A friend named Animestar73 wrote this originally. and she gave it tome to finish....
but anyways Animestar73 wrote this, and came up with the plot and i didn't do much on this chapter
Dsclaimer: I do not own POT! but i really wish i did.
Syuusuke ignored that heavy pounding of rain on his bare arms as he discouragingly picked up the soaked tennis ball. He gripped it tightly, as if it was the cause of all his misfortune.
He sighed dejectedly and went back to the edge of the baseline.
Overhead the thunder boomed dangerously and lightening soon followed. The rain seemed to come down faster, harder, drenching him to the core. His bangs stuck annoyingly to his sweat-soaked forehead, dangling into his eyes.
He cursed softly and brought up his forearm to stop the water droplets from falling into his eyes.
He got in position to serve again. Slowly, he tossed the ball into the air and bent his knees. Just as the ball was going to collide with the ground; he rapidly swung at the ball. For a second it almost looked like his racquet had disappeared.
The serve was almost as fast as his Disappearing Serve but not quite. The ball was a blur, flying through the water droplets, and for a split second creating a path.
The ball hit the wall with a wet thump, and came hurtling back to him. Just as he was about to hit it a familiar voice broke through his thoughts.
Fuji Syuusuke whipped around to come face to face with none other than his buchou.
Unfortunately, the abrupt movement did two things. One, it made him immensely dizzy, considering he was suppose to be at home in bed drinking chicken soup, like a good little boy, and second, it made the fuzzy ball collide with his back.
Because Syuusuke was a little off balance already, the ball just further helped in sending him sprawling to the ground.
"Fuji!" Tezuka called out. He ran to the grounded tensai, kneeling down to examine him. He held his black umbrella overhead, trying to shield the already bone-drenched prodigy from the rain.
Fuji grudgingly picked himself up off the ground. As soon as he was resting on his knees, he found himself in a coughing fit.
Syuusuke felt his lungs tighten uncomfortably and brought up an arm to his chest, clutching lightly at the fabric of his shirt. His other hand was over his mouth.
Tezuka cursed softly and hesitantly touched the small of Fuji's back, rubbing soothing circles as the smaller boy coughed.
After what seemed like an eternity, Fuji finally stopped.
Completely drained, he fell rather ungracefully into Tezuka's hold.
Tezuka taken by surprise and dropped the umbrella to catch the feverish tensai.
"Fuji?" He called out, worried.
Fuji took deep breaths, finding Tezuka's arms surprisingly comfortable. He closed his eyes and melted further into the embrace, resting his head on Tezuka's shoulder. He breathed deeply and tiredly, trying and failing to find the energy to stand up. Not that he wanted to. It felt so right to be in Tezuka's arms. His small frame complemented Tezuka's larger one perfectly.
"Fuji?" Tezuka called out again.
Fuji immediately snapped out of his daze. Hastily, he pushed himself away form Tezuka, sending both boys to the wet ground.
Tezuka was the first to recover and swiftly got up, heading to Fuji where he sat on his butt, leaning dangerously backwards, propped up on one shaking arm.
Fuji closed his eyes and immediately put up a smile. Tezuka unconsciously flinched.
"S-Sorry Tezuka, I-I'm fine…" As if to try and prove that point, he tried to make his way up his feet, failing miserably.
Tezuka gulped and tried to keep a level head. This was quite hard when Syuusuke lay draped sensuously on the ground, shirt soaked through and hair slick with rain and sweat.
Fuji's already short Seigaku tennis jersey rode up past the boy's navel, revealing his flat stomach. His wet shorts rode up past his smooth, hairless thighs. The tensai's honey brown hair was spread out all along his head, leaving a crown around him. His blue eyes were half lidded as he tried to keep the water droplets out, cheeks tinted pink from fever, completely visible despite the darkness around them. His bottom lip was red and swollen from Fuji biting it, but it made for a natural pout.
Tezuka snapped out of his daze when he heard Fuji whimper and try to get up. He shot a fake smile to Tezuka to indicate he was okay. Tezuka had to fight to keep his growl at bay.
Why does Syuusuke always insist that everything is okay when it is obviously not?
Tezuka offered Fuji a hand which Fuji gratefully took. As soon as he was up on his own feet, he had to fight to stay that way. His breathing was labored and it was obvious he was fighting not to be sick.
He stayed like that for a few minutes, but then realized he still had Tezuka's hand. He quickly dropped it and stepped away from Tezuka, eyes closed and smile back in place.
"Sorry about that…What bring you out in the rain, Tezuka?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Tezuka shot him a glare and went to pick up the fallen umbrella. Not that they needed it, since they were both already drenched.
He quickly went over to Fuji, who was picking up his fallen racquet and tennis ball, getting ready to serve again.
Just as Fuji was about to let the ball fly in the air, Tezuka grabbed his wrist. He forcefully pulled Fuji under the large umbrella. Fuji barely managed to stop himself from colliding with Tezuka's firm chest.
"W-What are you doing" Fuji asked in a breathy whisper.
"What the hell do you think you are doing!?" Tezuka answered with a question of his own.
Fuji was speechless, eyes opening in astonishment as he wondered at Tezuka's anger.
"Well?" Tezuka bit out, trying to keep the emotions out of his voice.
Fuji shook himself and tried to pry his arm out of Tezuka's hand. This succeeded in Tezuka tightening his grip.
Fuji fought to keep a whimper at bay when Tezuka's grip turned from firm to brutal.
Tezuka saw the pain in Fuji's expression and immediately loosened his grip, but didn't let go.
Fuji looked up at him; since attending senior high, Tezuka was almost two heads taller than him.
"Fuji, what the hell are you doing out here in this kind of storm?" He asked, a bit more gently this time. A genuine mask of shock appeared on Fuji's face.
Fuji quickly looked away, and tugged once again at his wrist. Tezuka, however, didn't let go.
"T-Tezuka, please let go," Fuji said softly. Thunder crashed again and silent lightening followed after, illuminating both their features.
Unconsciously, he let his racquet handle slip from his grip, falling at his side with a clack Neither of them noticed.
Gold eyes clashed with Azure ones.
Suddenly, the world started to spin around Fuji and he collapsed into Tezuka's waiting arms. Tezuka wasn't that surprised and quickly scooped up the half-conscious prodigy in his arms.
Fuji didn't resist (not that he could) when Tezuka picked him up in a bridal hold, letting his head rest against Tezuka's shoulder.
Tezuka sighed and looked down at the fallen tennis racquet, umbrella, and tennis balls. He would have to come back for them later, providing they would still be there.
Thunder crashed violently as he headed home with precious cargo in his arms.
Once Syuusuke awoke, he immediately noticed that this was not his room.
Instead of his colorful walls, decorated with pictures and awards, this room was dull, white, and plain.
Syuusuke fought to keep his rising panic down as he nearly threw off his covers and headed towards the doorway.
