To Say No, a prince of tennis fanfic

A/N: Blame Frogg and his pep talks. A gen one-shot, focussing on Taka. I don't know how Akutsu manages to creep into everything I write, but he's there. Also, there are mentions of drugs. I can't say that I've actually seen a friend under the influence, so there might be some inaccuracies. I didn't plan for this fic to go that way, or even be published at all. :'D

Set in the future.

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respective owners.

"Can you talk to him?"

Taka cradles the phone on his shoulder, the metal feeling cool on his cheek. He dices the vegetables with ease, and ducks to avoid his father hurrying through the kitchens carrying a very unruly crab that just won't stop pinching. "Are you sure? Me?"

"He won't talk to anyone else."

Taka bites his lip, "I haven't talked to him in months."

"...Maybe that's why you, of all people, can talk to him."

His father is still wrestling with the crab, and Taka looks at the clock on the wall. The time is passing slowly; it's another two hours until his shift ends. He then has to do his science homework: three pages of excruciating questions he doesn't understand. After he showers, he has to come back down to clean up the shop before the drunks come in. Around one in the morning, he will go to sleep and continue sleeping until someone breaks a bottle or morning comes-and then it will be a new day of working working working.

Sengoku is waiting on the other end of the line, and Taka looks back at the clock. Two more hours.

"Yeah, I'll talk to him."

Sometimes, Taka wishes he was a different person. If he could say no, if he didn't always say yes, what would it be like?

And then his father smiles at him, pats him on the back, and Taka realizes that he's just being selfish. At this time, his father needs him most.

More than his friends.

More than tennis.

When his father asks him to work the late night shift on Tuesday, Taka cringes. He knows that on Tuesday, Okushi-san comes. Okushi-san always drinks too much, orders too little and somehow manages to always throw soy sauce around. But Taka hasn't worked a late night shift for a whole month, and his dad is balding.

He says yes.

"You look different," Taka says. He wraps his scarf tighter around him, stays a fair amount of distance away from Akutsu, and looks up at the sky. "Do you think it will start snowing?"

"Don't follow me." Akutsu snarls, walking forward. He goes out of his way to push Taka aside. He's stronger than before, Taka realizes as he feels himself taking a step backwards to reduce his chance of falling. After some wobbling, he looks at the back of Akutsu, smoke trailing upwards from the cigarette in his mouth.

All around them is winter, but somehow nothing is colder than the figure that is getting smaller and smaller in the distance.

Taka will try again tomorrow. He promised Sengoku, after all.

The teacher is young; a newly graduated hopeful that has gotten a good job at the local high school. He clenches and unclenches his hands, hidden under the desk that separates him and Taka.

"You are the only one who hasn't brought in their money yet," he says, trying to sound strict and inspirational at the same time. "Kawamura-kun, I remember in my high school days, these school trips were really fun. You get to sleep in the same room as your friends and travel and see new sights! You've been on them in junior high, right? Weren't they fun?"

Taka laughs nervously, his hand scratching the back of his neck. "I guess I... did. Yes."

The young teacher knows of Taka's background and his family. He knows that Taka sometimes falls asleep in his class, but the poor boy looks so sorry when he wakes up that the teacher just can't lecture him.

Taka, noticing his gaze of pity, rushes to say more things. "But Yoshigawa-sensei, I've already been to Hokkaido in the summertime. I really just went there so... I'm not in a hurry to go back."

He bows his head quickly and repeatedly, closing his eyes. "But please, don't tell my father! I just went to Hokkaido! I don't want to go there again! So there is no need to alert my father!"

Yoshigawa is torn. He is not experienced, and he has never encountered something like this before. Grudgingly, after several more head-bows, he clears his throat. "Kawamura-kun, I hope we can take you with us when we go to Osaka in spring."

Taka says many 'thank you's and 'I hope you have a good time in Hokkaido's but never once does he say anything about the Osaka trip.

As Yoshigawa watches his student leave the staffroom afterwards, he wonders if he ever looked that tired in high school.

"Akutsu."

There is an unmistakable mark on his chin. It's the mark of a punch, a fight, a red swelling bump that stands out on Akutsu's pale skin. Akutsu reaches up to touch it, and glares at Taka. "You should see the other guy."

"Don't fight anymore," Taka pleads, looking down from where he's standing in front of Akustu. Akutsu stays sitting on the ground, uncaring yellow eyes boring into Taka's head.

There is silence. As Taka looks closer, there is dried blood on Akutsu's knuckles. "I thought you were past this." He murmured quietly. "I thought that you had gotten rid of this."

