Title: His abusive past
By: Namikaze Naruto, tenma no ouji
Revised and Rewritten
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis does not belong to me...But I do own my OC's and the plot.
OC's: The three main OC's and their family who will play significant roles. They are Ryoma psuedo aunts, uncles and cousins.
Alexander James De Vera
(Nicknamed: Ace of Hearts )
Antonio De Vera, Mary Katherine De Vera (Alexander's parents), Sophie De Vera, Stephanie De Vera, Matthew De Vera Kory De Vera (Alexanders older siblings)
Elliot Sylvan Hawthorne
(Nicknamed: Ace of diamond)
Kyle Hawthorne, Veronica Hawthorne (Elliot's parents),Blaire Hawthorne, Blake Hawthorne, Kacy Hawthorne and Teresa Hawthorne (Elliot's older siblings)
Chroma Fain Cunningham
(Nicknamed:(Ace of clovers)
Nathaniel Cunningham, Mariah Cunningham (Chroma's parents), Alexis Cunningham, Danny Cunningham and Jesse Cunningham (Chroma's siblings)
-(Ryoma's nickname is the Ace of Spades-)
His abusive past:
A blast to his past
Curiosity was a major emotion the group was feeling; for almost a year now, since they met Ryoma, they had been interested in finding out the boys past and what happened to have caused him to become so detached from the world. Not only detached, it was like the younger boy would temporarily remove himself from reality and they knew whatever the cause, had to be something really psychologically damaging to have him reacting like he does.
"The story starts when he's four years old?" Fuji's blue eyes glittered with malicious intent. How could someone hurt a four year old, a baby practically. It was inhumane to do so.
His Abusive Past:
Flashback
Age 4
A young boy, about four years of age, sat stiffly against a wall; eyes rimmed red, and the tip of his nose being pink, it was obvious the boy had been crying and by how blood shot his eyes appeared, they could tell he had been doing so for a while now.
The sound of the door being opened caused the green tinted black haired boy to flinch, fear seized his body; wide eyes turned towards the door. Hoping and praying that it wouldn't be his attacker.
"Oi, seishounen, where are you?"
Ryoma looked up at hearing his fathers voice and made a move to stand, but stiffened when pain ripped through his small frame causing him to fall to the ground. Crying out in pain, Ryoma turned his eyes down towards his legs to see the numerous bruises and the swelling of his ankle.
Hearing the cry, Nanjirou dropped his briefcase and hurried into the house to see his son sitting flushed against the wall. face pale and eyes red. "Ryoma! What is it?" he asked kneeling beside his son and gently took the small ankle into his hand and examined it. "You seemed to have sprained it. How did you do this?"
Ryoma froze at that, "I tripped coming down the stairs, oyaji." he lied, hoping his father would buy it, after all kids tripped all the time, didn't they. He seen his several of his classmates trip over their own feet.
Nanjirou shook his head with a small smile, "Well be careful next time, seishounen, come on, I'll take you to the hospital to get this checked out and wrapped."
"Okay, oyaji.' whispered Ryoma as he wrapped his arms around his fathers neck as he lifted him over his shoulder and to his back – piggy back style – and proceeded towards his car.
"Hey, where is your mother, seishounen, wasn't she suppose to be watching you since the servants are on their day off?"
Ryoma tightened his hold on his dad, "I don't know where...okaa-san went." he replied. "She said she was going to get some milk."
Nanjirou hummed and gently sat Ryoma down in his booster seat, making sure the belt was secured before closing the doors and walking around the car to the driver side.
Ryoma
Age: 5
Ryoma feared these days the most.
The days the servants would leave for their two week break; his father was of the few good men who believed in treating their servants like they were actual people and deserved to have a short vacation at least every two months; but it was those days that Ryoma would come to fear the most.
Since the stairs incident, nothing drastic had happened and that could only be because his father was home on those days, opting to stay and work at home so he could spend more time with his son; and the only time he would leave the house was to head towards the office to pick up important papers or for a short meeting, in which he took Ryoma with him and he would spend time with the other kids that would be there; the kids who would become his closest friends.
Today would be different, not only were the servants gone but his father had just left for an important business trip and shouldn't be returning for at least a week, two at the most. Ryoma gripped the hem of his shirt, he was terrified to find what just what his mother would do to him now.
He knew his mother had been looking forward to this day the moment his father had mentioned being gone on the say the servants were going to be gone. The smile she had given him upon finding out she would have the house to herself along with him, had been frightening for sure, putting even a child worse fear to shame. Freddy Kruger had nothing on Echizen Rinko.
