I hate school! It totally sucked the life out of me. I only started writing this chapter after one week. Too tired to do anything but read manga after school.
So anyway, enough of school. I've corrected the typos but forget the grammar and punctuation, there's too much to do and English is not my forte hence the reason I hate school. So make do with my sentences but thanks for the advice anyway Drawn... (Again your name refuses to be shown.)
So Chapter 4 up!
Hope you enjoy it, though I'm going to be honest and say it will be by far one of the worse chapters you will be reading from this fanfiction. I just don't have any idea what to write.
The moment the teenagers entered the building most jaws dropped and their eyes widen at the interior of the building. The building itself had no outstanding features worthy of praise except the humongous size of the camp, it was what was in it that made mostly everyone gaze in awe. Just by entering the lobby one could tell it was a designed by maniac. A tennis loving one at that. Yet although everyone could see that it was furnished like that, they could not help but be mesmerized by the sight in front of them. It was not really as valuable as one would expect of the best tennis camp in the entire world to others yet to those teenagers it meant more, a lot more.
The room was fairly square with the exception of a place where the building jutted inwards. One wall adorned a full chest full with trophies after trophies. Most were related to championships and tournaments the elite team of Ravers had won. Some were related to the repution of the place yet all represented and displayed a factor of tennis and unrivalled championship. The wall adjacent to it was covered in thousands of pictures and paintings. There were many photographs of kids around their age and some younger all donning a similar attire which one could guess as the regular's uniform. The other walls all followed with a specific theme, one wall contained autographs after autographs of famous tennis stars from all over the world and the last wall was covered in a massive wooden plaque where many names had been engraved on. It wasn't professional nor costly to buy except for the autographs but anyone, especially a tennis player could tell that despite the overly crowded display, there was genuine, pure love for tennis behind it all.
"Do you like it?" A voice called out which unmistakably belonged to the head councillor.
Everyone replied in the affirmative before the councillor continued. "The previous head coaches had designed it themselves. I'm sure you can all tell that all those trophies were won by Ravers themselves and those photos..." He said gesturing to the wall covered with photographs "are pictures of former members, coaches and basically anything tennis related. The one with autographs are of famous tennis players from ages ago. Although this camp has only been founded a mere 2 decades ago some of these autographs are a good 8 decades old. This last wal may not look like much especially since its all wood though I personally like it the best. You see, all these names engraved here are names of every single person who has ever attended Ravers be it for a week or a year, no one attends Ravers without leaving their mark. You too will all engrave your name on this when you leave in a week's time." The head broke off with a small smile before turning back to face the others.
No one said a word as many were too mesmerized by the history and love for tennis, even the coaches stood stunned before their attention was diverted when a man came out from a corridor connected to the room. "Hello, you must be our first recruits." The man wore a bright and warm smile which made many feel comfortable and forget their feeling of grogginess for those who had been seasick.
The man continued, the smile never leaving his eyes. "Welcome to Raver's Tennis Camp Re-established. I am the new and current Head Coach Adrian Phipps. Nice to meet you all."
The crowd all chorused a reply of "Thank you and nice to meet you too Mr. Phipps." before the head councillor went to have a chat with their new coach for the upcoming week.
After a brief talk with the head coach the councillor turned to face them again and told them to line up with their partners. They were then given a number between each pair which would then decide their room numbers. They were also given a map due to the vastness of the place and the estimated probability that more than half of them would get lost. Some pairs had to share a room with another pair though some did not mind, however some pampered little kings (Ehem...Atobe) were simply horrified at the thought of sharing a room with 3 other people of whom he could barely converse with. They were also given a schedule each which they had to stick by with.
The minute the head councillor had delivered the instructions, every pair strutted over to their room to get settled in. Ryoma walked silently through the hallway, Medanoré following closely behind. Both were quiet and both held the same grim faces. Medanoré's grimness was due to the anxiety and fear of the place with which he would associate as hell. Not only that, Medanoré was also worried for the boy who stood a mere half a foot away from him. Ryoma's grim face however was not caused by any fear or anxiety, it was however caused by the familiarity of the place and the sudden omen that something bad were soon to happen. Ryoma quickly grabbed his head as another bout of pain surged through his head before letting his hands drop as his consciousness reminded him that Medanoré was walking behind him. Medanoré had noticed the sudden movement but made no comment in fear of angering the pre-teen.
