Crime Syndicate

Chapter 1

The terms 'prodigy, winner, and champion' were some that Echizen heard often and seeing that he was the young tennis prodigy they weren't that new to him but then there were words like 'selfish, rich boy, cheater, and fake' that weren't new to him either. No one believed that someone that young could win so many championships without someone pulling the strings in the shadows or to say 'pay off' opponents to throw the matches and the one with the money to do so being his own father.

Nanjiro was the owner of one of the largest and most successful tennis corporations in Japan. After retiring- or more so the birth of his son- he decided to put his knowledge to good use. For sixteen years his company has grown and flourished and in that time Echizen had too. He took after his father with a love for tennis and soon became known worldwide being the youngest person to win the championship.

Rumors began to spread that his father had paid off the competition in order to keep his image alive. Whenever asked about the matter he shrugged it off saying Echizen just took after him with natural talent. The public had a hard time believe it; never having any knowledge of who or where Echizen goes to practice. No one could get that far without a coach or someone to help them. Nanjiro always insisted it was the truth; of course he'd never pay someone to throw a match and he joked that even if he did Echizen would probably forfeit because what's the point of playing if your opponent isn't serious about it? Of course he would always get defensive when someone negative was said about his son; no parent likes hearing that.

Echizen was hoping his life would start changing for the better. He wanted to finally be able to live like a normal kid. Ever since his father became successful he hasn't really left the house, mainly for safety reasons. There had been several attempts of kidnapping whenever he was out with his mother, usually to use as leeway against his father into making him surrender the company. It never succeeded though; the kidnappers usually went easy on him seeing as he was still a kid and he managed to get away. There had even been times where he just walked back to the house and announced he was home after being missing for a day or so.

For Echizen it was a great time in his life: he was permitted to enter a public school. Up to that point his life had consisted of tutors coming and going all the time. Many left because they couldn't take his smug attitude. He figured that's where the rumors originated, the teachers that had left in a huff because he was never paying attention or he was constantly sleeping. He always tried not to let their words get to him but they always lingered in the back of his mind.

All in all he was glad he had a reason to leave the house even if he had to get up early for it. Nanako told him what to expect at school, the groups and whatnot and how classes worked but she also told him about how he would be treated. Being the son of a very wealthy and well known retired tennis player would certainly attract attention, not to mention that he would have to be careful about how he worded things when he spoke to people which he didn't understand because he thought his speech was just like anyone else's.

His father insisted that- not because he was worried about him-he should go everyday with the police for that they had but Echizen explained that doing that would defeat the purpose of trying to lead a normal life. All he wanted to do was go to school and play tennis but in reality he just wanted to play tennis but school was a place he could get that done and maybe have the rumors of them paying off rivals finally be closed.

When the day came, his mother and father insisted that he ride in the car because it would be safer but Echizen thoroughly declined. He didn't want to be the spoiled rich boy everyone though he was. He walked out of the house and started down the street annoyingly glancing over his shoulder at the security that was doing a horrible job of being incognito while following him. He yelled at them to go back and threatened to lower their pay if they didn't. They reluctantly hung their heads and walked back to the house and Echizen let out a sigh.