Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ The Clan Echizen ❯ Ryouma Echizen's life ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I own nothing. T_T I cry. But there's some good things that come out of this! I don't have to do anything that requires actual work for it! heheheh. I can muse and mess around as much as I like. But … still… T_T.

 

 

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The Echizen family had been around for as long as anyone could remember. They had been ruling the lands since the beginning of time; everyone in the villages surrounding the Echizen compound knew this, as it was written by all of the scholars to be told to their children in every generation.

 

The Echizen's were beloved; No one said anything against them for fear of death. None of the villagers would stand the thought of someone insulting the ones that watched out for them.

 

As such, the Ruling family was watched with much vigour.

The families outside of the Echizen clan fought to be the ones that would give the next heir to the ruling family. Daughters were pitted against Daughters to win the award of official wife or mistress to any of the royal family.

Other positions of glamour were guards in the royal compound and becoming a soldier to the vast empire of the Echizen Clan would have made anyone the talk of the town.

 

 

Ryouma Echizen found this all troublesome and uninvited. He would rather have sunk out of the lime light then listen to the constant bickering of the heraldry that came daily to the main house to converse with his father, Nanjiroh.

Ryouma was preened over by the many servants and maids in the household; he appreciated the attention, but had learned to keep to himself when around the constantly vivid groups of the clan. He knew that they would only wait for a sign of weakness in order to strike at him - they would want him to become something great and powerful, just like his father.

Yet Ryouma had no interest in becoming the next Lord of his clan.

He did not wish to draw upon himself the ideals of other people, nor did he want to have to go out to war with the other states not yet under Echizen control.

 

He had told this to his father many times, but to no avail.

He would become the pillar of strength to the Clan no matter the cost to himself.

Thus Ryouma was given battalions of bodyguards and teachers so that he could one day become the strongest ruler that the clan would produce.

 

Almost all of the teachers were years older then he.

His father provided him with a fighting instructor, as to learn the way of the sword; this was Tezuka Kunimitsu, a man of twenty years, with short yet flowing brown hair and glasses of pale shimmering glass. His cold eyes made him hard to read at some times, but Ryouma saw him as a man of conviction. Tezuka-Sensei had once been the strongest fighter in Nanjiroh's army, but had been forced into retirement due to an injury of the arm. This did not mean that Tezuka was any less strong then he had been before the injury.

Ryouma had seen the strength and valour of Tezuka during several attacks upon the compound when he had been naught but five. The power displayed by his Sensei was astonishing to Ryouma; he had to use all of his strength to keep up with the man when they sparred.

 

Another instructor he had was Inui Sadaharu, his teacher of war stratagem and Alchemy. Inui-Sensei was a man few crossed, for he was skilled in the ways of warfare and technique with mathematical precision. Inui-Sensei had been working under Nanjiroh's command for twenty years now, and was at best over thirty-five. Ryouma knew that his father had first brought Inui-Sensei into the clan when he had been young and reckless. Inui-Sensei was the one man that most in the Clan trusted with their lives, yet his obsession with creating health beverages sometimes made him hard to deal with.

 

Yet another instructor of Ryouma's was Fuji Syusuke; Fuji-Sensei was Ryouma's cousin and archery tutor. Where Tezuka-sensei taught Ryouma the sword, Fuji-Sensei taught marksmanship. He had a keen eye and was the prodigy of Ryouma's many cousins - many feared him beyond all others in the Echizen family line. Ryouma himself did not so much as fear Fuji, as act wary of him when left alone with the man. There had been tales of horror floating about that particular group of Cousins; several had been about Fuji being caught with his brother in a drunken night of disarray.

 

The last of his instructors was a man called Oishi Syuichiroh; Oishi-Sensei was in charge of teaching Ryouma everything from Diplomacy to ethics and human relations. Oishi-Sensei was one of Ryouma's favourite teachers, for he liked to make sure that the lessons he taught would be useful when dealing with people in foreign nations. He had once taken Ryouma on a trip to the land of Fudomine, a state that was loyal to the Echizen Clan. The trip had been exciting, for it had been the first time Ryouma had been away from the clutches of his mother and father; the trip itself had been uneventful in creating useful relationships with countrymen and the high ranking families of the state. He had made few friends, but he had found a small amount of peace in his life.

 

Ryouma was indebted to Oishi-Sensei for the vacation, but it had been hard to escape the tedious load of work that Tezuka-Sensei had piled up on him for the extra time off. Inui-Sensei had also come down with is fair share of complicated tasks for Ryouma to do; in fact, the only teacher that hadn't piled up work on him was Fuji, but Ryouma still didn't trust that to mean anything. He suspected that Fuji was instead working on a plan to check up on his strengths and weaknesses.

 

 

Ryouma sighed and hefted a pile of scrolls up from the table.

