Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis? Not mine. Got that? Great.
A/N: I dedicate this chapter to KiTtEn18sMiLe and Artic-Fox 14. :D
Warning: There will be OOCness due to circumstances invented by my imagination.
We've come along a long way so here it goes, the sixteenth chapter!
Chapter 16: He was not feeling well.
"Inui-sempai, were you able to get the name of the family who previously owned this place?" Ryoma asked his glasses-wearing teammate. "Yes, they are the Hanabusa family. They moved here from London a couple of years ago." Inui replied. Ryoma nodded in acknowledgement.
"The parents are Akito and Julian Hanabusa. Their daughters are Mary and Lillian Hanabusa. Their only son is Ray Hanabusa. The eldest is Mary, followed by Lillian then Ray, with a two-year gap from each other." Ryoma informed them as he pointed them out in the picture.
"What happened after the mother died?" Momo asked. "They moved out and lived elsewhere. The real estate agent had tried to sell this house numerous times again before my grandparents bought it. All the potential owners had kept declining after getting an ominous feeling, or as I heard from the real estate agent." Ryoma answered.
"Were they able to find her body?" Choutarou asked him. He and the others looked expectantly at the black-haired freshman. Ryoma frowned and shook his head from side to side. The others felt down when they saw that. "What happened to Ray?" Chitose asked. "His family didn't expose the murder, so he wasn't put into prison or to court. They only said that Julian fell into the river one cold night and they found her hat by the river bank." Ryoma answered.
"Why do you know that?" Inui asked. "I have accessed more memories about this place before." Ryoma replied. "By the way, how were we able to see that scene?" Gakuto asked. His question caused a wave of whispers to the teens around him. He did make a point. Not one of the teens knew how they were even able to see the past. "Was it your doing, otouto? You said you have accessed other memories here before." Izumi asked, making the other males quiet down. They all looked at Ryoma, wanting to know his answer.
"No, it wasn't me." Ryoma admitted. Izumi thought for a while, before an idea came to her. "Could it be Sachiko-san's doing? I'm sure it wasn't me because I don't know how to do that." Izumi said. They all looked at the bed to see Sachiko sitting upright, her face downcast and shadowed by her long bangs.
"Was it you, Sachiko?" Ryoma asked. "Yes, it was me, but not on purpose." Sachiko answered. This brought confusion to the normal teens. "When Creatures get knocked out, their control on their powers weakens for a certain amount of time. This sometimes causes unknown phenomena to happen. It is the same for Fighters, but weaker in comparison to those of Creatures because they need a medium when they are conscious." Sachiko explained.
"That means we actually traveled to the past?" Marui asked in disbelief. "No, we only accessed a memory like Young Master did in the past. I merely showed you a lingering memory of this mansion." Sachiko answered. "I only renovated and redesigned the mansion, like the previous families did." Ryoma added to let them further understand the situation. "How would you define 'lingering memory of the mansion'? This is the first time I ever heard such a thing." Izumi asked with cluelessness evident on her face.
"This mansion has been standing here for many generations and has witnessed the passing of many individuals. These individuals had made memories in this mansion, which stayed here until today." Ryoma told her. "I still don't understand." Momo told him. Ryoma sighed in defeat.
"There are rumors that spirits lurk in the whole area. This mansion has been here since before the first family who formally took ownership. Such old buildings tend to have a few lingering memories from its previous inhabitants. The stronger the memory, the longer it stays." Ryoma explained.
"So it's like the smell a person's shampoo is left on the pillow where he laid his head on the night before?" Yuuta asked. Ryoma nodded before he faced Sachiko. "What happened to you earlier, Sachiko?" He asked; his voice had a tinge of worry. "I do not know myself, Young Master. I was washing the dishes when I suddenly felt faint before I lost consciousness." She replied.
Silence soon enveloped the teens in the room after Sachiko spoke. It was soon broken by the heavy knocks they heard. "Someone's at the door." Ryoma informed them before he walked out of the room. Nobody but a select few had noticed the slight limp in his steps.
"Well, let's leave now to give Sachiko-san more time to rest." Izumi said before she left the room as well. The other teens followed her in suit. When all of them had left the room, they saw Ryoma slowly climbing up the stairs with four adults behind him. They were Ryuzaki Sumire, Watanabe Osamu, Sasaki Taro, and Hanamura Aoi, their assigned coaches.
They approached the four adults in an instant. "Sensei-tachi!" They greeted with a bow. "I'm glad all of you were able to get here safely. Has Ryoma told you about this place?" Ryuuzaki asked. "Hai. He also gave us a tour of the mansion, Ryuuzaki-sensei." Izumi replied in behalf of everyone. The boys behind her had simply nodded in agreement.
"Training would start tomorrow, so all of your rest up and relax for today." Ryuuzaki told them before she and the other coaches were lead to their rooms. The others soon dissipated into numerous groups and walked off into various places.
Later that evening, they were summoned to the dining room for dinner, which was made by Ryoma and Izumi though the latter mostly did the cooking with the former having injuries and all. Sachiko was excused for that night and was to stay in her room. The others assigned under Fox were the ones who called the others and set up the dining room. That night, their dinner was much like the one they had when Ryoma's grandparents visited Izumi's place. It was a feast.
After dinner, all of them once again disappeared into the mansion. Some went to the entertainment room or the gym to train or play games. Some went back to their rooms. Ryoma, on the other hand, remained in the kitchen, making Sachiko's favorite tea. He sat down to ease the pain in his knees while he waited for the water to boil.
He double checked his bandages as he waited. The cuts were deep, and many shards were dug into his skin before he cleaned it. As he popped another painkiller in his mouth, the soft whistle of the kettle brought his out of his thoughts. He poured the hot water to the prepared tea pot.
He took the jar of honey beside it and proceeded to pour in a teaspoon of the sweet liquid. He got some in his finger, which he tasted. 'Too sweet.' He thought as he mixed the tea. He placed the pot and a teacup on a tray before using his powers to skip climbing two flights of stairs.
He knocked lightly on the door before a soft voice told him to enter. As he touched the doorknob, he felt himself sway a bit before regaining composure. He shook his head from side to side, thinking that he was only tired, before entering the room. He slowly walked the small distance between the door and her bedside table.
He placed the tray on the table before he poured the still warm tea into the cup. He carefully handed the cup to the currently bedridden girl. "Thank you, Young Master." He heard her mutter, but it did not register in his mind as the scent of English tea wafted to his nose. The sickly sweet taste of honey returned to his mouth. His head throbbed in pain.
"-Young Master?" Sachiko's words were barely heard by him as he started to sway. The taste of honey was overwhelming, and the scent of tea brought back memories. He rested his hand on the bedside table to keep himself upright, but he felt his strength diminish as the taste and scent grew more intense.
"Let us make some tea, Ray."
He fainted.
A/N: I hope I didn't make it too confusing, with the memories I mean. Even I was confused when I thought of it. (insert-nervous-laugh-here)
Anyway, 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.