Title: A Justified Crime
Category: Anime/Manga » Prince of Tennis
Author: THiaLieN
Language: English
Rating: T
Genre: Angst/Suspense/Crime/Friendship
DISCLAIMER: Prince Of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takashi
WARNING: Mild violence. Possible future hints of shounen-ai, but mostly strong friendship. Unbeta-ed, possible grammatical errors and inappropriate choice of words (Still learning. Please kindly point them out, I'll fix them).
SUMMARY:
Perfect crime means leaving no eye witness. After finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, strange things started to happen around the 15 years old tennis prodigy, Fuji Shuusuke. He feared for his life, but the last thing he wanted to do was involving his loving family and his devoted teammates.
Chapter 01
For the sake of the loved one, he would go to the extent of killing another, breaking his oath as the one to save life.
I heard the loud beeping sound.
What could it be?
It was a very dark room. The only source of light was the dimmed bed lamp. The curtain was closed, barely letting any light from the outside. From a little opening, a glimpse of moonlight found its way through, illuminating a small thing on the pristine white table by the window. It was the only thing that showed a sense of life in the grim place.
Among those huge machineries meant for life support, there was a small photo in a simple plastic frame. A picture of a young brown haired boy holding a tennis racquet, innocent smile plastered on his face. He was happily clinging to another boy whose stern face was partly covered by a white cap, a tennis ball in his free hand. It was a happy moment. There was a note behind the frame, clearly written by hand.
Tohru and Ryoma. January 20th, 20xx
He was a very lively boy before everything cropped up. Unfortunate things happened with or without our consent, and that was how the world worked. There was no trace of the previous happy grin on that pale anorexic face of his. He was no longer youthful. His lips were dry and chapped, slightly parted where the tube was inserted. His sunken eyes were closed, lifeless behind the heavy lids. He was dying. No one would realize that he was still alive if not for the beeping sound from the monitor, steadily recording his heart rate. What had he done to deserve this kind of fate?
How small he was compared to those supporting machines, lying helplessly on the white linen. His whole body system had been overridden by technologies, ensuring his survival. Only God knows if his soul was still in there.
His organs were failing. He wasn't even breathing on his own.
The machine beeped loudly. Before long, a nurse came in and turned off the alarm. She was a typical looking Japanese woman in her mid-thirties, black curly hair tied neatly behind her head. She got bags under her eyes, and there was no make-up used to hide it. She was wearing an apron and sterile boots. The only thing that identifies her as a nurse of an exclusive private hospital was her uniform and her name tag.
Despite her tired expression, she skillfully replaced an empty syringe from an auto-infusion machine with a standard intravenous line. She opened a metal drawer and took a sterile transparent fluid bag. She hung it near the bed post, connecting the tube to one of many others attached on the body.
"Dinner time," she murmured softly, adjusting the drop-rate to 4cc per minute. She checked her watch and turned to the bedside, scribbling something.
Protein infusion. 20:00. Check.
She set an alarm for precaution, checking for the other tubes, making sure every single fluid flowed accordingly. She squatted down and changed the urine bag.
"Done."
She casted a sad glance at the comatose patient before finally exited the room. She still had 1 hour and 14 minutes before said patient finished his meal.
"Captain, good morning!"
"How are you, Captain?"
"Tezuka. How do you feel, anything hurt?"
"Sssssh, he's sleeping."
"There're 68.5 percent chance that—"
"Enough." Tezuka winced slightly as he sat upright, registering the visitors' face one by one. Everyone was there, how convenient. He noticed Inui scribbled something on his notebook.
"There is 45.5 percent chance that Tezuka's face winced just now due to the unbearable pain on the stomach. 30.5 percent due to headache. 20 percent because of our presence, and-" he trailed, considering something before looking up at his captain, "-what is your diagnosis again, Tezuka?" he asked, glasses glinting deviously. Was he being sarcastic? He must've known. He was Inui after all.
"Food poisoning."
"Food poisoning! Nya! Captain has been poisoned!" Eiji threw herself on the edge of the hospital bed. Oishi stood next to him, frowning in obvious concern.
"Really, Tezuka? What did you eat? You didn't come to practice this morning and we were so worried." Oishi told him. Tezuka only responded with a 'hn' and focused his gaze behind the vice-captain. Kawamura was struggling with something in his backpack, while Momo and Kaidoh started bickering by his sides.
