Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis? Not mine. Got that? Great.
A/N: I dedicate this chapter to Artic-Fox. Thank you for helping me with some story issues. There will be three chapters for today. This is my gift to you, Fox-chan! :D
Warning: There will be OOCness due to circumstances invented by my imagination. There is shounen-ai in this chapter, but just light.
Here it is, the twenty-second chapter!
Chapter 22: This is beyond normal expectations.
"Everyone, Young Master would not be able to join you for dinner tonight. He is not feeling well, and would not be accepting visitors for the rest of the night. Please do not make too much noise around the hallways. He needs his rest." Sachiko announced when nearly everyone had gathered in the dining room for diner.
"What happened to him, Sachiko-san?" Izumi asked in worry. "I apologize for I have no idea. Young Master had left his quarters in mid-afternoon and returned half an hour later. I do not know what he did in that time frame that would cause his current condition to worsen." Sachiko replied monotonously, but they all deducted that she was simply hiding her worry.
The rest of the tennis players suddenly remembered the events of earlier that afternoon, with Kirihara and Momo's bickering to Ryoma's appearance. They all wondered what was happening to the freshman prodigy. "Koshimae was with us earlier." Kintarou told her, his usual smile gone from his face.
"Is there something you boys are not telling me?" Sachiko asked as she gave them all an inquiring look. Some had avoided her gaze while some had met it straight on. "He only checked up on us, Sachiko-san. No need to worry." Kirihara answered lightly with a smile on his face. He's slight nervousness did not go unnoticed, but they shrugged it off as simply his embarrassment with what happened earlier.
With that, the evening was left uneventful and peaceful, as it could be with four-two teens and four adults in a huge mansion. The next morning, the teens were woken up by either Izumi or Sachiko. It was the same for the coaches. They all headed to the dining room, as the two female teens had ordered.
When they reached the dining room, they were all shocked at the grandeur breakfast on the tables. It was better than their previous meals in the mansion and the feast-like dinner they had when Ryoma's grandparents visited. "Young Master did all of this by himself." Sachiko informed them. "Don't let him know you know that though." Izumi added with a sly wink before she proceeded to her usual table.
Once again, they all placed themselves in their usual tables, but refrained from touching the food. Their breakfast that day felt surreal, as if all of them were dreaming or in heaven. The silence was broken by a yawn from a sleepy black-haired freshman as he entered the dining room.
He noticed the weird silence in the room. There was no soft clanking of plates or the light taps of steel hitting porcelain that he grew accustomed to during mealtimes. He eyed everyone in the room warily. "Why isn't anyone of you eating yet?" He asked; his voice was neither irritated nor unpleased. It was blunt and sleepy.
That was all that it took before the clanking and tapping reached his ears like a familiar melody. He let out a deep sigh as he sat on his chair, his signature hot cup of black coffee in his left hand. "Why do you like drinking black coffee, Echizen-kun?" Shiraishi asked, completely curious. "I always depicted you as someone who would like it a tad bit sweeter." He added.
"I like the bitter taste it leaves, mostly if it's freshly brewed." Ryoma answered before taking a small sip. That's when they noticed his peculiar but formal table manners, not that it was unwanted. It only seemed weird that the youngest among them could act so mature and formal at mealtimes. His practice of table manners even beat those of Atobe's, who was raised in a very high-class family.
Even with his evident sleepiness, his posture was straight and his head held high. His elbows were always by his sides and his hands were always close to his body. His movement is both fluid and graceful. He took food in small quantities and chewed them slowly. He lifted, used and returned table appointments without a sound, even a clank or tap on the table or plate. He even sipped his coffee without a sound. His actions, more or less, were much more of a lady's than a man's, they were sure but would never say out loud.
Izumi, being the imaginative girl she is, had thought that her proclaimed brother was replaced by a queen or princess, at least a high-class lady of sorts. She had to keep in her snickers every time she had such thoughts. She knew Ryoma would be upset if even she thought that he was acting like a lady, not that he couldn't deny it. It was an unconscious attitude of his, she noticed.
'Oh Kami-sama! He's so like Ciel Phantomhive of Toboso Yana-sama's Kuroshitsuji!' Izumi inwardly held a delighted squeal as her grip on the spoon and fork she was holding grew tighter, making it bend. "You are going to pay for that, nee-san." She turned her head to look at Ryoma, who didn't even seem fazed at all with what she had just done. "Okay. I'll pay you when we get back to Tokyo." She casually replied.
After breakfast, they were told that they would not have training for that day, as to give some time for the coaches to relax after a day of both teaching and training. The teens were deciding on what to do for the rest of the day when Kintarou asked them a question. "Koshimae, what are those weird flowers around the mansion?"
This caught the attention of the teens. They had noticed it when they first came here, but got distracted by the amenities of the mansion. "There are different colored anemones, yellow tulips, tree marigolds (Nitobe Chrysanthemum), yellow pheasant's eyes and many more. I planted some of them myself." Ryoma answered in a bored tone.
"How can that be, Echizen? Some of those flowers aren't even in season, or can last this long. None of the flowers have either wilted or grew a new batch." Inui said, as he wrote something in his notebook. "I placed a spell of sorts in this place so it can grow any plant I want, regardless of the season, making them last longer." Ryoma replied.
"That doesn't sound like a good idea, otouto. What if someone actually brings this into light?" Izumi asked. "This isn't a place visited by tourists, and has been kept in the dark from any media. That is why I only allow Kijou-san to bring us here." He answered. "If you say so, then it's okay with me, otouto." Izumi said with a shrug.
"Why did you decide to plant these flowers, Echizen-kun?" Choutarou asked. "It is because of what they represent." Ryoma answered. "What they represent?" The question was left unanswered by the black-haired freshman. "Do you guys want to check them out?" Ryoma's voice rang in the meeting room they had stayed in, different than the one they were in the previous day. A chorus of 'yes's were heard and so, they went outside.
After a little convincing from his teammates and Kirihara, Ryoma finally told them about the flowers and how to identify them. He wouldn't tell them of their meanings though, much to their dismay. That was how they spent the rest of their morning, even when Ryoma left them.
When they were called in for lunch, they were once again amazed at the grand feast they were presented with. Their lunch was spent merrily and without trouble. The afternoon was spent with the teens doing something inside the mansion because of the sudden downpour. It was the first rain they had experienced in the mansion.
The teens gathered in a random meeting room once again when the rain grew stronger. They watched the downpour from the large windows of the meeting room. The teens relished the cool, relaxing feeling given by the rain. The previous days were neither too hot nor too cold and the wind only came in light breezes.
It was a good day to relax, and had ended uneventful.
A/N: Automatic disclaimer, everyone! I do not own Kuroshitsuji!
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.