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

Disclaimer: Do not own anything.

~~ The Love Of A Family ~~

~~ 8. March, Late Afternoon ~~

"My boy, do you know how late it is?! Your father is worried sick and so am I! You didn't leave a note, neither did you tell your father where you have been the last couple of hours!" Ryoma turned around by the scolding tone in his mother's voice. His mother was just like usual dressed in a white blouse with a peach-colored skirt which ended shortly under her knees. Her dark brown hair was open and waved over her shoulders. She looked completely the same like the last time he had seen her. "I hope you have an explanation for your misbehaviour! Only a few days with your father alone in a new country and gone are your manners! Do you know how worried I was, Ryoma?"

Said teen flinched and glanced at his mother with apologizing eyes. The fine color of pink spread over his cheeks. Did his mother need to greet him in such a way in front of his friends? How embarrassing!

How long has it been that he had heard or seen her? Too long, his stomach proved it. Hopefully, she would stay longer and cook him something eatable. His eyes felt all of a sudden tight and burnt as tears dared to well up and stream out of his golden orbs. No, he wouldn't allow that, not in front of those people and especially not in front of Fuji! Who knew what the sadistic tensai would do with such information?!

Probably blackmailing him like he had done it a few times by his team mates. Poor Kaidoh, poor Momoshiro and... no, Horio deserved it! The guy had at least shut his mouth for an hour after being blackmailed. For what exactly the three had been blackmailed was unclear for him, however, he had no doubt it had something to do with the certain evil gleam in Fuji's eyes. It had appeared a few days ago in those blue orbs when he had declined one of Fuji's offers to play a match or simply hang out together - being friends as the brunette had called it.

"Oh, you must be my son's friends. Thanks for taking such a good care of him." Ryoma snorted which went unnoticed by his mother but not by the others. His mother's voice softened as she moved forward, stopped on his right side and bowed to his team mates in a polite greeting. "I hope he doesn't give you too much trouble. He can be such a stubborn child sometimes. He is usually a very kind person." Her hand rested on his shoulders, kept him place.

Oh, please. Dear god, no...

All Ryoma wanted was to get inside his house and shut himself in his room, calming his crazy and hazy mind. The confrontation with Yukimura, Sanada and Monkey King had been enough for the rest of the week. He didn't need a friendly mother who tried to find out how he behaved in the time where she hadn't been there to watch him. Both of his parents were so overprotective and embarrassing, Ryoma couldn't say which one of them was the worst...

It was sometimes nice to know that his family was worried about him but it was also annoying the crap out of him whenever his parents acted like Rinko did right now. He was old enough to take care of himself - he had survive nearly three week alone in a foreign country with a tensai sitting on his neck and a strange but beautiful neighbor who gave him a racing heart. If that wasn't proof enough for his independency, then what should he do to prove it?

He was nearly sixteen and other teens in his age were allowed to go outside till 10pm. His parents went crazy when he dared to come home after 8pm. And if he dared to come home ten minutes too late... Oh dear, he could remember the fiasco a few days ago when his old man had picked him up at Monkey King's mansion...

An icy shiver crept up his spine by the bare memory. That had been embarrassing!

His lovely mother was sometimes like this too, like every other mother. Well, she was usually somehow different from other mothers. Echizen Rinko was a very elegant woman but she was also a workaholic and so had only limited time for him. And there was the problem: Being apart from her son for so long was driving her a little bit nuts and all her worries gathered up till she met him again and exploded from it. Just like now.

"No, he is a big help in our tennis team. I'm sure he will be a regular as soon as the next ranking tournament takes place." The mute jolted up, startled by the sound of Tezuka's voice appearing so suddenly from out of nowhere. Where had he come from? "My name is Tezuka Kunimitsu. I'm the captain of the tennis club which Ryoma joined and also a friend of his."

Ryoma blinked, stared at his captain in confusion. Was it out of politeness or the truth? The part about beings friends was new to him. Since when were they friends? He didn't know Tezuka or his other team mates so well. He was always standing offside, never chatted or talked in any way with them, not more than needed. Or he would act as if he listened but didn't really do so.