Oishi noticed the displeased look in the captain's eyes, "Um, Tezuka, we have a gift for you," he told him before ushering Eiji to help their juniors.
"Here we go Captain!" suddenly Tezuka saw bright yellow flashed in front of him. Tulips.
"Buchou, get well soon! You like them right?" Eiji bounced closer to him again. Tezuka frowned at the closeness, since Eiji's voice was high and loud. The acrobatic player's face fell, "Tezuka-buchou looks displeased. He doesn't like them, Nya!" he whined and glared at his juniors. They flinched.
"I didn't choose that one! I chose red roses! Fsssssh!" Kaido yelled defensively. Inui scribbled something while muttering "ii data."
"But you agreed to buy that one. We're buying for a sick person, not a girlfriend or something," Momo retorted. Kaido hissed back at him. Kawamura sighed defeatedly between them.
"Mada mada dane, senpai. Told you to buy each of everything." Ryoma said, looking uninterested. "Color variations are good for sick person," he added. Tezuka was growing tired of hearing the word 'sick' now and then.
"Ochibi, that would make it very inartistic and messy Nya! Horrible!" Eiji whined louder. Ryoma paid no attention and played with his tennis racquet instead, thinking of giving them to Kawamura.
"Echizen, that's not nice." Oishi said warily. He needed to evacuate his teammates somehow before the captain exploded. Kawamura wiggled slightly,
"Hey, your bag is moving!" Eiji pointed at the backpack in Kawamura's hand.
"I don't know. This is not mine!" he exclaimed, looking at the shorter boy, "Echizen, it's yours!"
"Don't tell me-" Ryoma looked surprised. "Karupin!" a cat leapt out of the bag, jumping toward Momo.
"Get this thing off of me!" he yelled in panic as the cat clawed his face mercilessly. Kaido tried to pry it off,
"He likes you I guess, heh." Kaido said sarcastically as Karupin refused to let his friend go. Its furs were standing, sign of his distress.
"Aaaaargh!" Momo shouted. A nurse barged in suddenly,
"What on earth is happening in here?!" her built was quite small, but her voice was loud and intimidating. She reminded them of their coach. She balanced an empty tray on a hand, and waving the other one impatiently, "You! This is a hospital, cat or any other animal is not allowed!" she barked, glaring at Momo. The regulars only stared at the floor.
"This is your entire fault." Kaido hissed at Momo.
"No it isn't- someone please get this monster off of me!" his shouted again as Karupin struggled in his hold. The nurse looked like she was about to hit the students with the tray when a cold voice interrupted her.
"All of you except Inui and Oishi, 3 laps around the hospital." They didn't have to look to know whose voice it belonged too. 3 seemed like a small number, but this hospital was twice as large as their school building.
"That's unfair, I didn't do anything Nya!" Eiji whined, and the others followed. Tezuka ignored his protest,
"Kikumaru, 4 laps."
"Alright! Alright!" They scrambled and ran out, leaving the stunned nurse. Oishi sighed and shook his head.
"I'm sorry for the trouble," he apologized politely to the nurse. Inui was still scribbling who-know-what and the sound of pen against paper was quite noisy in the cramped ward,
"If I were you, I'd stop writing right now Inui." A honey haired boy stepped into the room.
"Fuji!" Oishi was startled a bit. The tensai was holding a suspicious looking box in his hand. Tezuka tried his best not to groan. The nurse smiled in amusement.
"This is your friend. It's fortunate I met him on the way and took him here, or else who knows what you kids might do to this ward." She said while collecting empty plates and cups from the side table. She turned to Fuji, "you're nice, but if you behave like your friends out there. I'm going to kick you out." she excused herself and left, muttering something about 'kids' and 'cats'.
"She's a nice nurse. What had you done to make her mad?" Fuji asked. Oishi sighed.
"It's a long story Fuji, I'll tell you later," he said and turned to Inui, "Inui, let's leave. I need to check on our teammates. Is that alright with you Tezuka?" he asked the Captain. Tezuka was utterly grateful to hear that.
"Aa," was all he said. Oishi and Inui left the room, leaving a frowning Tezuka and a smiling Fuji. The tensai wore a plain white long sleeved shirt and a dark pants instead of his uniforms like the others.
"Saa... You don't look please to see me..." Fuji teased him. Tezuka knew better than to respond. His gaze followed Fuji everywhere as the tensai unwraped a box with little holes around it. It seemed very suspicious.
"You didn't come with the others."
