By Dyaoka
Disclaimer: I don’t
own the Prince of Tennis nor do I own Final Fantasy.
Notes/Warnings: Ah…a
really easy chapter because this was all planned out. :) Though it may be a
bit boring and confusing…*sigh* I can never measure up to the legends out
there like Cheeseburger of Doom, SIB, yukuro…they’re just too damned good!
Well, enough of my self-degrading, here’s the next chapter.
Scroll Nine: …of
Echizen Ryoma
Beep. Beep. Beep.
An annoying constant beep.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The strange noise of someone’s rather ragged breathing.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Was that his breathing?
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Oblivion consumed him.
~*~
Ryoma slowly came to a realization that he was awake. But why wouldn’t his eyes open? Lifting up one hand tentatively, he was quite aware of the extra things that seemed to be taped to the back of his hand, Ryoma brushed it against his eyes. He found that there was something covering them; a sort of cloth that was rather…scratchy. What the hell was that about? Added to the super rough cloth over his eyes, his body felt like it’d been to hell and back. Of course, that was what he had expected to feel. After all, he did take a little stumble over that deep gorge. What did else did he expect?
But a sudden cry of happiness and someone’s hand upon his own, brushing a thumb back and forth on the back of it in a soothing motion was more than enough to scare the youth out of his wits. Somehow, everything just seemed so…loud, for some odd reason.
“Ryoma!” a woman’s voice called out. It sounded terribly sad and distressed, yet…happy. Ryoma didn’t recognize the voice at all. He didn’t recognize who this woman was, and he started to pull his hand away from her, but wet droplets fell onto the back of his hands. He was sure that they were tears.
“Who…are you?”
The woman only gave a choked sob and whispered something that sounded like ‘my baby.’ But the hand that held tightly onto his suddenly disappeared. The lingering warmth and love the hand held disappeared and Ryoma suddenly wished that the stranger would hold his hand again. But he was not a child. Ryoma did not hold hands.
“It’s only a temporary case of amnesia,” said a voice, much deeper and most definitely male. Ryoma jumped at this, wincing a bit as the sound was quite loud. “He’ll remember everything…with time.”
“Who’s there?” Ryoma asked, not liking being in the dark, literally and figuratively. “Who are you?”
“I am Doctor Yamaki. Your mother is with you, at your side” the hand came back “and your father is here as well.” A larger hand with equal warmth as the other, gently rested itself on Ryoma’s shoulder.
“There’s a mistake. I don’t have a mother nor do I have a father,” Ryoma said bitterly, pushing the hands away. But whatever it was that was taped to his hand wouldn’t let him stretch it very far. “Where is this place?”
“Don’t do that, you might tear it out” Ryoma heard the deep voice of the doctor said. Tear what out; Ryoma only guessed that it was whatever his hand was being taped to. “You are in the Tokyo Medical and Surgical Clinic. Now, tell me, do you know who you are?”
“I am Ryoma” was the answer. Honestly, who did this…doctor think he was? And where in the world is this Tokyo place?
“Ryoma…?” the doctor expected a family name.
“I have no family” Ryoma said finally after an extended pause. The hands tightened their grip and Ryoma winced and almost immediately, they let go.
“Ryoma, honey, it’s me. You’re mother…please, remember…” said the strange woman again. Her voice sounded so depressed and dejected that Ryoma suddenly had a desperate wish to see her, to hold onto her, to cry. Something in the deep recess of his mind screamed that she was very important and that he would do anything for her to be happy, not sad and crying. Something told him that this really was his mother. But Ryoma did not give into these impulses. He just did as he usually did—he ignored her.
“Why are there binds over my eyes?” Ryoma asked coldly. He did not know these people, why should he let them get to him?
“It will only be temporary…as of the moment,” the doctor said uneasily. “You are blind. But,” the doctor added hastily. “But it may not be permanent. There is a chance you will be able to see again, so for the meanwhile, it would be best to keep your eyes shut if you ever want to see again. They need the rest to be able to heal themselves.”
“Ah.”
And thus the room plunged into a uncomfortable silence as Ryoma finally slipped back into oblivion, unconsciously snuggling closer to the warm hands that didn’t leave his side. In a strange sense, it was comfort for Ryoma. The fact that he was probably in another world had dawned upon the boy.
Over the next several days, it had been like this, with Ryoma slipping in and out of consciousness. Sometimes he woke in the middle of the night, screaming his head off, the other time he would wake during the day, also screaming. Strange dreams had plagued his mind—dreams that were horrible and twisted in every aspect. There was an occasional dream in which he saw his companions again…those were the peaceful dreams.
He dreamed when he was asleep, always he would dream and the images would be even more vivid than usual. There was one, however, that he replayed in his mind over and over again when he was awake…
There was a bed
decorated lavishly in all sorts of earthly colors. The room itself was elegant
and Ryoma felt odd, just being in the room. Next to him, sat
The large, heavy doors
opened and Momo walked in, donned in a strange outfit of dark colors that
suited him quite well. His expression was tired and weary as he took a seat
next to
“How is he?” Momo
asked, breaking the silence as he stared out the window. Little sunlight came
in through there, leaving the room rather dark.
“He hasn’t improved
much…his breathing has gone even shallower…If Inui wasn’t here to get
him to breathe the last time, I wouldn’t know what to do…”
Momo sighed and ran a
hand through his hair. “He’s a stupid brat…he should have just stayed
away from the edge…”
“Yes, he should
have” was the answer he got.
