Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.
Warnings: Mildly AU, Yaoi fanfiction. Please refer to the mini drama for more.
Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann, Sanada X Yukimura
A/N: Mini Drama
Gwynhafra: Alright now. Is everyone in position? Good. Here are your scripts. (Gwyn hands out sheets of papers)
Momoshiro: Ah, doomo. Let's see. Oh, I'm to start off the scene. (clears throat) Minna, thank you for reading Trials of Life, sequel to the back to back fanfictions Echizen, Our Buchou and Life After Seigaku. As mentioned, this is a sequel, so the authoress may make certain references towards the previous two fics. Also, some original characters will be from the previous two fics. Others will be new.
Kaidou: Fssshhh…everything in this story will be a work of fiction, so any mentions of names are purely coincidental. The authoress means no offence.
Momoshiro: Note that there will be a rather big jump in the timeline between this fic and the previous two. Ah man, I feel old na…
Kaidou: Baka Momoshiro! It's stated here this fic takes place 9 years after EOB and LAS (7 if the extra chapter is included) We're not that old yet.
Oishi: (takes over because Momo and Kaidou are fighting) Well then, the authoress has mentioned over a number of occasions that there are two elements in this story which some people might not be comfortable with. Please take note before proceeding on with the story. The first, is that there will be a slight genderswitch on the canon/original character or characters.
Momoshiro: (stops fighting immediately) Oishi-senpai! Are you saying that we have a girl amongst us?
Oishi: Well… (All eyes turn to look at Fuji and Yukimura suspiciously)
Fuji: (chuckles) Yes?
(Everyone turns away to avoid Fuji's stare)
Oishi: Maa…the authoress stated that it's only a slight genderswitch, not a complete genderswitch…whatever that means.
Inui: The other element in the story will be…MPREG.
Kikumaru: Hoi? Isn't that a kind of video format? What's so surprising about that?
Inui: You have it wrong, Kikumaru. That is MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group). This is MPREG, the abbreviation of Male Pregnancy.
Momoshiro and Kaidou: (pales) Is…is that even possible, senpai?
Inui: According to my data…no. But this is fanfiction, and the authoress, unfortunately is an Mpreg fangirl. Be warned that this authoress will be grabbing a plot, throwing it in a blender and spitting it out on black on white. Well, it will turn out to be just like my Inui Juice. Some can stomach it, some can't.
Kawamura: So you're saying…a guy in this fic would be…eh…pregnant?
Inui: I'm afraid so.
Echizen: Who? Where?
Fuji: Saa…
Inui: If this genre isn't your cup of tea, please hit the return key, and do not proceed on with the story, for it will seem offensive to you. However, if you are able to tolerate the two aforementioned elements, then do read on. It will be assumed that by reading on, you have read and understood the warnings.
Tezuka: Saa…yudan sezu ni ikkou. No Flames Please.
::End of Mini Drama::
To the story then…
Trials of Life
By: Gwynhafra
Chapter 1
It all started at Tenipuri Hospital, a building which stood proudly in the middle of a bustling city. It was a building that rarely slept, with doctors, nurses, patients and visitors alike bustling in and out of the doors.
While usually, hospitals were the representation of bad news, today, however, was a happy occasion.
A certain spiky black-haired young man walked out into the waiting room, where his friends had been waiting patiently. As one, all of them rose to their feet when he entered, their faces breaking into identical grins, mirroring the one plastered on the black haired young man's face. His arms cradled a certain white bundle, holding it like a precious possession.
"Congratulations, Momo." A redheaded man was the first to bounce up to him.
The man, Momoshiro Takeshi, gave the redhead a grin. "Arigatou, Eiji-senpai." He showed them the white bundle proudly. "It's a boy. Isn't he just perfect?" He gushed, his voice and actions filled with pride.
"He is." Oishi Shuichirou, who had been present too, agreed. He smiled slightly at Momo, who was now declaring to everyone in the waiting room about how he had just become a proud father for the second time, just a couple of months short of his own 24th birthday. It didn't matter how many children Momo was going to have. He welcomed each of them graciously, having developed some kind of a family complex.
Momoshiro walked over to a dark haired toddler seated on the bench, kneeling down so that his head was around the same level as the boy's. "Takumi, meet your new brother."
The toddler was turning two that year, and was too young to truly understand the addition of a new sibling. Instead, he stared at the baby with childish curiosity, keeping his hands to himself, looking slightly wary that whatever this creature was, it might bite.
Considering the baby was asleep, it could only hold the child's interest for a short amount of time, and before long, Takumi stared up at Momoshiro. "Mama?" He asked. He gave no further elaboration, asking a complete question using just a single word.
Momoshiro understood though. Cradling his newborn son carefully in one arm, he reached out with his free hand towards his oldest son. Turning towards his friends, Momo gave an apologetic smile. "I'm taking him to Ann."
"We were just about to take our leave anyway." Oishi reassured.
"Hoi hoi. Congratulations again, nya, Momo." Kikumaru chirped. Momoshiro once again gave his thanks and headed towards the wards, pushing past the huge, double doors while talking softly to his oldest son.
