Disclaimer: These animes are copyright of their respective creators. In short, I don't own shit.
Author's Notes: This would be a three to four (and if I'm feeling high, five) chapter fic. I got bored of thinking whether I should make my character in "Two Tezukas?!" appear soon or just wait for the right time. Until then, I'm writing this down.
I know that there are already a lot of PoH crossovers, but there's no TezuRyo (only fic that I read in PoT aside from the Silver Pair and some random fic that caught my fancy)
The PoH takes place at the time that Leon had found Count D in Yokohama's Chinatown.
Warning: Yaoi! Antagonist! Mizuki and Atobe. Seigaku centered fic! Shota (If you consider Ryo-chan as a 599 year old but looks like 12 a shota) and Pet! Ryoma, Kikumaru, Kaido and more to come.
Pairings: TezuRyo (Yay!), OishiKiku, InuiKaido, KawaMomo, mentions of TezuFuji and AtoRyo
Summary: Grieving for his fiancé's death, Tezuka's best friend, Oishi, suggests that he buys a pet to help relieve some of his pain. Petshop of Horrors/PoT Crossover
Character's Age:
All Third Years in the Anime- 24
Momo and Mamushi- 22
Ryoma- looks like a 12 year old though already 599 years old (Reason why I warned shota. I don't know if it's shota or not, but just to be safe)
"Talk"
'Thought'
"English"
"Our motto is to sell love, dreams, and hopes." --- Count D
The Man That Sheds No Tear
Chapter 1
Tezuka Kunimitsu, one of the most famous tennis players of the twenty-first century, was always called a stoic man who could never show any emotions. At the statement, the man himself couldn't help thinking that the accusation must be true. At the young age of twenty four, his fiancé of five years, Fuji Syuusuke, had just died of leukemia. They did not know how the always smiling man got the disease, but it doesn't change the fact that his friend and lover died.
At Syuusuke's burial, many of their colleagues and friends came. Yuuta, Fuji's younger brother, decked him on his right cheek in front of all those people while shouting profanities at him for not even looking sad by his brother's death. If not for Oishi's calming of the boy while Momoshiro restrains both the lefty's arms, Tezuka would have more to deal with than a bruised cheek.
Now, after one year of his love's death, his close friends could see the effect's of their friend's death to the man. After Fuji's death, he retired from pro tennis and lived his life in solitude inside his and Fuji's house. They had bought the small house in Yokohama after Tezuka got his first price winning in the US Open. He bought the small two story house with the price winning together with the hefty amount from his savings(1), and gave it as Fuji's twenty-first birthday gift. The photographer completely fell in love with the view of the ocean and the large open space and in his last breath; it was the last thing he had seen together with Tezuka. In fact, the large lot they bought is one of the few places in Yokohama where it is not completely touched by human hands and could easily be sold for a large billion of yen.
A month of his hermitage passed, Yuuta asked for his forgiveness for his past action and the man readily accepted, with a poker face that just aggravates the young Fuji more and made a mad dash away from him before he was again tempted to punch the other man's face in. After that, he busies himself with watching his and Fuji's tennis plays from junior years and to pro. He remembers the time when Syuusuke quitted from being pro to be able to be one of the best photographers in the Japanese magazine. Though the light haired man would be used to cover some other articles, it still could be said that he loves tennis as much as he loves his lover.
The prodigy would have wanted to stay in his haven for the rest of his natural life if not for his best friend, Oishi Shuichiro's insistence that he leave the house once in awhile. The now certified physician, together with his crimson colored Ragdoll, Eiji, is always visiting him every Sunday to check on his welfare and to update him about their other friends' lives. After many weeks of worrying the mother hen of the group, Tezuka unwillingly agreed to accompany him on his next visit around Yokohama.
"Now, Tezuka, it won't hurt you to look around the pet shop. The store has a various rare and exotic pets for sale. In fact, it's where I bought Eiji!" Oishi babbled on as they walk through Yokohama's Chinatown. Oishi had pleaded the other man to accompany him on his errand. The cat nip that his Eiji loves so much is almost out of stock in their house and he could only buy it at the Chinatown's pet store. Eiji, on the other hand, couldn't stop moving inside his blue, little pet bag (2) that acts as his cage and warmer, and once in a while, would peek at the areas they are walking pass. They had originally brought Tezuka's Porsche, but the narrow and winding path of Chinatown makes it hard to drive on a busy Sunday such as this.
