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Die to Love You	By : Bastet Category: Prince of Tennis/Tennis no Ohjisama > General Views: 6699 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis (Tennis no Ohjisama), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Authors note:� Because both
Ryoma�s will be talking out loud in the next chapter or two ghost Ryoma�s words,
and the other ghosts words, will be italicized.�
I will try to make it clear who�s who but it might get confusing later
on.� As usual thanks go to my friend
Nicole for helping and often giving me the kick I need to get going again.� Don�t kill me because the chapter is so late�
I�m tired, and stressed, and I want to quit my job.

Tezuka woke instantly and silently straining his ears for
any unusual sounds or sense of danger that might have startled him from his
dreams.� There was nothing.� If he listened hard enough he knew he could
hear Momoshiro snoring and, if they were awake, possibly the sounds of a bed
creaking softly from the direction of Kikumaru and Oishi�s room.� Those were normal sounds that were often
heard from his teammates when they were on overnight outings together, but
there was nothing that would have startled him awake.� Content that all was well for now he silently
yawned and stretched, careful not to jar either of his lovers.� This of course was useless as Fuji�s
eyes snapped open the instant he moved and he offered his lover a smile.

Ryoma sensed the movement while still asleep and rolled over
effectively pinning the tennis captain to the bed as he unconsciously used him
as a body pillow.� Fuji�s
smile widened at Tezuka�s discomfort when Ryoma�s leg slid down between his own
brushing the older boy�s morning erection as he squirmed to get
comfortable.� Tezuka in turn wrapped his
arms around the small lithe boy and tried not to squish him as he held him
still, trying to will himself some extra restraint.� What he would have liked to do was roll over
and kiss the younger boy awake before stripping him
and recreating what they�d done the day before but he had more self control
than that.� Fuji smirked at his lovers
inner battle and leaned over to kiss his way down Ryoma�s back while using one
hand to stroke the outside of one of Tezuka�s thighs.� Tezuka was very close to losing his self
control when Ryoma woke and stifled a gasp of pain as the cuts on his legs and
his bruises protested his position.�
Despite the bath the day before, which had been more to warm him up, he
was stiff and very sore.

Stopping instantly both of his lovers moved to help lay him
back down on the bed.

�� Ryoma are
you ok?� Fuji asked as he examined
him.

�� I�ll be
fine, sorry to ruin the mood.� I�m just a
little stiff.� Ryoma answered not fooling either of them.

The sixteen year old soon found himself
bundled into another bath, not overly hot but it was enough to loosen him up a
little.

�� You should
rest here for now while we go check any damage the storm may have made, unless
you would rather sit downstairs with one of us or the others.� Tezuka said as
he carried Ryoma back into the bedroom.

He still wouldn�t let the boy walk too much though it almost
seemed more to reassure himself than to help the sixteen year old.�

�� Here is
fine Kunimitsu.� Ryoma said in embarrassment.

�� We�ll be
back up soon Ryoma, and we�ll bring some breakfast.� I�d rather you were up here anyway, without
your Sarutahiko necklace it�s more dangerous in the
less warded parts of the house.� Fuji said protectively.

�� Since
you�re set on staying until the end it would be safest if we all stayed in the
bedrooms as much as possible until it�s time to leave tomorrow.� We�ll order lunch and dinner in today and
pack for tomorrow.� Tezuka said firmly.

Ryoma, hearing the finality in
his captain�s voice, just nodded and settled himself on the couch while his
lovers left the room to gather the others to check for storm damage and to make
breakfast.

After a while Ryoma�s mind turned back to the sound his
ancestor�s journal had made the night before.�
He stared at the strange leather book for a few minutes before reaching
out for it.� Looking closely at the
inside of the back cover he discovered a very fine line that was raised near
the spine.� It looked like another piece
of leather had been added after the book was made.� Making a decision quickly Ryoma managed to
get a nail under the edge and peeled the added piece back.� He caught a flash of a small metal object as
it fell from the opened area onto his lap.�
Ryoma put the book down before looking to see what had fallen.� On the blanket that covered him from the waist down was an old key.� Wondering what it belonged to Ryoma picked it
up and instantly lost all knowledge of what he was doing.

