A/N: The story-line is basically the same as the previous one, so, those of you who read it, unless you want to read the better version, you dont need to read XD
Disclaimer: I dont own prince of tennis, or any of the characters involved in the story =]
Chapter one!
"LET THE AUCTION BEGIN!" The tall man with glasses and a clean cut hairdo stood in front of the podium with a hammer in his right hand. The crowed murmured in anticipation clutching their auction numbers firmly. "I SHALL PRESENT TO YOU THE AUCTION ITEM!" The other tall men that were on stage removed the cover that was placed on top of a cage and kicked it so the 'object' that was in it could prove that it was alive.
The boy that was in the cage had black hair with a shade of green, and his body composure was almost perfect with the right amount of muscles yet very slim and slender. His lips were one of the most appealing parts of his face; so innocent and pink and never been soiled. The audience members all talked amongst themselves until one member called out.
"He looks as good as dead. How can you guarantee us that he's not some sick child that's going to die in a couple of days?" Heads all nodded in agreement to the question. One person however, was stunned to see his competitor scrunched up into a ball sleeping soundly with only a towel to cover him up.
"I have prepared a video from just yesterday, so that… He would satisfy his master." With that being said, the video that was mentioned started to play and caught everyone's attention. The boy in the cage was playing tennis, and he was quite good. The way his black hair with a tint of green flowed as he ran to catch up to the ball, the way his golden eyes burned with determination, the way his muscular yet slender body swiftly moved across the tennis court caught the specter's eyes. The video stopped playing and behind the podium, the man coughed. "WE WILL START THE BIDDING AT 100 DOLLARS!"
The moment the number was announced, number-plates shot up in the air. Everyone glared at the other wanting the prize displayed before them. The price finally reached to 1000 dollars and the auction suddenly came to a stop.
"1100 dollars!" a suitcase full of money flew onto the stage and following the suitcase was a man with purple hair who jumped up and gently picked up his prize. He held him tight against his chest. "Ore-sama will be buying this child; I hope nobody has any complaints, ahn?" He shot an annoyed glance at the entire population, grabbed the contract which tied the child and himself, and exited the hall.
'Ryoma Echizen… this is another interesting meeting…' Keigo Atobe, the heir the most exquisite company, thought to himself clutching the boy tighter.
-Flashback-
"I'm off to school!" Ryoma Echizen slung his tennis bag onto his shoulder and dashed out the door to be greeted by his sempai and best friend Takeshi Momoshiro. Ryoma hopped onto Momo's bike and the two of them sped off for school.
The moment his son was out of sight Nanjiro Echizen sighed deeply and walked over to his dear wife, Rinko, and hugged her from behind. The strange behavior of her husband worried Rinko, so she unwound Nanjiro's arms from her waist. Turning around to look at him, she placed both of her hands on either sides of his cheeks. Nanjiro closed his eyes in despair and sighed once again.
"What's wrong, hun?" Rinko asked tilting her head slightly.
"Rinko… hunny… I did something that is unforgivable… as a parent… as a human being…" Nanjiro shifted away from Rinko whose arms dropped to her side.
"What… What do you mean, hun?"
"I sold my… no, our son…" Nanjiro dropped his head ashamed of himself. Rinko dropped to the floor; her eyes not focused on anything. "That day when I came home drunk…" Rinko shrieked which stunned the speechless father. "Hunny…" He bent down to reassure her, but she just slapped his hands away.
"How could you?!" tears flowed down her face and the two held each other and cried.
Meanwhile, Ryoma and Momo arrived at their School called Seigaku, short for Seishun Gakuen.
"Hoi, hoi~! Ochibi isn't late for the first time, nyaaa~!" Eiji Kikamaru jumped on his young kohai and hugged him.
"Hanase, sempai!" Ryoma struggled, but with the help of the mother of the tennis team, Shuichiro Oishi, and the tensai, Syuusuke Fuji, Eiji was removed from the suffocating boy. He thanked those who helped and hurried to the locker room where he changed into his usual tennis outfit and started to warm up by jogging around the courts.
While all this was happening, a tall eerie looking figure, with a clean cut hairdo stalked Ryoma and filmed his every movement; afraid to miss a single moment of greatness.
Morning practice ended at its usual time. The tennis players dragged themselves into the shower stalls.
"Nya~! It's ochibi's turn to be last!" There were 8 people in total that wanted to shower, but only 7 stalls to use. How strange is that?
"Saa… Echizen, on the bright side, you can practice against the wall for a bit," Fuji suggested chuckling in amusement as the baby of the tennis club pouted and walked out the door.
Pacing himself the 'stalker' wondered about when his 'prey' should be captured. His eyes averted towards the locker room just as Ryoma stomped out, clearly annoyed. Not missing his chance, the man jumped out from behind the bushes and swiftly placed a cloth dosed with chloroform over his victim's nose and mouth. Without even having a chance to struggle, Ryoma feebly dropped on the floor. The man grinned, picked him up, and walked over to his car where his 2 companions were waiting for him. 'This one's going to be sold at a high price…' The man thought to himself, as the four of them drove to their hiding place.
One by one the regulars exited the showers refreshed and ready for school.
"Hey, has anyone seen Ryoma?" Momo got to his tip-toes and glanced around.
"Fshuuu…" Kaoru Kaido hissed.
"Nya~! Ochibi is probably mad he wasn't in the showers first," Eiji chuckled clinging onto his doubles partner.
"Yeah, or he actually may be in class," Takashi Kawamura mumbled, his confidence drained without his racquet.
"There is 40% chance that Echizen is already in class," The brain of the tennis team, Sadaharu Inui, jotted down notes on his notebook.
"Whatever happened to Echizen, I'm sure he's fine," the feared buchou, Kunimitsu Tezuka, silenced everyone and they all went their separate ways to class.
During the afternoon practices, the regulars of the tennis team noticed the absence of Ryoma, and some got a little fidgety.
"Ne, Tezuka, Echizen seems to be missing… and I doubt he's the kind to skip class," Fuji's eyes opened slightly revealing beautiful blue orbs that everyone feared to see.
"Aa…" Tezuka replied thinking about the number of laps he was going to make his little kohai run.
"Tezuka, I just called Ryoma's house, and apparently Ryoma's sick," Oishi panted a little from the running.
"Hm… Alright. Thanks for calling Oishi," Tezuka nodded once towards the worried vice-captain.
"Shouldn't we go visit Ochibi, nya?" Eiji, who overheard the conversation, purred holding onto his doubles partner.
"I think it'd be best to let him rest for the day," he said although inwardly he wanted to visit as well.
"Saa… We'll see about that," Fuji's eyes slowly closed once again and the tennis practice continued.
-Flashback end-
Word Bank:
Kohai = underclassmen
Sempai = upperclassmen
Ochibi = shorty/kiddo… along the lines of that
Hanase = let go
A/N: Please give credit to Amira Sukitsu for Beta-ing my work =] Thanks to her my work changed from "%$%#" into better XD
Thank you Amira Sukitsu~ =D