TITLE: Who Says College is Easy?
PART: Side Story 2
PAIRING: Atobe Keigo/Tezuka Kunimitsu
GENRE: Shounen-ai (Humour/ Continuation/ Angst / Romance)
DISCLAIMERS: The series I'm referring to does not belong to me… only this weird story does.
NOTES: Blah or Blah is for emphasis. /Blah/ is for conversations over the phone or flashbacks (if any). /Blah/ is for the conscience or whatever inner voice there is talking. Blah is for thoughts or random Japanese words. Some of these words are footnoted at the end of every page (I'm beginning to understand the need for footnotes in fiction. Thank you dear friend, you know who you are. XD).
Side Story 2 (part 1): Deep Ocean Eyes
"Mitsu... wake up..."
The feel of warm indented splotches invaded my fuzzy brain. Annoyed, I swatted it away. "Five more minutes..." I grumbled, burrowing deeper into my comforter. There was a small rumble from somewhere... and then silence. Just when I was about to walk away merrily to dreamland, a sudden suffusion of warmth erupted on the juncture of my neck. "Ugh..." I moaned, squirming against the intrusion. "Yamero1..." I muttered, effectively igniting the source of the rumbling sound again. Honestly, now. Would it hurt if I stayed asleep for five more minutes?
"Mitsu... if you don't wake up now, you won't make it to your first period class..."
First period class? My first period isn't until two in the afternoon... Shocked, my eyes snapped open. Was it already two in the afternoon? Wildly, I looked around, trying to locate the wall clock I knew would be hanging on the wall – somewhere. Ah, there it was...
There was the rumbling again... oh, wait... that isn't...
6:30 a.m.
Tricked – again. Slowly, I turned, eyes narrowed in annoyance, gaze settling on the laughing roommate I had the misfortune to have since senior high, and half of the time I was in junior high, recovering from my injury2. Sometimes, he made me wish I hadn't gone off to this country again... and yet, somehow, he made me thankful I did.
Why? Because I had a secret no one knew.
"Gustav, you idiot." I hissed, giving him the most evil look I could manage. "You've been doing that to me every time I slept late the night before. Are you trying to kill me?"
Gustav Shostakovich's deep shimmering ocean eyes laughed at me. "And you've been falling into the same trap since the first time. You've only been back for six months, lighten up!" He threw back at me jovially. It was just my pure luck that my Glare of Death ™ did not affect him at all. Sighing, I plopped back on my bed. And it was just my pure luck that I was still not very knowledgeable when it came to the German language. I could converse with it, yes, but if I were to be interviewed for a high-paying job – I would definitely end up in the dumps... so I never got to counter him all this time.
"Hey, Mitsu." I stifled a smile. He gave the nickname when he decided he didn't want to tax his poor tongue anymore. The way he said my name was very funny though. Kunimitsu... He said it that he was stressing too much on the "un", the span between I and M was virtually lost... and said the word Mitsu almost lovingly. I guess we were quits after all. I pronounced his name like it was Japanese poison or something. Darn language barriers.
"Hn?" I asked, eyes straying at his tired-looking form as he perched on the side of my bed. "I wanted to let you be the first to know what the doctor told me yesterday... that's why I woke you up this early..." My heart pounded in my ears at his forlorn tone. Immediately, I sat up, staring intently at him.
"What did she say?"
"Do you know how it feels not to do the things you want to do anymore?" He smiled sadly at me. "Like you can never live like you used to?"
My eyes visibly widened. "You don't mean...?"
Gustav nodded, eyes misty as he stared at me. "But it was worth it, you know." The feeling of guilt was there again. If only it did not happen, then maybe things did not become this complicated. His hand was on mine, warm... and yet trembling. It was then that I knew... he was not so strong after all. "I even made my own schedule on what I would do for the remaining two and a half years, so don't look at me like that, smile, smile!" He grinned comically.
"But... you'll go through with it..." I murmured, his perkiness lost on me, turning his hand over and placing my other hand on it. Surgery...
"Yes." Came the sure answer.
There was nothing left to do but cry.
oooOooo
"How do you feel?" I asked, knowing I would never hear anything from the pale motionless lips. My heart constricted for him, and pain lacerated my body as if I was the one experiencing it. "Must've been lonely in here for quite a while, huh?" I whispered, stroking the fine blond bangs sticking out like a six-year-old's.
Gustav had sacrificed his heart for me once... and eternal pain was what I had given him in return. It was funny... after all, I, Tezuka Kunimitsu, was a giver of pain – everyone in Seigaku would testify to that. However, one thing that differed between then and now was that, back in junior high it was a necessity. Now... now, it wasn't even necessary.