He had finally finished a lesson with Inui-Sensei; he had been copying down tedious formulae for spells and concoctions that he suspected he would never be able to use.

Running his fingers through his hair with one free hand, he started down the hall of the main house, robes trailing along at his feet as he went.

 

He loved the style of the buildings that the clan lived in with a passion.

There was stone masonry for the main house, used mostly during the years many rainy and cold months; there were traditional paper screens in one section, round windows that had beautiful scenery set out in front of them. Koi pounds danced between the main buildings, sheltered with tall calm bamboo and pine trees. Plum blossoms littered the landscape in front of the main gates; the roofing was tiled and red ruby in colour. The many open courts could be used for training or entertaining; some of the courts had cobblestone flooring, while others had the green grass of the outside world.

 

It was a traditional Japanese castle; yet it was not.

There was a hint of medieval Europe lurking as well…

The main house had been designed in that style…

When the moon lit up the sky, Ryouma felt as if it was a world created by him alone. The pale beams of light dancing across the walls, the sparkling rays of sunlight - none could completely penetrate the compound without help of the shimmering circular windows framed along the inside walls.

 

The building and his teachers were more of parents to Ryouma; his mother and father spent most of their time dealing with the hectic pace of the world around them. They were constantly dealing with the affairs of the outside world while they left Ryouma by himself.

He sighed and stopped to look out of the nearest window, seeing the crimson maple leaves framed in the circular glass. He reached out and touched the cold glass as rain began to patter at the surface with whimsical bliss.

 

He would have given anything right then to be able to sink away into the world….

 

" Echizen-San."

 

Ryouma turned and saw the first of his two bodyguards.

It was Kaidoh Kaoru, a man of twenty years; he was tall and sinister, dressed in a black tunic and cloak. He was a handsome man, and seemed more unreachable then most people in the employed ranks of the Echizen compound. Kaidoh usually scared away most of the maids and attendants, which was one of the reasons that Ryouma appreciated his presence. The green bandana on his head was perhaps the only sign that Kaidoh was even remotely realistic, for he sometimes seemed more statuesque then human. Kaidoh was known to hiss on occasion, thus earning him the name of "viper" amongst the other servants, as well as with Ryouma's other bodyguard.

A sheathed sword banged lightly against Kaidoh's right leg as he walked toward Ryouma; he was armed so to protect his charge. His specialty was endurance, wearing his opponent out until he could finish them with a clean but merciful blow.

 

 

"Echizen-San. His Lordship would like you to head directly to the main hall for dinner. Her Ladyship has returned from her meetings with the leader of the Yamabuki states - their leader's son, Akutsu Jin, has been causing problems whenever they try to reach an agreement of peace between the two countries. She has just returned from the negotiations with a stalemate and His Lordship thinks that now would be a good time for you two to have family time, seeing as she will likely not be around during this month." Kaidoh dropped down to one knee, eyes on the ground.

 

Ryouma waved for him to stand up, leisure in movement.

He continued to look out the window, regardless of the information he had just received.

 

" Kaidoh, what do you think they want to gain by having a family meeting, Hm? I don't think I'll go. I don't want to eat with him - I'll see my mother when she is away from the aristocracy." He said, tracing a rain droplet with his fingers as it slid soundlessly down the windowpane.

 

Kaidoh sighed and moved forward, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed.

 

" Echizen-San, I don't think it would be wise to disregard his wishes this time… I have heard rumours from the scullery maids that they are trying to find you a bride." Kaidoh looked across to the other side of the hall, eyes away from Ryouma as a sign of respect.

 

 

Ryouma clenched his hand, ready to hurl the scrolls away.

How dare they plan such things without even telling him? He knew that he considered old enough to have a wife, but he did not want one. He was seventeen years old - not some old man!

 

Kaidoh seemed to sense Ryouma's discontent and sighed, shaking his head.

 

 

" Echizen-San, you shouldn't worry about it so much. His Lordship is only trying to do what he believes is best for Echizen-San - they are trying to keep the Clan strong from weakness. You are their only heir - "

 

" Well I wish I wasn't. I wish someone else would be burdened with this fate! I don't want to run this place… I just want to be left alone." Ryouma growled fiercely.

 

Kaidoh sighed again.

 

" Echizen-San, it is the fate that you have been destined to have. I know it seems hard, but you will eventually learn to live with what you have been given."

 

 

" Echizen!"

 

Ryouma looked down the hall and saw his second bodyguard running toward them.

 

The man had short-cropped hair that stuck up on the sides; he wore long baggy pants that splayed out on the sides, a tunic with long sleeves and wooden sandals, all of a deep wine red.

This was Momoshiro Takeshi, a man that Ryouma had grown to trust as a friend.

