Title: Past the Memories

Author: DnKS – giRLs

Rating: G

Pairing: FujiRyo (now you can see that without having to look hard)

Disclaimers: not ours, no profit and… you know…

Warning: it's absolutely POINTLESS! Though OOC-ness also adds up the spice…

(A/N: you want sequel, you get sequel. This fic is sequel to "Memories from the Past", so better you read that first or this will definitely make no sense)

Fuji Shuusuke had a scar, a not so large of a scar, if one might add. It was located just merely an inch above his left elbow, on an area covered by the hem of his shirt most of the time. But that morning, regardless what the cause had been, the scar was clearly exposed to the whole world.

There was almost nothing wrong with the scar, though. Someone could easily get himself involved in some accidents that would cause him to suffer several injuries and some of them might leave some marks, some scars as what Fuji had. However, that scar brought something to a certain mind of a certain person.

Echizen Ryoma had just seen that scar on his sempai's skin on that very morning after practise as he sat on a bench in front of the said boy in the clubroom, watching him changing. The scar could barely be seen, a prove that whatever had caused that happened very long ago.

Before that time, he put little to no attention to that little mark on his sempai's perfect skin, not as if he had seen that scar earlier, though. He did not know how his sempai could manage to hide that scar until that moment, but the way Fuji changing in front of him could almost be described as his blunt attempt to show him the scar.

Nevertheless, why?

He could not come to any good explanation, yet he felt that it was almost impossible to avert his gaze from that little scar on his sempai's elbow. He knew he was being irrational, but there was something there, like a long-missing piece of a puzzle, but what?

The scar… the blood… his memories came in a rush of flood to his mind, almost drowned him in the process. He choked at his sudden brainstorm. All of it seemed rational then, all fit to fill the places of the missing pieces in his memory. But was that thing even possible?

He looked up and saw that Fuji was looking down to him. Then without knowing the reason why, he felt his mouth opened and some words coming out.

"Fuji-sempai…" he said before he could think what he about to say was.

"Yes?" Fuji answered. His voice sounded as sweet as it used to be. One would not be able to tell if Fuji had something evil in his mind if he heard the way he was speaking then.

"Are you…" he gulped. "Are you… him?"

He saw Fuji staring at him with a strange look that could best be described as his confusion on hearing what he had just said.

"Well… I am a man if that's what you asked," he finally said.

"Not that!" he said, almost in rage. At once, he leapt up and stood in front of his sempai.

"Fuji-sempai…" he said again.

"Yes?" Fuji answered him again.

"Are you… him? I mean, you know Sue, right? Are you him?" he said, sounded near to pleading. "Are you my Sue?"

For a moment Fuji did not answer, then when finally he spoke, his voice remained the same.

"For as long as I can remember, Echizen, my name has always been Fuji Shuusuke, and I have never been yours," he said.

He saw as his sempai walk outside the clubroom, and without thinking, or maybe it was better be said that he didn't let himself being busied by such a little thing like thinking, he followed the former boy. Outside, the world was displaying such a perfect shade of yellow and red. Autumn was approaching, and the world was ready to sleep under the power of the North wind.

Suddenly, he saw Fuji halt his step. They stood there, tall, still, with thousands of red, and yellow leaves whirling and coiling around their bodies. And as he stared there, seeing his sempai standing with his back facing him, he could only think how beautiful Fuji was with those leaves around him.

"Autumn is coming."

He blinked. He needed more than two seconds or so to register his mind and realize it was Fuji who had just talked.

"Yes, it is," he answered.

"I love autumn," Fuji again said, his back was still facing him without any sign that he would change his position in the near future. "It's neither too cold nor too warm during autumn. And I always think that leaves can only show their best in autumn. Sad, though, that they look so beautiful in their verge of death. But the memory of those lovely scenes can help one to go through the fiercest winter. Only memories and memories alone can do such powerful thing, amazing, eh… Echizen?"

Powerful twine rose between them as Fuji turned his body to meet the eyes of someone watching him so close. The leaves all were being blown up and down and everywhere around and in between the distance of the two, the distance that soon was disappeared due to Fuji's movement advancing the stunned Echizen Ryoma.

He could only watch Fuji's every step as his sempai came nearer to him. Fuji was like those wind-blown leaves, surreal, beautiful, and hard to be described.

"Memories…" Fuji said. "That is also the reason why I love the autumn; do you want to know why, Echizen?"

"Why?" he heard himself speak.

"Because in autumn too, that I first met you."

Red and yellow, all was red and yellow. The world around them was being bathed in the colour of red and yellow.

He remembered it then…

It was autumn when he first met him, not Fuji Shuusuke, but a dear person from his long past, his very long past memories.

It was autumn when he first met his lovely friend whom he called and remembered so dear with the name of Sue.