"That's good to hear. You must know, my dear son had never gone to a normal public school. We had him being taught by a private tutor until recently. I was afraid he wouldn't fit in, not only because of his loss of voice but also because we forgot to enlighten him about the manners and rules here in Japan. But I'm happy that he has made friends so quickly." His mother looked at him, smiling her bright smile. She was happy for him and for herself as many of her worries hadn't come true. "Why don't you come inside and I'll cook something delicious while you tell me about yourself and my son?"

WHAT?

NO!?

Was she kidding him? She couldn't just...

"We would be happy to do so. Thanks for the invitation." The gleam in Fuji's eyes reinforced. Ryoma saw it before the blue orbs closed anew and the face turned into the angelic-facade which the brunette wore all the time. A chill rushed over his whole body, shook him violently. "Echizen hasn't told us much about himself. We would be happy to know more about him. Sadly, I can't understand Sign Language but there was always something to write down nearby which he could have grabbed. Nevertheless, he didn't answer any of my questions so far. It's such a pity."

There it was again! The fake smile of gentleness and politeness. Fuji was twisting his mother around his slender little finger! "Yes, that sounds pretty much like my son. I'm sure he didn't mean to be mean. He is still a little unsocial and young. Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Echizen Rinko." And she went straight into the tensai's trap! Didn't she notice the evil gleam in those blue orbs?

"Yay! Going to Ochibi's house! I have never been inside Ochibi's house before, nya!" Oh right, the redhead was still there, standing with them.

"Saa, Eiji, haven't you forgotten something important?" Fuji viewed - it could nearly go through as glaring - at his best friend, his smile was so angel-like it was everything else than true. It was more of a threat than a kind remembrance.

"Huh?!"

"..." The view turned now into a glare, piercing and warning at the same time.

"Ah, Fujiko, you're right! I promised Oishi to call and visit him after we have found Ochibi. He surely is waiting for me at home and worrying!" Was there a sweat drop running down the redhead's temple? "So, bye bye. See you tomorrow on the camping trip, Ochibi! It was nice to meet you Ochibi's mother."

Camping... trip... With whom?... When... Huh?!

"The pleasure is all mine." Rinko bowed and bid goodbye to the running (away) teen. "So, shall we? Your father is probably stomping around in the house, worrying over you." His mother smiled and went ahead into the house, waving the three teens inside before she disappeared out of sight.

"Saa, let's go, Echizen. We don't want your parents keep worrying, do we?" Fuji grabbed his wrist and dragged him forward straight into his house. He had no chance to resist, the grip was too strong. And so was the grip on his shoulder from Tezuka who pushed him forward and helped his friend to walk him into the house. They reached the door sooner than Ryoma could think of a good excuse for them to not come inside with him. Having dinner, such fine dinner... it would be ruined for him to enjoy it if the tensai was sitting on the very table with him, watching his every move and asking his mother the question which he hadn't replied to.

"Ryoma!" His father was immediately by his side, scanning him from head to toe. His expression changed from being worried, to frightened, to relief and stopped by being angry. "Brat! Don't scare your old man like this ever again! Your wild cat is scratching the hell out of me because you didn't come home right in time!"

Ryoma understood the meaning behind those funny words - not only his father but also his cat had he made worried badly and he felt sorry for it. Playing with someone's feelings wasn't something he did or enjoyed. He had suffered from it himself, so why should he cause other people the same pain he needed to endure? That was only cruel.

His father hugged him tight before letting go and noticing the two guest behind them. The old pervert grinned and nodded in Fuji's direction, having dirty thought once more. "Be nice, Ryoma. A girl is as delicate as a flower."

"Nanjiroh!" Said man flinched and returned to the kitchen where a great smell streamed out. His mother's cooking, so delicious and good. Ryoma ignored his father's perverted comments and grinned, today would be no-stomach-ache day. How would his father react if he knew Fuji wasn't a girl but a guy?