Hearing the soft click of heels against tiled floor caused the small boy to cower at the thought of what his 'mother' would do to him. She could make the torture last for the whole week his father would be gone, or make him suffer and kill him as soon as she was finished, today. So many choices and many possiblities.
And each one terrified him more then the last. Closing his eyes, he waited, there was nothing else he could do anyways. A burning sensation in the back of his eyes, the only indicator of how truly scared he was, but he refuse to cry, he wouldn't let this thing have that satisfaction.
The steps stopped and he feared to turn in the direction or to open his eyes. He didn't want to see just how close that woman was to him.
Pain. Unbearable pain gripped him, forcing his eyes open as his hair was yank, agonizingly so. Unbidden, a cry left his plump lips; eyes glistening with unshed tears. His hair was pulled viciously, forcing him on his hands and knees.
"It seems I finally have you alone, monster, how does it feel to be at my mercy, not like you will recieve any from me." A cold laugh escaped the woman's throat, "You deserve every ounce of this pain, brat, embrace it, this is pain only scratch the surface of the heartache I felt when my husband abandoned me in favor of you."
Ryoma whimpered at the pain, he would do anything to rid the hand gripping him. Raising his hand he dug is blunt nails into the womans hands, and like any other frighten feline would do, he began scratching at the pale appendage until she released his hair with a hiss.
"You bastard!" she yelled, kicking the five year old, "How dare you lay you filthy hands on me, you freak." She screamed back handing the cat-eyed boy.
Biting back the urge to cry, Ryoma lifted his head slightly, just in time to see a malevolent smile curl the ends of his mother's lips, her face darkening into a fierce scowl. "I've got all day to play with you thought, so let's start now."
Rinko slammed her legs into Ryoma's chest, causing the boy to tumble backwards, with a cry of pain. Brown eyes narrowed, a sneer marring her otherwise flawless face.
"You're gonna pay for the hell you've made me suffer through, you demon child. You took my husbands attention away from me. You were suppose to be the thing that made Nanjirou realize how much I meant to him, but instead he forgot about me and dotted on you. All his attention was for you and he forgot about me."
Her shrill screams pained Ryoma's ears, "I thought by having you everything would be perfect. I would have Nanjirou, my prospering career. Nanjirou, he would be a famous tennis player. And our child would be the best of the two of us. We were going to be the picture perfect family, the envy of all, everything was suppose to be great!" Rinko yelled as she reached over and grabbed her son by the throat and drew him closer to her face.
"But when he found out about you, he retired from tennis and got into the business world, made it big in a few short months. At first this was even better then the life I imagined for us, but it wasn't, Nanjirou would spent days to weeks away from home, leaving me to fend for myself and then when you were born, he spent half of his time at work and the other half with you. He left no time for me. Me, his wife, his soulmate, the love of his life."
With a scream of rage, she flew Ryoma away from her; and because of how small he was, he ended up skidding across the polish floor, to slam against the wall. "Between meetings, mergers, business parties, fundraisers and spending what little time wasn't occupied with his work, he spent it with you. He had no time left for me." Rinko stormed towards the cringing boy and picked him up, only to toss him to the other side of the room, "And it's all your fault, you little cretin."
Against what he stated earlier, Ryoma found it difficult to stop the cries that escaped when Rinko walked over and brutally kicked him over and over again. When the pain became to unbearable, the Gods finally decided to have mercy on him and he fell into the sweet oblivion known to many as unconsciousness.
xXx
He awoke up a few days later in the hospital surrounded by his father and his closest friends who became like family to him, laying beside him on the bed was three of his closest friends, all asleep.
Upon seeing him awake, Nanjirou hugged him, sobbing, telling him how he had returned early when he got a call saying he was in the hospital. When asked what had happened, Rinko told him someone had attacked Ryoma when he was out playing.
But the looks the three men shared, Ryoma knew they didn't believe what she said.
Ryoma
Age: 6
Ryoma watched in trepidation as his father stood up; it was that time of year again. Reaching over, he grab his father's jacket and handed to the older man.
With a smile, Nanjirou grabbed the coat and slipped it on, and kneeled so he was levelled with him. "I'll see you in a few days, seishounen, and when I come back, we can practice more on your building up your tennis skills, heh, I know how much you love playing." Nanjirou ruffled his son's hair, "Your just like me in that regard, seishounen!"
Ryoma smiled and nodded his head, "Okay, tou-san."
Nanjirou wrapped his arms around Ryoma and brought him close to his chest, placing a kiss on the small boy's forehead. "I love you Ryoma."
"I love you to tou-san."
Nanjirou smiled and picked up his briefcase and made a move to open the door, "I'll see you later Rinko-chan, take care of Ryoma and yourself. I'll be back in three days." He called out, leaning over to place a chaste kiss on his wife's cheek, "Love you."
