BP: Writer's block, bad mood, and no time, yet I am still writing this chapter. Why am I in a bad mood, you may ask? Because first of all, today I sorted my drawer and a pile of photos fell out of my file. I looked through, and found one from my CCA days when I was in Sec 1. When I saw the Drama Club chairman's face, I wondered why I felt slightly upset. Then I remembered she's dead. Also, I had an argument with my friend. He said we cannot compare whose stories are better because I wrote it in a more popular category. So that's why I am in a bad mood. Don't aggravate me, alright?
"Hey, Echizen, you're looking better." said Momoshiro, ruffling his hair. They were at the clubroom, preparing for practice. "Yeah, I am." said Ryoma, testing the tension in his racquet strings. Eiji ran over and glomped Ryoma. "Hoi, hoi, Ochibi! Tell us what happened!" Ryoam struggled against Eiji's bear hug (which usually leads to suffocation) "Let go, Kikumaru senpai!" Momoshiro grinned. "I bet he's thinking about someone. I am sure it's Ryuzaki's granddaughter." He said cheekily. Ryoma glared at Momoshiro. "Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai. Close, but it's not her." With that, he stood up, and went out to do his warm ups. "Huh? Hey, wait!" he cried, running after Ryoma. Eiji turned to Fuji, who was listening nearby. "I wonder what that means, what Ochibi said." Fuji said, "Saa…who knows." and turned to Tezuka, who was changing nearby. He had his stoic face on, but actually he's listening to the conversation as well. Well, it isn't surprising, because the conversation involved Echi….no, Ryoma, his new boyfriend. The regulars ran their warm-up laps as usual, and of course, they are practice matches. Ryoma was dominating Momoshiro in Court B. "Momo-senpai, you've got to be faster than that!" he said cockily. Momoshiro was already panting on the ground. "Echizen, how did you have so much stamina?" he managed to pant out. Ryoma had high stamina, immense strength, high accuracy and good reflexes due to his weapons training, which made him a formidable tennis player. Of course, he is not going to give his secret away. "Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai." Ryoma said, as he scored a service ace against Momo.
"Game, to Echizen, 6-2!" one of the second years called out. Ryoma smiled, and sat on the bench at the side of the court. "That was a great match, Echizen."said Tezuka. "Thanks." said Ryoma, drinking from his water bottle. "I'll see you at the rooftop during lunch?" Tezuka nodded. "Yeah. See you there." Ryoma smiled, and nodded. After practice, Eiji suddenly asked him a question. "Ochibi, where's Shizuka? Doesn't she usually show up to walk you to class every day?" Ryoma stiffened. He didn't know how to answer Kikumaru's question, but thank God, Tezuka came to the rescue. "Echizen told me this morning that Shizuka had to go visit her family in Sweden, so she wouldn't be here for a few weeks." Luckily, Kikumaru bought the story, and said, "Oh." While they were walking to class, Ryoma said, "Thanks for covering up for me back there, Kunimitsu." Tezuka nodded. "Yeah. I know you're not a very good liar." Ryoma blushed, and said, "You're thinking like Shizuka." Tezuka gave him a small smile. "I know you wouldn't want others to know about that secret. I know you'll tell them when they're ready, Ryoma." They reached Ryoma's class, and making sure no one is looking, Tezuka gave him a kiss on the lips. "See you at lunch, Ryoma." With that, he left. Ryoma went to class, feeling better. He managed to pay attention to the classes, well, most of the classes. He fell asleep during English….again. Ryoma had better Praise the Lord because the teacher didn't seem to see him sleeping in class. Fortunately, English was the last class before lunch, so when the bell rang, (which woke Ryoma up), he went to the rooftop to meet Tezuka. He is already there, eating his bento. Ryoma sat down next to him, and they enjoyed the view of the school together. They talked about various subjects, tennis mainly, and neither of them seems to shut up, because they had so much in common, yet they are so different. Ryoma, for the first time since Shizuka's death, found himself laughing.
Out of curiosity, Tezuka asked, "Ryoma, do you have a dream?"
Ryoma nodded. "Once, when we were younger, Shizuka and I always talked about being free. As assassins, we are always following orders from our leader. We wanted to prove that we are not just mindless killers- we are human, we have feelings, too." He let the wind blow on his hair. "I also wish to protect those I love. I want to protect the people I hold dear to my heart, so that they wouldn't be in danger because of me." Tezuka nodded, indicating he understood what he meant. He finally understood what Shizuka had meant when they were younger. He will protect Tezuka from the dangers that underlie his job…at all costs. He ate his bento. "The weather's nice, isn't it?" he said.
"Ah." Tezuka replied. "Good tennis conditions, don't you think?" Ryoma smiled and nodded. When the bell rang, they hugged each other and gave a light kiss on the lips before returning to their respective classes. After the afternoon lessons, Ryoma headed straight for tennis practice. He ran his warm up laps, purposefully running beside Tezuka. After the laps, he went for a practice match with Kikumaru. Unfortunately, Inui has taken out one of his famous juices. Ryoma, not wanting to be the victim, increased the speed and power of his serves, which poor Kikumaru had to run all over the place to return the ball. The worst part is stamina isn't Kikumaru's best department and of course, Ryoma won 6-3. Kikumaru accepted the glass of Inui Juice meekly, and after drinking it, ran straight to the toilet. Ryoma sighed in relief. At least he didn't have to drink the juice. He tried not to hear the 'dying' screams coming from the other tennis players, thanks to Inui's Juice. By the time practice ended, the tennis court looked more like a place where corpses were thrown at when they died during wars. The regulars, who had more immunity towards the juices (due to the fact that they were forced to drink it all the time), sighed, and change back to their uniforms. Ryoma waited for Tezuka so that they could walk home together. When he locked up the clubroom, he turned to Ryoma and said, "Let's go." Ryoma smiled and nodded.
No words were needed between them. That's how they are, contented by the silence. All they needed were the presence of the other beside them. None of them are chatty and it suits them very well.
Just then, Ryoma started, and looked around. There was nobody in sight that looked suspicious to him. "What's wrong, Ryoma?" said Tezuka. Ryoma shook his head. "No, it's nothing, Kunimitsu. I think it's just my imagination." Little did he know it was more than just his imagination.
Not too far away, a person stared at Ryoma and Tezuka behind the pole. He smiled when he saw the person next to Ryoma. "So, Echizen Ryoma still had this Kunimitsu, eh?" The boy smirked. "I'll see how I can use this Kunimitsu as part of my plan to destroy Echizen Ryoma- screw him for blowing up all our treasures and supplies, and even killing one of my members." The boy silently laughed like a maniac. "I'll see to your death, Echizen Ryoma….very soon."
BP: Ok, I had writers block, but I swear, I will not give up on this story! Oh, this chapter may be bad because I was watching HunterxHunter while writing this. Do review!