FanFiction.Net - unleash your imagination
| FanFiction.Net - unleash your imagination |
|
| Home Just In Communities Forums Beta Readers Dictionary Search | Login Register Extras |
Tennis no Oujisama © Konomi Takeshi JUMP Shueisha
Room 013
I. The Ghost of Room 013
Everything was in perfect disarray.
Large, unsealed boxes haphazardly lay in every corner and took up most of the free space in the room. Some were toppled over, spilling items like half-empty paint cans and used brushes. Some, meanwhile, though arranged in stacks, looked like they would come crashing down at the slightest movement.
Surrounded by these boxes, three wooden bookshelves stood, each filled with old books and magazines which the library no longer deemed useful. However, it would take a great amount of effort before someone could actually see them as they were all buried underneath the various stage props, rolled-up backdrops and other materials previously used for play presentations and other student programs.
Overhead, cobwebs conquered the entire ceiling and left no space untouched.
If dirty, messy rooms were considered an art form, then the dimly-lit and roach-infested Room 013 of Seigaku’s highschool division would undeniably be a masterpiece.
But it was a masterpiece one would least likely want to see on a regular basis.
It was a masterpiece a certain boy from Class 1-A regretted seeing.
Well, since the weekend anyway.
Before Monday came, Tokyo had been at the mercy of Mother Nature’s lashings. Nothing but dark, gray clouds loomed over the city, bringing both strong winds and occasional rain showers. No part of Tokyo was left dry and untouched by their presence–just as no part of him was left dry and untouched either after he was unexpectedly caught under one of those random downpours, an event which had left him with a nasty cold over the weekend, as well as a very sour disposition.
But that and the dismal weather were a thing of the past now. Today was a wonderful day, and he was in a wonderful mood.
And Horio Satoshi firmly believed that on a day like this, nothing, and he really meant nothing could ever go wrong.
Almost.
Deciding not to dwell on that thought anymore, Horio straightened himself up and moved to fix the collar of his white polo shirt. Afterwards, he brushed some imaginary dirt off his sleeves and front. Pursing his lips, he was about to resume whistling his favorite tokusatsu theme when he thought he had heard a voice coming from Room 013.
Fushigi-shigi Makafushigi Ruwa
Pressing his ear on the wooden panel, he listened carefully.
Fushigi-shigi Makafushigi Ruwa
And he discovered that he was not hallucinating.
Fushigi-girai wa yowamushi komushi Ruwa
Indeed,there was a voice—a female voice.
Shigi-shigi Ruwa Shigi-shigi Ruwa
And she was singing.
Zuden to tataite keto-keto-ketobashite
Eerily, she was singing the exact same song that he had inside his mind.
Shigi-shigi Ruwa Shigi-shigi Ruwa
Curious, he decided to see who the mysterious singer was. (And maybe befriend her for he loved meeting people who shared his interests.)
Koro-koro-koro-korogase
Taking a deep breath, he gripped the door handle tightly.
Fukai tanisoko tsukiotose
And slowly, he pushed the wooden panel open.
Fushigi Fushigi Fushigi
The door made a loud creaking sound.
Ruwa Ruwa Ruwa
And the voice disappeared instantly.
Horio felt somewhat disturbed. But that didn’t stop him from stepping inside. Closing the door behind him, he reached for the light switch that was on his left. He flipped it once. The room remained unlit. Looking up, he cursed upon seeing that the ceiling didn’t actually have any light bulbs for him to turn on.
“Oh great!” he muttered in a voice thick with sarcasm. He released a sharp breath. It seemed he had just to make do with the little light that’s coming from the jalousies that were still left unblocked by the huge boxes.
Squinting, Horio walked forward, his eyes searching for any signs of the girl he had heard earlier. He was already feeling rather uncomfortable, but it was not enough for him to completely disregard his curiosity.
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but cats have nine lives right?
“Hello?” he called out. “Is…is there anybody here?”
He jolted when he heard a loud crash behind him. Looking back, he saw that one box had been overturned, spilling the paint cans it contained onto the tiled, dusty floor. Horio clutched his chest as he tried to breathe deeply in order to calm his hastily beating heart.
“Come on, Horio, the box just fell out of balance. It was nothing,” he declared before his laughter broke the silence inside Room 013. “You’re just being silly,” he added as he gave himself a scolding slap on the forehead.
A stack of boxes tumbled down.
Horio froze.
“They just fell out of balance. They just fell out of balance,” he repeated several times convince himself that everything was just normal. He forced another laugh.
A large paint brush flew and hit him on the head.
“Ow!” he exclaimed as he rubbed the sore part. Frantically, he looked around him.
Another stack of boxes crashed to the floor.