Rinko smiled and returned the sentiment, eyes glinting at the many possible ways she could beat the hellspawn before Nanjirou returned.
Seeing his mothers expression, Ryoma flinched knowing it meant nothing good for him. Swallowing he mentally counted down the seconds till his father was gone and he was at the mercy of this wicked woman he was forced to call his mother.
Nanjirou patted his son's head one last time before making his way towards the door, twisting the knob, he opened the door, only to jerk backwards a gasp escaping his lips and eyes practically bulging, "Holy shit you bastards startled me." He called out, placing a hand against his chest, ignoring the snickering that was coming from his friends, "What brings the three of you here, We were going to meet at the airport, so why did you three decide to come to my house and partically give me an heart attack before our flight?"
Each of the men present were around the same age as Nanjirou. Antonio had short ruby red hair and forest green eyes, Nathaniel had, silvery-white hair and light gray eyes and the last one has blue hair with even darker blue eyes.
Antonio De Vera. the CEO of the De Vera company, which was in charge of several clothing stores around the world. Nathaniel Cunningham, CEO of Cunningham industry, he owned groups off banks and Kyle Hawthorne, CEO of Hawthorne global telecommunication.
The redhead, Antonio, walked forward, a broad grin covered his lips as he eyed the small boy, "Hey Ryoma, get over and give your uncle a hug."
Smiling, the golden eyed boy did as told and wrapped his arms around the redheads neck, "Hi uncle Toni." he chirped out, unaware of the intense look the redhead was shooting the woman leaning against the wall.
"Bonjour Nanjirou, il ya quelque chose que je dois vous demander"The white haired male, Nathaniel, stated with a smile as he watched Antonio tickle Ryoma with a fond expression.
(Hello Nanjirou, there is something I need to ask you.)
Nanjirou wrinkled his nose as he tried to decipher what was just said, his eye brow began twitching much to the white haired males amusement, "Pourquoi insistez-vous en parlant français, Nathaniel, tu sais que je peux à peine parler et encore moins de comprendre la langue." Nanjirou scratched the back of his head, "So what did you want to ask anyways?"
("Why do you insist on speaking French, Nathaniel, you know I can barely speak, much less understand the language.")
"Chroma wanted both Elliot and Ryoma to spend the night, tomorrow is he's birthday and he wanted to spend the whole day with them." Nathaniel smiled at the thought of his little boy, "Mariah is looking forward to it, she hasn't seen both Ryoma and Elliot for a while."
Nanjirou nodded his head, "Hey Ryoma." he called out immediatly gaining his son's attention, "Chroma wants you to spend the night at his house, do you wanna go?"
As soon as those words left his father's lips, the little boy was nodding his head in apparent happiness. Chroma had unknowingly rescued him from a week of torture. "Yes, I want to go." he replied.
Nanjirou grinned and faced his wife, "That's fine with you, right Rinko?"
"Yeah, sure." Rinko nodded her head, trying to hide the anger as she turned towards Ryoma, "Go get ready, so your father can drop you off at Chroma's."
With a nod of his head, Ryoma took off as soon as Antonio placed him on his feet. Unaware of the three pair of eyes that narrowed upon the woman. They knew something was wrong, especially by the way Ryoma reacted whenever in close contact with his mother. He was afraid, no not afraid, he was terrified of being in the same room as the woman. And it made them question all of the boys so called 'accidental injuries' or the excuse she had fed Nanjirou about Ryoma being bullied by some bigger kid, even though there was no such prove of that being true.
In no more then twenty minutes, Naruto was changed, packed and ready to leave. With a short, half-hearted goodbye to Rinko, the four men and the boy left the Echizen house and headed towards the Cunningham home to drop Ryoma off before heading towards the airport.
Ryoma knew though, the next time he was alone with his mother, might be the last time. She was sure to be pissed at the missed chance to torture him.
Ryoma:
Age 7
Takes place after chapter 2
Hospital scene
Tears fell, unabashed, from brown eyes as the figure sat hunched over in his seat, his elbows on his knees and fingers interlaced with his forehead resting on them. Silent prayers left his trembling lips. It had been about three hours since Ryoma had been brought in, the police had come and gone, yet no news about his beloved baby boy came.
The sound of rushed footsteps were heard, pounding against the floor and echoing around the small, silent room but not even that moved Nanjirou focus from the blinking red light above the ER door. He only removed his gaze when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him and a blonde woman was kneeling in front of him.
"Nanjirou!" Mariah cried out, "Comment est-il? Comment se fait-Ryoma?"
(How is he? How is Ryoma?")
Shaking his head, lips trembling, he looked downward. "I don't know. The doctors hasn't left the room yet." he whispered. "But..."
