Hello anybody reading this! This took forever to get around to writing, because I went to my mom's, intending to only stay a couple of days, and ended up staying a week and a half. Yikes! I suffered writer's withdrawal, and literally begged with my sister to let me on the computer, so that I could write. So, the chapter was finished in only two days (That's a new record for me, mostly because I keep spending too much time on research for the ending rather than writing. Not giving anything away though!) but it is INCREDIBLY LATE. Sorry, I hope that this chapter was worth the wait. Also, as things are looking, the ending might be coming even earlier than I thought... Frightening thought, but I'll keep you all updated.
Important Note: There is information at the end of the chapter regarding the Ayame Killing Chapter, and a few other things that you might be interested to know, please check it out!
Sakimi1014- -Singing- Killy kill Ayame-chan!! Funny fun, ichi, ni, san! Enjoy your day, enjoy your night, cause someday you'll be gone! ... Wow, that is a seriously morbid song to post as a reply to someone's review... Sumimasen... I think I need to get some sleep. I'm running on about three hours for two days. Okay... On with the chapter. '
AnimeStar73- Okay, you may help kill Ayame. I'm glad that you like the chapter too! Hmm... I'm not going to comment on the last part of your review. That's dangerous territory. (Meaning I might let something slip. Oh wait, I just did!).
Rei248- Oh thank goodness! Safe from the demons! Yay! That must be a good sign! Also, I would love the chance to sick them on Ayame... -Chuckles- This will be VERY fun, me thinks...
DarkDemonCat- I'm happy to say that Dirty Pair and Yuushi's evil parents are in this chapter, so please read and be happy(?). I'm happy that Hiyoshi and Youhei worked out so well, so far anyway, I was sad in the beginning, because I like Hiyoshi and didn't want him to end up alone. And no, that's not a spoiler, because people who have read this far should know that I hate leaving anyone alone, no matter how big the stretch is to avoid it. Yep!
Kx- Okay, I'll add you. It will be fun!
MidnightSunrise951- Yeah, I can't believe how close I am to the ending... I made a 'to-do' list, and this chapter alone covered, like... Three of them. Sad... Ah, but the sequel might be fun... I'll probably end up straying towards TezuFuji again though... Even though I want mainly MomoRyo... A challenge...
Ruby- No, the idea is not from Fruits Basket... Wait, what part exactly? I can't think of any of it... Except Ayame's name, I don't see the correlation... I like Furuba though.
BloodySamurai- Ooh... Good Idea! I like that idea... OFF WITH THE NAILS! WITH RUSTY PLIERS! SOMEONE LEND ME A GUITAR!! I don't want blood on mine...
Miji-Chuu- Nya problem! Better late than never... Wow... That statement makes me sad, seeing just how late this chapter is...
RaiPeonix015- Nya... Who exactly is one of your favorite pairings? XD... I can't tell you if the ending is happy or not (That'd be cheating) but I promise you that a I have a few more twists and surprises up my sleeve (The left one. Don't steal them, please.). Anyway, I'm glad that you liked the chapter.
ShadowinRW- An anvil would be fun... Okay. Agreed! As for Kevin and Terry, you'll just have to wait and see.
Kawaii-Gaara-Chan- Yeah, some of my pairing are very original, I know. I just don't like people ending up alone. Also, I have some strange hate of odd numbers. -Shrugs.- Also, you will be added into the Ayame chapter... Yep yep!
Vierblith- I'm fairly certain (?) that you enjoyed the chapter, so that's good. Oh, and good luck on your MPreg studies.
SkyBlue147- Glad to hear from you again, and thank you, as always, for your continued support.
Darknesswithinthebush- First of all, I'm not going to tell you ANYTHING about the ending! Heehee... As for the Ayame killing, of course you can be in it! That should be interesting. Also, I might actually be ending this in less than ten chapters. I'm not sure exactly how long it will be, but we're close enough now that I'm having trouble concentrating on my writing when really all I feel compelled to do is research for the ending! (I try my best to make my stories as accurate as possible, in every way, even in my AUs). As, for your Tezuka and Fuji question, the answer for Tezuka's rapist is, yes, there will be hints about who he is, actually, it's more or less confirmed, but whatever, and as for Fuji's rescuer, that too is tied in. I hope sincerely that the end result of those two situations are surprising for you and everyone else. Please do prepare yourself for a shock (Though it doesn't come for a few chapters yet).
