I know the last chapter was confusing, but Ryoma was busy getting the living shit beaten out of him and Ryoga/Fuji had no clue what was going on. Now, I got some 'splainin to do.

Here We Go Again

Chapter Fifteen: I Will Always Protect You

"… Will he be alright?"

Oishi's nervous question echoed through the waiting room outside Ward 17. The members of Seishun Kokou's tennis club were scattered around the room, not making a sound.

"We'll find out when Kaa-san and oyaji get back with Murasaki-sensei…" muttered Ryoga from where he sat, hunched over clasped hands. Why hadn't he been allowed into his little brother's room? He'd been there for the entire thrice-damned incident, and he was Ryoma's family, too.

Just then, there was a soft creak and swishing sound as the door to Ryoma's hospital room opened. Rinko and Nanjiroh Echizen stepped outside, looking stricken. Mrs. Echizen had tears streaming freely down her face. A sturdily built man with square glasses and salt-and-pepper hair – Murasaki-sensei – followed them out.

Nine pairs of eyes snapped up to the trio, dreading what Ryoma's mother would be crying for. "Well?" snapped Kevin touchily. He hated being in suspense, especially in such a dire situation. Murasaki-sensei cleared his throat awkwardly. "We've stabilized Echizen-san, and have the details regarding his condition, but you may not like it."

~X~

Fuji Syuusuke was not one to let things throw him. Anything and everything thrown at him was taken into stride, most likely with a serene smile. This was, therefore, completely unknown territory to him. He felt helpless, furious, worried, slightly panicked, and above all, wracked with guilt.

'If only… if only… if only…'

Dozens of alternate scenarios ran through his mind. All of those that didn't end with Ryoma in a hospital bed began with him not letting his Ryoma go to get the water on his own, not to mention waiting so long for his return. In short, everything was his fault.

He'd been numb through the paramedics ushering him and Ryoga into the ambulance with Ryoma, through the unconscious teen being given an oxygen mask, temporary bandages, and saline drip, through arriving at the hospital. In fact, he'd only snapped out of his self-loathing stupor when the hospital staff had begun to cart Ryoma off on a gurney. Only when he'd been assured that they were just going to treat the various cuts and bruises mottling the boy's porcelain skin did the brunet sink into a chair (the same chair which he was currently occupying).

The prodigy had sat staring at the floor, completely oblivious to his housemates' eventual arrival as he thought over what had happened and why it was all his fault.

When Murasaki-sensei had reentered the room from speaking privately with Ryoma's parents, his eyes had zoomed up to the man's face along with everyone else's.

"We've stabilized Echizen-san, and have the details regarding his condition, but you may not like it." Fuji honestly doubted he would've particularly liked anything the good doctor had to say at the moment, and as such barely managed to contain a snort of derision.

"Other than the severe bruising that's virtually covering him, there's a relatively shallow cut across his chest. We stitched it up, and with luck, it'll eventually heal without a scar. He did lose quite a bit of blood, though, so we were forced to give him a transfusion. Also, he sustained a very small amount of internal bleeding, which we managed to find and patch up," continued Murasaki.

"Is that why he coughed up blood earlier?" interjected Fuji, speaking for the first time in at least forty-five minutes.

"Yes. Well, that and-"

"And?"

"And, it seems when he was pinned by the neck, his attackers managed to do more than bruise it and cut off his airway." Seishun's tensai definitely didn't like where this was going…

"There's severe internal damage to his larynx," stated the doctor in a slightly apologetic tone.

"Larynx? As in…" Momo spoke up from where he leaned against a wall, sounding afraid to finish the sentence.

"His voice box," clarified Fuji, feeling his stomach plummet. If Ryoma's voice box was badly damaged, then that would mean…

"I'm sorry to say, but Echizen-san most likely won't be able to speak again. If he's lucky – and he may be, a person's youth in and of itself can do wonders in the healing process – he might be able to speak in two or three months. Even then, though, he'll never be able to speak much without the risk losing his voice forever."

Silence fell over the room like an oppressive storm cloud. Rinko's tears suddenly made much more sense. Their baby, their rookie, their Pillar, he'd lost his voice to some sore losers with a grudge. Even if he did get it back, there would be limits on him- him, the boy who hated limits so much.

"Fuji, Ryoga, Kid Captain." Echizen Nanjiroh's voice called the team out of their grim thoughts. "You three know who did this?"

"Aa," confirmed Tezuka, arms crossed and face unwaveringly blank. "I spoke to one of them after Ryoma had been brought here, and Nishi's father had apparently paid them to do it."

"Che." Fuji almost laughed at how ridiculous the situation was. His Ryo-chan had been beaten, injured, and nearly violated because some bastard had paid some thugs to do what they'd do free of charge. "Probably didn't take much cash."

"How'd he even find out that Ochibi was the reason he was fired?" As Kikumaru posed the question, he brought his head up from where he'd buried it in Oishi's chest.

Mr. Echizen was looking more frustrated by the second. "I don't know, but we'll find out during the lawsuit."

"Anata!" exclaimed Rinko. "You're planning to sue?"

