reminder as always, Ryuzaki."
"Echizen-kun…" she whispered his name. Ryoma was just standing in front of her. His hands were in his pocket while his eyes were locked to hers. He was not wearing his hat at that moment; probably he left it in his room. Noticing that she was staring at him for long, she looked down as blush rushed to her cheek, "W-what are you doing here?"
Ryoma looked around as he studied the place, "typical for a caged princess, huh?"
"M-mou, stop it," she pouted, "b-but why are you here?"
"Fuji-senpai is outside talking to Drosselmeye-san."
She looked up to him once again, "He is… but you haven't answered my question yet."
"He is keeping the bodyguard busy to let us have this privacy."
"E-echizen-kun…"
"We'll be leaving tomorrow morning."
"E-eh?!"
"We will start searching for the other heir north from here; we will be very busy from now on."
"I know," She looked down once again and started fidgeting with her fingers, "I hope that the missing heir will be on our side."
Silence invaded between them.
"We will not be hanging around for a couple of weeks."
She flinched when the boy said that. She knew what he meant. She wouldn't be seeing him for a while. She gripped her hands for a while before calming them and then looked back at him, "I'll be fine."
Ryoma just stared at her, keeping the same stoic reaction he had.
Sakuno stared at him before giving her best smile, "Don't worry about me, it's not like I can escape here or something."
Having said that, Ryoma walked closer and sat beside her. He placed his hands behind him as he looked parallel to the ceiling, "Actually, I wanted to take you away from here."
She gasped when he said that. Her flushed face became flushed even more.
"Take you back home to Ryuzaki-sensei and cheer again for us," Ryoma said still not looking at her, "I don't care if you go with your best friend every day and forced you to wear something to cheer us on."
Her eyes were widened as she listened to his words. Never did in her life that Ryoma could talk like that to her. Take a mental note that he said it quite long. She flinched when Ryoma suddenly looked at her and gave her a frown look;
"But don't you ever interrupt me when I am in the middle of the game, okay."
She leaned a little back and pouted, "M-mou! Y-you can not stop me from worrying if you get injured."
He smirked when she replied that but got serious after a while, "Then stop making me worry as well."
"E-eh?" She gasped as he raised a hand and tilted her chin a bit upward.
"Never retrieve a ball once one fell on the ground." He reminded her before slowly leaning closer to her.
Sakuno saw what he was trying to do. She gently pushed him away before he could touch her and quickly looked away, "N-no, don't…"
She didn't know his reaction when she rejected him. She knew that he was still looking at her, probably wearing a shock reaction as she guessed if she dared look. She closed her eyes as she was about to apologize when he repeated his action.
He caught her chin gently but firmly this time making her to look at him. He stared at her blushing face. His other hand moved to her other side as he leaned closer to her for the second time.
And this time, with succeeding action.
Her eyes widened as she felt his lips touch hers. She couldn't react as he was gently kissing her. Knowing that she couldn't react, his hands traveled at the back of her neck while the other was on her back, still kissing her in the process. Her eyes softened as she gripped his sleeves. Ryoma-kun… w-why? I… I want to be happy at this moment… but… the situations are stopping me. W-with lots of obstacles that are coming to me… I don't think I can completely become happy with this. She thought the sad reality.
She had been wishing—no dreaming of this day before. When there were no Kitazawas, fiancé and the culprit being involved. But things were different now. Her life was in danger; everyone might be in danger because of her. Upon remembering that, she pushed him gently once again with her one hand while covering her mouth with the other.
Ryoma on the other hand, stared at her reaction. She was blushing of course, because of the kiss he gave her, yeah. But she was hurt for the unknown reason. It wasn't about the kiss, was it? He frowned, "Ryuzaki, don't tell me you prefer him to kiss you?"
Her eyes widened as she looked at him. She quickly denied the fact, "N-no… o-of course not! I-it's just that… I-I'm not into… doing that kind of thing now," she looked away, "N-not that my life is in danger."
"Has it got something to do about kissing you?"
She blushed ten shades of red on her face, "M-mou, R-ryo-" She stopped when she realized what he was about to call him. She quickly looked at him who wore the reaction as hers but before he could speak she did so first, "I-I told you… y-you are important to me… I-I can not be happy when I put my friends in danger."
Ryoma didn't speak for a while but did so as he closed his eyes, "I'll kiss you whenever I want."
She was shocked when he said that. Ryoma grabbed her hand and gripped it firmly.
"I just can not let him do what he please," he said to her straight to her eyes, "I've known you first no matter how we put it. But you are right; this is not the right time to do things that I desire."
"W-what do you mean?" she asked innocently.
Instead of answering her, he gave her a tight hug, giving her an assurance that everything was going to be alright.
"E-echizen-kun…"
"Stay safe here," he whispered to her ear, "I'll protect you at all cost."
She bit her lower lip as he said that. Tears were warning to fall down her cheek.
"And don't you dare cry in front of me. I don't want to leave a 'sniffler' behind."
"Mou! Stop teasing me already." She retorted a little weak as she leaned to his shoulder.
They stayed there for a while before Ryoma broke the hug himself. Sakuno cried a little that he ended up wiping them. He fixed her hair which was a little messy before standing up and walked away. Sakuno was a bit worried now that he was leaving and didn't know when he could return again.
