A/N: Words spoken in Sign Language will be written in bold letters!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

~~ A Stupid Misunderstanding ~~

~~ 8. March, Late Midday ~~

Ann waved and smiled at him, chuckled a bit. Nonetheless, as soon as her eyes landed on Kirihara, who was still waiting beside him and watched him, her smile left her face and the sparkling eyes filled with rage and narrowed dangerously. Her body began to shake, she frowned and glared at the little devil. Her hands moved hurriedly, so quickly and inaccurate that even Ryoma had problems reading the signs which her hands formed. "Don't get too close to him! Kirihara doesn't have the nickname Devil out of nothing. He likes to destroy his opponents, not only in a tennis match!"

...What?

The mute frowned. That truly did surprise him and he couldn't stop the confusion reaching his face. He didn't know how to react by hearing such harsh words from a stranger about another stranger. He couldn't even ask a question as Ann's hands moved once again in their fast rhythm. "You should avoid getting in contact with students from Rikkaidai. They will do anything to win, even hurting their opponents if it is needed."

Ann turned her head to the right and bent down to a guy who sat on the bench which Ryoma only noticed now. Ann glanced at the mute as if to tell him something important. Ryoma narrowed his eyes, watched the movements of the blond male, who stood up from the bench with wavering balance, with curiosity and Ann who help the blonde. The question on his tongue was swallowed down while his hands stopped in the middle of the beginning.

The male's face - a couple of years older than him with short blond hair - was pale, crutches steadied his right broken leg and a large plaster covered his whole left temple and only ended on the forehead above his bindi. There was also the rest of a black eye visible. He must have gotten into a horrible accident or into a very rough beating.

Ann's attention rested on the blonde completely till he could lean against the near wall and stayed steady on his own. Her eyes wandered from Ryoma to Kirihara and back to the blonde over and over again as if she tried to tell him what had happened. Her brown eyes were filled with so many emotions - rage, pity, hope, determination and sadness. But from all those emotions, guilt and the wish of being understood were the strongest to shine through. "Don't make the same mistake. Be careful around them. Our schools have a grudge against each other. Don't get in between the fights."

Ryoma frowned. Our schools? So she went to one of those three schools, too? It would be quite nice to have someone who would explain him some things without stomping on his nerves. The mute had noticed the rivalry between his and the other two schools. He had also heard from the fights on the school yard, even seen one. In most of his breaks - be it for lunch or for the change of rooms - he would always sleep on a tree, so nobody would bother him and could pull him into one of those fights.

Well, it had been like this in the first week. After that, Momoshiro seemed to know each of his hiding spots and would drag him out of them and pull him along to a silent place to eat lunch together with him and the jumpy redhead named Kikumaru. However, school fights weren't something new for him. He had seen it from other schools too. It had happened pretty often when he had visited and fetched Tsukiko from her school back in the States.

What did wonder him was the fact about the fighters. It were never two guys or girls from the same school, every time it were students from different schools - most likely from Rikkadai and Seigaku.

Ann spoke again with her hands. "I'm sure we'll see each other soon, Echizen Ryoma." Then she walked away with the blonde, left the tennis courts.

The mute could only nod before she walked out of the street tennis courts with the blonde beside her. Ryoma wasn't certain if it was right to trust her. It was hard to believe her words because the Seaweed-head, a.k.a. Kirihara, didn't look like this kind of person. He was stupid enough to mess up even the simplest English sentence and maybe he was a little aggressive too if something wasn't going his way but could he beat up another person so badly?

"Really?! Awesome!" Kirihara laughed, his face showed happiness and relief.

...What?

Ryoma's head snapped to Seaweed-head's direction, blinked in confusion. What was awesome? What had he missed?!

"Thanks so much! We should better hurry because it's a lot I have to do."

...What?!...

"You see, Kuro-sensei is really mean if it is about his English lessons. He has given me a mountain of questions which I need to answer. Well, now that you're helping me, I can relax." When had he agreed to Kirihara's plead? What had he missed?! "Well, it will be a little hard to understand you as you can't speak. Buchou told me about it and all my classmates are talking about you..."

The solution hit Ryoma hard and his mouth opened in horror at the revelation. Not every person was able to read and see sign language, and Kirihara seemed to be one of them. He had seen his nod as an agreement to his question and not to Ann's words. He groaned in his mind and wanted to slap his hand against his forehead.