And another.
And another.
And another.
As the fifth stack crashed, Horio took his cue.
As quickly as he could, he scrambled towards the door, unmindful that he almost tripped over one of the paint cans. All he could ever think of right then was leaving—and leaving fast!
It only took a matter seconds before Horio fully left Room 013. And as soon as the door closed with a bang, a pair of white inside shoes with red tips appeared from behind one of the wooden shelves.
A loud giggle was heard next.
“Idiot.”
They’d never be.
“It’s true! I, Horio with my six years of Tennis experience and two years of Paranormal Studies, can assure you that there is indeed a ghost inside the storage room! I’ve experienced its presence firsthand!”
With his head resting on the smooth surface of his desk, Ryoma gave a yawn as he watched the varying expressions donned by his classmates after listening to Horio’s declaration. Some looked really interested. Some looked scared. Ryoma snorted. He couldn’t believe they were actually wasting their free time discussing about such irrelevant topics. Heck, he was surprised they even decided to believe Horio, of all people! Instead of these senseless chitchats, he wondered why his classmates couldn’t opt to do something more productive— like shutting up and letting him have his nap in peace!
Currently, there was nothing that Ryoma wanted the most but their complete silence. But seeing how they continue to crowd around Horio, Ryoma knew he just had to accept the fact that silence would be the last thing he’d get.
“Tell us what happened, Horio-kun,” he heard a girl in a short bob say.
There was a short pause as Horio’s gaze brushed the different expectant faces surrounding him. Then slowly, he leaned forward towards his audience and in an almost whispery voice he said, “I heard a voice—a female voice.”
Wearing a thoughtful expression, the boy cupped his chin in between his thumb and forefinger. “At first, I thought some student went inside the room, out of curiosity maybe. But,” He narrowed his eyes as he pretended to open an imaginary door, “When I checked inside, there was no one there. And then…” he stalled for a more histrionic effect. The other students leaned in closer and held their breaths.
“BOOM!” he yelled all of a sudden, causing several people to jolt. Flinging his arms into the air, Horio continued his narration. “Boxes began falling off from their stacks; paints cans were rolling everywhere, other objects were also flying around—the whole place was in chaos!” Placing his hands on his hips, he wore a serious expression on his face. “Right then and there, I knew it was ghost.”
No, it was a product of your hyperactive imagination caused by reading too much horror manga, Ryoma almost wanted to point out but chose not to in order to avoid giving the impression that he was listening in to their conversation and was actually interested enough to join the discussion. Instead, he closed his eyes and buried his face on his desk. And though they were distracting him from attempts to take a short sleep, he allowed the murmurs around him to continue.
“Eh? That’s so freaky!”
“No wonder I have goose bumps appearing on my arms whenever I pass by the storage room.”
“Hey, I remember my older sister once told me a student died in this school a long, long time ago.”
“Is that for real?”
“Yeah, and she said that particular student committed suicide in Room 013!”
“Waa! I’m never going to that part of the building again!”
“They are so silly.”
Ryoma’s eyes snapped open upon hearing a female voice speak beside him. He mumbled a ‘Hn’ as if to express his agreement. Then, a smirk graced his features. Finally, there was someone who shared his sentiments. Curious as to whom the speaker was (she sounded so unfamiliar), he twisted his head to the right.
To his surprise, an empty desk greeted his eyes.
Brows furrowing, Ryoma slowly straightened himself up. Then, he shook his head to clear himself of the little drowsiness that he had left. From the desk on his right, he diverted his attention to the other seats surrounding him.
They were all empty.
His gaze wandered up front. All his classmates were still huddled with Horio. If that’s the case, then whose voice did he hear?
Or did he really hear it?
Thinking about it now, he realized he wasn’t sure, especially after taking into account the fact that he was barely awake when he had supposedly heard the voice.
“Whatever. Maybe I was just hearing things,” he muttered, deciding not to make a big deal out of something that wasn’t even important in the first place. Yawning, he leaned forward to rest his head again on his desk. His plan, however, was thwarted when Horio unexpectedly called his attention.
“Oi, Echizen, why don’t you join us here instead of trying to be the odd man out again?”
“Not interested,” Ryoma replied as he wore an indifferent look on his features—something which garnered an exasperated huff from Horio. The perennial tennis club member was about to retort when someone else interfered in his conversation with the Tennis Prince.
“Ne, Echizen-kun, do you also believe the stories about Room 013?” a boy in spectacles asked.
For a moment or two, Ryoma didn’t say a word as he allowed his gaze to brush the faces of the different people inside the room. He could see that everyone was looking at him curiously. It was as if they were really anxious to hear the answer that would escape his lips.
