Author note: Hi! I'm new here! This is my first fic so please Read and Review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of tennis.
Snow was falling. That day, a lonely soul was born.
"Nya… It's winter now, right Oishi?" the red-haired guy said cheerfully. The weather was cold and the cool breeze was freezing. The sun was covered by dark-colored clouds. Yes, it was definitely the Japanese winter everyone knew.
Suddenly, he caught a sight of a stranger he had never seen in the tennis club before. The guy was tall with long dark hair tied up and more importantly, he walked with poise and grace.
"Hoi hoi…. Guys! He's here! He's here!" he shouted excitedly.
"Who's here, Eiji?" a short-blond-haired guy asked, with an innocent smile on his face.
"You don't know? The new transferred student in our school. What's his name anyway?" the guy who had been labeled 'Eiji' asked.
"I heard he's Yumi something…"
"Fushhhu…. Don't be stupid, Yumi is a girl name."
"Mada mada dane."
"Shut up Echizen!"
"Or is he Yuuta?"
"Yuuta-chan is my brother!"
"It's a pretty common name Fuji. And no chatting. 20 laps all of you!" The Buchou of the team commanded, he was still observing carefully the approaching stranger with care.
The soul was weak, soft and quiet.
As the new student came near the courts, the whole team stopped running laps and stared. The stare that was warmed up by the cold. Tezuka Kunimitsu, the Buchou, couldn't help but feeling something weird about the new guy. Yet he kept his cool.
"And you are…"
"Aiko Yuki." The guys smiled, more like a smirk.
There were soft and loud whispers, exchanging ideas about the names. Yuki didn't mind being the topic of the conversation.
"I'm a new third-year student in Seishun Gakuen. Nice to meet you all."
Our little soul was nothing special, just a beautiful snowflake.
Yuki offered his hand and shook with Tezuka's.
"And I am not currently in any club and I'm wondering if tennis is the sport for me." He smiled, this time with a small hint of amusement playing on his lips.
"The tennis club is opened for everyone. We can fill in your details later."
"Sure. Can we now make some formal introduction?"
The beautiful snowflake had a soul. As people say, nothing is soulless.
"Kaidou Kaoru." The guys with the bandana.
"Inui Sadaharu." The geek-looking guy with glasses and a notebook.
"Kawamura Takashi." The sushi maker with the 'BURNING' style.
"Kikumaru Eiji" The cute cat of the house.
"Oishi Syuchirou" the vice captain aka the mother hen.
"Momoshirou Takeshi" The tall guy. Yuki had no words to exactly describe this guy so
he let it pass.
"Echizen Ryoma" the freshman of the Regulars. Yuki actually started to wonder how tall freshmen nowadays are.
"Fuji Syusuke" the name made Yuki smirked.
"Tezuka Kunimitsu."
"I know!" Yuki smiled.
"Know what?" Tezuka asked out of curiosity.
"I know that you are Tezuka Kunimitsu. You're too famous to be missed!"
Yuki could swear that when he said that, there was a slight wince on Fuji, the tensai of Seigaku, 's face. Although it was too slight to be noticed the normal way. But Aiko Yuki was not normal. He sure was something. No one could tell.
Everything with a soul carried a responsibility. This snowflake too, had a purpose of existence.
The first practice to Yuki and everyone else was kinda normal. Just running laps, swinging the racket and some matches for the Regulars. But the weird thing was, Yuki kept following the Buchou of the team wherever he went, like a tail. Tezuka was annoyed, but complained nothing nonetheless. It seemed obvious from the beginning to everyone, including Fuji Syusuke, that Yuki was hitting on him. And flirting too!
That winter, a snowflake was born. And its journey began.
For the past few weeks, the weather was getting colder and colder as expected. And so was the relationship between the two tensai of the tennis club: Fuji Syusuke and Tezuka Kunimitsu. Just because of an intruder Aiko Yuki. Fuji had been avoiding Tezuka whenever he was with Yuki, and that meant all day. So they got no chance to talk at all but on court and discuss about tennis. Everyone was so sure that Yuki was after Tezuka. So like Fuji, they kept distance from those two, and giggled, gossiped about their relationship. One time Tezuka overheard Momo talking to Echizen. He was absolutely furious but Yuki just smiled. Looked like he was half a way to victory. And his aim was… Tezuka Kunimitsu.
It was time to get the plan in action.
It was a cloudy day when Yuki challenged Tezuka to a match. No one understood his intention. If he was flirting with Tezuka then he shouldn't have made himself a fool in front of Tezuka. After all, Tezuka was the Buchou, a national player. That was what Fuji Syusuke thought. He was clinging to the small hope that Tezuka might not like Yuki, ignoring the fact that he let Yuki follow him around the school. Yet he was still worried. That he would lose Tezuka. The anxiety changed quickly into jealousy and anger everytime Fuji thought of Yuki.
