Haruka's Fanfiction

*NOTE* Alternate Universe wherein I shamelessly borrowed/altered ideas from various media sources and even threw in some of my own. If anything is canon here, it’s probably an accident. Some chapters contain corporal punishment. Yaoi warning.

Earlier chapters can be found here.

*UPDATE* From this point on, most of the characters will be referred to by first name, just because it’s what I’m most used to now, due to my RPGs. Sorry for any inconvenience.


Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 78

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

--

As Kouhei headed for his mother’s room, he was trying to think of the best way to approach her about the concert he wanted to go to. He would need some good arguments, seeing as it was on the other side of the city and would keep him out a lot later than she would like. On the other hand, he planned to have someone go with him – he just wasn’t sure yet if it would be a date or someone he’d have to bribe.

“Hey, Kaasan --!” he said as he opened her bedroom door. Then he froze.

His mother and Echizen Nanjiroh. They were … they were ….

“AUUUGH!” Kouhei screamed, then turned and ran. “Somebody gouge out my eyes!”

--

Syuusuke pushed off and let himself fly. Sometimes it was nice to ride on the playground swings like a little kid. You didn’t have to do anything but enjoy the breeze on your face and think.

It had been a couple of weeks since they’d been brought back from the kidnappers. Taka had been as tender and understanding a boyfriend as anyone could want. He hadn’t pushed him to have sex with him, or even to just sleep in the same bed together. It was that consideration that made Syuusuke stronger, and along with the support of his friends, he had done his best to put the incident behind him. Even so, it had still taken him a week to invite Taka back into his bed, and another before he was feeling comfortable enough to make love to him.

With that relationship cemented once again, he could begin to worry about the other important person in his life: Yuuta.

He and Yuuta had never spoken of what happened. It wasn’t that his brother ignored him; he just didn’t bring up that particular subject. Syuusuke certainly wasn’t going to do it, so it remained untouched between them. Although Syuusuke was fairly sure that Yuuta didn’t think less of him for having been molested by Baker, he couldn’t be 100% certain, and it bothered him.

“What’s YOUR problem?”

Syuusuke jumped off the swing at the nearby, familiar voice but didn’t see a source. “Show yourself, Mizuki Hajime!”

“Nfu!” The St. Rudolph manager became visible and seated himself on Syuusuke’s deserted swing. “Did I actually see you here without a smile on your face?”

“I have my moments, just like anyone,” Syuusuke replied tightly.

Hajime began to swing, forcing Syuusuke to move aside. “I haven’t seen you spending much time with Yuuta lately.”

“If you’re here to gloat, I’m not really interested in hearing it.”

“Now, now, now,” Hajime replied. “I’m not one to kick a man when he’s down.”

Syuusuke gave him a warning look. “I’m not down, Hajime. The kidnapping is over, and I’m fine.”

“Of course you are! But you have been avoiding Yuuta –“

“I have not!”

Hajime stopped swinging. “Yes, you have. And he’s noticed.”

Syuusuke’s first instinct was to snap back at him, but instead he tried to resist the urge and thought about what Hajime had said. Was it possible that he was the one responsible for Yuuta’s silence on the whole matter of Baker and what he’d done?

“Wait a minute.” He turned suddenly. “Why would you even tell me about this?”

The other boy twirled a bit of hair around a finger. “Give me a little credit, Fuji Syuusuke. Regardless of how you and I feel about each other, I do care about Yuuta.” He shrugged. “And while I’ve tried to distract him with more important things, he can’t stop worrying about you.” Hajime began walking away. “So talk to him and get it out in the open, then he can go back to being embarrassed by you, as usual.”

Syuusuke watched him leave. How depressing it was to have to feel grateful to his worst enemy.

--

“Kids, kids everywhere, can’t believe I thought I ever liked ‘em …,” Nanjiroh muttered as he strode through the mansion, hunting for Kouhei. Aoi had gone in the other direction on her own search. You wouldn’t think it would be that hard to find a kid with hair so bright ….

THERE he was! Nanjiroh spotted him huddled just outside the patio doors, sitting on the steps with Youhei, his brother’s arm around him. He went outside and they both looked up.

“Auugh!” Kouhei cried and buried his face in his knees once more. Youhei was glaring at Nanjiroh accusingly.

“Awww, come on, you guys, don’t give me that look.” Nanjiroh groaned as he sat down beside them. “You know your mom is a grown woman, right? And sometimes grown-ups –“

“We know all THAT!” Youhei exclaimed, holding up a hand.

“Yes, please don’t make me think about it again!” Kouhei begged, shuddering.

“Then why the dirty looks?!” Nanjiroh exclaimed.

The twins both yelled, “YOU SHOULD HAVE LOCKED THE DOOR!”

“Oh.” Nanjiroh scratched his chin, feeling a little sheepish. “Heh. Yeah, I guess so.”

“Is everything all right out here?” Aoi asked as she peered outside.

