Prince of Tennis - Yanagi Renji 071 Broken.
Title: Dreaming to Remeber: Part 5. Blade of Demon Flame
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Yanagi Renji, Kirihara Akaya, Yukimura Seiichi, Sanada Genichirou
Prompt: 071 - Broken
Word Count: 2,211
Rating: R (bloody violence)
Summary:
Overall: Even today, angels and demons are in a quiet war. These boys are entangled in a cycle of reincarnation, and questions from the past are now coming to light. And Yanagi Renji seems to be the center of all this.
Chapter: More of the war is revealed, more of their past lives, and devil Akaya causes a slight complication to test those involved in the present.
Author's Notes:
My LDT found here
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Leave me alone, to be myself
Every person wonders why they're placed upon the earth. Though some question this more than others, and some times, those reasons can be made even more questionable due to circumstances during one's life.
Yanagi Renji laid outside in their backyard again, staring up at the sky, pondering on life. A shadow crossed over him.
"You're thinking again." A soft female voice said.
Renji smiled a little. "I'm always thinking, Nee-san." He said. "I'm mostly out here for the fresh air though." He admitted.
"Still wondering about that?" She asked.
"It really hasn't troubled me for a while." Renji said. "There's still the dreams, but they're not as vivid, nor do they seem to involve anyone I know personally."
"Just because there's a lull doesn't mean that they won't come back."
"I know." Renji said softly. "I'm more worried this means something bad is about to happen. It feels ominous." He said, a slight frown on his face.
"Don't stay out here too long." His sister told him. "It's getting dark, and I'm sure Mother will be worried." She said, leaving it at that.
Men and women, angels and demons waged a war centuries ago. They had lived in peace since the end of this war, and quietly lived among each other, the angels staying away from the earth and watching from afar while the demons remained on earth and took the form of humans to walk amongst them safely.
The war that lead to this peace had been bloody and in the end, seemingly pointless like all wars turn out to be.
A lone man walked the slaughter of one of the battlefields, shaking his head in disgust and disappointmen in all the sides that had been involved. Feathers from angel wings, horns and fangs from demons, and beheaded, dismembered humans lay stil in this bloody field.
The man shivered as he walked. Among the deceased were people he had called friends during their now short lives.
Returning to his small, yet humble home, he sighed. One of the few friends that remained was there. "Gabriel, my friend, it's getting worse."
"I said not to call me that." The gruff man said. "I agree though. This isn't our war though. Remember, we're fallen ones. We have no place taking sides."
"Ah, that's true. Besides, you wouldn't be useful without your holiest of weapons. I'm sure the angels are wishing you were still there to lead the charge against the sinners and demons."
"Be that as it may, we still have no place among this."
Unbeknownst to the two men, a young man was listening in. A fire lit in his eyes as he decided he wasn't going to listen to these two old men that didn't want to get involved. After all, fighting was for the young and healthy.
Sneaking off with one of his master's swords, the young man's eyes turned red, and the demon was awakened.
"Koujin's gone." Rei'ichi noticed the next morning. He was frowning. The angel/demon hybrid was most dangerous during this time. His demon blood could take over completely and he could go on rampages, destroying human, angel and demon alike.
As that though passed through Rei'ichi's mind, a villager from the next village over came running into the town square. Rei'ichi had just exited so he could tell Gabriel what was going on. Curious as to the stranger who seemed to have run here, collapsing from exhaustion a few moments after he arrived. Rei'ichi ran to the man, kneeling beside him. "What happened?" He asked quietly, making sure that the man was otherwise fine, providing some water for the man to drink.
After getting some water down his throat and catching some of his breath back. "The demons attacked our village. They were led by...I'm not sure what it was. It looked human, but wasn't." He paused for a few moments to catch some more breath.
"What did it look like?" Rei'ichi asked.
"It was mostly the body of a human. He had horns coming from his head, and his eyes were as red as the sunrise." He answered. Rei'ichi frowned. It was too late. He cursed internally for not making sure the boy was more isolated from the war.
"Please, come rest at my place." Rei'ichi invited the stranger, pointing to his humble abode. "I need to speak to a friend, but I shall return shortly." It's unavoidable now, Gabriel.
"Guess that was the calm before the storm." Renji murmured quietly to himself, turning onto his side, sighing. "Are you tearing us apart, or trying to unite us?"
Returning to sleep wasn't possible though. Renji just tossed and turned in the hopes of sleep reclaiming him. Finally at 5:30 he awoke, showered, and headed to school for early morning tennis practice.
