Wheelchair
The Accident
Kiyami: I had this sitting in my folders for the longest time. I added some stuff and edited things. I have this scene inside my head that I really want to write down. It'll make you hate a certain someone.
Yes, another tragedy fic. Lots of Seigaku angst along with rival school angst. It's mainly MomoRyo, but there's hints of TezuRyo.
Disclaimer: I do not
own The Prince of Tennis.
Fuji didn't like how the day had started. First he had woken up late and had missed breakfast. That rarely ever happened to Fuji. Second, as Yumiko was driving him to school her car broke down and he was forced to run the rest of the way to school. Now the gray skies thundered while rain poured down upon Seishun Gakuen.
Practice had barely begun when the storm clouds unleashed the heavy droplets of rain on them. Ryuzaki-sensei canceled practice and everyone took shelter inside the school once the equipment was neatly placed away in their respected spots.
"Don't worry, Ochibi! We'll make sure you don't get too scared!" Eiji said while pulling Ryoma into a strong hug after a powerful boom of thunder silenced the tennis club.
"Nnn." Ryoma couldn't say anything with Kikumaru hugging him so tightly.
"Eiji, maybe you should come sit down." Oishi patted the seat next to him in an attempt to save the poor freshman.
"Hoi!" Eiji hopped over a desk to slide smoothly into the chair next to Oishi.
Ryoma ran his hand over his messed up hair. As he smoothed down the dark hair Ryoma went to talk with Momo. The said person was standing by a window.
"Is it ever going to stop?" Momo asked. Purple eyes stared at the gloomy skies. "I wish it would stop raining."
Coincidentally the pouring rain turned into a light drizzle. Soon the all forms of precipitation ended. Sunlight filtered through the clearing clouds. With the storm being over the members of the tennis club prepared to leave for the day.
"Are we still going to go eat hamburgers?" Momo asked as he playfully ruffled up Ryoma's hair.
"If you're paying." Ryoma glared at Momo and smoothed down his hair again.
"What! But I paid last time!"
"Senpais should always take care of their kouhais." Ryoma reminded with a smirk on his face.
"Uhn…It's not fair! Next time you're going to pay!" Momo shoved a hand into his right pocket to see if he had enough money to sustain both Ryoma's and his hunger. Every time he got any money it always disappeared quickly, but it was probably his fault for spending it all on food.
Ryoma's smirk widened with satisfaction. The two best friends started off in the direction of their favorite fast food restaurant.
"Wait!" Fuji's clear voice halted the two friends just as they were about to leave the school grounds.
The blue-eyed tensai ran to catch up with them. Momo and Ryoma curiously watched, wondering what their senpai wanted.
"Ryoma," Fuji smiled sweetly, "Be careful today." He placed his right hand on Ryoma's shoulder. Gently he squeezed Ryoma's shoulder. Fuji's hand slipped off of Ryoma's shoulder as he walked off in the opposite direction.
"Hey, Ryoma, what was that all about?" Momo asked in confusion.
"I don't know." Ryoma shrugged and continued on his way to the fast food restaurant.
Another competitive meal went by. Between Ryoma and Momo, a mountain of wrappers had formed. Ryoma yawned and rubbed his eyes. After eating so much he felt sleepy. Momo casually glanced at the time before crying out in alarm.
"Hey! Ryoma! Get up! It's late!" Momo pushed the trash that had been shoved off the trays onto his own. Hastily he threw away the trash and began to gather his belongings.
Ryoma took his time with preparing to leave. He wanted to sit down and sleep, but his family would get worried if he didn't show up anytime soon. By the time he had pushed open the clear doors, Momo was already gone.
Echizen shouldered his bag. His golden eyes wandered up towards the sky. It was a new moon tonight.
The sound of sirens shattered the eerie calmness that surrounded the area. Ryoma paid no mind to the sirens. It wasn't anything unusual.
The sounds of the sirens seemed to be getting closer as Ryoma started to cross the street.
I wonder if Momo-senpai will treat me to hamburgers again tomorrow. Ryoma thought since he didn't feel like buying food for the glutton.
The police sirens were frighteningly close now with Ryoma only at the middle of the street. He felt no need to rush tonight.
Heh, I guess I'll just persuade Momo-senpai to pay next time. Ryoma smirked. The same excuse seemed to always work on Momo every time.
Headlights flashed in Ryoma's direction. For some reason it felt as though his legs had stopped moving. Actually it was more like everything had froze. Ryoma stared at the growing lights of the SUV like a deer caught in headlights. He had suddenly lost his ability to move.
The sickening sound of metal colliding with human flesh drew the attention of passing people. Ryoma opened his mouth to let any sound come out, but none did. His body was flung towards the side as if he was as light as a feather.