The former Golden Pair headed in the opposite direction, towards the exit, though they were halfway there when Oishi thought of something.
"Ne, Eiji, since we're all the way here, let's pay Tezuka and Inui a visit." Oishi suggested.
Kikumaru blinked at that. "Oh yeah. I nearly forgot about that. Now then, which department would both of them be in again?"
XXX
The mood at the moment contrasted the mood earlier completely. Here, a group of four people were weeping and mourning, sounding like they had lost everything in the world.
Before them stood a young surgeon, his hands placed in the pockets of his white doctor's coat. His expression was serious even as his brown eyes observed them from behind his glasses. The surgeon stood there, not saying a word, giving the group some time to regain some of their composure.
After several minutes, their crying was reduced to quiet sniffs. The surgeon decided that it was time for him to break the news to them. However, as was customary, before giving them the news, he'd have to give a brief explanation about what had happened first.
"The surgery is over. It was a very risky one, and he had a 50-50 percent chance of survival. It had taken us 8 hours, and I have to announce that…"
He hadn't managed to finish his words, for the wailing had begun anew again, as the group, presumably family and friends of the patient, began crying like they had lost their souls. The surgeon frowned at being cut off. He cleared his throat and raised his voice a little to be able to be heard over the racket.
"Hamada-san's surgery was successful. He will be making a full recovery and he can be discharged from the hospital in two weeks."
It seemed that none of them had heard him, as they continued crying. After a few moments, however, they all stopped as one.
"Eh?"
Several moments of silence went by before two began crying again, this time tears of joy, as the two females in the group hugged each other in happiness and relief.
The two males, on the other hand, threw the brunette doctor a glare.
"Ceh! If it was happy news then what's with that expression of yours?! We thought he was dead!"
XXX
Everyone wisely avoided the young surgeon's way, as the brunette walked down the corridors with dark clouds gathered around his head.
This wasn't the first time it happened. Every time he had to break the news, be it good or bad, the family members of the patients always assumed the worst.
'What's with my expression?' He couldn't help wondering, his frown turning down even more.
"Tezuka." A familiar voice called him.
The addressed surgeon turned around. "Ah. It's you, Inui."
Right after Tezuka, Inui and the other seniors had graduated from senior high, the former tennis team went on their separate ways. Tezuka and Inui had both chosen the medical profession, and both had gone for the same medical school, which had posted them both to the same hospital for housemanship.
Like Tezuka, Inui too wore the long, white doctor's coat, but he wasn't a surgeon like Tezuka. Inui was a pharmacist.
The pharmacist (who still collected data as a hobby) caught up with Tezuka's pace, and both of them headed over to the cafeteria. They did this on a frequent basis, since Inui was amongst Tezuka's close circle of friends in the hospital.
"Had a bad day, Tezuka?" Inui asked, arching one eyebrow. Even with that poker face Tezuka wore on a daily basis, the data master was a professional at reading his expressions, a feat only a handful of people were able to do.
The dark clouds gathered around Tezuka's head again, his mood so volatile that many of the others eating in the cafeteria eyed him warily as he entered, all making sure they were seated far away from the two.
After both of them had purchased their dinner, they sat down at one of the tables. "The surgery was a success today, and somehow…they just assumed the worst even before I told them the results. It's not the first time."
"Maybe you should smile a bit more." Inui mumbled.
Tezuka glanced up at that. "Did you say something, Inui?"
"Eh, no. Nothing at all." Inui decided that it was wiser if he kept that comment to himself.
They ate in silence for a while, when Inui remembered something. His expression instantly switched to one of excitement as he took out a small vial of purplish liquid, setting it before Tezuka, who glared at that thing like it was offensive.
"……what is it…?" Tezuka asked finally.
Inui's glasses gleamed. "My latest creation. An antidote for chickenpox. Would you like to try?"
Tezuka's face twitched ever so slightly. "…I'll pass…" He stared down at the vial. "By the way, antidote for chickenpox is for external use only. No one is supposed to drink it."
"Ah yes, that is true." Inui rummaged through his pockets and took out another small vial, this round filled with green liquid. "Then what about this cough syrup then?"
Luckily, Tezuka was spared from answering that question, as one redheaded man launched himself at Inui, giving him a bear hug. "Hoi hoi! I figured that the both of you might be here." He chirped.
"Kikumaru. You're turning 25 this year. Shouldn't you act more of your age?" Tezuka gave his stern lecture.
Kikumaru made a face. "Ceh. I'm still considered young nya, Tezuka. Aren't you the one acting older than your age?"
"Eiji. He's right you know. People are starting to stare." Oishi walked up to the three. He greeted both Tezuka and Inui.
"I get it, I get it. I'll act more of my age then." Kikumaru sighed. For some reason, Tezuka didn't really believe that statement.
Surely enough, just mere moments later, Kikumaru once more returned to his "15-year-old trapped in a 25-year-old's body" self, as he clapped his hands together and said cheerily. "We almost forgot. We had just come from Momo's. Ann has had the baby."