Renji was lost in though as he walked that he missed someone calling out to him until that person had latched themselves to his back.
"Yanagi-sempai!" Kirihara Akaya whined in his ear. "Why didn't you slow down?"
Renji had a small smile tug at his lips. "Please remove yourself from my person. And second, I was deep in thought."
"You're always thinking." Akaya said, teasing him a bit.
"I've been doing it a bit more than usual." Renji admitted. "Is there something you needed, Akaya?" He asked calmly as they fell into step together.
Akaya pondered that for a moment. "Weeeellll...." He drawled out.
"I'll check your English homework." Renji said, figuring that was at least part of what he wanted. Akaya's eyes lit up like a child at Christmas who had gotten everything he wanted. "What else?" Renji asked.
Akaya whistled innocently for a few moments, then finally came out with it. "Play a match with me this afternoon." He pretty much demanded.
Renji raised an eyebrow. Akaya usually challenged Yukimura and Sanada more often than he challenged Renji, but it wasn't too out of the ordinary. "Alright." Renji agreed. "This afternoon." He promised.
After a rather uneventful day of classes, Renji was sitting on the ground just outside the tennis courts, stretching his muscles like the rest of the tennis club members that were already out there. He looked around for their baby demon. Rising from his spot, he approached Sanada. "Where's Akaya?" He asked their vice-captain.
Sanada grunted, pointing over to the track where Akaya and a couple of the other regulars were running. Renji sighed. "What did they do now?"
Sanada just looked at Renji. "Ah, the usual." He said. "Care to finish warming up with me until Akaya is finished? He wants a match with me."
"Ah." Sanada nodded, grabbing his racket. He and Renji speant about ten minutes in a light rally. They were rather into it when Akaya came up to them.
"Sempai!" He called, addressing both of them. "Can I have my match now?" He called towards Renji. Renji nodded at Sanada, who nodded back and let Akaya have the court.
The fire lit in Akaya's eyes, and a huge, slightly creepy grin spread across his face. "This is the day I defeat one of the three demons." He said. Renji just smiled.
If only you knew the truth, Akaya. Renji thought to himself as he prepared for Akaya's serve.
It was as always an easy game for Renji. He made playing tennis look as graceful as a ballet dancer on stage. Ahead three games, Renji was impressed at how many points Akaya had gotten from him, but Akaya still lost the games.
With that frustration, Akaya's eyes started to turn red. Renji frowned, but kept his usual calm about him. Others may think that Akaya in this state was dangerous, but what frustrated the boy more was when you did not react to it.
The other regulars were gathered around the court, watching this. "Is Yanagi provoking him deliberately?" Marui asked Jackal quietly.
"Most likely." Was the not so encouraging answer from him.
Sanada and Yukimura stood a bit off, both with similar expressions on their faces. Neither were going to be surprised if Akaya went into devil mode against one of their own. Though for each, it would be because of different reasons.
Even though Akaya had begun his transformation slowly, he did progress into devil mode rather rapidly. Renji kept up very well until Akaya just started hitting balls wildly, not caring if he hit ground or opponent.
"Akaya!" Renji yelled at him from across the court. Akaya just laughed like a maniac. Renji will strengthened at that. He would not succumb to Akaya's wild instincts.
In the next moment, the ball hit Renji in the head just in the right place to knock him out.
The other regulars stared in shock for a few moments before realizing what happened. Sanada started heading towards Akaya, intending to punish him, but Yukimura stopped him with a soft word that promised that he would take care of it later, and that he would not tolerate anything other than that.
Yukimura strode up to Renji's side and shook him. "Renji..." He said softly, trying to wake him up. Frowning when he wasn't getting a reaction, he hung his head, uttering a phrase he hoped he would never have to use himself. "Call an ambulance." He said softly.
From the other side of the court, a rather confused Akaya stared, not entirely sure what had happened, but he had the feeling he caused it.
There was nothing but white. There were no defined walls, no known ceiling or floor. It was just white. Renji wasn't sure if he was standing on ground or floating in the air. He looked around, searching for a sign of something. The last thing he remembered was playing the game against Akaya. How did this happen?
"Welcome to limbo, Yanagi Renji." A somewhat familiar voice said.
Renji snapped his head towards that voice. "Mariel." He said, not exactly as a greeting. "What am I doing here?"
"You're just lucky you play tennis instead of a sport that uses harder objects. You'll be going back. You're being tested still."
Renji sighed. "If you want me back, why not just get it over with?" He asked. This was getting ridiculous.
