Bleach Fan Fiction / Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Princes of Death ❯ Friendships ( Chapter 5 )

Title: Princes of Death: A High-spirited Saga

Author: chibi-kyuubi

Genre: Action/Adventure/General

Rating: K+

Summary: Prince of Tennis and Bleach crossover. The Seigaku regulars go to Karakura Town for an exhibition match, but end up getting influenced by Ichigo's reiatsu. Will they be able to master their newfound powers before it is too late to save Tokyo City from being turned into a base of operations by Aizen's minions?

Disclaimer: I neither own Bleach nor Prince of Tennis.

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Chapter 5: Friendships

 

Kawamura and Fuji couldn't believe how unlucky their day was. First their exhibition matches were interrupted by a terrorist attack, and then they were chased by this invisible, howling monster, and now they have made a wrong turn and ended up at the dead end of an alley with three of the four directions blocked by buildings and the other one by the creature they were trying to avoid in the first place.

 

Fuji quickly surveyed their surroundings, looking for a possible escape path. The walls around them were made from solid concrete and it would be impossible to break through them without a wrecking ball. There were no windows within reach to break into either. Fuji noticed a door to his left and tried knocking on it but there was no answer. It was locked form the inside it was made from steel several inches thick. Fuji looked up and saw a rusting fire escape ladder not too far from his reach. If they could pull it down, they could easily reach one of high windows and enter the building.

 

“Taka-san!” Fuji called out. “Over here! Help me reach that-”

 

Fuji was interrupted by a loud howl accompanied by a strong gust of cold air coming from the other end of the alley. The light from the windows above them flickered, and the entire alley turned pitch black whenever the lights were out. During those fleeting moments of illumination, Fuji and Kawamura saw for the first time the image of their pursuer, standing on the open end of the alley about 20 meters away from them. The hollow that followed them was a hulking brute about five meters tall with a white mask that reminded Kawamura of dead fish. Fuji almost tripped on his own feet as he took a step back when he caught the hollow's glowing red eyes staring at him.

 

“This must be my lucky day.” The hollow's voice sounded like it was coming from the bottom of a well. “I get to eat two delicious souls for the effort of chasing one. I'm going to savor this meal and eat them slowly.” Dark grey mist rose from the ground as the monster slowly lumbered towards them.

 

“Fujiko-chan,” Kawamura said in a low voice so that the hollow wouldn't hear him. Fuji looked at the other boy and noticed that he was holding a rusty steel bar, and had a stern look on his face. “I'll try to fight that thing off. While I'm doing that, you slip past it and escape.”

 

“Taka-san…” Fuji knew Kawamura was the type of person who would say things like that, but he still couldn't help but be moved by his friend's words. Fuji stepped forward and picked up an empty wine bottle lying on ground. “Your plan sounds good, but you forgot one thing.” Fuji suddenly smashed the bottom of the bottle against the wall to turn it into a makeshift weapon. He looked at Kawamura with a genuine smile on his face and said, “It's not that easy to abandon a nice guy like you.”

 

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“Oishi, why are you looking like that? Is there something wrong?” Kikumaru asked his doubles partner. A few minutes after they witnessed the Konsoh of the ghost in Kaidoh's room, Tezuka, Kikumaru, Inui, Echizen, and Momoshiro went back to the nurses' station and found Oishi and Kaidoh sitting on a nearby couch.

 

“Ah, don't worry about it Eiji. I'm just having this really bad feeling,” Oishi said. “But more importantly, what happened? Did you guys go to Kaidoh's room?”

 

“Yes we did,” Tezuka answered. “We passed by Echizen and the others on the way there, and we all went to Kaidoh's room.”

 

“Did you find anything?” Kaidoh asked. He secretly wished that they did find a ghost in his room, because it would be really embarrassing if there was nothing in there to be afraid of. They might think that Kaidoh's losing his mind, or worse, seeking attention.

 

“Yes, we found a lot of…. interesting things,” Inui said. Kaidoh swallowed hard. If Inui found something embarrassing there, news would be sure to spread around the tennis club faster than wildfire. Inui noticed the second year's reaction and wondered what the younger boy was thinking. He saved the thoughts for later and continued. “But it would be better if we discuss them when everyone is here and preferably someplace where we could not be overheard.”