"Why does this place look so familiar?" Ryoma thought as he continued his way to his room. However before Ryoma could contemplate any further, he was interrupted by Medanoré who had told him that they had arrived at their room. Medanoré opened the door and both entered coming face to face with a beryspacious room with 4 single beds. Scanning the room, Ryoma could see that 2 of the beds had already been occupied by 2 tennis bags. "Echizen" a voice called out to Ryoma.
"Buchou." Ryoma replied before nodding to the bespectacled teen and walking over to an unoccupied bed and dumping his tennis bag on it before greeting the other occupant.
"Tokugawa-senpai." Ryoma greeted, turning to face the dark haired high schooler.
"Ah... Echizen-kun." Kazuya said before commenting.
"Three Japanese players eh..." He said turning to face Ryoma.
"It's fine. We are all representing different teams anyway." Ryoma replied before turning his attention back to his bed where he had just emptied the contents of his bag.
Meanwhile Medanoré had taken his place on the last remaining bed where he too like the rest started sorting out his bag. The rest of the afternoon was quiet in room 117 where these 4 tennis stars resided whereas in other rooms this peaceful atmosphere was clearly lacking.
Room 176, 2 young men struggled to keep their hands from grabbing their rackets. Dorgias and Leon watched each other though the corners of their eyes. They had not yet said a word to one another though steadily the tension was increasing bit by bit in the room. Other rooms settled in a similar manner. This happened in room 213 where Merry and Cecelia had been appointed. Cecelia glanced repeatedly at Merry who had silently began to unpack. "This is all your fault you damn criminal." Cecelia said outloud in German. Merry who heard what the German said simply shrugged before continuing her previous work. Cecelia, clearly angry at her reaction quickly stormed off, slamming the door shut as she fled. Merry hearing the German leave, silently muttered "It's my fault eh..." Before continuing her unpacking in the same manner as she did before.
However not all rooms suffered the same fate. Rooms like Oishi's room had to be shared by only him and his partner. Oishi had been fortunate to have landed with a decent enough player, although not much conversation could occur between the two. This, however awkward it was helped them not fight against one another although you would not think the mother hen of Seigaku would get into any fights other than anything regarding Meat after all he is the Magistrate.
Well anyway, the rest of the afternoon passed on like this whilst the head coach and councillor had more pressing matters to deal with. "Well, did you get it." Adrian Phipps asked turn to face the councillor.
"Patient, my good man. You will get what you have desired." The head councillor replied adding "which you hardly deserve" as an after-thought.
"Well you better hurry up. I want it before the week's end. Got it?"
"Yes, yes." The councillor replied before turning on his heels and strutting down the hallway.
Turn round the corridor, two teenagers listened to the two men talk. "What's it?" Amadeus asked Camus.
"How should I know?" Camus grunted in reply.
"Well anyway, we should keep an eye on those two whilst at this camp." He continued.
"Ah... Someone's coming. Let's go!" Amadeus warned before dragging himself along with Camus to the door of the cafeteria.
Teenagers were starting to pile into the cafeteria as many were famished. It is true that they had lunch only a few hours before but what can you say when its a bunch of teenagers who have until this point been glaring non-stop and breathing down their roommate's neck every 2 seconds. Medanoré, Tezuka and Kazuya all entered the cafeteria before getting ambushed by Ryoga. "Ne.. Where's chibisuke?" Ryoga asked, tilting his head round hem to see if he was there.
Kaguya answered "Echizen-kun is sleeping." Before walking past Ryoga and grabbing a plate from one of the tables, Tezuka followed.
Medanore hung behind for a little bit watching Ryoga's fave morph from bubbly to grim. "Sou ka..." Ryoga said before heading out of the cafeteria. Medanoré's eyes tracked Ryoga all the way threw the corridors until Ryoga dissapeared round the bend. Medanoré sighed before heading deeper into the cafeteria to get some food.
