Leather Bound Book

Kiyami: Originally this was intended to be for Inuyasha. I got into TeniPuri before I could write it though. This is a tribute fanfic to the Prince of Tennis and all the joys it has brought me. I love you, TeniPuri, I seriously do.

Disclaimers: I do not own The Prince of Tennis. If I did then there would be a whole series revolving around chibi episodes.

Dear Diary,

I'm very happy today. Today's my happiest day ever. Today I kissed Kunimitsu

"He was a loving son and brother. He was a caring friend. Everyone could be charmed by what he did. He was an amazing tennis player and photographer. He was a one-of-a-kind type of person. Fuji Syuusuke will always be remembered." The man stopped. The only sounds present were that of the birds and the sounds of weeping.

How had it happened? Tezuka thought to himself. How had he died? He was still so young.

"Fuji…" Oishi embraced the crying Kikumaru.

Everyone was here. Literally.

From tennis players Fuji had faced in his younger years to the distant blood relatives. They were all here, clustered around the hole meant for Fuji Syuusuke.

"Aniki!" Yuuta sobbed and ran up to the white coffin. He hugged the cold wood and cried. This action brought a new wave of sadness from the other attendants to the funeral. A familiar tennis player went up next to Yuuta and comforted him. Even Mizuki's curls seemed more limp then before.

Tezuka felt strange as he watched the people tear Yuuta away from his brother's coffin. Yuuta shouted and tried to break free of their grasp. It was so strange that only a month before he had seen both Fuji and Yuuta smiling so happily.

How had it happened? How had his life been taken away?

Like the rest of the club, Tezuka had gone on with his solitary path. After high school everyone left to pursue their own dreams. There were few who had chosen to go down the same road as he did. Echizen Ryoma, Atobe Keigo, and Sanada Geiichirou were some of the few who had decided to lead the life of a professional tennis player.

Tezuka saw a lot of Momoshiro too who had become a sports commentator. Momoshiro often guest-starred on food shows as a judge for food. He really did enjoy his job.

Fuji and Tezuka met a lot before his death. Fuji started to work for a sports magazine as a photographer and columnist. The small inch sized photo of Fuji placed in a little corner of the page was enough to rake in a female audience. Fuji was good at what he did.

One day Fuji was driving towards the city from the country. He had been in the countryside to take pictures of the scenery. They were for his private collection of photos that he kept in a special photo album.

A heavy storm came while Fuji was driving. At one particular curve Fuji had veered off the road. Tezuka had been told the death was near instant. No one could have survived the long fall from up high on that mountain towards the base.

Momoshiro was the first to know. Fuji had been going to the city for a sports event with Momo. News traveled fast after that.

Tezuka was a spectator in a tennis match when he had been called on his cellphone. It was Oishi who called since everyone knew the special bond that Tezuka and Fuji shared during their high school days. They knew Oishi would be best to break the news to Tezuka.

+ Flashback +

"Thirty love! Echizen lead!" The man perched on the high chair announced into a microphone.

Tezuka watched in his seat as his former kouhai played. Normally Tezuka wouldn't have the time to watch such a match. He had work to do in the air conditioned building he was employed at. This game was special though. If Echizen won this then it would be the first tournament he would ever win.

Ryoma was dominating the game with his impressive skills. The audience was in awe at the sight of the young and unknown tennis player. He was doing especially well against the winner of last year's tournament.

The cellphone rang. It was a soft, monotonous drone since Tezuka found the happy, little tunes to be unnecessary.

"Hello?"

"Ah…uh Tezuka?" The voice belonged to the former fukubuchou.

"Yes?"

"…It's about Fuji."

Tezuka sighed thinking that Fuji had done something particularly evil again. The sound of Oishi's voice worried him though.

"What happened?" Tezuka's eyes were still on the tennis game, but it would end soon.

"Well..Uh…Fuji…Ano…Tezuka…" Oishi sighed. "Fuji…He died."

Tezuka didn't realize what he had just heard until several long moments. He realized what Oishi said. He realized the sounds of crying in the background, something he hadn't deemed unusual. Tezuka didn't know how to feel at that moment because frankly he didn't know how.

"Tezuka?" Oishi's voice was beginning to waver. "Are you alright?"

"Thank you, Oishi. I have to go now." Tezuka calmly replied, but inside his mind was in a frenzy. This couldn't be true. It was a lie, a prank. Tezuka turned off his cellphone, which cut off Oishi.