Just as he was about to open the door and step out, his face came crashing into a firm chest. Tezuka, by pure luck, managed not to spill the hot soup he was carrying on the tensai.
Syuusuke looked up confusion laced in his eyes. He wasn't up for long though, when a heavy, dizzy feeling set on him. He fought not to stumble down, but Tezuka saw Syuusuke's body sway.
He quickly set the soup on a nearby desk and put his arms around the feverish tensai to steady him.
Unconsciously, Syuusuke leaned into the touch.
Tezuka gently led Syuusuke back to the bed. He coaxed the wary boy into sitting down and pulled the comforters around the slim waist. He propped a few pillows behind the prodigy's back and went to retrieve the hot bowl of soup; all the while he could feel Syuusuke's eyes burning holes into him.
He turned around and dragged his study chair with him. He sat down and gently put the tray, unfolding into a small miniature table, in front of the older boy's lap (1).
"T-Tezuka," Syuusuke whispered hoarsely. Tezuka shook his head a silent indicator that no words needed to be spoken.
Syuusuke relaxed into the bed, willing the dizziness to go away.
When the soup was placed in front of him, he wasn't sure what he should do. He looked up, surprised and a little wary of Tezuka's suddenly kind actions. Seeing Tezuka look at him, sending a silent command to eat, Syuusuke decided that complying would be beneficial to both of them.
Syuusuke bit his lip and dipped his head, making sure that his bangs covered his face. Slowly he reached for the spoon and dipped it in, scooping up a bit of the watery substance and bringing it to is lips. He took a small sip. All this, Tezuka watched.
The silence went on for the duration of an hour while Syuusuke slowly finished his soup. Once he was done, he politely put the soup back and mumbled a quite 'thank you.'
Tezuka nodded, not that the tensai could see, and picked up the bowl to set it aside.
Syuusuke never once brought his head up. This worried Tezuka a bit.
Instead of voicing out this concern though, he just barked out another command.
"You should get some sleep."
This caught Syuusuke's attention and he snapped his head back up, instantly regretting the action. The world swam for a few seconds, but he quickly got a reign on his mind and glared at Tezuka with open eyes.
"What do you mean?" His already piercing eyes were sharp, looking right at Tezuka and giving him his undivided attention. This unnerved Tezuka a bit, but he would sooner die than let Syuusuke know that.
"I meant what I said; go to sleep," he spoke calmly.
Syuusuke took a deep breath, not really caring that Tezuka could see him trying to control his emotions.
"I meant, thank you for your hospitality, but I really should be getting back home."
He made to move off the comforters before Tezuka grabbed his wrist, preventing him from doing so.
Syuusuke stopped and looked up with a harsh glare.
"Tezuka, I want to go home," he said coldly.
He didn't know why, but a sense of defense over took him.
This is so stupid. Kunimitsu and I have been friends since middle school.
So why were his hackles raised?
Syuusuke shook his head quickly, not minding that he looked stupid.
When he looked up again, he had his mask fixed on.
"Please? Tezuka?" He tried a bit more polite and refrained from tugging his arm out of his buchou's strong, warm hands.
"Yumiko-san told me what happened," he said simply, voice neutral.
Syuusuke eyes snapped open in shock and his mouth hung open. His brain completely froze and his body tensed up. He started to tremble.
Tezuka saw all this, just as he saw Syuusuke try in vain to keep hidden tears at bay.
Before his mind could react, his body, on impulse, went to comfort the trembling figure.
He hesitantly put his arms around frail shoulders and pressed the body close to his own.
He felt delicate hands reach for his t-shirt and clutch tightly, as if it was his lifeline.
Before the tensai knew what he was doing, he started to cry. Tears rolled freely off his face as dark memories came rushing back. And the loneliness. God, that hurt more than anything.
Tezuka brought up a hand and soothingly rubbed circles at the small of Syuusuke's back.
They stayed like that for hours.
When Tezuka shifted a little, trying to work the soreness out of his back without disturbing Syuusuke, Syuusuke slumped down, face in his lap.
Tezuka, surprised, felt an unfamiliar heat reach his cheeks.
He looked down and saw the tensai was fast asleep.
He smiled a little and tried to move Syuusuke off of him and on to the bed.
He felt a tug on his shirt and realized Syuusuke had yet to release him from his grip.
Gently, he tried to pry the gentle fingers off him, but stopped when he heard a small moan of protest leave the tensai's lips.
He looked at the clock. 1:40 am. Tezuka sighed. With a firm tug, the finger relented. He saw Syuusuke shift and smiled.
He went and shut the lights and blinds, faintly noticing that the rain had lightened up.
With a small bit of hesitation, he slipped in beside Syuusuke and felt the small body snuggle up to him immediately.
He smiled and brushed a bit of soft hair from Syuusuke's eyes, looking in awe as the moonlight hit his pale skin just right, giving him an ethereal look.
Outside, an owl hooted, bring Tezuka back to his senses.
What the hell was he doing?
Wasn't he taking advantage of Syuusuke while he slept?
One look back down immediately threw away all thoughts of getting up; a small pout adorned the tensai's lips as if he could read Tezuka's thoughts.
Tezuka smiled, not even realizing he was already fast asleep.
__
"Worthless little slut!"
A whimper followed.
"Legs wider, now!" An icy voice bit out.
The lithe, withering figure below him refused. Tears were falling freely from defiant eyes, cheeks tinted with a dark pink flush, made harsher from continuous slaps. Lips were swollen, bleeding, and open to let out harsh and broken breaths. Honey brown hair, sweat soaked, stuck to his porcelain skin. His desirable body was flushed with a sheen sweat layering it.
But he, by no means, looked like he was in the midst of pleasure.
His face was contorted with pain, red welts displayed vibrantly against his pure, unblemished skin. Big purple and blue bruises were scattered all over his lower body. Finger marks, knife marks and rope contusions were everywhere.
"N—no.." He spoke, voice melodic and raspy.
His thighs were forcefully pushed apart.
"Ah!" Syuusuke screamed, as his muscles and tendons strained.
"You little slut, you're actually enjoying this!?" A cruel laugh escaped rough, beautiful lips.
"S-stop…Please!" Syuusuke begged, face flushed with fear, pain, humiliation, and reluctant excitement. He was ashamed.
The man above him smirked and mercilessly thrust dry into the bound boy under him.
"AH!" Syuusuke screamed as blood seeped down from his parted thighs. The man inside him was ripping him apart.
"S-stop!" He screamed out, back arching, trying to get away.
Another cold, amused laugh.
"Why? I've seen the looks you gave me, Syuu-chan. You like this, don't you? Every bloody thrust, the bites, the pain. You love it. You love me!" He laughed out loud, accenting his words with harsh, painful thrusts of his hips.
Syuusuke was sobbing, crying out for someone to help him.