"You have friends on earth, correct?" Mariel asked. Renji nodded. "And some of them were your friends in Heaven. Would you want to go back if you knew they wouldn't be there as well?"
"I'm starting to not care." Renji said.
Mariel chuckled. "I'm sure you do deep down. Though this isn't just a test of your strength."
Renji raised an eyebrow at that. "Not just mine?" He asked, wondering what exactly was going on. "Did Akaya hit me that hard?"
Mariel just smiled. "You'll be fine, but you'll be out for a few days. It will give you some time to think, and perhaps come to some answers that you might not have expected." Renji frowned at that.
"Why do I have to come to these answers now? I'm not even an adult yet, and these things have been torturing me since I was a child." Renji paused, then gave a dirty look at Mariel. "Was I ever meant to just be myself?" He asked.
"Perhaps that is one of the questions you'll find the answer to in the next couple of days." Mariel said and left.
The doctors were baffled. Logically the boy should have regained consciousness a couple of days ago, but he was still out. His family came to see him every day. His parents after work and his sister after school. He had some friends that visited him as well. There was a notable exception though.
Akaya had even made the trip. When he saw his sempai lying there, not moving, it hit him worse than when Yukimura was going through his ordeal. Akaya rested his head on the bed. "I'm sorry, sempai." He whispered. "I didn't mean to hurt you." He remained there for a while. He realized that his apology wasn't going to be enough to bring his sempai around though. Akaya was finally thrown out by the nurses once visiting hours were over.
Sanada came by the next day, not saying anything because he felt it was pointless if he wasn't going to get a response. Sanada swallowed. It didn't seem quite as hopeless as Yukimura's situation had been, but it didn't feel right either. Unable to take the silence anymore, he squeezed Renji's hand, and left.
As Sanada walked out of the hospital, he noticed a familiar figure sitting just outside. He turned to them. "Aren't you going to visit Yanagi?"
Yukimura looked down at the ground. Ever since his expierence, he didn't like hospitals and he never wanted to step foot in one again. "I...don't know." He said quietly.
Sanada frowned. "He came to visit you." He pointed out, leaving it at that and heading home, leaving his old friend there to ponder whether or not he could step over that threshold of somewhere he didn't want to be and where his friend lay unconscious. Sanada had a point, but the place still seemed scary.
Yukimura stood up, faced the doors, then turned around and started walking home. "I'm sorry, Renji." He whispered as he walked off.
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Yanagi Renji, Kirihara Akaya, Yukimura Seiichi, Sanada Genichirou
Prompt: 071 - Broken
Word Count: 2,211
Rating: R (bloody violence)
Summary:
Overall: Even today, angels and demons are in a quiet war. These boys are entangled in a cycle of reincarnation, and questions from the past are now coming to light. And Yanagi Renji seems to be the center of all this.
Chapter: More of the war is revealed, more of their past lives, and devil Akaya causes a slight complication to test those involved in the present.
Author's Notes:
My LDT found here
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Leave me alone, to be myself
Every person wonders why they're placed upon the earth. Though some question this more than others, and some times, those reasons can be made even more questionable due to circumstances during one's life.
Yanagi Renji laid outside in their backyard again, staring up at the sky, pondering on life. A shadow crossed over him.
"You're thinking again." A soft female voice said.
Renji smiled a little. "I'm always thinking, Nee-san." He said. "I'm mostly out here for the fresh air though." He admitted.
"Still wondering about that?" She asked.
"It really hasn't troubled me for a while." Renji said. "There's still the dreams, but they're not as vivid, nor do they seem to involve anyone I know personally."
"Just because there's a lull doesn't mean that they won't come back."
"I know." Renji said softly. "I'm more worried this means something bad is about to happen. It feels ominous." He said, a slight frown on his face.
"Don't stay out here too long." His sister told him. "It's getting dark, and I'm sure Mother will be worried." She said, leaving it at that.
Men and women, angels and demons waged a war centuries ago. They had lived in peace since the end of this war, and quietly lived among each other, the angels staying away from the earth and watching from afar while the demons remained on earth and took the form of humans to walk amongst them safely.
The war that lead to this peace had been bloody and in the end, seemingly pointless like all wars turn out to be.
A lone man walked the slaughter of one of the battlefields, shaking his head in disgust and disappointmen in all the sides that had been involved. Feathers from angel wings, horns and fangs from demons, and beheaded, dismembered humans lay stil in this bloody field.
The man shivered as he walked. Among the deceased were people he had called friends during their now short lives.
Returning to his small, yet humble home, he sighed. One of the few friends that remained was there. "Gabriel, my friend, it's getting worse."