Three boys, replica's of their father, were guided towards seats and made to sit down. The redhead, Alexander, was seated in the middle of a blue haired boy, Elliot, and the white headed boy, Chroma and despite not knowing what was going on, they knew one thing; something was wrong with Ryoma, and that thought alone caused the redhead to break down while Chroma and Elliot tried to comfort him. Alexander had always been the most sensitive out of the group and so easily brought to tears, thus he was always being protected, emotionally, by the other three.
"But...but what, Nanjirou? And where is that bitch? I would love to have a 'talk' with her!" called Veronica, Elliot's mother and wife of Kyle, a scowl forming on her face at she thought of a woman. a mother, who'd hurt her own child, especially a child as sweet as Ryoma.
Nanjirou shook his head, "Before we even arrived at the hospital, Ryoma stopped breathing..." the older Echizen's breath caught in his throat at that word, he could hardly believe he had nearly, could still, lose his baby boy.
Shocked gasp and cries were heard upon hearing the news. The teenagers, sat down, not having the strength to stand any longer. Alexander hunched over at the news and continued to cry while chroma and Elliot wrapped their arms around their friend but this time they allowed tears to fall from there eyes at the news.
"They used the defibrillator on him..." Nanjirou's voice hitched in his throat, as his hands clenched into a fist. "I could do nothing but watch helplessly as they shocked him. His small body arching and falling back on the bed. So small and pale looking." Nanjirou broke down into sobs.
Antonio patted his best friends shoulder while Mary-Kate, Mother of Alexander and wife of Antonio, sat beside him along with Veronica as they tried to comfort the distraught man while Mariah comforted the three children.
"Is Ryoga returning?" asked Blaire, Elliot's older brother, as he glanced towards Nanjirou, eyes red and arms wrapped around his older sister who was crying against his chest.
Nsnjirou gave a short nod, "I called as soon as I arrived, he was able to get on the next available flight here, so he won't be arriving for another three hours, your younger brother's with him." came the hoarse reply.
xXx
Echizen Ryoga, first son to Echizen 'Samurai' Nanjirou and older half brother to Echizen Ryoma, currently thirteen years old; he is enrolled in an all boys school along with Blake Hawthorne, and aside from all that the older Echizen son was protective over his baby brother often calling him by the affectionately given nickname of chibisuke.
Ryoga came to live with Nanjirou when he was ten and Ryoma was five, a year later, Ryoga was accepted into a prestigious all boys school in Europe along with Blake, only coming home for holidays and breaks.
XxX
No one knew how long they sat there waiting for the doctors to come out of the room, to let them know that Ryoma was going to be alright, he had to be, Nanjirou just could comprehend a world without his youngest. This feeling of helplessness was killing him, eating at his insides, he could barely breathe.
The children were all fast asleep having cried themselves to exhaustion, not that he could blame them, if this had been any other circumstance he would have followed their example, but as it wasn't really the time for that, and not to mention he wouldn't be able to sleep even if he knew he should, but how could he when...he didn't dare continue.
"Oyaji!" a yell echoed in the silent room, causing all eyes in the waiting area to look towards the person responsible and was met with two young teens, the first had greenish-black hair and red eyes while the second had blue hair and bluish-green color eyes.
Nanjirou stood up, "Ryoga!"
Ryoga collided into his father, wrapping his arms around the older man, eyes red and puffy, "How is chibisuke? How is he?" he cried out, clutching at his father's shirt, "Is he alright?" tears were already filling his red eyes, lips quivering in fear. And Nanjirou could do nothing but hug his son tightly and whispered wnat he knew, then comfort his first born when he broke down.
Blake took a seat beside his mother, who turned and hugged him tightly. She would never understand how a woman, a mother, could harm her son so badly, and for so long. How could anyone be cruel enought to raise their hands against a child like Rinko had.
"Is Ryoma going to be alright?" Blake whispered, as he glanced towards his older siblings, his pseudo aunts, uncles, cousins and his younger brother Elliot; most of them was asleep and Blake would warrant a guess that it was due to exhausion.
Blair, Blake and Elliot's older brother, stood up, tired of the long wait, it was nearly eight hours and no one came to tell them anything. It was driving him, and everyone else, crazy. But before he could move towards the nurses station the red lights above the emergency door flashed off and the door opened to reveal a middle aged man, wearing a white lab coat, and held within his hand was a clipboard.
"Echizen Ryoma!" his announcement caused the entire group to sit up, the ones who were asleep were woken up by those who had been awake and now they all sat staring at the doctor.
