Threads to Life Chapter 25: Prologue to Farewell, a Prince of Tennis + Gakuen Alice Crossover fanfic

Hye! I am back with the next chapter! I don't want to say anything anymore just go on with the story.

Chapter 25: Prologue to Farewell

Chapter Summary: Saying goodbye was the hardest thing to do especially when the friendship was being built through the experience.

The day seemed to be long for them. They were inside the inn and were sitting in front of the table. Some who didn't prefer to sit were standing near them. The place was already closed so it was only them who were renting for the night to stay. No one said a word as they were thinking the same thing.

Everything that happened that day was unexpected to them, since a lot did happen.

"What's going to happen next?" Eiji suddenly asked breaking the silence.

They looked at Eiji before they looked at each other.

"We should sort things out first," Hotaru said catching their attention and then she stared at the Ice princess who was standing at the exact opposite of the fire alice user, "Why are you here?"

Nobara looked at her before she closed her eyes, "Like I told you, I came here to aid you with your mission."

"I don't believe you." Hotaru said straight to the point.

"I am not forcing you to believe me." The ice princess retorted.

"Why you—" Hotaru was about to stand up but Mikan stopped her.

"Hotaru, please stop it," Mikan said, "She helped us, remember?"

"She might have a motive of helping us." Hotaru glared at the ice princess. The princess did the same.

"Saa, I agree with with Sakura-chan," Fuji interrupted, "I don't know what happen between you guys but let's just observe the situation."

"Speaking of the situation," Tsubasa talked looking at the tensai, "You finally showed us your alice."

The tensai nodded and smiled at them, "You needed my alice that time so I used it."

"It's the nature binding alice," Ruka said, "You control the nature's movements."

"I am only special at flowers and vines," Fuji said, "I can also control ropes and ties as long as they are pretty hanging close to the ground."

"Perfect for senpai's alice." Momo said this time looking at his senpai.

"It's good that everything turned out fine." Eiji said looking around the whole area.

"Eiji-senpai," Momo called out to him, "Well, the thing is…"

"I was talking about the jumi people, Momo-chii," Eiji said and then looked down, "I am also aware of what happened to Ryuzaki-chan today."

Everyone mimicked what Eiji was doing. No one expected that for her to happen and no one to be blamed for that. Sakuno was still unconscious and was sleeping in her room.

"What bothers me the most is about the stones that she received today." Fuji said catching everyone's attention.

"I remember," Tsubasa said looking back at the tensai, "She got three stones today."

"The first stone that she got was the 'Wrath'," Hotaru said looking at Pearl who was sitting beside Mikan and Ruka, "Which she got when Pearl-san transferred into BlackPearl."

Pearl who heard that bit her lower lip and looked down, "I am sorry for troubling you."

"Don't be," Mikan said placing her hand to her shoulder, "Elazul-san saved you and both of you are fine now."

"She's right," Eiji said who was just sitting across them leaning towards the table, "You and BlackPearl-san are all safe. No need to be looked upset, nya~"

"And now you are together." Momo teased as he grinned at them, "So young, so young."

Pearl's expression changed from being upset to a bashful one. Her face turned beet red as she fidgeted on her seat. Elazul who was standing near Natsume feigned a cough. Everyone snickered at their interesting reaction.

"The second one was," Mikan said calling their attention, much to Pearl's relief, "'Gluttony' which Kokoroyomi discovered the location of the stone."

Kokoroyomi smiled at them, "It's good that you noticed my hints."

"You should've done that sooner or later." Natsume suddenly butted in who was just trying to listen but no to avail.

"I was trying to call your attention but you weren't listening."

"You did know that no one should tell in case the one knew where it was." The fire alice user retorted.

"Guys stop that!" Mikan said standing up, "At least Kokoroyomi helped us in the end. Ruka-pyon is saved," She looked at Ruka when she sensed that the animal lover was about to look down on himself, "Don't blame yourself, you saved Ryuzaki-chan that time as well."

Ruka looked at her and blushed instead, "I guess you are right." He looked down still and was in deep thought after that.

"The last one was Diana's crystal ball," Fuji said looking at the jumi people, "I think that was 'envy'."

Everyone stayed silent after Fuji said that. They all knew what happened after that incident.

Sakuno collapsed after she gave some of her life force to BlackPearl in order for Pearl to be revived. They also wondered if getting the three stones in one day would affect her condition. Was it too much on her? They didn't know.