"Of course I am, we know who did it and I'm not letting the son of a bitch get away with it! Hell, you can represent us, me, whatever, in court!"

The man's wife pursed her lips, furrowing her brow in concentration. While it was against her largely gentle nature to react so strongly, her little boy had been hurt – badly – and it would be all too easy to put away the man responsible. However, she wasn't sure that she was allowed to represent her own husband, especially in a case concerning her own son. While the brunette didn't think there was any rule against it, her boss may not let her take part in a case so close to the heart. 'Worth a shot…'

Looking up, she nodded at her husband slowly. "I'll agree to press charges, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to be your lawyer. Why don't we go get some coffee downstairs and talk about it?"

Seeing his wife's logic, Samurai Nanjiroh nodded back, his face dead serious for once. "Aa. Let's go."

The couple left the waiting room, already deep in conversation. Now, only the seven Regulars, Kevin, and Ryoga remained. The latter cleared his throat, grabbing Murasaki-sensei's attention. "Can we go see him now?"

The man nodded sympathetically, stepping out of their way. "Please be quiet, though. We don't want him waking before he's ready to."

Mumbling their assent, the tennis team entered the small room en masse. Several of those who had yet to see the damage hissed at Ryoma's current state.

The fragile looking teen was tucked into the hospital bed, dressed in pale green pajamas with his hair splayed on the pillows behind him. His right sleeve was rolled up so that a single intravenous tube could be attached to his arm, which was covered in a gruesome rainbow of bruised skin. Ryoma's face was unnaturally pale, and his brows were knitted slightly from a nightmare. No few flinches were drawn from the sight of clean white bandages covering almost all of the boy's neck.

Ryoga approached his little brother's bedside, looking confused, worried, and angry all at once. Chibisuke wasn't supposed to be like this; Chibisuke was supposed to be spunky, active, and fun to irritate. The man hated seeing his brother like this, so broken and in pain.

Fuji sat down in one of the chairs next to Ryoma's bed, interlocking his fingers and resting his chin on them. It was all his fault; why couldn't he do anything to help his precious person? He hadn't been able to save Ryoma until it was too late, and now all he could do was think and stare uselessly. Tensai indeed.

Kevin stared at his long-time rival and best friend. He still couldn't believe this had happened. Sure, Ryoma got picked up by the collar a lot, or almost smacked around, but it was always almost. Somehow, the teen's calm, cocky demeanor had always made him seem untouchable.

Kikumaru nuzzled his head back into his boyfriend's neck. Poor lovable, huggable, adorable little Ochibi… He'd never done anything to deserve this.

Oishi patted the redhead's back soothingly, attempting to calm the teen down. He'd always worried about his team's safety, and now, for this to happen to someone so close to their collective hearts…

Inui sat silently, gazing steadily at the small high schooler in the bed across from him. His green notebook lay off to the side, totally forgotten. 'Who knew we all relied on you so much, Echizen.'

Momo pressed his eyes closed, face buried in both hands. To see the little brat he recognized as one of his closest friends in such a state just hurt too much.

Tezuka leaned against a wall, arms crossed. Though he wasn't even close to wearing his heart on his sleeve, that didn't mean he was unfeeling. For example, at the moment, he was angry, worried, and slightly gloomy at seeing his Pillar and valued teammate like this.

Kaidoh sat in one corner, seething quietly. The same people that had gotten him and Momoshiri kicked off the team had done this to his junior. They were going to pay, no ifs ands or buts.

~X~

Nothing made sense; there was just pain. Someone was hurting him, but he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't run, fight, or speak. He couldn't even retreat into the recesses of his mind. Everything was red. It was not a warm, comforting hue, but a violent, bloody veil that draped over the world. Malicious laughter flickered at the edge of his hearing, but so did- "Fujiko… hungry, nya." What? He knew that voice, right? Now, everything was rapidly turning black, all the red, all the pain, all the cruel laughter. All faded away…

Everything was numb, and he couldn't move an inch. On the other hand, considering the situation he remembered passing out to, this was a vast improvement. A soft, melodic voice drifted in and out of his consciousness, slowly rousing him.

"You… ahead… I… watch him… a while." A few mumbled agreements and thanks could be heard, followed by several pairs of feet shuffling against tile. In a few short moments, all his sharp ears could pick up were annoying, regular beeps that probably came from a machine and one person other than himself breathing quietly.

Fighting the way his eyelids seemed to be glued closed, he slowly pushed them open. Everything was fuzzy, though… Maybe if he blinked a few times?

Deciding it was too much effort, he settled for the blurry pictures he was receiving. It was only then that he noticed the feather-light grip on his left hand. Ugh. Who was touching him? His sleepy mind seemed to connect physical contact with pain…

He needed to find out who was holding on to his hand, then. Trying once more, he fluttered his eyelids, willing his vision to sharpen.

"Ryoma?" A surprised feminine voice that he knew (or he thought so, at the very least) broke the silence.

Wait. He was Ryoma. Echizen Ryoma. The gears in his head began turning quicker. Where was he? There was a lot of white, the disgusting smell of antiseptic, and an unnaturally quiet atmosphere. A hospital. Fun.

