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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
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I don't own Prince of Tennis but the original characters are free to be used. Lots of thanks go to my friend Nicole for helping me with the ideas of this story and for helping me write when i get stuck.

The malevolent spirit glared furiously down at the sleeping
16 year old.� This Echizen Ryoma needed
to be taught a lesson.� The boy had
practically thrown himself at the two others the day before and that wasn�t
right.� The ghost had made sure before he
came into the room that the annoying cat was nowhere to be seen, after all, the
feline was protective of her human and he didn�t want the boy waking up anytime
soon.� Smirking to himself he ripped the
covers off the slumbering form and used a little energy to make old long healed
injuries appear to his eyes.� This boy
had so much to work with he, didn�t know where to start.� First though he laid one hand on the boy�s
brow and took control of his dreams causing the child to shift uncomfortably
without waking. �

The first memory the ghost brought to the forefront of
Ryoma�s mind was that of Fuji
hugging him and petting his hair.� Then
as the boy smiled pleasantly he shot his hand down over his left eye bringing
him the pain of when the racket cut him.�
The teen thrashed his head to the side but remained in the strange
nightmare.� The malicious smile returned
to the specters face and he hastened to bring up another memory.� This time of the other boy he�d seen in the
room and the memory was of Ryoma being held by him and the feeling of safety it
had brought to him.� That brought another
serene expression to his face which changed instantly to one of agony when the
ghost slammed his fist into another old injury.�
This time it was from when the boy dislocated his shoulder at age
7.� This torture went on for at least an
hour, memories that would bring the boy a feeling of happiness or lust followed
quickly by minutes of intense pain.� The
ghost finished with him finally, the last memory being that of the two boys
saying goodnight to him the previous night and of him shamelessly seducing them
which he ended by bringing the pain of every single injury the boy had ever
received followed by a swift solid backhand to the boy�s cheek.� He disappeared just in time for the teen to
shoot straight up in bed gasping in fear and agony.

Ryoma woke gasping from what seemed to be a horrible
nightmare that had left him sweating heavily and throbbing with phantom pain
from wounds that had long ago healed.� His
eyes darted around the room with a fear he didn�t quite understand and when he
found no apparent danger he grew restless.�
Looking at his alarm clock he saw that it was 5:30am and he decided that he may as well get up since
he knew he wasn�t going to be able to sleep again.� Silently creeping out of his room and towards
the bathroom so as not to wake anyone else he failed to notice Karupin exit
Kaidoh�s room.� The cat followed him and
just barely snuck past the door before it closed.� She jumped up onto the counter drawing
Ryoma�s attention instead of to the mirror.�
After splashing water on his face, which oddly stung for some reason, he
grabbed a towel and straightened up as he patted himself dry.� The towel fell from his fingers, though, as
soon as he caught sight of his reflection.

His face was covered in bruises, an especially dark one on
his right cheek, and scars from old cuts that had never scarred in the first
place.� Ryoma started shaking as he
stared at his image in disbelief.�
Turning away from the mirror only caused him more distress as he came
face to face with himself in a kimono.�
Ryoma was hard pressed not to scream but chose to keep silent, all the
while wondering if he was either still dreaming or going crazy.

�� Please, I
know this is strange.� I�m not here to
hurt you Echizen.� Don�t be frightened of
me.� The ghost, for that was the conclusion the living boy had come to, said
soothingly as he petted Karupin.

It was that act which helped Ryoma relax since the feline
was purring contently instead of freaking out.

�� What do
you want and why do you look like me?�
Who are you?� Did you do this to
me?� Ryoma demanded cautiously.

�� I want to
talk to you and to heal what was done to you.�
I�m not the one that hurt you tonight Echizen, you must believe me.� I�m truly sorry for the pain he has brought
you.� Technically speaking, however, you
look like me as I was born first over one hundred years ago.� Now Echizen, I�m going to ask you a very
important question that you need to answer truthfully.� The spirit said quite
seriously.

�� Nani?�
Ryoma responded suspiciously.

�� Tezuka-san
and Fuji-san, do they want you sincerely?�
Would they protect you with their lives and stay by your side through
anything?�

The living Ryoma contemplated that carefully.� He thought he knew the answer but at the same
time it was incomplete.

�� They will
protect me, but I don�t know if they are serious in the way they want me.�
was the truthful reply.

The sixteen year old spirit became quite worried, that was
not the answer he�d been hoping for.� It
was all well and good that they would protect him but they had to love him or
the boy wouldn�t live past the week.� He
only hoped that he had read them correctly and that they got their act together
and convinced Echizen.� Oh well, he
couldn�t interfere in that aspect anymore.�
If the two of them hadn�t marked the boy then none of this would be
happening and now he had to let things progress at their own pace.� All he could do is try to help where he could
and what he could do right now was heal Echizen.