The red eyed ghost smiled grimly as he watched the boy exit
his warded bedroom and walk stiffly into the hallway towards the locked
room.� He didn�t care when the boy bumped
a painting off the wall or that the noise of it shattering on the floor alerted
the other boys in the house that something was wrong, all he cared about was
that he now had his descendant in his possession and that the boy would die
before he had a chance to either shame the family or get his heart broken.� He laughed out loud, startling the cat that
had come out of one of the rooms, as the sixteen year old put the key into the
lock and turned it.� Automatically the
seals and wards on the door burst into flame and disintegrated into ash as the
door swung open.� Not giving the
hypnotized boy a chance to walk into the room on his own he shoved him in and
slammed the door shut behind them just as the rest of the meddlesome teenaged
boys topped the stairs.� He laughed again
as several of them slammed into the locked and sealed door.

Fuji Shusuke wanted to scream.� For once in his life he felt helpless to
protect someone that he loved and he hated it.�
Of course that didn�t mean that he would stop trying.� The whole situation just made him that much
more angry.� This meant that once he got
into that room, and he definitely would one way or another, he would find a way
to destroy the ghost once and for all.�

For the second time in his life Tezuka Kunimitsu was scared,
really and truly scared.� Something he
didn�t know how to deal with had taken one of his lovers and for once he didn�t
know how to handle the situation.� He
knew he had to get Ryoma back.� He knew
that whatever was in that room with him would try to kill him, and he knew that
he couldn�t forgive himself if he let that happen.� But he didn�t know how to defeat what had
Ryoma.� All he knew for sure was that he
wasn�t about to quit until he had him back.�
Looking around him he saw the determined expressions of his teammates
and the cold fury in his lover�s face that he was sure mirrored his own.

BANG! rattle, rattle, rattle.

�� Grr.�

BANG! rattle, rattle, rattle.

�� Grrrrr.�

�� Momoshiro,
dislocating your shoulder while trying to open the door is not going to help
Ryoma.� Kawamura said as he stopped the boy from ramming the door.

�� Damn
it!� We should have kept him with
us!� We have to do something!� We can�t just stand here.� Momo nearly
sobbed.

�� We will
get him back Momoshiro, but not by acting recklessly.� We need to stay on guard.� Tezuka said
quietly.

�� I was hoping you would say that.� You need to be very sure of what he means to
you to save him.�� A new voice said
as the splitting image of Ryoma, in an old-fashioned blue kimono, shimmered
into appearance followed closely by two teenaged girls also in outdated
clothing.

�� NO!� Ochibi you can�t be
dead!� Eiji cried as he was kept from running towards the spirits by Oishi who
had pulled him close.

�� Please calm yourselves.� One of the
girls said.

�� That is
not Ryoma.� Tezuka said confidently.

�� At least,
he�s not our Ryoma.� Fuji added
having his own suspicions.

�� How can
you tell?� He looks and sounds the same.�
Oishi said still holding his sobbing lover.

�� He doesn�t
talk the same.� Or stand the same or act
the same.� Kaidoh and Momo said in unison, for once in complete agreement.

�� It�s an Ochibi imposter?� Nya!� Why do you look like our Ryoma!?�

�� Please.�
My name is Echizen Ryoma, but I am not the Ryoma you know.� I was born over 150 years ago.� These two are Echizen Aya and Echizen Mai, my
descendants.� We�ve been trying to keep
you all safe from the one that has your Ryoma.�
We are here to help.�

�� How can
you help?� Why are you all here?�
Kawamura asked.

�� We were all killed by the one that has your
Ryoma.� We don�t want him to kill
again.� We helped Ryoma once already, now
we are here to help you save him.� Mai said forcefully.

�� We don�t want another to needlessly die.�
Aya added.

�� Who�s the
ghost that took Echizen?� If my
assumptions are correct, all three of you were killed by the same man, but I�ve
only read two out of the three journals.� Inui said from his position beside
Kaidoh.

�� My father, Echizen Kiyoshi, killed me when
he still lived, and has killed these two since as a ghost.� He now has your Ryoma.� All of which I am deeply sorry for.� Now you must hurry.� The key he used to unlock the room was my
mothers.� After she decided to keep the
room locked I hid her copy in my journal, but my father has his key hidden
elsewhere.� We have to find it.� It�s the only way to get into the room and
save your Ryoma.�

�� Where is
it hidden?� Oishi asked.

�� The Tea Room.� It�s
the only room we haven�t searched and he wouldn�t have hidden it outside of the
house.� It must be there.� Aya said
noticing how her uncle Ryoma looked grave.

�� Uncle Ryoma you don�t have to do this.� We can find the key,
you don�t have to go in there.� Mai said looking concerned.

�� I�m fine.�
Let�s go.�

(And I�d probably be
killed if I left it around here so I�ll keep going.� Sorry it�s been taking me so long to update.)