Nanjirou stood up slowly, "I'm his father. How is he?" he whispered stiffly, his hand holding a trembling Ryoga in place, who inhaled sharply and appeared to have stopped breathing bur the reassuring squeeze against his arm caused Ryoga to exhale shakily.
The doctor sighed and lowered the clipboard as he glanced at the former tennis pro, "I will not lie to you, Echizen-san..." Deep intake of breath was heard around the group as each of them prepared for the worse, while Ryoga clenched his eyes closed. "Your son was in a really critical condition when he was brought in, evident of this was when he stopped breathing on the way over and not to mention we lost him several times during the operation, which is one of the reasons the surgery took as long as it did. Your son is a fighter." the doctor smiled, "He wants to live and he proved it by fighting against deaths icy grip, and it's quite an amazing feat especially for someone as young as him. He must have one very protective guardian angel watching out for him."
Nanjirou smiled at that, "So he's going to be alright?"
The doctor gave a small sigh, sometimes he really hated his job, why couldn't he be a teacher or something, glancing at the boys father, he tapped on the clipboard, "He's stablized, but he isn't out of the dark yet. We're keeping him under a twenty four hour watch, and if nothing drastic happens in those hours, then we can start breathing easier. Just gotta pray that his guardian angel will help pull him through the next twenty four hours.
?How badly did that bitch beat him?" Ryoga glanced at the doctor, red eyes darker then their normal shade, "How bad is he? Will there be any long term damages? Handicap? Anything?"
"Well he was beaten pretty badly." the doctor flipped over the paper to examine the injuries, "Two fractured ribs on either side, one of which nearly punctured a whole through his lungs. A lot of internal bleeding especially near the chest area, it was luck that none of those blows landed on his heart. His right wrist is sprained, but should heal fairly quickly; several bones in his left arm were broken and during one of his attacks, the attaker took great joy in dislocating his shoulder then relocating it, only to dislocated it again, by the severe brusing in that area." the doctor swallowed when he saw the murderous looks most of the waiting room occupants were waring, "His legs are broken as well but with therapy and rehabilitation, Ryoma should be fine, his still young so his bones will heal nicely, but those are the lease of our worries."
"What do you mean?" Veronica grasped her husband, "Are you saying it gets worse then everything you just said."
The doctor gave a small nod, "He suffered numerous blows to the head and this is the most serious of his injuries, but until he wakes up, we won't know the full extent, thus there isn't much we can do about it."
Light cries erupted from the females while the males looked upset by the news.
Ryoga tightened his hold on his father, "Can we visit him?"
"I will allow five people to see him at a time." responded the doctor.
"Than that is easy" spoke Nathaniel "It is obvious who the five are. Nanjirou, Ryoga, Alexander, Chroma and Elliot."
Mariah gave a nod of her head and gently woke the three boys, "Hey you want to go visit Ryoma with Nanjirou and Ryoga?" The answer was immediate as the three jumped to their feet, nodded, and ran towards Nanjirou and Ryoga so they could go and visit Ryoma.
Ryoma was comatose for two months before he awoke.
Ryoma:
Age: 8
Sitting up in bed, Ryoma stared out the window but turned his gaze towards the other side of the bed when a rustle was heard and couldn't but smile when he saw his three best friend sleeping in a dog pile. It had been like this since he awoke from his coma the year before.
"Ah, I see your awake. Do you want to take a walk to stretch out your legs, Ryoma?"
Turning his head towards the speaker, and nodded his head when he spotted his private physician, who was also his psuedo cousin, Blair and gave a slight nod, and slid out of his cover and the bed and wobbled slightly on unsteady legs.
Plscing a reassuring hand on the younger boys shoulder, Blair guided Ryoma towards the door for a morning excerise and smiled, "Your making good progress, Ryoma, soon you'll be able to walk around on your own with no assistance."
Ryoma smiled at that, "I can't wait." he whispered. He was tired of having to rely on other people for simple things, like walking. "I hate burdening you guys like this. You must have a lot of other things to do, then help someone like me."
Blair tighted his hold on the younger male, "Banish such thoughts ftom that pretty little head of yours Ryoma. Your not a burden to us, and we are helping you because we care about you. Whatever poison that woman fed you, I don't want you listening to it. They are lies. Understand Ryoma?"
Ryoma bit his bottom lip, before giving a slow nod of his head.
"Good, come on. We can stop by the cafe down the street for some breakfast."
Giving a smile at the older male, Ryoma nodded his head, "Okay."
For the rest of the year, it was dedicated to Ryoma seeing a thearapist and s psychiatrist to speak about what his mother done to him for however long he had been abused by her, and on top of that, he had rehab with Blair in the mornings and the afternoons.
