Let the Bloodbath Begin!
A/N: Well, here's the third chapter. Not much to say this time. Sorry it took so long to come out. By this time, I do hope you know the drill. Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out; I was obsessed with Super Smash Bros Brawl for awhile. xD;;; Heh heh… Also, I was and still am, obsessed with the fabulous DBSK. :D Any good songs from them for me? Besides Mirotic, Purple Line, and Bolero that is.
To the world, you are one person, but to one person, you are the world.- Fanfiction writer
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis characters or anything else having to do with it. However, I do own my OC's, Kurai and Kara and this AU.
Warnings: More character deaths and other pairings. Consider yourself warned. The pairings are Dirty Pair, MizukiXYuuta, ShiraishiXChitose, KenyaXZaizen, Emerald Pair (InuiXKaidoh), Kinky Pair (YanagiXKirihara), AtsushiXRyouXSaeki, KajimotoXWakato, Tanaka twincest, Platinum Pair, Sweet Pair (MaruiXJirou), and KiteXRinXKai, to name most of them.
*This*- indicates location and time.
This indicates flashbacks and thoughts.
"This" indicates speaking over a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.
Story Begin~
*The Next Day from where we left off- Japan, 4:00 AM*
"Atobe mansion's butler speaking. How may I help you?"
"…"
"Ah, I see. I'll send you up on line 3."
"…"
"You're very welcome, madam."
The butler to Atobe's mansion hung up. About to return to his duties, he vaguely wondered why the young woman on the other end sounded like she had a cold.
"Fuji Syuusuke speaking."
"Syuusuke."
"Nee-san! What a surprise!"
"Syuusuke, what I am about to tell you, you need to prepare yourself for it."
Another voice was heard over the phone, causing Fuji's eyes to widen considerably.
"Nee-san, it's better if I tell him myself."
"Are you sure, Yuuta?"
"Ah."
"Yuuta! How have you been?"
"Nii-san, Mizuki is dead."
The important three words took a while to register in Fuji's brain. Then it struck with the full force of a bullet train. Fuji was speechless. When he was younger, he knew he shunned Mizuki for hurting his little brother. Even now, he did that too, but less, since he knew how to deal with it like an adult. Also, the little fact that he was Yuuta's lover played into it as well. Fuji knew that he was Yuuta's world and Yuuta would be devastated if something happened to Mizuki. So Fuji kept himself… civilized, as much as he possibly could be. Which saying, isn't a lot. Fuji didn't even know if he could forgive Mizuki in death, for hurting his little brother in the most grievous way. A choked sob broke him out of his thoughts.
"Yuuta!"
Sounds of pounding footsteps and the distinctive slam of a door as well as the faint click of a lock informed Fuji of where his little brother went.
"Sis, I'm heading over to New York today. I'm going to visit you no matter what you say. No buts."
"Syuusuke," he heard her sigh, "I hope you'll do a better job of cheering him up than I could do. He won't open up to me and today, I was woken up by him screaming and thrashing around, with him looking as pale as a sheet. When I asked him about it, he refused to say anything about it."
"Don't worry Sis." It was spoken in barely a whisper.
"Take care of yourself, Syuusuke." Click.
Fuji hung up his own phone, troubled. A soothing hand started massaging his shoulders and he leaned slightly into the taller frame.
"How long have you been listening?"
"Since the beginning."
Tezuka had never seen Fuji look as delicate as he did now. He almost wanted to ravage the boy right there and then, but looking at the situation, that would not be the best solution. He whispered in Fuji's ear. "Syuusuke, no matter what you're deciding, we'll all support you to the end of it."
Fuji's eyes closed, "Thank you, Kuni."
Morning dawned in a few hours to find a bleary-eyed Fuji, who was having troubles staying awake. The same might have been said for Tezuka, although one could not tell due to the fact that he hid it well. All in all, to complete this picture was a strangely-exuberant Atobe, who barely hid his glee in being off to New York and an exasperated, yet amused, Sanada.
