It all began with a suggestion from his mother. "Kunimitsu dear, why don't you take a nice trip to Grandma's onsen before your last year of high school?" she had told him during his 18th summer vacation. "And hopefully, you will be able to meet a nice girl there," she added with a conspiratorial wink.

So here he was, standing at the bottom of the long winding steps leading to his grandmother's hill top onsen. He used to come here with his parents when he was young, but ever since he started junior high, he had been too busy with school and tennis to visit.

Tezuka trudged up the steps, reminiscing about the times he spent in this place. It brought a smile to his lips. He was glad that he had let his mother insist that he come here, even though it was for the wrong reason. Since he was an only child, his parents couldn't wait for him to find someone so that he could produce some heirs for them. But so far, Tezuka hadn't found any girl to his liking, although it was not from lacking. He was baffled that most girls found his impassive and aloof attitude attractive. They were always clamoring for his attention, even though he did nothing to encourage them.

His grandmother was already waiting for him at the top. She was a tiny, jolly old woman. When he was a child, Tezuka loved to get warm hugs from her. But now he stood almost twice her height.

"Grandma, nice to see you," Tezuka greeted politely.

"My darling grandson, look how big you have grown!" his grandmother exclaimed happily, reaching up for a hug.

Tezuka complied, bending almost double for his grandmother to wrap her tiny arms around his neck. Then, she took his face into her hands. "Let me take a good look at you," she said with a smile.

"My, what a handsome young man my little Kunimitsu has become. You looked just like your father." The old lady patted him on his cheek. "You must have a lot of girls after you. Tell Grandma, do you have a girlfriend? Now, don't lie to me now," she winked and wagged a finger at him.

Tezuka shook his head wryly. His grandmother sounded just like his parents. "No, Grandma. I don't have a girlfriend and I'm not lying."

His grandmother made a shooing motion. "Bosh, it's probably because my Kunimitsu's standard is too high. Never mind, there are lots of pretty girls here on the island in summer. You'll bound to meet someone you like."

Hardly, Tezuka thought, but he just nodded to please his grandmother. He didn't tell her that he found most of the girls pretentious and annoying.

Suddenly, the old lady clapped her hands. "Oh, I just remembered. There will be a festival held down at the village tonight. You should go. Who knows? Maybe you'll meet your dream girl there," she added knowingly.

"But Grandma…" Tezuka didn't really like festival that much. He'd prefer to spend his days in the onsen than going out.

"No buts," his grandmother told him firmly. "Your mother asked me to take care of you. I won't have you spending all your days indoor. Now, you will need a yukata tonight. Did you bring one with you?"

Tezuka shook his head.

The old lady frowned, then brightened up. "Oh, don't worry. I think I have a perfect one just for you," she said before scurrying off to look for a yukata.

Tezuka sighed. It looked like he had to go to the festival whether he liked it or not.

Wearing the black silk yukata his grandmother found, Tezuka walked desolately down the path towards the village. His geta made soft clacking sounds on the quiet road.

The silk felt cool against his skin in the warm summer breeze. According to his grandmother, the yukata belonged to his grandfather. It was entirely hand-sewn, and embossed with symbols of dragons that could only be reflected in certain angles of light. It probably worth a lot and Tezuka had to make sure he didn't dirty it.

The sounds from the festival were getting nearer. Tezuka could see brightly colored lights dotting the entire village like a giant Christmas tree. Music was wafting through the air and sounds of laughter and people chatting happily reached his ears.

Tezuka folded his arms in the sleeves of his yukata and heaved a sigh. He didn't particularly enjoy being in a crowd. Maybe he ought to go to the beach instead and spent an hour or so there before returning home.

Thinking that was a much better idea, Tezuka took a detour and made his way to the beach. The sky was clear that night and the stars were shining down so brightly it seemed almost like daytime.

Suddenly a noise caught his attention. Looking around, Tezuka saw three figures surrounding another backed up against the tree.

