Broken Prince

Facing the Spanish Inquisition

Broken Prince

Disclaimer: If you recognize it then I don't own it.

Summary: A match in the past leaves a then ten year old Ryoma Echizen with several permanent health issues that leave many questioning rather the Prince of Tennis can even continue playing. When Ryoma moves to Japan he knew hiding those injuries from Seigaku was going to be hard and that being caught was not an option. Why can't he just play tennis?

Chapter four: Facing the Spanish Inquisition

--- POV Tezuka ---

I watch, silently praying that Echizen would simply answer the questions so that Inui wouldn't go through with the Aozo juice that the data player was currently setting on the table in front of the small boy. Golden eyes widen in shock before they turn onto me pleadingly. Now that I know at least some of the injuries he has, for I don't believe for even a second that he told me all of what was wrong, I can't believe I never noticed the difference between his eyes before.

"There is a 95% chance that this will change your mind."

Inui says with a smile on his face and I force myself not to close my eyes on the scene of a struggling Echizen pleading that this couldn't be legal, reminding us that he had already quit the team so we (apparently) don't need to do this (That resignation wasn't even brought to my consideration. Ryuusaki-sensei literally took one glance at Ryoma's name on it before shredding the thing and burning the left over strips to ash), and begging me to put a stop to this. If there was any other way I could use to actually get the information I would but Inui had already researched every lead he could find and found nothing...

... And Syuu would kill me for taking away his fun before he found out what he wanted...

... But that didn't matter right now.

"Just answer our questions and you won't have to drink the juice." I say, forcing my voice to be hard even though I can't believe I'm actually allowing Inui to use Aozo. There was a reason I had banned the stuff from practice. There was a line between horrible tasting motivation and causing Syuu to pass out from drinking it.

Locking my eyes on the fearfull boy that I had just last week been training to become Seigaku's pillar of support I ask the first question, at a loss as to what to actually do with him now. Though one thing was for sure...

.... I was going to keep Echizen Ryoma as involved with the tennis team as possible.

--- POV Fuji ----

"What injuries do you have?"

Mitsu's voice asks and I put my hand on his shoulder in silent support. As much as I like pain in most of it's forms, threatening Ryo-chan with Aozu is a little to much fr al of us (besides Inui). But it was all we could come up with that would actually get the little kitten to talk. There was a lack of information on our baby that hadn't seemed so obvious until now when it would have been helpful. Even Inui only knew about his tennis and ponta obsession until Momo told him his address (Which he only knew from picking the boy up for school everyday) at the beginning of Operation: Data on Ochibi.

Ryo-chan looks like he's about to cry as he struggles to get free and all I want to do is go over there and hold him until he smirks up at me with that usual challenge in his eyes. Dareing me to just try and break him...

.... I wonder how long it'll take to put him back together after this because he will probably break today. After all, we have him one against eight, tied to a chair in a locked room, Aozo juice on the table in front of him, and permission from his father to keep him as long as we want to. (Of course we told him that we were having a last minute tennis training weekend and would all be staying over at my house, but that's simply semantics. Besides, his father didn't seem concerned about it at all and hadn't even asked us for information to contact his son with over the weekend. What kind of father does something like that?)

Tearful eyes glaze over, back stiffens straight, and he tilts his head in submission as he stops fighting the handcuffs and gives in. It actually disappoints me really, Ryo-chan has always made things interesting when he was around. Yet now that I'm ready to see him go down fighting he gives up in such an un-Echizen-like manner. The voice that answers Mitsu's question is flat and lifeless. Possessing less emotion than I would expect from Inui analyzing a situation.

"Blind in left eye, healed bone fracture in left forearm, misaligned fingers in left hand, mended ACL, right knee held in place by metal, reset right ankle..." The list goes on from there but the rest was simply bad cuts and gashes that he claimed to have scarred over already. Besides the inclusion of a few  internal  organs apparently having had past experinces bleeding anyway. However, that doesn't change the fact that the list is longer than any of us could have imagined it to be and even Inui takes a second to process this data before he can bring himself to right it down. Maybe we should have kept it to just the three of us and Ryo-chan. Eijiko is crying, Oishi and Taka seem to be just holding back from going over and checking to make sure their baby was truly alright, Momo and Kaido both look ready to murder, and Mitsu is trembling. I myself can't help but smile at the thought of what to do to the bastard that did this to MY Ryo-chan.

"How did you acquire these injuries?" Mitsu asks carefully. He doesn't want to repeat himself and I can't blame him, the answer however is far from satisfying. And brings up the question of how our kitten can even bring himself to continue holding a racket.

"Tennis"

"Expand on that please." Mitsu's voice is strained in contrast to the emotionless one that had answered. And I remove my hands from his shoulders only to drop myself into his lap and curl up close to him. His one arm caging me against his body as the other fools with my hair soothingly. My stoic boyfriend however doesn't let his concentration be taken from the task at hand but still calms down slightly. That one word was not what any of us wanted to hear but had still been half expected seeing as this was Ryo-chan after all. The boy pauses for a moment. Seeming to be deciding just how much he should tell us (READ: How vague of an answer we will allow) before finally responding to the non-request verbally.

"I played against a demon player two years ag-"

"WHO THE HELL WAS HE?!"

Hey everyone! I hope you like the story so far. Can anyone guess who just blew up? I haven't made the characters too OOC have I? The Senpai seem a little harsh yes but I see Seigaku s being extreme, especially in he case of one of their members safety despite letting them do whatever they want in the end anyway, and they really are trying to help. It's just a little forceful because Ryoma has been avoiding them all week and they can't find anything to tell them what happened but the freshman himself.  Ryoma will be going back into character at some point but I can't really have him put back together until I shatter him can I? Due to the poll this is now on the track to becoming an OT6 pairing with RyoSaku friendship fic. Thank you all who voted. However I am not allowing this fic to simply turn into a slash fest. Any truly M-rated scenes shall be marked off for those who don't want to read them and the relationship will actually develop. Don't be expecting Ryoma to be getting any (or however you want to put it) in the next few chapters. I am a firm believer that the faster a relationship starts the faster it will end. Currently however I have a web between the elders of OT6 with strong feeling involving Ryoma for all of them.  It shall (of course) progress. Until next time,

BYE!