Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ If Wishes Were Horses ❯ There's a neat little clock ( Chapter 6 )

AN: Its ALIVE!I am so so so sorry that it has taken such an obscene amount of time for me to write this chapter! It’s such a huge part of the story, and I didn’t want to let it go until it was just perfect. (Really, it could probably use some work still, but I think we’ve all waited long enough.) I spent months on each scene, trying to get everything just right. So I hope you all enjoy it.Dedication: This story was inspired by chapter 48 of expendable’s Changechildren.Warnings: Angst, child abuse, psychological abuse, OOC.Standard Disclaimer: Sugarpony does not own Tennis no Ohjisama. It belongs to the brilliant Takeshi Konomi. No copyright infringement is intended.

---If Wishes Were HorsesChapter Six---There’s a neat little clock,In the school room it stands,And it points to the timeWith its two little hands.And may we, like the clock,Keep a face clean and bright,With hands ever readyTo do what is right.-“There’s a Neat Little Clock,” a Mother Goose nursery rhyme---

Kawamura Takashi arose early Thursday morning. Echizen-kun had been rather preoccupied lately, and for good reason. He had been avoiding his senpai-tachi, and Takashi respected him by not actively searching for him with Eiji-kun and Momo-kun. He knew that his kouhai had a lot of baggage to sort through, and he was willing to give him the space he needed. Still, he wanted to make sure that Echizen-kun was taking care of himself, and he knew for a fact that the boy had been skipping lunch every day so far this week. As such, Takashi had resolved to prepare a bento of Echizen’s favorite sushi for that afternoon.Most people believed that the boy was an arrogant brat, but he knew better. Echizen was a real sportsman; he hated people who tried to cheat or injure opponents, and he had real respect for those with a high level of skill or talent. He supported his team in his own way, and he truly cared for his friends. Echizen may have had trouble expression his emotions, but that didn’t mean that he was completely devoid of them. All in all, he really was a good kid.As he began to pull out the ingredients, Takashi could not help but wonder what in the world could turn a person into someone who could derive pleasure from inflicting pain upon others. Was there some kind of horrible event that could change one’s entire outlook on life? Did certain people spend their entire lives slowly drifting into insanity? Or was it possible that every now and again a person was born truly evil?Takashi shook his head, clearing it of these depressing thoughts. The aspiring sushi chef needed all his concentration in order of prepare the best lunch that Echizen-kun would ever eat.

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Kaidoh Kaoru was running his morning fifteen kilometer marathon. Even though the tennis season was over for the year, he could not afford to slack off when it came to his training; if he did not keep in shape, how could he expect to lead Seigaku’s tennis team back to the Nationals, especially with the current third years having graduated by then? That idiot Momoshiri could laze around like a vegetable all he wanted, but Kaoru was going to keep working hard.Now Echizen? There was someone he could respect. When it came to tennis that kid was okay in Kaoru’s book. Not only was he a great player (He had to be, to have defeated Kaoru himself.), but he was stubborn as hell to boot. Honestly, it was saddening when it came to how many kids these days refused to put in a good day’s work to get better at something they liked.So what in the world did Echizen’s mother have against him? !Kaoru sped up his pace as he let out a frustrated breath. He knew that it was Echizen’s problem and he shouldn’t get involved, but it was hard for him to not take it personally. The two of them were too much alike! They both worked hard at improving their tennis skills; they both had trouble showing their feelings to others; for goodness’ sakes, the boy even had a cat, something that Kaoru had always wanted!Now Kaoru was rather old-fashioned when it concerned respecting his elders; in fact it took quite a bit for him to disobey anyone older than he. Despite this, there was very little that Echizen Rinko could do in order to redeem herself in his eyes. As far as he was concerned, anyone who would willingly harm her own flesh and blood did not deserve even the smallest shred of respect.He could only hope that Echizen was strong enough to make it through his ordeal.