The fleeing car continued to make its escape. The passengers of the car obviously didn't feel guilty enough to stop. The police car followed closely behind while at the same time paying heed to the broken body of the freshman tensai.
A second police car that had been trailing behind the first one stopped several feet away from Ryoma's fallen body. People crowded around the victim of the car chase.
There in a forming pool of his own blood was Echizen Ryoma. Half of the white shirt of his school uniform was red while the rest remained its original color. His eyes were closed in blissful unconsciousness.
"Move out of the way people!" The loud voice of one of the police officers rose above the talking crowd.
Following his order, a side of the crowd opened up for the two police officers. A rational woman within the crowd had already called for an ambulance.
"Damn!" One of the officers cursed as he knelt by Ryoma.
"He's so young too." The other said.
Momo plopped down on the couch. Dinner had just ended, but a pile of desserts was just waiting to be eaten in front of him. He turned on the television. His favorite show would be on soon.
"Takeshi! Get the phone!" His mother shouted from the other room.
"What? Who is it?" Momo got up reluctantly and grabbed the closest phone. "Hello? Oh! Fuji-senpai?"
"Momo, it's an emergency." Fuji's voice sounded strangely nervous. His voice sounded as though he was on the verge of tears with the way it trembled. Momo felt unnerved at the sound of him speak.
"What is it? What happened!" Momo demanded, unable to be patient. His finger pressed down on the remote control out of frustration.
"It's…It's Ryoma." Fuji took in a deep breath from the other line.
"Well? Tell me already!" Momo needed to know. The way Fuji sounded and it concerning Ryoma was enough to drive away any patience.
"He's…" Fuji didn't know how to say it. He didn't know how to put it down lightly afterall Momo was his best friend.
"Tonight two masked men robbed a local sports store. The police have caught them after a long and gruesome chase leaving one boy in the hospital. Echizen Ryoma was hit by the robber's car this evening. He's been taken to Tokyo General Hospital, but his condition remains critical. In other news…" The anchorwoman continued with the other meaningless news.
Momo stared at the television in disbelief. The phone dropped from his hands and clattered to the floor.
"Hello? Momo? Are you there?"
Never in Momo's life had he pedaled so fast. He didn't care about the pain beginning form in his legs or the shift from regular, even breaths to random, ragged ones.
He would have gone even faster if his bicycle chain hadn't snapped. He didn't care about it though and abandoned it there. He ran the rest of the way with the occasional slips on the wet ground.
Momo bursted into the hospital and looked around wildly for a familiar face. A nurse, seeing his actions, came to him in hopes of being able to comfort the frantic boy.
"Sir, is there something I can do for you?" The nurse asked politely while tapping his shoulder.
He turned around quickly and placed his hands on her shoulder. The nurse took a step back from being uncomfortable because of Momo. "WheresRyoma?" Momo asked in one big word.
"Please uh, sir, could you repeat that slower and clearer? Take in a couple deep breaths. Yes, that's it." The nurse brushed off Momo's hands.
"Where's Echizen Ryoma?" Momo tried his best not to scream in frustration. He attempted to speak slower this time and managed it.
"Hey! Momo!" Oishi called from the other side. He saved the nurse from Momo's frantic wrath.
"Oishi-senpai! How's Ryoma?" Momo ran up to the fukubuchou.
"He's still in the Emergency Room. Come on, I'll take you to the others."
The waiting room outside the ER was deadly silent except for the soft crying and the sound of shoes pacing. Fuji was sitting in-between Nanako and Eiji. He comforted both of them, but he was in distress too. His face was still streaked with tears.
Nanjiroh and Rinko were absent, probably talking to a doctor. The other regulars hadn't arrived here yet.
Momo felt dizzy. The world was spinning around him and his sense of balance disappeared. He fell to his knees and stared at that brightly glowing sign that showed that they were still working on Echizen.
Momoshiro felt a wave of grief wash over him. Momo felt his eyes get wet, too wet. He tried to hold back the tears, but the feeling was too overwhelming. Slowly a river of tears formed. Oishi came over and patted Momo's back reassuringly.
It would be alright.
"Echizen-san, I'm afraid that your son has sustained serious injuries to his hip and below. His hipbone was shattered and he lost a tremendous amount of blood. Miraculously there's no brain damage. I think his bag cushioned his head when he fell…I hear your son is a tennis player, is that true?" The doctor asked.
"He does." Nanjiroh confirmed while patting Rinko on the back. She was still crying.
"That's bad. Your son …He'll never be able to play tennis the way he used to. He can still play, but it won't be the same."
Kiyami: Things shall be explained in the next chapter.