Finally, after taking a deep breath, he ended his short silence.
“I don’t believe in ghosts,” he stated in a voice thick with conviction. “Ghosts aren’t real.”
Right after he had said this, the door suddenly opened with a loud bang.
“Aaaaaaaa!”
And for the first time since the start of the school year, class 1-A was filled with earsplitting screams.
“Aaaaaaaaaa!”
Clutching a box filled with Noh masks, Ryuuzaki Sakuno stood unmoved by the doorway as she curiously stared at the scene happening before her. A pretty girl with long, flowing black hair was currently shaking a bespectacled boy so violently, Sakuno was worried he might end up with a pair of dislocated shoulders afterwards.
“Tell me he didn’t do it, Yoshida! Tell me!”
A scared-looking Yoshida gulped. “Uh…he didn’t do it?”
The girl, instead of being appeased, was even more enraged. “Don’t lie to me!”
“B-but you just told me to tell you that—“
“Shut up!”
A confused expression appeared on Sakuno’s features as she watched the fuming girl walk back and forth while randomly mumbling curses at the same time. Turning to her left, the pigtailed girl saw a boy comfortably seated down on the floor. He was busy cutting a piece of cardboard into different shapes and sizes. She called out his attention.
“Ne, Masao-kun, what’s wrong with Izumi-chan?”
Spiky-haired, heavy-eyed Masao paused from what he was doing to glance at the pair currently occupying the teacher’s ledge. Then, he looked at Sakuno and answered in a nonchalant tone, “She just discovered that 1-A’s doing a horror room as well. Morikawa submitted their proposal earlier and according to Yoshida, it was immediately approved by the council.”
Sakuno’s lips formed an ‘oh’. Setting the box she was carrying down on the floor, she took the space next to Masao. “Hmm…that’s strange. It’s not like this is the first time that another class has ended up using the same idea as ours. I don’t remember Izumi-chan reacting in this manner back in Junior High.”
This time, a girl occupying a nearby desk leaned forward and decided to join the conversation. Her name was Hidaka Yukiko.
“It was different then, Sakuno-chan,” Yukiko remarked in an almost whispery voice. “Morikawa wasn’t a part of the equation. You’re aware that they have some…er…personal issues right?”
Sakuno wrinkled her forehead. “They do?”
“Have you been living under a rock or something?” Yukiko said as she threw the pigtailed girl a disbelieving stare. “Even someone like Masao knows that.” Quickly realizing the meaning of what she had just said, she turned to Masao, who, at that moment, was looking at her blankly. “Um…no offense meant.”
Masao waved a hand dismissively. “None taken,” he answered in his usual monotone before continung his interrupted activity of cutting cardboards into pieces.
Yukiko then returned her attention to Sakuno who only smiled sheepishly and shrugged.
“Mou, Sakuno-chan, you should become aware of the things going around you,” Yukiko said as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand. “If you don’t, you’ll keep on overlooking all these juicy, interesting details—like Izumi-chan’s and Morikawa’s break-up.”
Sakuno’s eyes widened. “Waa? Izumi-chan and Morikawa-kun were…?”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t know that they were going out for the past year.”
An innocent-looking Sakuno shook her head.
Releasing a sigh, Yukiko rolled her eyes at her friend’s utter ignorance when it comes to anything that’s not about academic stuff or club matters. “You know, with Tomo-chan as your best friend, I thought you’d be more well-informed about things like this,” she paused, “Speaking of Tomo-chan, where is she, by the way? Weren’t you supposed to get those Noh masks together?”
“She told me she’ll be going to the girl’s bathroom,” Sakuno replied as she glanced at the doorway. “It’s taking her long though… “
Yukiko chuckled. “Knowing her, she must have stopped by at 1-A to take a peek at her Prince.” Wrinkling her nose, she flipped a mass of wavy brown hair off her shoulder. “Frankly, I don’t get her fascination for Echizen. Do you, Sakuno-chan?”
“Huh?” Sakuno looked back at Yukiko, but quickly lowered her gaze down to her stretched-out legs in order to avoid the other girl’s inquiring stare. “Well, he does play an exceptional game of tennis…” she answered meekly. “And he also gets really good grades in class and…” Sakuno paused as an image appeared in her mind—an image of a raven-haired boy with sharp, cat-like eyes and a smirk that had always made her weak in the knees.
And he’s pretty good-looking, too, she added though only mentally for she lacked the courage to say something like that out loud, in fear that Yukiko or someone else might discover her long-kept secret: that she, Ryuuzaki Sakuno, was still fascinated with Echizen Ryoma as much as Tomoka was—or perhaps, even more.
“And what, Sakuno-chan?”