Tezuka wanted to deny that Fuji was dead, but he knew that it was true. No one would lie about that especially Oishi.

The sounds of the crowd cheering snapped Tezuka out of his shocked state. Feelings of sadness slammed onto him as he realized that something he cared for so much was gone. Gone just like that.

"Echizen Ryoma, winner!" Someone announced.

The words meant nothing to Tezuka's ears.

The words meant nothing to Ryoma's ears.

Ryoma smiled smugly to the camera while holding a trophy in his hand. He was still short with the reporters towering over him. The happiness and satisfaction of winning soon washed away. Echizen turned to the sound of a familiar voice as one finger pulled on the tab of his grape Ponta.

"Echizen."

"Oh? Tezuka-bu…Tezuka?" Ryoma had to stop himself from adding buchou. It felt weird just calling him Tezuka.

"Come here, I need to speak to you." Tezuka was surprised at how calm and composed he was. A great tragedy had happened and here he was acting as he usually did.

"Sure." Echizen was glad to get away from the flashing cameras. The media followed anyway, eager to learn of the connection between the former pro tennis player and the current tournament winner.

Tezuka glared at the media. It was enough to gain some distance away from them. He sighed and wondered how he would tell Echizen. This was supposed to be a happy occasion for him, right? But he had to tell Echizen. He had a right to know.

"Echizen…" Tezuka started and placed a hand on his former kouhai's shoulder. Photographers captured this moment with a sudden flashing of lights. Fuji would have too…

"What is it?" Ryoma sipped at his drink while wiping away the sweat gleaming on his forehead with a green towel.

"Fuji…He's dead." Tezuka stated, but he failed in trying to let it down nicely. The words came out sounding cold and blunt. He hated himself for that. Unlike Fuji he could never sound friendly and comforting. He was truly an icicle.

Echizen gasped and his limbs went limp. The grape Ponta fell to the ground and splashed their shoes with the sticky substance. His red tennis racket clattered to the ground. His eyes were wide with shock since he had processed the information at a faster rate.

The media surged forward when they saw the expression on the star player's face. They started to interrogate them, but Ryoma ignored everything.

Their words were meaningless to his ears.

The ceremony ended with much grief. Those who had come to pay their respects left as soon as it was done. Some stayed behind, as if Fuji would just pop out of his coffin to say it was only a cruel prank he had played.

Tezuka felt his disgust at himself grow. Even here he could not let go. Throughout the ceremony he had been the only one with dry eyes. Emotionlessly he had watched as people placed flowers on the white coffin, one by one.

The former Seigaku captain stepped towards the coffin, they were going to put the coffin inside the hole once everyone left, and placed his flower on it. He hadn't gone up when the rest of the former regulars were placing their's.

Gently he touched the painted wood. Beneath the wood would be Fuji, dead. He would be a cold, lifeless corpse and there was nothing Tezuka could do about it. Dead…

"Tezuka-san?" Someone called out to his name.

Tezuka turned around to see none other then the brother standing there. Yuuta's eyes were red and puffy from crying. Next to him was Mizuki who stared mournfully at the casket. He had never defeated Fuji and the same went for Yuuta.

"Yuuta." Tezuka addressed the younger man. Yuuta hadn't changed much. His voice may have gotten a little deeper, but he looked the same.

"I think aniki would like it if you had these." Yuuta presented a cardboard box to Tezuka.

Tezuka took the box and looked down at what was in it. Inside were thick, and large leather-bound books. Most of them were a light bluish color with Fuji's full name imprinted on it in silver.

"They're his old diaries, scrapbooks, and photo albums. I think you should have them." Yuuta continued.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"I have to go now, Tezuka-san. Take care." Yuuta attempted at sounding cheerful, but failed miserably. He bit back a sob. Slowly he headed for the exit with Mizuki.

Tezuka arrived in his large apartment. He dropped the box by his couch. Tezuka prepared for himself a cup of tea and grabbed the first book to look through.

It was a diary and the first page he flipped to had a small entry in it.

Dear Diary,

I'm very happy today. Today's my happiest day ever. Today I kissed Kunimitsu

Kiyami: Saa, continue? I didn't like how this turned out. I'm going to go back and rewrite it sometime later. I felt I explained too much. Read and review please!