Disclaimer: PoT doesn't belong to me. I own the plot, though. This can be called AU, I guess.

Summary: The journey for the Seigaku varsity team to the Nationals was not easy. More than a hundred laps, and the many Inui juices they had to endure was worth it. Or was it?

AN: Underlined words are spoken in English.

Down the Lonely Road: Betrayal

Journey

Everyone who attended Seishun Gakuen Junior High School when I was in first year knew about it. Even those who weren't interested in tennis -- knew how great their varsity tennis team was. It was a glorious year for Seigaku -- they had made it to the Nationals, and won the competition. The team of nine had worked hard all year, and coupled with the fact that the players were all talented; they all deserved the win. The team had bonded, and they had a very tight bond, indeed. Each player had a special way of playing tennis; this made them unpredictable. The Seigaku Tennis Team was the most admired. Their opponents they had defeated in their journey to Nationals, Fudoumine; St Rudolph; Yamabuki; Hyoutei; and others, weren't at all less prominent than Seigaku. Those schools had players as unique as Seigaku's. So, my point is that the journey for the Seigaku varsity team to the Nationals was not easy. More than a hundred laps, and the many Inui juices they had to endure was worth it. Or was it?

Let's start from the basics: the Seigaku tennis team members. Let me introduce the captain, the person who brought Seigaku to victory. The buchou: Tezuka Kunimitsu. Anyone would feel intimidated by just being in his presence. He is someone who commands authority, someone who expects the best from everyone in his club. Even though his facial expressions never change, somehow, Oishi-senpai knows how to read the stoic and silent buchou. Tezuka-buchou is the strongest in Seigaku, the numero uno. The buchou had mastered many complicated techniques, and this means that he is a genius. No one would challenge me on this. But the even the buchou has weaknesses: his left shoulder was injured when he was in first year. See, Tezuka-buchou is a left-hander and he was such a genius that some senior had hit him with a racket or something like that. I'm not sure about this, I don't know the full story.

Next is the fukubuchou: the vice captain, Oishi Syuchiroh. He was nicknamed the Mother of Seigaku, he had mothered everyone in the club. Still does, I'm guessing. His kindness and benevolence had made him very likeable and approachable. He plays doubles with another member of the team, Kikumaru-senpai. People have said that the two have chemistry, that was why they could play doubles so well. The two was nicknamed 'the Golden Pair'. Well, some people say that the two became doubles partners because they want to beat each other so badly. By becoming doubles partners, they could read each other's moves, so it would be easier for them to defeat the other. Or something like that. I'm not sure about this, either. Some people think that the two have chemistry of a different kind. But I find it hard to believe that. Oishi-senpai, gay? I don't think so.

Next up is Seigaku's number two and resident tensai, Fuji Syusuke. He is always seen smiling (wouldn't one's face hurt from smiling too much?). But on the courts, he's a powerful and serious player. His three Returns are what some people say works of art. And his eyes are scary. Very scary. When they're open, of course. And he can drink Inui-senpai's juice without puking! That only adds to Fuji-senpai's... scariness, for the lack of a better word. At times like these, your brain turns to mush.

Then there's Inui Sadaharu. He was dropped from the Regulars when he lost in the ranking matches. But he became manager, and created vile juices. His data tennis is very accurate, and very scary. He's scary. His tennis is scary. His juices are scary. Let's just leave it at that, okay? I don't want him to suddenly appear behind me with a glass of frothing green thing.

Kikumaru Eiji is an acrobatic player, and he's hyper. Very hyper. He forms the other half of the Golden Pair. He likes to tease people, and he likes to whine. But he's a cool senpai, being able to do all those impressive acrobatic moves. He's really likeable, being the most childlike of them all. I like him. He's a much much better senpai to be with than Inui. Nya.

Kawamura Takashi is an MPD. He has Multiple Personality Disorder. He yells English phrases and words that I don't particularly understand when he touches his tennis racquet. But his sushi is delicious! He plans to continue his father's sushi business after high school, and tennis isn't part of his plans. Too bad, really, he's a great asset to the team. If he doesn't a have a racquet in his hands, he's a shy and kind person. If, and only if.