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Inui Sadaharu was an exceedingly analytical young man. He looked at the world around him in only the most scientific perspective, and he studiously recorded everything he learned in his various notebooks. For him data tennis was not merely a style of play; it was a way of life. But in all of his data gathering, not once did he ever believe that one of his teammates would become a mere statistic of one of the bleaker aspects of reality.Perhaps it was merely wishful thinking. He knew that it was only logical that a certain percentage of members of the tennis club would be inflicted with a harmful home life, and it was an eventuality that one of these boys would become a regular player. But for that person to be someone so close to him. . . Well, of course no one would want to think of it to be a truth.Maybe that was why he had overlooked something that was now blatantly obvious. He was too close to the equation, and so he was unable to acknowledge the facts because of his perspective. But when he had been faced with that suicide note of Echizen’s last week, that had certainly forced things back into a place from which he could observe and make critical deductions.So just exactly what deductions had he made?Firstly, Echizen was being both physically and mentally abused by his mother. The marks on his body that he had hidden by being last to change in the locker room and for which he had continually made excuses was physical proof of the former, and his slow but steady shift in personality was clear evidence to the latter.Secondly, Echizen’s faith in his friends was currently almost nonexistent. Any and all physical contact was avoided because it could hurt him. All orders were followed quickly, efficiently, and without complaint. He did not speak unless spoken to, and he did his very best to fade into the background as much as possible. And he believed that if he made one wrong move, if he took one false step, everything would fall apart and even his beloved tennis courts would no longer be safe.Thirdly, Echizen would in all likelihood be placed with his mother by the courts. There was no way to prove that Rinko had ever laid a hand on her son; for all the mediator knew, Nanjiroh was an abusive parent. That matter set aside, Rinko was a well-paid lawyer, and Nanjiroh was a retired professional tennis player turned faux-monk. Even if by some chance the courts were not more likely to sympathize with a mother than a father, Rinko was obviously more capable of supporting herself and her son than her former husband.So what did this evidence lead to? If allowed to follow its natural course, nothing good, that much was certain. But if a catalyst was introduced. . . Well, then there would be an entirely new set of data to consider.But should a catalyst be introduced? Really, what happened to Echizen outside of the tennis club was none of Inui’s business. The two of them were not friends, merely teammates -- and former teammates at that. Echizen was a private person, and Inui was fairly certain that he would definitely not appreciate the data collector poking into his business any more than he already did on a regular basis.. . . But then, how would he know the difference? No one, not even Renji, had ever seen the inside of Sadaharu many notebooks, and he was not planning on changing this fact any time in the near (or far, for that matter) future.And after all, senpai really should take care of their kouhai. . .

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Oishi Shuichirou called the student council meeting to a close and allowed himself to relax with a sigh. He had been distracted all morning; and really, who wouldn’t be in his position?Shuichirou was used to being at least somewhat in control of his surroundings. And if someone needed help, he did his best to give it to them in whatever form they would accept it. But this. . . What could he do?Echizen was in a position where a mere high school student could be of no help to him. After all, what could he do to stop a mother’s abuse of her son? He was not a police officer, he was not a judge, he was not even a lawyer. He did not come from an influential family, and nor did his family have an excess of money. He was a simple high school student who played tennis.Logically, there would need to be evidence of abuse in order for any action to be taken against the Echizen matriarch. That evidence would need to be found and documented by either a psychologist or a physician.But he couldn’t just do nothing!Echizen was his kouhai, his teammate, and, most importantly, his friend. Sure, he was a bit standoffish, but that was just because he wasn’t good at expressing himself except through his tennis. Tezuka was the same, and he was Shuichirou’s best friend.Echizen was a good kid who was confident and and happy with who he was.Or at least he had been.Shuichirou had noticed a change in his kouhai when he first returned from America. He was less confident and assured of himself and even more reserved than he had been. Shuichirou had chalked it up to puberty and a growing maturity.Soon enough everyone had fallen into the usual routine from junior high school, and it was as if he had never even left. Momo and Eiji dragged Echizen off for burgers several days a week, Taka-san’s father closed their family sushi restaurant and treated them to all-you-can-eat after every tournament, Kaidoh forced everyone to run all around the courts with his Snake Shots, and Inui did his best to gather data by using the tennis club as test subjects for his strange juices. Even Tezuka and Fuji, who had become close friends since their long awaited tennis match their senior year of junior high, seemed to have grown rather fond of their little first-year (and little he was, for although he had managed to gain several centimeters since they had last seen him, he still remained the shortest member of their surrogate family).Had they really not noticed? In hindsight it was shockingly obvious that something was wrong with their kouhai. It shamed Shuichirou that they had allowed this to go on for so long. The regulars were so close to one another that they were practically family! Echizen was the bratty little kid brother that was still so sweet and adorable that you just had to love him, everyone knew that!Yes, they were family. And as cliché as it was, family stuck together, no matter what. There had to be something he could do to help! Family. . .Family!Perhaps it was time for Shuichirou to pay a visit to his uncle. He nodded determinedly. Yes, that was exactly what he would do!No matter what. . .

