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

Disclaimer: Do not own anything.

~~ An Unexpected Visitor ~~

~~ 8. March, Early Afternoon ~~

His heart beat furiously in his chest, hammered hard and strong against it without any mercy. Ryoma thought it would burst out of his body any minute. He couldn't pull his eyes away from them, too surprised from their sudden appearance and too shocked to move any part of his sore muscles. The door closed again and the three teens entered room and divided. Sanada went over to his snoring kouhai, shook his head in disappointment while pressing his thumb and forefinger against the bridge of his nose. The holy rule in their tennis club was to never be careless. At least it was what Seaweed-head had written down onto each paper.

Monkey King on the other hand was looking through the bookshelf, his eyes focused on the picture which Ryoma had taken under a closer look only a couple of hours ago. The diva smiled and picked up the photo about him and his boyfriend. A smile played on his lips, his eyes grew tender. Ryoma had never thought the diva would be able to show such a gentle expression. It was a strange sight and the mute shook his head to shove it out of his mind.

In the meantime, Yukimura had approached him, his violet eyes wandered quickly to Seaweed-head and a flicker of amusement sparkled in his beautiful face before his eyes returned to him, watched him. "So? Why are you here?" The bluenette rose an eyebrow in question, bend his head slightly to the right in hope to get any kind of answer from him.

Ryoma shook his head absentmindedly, reminded himself to stop staring and tried to calm his heart to an healthy rhythm. He should leave, get out of here as soon as possible. He wasn't in the mood to talk, to see those people. His focus had been at ease when he had corrected those answers. Now that he had gotten interrupted the chaos was back again and so was the headache. He wanted to get out of here, so he grabbed a sheet of unwritten paper and wrote down his answer, lifted it for the bluenette to read it. Yukimura chuckled - the sound was beautiful - and read out loud after receiving a frown from Sanada and a lifted eyebrow from his obviously boyfriend. "Seaweed-head forced me to come." He paused and chuckled anew. "I see and... with Seaweed-head you mean… Akaya?"

The mute shrugged, not being able to reply in any other way. His throat was still dry, his heart skipping a beat from time to time. What was wrong with him? Or with his body? Maybe it was because of his inexperience in handling other people? He hadn't had many chances in his past to do that. Well, he wasn't really interested in other people's life though. Ryoma swallowed, turned around once more and continued to correct the answers.

False

Right

False

False

...

...

...

Argh! His concentration was long gone. The three, especially Yukimura, were making it hard for him to focus, even on the simplest English phrase. He already read the last sentence of the last answer twice. Now he read it a third time. Nevertheless, nothing of it was sinking in his head. Ryoma read the words without understanding a single thing of it.

It was frustrating.

It was useless to continue like this. He needed to focus, damn it!
He wouldn't be able to focus as long as they were here, so close to him. He wanted them to go away, wanted to get out of here but it was against his personality to plainly leave. It would look stupid and embarrassing. Furthermore, Ryoma always tried to keep his promises, the hidden challenges, even if they were made due to a misunderstanding. He would finish to correct those sentences and leave, quickly and without a glance backward. Yeah, that sounded like a pretty good plan. He just needed to pull himself together!

His confidence burst into thousand pieces when a rustling sound from the right startled him and made him flinch. The heat was rising in his cheeks. Since when was he so jumpy?

A blazer got laid onto the desk next to him, a tie joined the blazer soon. Yukimura bent down and a warm breath caressed his neck and left ear. It gave him a shiver which he couldn't suppress. Goose bumps spread all over his skin. What was that?

Strange.

Definitely strange!

"A mute is teaching another person English?" Yukimura was so close, too close for him to be able to think straight or give the bluenette any kind of answer. Why was he reacting like this? It hadn't happened before. Never. He had always felt comfortable with Kevin around him. Well, he hadn't had much contact to other people than Kevin. Having a private tutor all the time and only one friend... Surely everybody felt like this after being isolated for so long and meeting all of a sudden some strangers. It certainly was only the nervousness about having strangers around him. Ryoma couldn't think of an other solution for his very out of character behavior.

The bluenette leaned even closer, forced him to smell his scent. Oh, and how good Yukimura smelled...

...like... vanilla ice cream... and cinnamon...

...like a dessert... a delicious...Stop!