Kaidoh Kaoru is another very scary senpai. I don't like him. Not one bit. I may be biased, because some girls in my class in my second year back in Junior High actually created a Kaidoh Kaoru fan club. I don't understand these females. What's there to like about a guy who hisses like a snake every time he gets pissed? Honestly, though, he's a great tennis player. He's better than Momo-senpai, that's for sure; but don't tell Momo I said that, or he won't treat me at the burger shop.

Why did I say that? Well, that's because Momoshiro Takeshi, or Momo-senpai, and Kaidoh-senpai are arch rivals. Enemies. Always seen, or rather, heard arguing loudly over something that almost always later turned out later to be trivial. Too insignificant to argue about, really. And if, or rather, when they get too noisy, which is quite often, they get punishment laps from Tezuka-buchou. But still, Momo is my favourite senpai of all. He has a good heart.

The eight unique Seigaku Regulars - no, don't worry, I didn't forget that I said nine members, I'm getting to it - have definitely bonded over that one year they won the Nationals. They were quite close, so there was a big shock when the ninth member left. Echizen Ryoma, member number nine, the first first-year to ever become a regular. He was the baby of the team, but his tennis skills speak for themselves.

The Pillar of Seigaku. A pillar supports the building. Without a pillar, it will crumble. That's exactly what happened. The tennis team crumbled in my second and third year. We never made it to the end of the Prefecturals. We lost in the first few rounds. With Momo-senpai and Kaidoh-senpai as co-captains, it wasn't that bad, the tennis club, I mean. But in my third year, it was a disaster. Embarrassing, isn't it, we won one year, and then flunk the rest. We were the hot topic for those two years. Without Tezuka-buchou, and the rest of the then third-year senpais, we had no chance of winning. No Echizen, either. 'What happened to the promising team?' news headlines scream. My answer? Gone.

Personally, I blame Echizen. If he hadn't left so suddenly, I would have blamed something else. Say, there wasn't enough strong players on our team. Or, the other schools were just better than us. But two days before term was about to start, he was gone. He didn't say anything, nor did he leave a message. Echizen Ryoma. Seigaku's golden boy, the Prince of Tennis. Traitor, more like.

I'm still bitter about this. I'm sorry, but I can't help it. Normally, I'm a forgiving guy, but this is a bit personal. Let me a take a breather to calm down, and I'll explain all; what happened to Ryoma.

Two years ago, on the first day of school, we were all happy; the win at the Nationals psyched us up. The tennis club vowed to repeat our senpai's feat. With Momo-senpai and Kaidoh-senpai to bring up and hone our skills, Ryuzaki-sensei to train us, and Echizen as our pillar, we'd be unstoppable. We would train hard, study hard, and play smart. Or so we thought.

Echizen Ryoma never turned up for school that day. At first, we speculated, 'He must have overslept again.', or 'He forgot that there was school.' But on the second day, he wasn't in school, either. Momo-senpai asked the school secretary, wondering about Echizen. Did he call in sick? Or was he in some kind of trouble with the school?

Turned out that Echizen had quit school. The three of us, Momo-senpai, Kaidoh-senpai, and I were speechless. Kaidoh-senpai recovered first and demanded quite politely, albeit roughly, the reason. The secretary was also quite surprised that he didn't tell us that he was quitting school. She explained, that Echizen Ryoma had come into school two days before the start of the semester with his father to collect his things and to inform the school that they were leaving. His father signed the necessary papers, and they left. The reason was a family emergency, and they had to move. To where, they didn't say. She told us, apologetically, that she didn't know anything else, and neither did the principal, that she couldn't help us, and she had a lot of work to do. And we had to leave, of course, because the bell signalling the end of lunch had already rung.

Tezuka-senpai, Oishi-senpai and the others were shocked to hear the news, too. Inui-senpai was immediately tasked to find out what really happened. He hacked into the school computer, and got into student records. But Echizen Ryoma's name wasn't in there anymore. Echizen Ryoma's existence had already been erased.

Kikumaru-senpai was in tears when he found out that there was no trace of his 'Ochibi'; no way to find him; contact him; or even to know where he went. The Echizen family left no trace at all. When the seniors went to his house, figuring the people who moved there would know what happened to the Echizens; they were disappointed. Kawamura-senpai, Kikumaru senpai, and Oishi-senpai were saddened; Fuji-senpai and Inui-senpai decided that they would keep trying; Kaidoh-senpai and Momo-senpai concentrated harder than ever on the tennis team. Tezuka-buchou was as stoic as ever. If he was ever disheartened by what Echizen Ryoma did, he never showed it.

