Eeeeey what's up with everyone? Hope you had a good Halloween and everything because this is clearly going to be posted afterwards because I'm a horrible procrastinator. Also I'm working on two other stories just for the fun of it so I'm kinda scattered for which one I need to focus on.
Thanks for all the reviews and everything. For the one who asked about it, yes I am going to make Ryoga appear somewhere just like all my other ones.
Okay now I got a question: do you guys care about me doing 'sempai' over 'senpai'? I've been told like one's for male and one's female or there's no difference between the two but really I've grown up hearing 'sempai' and prefer using that one but if it bugs you guys just let me know and I'll change it.
Nope. Still don't own Prince of Tennis.
Here's chapteeeeeer- six. Enjoy!
"Well it should matter now seeing as you're not going anywhere soon." Kikumaru said with a grin. "Taka-san even said he'd come by with sushi from his shop."
"At least we won't have to worry about food tonight." Just then Momo's phone rang. "Ah hold on a second." He took his phone into the other room.
"Ah Ochibi, Momo mentioned something about someone coming to stay with you while your family is gone." Echizen nodded. "You don't know who it is at all?"
He thought for a second. "No- they never ended up telling me who was coming but they seemed happy about it." Just then Momo came back into the room with a bothered look. "What's that about?"
"That was Oishi-sempai. The driver that crashed into you woke up."
"So they're alright then." Echizen was content with knowing that but still wanted info on if it was an actual attempt on his life or just careless driving.
"Doesn't look like he was injured too badly." Momo said as he sat back on the couch. "The police are going to interrogate him to try and see what really happened."
"And until then we'll stay with you." Kikumaru latched onto him, minding his injuries. "Even when that mystery person comes to stay with you."
"Honestly, how could your family leave without saying whom was going to stay?" Kaidou pointed out.
"Considering they didn't seem at all nervous about me staying allegedly by myself until they arrived, it'll have to be someone we trust tremendously or at least know they won't let anything happen to me." Echizen put his arms behind his head. "Even if something did happen they would trust them to get me back unharmed."
"So today with the car accident doesn't count?" Momo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I can't control that. All Kaa-san said was that they'd be here within the week and that could be tomorrow for all I know."
"And you're just okay with this?" Momo questioned. "How will you know him? Is he going to arrive here or somewhere else? What if he-" Just then the doorbell rang. The four of them looked over towards the hall leading to the front door. "No way. There is no possible way that could happen."
"Then who is it?" Kaidou asked. "Maybe your security is back already."
"What if it's the mean people come to take Ochibi away?" Kikumaru said with a bit of a raised tone.
"I highly doubt they would ring the doorbell." Echizen said. "If anything they would enter through a window upstairs or the back door."
"I'm not too sure." Momo said. "I mean with the things we've seen-" He gestured to himself and Kaidou. "-if you're as important as you say you are, then they'll stop at nothing to get to you and in turn get to your father. Sometimes the most direct is the least expected."
"So you're saying that if there is someone out there wanting to take him away, he would be able to do it singlehandedly while we have people around and without causing a scene?" Kaidou supposed.
"I didn't say that at all." Momo huffed. "I'm just saying-" The bell rang again.
Echizen sighed and got up from the couch. "Sitting and bickering won't solve anything." He turned a corner and went towards the door. It took a second then the other three quickly left the couch and jolted to the door with him. Before the three of them could stop him, he opened the door. "Ah, Kawamura-sempai."
"Echizen I was hoping you were home." Kawamura smiled at him. "What happened to them?" He gestured at the three other boys that were on the ground with their legs up and twitching.
"Overreaching about something I'm sure. Come in."
"Thank you." The two of them stepped over the three on the ground. "I brought you some get well sushi. I didn't know if you'd returned from the hospital yet though."
"Mou Taka-san, don't scare us like that." Momo whined as they walked into the room. "We thought you were a kidnapper."
"Would a kidnapper really use the front door?" Kaidou rhetorically asked.
"I told you I would come by though." Kawamura said sheepishly.
"Don't pay attention to them sempai." Echizen said they sat down to eat. "They're overreacting."
"Ochibi!" Kikumaru put his hands on his hips. "You're the son of the famous Samurai Nanjiro! You're a big person in the world of tennis! If anything would happen to you, your father would be crushed and no doubt the tennis world would be lost without you. You need to take your situation more seriously." He looked at Echizen but was only met with the back of his head. "Ochibi!"
His words fell on deaf ears seeing as Echizen didn't seem fazed at all and continued to eat. "If you don't hurry there won't be any left for you."