"Keigo, you're strangely cheerful for just recovering from collapsing."
Atobe hummed, content with not answering. He was in one of those moods. Tezuka sighed; he could feel a headache coming up. Not to mention that it would get worse when Fuji fully awoke and teamed up with the Atobe in the strange mood to do something even more drastic. He shared a look with Sanada, it was going to be a long flight to New York. Maybe even fatal. At least, it would cheer Fuji up, if only slightly.
*New York (8 hours later) 6:00 AM*
"Famous people found dead, STYX involve-"
Click.
"STYX's new reign will revolutionize the world-"
Click.
"New sovereignty of fear from STYX frightens masses-"
Click.
"The panicking public starts taking sides about STYX's new reign of terror-"
Click.
The lone figure on the couch covered their mouth in a yawn. They grumbled about how their favorite cartoons were canceled due to the breaking news about STYX. His reaction was surprising compared to the general public's; most were freaking out about this and taking extra security measures in fear they would be the next victim. The mocha-colored coffee table in front of the cream colored sofas was littered with newspapers that stated the same things as the news on TV did, if not worded differently and in large, bold print.
"Kevin, breakfast time." A slight figure leaned against the doorframe, beckoning him toward the dining room.
The said figure yawned again and made a move to get up from the sofa, failing miserably. He growled and threw the remote down, before finally making his way up from the couch and stumbling into the other room.
"The zombie lives, just in time for a Japanese style breakfast today."
Kurai greeted him in the kitchen, apron and all. Kevin quirked an eyebrow at this.
"I hope I don't get food poisoning from you."
Kurai snorted. "Kara's cooking, not me. You fail to remember clearly that I cannot cook in any way to save my life. Yes, I admit it."
They sat themselves around the cozy, little glass table that they dined on. Being served their respective breakfasts, they quickly dug in and voiced their approval for a nice, homemade meal. They could not believe they survived this entire time on takeout.
"So, I appreciate the thanks, but, who's going to be our target today?"
Kara leaned on the back of the chair with her forearms, annoying Ryoma, who was sitting in it. But still, Ryoma promptly retrieved the abused list of people from the floor. Black lines criss-crossed the otherwise immaculate sheet of paper. Names were written on by a third party, the font curling elegantly all over the paper. More than half were marred by ugly black crosses over them, meaning that they were eliminated. The names were as followed:
Mizuki Hajime X
Oshitari Yuushi X
Shiraishi Kuranosuke
Chitose Senri
Oshitari Kenya
Sadaharu Inui X
Yanagi Renji X
Tachibana Kippei X
Kisarazu Atsushi X
Kisarazu Ryou
Saeki Kojiroh
Kajimoto Takahisa
Wakato Hiroshi X
Tanaka Youhei X
Tanaka Kouhei
Yagyuu Hiroshi X
Marui Bunta X
Kite Eishirou X
Hirakoba Rin X
Kai Yuujirou X
"Yesterday, we eliminated Kite Eishirou, Hirakoba Rin, and Kai Yuujirou. Those three are lovers so it's considered as killing THREE birds with one stone."
A loud cry from the TV was heard as it interrupted them. They all turned their heads toward the set that was installed in the snug little kitchen. Their efforts were not gone without a reward. A heart-breaking scene was seen on the lit screen.
Paparazzi swarmed around the gray concrete building. Soon, a couple of people were seen exiting the front door and walking down the steps. Blinding flashes of cameras were seen, as well as reporters and camera crews. A large riot of reporters were pushing their way forward, shouting questions at the people. A redhead with a weird haircut was seen through the gap of people. He was crying his heart out, while being supported by a group of friends. The same was said for other people around him, mainly people that were recognized by STYX by their faces and looks. Akutagawa Jirou, Masaharu Niou, Tanaka Kouhei, Kisarazu Atsushi, Tachibana Ann, Fuji Yuuta, Kajimoto Takihisa, Kaidoh Kaoru, Kirihara Akaya, to name a few, were the ones crying the hardest, as well the redhead whose name was Gakuto Mukahi. All of them were surrounded by friends who were crying for them as well. A reporter interrupted this scene.