Shimizu Miki- Fuji's plan... Changed, in this final version of the story... It's a lot tamer... And, a major change, now doesn't include Gakuto in a dress... Too bad. Terry, by the way, is the one that likes Kevin. Tom is with Billy. As for the sound proof rooms, I will innocently point out that it's Tarou-sensei's house. Not that I'm insinuating anything. ... . ... . ... Okay, that's about it then...
ImmortalTigress- Um... Everyone else really wants him to die brutally... But I could put warning where it gets gory, if you want? Also, I'm honored that you would read the sequel even if you don't like MPreg. I think that MPreg is only fun if it is written well. Some people really mess it up, but I'm hoping that I won't end up doing that.
KiriharaAkaya- I'm still debating about whether to write the lemon separately or not, but right now I just really want to write the story from where it is. I might still write it, and there will be lemon in the sequel, but I don't know about right now, you know? Also, I wanted to ask you if you would come up with a lit of random codenames? You don't have to if you don't have time, can't think of any or just plain don't want to or not, but it is for the Ayame Chapter, and I thought that having you come up with them would make it more authentic (It'll make sense later, I promise). Please? Also, as you read it, in that exact order, is how I write it. I sometimes drive myself crazy that way, but it is also a good system for when I get writer's block on a certain scene.
Disclaimer- I do not own Prince of Tennis
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Akutsu leaned back against the tiles of the rooftop outside of their bedroom window. He had gone out there to smoke, as much as he knew Dan hated it. Actually, he hated it too, with his heightened senses, but he didn't feel like quitting. His teachers and other adults always told him to quit, but that just made him want to smoke even more. He couldn't help but go out of his way to tick them off.
The evening air felt good against his face and bare arms, and he closed his eyes, dropping his well built guard for just a moment, now that he knew it was safe. It was safe, because no one would bother him. The other house members were either asleep or too wrapped up in their own thoughts-- or each other-- that they would not be bothering him tonight. Even the kid... Dan was asleep as well.
Watching the kid sleep was dangerous. If Akutsu started watching him sleep, it was very difficult to stop. He just looked so innocent that the junior wanted to ravish him, and yet still somehow protect him from the world. And then there was the fact that when Akutsu saw the freshman sleeping he thought about that night at Atobe's, when he had kissed the other while he was sleeping... And then Dan had said that he loved him in his sleep.
None of what he was thinking showing on his face, Akutsu took another drag from his cigarette, blowing the smoke up into the winds. The sound of the window opening a little farther snapped him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see Dan, leaning out the window slightly, a questioning expression on his face.
"Akutsu-senpai? What are you doing out here, desu(ka)?" He asked, and then frowned when he saw exactly what the other was doing. "You really shouldn't smoke, Senpai, desu."
"Don't tell me what to do," Akutsu spat back, but it was halfhearted. Perhaps it was partially due to Dan's emotion-controlling powers, but he couldn't act overly annoyed right then.
Dan didn't say anything, but used his thin arms to pull himself up onto the window ledge, hoisting himself up onto the roof. Eyes widened as Dan slipped, and only quick reflexes on Akutsu's part kept with from falling the two stories that was between them and the ground.
"Would you please help me up, desu?"
"Go back inside."
"I don't want to, desu. I don't think that I could anyway, desu."
Akutsu sighed, and pulled the younger boy onto the rooftop with him. He scowled and leaned back on the rooftop, his hands folded behind his head. Dan reached over and took the cigarette out of his mouth, grinding it out on the tiles of the roof.
"Hey--!" Akutsu started, but Dan just smiled slightly at him.
"You only told me not to tell you what to do, desu," he interrupted, settling down next to Akutsu, looking up into his eyes with a strangely mischievous look.
Akutsu said nothing to that. He couldn't say anything to something like that, not when it was Dan saying it. He averted his eyes instead, settling finally on the moon, which was strangely unclouded, despite the strange weather.
"Senpai."
Akutsu knew that it was Dan who had spoken, but somehow it didn't sound like him. This voice seemed more mature, somehow, almost... Seductive...
