Title: Intricacy
Author: Suki No Hikari
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: PG-13 (for violence)
Pairing: Momoshiro Takeshi x Echizen Ryoma (aka MomoRyo)
Summary: Sometimes love isn't enough. When Ryoma finds himself in a life-threatening situation with no one to protect him, wishing to see just one more day seems useless. However, sometimes, love is just enough.
Warnings: Shounen-ai, violence, unbeta-ed, possible spoilers, possible Ryoma OOC (but this fiction does contain basically a Ryoma makeover… XD You'll see. You'll see.) Also, this chapter is pretty dialogue-free and I apologize for the amount of long descriptive paragraphs (well I like to be lazy and not read long paragraphs so maybe this just applies to me).
Information: See prologue's information – this chapter will contain spoilers for the series up to the Junior Invitational (was that what it was called? I seriously am blanking on it).
Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis AND I don't own the lyrics used in this fiction. The lyrics are from Bonnie Pink's song "Building a Castle." NOTE:From now on, you'll see lyrics in every chapter because that's simply a way I customize my fanfiction.
Also, thank you all of you for your lovely comments. They were greatly appreciated!
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"No matter how much I cry, it won't stop,
No matter how hard I cry my tears in my frustration,
No matter how loud I scream, it won't be heard –
It just flows out silently."
Chapter One: Struck
Aged buildings lined the road Momoshiro trudged along; the ones nearest him were made of dark brick and further down the block the brick buildings began to disperse, being replaced by abandoned warehouses. Afraid that if he used his bike he'd miss the right building, Momoshiro wheeled said bike down the road using his hands. He tried to stay in the shadow of buildings, not letting himself remain out in the open for an extended period of time. So, if he did pass the building they had Echizen (if he was even in one of these buildings – talk about your wild goose chase), the men that might be guarding the area wouldn't see him.
Of course, there also may be no building, no men guarding anything, no kidnapping whatsoever – for what Momo knew, at least. Echizen could very possibly be back at the burger place trying to figure out where the heck his senpai was. But Momoshiro had a hunch because of what happened at that same burger place that Echizen just may be in a lot of trouble right now. So he continued on.
His feet hurt. His leg muscles ached. He was sure that he had a black eye. His shoulders felt like they were about to fall off from carrying the weight of not only his bag, but Echizen's as well. An after nearly an hour since he began his chase, Momoshiro would normally give up at this point. But to him, Echizen Ryoma had become more than simply 'normal.' 'And right now I just need to stop complaining and find him.' Because even if Momoshiro could complain to somebody this moment, he knew that his problems might just be meaningless compared to what Echizen would be going through.
Eyes darting around the area, Momoshiro stayed aware for any signs of movement, and his ears perked at the slightest sound. As he bypassed what may possibly have been his twentieth brick building, he paused to listen to his surroundings – only to hear, once again, the silence of the area. Momoshiro exhaled slowly; it had already been an hour and a half since the 'kidnapping,' if that's what it was.
Momoshiro slowly put some of his weight onto his bike, inching it forward a few inches. When he heard the bike's wheel run over something that made a faint clinking sound, Momoshiro gazed downwards – perhaps he stumbled upon a piece of broken glass.
Nearly utilizing every ounce of his self-control, Momoshiro held in a gasp. His whispered "no way…" came to be the loudest sound he'd heard in the past ten minutes.
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"What do I get from building a castle?
What do I get from building a castle?
This lone castle."
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After nearly thirty minutes of driving, Ryoma supposed, the black car finally halted at a dirty red brick building that seemed to have been there for thousands of years. Gunshot holes scattered among the outside of the building, nearly every window shattered, beer bottles littering the ground – to say this place seemed in bad shape was an understatement. Not to mention that the drive didn't turn out to be the most pleasant experience either – another understatement.
Ryoma had never before in his life been involved with this type a gang; it was as if they were common-day pirates. They talked about raping and stealing and killing as if it were some sort of game. These men told stories about young women and men (to Ryoma's horror) that they've taken advantage of in the same type of way you would tell your friends about a camping trip – everything was to their own amusement. Sasabe's gang even put bets on how many people one could kill in a week.
Ryoma briefly wondered how all this crime never made it to the news. That, or the news in his area doesn't cover news stories from wherever he was now. What's more, throughout all the gang's tales, they were constantly sneering at him, knocking him around for fun and throwing his hat around the car (which he never did get back), and telling crude and vulgar jokes just to make Ryoma cringe. He'd learned about sex education in school – but never like that. (1)
For the first time in his life, Ryoma wasn't sure how to act or feel in this type of situation. As long as he lived, he acted the way he chose, and whether it seemed arrogant sometimes to others, he never had thought twice that his attitude might force him into such a situation. How can he act right now? If Ryoma were to be overconfident and indignant to these men, well, he didn't want to think of what they might do to him. Ryoma had never really felt this type of fear in his life.
After the first match against Rikkai's vice-captain Sanada Genchirou, after his complete and utter loss, Ryoma had not felt fear towards Sanada – he felt determined and fueled with a flame of resolve to beat him the next time. Never once, in his entire life, had he been afraid of any of his opponents or the people he knew. Akutsu, Sanada, Kevin – each one posed a threat to him, especially Akutsu, but not once had he been afraid. He stood up to Akutsu, despite the injury he received afterwards. It only powered him more.