A smile broke out on Inui's face at that, while Tezuka's expression too had lightened considerably. "Is that so? I'll give them my congratulations later." Tezuka stated.
Momoshiro Takeshi had, at the age of 21, married his girlfriend Tachibana Ann, and their first son was born a year later. Tezuka could still remember the excitement surrounding Momo at that time, dragging all his friends to a party at his house to celebrate his son's birth, and not even Tezuka, who had an exam the next day, was exempted.
He must have been busy, having a second child just two years after the first.
"It's another son for Momo, and rather cute. Dark-haired, just like the other one." Oishi described briefly.
Kikumaru sighed. "How nice. Momo's the first of all our former regulars to get married, and now he already has two children. Time sure flies."
"Aa." At the mention of time, Tezuka glanced down at his watch. Noticing that it was getting late, he decided that he should make a move. It was already past his shift anyway.
He stood up, gathering his food tray. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to be taking my leave now. I'll be heading over to Momo's and after that I'll have to head home."
"Why are you in such a hurry, it's only…wait, Eiji. What's the time now?" Oishi asked.
Kikumaru glanced at his watch. "6.45 PM. Ah, that's right. Tezuka would be rushing home for that right?" Kikumaru threw him a mischievous grin.
Tezuka ignored the teasing comment. He placed his tray in the basin for washing, then turned to his friends and gave a slight bow. "See you all some other time."
"Bye nya." Kikumaru waved. The others too bade him goodbye.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tezuka arrived home just 15 minutes before 8PM. He took off his doctor's coat and hung it at a rack. After he had changed into his informal wear, Tezuka poured himself a cup of tea and sank into his couch with a contented sigh, happy that he was home on time.
Home…
Tezuka glanced around his house, a double-storey building which he had bought after moving out of his parents' house due to…an incident. This house held a great value to him. Not monetary value. No, this house meant a lot to him, because half…or at least, a little more than half of the cost of this house was paid for by his boyfriend, who had chipped in when Tezuka couldn't afford to buy a house with just his own savings alone. Ever since then, Tezuka felt that the house held sentimental value between him and his boyfriend.
Tezuka switched on the television, surfing through the channels until he came finally to the sports' channel.
He was just in time, as the music began playing to the start of the programme, and before long, two sportscasters came on air.
"Welcome to the eight o'clock sports channel--Hachiji. I am Horio Satoshi, and beside me is…"
"Osakada Tomoka. Yoroshiku."
"It's once again tennis for us today, and today, the highlight will be on Echizen Ryoma in the semi-finals of the U.S Open. Well, with my 11 years tennis experience, I can predict that he can win this match and…"
"Of course he's going to win this match! This is my Ryoma-sama you're talking about! Ryoma-sama! You're so cool! R-Y-O-M-A. Ryoma-sama!"
Somehow, that sparked a mild catfight between the two sportscasters, and Tezuka massaged his head, not believing that he had once been in the same school as these two. A pity he couldn't assign Horio laps anymore, for he would so love to do so at the moment.
Abruptly, the camera shifted. It seemed like the producers had decided to spare the two, and the TV station, any more embarrassment, and had decided to cut to the chase, showing the match instead.
Tezuka's eyes were instantly fixed on a figure moving on the screen. He gave another contented sigh as he sank back against the couch, watching the match with rapt attention, hardly blinking until the match came to an end, much too soon to his liking. Well, Ryoma's matches were hardly dragged on anyway, since the pro had always been able to pulverize his opponents very quickly.
His eyes traced the familiar face, from those golden eyes to that mildly arrogant smirk. Tezuka always watched him, making sure to catch all the pro's matches if he could. Then again, the whole world was watching him too, since he was a regular face on tv. Tezuka couldn't have the man only to himself.
Tezuka removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. How long has it been, since he had actually seen his boyfriend face to face? How long has it been since Tezuka last wrapped his arms around the younger man? They had been together for 5 years during their school days, and after Ryoma had left for the U.S. for his career as a professional tennis player, right after he had graduated from high school, they maintained a steady, long distance relationship. It had been 4 years since then, and they had only been able to meet up from time to time.
He longed to return to their schooldays, when their relationship had been perfectly carefree. Aside from the fact that they were in a rather taboo relationship, they had been happy and free from worries.
Now, however, Tezuka found himself torn by obligations, his career, and his family. With the coming of age, Tezuka found himself facing a lot of responsibilities, especially since he was an only son. He tried to balance all that with his relationship with Ryoma. He had a very unforgiving work schedule, and every time there was a holiday, he would take the chance to visit Ryoma in the U.S. It was usually the younger man who came to Japan to visit him though, since Ryoma had a more flexible schedule. Still, all of Tezuka's worries were putting a strain on their relationship.
Tezuka opened his eyes and glanced once more at the television. The sports channel had ended, and he switched it off before staring at the blank screen.
When had it all became so complicated…?
To be continued…
Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.
-Gwyn