Kouhei looked away. Telepathically to Youhei, he said, (“I don’t think I’ll be able to look at the two of them near each other for a while.”)

(“I understand,”) Youhei said with a sage nod. Out loud he replied, “We’re okay, Kaasan. Could you maybe take Nan-chan inside now?”

She started to come out the door. “I think we should talk about this –“

“Not now!” Kouhei said, giving another shudder. “Please? Give me time to get the images out of my brain.”

Youhei grimaced. “And while you’re at it, stop projecting them into MINE!”

Aoi nudged Nanjiroh. “Come on, let’s go.”

Nanjiroh shook his head as he stood up. “Find the boys, get away from the boys, find them, get away from them – make up your mind, woman ….”

--

It had been awhile since the entire Rikkaidai tennis team had gotten together outside of school or practice, but Jackal and Renji had called to arrange for it today. The group of them gathered in the food court of their favorite mall, finally catching up on all the news.

"That's quite a story, you guys," Jackal remarked slowly. "It sounds like we were lucky to get Genichirou and Akaya back unharmed."

"That's certainly true," Seiichi glanced at Genichirou with a secret smile. He cleared his throat and looked away. Akaya rolled his eyes at them.

"It was awful there," the youngest team member said. "Those creepy men were turning us into their slaves, and they tried to turn Fuji Syuusuke into something else entirely."

"Akaya," Genichirou silenced him sternly, "it's best if we don't speak of that."

Akaya pouted. "Well, can we at least talk about what Sengoku Kiyosumi told us? About how Akutsu Jin knew the kidnapping was going to happen?"

"Unfortunately, we can't prove it," Masaharu said with an annoyed sigh.

Hiroshi pushed up his glasses. "It does seem that some people get away with everything, doesn't it?"

"He hasn't ALWAYS gotten away with everything," Renji remarked, glancing significantly toward Bunta.

Akaya laughed. "Yeah, the way Bunta-senpai used his Mood Making power to put so much fear in him that he'd have run from bunny rabbits -- that was classic!"

“That guy holds grudges, though,” Seiichi pointed out.

“You mean he can’t count the score as even after keeping quiet about the kidnapping of my teammates?” Bunta exclaimed.

“Don’t tell me you’re surprised,” Jackal said dryly. “That guy LOOKS for reasons to hurt people.”

Genichirou glanced at Seiichi, who was trying to make a quick call on his cell phone. “Still busy,” he said, then looked apologetically at the others. “Trying to reach my mother. She’s going shopping and I wanted her to pick up something for me. I think she’s talking to my aunt, so they could be a while.” He put the phone down on the table and picked up his burger.

“Need the ketchup,” Bunta said and reached for it, accidentally knocking over his full cup of soda. It splashed all over Seiichi’s phone.

“Gah!” Bunta cried, grabbing the phone and frantically tried to sop up the soda with napkins. “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!”

Seiichi gave him a dangerous look and held out his hand for the phone. He tried to turn it on, but nothing happened. "It's dead," he said softly, raising his eyes to focus on Bunta.

"And so am I." The redhead cringed.

"Buchou, wait!" Jackal cried. "Before you kill him, can I look at it?"

Seiichi frowned at him. "If you like, but it won't save him." He handed the damp phone over. Jackal held it between his hands for a couple of moments, then gave it back.

"Try it now."

Seiichi looked irritated. "Jackal, have you lost your mind, or are you just trying to postpone the inevitable?"

"Please, Buchou. Just try it," he begged.

Seiichi pursed his lips an annoyance, but looked down at the phone. He pressed the power button and it lit up.

“B-but it wasn’t working a minute ago,” he said in confusion, turning the phone over. “It’s not even sticky or wet anymore, and – Genichirou, look at this!”

His Vice-Captain leaned over and frowned. “What happened to the scratches? The ones it got after you dropped it on the tennis court?” He took the phone from Seiichi and examined it. “This looks brand new.”

Everybody stared at Jackal.

“Um, yeah,” he said sheepishly. “I recently figured out that I’m a Changechild, too. I can take almost anything and make it like new again. I call it Restoration.”

A wide smile spread across Bunta’s face. “That is SO cool!”

“And so well-timed,” Masa said dryly, nudging him. “He saved your hide.”

"What sort of things have you tested it on?" Hiroshi inquired.

"All kinds. Dog-eared books, my favorite old shoes, our microwave that was dying, our house —"

"Your whole house?!" Akaya squeaked.

Jackal nodded. "It needed painting, some of the windows needed to be replaced, and the roof was older than me. Now it's as if the whole place was just built yesterday."

"How are your parents going to explain that to their insurance company?" Masa snickered.

"Who needs insurance anymore?" The dark-skinned teenager grinned. "My folks are covered as long as my power keeps working."

"Hey, you know what?" Akaya said in wide-eyed realization. "This means the only one of us left without a power is –" He looked over at Renji.

Masa cuffed Akaya across the head. "Show some respect to your senpai!"