Ryouma's two bodyguards were like night and day. Momo was cheerful and fun loving, while Kaidoh was serious and easily annoyed; the worst part about having them, Ryouma thought, was that they constantly bickered with each other. They were always trying to beat each other at everything, which ended as a conflicted base of opinion for Ryouma.

 

 

Momo breathed a sigh of relief and bowed before speaking, shoulders rising and falling with each breath.

 

" Echizen, your father says that if you do not decide to grace him with your presence, he will personally see to it that you are given extra studies with Inui-Sensei." Momo said, grinning deviously, waggling a finger at Ryouma to prove his point.

 

Ryouma frowned and turned away from Momoshiro.

 

" I don't care - I don't want to see him. He's a perverted old man that spends all of his time with concubines and his aristocratic friends - I don't need to see him." Ryouma kept his eye on the window, enraged beyond all levels of anger.

 

Momo shook his head sadly.

 

" Unfortunately, this is one thing that you can't get out of. Your mother has some great news for you, and she is very anxious to tell you and your father about it. Her conditions were that both you and your father had to be there in order to get the information, and she seemed very angry when your father told her that you would likely not want to come. I think… it might be best if this time you go. You've avoided them for too long now Echizen, and if you continue to do so, you might get punished severely."

 

Ryouma sighed.

He supposed that it would not be too horrible to spend one dinner with them, even if he was angry with them. One meal wouldn't be so bad….

Momo put a hand on Ryouma's shoulder and took the scrolls from Ryouma's other hand.

 

" Viper, take Echizen to his parents - they'll be waiting for him." Momo held up the scrolls and grinned.

" I'm going to go play with the chambermaids!"

 

Kaidoh clenched and unclenched his fists, turning slowly to reveal total malevolence beaming from his eyes.

 

" Don't call me that Monkey -" he snarled, voice echoing down the hallway.

 

Momo grinned and stuck out his tongue.

 

" Make me snake boy!" He took off running down the hall, laughing to himself, leaving Ryouma to Kaidoh.

 

Kaidoh glared down the hall at the fleeing form of Momo.

He turned to Ryouma and bowed again, taking care to keep his eyes averted, unlike Momo, who had looked directly at Ryouma and had been doing so ever since he had become Ryouma's bodyguard.

 

" Lets go."

 

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Ryouma sat rigidly in his place. He was seated in the main dining hall, the hall used only on special occasions, so he knew that something wasn't quite right.

His mother kept eyeing him with a soft smile, which he was starting to fear a little. It had been so long since he had seen her that he was unsure if it truly was his mother looking at him. He could tell that she was concerned by his lack of speech, but found himself unwilling to draw forth any more strength to break the ice cold barrier he had created especially for confrontations with his parents.

 

His father was seated at the end of the table, dressed in his eveningwear; he was smiling with loving ease at his wife.

The look made Ryouma feel like strangling his father.

It was the same exact look he sent all of his maids and concubines, nothing more that a look that requested attention.

 

`Lecher…' Ryouma thought bitterly, clenching his fists under the table. He saw Kaidoh shift slightly at his side and shook his head.

No. He wouldn't say anything to embarrass the man in front of his mother. The time would come when Nanjiroh's perversion would be reduced to smoking ashes by someone that didn't find him remotely attractive; he hoped that that day would come soon.

 

The servants brought out the meals, bowing respectfully to their Lord and Lady; they seemed to ignore Ryouma, but that was common practice. Ryouma had never appreciated the kind of worship that they gave to him when he had been little. Thus, they only bowed now when it was absolutely necessary.

They fled the room and Nanjiroh began to speak.

 

 

" Well Ryouma-kun, things have been going well for us! The land is no longer in horrible disarray - for your mother's great diplomacy has brought us strength - "

 

Ryouma's mother scowled and flapped a hand at him, signalling that it was not all true.

 

" Nanjiroh dear now is not the time to be lax with strength. We must use all the strength we can muster to make the lands safer. Yamabuki has been struggling with our requests and there has been fighting amongst the noble families in our own Seigaku." She said, calm and precise as the pressed flowers Ryouma had seen on paintings in the halls.

 

Nanjiroh sighed and slumped in his chair.

 

" Well then, tell us something good eh? I would love to find out something good for a change - everything is just war, war, war these days. It would be nice to just relax and ring the bells in the temple for a while - but no one seems to have the time anymore." He said, picking up a piece of Sushi from his plate. He popped it into his mouth, chewing, and turned to look to his wife.

 

Ryouma's mother smiled.

 

" It has come to my notice that we will soon be having a new member of the household." She said.

 

Nanjiroh shrugged.

 

" We get new maids every day - what's so special about that?"

 

Ryouma felt confused.

How could the presence of yet another maid be so important to his mother? He opened his mouth to ask for clarification, but was unable to when she answered without his prodding.

 

 

" Nanjiroh, I'm pregnant."

 

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T.B.C