“Well, you should eat.
Oishi sent me here to get you down into the kitchens.
“I know”
“If I know Ryoma,
he’ll be back. People like him…always come back with a bounce” Momo said
cheerlessly. He was worried and sad. “For now, you should go and get
something to eat. I’ll watch over him.”
“Alright” Fuji rose
from his seat reluctantly. Suddenly, the door burst open and a flustered
Tezuka carrying Shinji came into the room.
“Don’t move!”
Shinji exclaimed, pointing at Fuji…or rather, it seemed that he pointed
straight at spirit-Ryoma. Everyone in the room froze as Shinji was let to the
ground and made his way right next to Fuji. Unnerving dark eyes looked passed
the tired youth, over to something that no one could see. “Where are
you…?” Shinji whispered, reaching out, barely brushing against the fringe
of spirit-Ryoma’s hair. His eyes were closed, concentrating on something
only he knew about.
Ryoma frantically tried
to call out, knowing Shinji sensed him. The blind youth knew he was there. But
all he managed was a strangled sort of gasp that sounded like a cat.
“Keep quiet” Shinji
hissed, as if hearing the attempts that Ryoma was trying to speak. “We’ll
talk later. Honestly…don’t be so impatient…” Shinji reached out again,
this time his hand reached Ryoma’s shoulder…but the blind youth was unable
to touch him. His hand just passed straight through Ryoma. Shinji frowned, his
eyes still closed with concentration. “…go back to your body…” Shinji
whispered and gestured over to the Ryoma that laid on the bed, a dark violet
glow encompassed it. “Go back and return.”
‘I can’t move!’
Ryoma thought frantically. ‘I can’t do anything!’ Fuming silently, he
glared at Shinji, who seemed to be working some strange magic that he’d
never seen before. Suddenly, a bright flash of light happened and Shinji fell
to the floor, screaming and clutching at his head, writhing in terrible agony.
Ryoma had never seen the blind youth like that…only Taka had, him being the
caretaker and all.
“…R-Ryoma…?”
Ryoma looked up and met
the surprised eyes of Fuji, Tezuka and Momo, realizing that they could see
him. But a strange sensation washed over him, as he watched everything distort
from view.
He was waking up.
Ryoma awoke with a sharp
gasp and a scream—his head burned. His eyes hurt, like thousands of
needles had poked at it, even though it was wrapped under the strange cloth.
He could hear his heart hammering at his throat and his cheeks just felt numb
and cold, beyond freezing. Apparently, his scream had attracted someone’s
attention because someone was at his side immediately, whispering comforts
into his ear while a hand attached itself to his forehead.
“He has a fever!” someone shrieked. “And it seems pretty high!”
And that was how he passed an entire week, being watched over by many, many strange people. Luckily, he was asleep half the time.
But when he was awake, Ryoma had a good enough ear to listen to the nurses that pass by him.
The nurses pitied him; the doctors didn’t seem to care…
It was lonely.
And his sense of smell, touch and hearing seemed to suddenly increase tenfold. Sometimes the random noises in the hospital was almost unbearable for Ryoma and occasionally a pungent smell of…something came wafting over into his room, making him go unconscious.
One day, when Ryoma had been drifting on the edge of consciousness when suddenly he heard his door being opened. Ryoma pretended to be asleep. Three sets of feet entered the room.
“Oh dear…it was a really serious accident, wasn't it?” said a voice. Why did it seem rather…familiar? He knew he heard it before—probably only once or twice, but he knew he has heard it before.
“Yes…but we’re allowed to take him home today! That’s the good thing,” said a rather cheery voice. It was the strange woman again. The one who had claimed to be his mother. “I can’t wait to have him home. I don’t trust hospitals.”
Loud laughter erupted from the man that was with them. “That’s Rinko for you!”
“Dear, this is our son! You don’t really expect to trust them, do you?”
“It seems that Nanjirou still had yet to get his mind on parenting, though he did have a child for fourteen years. I don’t know why you married him,” the familiar voice said with a teasing tone.
“I don’t know why either, Ryuzaki-sensei” the strange woman said.
“Oi! I’m still here, you know! Argh…women these days” came the exasperated male voice.
Ryoma contemplated why the familiar voice said ‘Nanjirou.’ Was Nanjirou here? The male voice sounded…quite like him, yet…not. It wasn't as brash and sounded rather…subdued, but it sounded like him nevertheless. And of course…Ryuzaki. As in Lady Ryuzaki? Question after question spun around in Ryoma’s mind that it actually hurt to think. With a groan, he reached for his head upon impulse.
“Oh? He’s awake” came the familiar voice, quite amused, it seemed.
“Dear! You woke him up!”
“What? Why do you blame me?”
Rinko ignored her husband and practically flew to her precious son’s side. He looked so pale…and so gaunt, it nearly broke her heart just looking at him. “Ryoma?” she called out tentatively, remembering that he couldn’t see her. She gently touched his hands—they were so cold, like ice. This wasn't the baby that she remembered growing up with. He was warm, passionate, and so full of life…
“Yes?” came the cold reply. He didn’t even bother lifting his head to acknowledge her. He just let her hold his hand.