"These victims" and she gave out names, "had their beloved ones murdered by the ones we know as STYX. They were-"
She was interrupted by loud wails behind her. Losing her calm exterior, she turned around startled.
"YOU MURDERERS!"
The victims screamed out their hearts. The unspoken question of "why" was heard in the air. Tears were induced on the onlookers of this sad scene. The reporter hastily covered her emotions, wiping her tears as she turned back to the camera.
"The dead had nothing to do in common, only one interest, playing tennis. After we had investigated a little, we have found out that the deceased had played each other back in junior high. They were all rivals, but what part does that play in linking the murders? Tune in at the 10:00 News to an exclusive interview with the famous detective, Liliaden Krauser, for more information."
The program cut to a commercial. An awkward silence ensured the homely kitchen. They did not want to be reminded of their heartlessness so fast and take a guilt trip so soon. Well…they were trained enough not to take guilt trips, but still…these were friends that they had just killed, except they had no choice to kill them- again, binding Underworld contracts. For lesser assassins, they might not even be able to handle the fact that they could kill their friends. They would have nightmares for the rest of their lives. Even for hardcore, borderline-psychotic assassins, it would've been a hard thing to stomach as well. Good thing Ryoma did not recognize these people, as neither did Kevin, the younger selves of those two only being so absorbed in tennis that they noticed nothing else. They might have vaguely remembered it, but those faint memories were probably already buried by the years of time taking its toll. The shrill ring of a telephone pierced the air.
"Moshi moshi."
"Kurai, the client wants to meet tonight, same place, same time."
"Eh??? Why?"
"He seemed slightly short of temper when he called us and hung up rather harshly, by slamming the phone down. Plus, he mentioned, no exceptions. Cancel all killings for today and come."
"Ugh. Fine."
With that, she hung up on Toki. Curious eyes looked toward her.
"The client wants another meeting tonight. For whatever reason, I do not know. Probably to add more names on the list."
Their eyes drifted toward the much abused list.
"Not again."
*New York 12:30 PM, Airport*
Frrrrroooooommm. The private jet landed smoothly on the runway. It took only half an hour for its four passengers to unload everything off the plane. Considering that it wasn't them who did the unloading, but a whole lot of servants.
"I'll be going now."
"Syuusuke, look after yourself, will you? New York is as about as safe as it can get but you never know what will happen."
"Hai."
The said boy hopped into the black car, not a limo, since he did not want to draw unwanted attention to himself. It sped off toward the location that was written on a slightly wrinkled sheet of paper. After a few good minutes of driving, give or take 45 minutes, the car reached the destination, a very simple yet spacious house atop a small hill. The traveler jumped back out of the car, politely thanking the driver, and rushed with a hurried step to the front of the door.
Fuji silently closed the door behind him. He had just finished a little chat with his older sister, Fuji Yumiko. During their little talk over a cup of tea, she told him all the details of what had happened. Over all the little details she went, Yuuta's odd behavior for the past couple of hours it took Fuji to reach New York. His reoccurring nightmares, all ending with him waking himself up by screaming, his wellbeing- he looked as pale as a ghost, and other strange things that were happening that were not a part of grief for the lost of a loved one. Fuji suspected foul play. Someone or something was a part of this, and caused this. He sighed and heaved himself off the comfortable sofa. He was going to have a talk with Yuuta.