I could still remember seeing the hate-filled eyes of the vengeful Anti-Asian gangster whom I had the misfortune to cross paths with after deliberately dismissing Gustav's warning. I was confident that my judgment was foolproof... that I could take care of myself like I always had back in Japan. I could still remember seeing the steely glint of the homemade gun, pointing straight at me. I could still remember seeing the sudden flash of deadly smile. I could still remember hearing someone calling me. I could still remember hearing the fatal gunshot... and could still feel the pain of being pushed heavily on the rough cemented road...
I could still feel the rivers of scorching blood that burned the skin of my hands at first contact...
He had saved me then... he had given me life – even if that time, we weren't exactly the best of friends. He annoyed me by being so chipper and I annoyed him by clamming up... and yet... he had the guts to take the bullet that was meant for me. It struck the nerves inside, said the doctor... and permanently damaged some tissues.
He was never the same Gustav I knew since then.
His body slimmed drastically, and he wasn't as energetic as before. He was forbidden to play tennis as long as he was alive. And then... what he had told me that morning sealed all his hopes of recovering. He had the chance to, yes – but the percentage was low... too low in fact, at only thirty-seven per hundred. If it was successful, then he was on the way to recovery, but if not... only slightly more than two years, and it would be the end of him. But Gustav was a man of chances. He believed that even if it was small, it was still there...
And perhaps that was what had brought us together.
Even before, with more sparks of murderous promise than anyone could have ever imagined, we became friends... and closer still, until there was no word fit enough to describe what we were to each other. I was sure of what I felt back then... and even surer now, but I had never said those three words to him yet... Ich liebe dich... The words were fitting, but... I was afraid to be the first to utter them.
So afraid...
And now, ashamed, I sat... touching him with able hands. Unable to say something so important... and unable even to fulfil the lone wish he had for me...
Gustav you idiot... how could I smile when you're like this?
oooOooo
"Mitsu, what is the date today?"
My heart breaking, I gazed at the withering figure he cut as he sat on his bed, back leaning against the hospital's sheath of purely pristine white walls. "Fifteenth of June" I answered in my usual monotone, wanting anything but to act normal, because what was happening was not even remotely close to being normal. But I can't do anything now, can I? I thought bitterly, sitting down on the side of his bed, noting the difference between the depths of the impressions we made on the soft mattress. Gustav was losing weight. In just two years...
The pang of guilt was there again, lacerating the heart and keeping the soul broken. He must've felt it radiating from me for he leaned forward and placed both hands against my cheeks, encasing my face with what little body heat he had. The struggle to prevent from bawling was overwhelming, but I managed not to let the tears give way. I had to be strong... even if my mind was not exactly agreeing with my decision.
"Stop blaming yourself, Mitsu." He chastised gently, taking away his hands just to grasp my arm and tug me closer. Obediently, and without a word, I scooted in, never breaking eye contact, and marvelling at the amount of spirit he had hidden deep inside. We were close now, enough for breaths to mingle, the hands that pulled me closer now travelling up to cup my cheeks again. If it was anyone but Gustav, I would have turned away, somewhat disgusted by something resembling feminine bonding rituals. I didn't... because no matter what he did... he was Gustav – and no matter what I did... I was a man in love with another man... in love with Gustav.
I was finally, and officially a sap.
"It wasn't your fault." He crooned, smiling at me, eyes bright still.
"So you say." I murmured. "If I heeded your warning, I might have been spared the agony... and you might have been spared – this."
Laughing softly, he leaned forward, his hands dropping from my face once again, and instead settling around my waist as his forehead connected with the juncture of my shoulder and neck, nose burrowed in the wrinkled tufts of my oversized sweater. I could hear him inhale, and briefly I wondered if I smelled like crap, but seeing that he wasn't flinching away, I relaxed a bit... as relaxed as I could be in the situation I was in. "You are very stupid."
I stiffened. Did I just hear him call me stupid? Brows furrowed, I smacked his thigh. "I am not."
"You are." He drew away a bit and grinned, eyes surveying whatever it was laced in my confused gaze. "You think everything rests on your shoulders." He continued softly. "What did they feed you back in your hometown?"
I glared at him, trying once again to intimidate, had him back off a bit – all to no avail. Defeated, I sighed. "Must be Inui Jiru." I muttered, making his brow raise in question. I levelled him with a painful stare. "They fed me Inui's juice every single practice day."
"But I thought you're the captain?" He asked, horrified, for I had given him accurate accounts of what happened to those who had the misfortune to ingest it.
I nodded, wincing at the horrible memories. "Inui convinced my mother that a daily dose would make my bones grow stronger." I revealed, raising my left shoulder in supplication. "And when I did escape from drinking it... my teammates did their best to slip it in my water bottle."