But, somehow, this was different – so unlike anything he'd ever faced before. He could go up against these men, but that would be like playing a losing card game with his life. How could he know they didn't intend to kill him? What if they acquired the ransom money and just decided to kill him before returning him to his family? No, Ryoma couldn't go up against these men, no matter how badly he wanted to, no matter how much strength it would take to resist standing up for himself. This was no longer about tennis – not even Akutsu seemed as cold-hearted as Sasabe and his lackeys.
Even though he thought over all the various approaches to how he should act, he also felt an instinctive emotion wash over him. A need for protection, a need for help, a strong yearning to just have his mom and dad here with him right now. Ryoma knew he hadn't experienced this feeling since he was just growing up and hadn't expected to ever feel it again. Him, Echizen Ryoma, requiring help from others? Wanting his mother and father? Impossible. The thought rendered him incredulous. But despite his deep opposition towards this feeling, unconsciously he couldn't help but long to go home.
Not to mention, far at the back of his mind, one question had gone unsolved. What had happened to Momoshiro-senpai? Was he still at the restaurant? How many beatings did he get? The last thing Ryoma saw before shoved roughly into the car was Momoshiro getting punched by one of the men sitting next to him. However, he didn't brood over how Momoshiro was for long – he had to worry about himself first. (2)
"Hey kid! Get moving!" Ryoma blinked his eyes twice; it wasn't like him to get lost in thought during such a critical time. Yanked from the car, Ryoma didn't have time to try and get out himself. Two men seized both of his arms and started dragging him off across the street towards the building he'd looked at earlier. As subtly as he could, Ryoma opened up of his tied fisted hands and let something drop to the ground. He prayed that the men had not heard it fall, and he hoped someone, anyone may find it.
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"They tell me to hurt myself, deeper and deeper.
They don't what is left to stay away from, insanity."
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Biking away from the buildings as fast as his feet could manage, Momoshiro held the Ponta pull-tab tightly within his fingers. As soon as he'd picked up the tab from underneath his bike, two and two clicked – Echizen must've dropped it for him to find. It was the exact same one he'd given his kouhai at the burger place. That confirmed his kidnapping. It also meant Echizen had been taken into that building who knows how long ago.
Coming upon a garbage bin, the spiky-haired teen leaped off his bike and removed the two Seigaku tennis bags from his shoulders. Heaving the bike over his head, Momoshiro gently placed it in the garbage bin, to hide the fact that he'd been in this area in case someone had seen him. He also concealed one of the tennis bags in the garbage bin as well – if Momoshiro were to get into trouble and end up being chased, he at least knew where his weapons were (even if they were mere tennis rackets and balls).
With that, Momoshiro slowly made his way back to the building, knowing he'd need to make use of the hidden back routes in order to get there undetected. 'I'm coming Echizen,' he thought to himself with a blaze of determination, slinging the solitary tennis bag over his shoulder.
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"They tell me, they tell me to go as far as I can."
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Being hauled through the abandoned house as if he were mere cattle, Ryoma tried his best to avoid the glass strewn among the ground, the holes in the stairs as he was taken to the second floor, and mostly he tried to avoid doing anything that would upset the men who held him captive. Ryoma's journey through the brick house concluded when the men swung open a steel door that revealed a small, empty room.
Ryoma's heart leapt when suddenly the men tipped him over and tied his legs with an itchy rope, then proceeded to toss him so he fell with a sickening thud on the floor of the room, and finally they locked the door behind them. Ryoma blinked and felt the twinge of pain in his hip; it had all happened so fast. He took a moment to look around the room and saw… nothing. Gray painted walls, no windows, and a simple square air vent on the ceiling – that was it. With no furniture, no carpeting, and no signs that anyone had ever lived in this room, Ryoma frowned in frustration. Besides the air vent (that he couldn't reach no matter how hard he tried), there were no means of escape.
Mouth taped and arms and legs bound, Ryoma realized with a twinge in his heart that he was trapped.
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"So I sing to be understood,
until they listen to me."
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"Ouch!" Momoshiro whispered with such silence that it barely reached his own ears. He gripped the brick wall tightly, staring at his bleeding finger and mentally cursing. When he had looked at the side of this building, it had seemed so much easier to climb up than he'd assumed. Since the best way in unnoticed happened to be through a second story broken window, Momoshiro had forced himself to scramble up the side of the brick structure. 'But damn, this is hard! Especially with this bag on my shoulder.' Momoshiro frowned to himself and gradually extended his right arm to another hole in the brick, lifting himself up further.
Once he'd become high enough, he cautiously peered into the window's room, hoping that he could just have Sengoku's luck for this moment and that there wouldn't be anyone in there. Momoshiro breathed a sigh of relief when he'd seen his wish had been granted. Grasping the window's ledge, he hoisted himself into the room as inaudibly as he could manage. Although the closed door of the room blocked out most sound, Momoshiro still heard voices coming from down the hallway.
