Title: Escape
Fandom: Prince of Tennis: Fudomine Chuugaku
Characters: Kamio Akira, Ibu Shinji, Ishida Tetsu, Sakurai Masaya, Tachibana Kippei, Tachibana An, others.
Prompt: 043 - Square
Word Count: 2382
Date finished: 09/27/2007
Rating: PG
Summary: Kamio and Ibu make new friends.
Author's Notes: Natalie (lj user skyangel2009) wanted me to write a story where Fudomine was a gang, as they do seem to be considered one in the Anime and Manga. This is as close as I got. Strange as it seems, this fic, which appears more post-appocalyptic than space oriented, was inspired by Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" - a fabulous story focused more on the child than the technology. I suggest everyone read it at least once.
Please note - unless something DRASTICALLY changes, there will be no sequel.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Konomi Takeshi, and whoever did the anime. At any rate, it's not me.

The two men stood looking down over the yard of Fudomine Jr. High, boy's campus, watching two boys, maybe fourteen, stand back to back as if under siege. Red haired and blue, both whip-thin and wiry, they made a strange pair to anyone who noticed them. Most of the other boys did - but none of them approached the pair in the center of the courtyard.

Most of the other boys gave them a wide berth.

"Alone, neither of them is dangerous. When they met, things got interesting."

The first man to speak was a tall, once well-built man going soft. Worry lines creased his face, and his dark hair was sprinkled with white.

The second man was smaller in height and girth, with cruel lines etched into his face.

"Interesting?" the first asked.

"No one bothers them. The last boy to try anything with Kamio was found curled in a ball in the shower, afraid to come out. The last boy to try anything with Ibu is still in ICU." The second man turned to the first. "But they do nothing against the rules. They are perfect students, perfect prisoners."

"And this has you worried why?" the first man asked.

"They're gathering friends," the second man snapped. "I don't know why."

A very tall boy stepped into the yard, looking lost and trying not to look scared. He drifted somewhere between those at the edge, and the two in the center.

Those two weren't back to back any more, though. They stood together, watching the tall boy, and speaking.

The two men watching wished they had microphones to hear what they said. For very different reasons.

**

"He is tall," Kamio said. "Strong, too?"

Ibu nodded. "He took out a lot of them before they finally got him down, and they had a hard time keeping him down."

"Didn't do it very thoroughly," Kamio said disdainfully.

Ibu nudged him. "You would have done it better. Are you going to show them?"

Kamio considered the boy wandering around the yard. "No," he said. "He's like us."

"Maybe," Ibu said, turning to follow the boy with his eyes. "We'll see."

"Don't scare him off, Shinji," Kamio said softly.

"I'm not going to. He already moves like he knows what he's doing; I'd say let Masaya partner with him until he gets used to us." Ibu favored him with a grin. "Besides, you'd scare him more than I would, I think."

Kamio shrugged. "Maybe. You want to talk to him first, or me?"

Ibu regarded the boy again. "With the rumors going around? You'd better."

"And you say I'd scare him more."

Ibu shrugged. "Go ahead. Right behind you."

Kamio walked to the boy, stopping in front of him. The other boy stared down at him. "Yes?" he asked.

Kamio almost smiled. "Manners. Nice. You look like you need a friend."

The other boy blinked. "A friend?" He drew back a little. "What kind of friend?"

Behind Kamio, Ibu sighed. "Akira," he muttered.

"Okay, okay." Kamio folded his arms. "We heard about your fight."

"Fight?" he asked.

"Yes. The one where you held out your own almost long enough."

"Oh. That."

Kamio nodded. "Yes. We thought - Shinji and I - that what you need is a partner. To help you watch your back, to keep those down that you take down."

His face was too easy to read; despair painted it in white. "And the cost?"

"Friendship. Masaya needs someone, too," Kamio said, and gestured to a small group in the corner of the yard.

Sakurai Masaya stood, stretched, and walked lazily over. "This is him?" he asked, coming to a stop by Ibu. Only the two who knew him could see the fear he was hiding, and that was only because they knew it was there.

"Do not treat him like a horse at an auction," Kamio said, amused.

"I'm not!" Sakurai protested. "I heard about your fight. Nice job."