Akutsu just continues staring at him.

"What did he do to you?" Taka asks in a way that is not condescending, just curious. Akutsu always has reasons for why he does things. They're almost never clear, but there always is one.

"I don't remember." Akutsu's eyes are dull behind their gaze.

Taka breathes in through his nose and tries not to cry.

It takes seven punches and four well-aimed kicks to take Akutsu down. Akutsu has more fighting experience and an overwhelming sense to kill, but Taka somehow wins. Not easily, though. His wrist is sprained, and his face is beaten up badly.

Looking back, Taka doesn't even know himself how he won the fight.

Inside, he thinks that it was probably because Akutsu had wanted him to win.

The four days that he's supposed to be in Hokkaido for, Taka spends with Akutsu. They use every trick in the book, and Taka gets punched a few more times before finally, finally, Akutsu flushes all of his weed down the toilet. He falls asleep soon after, and then Taka goes on a hunt.

He looks under mattresses, inside pillowcases, and even digs guiltily through Yuuki's old photo albums. He finds one more small package of weed, and flushes that down as well.

There could be more, he supposes. But he believes, just by the sheer size of that first packet, that Akutsu must have gathered all of it and flushed it down.

Akutsu isn't a regular addict. If he wants to quit, he'll quit. There's no doubting that.

When he calls Sengoku later, Sengoku jokes that Taka trusts Akutsu too easily. He'll probably be back doing the same thing in two month's time.

Taka, in all seriousness, says no.

It's a very funny feeling.

"Fuji stopped by today," His dad mentions casually as Taka comes down the stairs, textbook in hand. There's no helping out at the sushi bar until his hand heals, something Taka is infinitely relived and apologetic for.

"Oh?" Taka replies absentmindedly, setting his book down. He bumps his bandaged wrist, wincing.

"Yeah. He used that vacation you got from school to go to Hokkaido. Brought back souvenirs."

Taka almost falls off his seat. "O-oh?" He analyzes his Dad's face, half terrified and half dreading.

However, the older Kawamura bears only a wide smile. "I haven't seen that kid in so long! He's still kind of creepy, but it was refreshing. You should invite the tennis team over sometime, have a reunion or something."

Taka smiles.

"I'm not always going to cover for you," Fuji mentions as Taka pours his science experiment down the drain. "Really, I mean it. You should come next time, Taka-san."

Taka rinses his beaker slowly, goggles still on his head. "I'll see."

"Yoshigawa-sensei is shocked, you know. To skip the Hokkaido trip and come back with a face covered in bruises wasn't the smartest idea." Even though he's being lectured by him, Taka notices that Fuji sounds somewhat amused.

"I went to go see Akutsu." Taka replies, smiling slightly. "I don't regret it, either."

Fuji does his strange I'm-actually-smiling-this-time smile. "Oh good, I was afraid you were going to apologize about it."

Taka does a double take as he dries the beaker. "Should I?"

"No," Fuji tilts his head, "I actually hate it when you apologize to me, Taka-san."

"Sorry," Taka apologizes.

"You're amazing, Kawamura-senpai desu!"

Taka rubs the back of his neck with his good hand and tries not to blush too much. "No, not really."

Dan is all wide eyes and smiles and adoration. "No, you are! Sengoku-senpai and I have been trying for months to make Akutsu realize what he's doing, and all you needed was four days desu!"

"How is he doing, by the way?" Taka, eager to shift the conversation to someone else, smiles nervously.

"He's still angry, but he doesn't fight as much." Dan pauses. "I think."

Taka raises an eyebrow. "You think?"

Dan's hands fly to his mouth. "Oh, I wasn't supposed to say that desu. Oh, please pretend that you didn't hear me, Kawamura-senpai!"

"Why were you not supposed to say that?" There's a familiar feeling in his stomach that makes Taka wince. "Dan, tell me."

Dan's eyes flick back and forth between Taka and the ground. "Akutsu told me not to tell you, but..."

Taka runs off to find Sengoku.

And Taka wonders, what caused all this to happen. Just a week ago, he was merely a self-pitying sushi waiter who never raised a hand against anyone. Countless bruises and lies later, he's standing in front of Sengoku with one fist clenched. And he knows, he knows that he will regret this later, but he and Sengoku both know what's coming.

So he punches Sengoku with all his might, sending the redhead straight to the ground, swearing and holding his cheek.

