WtLB
"Bold" English for dialog
"Normal" Japanese when used for dialog
"Italics" Flashback, Important Stuff, Locations, etc
Recap
There was a sudden shout and before he knew it, Ryoma found himself underneath five people. The door to Atobe’s office had been pushed open from the crash as well. A few groans came out of someone, before they all looked up to find a shirtless Atobe glaring heatedly at them.
“What is the meaning of this?”
When the Line Breaks
By Sweet Obsidian Rain
Chapter Ten: Alarm
Medical Wing, 1: 50 P.M.
Six heads-minus one-looked up and gulped as they met the icy glare of Atobe Keigo. “What…” Atobe’s glare intensified. “Is the meaning of this?”
“Well, you see,” Oshitari cleared his throat, deciding to answer the nurse’s question. “We were…” They all stared at the cuts and bruises on the vain man’s chest. “What in the world…” Geez, I never knew Yukimura-san was a violent one in bed…
Snore.
All heads craned to look at the person on top of their mountain of limbs, who was also the source of the snoring- Jiroh. And as expected, the strawberry blond was fast asleep, unaware of his surroundings. There was a sudden shift of weight, and Jiroh fell off abruptly. Thankfully, Atobe’s reflexes kicked in; the man caught the sleeping boy before any accidents happened (Albeit with a slight wince).
Atobe turned back to the group of five still stacked on top of one another. “Well? Are you going to stay there all day and suffocate that brat or are you going to get up and working?” He carefully steered himself around and dumped the sleeping boy on… the mattress. The covers were lifted and disarranged.
His question was met by blank stares until Yukimura, who was also sporting familiar injuries, coughed from behind Atobe. “I believe we are still in unsafe territory. And it seems the little Prince is turning quite blue.”
Eyes widening, Gakuto, who was now on top after Jiroh fell off, scrambled up and pulled Oshitari up with him. Kaidoh got off quietly, still red, and Kirihara, being the devil he was, took his sweet, sweet time… That is until Yukimura coughed again before fixing the second year with a stern look while buttoning up his shirt.
The standing agents filed into the room and peered down at Ryoma, who slowly pulled himself up with a glare. Kirihara, sensing a serious issue coming up, hurriedly closed the door to the office. He did not lock it though, unsure if Inui or Sanada would appear. Instead, he stood guard with Gakuto and listened in on the conversation.
Atobe frowned and gently pulled the boy up, working to unbutton Ryoma’s uniform. “Oi! What are you doing?!”
“Stop flailing brat. You’re going to bleed to death if you don’t stop.” The boy froze.
“What?”
“What do you mean ‘what’? I should be the one asking ‘What the hell did you do?’”
The nurse finally managed to loosen up Ryoma’s polo (which was stained with blood), and pulled the shirt off to reveal now bloodied bandages. Ahh… Shit. I was planning on keeping this from them…
Ryoma fidgeted as Atobe carefully pushed him into his office chair (which he was grateful of, since he did not want to sit in a mattress that he had no clue what people that were on it had done while using it). The man unwrapped the bandages with practiced movements, eyes flickering back and forth in calculation. “Your cheek seems fine, but who wrapped your wounds?”
Ryoma hesitated, not sure what to say. His earlier plans had been discarded the moment the other five idiots crashed into him. “…Fuji-senpai…”
“ Fuji?” Gakuto and Kirihara exclaimed at once, gaping at the Prince.
Ryoma nodded; he was glad that Atobe’s room was soundproof. Had it not been, then they would be in deep, deep trouble. Oshitari’s brows were raised high, whether in amusement or surprise, Ryoma did not know. Kaidoh froze mid-step from bringing the first aid box to Atobe, and hissed under his breath. The only ones who seemed calm were Atobe, Yukimura, and Jiroh (who was sleeping).
“I suspected as much…” The two who were guarding by the door jumped in surprise when they felt a familiar mad scientist breathe down on their necks.
Gakuto glared before stepping aside to let Inui in, and closed the door again. “What do you mean?”
“Certain sources reported Fuji throwing away a plastic bag filled with blood stained materials. Past reports come in about every month with such plastic bags in the data, but I ran tests on all the materials to find that the blood belongs to Fuji Syusuke. However, this morning’s tests came out as Echizen Ryoma’s blood.” Inui turned to Ryoma and waited for the boy to confirm something.
The boy nodded, and winced when Atobe cleaned his reopened wound. “I don’t remember much though. My head fogs up whenever I try to remember the full incident, but I know for sure that Fuji-senpai knows who I am,” he paused, furrowing his brows in effort to remember. “I… think I have something here… I… met up with an extremely skilled fighter, no doubt from MO. He used a different fighting style than MO’s agents usually use, but the faint traits are still there. And… the bracelets from Inui-san… I trapped him with those, but there was another fighter behind me, and knocked me out before I could react. I think Fuji was the one that carried me back. I don’t get it though. Why would MO spare me, if they knew who I was? It’s… as if…”
“As if they’re trying to help us.” Atobe tied the newly wrapped bandages together and strode over to the sink to wash his hands.