"Y-you gave me looks…Even when Yumiko was watching!" The man laughed tauntingly.
"You're a slut, you know that? Sluts are slaves. Slaves obey there masters. Obey me, Syuusuke!" He yelled.
"AH!" Syuusuke screamed.
Syuusuke all but jumped out of bed, his eyes looked around frantically, searching.
"-suke" Tezuka yelled.
Syuusuke turned ice cold eyes towards Tezuka.
Tezuka flinched at the fear in them.
"Shh, I'm here," he soothed, collecting the feverish and shaking tensai in his arms.
"N-no! Let me go!" Syuusuke screamed. He started thrashing around in Tezuka's hold.
"Fuji! Fuji! SYUUSUKE!" Tezuka yelled.
Fuji's head snapped to look up at Tezuka, seeing him, but not seeing him.
"Please…Stop it…." He pleaded.
Tezuka was sweating, trying in vain to stop Syuusuke from thrashing off the bed.
"Fuji! Calm down please!" Tezuka all but begged.
"Sorry! I'm sorry, Yumiko!" Syuusuke cried out, eyes closed as he elbowed Tezuka hard.
Tezuka grunted in pain, but didn't loosen his grip. In an attempt to stop the flailing boy, he wrapped his arms securely around him.
This made Syuusuke struggle more, but Tezuka refused to relinquish his hold. He pressed tight until the prodigy's head was buried in his neck. Tezuka's whole body tensed as a hot, wet substance seeped through his shirt.
He immediately felt guilty, but he couldn't let go. Not now, not ever.
"Syuusuke, please!" He half-yelled.
In an instant, the body stopped trembling.
"T-Tezuka?" An extremely soft voice spoke, shaking slightly.
"Shh, Syuusuke, I'm here," he soothed, trembling a bit himself.
Syuusuke started to shake again, except this time it was out of relief more than fear.
"T-Tezuka…What are you doing?" He asked breathily.
"Huh?" Tezuka replied unintelligently, closing his eyes and resting his head on Syuusuke's hair. He held the tensai tightly, rubbing soothing circles near the base of Fuji's head.
"L-let me go, p-please," Syuusuke said, trying in vain to make the tone of his voice light.
"Never," Tezuka said almost inaudibly.
A shocked silence followed. Tezuka knew what he said, but even though it was 2:49 am and his mind was fuzzy with confusion, he didn't regret saying it one bit.
Syuusuke bit his lip, trying in vain to gather his scattered thoughts.
Suddenly, a thought popped into his mind and, though it was a challenge to voice it out, let alone think it, he managed.
"D-did Y-Yumiko tell y-you?" He whispered, clenching and unclenching Tezuka's shirt in his fists, not sure if he wanted to run away or bury himself in Tezuka's warmth.
Tezuka looked down at the innocent tensai. So helpless, so vulnerable. He tightened his grip, subconsciously loving the way Syuusuke fit perfectly in his lap.
He knew what had happened, and gods, was he angry. How could anyone do that to Syuusuke? Sweet, innocent, Syuusuke?
He hesitated in voicing this though. Yumiko had warned him. Syuusuke was not mentally stable. He had to think this through clearly.
So he didn't answer, but instead focused on comforting the smaller boy.
"T-Tezuka?" Syuusuke asked, not really knowing what he was saying.
Tezuka sighed inwardly. What to do?
Finally, with a defeated sigh, he nodded. Just the slightest tilt of his head, but to Syuusuke, it was as clear as an avalanche.
Syuusuke eyes widened in shock and his mouth hung open. His brain completely froze and his body tensed up. He started to shiver uncontrollably. Overcome with anguish, he gazed up at his long-time friend. "Y-you know?"
Tezuka looked down at the frightened prodigy. Idly, he wondered why he was so affected by the sight of Syuusuke's teary eyes. In the meantime, he replied, keeping his voice as steady as he could, "I know, and I swear to you that I will help you get through this, Syuusuke. I'm not going to leave you and I am not going to let you run away until you have the chance to deal with what has happened." He promised, clutching tightly to the lithe figure. (1)
Syuusuke's mind was in a haze. His body felt so drained. Suddenly, he felt cold. He couldn't stop shaking as a thousand scenarios ran through his head. His whole body felt so incredibly numb. So cold.
"T-Tezuka…I'm s-so cold" Syuusuke whimpered.
This made Tezuka's eyes snap open.
He hurriedly brought Syuusuke to an arm's length away, finding his fears were coming true.
Syuusuke was breathing extremely scarcely. From his right cheek to the middle of his nose and across to his left cheek was a harsh, red flush. His eyes were hazy, face sweaty. His hair was all over the place. Syuusuke's body was hot to the touch. Tezuka knew his friend was in danger.
He urgently laid Fuji down onto his back. He brushed a few sweat-soaked bangs from Fuji's forehead. His eyes widened significantly as he all but jumped off his bed.
"Syuusuke. I'll be right back. I'm going call the hospital," Tezuka's voice shook slightly, but the half conscious tensai didn't take any notice.
Tezuka leaped towards the door, not noticing the whimper that followed after him.
Syuusuke looked crestfallen at the door. His mind couldn't quit slow down to his body, and thus, despite his weak state, he managed to push himself up against the head board.
He cried out softly as the whole room went dark for a few seconds. He pressed his back against the head board, bringing his knees close.
He felt like he was gonna puke, but whether it was from the dream or from his sickness, he couldn't tell.
He couldn't stop his mind's negative wanderings as he brought up thoughts he figured he had buried years ago.
Why?
That was the simple question Syuusuke asked himself as he hugged his knees closer to himself.
Why couldn't anyone ever see him?
He was scared.
Oh, gods, how he was scared.
He bit his nails into the porcelain skin of his palms, drawing blood. His heated skin amplified the pain, but he didn't notice. Instead, he dug deeper.
Pain.
He wanted pain.
Gods, how twisted was he?
He felt sick, dirty, hurt and betrayed.
He wouldn't cry, though.
No. Fuji Syuusuke was not allowed to cry.
But god, how he wanted to.
All he wanted was to break down and let unfamiliar wetness trail down his cheek, much like rain. He didn't want to fool himself anymore. He didn't want to fool others either. All he wanted was to be held. He didn't care by whom, for what cause, or why. He just wanted it.
He cast a small glance towards the door.
Tezuka…Kunimitsu…
He wanted to feel he had a purpose aside from being a pleasure slave.
But he couldn't.
He wasn't allowed to.
He wasn't allowed, nor capable, of having someone love him.
So he drove them all away.
Syuusuke bit down harder on his lip, willing them not to tremble. Not here, not now.
He lied to them.
He wasn't sadistic; maybe masochist for always inflicting emotional pain on himself, but not sadistic. He didn't like wasabi sushi as much as everyone thought. Hell, the first few times he ate it, he puked himself to sleep. He forced himself to like Inui Juice. People would think him crazy and they wouldn't get close
He wouldn't hurt them.
