Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis? Not mine. Got that? Great.
A/N: I dedicate this chapter to shely12.
Warning: There will be OOCness due to circumstances invented by my imagination. This is another short chapter.
Please enjoy the eighth chapter!
Chapter 8: Beyond the outer appearances lies a crying soul.
"You have very weird grandparents, Echizen. Your grandmother is very quiet too." Momo said once the elderly couple was gone. "Obaa-sama is oji-sama's second wife." Ryoma simply replied before sitting down gracelessly on the nearest couch. "What about the weird form of formalities with them?" Eiji asked. "Obaa-sama is a woman of few words, while oji-sama is a more social person." Ryoma tiredly explained.
"Echizen, someone's on the phone and that person wants to talk to you." Fuji said as he casually walked into the room. The black-haired teen frowned as he stood up before taking the phone out of Fuji's hand. "Matte, Echizen-kun!" Izumi said, knowing that she and the others still have things to ask him. "Mada mada dane, sempai-tachi." He muttered before leaving the room.
Izumi sighed before facing the teens with her. "There's nothing we can do now. Everyone, go back to your rooms and get some rest. Tomorrow we will pack for our departure for the day after tomorrow." She told them with a smile. The other teens sighed before leaving, but as they left, Yukimura had entered the room.
"Let's follow them. Come on, Yukimura-kun." Izumi said before leaving the room as well. "Hai, hai, Hanabi-chan." Yukimura replied with a smile as he followed the red-head. When they heard Ryoma's voice, they stopped and made sure they remained hidden even though the two males were not facing them.
"I can't go tomorrow. I have training camp." Ryoma sounded tired, much like earlier. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking again. "Tell him that if he wants me to come, he has to have someone pick me up. It's my last day here in Tokyo." Ryoma had said with an annoyed tone of voice.
He was silent again, but this time, for a few minutes. "Hai. Hai." Ryoma said with a nod every other time. Izumi and Yukimura had guessed that he was either being informed or receiving orders from their unknown caller. "Okay. Just make sure he remembers what I told you. Goodbye." He said before hanging up and keeping away his phone.
"Ryoma." A voice suddenly broke the silence. "Yes, Akaya?" The said boy asked as he faced the one who called him. "Be careful tomorrow." The older teen replied with a seriousness that was new to the two eavesdroppers as he sat next to the younger teen. They had no idea what he was talking about.
"No need to worry about me, Akaya." Ryoma said. Kirihara made the younger teen face him. The caring look they saw in Kirihara's face had surprised the two eavesdroppers to a certain extent. The older dark-haired teen was always depicted as childish, idiotic teen. That, though, was easily forgotten when Ryoma had given the older male a soft but sincere smile.
"I never knew Echizen-kun could smile like that again." Izumi said in a sad tone that did not go unnoticed to the blue-haired teen beside her. Yukimura decided to ask her about that later when they are alone.
"Anyway, we should get some rest." Kirihara said as he closed his eyes once again. Soon, the two males stood up and left, going through the passage opposite from where they came, which where Izumi and Yukimura were hiding. Once they were gone, Izumi and Yukimura went back to the room they came from.
"Hanabi-chan?" The said teen looked at the male only to see his usual smile gone from his face. "Hai?" She asked, completely clueless on why the teen before her was so serious at the moment. "What did you mean by your statement earlier?" He asked straightforwardly. "What statement?" She asked nervously. 'I didn't notice I said it out loud!' She inwardly panicked. "You said something about not knowing Echizen-kun could smile like he did earlier again. Why is that?" He asked. She sighed in defeat.
"You see, I've been with Echizen-kun for a long time now, about three years. Ever since he moved here, he spent a lot of time helping me take care of the temple. Because of that, we gradually became friends, though it wasn't easy with him being an anti-social brat at first." Izumi told him; her voice was steady all the while.
"Echizen-kun, well… He is a very sweet boy." Izumi said with a soft smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Though he acts like a total brat when you first know him, he has a really soft and caring side which he shows to people whom he cares about. It's quite hard to believe, neh?" Izumi lightly chuckled at that, but expression soon turned gloomy.
"In all the time I spent with him, I have only seen him smile sincerely for only a handful of times." Izumi told him. "At what times?" Yukimura couldn't stand not to ask.
"It was all with Kirihara Akaya-kun, your teammate." She answered.
A/N: Okay. Trouble is brewing in this chapter. Anyway, this is where the fun spikes up. (insert-evil-grin-here)
I hope I didn't make the characters too OOC. I might have been a little excited when I typed this so... Please tell me any typos and inconsistencies, even grammar mistakes (being the "Grammar Nazi" that I am).
Constructive criticism is appreciated in the form of private messages and/or reviews.