Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue.
Where Jealousy Comes In
Dedicated to Fuji Shuusuke...in a way
The reason why Yuuta elected to go to St. Rudolph instead of Seigaku was quite simple, actually. He didn't want to attend the same school as his older sister.
No, not Yumiko. His other older sister, Fuji Suzume.
It had something to do with tennis, or rather, the captain of the boys tennis team -- who happened to be his sister's boyfriend. That in itself was bad enough, but Tezuka also had a strange obsession with tennis. An unhealthy obsession. Frankly, it creeped Yuuta out. And the rest of the team was just dysfunctional, as far as Yuuta was concerned.
He liked St. Rudolph much better anyway. Mizuki-san was an awesome senpai.
- - -
"Mitsu-chan."
Tezuka Kunimitsu looked up from putting his textbook in his locker and was greeted immediately by the sight of a sweetly smiling girl. Her brown hair seemed to flow in an unseen breeze, as it had an uncanny way of doing.
"Good morning," he replied, and wondered what his girlfriend was up to now.
"Do you have any plans for this afternoon?"
Tezuka was on his guard immediately. The last time she asked that, he'd found himself at her mercy until she had taken enough pictures for not just one, but several photo collections. All dedicated to him.
"Why do you ask?" he said cautiously.
Fuji gave him a hurt expression. Tezuka would never admit it, but he felt oddly warm and fluffy inside. Fuji had a way of doing that to him.
"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go get some ice cream, and maybe spend some quality time together. But I guess you don't want to..."
Oh, well, now he felt guilty. "I never said that." At Fuji's doubting expression, Tezuka sighed mentally, knowing he was going to regret what he said next. "I'd love to go with you...to get ice cream. But it'll have to be after tennis practice."
Fuji's expression lit up instantly. She grasped his hand in delight. "Oh, you're so sweet, Mitsu-chan. I'll meet you at the clubhouse after practice, okay? Don't forget!"
And with a wave, she was off -- just as the bell rang. Tezuka sighed out loud. He was late for class, again.
He didn't even like ice cream.
- - -
"How are the first years doing in the club?" Fuji asked later, as they sat at an ice cream parlor together.
Tezuka was trying to look like he was enjoying his green tea ice cream, while not really eating any of it. It wasn't easy, so maybe that was why he answered without fully analyzing Fuji's questions first. "It's too early to tell, but some of them seem to have real potential."
"Oh?" Fuji took a small bite of her bittersweet chocolate ice cream, tasting it slowly. "I stopped by the courts today," she said casually. "There seemed to be a new kid who was really good. He was wearing a white hat, I think. What's his name?"
Tezuka's Fuji-instincts now took hold, and he sense that there was something hidden in Fuji's words. But she was smiling so innocently that he couldn't tell just what that hidden thing was. "White hat..." he said slowly. "That would be the new transfer student, Echizen Ryoma."
"Echizen? As in Echizen Nanjiroh's son?"
"Yes."
"Hmm." Fuji looked down at her ice cream. "Is he good?"
"Yes."
"Really good?"
"...Yes." What was Fuji trying to get at?
Fuji made a small, sharp movement with her hand, scooping up a spoonful of ice cream with more force than was strictly necessary. Tezuka shuddered involuntarily.
"I see," she said.
- - -
"Echizen Ryoma-kun?"
Echizen was halfway through a bite of his lunch when he heard a sweet voice addressing him. He looked up from his bento and blinked at the girl. She was older than him, though he couldn't tell if she was a second year or a third year.
"...Can I help you?"
The brown-haired girl sat down on the grass beside him, folding her legs and arranging her skirts neatly -- all in one fluid motion. "I heard about you from some of the guys on the tennis team," she said as a way of starting the conversation. She was still smiling. "They're calling you the miraculous first year, did you know? You must be very good at tennis to have made such a strong impression on everyone."
He shrugged. "Mada mada da ne," was the muttered reply.
"Do you play tennis everyday?"
"Yeah." Some of the other kids were already packing up their lunches and getting ready for afternoon classes. Echizen wished the girl would just get to the point, or leave him alone. He didn't look forward to an afternoon of classes without having eaten a proper lunch first.
As if reading his mind, she stood up quietly. "I must be bothering you," she said mildly. "I hope we can speak again some other time, Echizen-kun."
"Wait."
She paused and looked back at the freshman.
"Who are you?" Echizen asked.
She gave him a smile. "Fuji Suzume, third year. Nice to meet you."
Echizen stared after Fuji as she walked away. So that was their team captain's girlfriend.
- - -
Fuji looked up as a shadow fell over her desk. Her eyes opened in surprise when she saw who it was.
"Mitsu! Well, this is a surprise." She turned to face him properly, smiling as always.
Tezuka ignored her smile the best he could, putting forth a stern expression. "Fuji, what did you do to Echizen?"
Fuji blinked at him. "What do you mean?"
"During lunch. What did you say to him?"
"Nothing." Fuji's expression was one of hurt. "I just wanted to talk to him. You can ask Echizen-kun himself, if you don't believe me. Honestly, Mitsu, am I not allowed to talk to your team members if I want to? You never stopped me from talking to Eiji."
Tezuka refrained from commenting on the Kikumaru situation. "I just wanted to make sure."
Fuji watched quietly as Tezuka returned to his own class, expression pensive. She tapped her pencil against the desk. A small smile shadowed her lips as a certain thought wound through her mind.
Could it be that Tezuka was...jealous?
- - -
"Echizen."
The first year in question glanced up from putting his racket away. "What?" he asked.
Tezuka's expression was unreadable. "What did Fuji talk to you about during lunch today?"
Echizen raised an eyebrow at the team captain. "She talked a bit about tennis, and asked if I play everyday. Then she left." He shouldered his tennis bag, adjusting his baseball cap as he did so. "You have a weird girlfriend," he added, almost as an afterthought.
Tezuka remembered himself in time to keep from glaring at the cheeky first year. "That's irrelevant."
Echizen shrugged. "Is there anything you wanted to talk about?"
From their conversation, Tezuka deduced that he had nothing to worry about. Echizen had all the emotional capacities of granite. "No, that's all. There's practice tomorrow morning. Don't be late."
"Sure."
- - -
Fuji was waiting for him outside the clubhouse. "Did you really think I was trying to flirt with Echizen?" she asked.
Tezuka sighed silently. He finished locking up, and turned to see his girlfriend leaning casually against the wall, regarding him with an amused expression. Much too amused, in fact. Tezuka decided that he had to do something about it.
"Mitsu--"
Fuji might have been surprised when she suddenly found herself trapped against the wall, with Tezuka between her and last rays of the sun as it sank behind the school building -- Tezuka didn't bother taking the time to see if she really was, before he leant in and kissed her. Thoroughly enough that Fuji just looked at him for a long moment after they pulled apart.
Finally, a small smile crept over her lips again. "Mitsu-chan..."
"I know I don't have to worry about losing you to anyone." Tezuka might have been smiling, or it might have been a trick of the light. "You love me too much."
Fuji reached up to brush a strand of hair that was falling into his eyes, and laughed. "Same to you," she teased.
This time, Fuji was sure that Tezuka smiled.
"I know," he said.
A/N: Yes, yes, I know I said I was on hiatus. But I just happened to finish this fic (when I should have been studying for a test), so hush.
Said fic is lovingly dedicated to Jessica, because she's the one who got me started on the girl!Fuji idea. :)
Happy holidays, everyone!