"And?"
"They succeeded everytime."
Gustav was laughing by the time I was finished, the arms he twined around my waist trembling as his whole body shook with mirth. It took a few moments before he recovered, and once again, his face was buried in the warm curve of my neck. "It proves my point then..." Came the muffled declaration. "Some things are just unavoidable... like what happened before... so don't feel too bad about every unpleasant thing that comes your way."
Then, he laughed, raising his head a bit and planting his chin on my shoulder. "Maybe you should ask your friend to ship some here... so that the next time we see those racist bastards we have a potent weapon that would put them in coma for weeks."
Like someone hungering for details, I noticed the use of the word 'we'...
And hoped, as I inclined my head to the side to rest on his... that there would always be a 'we' until the day I die.
"Mitsu..."
"Hmm...?"
"Please do something for me..."
"I want you to..."
"What?"
"I want you to try to smile – a lot."
"Isn't that quite out of the topic already?" I asked, surprised. Was it his sole purpose in life to try and make me be like him? Or... was he trying to tell me something?
But what?
I usually prided myself as someone who could figure things out in a blink of an eye...
So why was it that I felt as if I was missing something?
oooOooo
It was raining, and the huge drops of moisture almost blinded me with their potency. I did not want to blink... I did not want to take my eyes away from what was before me.
"Gustav..." I started, dropping down on my knees, noting with satisfaction the squishing sound of the muddy earth. It meant that I was near him... that I was close to him... "I haven't fulfilled your wish yet..." I murmured, eyes fixed on him. I was aware of people milling about... people urging me to stand up and get out of the rain... but I did not pay them any heed. "But I know you can see me now, wherever you are..."
Slowly, I reached out my hand and touched him... touched his embodiment protruding from the fertile earth of his family's crypt.
I gazed lovingly at it as I stroked the fresh marble slab engraved with his precious name...
And, even with tears streaming down my cheeks, swallowed by the onslaught of rain – I smiled.
oooOooo
I swore, that the moment I saw the infamous Oishi Souichirou, I was going to throttle him.
It was a fine autumn evening in Japan, and there I was, expecting someone (Preferably him) to fetch me from the airport. But alas, there was no someone.
"BUCHOU!"
I pressed tired fingers against my aching temples.
There was no someone, but there was everyone. And as if that was not enough, Eiji was holding up a giant sign with my name on it, painted with purple cats... on a neon yellow background. It put the fluorescent lights to shame and practically blinded everyone who had the misfortune of even glancing at it... and that included me. And there was Momoshiro screaming my name over and over like a sick seal, interrupted between breaths by Takashi's screams of...
"GREATO!"
And Syusuke was there, just standing and doing absolutely nothing at all to quiet down his companions. How Kaidoh managed to sleep standing with his head against Sadaharu's shoulder was beyond me – after all, Momoshiro was the one hopping up and down beside him. He was bumped numerous times, but he didn't budge. If I didn't know much, I would have said that he finally had enough of Inui-brand training and just slept. But that was not possible.
This was Kaidoh Kaoru we were talking about.
And where was Souichirou?
Nowhere.
"BUCHOU!" Momoshiro was the first one to get to me the moment my booted feet touched the landing. It was not a moment too soon when I was enveloped in the suffocating arms, and frankly, it took quite a bit of effort to extricate myself, only to be embraced by another pair of limbs, this time softer and more... flexible.
"Eiji..." I croaked, trying to fend his puckered lips before they connected with my mouth. It was one thing to be hugged... and another thing to be smooched silly. No, that wouldn't do, since I swore myself to remain celibate until I found someone with eyes as deep as the darkened seas... with eyes like Gustav's. Besides, this was Eiji we were talking about. "Unhand me..."
But he did not listen.
And they piled on me – all of them – even Kaidoh who had woken from his exhausted slumber just in time for the big group hug. It was Syusuke who first drew away from the huge tangle of forceful limbs, eyes mere slits of amusement, watching me with a fond look on his face – if not shadowed by something I could not name. It was as if he was assessing how much I had changed and liking what he saw immensely. What it was, I did not know – nor did I want to know. I knew better than root in his mind for anything... he had his thoughts about everything... and most of them were twisted, judging from what he had been saying when we talked over the phone.
Nor did I understand his wont to make Atobe Keigo, Hyoutei King Extraordinaire his best friend. Yes, I would never understand Syusuke.
And I would never understand why he just grinned at me like an idiot when he could have helped me escape from the onslaught of welcoming bodies pressed painfully onto mine. "Syusuke..." I not-quite-moaned. "Tasu... kete3..."
And Syusuke, being Syusuke, just grinned some more while wagging a slender finger chastisingly. "Ah-ah-ah!" He said. "They have all been waiting for you to come back again, so you have to oblige them."