"Senpai, look at me?" Something was weird. No 'desu'? Akutsu, against his will and better judgment, looked back into those deep eyes, finding himself lost in them quite quickly. "Kiss me."
Akutsu's body moved whether he wanted it to or not, and by the time his lips touched the freshman's, Kami-sama, he wanted it alright. He rolled over on top of the younger boy and devoured his mouth. Eaged on by Dan's hold over his emotions, he continued to kiss the other senseless until both were far past the point of running out of breath. He savored in the sweetness of Dan's mouth, mixing with the bitterness of his own cigarettes, and finally pulled back, looking into Dan's smiling eyes.
"I love you, Akutsu-senpai, desu."
Akutsu, stunned, looked down into the other's eyes and saw that it was true. He felt that it was true, and not just a mistake on the younger boy's part.
"Yeah, you too, Kid." And he kissed him again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryoma had awoken that day with a growing feeling of dread. First of all, he had fallen asleep the day before in Momo and Gakuto's room, where he still was, he noticed, in Momo's bed. He sat up and looked around the room, seeing that it was late enough in the morning that Gakuto had already disappeared, probably to be off somewhere with Yuushi, but not seeing the person he wished to see most. Where was Momo anyway?
"Takeshi...?" Ryoma asked quietly, and heard a mumbled response. He looked towards the floor, and smiled slightly at seeing Momo spread out of the carpet, awake, but looking bedraggled. The older boy got up, leaning over the other to place chaste kiss on Ryoma's lips.
"Morning," he yawned sleepily.
"You didn't have to sleep on the floor," Ryoma told him softly.
"Mnn," Momo grumbled, "I had to, because Ryuzaki might have made checks this morning, and with today being what it is... Today would be a bad day to get caught, you think?"
"... Ah." That was the other thing that he was worried about. Their parents were coming today, and this time, he would have to talk to his father about his feelings for Momo, if they even had a chance.
It was difficult for him to even think about telling his dad all of these things about him, things that he had hidden for as long as he had known his own sexual orientation. Ryoma was pretty sure that he was bi, because there had been girls that he had liked in the past, but what did any of that matter now, seeing as he was deeply in love with Momo?
He would have never thought that he would be this serious about someone by the time he was twelve years old, but he was. He loved Momo so much that it didn't really make sense to him that he actually had that much feeling, and that he could be so sure about this at such a young age. He knew that what he and Momo had was that once in a lifetime kind of love that everyone wanted and so very few got. And yet he was surrounded by it. Fuji and Buchou, he Golden Pair, Kaido and Inui, and even others from other schools, they all had that forever kind of love that was so rare in the world these days. It amazed him, and scared him a little.
Because having this kind of love didn't come without obstacles, or without cost. He would have to tell his father about him and Momo. The truth was, he really didn't want to disappoint his father. No matter how many times he called him a 'Baka Oyaji', he really did love his dad, and hated to let him down more than almost anything else. And how better to crush his women-crazy father than to tell him that his youngest son was deeply in love with a man?
There was a knock at the door, and Fuji came in with a kind smile on his face, his eyes open for once, and his tone soft. "Ryoma, your father is here."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm in love with Momo-senpai."
Nanjiro Echizen wasn't sure how to react for a moment. At first he was angry. Angry at Ryoma for not telling him about all of this before. Angry at himself for not seeing something as obvious as the way his son looked at this older boy. Mostly, however, he was angry at Momoshiro for possibly deflowering his youngest son. The very thought of this... This... Boy, doing such a thing angered him beyond belief. After the immediate anger subsided, however, and he realized that he was acting foolishly to instantaneously believe something like that had happened, he felt foolish. Sure, the possibility was there, but he had no right to be angry at Momoshiro, yet. Not sure what he should feel about their relationship, he opted to just sit there silently for a moment.
Nanjiro saw Ryoma's eyes, previously focused on the floor, flicker up for just a moment, and saw something in them that he had not expected: fear. Ryoma was nearly shaking to tell him this, and not being able to meet his eyes in the first place was a major sign from Ryoma that he wasn't feeling his normal, cocky self. Nanjiro felt his heart soften towards the boy, and reached a hand across the coffee table they sat at to touch Ryoma's lightly.
