Title: Retribution
Fandom: Prince of Tennis: Fudomine Chuugaku
Characters: Kamio Akira, Ibu Shinji, Mori Tatsunori, Tachibana Kippei
Prompt: 009 - Months
Word Count: 3313
Date finished: 09/25/2007
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Akira and Shinji try to survive junior high, and keep Shinji's secret from everyone.
Author's Notes: Shinji in this is taken from my friend Natalie (lj user skyangel2009)'s portrayal of him from the now defunct rp St. Benedicts; I played Akira. Many thanks to her for allowing me to... write a bit of her character's history. Many thanks to her for her help.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Konomi Takeshi, and whoever did the anime. At any rate, it's not me.

Kamio Akira had talked for months, trying to convince Ibu Shinji that he shouldn't go to Fudomine. He'd thought it through, and thought he knew how to counter every protest the other boy had made.

The memory of his best friend, curled up in the classroom, wrists bruised by ropes and eyes haunted by one-too-many experiences he shouldn't have had, kept coming up at the worst times, their last year in elementary school. But Shinji had never told his parents that it was Izumi-senpai, and that was one argument Akira could never counter.

So he stuck close to his friend through the first year orientation, glad they were at least near each other in the alphabet when the students were separated by last name for some sort of stupid introduction game. They were also, thankfully, in the same class. That meant that Akira didn't have to mess with schedules; theirs was the same.

It turned out to be lucky indeed, because Izumi-senpai showed up two weeks after school started, just as they started their lunch. He stood across the table from them, smiling so evilly that it was all Akira could do not to slug him.

Shinji's hand on his arm stopped him before he did anything stupid, and the senpai turned and walked away.

It had not gone unnoticed. A boy Akira recognized as being a first year and in the tennis club - he and Shinji had joined as soon as they were allowed - hesitated across the table where the senpai had been standing, then, resolved, set his own lunch down. "Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"No," Shinji said, and Akira could feel his grip loosen a little.

"My name's Mori Tatsunori," the other boy said as he sat down, seemingly oblivious to the tension across the table from him. "I saw you guys at club yesterday."

Akira's shoulders eased, and Shinji took his hand away. "I don't want you getting expelled," he said softly.

"Yeah," Akira said, when he thought he could get words out. "Kamio Akira, and this is Ibu Shinji. Do you think it'll get better?"

Mori hesitated, then shook his head. "No. I think it'll get worse. And I think most people are going to leave."

Akira stared at him. "Why do you think that?" he asked.

Mori shrugged. "Because I've seen people like them before. They'll get worse and worse," he leaned closer and dropped his voice, "especially since they can't really play that well."

Akira had to concede that point. "True," he said. "Are you leaving?"

Mori looked up. "Nah," he said. "You?"

Akira glanced at Shinji. "I don't know," he said. Shinji shrugged.

Because the last thing he was going to do was leave Shinji alone anywhere, not with Izumi there.

Tennis practice that afternoon was hellish. Izumi, it seemed, had just returned from an extended vacation - Akira didn't know the details and didn't care to ask - and was on the team as well. While the practices before had been rough for Shinji, who merely kept his head down and did as asked, now they were worse.

Akira did what he could to keep the upperclassmen focused on him, but Izumi never took that particular bait. Mori, who didn't really know the whole story (not many people did, and Shinji did not tell it to anyone), simply banded with them.

Two weeks later, the tennis club had been thoroughly culled down to Akira, Shinji, Mori, and three other boys, all of whom looked as stubborn as Akira felt.

Nothing he said would convince Shinji to join another club, and after the first week, he only got a repeat of Shinji's rambling rebuttal.

"I like playing tennis, and I don't intend to stop just because he's there," he said - relatively clearly - one afternoon on the way home. "I'm good at it, and I like the schedule and I like the friends I've made. Besides, Akira likes playing, too, and it would be a shame to take him away, because he's said he'd follow me wherever, and there's no saying that senpai wouldn't follow as well, anyway, so I might as well stay where we like to be. And if I try to explain to my mother, she'll just tell me senpai's trying to look out for me, like he did the last three years, and we know exactly how that turned out." Shinji swallowed hard. "She won't listen if I try to tell her the truth, hid it too long. So, no. I don't want him to control my life anymore."