"I lost."

"You held out," Sakurai corrected him. "You won because they had to bring in everyone. And I heard you had some sweet moves. Share?"

The tall boy looked down at the three of them, and something seemed to change in his eyes. "Best idea I've heard in a long time. Ishida Tetsu."

The rest of the introductions - including the two still in the corner - were carried out swiftly, and the six settled in to get to know their new friend.

**

"I expected them to tear him apart," the second man said, sounding disappointed.

"Warden. These are children. They shouldn't be encouraged to fight."

"Minister, those are not children. Those are savage animals, and they will fight whether we encourage it or not." His gesture took in the whole courtyard, not just the two they'd been observing. "And if they are encouraged, they take it out on each other, rather than the teachers or the guards."

The minister turned away from the window. "Whatever you're doing seems to be working," he said, and left the room.

The warden turned back to the yard and cursed, unable to see the small group of outcasts he wanted desperately to see in action.

The warden looked at the boys in front of him, eyes narrowed. The smaller one edged closer to his brother. "Why did they send you here?" he demanded.

"The transfer papers don't tell you?"

His eyes narrowed further. "I want to hear it from you."

The older boy shifted his feet. "I nearly blinded a guy, keeping him away from my brother. The warden there thinks that you'll do better keeping me in line that he did."

"And your brother?"

"Stays with me," the older boy said.

The warden recognized the menace and smiled. Both boys shrank back a little, and they went up in his estimation. Not stupid. "We'll see how long."

It was going to be interesting to see the clash between Kamio and Ibu - and the Tachibana brothers.

He got to see their first meeting. It didn't turn out as he hoped.

**

"Why now?" Ibu demanded, shoulder to shoulder with Kamio and Mori, Ishida, Masaya, and Kyosuke finishing out the circle.

"Dunno - duck!"

"This is insane!" Mori growled, striking at the boy that had just tried to take Ibu out. "Stupid… Tetsu, these the guys you held out against?"

"No," Tetsu said, hitting one boy so hard that he flew halfway across the courtyard.

"The guards are going to be here any time," Ibu muttered.

"I know," Kamio said, and stared as the boy he was about to hit dropped to his feet.

Before him now stood a tall, older boy with short-cropped dark hair. There was a mark on his forehead - dyed? - between his eyes, and his hands were fisted.

Kamio nearly despaired. If this guy - bigger than he was by a lot - sided with the others, he was screwed.

But the guards whistles sounded through the yard, and Kamio retreated with the rest of his… gang? Friends? He'd never been sure what to call them, to their corner. The new boy didn't follow.

The situation didn't get any better, either. The six of them kept to themselves, and stuck together. It was difficult, sometimes, but they managed - as they always had - to keep from getting too injured, and to keep themselves fed.

They never really had a chance to talk to the new boys, either; Kamio didn't try too hard, because he didn't want to be caught by himself, and he wasn't sure how the other boy would respond to six people trying to talk to him. The rest of his group preferred to stay in the corner of the square anyway, where they were protected on two sides. Kamio agreed with them - even if he really did want to be able to thank the boy that had helped him out, and talk to him.

It was a week before he had the chance, and it was because the boy stopped them on their way in to class after the lunch hour. Kamio folded his arms. "Thanks for your help last week," he said.

"You're welcome."

"Why…."

A shout from the building they were heading for brought him up short, and then the younger Tachibana brother raced toward them, some of the bigger boys right behind.

Kamio whistled shrilly, and the others moved, surrounding the two boys, facing out, ready to defend them. "Are you sure about this?" Ibu asked softly as the pursuers pulled to a stop just out of reach.

"Yes."

Kamio couldn't have said why, but he was certain this was right.

"Let us at her."

Kamio's eyebrows went up, but he shook his head. "No."

The bulky older boy scowled and stepped forward, trying to intimidate him. "We have every right…."

"No," Ibu said flatly. "You don't. And I suggest you leave them both alone."

Behind him, Kamio could hear the older brother talking gently to the younger, but he didn't try to hear too much. He watched the boy in front of him, waiting for the attack that was sure to come.