Fuji silently closed the door behind him and crept toward the huddle of blankets on the bed. Sitting down next to it and looking into the haggard sleeping face of his brother, he could help but to feel anger at who had caused this misfortune. If he ever got his hands on them, Fuji vowed that they would suffer a very long and painful death. Wistfully remembering his childhood days with Yuuta, he stroked his hair and smiled a small, sad smile at him. It seems like, in an adult world, nothing is ever as it seems. Little did he know that that saying was true, for all accounts. Suddenly, a rustling noise by his side startled him. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that Yuuta was thrashing around, moaning "Come back!" or "NO!" and jumbled phrases like that. Quite worried, Fuji leaned in to calm his brother with soothing words, until he heard a word that made his blood run cold. "STYX."
*New York Kurai's Apartment Complex*
"Meh, I'm so bored."
Kevin whined from his flopped position from the couch. Ryoma looked up from the book, The House of Many Ways, that he was reading. It was quite a good book actually, and Ryoma was quite irritated to be bothered from it.
"Ne, Ryoma. Want to play tennis?"
"…"
"Please?"
"Fine, but prepare to get your ass kicked and handed to you on a silver platter."
"OI! Ryoma!"
And to the tennis courts they went. Needless to say, Kevin got his ass kicked into next week; 6 games to love. And due to the strange rules that they created whenever they played, the loser had to answer two questions truthfully. In this case, it was poor Kevin.
"So, Kevin… do you find the client hot?"
Kevin spat out his Ponta (and yes, loser buys the winner soda), and spluttered. Ryoma, noticing this reaction, grinned a grin so wide, it could rival that of the Chesire Cat. Yes, Ryoma had noticed that whenever the client had called them in for some form of business, Kevin would stare unabashedly at him, not that it was extremely noticeable under the masks they wore all the time.
Great blackmail material… Ryoma thought very evilly in his mind. Hanging out in the Underworld could do strange things to your mind. Otherwise known as mind warp.
"So, Kevin, answer the question, or else…"
Ryoma trailed off towards the end, leaving the threat unspoken. Kevin paled visibly. The last time he had refused to answer the questions, Ryoma forced him into a Gothic-Lolita dress for the remainder of the week. He was hit on by gross guys for a week. Even if Kevin was homo, he did not appreciate lecherous old men coming up behind him and groping him. Those god damn pedophiles. Needless to say, Kara and Kurai was very amused and took the liberty of taking pictures and storing them away for future uses. To this day, the incident still brought tears of mirth to their eyes.
Sigh. "If you must know, yes."
"Haha, I knew it."
Kevin's eye twitched, GOD, Ryoma was annoying.
Kurai and Kara's sadistic tendencies must be rubbing off on him…
"Anyways, next question. Do you have a "thing" for him?"
Oh noes. This was NOT going well for Kevin.
"…yes…"
At this, Ryoma could not help but laugh out loud, causing Kevin unnecessary pain and restraint, him trying not to physically hurt Ryoma. But soon, Ryoma turned serious.
"Make sure that he doesn't find out who you are though. We wouldn't want to be on the run for a long time just because you let our identity slip through a couple of hard-core drinks."
He pushed himself off the bench and started to walk toward their car, leaving Kevin behind him in confusion.
What…?
*Meanwhile…*
"WHAT?!"
Atobe's yell from the other room startled Sanada and Tezuka, who were peacefully reading next to the fireplace. The cozy fireplace really did you cheer you up in the winters of New York, as beautiful as the snow was. The din in the other room dinned down a bit, but it only made Sanada and Tezuka more curious.
Atobe was furious. EXTREMELY furious. Never had he ever wanted to throw a temper tantrum so bad like right now. He calmed his harsh breathing and turned his attention back to the graceful, curling design of the receiver. The person on the other end seemed apprehensive and scared after the outburst.
"Continue."
That came out in a low growl and only furthered scared the poor servant on the other side. After an initial pause, he spoke.
"…well, sir, it seems like STYX is having a new reign of terror in the area of New York you are currently staying in. They have killed numerous people; I suggest you tread carefully during your vacation, sir."
"I know that, you fool! I want to know who has been killed!"
Fumbling and frantic ruffling of paper was heard over the line. After what seemed like an eternity, did the other person speak.