"Okay," Akira said, every time Shinji reached that point - the telling one. But it never really convinced him.

The others, Ishida Tetsu, Sakurai Masaya, and Uchimura Kyosuke, banded together with them and helped create a buffer between Shinji and Izumi. They might not have understood, but they could see that Izumi was targeting Shinji, and like all besieged people, joined in the seemingly hopeless battle to keep Shinji away from him.

Akira was just beginning to think they might survive this year without anything happening when their coach went back on his word about letting them play. That was bad enough; they were all disappointed. But then he told the rest of the team what they'd wanted.

"How dare you go behind our back," the captain said angrily, eyes boring into Akira's. Behind the captain, Akira could see Izumi and his friends smirking, looking like he was going to finally get what he wanted. He'd been so frustrated lately, unable to get Shinji alone.

"Where else were we supposed to go?" Akira demanded. "It's not like we can talk to you or anyone else on this team!"

He should have seen the blow coming, should have been ready for it, but he didn't and wasn't. The captain's backhand wasn't any easier to take now than it had been the first time he'd been hit, and it knocked him down.

Shinji knelt by him almost immediately, and Akira's eyes went to the team members, to figure out who - if not Izumi - was going to go after Shinji. But they were all looking at someone standing in the gate to the courts. "You've got to get up, they're distracted and they won't notice. That was stupid," Shinji went on as he helped Akira to his feet. "Don't get that close next time, don't let them…."

"I know." His mouth hurt, and when he wiped at his chin, there was blood on his hand. "I know. It was stupid."

"Listen." Sakurai set a hand on Akira's shoulder. It was the best way to get both of their attention; they all knew better than to touch Shinji by now. Akira turned to watch the standoff between the boy who'd come onto the court and the rest of the team.

"Not another one," Tetsu muttered in despair.

Sure enough, the newcomer was a second year, and Akira struggled not to feel their odds drop again.

"Listen," Sakurai said again.

"… get so serious," the captain muttered.

"It's not that big a deal," Izumi added spitefully, casting another look in their direction.

And then, to their complete surprise, the team strode from the courts, faces twisted in… distaste. The newcomer turned to face them, his expression carefully neutral. He merely looked at them, eyes taking everything in - Akira's newly bloodied face, the bruise fading on Ishida's, and various injuries on the rest of them. Then he smiled. "Step forward if you think you can beat me," he said.

It took a moment to sink in - and then they all did, and Akira could feel the hope rising in him.

After they'd reformed the team, the former regulars disappeared from their lives, as if satisfied that the first years had been punished enough by missing the newcomer tournament.

That was only because they had no vision, Akira decided. He and the others - in spite of Tachibana's promise to take them to Nationals - were still wary. They worked hard, however, taking advantage of Tachibana's knowledge - something they'd never had the chance to - and, slowly, beginning to trust him.

Shinji was beginning to relax; none of the upper classmen came anywhere near any of them. Akira, used to following Shinji, began to relax as well. One Friday morning, they walked up the stairs to their classroom with Masaya, discussing the practice they'd had that morning. On their floor, Masaya went into his classroom, and Shinji took two steps and stopped dead. Akira looked up and stopped as well.

Izumi stood near the door to their classroom, watching them - or at least watching Shinji. As soon as he realized they'd seen him, he winked at them and strode off, down the hallway for the other staircase.

Shinji went completely silent.

That was never good. No matter what anyone else thought, Akira knew better. A talking Shinji was involved in the world. When he went silent, he was… away.

The worst part was that Akira did not have the time to pull his friend back. He could only watch, barely hearing anything the teacher said (he got yelled at for it once), and try in the short time between classes. Lunch was no better; Shinji wouldn't leave the room, and Akira spent the whole time trying to bring him back. Just as it seemed Shinji was going to recover, lunch was over, and Akira wanted to scream curses at the teacher as he called the class to order.