"I told Eiji to go first with the others. I met our history teacher at the corridor and she asked me to help her carrying stacks of papers," he explained, "probably tests. I think I saw your name, and it's a perfect score. No suprise," he added in an amused tone. Tezuka ignored the last comment.
"You took your time."
"Well, she mentioned something about a firework festival for school anniversary next month and we lost track of time. Student council project. Yours right?" he told Tezuka.
"Yes, and it's in two weeks, not next month. But the firework was still unofficial. Don't tell anyone." He said. Fuji stepped closer and put the box on Tezuka's lap,
"Say hello to Jessica!" he exclaimed cheerfully. The captain could only stare at the pot of cactus in front of him. 'Jessica' didn't look any different from 'Karen' and 'Reiko' in his eyes. There were ten other pots at his home, and Fuji named each of them.
"..."
"Tezuka, say something. It's impolite!" Fuji shoved the box closer to Tezuka. The captain looked away, clearly distressed. "Ne, I invited her here and picked her up from home just for you." Tezuka shrugged a little and sighed.
"Fuji, it's a plant. You don't greet plants." He reasoned, but not expecting much logic from the other.
"Yes you do, and you will." Fuji insisted. Tezuka looked at the neatly decorated box and the healthy plan. Fuji brought it all the way here, no matter how ridiculous it was.
"H-hello... Jessica." He muttered with a supressed groan. Great, he gave up. He was sure next time Fuji would ask him to sing with the cactus.
"That wasn't so hard, right?" Fuji beamed at him, looking very satisfied. Tezuka held back a smile and looked away again.
Tezuka never minded Fuji's company. In fact, he enjoyed it. Even though Fuji was the polar opposite of him, he always found it amusing to watch the other. The only interest they shared was tennis and nature. Their other preferences in everything were different. But still, they enjoyed each other's company.
"Ne, Tezuka is that Inui juice?" Fuji asked, pointing at a dangerous looking liquid container. Yes, Tezuka could never understand how the tensai's taste bud works.
"I didn't notice before." he told the honey haired boy. Fuji examined the small container, sniffing it a little.
"Can I have it?" he asked.
"Aa," he answered a little too quickly, earning a soft chuckle from Fuji.
"Thank you," Fuji slowly opened the lid. Tezuka relaxed a bit on the pillows while watching his friend downing the strange liquid. Fuji was a sadistic, mischievous, and irrational dear friend of his. But no matter how annoying he might get, he could never get tired watching him. Fuji and his antiques always interested him.
Tezuka stared at the box in his lap. His gaze softened a little. The cactus was small, moss green, with a bright yellow flower on the side. There was a purple ribbon tied around the pot, a note attached to it. Tezuka tried to reach it. But his finger accidentally grazed the small thorns.
"Ah!" Fuji was surprised when he felt Tezuka elbowed him on the ribs. Orange colored liquid poured on his front shirt. "Oh no, Tezuka..." he sighed.
"I'm sorry. It's a reflex." The captain apologized. Fuji noticed the blood on his finger and quickly reached for a tissue.
"It's ok. Here," he applied pressure on the prick wound. "Hold this for a while. I'm going to clean my shirt right away. Do you have any soap?" he asked.
"There's none. We came here unprepared." he answered. It was true, he suddenly collapse from pain and abdominal discomfort his parents had to rush him to the hospital right away. Fuji only smiled,
"What happened to 'don't let your guard down' Ne, Tezuka?" he teased. "It's fine. I'll ask the nurse if I can borrow something."
"Fuji, I'm sorry." Tezuka apologized again and reached something on the side drawer. "Here, cover them with this." he gave his neatly folded tennis jacket to Fuji.
"No, it's fine, really." Fuji refused softly. But since Tezuka didn't take no for an answer, he took it. "Ne, give me the tulips, I'll take care of it also." He offered and reached for an empty white vase near the bed.
"You don't have to-" Fuji ignored his protest and walked out the room.
"Be right back."
The hospital was very large, too large that the hundreds of medical workers and patients were hardly in sight, but that was understandable at this hour. There were lots of wards, corridors, and other medical rooms Fuji didn't recognize. It had the usual cold hospital vibe, the air felt heavy with antiseptic.
Fuji always found hospital as an interesting place. It gave him a sense of unfamiliarity, strange, a bit gloomy, like he was no longer in his usual world. Still, he didn't like staying here too long. He sped up his steps until he found a nurse wearing a white apron.