Tezuka sighs as he rubs his temple with one of his gloved hands. It is already mid-autumn and the weather has become a bit too chilly for his taste. It makes him want to hit his head on the nearest wall for being too soft to his best friend's pleading. "No, Oishi. I would not burden myself with the duties of being a pet owner. I have no time for it."
At those words, Oishi chuckled. He then pulled the pet bag closer to himself. Eiji purred loudly in content at the warmth the human is giving off. "I think that you need a new past time that is more productive than counting the hundreds of tiles in your house."
"Two hundred ninety-six to be precise," the other man added humorlessly. It wasn't his fault that he became interested on counting how many tiles he has in his house. The house was already built when he and Syuusuke bought the place.
"That's not the point," the doctor sighs. "After Syuusuke left us," at the name Tezuka's posture became more rigid, but his friend is encouraged by this invoked reaction from the stoic man and urges him on, "You had become more secluded than you were back then. At least then, we could see you face to face at least when you go back home, but now, you are making you life slip away from your own hands! Tezuka!" he shouted, making the people near them stare. "You must live your life more. I, no, we are very worried about you! Please, Tezuka, open up more." At his best friend's unresponsiveness, Oishi just got more frustrated at his friend's stubbornness. "Fine!" he growled. Tezuka just looks at him with his cool expression. "If you don't get a new pet, I'll call Inui and get him to feed you one of his 'nutritional foods'"
The threat made Tezuka's skin crawl and invoked a response. "Aa." He knows his friend doesn't throw empty threat when he's this pissed off. If push comes to shove, he'll just buy a goldfish and be on his way, and his response made Oishi return to his original character.
"Uh, sorry— Oh! Hear we are." They stop at a narrow stair that leads them to ornate double doors. On one side of the door, a medium sized sign board which shows the name of the store in English script: "Count D's Pet Shop"
'It looks kind of shady.' The brunette thought as his friend knocks on the double door. At the third knock, he was surprised to find a young person who must be no older than them open the door. If he was not used to seeing effeminate men (Fujicough Kisarazu twins cough), he would have mistaken him for a girl, with his elaborately decorated cheongsam and the rich air he gives off.
"Ah, Oishi-san, it's been awhile since I had last seen you." The stranger greeted, bowing to his customers. Looking at the bag looped at his customer's shoulder, he spotted the Ragdoll. "And how is dear Eiji fairing?"
"Haha, he's such a lively bundle!" the owner comments as he took out the cat for the other man to see. "He's also really affectionate with my young patients. He is being a great help in the clinic."
"That is good to hear, Oishi-san." Noticing the other man, a light of dawning came to the man's mismatched eyes, he kneeled one legged on the concrete floor and bowed. "Do forgive my rudeness, my lord."
Tezuka just raised an eyebrow.
"Don't mind, D-san. I should have introduced you first to my friend." Oishi apologized back. Though he doesn't know why D would be so nervous about not noticing Tezuka. "Tezuka," he gestures a hand to the shop owner who had looked at his face after his doctor said his name, "this is Count D… though he did say that the title 'count' was from his grandfather." The black haired man chuckled and the other man just smiled and bowed to the brunette again while Tezuka just nodded lightly. "Count D," he directs his hand to his friend, "this is Tezuka Kunimitsu."
"Our young Prince of the shop had waited all this time just for your arrival." The pet shop owner answers as he stands up after seeing the stoic man's uncomfortable reaction of him kneeling before him. "I am sure that he would be happy that his wait had not been in vain." At the questioning look he got from his two potential customers, he chuckles. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation over some tea."
Perhaps it was him, or perhaps it is an established fact, but the former Seigaku captain couldn't help but feel his teeth ache from all the sweets he is seeing in front of him. Looking away from all the sweets, he starts to get really uncomfortable with all the stares he got from every animal of the shop. Did that goat thing just rolled its eyes? He took a deep breath and couldn't help but feel relaxed at the unique smell surrounding the room.
"This smell," his friend starts, "I always smell it in Inui's home. Do you also sell this kind of stuff, Count?" he asks. D just answers with a mysterious smile.