"Yeah!" Bunta gave him a smack as well.

Hiroshi added his own whap. "Indeed."

Akaya pouted as he rubbed the sore spots. "Jackal-senpai, I don't suppose your power can Restore my head to what it was before they dented it."

"Sorry, Akaya. My power doesn't work on living tissue." He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “And by the way, you’re wrong about Renji.”

“WHAT?!” All heads turned toward Renji, who calmly finished his hamburger, crumpled the wrapper, and casually tossed it into a garbage can thirty feet away.

"Good shot!" Masa approved with a low whistle. "I'll bet you can't do it again."

Renji finished his drink and threw the cup in what appeared to be an off-hand, almost lazy toss. It sailed through the air and landed in the same garbage can.

"Is that your power or are you better at basketball than we thought?" Seiichi half-joked.

"I'm better at basketball NOW, that's for certain," Renji replied dryly. "But it's not just that. Jackal, give me the M&M’s you bought earlier."

His teammate handed over the candy and Renji open the bag, taking a handful out. "Open your mouth, Akaya."

Although uncertain, Akaya knew what would happen if he refused a direct order from a senpai. He opened his mouth, expecting Renji to toss one of the candies into it.

Instead, he tossed the entire handful, and all of them landed in Akaya’s mouth without touching the sides.

"Gak!" Akaya covered his mouth. "Mmf ohmoaf fwawwowed un!"

"Sorry, I can throw them in but can't control them once they're there. Try not to choke."

"What do you call that power?" Genichirou asked.

"Super-accuracy? Precision? Take your choice." Renji shrugged. "Anything I throw goes wherever I want it to, as long as the target is within my sight. Distance doesn't seem to matter, although I haven't tested it on anything longer than the football field at school."

"He hit a tennis ball from one end of that field into a small wastebasket we set up at the other end!" Jackal declared. "It was amazing!"

"Have you tested this on the actual tennis court?" Seiichi asked. "Where the precision is more important than the distance?"

Renji met his gaze. "I have. I can aim the ball anywhere I want and hit the mark every time. I never miss."

“Looks like someone else is going to need Syuuichiro’s Nullifying power before matches,” Bunta remarked, popping a fresh piece of gum into his mouth.

“The next question is, are you two going to join us at the Changechildren mansion?” Seiichi asked.

Renji and Jackal exchanged a look. “Well, we figured that you guys weren’t staying there much longer, anyway,” Jackal confessed. “Wasn’t that arrangement only supposed to last until Akaya stopped randomly possessing people?”

Now it was Seiichi and Genichirou’s turn to look at one another. “He’s right,” the Vice-Captain said. “That was the plan.”

“It seems we have some decisions to make.” Their Captain nodded thoughtfully.

--

When Syuusuke finally found Yuuta, he was practicing by himself, hitting balls against the brick wall of a public court. He watched him from outside the fence for a while, then when Yuuta took a break for some water, he approached him. “You look great.”

Yuuta looked up, then back down at the water bottle. “Thanks,” he said.

Syuusuke knew that much had to be hard for his brother. Yuuta usually took any attempt Syuusuke made at commenting on his tennis as some kind of insult. “May we talk for a few minutes?” he ventured.

In reply, Yuuta put the bottle down and cleared space on the bench for them both to sit. Once they had done so, both boys were quiet for a few moments.

“Are you all right?” Yuuta finally asked without looking at him.

“Yes,” Syuusuke answered. “I’m fine now. Thank you.”

Yuuta picked up his racquet and rolled it between his hands in a nervous gesture. “I wanted to ask sooner, but it felt weird. Like you didn’t want to talk to me about it.”

“I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it,” Syuusuke admitted. “The adults thought I should see some kind of counselor, but it seemed extreme considering nothing much happened –“

“But something DID!” Yuuta turned to face him suddenly. “Some creep touched you without permission and threatened to do worse --!” He shook his head. “Even if you were saved before he could, it still scared you, Aniki, and that’s understandable. I wanted to help, but I thought you were avoiding me, and under the circumstances I didn’t want to push it.”

Syuusuke put a hand on Yuuta’s leg. “I probably WAS avoiding you unconsciously. I didn’t want you to have to deal with my issues, Yuuta. I’m the older brother – you’re supposed to be able to come to ME for support, and I’m supposed to be strong and –“

“Don’t you get it?!” Yuuta exclaimed. “You don’t have to be strong ALL the time! And you may older, but we’re brothers and that means we can support EACH OTHER! I’m not a child that you have to protect from everything bad in the world, Aniki! Let me be one of those who can help you next time, okay?”

Syuusuke smiled wanly. “I’m hoping there won’t BE a next time.”

Yuuta chuckled and sighed at the same time. “You know what I mean.”

“I do. And thank you.” Syuusuke took a chance and embraced Yuuta, and for the first time since they became tennis rivals, his sibling returned it.

--

End of Part 78

(2009)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.