One of the figure's voices wafted up to his ears. "Come on, gorgeous. Don't be shy," the voice was masculine, with an oily undertone. "Why don't you loosen up a little and all of us can have fun together."

Tezuka saw the figure leaned closer for a kiss. "We'll be sure to make you moan with pleasure…"

"Ouch!" Suddenly the figure retreated, holding a hand to his mouth. "You bitch! How dare you bit me?!"

Immediately, the two other figures moved forward and grabbed hold of the girl on each side.

"Go look in the mirror first before hitting on someone, you ugly bastard," the girl spat. "You aren't even worth the dirt I walked on."

Tezuka got a clear view of the scene before him as he went nearer. He saw the youth's eyes glittering with fury. He wasn't much older than him, and so were his two other goons. The girl who was trapped between them was slender and of medium height. Her back was to him so Tezuka couldn't see her face.

"I'll make you sorry for that. You'll be begging me for mercy soon." the youth's face contorted with anger. He reached out a hand and grabbed the front of the girl's yukata, intending to tear it open. The girl, with her arms held immobile by the other two, couldn't fight back but she didn't flinch either.

Tezuka had had enough of it. He wasn't going to let a girl get raped when he could do something about it.

He walked out of the shadows and approached them. "I don't think what you are doing is legal," Tezuka said mildly. "Why don't you let the girl go and we can all forget about this."

The youth who was threatening the girl looked at him in surprise. He had spiky bleached hair and various piercing over his body. A snake tattoo ran along his right arm. A punk, Tezuka thought distastefully.

"Where did you come from, you meddling bastard?" the punk frowned menacingly. "If you know what's good for you, you'd better get the hell out here before I hurt you. What I do with the little lady here is none of your business!" he sneered.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Tezuka said quietly, his expression impassive.

"Then you asked for it!" The punk signaled his other two goons. They released their grip on the girl and approached Tezuka, cracking their knuckles threateningly. They were more muscular than their leader, with ugly snouty faces.

Tezuka would have rolled his eyes if he knew how to do so. Amateurs, he thought.

A moment later, the two brutes were lying on the ground, doubling over and groaning in pain. Tezuka stood over them without a single hair out of place.

He looked over to their leader and raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry. Did I forget to mention that I have a black belt in Karate, Kendo and Judo? Care to try it out with me?"

The punk fumed with impotent rage. He wasn't dumb. He knew he didn't stand a chance, seeing how easily Tezuka had bested his comrades.

"I'll remember this!" With that, he fled, his fallen comrades stumbling after him.

A soft chuckle brought Tezuka's attention to the girl he had rescued. He had almost forgotten about her. She was leaning against the tree, and didn't really seem fazed about what had almost happened to her.

Tezuka walked towards her now. "Are you all right, Miss?"

The chuckle turned into laughter. "I'm fine, thank you, sir. You are truly my knight in shining armor. Minus the horse, of course."

Tezuka finally got a good look at the girl and was stunned despite himself. She was exquisitely beautiful, with soft silky chestnut hair and creamy smooth skin. Even partially hidden in the shadow, Tezuka could see that her eyes were an exotic cerulean blue. He had never seen eyes like that before. Even though her body was slender almost to the point of it being boyish in her yukata, Tezuka found that he liked that about her as well. He had had enough of girls shoving their boobs at him while flirting.

He never thought that this could happen to him. He had, in that split second, fallen completely and utterly in love with her.

The girl was talking again. "What is your name?"

"Tezuka Kunimitsu." Tezuka was feeling tongue-tied, although it was difficult to tell from his usual stolid self.

"Well, Tezuka-kun, nice to meet you. I'm Fuji…Shyuu." She held a hand out for a shake.

"Tezuka is fine," he replied as he took the hand offered. It was soft and fitted perfectly in his. Tezuka could almost feel an undercurrent passed between their joined hands.