Meanwhile Ryoga headed off in the direction of Ryoma's room. "If I'm correct, chibisuke's room should be just round that corner."
"Ah... Number 117." Ryoga stopped in front of the door and knocked twice.
On hearing no answer, Ryoga turned the handle and walked in. The room was big, bigger than Ryoga's two person bedroom which he shared with Byoudouin on the upper floor. The beds were all empty with the exception of the bed on the right of the room. Ryoma lay sleeping, the covers covering him up to his chin. Ryoga glanced at him. "Ah... He looks so cute and peaceful sleeping like that. Reminds me of the old days. Maybe I should just leave him." He thought, a fond smile coming to his lips.
Ryoga exited the room and headed off to the cafeteria. Or should I say that was what were to happen if he didn't hear Ryoma call out something. "You say something chibisuke." He said, retreating back to the bed.
Ryoma was turned on his side, his nails digging into his pillow. Ryoga looked at him with a small teasing smile. "Is little chibisuke having a nightmare?" He teased before reaching out to shake him awake.
Ryoma however did not stir. "Fuyu... Shou..." Ryoma called out before digging his nails further into the pillow.
Ryoga stood still and stared confusingly at Ryoma. Ryoma however just shouted louder. "Stop it! It hurts... Don't kill them... Please... I'll do anything... Just don't hurt my friends..." Ryoma's voice gradually became softer towards the end.
Ryoga just stared in shock however this shock was soon replaced by worry when tears began streaming down Ryoma's face. Ryoga having enough, shook the boy awake. Ryoma's eyes snapped open at he call of his name. "Daijoubu?" Ryoga called out to a shaking Ryoma.
Ryoma however just grabbed Ryoga's arm and silently shook as the tears quietly slid down his face. Ryoga watched for a full 5 minutes as his usually calm and antisocial younger brother broke down before him. Ryoga collected the small boy into his arms and tried to calm him down. Ryoga had always wanted Ryoma to act his age but never like this. Ryoga patiently waited for his younger brother to stop his tears before asking him any questions.
Meanwhile all the teenagers had settled down in the cafeteria. All coaches and the American and German team were both there. The head councillor went to the top of the cafeteria. "Could I have everyone attention please." He called out.
Everyone all simultaneously turned round to face him. He cleared his throat before continuing. "So is everyone here?"
"No sir." Medanoré caled out. "Both Echizen Ryoga and Ryoma are not here?"
"Oh well. No matter. Could the Roommates of both Echizen Ryoga and Ryoma please portray what I am about to tell you." Byoudouin clicked his tongue in response. Now he would have to deal with speaking to an airhead.
Medanoré, Tezuka and Kazuya all just nodded in the affirmative. The councillor continued. "Okay. I want to start off with praising you for the great sportsmanship you have displayed today. I'll choose to ignore the lunch you had on the ship. So for the next week we all will be training here. At first we were going to have separate timetables for the woman's and U-17 teams however we have come to the conclusion that you will all vastly improve more whilst working together so the schedules are all the same. I will briefly go over a few basic core things that will happen daily. Okay. To start off, breakfast is at 6:00 sharp. 6:30 training starts. At ten we will stop for an hour break. Then comes the theory lessons till 12. Noon is lunch. I need not remind you to act civilised again. At one o'clock we will begin the practice matches. Everyone will play everyday. Maybe more than once. This will finish at 7. You will have a break till 8 then you will continue training for 2 more hours. We finish at 10. What you choose to do during the breaks or after training does not concern us, however if you fail to attend the training then consequences will occur. That is all." The councillor walked off followed by coach Phipps who had just entered the room.
Before walking out the the room. Phipps turned round and gave a cheery wave. "Oh yeah. You better prepare yourself. We're sticking with the same training regime as the coaches 3 years ago prescribed. Its Bru-Tal~" he said before walking out.
Medanoré, Camus and Amadeus all paled whilst Merry just smirked. "The is going to be fun!" She thought before turning to look at the three mentioned before.
"According to my data, Coach Phipps is not exaggerating when he says its brutal." Inui piped up from behind the other Japanese middle schoolers.