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Kikumaru Eiji was, for the umpteenth time in the past week, staring absently out the window. Even though his class was currently studying Japanese History, his favorite subject, for some reason he found himself unable to concentrate on his schoolwork. And really, that was no surprise. After all, anyone who could focus on school while his kouhai and friend was trapped in an abusive home had a heart of stone.That wasn’t Eiji’s opinion. That was a fact.It seemed that all Eiji did lately was worry and mope around. He tried to remain his positive, happy-go-lucky, not a care in the world self, but it was hard. His friends and family all knew that something was wrong, even those who didn’t know what it was.Eiji came from a big family, and he loved it. There was always somebody there for him when he needed help or just some company, and being the youngest he was babied to death. The best part was that if he was going through something, there was anywhere from four to eight people who had been in the exact same place as he. Of course there were times when he hated living with so many people and felt like he would do anything to be an only child, but in reality he wouldn’t trade anything in the world for his family.And that included his friends, too. While he enjoyed being babied by his family, he also absolutely loved being able to baby his kouhai. He loved teasing Kaidoh and Momo seeing them blush, and he loved picking on Ochibi and getting that cute little glare in return. He also loved being around and relating to people his own age for a change, especially Oishii. He and Oishii connected on a level that was beyond friends. He was his aibou, his partner, and he could rely on him for everything.Except this. This was so huge that even Oishii didn’t know what to do.So how could Eiji?Ochibi didn’t come from a big family like Eiji did. Ochibi had a father who was a retired tennis player and an abusive mother. Oh, and a weird older brother who hadn’t even lived with them for, what, ten years? At least? He didn’t have anyone at home that he could really rely on. And he was constantly distancing himself from everyone here at school. He needed someone he could count on, but he was almost always alone.It made Eiji want to cry.This wasn’t something that he could easily overcome like losing a tennis match or failing a test or even getting kicked out of the regular line up. If he was left alone things would only get worse. And considering how bad things already were, remembering what had already almost happened, he really didn’t want to see what “worse” would be. He needed help, even if he thought that he didn’t deserve it.And Eiji would be there to give it to him in whatever way he could. He had to think positively. He would be able to help Ochibi! Even if it was just by helping him take his mind off it for a short while.He smiled to himself and turned back to the lesson on the chalkboard.

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Momoshiro Takeshi hummed to himself as he strolled down the school hallways. It was lunch break, and Momo was planning on snitching as much as he possibly could from the bento box full of homemade sushi Taka-san had given to him to pass along to Ryoma. It had been a while since he’d been able to have lunch with his kouhai without any of their senpai hanging around, and he was going to take advantage of the fact that Fuji-senpai would not be there to prevent him from ritualistically accosting Ryoma’s food.After all, hadn’t Ryuuzaki-sensei explicitly instructed them to treat him normally? Like he was a fragile piece of glass that was about to break? Like they still had no idea that he was being abused by his mother? That he had at least planned to commit suicide?. . . Maybe this would be harder that he thought.But dammit, he would do it! After all, Ryoma was his best friend! Momo chuckled, thinking back to when they’d first met. They hadn’t exactly gotten off on the right foot, but after their first eating contest (How the hell did that little guy put away so many burgers, anyway? He couldn’t have been more than five feet tall back then!) and their embarrassing attempt at playing as a doubles team, they had forged an unbreakable bond.Or so Momo had thought. Because then Ryoma had gone and moved to America. And even though they had exchanged emails, and even though they seemed to slip right back into their regular routine when he had returned that past spring, something had changed. Ryoma had slowly began to distance himself, not loosening up around Momo as he had used to, and Momo hadn’t noticed that something was seriously wrong with his friend.And that was what killed him. He hadn’t even noticed as his best friend fell into a perpetual state of depression and apathy and self-loathing, hadn’t even noticed that he’d somehow become suicidal!Well, that was going to change now. Maybe he hadn’t been paying attention, or maybe he had noticed something and just ignored it or put it aside as something that it wasn’t, but he was paying attention now.And he was going to make things right again.He was going to get his best friend back, no matter how long it took.Whatever it took.