�� I�ll
repair the damage he did to you tonight Echizen, but I won�t always be able to
protect you.� You need to figure things
out.� I�m sorry, but you won�t remember
any of what has happened here tonight.�

The spirit didn�t give him a chance to say anything as he
reached out and took the teen�s face in his hands.� Exerting his power he watched as the marks on
the boy�s body slowly disappeared including the bruises he himself had
caused.� The living sixteen year old then
slipped unconscious and was caught by the spirit of a girl before he could fall
to the floor.

�� I�ll put
him back to bed Uncle Ryoma.� You go and
rest.� She said softly.

�� Please do
Aya-chan, and for the last time don�t call me uncle, we�re the same age.� The
boy spirit said as he floated his way through the ceiling.�

The last thing the ghost heard was the bang of the living
boy�s bedroom door.� He winced, knowing
it would be heard by the others, figuring that she must have bumped something
with Echizen�s body.

Echizen Aya, one of the two sixteen year old female spirits
in the house, cringed as the boy�s arm slammed into the half open door causing
it to bounce off the wall.� Fearing
discovery she hastily threw the boy onto the bed and retreated to the attic not
bothering to fix the covers of the bed which had been pulled off earlier.

Tezuka Kunimitsu sat up in bed, instantly awake, to a
strange sound coming from outside the window.�
Feeling the movement and tension of his lover of three years, Fuji
Shusuke sat up just as awake as his bedmate.�
The strange tapping noise came again drawing both their gazes to the
window where they were met with the sight of two crows sitting on the sill and
pecking at the glass.� Shusuke�s glare
set them in a frenzy to leave; when Kunimitsu looked at him he simply closed
his eyes and smiled.

THUMP

The loud sound from across the hall had both of them jumping
out of the bed and out of their room in their boxers to see what had
happened.� Once in the hall they found
the rest of the regulars gathering for the same reason, the only one missing
was Ryoma.� As one the eight teens turned
to their youngest member�s room as if expecting the boy to open the door.� When nothing happened Tezuka strode forward
and opened the door without warning.�
After all if there was something wrong he didn�t want to stand on
niceties.� The tennis players burst into
the room fearing to find a stranger hiding or preparing to hurt the young
boy.�

Instead all that was to be found in the room was Ryoma,
sleeping soundly, sprawled on the bed in an almost uncomfortable way.� The tennis captain and the teams Tensai
approached the bed as the other players left the room.� They sat on either side of the slumbering
teen and Tezuka gently brushed his hair from his eyes.� Fuji
placed a hand on his shoulder and lightly shook him awake with a soft smile.

�� Saa,
Ryoma. �It�s time to wake up.� Didn�t you hear that noise?� �Fuji
said quietly.

Ryoma opened his eyes and blinked at the two in
confusion.� He didn�t remember hearing
anything as far as he could tell he�d slept deeply through the night, though he
was a little stiff and sore now that he thought about it.�

�� Shusuke,
what are you talking about?� I haven�t
heard anything until you woke me up.�

The two eighteen
year olds shared a look between them and silently decided to leave it at that.

�� Never
mind, it must have been something Karupin or one of the others knocked over accidentally.� We�re having a free practice today since it
looks like it will stay sunny.� We should
get some breakfast and get out there, so it�s time to get up.� Tezuka said with
a small smile as he watched the younger boy yawn.

Fuji abruptly
frowned when he spotted the boy�s right arm as he stretched.� He caught hold of it and studied it closely.

�� Ryoma,
where did this bruise come from?� It wasn�t
there yesterday.� Fuji asked
probing it carefully causing the boy to flinch.

Ryoma looked at him strangely before examining the arm
himself.� He didn�t remember this and he
must have hit it hard to have caused that big and dark of a bruise.�

�� Ok, ten
laps around the house before free practice.�
See Inui for advice on things you need to improve on and try to
incorporate them in your training today.� Tezuka called out after everyone had
gathered outside.

As they got set up on the unofficial start line Tezuka took
a step to join them only to stop as his shoelace suddenly snapped.� He blinked in surprise but simply shrugged it
off as coincidence as he dug another out of his bag which was leaning against
the house.� He never noticed the
observant and worried gaze of his lover as Fuji
took in what happened and added it to the growing list of warnings they�d been
receiving.� Fuji
decided then that after practice he would have to phone his sister and ask her
to get a box of talismans set up for him.�
According to Ryoma, Ryuuzaki-sensei was coming over for dinner the next night;
maybe she would be kind enough to bring it out to him.� His thoughts turned back to practice as
Kunimitsu joined them and the running began.�

Tezuka watched the others pair off to train as he walked
back towards the house to grab his racket.�
Eiji and Fuji were on one of
the two courts, Oishi was helping Momo control his strength in smash practice,
Kaidoh had paired up with Ryoma for a run through the woods, and Inui was talking
with Kawamura a short distance away.� He
bent down to unzip his bag and choose which racket to work with when he heard
someone shout his name.� The next thing
he knew he was on his back, with Kawamura half on top of him having tackled the
bespectacled boy, as something crashed nearby.�

The other four that were nearby ran towards the three of
them as the two got back up.� Inui was
crouched down examining the remains of a thick clay pot that was laying
shattered where Tezuka had been standing.