"Will she be alright?" Ruka said looking upstairs where her door might be. He was worried for the girl at that moment.

"She will," Fuji said smiling as he followed his line of vision, "He's with her after all."

Sakuno's Room:

She opened her eyes slowly. First, it was blurry, next it was blinding and the last, her vision was back to normal. She blinked her eyes for several times before she looked around. Remembering where she was, Sakuno slowly sat up. She tried remembering what happened to her and it took a long time before she finally recognized what it was.

She broke her promise to him but she did it just to save a life, to save someone. I collapsed. I wonder how's Pearl-san? She looked near the window and was surprised that Ryoma was there, sitting at the window pane and tossing a tennis ball in his hand. Ryoma's face was serious and his focus was actually on the ball that he was tossing. As she looked at his eyes, she thought that he was thinking something deep and it seemed that he was not with her in the room that they were in. He suddenly felt her presence as he stopped tossing the ball and looked at her direction;

"You are awake." He said getting up from the window pane and walked closer to her.

"H-hai…" She said looking down on her lap. Her hands were resting there and she found them interesting to watch.

"How do you feel?"

"Fine… I guess." She felt him sitting on the bed so she didn't dare to look. She only flinched when he tipped her chin so that she could look at him.

"You deliberately disobeyed me." It was a statement when he said that. He was staring straight to her eyes when he was saying those words to her.

"G-gomenasai…" She whispered as she blushed really hard.

"You are pretty stubborn."

"A-Am I that bad?" She asked as she looked inwardly.

"Very."

"G-gomenasai…" She apologized once again. She was even surprised when Ryoma leaned his forehead to her own forehead.

"Stop doing that." He said with a hint of concern, the tone that she never expected for her to hear from him.

"Ryoma-kun…" She whispered as she really blushed at their closeness. Ryoma never showed that kind of gesture to her ever since she could remember.

His hands reached for her hands which were on her lap and gripped them hard, "Ryuzaki, I…"

"W-what is it?" She still couldn't look at him. Her heart was pounding really fast. Was it normal for a twelve year old girl?

"…"

"I hate interruptions so I am not going to do it." He said as he leaned away together with his hands.

"Eh?" She blinked her eyes twice as she was able look at him. Sakuno never had the idea what he was talking about.

"Ne," He looked at her and smirked, "I want to sleep on this bed with you."

"E-ehh!" Her eyes dilated when he said that but before she could say anything, Ryoma was already lying down at the other side of the bed.

"Sleep, Ryuzaki." He said tapping the available space for her.

"But…" I've just woken up. She thought the last but she didn't say it out loud, "that time was…"

"I won't do anything to you." He said sounded like an offended one.

Sensing that she did, she slowly lied down next to him once again.

"Why aren't you facing me?"

"A-anou…" She was still blushing as she tried to think of a reason. Panic was attacking the insides of her. Ryoma was just next to her although that she asked him the night before but tonight was different.

Her heart was pounding really fast.

"You don't have to be nervous around me."

"I… I am not nervous," She said as she slowly turned to his side to look at him, "I…I just felt… awkward."

"Why would you feel awkward?" He frowned as he asked that.

She avoided his eyes as possible, "B-because… it is you…"

He didn't say anything after she said that. He, not replying to her words made it more awkward than before. She held her breath when his arm reached to her back and drew her closer to him.

"I—I thought that you wouldn't—"

"This is the least that I could do," He said whispering above her head, "for now."

She blushed to the fullest when she heard that. Ryoma didn't say anything and just kept her there. Her heart was beating rapidly. He was there with her. She knew that he would and she felt him.

She tried to sleep like what he told her to do besides, she had an idea what time it was.

Meanwhile:

She played with the water in that fountain near the inn. The water was cold but she felt normal when touching it. There was a statue of a mermaid pouring the cold water on the tiled floor that she was sitting. Sleep was hard on her so she preferred to stay there for a while. Even though, they didn't say it, she knew that she wasn't welcome in the team.

Why would they? The alice users knew about her but not the outsiders, still that didn't count that they would accept her.

"Sugoi, you really have a great power."

She stopped controlling the movement of water in the fountain. Even though she didn't look back, she knew who it was.

The person stood up near her and walked to the block. The person used his hand and grabbed a right amount of water and played with it, "Water or ice, you can still control it."

"That's what you do," She said looking up to the alice user, "Momoshiro-san."

"I can't turn to them to ice like you do," He said playing with the water that he was controlling, "I can only bring pressure to it."