"You didn't stop him." Taka says, and he's almost thankful that he's close to crying. At least he hasn't turned completely into a cold-hearted fighting machine yet.

Sengoku sits up painfully, as if everywhere was hit instead of just his face. "I tried, I did!" He doesn't ask why Taka is there, why he hit him, who they're talking about. They both know.

"No, you didn't." Taka's voice shakes, and he knows that Dan is somewhere in the bushes, most likely horrified. "You didn't really try, Sengoku. Because if you did, you could've stopped him."

"I couldn't have stopped him. He made the decision for himself." Sengoku's eyes do the same thing Dan's did, flittering from Taka to the ground.

Taka doesn't say anything for a minute, staring at Sengoku.

"I don't know why I didn't," Sengoku whispers finally. "I don't know why."

Taka can leave now, because Sengoku has admitted it and understands. But he doesn't, because there's one last thing he needs to say, even if it means that he'll hurt Sengoku's feelings.

But he has to say it, so Taka steps forward to tower over Sengoku and says, "You can't expect to be friends without contributing anything yourself, Sengoku. I'm not going to come whenever you don't want to deal with Akutsu."

And with that, Taka leaves. He knows by now that Dan is most likely crying, and he himself is pretty close to it too. Taka is done with visiting Yamabuki now, or at least for a few months. He feels horrible about everything he's done, but somehow... Taka feels incredibly light.

"If I let you in you have to promise you're not going to fucking cry."

Taka almost laughs. "I won't."

Akutsu opens the door, and Taka breathes in sharply. His complexion hasn't changed, but Taka can tell that Akutsu hasn't touched weed since those few days. His sharp eyes are focussed, grounded. But looking down, he's still wearing his working uniform and he smells like gas and there is dirt on his overalls already. Behind him, the apartment is empty save for a bed and a kitchen. Not even a TV.

Taka knows that Akutsu loves watching TV.

"You coming in?" Akutsu asks as Taka stays rooted to his position.

"Not yet. I made a promise, right?" Taka watches as Akutsu turns around, and then he takes it all in again.

Akutsu has dropped out of high school and gotten his own apartment.

Akutsu now works at a gas station.

Akutsu could have been stopped.

Taka cries until his eyes are red, his nose is dripping and he can't feel his fingers anymore. Then, and only then, does he step into the apartment.

"Don't apologize." Akutsu says from where he's still turned around, his back facing Taka.

Taka blows his nose. "Can I thank you then?"

"Stop being so fucking polite." Akutsu snorts, turning around. There is a hint of a smile on his face, but Taka will never mention it because something tells him that if he did, he would get kicked out.

They won't call each other friends because Akutsu doesn't have friends and Taka doesn't need to say it out loud so long as he knows it himself, and that suits them both just fine.

In the end, Taka only stays for another five minutes because that's when Sengoku calls Akutsu. He slips out the door as Akutsu starts yelling; he knows that Akutsu isn't really all that angry.

When he gets home, his father tells him that Dan left a message for him. Tomorrow, he's invited to go over to Sengoku's house to eat cake.

Taka imagines Akutsu eating cake and RSVPs immediately.

There is a brief moment when Sengoku walks in from the kitchen that there is tension flying all around everyone in the room, but then he grins and says that the cake is mango-flavoured and Dan chirps that he loves mangoes and everything is smooth again.

On Taka's right sits Akutsu who is sullen and grumpy but eating every single piece that Dan loads onto his plate, and on Taka's left sits Sengoku. They don't speak to each other for the first ten minutes, each not meeting the other's eyes.

Then, Dan goes to the bathroom (but really he's just listening behind the closed door) and Akutsu starts laughing.

"Are you going to punch the brat next?" He asks, and Taka feels that strange feeling in his stomach again.

"No." Taka says it again, his stomach flipping. It's a strange word, but he thinks it's easier to say now. "I wouldn't do that to poor Dan."

Sengoku raises an eyebrow. "But it's okay to do it to me?"

"Not everything's about you, dickhead." Akutsu replies, making them all laugh even though he honestly did not mean it as a joke.

"Does it still hurt?" Taka asks, still a little wary.

Sengoku looks around the room, and grins. "Not anymore."

"How's your wrist?" Akutsu mutters, trying not to sound caring. Dan giggles silently behind his hiding place.

Taka smiles full-heartedly, another refreshing feeling. "I think it's good enough to start working again next week. Which is when you're all invited to have sushi at my place, by the way."

Sengoku whoops and Akutsu tells Dan to get the fuck back into the living room.

And Taka is happy.