Oh shit!

He had no chance to point out the mistake, the disagreement, as Kirihara grabbed his left wrist with his right hand and his tennis bag, which rested on the ground nearby, with the other. Seaweed-head dragged him behind him, walked past the crowd with quick steps all the while talking nonsense to the mute. Ryoma caught one last glimpse of his frowning and shocked captain - it was unbelievable that his captain was able to show any other expression than sternness - before Tezuka disappeared out of his sight because he turned around a corner, leaving the street tennis courts behind.

"...It will be awesome to watch Kuro-sensei's face when he sees my perfect homework!" Kirihara laughed, continued to drag him along and maneuvered both of them through the large crowd, bumping into other people from time to time. Even on a Sunday the streets were crowded and families with children stormed inside the family-restaurants to grab some late lunch. "Mura-buchou will be proud of me. Ne, I heard you're pretty good at tennis. Mura-buchou would like to play a match against you. Also my fuku-buchou has spoken about you. Both are great tennis players, the best players of the three schools. Probably even the best ones from the whole area!"

Ryoma knew that already. Yukimura, Sanada and even the Monkey King had asked him for a match. Just a little friendly game between them. However, he hadn't been in the mood to play. Even if they were so great players, his mind had been occupied by his thoughts about his past, about the nightmares - about Tsukiko.
Another person bumped into him and ripped him out of his thoughts. His right shoulder began to hurt from all the bumping into other people.

For the first time since he had gotten kidnapped, he let his view wander over the shops and other houses which crossed their way.

Somehow...

...everything...

...turned out to be quite familiar. The shop at the end of the street which they crossed, the old sign with an advertisement for bubble gum flavored toothpaste, the old and mostly empty restaurant at the beginning of the street, which they entered, and the row of houses on each side...

It was too familiar and it didn't take long for him to recognize the small old house at the near end of the street. A small house, a little bit ruined with an also small garden in the front.

It was his home...

... his home...

...Oh god, it really was his home!

Seaweed-head was also living here? Or was the idiot leading him to his home? If he did than Ryoma hoped his childish father wasn't there to embarrass him. How could he explain his old man's stupid behaviour? Maybe he should say that he was only a far, far distant relative and hadn't something in common with the old man in his house. Yeah... perhaps he should do so and beg that Seaweed-head was stupid enough and would buy this obvious lie. He was never good at lying. Somehow his face and body would exposed him each time.

To his relief or distress, Kirihara didn't stop at his house... No, the guy stopped right in front of the house next to his home. The familiar house from none other than Yukimura Seiichi. That would be the second last place where he wanted to be right now, right after his home near the telephone. Maybe Seaweed-head had just forgotten some books at the bluenette's house and wanted to get them?

His wish shattered as Kirihara pushed the bell, still holding his wrist tightly in his hand. They were studying here?

A knot build up in Ryoma's throat. This was definitely not the place where he wished to be right now. He didn't want to see or meet any familiar faces, nor did he want to talk to them. He wasn't in the mood to listen and answer questions through writing on paper. That was most likely what happened each time Yukimura crossed paths with him at school, on the street tennis court or sometimes also in front of his house.

Well, it had been three time in the last ten days but the three times were enough for him.

Those thin lips, the dark shoulder-long hair, the strong and piercing violet orbs - the bare thought about it let his cheek flush bright red. He didn't know why but he felt uncomfortable - strange - whenever the bluenette was around. Yukimura always stayed too close to him. Sanada Genichirou was the complete opposite from him. Whenever he was around their surroundings had a somewhat dark and pressured aura. That was even more uncomfortable and so Ryoma tried very hard not to cross their paths consciously.

Another reason for his action was the sight and guess which Ryoma got after their last encounter. Sanada's dark brown orbs wandered and rested on Yukimura none stop and all the time. There was a lingering and hidden plead behind the dark shell but the mute let it slip as it had nothing to do with him. Though, the strange feeling got worse because there was again another thing which he preferred to stay unknown to him. It was probably for the best not to know too much as he didn't want to get too close to them. He had done his best to ignore them all, including Fuji's visits.

The brunette was even worse than the bluenette as Fuji was in the same school and also in the same tennis club. Ryoma had paired up with Momoshiro whenever they should work out with a partner. He had walked a lot of inches before or behind Fuji when they were on their way home. He also acted as if he never heard the brunette's questions or words - simply ignoring him.