“We’re going home today, Ryoma” she spoke to him, as if he was a child of only five again. “Home. It’s warmer there…a lot more comfortable. And…and maybe it’ll help you remember. They do say that visiting old places help jolt the memory, right?” She was near tears again. She just couldn’t bear the look Ryoma had—there was an expression of no emotion whatsoever. It was like he just became a doll. The doctor had said that there would be temporary amnesia and with the sudden blindness, the boy would be scared. He wouldn’t know what to do, and Rinko thought she was completely prepared for that. But the look on Ryoma’s face shattered all the mental preparation.
Then, Ryoma held up his other hand, as if searching for her. Rinko brought up her own hands to it, letting him touch it first, to reassure him she was there, that it was her hand. She brought it to her lips and kissed it, kissed the bandage that wound around it. “Ryoma…?”
“I don’t know who you are. But I will go with you” said the cold voice that was her son’s. Rinko felt the tears drop down her cheeks again—for the third time that week.
Meanwhile, Nanjirou and his ex-coach, Sumire Ryuzaki watched as a nurse came in and freed Ryoma of the IV tubes and other miscellaneous things. Rinko stood in her husband’s arms, crying softly. “Nanjirou” Sumire finally said. “You’d better change him out of the hospital gown. His clothes are under the bed.”
Nanjirou nodded, his eyes never leaving the boy that was on the bed. As the two women left the room, Nanjirou still did not move. But after a moment, Ryoma called out so softly that Nanjirou thought he was hearing things. “Hello…?”
And so Nanjirou stepped forward and got Ryoma’s clothes from under the bed and sat down at the edge of the bed near Ryoma, still scrutinizing his son. Indeed, he did look pale, but that was probably due to the lack of blood. Though he did get a blood transfusion, it wasn't nearly enough, but enough for him to survive. “Ryoma…son” Nanjirou said finally as he reached forward to touch him. The boy was quite surprised when he felt such an intimate contact as hand stopped at his cheek. “You stupid boy…” Nanjirou laid a small kiss upon Ryoma’s forehead. “Let’s get you changed.”
It was actually quite a hassling process, in which Nanjirou had thought that Ryoma—the old Ryoma, the one before the accident—had returned. He was rather snappish, but that was to be expected. Nanjirou was as gentle as he could, as to not move Ryoma’s broken leg as much as he could, but it couldn’t be avoided. But eventually, Ryoma was dressed in a simple cotton t-shirt and shorts. For some odd reason, that seemed to expose much of the scars that were there upon his arms and legs.
Knowing that Ryoma couldn’t walk, Nanjirou silently picked up his son. Though he was old, Nanjirou knew, it wasn't because he had gotten stronger. Usually as people age, they grow weaker. But Ryoma seemed to have gotten a lot lighter. Opening the door, Nanjirou faced the two women that waited outside with a wheelchair. Placing Ryoma into it as gently as he could, Rinko wrapped a blanket around the youth. There was no expression upon his face whatsoever. For some odd reason, Nanjirou was glad there were binds over his eyes. God knows how he’d be like with those piercing golden eyes of his.
There was only silence as the Nanjirou and Sumire wheeled Ryoma out of the hospital. Rinko was signing Ryoma out.
~*~
“Welcome home!” came a
sweet voice. It was a voice Ryoma thought he would only hear in dreams. It was
that girl…from the field! The one living in
“Ah…Nanako! You’re home?” Rinko said, her voice expressing her surprise.
“Of course, Ryoma-sama has come home. I won’t miss this,” the sweet voice said. Then, it seemed that there was a gaze settling upon him. “Welcome home, Ryoma-sama.” It was like ghostly hands had just reached out to touch him and then disappeared. Ryoma shivered involuntarily, but apparently, it had been noticed.
“Ah! You must be cold, come on, Nanjirou, could you please carry Ryoma to his room?” Rinko asked.
“Sure” said the gruff voice. Ryoma felt himself being shifted around in the older man’s grip and being carried somewhere. Then, it felt like they were going up stairs. Then, before he knew it, Ryoma was being placed down onto something soft. It was a bed, Ryoma realized, and it was completely the opposite of the hospital’s rather hard bed. Instantly, Ryoma liked this bed. Placing a hand down onto it, he felt around, wondering if there was a pillow. But his hand came in contact with fur.
When he withdrew his hand, Ryoma felt something brush right by him. And when he reached over to where he thought he had reached over to before, the fur had disappeared. There was a soft snort and chuckle. Ah, that’s right. His ‘father.’
“I’m about to put something into your lap” the voice said.
Indeed, a sudden weight was placed in his lap. He reached and touched whatever it was that was in his lap…and found it warm and furry. Then, whatever it was under his hands moved. Something wet and rough licked at his hand as his fingers touched whiskers. Then, to Ryoma’s realization, it was a cat. Tentatively, Ryoma said the first name that came to his mind.
“K…Karupin?”
There was a small ‘meow’ from the cat in his lap. Other than that, there was nothing else. No words, no reassurances, nothing.
“You remember Karupin?” his father asked. His voice sounded strange, somewhat strangled. “He’s your cat. You spoil him, you know.”
“Ah” came the reply from the dark haired boy. He was too afraid to touch Karupin again. This wasn't the Karupin he knew…and neither was the man Nanjirou. Technically, they were, but they weren’t the ones he knew. These were…strangers. “I…want to sleep. Can you get him off of my lap?”