"Syusuke... You're evil."
"That I am!" Syusuke said, the annoying grin still plastered on his face. "And you can't threaten me with laps now, can you?"
I rolled my eyes as I slowly moved, taking advantage of Kaidoh's loosening hold. "Hanase4..." I hissed. "I can't breathe..."
"What did you say buchou?" Momoshiro asked from... wherever he was.
"I said –" I started, letting out a shuddering breath as someone unintentionally (intentionally?) squeezed my butt.
"He said he's so happy to see us that he wants a tighter hug!" Syusuke answered sunnily.
As if on cue, the hold on me increased pressure, rendering my body immobile – and my lungs out of fresh air. What I was breathing in was what they breathed out. It was not good when everybody grew taller and I stood the same height as Momoshiro back in Senior High...
I can't breathe...
"Ah, you seem like you're all having fun... let me join you... Group hug!"
I could practically feel the circle trapping me tighten even further...
"SYUSUKE!"
oooOooo
"Hoi?" Eiji pouted as he stared up at Souichirou. "Ichirou... why didn't I get a box of chocolates too?"
We were having a very late dinner back in Takashi's sushi shop. I was quite surprised to have found it bigger now, and I was proud that he had helped make the business grow so much in a span of a few years. Takashi had his quirks – and a lot at that – but his exceptional qualities when it came to family, career, and friends were enough to make his bad (but quite adorable, I had to admit) points remain in the background.
Ah, the one he was going to marry in the future would be very lucky indeed.
And knowing from Souichirou that it was Kippei's younger sister Ann, I would say she was very lucky indeed. After all Kippei's whining (I was trying to keep this a secret, because it was good blackmail material... I do hope it wasn't revealed to anyone yet...) about eating charred dishes every single night back in senior high, she had to have someone good enough a cook for a husband – if she planned to marry at all (She kept saying she was going to marry the day she turned thirty).
Memories came rushing back as I gazed at all of them, eyes scanning the broad expanse of happy faces and ears capturing the eruptions of loud friendly banter at every corner of the shop. As per usual, a very annoyed Kaidoh delivered a blow on Momoshiro's head, earning him an earful about best friends not hitting each other, and damned mamushis should belong to snake pits. And as per usual, it almost turned to a full-blown fight if not for Takashi and Souichirou's almost maternal intervention – or at least, Souichirou's maternal intervention, since Takashi was in it so that the shop would not collapse anytime soon – all of these transpiring with Eiji's encouragement.
"So, Tezuka-buchou," Syusuke plopped on the bunch of pillows across my seat. "What do you think? They never changed, did they?"
Quietly, I nodded, taking a sip of my preferred blend of steaming tea.
"They missed you a lot." He murmured, eyes never straying from the chaotic scene playing in the shop. Then, he turned to me, blue eyes open for the first time since I came back – the same blue eyes that penetrated me and made me feel almost naked. But of course I didn't react to it – or at least, tried not to. It wouldn't do well for me if Syusuke realised he had a small amount of power over me. "We missed you."
Anyone with ears knew that the words added up to an unspoken question.
Slowly, I set down my mug, levelling him with what I hoped for was a warning stare. "I had my reasons, Syusuke."
Instead of backing away, he stared back just as intently... and his eyes widened for a short moment before they softened. What they saw in my eyes remained a mystery... but I was sure that he saw something. Maybe my walls were not as solid as I thought of anymore. "Ah... sorry, Tezuka-buchou..." With the words came the usual smile, filled with something I could only label as sympathy. Somehow... he knew... and he was saying sorry for a different reason than prying in a business not his own. "It's just that we missed you – I more than the others, I think... and Kippei missed you too. We're close friends back then after all..."
"Who are you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in question. "And what have you done with Fuji Syusuke?"
At that, relief flooded his face, and once more, the usual smile showed, brightening his features if not changing it completely. There was something terribly off about it though... maybe I should ask Haru about it... or Kippei, but I knew my former doubles partner in senior high didn't know much about it since he studied in another university...
"BUCHOU!"
Startled, I immediately turned to the source of the agonised wail. "Tell the mamushi to stop, please! He's going to kill me!"
Momoshiro bounded over to where I sat and hid behind me, using me as a shield to protect him from Kaidoh's trusty blows... especially now that he was waving Takashi's filleting knife in the air.
"Stop Kaidoh." I ordered, rendering the esteemed viper motionless. When Momoshiro sighed with obvious relief, I stood up, exposing his slumped form on one of the throw pillows. Silently, I stepped aside until the two were face-to-face, Kaidoh's hand holding the filleting knife frozen high up in the air. "Now you may commence killing him."