The snowflake could show him his true destiny.
The few first games went normally, Yuki didn't get even a point from Tezuka. As expected from the Buchou.
Yuki served. Tezuka returned normally. He was of course playing with ease. A very normal return of Yuki. The ball was falling. Tezuka was still like a statue, eyes watching the ball carefully. No one except Fuji recognized the amazement in Tezuka's eyes. The ball hit the ground, but did not stop. It roled until it reached the wall. Tezuka hadn't move an inch. He was still watching the ball, looking for any traces of the return he couldn't hit back. He found nothing, except some strange, very strange aura coming from the ball.
He then eyed on Yuki to receive a mischievous smile from him.
It was starting to snow. Practice ended and everyone went home. Except for Tezuka who was still standing on courting, analyzing memories of the last shot. Now he knew why he didn't move. He was astonished by the way the ball fell. It fell like a…
Snowflake.
For some days, no one had mentioned about the match between Tezuka and Aiko Yuki. But everyone was still confused about why Tezuka couldn't have returned a normal shot. And some weird-minded guys, Momo and Eiji, made some guesses about how Tezuka was too busy gazing at Yuki that he forgot the ball completely. But the idea was tossed out because Oishi and Kawamura alleged that they surely saw Tezuka looking at the ball rather then at the player. Another suggestion said that Tezuka couldn't help seeing his dear Yuki losing hollowly. That was why he deliberately lost a point. But that wouldn't explain the amazement in Tezuka's eyes in Fuji's opinions. But he didn't share ideas with his teammates. He was still wondering if Tezuka was actually in love with Yuki or not. After the last match, he lost some more of his faint hope. He always dreamt that one day he would be taken seriously by Tezuka.
The snowflake had to do this fast. Time was running out.
One day, Yuki did get himself alone with Tezuka in the locker room, after spending time explaining to the suspicious-looking Momo and Eiji that he had something to tell Tezuka. They left, but did try to eavesdrop. Lucky for Yuki that there were still some sensible people on the team like Oishi to stop them before things get worse.
Do it fast.
Yuki was facing Tezuka with a serious look on his face. Tezuka managed to keep himself emotionless although he was wondering what that guy was gonna do this time.
I just hoped those words would be spoken.
"Tell me. Do you love me?"
Tezuka froze. What did the guy just say?
"Do you love me?" The question was repeated, but there was no real changes in Tezuka's expression, although he did seem more confused.
"Do you love me?" This time, Tezuka was snapped out of his own world by the sudden emphasis on the sentence.
I wanted you to say those words. So I can be released from this painful world.
"No, I don't."
Yuki's eyes didn't shift from Tezuka's, only amusement was dancing somewhere in his two beautiful orbs. Tezuka was slightly taken aback. For sure he hadn't expected to be proposed to, even from the person who tailed him days to days. And he was even more surprised when the person seemed to be satisfied after… well… being rejected.
A smile curved on Yuki's lips.
"Then, is it Fuji?"
You didn't know how much it hurt.
"What?" Tezuka's eyes narrowed. He did feel something strange. The same strange aura he received from Yuki the time their last match.
"Is Fuji the one you love?" Yuki repeated with determination to get the information out of Tezuka.
"No."
"Don't lie."
It was because of your lies that I became like this.
"I'm not lying." Tezuka denied.
"Yes, you are."
"I'm not. And that's it."
Tezuka walked away.
Just once, please say the truth. Free me from this.
But he couldn't. A pair of arms wrapped around his neck. Tezuka's eyes widened. It was that aura again. The aura embracing him, not letting him go. Gradually, Tezuka felt the coldness spreading from Yuki's arms, and his body. This coldness, it was like touching a…
Snowflake.
"Stop lying."
Yuki released him, still with a smile on his face.
In that very moment, Tezuka realized why he'd been letting Yuki around for so long.
Yuki, with his slender body, the mischievous smile, the determined look in his eyes, he resembled a certain someone. Someone familiar yet so far away. Someone Tezuka had been loving for eternity.
"I will."
I was falling. I would die someday. But first, there was something I had to do.
"Fuji-san." Yuki called the tensai who was walking out of the school.
"Yuki?" Fuji asked, he knew he needed to be absolutely careful with this guy.
"I was wondering if you had some free time now. I want to tell you something." He smiled. And Fuji knew, yet again, that it was impolite to not smile back. He smiled, but eyes opened. He didn't get careless.