And in return he wouldn't get hurt.
That's how he lived, planned or not.
He never cried, never loved, never laughed, never smiled.
All fake, for them.
For Tezuka.
He didn't want Tezuka to get caught up in his disgusting world. He didn't want him to see this side of him. The weak, vulnerable, dirty side.
He slid back down against head board, making his pounding head lay back against the hard, cold wood. Blood was rushing all through out his body and he could feel it.
Syuusuke panted, breathing openly now.
He closed his eyes. He wanted to sleep. To sleep and never wake up.
Syuusuke moaned slightly when he moved his head back towards the door. Almost as if begging it to open up and let Tezuka back in.
Slowly his eyes dropped, and the last thing he saw was Tezuka barging through the door.
Tezuka all but ran down the stairs, to the phone near the front of the house. He thanked what ever star that kept an eye on him, for the fact that his parents were in Germany, and his grandfather was as good as dead when he slept.
He dialed the 3 small numbers so fast he didn't even know he hit them.
His head was pounding and he was impatiently tapping his foot on the ground. He clenched and unclenched the phone in his hand. He gritted his teeth, annoyed by the uncomfortable feeling of being half conscious.
Finally a soft woman's voice spoke.
"How may I help you?" The voice was calm and reassuring, so unlike what Tezuka felt right now.
"I need an ambulance to come to (xxx) right now!" Tezuka all but barked.
He didn't give the woman a chance to reply as he slammed the phone down into the receiver. He took the steps two at a time, as he barged into his room.
The first thing he saw was Syuusuke's body go limp.
Oh god!
Tezuka bit his lip and nearly threw himself on the bed.
The first thing he did was check the pulse.
It was so faint, it was barely there.
Tezuka felt over whelming panic burst through his body.
Tezuka calm down
Tezuka took a deep breath nervousness getting the better of him. A softly brushed a few sweaty bangs away from Syuusuke burning forehead.
God, could a human body be so hot?
Tezuka shook his head, trying to clear away distracting thoughts.
Syuusuke's breath was coming out in short quick breaths. But even in sleep he somehow managed to make sure he was as quite as possible.
Syuusuke pale cheeks were tinted in a harsh red, alarming Tezuka greatly.
Without a second thought he hurriedly whisked Syuusuke into his arms, and all but ran down the stairs.
Just as he slammed the door open, he saw the red lights.
Tezuka barely managed to suppress his urge to jump for joy.
A strangled breath from Syuusuke nearly sent him running towards the lights. Fortunately he didn't need to.
It all happened in a flash, two men jumped out of the ambulance while two others ran to get a stretcher. Syuusuke was strapped into place, and an oxygen mask put over his pale sweating figure.
The four men were shouting at each other, rushing to get Syuusuke into the ambulance.
Their words fell deaf on Tezuka's ears as he watched transfixed, the rise and fall of Syuusuke chest become scarce.
"Let's go" A shout was heard, successfully brining Tezuka out of his gaze.
"Wait! I want to--" He didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence as the ambulance doors snapped shut.
Tezuka heart rate all but stopped as he watched the red lights and white van slowly rush away.
He stayed in that position for what seemed like hours, but couldn't have been more the a few minutes.
Suddenly something in Tezuka snapped.
He ran back into the house, barely noticing his Grandfathers slow decent down the stairs.
He picked up the phone, for the second time and quickly dialed a number he knew by heart.
He waited impatiently, barely able to contain the adrenaline-induced energy rushing through his body, as he pleaded mentally for the phone he was calling to be picked up. Succumbing to the need for movement, he picked up the phone and paced around the room as it rang for what seemed like an eternity.
Finally, there was a crackle as the shrill, monotonous ringtone ceased, and a groggy female voice answered on the other line.
"Hello?"
"Yumiko-san, this is Tezuka. I need you to come to my house right away."
"Kunimitsu-san? What's wrong?" Tezuka tried to keep from yelling with frustration as he heard Yumiko smother a yawn. He didn't have time for this! Late at night or not, she would have to shake off the effects of her sleepiness faster than that. This was serious.
Syuusuke was in danger.
He told her this.
Instantly, all remnants of weariness were washed away, and Yumiko asked harshly, her voice tight with worry, "Where is he, Tezuka?"
"The ambulance took him away. I'll try to find out. I'll call you as soon as I know, be prepared to swing by and pick me up immediately." He hung up without waiting for her reply, bringing the receiver crashing down for the second time that night.
He ran to the landing in front of the stairs and began to dash up them, leaping over them by twos and threes. He felt a sort of urgency building in him; he had to find Syuusuke. He reached the top of the stairs, ready to continue his frenzied search.
He halted. Before him, leaning heavily on a gnarled wooden cane and dressed only in slippers, a bathrobe and a very displeased expression, was his Grandfather.
He wanted to scream, to push the old man aside, to make him understand that this was NOT the time. Instead he clenched his fists and forced himself to stay still and silent. Despite his obvious efforts at self-restraint, his grandfather's moody scowl only deepened, and his bushy grey eyebrows furrowed together in annoyance.
"Tezuka, what is the meaning of this?"
"Grandfather," Tezuka spoke, his mind racing frantically as he bought time to think. He was impatient, but retained his cool composure. "Ah, I apologize for having woken you up. I would like to explain, but I'm not certain myself as to what's going on. And I'm in quite a rush at the moment. Please, I will explain what's happening as soon as possible, but in the meantime, please go back to bed." He strode forward with every intention of ignoring his Grandfather's questions and moved to pass the glaring old man.
He was stopped as his grandfather's cane nearly whacked him in the knees in its haste to block him from escaping. His grandfather stared at him unsympathetically and growled moodily.
"Kunimitsu, stay right there! You will tell me what this is all about! Why was I awoken in the middle of the night by the racket of ambulance sirens in front of our house?" Tezuka cursed.
He'd hoped that his relatively deaf grandparent would not hear such sounds. Luck was against him. Though his grandfather adamantly claimed that it was not he who was deaf, but young people these days who did not speak clearly, it appeared that at least some
modern sounds were audible to him. Damn.
Tezuka sighed, willing some of his agitation away. He needed to stay calm or not only would his grandfather keep him longer and begin a tirade about the lack of manners in modern day youth, but after he returned from the hospital, tensions would only escalate. How could he make this man understand that this was most certainly NOT the time to be unreasonable?
"Grandfather I promise to explain later, however I cannot do so now, as I am sure your own...considerable powers of observation have informed you, I am urgently needed elsewhere. That means NOW!" He ground out the last bit, grinding his teeth to keep himself from raising his voice and thereby offending his grandfather further.