The day went downhill from there; Akira's temper was bad anyway because of Izumi, and now he was hungry on top of it. It was all he could do to keep his tone and words civil when asked a question, and luckily, most of the time the teacher didn't call on Shinji anyway. Today they were blessed.

It took every minute he had to talk Shinji out to the tennis courts; his friend kept changing his mind, wanting to go home. Akira never laid a hand on Shinji as he talked. If he had, the other boy would have fled, running for home. That was not what he wanted, and he knew, if he could just get Shinji out to the courts, things would be a little better. The others were nearly as protective of Shinji as he was. It crossed Akira's mind, more than once, to mention that senpai, and each time he shoved it away. He refused to use those tactics.

They were nearly late to practice, but they made it. Masaya caught sight of them first and nudged Kyosuke; seconds later, the four of them surrounded Shinji, chatting at Akira to cover up his friend's silence.

Shinji visibly relaxed.

Akira sighed softly. That meant things would be okay.

However, there was no way Tachibana could miss the way Shinji stuck close to the others; he said nothing to Shinji - he was a quick study. So Akira wasn't surprised when their captain pulled him aside while Shinji, Tetsu, and Masaya gathered balls.

"What happened to Ibu?"

Akira opened his mouth to answer, and realized he couldn't. "I don't think I can tell you."

"Will he tell me if I ask?"

Akira shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Will he be okay?"

The change in line of questioning took Akira off guard, and it took him a minute to get his mind back on track. "Yes. I think so. It might be a while, though."

Tachibana turned to watch the team finishing up the chores. "I'm patient."

Akira could not argue with that.

It took Shinji nearly a week to stop looking over his shoulder; Akira simply bore with it, understanding, and eventually his best friend settled down. The school days and tennis practices blended into a enjoyable experience as Tachibana proved himself trustworthy.

So Akira didn't think too much about it when he was called out of class one afternoon two weeks before school was out for Winter break. It was normal; his mother was raising three children alone, and Akira spent a lot of time taking care of his younger sisters. It was a message from his mother that she would be home early, and would be able to pick up the girls from their babysitters.

That was fine with him; he thanked the school secretary and headed back to class. He was halfway there when school ended, so he changed direction and went out to the courts. He realized his mistake as soon as he got to the courts and saw the other four there - and no Shinji. Dropping his bags at the entrance to the courts, he spun and ran back toward the school.

Kippei was certainly Kamio hadn't even seen him as he blew past him into the building. The older boy hesitated, then turned to follow. If the expression on the redhead's face were anything to go by, something was seriously wrong, and it had to do with Ibu.

The only reason he could even keep Kamio in sight was because his legs were longer; the kid was fast. Kippei got to the top of the stairs in time to see Kamio disappear into a first year classroom, possibly his own - from the yells that came out, it wasn't one used for a club.

The door was open, and a vaguely familiar voice came out, becoming clearer as Kippei got closer. "Who is going to believe you? He won't even back you up, will you, Shinji?"

Kippei barely heard a soft moan, and wondered what was going on. But if he went in there now, he'd never know.

"So, yeah. Go ahead and tell whoever you want, and you'll be labeled a liar and difficult, and see if it doesn't get worse for you. Everyone will think it's revenge or something for how you were treated in club." The voice came closer; Kippei faded back into the next classroom. "He's hopeless anyway."

"You did this!" Kamio's voice, high and panicked. "You are no kind of real senpai!"

"I'm the best kind he's got." The other boy stood half out of the room, and Kippei recognized him. Izumi, from tennis club. "No one else is going to care what happens to him."

"I can't believe…."

But Izumi ducked out and strode quickly down the hall. Kippei didn't know what had stopped Kamio from going after him, but he figured Ibu had a lot to do with it.

It was time for him to make an appearance. He walked into the room; no sooner had he made himself known than Kamio was on his feet between him and Ibu, shielding the other boy, fists clenched. "Is he okay?" Kippei asked, coming to a stop.

Kamio didn't relax. "I think his arm is broken."

Kippei reached into his pocket. "You have bus fare to get him to the hospital?" he asked.

Kamio stared at him. "Um."