Apparently, the guy hadn't liked his presence being ignored by him so the little sadist had tried his very best to keep his attention. Fuji had even hit a tennis ball against his head with the excuse to have lost balance. The cat-like grin on his angelic face wasn't very agreeing with his words.

"Oh, Akaya." The main door opened and an older woman in her middle sixties greeted Seaweed-head with a smile. "Seiichi isn't home yet. I think-"

"I know. Buchou had offered me his room to study with my new tutor." Seaweed-head stepped aside and the older woman narrowed her eyes to focus on him, put her glasses, which hang on a thin chain around her neck, on her nose and looked at him from head to toe. Her smile appeared again and she laughed shyly. "A freshman being your tutor? My, you must be a very smart boy."

The woman stepped aside, welcomed the teenagers inside and shut the door as soon as they had stepped in. She turned to Ryoma once more, her violet orbs narrowed another time. "I don't mean to be impolite, but... you're the boy from the house next to us, aren't you?" Not understanding where this was going but having a guess, Ryoma nodded. She nodded too, more to herself than to him and then she began to stare at him, blinked with her eyes from time to time. It took her a while to remember her manners. "Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? I'm Seiichi's grandmother Yukimura Aya. It's a pleasure to meet you." She bowed down but not so low as to lose him out of sight.

Well, how should he react in such a situation? Something like this hadn't happened before. Usually, he would have gone away without even bothering to answer or to listen but the woman in front of him seemed to be nice - perhaps a little forgettable but still nice and gentle - so he decided to tell her his name in his language, of course. His hands move fluently and her eyes widen by the sight, her mouth slightly hanging open in confusion and surprise. "Oh, the rumor about you being mute is true. So you're the one Seiichi-"

"-Well... I think we should go and study before the time is over." Seaweed-head interrupted her hurriedly before she could end her sentence, pushed the mute forward and Ryoma was actually grateful for it. At least now the whole neighborhood would know the truth about him and wouldn't want to visit him or his father anymore.

Yukimura Aya could only nod, still a little too shocked to move or react differently. The two walked along a small corridor. A small table, a wooden chair and also a small wardrobe were the only furniture standing there because of the small size of the corridor. There wasn't any more room for something to add. Nonetheless, it didn't look crowded or overstuffed. It looked comfortable and had a certain style - not so Granny-like with flowers and such. No, everything was made out of dark wood and formed in a modern way. It was more the style suited for a young adult's taste. The walls were colored in a light green color, fitting to the furniture.

They entered the last door on the right side. Seaweed-head pulled his jacket off and threw it with his bag onto the bed, all the while opening the window. Ryoma scanned the room, pulled his own jacket off, nevertheless, he put it over the chair which stood close by. The room was bigger than his own with the window being opposite the door. On the right side of the window and in the right corner of the room stood a double bed, at the end of it was a large flower - a cacti? On the left side of the bed stood a little nightstand with a lamp in the form of an orb and also two books rested there on the lightly colored wooden furniture.

On the left side of the window stood the desk. It was the one where Ryoma had seen Seaweed-head studying a few days ago and practically the last ten days. Further left was a large bookshelf, filled with books, framed pictures and also a few small flowers. In the corner next to the bookshelf was a two-sized couch, colored in white like the walls. The room had a light atmosphere, the complete opposite from what Ryoma felt every time he met the bluenette.

"Alright, I'm ready." Kirihara sat on the chair at the desk, head bowed slightly over his note pad, ready to write down whatever his new tutor said. Ryoma had the strong urge to slap his forehead or even better, to slap Seaweed-head's forehead for being so dense. Had he already forgotten about him being mute? Oh man, how stupid was this guy?

Ryoma sighed, headed towards the desk while shaking his head and read the questions and tasks in the book which was spread across the desk. It were simple questions about a guy and his daily live which only needed to be answered with yes or no plus adding the reason behind it. He sighed once more. If it wouldn't be for the welcoming distraction from his scary thoughts, he would have run out long ago.