If Ryoma said he was in love, then he was in love. Nanjiro knew that it was not something the young boy would say lightly, and if he was willing to tell him how he felt about this person in the first place, then it showed conviction. Nanjiro, pervert or not, could except that, and if Momoshiro was Ryoma's choice, he could learn to except that.
Ryoma's eyes darted up again and met his father's. The older man was actually looking serious for once, though he smiled slightly. "If you say you're in love, I believe you, and if you say that boy is the one for you, then I can deal with that. I believe in you, Seishounen."
Ryoma smiled slightly at his father, feeling more relieved then he had in a long time. It was nice to know that he wouldn't have to worry about his father finding out anymore. He had taken it well too, though the young prodigy was sure that he had seen anger in those eyes for a few moments, and had feared what would become of this. "Thank you... Tou-san."
Nanjiro smiled at actually being called a respectable name for once, and nodded, pulling his hand away from Ryoma's. "Ryoma... Just... Talk to me next time, alright?"
Ryoma was quiet for a moment, and then growled, "Baka Oyaji..."
Nanjiro smiled slightly. They were back to that. But, hey, that fine too.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yuushi was starting to worry. He hadn't seen Gakuto all morning, and it seemed that the other senior was nowhere on the property. None of the other Hyotei members, or, really, anyone else that he had talked to, knew where he was, and it was odd for Gakuto to do something without at least giving him a little warning. Even when he planned surprises he dropped little hints, knowing that Yuushi would worry too much otherwise.
He made his way into the lounge, where Oishi and Kikumaru were curled up on the couch, and Fuji was sitting comfortably between a sleeping Tezuka's legs. That was strange, Tezuka sleeping. Yuushi understood that things had been stressful lately, but the buchou seemed much more tired than that, almost as if... Yuushi nearly blushed before getting ahold of himself and pushing a few offending images from his mind. Fuji seemed even happier than usual, though he winced a bit when he moved around.
"Do any of you know where Gakuto is?" Yuushi asked quietly, trying not to wake Tezuka, getting two silent no's from the Golden Pair, while Fuji just smiled for a moment. Yuushi was about to leave, but was stopped by Fuji's soft voice behind him.
"I wasn't going to tell you, but you'll just worry otherwise," Fuji chuckled, his voice just above a whisper. "Gakuto went to see your parents, Oshitari-san. He's trying to talk to them about getting you two to room together."
"He's... What...?" For a tensai, Yuushi mind seemed to moving incredibly slowly, as he tried to process what Fuji was saying.
"He's trying to show them his conviction," Fuji said softly, "I'm sorry, Oshitari-san, I know I should not have interfered, but I did a little talking to Mukahi-san about you, because I thought that your parents might be... Like mine, and I wanted to help you. Mukahi-san is there at my suggestion." Fuji opened his eyes, his smile dropping from his face. "You do know that they treat you that way because your grandfather made you his sole heir, don't you?"
"... I'm the only heir?" Yuushi whispered. He knew that that couldn't be right.
"Ah, he took your parents out of the will, and chose you," Fuji smiled slightly, "because he thought of you as a 'good, quiet child'."
Yuushi smiled slightly at that as well, remembering that the few times he had met his grandfather, he had spent most of the time in the old man's extensive library, or talking to the elderly gentleman on a fairly equal intellectual level. He missed the old man greatly.
Things were starting to make sense now. If what Fuji said was true, and the other tensai had no reason to lie, then his parents were angry with him because, though he would not be able to touch the money until he turned eighteen, they would see none of it. Being the money-hungry people Yuushi had never let himself admit they were, Yuushi knew that this fact would bother them beyond belief. Enough that they would try to ruin his life out of spite. It hurt Yuushi to think of all that as being true, but he remembered that his grandfather himself had actually once told him that his parents were the type of people who only loved themselves.
"Thank you, Fuji," Yuushi said softly, turning once again to leave.
