Disclaimer: IS NOT MINE!
Warning: Grammar/spelling mistakes, missing words/letters. Characters are probably going to be OOC. Possible yaoi in the future.
Pairing: Royal Pair [Atobe/Ryoma]
Side pairings: Saeki/Fuji, Oishi/Eiji (So, unpredictable), Sengoku/Ann. For now, that's it.
I Cry For The Last Time
Chapter four: Don't Look At Me
The rubber soul of his black Converse glided along the court as Ryoma ran from one side to the other, hitting back the bright yellow ball. The racquet was slipping from his sweaty hand, but he just gripped it tighter. The excitement that pumped through his body… He had missed it so much.
On the other side, Akutsu was panting from exhaustion, but the determination to beat the younger, who was his opponent, was there. He could feel Ryoma's tennis coming back from the dead, a spark of the former emotions in it, but still… The moves, the way Ryoma played, it was as if he was a robot. When the brat was twelve he played fun tennis, like he had said so himself, but now…
Now it was nothing more than dead tennis.
Akutsu saw his friends eyes shift to look at the sidelines, his own following. There they were; the three from the bunch of backstabbers that called themselves Ryoma's friends. In reaction to seeing them Ryoma hit something that resembled the used-to-be drive C, scoring a point from Akutsu and stopped.
The older of the two jumped over the net, went to stand next to his friend and placed his hand or Ryoma's shoulder, supporting his weight on the smaller. "So they came."
The younger rolled his eyes, a fake action to hide his true emotions, and pulled the hair band holding his hair together, letting the black locks cover the earrings, small hoops today, and the small tattoo just behind his ear - the kanji for fly. His knee-length red pants stuck to his sweaty legs, just like the black tank-top. The dragon tattoo was out for everyone t o see.
"So I've noticed." He retorted and headed back to the bench where their stuff was placed.
Akutsu directed a glare at the three, warning them silently, and followed the seventeen-year-old, trying to cool himself by taking off the light blue shirt he was wearing until now, his shorts rode low on his hips, a black line of his boxers showing. "Do you think they'll do something?"
Ryoma looked at them one more time. "Nah, don't think so. Too surprised." He watched as Akutsu dumped the contents of a water bottle on himself. "Where did you get that scar?" he nodded to the long, wide line on the older's back.
"Long story." Was the answer.
There was a shuffling of feet, someone moved closer and closer to them. Even if both Akutsu and Ryoma knew who were coming, they didn't acknowledge them. They weren't worth it. But then, a small hand grabbed the back of Ryoma's shirt and pulled. Once the teen turned around, he had to look down to see the young kid, one of the watchers that they had.
The kid looked up at him, "Ne, nii-chan, where did you learn to do that?"
"Ikezava, don't bother them!" the other, the same age perhaps, nudged Ikezava, "Let's go already. I'm sorry for disturbing you." He nodded his head slightly and the both boys ran from where they came, fighting between themselves.
Akutsu shook his head, making the water droplets fall everywhere around him, "Looks like they're not coming after all. Well, it's not like I didn't know that they are nothing but a bunch of fucking cowards anyway."
"Hmm…" there was a pause as Ryoma watched, from the corner of his eye, how those three slowly got themselves together and disappeared between the trees and bushes. "So, Jin." He started, scratching his left hand, right below the shoulder, "I still haven't heard why you wanted to play tennis so suddenly. A challenge or something?"
"No. Now move your ass or I'll leave you behind." Akutsu grumbled and started to walk off. Ryoma rolled his eyes again, but followed anyway, still teasing about the tennis match.
"Yeah, it's him, there's no mistaking it." A pause and a sigh, "Akutsu called him 'Ryoma' and besides, the three reacted like that, so it must be him. … Yeah, yeah, I know. Ok, yeah… I'll see you later then." The phone clicked shut and the teen or maybe young adult would be better, sighed again. He directed his gaze at the retreating backs of Ryoma and Akutsu. "So you're back, huh, Echizen."
The clicking of the phone echoed in the room. The soft buzz of the computer was the only sound other than that, but the creaking of the chair, as the young male got up overpowered it for a moment.
The man walked to one of the big windows, who was opened and let the warm fall breeze flow in the room, the white curtain flowing together with it. He stopped and supported his weight on the windowsill, the cell phone still clutched between his fingers. The wind played with locks of his hair, those eyes hidden to the world as he allowed himself to relax for just this one moment. "So you're back…"
Deep blue met the light blue of the sky, "Should I visit Tezuka?" After a moment of thought, he laughed, "Maybe I should, but…" a sigh, "Who knows."
"So you saw him, huh?" Tezuka asked while sipping his black tea. Reluctant nods were his answer.
Oishi had come to Tezuka's house, together with Inui, leaving Eiji at the apartment they shared and Momo simply didn't want to come. Why? It was hard to tell, even Inui stayed quiet about it. Or maybe he just didn't know.
Oishi wrung his hands together and looked at Inui before asking: "Tezuka. What are we going to do now?"
Tezuka swirled the tea in his cup, not really looking like he was listening to them, and maybe he wasn't. His head supported by his right hand, whose elbow was placed on the arm of the chair he was sitting on. "I think," he started, not averting his eyes from the black liquid in the cup, "We should just let it be. So what if people know? Us going around and announcing it will be too..." he allowed the sentence hang in the air.
Inui got up, his fingers going up to push the glasses, that were no longer on his nose, up, but stopped midway. "That may be true Tezuka." He looked down on Oishi, "But I'm sure someone already told you, not all of them believe what we have told them." He crossed his arms in front of himself, "Like Akutsu Jin."