There was momentary silence before Kaidoh let out another of his war cries and Momoshiro scrambled up and away through the front door screaming his head off. Ah... revenge was sweet (He was the one who pinched my butt in the airport – I was sure of it.).
"I'm gonna see to it that they don't kill each other, nya!" Eiji grinned mischievously, giving me a wink of something resembling approval. "Wait for me, nya!" He bounded noisily out of the front door.
"Kunimitsu!" Souichirou exclaimed in a scandalous voice. "What have you done?" With Takashi echoing the same words behind him.
"Discipline." I said a matter-of-factly. "Momoshiro needs it."
"Kunimitsu..." Sadaharu started almost wonderingly. "I expected changes, but not this drastic... whatever have you been doing in Germany?"
Somewhat coy, I sat down again, picking up my cup, pleased to find it warm still. I took a long sip. Then, I set it down, giving them the most serious stare I could manage.
"I made good sausages."
"Sausages?" Takashi stuttered weakly.
"I learned how to pour good beer."
"BEER?" Souichirou looked as if he was going to have a heart attack.
"I drove a Benz without using a map of the city I was in anymore."5
"Benz..." Haru murmured, staring at me incredulously before shrugging and whipping out his precious notebook, scribbling on it with much force that I thought his pen's point would snap off. "Ii data"
"I was dragged to –"
"Tezuka-buchou..." Syusuke's amused voice cut me off – and my fun with it.
"Hmm?"
"Mada mada dane."
oooOooo
"Why did I ever let the two of you pull me into this?
"Because this way is more fun, don't you think so?"
"And why would this be more fun?"
"Because according to my data, you have been receiving the highest marks in your class and was accelerated back in Germany – and we just can't stand back and let you ruin your life in any other university."
"But you both want me to ruin my life in here?"
The chorus of affirmations was what did me in... and the threat of a whole gallon of Inui Jiru as well. Syusuke and Sadaharu were very persuasive at times. As if I could do anything about it though... my parents and grandfather were convinced as well. Whatever magic those two had was very potent indeed.
It was the first day of the school year, and I was a newly transferred sophomore student taking up Economics. Later, I would be trying out for the university's esteemed tennis club where undoubtedly, I would be treated like a freshman.
"Ah! Isn't that –?"
"Yes."
"WAH!" Akutagawa Jirou hopped up and down in front of me, holding both my hands in both of his as if urging me to do the same thing he was doing. I was sorely tempted to just bounce away – affected by the energetic display, but my tightly reined discipline (or at least I wanted to think it was tightly reined... well, if not for the fact that I had just let two pushovers blackmail me to entering this school). "I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DREAMING OF MEETING YOU THIS CLOSE! I'M SO LUCKY!"
Now, where did I hear that word before? Lucky...?
"You've been hanging around Sengoku too much." Came a gruff admonition. I looked up from the open (not to mention dazzled) features of Akutagawa just to see the annoyed look someone I remembered as Shishido Ryo, cast upon the ecstatic boy. Then, he trained his cryptic gaze at me and smiled instantly at my helpless expression (Well, I was feeling helpless, so...). "Ah, Tezuka-san." He nodded in greeting. "Nice to see you again. Hope you would not transfer schools just because most people in here act like aliens."
Aliens. That was the best word to describe everyone around me, all right. But of course, I didn't say that outright. I nodded, clasping the hand he held out after wrestling my one of mine away from Akutagawa's gripping hands.
"By the way, Choutarou is in this place... somewhere." Shishido grinned. "And Akutsu the Devil too, though I wish he'd never passed the entrance exam... and, oh yeah... Mizuki as well."
Mizuki? Alarmed, I swung my attention to Syusuke. The shadows were playing on his face again. It was probably from what had happened in junior high... or possibly more that that, judging from what I couldn't seem to name that crossed his face. Taking mental note on asking Haru about what I had missed since I left for Germany the second time, I turned back to Shishido and nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm looking forward to meeting them."
Shishido snorted. "You might like to meet the other two, but the Devil? Hah! You wouldn't even want to set eyes on him, I tell you!" He quipped, before snatching Jirou away by the collar of his shirt and hauling him bodily away while waving a carefree hand in the air, nearly dragging me along as Akutagawa decided to grasp my hand even tighter, not letting go until Shishido smacked his hand off with a thick photography book. "Ja ne!"
I smiled inwardly as I stared after Shishido's retreating form.
The Devil, huh?
oooOooo
"You."
I simply stared at the uncool professor glaring at me as if I had murdered his pet dog or something. It would have been better if he had first let me in and made me sit first, but no... He decided to let me suffer the brunt of everyone's undivided attention standing burdened with most of my books on the doorway of my first period class.