He believed it as the most truthful words to be told that the person standing before him that time was the very same person who had been haunting his mind for his past years. He could not bring himself to speak any sound, to say any word, to do whatever thing else than staring wide-eyed at the boy in front of him.

"Say it," Fuji said. "Say whatever thing you have in your mind now, Echizen."

He blinked and his voice finally came back in full force to him.

"You are him," he accused.

"Who is he?" Fuji said.

"You are him… Fuji-sempai, why?" he demanded. His hands reached forward but dared not to make any contact to his sempai's skin. "You know… you have known it all along, but why? Why did you not tell me earlier? Even until now, why? You are him, I'm sure. You know how much I miss you, how much I want to see you, how much I… love you, yet why?"

He said all those in one breath. He felt betrayed, he felt cheated. And seeing his sempai's silence as he spoke brought nothing to lessen his disappointment.

"You missed me, you said," Fuji whispered. "You wanted to see me, you said. You loved me, you said, but are that true? Do you really love me or else you love your memories about me?"

He frowned since he could not see any difference between the two things Fuji had spoken.

"But…" he began, just about then Fuji cut him short.

"I know that you'll say that you think the two things are just the same, yet they are not. In fact, those two things are so different," he said.

Those dead leaves under their feet cracked as Fuji took one more step closer to him. At the end, the said boy stood beside him, so close until if he tried, he could pretend that they were holding hands.

"What memories really are? Something you hold so dear? Something you keep so near? Yet however dear you hold them, however near you keep them, you still can't touch them, you still can't feel them, you still can't see them," Fuji said. "Tell me, Echizen, can you touch your memories? Can you feel your memories? Can you see your memories?"

"No…" he answered softly.

"Then let me ask you more," Fuji spoke again. "Can you touch me?"

He was so startled by that question until he did not know how to answer.

"I… I don't know…"

Fuji audibly released a sigh, "Why don't you try?"

Something soft, something solid, something warm touched the back of his hand. He closed his eyes as the contact deepened, enjoying the chance so boldly given to him. He dared his fingers and soon they were entwined with Fuji's fingers. He could feel the warmth, even the rush of blood under that tender skin. He might even be able to see how that small hand looked so perfect in his own hand, but he did not grab the chance.

He just did not dare to open his eyes, afraid that if he did so, all would disappear to nothingness, just like those fairy tales that his mother used to tell him when he was still a little kid.

"Can you touch me?" Fuji asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"Can you feel me?" asked Fuji again as he tighten his hold on their hands.

"Yes," he whispered.

"And…" a hand pulled his shoulders and he felt his eyes snapped open just to see two bright blue eyes staring back at him. "Can you see me?"

"Yes," he said. "I can see you, Fuji-sempai."

Fuji smiled, "So now, let me hear whatever thing you have in your mind once again, ne, Echizen."

That smile brought one too to his face as he said, "I love you."

"And who am I?"

He smirked, "My Fuji Shuusuke."

He had seen those lips smiling before, but never that lovely. Never… yes, never before that time. Maybe it was due to the scenery. Maybe it was because he had seen and felt so many shocking things that day. Maybe it was because he knew the smiling person was no longer a sempai for him. No, that smiling boy was not merely a sempai, Fuji Shuusuke was his.

What good was it for him to hang forever in his memories and missed that smile? What a fool he was. Was he merely too afraid of stepping out from his own memories and without his knowing he had entrapped himself in them?

"Say, Echizen," Fuji said. Wind blew his soft brown hair so he had to wipe some of those tender threads from his eyes. "Do you still love him?"

"Who?" he asked.

Fuji chuckled, "That boy from your memories named Sue…"

"I loved him," he said, knowing that Fuji would notice his using the past tense.

"Saa…" Fuji said. "What a beautiful autumn, isn't it?"

He cared less of the fact that his sempai had just changed the subject. Indeed, that autumn was beautiful, one of the most beautiful times ever recorded in his mind, because that time, he had found a courage to step out from his memories. Now he has lived past his memories and in the past should all his memories forever remain.

"Ne, Echizen…" he heard Fuji said. Tilting his head, he met those eyes gazing at him again. He was smiling; they were smiling like the way they used to do back then in their childhood time. "Let's make some memories together, you and me. Memories that will last forever…Will you?"

He let that question linger in his mind for some times before he observed his surrounding more closely. Being in that beautiful autumn with a lovely Fuji Shuusuke in front of him, was it wrong if he said.

"Yes."

-the end-

(A/N: muahahaha… -ahem- so, what do you think? Is it bad? Is it good? Do you want to kill us now? We kinda think their solution comes a bit too fast, but... oh well, whatever, but please leave us some reviews, ne, and we'll love you to death. YAY!)