Inching closer to the door and positioning himself so if the door were to open, he'd be concealed by it, Momoshiro warily eased his ear onto the door, listening to the outside sounds. The men talking didn't seem close to his room so he expected he had enough time. Momoshiro's eyes flitted across the room until he found what he was looking for. Climbing upon a broken-in chair, Momoshiro slowly removed the air vent covering from the ceiling, cursing to himself when it made a faint clanking sound.
He stuffed his Seigaku bag up into the large air passageway and instantly replaced the cover, in case one of the men had heard him. As swiftly as he could, Momoshiro moved back over to the door and situated his ear there once again. After a few minutes, it seemed that the voices had retreated downstairs and he expected the coast was clear. Turning the handle gently, Momoshiro stared into the hall, mentally thanking his luck for a second time that day when he saw no one there.
Moving down the hallway, he began to examine the doors in an attempt of figuring out which one held Echizen. He noticed the correct one immediately. It had a number of different locks on it, but none needed a key. Heart racing, Momoshiro silently undid each lock and opened the door slowly, hoping beyond hope that Echizen lie behind it.
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"Until they listen to me..."
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After being in the room for about an hour and only managing to remove the tape from his mouth (from rubbing his mouth against his shoulder), Ryoma rested against the wall directly facing the door. From what he'd heard, the man guarding his room had just been called downstairs for something or other. Not like it mattered – even if Ryoma uncovered a way to stand up, untie himself, unlock the doors, and escape the room, someone outside would catch him before he could even leave the building. Plus, since he had no clue as to where he was, he would know no place to go.
Suddenly, Ryoma's pulse quickened as he heard the locks to the door softly open. He held his breath and knew the worst was about to come; they've come to beat him, or rape him, or kill him – something awful. The door opened slowly to reveal…
"Momo-senpai?" Ryoma murmured in pure disbelief. Momoshiro's eyes grew wide with relief, and in one smooth movement, he'd shut the door, walked across the room, fell to his knees and put his arms around Ryoma.
"I'm so glad," Momoshiro breathed out, head resting on the younger player's chest, and for some reason not minding the feel of Echizen in his arms. Ryoma could feel heat come to his cheeks and his heart raced as he felt Momoshiro embracing him. Shocked, Ryoma could only make one coherent thought.
"How did you –" Ryoma started but Momoshiro shushed the other tennis player, cutting him off.
"I need to get you out of here," Momoshiro explained as he finally pulled himself from his kouhai. As he finally got a look at Echizen, he sucked in his breath and swallowed hard.
"Echizen…" Momoshiro felt himself mutter. The freshman's ankles and wrists were nearly bleeding from the ropes that bound him, he had red marks around his arms and legs where he had undoubtedly been beat up, and his terribly bruised jaw didn't make for the best sight in the world.
"Kami-sama, what have they done to you? I'm going to kill them all," Momoshiro growled out. Ryoma's eyes widened at the words.
"No! Don't go after them!" Ryoma begged hastily. Momoshiro's heart nearly stopped. 'I've never heard Echizen use that tone of voice ever before,' he thought to himself, feeling his chest constrict tightly. What had they done to Echizen? He'd never, ever talk with that much desperation. Echizen had always depended on himself and here he was, pleading Momoshiro. Pleading.
Unconsciously, the older teen's eyes began to prickle with tears, for some reason, but none fell. 'How could they do this to such a strong kid?' Momoshiro shook his head in incredulity. "Echizen…" he began. But when Momoshiro heard the click of the door opening, his entire body froze.
"Hmmm, sorry to interrupt this lovely reunion," a voice from behind them announced loudly.
Ryoma's eyes shot up to meet Sasabe's. As a dreadful feeling suddenly plummeted into his stomach, he noticed the same fiery gleam in Sasabe's eyes that he'd seen when Sasabe mentioned him never playing tennis again. Like a predator who'd just countered its prey.
And Momoshiro, too, knew with a mere look at this man that they were in trouble.
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(1) Ryoma's a freaking 12-year-old. He's only had a snippet of sex education in school (well, I did when I was his age – we got to learn about the reproductive parts! Yay/sarcasm) and the way grown men would describe sex? Well, all I have to say is… poor kid. ( He's probably corrupted for life! (I'm so evil to him! T.T)
(2) I think that it's just like Echizen to only worry about others for only so long if his life was in more danger. From what I saw of him in the series, he never really did anything for others unless he had some half-assed line about how it bothered him attached to it (think of the first episode!).
Author Notes: Oh dear, I apologize for how slow that chapter had to be. But from now on the story should pick up IMMENSELY. XD I'm also really liking how I have to power to help make Ryoma mature in this fic (you'll see him grow a lot in the next couple of chapters). But it does make sense, right? I'm not being a bad author by making him mature without an appropriate situation, am I? XD is always worrying about that kind of stuff
Anyway, thanks for continuing this story! Next update will most likely be next weekend because, well, school's a bitch. XD Please comment on ANYTHING. Although, flames will be donated to poor pyros. Constructive criticism is happily accepted, however (especially on spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc. etc.).
Please review!
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