Ultra Violet Black
Old Fiat
Chapter 2- Cover-Up Comes Off With Water
The truck driver stared at him, "What?"
Ryoma ran off. He still was holding the flowers and running faster than he ever had before. He finally found himself outside the tennis courts at Seishun. "Tennis…" he hooked his fingers around the holes in the fence, and then looked at the flowers. Then he started staring at the tennis courts. He wished he'd brought a racket. If he had he could get rid of this weird feeling… "It's not like I care..."
"Yo Echizen!"
Ryoma turned and saw Momo coming towards him. He had been working out- Ryoma could tell because his hair was starting to droop and curl.
He didn't want to talk to Momo right now. He ran off.
"Echizen!" Momo ran after, he then saw the lilies. "Who are the flowers for? Ryuzaki-chan?"
Ryoma tripped and fell on to the grass. It was now that the tears came, he held them back though. "They aren't for anyone, Momo-sempai. I'm pretty tired, I'm gonna go home okay?" He could barely believe he could talk.
Momo cocked his head to one side. "'ight Echizen. Hey, is there something wrong?" He saw that Ryoma's eyes had gone very wide and wet-ish. "Hey, there's stuff on your flowers!" He made to grab them.
"No!" Ryoma pulled away the flowers and ran off again.
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When he finally came home later that night the first thing he saw was his mother crying, Nanako crying also and trying to comfort her and his Grandma sobbing into her tea. The police were there as well as a few of the medics and several business men in charge of Nanjiro's estate. He looked at the flowers, and then at his shoes which he then saw had blood on them.
"Ryoma," sobbed his mother, holding out her arms, welcoming him to a hug. "Come here." She pulled him on to her lap and squeezed him. "It's okay to cry sweetie. I know you loved your father very much…"
He cut her off. "No, I never really liked that guy."
Everyone looked at him.
"Ryoma, I hope you don't mean that…"
He looked at the flowers again.
"Mom, these are yours," he handed her the bloodied lilies. "Dad was trying to by them for you. I suggested it. It's my fault." He got off her lap and went to his room.
Ryoma sat on his bed. I'm not going to cry, he thought, his fists clenched on his lap. Crying's for wussies and babies. I'm now the man of the house… don't cry. Guys aren't aloud to cry above the age of ten according to Momo-sempai unless they're girly-boys. Don't cry…
Nanako came in and put her arm around him. "Hey Ryoma." He saw her tear stains on her cheeks. "Things are going to be harder now, you understand that right? It's fine if you cry, no one will think any the worse of you."
"Momo-sempai says crying's for girls. I'm not going to," he looked at his dresser; the photos from when he was younger with his dad, swimming, bicycling… playing tennis.
"When you need some one to talk to I'll be there," she got up and left, understanding he needed time alone.
"Oh yeah," she paused in the doorway. "Mom says you can stay home from school tomorrow, if you want to."
He looked at her. "No, I'm going tomorrow."
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Momo knocked on the sliding door. "Hey Mrs. Echizen! I'm here to give Ryoma a ride." He smiled it faded as he looked at her face.
"Hey, did something happen? Did I do something wrong? I can go if you want me to," he looked concerned. "What happened?"
"Nanjiro died," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'll go get Ryoma; he says he wants to go to school today."
She walked off. Momo stood on the porch, wondering if he said something wrong. Ryoma's Grandma passed- she glanced at Momo and burst into tears. Ryoma came down, he looked as though he hadn't slept the night before.
"Yo Momo-sempai," he walked towards the bicycle.
Momo came after him. He had planned to ask Ryoma to quiz him on English before the test, but it didn't seem to be the right time. "Hey, Echizen… About your dad… your mom told me. I'm really sorry."
"It's nothing," said Ryoma, Momo stared. "Come on, let's get to school. You have an English test today right? I'll quiz you on the way."
Momo wondered how he knew about the English test, and then he remembered he had told him yesterday. He got on the bike. "I really am sorry."
"I told you it's nothing."
Momo thought about the way Echizen's face had looked yesterday, when he had those flowers in his hand and the blood on his shoes. He looked at him right now and just saw a little boy who wasn't going to cry.
"Faster you fat lump!" said Ryoma, giving a shallow laugh.
"Oy! You little-" said Momo, and then stopped. Let Echizen have his fun, it wasn't like he would be able to keep this facade up forever.
Momo came from a family of actors, there was one lesson he had learned very young-
Cover-up will come off with water.
He knew it was true. He had always thought that Tezuka-buchou was the most closed, masked person in the world, but then once he saw him on the his cell phone laughing so hard he was crying.
But with Echizen there wouldn't be laughter.
Only crying.
He was a kid after all.
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"Hoi! Ochibi! Momo-chan!" said Eiji, bouncing over to them. He saw Momo shake his head- A signal that meant 'Don't, I'll explain later.'
"'Morning Eiji-sempai," Ryoma got down from the bike. His eyes looked blank, not in their usual… weird way. It was like the fog had rolled in inside his head.
"'Morning…" said Eiji. Once Ryoma walked off he turned to Momo. "What's wrong with Seigaku's little baby boy?"
Momo told him all he knew- which was basically that Nanjiro was dead and Ryoma was totally going weird about it. He saw Eiji's eyebrows knit.
"Poor Echizen… Should we tell Tezu-kun and Coach Ryuzaki?"
"No, I just told you because you were being annoying," he grinned. "Ha…"
They both looked at the small boy heading towards the club house.
He'll learn, thought Momo. If I learned he will. Cover-up will always come off with water.
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It was evening practice. Ryoma pulled on his starter jacket for the second time that day. It was strange, everything was different but at the same time nothing had changed. He looked at Tezuka's thin wrist as he closed his locker. It was thin, despite his strength. He would probably always be like that, no matter what happened. He saw Eiji look at him nervously but it didn't register in his mind. Nothing really did- it was all a haze…
"Echizen?" said Oishi, holding his racket under his arm. "It's time for practice. Echi- Echizen?"
Ryoma was crying, silently- just standing- and crying. "It's not like I liked that guy… It's not like I care… I-"
He suddenly found that Oishi had his face directly level with his. "Echizen, you can stay in here until you feel better. I'll go tell Tezuka." He felt it didn't need explaining to understand what was going on. After all… he had felt the same thing.
"No, I want to go to practice," he wiped off his face.
Oishi looked at him worriedly. "Are you sure Echizen-kun? If you don't want to it's fine, you could-"
Ryoma walked out of the locker rooms.
"Echizen…" Oishi rubbed the creases in his forehead. God, only fifteen and he had worry wrinkles.
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