"Excuse me miss, where can I find a restroom?" The nurse was startled but instantly smiled. He used the word 'miss' for someone as old as she was. She was flattered. Then she noticed his front shirt. "Or any place I can go to wash this? I have to go somewhere important after, and I can't go like this," Fuji continued and lifted the flower and the vase a bit, revealing the orange stain.
"Oh dear, did you accidentally spilled juice on your shirt?" she shook her head sympathetically. "Go straight until you find emergency stairs on the left, go down two floors, there's a washroom for janitors. And if you want to go back quickly, just turn left and there's a staff elevator there." she explained sweetly. "If you can't find it, just ask anyone there, I'm sure they'll tell you."
"I understand." Fuji replied, trying to remember everything.
"And please return immediately after that. That place is limited to staffs actually," she told him before adding, "Now go before your shirt turned orange permanently."
"Thank you very much!"
She shook her head and smiled. "What a very nice boy," she muttered and turned away.
She took off her sterile apron, folding it before throwing the material to a basket nearby. She made her way down the hall and into her 'special' room. When she opened the door, she immediately threw herself on a large couch and stretched her limbs, groaning contently.
"Damn." She cursed, suddenly remembered this whole area and wards had cameras installed practically everywhere. She sat upright, picking up a magazine on the floor, and started reading.
"I wonder if Tezuka get along nicely with Jessica." Fuji smiled to himself, turning the water tap on. He found the cabinet full of cleaning supplies and picked a random tube, anything was fine.
He hummed softly while trying to clean his smudged shirt, rinsing it occasionally with flowing water. He realized that his soft humming voice echoed loudly in the bathroom. Too quiet, too cold, and too dark for his liking.
He quickly washed his hands, flapping his front shirt in a quick drying attempt. He grabbed the flowers and filled half the vase quickly with water. He turned the water tap off, grabbed his Tezuka's jersey, and quickly left the room with a flower vase in hand.
"Left. Left. Left." he repeated, a bit confused. This part of area was unfamiliar. Though there was still this overwhelming disinfectant smell and unfriendly hospital vibe, this particular place was too secluded and eerily quiet. "Creepy." Fuji muttered to ease himself. There were hanged white linens and green aprons everywhere along the corridor. Every walls and doors are the same. 'Is this workers quarter?' he thought.
Great, the prodigy was lost, in a mere hospital no less. Inui would be ecstatic if he saw Fuji like this. "Hello? Excuse me?" he called. Fuji groaned when he received no response. He glanced at his wristwatch.
09.18 PM
"Nee-san's going to kill me." He grumbled and put on his jacket. He run in the corridor, trying every door as he blamed the structures of this building. Every single door looked the same. Some were locked, even chained, and some looked like they were storage rooms, unused wards. He reached for the third door, hearing a strange sound.
Beep.
'Not this one then.' He thought and turned away.
Beep.
'On second thought, maybe there's someone in there.' He reached the handle and let himself in.
"Hello?" Fuji called.
Beep.
"Anyone here?" he called again. Fuji inhaled nervously and walked further. The first thing he noticed was the dimmed bed lamp, machineries humming noises, then the lifeless body.
Beep.
It was a boring job, being assigned to a single patient in a community hospital this large. After all, she enrolled in a prestigious college for 5 years, and she was rather loved by most of her patients before this, before this boring cursed job.
She was a very capable nurse, 'one of the best the hospital has ever set their eyes on'. It was what they said when they offered her a promotion, a better job with a better payment. She was eager, agreed too quickly. It turned out she had to play a private nurse for an exclusive patient. His identity was unknown to her, and she was told not to ask. She was ordered to tend to his every need.
It was another day before she was introduced to the whole team, three fellow nurses, two doctors, and two technicians. The meeting room was large, cold, and somehow isolated. They were still in the same hospital building, but they never knew that such rooms existed. She had been working here for 6 years, and she knew the hospital was large, complex, but not to this extend. She admired her surroundings, enthralled, before two man wearing black suits entered the room.
They laid several papers in front of them, contracts, time tables, instructions, and other documents. They told the team to read everything, and sign the contract. The condition was simple. "Just work like usual around this hospital while taking care of a special patient." She read the resume and about to ask why such a special comatose kid in the secluded room needed this kind of treatment before the other continued, "No questions, and never breathe a word about this side job to anyone." She swallowed her curiosity back. So this kid was special, and that was there to it.