"I said not to call me that." The gruff man said. "I agree though. This isn't our war though. Remember, we're fallen ones. We have no place taking sides."
"Ah, that's true. Besides, you wouldn't be useful without your holiest of weapons. I'm sure the angels are wishing you were still there to lead the charge against the sinners and demons."
"Be that as it may, we still have no place among this."
Unbeknownst to the two men, a young man was listening in. A fire lit in his eyes as he decided he wasn't going to listen to these two old men that didn't want to get involved. After all, fighting was for the young and healthy.
Sneaking off with one of his master's swords, the young man's eyes turned red, and the demon was awakened.
"Koujin's gone." Rei'ichi noticed the next morning. He was frowning. The angel/demon hybrid was most dangerous during this time. His demon blood could take over completely and he could go on rampages, destroying human, angel and demon alike.
As that though passed through Rei'ichi's mind, a villager from the next village over came running into the town square. Rei'ichi had just exited so he could tell Gabriel what was going on. Curious as to the stranger who seemed to have run here, collapsing from exhaustion a few moments after he arrived. Rei'ichi ran to the man, kneeling beside him. "What happened?" He asked quietly, making sure that the man was otherwise fine, providing some water for the man to drink.
After getting some water down his throat and catching some of his breath back. "The demons attacked our village. They were led by...I'm not sure what it was. It looked human, but wasn't." He paused for a few moments to catch some more breath.
"What did it look like?" Rei'ichi asked.
"It was mostly the body of a human. He had horns coming from his head, and his eyes were as red as the sunrise." He answered. Rei'ichi frowned. It was too late. He cursed internally for not making sure the boy was more isolated from the war.
"Please, come rest at my place." Rei'ichi invited the stranger, pointing to his humble abode. "I need to speak to a friend, but I shall return shortly." It's unavoidable now, Gabriel.
"Guess that was the calm before the storm." Renji murmured quietly to himself, turning onto his side, sighing. "Are you tearing us apart, or trying to unite us?"
Returning to sleep wasn't possible though. Renji just tossed and turned in the hopes of sleep reclaiming him. Finally at 5:30 he awoke, showered, and headed to school for early morning tennis practice.
Renji was lost in though as he walked that he missed someone calling out to him until that person had latched themselves to his back.
"Yanagi-sempai!" Kirihara Akaya whined in his ear. "Why didn't you slow down?"
Renji had a small smile tug at his lips. "Please remove yourself from my person. And second, I was deep in thought."
"You're always thinking." Akaya said, teasing him a bit.
"I've been doing it a bit more than usual." Renji admitted. "Is there something you needed, Akaya?" He asked calmly as they fell into step together.
Akaya pondered that for a moment. "Weeeellll...." He drawled out.
"I'll check your English homework." Renji said, figuring that was at least part of what he wanted. Akaya's eyes lit up like a child at Christmas who had gotten everything he wanted. "What else?" Renji asked.
Akaya whistled innocently for a few moments, then finally came out with it. "Play a match with me this afternoon." He pretty much demanded.
Renji raised an eyebrow. Akaya usually challenged Yukimura and Sanada more often than he challenged Renji, but it wasn't too out of the ordinary. "Alright." Renji agreed. "This afternoon." He promised.
After a rather uneventful day of classes, Renji was sitting on the ground just outside the tennis courts, stretching his muscles like the rest of the tennis club members that were already out there. He looked around for their baby demon. Rising from his spot, he approached Sanada. "Where's Akaya?" He asked their vice-captain.
Sanada grunted, pointing over to the track where Akaya and a couple of the other regulars were running. Renji sighed. "What did they do now?"
Sanada just looked at Renji. "Ah, the usual." He said. "Care to finish warming up with me until Akaya is finished? He wants a match with me."
"Ah." Sanada nodded, grabbing his racket. He and Renji speant about ten minutes in a light rally. They were rather into it when Akaya came up to them.
"Sempai!" He called, addressing both of them. "Can I have my match now?" He called towards Renji. Renji nodded at Sanada, who nodded back and let Akaya have the court.
The fire lit in Akaya's eyes, and a huge, slightly creepy grin spread across his face. "This is the day I defeat one of the three demons." He said. Renji just smiled.
If only you knew the truth, Akaya. Renji thought to himself as he prepared for Akaya's serve.
It was as always an easy game for Renji. He made playing tennis look as graceful as a ballet dancer on stage. Ahead three games, Renji was impressed at how many points Akaya had gotten from him, but Akaya still lost the games.