"That's your specialty."

"You think so?" He blinked at her which she nodded, "Hey, Nobara-san, let's join force again next time."

"What?" She frowned at his words.

Momo jumped from the block and walked closer to her, "Our alices are a good combination, just like Echizen and Hyuga. I know that we will be a great team."

She flushed a little when he said that. Was he for real? She thought but she didn't say it.

"I never done this in my entire life," He said waving his hand with the water, "Not in my tennis career. I miss playing it though."

"Yeah, you play tennis in your own world." She said looking at him.

"You should come and visit us in Seigaku when this is all over," Momo said smiling at her, "I hope you can see me play when we get there."

"Are you inviting me into your world?" Nobara asked him couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Yes, isn't that bad?"

"But you just met me?"

"What's the difference? At least I know you now," He placed his hands to his head and talked casually, "We know each other now."

Nobara's pale face became slightly red. She looked down and found the floor interesting to watch. After a sudden quietness, a smile was formed on her lips.

"Nobara-san is smiling," Momo pointed out, "I made you smile."

Her eyes widened before she turned to her sideways, closing her eyes in the process, "I am not."

"You are!" He said leaning closer to her.

"No," She turned away further from him, "leave me alone."

"No way." He said grinning at her.

She stood up and walked away but Momo followed her. It seemed that they would not be separated until later.

Meanwhile:

She was able to convince him to stay inside the room that was for her. At least she was happy that the knight was there with her but the thing was,

Elazul kept a distance from her.

He was at the window looking outside while she was sitting on the bed staring at him. He was there but she felt that he was still far from her. She felt like he was a mere stranger to her. She couldn't help but feel upset about it.

"What's the matter?"

Upon hearing that, she looked up and stared at him. Elazul was looking at her now. She gave him a smile before she replied, "Nothing."

"That can't be nothing," He faced her completely, "What is it?"

She bit her lower lip before she shared him her thought, "Y-you see… I invited you to come in but… you were still far away from me."

"…"

"Elazul, you are my knight and I am your guardian. I know that but," She said blushing and fidgeting at the same time, "Deep inside, I—know we're more than that."

"…"

"Y-you're my most important person to me," She looked down this time in order for her to say her next words, "And I want my most important person to be close to me as possible."

"Pearl…"

Looking up once again, a small gasp was heard from her throat. Elazul was pretty close to her now, like how she wanted him to be. She wasn't prepared especially when she wasn't aware that he did. How did he come close from the window to her?

"I feel the same way," He said placing a hand to her cheek which he hadn't done to her before and stared seriously straight to her eyes, "That's why I kept my distance away from you."

"W-why?" She was able to ask him despite the blush that she had on her face.

He didn't say anything for a while until he sat beside her still holding her to her cheek, "Because I was scared."

"S-scared?"

The knight nodded, "I was scared to do this." He quickly said before he slowly leaned closer to her face and gently pressed his lips to her lips.

Her eyes were slowly widened when she felt his lips collided to hers. She knew that she was still blushing and her heart had started pounding. His hand that was on her cheek went to her nape while his other hand was covering her hands to her lap.

This kiss was gentle. Their lips were just pressed to each other but it was something that Pearl would remember.

At least, she would really consider that she was happy.

The Next day:

Everyone gathered at the outskirts of Domina. The detection alice was not working in the place anymore so they needed to leave the area and looked for a different place. Elazul and Pearl would see them off the city.

"Thank you for everything," Sakuno bowed to them, "Please tell Diana-san and BlackPearl-san our regards."

Pearl walked closer to her and grabbed her hands, "You saved my life, Sakuno, thank you very much."

"I did what I had to do." She smiled at her.

"Please take this." Pearl said placing something in her palm.

Sakuno looked at her palm and saw a small white, clear stone. She stared at it and thought that she could see her own reflection from the stone even though it was small, just like the size of her folded palm.

"That's the teardrop crystal stone, it can heal you," She smiled at her, "Wear that all the time and it will protect you."

Covering the stone with her hand, she gave the girl a warm smile, "Arigatou Pearl-san. I'll take good care of it."

Elazul also nodded at them. Sakuno smiled at him as well.

After that, they started to walk away. Pearl waved goodbye to them until they disappeared from their sight.

xxx

"Pearl-san is really happy," Kokoroyomi said to Ryoma and Momo, "They are being secretive now, the knight and the guardian."