"How about we go into your room and you explain us what you have been doing in Yukimura's room all the time while we searched for you?" He got pushed forward again with Tezuka leading the way and opening the door to his room, entering first. The door was shut as soon as the three of them were inside. "So, tel-"

"-Hush, Syusuke." Fuji and also Ryoma viewed at the other brunette who held his index finger over his closed lips. The other hand pointed at Ryoma's bed where his cat was sleeping. And not only his cat...

There on the bed rested a beauty with long black hair which fell all over the pillow, spread out like the sun or a sparkling star. Her lips were full and pale, so was her skin. Her eyelashes were long too, though, not as long as Ryoma's. She clung to something which looked like Ryoma's pillow while Karupin purred under her arms as she lied in an embryo-like position with her hands resting in front of her chest. She was stunning but in a way quite ordinary.

Ryoma could feel the tremble, the horror and the delight flush over him in strong waves of coldness and heat. She was here...

She had come here to him...

Tsukiko rested there in his bed, sleeping so tightly like she used to whenever he was around. He understood her behaviour, her way of thinking and feeling. Sometimes he wished he didn't, so it wouldn't cause him such a turmoil with himself. How should he react? Run away? Stay calm and wake her up? Let her sleep and come back later when she was awake? Hide?

His body shook violently and his face was probably showing too many emotions at once so his team mates didn't know what he was feeling and how to react. It would explain why nobody of those two said anything, asked anything but simply stared between him and the sleeping Tsukiko, his precious and beloved cousin.

Ryoma didn't know either how to react, what to do. Why hadn't his father or mother told him? Why hadn't they warned him, told him she was here, waiting for him?

"Meow...meow meow..." Karupin woke up, sensing his master and stretched his body before he walked up to him, purring confidently and allowing Ryoma to pet him.

Ryoma jolted up and out of his stare, glancing down to find his cat pacing through his legs and begging for attention. He wanted to but couldn't, his heart was beating so fast, hammering so loud and painfully in his chest, he couldn't move his hands, nor his legs. His smooth breathing turned into deep, short and sluggish breathes. It hurt to breathe.

"Echizen?" Whose voice was it? He had no idea and it didn't matter to him. Everything around him was unimportant. Nonetheless, the voice shook his legs awake, gave him strength to move to the bed and pause right in front of it. He ran his hand gently along her hair, caressed it softly. It felt like silk, so light and smooth.

Tsukiko.

He repeated the movement but got no reaction. His cousin had always a deep sleep, even deeper than his own. Nearly nothing could wake her up, only two methods were able to wake her up. One would be to shove a bucket filled with cold water over the head, the other...

Ryoma knelt with one knee on the bed, hovered sideway over her with his face facing her face from the right side. He lowered his upper torso, stopped only mere inches above her face and kissed her right cheek gently, rubbing his nose against her temple. He hushed without a sound her name.

Her eyes jumped open immediately, her face turned in his direction and her eyes were filled with dread and grief. She had had a nightmare just now, Ryoma could tell by her pale face, the tear tracks on her cheeks and the teary eyes. "Ryoma? Ryoma! Ryoma! You're here with me!"

Her voice was high, excitement and joy poured out of every spoken word. "I was so lonely, you never replied to any of my letters, emails and calls. Why haven't you answered? Have you forgotten me?! How can you forget me. I'm your sister! Ryoma!? I'm your family! You can't leave me alone! Don't leave, please!"

Sister?

So she was there once more. She wasn't completely awake yet.

Tsukiko cried, sat up abruptly and jumped in his arms. Ryoma was not only startled by the sudden tight embrace, but also by the kiss all over his face, one was even placed on his lips. He hated it... always... every time it happened but he couldn't stop her... he was all she had... and she was all he had...

The little rest of the once so big and beautiful family which they once had been. He could bear these kisses if it meant to stay by her side and keep her away at the same time. He was torn up between those two sides, never had he thought about deciding for only one side. It would kill one of them and neither of them wanted to have blood stained hands.

He stood up with her in his arms, caressed her hair carefully and formed the magic words with his lips, not speaking but moving his lips as if he would. He closed his eyes, counted mentally down from ten to zero and waited for his cousin to wake up entirely from her slumber. Her breath evened and her hands didn't clung to him so desperately anymore. She moved a bit, gave him enough room to take a few steps backwards and lean sideway against the open window.