Ryoma:
Age: 9
if there was ever a moment in his life that he was proud, it was watching his son overcome the biggest obstacles in his life. After everything his been throught, Nanjirou didn't know if his son would ever recover, but slowly and surely he was. And he could be anymore prouder then he was in this moment. Not to say he didn't have his moments, for he did, that was to be expected though, but he was pushing through it.
Despite the injury that could've ruined everything, Ryoma was recovering and after just finishing his rehab and getting the okay from the doctor, Ryoma was training once again. Light matches to get his arms and legs back into motion, and Nanjirou was happy to see that despite the handicap Ryoga was giving to his younger brother, Ryoma wasn't doing too badly, in fact, he was doing quite good. He give Ryoma a few more months before he'd be able to play his brother on even ground. Nanjirou's smiled widen as he watched Ryoma take a familiar stance and fired off a twist serve.
Ryoga laughed as he leaned backwards, away from the ball heading straight for his face. "Eh, chibisuke. You got really good. I can't believe you practically mastered that serve, and only in a few months too. Thats pretty scary, otouto." Grinning the older Echizen sibling walked over, tapping his racket on his shoulder. "The next time I'm home, we'll have another match, okay, chibisuke. By than I know you'll be stronger."
Ryoma gave a small smile towards his older brother and nodded his head. "Do you have to go, aniki?" a pout made it's way on the younger's face causing a his father to chortle and Ryoga couldn't help but grin as he patted his adorable brother on his head.
"Yep. Blake and I are leaving to the airport in a couple of hours." Ryoga sighed glancing at his brother, sometimes we wished he didn't have to go so far away, he was missing a lot of Ryoma's life. Coming home for breaks and vacation, didn't seem long enough.
He glanced towards the side and watched as Alex, Elliot and Chroma ran over, with the redhead wrapping his arms around Ryoma and began praising the shorter on a good game. Ryoga smiled and turned towards and older blue haired teen who came to stand beside him with a grin as he watched the four younger boys. "Don't you feel like your missing out on a lot."
Blake gave a nod of his head, "Yeah, everytime I get back, it seems Elliot is that much older and I know nothing about what's going on except for what is being written to me via letters and emails."
Ryoga nodded his head. "Hey, chibi-tachi, Oyaji told me that you four practically rule the primary school you attend. Is that true?" the older Echizen smirked while Elliot gave a brief nod, he heard about that as well and was curious.
The nickname Ryoga called them earned him annoyed and disgruntled looks from the four before Chroma nodded his head, "Yeah. We're acknowledged as, 'The Princes' while Alexander..." Chroma chuckled, Elliot and Ryoma smirked while Alex pouted. "Alex is nicknamed 'The Princess' for obvious reasons. And no it's not based on his looks or Ryoma would be given that title as well." at that Ryoma shot the white haired boy a glare, which he returned with a grin.
Ryoga and Blake blinked before laughter erupted from their lips, realization dawning upon them, "Yeah that title does suit Alex."
"Shut up Ryoga, you bloody prat!" spat Alexander as he stuck his tongue at the older Echizen who returned the action in kind.
Ryoma shook his head. "How mature, Ryoga, picking fights with someone five years your junior. Don't you feel mighty proud of yourself." he snorted.
"Oi, chibisuke, you little brat!"
"Mada mada dane, aniki!"
Nanjirou chortled at the scene.
Ryoma:
Age 1o
After three years they thought he was starting to get better. He was playing and running around like nothing had ever been wrong and he could play tennis for hours, beating most people who challenges him. He thought he was better, but he was wrong.
Sitting on a bench at a park, Nanjirou was going over some business papers along with Antonio, Kyle and Nathaniel while their youngest played amongest themselves. Alexander was kicking a ball around, Chroma was bouncing a basketball, Elliot was tossing a baseball up and down while Ryoma was a few feet away, hitting a ball against the wall.
Everything was going fine before a shadow fell over Ryoma startling him and causing him to whipe around, just in time to see a hand pass over his face, flashes of his mother filled his sight and he fell backwards, a scream pouring from his lips as he cowered beneath his arms.
Nanjirou bolted from his seat, head shooting towards his sons direction only to see his small form trembling, a surprised looking male standing in front of him. And he ran towards his son with Nathaniel, Kyle and Antonio at his heels.
Alexander, Elliot and Chroma were already there by the time the adults arrived, having ran towards him after hearing his scream. The redhead and while haired boys were kneeling on either side of the boy, whispering soothing words into his ears while the blunet stood in front of Ryoma, his face turned tpwards the stranger and eyes narrowed, "Who are you? What did you do to Ryoma?" he yelled.
Nanjirou, Antonio. Nathaniel and Kyle stood in front of the kids.