“Sure” Nanjirou said. The weight was removed off of his lap with a protesting ‘meow’ to be replaced with a blanket. He felt hands helping him lay down. “Don’t want you hitting your head on the headboard” Nanjirou said as he tucked the boy in. He sounded terribly sad; something that the Nanjirou that Ryoma knew would never sound like.
Without another thought, Ryoma drifted off to slumber rather quickly.
~*~
Ah…so that’s
where you are.
Who are you?
Forgotten me already?
…Shinji.
To be honest, I never would have thought you were here of all places. Well, I guess that doesn’t really matter, does it? You’re lucky I’ve found you. Jeez…you have an affinity for people helping you…
What do you want?
And you’re not grateful at all, brat.
So you’re just here
insulting me? And I do not need any help.
In this situation, I would say that you ask my help. Otherwise, you won’t ever leave.
And what makes you think
I will?
Because. You don’t want to die.
…Fine.
Ah…I knew you would see it my way. I will see you soon.
…sure…
~*~
Ryoma awoke with a jolt, grasping and clawing at the binds over his eyes. “Damn…” But what Ryoma didn’t notice was that there was someone else in the room with him until they spoke.
“You shouldn’t take off those bandages, Ryoma-sama” said a voice. Ryoma was startled by this.
“Who’s there?!”
“My name is Nanako, and I’m your cousin” said the sweet voice. Hands reached out to hold his, taking them away from the binds. “You should leave them alone. You want to be able to see again, right? You should let your eyes heal and then you’ll be able to see!”
“There’s a fifty-fifty chance, the last I heard” Ryoma said coldly.
“But it’s so much better to look at the bright side instead” Nanako answered. “Is it not?”
“Take me downstairs” was Ryoma’s only answer. Nanako stifled a giggle. Her younger cousin was so cute, despite being so cold!
“Alright, swing your legs over the edge of the bed” Nanako said. “I’m going to carry you out piggy-back!” The look on Ryoma’s face was priceless. “I’m not letting you walk around on your own, you know.”
Eventually, after a bit of a tussle, Nanako had got Ryoma on her back and was carrying him downstairs. Though Nanako wasn't a very strong female, it was Ryoma that was terribly light. She set him down on the sofa in the living room. “So, what did you want to come downstairs for?”
Ryoma remained silent and Nanako respected his silence. She ruffled his hair a bit before telling him to behave because she was going out to do the groceries so she could make him a healthy meal to eat. She also told him that he was asleep the whole day yesterday, the day he returned ‘home.’ His mother and father had gone out, and were to be expected back later in the afternoon. When Ryoma heard the front door shut, he was suddenly glad that his cousin had left. Ryoma continued to stay silent, brooding and contemplating what was going on.
“I slept for the whole day yesterday…huh…?” Ryoma spoke to no one in particular. He never remembered a time when he would sleep so much…only when he did magic that consumed much of his strength. Wondering briefly if he could do magic here…wherever this place was, Ryoma decided to try. He didn’t want to use fire, because it might burn something and he wouldn’t know, since his eyes were bound. After some contemplation, Ryoma used a weak Aero spell. A ghost of a breeze fluttered about the room, caressing his hair…which seemed to be long, trailing a little down his shoulders. How did it become this long…?
Oh…that’s right. One month in coma.
Whatever a coma was.
Then, there came a rather loud rapping at the front door. Ryoma growled to himself. Who the hell was that? It wasn't Nanako for sure, because no girl would ever knock like that, he was sure of it. It wasn't Nanjirou or Rinko, since they both have the house keys. That meant…
Shinji.
Conjuring up a stronger Aero spell, Ryoma let the wind open the door. But the voice that he heard wasn't Shinji’s. It was Momo’s.
“…Uh…Hello?”
“Who are you?” Ryoma called out in response. He heard footsteps enter his home, and the door shut. Many different sounds of feet were suddenly around him and Ryoma realized that Momo hadn’t been alone. There were several gasps as they entered the living room.
“Echizen! What happened to you?!” Momo’s voice exclaimed.
“Ryoma-sama!” came a really high-pitched female voice, making Ryoma flinch. “Sakuno told me, but I didn’t think it was true! You were in a coma for a month…and…and…you lost your memories and you’re blind!”
Ah…that annoying announcer from Bevelle. Tomoka or something. She wasn’t that memorable in his mind.
“Who’s there?” Ryoma called out again. He really didn’t know who was there.
“Oi…you mean…what she just said was true?” was Momo’s disbelieving voice.
“His eyes are bound…that’s gotta mean something, nya. Poor Ochibi!”
Only one person would have speech and a voice like that. That would mean Eiji was with them.
“Answer the question” Ryoma snapped bitterly, feeling more than a bit edgy. There were sounds of feet moving and bodies shuffling into the living room and settling down on the floor, a chair, sofa…whatever they could sit down on before their legs gave out.
“I am
But what surprised him was that Shinji wasn't there. Did the Seer not say he was going to be there?
“Ah. So what are you all doing here?” Ryoma asked indifferently.
“To see if you’re alright, of course! You were missing at school for a month! A month! You were even dropped from the Regulars! The teachers had even removed you from their attendance list!”
“Did they?” Ryoma answered coldly. He didn’t really care, either way. He just wished that Momo would be quiet…he was rather loud and was hurting his ears.
“You don’t care?”
“I don’t know you, much less know everyone here.”