"Well, you have to call me Shyuu then. As a token of gratitude, why don't we go to the festival together and I'll treat you to whatever you want?" Shyuu suggested. "You were on your way to the festival, weren't you?"

"Hnn." Tezuka nodded. Although that wasn't his original plan, maybe it wouldn't be bad to go with her.

"Let's go." Pulling Tezuka by the arm, Shyuu led him back to the path down to the village.

"So, was it true what you said just now? That you have a black belt in Karate, Kendo and Judo?" Shyuu asked in wonder.

"Hnn."

Shyuu looked at him in admiration. "Then you must teach me some skills to ward off those perverts."

Tezuka nodded. He heard Shyuu chuckled. "Not much of a talker, are you?"

He glanced over and met with smiling blue eyes. Tezuka quickly looked away. He felt like he was drowning in those beautiful orbs. He was grateful that the night covered up the blush that was creeping into his cheeks. "I prefer to listen," he replied, glad that his voice sounded almost normal.

Shyuu nodded. They walked in comfortable silence for a moment before she spoke up again. "Is this your first time on the island, Tezuka?"

Tezuka shook his head. "But I haven't been here for almost 10 years." He pointed towards the direction of the onsen. "My grandmother owns the onsen on that hill."

"How about you?" he found himself asking. "Do you live on the island?"

"Me? No, I only come here in summer to help out at my uncle's inn. It's a way to earn extra money for myself."

"Ah." There were so much more that Tezuka wanted to ask, but he was afraid that he might sound too nosy.

They finally reached the festival. "Here we are," Shyuu said as she pulled Tezuka by the forearm. "Let's go get something to eat. My treat."

"Uh, it's not necessary, really…" Tezuka's whole senses seemed to be concentrated on where he and Shyuu touched.

"Please let me thank you for saving me. You can treat me back next time if it bothered you that much," Shyuu winked.

Tezuka nodded, feeling ridiculously happy. Shyuu's words gave him hope that this would not be their last meeting.

Shyuu led him to a ramen stall. After that, they had candied apples and takoyaki for dessert. Tezuka found himself enjoying every moment of it as they visited each stall and participated in the games set up by the villagers. Shyuu was like no other girl he knew before.

It was almost midnight by the time they left the festival. Shyuu declined Tezuka's offer to send her home despite the earlier incident.

Tezuka felt reluctant to let her go. He wanted to see her again, but didn't know how to express his feelings.

"Ne, Tezuka. Since you are relatively new here, do you need a guide to show you around? I'm free tomorrow afternoon, if you need one," Shyuu offered shyly.

"Hnn." Tezuka nodded eagerly, glad that Shyuu had provided him a reason to see her again.

Shyuu gave him a beautiful smile that melted his heart. "Well then, meet you at the bakery tomorrow at two," she said, before departing with a wave.

Tezuka waved back, then watched until she disappeared from his sight before making his way back to the onsen.

He couldn't believe that he had a chance to meet such a wonderful girl on the island.

The next afternoon, Tezuka made his way to the bakery at a quarter to two. Shyuu was already waiting there when he arrived.

She was wearing a peach-colored yukata that brought out her creamy complexion and the blue of her eyes. Her silky rich chestnut hair was blowing gently in the breeze. A smile graced her soft pink lips when she saw him.

Tezuka felt his heart skipped a beat. Shyuu looked even more beautiful in broad daylight, if that was possible.

"You came," she said, half expecting he wouldn't turn up.

I wouldn't miss it for the world, Tezuka wanted to say, but all he ended up doing was offering a small smile and a nod.

Shyuu didn't seem to mind. Linking her arm through his as if it was the most natural thing in the world, she ushered Tezuka down the road.

"Let's start with the tourist sport, shall we?" she said cheerfully. "Have you heard about the famous well on this island? It is believed that…."

Tezuka was so acutely aware of Shyuu's warmth beside him that he didn't hear a single word she said.