His grandfather's face turned red, and Tezuka could almost swear he literally saw grumpiness grow on the grouchy man's face as its expression grew dark and stormy with indignation. He sighed. There went all chances of negotiating reasonably with the elder. To hell with it all then, he might as well dig himself as deep as he could go in trouble. Without giving his grandfather a chance to squawk his affrontment, he lunged at the opening in the corridor between his grandfather and the wall, easily pushing past the cane that had previously halted him. It was no longer a firm barrier between himself and his room now that it lacked both momentum and Tezuka's own desire to be polite.
His grandfather, taken by surprise at the swift suddenness of his disobedient grandson's movements, instinctively side stepped, so as to avoid getting brushed aside by his grandson. Tezuka took the opportunity to break into a fast paced walk towards his room, where he quickly grabbed his cell phone and a pair of tennis shoes.
He rushed back out of his room, brushing past his grandfather, who stood shell-shocked and open-mouthed at Tezuka's uncommon show of defiance, and breezed down the stairs, not caring for the continuous 'thud' of his feet on wood.
Tezuka ran out to the drive way, where he shivered at the cold and dark that so suddenly surrounded him. He was grateful for the fact that a mere few seconds after he'd emerged from the house, Yumiko's red convertible pulled into the driveway, honking for him and illuminating the street with its lights. Without even waiting till the car came to a halt, he threw open the door and all but leaped into the car.
"Kuni---" Yumiko started to greet him, but was abruptly cut off by a single harsh command from a tense Tezuka, who, ever responsible, even in the midst of a crisis, was already pulling on his seatbelt
"Drive." Yumiko closed her mouth and silently obeyed.
Ryoma loved to sleep.
It was no secret. Everyone and anyone knew that.
But no one knew why.
Ryoma was brilliant. He knew that and other people knew that. It wasn't something he bragged about, or even mentioned often.
People thought that because of his attitude, or his appearance, he wasn't exactly the smartest kid in the block. True the only real things he excelled exceptionally at were English and Tennis. But that didn't mean he wasn't good at other things as well. He did excel in normal subjects, but it was more of applying common sense than actual skill.
Ryoma was talented like that.
There were few people that were smarter than him, two of them being his current buchou, Tezuka Kunimitsu, and resident tensai Fuji Syuusuke.
But that was beside that point.
Ryoma didn't really care for things like this. He was smart and he knew it. He liked being himself, no matter how cheesy or corny it sounded like.
He had a sweet tooth for Ponta, he didn't mind eating till his stomach bloated. He didn't mind doting more on his cat than any other living being out there. He loved tennis. He was a normal kid.
But then things started to go wrong. Ryoma was so good at tennis, that to any normal player it seemed he never had to put much skill into his play. And people thought that happened in real life as well.
Pressure was constantly put on him. Especially by his father. His dad had always been egging him on tennis, practically made him breathe tennis. Because of so much attention being given to the sport, his mother put pressure on his studies.
His life was difficult like that. He had no real problem. He's parents sometimes argued over meaningless things, but never really exploded at each other. His brother, even through he disappeared was no problem either. He was fine, his family was fine.
So how does this tie in to sleeping?
Well to Ryoma, sleeping was a way to let go. When he slept he could dream up his own worlds. He could make it tennis related, or even Karupin related. But, for the past few months they have become Tezuka related.
Every night Ryoma was starting to look forward to sleeping more and more.
Why?
Because at night he was dreaming about his buchou.
It wasn't inappropriate dreams, mostly just them playing tennis. He dreamt of the way the wind hit Tezuka's hair just right, making it rustle softly. Or when the sun beamed down at the right position making his eyes glow golden. The way he would lean down and press gentle kisses to Ryoma's forehead, complementing him on his great backhand or serve.
Those were the dreams he never wanted to end.
But tonight he just couldn't get the dreams to come. Frankly he couldn't get sleep to come.
Something was wrong.
Ryoma could feel it. There was an unsettling feeling in his stomach, not strong but very persistent.
Finally after tossing and turning for hours, he gave up.
He sat upright in bed, smiling when Karupin shifted in her sleep. He gently picked up his orange cell-phone, the one his mother had given him the day he was leaving for his first U.S Open in Junior High.
He still had it. He scrolled down his list, looking at the number right after his parents.
Buchou
Ryoma was not good at relationship problems, but he had enough common sense to know the basics. He knew that Tezuka did favour him, more than anyone else on the team. He wouldn't call it a crush but a lot more than favourisum
Well almost everyone.
Ryoma felt his stomach drop as he thought about Seigaku's tensai.
Recently Fuji had been acting very strangely.
He was stopping his sadistic streak, for one. He stopped teasing Eiji and Oishi about their 'closet relationship', and Inui and Kaidoh's 'nightly runs'. He stopped correcting his teachers in class, and actually made an effort to pay attention. Ryoma wasn't sure if Eiji was exaggerating when he said that Fuji was being nice to his teachers. They all knew Fuji loved to make their teachers lives a living hell.
It was concerning really.
Fuji was practically dead on the courts, not even making an effort to try and let the opponent get false hope, crushing them in love games in 15 minutes.
But what mostly scared everyone was that Fuji's smiles where strained. They were so fake that even idiot's like Horio and that loud girl could tell them apart.
And Fuji had bruises on his body.
Purple, blue and red marks where littered all over his body.
The only person that ever saw them was Ryoma and Eiji themselves.
Ryoma probably wouldn't even know that the tensai was experiencing any types of problems if it hadn't been for the day Eiji asked him for help.
"Come on Eiji-sempai, I didn't mean I wanted to see your tennis courts now!" Ryoma groaned.
Eiji shot him a grin and tightened his grip on Ryoma's arm.
"Come on Ochibi-chan, there really good! Almost as good as junior high! Hoi Hoi!!" Eiji was jumpy. More jumpy than usual.
Ryoma sighed and resigned himself to his fate.
"But why didn't you ask Momo-sempai and Kaidoh-sempai to come as well?" Ryoma asked as they neared the school gates.
It was pretty dark out, the sun was starting to set and orange and purple blended into a bluish sky.
Eiji had apparently forgotten his favourite grip tape, and only recalled forgetting it when Ryoma, Momo, Oishi and Eiji arrived at the burger joint.
He bounced up and said he needed to go back, and dragged a clueless Ryoma with him.
As the turned a corner Ryoma's, breathe hitched. Wow, the courts really were great. Beautiful green surfaces, a track not to far off from the tennis courts, lush tree's surrounded the tennis area as well. There were a fair amount of courts there size and turf perfect for playing tennis on. A few water fountains were caught into between some trees, right in the middle of the tennis and track. A little ways off was a medium sized change room. And, Ryoma's eyes gleamed, a Ponta machine beside it.
It was only then that Ryoma realized that they were heading towards it.
"Eiji-sempai it thought we were going inside the change room---" All words died in his through as he saw the seriousness in his sempai sapphire eyes.