She could never understand why they were keeping a practically 'dead' body alive and preserved? That was stupid. But she had no choice at the moment.
They agreed and signed the contract. She worked like usual after that, never asked a thing, rarely converse with her fellow 'special' medical workers. Very easy.
It was at the end of the month when she received her first payment, cash, and an amount exceeding a surgeon's monthly income. She knew she should have never taken this strange job.
09. 20 PM
"It's time." She said to herself. She put on her shoes and walked away.
"Yes, Fuji-san. Yes. I'll tell him later. I'm sorry." Tezuka flipped the phone and placed it back beside the cactus. It was inappropriate answering someone else's phone, but the phone kept on ringing and the caller id showed 'Nee-san.' He had to pick up.
Fuji had been gone for almost half an hour. Surely finding something to clean his shirt with wouldn't take a very long time.
He stole a glance at the cactus pot and the note with a handwritten 'get well soon' attached to it.
Tezuka was worried.
She hated this corridor. She can endure the first few months. But surely, they didn't expect her to work here for a life time, right? What was the point in keeping the boy alive anyway? They must have hidden something dangerous probably, or controversial. Anything was possible. But no questions. It was what they said.
"No damn quest- GOD!" she nearly screamed. She never expected to see something moving when she opened the ward door. She slumped against the door frame, tiredness overwhelmed her.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you. I was-" Fuji stuttered. He was shocked himself. The nurse stared at him,
"You!" she exclaimed, slowly regaining composure. "I told you to return immediately." She said, scolding the boy. Fuji bowed his head.
"I'm sorry." He apologized again politely. She held back a groan, letting out a sigh instead, then turned to Fuji.
"Wait outside, I have to do something first. I'll take you to your family's ward after I'm done." She said. He didn't say anything as she ushered him out and closed the door.
Before he was stirred out of the room, Fuji stole a glimpse at a photo frame again he had seen earlier before the nurse caught him. The silhouette looked familiar. He squinted his eyes to see more clearly. "Stay here." The nurse added again. Fuji gave her a weary smile and nod. Fuji didn't know who the boy on the bed was or why he was there, but it was quite disheartening. As long as he can leave this strange place, he was eternally grateful.
Unaware of the cameras resting on every corner, Fuji silently waited for the nurse, a vase of yellow tulips in his arm.
"Tezuka, you won't believe what has happened to me while I was looking for water and detergent!" Fuji said as he barged into his friend's room. Tezuka looked up from his book, staring at the slightly worked up brunet.
"And you won't believe how mad your sister sounded on the phone." He told his friend. Fuji only blinked at the remark. He didn't even tease Tezuka about answering other people's call. He didn't even notice Tezuka used longer sentence than usual. He just shrugged.
"Ah yes, she should be." He sighed as he closed the door behind him. "It means I need to go now." He added. Tezuka watched as his friend placed the vase on the table beside him. Fuji shoved the phone into his pocket and grabbed the cactus pot, placing it inside its colorful box.
"Fuji." the bespectacled boy called. He noticed, even though just a bit, that his friend's movement was slightly agitated. Fuji himself might not realize it.
"Yes?" he asked. Tezuka only stared into the blue orbs. "Tezuka? Is there anything wrong?" he asked again, ready to leave with the box in hand. The bespectacled man was having an inner turmoil whether to ask if Fuji was alright or not.
"Nothing. Don't let your guard down." He stated his infamous line with indifferent expression on his face. The familiar warning eased the honey haired boy a bit. Fuji visibly relaxed and let out a chuckle.
"Saa... I will, captain." He said teasingly. "Goodbye Tezuka. Get well soon." He opened the box in his hand, "say goodbye to Tezuka, Jessica." He rocked the box slightly while repeating the word in a strange voice. Tezuka frowned slightly.
"Fuji..."
"Tezuka, you were supposed to say it too. Now you've hurt her twice in a day." The prodigy made a face. He was always teasing. Tezuka didn't know why he always relented and made a fool of himself in the end every time Fuji asked him to do anything ridiculous. First he was greeting a cactus, now he was saying goodbye to that plant.
"Goodbye, Jessica."
There he did it. Fuji's smile afterward made the embarrassment and irrationality worth a while.
Next issue: The regulars were back into their normal practice routine after Tezuka was discharged. Meanwhile, a group of people in the hospital had been trying to find out who the boy appeared in the surveillance camera was.