"Sensei." I said, bowing automatically. No one could say now that I was not respectful.
Said professor nodded his head and glared some more. "You are late."
I nodded, still staring at him, wanting nothing more than to just sit down. "Sorry sensei... I was held up filing my papers in the registrar's office..."
"No excuses, boy!" He barked, obviously annoyed, before stepping back and letting me in, ushering me – bag and all, in front of the other students of his class. I stared stonily at their mixed reactions, searching each face for signs of acceptance, and was promptly relieved when I saw that everyone wanted to know who I was... and was very sympathetic as well.
Everyone except the one sitting at the back with a stunned look on his face.
I was probably staring for so long at that lone person that I actually felt something hit my head twice before I realised my professor was pounding me with a ruler while screaming at me to introduce myself. After a few words of apology, I bowed before the class in greeting.
"Good morning. I am Tezuka Kunimitsu, please do accept me."
And, taking a deep breath... I smiled.
oooOooo
"Tezuka."
"Atobe."
Atobe cornered me the moment the Operations Research class ended. And there we were now, near the edge of the whiteboard, just staring at each other with nothing else to say.
Atobe's eyes slid from mine then, and dropped to my left shoulder. "I –"
I knew what he was about to say, and I stopped him, holding up a hand to cut him off. "It's nothing." I murmured, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice. If he hadn't tried ruining my shoulder, I wouldn't have had to go to Germany for treatment... then Gustav might have been alive still. However, I was thankful too... for if I had not been given a chance to go there... I wouldn't have met him.
"But still..."
Gustav's words rang in my ear. With a gentle hand on his shoulder, I pushed him a bit, escaping the tiny space I was in, walking away saying...
"Some things are just unavoidable... like what happened before... so don't feel too bad about every unpleasant thing that comes your way." I said solemnly, glancing back at him and smiling reassuringly before continuing on my way out.
oooOooo
"Chemistry... Chemistry..." I muttered, looking around with a piece of schedule paper on hand like a lost little boy... It was kind of degrading, but it was necessary. "204, 205, 206... Ah! Chemistry lab!" I whispered happily. And with the amount of noise vibrating from the room, the professor wasn't in yet.
Hastily, I entered and sat in the nearest unoccupied stool, placing my backpack on the floor beside my feet. I had not even breathed yet when someone sat on the stool right beside me.
"Ah, Tezuka... you've been stalking me, no?"
Atobe.
If the idea was not so absurd, I might have said that a vein popped in my head. Atobe Keigo did not change one bit. How could Syusuke stand this kind of attitude?
"No, I am not." I muttered in annoyance.
"Ahn... you're stalking me, admit it." Atobe's grin turned a megawatt higher that I swore for a moment I had gone blind. "After all, no one can resist ore-sama's charm." With that, came the horrifying hair flip. He looked so... gay. I could seriously imagine him doing that with a pink frilly dress on. I had the misfortune to see one just like it in junior high... from the Fudomine junior named Ibu Shinji. On him it was quite fine, since he did look like a girl... but on Atobe... let us just say, he was not pretty enough to do the flip. Especially now that his hair wasn't even shoulder level...
I shook the thoughts off my head. Ah, it would be best if I just ignore him... he'd go away soon enough – that always worked, right?
Wrong.
"Ahn? Trying to avoid the subject now, aren't you, Tezuka-chan?"
I took in deep breaths, trying to control myself from tearing the book before me into shreds out of annoyance. "Don't call me that." I grated out, giving him the meanest glare I could muster – and for some strange reason, it did not work. "And I'm not stalking you."
"Oh?"
"Yes."
"How could you not even admit it? Are you so shy as to lie about what you do?" Atobe's eyes turned seductive. "Everyone would understand Tezuka-chan. It's because I'm not only good at everything... I'm also beautiful."
I had always prided myself to be able to withstand intensity... and yet that ability was swept away by the smouldering vision of Atobe's eyes.
... Atobe's ocean eyes.
oooOooo
I hurried outside, trying to escape the questing eyes of virtually everyone. I was getting quite suffocated inside the lab... I had no idea how Atobe kept up with such racy atmosphere all the time.
Atobe.
I knew I shouldn't be thinking of him like that... but his eyes...
His eyes reminded me of Gustav's – full of light, and full of life. I vowed before that I should only fall for the one who had the same deep ocean eyes... does that mean I could –
No, couldn't be... after all, we were too far apart from each other in almost anything... even tennis. I would never deliberately ruin my opponent's shoulder just to remain on top, no matter how skilled that person was... and although I did know my skills were somehow exceptional, I would never brag about them the way he did. However, the way he walked reminded me of Gustav's in a way... it was confident, almost theatrical in glory... as if in a show, being the centre of attention all the time. It was quite amusing... and quite unsettling – perhaps.