Kikumaru huffed and sat down with them. When they were done eating they explained everything to Kawamura in more detail and cleared up any confusion that might have been present. When they were done with that Kawamura said his goodbyes and made his way back home. With that being done, Echizen pretty much called it a night. He showed the three older boys where extra blankets were if they needed them and headed to bed. None of them blamed him for wanting to sleep. After what he had been through they were surprised he was able to still have so much energy left over.
The morning that followed was basically like any other for them, minus the fact that they were with each other. The three older boys had no trouble making themselves at home with raiding the kitchen, using the bathroom, and making noise while they got ready for class. Echizen awoke to shouts of Kaidou and Momo arguing about whose turn it was in the bathroom. He went downstairs to see them struggling in the doorway and pointed out that there was a second one either could use upstairs hoping that would quiet them down but really just made them argue more about who would go to it.
Echizen made his way to the kitchen table and slumped down in one of the chairs. His hair was unkempt and the bandages around his chest were loose. His whole body ached; it didn't feel like he had been in a car crash the previous day but more like he had played several matches and not warmed up properly which was probably due to the medication he'd been given.
"Hai." Kikumaru set down a glass of tea and a small bowl of rice. "You can't go to school without breakfast."
"Thank you sempai." He took the food and slowly began to eat it.
"Ochibi do you think you should even be going to school today? Wouldn't it be better if you stayed home and rested longer?" Kikumaru sat in the chair across from him.
Echizen put the food down. "To be honest I would love for that to happen but in reality the school is probably the safest place for me to be. Even if the crash yesterday really was just an accident, staying here will make me more vulnerable. Plus Buchou will have the information we're looking for."
"I guess that's a good of reason as any." He sighed. "Yosh! Ochibi leave it to me. I'll be your bodyguard for today! No one will get within five feet of you."
"Unless you plan to sit with me throughout all my classes, that's impossible." Kikumaru's eyes lit up at that idea. "You're not going to sit with me throughout my classes."
"Kora Echizen you don't look ready to go at all." Momo said as he entered the kitchen. "Have you been paying attention to the time?"
Echizen and Kikumaru looked at the clock then scrambled to finish getting ready.
The walk to school was relatively normal except for the fact that they could all feel eyes on them as they walked. More than once Momo yelled and pointed in a random direction to which his and Kaidou's people, along with Echizen security would come out of hiding and stand between them and wherever Momo was pointing and the event of that happening, the four boys would run ahead and try to lose their protectors.
When they got to school, Echizen's people dispersed themselves around the school while Momo and Kaidou's either went with them in the school or back to the hideout to report on what had happened in the time they were gone.
Upon arriving at the tennis courts, the three older boys went to get changed while Echizen met with Tezuka. Even though Echizen claimed to feel fine, Tezuka forbid him to pick up a racquet until he was at his top again. He also told him they would talk about the information his father had given him at the afternoon practice. Echizen also was found by Oishi who checked him over to make sure the extent of his injuries weren't getting worse and told him to call if he had any problems.
With that Echizen found an empty bench and laid down on it. He wished he could've stayed home and slept longer. His body ached with a dull throb. He could hear the people in the closest court asking each other why he wasn't participating and why he didn't even show yesterday. At least no one else outside of the regulars knew what happened. He thought to his classes and how he was going to be bombarded with questions and sighed annoyingly.
"Echizen." He turned and sat up to see Inui standing in front of him with a bottle of something extended in his direction. "Drink this."
He raised an eyebrow and took the bottle. "What is this Inui-sempai?"
"Something that will help you recover faster. I call it Golden Power Recovery Inui Juice. It's got all natural ingredients in it that should strengthen your body's immune system, muscles, and bones."
That sounded good enough. If it was going to help him recover faster he was willing to try it. He took a drink and immediately regretted it. Never before had he tasted something like that before.
He coughed and covered his mouth with his arm as he shoved the bottle back at Inui. "Are you trying to kill me Inui-sempai?"
"On the contrary Echizen; I hope you get better soon so I can analyze your data." Inui took a drink from the bottle which made Echizen's stomach drop. "Are you sure you don't want more?"
"Yes I'm sure." With that, Inui walked away with a smile on his face and left Echizen to his thoughts.
When practice was over Echizen walked with the loud boy called Horio to their class. When questions started coming he just shrugged them off saying his private life wasn't anyone else's business. When someone commented saying it was because he was a rich snob who was probably at a banquet for his father, he just kind of agreed seeing that that was probably the most believable excuse; although that was the kind of stereotype he wanted to get away from.