There was a small, uncomfortable silence passed. Then, the front door opened and the sweet voice of Nanako was heard again. “Oh…guests?” Nanako poked her head into the living room to where everyone was. She recognized them all as Ryoma’s friends, from the picture he had of them. “I hadn’t thought you all were coming over! Oh dear…I don’t think I’ve got anything prepared for this…”
“No, no! That’s alright!” Oishi exclaimed. “We don’t require anything.”
“Ah, but you’re Ryoma-sama’s friends. It’d be rude” Nanako said in a tone that gave no argument. She gave them a grin, which was promptly returned by Momo and Eiji. Oishi only sighed in defeat.
There was a slight knock on the door as Nanako went to set the groceries into the kitchen. “I’ll go get it” Oishi had said and immediately got up onto his feet to get the door. He reappeared at the doorway, several moments later with a bewildered look upon his face.
“Hm…that’s quite a lot of fans you’ve got there, Echizen” came a familiar, almost mumbling voice, though it sounded a lot more quieter than it usually did. Ryoma lifted his head towards the familiar voice…
“You! What the hell are you doing here?!” that was the outraged exclaim of Momo.
“I don’t know!” came another unfamiliar voice. The person was later identified as Kamio Akira. “I just followed him!”
Kamio pointed accusingly at his dark haired best friend. They were walking home from school when suddenly Shinji had brushed him off, saying that “I have somewhere to go.” And never in a million years, did Kamio expect Shinji to be able to speak something that was directly to the point. He was a mumbler, and spoke strangely, dragging his point on and on and on. After giving his red headed friend an abrupt excuse, Shinji had walked briskly in the opposite direction, leaving Kamio standing there alone in the street.
Of course, Kamio wasn’t called the speed demon for nothing. He had quickly caught up to Shinji, who seemed to be acting very peculiar. He was looking around, taking in the sights of the city, streets, skies…whatever there was. A look of bewilderment had crossed upon his usually passive face. But nevertheless, they had hurried along, and Shinji didn’t even bother giving Kamio an explanation of where they were going.
Then…they arrived at this…temple. Shinji just pushed the gate opened and stepped into the yard, not even bothering to excuse himself.
“Shinji! What do you think you’re doing?!” Kamio hissed. “We’re trespassing!”
Shinji just nodded vaguely, not really hearing the red head. He went up to the door and knocked. In a few moments, it was opened by none other than former Seishun Gakuen Junior High’s vice-captain of the tennis team; Oishi Syuichirou. Shinji nodded to the green eyed youth and stepped in, taking his shoes off as he did so. Oishi had looked over to Kamio for an explanation, but the red head only shrugged and followed Oishi inside.
And then…to encounter that goddamned Bicycle Thief!
“Echizen, did you invite them?!” Momo nearly shrieked, hurting Ryoma’s ear quite badly. “Because I can’t stand this guy!”
“I can’t stand you!” Kamio snapped in return. “Shinji, why are we here in the first place?”
“Kamio, you can go” Shinji said, his eyes trained onto Ryoma’s disabled form. “And when you do, please take the rest of these people with you.”
“What?! Hell no! It’s just you and me, Shinji, we’re leaving.”
“A-ah…if Ibu-san wants to stay, then let him stay” Oishi said. “I promise that Momo won’t bother you anymore. Right, Momo?” the green eyed youth looked sternly over at Momo, who was making a rather childish face at Kamio.
“The only one I have asked over is Shinji” Ryoma said quite coolly. “I request that the rest of you leave.”
“What?! Ryoma-sama, that’s mean!” came the sweet voice of Nanako’s again. “They’re your friends—plus, I just finished making all the snacks!”
Ryoma sighed and absently scratched at the binds over his eyes. “Fine. They can stay…”
There was a childish cheer from none other than Eiji, who plopped into the empty seat next to Ryoma. “Ne, Ochibi, how come you don’t remember any of us, but you remember him?”
“Huh?”
“He means,” Fuji interrupted. “Why you don’t remember anyone else besides Ibu-san.”
Ryoma shrugged. “I guess…I remember you” Ryoma lied, feeling rather uncomfortable knowing that he was under many scrutinizing stares. “You have…blue eyes…and you smile a lot.” Fuji chuckled at the description Ryoma gave him. It was good to know that the now-blind boy remembered him…yet, rather disturbing that Ryoma evaded the question. Usually, the young tennis genius would have just ‘hmphed’ when he didn’t want to answer a question.
“Oh, oh! Do you remember me?” came an unfamiliar voice. “It’s Horio!”
“Who are you?” Ryoma asked rather confusedly. There were several snickers from random people, though one of them Ryoma was able to identify as Momo.
“Sucks for you!” Momo exclaimed loudly, making Ryoma wince.
“Stop it…” Ryoma said quietly, bringing his hands up to his ears. “You’re too loud…”
“Ah…loud, indeed” Shinji found himself saying, also bringing his hands up to his ears, rubbing them for a moment. “Never in the world have I ever heard someone as loud as you…And that would be saying something” Shinji said, wincing at the chorus of ‘WHAT?!’ that came after his statement. “…people should learn the art of keeping quiet…Especially you bunch. You’re so loud. Ryoma, I’m going into the yard. Call me when the rest of them leave.” Without waiting for a reply, Shinji had crossed the living room and stepped out into the yard, placing on a pair of random sandals that were lying around.
“Oi, is he even allowed to do that?” Momo asked, incredulous.
“Please” Ryoma said quietly, his hands still not taken away from his ears. “Please leave. My head hurts really badly right now and I would like to get a conversation with Shinji in before I go to bed.”