"Ryoma, you're awake!" The voice spoke again, sounding immensely relieved. That was Fuji-senpai's voice, but Fuji-senpai called him by a pet name. Well, that wasn't 100% true, as he'd used 'Ryoma' a few times when serious.

"Fuji-senpai?" No, that wasn't right. Ryoma knew he'd moved his lips, but no sound had come out. What in the…? Frowning slightly, he tried again. 'Fuji-senpai.' Still nothing.

Fuji's face slowly came into focus, open eyes looking relieved, sad, angry, and extremely guilty. Why? "Ryoma, what do you remember?"

What indeed… There had been something about pain, and Nishi… Nishi!

Everything came back in a flash, and almost all of the (now that he thought about it, probably drug-induced) daze clouding his mind disappeared. Ryoma's golden eyes widened slowly.

"As I feared. Well, I'm not going to go over what you already know, then," muttered the brunet at his bedside. "All you need to know is that we found you and took care of the people hurting you. They damaged your throat, though, so…" The look of guilt marring Fuji's delicate features had changed to one of anger and hatred.

His throat? Reaching up to his neck (which hurt like hell) with one weak, trembling arm, his fingers found the unmistakable feel of bandages. That was why he couldn't talk? He was mute, stuck in his own head? Reaching into his rarely used supply of cuss words, the tennis star thought the one phrase that came to mind: 'Well fuck.'

"I'm so sorry. This is utterly my fault, Ryoma. If I hadn't let you get those water bottles on your own, then Nishi and his damn friends might not have-" A tug on his sleeve, so feeble it was almost pitiful, stopped the teen's bitter rant.

Ryoma stared up at him with intrigued golden-brown eyes. Moving his lips with forced precision, the dark haired boy mouthed the words: 'Why are you so mad?'

Fuji's look of fury almost (almost) disappeared. He'd seen the look in Ryoma's eyes when the conclusion that he was mute had been reached, but here was the same boy, not a minute later, trying to cope and find a way around the problem. "Because they hurt you. I'll never forgive them for that."

The small teen's brow creased. He began moving his arm as if to tug Fuji's sleeve again or something of the like, but dropped the limb with a flinch and tiny hiss of pain. 'I can't move,' he mouthed.

The hatred in Seishun's genius's eyes burned brighter, though it was almost immediately replaced by remorse, sorrow, and extreme pain. "I'm so, so sorry. Please forgive me. I promise, no one will ever hurt you again; I won't let anyone touch you."

Ryoma parted his lips as if to question the statement, but stopped at the new addition to Fuji's cerulean eyes. This was a dream. This was a trick of the light. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real, because no matter what, no matter when, Fuji Syuusuke did not tear up.

Yet, there was no other way to describe the moisture that just barely avoided spilling out of the prodigy's eyes, giving the blue pools yet another layer of color. "I promise to you," he whispered, planting one arm on each side of Ryoma's head and staring the boy straight in the eye from where he hovered, not a foot away. "I promise to you, Ryoma, that I will always protect you."

The startled boy barely had time to register the brunet's warm breath, smelling slightly of mint and rosemary, dancing across his skin. Before he could even blink at the older teen's promise and proximity, a pair of warm lips were pressed against his own.

The world froze, and Ryoma's eyes shot wide open. Is this why I never looked twice at girls? I'd just thought I was just asexual, but maybe I was wrong. Am I gay? Moreover, am I gay for Fuji-senpai? It makes sense, now that I think about it. I don't mind Fuji-senpai being around, sometimes I even like it, and only an idiot would say he isn't attractive. And then there's this kiss…

As his thoughts snapped back to the matter at hand, (questions on his orientation already answered and forgotten) Ryoma began to register how… good it felt. Closing his eyes and trying to calm the faint pink he knew would be dusting his cheekbones, the younger of the two focused on the kiss. Fuji was being gentle, ever so softly nipping at his bottom lip and silently asking for the teen to open his mouth. As soon as he complied, the brunet's tongue slipped inside Ryoma's mouth, bringing a sensation of warmth with it. Fuji tasted clean, like fresh mint, spring wind, all things sweet and crisp. Even with the tender way his senpai was handling him, the embrace was laced with pure, raw passion.

Soon, he found himself kissing back, savoring the feeling of Fuji's mouth on his own, the warmth spreading through his weak body, the gentle tickle of soft brown locks brushing his face. Knowing he may never be able to express his acceptance verbally, the younger of them strove to put as much unprocessed emotion into the exchange as he could. …I suppose I could get used to this.

All too fast, Fuji broke off the embrace, pulling back just and inch so that their breath still mixed and tickled each other's faces. Despite his huge disappointment at the kiss ending, Ryoma found himself smiling slightly.

Fuji's nimble fingers traced up his neck, weighing less than a butterfly might. Drawing a light loop around Ryoma's tattoo and coming back around to caress the younger teen's jaw line, the brunet whispered softly, "Echizen Ryoma, I love you, and I swear that I will always protect you."

*Elbowing you playfully* Huh, HUHHHH? Makes up for last chapter, doesn't it? Do we all see what I meant when I said I'd have to beat Ryoma into submission, children?