Choices - A Perfect Pair Prince of Tennis Fanfiction AU

Chapter 10

Lu Xia wakes up to a throbbing headache. He blinks, surprised that it's still dark. Usually, he wakes up approximately a few hours after the sun rises in Yu Qing. Wait . . . this isn't Yu Qing. Then the memory comes rushing back in pieces. The silver disk. The opening. Then . . . the mysterious person. So where is he? Lu Xia scans his surroundings. The reason the room is dark is most likely because the torches lining the walls are all out. He tries to stand up, but discovers his feet and hands are bound, accompanied by a scratchy gag. Soft, light footsteps echo through the halls, but just as a thin shadow appears, sickly-sweet gas fills the room. Lightheaded, Lu Xia tries to breathe as little as possible, but eventually slips away into darkness once more.

***

Lu Xia groans, waking up. His memory comes back slowly, and he winces as he touches the large lump on the back of his head. Getting knocked out twice consecutively can't be good for me, Lu Xia thinks, taking another look around the room. It's completely dark, and as Lu Xia's eyes adjust, he thinks about the footsteps he'd heard before getting knocked out again. Someone small or younger, he decides, when suddenly there's a soft tapping on the door. "Lu Xia?" a voice says cautiously.

"Who is it?" Lu Xia says, immediately on the defensive.

"It's Song Ci," comes the reply after a moment.

"Didn't you defect to Guo Zi?" Lu Xia snarls icily. There's a pause.

"I'll tell you everything later. I really want to tell you because you kind of need to know, but Jingwu will punish me if I tell you. Just come, okay? I'll bring you to a safe place."

"Why should I trust you?"

"I don't know." Lu Xia can almost see the so-called Song Ci shrugging.

"That's not a good enough answer. I'm not going."

"We'll break your friends out, too," Song Ci suggests.

"Fine. But if you're lying . . . you'll find a very angry Lu Xia at your throat," Lu Xia warns.

"Okay!" Song Ci says. There's a rummaging noise. After a few seconds, the door is pushed open slowly, and the young Xing Yao soldier bounds in, clothed in a brown cloak and carrying a sack. He pulls a sharp silver knife from his belt and starts cutting Lu Xia's bonds. Once he's free, Song Ci takes another cloak from his sack and hands it to Lu Xia, who stares at it.

"What's this for?" he asks.

"Disguise," Song Ci replies promptly. Lu Xia reluctantly pulls the cloak on, flipping up the hood.

"Let's go!" Song Ci says a little too excitedly. They sneak through the stone halls, Song Ci pausing at every one to peer through the peep-hole. He stops at one that looks no different from the rest.

"This is your friend Dayong in here." He wiggles the silver blade around in the lock, until they hear a soft click. The door swings open. Lu Xia is shocked to see a motionless heap, with flecks of blood staining the walls and floor.

"Hmm . . . this should work." Song Ci takes a small glass vial from his belt. He opens it a bit, and a sweet aroma fills the room. It smells sickeningly familiar, and Lu Xia whirls around to face Song Ci.

"That's a knockout potion!" he cries. 

"Nu-uh. Shixing made it for me. It's a revival potion. Xing Yao has the best potions in the world," Song Ci states proudly.

"Wait, you mean he's dead?!" Lu Xia gasps.

"I said it wrong. I mean, a potion that will wake people up. A waker-upper potion? I don't know." Song Ci scrunches up his face. Lu Xia frowns, crossing his arms.