“Alright…” the blind boy heard Fuji say beside him. “I guess…we’ll see you some other time, ok?”
Ryoma nodded, his hands still remained over his ears. This group…well, his companions, as he should actually say, was very loud.
It wasn’t long before they all left. As soon as they were on the streets again, they started to converse quite loudly again.
“Man, that Echizen!” Horio complained. “He’s even meaner than before!”
“Horio-kun! That was mean! He doesn’t have any memories!” Katsuo exclaimed, rushing to Ryoma’s defense.
“He seemed rather…strange” Inui said, barely looking up from his data book. “Though it could be due to the fact he is blind and has a memory loss, his behavior is quite different, though some things have remained unchanged. However, to me, it seemed as if he was a completely different person.”
Kaido scoffed at that. “Ssss…how would that be possible?”
“Well, for one, when have he and Ibu been on first name terms?”
No one knew the answer for that.
“But wouldn’t that mean that Ibu is a different person as well?”
“Shinji was acting rather strange…completely different from his usual behavior, yet the same…” Kamio inputted. “But still, that’s not possible! Even if that theory was correct, I was right there next to Shinji the whole time. Plus, I would have known if he was meeting Echizen.”
“Unya?! You mean…Mumbler-kun and Ochibi are…!”
“No! No! No!” Kamio exclaimed, shaking his head vigorously. That was…ugh! “And the last I remember, he was your boyfriend, right?” the unibanged red head turned to Fuji, who had a rather intense look upon his face, as if thinking something out.
“Ah…” was all Fuji replied to.
~*~
Ryoma heard Nanako come in and collect the cleaned plate of snacks.
“Nanako…” Ryoma called out, just before the girl had a chance to leave. “Could you go call Shinji from the yard?”
“Oh? Is one of your friends still here?” Nanako asked, looking outside into the yard.
Indeed, Shinji was there, among the plants, flowers and trees that grew there in the yard. There was a small smile upon the pale youth’s lips as the Seer took in his surroundings. There was…color, though it did hurt his eyes. For the first time in his life, Shinji saw color. Upon touching the pale green things, he was able to name them. He reached forward to touch some of the pale green shoots that were growing out of the ground. ‘Grass…’ a voice whispered. He looked up and saw something bright in the blue sky. It emanated warmth…a warmth that had allowed Shinji to ‘feel’ colors. ‘Sun…’
“Shinji-kun!”
Shinji turned around, facing a dark haired person. ‘Girl…’ She not only beautiful, but she radiated an aura of gentleness that Shinji had never felt in his entire life. The small smile stayed upon his face as he walked towards her, doing the ‘correct polite thing’ that Nanjirou had taught him long ago when he encountered a lady. Shinji bowed and took up one of her hands to place a kiss on it. “Ryoma is quite lucky to have you as a cousin” Shinji murmured. He bowed again for politeness and entered the living room, taking his sandals off as he did so, leaving a quite flustered Nanako behind him.
“Shinji” replied the usual cold tone that Ryoma regarded Shinji with. The two were never close friends to begin with.
“I guess I should compliment you on being able to get yourself into the worse of trouble” Shinji said, taking a seat across from the now-blind boy.
“You called me, what was it that you wanted to talk about?”
There was a slight pause and then Ryoma heard a small voice. “Many things…but they shouldn’t be discussed within these people’s earshot” Shinji whispered. “There is much at risk, something that we can’t take.”
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Ryoma countered. “It’s not like these people understand…we’re in a completely different world, Shinji.”
“Yes, but people might suspect your mentality—you wouldn’t want to be placed into an asylum, would you?” Shinji whispered in return. “Imagine, the great Ryoma, in a mental institute. Though I really do question your state of mind at times, I don’t think you would like to end up there. It would be amusing though, seeing you being treated as a patient there” the dark haired youth continued to ramble on for a few more moments and then fell silent.
“It would be a wonder, wouldn’t it?” Ryoma muttered sarcastically. “Should I be placed into something like that…”
Shinji said nothing, his face behind a placid mask. “It is quite amazing how fast the world would turn its back on you” Shinji said quietly. After all, he knew betrayal all too well. That was why he was always trying to help those close to him, even if he claimed he was only doing it for the favors in return. Shinji hid his heart behind walls of ice.
“Then what was the point of talking to you?” Ryoma snapped, unconsciously scratching at the binds over his eyes again. “This is stupid…”
“Your friends have been searching for you, you know. They asked me to come here, to find you and bring you back because they didn’t have the ability to do so” Shinji said. “Of course they wouldn’t…I spent most of my energy just trying to pinpoint where you went. It was an entirely different matter trying to get here. You should be more appreciative of my efforts, idiot. I’m actually helping you here, something that I can’t believe I got talked into doing…And here you are, refusing. How rude. It wasn’t my choice to come here in the first place—”
“I get it” the blinded boy snapped yet again. “But I can’t believe that you’re weak enough to get talked into this. Someone else could have come, you know.”
“But they didn’t have the ability to do so. None of them are able to…see with a Seer’s eye, for the lack of a better term” Shinji said. “I doubt you know how to either…You’re just a novice at things like that. Hmph. I don’t know what Nanjirou saw in you to get him to take you in as a student. But I guess it couldn’t have been avoided…”
“You’re rambling” Ryoma said pointedly.