"Sempai?" Ryoma said hesitantly.
Eiji shook his head, making a shushing noise. He headed towards the Ponta machine, and gently and noiselessly wedged it aside a bit. Just enough for both of them to sneak behind it.
"Eiji sempai what are we doing?" Ryoma asked a little nervous. They were trapped behind a thrumming machine with almost no room to see from. All that was in front of them was a small window, which Ryoma then realized was connected to the change room.
But then all his breath caught in his throat as Fuji sat down on the bench directly in front of there view.
"Do you see it? I need to make sure I'm not seeing things" Eiji whispered, his voice caught.
Ryoma nodded, his mouth open agape.
All of the tensai's body where bruises and welts of all kind. Purple, blue and red all contrasted again his pale skin.
Eiji silently nudged him to the side, and the both emerged from there hiding place.
Eiji looked down, worry accented all around his face.
"Ochibi, you saw them too right? I'm not imaging those bruises on his back?" Eiji asked, almost desperately.
Ryoma only nodded, nothing quite clicking in his mind.
"How--" He couldn't even bring himself to say it.
"I don't know. I came here a few days ago, 'cause I really did leave my grip tape there. I heard the shower running and just thought someone decided to practice late. When I came out I was thirsty, but I dropped my yen, so I slipped behind the machine to get them. But then I saw, I-I saw Syuu-chan come out of the shower with bruises on his body" Eiji said the last part with a whisper.
Ryoma nodded dumbly.
There had to be a logical explanation right? Maybe he fell down somewhere and hurt himself badly? Or maybe he fell down the stairs? Or what if his bed was doing this?
Idiot, a part of his mind screeched, How can those types of bruises be caused by a bed?
Ryoma desperately tried to come up with an answer but nothing popped up.
"Eiji-sempai maybe we should tell--"
"No!" Eiji shouted.
Ryoma startled, took a step back. Eiji looked so angry right now.
Eiji realizing he scared his kouhei, shot him an apologetic smile.
"Sorry Ochibi, it's just that, I tried talking to him about it, and he all but pushed me away" Eiji spoke sadly.
Ryoma gave him a look, and Eiji explained.
"Not physically, I'm pretty sure that he couldn't push me away physically, but emotionally. He made up some stupid lie, and said he was fine. I almost believed him, if only he wasn't so desperate trying to tell me not to tell anyone else. He said it would be embarrassing, but that wasn't it. It obviously wasn't it."
Silence reighened into between them, as they silently walked back to the gates. Tension was high, as Ryoma's mind raced a mile a minute. He could see the troubled expression on his sempai's eyes, and felt a twinge of pity. Everyone knew that Eiji and Fuji were great friends. Almost as tight as Oishi and Eiji were.
He was snapped out of his thoughts as Eiji came to a sudden halt.
"Ne, Ochibi what are we gonna do?" Eiji whispered.
Ryoma was speechless. No amount of sense could possible give him a good answer. Instead he looked at the ground.
No one else noticed the marks, well nobody but Tezuka.
One day when Ryoma went to visit his old sempai's after school, he noticed Tezuka yelling at Fuji a little way off from school. Ryoma, like any other nosy teen, hid behind the corner and strained to listen. He could hear Tezuka yelling, well yelling as much as the stotic captain could do, and demanding to know what was wrong with Fuji. He faintly heard Fuji brush it off, chalking it up to exams, and his nervousness.
Yeah right, Ryoma thought, Fuji was getting the highest marks in high school and only in his freshman year.
From the look on Tezuka's face he didn't believe him.
It did nothing at all but increase there worry.
Ryoma felt a flash of jealousy overcome him. Lately all Tezuka had been doing was shooting nervous stares in Fuji's direction. Nobody seemed to catch them. But Ryoma did.
He saw the way Tezuka looked at Fuji. It was the exact way he looked at his buchou.
Ryoma wanted to scream, to pull at his hair, to punch something. It wasn't fair. Why did Fuji always get the attention? He came back here for Tezuka. He wanted to impress Tezuka tell him that he not only is accomplishing his own dream, he's accomplishing Tezuka's as well.
But no.
He saw the way people talked about Tezuka and Fuji. How they looked like the 'perfect' couple, if only Fuji had been a girl.
Prodigy Fuji Syuusuke, one of the greatest minds out there. Admires came in male and female genders. He could have anything he wanted. Every where he went the attention was always on him.
Faintly he wondered if this is the way Fuji's little brother always felt like. The feeling of inferiority, the feeling of envy.
All anyone ever talked about was Fuji's beauty, or his talent. How perfect he was, respectful in his own way, never taking the edge off anything.
The room started to get a hot feeling. He was starting to feel sweaty. His shirt was clinging on to his lithe chest as Ryoma's face flushed in anger. His breath was coming out harsher, as adrenaline pumped through his veins.
He needed to get up and do something.
Ryoma's hands clenched his blanket harder. He faintly heard the sound of the fabric rip, as his own nails dug into his flesh.
Wasn't this beneath him? He was being jealous over the 'nothing' between Tezuka and himself. He was getting angry at the tensai, when it was obvious that he was in no condition to be talked too like this.
Ryoma clenched and unclenched his hands, finally noting the sting of the red crest marks on his palms.
Silently he got up, and opened the door. He calmly went over to the bathroom and washed his hands.
He turned the water almost ice cold, as he sprayed the water on his face, trying to get his body to calm down.
He returned to his room and sat down. He wasn't going to sleep. That was a given.
He looked out the window, a thunderstorm raging. The water pattered on the window the sound previously drowned out by his musing.
Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. The light illuminated his lithe figure as he stared directly into the clouds watching waiting for the next flash.
Lightening was funny like that. Beautiful and dangerous. Can strike fear into your hearts. The feeling of vulnerability as you are caught in a trance, flooding through you, making your whole body shake with its reality. Admiration flooding through you, making your heart feel like it's stopped, and started up a thousand times fast. Lightning was perfect, just like Fuji Syuusuke.
He turned away, lying down on his side away from the window, and slowly started stroking Karupin's fur.
Maybe he should take this time to figure things out.
Did he admire the tensai, or hate him?
"So what happened" A soft feminine voice spoke.
Tezuka glared hard at the white tiles. He glared at them as if they were the cause of all his problems. He tried to squash down the urge to scream 'What the fuck do think happened!?', but no he was Tezuka Kunimitsu. He couldn't do that. So as too quell the soft but increasingly annoying voice he spoke.
"Syuusuke collapsed"
Yumiko gave him a glare that could rival his, Ryoma's and Fuji's put together. She was that scary. Unconsciously he moved a bit sideways, stopping only when the wooden armrest was practically embedded in his side.
He sighed.
This was Yumiko after all. She was the one who taught Syuusuke everything.