"Uwah.. Inuiii.." A few screamed.
"Don't do that." Akaya yelled.
"Do what?" Inui faked innocence.
"Anyway what's this about brutal training Inui-kun? Irie asked.
"You know how Ravers was considered the best tennis camp in the world. They trained players so that they could become pros. Most do if they survive." Inui said.
"If they survive..." Oishi gulped.
"Yes, if they survived. The training was so brutal most dropped out within a week. Some even a day. Many were sent to hospital due to strenuous training. Some quit tennis and some ruined their whole tennis career. But those who did survive are on another level even on the pro's field especially the top 8 members. They had the best batch of regulars 3 years ago. Some were our age and some even younger. I think the youngest was 10." Renji finished off.
The revelation left many in silence even the usually rowdy Kintaro. "But its amazing you know. The person who apparently designed the training menus was a 14 year old girl. She was apparently the mental coach of Ravers. She is said to have died during the explosion three years ago, however if she had survived she would probably be the best mental coach in the whole world." Kimijima added.
Everyone silently went back to their places to finish their meal. Back at room 117, Ryoma had finally stopped crying and shivering. He was now calm and was silently leaning on the bed frame. Ryoga gently patted his shoulder. "So, you want to tell me what made you like that?" Ryoga said.
At first Ryoma remained silent but after a few seconds he decided to talk. "This place... I hate it... I don't know why though. I don't even remember what I was dreaming about. All I know is that it's related this place." Ryoma said silently.
Ryoga didnt ask any more questions, he silently stroked Ryoma's head before getting off the bed. "Okay, want to get something to eat. It'll make you feel better, chibisuke." Ryoga said.
Ryoma nodded his head before he stood up and made his way to the bathroom. Ryoga watched him go before his face contorted into pure anger. "Nobody makes chibisuke cry. Someone's going to pay dearly for this. No doubt its connected to his past which he still hasn't remembered yet. Oyaji and I need to have a talk later on." He thought.
The teenagers had nearly finished their meals when the two Echizens walked in. "Oi, where were you two?" Kiko called out gesturing them to the table where the Americans sat.
"Chibisuke was sleeping. Took me forever to get him out of bed. Stubborn guy you know." Ryoga replied. It wasn't a lie. Ryoma was sleeping and it did take ryoga ages to get him out of bed, not to mention he is very stubborn.
Ryoma's face did not look out of the ordinary nor did he act any different than he usually does so no one commented. Only a few keen players noticed the young prodigy's out of place face and behaviour. However these few only thought it was due to him just waking up so they let it slide. Though they were a few that thought differently. After seeing Ryoma walk in four teenager's eyes darkened and they all cleanched their fist. "Is something the matter? One of Amadeus's teammates asked him.
"Ah.. It's nothing." He quickly reassured before smiling a fake smile and going back to his food.
One by one the teenagers finished eating and so began to leave. The four teenagers made their way to the roof of the building after dismissing themselves. "He was crying." Amadeus said.
"Yeah, we could tell." Camus replied softly whilst the other two just nodded softly.
"Do you think he got his memory back?" Amadeus asked.
"Maybe but unlikely." Medanoré said
"It could just be a fraction of his memory that's returned. Anyway right now he's not completely oblivious of this place that's for sure." Merry finished off.
"Anyway we have got to prevent him from getting any more of his memory back from now on." Camus pointed out.
"Yeah. We know that, but how?" Amadeus questioned.
"Keep tabs." Camus sheepishly commented.
"Keep tabs!" Amadeus repeated before adding "you're not serious."
Camus shrugged. "Okay. Medanoré you're keeping tabs. Do not let Ryoma out of your sights. You share the same room so its okay. I know it's probably a useless thing to do but its the best we got." Merry said.
Medanoré only nodded as they dispersed to go back inside the building. Back inside the building in a small room a man watched from the monitor screens. "Keeping tabs won't do you any good you know."
Okay this has been my longest chapter yet. I've totally run out of ideas so this is why my chapter was longer as I just basically dragged everything.
I can't promise 2 weeks now though I'll try my best.
Chapter 5 coming soon, I hope!