�� Kunimitsu!�
Fuji said in an apprehensive way as
he reached them.

Tezuka drew the other to him in a comforting way.

�� I�m fine
Shusuke, thanks to Kawamura.� Thank you
Taka-san.�

�� It� it�s
no trouble.� Kawamura said stumbling over his words since he was not holding
his racket.

�� Taka-san
arigatougozaimasu.� Fuji said as he
stared into his eyes causing the sushi chef in training to blush in
embarrassment.

�� This
shatter pattern and angle of decent mean that this pot could only have come
from that window straight above, but if my calculations are correct that window
is in the locked room at the end of the hall.�
Also by the thickness of this clay, the fact that there is, though it
seems impossible, wet planting dirt in it and the way the pot did not tumble as
it fell only one conclusion can be drawn.�
This pot was meant to, and would have, killed you had it hit your head
Tezuka.� Inui told the others with a worried look.

�� Alright,
enough of this.� The pot was probably
placed on the sill when the workers checked the window.� The rain from yesterday could have moistened
the soil and caused it to shift until it overbalanced or slipped off the
ledge.� The captain said in an attempt to calm his team.

He was thankful that Ryoma wasn�t here to witness this; it
was bad enough that Fuji was
worried about him now.

The red eyed ghost sneered at the sheer dumb luck of these
boys.� Obviously �accidents� just weren�t
going to cut it here.� Well, if he
couldn�t kill them, Echizen Ryoma would have to be saved from them the hard way.� The boy would have to die.

The spirit returned to his room to prepare.

�� Ryoma,
you�re slow today, did you stretch properly?� Kaidoh said as he checked his
pace to match that of his kouhai.

�� Yeah, I
stretched, but I�m really sore today.� I
have been since I woke up.� Kaoru, can I
ask you for advice?� Ryoma asked without stopping their run.

�� Of
course.� The older boy replied easily knowing that if he pushed Ryoma then the
boy would shrug what was bothering him off.

As it was the sixteen year old was silent for a minute or
two as though considering how to word what he wanted to know.

�� Kaoru, how
do I know� how do I tell if someone is in love?� the sixteen year old prodigy
asked quietly.

�� Fshhh.� That is a difficult question Ryoma.� I guess, if someone loves you they want to
take care of you.� They want to be with
you and protect you.� Kaidoh replied trying, and in his opinion failing, to
find the proper words.

Truthfully he loved the boy in his own way, but it was a
different love than the one Ryoma wanted to know about.� He wanted to protect this special person but
saw him more as a little brother to take care of.�

�� Demo, how
do I know if they want to be with me for real?�
What if they�re playing around or they�re not serious in the long
run?� How do you tell if they just want
to protect you as a friend or are in love with you?� the boy said suddenly
quite forward in his distress.

�� I don�t
know if I can explain.� If they love you
they should be willing to tell you in some way.�
It might not be in words, but you�ll know it when it happens.�

�� Thank you,
sempai.� Ryoma said, seemingly crestfallen at the answer.

Kaidoh knew who the boy was asking about and to see him like
this strengthened his resolve.� He would
ask Tezuka and Fuji just what they
meant with all of their teasing and bold offers to the boy.� He would protect Ryoma as best he could, no
matter what it meant he had to face.

After they got back to the house Ryoma went upstairs to
change as Kaidoh entered the kitchen to get a glass of water.� He was surprised at his luck to find Tezuka
and Fuji alone there.� The two looked up as the solemn boy
approached.

�� Sempai,
forgive me for being forward but I need to ask you two something serious.�

�� What is it
Kaidoh?� Tezuka asked.

�� I don�t
mean to be rude but I need to know.� What
are your intentions towards Ryoma?� You
have him so confused right now that he doesn�t know what to think.� Kaidoh
asked in a rush.

The two eighteen
year olds were silent for a minute as they looked between each other and the
seventeen year old.� They hadn�t thought
their offers to Ryoma that hard to read but apparently they�d complicated the
situation a little too much.

�� Kaidoh.� We are completely serious in the way we want
Ryoma.� We want him to join us for good,
not for just a night or two.� We would
never hurt him like this intentionally.� Tezuka replied sincerely.

�� Ryoma is
our love.� In a way we are incomplete
without him, but we will never force him to be ours if he chooses
otherwise.� No matter what, we will
always stay by his side.� Fuji also
said in honesty.

Unnoticed by the three boys in the kitchen the ghost of a
boy smiled in hope.� Maybe, just maybe,
these boys had a chance.
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Die to Love You