"Ah, you're welcome."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gakuto was feeling nervous. He had introduced himself to Yuushi's parents and they hardly bat an eye at him. He was positive that they knew who he was, as Yuushi had tried several times to get them to understand about their relationship, but they acted like he was insignificant. He had tried to get them to understand how much he loved Yuushi, and how much Yuushi loved him, but they didn't seem to hear or care. He even went so far as to try to deal with them. He had promised them that he would live the rest of his life as a women, if only they would let him and Yuushi stay together. Gakuto knew that he could pull it off, acting like a woman, like Yuushi's wife for the rest of his life, a little makeup and a dress and no one would know any better. They just wouldn't listen.
"Boy," Yuushi's mother finally spoke, and Gakuto locked his eyes on her, waiting for something, anything to come from her mouth that might give him even the slightest bit of hope. "We do not care if you love him. We care even less that he loves you. There is nothing in the will or the current law that states that his inability to marry a woman or his being homosexual will give us any hold over my father's money, so you are useless to us."
'Her father's money'? 'The will'? Was that what it was always about? Gakuto trembled with the rage that he tried to hold back. "You... Treat him the way you do... Because he inherited somebody's money and you didn't?!" Gakuto felt his control over his power slipping. Not good, not good. If he got too emotional the shadows would overtake them.
Part of his wanted to lose control. He wanted them to feel at least some pain, some of the pain that they had been inflicting on Yuushi's heart all these years. He could do it. The shadows followed his innermost will, after all. If he wanted them to give them a taste of that emotional torture, there was no doubt they would. Gakuto let his power slip, feeling the shadows creep out of him like a sigh. They moved slowly, with a purpose, towards Yuushi's parents, and Gakuto smiled slightly at the frightened, confused looks on their faces.
"Gaku, that's more than enough," Yuushi's voice cut through everything, his arms around him seeming to be all that existed in the world. Yuushi's skin was so warm, had been since the Trivial Pulse, when he had first gotten his fire powers. It was nice, to say the least, comforting. It seemed like it had been so long since he had had that warmth all to himself, like he did when they shared a room in the dorms. Gakuto really missed that.
"Being rude and provoking Gakuto won't get you anywhere either," the tensai said softly, his attention already settled on his parents. "In fact, if you wish to ever see any of Grandfather's money, then I suggest you treat my lover better than that. After all, I can take legal action and get a separation from you both, allowing me to get my inheritance earlier to support myself."
There was a silence that settled over the group, and no one said a word. Yuushi nodded, though, knowing that he had gotten his point across. His parents turned away from them and began to walk out of the room.
"Do what you want," was thrown back over the adults' shoulders and Yuushi smiled, nodding again.
"Come on, Gakuto, let's go home."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Yuushi..." Gakuto whispered, leaning against Yuushi's shoulder in the car that would take them back to the property, "... Are you... Okay?"
Yuushi was silent for a moment, seeming to get his thoughts together. "I'll be fine, Lover. Thought I must admit that I'm... Disappointed." There was that smile again. The Tensai Smile.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?" The smile never dropped.
"Smile like that," Gakuto said, "Nobody else seems to notice, but I do. I hate it when you smile like that."
The smile dropped immediately. "I'm sorry."
"You trust me, don't you Yuushi? You never tell me anything."
"I tell you nearly everything, Gaku."
"But not everything."
There was more silence after that, then Yuushi softly answered, "There are some things that it's better you not know."
"What are you talking about, Yuushi?" Gakuto asked, trying to think of what he possibly didn't know about Yuushi.
"You know everything about me, Gakuto," Yuushi told him quickly, knowing that that was where his koi's mind would go, and not wanting any misunderstandings. "Even the thing with my parents, I didn't even know exactly what it all was until I spoke with Fuji today."
"Fuji?"
"Ah, he also told me where you were."
Gakuto just nodded, and then went back to trying to think about what kind of information Yuushi could have possibly kept from him. He had thought that they told each other everything. He told Yuushi everything, well, except for that he was coming here, granted, because Yuushi would have never let him come otherwise. Perhaps it was something like that. Perhaps Yuushi was hiding something from him, because Gakuto would stop him. The only other thing that he could think of would be that it was something that would hurt him if Yuushi told him. He had an idea of what it could be.
"Hey, Yuushi... You never told me what happened to the senior who attacked me, the one who I sent the shadows after." Yuushi grimaced, letting Gakuto know that he had hit a bull's-eye. "What did happen, Yuushi?"