"Mizuki Hajime, Oshitari Yuushi, Sadaharu Inui, Yanagi Renji, Tachibana Kippei, Kisarazu Atsushi, Wakato Hiroshi, Tanaka Youhei, Yagyuu Hiroshi, Marui Bunta, Kite Eishirou, Hirakoba Rin, and Kai Yuujirou."
At first, the names did not register themselves directly in his brain. When it did, Atobe's mouth fell open in a perfect o-shape. They were all people, friends who played tennis and were rivals back when he was in junior-high.
Fuck.
Well, Atobe's brain must really be in the gutter to swear, even if it was in his own mind. It took him a total of 5 minutes to realize that it was not royal-like to stand there looking like an idiot, and the fact that the person on the other side of the line was trying to get his attention.
"Sir, I have also found information disclosed to the general public that the police were reluctant to hand even us. Seeing it involves friends of yours, they handed it over. These kills, made by STYX, always left a message. The message told us who they were going to kill next and no matter how many guards and how much security was put up, they always managed to slip through and kill the target. Sometimes, it even included a list of names to be killed that were always updated with a new name. They put security around all of them, but only some were killed. It seems like STYX liked messing around with other people."
Atobe snorted. Of course they would always succeed. He would expect no less from the Underworld's most notorious elite assassin group. The next few words caught him off guard though.
"The messages always ended like this- 'Have a nice time trying to find us. Be on your guard; you might just be our next victim. –STYX.' It would seem that they liked leading the police on a wild goose chase every time."
Atobe sighed, frustrated. To have this problem of all things on vacation! This was an outrage.
"Call Shishido and put me on the line with him. Ore-sama is sure that he will be more willing to disclose more information with a long-time friend."
"Yes sir."
Shisido Ryou, an old friend of Atobe's, was one of those working on the case. He was part of a police agency highly trained to sniff out dangerous, seasoned criminals of the Underworld. Helping him was his lover, Ohtori Choutarou, Shishido's assistant and a private eye.
And the right job for him and Ohtori too. Atobe mused, only to be rudely interrupted by a voice on the other line.
"Shishido Ryou speaking. Atobe, make this quick, I have work to do."
Well, that was put…eloquently. Atobe did notice that he sounded tired. It must be the stress of handling one of the hardest cases unsolved, simply because there was not enough evidence. STYX had killed many times before, although only starting 4 years ago, and caused numerous cases to be dropped due to lack of evidence when they stopped their sporadic killing sprees.
"Blunt as ever Shishido."
"Cut to the chase, Atobe; I am in no mood to be toyed with."
"Very well. Have you any information?"
"Only the obvious one- that they are targeting old schoolmates and rivals of ours. Speaking of which, Oshitari died. Gakuto is very upset and is suffering depression right now, as is all of the victims' friends, lovers, families, co-workers, etc. I would advise you to visit him and cheer him up. Other than that, we have found nothing, other than the fact that we almost caught them."
His voice had an edge of frustration to it.
"We were so close! They managed to escape barely. The only glimpse we caught of them is that there are four of them, but there may be others helping them. They seemed quite young, give or take in their early twenties around? An unusual age for such elite assassins as well."
"I see. That is unusual for the top-ranking assassins right now. Anyways, it seems like I should pay a visit to the victims right now. Where are they?"
"Currently, all of them are staying at The Carlyle hotel in New York City right now. Are you close to there? It's just been after the funerals and I suggest you tread very VERY lightly."
"Thank you, Shishido. I'm close to that hotel."
"Don't thank me. I trust that you be very careful; looking at a heart-breaking scene like that for too long is bad for the heart. Good bye then, I have work to do."
And with that, he hung up. Atobe chuckled. Shishido really didn't change from junior high, didn't he?
