Rikkaidai's Newest Regular | A Prince of Tennis Fanfiction

The Spectrum of Discovery [Mini Arc-Part 3]

Seiichi's POV:

I looked down as Ryoma abruptly pulled away, having a sudden interest in the floor. Genichiro's eyes widened and his mouth more or less remained the same, but I could swear he was smirking.

"Seiichi," Renji said, stifling a laugh, "What's going on?"

I pulled on my smiling mask.

"Hugging," I answered simply.

Renji's eyes clouded with annoyance at my smiling face, but soon let it pass. He never really liked it when I mask my emotions.

"What happened?" Genichiro said, subtly amused.

"We're--" I started, but stopped. Tilting my head at Ryoma, I silently asked for his permission. Ryoma glared. Ok, so a no, I thought. Now what?

"Mura-buchou! What is it?" Akaya asked, getting impatient.

"Hai! Hai!" Nio said as well.

"Please, do continue," Yagyu said, impatience slowly creeping into his polite tone.

I slightly panicked. Then, Ryoma piped up.

"You don't want to know," Ryoma said curtly. "It's a family issue."

Family issue? I thought incredulously.

Akaya broke into a grin. Suddenly happy, he lively hugged Ryoma.

"YAY! You and Mura-buchou are RELATED!!!" Akaya chirped happily.

But apart from Akaya, no one else bought it.

"Family?" Nio asked sarcastically.

"Since when were you two related?" Marui asked with raised eyebrows.

"I'm inclined to agree, Yukimura-buchou. You never mentioned Echizen-kun, or even have the slightest resemblance towards him. Please, explain," Yagyu said with a disproving tsk.

"You never told me about him," Genichiro stated blandly. "And I knew you since we were 4." 

"There's no records or data in my memory supporting this....rather......surprising fact," Yanagi said, curious. "And like Genichiro, you never told me about Echizen."

Well duh, I knew him for a day, I thought with a sigh. Of course I couldn't tell you guys!  As I thought of this, with the Regular's attention diverted, Ryoma quickly slipped me a piece of paper.

"Oh, I'm sorry to say this, but I agree with everyone else," Jackal said, apologetic. "Do explain, buchou."

My mind went blank. I looked at Ryoma, expecting an answer.

"Are you sure you want to hear this? There's something called privacy," Ryoma muttered, slipping into his "rude, cocky and confident" aura. 

Everyone nodded. 

Ryoma sighed dramatically and mockingly cleared his throat.

"Gather around, then," Ryoma said. "Well, here's the story. Basically, I'm not REALLY a family member to Seiichi--"

"I knew it!" Marui exclaimed.

"We're childhood friends," I finished. I looked over to Ryoma for confirmation and he smiled. Relief instantly coursed through my veins. "My cousin introduced Ryoma at a family gathering, which he went to because....what was it again, Ryoma?"

"Because my parents were on some overseas trip," Ryoma answered, rolling his eyes. "Kasumi Hirano was my best friend and neighbour and since my parents were always so busy, I usually stayed with him. I think Kasumi's mother was......The younger sister of your mother?"