Again the silence, followed by a bright, new Tensai Smile as Yuushi answered, "Nothing, Gakuto."
"Yuushi..." Gakuto sighed. He really did want to know. He knew that hte senior had not come to school since that day, but that was it.
Yuushi sighed. "For a couple of days, he was really delusional. During that time, I guess, his aggressive nature was revealed to his family. They moved and he's going to a different school now. He's getting help. So, he'll never hurt anyone again."
Gakuto sucked this information in fairly emotionlessly, he thought, and the silence settled over them again, though now it was more comfortable on Gakuto's part. "Yuushi, please, just... Tell me things from now on, okay? Even if you think it'll hurt me, 'cause it hurts more to think that you're keeping things from me."
"... It's a deal."
Gakuto yawned, and Yuushi tightened his grip around him, his lips going down to the other's ear as he began to sing softly, "Live in my house, I'll be your shelter, just pay me back with one thousand kisses. Be my lover, and I'll cover you."
"Open your door," Gakuto more mumbled it than sang, being extremely tired from many near restless nights. It was always easier to sleep with Yuushi's warmth near him. "I'll be your tenant. Don't got much baggage to lay at your feet. But sweet kisses I've got spare, I'll be there, and I'll cover you."
"I love you, Koi," Yuushi whispered, kissed the sleepy bunny-boy's hair.
"Nnn... You too, Yuu...shi..." The tensai smiled as his love fell asleep against him.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Yuta," Fuji knocked on his brother's door, but it was Mizuki, not Yuta, who answered it. Fuji recovered quickly, "Your parents are here."
"Yuta's in the bathroom," Mizuki answered the unasked question, "Getting ready."
"Ah."
They were silent for a couple seconds, both listening to Yuta bustle around in the bathroom that connected to his room. "You think I'm going to mess this all up, don't you?"
"Honestly?" Fuji said, smiled dropped and looking serious, "I don't trust you, not at all, so yes, I believe that you'll mess this up. You hurt Yuta before, there's nothing to say that you wouldn't do it again."
"I will never intentionally hurt him again," Mizuki said, his voice firm. "There's a difference between how I am now, and how I was then." Fuji's eyebrow rose, as if in doubt. "When I met him that closest thing to loving him I thought was that he looked like he might be a good lay." Fuji's eyes smoldered but the tensai remained silent. "You know what? I haven't had a thought like that in a long time now. Now I look at him and think something more along the lines of how lucky I am, not only to have someone that amazing love me, but also to know that I've been forgiven for something that I will never be able to forgive myself for. I love Yuta, Fuji, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to prove that to you and anyone else who doubts that fact."
Fuji looked into the other's eyes, but Mizuki's gaze never wavered. Yuta chose that moment to come out of the bathroom and Fuji smiled. "Saa, let's go, Yuta, Mituli-san."
"It's Mizuki!!!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Note: Okay, everyone! An update on the Ayame chapter's status! Yes, I am writing it, so no worries, but I'm not going to post it until the chapter before the last, which I intend to make a series of just funny little shorts that came to me throughout the entire story. I'll tell you a few titles for example, and if you don't like the idea at all, then tell me, and I'll just add Ayame's Chapter in at the end, as a farewell.
Sample Titles:
Natural Selection
Summery- The TPPs ponder how people are chosen to become a positive (by fate or whatever) and a few... Interesting theories come up. Tezuka learns something he could have gone without knowing.
SANADA?!
Summery- Can't be included here... It would be a spoiler!
Silly Songs with Wakato
Summery- Wakato disappears from the story for a long time, ne? ...Just what was he doing? Takahisa wishes he didn't know.
Big Mouth
Summery- The day that Ryoma learned he can influence people's actions through thoughts. A few experiments with Horio lead to some strange revelations about his fellow freshmen, and a sight that Ryoma had never wanted to see, but comes to be glad he did.
Milkshakes
Summery- The night of Atobe's ball. Eiji and Momo go to the kitchen to get a midnight snack and hear a rather... Disturbing conversation... Between Niou and Fuji?!
Yeah, so that's it for now, I have a few others I might add. They'd all be really short, and just for fun, but I'd be glad to hear what you all think.
Arigatou,
Shia