Sakuno bit her lower lip and thought about what she should say next. ”Uh…and he’s…he’s…”
“Pretty good-looking, too,” Masao cut in, his eyes never leaving the cardboard in his hand.
With mouths agape, both Sakuno and Yukiko stared at him as if he had suddenly grown two heads. Sensing their eyes were on him, he stopped to give a glance to each girl. “What? I was merely stating a fact,” he pointed out before once again resuming his work.
Yukiko returned her full attention to Sakuno, while trying to forget the fact that their normally stoic classmate had just uncharacteristically blurted out a comment about the renowned Tennis Prince. “Okay, fine. Granted, Echizen is everything that you and,”—she cleared her throat and took a quick glimpse of Masao—“Masao said, he’s still very arrogant, apathetic and last but not the least, insensitive to other people’s feelings. With a personality like that, it really makes me wonder why many are still smitten by him. In this class alone, I can only think of five or six other people who are like us.”
Sakuno furrowed her brow. “L-like us?”
“You know, people who are immune to Echizen’s so-called charm,” Yukiko said in a matter-of-factly tone.
Sakuno merely smiled a little upon hearing this. Silence, she thought, was the best option at that moment. The less she spoke, the less chance she had for mistakes. She just hoped Yukiko wouldn’t ask her that question.
“Am I correct, Sakuno-chan?”
Unfortunately, her prayer was left unanswered.
“You are immune to him…right?”
“Eh?” Right then, Sakuno was wishing that she were in another place, a place far from Yukiko’s sharp, questioning stare. Now what? She didn’t want to admit the truth, but she didn’t want to deny it either. “Well…” she stalled, hoping that while she was dong so, a miracle would occur and save her from this situation.
To her delight, her miracle came in the form of Kobayashi Izumi.
A loud thud was heard as Izumi slammed her hands down on the teacher’s table. The room fell silent momentarily. “That’s it! I‘m going to have a word with that guy!” she exclaimed, before stomping her way towards the door, leaving Yoshida and the others to only stare after her.
As soon as Izumi had pulled the door close behind her, the class once against burst into murmurs—which eventually turned into a loud discussion.
“I sense a second Onin War!”
“Onin War?! I say, it’s World War number three!”
“Ne, who do you think will win?”
“I’ll bet my every yen on Izumi.”
“A thousand yen for Izumi, too.”
“Geez, I can’t believe you guys decided to make a wager on this.” A pause. “But it seems fun, so one thousand and five hundred yen for Morikawa!”
They laughed.
The class’ attention was suddenly diverted though upon hearing the sound of the door opening again. Thinking that their hotheaded class leader came back, they tried to quickly suppress their amusement so as to avoid being the receiving end of the girl’s bad temper. To their relief, only a confused Tomoka was at the doorway.
“Hey, did I miss something? I met Izumi outside and she looks like she’s ready to kill someone,” Tomoka said as she stepped inside the room.
Yukiko waved a hand at the other girl. “Come here, Tomo-chan and I’ll tell you all about it.”
As Tomoka moved to sit on the empty desk beside Yukiko, Sakuno let out a sigh of relief. With the other girl now distracted with giving Tomoka a quick recap of the things that had happened, the pigtailed girl found herself saved from answering Yukiko’s question–which would’ve prompted her to lie, if only these distractions didn’t come sooner. And she hated lying to her friends.
Standing up, Sakuno ran her hands over her skirt, brushing off the little dust it may have acquired. Then, she lifted the box filled with Noh masks off the floor, just around the same time Masao turned to look at her.
“Where are you going?”
“Ummm…I’m just going to place this box at the back.”
Masao only nodded.
Averting her eyes from the boy, Sakuno was about to walk towards the back portion of the room when her feet froze. Up ahead, she saw a girl standing alone in a corner. Her long black hair was covering a big portion of her face, making it difficult to see how she looked like. She was wearing the same uniform as every other female in the room, though hers was more creased and unkempt—as if she had not changed her clothes for years.
Sakuno looked around her. Everyone was still busy talking or doing the tasks that Izumi had assigned to them. It was as if the girl at the back of the room was nonexistent.
“What’s wrong?” Masao’s curious voice caught her attention and she gave the boy a glance.
“Ano…there’s…” Sakuno looked back at the girl, but to her surprise, only a blank wall greeted her eyes. Still, her gaze continued to search across the room. She, however, didn’t see any signs of the girl anywhere.
A sudden chill ran down Sakuno’s spine but she tried her best to keep her facial expression neutral. The pigtailed girl shook her head. “Nothing,” she muttered. “I was probably just imagining things.”
And then, she walked away.
TBC.
If there are any mistakes, please feel free to point them out.
Thank you for reading. XD