Summery: Ryoma Echizen has lived his life with an illness that has left him with nothing but tennis and his cat. This has been his reality since he was small and he doesn't think it will ever change. When he moves to Japan however, things start changing alright. Thanks to one Yukimura Seiichi who can't seem to mind his own business.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis and I made up the illness I gave Ryoma. Please do not sue/hate me, thank you.

Chapter Five: Morbid Humor

- POV Echizen Ryoma -

"I don't know what your talking about Inui-senpai." I say, trying to seem as detached and unconcerned as possible, even as my heart starts doing back flips in my chest.

"There is a 95.52% chance that you do." The data player insists and I wish that practice would start already so that Buchou would give us laps to do or something.

As it is I am saved by Eiji-senpai with a shout of "OCHIBI!" and one of his infamous death hugs. I never thought I would be this happy to be strangled, though my lungs are starting to hurt.

"Eiji! Let go of him!" Oishi-senpai pries the redhead off of me before proceeding to check me over.

"Ehhh! But Ochibi-Chan is so cute! And he's EARLY! Why is he early Oishi? Ochibi-chan's NEVER early Nyaa! Or are we late? Te-"

"I'm fine Oishi-Senpai, I just really wanted to play tennis today Eiji-senpai." I cut in and chocolate eyes look me over once more while Eiji-senpai whines to Inui-senpai about how cruel I am. Satisfied, he pats me on the shoulder with a smile before walking over to talk with Buchou.

As the redhead drags me away towards the courts upon suggestion of Inui-senpai I glance over my shoulder at the data player. My eye catching the edge of a print out I hadn't noticed before sticking out of his notebook, zoning in on the picture just barely peaking out.

A picture I know a little too well.

A five year old lays bruised and battered on a tennis court, racket and cap off to the side of the image. His golden eyes glazed over in pain and fear as he tries to make something, anything, work. There's another boy, near identical to how I look now, kneeling with the kid in his arms. Worry and urgency in the twin golden pools as he shouts to someone not visible to the viewer to hurry up...

- Flashback -

The racket feels unwelcome in my hands, the only thing the two of us seem to be agreeing on at the moment was that we didn't like each other very much and that the twelve year old across the net was annoying. Though mine was more of a frightened annoyance while it's was that of not being able to use it's full ability to fight him with me gripping onto it like a lifeline. The match has been way to one sided and is already half over despite being only fifteen minutes in, and most of that time was take up by my opponent complaining about me and asking if we could just stop the match. Tou-san looks really mad and disappointed in me and had even walked away at one point but Ka-san had dragged him back. Saying that it was only my first match and all I'd ever done before was watch so of course I was going to lose.

Aniki was smiling though.

During the court switch he was the only one that had come up to me and for once he hadn't even called me Chibisuke. He said he was proud of me for the returns I had made even if they hadn't scored and that I was doing much better then he had the first time he had actually held a racket.

That it didn't matter I was no good yet because I would be and he would be there no matter if I decided I liked playing or would prefer to stay his little cheerleader forever.

Of course I complained about that as he fretted over the bruises forming all over my body but at least it gave me the determination I needed to force my feet back onto the court.

Another ball whizzes past my ear and I jump once again in fright, much to the amusement of Aniki and the disappointment of Tou-san, instead of trying to return it. I don't like this. How can they practically form their lives around something like this?

"Score already Seishonen!" Tou-san shouts from his place on the bleachers, earning a scathing look from Aniki and a rather murderous one from Ka-san that would have made me laugh in any other situation. The ball comes at me again but I can't do it. I just can't do it. I am physically not able to do this. Why can't they see that? Why can't I be sitting in Ka-san's lap right now making up cheers as Aniki plays?

My body feels cold as my racket falls from my hand, someone starting to shout in the background but I can't make out what is being said. My opponent isn't serving again. Why isn't he serving? Aniki looks worried, I want to ask him what's wrong but I just can't seem to move, my body won't do what I want it to do. Who turned off the air? Ka-san said that we need it to live but my chest is burning and I can't seem to get any.

The world goes hazy as the ground starts coming closer for some reason and strong arms wrap around me, the taste of blood in my mouth.

- END -

The world stops around me for a second, fear settling in my mind as panic rises in my stomach, no one was allowed to know. No one was allowed to so much as suspect...

Eiji-senpai has stopped. His lips are moving but no sound is coming out. In fact my ears must have stopped working because there is no sound at all. Oishi-senpai is making his way over, the acrobat's commotion calling the attention of everyone currently present at the courts. Eyes meeting the hard brown orbs that had silently studied me this morning before unlocking the clubhouse lets me know that they don't just suspect.

They KNOW.

My feet are moving on their own, running blindly out of the courts. I had to get out of here and fast. Why was I even here? I wasn't supposed to be playing tennis anyway. It wasn't going to earn me any of Oyoji's attention let alone give back Tou-san's affection. Hell, I didn't even want to be here in the first place. I stop, or rather am forced to fall to my knees, as I start hacking up blood on a pair of sneakers that I barely recognize and can't place through the haze that has become my mind. My last thought is a sense of morbid humor at just how similar this seems to be...

... And that Ryoga would think it anything but.

Hello Everyone! I hope you all liked this last chapter of Willing My Death. The question from my last chapter still hasn't been answered: should the point of view remain being solely Ryoma and Seiichi or should I start adding other people's view points as well? But I have another for all of you anyway. Who is it? Reviews make me happy and constructive criticism seems to make me write faster. Until next time...

Bye!