Smash!

�� Mumble� mumble� mumble.�

Crash!

�� Mumble� mumble� mumble.�

Clunk!

�� Momoshiro!� Stop
throwing the damn teapots!� Kaidoh burst out as he caught the flying finery.

�� She
started it Mamushi.� The powerhouse grumbled pointing and Mai.

�� Well at least mine was an accident.� And I have more right to break this stuff
than you do, you big oaf!� the ghost shot back with a glare.

�� Do we even
know if it will be on a teapot?� Kawamura piped in as he helped Aya look in
another section.

�� I�m nearly certain that�s where he would
hide it.� If I could just remember which
one he prepared the tea in that night.� The spectral Ryoma said.

�� Just what
happened that night?� Inui interrupted.

�� I thought my father had finally accepted the
relationship between Yori and myself, but I was wrong.� I never gave it a second thought when the
liquid was a touch cloudy when my father poured it into the chawan
so I followed the ceremony steps.� My
father did not speak after the ceremony and about ten minutes later I began to
feel quite ill.� My father soothed me as
I began to convulse but did nothing to stop my death.� After my body stilled and my spirit had left
my body my father moved me to my room and left me for my brother to
discover.� I realized he�d done something
to kill me, and after he killed Aya I discovered that he was using a type of
poison.� After he killed Mai and Sho we
went looking for the poison but he kept it hidden in his room where we could
not enter so long as he was there.� I
believe you disposed of the rest of
the poison correct?� You did find it
after we stopped my father from poisoning your Ryoma.� The ghost said
addressing Inui at the end.

�� Ah, it was
destroyed very carefully after I found out what it was.� Strychnine is a rather dangerous substance.�
Inui replied as the rest of the team just stared at him.

�� You didn�t
think it important to tell the rest of us what you found?� Tezuka asked sternly
with a look that promised repercussion at a later date.�

�� Ah, it
slipped my mind.� Besides it was dealt
with.�

�� Echizen-san,
do you remember which set your father used for the ceremony?� Fuji
interrupted before Tezuka could argue, after all Inui would be dealt with after they saved Ryoma.

�� Ah, I remember because it was his most
cherished set and was decorated with his favorite design for the kimonos.�

�� Do you see
it here?� Or have we checked it already?�
Fuji said with a patience he did
not feel.

The ghost looked around the room and shook his head.

�� No, I do not see it here.�

�� Wait.�
Uncle Ryoma did you not once tell me of a secret storage place in this
room for grandfathers prized sets?� Aya spoke up suddenly.

�� Yes I remember.� You said it was along the wall near the floor
across from the window.� Mai said as she quickly glided over to the correct
wall.

�� I was never told how to open it though.�
Ryoma said sadly.

�� So we�ll
tare the wall down!� Momo and Eiji cried in unison.

Before they could take a run at the wall, though, Oishi and
Kaidoh grabbed them by the backs of their shirts.�

�� Nobody
needs to tear anything down baka.� Kaidoh said with a
hiss.

�� Eiji,
don�t be hasty, you�ll hurt yourself.�
What if tearing the wall down damages the house enough that it collapses
and kills Ryoma who will still be trapped in that room?!� Oishi said going
further into mother hen mode.

Click�� Scrape.

During the commotion no one had noticed Inui studying the
bottom section of the wall.� He�d found a
little knot in the wood which he�d found large enough to stick his finger into
and when he had he pressed something inside.�
A panel of wood pushed out allowing him to slide it to the side.

�� Inui what
did you just do?� Tezuka asked with a raised eyebrow.

�� There is a
puzzle box in here.� I must admit that
this is a design I have not studied before, but it is approximately the correct
size to hold a tea set.� Inui said instead of answering the Captain.

�� Saa, is
anyone good at these boxes?� My family
has one but I still haven�t figured out all 119 moves to open it.� Fuji
said with a look that promised it would be opened soon now that he had a reason
to be interested in it.

�� Ano�� My uncle makes
them� when I was little he would let me play with them when he visited.� This one is an older model that requires ten
moves.� I could open it, I think, if you
like.� Kawamura said softly with a look of embarrassment.

Fuji had the box
in the boy�s hands before anyone could even think of a response.� True to his word Taka had the box open ten
moves later and the gathered teens huddled close to look inside it.� There lay a tea set and a small folded cloth
swatch which Tezuka snatched up and quickly undid.�
- 11
- 12
- 13
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Die to Love You