"When this is all over…"
She blinked her eyes twice. Ryoma was still standing in front of her, with his back facing her he continued;
"When everything is in place…" he paused and then looked at his shoulder to have a side view of her, "There is something I want you to know."
She stared at him as her blush came down on her. Not saying anything the boy continued;
"Wait for me then," He reminded her, "I'll definitely tell you someday."
She was speechless as she looked back at him. Everything that Ryoma was saying now was totally unexpected. But she was able to nod at his words after a series of silence.
He gave her a smirk, "ja matta." He said before opening the door and went out.
She was left alone for a long time when Ryoma exited the room. She bit her lower lip as she looked down. Never in her life to expect that would something like that happen. Not to the situation she was in. It was weird for her to see Ryoma speak like that. The boy never talked long like that before. Was it because the situation was asking for it? Or was it because she was definitely in danger that something must be done first? She didn't want a situation like that. If she had a chance to escape that life without putting somebody in danger, she would definitely do so.
She was alone in that room again. She mentally apologized to Ryoma as her tears fell down her face once again. The thought of being locked up in her own room was the last thing she could imagine. Everything was different now, everything changed and everything was complicated. Then, she remembered something. She yanked something from her pocket and stared at it.
It was the box that Rose gave her, the box that had special carvings on it. It was small and easy to carry. She wasn't able to show it to everyone as she mentally forgot about it. She even forgot to tell them that she met a very nice lady in that place. Having that thought, she wiped her tears away and smiled as she thought of her new found friend.
I wonder if her family is visiting her right now. Gripping the box on her lap, she wished to meet her again in the future and gave her proper thanks of taking care of her.
Hakuou City, Japan, One week later;
She woke up early one morning. But she felt something to her waist, stopping her from getting up. Then, she became aware of her surrounding.
She was in a different room.
And she was with someone.
Who was hugging her.
Fakir was hugging her.
Her eyes widened as she realized her position. She was lying beside the knight with his arm as her pillow. His other hand was really on her waist. She panicked secretly as blush crept on her face. Waaah… F-fakir-san was hugging me all night. W-what is really happening? Then, she noticed something on his neck.
It was the necklace that she gave him on Christmas day.
…The necklace that saved her life for several times.
…The necklace that gave her life to the fullest.
She smiled as she lightly touched it with her bare fingers. The necklace was giving the knight a new life. She knew that Fakir would be needing the necklace more than she did. Now that he knew her secret. Her reverie was cut when a hand to her waist suddenly tightened making her draw closer to the knight. She blushed once again.
"What are you doing?"
She flinched when the knight suddenly talked, "F-fakir-san! Y-you are awake."
"I am more than you know."
She looked down as she tried to place her hands between them. Memories from last night came back to her as she remembered that her clothes were still open. The same action that happened between them on their first arrival repeated after a week. She woke up in the middle of the night having that bad dream, a dream that she never wanted to remember even in her dreams. Fakir ended up comforting her doing the same thing again with kisses added, "I-I was s-staring at the necklace I gave you."
Fakir stared at her and said, "Do you want it back?"
Ahiru stared up at him and replied, "N-no… I-I am just happy that you are wearing it."
He smirked as he heard that, "I am always wearing it."
She looked down and smiled, "T-thank you…"
They stayed there for a while before Ahiru broke it, "F-fakir-san… I-I think… w-we should get up now."
"Why?"
"W-we have a mission to do, remember?" her eyes widened when she felt the grip tightened to her waist, "F-fakir-san!"
Fakir kissed her head making her blush in the process. She felt his lips there. He became serious as he whispered, "I'll protect you at all cost, remember that."
Her eyes widened as she heard him say that. Knowing security in his arms, she hugged him back. Still blushing on her face, she could feel their own skin touch each other but she ignored it. They didn't do it but she felt like they really did.
"Let's get up now."
It was her turn to frown. She was about to ask him but he interrupted;
"You don't want me to continue where we left off last night, do you?"
Blush returned to her face as she suddenly distanced herself away from him, not forgetting to cover her body, "S-stop teasing me already." With that Fakir stood up still smirking at her.
Minutes later, they got up to continue helping Teito remember about his past. They started a week ago but not much was progressing, although, the young lad remembered little by little. They thought that it would be better than nothing. They exited their room only to be welcomed by the pair of emerald eyes;
"T-teito-kun!" Ahiru called his name.
Teito looked at them seriously to the both of them. He bowed but he never said a word.
"Do you have something to tell us?" Fakir asked him this time.
Teito nodded.
"Well… what is it?" the maid asked him.
"I made a decision." Teito started.
"A decision?" the knight repeated, "for what?"
Teito didn't reply for a while before finally saying his words;
"I am going to look for my wife."
Done! How was it? I guess I am making myself complicated here… err… I mean the story… hints and clues are stating to reveal themselves now. Find out in the next chapter.
For those who are curious about Teito, you can read my 07-ghost fic entitled A small, big surprise. Different characters are there and the relationship they have with him are noticeable. Reading that fic may reveal his true self well, if you watch the anime you will know what I mean. Just for a change… read that fic… not forgetting for your free time ONLY thanks… ^_^
Reviews please! Need motivation… I really need it now…
Next Chapter: The Missing Eye