The players from the other schools; Dan Taichi from Yamabuki amongst others, were also quite dismayed at the news of Echizen Ryoma's disappearance, when they found out. Some people sneered at the news, while others were saddened. But the question still remained; what happened?

We found out later in the year, through Inui-senpai. He had come across an online American sports newspaper, and there was mention of Echizen Ryoma. The boy had been playing in the US open. At thirteen, he was forced to play in the Under-16 category, but what did that matter? Echizen Ryoma had breezed through the preliminaries, and was now in the finals, facing last-year's winner. 'The Prince of Tennis Returns!' screamed the headline. Typical.

So he moved back to America. He could've told us! Called; written, or something. Kikumaru-senpai suggested we write to him, but Tezuka-buchou said no. We argued, but Oishi-senpai put his foot down. If Echizen Ryoma wanted to keep in touch, he would have contacted us by now. His silence means he doesn't want us interfering; and we won't disturb him. I didn't think Oishi-senpai could be so cold; he was quite firm in ordering us to back off Echizen.

Later on, it was official. Momoshiro-senpai had lost his temper when a freshman asked about the missing player, wondering if he really won the US open; and was he really that good. Momo-senpai called Echizen Ryoma a traitor who had abandoned us all, ran away from his responsibilities, and we were not to talk about him anymore. After that, Kaidoh-senpai calmed his co-captain by playing a set with him. Kaidoh-senpai had a good heart after all.

But the title stuck. After that incident, Echizen Ryoma was branded a traitor to the Seigaku tennis team. Every freshman started referring to him by the word traitor. The name Echizen Ryoma was substituted with Traitor. Even when Kaidoh-senpai and Momoshiro-senpai left.

Somehow, the third-year senpais had all entered our affiliated high school. Tezuka, Oishi, Fuji, Kikumaru and Inui-senpai's had joined Seishun Gakuen Senior High School Tennis club. Kawamura-senpai enrolled into the same high school, but didn't join the tennis club. Later, Momoshiro and Kaidoh-senpai entered the same school, too. So Katchiro, Katsuo and I decided to follow them too, once we graduated from junior high.

I never mentioned Ryuzaki Sakuno, or Osakada Tomoka, did I? They were both rabid fans of the Traitor. Needless to say, they were devastated when they heard the news. Tomoka was inconsolable for the first week. Sakuno was silent for the first month. But when they heard of the Traitor's feat in the US Open, they stopped being depressed, and became normal people. Not once did I hear the Traitor's name from them since.

Now, as I step through the gates of Seishun Gakuen Senior High School, I feel relieved. At least, here, we can start anew. The past cannot catch up with us here. We will create new memories, in a world without Echizen Ryoma.

Katou Kachiro, Mizuno Katsuo, Tomoka and Sakuno are waiting for me, and the bell is about to ring. We are in the same class, and there is no way Echizen Ryoma will be in it. It'll be a memorable year, and I... Did I see that? I thought- No. There is no way that he'd be here. I did not see a black-haired boy with golden eyes. I, Horio Satoshi, will not let my Senior High be plagued by the past. The final bell is ringing, and I have to go to class. I'm not flunking Senior High.

Said boy with golden eyes shrunk back out of view, and sighed. "They're never going to forgive me even if I dropped dead ten times over."

"Really?" A female voice. "Does that mean you're not going to join the tennis club, Ryo?" Silence. "Never mind, let's just get to class. There's no use worrying about it now."

"Kari, I don't need you to tell me what to do."

"With an attitude like that, no wonder they are unforgiving."

"That's not funny."

"Sorry. But all we can do now are the things that we believe in today. And if we realise later on that we made a mistake, we can cry or get angry then. And after that, we'll think of what to do next."

"Life goes on."

"Damn right."

"Let's go live it, then."

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Echizen Ryoma."

"We'll be late if we don't hurry."

"Hai!"

AN: My Japanese is solely based through what I've read on so if there's some mistakes, tell me, and I'll correct it. There'll be a second part to this, maybe a third. This'll not be long, that's for sure.

Thanks for reading. Please comment, and please review! Any suggetstions will be appreciated.

lightyearsaway