Oshitari, who had stayed quiet until know, questioned. “But why?”
Atobe looked at Yukimura from the corner of his eyes and caught the blue haired man shaking his head slightly. The nurse turned around took a deep breath before locking eyes with Ryoma. “I don’t know, but we’re going to have to be more careful from now on. The question is though…”
“What is going on among the people of MO?”
School Rooftop, 2:00 P.M.
“What are you going to do about it?” Yanagi Renji asked with obvious challenge in his voice. Behind him, Shishido snorted to himself, but stayed quiet.
Fuji turned to the fence around the edge of the roof and brought his hand up. Slender, yet calloused fingers wrapped around the metal wires, and the honey haired boy sighed. “That man,” Fuji spat out the words with hate, “Probably already suspects our lot. We’re going to have to lay low, but continue with our original plan.
“The Samurais are also suspecting us now. Just keep watch on them and proceed with the planned actions when the opportunity provides itself. Sengoku-san has already informed me of their meeting today. From this point on, the Samurai Demons will be much more on guard with their young Prince around, and it will be tougher to keep a tag on them, but I’m confident our agents can keep up.”
“But what about the others? Are you willing to take such a huge risk when you know that is plan only has less than 43 percent chance of succeeding?” Yanagi’s voice was firm, but emotionless, “Niou is already in one of our private hospitals, along with many of our top agents. We can’t keep this up. Yagyuu has been fretting over the smallest things, and Kami knows that Yagyuu never frets.”
“Renji, sometimes big things come with big risks. I’m willing to bet everyone’s lives in the rebellion on this one shot. If we let it slip past, it will take years for another opportunity.”
“Are you sure this is going to work, Fuji?” Shishido questioned, voicing his uncertainties.
“It has to work. We’ve been waiting and planning for too long. It’s time to take action, and I’m going to make it work.” The confident tone in Fuji’s voice finally coaxed the two agents into giving in.
“Then we shall entrust our lives to you, Fuji Syusuke.” Yanagi and Shishido bowed their heads before straightening up to look at the surroundings of Seishun Academy with the blue-eyed tensai.
Medical Wing, 2:05 P.M.
“What is going on among the people of MO?”
The question echoed in the minds of everyone is the room. Nothing made much sense anymore, not after Ryoma had arrived. But no one blamed the boy, no; instead they felt relieved. Relieved that they had someone from the main family to lead them. They knew that whatever was going to happen, their Prince would get them through it.
“Say, what’s with the bruises and cuts, Kei-chan, Yuki-chan?”
Everyone save for Atobe, Yukimura, Inui and the person who had dared ask the question, mentally face-palmed. Ryoma twitched as he watched Jiroh sit up from the mattress, yawning. The strawberry blond then turned to Atobe for an answer.
Really, this made Ryoma wonder if the supposedly narcoleptic boy was really sleeping.
Yukimura smiled mischievously after observing their reactions. “Well… Where do you want us to start? You see, Keigo and I met up earlier and one thing led to another… Before we knew it we were on the bed…”
Atobe never knew that people had so many skin colors. Faces in the room turned from different shades of red to green to purple. The man ran a hand though his soft hair, deciding it was time to put a stop to the misunderstanding before it got even more bazaar. It didn’t stop him from having his own fun though. “Seiichi, I don’t think some of these youngsters are ready to know about the real wonders of adulthood.”
Gakuto and Kaidoh turned to face the closest walls to them, looking ready to hurl.
“After all, they don’t get attacked by certain people often.” Yukimura’s eyes were sparkling with amusement.
Oshitari and Jiroh were probably the ones who were least effected by the ‘explanation’. I’m suddenly glad that Yukimura never took a romantic interest in me, the former thought.
“Nope… They don’t get attacked by intruders very often.” Atobe finished off with a smirk.
The result the two got was a satisfying one, sending Yukimura into a fit of giggles. The man winced a bit though, when a flash of pain shot through his stomach muscles.
“EH?!?!” Everyone stared at Atobe and Yukimura in surprise.
“You mean… You… You weren’t having…” Ryoma pointed at the bed. “You know… that.” Atobe raised a brow and waited for the boy to continue. “Uh… You guys aren’t together?” The boy blushed and hid his face behind the chair.
“Hmph. Shame on you all for thinking such dirty thoughts involving Ore-sama.”
“Che. How would we know what you two have been up to? You’re always flirting with one another.” Kirihara tried to defend himself. “What happened anyway?”
Yukimura chuckled lightly. “Some thieves who thought they were good enough to get past our security decided to try their hands on it. Keigo and I were discussing the news we received from Your Majesty when they attacked.”
“There were five of them, all well-trained, so it took longer than usual. They left us a few minor injuries, but we managed to fight them off. And Ore-sama is positive one of them won’t be able to walk for at least a few months.” Atobe boasted out his chest, and flicked his hair, returning to the normally vain person he was.
Ryoma took the chance to jab at the nurse. “Only one, Monkey King?” the boy snorted. “Mada mada dane.”