"What do you mean?" Fuji said who heard what he was talking about.

"Well, because Pearl-san was thinking about it," He said still smiling in the process, "They are a couple now."

"Kokoroyomi!" Mikan said blushing in the process, "Stop reading their minds. You are entering their privacy."

"Well, it wasn't anything new when you and Natsume kis—"

"Ahh! Stop reading now or I'll steal your alice!" She said covering his mouth from talking.

Everyone sweat dropped after that. Kokoroyomi was at it again. Even though the mind reader wouldn't tell them, they would simply notice it. Pearl was showing happiness that she could give before while Elazul was not helping her cover for it.

Something did happen between those two and they were happy for them.

xxx

They continued their journey as they looked for the magical stones. Fuji sensed the next stone a few kilometers from them. It was amazing that they could sense the nearest stone at such radius. No wonder that they found the previous stones that easily.

They only had to look for two more stones.

"Look! Look!" Eiji said calling their attention, "Entertainers!" He started to run after that.

"Cool!" Kokoroyomi said smiling in the process and he followed the acrobatic player, "Monkeys!"

They sweat dropped when the two run to the entertainers' location. The others followed the two. The place that they reached was filled with greenish trees and bushes. At the center of the area, there was a big monument of an angel whose its wings were spread to cover its standing position. Below the monument, the entertainers were performing something nice.

Sakuno stared at them. There were two monkeys… monkeys who were performing in front of the people. One monkey was juggling while the other was playing a big instrument like a Tuba. The monkey playing the instrument was sitting on a wheelchair so she had the idea that the monkey was somewhat disable.

"Thank you, thank you," The juggler bowed in front of the people.

Eiji approached the juggler and being the hyper one, he tried conversing to them.

"Kikumaru-senpai?" She smiled weakly as the acrobatic player started juggling some balls in his hands.

"They are itinerant entertainers," Kokoroyomi said reading the juggler's mind, "They perform everywhere."

"You are reading their mind again," Mikan said looking at the mind reader, "Kokoroyomi."

"Saa, but that is fun," Fuji said smiling in the process. Tsubasa agreed to him.

Sakuno watched Youichi walked closer to the juggler and tugged its pants. The juggler gave him a ball and smiled at him. She smiled a little when she saw that scene.

After the little entertainment, the team waved goodbye to the entertainers. Eiji got a souvenir from them as well as Youichi who was holding the ball.

"Diddle and Capella are nice," Eiji said learning their names. He found out that the jugglers name was Capella while the other one was Diddle. He learned that they performed from place to place and they did things like that most of the time, "I could use their techniques in my tennis skills when we get home."

"You enjoyed their show, senpai." Momo smirked as he walked beside Nobara and Fuji.

"Indeed." Eiji agreed to him.

They walked across a highway and into a higher place. They reached a harbor-like where Fuji could feel the presence of the next stone, as well as Natsume and Ryoma. The three of them walked near the outlook view. Fuji looked below and saw how high they were.

There was really a lake, it was a jungle like place and had a small portion of water next to it below but it was really deep and the forest was too thick to be stared about. The depth was too dark to see and only the water could be seen below.

"Why is the only forest that we can't see clearly?" Fuji asked to the two.

"I feel bad about it," Natsume said narrowing his eyes below, "Let's get out of here." He walked away from the area. Fuji followed him after he nodded at Ryoma.

Ryoma looked for a couple of minutes before he too decided to leave the area as well. Sakuno's eyes widened when something passed her that made her hair swing to its direction.

…To where Ryoma was standing.

"Ryoma-kun, abunai!" She shouted as she tried to call his attention.

But it was too late.

The force hit Ryoma and pushed him hard. Everyone was shocked and everything went fast. But for Sakuno, it was slow. She was the closest person to him so she tried to reach for his hand. She could see his eyes widened as she too, was too shocked to react.

Thus, she failed.

As she clenched her hand, she watched the falling tennis prodigy below the cliff. She held her breath at that time as she closed her eyes. She couldn't believe what was happening. Someone was holding her to her shoulder now but she didn't care about it. What she was thinking about was the word that she shouted from her throat.

"RYOMA-KUN!"

Done! Something happened to Ryoma. What now? Find that out in the next chapter… Domo…

New Characters mentioned are from the game as well, (Legend of Mana) I do not own anything. Capishe?

Reviews please! I need to hear your thoughts. Motivate me more please… Domo…

Next Chapter: Early Separation