"This is no ordinary incense, Oishi-san." D explains. "It is a necessary for Inui-san to have this for his pet, and if you are interested, you may buy some for Eiji-kun." A mysterious smile is forming at his lips. Though he doesn't usually allow patrons who have less than exotic pets to get one, the man would eventually find out the uses of the incense soon if the other man would get his special pet. Also, this human is one of the few remaining people who is not completely tainted and could really be trusted. He might as well make a profit on it. 'Business is business.'
"I see. I never knew that Inui-san has a pet." The physician rubs his chin in thought. "What did he buy?"
"Oh, it was one of my exotic snakes. It comes from a family of pit vipers and secretes highly toxic venom."
At those words, the other two men present paled. Both have the same thought in their minds 'Is he using the venom to his experiments?'
"What is this business about a 'Prince' waiting?" Tezuka interjects. Crossing his arms and leg, he asks the owner as calmly as possible. The sooner they finish this talk and buy a goldfish, the better.
D sits on his favorite armchair which is directly facing Tezuka. The kami sighs. 'Why is it that my special pets always go to the stubborn ones? It could not be karma…could it?'
Sipping thoughtfully at his Earl Grey tea, he looks at the man's cold eyes. Letting the small cup return to the table, he sighs. He knows that he could not object a direct order of the animal kingdom's prince.
"The Prince of our pet shop," he said, looking at his audience; both showing curiosity in their eyes, "is a vital being to the existence of humans for almost thousand of years." At the incredulous look he got from the ex tennis pro, he waits for the objections to come.
"Firstly, it may be possible that this person you are referring to could be of royal birth," the bespectacled man explains, "but to say that he has been alive for thousands of years is absurd! I'm done with your psychosis." Standing up from his seat, he heads for the way they had entered.
"I am not lying Tezuka-san."
Tezuka just glares. "I am not in deep sorrow that I could be easily tricked into believing such fantasies." His friend just stares at him. It is his first time to see the stoic man livid after a whole year of just seeing him give a poker face.
"Tezuka," the bowl cut haired man console. "Even if it is just some old fairy tale, it would be nice to hear one once in a while." Successfully calming his friend and making him return to his seat, he gestured for the Chinese to continue.
"The Prince is rarer than any of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellation. It all started millenias ago; back then, the world is controlled by the Four Great Mystical Being, while the Kirin watches over all things living. In those times, it was peaceful. Man harmonizes with nature and treats every living being with great respect, but then, disaster strikes. It was just a small misunderstanding that even now, cannot be remembered the reason for the fight between Byakko of the West and Seiryuu of the East, but it was said that a human woman from Seiryuu's land started all of it.
The woman had ill intention to the lord of the East, Byakko, because it was rumored that her lord is deeply in love with him. She obsessively loves Seiryuu and tries fruitlessly to find Byakko's weakness so that she may kill him. When Seiryuu found out though, one thing led to the other and in the end, the woman and her family was slaughtered by Seiryuu himself.
It was rumored that the Azure Dragon truly has deep feelings for the great tiger, and had seen the woman as an enemy, but Byakko had thought that the woman was a spy from him and because it had never been cleared, it became a full blown war. It was a battle that had shaken the world. Therefore, it was right to say that what had occurred had devastated the balance of Yin and Yang. Seiryuu and Byakko were the most bitter of enemies for an entire five century, while Suzaku had joined the fight against Seiryuu; Genbuu remains neutral for the sake of his remaining humans, and the Kirin had tried to pacify the two; knowing full well that if he uses his power, he would just add more humans to a meaningless battle.
For centuries, the two heavenly beings fought, and in one of their battle, blood that could only be taken by another heavenly beast, was spilled by these two and intermingled on a budding lotus. The Kirin, who has power over the Four Mystical Beasts, had found the shining flower, and nursed the bud to grow.
As the bud starts to bloom, the Kirin gave it her own chi, making the flower bloom on the night of the full moon. The flower bears fruit to a part dragon, part tiger and may be from the Kirin's power being sucked in by the flower, part horse. Because of the child's existence, the Kirin was finally listened to by the parents and Byakko and Genbuu and had promised them to never trust humans and fled the land of the mortals.