The guard's whistles again sounded, but Kamio didn't move, and the others remained with him. The opposing boy protested as the guard started to pull him into the building. "It's a girl!" he insisted. "And they knew about it."

Once he was out of the way, the circle relaxed and moved willingly inside at the guard's gesture.

"I may have gotten you in trouble." It was the older brother, speaking quietly in Kamio's ear. "All the same, thank you."

"Your sister?"

"Yes."

"Better us than her," Ibu said, just as quietly, and the others agreed.

"Thank you," the younger brother - the sister - said quietly.

By the end of the day, the whole school knew of the girl - and that she'd be staying until a space opened up in a nearby girl's institution.

Kamio didn't even have to ask; his friends took it upon themselves to be there for her, when her brother couldn't be.

Kamio had thought they were besieged before; this merely made it worse. Kippei did what he could, and for now it was working.

**

"A girl."

The Warden nodded. "Yes."

"How?"

"She was registered as a boy."

The minister's brow furrowed. "And you didn't check?"

The warden shrugged. "I have never seen a reason to. It's never happened before." He glanced down into the yard where the redhead and the blue haired boy stood with their group. "They've kept her in one piece."

"When will she be transferred?" the minister asked.

"Not soon enough. The other boys are getting anxious." The warden tried to hide his smile. "Our sister facility is full, and there aren't any other places around here. At the moment, there's no where to send her."

"What are you doing to keep her safe?"

The warden looked at him, then gestured at the courtyard. "They're doing better than I could."

"How many fights have they been in?"

"Not as many as you'd think," the Warden said, sounding disappointed again. "Most of the others are hesitant to face them again."

"If their files are right, they have reason." The minister looked down on the square, looking for the small group he'd just seen a moment ago. "Where did they go?"

The Warden shrugged. "I have no idea."

**

"You what?" Kamio demanded, staring in disbelief at Tachibana.

"I can get us out of here," the older boy said.

"And then where do we go?" Mori asked urgently.

"We'll work on that when we get to it. Are you with me?"

Kamio glanced around at the others, who looked back at him. "Guys?"

One by one, they nodded. "Are you sure we can survive out there?" Uchimura asked.

Tachibana took a deep breath. "No," he said quietly. "But I think it'll be better than it would be in here." He paused. "And I think An and I have a much better chance of surviving with you guys."

Kamio watched him for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay. How can we help?"

Tachibana smiled. "First, Mori, I need to know how good you are at electrical."

Mori smiled. "Oh," he said. "Fair."

Kamio laughed. "What he doesn't know isn't worth knowing."

"Good."

**

The first indication there was something wrong came from the head guard. "The oven shorted out," he reported. "Someone is coming in to fix it now, but it'll take a while before they get here."

The warden nodded. "Very well."

That was just the first thing. Things quit working, or didn't turn off, or shorted out all day, and the school was in chaos.

So no one noticed the missing boys (and girl) until bed check.

"They're what?" the warden demanded, snatching up his phone even as he stared at the head guard.

"Gone. Not in their beds. Even the girl is missing. We started a complete search of the buildings, but this place was built without a lot of hiding places. We're checking everywhere," he added at the warden's scowl, and let himself out when the warden dismissed him.

The minister arrived shortly after the end of the phone call. "Who is missing?"

The warden threw each file on his desk as he said the name. "Ibu Shinji. Ishida Tetsu. Kamio Akira. Mori Tatsunori. Sakurai Masaya. Tachibana An. Tachibana Kippei. Uchimura Kyosuke." He scowled at the eight folders. "There is no sign of them, and no sign of how they got out or where they went."

"Are they dangerous?"

"Singularly? Not so much. Together? They were clever enough to get out of here."

The minister looked down on the square, the two boys in his minds eye as he'd seen them that first day, back to back and wary. With a weary sigh, he turned away from the window. "Will they come back?" he asked.

The warden stared at him, mouth agape, incredulous. "Come back?" he stammered. "Why would they come back?"

"Because they left someone or something behind. To get revenge. Do they have a reason for that?"

The warden shook his head. "I treated them no worse and no better than any other boy here."

Minister Tachibana Tetsuya said nothing, looking out over the square, and wondered where in the world his children had gone.

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