"I didn't do anything." replied the man standing up, having been hit in the back of the head by a soccer ball earlier. "I was going to tap him, to ask if he would want to play with me, but he turned so fast, and before I could react he had already fallen backwards and started to scream."
Nanjirou bit his bottom lip and nodded his head, "I see. Sorry about this. My son doesn't like strangers standing too close to him, don't worry about it." the ex tennis pro glanced towards his son. "Maybe you should find someone else tto play against."
The man knew something was wrong, by the way the boy reacted, it could only mean one thing. And he knew he was right. Being a therapist for children with similar problems, gave him an eye for that sort of thing. "I see. I do hope he gets better soon."
Nanjirou frowned, "Better?"
"I'm a therapist for children with similar problems, so I can spot abused children a mile away."
The man narrowed his eyes before nodding, I see, hm, I apologize." he responded "I should be going." the light brown haired male nodded his head. "If you ever need someone to talk to, come see me." reaching into his pocket, the blue eyed male grabbed a card and handed to Nanjirou. "I'll be in America for the whole year before I return home, so I'd like to help your son, he seems to beed the help."
"Thank-you." he glanced at Ryoma, "He has seen several people in the last several years. I thought he was finally starting to get better." he whispered.
The unknown therapist gave a nod, "It takes years and years for children to get overcome such a traumatic event and even then they'll never truly forget, it'll only be repressed until someone does something to reawake those feelings. and for him to still react so strongly, it must've been a recent thing."
Nanjirou nodded, "Three years." he watched as Nathaniel, Kyle and Antonio lead the four kids away, "He was being abused for so long, but I never had a clue as to who it was until three years ago." tears filled the brown eyes, "I couldn't believe I didn't figure it out, It was so obvious, the clues were there, I just couldn't connect it until it was too late."
"That's usually the case, especially if it had been a loved one. You never want to think ill of a precious person unless you have no chose but to do so."
Nanjirou sighed and glanced at the card. 'Fuji Sousuke' "Can we make an appointment for sometime next week, Fuji-san?"
The brown haired male nodded, with a smile, "Sure. I'll clear Thursday, how does that sound?" after agreeing with the date, the two parted ways, offering goodbyes and see you next week.
Ryoma:
Age 11
Getting tired of having his real emotions used against him, Ryoma mastered the art of hiding ones feelings by constructing a metaphoric mask, the only thing he would show would be everyone that wasn't family or friends is indifference and the occasional smirk. He didn't care if they thought he was cocky or arrogant, anything was better then them knowing how he really felt.
"Heh, it seems like your son has regained that lost confidence of his." Nathaniel smiled, "Seeing that Therapist, Fuji-san, was good for him, right."
Nanjirou smiled, "Yeah. It appears that Ryoma has taken after me a little too much, right." the former Samurai crossed his arms over his chest. "Should be interesting. I wonder how the world will react to two more Samurai's." he watched the double match going on in front of him. The Echizen brothers vs. some strangers. And the brothers were winning.
"Game, set and match, winner: The Echizen brothers!" announced Alexander with a grin. "Great job!" he cheered,
Ryoma and Ryoga smirked, the former tugged at his cap, "Mada mada dane!" one said, while the other followed with a "Mada mada daze!"
"Such a cocky boys you have Nanjirou!" commented Kyle crossing his arms with an affectionate smile tilting his lips.
Antonio smiled as Ryoma and Ryoga were swarmed by their friends, "With your youngest drastic change in personality, you wouldn't even know the kid had such a traumatic childhood."
Nanjirou grinned with a nod, "I'm glad he's starting to heal both physically and somewhat emotionally and psychologically." he crossed his arms, "He still gets up in the middle of the night in fear, thinking that bitch would come back and hurt him again, but aside from that, Fuji-san did a good job counseling him"
"Did you hear anything about her disappearance?" Mariah asked coming to a stop near her husband along with the rest of the females.
Nanjirou shook his head, "It's like she dropped off the face of the Earth." he replied with a deep frown, He wanted nothing more than to find that bitch and lock her up so she'd never be able to terrorize his son and Ryoma would be able ro rest easy knowing she'd never come back.
"That bitch will be back." scowled Veronica as she glared off into the distance "People like her, they always return. And since she blames Ryoma for your failing marriage..."
Mary-Kate nodded her head in agreement to what Veronica was saying before finishing the sentence. "She'll be back to hurt Ryoma again, or worse, kill him."
Nathaniel looked over at his best friend and shook his head, "She's right, Nanjirou." he said knowing what the Samurai was about to say, "People like her, they don't care abut restraining orders. No, she'll get someone else to grab Ryoma and once she has him, they'll be no telling what she'll do to him."