Atobe glared at Ryoma and retorted. “I wasn’t the one carried back to the dorm by a pretty boy after being knocked out.”
“I’m not a monkey who flirts with Yukimura-san when he knows he has no chance.”
“At least he flirts back!”
“So? Monkey King, I don’t flirt with people.” A bored look.
“Yes, you do!”
“When?”
“That time when we were still in the States at the clubbing event. You were practically grinding up against the staff member to let you in!”
“That was cause I had to flirt to get in there, idiot! I don’t flirt unless I have to!”
“Well-“
“Oshitari-kun, they seem like an old married couple, don’t they?” Yukimura smiled sweetly at the two who were bickering like little kids fighting over a toy.
“Now that you mention it, yes, they quite do.” Oshitari played along, fearing the consequences if he did not.
“I’M NOT FLIRTING WITH HIM!” they both exclaimed when they heard the comment. Ryoma and Atobe had a horrified expression on their faces as they pointed at one another. Gakuto and Kirihara snickered and even Kaidoh had to hide his smile. Inui was already lost in his little world, muttering “Ii data” under his breath as he scribbled into his notebook.
Ring. Ring.
The school bell rang and everyone scrambled to get to their classes. Ryoma tossed a glare at Atobe’s direction before stalking off. Yukimura called after the boy. “Echizen-kun! You’re excused from tennis practice today, if you wish. I forbid you to play against Kaidoh in that condition. Be careful!”
“Che.” Ryoma scowled, and his quick strides turned into a run.
Yukimura shook his head and glanced at Atobe next to him. “Maa… I don’t think I can go through with my plans for tennis today. Looks like Genichirou will have to take over again.”
Snore.
Atobe blinked before slapping his head. “I forgot about him…”
Japanese Investigation Headquarters, Japan 4:50 P.M.
Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Le- Yuuta felt his eyes drooping as they tried to follow Mizuki’s movements across their shared room. Jet lag was affecting him greatly, and he still wasn’t used to the new time zone. And the bed he was laying on was so soft...
Mizuki paced back and forward, muttering to himself. “No data. Not able to provide more technology! Can’t help? Limited. Nonsense, nonsense! How dare those stupid, underlings… ARG!” The detective threw his arms up. “Yuuta!”
“…”
“Yuuta!!” Mizuki turned to glare at his partner. “Wake up, Yuuta!”
“…”
Poke. Poke. “Yuu-ta.”
“Hnn… Mizuki-san… let me sleep…”
Twitch. “Yuuta!!!”
The sleeping boy rolled over, and before Mizuki could react, the detective found himself under the brunet. And he wasn’t strong enough to push the boy off.
“YUUUUTTAAAA!!!!!”
---
Down in the working sections of the building, the staff members of the Japanese Investigation Headquarters were working quite peacefully.
“Nakao, did you get the documents yet?”
“Ah, yes, I did, Maki-chan!”
Until a sudden sound interrupted their work.
“YUUUUTTAAAA!!!!!”
MO Private Hospital, 6:00 P.M.
“Yagyuu…”
“Niou?” The bespectacled man turned around and dropped his mug in alarm. “Niou Masaharu! Lay down right now! You are in no condition to stand up, so don’t even try sitting up either!”
The Trickster, now almost completely wrapped up in bandages gave his lover a weak smile, and replied cheekily, “Hiro-chan, all I need to heal is a little kiss from you.”
“Don’t ‘Hiro-chan’ me! And stop moving, you’re going to reopen those wounds again. Really, Haru-Haru? Haru? Masaharu!” Yagyuu rushed over and shook Niou frantically, but he did not get a response. The Trickster’s breathing was labored, sending Yagyuu into a panic “Masaharu! Oi! Wake up, this isn’t a joke!”
Slamming his palm into the red emergency button, Yagyuu continued to shout desperately for help.
“I swear, Masaharu, if you die, I will personally hunt down the boss myself, and slaughter him. Then I will go after Fuji Syusuke for setting you into this position… God, let him live, dammit!” The man punched the wall next to him in the waiting room. Pressing his forehead against the cool surface of the wall, he slid down, shaking, and buried his head in his knees. His body was raking with sobs; warm, salty tears were sliding down his face.
Yagyuu did not know how long he was there, nor did he know when Fuji and a few of the others arrive, but all he could do was cling onto Fuji and Marui, praying, hoping, for his love to be alright.
Finally, hours later, the light to the emergency room turned off, and the doctor appeared from behind the white doors. The doctor, a man in his mid fifties, with crow’s feet and laugh lines on his face, was missing the jolly smile that everyone one of them had always seen on him.
T.B.C.
Cliffie.
What’s going to happen to Niou? What are Fuji and ‘his group’ planning? What is happening among the people of MO? What did those people who attacked Atobe and Yukimura want? How are Mizuki and Yuuta going to cope with their new environment? What is going on?
Dun dun dun. Stay tuned for the next chapter of When the Line Breaks to get your answers to these questions! (Although all may not be answered in the next chapter.)
xD Look for other stories that are part of this MASS release. And lastly… Review please!
First Unrevised Version 11.21.07
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