Eeeeey. Hope everyone's had a good Thanksgiving. I went into a food coma after I ate.
Thanks to everyone that's been leaving feedback and everything. Really helps to push with getting things done. I got three new stories in mind with lots and lots of very stupid angst and character suffering that I might do at some point so I guess you guys can look forward to that after I'm done with this one.
Uuuuh still don't own Prince of Tennis.
Here's chapter 8. Enjoy!
"That's the look I like. The look of fear in a man face when he's moments away from death." He knelt down next to Echizen. "I'm sure the boss will be happy about this and even if he's not, well, no skin off my back." He raised the knife. "Goodbye kitty cat."
Echizen shut his eyes. Just as he was about to make contact there was a ricochet sound and the knife was flung from his hand. Echizen opened his eyes to see a foot collide with his captor's face and a protective shadow stand over him.
"If you ever touch my brother again, I will personally make your life into a living hell."
Echizen knew that voice; tone, emotion, diction, word choice. He knew who the shadow looming over him belonged to. He recognized the sound of the gunshot and the click it made when another bullet was cocked into the chamber. He didn't remember the last time he saw Ryoga but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything at the moment; all he wanted to do was sleep. He fought to keep his eyes open as best he could hoping that he would be able to stay conscious long enough for something to happen.
"Hey Chibisuke." Ryoga's voice seemed gruff yet comforting and protective. "Still getting into trouble I see." Echizen scoffed.
"Still getting in the way of things that aren't your business Ryoga?" The man sat up and wiped his face.
Ryoga gave him a glare that could very well compete with Fuji's. "Not my business? How is my brother not my business? Please tell me. I'm dying to know."
Echizen listened to the conversation between the two males. From what he gathered the man standing before them name was Jack. Apparently he and Ryoga had met before in Australia while Ryoga was there with his tennis team.
"What will you do now? Don't look like your brother can stay awake for much longer." Jack said flicking a knife up and down. "And considering the injuries from the crash and all the moving he's been doing, I wouldn't be surprised if he started coughing up blood due to internal bleeding."
Ryoga spared a glance at Echizen. He was paler than he should've been and he was breathing hard but there was no way his injuries could be that bad.
"I'll tell you what." Jake spoke. "I'll let the kid go this time considering what you did for me a few years back." He put his knife back in his belt and started to walk away back to the trees. "But next time he's coming with me."
Ryoga stayed in a defensive stance until he was completely out of view. His eyes stayed on the spot for a few seconds then he hurried around to Echizen.
"What are you doing here?" Echizen asked as he got into a sitting position.
"Who do you think Kaa-san called to keep a watch on you?" Ryoga did a quick look over of his brother's injuries. "You look like you're about to pass out."
Echizen held out the metal dart still in his hand. "He drugged me with something."
"At least you'll be able to get a decent amount of sleep for once." He pulled him onto his back. "Let's get you back home."
"There were a lot more of these guys than we thought." Kikumaru shouted from the trees.
"Nothing but stupid flunkies if you ask me." Momo said as he kicked one in the leg.
"Well thanks to them their boss was able to go after Echizen." Fuji pointed out. "Let's go find him and make sure he's alright."
"What are we going to do about these guys? We can't just leave them." Kikumaru asked.
"Don't worry. They'll be taken care of." Momo took out his phone and snapped a picture of the injured men. "Let's just find Echizen. He may have already found the others."
The three of them walked from the group of injured men and back towards the park. They searched for Echizen but no sign of him and when they ran into his security and found out they hadn't seen him since the four of them left earlier, they got worried. The group continued up and down streets nearest to the park but still nothing. Momo was about to call for several of his members to be sent out to help search when he received a text.
"At the house, fine for the most part; better if you come over for an explanation."
"How could he have gotten back to his house already?" Kikumaru asked as they all ventured back to Echizen's house.
"Maybe he knows a shortcut and figured he'd be safest there." Fuji answered.
"Sempaiwe took the shortcut when we were first going there and it's still nowhere as fast." Momo pointed out seeing that he probably knew the most about the general area. "Plus he's still injured so that would hinder him."
"So you're saying this is a trap? I'm sure Echizen could handle himself giving that he said it happens often."
Fuji's words made their stomachs drop. Echizen was so young yet things like this happen to him almost all the time but being the prodigy son of a famous retired tennis player was bound to have side effects. For the most part they knew what it was like because they were all in similar positions but they always had each other to talk to. It must have been hard not to have anyone there for him but he said it didn't really bother him seeing as they moved all the time. He wasn't alone anymore though and they would make sure of it.
When they arrived back at the house they felt uneasy. It seemed too easy for Echizen to have just gone back home without at least another lackey to follow him. The outside of the house was dark but the inside seemed to be dimly lit. They went into the living room where they saw Echizen lying on the couch with Karupin sleeping on top of him.
"I'll advise you to let him sleep, he deserves it." A voice from a chair startled them. "Don't worry I'm not anyone to be panic about; Echizen Ryoga. I'm his older brother. I'm the person that was called to come watch him."
"A rather good time to suddenly show up don't you think?" Fuji asked with accusation in his voice.
"It's impeccable I know." Ryoga answered smugly. "I flew in a few hours ago. The only way I know you four were at the park was he has a tracking chip in his phone."
"Care to explain what's going on then?" Momo more so demanded.
"Calm down. I've asked Tezuka and Inui to join us so I can better explain everything at once." He yawned. "I do wish that they'd hurry though; not that I'm not worried about this or anything but jetlag always gets me."