With that frustration, Akaya's eyes started to turn red. Renji frowned, but kept his usual calm about him. Others may think that Akaya in this state was dangerous, but what frustrated the boy more was when you did not react to it.
The other regulars were gathered around the court, watching this. "Is Yanagi provoking him deliberately?" Marui asked Jackal quietly.
"Most likely." Was the not so encouraging answer from him.
Sanada and Yukimura stood a bit off, both with similar expressions on their faces. Neither were going to be surprised if Akaya went into devil mode against one of their own. Though for each, it would be because of different reasons.
Even though Akaya had begun his transformation slowly, he did progress into devil mode rather rapidly. Renji kept up very well until Akaya just started hitting balls wildly, not caring if he hit ground or opponent.
"Akaya!" Renji yelled at him from across the court. Akaya just laughed like a maniac. Renji will strengthened at that. He would not succumb to Akaya's wild instincts.
In the next moment, the ball hit Renji in the head just in the right place to knock him out.
The other regulars stared in shock for a few moments before realizing what happened. Sanada started heading towards Akaya, intending to punish him, but Yukimura stopped him with a soft word that promised that he would take care of it later, and that he would not tolerate anything other than that.
Yukimura strode up to Renji's side and shook him. "Renji..." He said softly, trying to wake him up. Frowning when he wasn't getting a reaction, he hung his head, uttering a phrase he hoped he would never have to use himself. "Call an ambulance." He said softly.
From the other side of the court, a rather confused Akaya stared, not entirely sure what had happened, but he had the feeling he caused it.
There was nothing but white. There were no defined walls, no known ceiling or floor. It was just white. Renji wasn't sure if he was standing on ground or floating in the air. He looked around, searching for a sign of something. The last thing he remembered was playing the game against Akaya. How did this happen?
"Welcome to limbo, Yanagi Renji." A somewhat familiar voice said.
Renji snapped his head towards that voice. "Mariel." He said, not exactly as a greeting. "What am I doing here?"
"You're just lucky you play tennis instead of a sport that uses harder objects. You'll be going back. You're being tested still."
Renji sighed. "If you want me back, why not just get it over with?" He asked. This was getting ridiculous.
"You have friends on earth, correct?" Mariel asked. Renji nodded. "And some of them were your friends in Heaven. Would you want to go back if you knew they wouldn't be there as well?"
"I'm starting to not care." Renji said.
Mariel chuckled. "I'm sure you do deep down. Though this isn't just a test of your strength."
Renji raised an eyebrow at that. "Not just mine?" He asked, wondering what exactly was going on. "Did Akaya hit me that hard?"
Mariel just smiled. "You'll be fine, but you'll be out for a few days. It will give you some time to think, and perhaps come to some answers that you might not have expected." Renji frowned at that.
"Why do I have to come to these answers now? I'm not even an adult yet, and these things have been torturing me since I was a child." Renji paused, then gave a dirty look at Mariel. "Was I ever meant to just be myself?" He asked.
"Perhaps that is one of the questions you'll find the answer to in the next couple of days." Mariel said and left.
The doctors were baffled. Logically the boy should have regained consciousness a couple of days ago, but he was still out. His family came to see him every day. His parents after work and his sister after school. He had some friends that visited him as well. There was a notable exception though.
Akaya had even made the trip. When he saw his sempai lying there, not moving, it hit him worse than when Yukimura was going through his ordeal. Akaya rested his head on the bed. "I'm sorry, sempai." He whispered. "I didn't mean to hurt you." He remained there for a while. He realized that his apology wasn't going to be enough to bring his sempai around though. Akaya was finally thrown out by the nurses once visiting hours were over.
Sanada came by the next day, not saying anything because he felt it was pointless if he wasn't going to get a response. Sanada swallowed. It didn't seem quite as hopeless as Yukimura's situation had been, but it didn't feel right either. Unable to take the silence anymore, he squeezed Renji's hand, and left.
As Sanada walked out of the hospital, he noticed a familiar figure sitting just outside. He turned to them. "Aren't you going to visit Yanagi?"
Yukimura looked down at the ground. Ever since his expierence, he didn't like hospitals and he never wanted to step foot in one again. "I...don't know." He said quietly.
Sanada frowned. "He came to visit you." He pointed out, leaving it at that and heading home, leaving his old friend there to ponder whether or not he could step over that threshold of somewhere he didn't want to be and where his friend lay unconscious. Sanada had a point, but the place still seemed scary.
Yukimura stood up, faced the doors, then turned around and started walking home. "I'm sorry, Renji." He whispered as he walked off.