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Fuji Syuusuke was not a complicated person. He had a mom, a dad, an older sister, a younger brother, and a pet cactus. He had friends at school, the closest of which he had met through the tennis club. He liked to tease his friends. He liked to take pictures. And, oh yes, he was very good at tennis.Syuusuke was normally a happy person. He enjoyed playing tennis and spending time with friends, he enjoyed watching others having fun or being in discomfort (as long as it was well-meant, of course; it must have been the older brother in him, since their reactions were usually similar to Yuuta’s whenever Syuusuke was around), and he took many things in stride. He didn’t really mind when someone spread rumors about him or tried to trip him in the hallways or even vandalized his locker out of jealousy. It was annoying, certainly, but getting mad about wouldn’t solve anything; there were a lot of jerks in the world.But when someone targeted a person that Syuusuke cared about, that was when he got angry.And when Syuusuke got angry, he got even.And right now, Syuusuke was very angry.He had been extremely happy when Ryoma-chan had returned from America to rejoin his friends at the tennis club and once again lead Seigaku to conquer the Nationals. His kouhai was cocky, but in a cute way, and he certainly had the skills to back up his mouth. He was a bit oblivious, but he also had his compassionate moments when he helped his friends through a tough match or stopped older players from bullying some amateurs by completely destroying them in a match. He was a good kid, and his adorable looks made Syuusuke think of him as even more of a younger brother than any of his other kouhai.Ever since then, he’d been making an effort to be a close friend to Ryoma-chan rather than just a senpai. It took a lot of time and patience for his kouhai was naturally introverted, but it hadn’t been any more difficult than breaking through the infamous Tezuka Kunimitsu’s prickly exterior.But now, after finally getting closer to him, Ryoma-chan was pulling away, trying to put as much distance between himself and other people as possible. And really, Syuusuke understood why. The younger boy had been betrayed in the worst possible way by one of the two people to whom he exposed himself and trusted the most for his entire life. He didn’t want to let anyone else have the opportunity to hurt him in the same way. And a part of him truly believed the words that his mother had been imprinting upon his mind for more than a year, that he was only good for tennis and was otherwise a burden to everyone around him.Echizen Ryoma had been completely and utterly shattered, maybe even beyond complete repair. And that was unforgivable. That it was the boy’s own mother who had committed this sin was even more unforgivable. No one messed with Syuusuke’s precious people.No one.Unfortunately, there was very little that Syuusuke himself could do in the way of retribution. He would like nothing more than to force Takeuchi Rinko to suffer through all the pain she had put her son through and more, but that wasn’t within his capabilities at the moment. Taking physical action against her was out of the question, and there wasn’t much he could do to help with getting her put in prison for her crimes. He couldn’t even keep her away from Ryoma-chan.Syuusuke was a tensai of tennis, but his skills at the sport had very little practicality outside of a tennis court. And as he was still only in high school, he was pretty much helpless in this situation. And he hated it more than anything else.So for now, he would just try to be there for Ryoma-chan. To help him understand that nothing his mother had told him was true, that he had friends who cared about him. To give him something constant in the many changes his family was going through. To give his a shoulder to cry on, if it came to that. To help him forget his troubles, if only for a moment. He had been Seigaku’s pillar of support for so long, and now he needed one for himself.Except he didn’t have only one; he had eight.