What the hell was he thinking?

He needed to change the topic, thinking about something else.

Why did he felt like he had already been in such a situation?
Right, the position there were in... it was back then...

The beautiful bluenette was in the same position like the first time Ryoma had seen him from his own room, teaching Seaweed-head here on this desk. The same position, only with a different person sitting here. He was here instead of Seaweed-head and he was not being taught. The mute remembered the moment of water dripping down from this dark hair, streaming southwards along his skin...

...No, no, no, no! Bad Ryoma! Wrong things to think about!
What the hell was wrong with him? Better to stop right there. Now wasn't the moment to think so perverted and especially not about his neighbor. Good god, he was already turning into a pervert, just like his clumsy and lousy father!

How much more could he sink down?

No more such thoughts! He scolded himself, shook his head and closed his eyes for a brief second, allowed himself to clear his mind and concentrate anew.

Why was everything so complicated? He had already a headache from all the thinking... from all the memories about his friend, his family, his past life, the accident and his cousin...

...his dear cousin...

...his hurt cousin...

...his pitiful cousin...

...his scary cousin...

...his lovely cousin...

...his only cousin, who was left, was the most important person for him. He couldn't allow himself to forget her, to hide from her, even if he wanted to. Her voice, her cries, it all would haunt him in his dreams and every time he closed his eyes. Ryoma wouldn't be able to stay sane. He could never leave or push her away, even if he wasn't ready to face her, yet.

With this in mind, he breathed in and out several times, put the paper back onto the desk and wrote down another answer in Japanese, ignored the scent of something sweet and flowery. It was hard and he needed all his will to breathe in and out through the mouth and not the nose. Ryoma held the paper up again and it got pulled out of his hands quickly.

"Mute, not deaf or dense." The diva read out loud and smirked. Ryoma jolted up for the second time since the three had entered, turned his head to the left and stared straight into Monkey King's face which was barely an inch away from his. When had the diva moved here? Since when was he standing there? The mute hadn't noted it, had been too deep in his thoughts. "Oshitari and Yanagi told us about your large knowledge of languages. However, it seems you haven't learned some Japanese Kanjis yet."

Monkey King took the red pen out of his left hand, taking him by surprise, and wrote something above his words. "It's written with this Kana."

...What?

Ryoma blinked, frowned, blinked again and glared at Monkey King in disbelief and insult. Was he kidding him? Atobe smirked proudly, flipped a stray of his hair over his shoulder and meant so full of himself: "What is it, brat? Ore-sama just wanted to help you." The guy was mocking him for sure. The self-confident smirk said it all.

At least Sanada's appearance and movements didn't go unnoticed by him. The older male approached them and stopped behind him and on Yukimura's right side, lifted the corrected sheets of paper of Seaweed-head's homework. Yukimura straightened up, gave Ryoma enough space to allow him to breathe with his nose once more. Nonetheless, Yukimura's hands rested on the backside of the chair, touched his shoulders lightly. Ryoma scooped forward, avoided the confusing contact. It felt strange, gentle and he had a feeling of wanting to have more of it... definitely strange and abnormal! He started to put his supplies back into his bag as soon as he had finished to correct the last sentence.

Yukimura talked to Sanada in a hushed voice. "There are quite a lot mistakes but the result is better than after my teaching, much better." Just as Ryoma wanted to stand up and leave, the bluenette leaned down another time and blocked his way, turned his attention back to him while putting the paper back onto the desk and pointing at it. "How did you manage to make him remember all those rules of grammar? He had never remembered any of it when I had taught him."

Ryoma swallowed, feeling uncomfortable with his emotions driving rollercoaster. The scent returned. All he could do was shrug with his shoulders. His heart returned to its old harsh beating self, his feelings changing in seconds. It was driving him crazy. It was time to go, leave this place hurriedly. His body and his strange behavior were driving him nuts! What the hell was wrong with him?

"I can't believe it. Whatever you've done, you should repeat it the next time."

The words were only slowly sinking in. Next time? Oh no, he wouldn't. There wouldn't be another time. All he wanted to do was lying in his bed, curled up with Karupin in his arm. Sleeping wouldn't be so bad either. He hadn't gotten much sleep for the last few days. Nightmares had haunted him down, shook him awake in the middle of the night at several times.

