The Fall of The Prince

Disclaimer: Takeshi Konomi's

Chapter 11

"Tezuka," called Oishi right after he stepped inside Ryuzaki-sensei's office.

The one being called was sitting on a chair and examining a paper. He then turned to the door and nodded. "If you're looking for Ryuzaki-sensei, she's not here."

"I know. I met her on my way here, telling me that I can find you here." Oishi answered and walked inside the room, closer to where Tezuka sat. "I got a call from Kirihara. He had a request about the formation for the next training match with Rikkaidai."

"I'm working on it now." Tezuka said, slightly waving the paper he was holding.

"Kirihara wanted a chance to play with other member than Fuji. He had once played him and he hoped he could play with other player. He's in single 2 by the way." Oishi stopped behind Tezuka's chair, wanting to have a clear look at the list Tezuka was holding.

"Fuji is in single 1, facing Yukimura. Single 2 will be Inui."

"Kaidoh in single 3? He's facing Renji then?"

Tezuka nodded. "Inui and Renji had faced each other before. And I think it must be a good experience for Kaidoh to learn from a different data player than Inui."

"Eiji and me in double 1." Oishi continued reading. "And… double 2… You really sure this is okay?" Oishi sounded worried suddenly.

Another nod from Tezuka. "It's okay. Some people will feel disappointed, but I think this is the best we can do now."

Oishi stared at Tezuka. He believed in what his captain said, but still the worry didn't leave his face.

"Tezuka-buchou," Kawamura suddenly called from the threshold. "You better do down. We all know he won't stop playing unless it's you who order him so."

Tezuka stood up and walked to the window, staring out to the tennis court beneath where all the regulars were practicing. "Let's go down then."

The sun shone brightly. It felt warm, instead of hot. Ryoma felt as if he had endless stamina to continue playing the whole day. His opponent, Momo, seemed to be still in perfect condition, except the worry that never left his face since the very beginning of their game. Ryoma wished he could wipe it away. It disturbed him so much to receive such a treatment as if he was a frail glass, ready to break anytime.

But well, he didn't really care now. At least for now, he wanted to play as much as he could, paying all the time he spent desperately without tennis.

"Echizen…" Momo started, "don't you think you should stop?"

"I'm fine. I'm going to serve." Ryoma said, making his position to serve. He was throwing the tennis ball up and ready to swing his racket when he felt a hand pulled his left ear gently. The ball dropped to the ground, bouncing a few times. Ryoma turned back and faced his exasperated captain.

"It's time to stop your practice." Tezuka said sternly. He pulled Ryoma by his ear outside the court. Ryoma unwillingly followed while Momo left his place with a relief sigh. Tezuka led him to the fence and told him to sit down on the ground while he gave instruction to the other members to continue their practices. After making sure the team was back to their regular practices menu, Tezuka then joined Ryoma by his side.

Ryoma didn't seem very happy about being stopped, but he was kind of glad to have Tezuka by his side now.

Seeing the sour look on Ryoma's face, Tezuka couldn't help to chuckle a bit. "I do remember you're still not allowed to be tired."

Ryoma was pouting, but he didn't say anything. What Tezuka said was completely true.

Tezuka stared at Ryoma's figure and smiled. He remembered the first time he saw the way Ryoma pouted and soon get attracted to the smaller boy. He put his hand around Ryoma's waist and pulled him closer. Ryoma sighed in defeat and leaned in on Tezuka's shoulder.

"At the training match against Rikkaidai, am I going to play?"

"Yes, but not in single."

"Double?" Ryoma didn't seem too happy about the news. But, knowing that he couldn't afford to be too tired also made him complain no more. He knew single would be too hard for him. "Who's my partner?"

"Your partner in life," answered Tezuka plainly, smiling.

Ryoma looked a bit taken back before then grinned. He put his hand around Tezuka's body and hugged the older boy.

He suddenly remembered his last day in Memphis.

-----flashback-----

"You are not allowed to be tired. That's my first rule for you. And don't forget that you still need to do chemotherapy once every two months. I've sent a notice to Dr. Endo to give you a special attention."

Ryoma stared at the middle aged man before him with silent gratefulness.

"And one thing you really must not forget is that a complete remission will only be announced if the leukemia cells don't reappear within five years. So, your health now is not something distinct by now. That's why you need to really take care of your health during this long waiting time if you really want to recover completely.

I'm not promising you whether you can be totally free from this illness or not. It's all depending on the way you take care of yourself. But one thing I'm sure I can tell you, it's worth the wait. And you must be very grateful than you can still continue living for the sake of the people who love you and whom you love in return."

-----end of flashback-----

Ryoma inhaled the familiar scent of Tezuka and relaxed. The peace radiated in his heart, giving him a feeling of a complete secure.

'As long as I can be with the people I love, I'm happy that I still can continue living.'

Ryoma looked up and moved closer to Tezuka's ear. "Tezuka-san," he whispered, "I do really love you."

The end

A/N:

Oh my, it's been 2 years. I can't believe it! Finally I finished this story!

Okay, I hope this satisfy your expectation for the ending. It's not something explosive and perhaps this story seems to be having no climax, but I'm glad that I can finish it after such a long time. And I hope all of you also can feel the gladness I feel.

Special thanks I'd like to give to Windy Hurrice, who had been such a great beta-reader for the earlier chapters. And to Herumi who had sent me a nice critic about how to write angst scene :P. And then to Dewe, for always silently encouraging me not to give up in any of my dreams. And finally, to all of you who had read this story, especially for those who had kindly reviewed in every episodes they read. Thank you! Thank you very much!

Last words, I'm still learning. And I still want to continue learning. I plan on writing more and more in order to learn more too. That's why, I think I'd like to say… I'll see you all again in the other fanfics or even stories…

Thank you very much!