It was not a moment too soon that I spotted Sadaharu walking straight towards me, and I gave him a nod when he motioned if it was okay for him to join me on the way to our next class. It was beneficial for me, since Haru and I were in the same class anyway – plus I would not look for my room anymore. Besides, it was always amusing to talk to him.
"Kunimitsu." He said the moment he reached my side. "You look troubled... what's bothering you?"
Trust him to know exactly what I was feeling. He had this knack for placing a person's facial expression with the correct emotion... and of course I wasn't going to tell him anything, but I was a bad liar, so I had to give him something closer to the truth... something like...
"Atobe of Hyoutei is in my Chemistry class." I stated in my usual monotone, trying to look the least vexed. It was hard schooling my features the way I wanted them to, for this was Inui Sadaharu I was talking to – not someone completely dense.
Sadaharu raised his brows in question.
"He was annoying me." I added, turning away from his prying eyes and concentrating on the path I was walking on. The marble floors were fascinating.
"Why are you so worked up over it, then?" He answered, lips curling up in amusement. "You're lucky. Mizuki was whining about his misfortune to have three classes with Atobe this year... Wakashi and I had the misfortune to listen to him all night."
"Wakashi?" That was new. Who was that? I thought he was with Kaidoh?
"My mother divorced and remarried in a span of a year. It just so happened that she fell in love with her most loyal client, Hiyoshi-san."
"So you and Hiyoshi-kun had known each other since..."
"Second year, junior high." Sadaharu finished for me. I could only do so much as to nod. That was intriguing indeed... I wonder how they coped? Their personalities were so diverse that one would wonder how they coexisted...
Like Atobe and I in several ways...
Good God... I'm thinking about him again. I shook my head inwardly, trying to correct the flow of my thoughts and focus on my next class.
"Kunimitsu..."
"Hmm?"
"Am I right about the impression I have that you don't want to see Atobe twenty-four/seven?"
I gave him a wry glance. "Bulls-eye."
He raised an interested eyebrow, his glasses gleaming as if he knew something I did not. "And what's your course again?"
"Economics" A sense of dread settled in the pit of my stomach. Somehow, I knew where this conversation was heading...
"Hmmm." Sadaharu stroked his chin in silent contemplation. The tension was thick and cloying, but I did not pay any special attention to it... I was more interested on what Haru was about to say... "Do you know what Atobe is taking up?"
I knew the exact moment I paled... even more.
"You don't mean..."
At Haru's nod, I was sure that my mouth was gaping wide enough to fit the Americas.
You must be kidding me!
oooOooo
I was trudging sullenly to my flat when someone bumped onto me. Startled, I looked down, and stared.
"Mizuki... san?" I queried, quite unsure and yet strangely positive that I was staring at the former Rudolphian Data King. His hair was much longer now, and wavy rather than the formerly hideous curly look he sported a long while back. He only grew a couple of inches taller and he was sure his internal way of measuring was more or less accurate. It was quite fascinating, really, that this man looked very much androgynous.
"Ah, I'm so sorry, I wasn't... Tezuka-san!" He exclaimed after staring at me closely for a moment and rearing back, avoiding my touch somehow as if afraid to get burnt. Perplexed, I could only nod.
"You live here?" I asked him, turning back to trudging, prompting him to start walking again, right next to me. The fact that I was at least taller than he was satisfied the vain person in me, and the part that was not worried about him somehow. There was something in the way that he carried himself that was out of the ordinary – at least, more out of character than I was used to.
The Mizuki I was walking home with was quiet, and skittish, sneaking glances at me instead of staring at me head-on. Although I knew that people change over time, like I did, this one felt fake. This one was of recent... and I could sense that it wasn't at all good.
"Uh, hai... ano... Tezuka-san..." He said softly that I almost did not hear it.
"What is it, Mizuki-san?"
"Syu... uh... Fuji... did he say anything about..." I noticed him playing with the edge of his book. We had entered the building by the time he finished his fidgeting, and I still did not know what he wanted to say.
"Anything about what?" I asked gently, as if to coax him to spit out whatever it was on the tip of his tongue. I pushed the twelfth floor button and glanced at him in silent query as to where he was headed off. Smiling somewhat stiffly, he shook his head.
"I live on the same floor you do." He said almost shyly. I nodded.
I understood.
PING!
The elevator doors opened and we stepped outside, with him following me slowly, as if ready to bolt anytime – if I made the wrong move, so I decided that I wouldn't – for both our sakes.
"Come on in." I said invitingly, offering him one of my newly found smiles the moment I opened front door. He came in, looking around and admiring the huge landscape painting I hung on the living room wall against my mother's demand that I shouldn't (It followed the lines of "It's hideous!" but...).