He stood up, ignored the surprised gasp of Yukimura, picked up his bag and went over to the closed door, ready to burst out of the room. It would have worked so fine if Sanada wouldn't have grabbed his wrist to hold him in place. "You haven't given us any reply about our offers. Have your team mates told you something about us? Is it their fault that you don't want to play a match against any of us? It's Tezuka, isn't it?"

He groaned in his mind, glared into dark brown eyes which pierced back unconsciously. Couldn't they leave him alone? He had no nerve to discuss anything at the moment! Ann's voice echoed in his head, too. Reminded him of the troubling and mysterious rumor about Yukimura and his team mates being rude and brutal to anyone who challenged them.

Ryoma narrowed his eyes even more, intensified his piercing glare. He wouldn't show them any weakness. Instead, he answered in sign language. "Not today."

Sanada was confused, frowned and searched for help by his best friend who had no idea either. Ryoma smirked by the sight of their clueless faces, used the chance of confusion to slip past Sanada and through the door. Right when he wanted to close the door, somebody laughed and spoke. "Then, when will it be?"

Huh?

Ryoma blinked, frowned, glanced over his shoulder with narrowed eyes, searched for the one who had surprisingly understood him. His view paused by the smirking diva. "Ah, are you awed by Ore-sama's great presence?" Atobe stood beside the other two, his right hand rested on his right hip, the other stroke some loosen strand of hair out of his face and played with it. "You're not the only one who can speak sign language, brat. Ore-sama can do it, too."

The mute snorted and spoke before he disappeared through the door, closed it behind himself. "Whatever."

Seiichi turned around, glanced at his boyfriend with frowning eyes. "Kei, since when are you able to understand sign language?"

"Well, Ore-sama still has his little secrets." Keigo flipped his short hair back, laughed. Something about those words scared the bluenette. He knew his boyfriend had secrets, more than one. Hidden emotions and actions going on behind his back and Seiichi was everything else than pleased by it. He had tried to find out but never managed to reveal a single secret. His boyfriend knew him too well and knew how to hide things from him.

"He has just learned it. I saw him studying in the library the last couple of days."

"You visit Rikkaidai's library to study sign language?"

"Actually, I was in the library in Hyotei." Seiichi blinked at his lover, then turned his head to his best friend, narrowed his violet eyes.

"What's the meaning of this, Genichirou? Why were you at Hyotei?"

"Nothing." His best friend stared at him with his dark brown eyes, they were now nearly black, had darkened. It was one thing which fascinated the bluenette immensely about his dear friend. Sanada was most liked as emotional as a stone from the outside, nevertheless, Seiichi was able to look through it, saw the inner turmoil through the different colors in his friend's eyes.

He would let the answer slip for now, but he would demand the truth one way or another. His eyes wandered back to his boyfriend. "Why have you bothered to study sign language out of the blue? You have never been interested in it before."

"I can't let a good challenge slid aside." Keigo turned on his heels, watched outside the window. "I have seen him play before only once. It was a match between him and Momoshiro Takeshi from Seigaku. He was good, really good, and he hadn't even played seriously. You should have seen him." The voice grew quieter with each word, awe poured out of every single words. Still, there needed to be more. Kei wasn't so easy to impress, not even by a very good tennis player.

"That's not everything on your mind, right?"

"No." The diva paused, remained by the window. Seiichi faced his boyfriend, stood beside him and watched him from the left, waited for the rest of the reply. "Don't you think it's funny? Such a good player but only one article and nothing else about him. Oshitari, Yanagi, even Ore-sama himself hasn't found anything about him. No school registration, no article about his private life or something else. Nothing. As if he doesn't even exist. There was only one single article which had written about him and that was only because he had beaten some senior in a tennis tournament in the States. But beside that... nothing, none."

Keigo leaned against his shoulder, laid an arm around his waist - a gesture to find steadiness. "By simply being mute... it shouldn't stop him from playing tennis officially." The couple kissed. The door of the room opened and shut down with a loud bang. Sanada went outside.

A little earlier.

Ryoma was starving. Had his father managed to cook something eatable? He hoped so; his stomach wouldn't take another wave of nausea well.