By lunch, the dull throb had become an annoying prick. When he attempted to take the medication he'd been given, almost all of his classmates' eyes fell on him. When Horio asked what it was Echizen said it was a rich person pill; made of the sun with gold in the center. The faces of his classmates showed belief beyond anything and Echizen sweat dropped then said it was a Vitamin D tablet instead and he needed to take them for a few weeks because he had a weak immune system. When they all seemed to believe the white lie, he laughed a bit because it was indeed the opposite. He's been poisoned and infected with several different things so really his immunity was the strongest thing he had.
When it was time for the afternoon practice, Echizen got antsy. He wanted to know everything about the crash that had happened the previous day and if it really was an attempt on his life or just careless driving. The name Heizo Takayama didn't sound like anyone Echizen knew from any companies. He hoped it was really just an accident because he didn't want to deal with any attacks, especially while his family wasn't there to smooth everything out. He didn't even know if they knew about it or not.
While everyone was starting practice, Tezuka sat with Echizen on a bench to discuss what he had been told by his father. "First off, the man that crashed into you and is in the hospital right now is named Akio Tahara. He said he was on his way to the airport to pick someone up. Does his name sound familiar at all?" He thought for a second. The name did sound familiar but there was something that wasn't quite right about how it sounded. "The car that was crashed supposedly belonged to the company he worked at. They've yet to receive confirmation on if that is true or if the car was stolen but so far no reports have been made. I've also been told that they're going to contact the company to see if someone was returning to a business trip."
Now it was getting strange; maybe it was his concussion but those names sounded very familiar. The company might have been a branch of a larger one and they're trying to ruin his father by working from there.
"Never heard of them." He threw his hands behind his head. "The accident was probably just that; an accident."
Tezuka raised an eyebrow at his apathy. "I'll be sure to keep you posted as I hear things. In the meantime, make sure you get plenty of rest. I won't allow you to play while injured and I'd like to see you at your top performance." He got up and walked away.
"Hai." He was trying to get better and after one day he would say he's going pretty well. He also knew that he should've told Tezuka the name sounded familiar but he didn't want to get anyone involved with anything even though he knew they had gone through similar things.
As practice went on, Echizen found he was talking to himself about his teammates; should've jumped higher or changed the angle for a better shot. He was getting antsy just sitting there and was glad when it was finally ended. He was told that Fuji would be taking Kaidou's place at his house, not that there was anything wrong with that but Echizen just didn't believe someone like Fuji could be a master at martial arts and look that happy all the time.
The four of them walked to Echizen's house. When they got there, Momo said he would take care of Fuji and Echizen should get changed. When questioned about it Momo said they were going to take him somewhere and he should just hurry and get ready. Echizen thought nothing more of it and went to change while the other three went back outside.
"Oi Echizen, hurry up." Momo yelled from outside the house.
"Shouting won't make him go faster." Kikumaru said.
"Is it just you today Momo?" Fuji asked as he looked towards the house.
"Ah. If me and Mamoshi are gone for long periods of time then things will start happening and it'll cause problems for us down the line so he's going to keep up with business over there while I'm with him." Momo said.
"Are you alright with that?" Fuji asked.
"Maa it was either stay here with him for a while longer or go back and deal with even more annoying people." He shrugged. "Either way something might happen."
Echizen emerged from the house and crossed his arms. "Who's calling who annoying exactly?"
"Maybe if it wasn't true I wouldn't have to say it." Momo replied with a cheeky smile.
"So? What are we doing?" Echizen asked as the four of them started walking from his house.
"More important is where we're going." Kikumaru said.
"Well then?" Echizen asked.
"First we're going to visit a ramen shop." Fuji said with a smile. "My treat."
"Sempai is so generous." Momo said with a smile.
The four of them walked until they reached the ramen shop. It wasn't too big and with the amount of people inside, it made it look smaller. Although he didn't show it, Echizen was excited. It was really the first time he'd gone out with friends to a neighborhood restaurant when usually he was used to high end restaurants with his family. When they were finished, they managed to slip away from the people that were tailing them and laughed when they started to shouts for them. They all walked through streets and down alleyways until they got to their destination.
IM SORRY. THIS CHAPTER IS SO LATE OH MY GOD. I tried to make it good but eeeeeh bad place to end again. I will say you can blame school because its cutting into my gaming time and that is cutting into my writing time. I'll try to get back to twice a month updates or better if I get everything done.
Well there ya go. Did you like it? I hope you liked it. I know this was a boring chapter but whatcha gonna do? Totally not cheating by using an old, never published story to work into the plot I swear- okay maybe I am but that way I have things to work with so you get chapters faster.
Please forgive spelling and grammar and lateness and boringness and stupidness and laziness and corniness and over all how bad it is and I'm sorry.
Hope ya liked it. See ya later!