"How do you know their names?"
"I know all about you guys; Momoshiro Takashi, Kikumaru Eiji, Fuji Shuusuke." He gestured to each of them as he said their names. "My brother's an important person; do you think I would let him go about without knowing who he's with?"
"Will Ochibi be alright though?" Kikumaru asked.
"He should be his cocky self in the morning."
In the time waiting for Inui and Tezuka to arrive, Ryoga told the three of them about the life Echizen previously had to lead and why he felt bad he wasn't really there for him. Echizen made it seem like it wasn't a big deal and he just moved around a lot but in reality it really upset him. Ryoga said that he had tried to make friends with people his own age but it usually ended up with him being told off or ignored in general and after a while he stopped trying all together.
The one time he succeeded was one of the last times the brothers had seen each other before they had left for Japan and Ryoga stayed in America for his tennis career. It was when Echizen managed to slip away from his security yet again and venture off on his own. He ran into a boy his age with blonde hair and glasses and, according to Echizen, an even cockier attitude than he had. They got to talking and soon found themselves on a tennis court but it didn't last for long seeing as Echizen was found and taken back to wherever he needed to be. Ryoga didn't know if Echizen had actually kept in contact with him or not but it was something at least.
When Inui and Tezuka had arrived, Ryoga had told everyone who exactly was hunting his brother. He explained that there would also most likely be a reward for someone who captures him just like Jack had told him. He left Momo in charge of finding out exactly what it was and if any rival gangs knew about it and if they did, he knew Momo and Kaidou could quickly dispel the thought of it.
He gave the dart that Echizen had given him to Inui to analyze the substances that had been used and when that was done they could trace them to companies that produce them then go even further to find out which corporation has the most interaction with them. Ryoga then gave Tezuka a full description of Jack's personality, what he looked like, and what they could expect in the future.
"For the most part, he's going to need to be watched basically around the clock." Ryoga crossed his arms. "Meaning no more sneaking away from security." He spared a glance at Momo.
"They helped!" Momo accusingly said as he pointed to Fuji and Kikumaru.
"Nonetheless, Ryoga-san is right." Tezuka said. "Echizen shouldn't be allowed out of their sight."
"The only exception to this would be school but we'd all be with him then." Inui added.
"To add on about school, Tezuka-kun, I know you're against it but I'd like for you to start letting him practice." Tezuka gave Ryoga a questioning stare. "If he's going to be watched all the time, might as well let him do something he enjoys. He gets rather antsy and tends to wonder if he sits still for too long. Letting him practice will keep him busy and you'll be able to keep an eye on him easier. If you're worried about his injuries, I can assure you he'll be fine. If you want to know more you can ask him; it's really not my place to tell."
"Very well then. If it will keep him safe then we don't really have a choice." Tezuka looked at Echizen sleeping on the couch. "How's he doing?"
"As far as I can tell he's just getting the best night's sleep he's had in a while. He should be fine. Jack's not the type of person to kill right off the bat." Ryoga yawned.
"How do you know what kind of person he is?"
"I told you I spent some time with him in Australia. I don't really even remember it well but he said that by not killing Chibisuke, he paid me back for what I did for him."
"You just said he doesn't kill needlessly though." Fuji pointed out.
"He doesn't, especially if the big boss man that hired him wants the target alive. Chibisuke probably just pissed him off, which isn't hard to understand seeing how stubborn he is when it comes to giving in to other people and taunting them on top of it." He rubbed his eyes. "I know it's a lot to ask but there's a reason why they came here and not to one of the other houses they have."
"What should we do then? No doubt that's going to be the perfect time for this Jack person to strike."
"Wrong actually." The five of them looked at Ryoga. "The thing I know about him is he will try his hardest not to get innocent bystanders involved; not because he cares about their well-being, but it'll cause more work for him in the future."
"So he's lazy?" Kikumaru asked.
Ryoga just kind of nodded in agreement. "Also in case you don't already have it figured out, you and your teammates are not innocent bystanders. He won't hesitate you make you less of a problem. Tomorrow should be a day of rest and preparation. There should be little to no attempts seeing that he now has to factor in all of you and the ties you have. He didn't plan on me being here either so we also have that."
"That's the beginning then." Tezuka said. "We'll inform everyone tomorrow about what's going on."
"We better get going then. We'll try to have some answers for you tomorrow Ryoga-san."
"I hope you don't mind if I also tag along for some practice too Tezuka-kun. I'd also like to get the general feel for the people around the school if you don't mind."
"Not at all. We'd be happy to have you."
With that, Tezuka and Inui departed from the Echizen house hold. Ryoga took the liberty and brought out things for the other three and himself to sleep with. See that Echizen shouldn't be moved and wasn't going to wake any time soon, they all decided to sleep in the living room to make sure that nothing would happen during the night. They all fell asleep rather quickly and were glad for it because after tomorrow, their lives were going to get a great deal more difficult.
Oh my god I'm so sorry this took so long please don't hate me I'm doing my best.
So that's chapter 8 I suppose. I'm trying to prolong it but I don't think it's working so maybe two or three more chapters? I dunno.
Well there it is. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I know I said I was going to go back to twice a month but things have been really hectic with the holidays and school and everything but it should be a bit better now that's everything's over.
Again if you guy have anything you think would be good in this story, please tell me. Writer's block is horrible.
Please forgive spelling and grammar and stupidness and lateness and corniness and shortness and I'm sorry.
Hope you liked it. See ya later!