After a couple of hours of sightseeing, Shyuu brought him to an ice-cream shop.

"Let's order something. Your treat this time, OK?" she winked.

"Ah." Tezuka wasn't particularly fond of sweets, but ordered something anyway to indulge Shyuu.

Holding their ice-creams in hands, Shyuu then led him to the beach. "Ne, Tezuka, there is something I want to show you," was all she said.

They arrived at a sheltered cove hidden from view. Shyuu plopped down on the sand. "This is my hideout," she told him as she took a lick of her ice-cream. "It's the perfect spot if you want to be alone."

Tezuka sat beside her, wondering why she brought him here.

"Let's watch the sunset, ne?" she suggested, earning a nod from Tezuka.

They ate their ice-cream in silence. Tezuka couldn't help stealing glances at Shyuu from the corner of his eyes. The evening sun had turned her hair into rich burgundy.

"Shyuu, do you have a boyfriend?" he suddenly found himself asking, and flushed. That was the first bold thing he had ever said.

Blue eyes dancing with mirth, Shyuu cocked her head at him. "Why do you ask? Are you, by any chance, interested in me?" she teased.

When Tezuka didn't reply, she slid a little closer to him. "If I said no, will you ask me out?" she went on.

Tezuka couldn't tell if Shyuu was serious or not, but he decided to be more vocal about his feelings from now on because he really liked her. A lot.

"If I do, will you say yes?" he asked in return, his heart beating rapidly as he waited for the reply.

He heard Shyuu chuckled. "Kiss me first, then."

It wasn't something Tezuka would normally do, but goaded by Shyuu's words, he leaned forward and did as told.

Both of them were slightly out of breath when they broke apart. Tezuka's heartbeat was ringing in his ears, and it was a long while before it returned to normal. He hadn't expected the kiss to be so mind-blowing.

"Will you go out with me?" he asked once more in total seriousness.

Shyuu gave a cheeky grin in return. Pulling him by the shirtfront, she brought their lips to meet again by way of answer.

The days that followed were the happiest for Tezuka. He hadn't imagined that being in love was so wonderful, yet so agonizing. Every night after parting with Shyuu, he would yearn for morning to come so that he could be with her again.

The night of the Tanabata Festival, Tezuka brought Shyuu to the top of the hill to watch fireworks. He also wanted to talk to her about their future together. He would be leaving the island in a couple of days, but he didn't want things to end just like that.

He knew that Shyuu lived somewhere in Chiba, which wasn't that far from where he lived. Somehow he would make arrangement for them to continue seeing each other.

Shyuu's hand was intertwined with his as they sat watching the fireworks decorating the sky with iridescent colors. Her head was resting lightly on his shoulder.

While Tezuka was busy trying to figure out how to bring up the subject of their impending departure, Shyuu broke the silence. "Ne Tezuka, do you know the story behind the Tanabata Festival?"

"Ah."

Shyuu turned her mesmerizing blue eyes on him, smiling. It never ceased to fascinate Tezuka each time he looked into those beautiful blue orbs. "Tell me?" she coaxed.

"It's the story about the cowherd and the weaver," Tezuka started, trying hard to recall the tale that he had heard in his childhood. "They were in love, but were cruelly separated for some reason or other. They could only meet on a certain day of the year, and a bridge of magpies will form on that day for them to be reunited."

"Is that all?"

Tezuka nodded.

"That was the shortest, most unromantic version I've ever heard," Shyuu teased.

That earned a grunt from Tezuka. "I am not a fan of children's tale."

She laughed, but somehow it had a sad ring to it. Tezuka frowned. Something was bothering Shyuu. He had sensed it for a few days now, but had brushed it off as merely his imagining.

Shyuu was speaking again. "Don't you think that it was a sad tale? They couldn't be together even though they were in love."