"I don't know. I saw him playing in the rain. A-and he just collapsed." Tezuka took a deep breath. It was amazing how the Fuji family had this effect on him. For the past 24 hours, if you didn't know him, you could swear he was a different person.
"I brought him back to my house, and then he started to cry. I fell asleep and I forgot to call you," he threw a small apologetic look Yumiko's way before continuing, "and then I woke up. He was having a nightmare. I tried to snap him out of it, but I think I did more damage than I intended"
He fisted his hands into his school slacks. He hadn't bothered to change at all.
Yumiko let a hitched sigh escape her lips. Tezuka could detect the guilt in them.
"Yumiko-san it isn't your fault" the statement came out awkward and unreassuringly. After all this wasn't his field.
A small dry sob escaped Yumiko's lips, as he fisted her hand into her pink night robe. A few teardrops gathered in her eyes but she stubbornly refused to let them drop. Syuusuke and she were similar like that.
Tezuka knew he should attempt to say something, but he couldn't think of anything. He was frustrated at himself, and at this hospital. They had been waiting for 2 hours 44 minutes and 30 something seconds, not counting the car ride here. He was getting anxious and impatient.
The only condolence he could take was the fact that Yumiko was here with him. He knew this must be really hard for her. He sighed, and looked over softening his expression.
"Yumiko-san….." Tezuka began.
A cough interrupted him mid-sentence.
He glanced up annoyed, and ready to snap back, only to halt as he saw a man in a blue uniform.
The man had a kind smile on his face, it was almost reassuring. He was tall, taller than Tezuka. His appearance wasn't that bad. Dark ebony hair, surrounded a heart shape face, cut just below the chin. His hair was curly, giving him an almost child-like look. His light amethyst eyes seemed to glow a little. Underneath his uniform Tezuka could tell the man had a good build. Despite his almost naïve look, Tezuka could see he wasn't a man to be wrecking with when serious.
His already soft eyes seemed to soften even more when he gazed at Yumiko's trembling form. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it too Yumiko.
Yumiko, who had been blissfully unaware of the man's presence, looked up startled.
"Um, are you by any chance related to the boy that was brought in a few hours ago?" He asked kindly.
Tezuka felt an instant lightning of his heart. The man's voice wasn't laced with pity or sympathy. He hated those types of adults, thinking they could relate to you when you knew they couldn't even dream of that. Instead his calm, soothing voice made Tezuka relax even if just a bit. Through his perpetual vision he saw the tension drain away from Yumiko's body as well.
Yumiko nodded, hesitantly, almost as if shy.
The man broke out into a smile. Tezuka refrained from visibly relaxing, instead reminding himself why he was here.
With that his eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?" Tezuka asked his voice tight.
The man looked startled as he gazed at Tezuka, as if just realizing his was there. His eyes lit up, and he smiled again.
It was then that Tezuka realized he was getting annoyed.
"Oh, I'm really sorry. My name is Honami Kenshin. I'm guessing you're the boy that made the emergency call?" he asked gently.
Tezuka nodded tightly standing up. He bowed slightly. "Tezuka Kunimitsu, yoroshiku"
Yumiko also stood up and introduced her self. "Thank you for coming Honami-san"
Honami looked mildly embarrassed.
"Please, just call me Ken, everyone else does"
Yumiko smiled, and sat back down. Tezuka nodded and also sat, returning to glaring at the floor.
"Fuji-san, if I may, would you please answer a few questions for me?"
The sudden serious tone, made Tezuka look back up. Yumiko also looked confused, but she nodded none the less.
Honami nodded, and motioned for them to stand up. He led them to a white door.
They stepped through, and Tezuka fought hard not to scowl at the bright lights. The room wasn't really small but it wasn't spacious either. The walls were white, as were the surrounding cabinets. There was a single clear table in the center of the room surrounded by a few chairs.
"Coffee?" He asked. Yumiko nodded grateful. Tezuka also nodded. He wasn't a big fan of the bitter taste, but it does help him stay up. After all it should be somewhere around 5 in the morning. At the realization, Tezuka fought off a yawn.
Honami motioned for them to sit down, as he went to the cabinets and pulled out some cups. He went towards a coffee-maker near the end of the counter, and poured the coffee into each cup.
He came back to the table and gave each of them their respective cups.
There was silence in the room. No one spoke. The tension was grating on Tezuka nerves. All he wanted to do was see Syuusuke. What was so wrong in that?
"Honami-san, what did you want to talk to me about?" Yumiko asked, breaking the ice.
Tezuka shot Honami an impatient look, which the older man seemed blissfully oblivious too.
"Fuji-san didn't I tell you to call me Ken? Honami-san makes me sound old" He chuckled a little attempting to lighten the mood.
It seemed to work for Yumiko but Tezuka was still anxious. He knew that under the table his legs was bouncing up and down, a habit that he devolved when impatient.
Yumiko sensing Tezuka's distress shot him a look that screamed 'be patient'. Tezuka grudgingly obeyed.
"Okay Ken-san, but please call me Yumiko." She shot him a smile. Honami blushed ever so slightly but nodded.
The once again, the man surprised Tezuka by turning utterly serious.
"A doctor will be joining us shortly to tell us the condition of Fuji-kun. I am presuming he is your brother or relative?" Honami asked.
Yumiko's gaze also turned hard as she got down to business.
"Yes, Syuusuke is my younger brother" she spoke.
Honami nodded and turned to face Tezuka. He brought out a pad of paper and a pencil.
"Tezuka-kun, would you mind answering a few questions?" He asked politely.
Tezuka nodded.
"How are you related to Fuji-kun?" he asked.
"He's a friend of mine from school" Tezuka said. Even as he said it, it didn't seem right.
Honami nodded and scribbled something down.
"Why did you call 110 (1)?" He asked.
Tezuka scowled, figuring it would be obvious. Honami noticed, and smiled attempting to pacify the angered teen.
"It's just procedure" he said. Tezuka sighed inwardly, and nodded.
"Fuji had a big fever and he collapsed at my house. I was…scared, and panicked slightly."
Honami frowned a little.
"Why was he at your house?" Honami asked. This time it was Tezuka turn to frown.
He looked over at Yumiko, who looked down for a second.
He didn't answer as silence reigned.
"Tezuka-kun, Yumiko-san, I promise you that whatever you tell me will not leave this room. I will have to report this to the police but aside from us and the doctors, no-one else will be told without your permission" He said softly.
Yumiko hesitantly nodded, and Tezuka looked back at Honami.
"I…I was coming home from school when my phone rang. On the other line it was Yumiko-san. She sounded scared. She told me that Syuusuke wasn't at home when she got home from work. She sounded on the edge of crying. I also started to get a little worried. Outside there was a thunderstorm, and Fuji had been home sick for the past few days. After a short talk, I went outside looking for him. I found him at the tennis courts near our school, he was practicing alone. I confronted him, and then soon after he collapsed. I wasn't terribly surprised since he did have a large fever. I brought him home…..and I saw his fever worsened, so I called 110"
Tezuka sighed at the end. That had to be the longest phrase he had ever said in…forever. He conveniently left out anything to do with Fuji's suspicious behaviour.
