Sorry for the wait! To those of you who haven't seen Inception before, hopefully this isn't too confusing?
.. - change in point of view
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Inception
..
Nighttime: Japanese Castle
"Put that down, Genichirou," Yukimura smiled coldly.
Sanada looked to the other man, "Did he tell you?" he kept his blade raised, and almost wished he had dreamed up a katana now.
"That you were trying to steal from me? Or that this is a dream?" the man smirked, "Bring him in."
At those words, the doors to the right burst open and Renji was dragged in by two burly-looking men. Sanada felt the "I told you" radiating from his friend.
"Who hired you?"
"The knife, Genichirou."
Sanada didn't speak, just stared at the crowd before him as he put the wakizashi down and slid it across the table.
"Always so traditional," Yukimura gestured at their surroundings, "It's your dream, isn't it?"
He would have explained himself. Would have said that it was because the client owned a large mansion and was known to be a patron of the Japanese arts. But as it was, he clamped his mouth shut.
"Who is your employer?" the man asked again.
Again, he said nothing.
Yukimura stepped forward and picked the blade up from where it stopped and proceeded to glide over to where Renji was being held. With a flick of his hand, one of the two men grabbed the former data master's hair and pulled his head back roughly, allowing Yukimura to press the blade up against his Adam's apple, "Answer the question."
Sanada blinked, "There is no point to threatening him with death if this is a dream."
"I know that. But what if I don't kill him?" something about Yukimura's smile changed, "What if it's just pain? Pain, after all, like what so many of you told me, is in the mind, isn't it?"
He vaguely remembered Kintarou saying something about how Yukimura could be… "terrifying" was the word that the boy had used. Now, it echoed through his mind as his former captain's smile disappeared and was replaced with an expression he had never seen before, that chilled him to the bone even before he saw the knife move.
Renji, to his credit, did not cry out as the blade pressed into and drew across his arm, leaving a long bloody gash in its wake.
Suddenly, he was sprinting. Swift like the wind. Sanada drew a tantou from its sheath inside his sleeve. Leaping on the table, sliding towards them. Strike like lightning. He flung the blade across the room where it landed squarely in Renji's forehead.
Sanada didn't wait to see his friend's body disappear in a puff of smoke. He turned sharply and began running back towards the door.
Daytime: Apartment
Yagyuu snapped his head up as Renji awoke with a gasp from the armchair and began yanking the tubes out of his arm.
"Yanagi-san, what are you doing? It's not—"
"'Time yet.' I know," he began fiddling with the dials in the case, "The loop must be reconnected before they wake up." Renji then proceeded to push the device to the other room where the tubes led.
"What happened?" Yagyuu followed him and watched, seemingly detached, as Renji struggled with the tubes taped to a figure sleeping on the bed.
The data master paused in his work for a moment as the man on the bed next to him stirred, "You know what happened," he answered quietly.
Nighttime: Japanese Castle
Escape. Window. There. He sprang to the side and brought his arms up as the glass shattered around him. Immediately, he was on his feet again. Sanada's surroundings shuddered around him as the building rumbled.
..
Yukimura smirked before directing his icy blue gaze to the mansion's owner, "Too close for comfort?"
Upon these words, the man motioned for one of the bodyguards to open the safe behind him.
"Sir," he swallowed, "It's empty."
The man whirled around and let out an angry exclamation, "Catch him!"
..
Sanada ducked under a dark stairwell and yanked a small envelope from inside his jacket. Thank God for Renji. He tore it open, dark eyes scanning over every word printed on the papers.
Daytime: Apartment
Renji continued to twist the knobs and flip the switches as fast as he could go. Even as he did so, he called over his shoulder to where Yagyuu stood waiting, "I won't be able to do it in time. Go wake Genichirou."
..
He darted into the bathroom where Sanada sat dozing in a chair. Apologies, fuku-buchou. Yagyuu raised a hand and slapped the larger man across the face.
Nighttime: Japanese Castle
Sanada was running up the main staircase, taking the steps two at a time when an unseen force hurled him over the banister. He cursed under his breath.
..
The man paused in his tracks and looked up in time to see the ceiling collapse.
Daytime: Apartment
He awoke with a gasp, hand coming up automatically to rub at his eyes. He glanced curiously at the tubes coming out of his arm.
..
Come on fuku-buchou. Yagyuu shook him, "He's not waking up, Yanagi-san!"
..
"Do it, Yagyuu," Renji began re-connecting some of the tubes. Suddenly, he felt the barrel of a gun at his temple. He glanced up, startled.
..
He put a finger to his lips when he made eye contact with the man at his bedside… or he assumed he made eye contact…
..
Yagyuu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and sighed. He took a step away from his former vice-captain and bowed slightly. The purple-haired man lifted the legs of the chair, sending it tipping into the bathtub.
Nighttime: Japanese Castle
Sanada scrambled to his feet and resumed running as the guards continued their chase. He struggled with the last sheet of paper. Atobe?
Daytime: Apartment
Yagyuu watched from a distance at the larger man's flailing limbs as he entered the water.
Nighttime: Japanese Castle
Water came pouring in from all directions. Bursting through the windows. Swirling around the base of the staircase.
Sanada soon found himself swamped, and struggling to stay afloat as the current spun him around and pulled him down.
Daytime: Apartment
He felt himself suffocating. He needed air. He was drowning. Sanada's hands clamped onto the sides of the bathtub. He gasped for air as his head broke the surface.
..
Yagyuu found himself being hurled against the wall, glasses knocked askew. He reached up and straightened them to see Sanada launching up out of the bathtub at the perpetrator.
..
Thank you for reading!