"Because if it's broken, he's got to have it looked at, and immediately, if he's going to keep playing on the team," he continued. "Do you?"

"No," Ibu said softly from behind Kamio. "We don't. But we can call my mom."

"How long will it take her to be here?" Kamio asked, without taking his eyes off of Kippei.

"Maybe half an hour?"

"Got a phone?" Kippei asked.

Kamio shook his head; Kippei grabbed his phone and tossed it to him. "Here."

He backed away as Kamio dialed and then handed the phone to Shinji; after a short, soft conversation, Kamio tossed the phone back. "Thanks."

"Need anything else?"

Kamio shook his head. "No."

But it was obvious he wanted Kippei gone. "Keep me updated," he said, and left the room.

The rest of the team looked like they were going to mutiny or something; he explained only what he knew - that Ibu had broken his arm, and he and Kamio were going to the hospital to get it taken care of. It calmed them down - but only a little, and he didn't miss the looks cast his direction.

The next practice, when Kamio and Ibu showed up and explained, the looks were more apologetic, and Kippei breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, to get rid of the other problem.

He waited a week before tracking down Izumi, catching the older boy on the way home. "I suggest you leave Ibu alone," he said in a conversational tone.

Izumi looked at him. "Leave Shinji alone? Why?"

"Because you did enough damage to my tennis team as it is. I can't have a team with only six people, and he needs time to get better. You just cut down two months on his training."

Izumi lifted one eyebrow. "Why are you telling me this? It was an accident on the stairs."

"Yes, I know that's the story he tells, and you back him up because it will keep you out of jail. I understand that. But I saw, I heard, and I know that he was no where near the stairs when his arm was broken." Kippei was very careful not to smirk. "So I might not be able to prove anything, but I can make your life difficult. Believe me."

The smirk fell off Izumi's face. "You wouldn't."

"Why not?"

Izumi stopped walking and turned to face him. "Over a first year?"

"Over a boy who is on MY tennis team, who is going to help us get to Nationals. Don't touch him again, or I will turn the rest of the team loose on you. I know of at least one club member I won't have to do much to convince, either."

Izumi paled. "You wouldn't."

"He'd love every minute of it, and take all the consequences. I suggest," Kippei added, his voice dropping, "that you keep your hands off of Ibu from now on." He turned and walked away.

"Kippei, Tetsu is waiting," Akira said quietly, and Shinji glanced at their captain. Kippei's eyes were distant, watching… something, but soon enough, he lifted on finger.

"Once," he murmured as Tetsu nodded and took his stance.

"What were you looking at?" Akira asked when Shinji's attention was on the match against Seigaku's Golden pair. Kippei shook his head.

"It's not important. It's getting cold. You should go and warm up. Shinji, go with him."

The challenge Kaidoh Kaoru presented was one Akira felt he rose to, even if he'd lost; he sat next to Kippei, struggling to catch his breath as Shinji stepped onto the court. He glanced up into the stands and froze when he spotted Izumi.

"What is he doing here?" he growled.

"Who?" Kippei asked.

Akira hesitated. "One of the former team," he finally said, still angry.

Kippei glanced at him, and Akira was surprised to see a triumphant look on his friend and captain's face. "He is here because I told him to come."

"Why?"

Kippei lay a hand on his shoulder, and even though he didn't want it, Akira felt himself calm down. "Because I want him to see that Shinji's past what he did to him."

Akira's eyes went huge, and he stared at Kippei. "He... you.... You know?"

"All I know," Kippei said carefully, "is that he broke Shinji's arm, no matter what you and he claim."

Akira gaped at him, completely floored.

"I know there's more to the story, and I don't need to know it," Kippei said. "But I wanted him to know that he hasn't ruined Shinji completely."

"Kippei, if Shinji sees him…."

Kippei nodded. "I know. He needs more time. But Izumi doesn't need to know that. And Shinji is doing better."

Akira nodded. "Yes. He is."

By the end of the match - in spite of the words Shinji muttered - Akira knew his friend was well on his way to recovering, even if it was going to be a long road.

And Akira would be with him, every step of the way.

Fudomine Table | Challenge Main

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