FF
Atobe, Tezuka, and Sanada stood outside The Carlyle hotel. Atobe had explained everything that had occurred over the phone call to them. They were shocked and insisted that they come with him. Not that Atobe wasn't going to let them, that is, since teammates of theirs were hurt in this skirmish as well. …Well, not skirmish, but you get the idea. They silently entered the tasteful modern building and asked to see the grievers. The assistant seemed quite flustered at the three handsome young men coming in after more handsome men, but she handled it quite well, telling them the directions. Silently walking side by side, they entered the large lounge. The sight that greeted them nearly killed them. The mourners barely raised their eyes to assess the newcomers, instead, looking like the walking dead. Sanada immediately made his way over to Niou and Kirihara, with Niou being deadly silent and shedding only a few tears, while Kirihara sobbed his heart out. They turned to Sanada with dead looks in their eyes. They had never looked so broken before, even when they lost a tennis match. Sanada growled. If he ever got his hands on whoever had hurt his former teammates like this by killing other teammates, he promised they would be in a long and painful death (doesn't this sound familiar…). He silently comforted them, doing his best, by just being there. The same was said for Tezuka. He was over in the corner comforting Kaidoh. He also vowed that if he got his hands on the one who killed Inui…well, you get the idea. Atobe was hugging Jirou, who was crying silent tears of sorrow and soaking Atobe's designer coat, not that Atobe cared at this point. Surprisingly, he saw Fuji in the room. He mouthed "Syuu?" over to him. Fuji smiled sadly and pointed at his younger brother, Yuuta who was being soothed by his elder sister. Atobe nodded in understanding. There were other faces he recognized as well. Tanaka Kouhei, Kisarazu Atsushi, Tachibana Ann, Kajimoto Takihisa, to name a few. All were being comforted by friends and family. No one in the room was seen without tear streaks on their faces. Atobe closed his eyes and wept for his friends and rivals in heaven. It seems like Fuji, and even Tezuka and Sanada did too.
*That night, 9:00PM, Client's mansion*
"I want you to kill some more people. My spies have found that they were in New York this week. But this time, I have a personal request. I want you to kill them in front of me."
Kara tried to reason calmly to the slightly angered client.
"But there is a larger chance that our identities will be found out."
"I know. That is why I'm going to reveal my identity to them, and you as well. But not now, on the day of the killing. Plus, you will be given extra money for payment today for taking this risk."
"…Fine."
STYX collected their money in cold, hard cash as always. In steel suitcases. They turned to leave, but the client called them back.
"You there, in the blond hair. Stay back for awhile won't you?"
Kevin blushed under his mask. Ryoma looked on with guarded amusement, while Kurai and Kara looked at the client with unfeeling guarded eyes.
"If you're worried, don't be. I won't hurt him. I'll even send him back in a limousine next morning, since we'll be taking a long time."
His tone of voice was suggestive. Kevin blushed even harder. Kurai and Kara looked between the two, but those two had seen right through Kevin's emotions again. Kurai sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"Fine."
"Oh. Wait. I forgot to tell you who the targets will be this time."
Ryoma, Kara, Kurai turned back toward the client sitting atop his tall throne again.
"They are… Atobe Keigo, Sanada Genichirou, Tezuka Kunimitsu, and Fuji Syuusuke."
To Be Continued~
Well, this chapter was longer than expected and very hard to write. Haha, Atobe must've been really mad to swear even in his head. The scene with Kevin and Ryoma playing tennis will be cleared here. Basically, Ryoma noticed that Kevin had a crush on their client and their client liked Kevin too. Just Kevin didn't notice… And the reason why the client asked Kevin to remain behind is that he let his lust finally take away reason and then they will have so late-night "fun" together. ;) [wink wink] But I won't go into detail about that since this is rated strictly T. I will make a side story about it if requested, and when the client is finally revealed. The sad scenes made me cry and I really didn't want to write them… Well, at least, finally STYX targets the other part of OT5. Sorry if at the heart-breaking scene, they were OOC. Tissues will be handed out to those in need of it and reviewers. The next chapter will consist of flashbacks from when Ryoma was still part of OT5. Look forward to it!