Tezuka looked mildly humored, "That delinquent? What can he do, beat someone to death?"
"He has a good relationship with Echizen Tezuka. We saw them together today, at the street courts." Oishi added, standing up from where he was sitting. "And you can't underestimate him. Besides, when Ryuuzaki-sensei-"
"No one listens to her anymore. Not even that annoying granddaughter of hers." The cold, emotionless tone Tezuka used silenced Oishi, who slumped on the floor.
The data man looked like he wanted to say something, but never did. Tezuka just had to look at him, those brown eyes cold and dangerous, to silence him too. So Inui just pulled Oishi up from the floor and without bidding goodbye, left.
There was no use in talking to Tezuka now.
After the door clicked shut the nineteen-year-old tch'd and threw the cup against the wall, pieces and fragments of the porcelain flying in all directions and the liquid spilling on the wall and floor, some even on the window just above the place where it had hit the wall. He watched in total boredom as the pools of liquid started to form.
"You shouldn't do that Kuni. It just damages your room." A voice said to the bespectacled teen, the door creaking open again.
Tezuka didn't look away from the remains of his cup and tea, seemingly too absorbed in it, or just too deep in thought. "Like I care." He turned his head slightly, still not looking at the newcomer, "So why are you here? You know I have others and don't need you, right?"
"I know, I know." The newcomer whispered, voice slightly trembling, "I know, but… I can't stop, no that is, I can't let go of you." He walked to Tezuka and fell on his knees in front of him. "I still love you."
Tezuka didn't do anything to touch him, or even calm down. Just looked down on the teen boy who was once his lover, One night stand, to be exact. He added in his head, with the cold eyes showing something like warped humor in them. "I have others, you know. I don't need you."
"I know, I just told you, but.. But I don't care. Just.." a hiccup and a quiet sob, "Just let me be with you. Please."
The trembling body by his feet almost disgusted him, but Tezuka knew that this one, who was now wrapped around his finger and obeyed Tezuka like a good, little trained dog he was, still had some use. So he will stay, for now.
For now. The cruel smirk once again crawled on Tezuka's face, as he leaned down and brought his lips to the others.
Ryoma wandered around the neighborhood, looking around at everything that had changed so much during the time he was gone. If to others those were little, meaningless things, then to Ryoma they were a bit bigger and easier to recognize.
The tennis bag, slung over his shoulder, swayed as he walked, the iPod blasting in his ears some song from 'The Gazette'. The people that passed him looked back at him strangely, some even with fear, as they noticed the tattoo that adorned his left arm. Ryoma just smirked; so what if they think of him as some criminal or yakuza, he won't be staying here for long anyway.
But, he sighed, such a pain in the ass that Jin had to go to his moms work. Could have at least taken me with him, now I have nothing to do. His hand reached in the pocket of his pants. All out of cigarettes, damn. It's not like they'll sell me any.
He walked past a crowd of people, a year or two older than himself. He didn't hear them, nor actually notice. But those people, not everyone but some, saw and recognized him, letting the cans of beer clatter on the pavement.
"Now way…"
"It's him, isn't it? I'm not wrong?"
"Did you see the ear piercings?"
"He's hot, puri."
"Niou!"
"Sorry Sanada, puri."
"Do you think Tezuka knows?"
"How the hell should I know? I'm not his secretary."
Sengoku ran out on the street and looked at Ryoma's retreating back, a thoughtful expression in the place of his usual laid-back one. "You know what?" he said after a while. "He really is hot, just like Niou said. His backside looks even hotter than some girl's." he grinned a perverted kind of grin, "Trust me, I should know."
"Remind me again Sengoku, how the hell did Tachibana-san allow you to date Ann-chan?" Kamio picked up the fallen can and threw into the nearest trash can. But even he watched the retreating back of the 'Traitor', as they dubbed him.
Sengoku looked at Kamio. "It's not like he's a goody-two-shoes himself, 'ya know. But the only difference is - he doesn't go around telling everyone about that." Though, he chose to stay quiet about the used-to-be captain of Fudomine seeing the used-to-be captain of Seigaku, Tezuka. He had seen them together, more than once, but Tezuka… That guy just had to look at him…
"But still," Akaya peaked over Sanada's shoulder, "Why is he back? It's not like he has a place here. Ne, Sanada-sempai?" though, Akaya didn't fully believe the story given to them by Tezuka and Fuji. Only the fear from being abandoned by his friends, team mates in case of saying otherwise kept him in place, silently watching from the side.
Niou smacked him over the head, "Like Sanada can know that, Bakaya!" he huffed, "we should ask someone from the ex-regulars of Seigaku, puri, maybe they know something, puri."
"That's not a good idea Niuo-kun." Sengoku said, gone was his happy-go-lucky tone and attitude, a much darker, depressing one had taken its place.
Kamio, who wasn't really listening to the conversation in the first place, narrowed his eyes a little, but still asked, curiosity getting the better of him: "And why's that? We might hurt his feeling or something?"
Sengoku shook his head, "No, not that." He once again looked in the direction that Ryoma had walked to, "Tezuka, ah no, more like all from Seigaku… They get a bit… strange when asked about that kid. And not in a good way."
"Then," Kamio was now looking confused, just like Akaya, "Why did Echizen come back? I bet he knows he's not welcomed here, so… Why?"
"That's what we all would like to know." Niou said that this time, hands in pockets and eyes frozen on some spot, in the same direction as Sengoku's.