And Nanjirou couldn't do or say anything because he knew they were right, and that's what scared him the most.
Ryoma:
Age: 12
Before coming to Jaoan
Winning his fourth consecutive junior tennis title, Echizen Ryoma, adored by many and nicknamed the prince of tennis, stood in front of his friends. This will be the last time he'd see them until summer vacation; so a year. He was given the choice to attend the same boarding school as his brother or go to Japan and attend Seishun Gakuen; he chose the latter.
Alexander, Chroma and Elliot were all set to board their own flight, heading towards the boarding school in Europe. They were disappointed that Ryoma chose Japan, but they knew he wanted a change and Japan offered him that. And they hoped he finds some good friends there.
"Flight 106, New York to Europe, now boarding." a female's voice drawled which was followed by a male voice, "Flight 209, New York to Jaoan, now boarding."
The group of four shared a look, before Alexander and Chroma hugged Ryoma, wishing him well and a safe journet to Japan, after the two pulled away, Elliot pulled the younger into a hug. As they pulled away, the realization dawned.
This would be the first time since they all meant that they wouldn't be together. And that brought tears to Alexander's eyes as he was ushered away by his father, heading towatds the boarding area, while Ryoma walked with his own father.
His Abusive Past:
End Flashback
Age 12
Upon hearing their baby boys past, the group didn't know how to fill. Through out the story, some of them cried. others felt anger and sadness that Ryoma has to deal with something like that. Eiji was curled up against Oishi, eyes red and puffy from the hearing about the abuse his ochibi has to endure. Oishi and Taka looked as if they wanted nothing more then to faint, if it wasn't for the two people in their arms. Kaidoh looked upset. hissing and face contorted into a scowl, Momoshiro had his head tucked into his knees, while Taka patted his back. Inui just sat there, for once his notebook was closed and nowhere in sight.
Tezuka had his hands clenched tightly, his eyes narrowed dangerously. And Fuji was perhaps the most frightening of them all. His eyes were opened, showing the glinting blue which shone like burning inferno fueled by malice and it was directed towards the one woman who had the gall to harm someone like Ryoma. A child, who hid his innocence and kind nature behind an apathetic mask of cockiness and arrogance. She was lucky Ryoma didn't turn out to be some twisted psychotic freak.
As Nanjirou continued to speaking about the later years. From Ryoma waking from his two month coma to the classes he had to take. How Ryoma detested being around people and having contact with anyone, and if someone did touch him, he'd end up having a panic attack or breaking down into hysterics. Before he got so tired of crying and being weak that he forced himself to not think about it.
Nanjirou spoke about Ryoma's desire to learn to play tennis and how naturally talented he was, even though he was still recovering he was still able to give novices a run for their money, while injuries as he was.
The ex tennis pro spoke about the kind of trouble Ryoma and his three best friends would get into yet were never caught. And that brought several smiles and laughter from the group.
Something dawned to Fuji just then and it caused the tensai to glance towards Nanjirou, "Did you say, Fuji Sousuke?" he questioned, eyebrow raising, and upon getting a confused nod from Nanjirou, Fuji smiled widened, "That's my tou-san." he exclaimed, "So he was the one who helped Ryo-cham, which means Ryoma must've been the patient my father was talking about to my mother when he returned. He didn't say much, just that he was thankful that he didn't have to worry about people hurting his kids. When mother questioned him, he just said he has a patient whose mother was not parent material, and that was the end of that conversation. I never would've imagined, his patient would've been Ryoma, though."
"Wow, it's a small world after all." Nanjirou grinned, "Tell your father thanks for his excellent work." Fuji smiled and nodded his head. "But now that you know of Ryoma's past, I want you to promise me something."
The group gave a nod, waiting to hear what the older male would say.
"Promise me that you'll look after and protect Ryoma." Nanjirou's words caused the eight regulars to stare at him, each wearing an expression of utmost seriousness.
"Of course we'll look after and protect Ryoma Nan-ii-chan, you didn't need to even ask!" Eiji replied from his spot as he glanced at his ochibi. "But we'll make a promise anyways!" he added while the rest of the team nodded their heads in agreement.
Tezuka cleared his throat, confused as to why Nanjirou would ask them some thing like that, he already knew they'd protect Ryoma without having to be asked, but for him to actually say those words, something had to have happened and by how Ryoma reacted, he could warrant a guess, but he didn't wan't to assume, he wanted a positive confirmation, "Why did you have us make such a promise, Nanjirou?"
"She's back!" a the confused looks he was getting, Nanjirou glanced towards his son, Ryoma's mother..." clenching his fist, the ex pro turned towards his son's friends, "Rinko's back!"
Tsuzuku
(To be continued)
Tenma