At present, our Prince is descended from that flower. Though he is only five hundred ninety-nine years old now, he is one and the same; he had stayed in this world, trying to realize his own purpose of existence. He had only left his past bodies and had created a new one as his own and exists eternally— the only one of his kind."
"This is getting ridiculous." Standing up, Tezuka starts to go out of the room. He looks at Oishi only to find the man being hugged by a red headed man with blue eyes.
"Oishi! I could finally speak to you!" the man cried, hugging the other man and smiling like a cat. Oishi, too shocked by the stranger, just stuttered the oh so important question.
"W—who are you?"
The man who is wearing only a white hoody shirt with blue stripes going across it and a simple pair of jeans went teary eyed. "Mou, Oishi no baka! It's me; you're beloved neko-chan Eiji."
Seeing that the soft hearted man is close to hyperventing (and Tezuka still frozen by the sight), D took Oishi's cup of tea and guided it to his customer's lips.
"Arigato, D-san." He expresses his gratitude by giving the count a weak smile, which made the cat boy pout and wave his arms around.
"Mou! D-chan, Oishi is mine!" He shouted to the whole room, and from the lack of other animal noises, they were wise enough to leave when they found the Ragdoll turn into his human form, successfully dodging the obvious outburst that would happen.
"Hai, hai," the Chinese agrees as he plasters his ever present smirk on his face.
Looking at the man's plastered smile, the grieving man is again reminded of his lover who does the same thing to him. He sighs and focuses himself to his friend's predicament. 'The stranger doesn't look like he means any harm, but…' "If you really are Eiji, how would you prove it to us?" he directed to the stranger.
Eiji grinned and glomps his owner some more. "Nya, last night, Oishi fed me tuna for dinner and then took me to bath with him. Then, when we were going to sleep, he pulled out a shiny, paper thingies (magazine) and looks at mating tom cats and his pants grew a Mph!— " by that part, Oishi censored whatever the young man was about to say.
"I believe you!" the doctor cries as he struggles to muffle the cat boy's chatter. It's embarrassing enough that his best friend would know about his nightly routine more so letting the count learn about his orientation. "Uh…" The pale man just giggled.
"At least," changing the topic for the embarrassed man's dignity, "Please, look at our merchandise and see for yourself if it is not really to your liking. It will not hurt to look, would it, Tezuka-san?"
Somehow, Tezuka felt that he could not escape the store without doing at least that and had agreed. "Aa."
The narrow winding hallway of the store's back room makes the ex pro feel claustrophobic. It had been thirty minutes since they start walking and passing by ornate double doors. He also notices that the doors start to get less and less as they delve deeper in the room. Moreover, the incense that is lit through the hall makes him feel relaxed and drowsy enough to drown the pair behind him (Oishi and Eiji) even though the cat boy whines loudly to his master about god knows what.
"We will be there soon everyone, Eiji-kun," the Chinese man crooned to the poor cat that had to be half dragged, half carried by his owner. Said cat boy just meowed pitifully and hides behind Oishi.
The cat boy knew that the farther they are going, the more rare and dangerous the pet is going to be. 'We even passed Honlon's (4) door!' He stops walking when he accidentally bumps into Oishi's back. Looking up from his master's back, the cat boy is awed by what he is seeing. They are at the front doors of double doors he had ever seen. The door is made of fine gold and is studded by many precious stones. At the very middle of the two, is engraved the animal forms of the four mystical beasts.
"We are here." The Count confirms their question and immediately opens the door before him.
Shivering, the humans and cat shivered at the coldness of the room they are entering. "Count, couldn't you turn on the heater?" Oishi asks as Eiji hugs his left arm for more warmth and he, in turn, moves to the warmth his cat gives off.
D just gave him one of his saccharine smiles. "Gomen, Oishi-san. Even if I wish to do so, the prince would just likely cool the room more." Holding the rope that is attached to a silk white curtain, Tezuka had felt trepidation at what lies beyond the thin fabric. "Behind this curtain is our beloved prince."
As D pulls the rope that parts the fabric, Tezuka cannot help by be awed by what it reveals. There on a spacious dark room, lies a large block of ice that stretches to the tall ceiling, and inside the ice rests a beautiful boy. His hair is a mix color of black and green. His lithe body laden with fine gold and jewels and his hanfu (5) is dyed with the vibrant color of red and the purest of white.
