Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Lady Monozuki: I finally finished this little arc. Now I can move on the the next one. Thank you to those who were patient with me. Thank you for reading/reviewing!

Chapter Four: Freedom

Icy water splashed over his form. He bolted upright and instantly regretted that action. His body was still sore and his head felt as though it was in competition with his body as to which could cause him the most pain. He looked up at the person who had woken him up. Two guards were staring down at him, making him feel uncomfortable.

"Get changed into new clothes. You have a meeting with a lawyer," a guard said.

He didn't say anything, but hurried to get ready. His mind was in a fuzzy state. He could barely remember what had happened yesterday, but he had the feeling that it had been a bad day. He changed his clothes, under the eyes of the two guards and once he was finished, they started to walk out of his cell. He followed behind them, careful not to get in their way. They took him through what felt like endless hallways before he was led into a small room. Inside were two more guards and a man dressed in a business suit. He didn't recognize the person, but he instantly didn't like the person. He sat down and waited for the lawyer to speak.

"Echizen Ryoma, is that right?"

"Hai," he replied in a soft tone.

"My name is Ichio Mizuri, but I don't expect that you recognize my name. I am the personal lawyer for the Atobe Cooperation and was sent here to submit the necessary documentation to get you out of jail."

"You work for Monkey King, then?" he asked.

The lawyer looked at him as though he was insane for a brief moment. "Who is Monkey King?"

"Atobe Keigo," he replied.

"Yes, it was by Atobe-bocchama's request that I be sent here in the first place. Now, I have reviewed your case and it seems that they made a very rushed decision in convicting you of the crime. I'd like you to tell me what happened that night."

Ryoma tried to recall the details, but his head was throbbing. All he could remember was the pain and that was it.

"Try to think about what you were doing before the incident. Start with the morning if you would like," the lawyer said.

"I had tennis practice that morning. Buchou made us run laps and Inui tried to kill off the tennis club with his concoctions. After we finished practice, I went to grab food with Momo-sempai. Then, he offered me a ride home, but I insisted on walking because I wanted to get more training done. I was running and went through town. I remember walking past the alley and then someone grabbed me. They pulled me in the alley and then hit me hard on the head, which made me dizzy. Then I remember more people coming and they had needles and said that they had just bought some 'good shit' and were going to inject me. I don't remember much after the needle went into my arm."

"So you have no recollection of them being murdered?"

"No," he replied. "I don't remember anything after that point."

"What did you do the next day?"

"I went to school and that's when the police arrested me."

"How have the guards been treating you here?"

Ryoma didn't say anything. He thought it should be fairly obvious, considering he knew that there were several bruises on his face. He honestly didn't know how to answer the question in the presence of two guards.

"I'm alive, aren't I?"

Ichio chuckled. "That you are. Well, Echizen Ryoma, it was pleasant to meet you. I'm going to submit the case to the police and order for your immediate release."

"Where did you get this evidence?"

"Atobe-sama is very thorough in his work, especially when he makes a promise."

Without another word, Ichio walked out of the room. Ryoma, however, was more confused than ever. What the hell did that lawyer mean?

Fuji was present when the Echizens received a phone call, saying that their son would be released from prison in a few short hours. They were instructed to wait for another call to confirm his release from prison, along with a time to pick him up. He had planned on going home since he figured that there would be no further updates for a while, but stuck around because he wanted to see Ryoma. The Echizens were anxiously waiting by the phone and he was trying not to appear so eager to hear it ring.

However, he felt as though he was failing in that department since every time it rang, he would be by the device in an instant. Even if it wasn't his home, he still wanted to hear the news that he had been waiting so long to hear. The clock ticked by, there was no sign that Ryoma had been released from prison yet and he was growing impatient. Suddenly, his cell started to ring. He frowned and looked at the number.

"Excuse me," he said. He took it to another room before answering.

"What the hell do you want, Tezuka?" he snapped.

"have you heard anything about Ryoma?" Tezuka asked, not even bothering to address his rudeness.

"Yes, but I fail to see how that is your concern since you broke up with him. Also, I heard that you are now going out with Atobe. You move quickly, don't you?"

"Fuji, whom I date and break up with is none of your concern. However, I would like an update on Ryoma since he is my teammate and ex-boyfriend."

"You'll be pleased to know that he is going to be released in a couple of hours. I don't know all of the details, but at least he'll be out of that place."