"Beautiful..." Mizuki murmured appreciatively as he touched the glass casing of said painting. "Who made this?" He asked, his glassy eyes gazing at me in wonder.
"No, I most definitely did not make that." I motioned for him to sit down, and that he did with an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. "A friend made it for me... a very special friend."
He regarded me with a knowing look and smiled. "I understand." He said softly, staring at me as I placed my bag on its rack.
"So." I started. "What about Fuji?"
"He... I..." He stuttered. "He..." Then, he looked up to me with pitifully miserable eyes and whispered almost inaudibly...
"He had his fun... and I... was left with none."
oooOooo
"Syusuke."
"Syusuke, why did you do it?"
"I wanted to."
"To avenge your brother? If that is the real reason, isn't it a bit too much?"
"Kunimitsu... have you ever felt like you wanted something to happen and yet you didn't?"
"That was what I felt when the game started."
oooOooo
It took quite a lot of time before I told myself to stop avoiding Syusuke and accept that it was indeed he who had done such inconsiderate thing. I forgave him for it, even if I knew Mizuki wouldn't... because if I didn't, and if Haru didn't... then who would once the whole truth was known? Besides, Syusuke was my friend even before the Mizuki episode; so, it was logical that I did what I did... right?
Right now, I still wasn't too sure... but maybe in time, it would not feel so awkward anymore.
And right now I wasn't too sure if I should be keeping my patience around Atobe anymore. All I wanted to do was to make him run a hundred laps around the tennis court twice for disturbing my peace this early in the morning. The bad thing about this class was the schedule. It was every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Four days in a week. I was going to go through my sophomore year with a grouchy professor who claimed he was the Operations Research God, and a perpetual narcissist who basked in the earthily earthly accolades thrown at him by hordes of love-struck fans. It was annoying. Normally, I did not let anything this shallow irritate me, but somehow, it did. For whatever reason my sometimes unreasonable brain had.
And if things weren't bad enough, said nutty professor must have sensed bad vibes emanating from me towards Atobe that he paired everyone up for a major project and put me in with (insert trumpet fanfare here) Atobe Keigo – GQ Boy Extraordinaire.
And if that was not enough, my oftentimes-inconsistent brain decided to take notice of the sudden spurts of pheromones released by said clod. Tough.
"Aren't you happy to be paired with amazing Ore-sama, na Tezuka-chan?"
See, didn't I tell you he was annoying?
This must be my unlucky day.
Usually, I loved being in a science lab – really, no kidding. But now that I finally learned that my Chemistry professor was an absolute cheese, I wanted to just bail. But you see I couldn't... my sense of duty was nagging me to go through with it using a weapon called patience. Yes, it was fine for a few minutes, but said weapon could only last a few more blows before succumbing to the unknown. After all, patience could only go so far... and I was slowly approaching my limit.
"Okay class! I have arranged for you to be grouped in two!" Said perpetual weirdo. There were numerous groans echoing from the back – where the repeaters were seated.
The first thing I noticed about the pairings was that they were boy-girl pairs. Yes, the rumours were true. This guy was obviously a cheese... and a perverted one at that, hoping the pairs would develop into something other than being just group mates. Maybe he's thinking about them being bed mates or something...
I was so keen on figuring out if my other classmates' pairings would work that I forgot I was actually in the same class and was about to be paired with someone I virtually had no idea what to expect of. I was one of the last of guys, and I was quite dreadful of who my partner would be. Then I noticed Atobe... it seemed he was in the same plight as I was, fiddling unconsciously with the edge of his thousand-yen sweater as he stared in fascination at the squealing the girl in front of him was doing.
"And last but not the least..."
My ears immediately perked up, alarm bells ringing inside my head.
Wait... if this is the last pairing and Atobe doesn't have a partner yet...
"Since we're two girls short..."
Oh. No.
"And these two seemed good buddies last time I checked..."
When was the last time you checked? I squeezed my eyes shut as the girls screamed and the guys snickered all around me...
"Atobe Keigo and Tezuka Kunimitsu."
Patience be damned.
TBC
A/N: Part one done... on to part two6!
1 Roughly translates to "Stop" or "Stop that"
2 Tezuka was in Germany as per Anime timeline. But afterwards (in this story's timeline), he left in the middle of his first year in senior high for unknown reasons... part of which will be revealed later.
3 Roughly translates to "Help me"
4 Roughly translates to "Let go"
5 Based from Tennis no Oujisama on the Radio number 4, wherein Atobe asked Tezuka what he had been doing in Germany... and these three were what he answered... XD
6 I'm an AtobeTezuka whore XD