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Tezuka Kunimitsu was admired, respected, and even somewhat feared by many people. He was often mistaken as an adult because of his serious and responsible nature. He was a man of few words, but a few words was usually all he needed in order to accomplish whatever his goal may be, whether it was to inspire or to subdue.Many would consider him an accomplished young man, the ideal Japanese teenager; he was respectful, studious, athletic, and dependable. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, Kunimitsu had few friends. He somehow caused others to distance themselves from him. Others saw themselves as either above or below him, but rarely on the same level. So he cherished the few that chose to remain with him instead of in front of or behind him.Yukimura. Atobe. Inui. Oishi. Syuusuke. Ryoma.It was a short list. They were the few who saw him as a regular person, not a giant of the tennis world or a snobbish geek. They understood him, saw beneath the stoic exterior that he really was just another teenager, with feelings and problems and worries and hopes and dreams. They knew that he had difficulties expressing himself sometimes because he was raised in an extremely traditional household and took his small words and gestures for what they were.And he was truly thankful for it.So he did all he could to help the people he was close to, the people who understood him and the ones who tried their best but could never really lose their preconceptions of him. He took care of his team members, the ones who had stood beside him as first years when their senpai had disgraced him. The ones who never ridiculed but fully embraced his grand dream. The ones who had supported him when he had needed to leave them in order to take care of himself. The ones who crossed two continents to visit him and raise his spirits by showing him that he was not forgotten. The ones who had twice taken the journey to conquer the National Tennis Championship Tournament with him.He knew that he could not be with him forever. This was proven when he had been in another country for much of the tennis season in his third year of junior high school. So when a first year, brash and cocky and flippant yet fearless and full of potential for grand dreams made a startling entrance in Seishun Gakuen, he had slowly passed on the responsibility of supporting and keeping together the group for which he cared. And he had not been disappointed.But now, he was needed once again. That same boy who had become what his friends had needed was lost in a dark place, frightened and lonely. And he could not escape without help.But he wasn’t alone, and Kunimitsu would do everything in his power to help him realize this. So he would stand by, ready and reassuringly, to help him stand up and walk into the light once more.

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For Atobe Keigo it was a matter of pride. Keigo had been eternally surprised when Tezuka had come to him for a favor more than three years ago, but out of respect for his rival he did not decline his request. So he had approached Seigaku when Tezuka was recovering from his injuries and helped to strengthen his team, particularly Echizen Ryoma.Echizen Ryoma was quite possibly the most stubborn, cocky, childishly insulting person he had ever encountered. But all faults aside, the boy did amazing things on a tennis court. He had been impressed by the brat when their teams had competed in the Kantou Tournament and again when he had played him on Tezuka’s behalf. But when he had actually defeated Keigo in the National Tournament, followed by his triumph over Yukimura. . . Suffice it to say that he knew Echizen Ryoma would make big waves when he finally fully entered the professional world of tennis as opposed to competing in only one major tournament.As a result the Samurai Jr. had Keigo’s grudging respect.Keigo had been intrigued by the boy. He had discretely had the young tennis player investigated when Tezuka had given him his request, and he had been pleased at what he had found. He had lived most most of his life in his family’s Floridian home. He was the younger son of the world famous tennis player Samurai Nanjiroh, who had vanished from the public eye just as he had been about to obtain a Grand Slam title, and a half-Japanese lawyer from America, his social breeding and upbringing was certainly satisfactory if a bit unorthodox. He did have a repertoire of social graces, he simply chose not to use it in situations in which it would not be imprudent to do so. He was an above average student, and he spent most of his free time playing tennis, sleeping, or spoiling his spotted Himalayan cat, Karupin.None of the digging that had been done had uncovered anything which would cause alarm.Until now.Domestic disputes were not uncommon, especially in American families. Sometimes there were no warning signs, especially none that were visible to an outsider. But dammit, someone should have noticed that the boy was being physically and mentally abused -- and by his own mother, no less! A woman working for his family’s company had been slowly destroying her legitimate heir for months! Why were commoners so completely imbecilic at times?Luckily, the Atobe patriarch had given permission for his son to handle the issue himself. Keigo had been taking on a more active role in his family’s companies as of late, as he was in his final year of high school. Once he graduated he would attend a university specializing in corporate business before slowly taking control of his family’s assets. He would only be named the primary heir, however, once he had proven himself capable many times over. Settling this dispute in a way befitting of the Atobe family would be one of the numerous tests he needed to pass.So he would provide the abhorred woman with all benefits promised by Atobe Enterprises, supporting his employee on the surface while subtly dropping hints of the woman’s guilt and doing everything in his power to make sure that she served the maximum punishment for her actions and that her reputation was completely annihilated in the process. It was a difficult, complicated game of playing many different parts at once, but it would be an everyday part of his world should he inherit his family’s fortunes.Keigo would keep his word to Tezuka to help the man’s successor reach new heights. He would protect his family’s and his company’s reputation.And he would make certain that a good person was not completely shattered before he had the chance to give the world everything he could.So for Atobe Keigo it was a matter of pride.Mostly.