 

“Where did Fuji-senpai and Taka-san go anyway?” Momoshiro asked.

 

“Fuji told me they were going to a nearby café,” Tezuka said. “But he didn't tell me what time they will be back.”

 

“I'm worried about them Tezuka,” Oishi said. “I tried calling them, but Fuji's phone is turned off and Taka-san isn't answering his. I have a very bad feeling about this.”

 

“Maybe they don't want to be disturbed?” Kikumaru said with a naughty look on his face.

 

“Eiji!” Oishi realized what Kikumaru meant and he felt himself blush a little. “I'm serious-”

 

“I know,” Kikumaru interrupted. “I just said that because you looked too serious.”

 

“Eiji…” Oishi didn't know what to say.

 

“Its different this time isn't it?” Kikumaru continued. “I know how you look like when you worry needlessly about others or when you worry about tennis, but I've never seen you look like this before.”

 

“You're right,” Oishi said. “It's like something inside me is telling me that Taka-san and Fuji are in danger.”

 

“Very well,” Tezuka said. “Inui, Oishi, Eiji, and I will go out and look for them. Echizen, Momoshiro, and Kaidoh, stay here in case they come back. You should also change out of those hospital clothes because we'll be leaving right after we find Fuji and Kawamura.”

 

“Yes, buchou,” Echizen, Momoshiro, and Kaidoh said at the same time. Tezuka nodded at them before heading towards the stairs, shortly followed by Inui.

 

“Let's keep in touch using our mobile phones,” Oishi said to his kouhais.

 

“And don't let you guards down,” Kikumaru added, in a voice that was a bad imitation of Tezuka's. Everyone laughed at the redhead's joke except for Kaidoh and Oishi who were trying their best not to. Oishi signaled Kikumaru that it was time to go, and then they followed Tezuka and Inui down the stairs.

 

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“Fujiko-chan…” He wouldn't admit it to himself, but Kawamura was glad that Fuji chose to stay with him. Because even though his arms were already stiff from fear, having the prodigy by his side gave him courage to face the approaching monster. Kawamura was about to ask Fuji to move back a little when he heard someone speak behind them.

 

“That's a pretty troublesome thing you're up against.” The male voice was also hushed. Whoever was behind them doesn't want to be heard by the hollow as well.

 

The two tennis players turned around and saw a man standing in front of the steel door Fuji inspected earlier. The dense fog obscured his facial features, but they could see he was wearing a fisherman's hat and was holding a cane on one hand. Fuji noticed that the steel door was still closed behind the strange man, and there was no evidence that the he came through it.

 

Now that he had their attention, the man continued. “I'm glad to see that you finally decided to stop running and fight that monster. However, I must warn you that you won't be able to do anything against a hollow with those crude weapons. If you come at it with only those, you will surely die.”

 

“Who are you?” Fuji asked. “How long have you been watching us?”

 

“I'm nothing but a humble merchant,” the man answered. “I've been following you since… Let's just say for quite some time already. But that's enough questions for now. What's really important is this thing I'm selling.” He quickly approached the two boys and handed each of them something that looked like a candy dispenser.

 

“What's this?” Kawamura pressed the cute fish at the tip of the container and a small purple ball came out of its mouth. He turned the dispenser around and saw the words `Soul Candy Lite' on its label.

 

“It's obvious isn't it?” The man said. “It's candy. This one lacks the flavor from the original though. Go ahead and try it.”

 

Kawamura and Fuji hesitated. Is this man crazy? Both of them thought.

 

“If you want to fight that monster and survive, hurry up and swallow that thing,” the man sounded serious now.

 

There isn't enough time to be picky, Fuji thought. Eating candy at a time like this makes no sense, but so many strange things have been happening today that it might be worth a try.

 

If everything he said was true, Kawamura thought. Then this candy is our only ticket out of this mess. I want to protect Fujiko-chan…and I don't have any plans of dying before becoming the number one sushi chef in Japan.

 

The two Seigaku regulars looked at each other, and then swallowed the Soul Candy at the same time.

 

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Notes: `Soul Candy Lite' is something I made up that is similar to the Soul Candy (gikongan) in Bleach, except that after the soul is ejected from the body, it is not replaced by a temporary soul. Please review after reading, I would really appreciate it.