“Ah…I’ll be back tomorrow” Shinji said, suddenly standing. “For now, just go and rest. There really isn’t much to do if you’re blind…but try reaching out around you. You might find…unexpected things” Shinji added mysteriously. He was gone, like a gust of wind. Ryoma shivered a bit, lying down onto the couch. His arms felt around for a pillow or cushion, and upon finding one, he curled up on the couch with the pillow under his head. Taking in a breath, Ryoma cleared his mind. The originally dull throb of a headache had intensified. Letting out the air he held, Ryoma fell into oblivion rather quickly.
All in all, it had been a rather trying day for the lost boy.
Several hours later, someone shaking him by the shoulders gently, awaked him. “Ryoma, it’s time for dinner” came a soft voice he had come to recognize as Rinko’s.
“…uh?” was the most intelligent reply Ryoma could answer with.
A gentle and tender touch brushed across his cheeks. “Baby, I’m so sorry…” Rinko said sadly. “I wish you didn’t get hurt…” She pressed her forehead against her son’s. “I wish it was me instead of you…”
“Don’t wish that” Ryoma said softly, reaching up, trying to find where his mother was. Her slender hands deftly caught his and held onto it like he was a newborn babe. Briefly, Ryoma wondered again what sort of life he had in this world. It was so filled with love and warmth…it just made him want to forget everything and just be the Ryoma of this world.
Of course, his pride would never allow him to do that.
“Let’s go to dinner. Come on, I’ll help you” Rinko said, her voice showing a hint of a small smile. Ryoma allowed himself to be carried piggyback into the kitchen, where he was placed into a chair. Rinko fed him, like he was a child. Though Ryoma had expressed his thoughts on how degrading that was, he was only rewarded with a snicker from Nanjirou and Nanako.
“I guess you can’t take the attitude from the boy” Nanjirou said as he gulped down his tea when he saw Rinko glaring at him.
“Well, since you’re blind, I doubt there is any other way” Nanako said with a soft smile.
Ryoma pouted.
“Say ‘ah!’”
If he could open his eyes, he would have glared at Nanjirou, who was choking and laughing when Nanako spoke.
~*~
It was around nine ‘o clock in the morning when Ryoma got a visitor. As true to his word, Shinji had returned. He was dressed in casual clothes instead of the Fudoumine Junior High School uniform.
“I’m sure Ryoma would be very happy that you’ve come to visit him, but isn’t today a school day…?” Rinko had asked when she saw Shinji at the door.
“His…rehabilitation is more important” Shinji lied, his voice just barely above the whisper. He looked rather tired to the mother. Without another word, she quickly ushered him inside and sat him down on the couch next to Ryoma, who had just finished his bath and was just sitting there, under the autumn sun on one of the couches. From the way Nanjirou was complaining about how sharp-tongued Ryoma was with words, it was obvious her husband had been teasing the blind boy when he had been helping Ryoma with the bath. She sighed; Nanjirou would never change. He still teased her sometimes…
“Well, do you want anything to eat…er…what is your name?”
“Just call me Shinji and I don’t need to eat anything. I ate before I came” the dark haired youth answered.
When Rinko left the room, Shinji spoke. “You look pathetic.”
“I feel pathetic” Ryoma nearly sneered. “How do you put up with being blind?”
“I don’t” Shinji answered. “That’s why I learned how to use my Seer abilities. Unlike you, who doesn’t even know how to control it, I put it to good use. It helped me locate whatever it was I needed, though it never allowed me to ‘see.’ Hmph…you should think yourself as lucky, you know. I was born blind and had no chance of being healed. You, though, you have a chance. Lady Luck must really like you or something…don’t know why. Being blind is horrible, but better than being dead…I guess. Hm…now that I think about it, it seems to be better. I would prefer being blind rather than dead. What’s so horrible about life? Besides the weakness of human hearts, I guess…” Shinji continued to mumble on and Ryoma listened, glad for something familiar.
“Are you finished?” Ryoma interrupted when Shinji was going to launch into a full-out ramble on being blind.
“No. But since time is limited, I guess I am finished…for now” Shinji said, looking over at the now-blind Ryoma.
Silence reigned for the moment, both boys staring off into space and gathering their own thoughts.
“You should go outside. The air is much fresher here and less dense than our own air back at home” Shinji spoke finally.
“I would if I could” Ryoma said wistfully.
“What’s stopping you? Nothing ever deterred you from your path before. Why now?”
“Hello? Broken leg? And I thought you weren’t blind anymore. Apparently I was wrong.”
Silence.
“I’m not carrying you.”
“I don’t want to be carried, plus, I didn’t ask you to.”
Ah…how their personalities clashed at times.
~*~
In the end, they didn’t get anything accomplished that day, except bicker, something they usually did when one was in a sour mood. And Ryoma’s mood turned even sourer when he lost one of the debates he was having with the dark haired seer.
Shinji left a little after
lunch, saying that he’d be back again tomorrow. “And when I’m over
tomorrow, be sure to be outside. It’s healthier for you. Of course,
if you plan to be cooped up in the house all day, fine by me. Don’t come
crying to me when you turn all pale and become sickly” and Shinji went on
another tirade about going outside. In the end, Ryoma shooed him out of the
house.