"This is our prince. He was asleep for 599 years waiting for his rightful master. It is quite intriguing that he had summoned me three months before he reaches adulthood (which is 600 years old, Tezuka-san). It must be fate that brought you in his crucial point of life."
Tezuka was not listening at what the shop owner is saying. All he could do is stare at the child inside the frost. The sound of Oishi loudly arguing with the count returned him to reality. "You are planning to sell a child?! This against the law D-san! We could easily report you to the officials because if this."
"Oishi-san, do not forget about Eiji-kun. Even if you see him as a human now, it does not change the fact that he is still a cat. It is only a matter of what you believe. Though you may not see his real form until he reaches adulthood, it does not change the fact that he is not a human."
The man couldn't help, but feel defeated. He knows that the Chinese is right. He only feels this way because the boy trap inside the ice looks so human at the moment, it fogs his better judgment. "But still,"
"How much?"
"Tezuka?"
"How much is the child?"
Count D puts on his mysterious smile.
"Usually, when a patron of mine buys one of my exotic pets, I only give him/her three rules to abide, but this child is the only one of his kind and I must take greater precautions to ensure his safety.
(1) Do not let the smell of incense leave the prince's body.
(2) You may feed him any edible food and drinks, but you must not let a single blood of those animals touch his lips.
(3) Let no harm in anyway come to either of you.
(4) You must give him a goblet of your blood every full moon.
Sounds easy enough, Tezuka-san?"
Looking from the small table where the contract lies to the frozen beauty, he gave a sound of approval. "Aa."
"Very well, if you would just sign your name here, we would start on waking sleeping beauty."
After signing the contract, Count D instructed the new owner to stand in front of the frozen creature. "Tezuka-san, you must level your right hand on the boy's heart." Doing as he was told, Tezuka hears a loud cracking sound coming from the ice. From the warning sound, he shields himself with his left hand, and is surprise to find that the shards of ice seem to dodge him. Looking up, he is astonished as he feels a light weight on him. "Tezuka-san, you must put your lips on him to wake him up.
"Eh?!"
"Please be quiet, Oishi-san. Even I could not handle this child if it feels negatively of trivial things such as waking him prematurely. Without a guardian, he would be ruthless on every living being." At D's statement, Eiji rushes to cover his master's mouth. "Please Tezuka-san; you must kiss him to seal the contract and your pact to your new pet."
Without another word from the count, he lets his lips fall to the creature's soft pink lips.
--------- Tsuzuku---------
(1) Young Japanese like to travel around the world in their vacation. They save their allowance to buy plane tickets or if they don't have enough money, travel to some hot spots in Japan. In Tezuka's case, since he didn't travel a lot when he is young due to tennis practice in their vacation, he could easily save enough money with his allowance. Also, his family is rich and could easily afford it if they want to.
(2) It's usually used for toy dogs, but hey! If your cat fits in it, then why not use it? It looks like a big hand bag that owners (mostly girls) sling on their shoulder. I had one when my beagle was still a little pup, but now, I think that I would dislocate my shoulder if I carry her like that.
(3) The Kirin in the Petshop of Horrors slightly resembles a horse.
(4) Honlon is a three headed dragon that shares one body. They heads have three different characteristics: One is a cry baby (Junrei), the other a representation of Leon's characteristic who is brash and blunt (Kanan), and the last has D's characteristic (Shuko). They look like a little girl with multiple personalities if they're in human form.
(5) Hanfu is translated to "Han Clothing". It's what Chinese wore in the Han Dynasty. In Ryoma's case, he wears the female version (like Mulan's) because in this fic, he is a hermaphrodite and D was the one who clothed him
Author's Notes: I live in a tropical area of the world so I'm not completely certain about the weather temperature in autumn. I couldn't describe something if I haven't experienced. Temperatures and all the stuff I research is meaningless if I dunno how cold it would feel.
You could see that Q-chan is not in the fic. As I said, this happened after the PoH series so D now knows who Q-chan really is. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll give you a summary of the manga's ending.
I'm sorry if I haven't updated "Two Tezuka's?!" yet. Also, I had been away for the past few days. My family and I are going to Hong Kong and I can't bring my bro's laptop because of the tight security sniff. Anyway, please review!