Suddenly it dawned on Tezuka. Shyuu was probably troubled about their relationship as well. He needed to assure her that what he felt for her was genuine and not just a summer fling thing.

Tezuka brought their joined hands to his lips. "It's not going to happen to us. I…I know I haven't told you this," he professed awkwardly, "but I love you, Shyuu. I want us to keep on seeing each other even after we leave the island."

He glanced at her, trying to gauge her reaction to his confession. Shyuu smiled at him, but somehow he could still feel a lingering sadness in that smile.

"Ne Tezuka, what if I wasn't the person you thought you knew? Will you still love me?"

Tezuka nodded straight away. "I will love you, no matter what," he replied stubbornly.

"I love you too," Shyuu suddenly leaned over and kissed his lips. Tezuka's arms automatically encircled her slender body and brought her closer for a deeper kiss. Shyuu's words reverberated in his enraptured mind. He should invite Shyuu to the onsen tomorrow to meet his parents. He was sure his mother would be ecstatic.

A while later, Tezuka broke off the kiss, partly out of breath and partly because he was getting dangerously aroused. As much as he would like to progress beyond kissing with Shyuu, he wouldn't pressure her until she was ready for it.

To his utter embarrassment, Shyuu noticed the evidence of his arousal clearly.

"I…I think we better stop, Shyuu," he tried ineffectively to cover up his current state, his face flushed to the tips of his ears.

"Let me help you," Shyuu offered boldly, her hands already reaching down to unzip Tezuka's pants.

"Wh…at? Shyuu, no…" Tezuka never thought he would hear such a brazen suggestion from her. And then his mind went completely blank. Shyuu took him in her mouth and was giving him the greatest pleasure he had ever felt. On their own accord, his hands buried into her fine silky hair and guided her mouth.

As Tezuka gently floated back to earth aftermath, he found Shyuu delicately wiping her mouth.

Oh God, she swallowed it, Tezuka's blush came back a hundred fold.

"I…I'm very sorry," he apologized and frantically helped Shyuu to clean up. He felt guilty that he was the only one feeling pleasure even though she volunteered it herself.

For the first time that day, Shyuu gave him a genuine smile. "It's all right. I love you." She leaned over and kissed him again.

Tezuka woke up the next morning feeling on top of the world. Yesterday, he found out that Shyuu loved him as well. And she had agreed to come and meet his parents too. He couldn't be happier. He was almost whistling with joy.

As he was having breakfast, his grandmother poked her head in. "Kunimitsu, there's a letter for you."

"Who is it from?" Tezuka asked in surprise.

His grandmother shrugged and placed the letter in front of him. "I don't know. Someone asked Aoki-Chan from the ramen shop to deliver this to you."

"Ah, thank you, Grandma." Tezuka waited until the old lady had gone out of the room before looking at the letter in his hand.

He frowned. His name was neatly inscribed in front of the envelope. There was no return address and no stamp. So it must be written by someone he knew on the island.

And the only person he knew besides his grandmother was Shyuu. But why would Shyuu write him a letter instead of coming here to talk to him herself?

Suddenly, overcame by a sense of foreboding, Tezuka tore the letter opened. He scanned through it, his worst fear coming true.

Tezuka,

I know that my action speaks of cowardice, but I couldn't bring myself to face you directly after what I'm about to tell you. You will find out the truth sooner or later.

My real name is Fuji Syusuke. I am not who you thought I was. I am a male, though you are not the only one that had mistaken me for a girl. I am sorry for not correcting you sooner. My only excuse was that I was attracted to you. I was afraid that you wouldn't want to get to know me if I had told you that I was a guy.

You must feel truly repulsed now that you know everything is a sham. I wouldn't be surprised if you hate me with all your heart for making a fool out of you.

I couldn't stand the thought of you despising me so I am disappearing from your sight for good. Once again, I apologize. Hopefully, someday, you will somehow find it in your heart to forgive me.

Fuji Syusuke.