"I'm sorry, Ryoma. I had a nightmare again." She was a handful of inches taller than him, her body filled with female curves. Her face flushed when she noted the two young men standing in the middle of the room, gazing at them. She straightened her hair and sunflower-covered summer dress and whispered to him: "W-Who are these people, Ryoma?"

"I joined the tennis club not long ago and they are my upperclassmen and team mates. Be careful of the smaller brunette. He is strange."

"He is quite beautiful for a male. Just like you." Ryoma glared at her for the last comment, glanced quickly to Fuji to see if he had understood anything of their conversation. Thankfully, he hadn't. "Mhm... It smells great! Aunt Rinko is showing her great cooking skills!" She chuckled with her hand covering her lips. "I'll help. A young woman needs to be able to cook for her husband." Her glance wandered up to Tezuka, lingered there for a moment. Said brunette lifted only an eyebrow and angled his head an inch to the left, questioning her words and the meaning behind it.

Fuji on the other hand understood her last statement and smirked with open eyes. His blue orbs met Tsukiko's green ones as they stared at one another. Fuji's smirk widen even more when he saw the change of expression and attitude as he leaned against Tezuka, interlocked their fingers with each other and kissed his boyfriend on his lips. It surprised Ryoma that Tezuka was actually reacting to the kiss, not pushing the other guy away in surprise or shock. No, his captain reacted not in the slightest like the mute had guessed or could have imagined. Tezuka deepened the kiss, pushed his tongue past his boyfriend's lips and inside his mouth, receiving a light moan from it.

It was the perfect picture of two lovers making out. Tsukiko's eyes widen and Ryoma couldn't tell from what emotions exactly as he, himself, had trouble looking away and not gaping at them too intensely. He had seen those two so many times together, holding hands and kissing but it had never been right in front of him, except the one time where Fuji had kissed the Monkey King...

Wait... Fuji had kissed... two guys...

So the brunette was two timing?

Or was it just a greeting between Monkey King and the tensai?

Argh...It didn't matter! As long as they continued to play good tennis.

The lovers separated, passion was clearly visible in their hazy orbs. "I'll help aunt Rinko with the cooking." Tsukiko sprinted out with a beet-red face. She covered her eyes with her right hand, not daring to look those two gay teens in the eyes out of embarrassment. She had just flirted with one of them, damn it!

"Well, at least I made clear what is mine." Fuji grinned, closed his piercing eyes anew and laughed. "That was your sister? She was... nice."

Ryoma understood the pause between the brunette's words. He had no clue either how to describe his cousin. "No, she is my cousin." His team mates looked at each other in question, neither understood him. The mute sighed, viewed outside the open window and froze for the second time today.

Oh, no...

Since when...

Please, no...

His heart was skipping a beat. He would get a heart attack if all those situations wouldn't stop appearing. He couldn't believe it!

There at the other side of the window stood Yukimura, Sanada and Monkey King, obviously eavesdropping. And their expressions told him that they had understood more than they should have for Ryoma's liking.

Questions... he could see them written all over their faces. Yukimura frowned and so did Sanada. Merely Money King had narrowed eyes, weighed the situation. Ryoma hated people who butt into his business. If they dared to ask, to demand answer to their questions he would...

He would so...

Well, what exactly would he do?

Never had anyone bothered before to ask questions about him and his cousin. No one beside his family.

Ryoma wanted to ignore them, nonetheless, he had no chance to do so because Fuji and Tezuka had approached him, seen their eavesdroppers and the glaring contest between the two tensais began. To Ryoama's surprise it was now Tezuka and Sanada too, though, their contest was more of an I-am-so-much-less-emotional-and-like-a-stone-like-you contest.

Round 2, fight!

He shrugged, shook his head in annoyance and left the room, not wanting to get another headache and trying to calm his poor heart. Today was one hell of a day and it was still going as the dinner with his two team mates would be a disaster. Ryoma had no doubt.