Author: CrisscrossAnime

Story title: Desires

Chapter 2

Awakening to the shrill cry of the alarm clock, Karupin jumped off its master's bed, hissing angrily at the hideous red contraption that woke him from its beauty sleep.

Ryoma, feeling the sudden shift in the bed, opened his eyes slowly, giving a small groan before his hand reached out to stop his alarm. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he gave a small yawn as his had reached out to grab his spoiled Himalayas cat, preventing Karupin from spoiling the bed sheets in an attempt to get back to bed.

Eyes half-closed, Ryoma skillfully maneuvered his way to the bathroom, but not before putting Karupin back in bed. It wouldn't do to ruin a cat's beauty sleep after all. Grumbling a multitude of curses under his breath, Ryoma groggily went to the bathroom to wash up, passing his irritating, annoying, overly-enthusiastic father on the way.

Ignoring his father's proud speech about how his little boy was growing up, mood darkening as he changed into his uniform. Going back to grab his bag, Ryoma made a little detour back to the bathroom to adjust his tie before leisurely walking downstairs to have his breakfast.

'Hopefully it won't be a western-styled breakfast again…'

Looking at his breakfast laid out in front of him, Ryoma gave a sigh of resignation before picking up the fork. But before he could even taste the food, the annoying prick he calls father barged into the room, making his 'grand' entrance of the day.

"Ohayo, Ryo—" Blinking his eyes as if he could not believe what he's seeing, Nanjiroh, stopped short.

"What the hell are you wearing?!" His loud exclamation even had his mother and Nanako sticking their head out of the kitchen to find out what was happening.

"My uniform, oyaji. What else could it be?" Ryoma replied, voice deadpanned.

"But…but…That's not the uniform for Seigaku!" Nanjiroh yelled out, pointing at the half-white uniform that Ryoma was wearing.

"That's because I'm not going to Seigaku, oyaji. I'm going to Hyoutei." Ryoma rolled his eyes, internally wondering why his father was so desperate to get him to Seigaku.

Staring at his son in disbelief, Nanjiroh gaped a few times before stomping out of the dining room, into the hall. His mind set on 'correcting' this little mistake.

Assuming that he had won the fight, Ryoma was about to continue eating when he heard his father's voice coming from the outside.

"Moshi moshi? Is this Hyoutei Gakuen?" His father sounded suspiciously cheerful.

"…" A moment silence.

"Hai. Ore wa Echizen Ryoma no otou-san, Echizen Nanjiroh desu."

"…" Another pause.

"Yes, I'm calling in regards to the transfer my son is making to Hyoutei Gakuen, Yutori-kuchou."

Apparently, that was all Ryoma needed to hear before dashing out of the dining room, breakfast left forgotten and uneaten.

"Yes, I'm sorry but—"

"Oyaji! Just what in the world do you think you're doing?!" Ryoma yelled at his father, outraged.

'Chikuso. What is he thinking?! Oshitari-kun is at that school. Why does he want me to transfer to Seigaku anyway…Considering their below average academic aggregate.'

Covering the speaker of the phone, Nanjiroh gave Ryoma his 'holier than thou' look, "Ryoma, don't argue with me. I'm doing this for your own good."

Growling, "Like hell I will. If I score well at Hyoutei, I may have a chance to go straight to Tokyo University! On a scholarship! Do you want to ruin it for me?!"

Nanjiroh's eyes widened, his mind coming up with a hundred and one excuses, yet none of them passed his lips.

Betrayal and hurt shone clearly from his son's eyes, and Nanjiroh knew clearly what has caused it.

Nanjiroh sub-consciously took a step back, no longer sure what he was to do in this situation.

'Would I…… Would I be willing to risk my son's future just to satisfy my love for tennis?'

His grip tightened around the phone in his hand even as the thought echoed in his head.

'Didn't I promise, the moment Ryoma was born that I wouldn't force him into doing something he didn't want? And did I not abide to that promise on 'that' day?'

He recalled back to the day when he came back home with Ryoma in his arms, sniffling and eyes red after having cried his eyes out. Nanjiroh came to a crossroad. 'Question is, will I be able to keep my promise? Or will the urge to find a worthy opponent drive me to break it?'

"Oyaji! Stop jerking around! Give. Me. The. Phone!" Ryoma raged, the only thing keeping him from the phone was his father's arm.

Taking in a shuddering breath, Nanjiroh made the hardest decision in his life, "Ryoma, stop it. Please, just listen to what I've to say first."

Startled at the serious tone his father's voice took, Ryoma stopped struggling.

"So spill, oyaji." Ryoma gritted out, his golden eyes flashing angrily, and a little hurt at his father's actions.

"I'm now going to give you a choice Ryoma," Nanjiroh having made his decision, decided to go through with it.

"What choice?! You, apparently, seem to think that you're perfectly capable of making decisions upon my behalf! So tell me, what—" Ryoma's anger driven rant was forcefully cut in half by his father.

"Urusai! Listen, Ryoma I'm now giving you a choice of either going to Seigaku or Hyoutei Gakuen." His father started, the phone in his hand long forgotten. Nanjiroh looked at his son in the eye, trying to express how serious this decision of his may be. Regardless of how it may have started out.

Ryoma wisely kept his mouth shut, waiting for his father to continue.

"The reason why I wanted you to go into Seigaku is because of the presence of Ryuzaki Sumire, my sensei, acting as the coach there. She would be able to help you build your tennis skills based on whatever basics you may have unknowingly picked up. And it's not as if Seigaku's academic results are extremely poor, with a little more work I'm sure you would be able to keep up with your usual standards."

"I know Hyoutei is the school with a superior academic performance. But Seigaku can provide you with that as well, and more. I… I know that it may seem a little selfish to you, the fact that I wish for you to take the same path I did. But… you are my only son, Ryoma."

Ryoma was at a loss as to what to do, the fact that his father was in front of him, his eyes pleading for him to just give Seigaku a chance was not helping, at all.

It just made deciding a lot worse.

Hyoutei Gakuen would hand him his entire future on a silver platter, his future status would almost be guaranteed. On the other hand, whereas Hyoutei had his future, Seigaku Gakuen was the one that held all his dreams, desires, and the idealistic life he wanted. Such was the choice Ryoma faced when posed with that question.

Even though Ryoma was silent, turmoil was running rampant within. His heart and mind warring with one another. His wants versus his needs… Ideals versus logic…

Dreams versus Reality.

Furious whispers erupted as Ryoma walked down the hallway of his new school, on his way to the Principal's office.

Outwardly, Ryoma was the very image of calm, but on the inside, the war that his father had unwittingly started this morning was still raging, neither side having declared a winner.

Now, standing in front of the door to his new classroom, having received his timetable from the secretary, Ryoma's right hand reached out and knocked on the door trice. After those knocks, he could visibly hear the sounds emitting from the other side dissipate.

Opening the door, Ryoma took his first step into the classroom, instantly greeted by the smile on his supposed teacher's face. Standing in front of the class, Ryoma took in the faces of his classmates, at the some time waiting for his teacher to get the introduction over and done with.

"Class, I would like all of you to welcome a new student into our school. His name is Echizen Ryoma and he recently came back to Japan from America to continue his studies. I hope that all of you would be able to lend him a hand when it comes to making his way around the school."

The teacher then turned back to Ryoma and gave him another warm smile as Ryoma made his way to the only empty seat in the class.

"And Echizen-kun, welcome to Hyoutei Gakuen."

A/N: Hopefully the scene between Ryoma and his father is a lot better now…

Now that the easy part is over and done with.. *sighs* From chapter 4 onwards, there'll be a lot of changes.