With a sigh, Ryoma settled
back into the couch he was seated on. Though he was only talking with Shinji,
he still felt drained for some odd reason. He laid down, allowing his mind to
drift. He could hear all sorts of sounds better than before, for some odd
reason. He heard Nanako and Rinko in the kitchen. Nanjirou was outside,
sweeping. The soft noises of rough bristles scraping against the cold, hard
ground was difficult to pick up, but it was there, as well as Nanjirou’s
choice words of complaints.
As bored and as tired as he
was at the moment, he didn’t feel like a nap. “Aero…” he whispered. A
cool, but calm breeze drifted into the room. Ah…performing magic here seemed
so much easier for some odd reason. It was probably due to the fact his
strength wasn’t sapped away by the atmosphere, as it would back at home. As
magic emanates off of a person, the atmosphere would drain it slowly, though
effectively. No one knew why. Ryoma remembered vaguely that he had asked Inui
the question of ‘why’ when he was bored and had to share a room with him.
The bespectacled youth had given him a long, long, long description of how and
why the problem hadn’t been solved. It just caused Ryoma to fall asleep,
something that Inui had probably set in mind anyway. It was so unfair, how he
was so easily manipulated, especially by Inui.
The front door was suddenly opened rather abruptly and Nanjirou stormed in. “Finished! Now I get to rest…”
Ryoma heard someone collapse onto the sofa that was to the side of the one he laid on.
“Boy, you awake?”
“What?”
“Nuthin’ much. Just wanted to know when have you gotten so many friends” Nanjirou said nonchalantly.
“I…I don’t know” Ryoma answered truthfully. He really didn’t know…nor did he want to know. “I guess it’s another thing I have to remember.”
“Oh…” Nanjirou was at a loss of things to say.
“Are you picking on Ryoma-sama again, Uncle?” came a stern voice. It was Nanako. “You should know better than that!”
“H-Hey! I didn’t even do anything yet!”
“Well, you don’t need to!” Nanako said.
“So what’s all the ruckus here about?” Rinko asked, stepping into the room. She smiled gently at her son, though she knew he couldn’t see her. “Dear, you weren’t teasing Ryoma again, were you?”
“Why am I always to blame?” Nanjirou grumbled.
“Because you’re always the perpetrator?” Ryoma suggested.
“Hey, hey! No picking on your old man, eh?”
“An old man is an old man” Ryoma said, his voice barely concealed his amusement. This banter between father and son certainly brought up everyone’s spirit. It was almost as if everything was going back to normal.
“What did you and your friend talk about today? I heard you two all the way from outside” Nanjirou said, changing the subject. “Something about health…”
“Oh. He said that it was healthier to go outside or whatever” Ryoma said dully. “I don’t really see how though.”
“That’s a great idea!” Nanako exclaimed suddenly. “Why don’t we go out for a picnic?” she suggested. “Though it’s a little late, there will still be time!”
“A…picnic?” everyone echoed. It was Rinko that agreed second. Nanjirou reluctantly agreed whereas Ryoma looked between mortified and delighted.
“Why…a picnic?” Ryoma asked, his voice suddenly very, very quiet, almost as if he was afraid.
“Think of this as a learning experience!” Nanako exclaimed. “You will learn how the world outside of this house is like…plus you get to go outside. It won’t be long, what do you say, Ryoma-sama?”
Grudgingly, Ryoma agreed to go with his ‘family,’ as that both Nanako and Rinko seemed hell-bent on getting them out of the house.
“Honey, go get the wheelchair” Rinko said, pushing her husband gently off of the couch. “Nanako, you and I have some quick packing to do! Ah…it’s been so long since we had one. Remember the last one we had, back at the states, Ryoma?” Rinko turned back to her son. She had momentarily forgotten that he was blind and was ‘suffering from memory lost.’ Her eyes suddenly softened as she enveloped Ryoma into a hug. “I’m sorry…you don’t remember these things. You will remember, I know you will,” she said determinedly, whilst giving Ryoma a small peck on the cheek as she left the room.
Ryoma let out the breath he didn’t even know he was holding. What Nanako had said before was almost exactly on the spot he was worried about. He wasn’t from this world, and some of the things such as a light switch, telephone, and radio seemed rather…strange and he didn’t want anything to do with them. Several nights ago, Ryoma was given the fright of his life when his ‘father’ introduced him to a radio. He just pressed a button and suddenly, voices flooded the room. Things like that never happened in his world. At least he took that better than the telephone, which he had nearly fried if Nanako hadn’t been there, giggling at her own expense.
A car was strange too. This new, strange, foreign world was filled with wonders and frights. But what would he do if they, his presumed family, presented him with something that he doesn’t know? It was going to be awkward. Nanjirou had already jokingly told Ryoma that it seemed like he was just learning all the things that had to do with technology. What was technology? Ryoma briefly remembered that Inui and Taka were discussing something like that, but he couldn’t follow their conversation at all, so he went to find Momo to talk with.
Suddenly, there were arms around him, lifting him upwards.
“Oi, oi! Relax, boy,
I’m not going to do anything. I’m just putting you into the wheelchair”
Nanjirou said as he struggled to regain his grip on a flailing Ryoma.
“Well, that’s what you get for not telling me it was you!” Ryoma grumbled as he was settled into the wheelchair.
Nanjirou just sighed. Why did his son have to be so difficult at times?
“Alright, we’re going to the car now” Nanjirou announced loudly to the two ladies in the kitchen.
“We’ll be there in a moment!” Nanako answered in return.
Nanjirou sighed again. Why did strange women always surround him?
--To Be Continued…