~~ 8. March, Early Afternoon ~~

The sun was already sinking and shone in the colors of red, pink and orange, showing a beautiful picture of the twilight. It was getting late. His father was probably worrying over him again, however, as long as he wasn't screaming outside for his lost son it would be alright to stay away from his home. Ryoma yawned anew for the nth time in the last couple of hours, leaned his head against the pillow on the bed and stretched his sore muscles. The scratching sounds remained as the only noises inside the room. Kirihara was still working on his homework and Ryoma had nothing else to do as to wait until he finished.

To say he was bored was an understatement. He had fallen asleep on the bed because there was only one chair in the room and his legs had started to itch from all the standing in the middle of their study-time while Kirihara did his homework. It had taken a lot of Ryoma's nerves not to rush out or jump out of the window. He was nearly at the end with his energy after all those endless explanations and misunderstandings.

Ryoma's eyes wandered over the room again. He had already taken everything under a closer look, especially the bookshelf had been interesting. Romans and Anthologies of Poems filled most of the bookshelf which had three case boards. A small glassy figure in the form of a building - a museum or something like that, Ryoma guessed - separated the Romans and the Poems on the first case board. A handful of small flowers were put randomly in there, too. It didn't surprise him as the whole bedroom was filled with all sorts of pot plants, some bigger and some smaller ones. It expressed a very tropical design and flair. So the bluenette liked flowers and plants? Was he maybe a gardener?

However, what fascinated him the most in the bookshelf were the pictures – three photos to be exact.

The first photo showed a younger version of Sanada with Yukimura beside him, both smiling with mouth and eyes, having an arm around each other's shoulders. The background showed a park and there was a little bit left of a picnic blanket under Sanada's crossed legs. The picture wouldn't have caught his interest if the ends of the photo wouldn't have been ripped off completely as if someone had done it on purpose to get rid of the people next and behind the two teens.

The person had done a miserable job though because there was still a torso and a pair of arms visible in between the two, also a hand on Yukimura's right shoulder - a third and maybe a fourth person had been on the photo once. Now their presences were shred off, left as a broken memory.

The second photo showed Sanada with Yukimura once more, both looking much younger than today just like in the first picture. The photo was a little bit more destroyed than the first one, not only at the ends but also in the middle were signs of destruction. Someone had ripped the once complete picture in two pieces, cut out the person or people in the centre of the photo and put the pieces back together. This time, the last bit of arms and hands were cut out, too. It looked strange and Ryoma asked himself why someone like Yukimura, who preferred perfection, would put something as incomplete as this in his bookshelf so openly. It was strange and didn't fit but... hey, it wasn't his matter to care for.

The last picture - safe of any harm - showed a kissing couple, an all too familiar one. The Monkey King and the bluenette, kissing deeply while smiling. The photographer of this picture was not the same person who had taken the other two pictures. The sun blinded out the entire right side, the background was blurry. The sight of two guys kissing was slowly but surely getting natural for him - so natural that it scared him.

Well, as long as they kept their hands and influence by themselves everything was alright. And as long as they played good tennis against him in the future, it would be even more alright for him.

The neighborhood was full with guys kissing each other and the parents seemed not to care or not to know about it. It was the second choice, Ryoma guessed. If he thought about it more deeply, Fuji's parents hadn't said anything when their son had kissed the Monkey King on the cheek in front of their eyes. They had ignored it and spoken to their son like nothing had happened. What would his father say or do if he did something like this?

Ryoma couldn't help but grin by the imagine of an shocked Nanjiroh, the porn-magazine falling out of the old man's hands, his eyes and mouth wide open. It was a funny picture.

"Finish!" Seaweed-head shouted and threw his body back against the backside of the chair, stretching his sore muscles. He yawned loudly, stood up from the chair and moved onto the bed, let himself fall down sluggishly beside the mute. "Your turn, Sensei." Ryoma nodded, headed over to the desk and began to correct the answers with a red pen.

Correct.

False.

False.

Correct.

False.

The sound of the main door opening reached his ears, followed by chattering people getting greet warmly by the old woman. The stairs creaked loudly by the many heavy steps and the door of the bedroom got opened before Ryoma could react. Yukimura, Sanada and Atobe entered the room, surprise and amusement were reflected in their faces.

"My grandmother told me that Akaya had brought someone with him but you were one of the last people who I had guessed to find here." He blinked, a little irritated at the snoring behind him and one quick glance told him that Akaya had fallen asleep. "Have you changed your mind about our offers?"