He heard Tezuka let out a sigh of relief. Fuji wanted to ask what that was for, but knew that the stoic captain was just as concerned for Ryoma as the rest of the team. After all, they had all witnessed him being arrested and it wasn't something that happened every day.

"Well, that's a relief," Tezuka stated, even though it wasn't needed.

"Why did you break up with Ryoma?" Fuji asked. He was trying to get a straight answer from Tezuka, instead of making his own conclusions. Even though he was certain that he was right, he still wanted to be told otherwise. It was rather pathetic of him.

"It's none of your business. You can have him if you want."

This was unexpected. Tezuka was never one to give up on someone so easily. Most of all, Tezuka never gave his permission to date someone.

"I don't need your permission."

"Just do me one favor," Tezuka said. "Don't break his heart."

"I'm not like you," he retorted.

Fuji hung up the phone, not wanting to talk to Tezuka any longer. The whole situation was weird, but he didn't care right now. All h e wanted to do was make sure that Ryoma was all right.

Ryoma was escorted straight to the mess hall for lunch after the meeting with the lawyer ended. He didn't want to be in the presences of anyone after what had happened. He had been in solitary confinement for a day and now he was being exposed back to the people who stared at him lustfully and it seemed worse after being alone for that one day. He was grateful that he only had to endure a few more hours of this before he was able to go back to his own home and rest comfortably there.

He took his food and sat at a mostly empty table. He noticed that the man who had raped him was not present, which was a huge relief for him. He was unsure of how he would react around that man if he saw him again.

At least you won't have to ever see him after this. You won't have to worry about him or anyone trying to rape you.

Even still, he just hoped that he was able to survive the last few hours without another incident. The door to the mess hall opened. He looked up with all the other inmates to see who was being escorted in. His body started to shake as he recalled what had happened just a couple of days ago. Why, why did he have to face that man again? Quickly, he averted his eyes back toward his food, which he was no longer hungry for and tried to block out the memories. As long as he could avoid that person for a while, everything would be fine.

Silently, he prayed that his lawyer was headed back to the prison to give him the good news that he had been released. However, he had the feeling that everything was not going to work out for him like he wanted. He finished his food and waited in line with all the other inmates who had finished. Once everyone was finished, they cleaned the dining room and then moved to the laundry room. He tried to keep his shaking to a minimum. However, the nausea kept getting worse the more time he spent in that room. It was the last place he wanted to be right now, but had to endure it.

It's for the last time.

He kept repeating that in his head like a mantra. If he kept thinking it, he hoped that he would get his stomach to calm down. Ryoma noticed that the floor needed to be swept again, but there was no way in hell he was going to go back to the closet. Unfortunately, he happed to be the only idle prisoner and a guard shouted at him to sweep the floor. He tried to appear confident, but he could not shake the memories. He could feel the hands grabbing him, shoving him in and roaming his body.

The memory felt so real that he could not figure out what was real. He stumbled and ended up falling down. Someone grabbed him and dragged him behind one of the giant washers.

"Looks like I get to have you again."

He shivered. He recognized that voice anywhere.

"L-leave me alone!" he said.

Unfortunately, it did not come out as a shout like he wanted. A hand covered his mouth again and the mental replay of what had happened a few days before came flooding back. He tried to get away, but it was useless. He was hopeless in this situation, just like before.

The phone in the Echizen household rang. Echizen Nanjiroh picked up the phone and answered it without hesitation. The look on the former tennis pro's face shifted from grim to excited. Fuji hoped that meant that the waiting time was over. Once Echizen-san hung up the phone, he waited to hear the news.

"We can go pick up Ryoma now."

"Finally!" he chorused along with Echizen Rinko and Nanako Meino.

They wasted no time in getting in a vehicle and driving toward the nearby prison. Fuji could hardly wait to see Ryoma again. He idly wondered if Ryoma would be relieved to be out of prison and how he would react. He played various scenarios in his head, ranging from highly improbable to realistic. He barely noticed that they had come to a stop.

"Fuji-san, we're here."

He stepped out of the car, like Nanjiroh and Rinko had already done and waited. They watched as a small boy was led out of the prison, still in handcuffs. Fuji could instantly tell that it was Ryoma, but something was different. As the three people got closer, he noticed that there were bruises all over Ryoma's face and Ryoma's eyes were empty.

Something had happened.

~End~