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Rinko hummed softly to herself as she drove toward Seigaku Koto Gakkou. Today was the day everything changed. Nanji-chan hadn’t been at the house when she stopped by to pick up the demon’s things, but now that he was going to be free from the demon’s presence, he would start getting better.He would start playing professional tennis again.He would want to look at his wife instead of his dirty magazines.He would remember how good it felt to be free from the responsibility of taking care of someone other than himself or his wife.He would start to love her again.After this is all over, he’s going to love me again. . .Rinko’s heart soared.

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Nanjiroh was at a local tennis club, practicing against a ball machine on its highest setting. He hadn’t stepped inside his house since his son had left for school that morning, not wanting to be around when Rinko picked up Ryoma’s belongings. And besides, he needed to start seriously practicing again anyway. Tennis was his only skill, and he needed to find a job. This was made even more difficult by the fact that the man only ever been serious about two things in his entire life.First was tennis. He loved it so much that instead of studying, all he would do was practice on the street courts. Luckily, he had been talented and skillful enough to make a living by playing the sport professionally.Second was his family. He had loved Rinko with all his heart when they were married, and they had been blessed with a beautiful son. They had been surprised to learn that Nanjiroh also had a son from before his marriage, but he had gladly taken responsibility for his actions, and Rinko was happy to have the typical American family.Then Ryoga had been taken away by his mother’s family. And they were lonely without their new son, so while Rinko buried herself in her work, Nanjiroh put all his time and affection into Ryoma. But then Ryoma had started to turn into a moody teenager, and suddenly playing tennis with and being teased by his Oyaji was annoying and embarrassing. And suddenly Nanjiroh found himself alone in an empty house most of the time, with nothing to do but read magazines.And now, when his son needed him most, Nanjiroh could do nothing to help him. I have to do everything I possibly can to get Ryoma back, he thought, pausing to towel the sweat off his forehead and rehydrate himself. Even if that means I have to take care of myself first.And he once again returned to the machine, never forgetting his purpose in the repetitive rhythm of hitting the balls one after another.

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Ryoma stood silently as a gray car drew nearer to the school gates. He had staved off the company of his classmates and senpai, although he had had to promise to call Fuji-senpai later that evening in order to convince him to go home without him.None of his senpai had asked him how the court case had gone, and he was grateful for it. There was no need to cause them unnecessary worries or stress. Things would be better for them when he was gone, and it would be easier for him to leave without having to say goodbye.Ryoma’s mother stepped out of the car and wrapped and arm around her son, a deceivingly sweet smile on her countenance. He knew better than to accept her expression at face value, though, for she discretely dug her fingernails into his arms and squeezed his shoulders tightly enough for him to hide a wince as she ushered him into the back of the vehicle.As he watched his school gates fade into the distance, what little hope Ryoma had regained in the past week faded into nonexistence.

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AN: It’s finally finished! Yatta! This chapter was really like pulling teeth, but I hope it was worth the wait at least a little bit. Please let me know what you all think!I realize that this was more of an interlude than an actual chapter, but it is completely necessary! I really needed to explain the motivations of each character and transition into the next part of the story, and now I think I have at least a but more of a grasp on each of the characters. The action returns in the next chapter, and the plot moves forward!Please review!Completed: 3.19.09.