"Oh, leaving already?" The old woman watched him with kind eyes, smiled at him. "Won't you stay for dinner? I've made Seiichi's favorite food - grilled fish with vegetable and rice." He shook his head in a friendly way, declined her offer. All he wanted was to get out of here as soon as possible. This place made something with him, changed and turned him into another person... He needed to get out... Changes were never good.

Ryoma reached out his hand for her to grab and shake it. However, she only stared at it for a second as if she didn't know what to do with it. Right... what had Yukimura told him once: Bowing to say hello and goodbye instead of shaking hands. So the mute bowed down slightly and left.

The first deep breath was cold but loosened the knot in his throat and calmed his hammering heart. Sometimes, the temperature turned below °C over night, just like tonight. The mute shivered from the sudden coldness around him and wanted to pull his jacket up, only to notice it not on his body. Ryoma groaned mentally, wanted to slap himself on his forehead.

He had been in such a hurry to escape those three that he had totally forgotten his blazer on the bluenette's chair. He was such an idiot!
Ryoma stopped in his movement, standing in front of his house. Should he go back and fetch it?

... No, better not. He would get it tomorrow when the bluenette wasn't home, hopefully. His hand rested already on the doorknob as a voice from behind let him pause.

"Hey!" It was a very familiar voice though he had never heard it being in such a rage that it gave him a chill. He was already inside his house with his left food standing on the door sill. One more step and he could shove the door right in his followers face.

Shit!

Too late.

Icy blue eyes opened and glared at him, then to Yukimura's house and back to him. "What were you doing there? Kunimitsu is searching for you since hours!" Fuji grabbed his right upper arm, pulled him away from his home and to the opposite house – Fuji's home. All hairs stood straight in his neck. No, he didn't want to go there either! "You should stay away from Yukimura and his followers. They like to destroy the people around them."

Wait! Where had he heard those words once before? He was sure someone had told him something similar to this not so long ago. A face of a cute girl entered his mind. The girl who spoke sign language. Ann. Wasn't that her name?

Yeah! Ann had told him the exact same thing.

Fuji wanted to shove him inside the warm house but something was blocking the way and jumped at the mute. "Ochibi!" Something heavy tackled him and he stumbled backward, bumped into Fuji unconsciously. There was simply one person he could think of who would react like this. Kikumaru Eiji. Even though he had barely made any contact with his classmates or even his team mates, hardly ever communicated with them, they were strangely coming back to him every freaking time. Ryoma wasn't sure how to feel or react about it, nor did he know how to handle such a situation.

"We were searching for you the whole day! Where have you been?"

Fuji sounded as if he was scolding him and it pissed him off. He narrowed his eyes, wanted to glare when the words sunk in. They? Had his captain called the others? The brunette must have read his mind. "Tezuka told us that Kirihara had taken and dragged you away from the street tennis courts. To see you here, coming out of Yukimura's house from all houses you could have gone in." Two pairs of eyes watched him carefully. "What were you doing up there all along?"

He shrugged with his shoulders. Why was everyone saying the bluenette and his friends were a gang who had fun to hurt other people? Yukimura seemed to be nice and looked like a girl. Even his voice was too smooth and high for a normal guy.

Voice….

Ryoma liked the bluenette's voice. It was soothing to listen to it. How he would sound if he sung? No... bad thought! Very bad...

"Echizen!" The door of the house now opposite of them opened and out rushed Sanada with a black jacket in his left hand. "You have forgotten your jacket. It must have slipped under the bed."

Well…. The disbelieving expressions on his team mates' faces were great and hilarious. Though, he didn't understand what they thought or why the redhead's face turned bright red with the mouth open and closing quite a few times. "Ochibi!" Fuji, too, seemed to be at a loss of words.

At first, Sanada was stunned as well by the shriek but he got the control over his face soon enough, showing his calm and stoic self. There was a certain sparkle in Sanada's eyes which Ryoma did not like to see. He couldn't react because the movement came too fast. A hand petted his hair and wandered southwards along his cheek, resting there for a split second. "Think about my offer, okay? See you tomorrow in school."

The redhead sent another shriek out of his throat and turned as red as a cherry. His skin had now the same color as his hair.

Sanada bowed, turned around and left them behind. Just when Fuji wanted to say something, a soft voice interrupted him and froze every cell in Ryoma's body. "Ryoma?"