"Now?"
"Yes. Now. Please follow me."
Tick tock tick tock. I was close. I could not let go.
Yuki leaded Fuji in a small store.
"What was it you want to tell me?"
"Who do you love?" Fuji stunned. Yes, it was not the first time he was confronted with such a question. This question followed every time he turned down a girl proposing to him. But this one, Yuki, it was different. Normally, Fuji would make a joke out of it, but it wasn't time for things like that.
"No one."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm gonna take Tezuka away from you." Yuki said matter-of-factly.
"What?"
"I love Tezuka, too. I'll take him."
"You can do whatever you want. I don't love him. I don't care."
Another liar.
Smiles. Both guys were smiling. Although each smile meant something different.
"It's your choice Fuji-san. I'm just here to inform you."
"I don't care." Fuji was still refusing to look into Yuki's eyes.
"Liar." Yuki mumbled to himself.
Yuki stood up, his back was now facing Fuji.
"Fuji-san. Have you ever heard of the story of a snowflake before?"
The ice was slowly melting.
"It was said that snowflakes were born from lonely souls of two people in love. Every unspoken love of two, a snowflake is born. Winter is when love starts, spring is when love blooms. When the three magic words are said, the spell put on the love is broken, the snowflake melts. It's spring time. And people also say that those snowflakes, they have souls. The cursed souls created by the loneliness, trapped in painful emotions, couldn't let go of their existence. And they always seek for the purpose of life. They just want to be released. It's the loneliness which created winter."
Yuki smiled, the rather sad smile never appeared on his face before.
"Snowflakes?"
"Just three magic words. Free me."
He left Fuji who was still deep in his own thoughts.
"And don't forget that I'm going to take Tezuka for myself."
I'd been waiting for too long. And now I just hoped there could be a little more time for me to continue.
The pain of losing Tezuka was unbearable for Fuji. He was in his room for the rest of the day, asking himself why he didn't tell Yuki how he felt about Tezuka and everything. He'd never thought that this day would come. He'd always known that Tezuka didn't love anyone. He knew that all Tezuka cared about was tennis and tennis alone. He never had time for anything else. He had never expected that a threat to Tezuka and Fuji's relationship would come and ruin everything. Ruin? Everything? Was there anything between them in the very beginning? No. Nothing. That's the most rational answer Fuji could find. Tezuka was interested in Fuji… No, not in Fuji but in his potential in tennis. Nothing more. That was right. Tezuka was the Buchou of the Seigaku team, and Fuji was just a potential tennis player. The only fragile bond between them was tennis. But was that even impotant? Fuji was now so much confused. He didn't want to think more.
And every time he tried to get himself not thinking of Tezuka, his mind came wandering about the story. He didn't understand why Yuki told him the story, what he meant by the three magic words. Was he talking about…
'I love you'. Just the three words, words that changed everything.
Fuji had just realized something very important. His emotions were woken by Yuki. He now knew what he wanted. And he knew it was time to really try to get what he wanted. This was not tennis, what he played half-heartedly for the thrills. It was what he had to fight for his life.
I would be free. Free because spring was closing.
"Yuki. I won't lose."
"I know." Yuki smiled.
"I'm not going to let you take him. I'll take him. I'll defeat you for sure. This is no longer a game for me."
Fuji once again received a mischievous smile playing on Yuki's lips for an answer.
"I won't lose." Fuji stated "And you won't win. I'll make sure you can't take Tezuka."
"Of course you will. Because I've already lost."
This time, Fuji eyes snapped open, Yuki stopped smiling.
"You have given up already?"
"I've never been in your game since the beginning. I was just watching over for you and Tezuka. You two were the players. Now that the game had gone out of my control. It's time to end it."
The smile was put up again.
"Now Fuji-san. Tezuka is waiting for you. Please go. Free me."
The weather was warming up gradually yet so drastically.
"…Tezuka Kunimitsu…"
"….Fuji Syusuke…"
"…I love you…"
The magic words were spoken.
Things ended right that moment.
"Thank you. Now I'm free."
Yuki was watching. He was always watching. He did everything just for one purpose. He knew because he was always watching….
Yuki smiled, the forever mischievous smile he put on his face. The smile disappeared in the fog, just like himself. Later, there was only a melting snowflake to be seen on the empty street of Tokyo.
Yuki - the snowflake cursed by the unspoken love - had completed its purpose.
No one remembered his existence. But he would always survive in the memories of those two in love, with the figure of a snowflake.
I'm free.
"…Tezuka Kunimitsu…"
"….Fuji Syusuke…"
"…I love you…"
Forever.
Please Read and Review.