Tezuka was momentarily stunned. His beautiful Shyuu was actually a guy in disguise? How could that be?

"Tezuka, did you have a good summer?" Oishi Syuichiroh asked his good friend at the start of the semester.

Tezuka was sitting at his desk, gazing absently out the window. He nodded wordlessly.

Oishi scratched his head. Although it was usual for Tezuka to be aloof and tight-lipped, he could sense something else was bothering his friend.

He wanted to ask about it, but knew Tezuka would only talk when he was ready.

"That's nice." Oishi replied, trying to keep the conversation going. "I went to my grandparents' fruit orchard. There were so many fruits that we couldn't finish them. We brought a lot back too. Feel free to come to my house later."

Tezuka nodded again. Oishi was about to say more when he was suddenly being called away by the class monitor. Tezuka was glad to be left with his thoughts again. He knew his friend meant well, but right now, he wanted to be alone.

It was approximately 3 weeks after that disastrous incident. Initially, he felt betrayed. Then anger at being lied too. And finally grieve. But never once did he feel disgusted at Shyuu. Or Fuji, to be more precise.

Tezuka thought back about the happy times they spent together. He wished he could see Shyuu again and talked to him. To tell him that he still liked him even though he turned out to be a guy.

But Shyuu had disappeared without a trace since that day. And the fool he was, he was too caught up in love to find out more about him other than that he stayed in Chiba. So it was kind of hopeless since Chiba was a huge prefecture, encompassing more than 6 millions people.

The only thing that Tezuka could was to wait and hoped that Shyuu would turn up on the island again next year.

Tezuka stared out at the clear blue sky. It reminded him so much of Shyuu's eyes. Would this really be the end for them?

"Ne Inui, tell me what you know about the new student?" Tezuka suddenly heard one of his classmates, Touko Seiji, asked Seigaku's popular data man, who incidentally, was also a member of Tezuka's tennis club.

The lanky boy pushed up his glasses and immediately flipped through his bible of a notebook. He grinned. "My sources tell me that the newbie is a beauty…"

Touko's ears perked up. "Really? We are going to have a cute girl? I can't wait. Finally, my prayer has been answered."

"Ah, not a girl, but a bishounen…" Inui informed in a deadpan manner.

"Urghh, wasted," Touko shook his head dejectedly, looking heart-broken.

Another classmate, Yamasaki Kenjirou, teased. "Well, I think you should go for it all the same, if he's as beautiful as they proclaimed."

Touko faked a shudder. "No, thank you. Gays are disgusting."

Suddenly Tezuka stood up ad glared at them. "What's so disgusting about gays? They are human too!" With that, he stalked off.

"What's wrong with him?" Touko nudged Inui as they watched Tezuka's rigid departing back. Inui could only shake his head in bafflement and scribbled something in his notes.

Tezuka was still fuming at his classmate's degrading remarks on gays as he exited the classroom. He almost never had an outburst like that, as composed as he was. He needed to cool his head down a little.

Tezuka headed for the rooftop, his favorite spot when he didn't want to be disturbed. Students were not allowed there. Tezuka only had access because he held the key as student president.

As he rounded a corner, something soft collided into him, followed by books flying all over the place.

Tezuka immediately bent down to collect them up. "I'm very sorry. I wasn't looking at where I was going."

A husky voice laughed. "It's all right. No harm done."

Tezuka froze. Slowly he looked up at the guy in front him, hardly daring to believe his ears and eyes.

"Shyuu…."

As his eyes met with mesmerizing blue ones, Tezuka began to believe that there was such a thing as God above. Fate had brought Shyuu to him and he promised himself that he would never let him out of his grasp again.

OWARI

A/N: I have actually written this one-shot way before Love Wager, so you would see some similarity here. I haven't intended to publish this, but as a token of apology for the late update, I thought of offering this as a bonus. Hope you guys enjoy it. Please review if you like it. Thank you!