For a few minutes everything was quite, except for the scribbling sound of pencil on paper. Finally after a while Honami looked up. His expression was forlorn, and Tezuka knew the man suspected he wasn't telling everything.
"Is that all?" Honami prodded gently.
A troubled looked flitted on Tezuka's face. He was opposed to lying to his elders, especially the police, but he couldn't exactly tell the truth either.
"I…It's not my place to say" Tezuka said finally, giving a quickly glance to Yumiko.
Yumiko sat silently, fiddling with her fingers. Finally she sighed.
"Let us wait until the doctor comes, I can explain easier" She said.
Honami nodded, pacified for the time being. For a whole half an hour, they each sat in an awkward silence. Well awkward for Tezuka. Yumiko and Honami were making polite conversation, and it was grating on Tezuka's nerves at how they can be so at ease.
Finally after what seemed like forever the door opened slightly. A knocked was heard, and everyone turned around to stare at the old woman by the door.
Honami instantly got up and headed towards the door, opening is up and smiling kindly at the old woman.
"Ah Sensei, please come in" he spoke kindly and patiently.
The woman nodded, smiling as well. The woman looked like she was in her early 50's, she was short with white hair tied into a neat bun, with a pencil sticking out of it. Her attire was like that of any other doctor, a black skirt with a white coat over top. She had a kind soft was that looked as if it was been worn down from time. Wrinkles from laughter, were around the corners of her dark brown eyes.
Tezuka and Yumiko both stood up bowing to the doctor. The woman just chuckled motioning for them to sit down. Tezuka and Yumiko sat, with Honami and the woman sitting across from them.
They were all silent for a few minutes while the doctor sorted out her files.
Finally she spoke.
"Good morning. I am Suzuki Ayano." She said kindly. They all went around introducing themselves.
From the corner of Tezuka's eye he could see Yumiko playing with her night robe.
Suddenly it seemed as though the temperature in the room had dropped.
Suzuki-sensei suddenly looked very serious.
"Yumiko-san, I am going to tell you this right away. I am very patient, and I would like to think kind, but I do not tolerate nonsense. I've been in the medical field a very long time, and I've seen things that would make anyone run towards the nearest bathroom and throw up. I try not to get too attached to my patients…but Syuusuke-kun is different" she said.
Yumiko looked down, and Tezuka knew she was trying not to cry.
"I can read people very well, and I can tell from there reactions when they are sincere and when they are not" she said sternly.
Then her eyes softened a bit.
"Yumiko-san, judging from your reaction, you already know what I am about to say"
Yumiko nodded. Honami and Tezuka shot confused looks at the doctor, but wait patiently until she was finished.
Finally the doctor looked at Honami and Tezuka.
"I will try to make this is simple as possible" she said. They all nodded.
Tezuka saw Yumiko trembling almost violently. He gave her a worried look. Slowly he placed his bigger hand over Yumiko's. Yumiko looked up, startled. Her gaze softened as she squeezed Tezuka's hand.
Suzuki-sensei smiled, but just as quickly it was there it was gone.
"Okay I would like to explain the basic things first."
There were a collective amount of nods as she continued.
"Firstly, Syuusuke-kun is very sick. To put it simply Syuusuke-kun has a very acute case of pneumonia. Yumiko-san, did Syuusuke-kun ever have any lung problems when he was younger?"
The question caught all of them off guard. Yumiko was clenching and unclenching her hand underneath the table, her palm sweaty.
She took a deep breath before shakily speaking.
"Syuusuke has always been…fragile. When we were little there was a…accident" Yumiko was shifting uncomfortably now.
"My father…he wasn't exactly the ideal father. He was wedded to my mother because she was pregnant with me. My grandfather, my mother's father, was a very powerful man and he demanded that my father marry his daughter."
She looked down, glaring at the table top.
"We never had a great family; my father was always drinking and verbally abusing my mother and myself." Yumiko's gaze hardened.
"Every night what my father did to my mother was nothing short of rape. I was around 7 when Syuusuke was born because of that torment. My father was outraged. He didn't want children, and he didn't want to be tied down, but so long as my grandfather was there he had to stay."
Yumiko was crying softly, tears prickling the corners of her eyes.
"One night, father, Syuusuke and I were on our way to meet our mother, who had just given birth to my youngest brother, Yuuta. It was very late at night; Syuusuke was only two, and I nine." She took another deep breath.
"When mother was delivering Yuuta, my father had downed more than 5 bottles of American imported whiskey. That was when the doctor called to inform us that she was in labour. Syuusuke was sleeping with me, when he barged into our room and forced us to come with him. He was driving drunk."
Suddenly Tezuka knew where this was going, and from the looks of it so did the adults.
"We were crossing one of those mobile bridges, the ones that went up to let boats pass underneath. Just as the bridge was going up, my father sped up the car. I was screamed at him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. He just kept going faster and faster, an almost insane grin on his face. All I remembered from the accident was the sound of glass breaking and Syuusuke screaming."
Yumiko was full on sobbing now.
Tezuka felt unbelievable anger surge through him. Their father was planning on dragging his kids down with him to hell.
Honami hurried over to Yumiko, and hesitantly slid his arms around her. Yumiko let go of Tezuka's hand in favour of clutching Honami, as if he were her life line.
Tezuka stood up and offered his chair to Honami, who thanked him and sat down. He pulled Yumiko closer, hugging her.
Suzuki-sensei looked as if she too was on the verge of tears, but held herself in check.
A few minutes passed as Yumiko calmed down. Suzuki-sensei brought her a glass of water and a tissue, gently patting her back.
Yumiko gave her a thankful look, and downed the glass. She slowly untangled herself from Honami's embrace, trying to set herself straight.
She wiped her eyes, her expression once again solemn. She took another big breath.
"It was lucky for us that our car had managed to sink a safe distance away from the boat. A few officers that worked the bridge had jumped in and managed to get us all out. Syuusuke and I survived because we were wearing out seatbelts, but my father did not. I can not say I mourned his death in any way." She sighed.
"But even in death he managed to scar us one last time. In the accident I managed to come out okay with just a broken leg and wrist, with a few minor injuries to my head. Syuusuke on the other hand took a blow straight to his chest. The baby seat that he was sitting in wasn't secured that well since only my mother knew how to safely put her babies in. I did the best I could, but looking back I was a good and bad thing that I didn't secure it all that well. If it had been fastened in place, the men wouldn't have been able to get him out, but if it hadn't Syuusuke would have been propelled straight out the car's front window. The seat increased impact on his small chest. Syuusuke was incredibly lucky in the sense that no glass pierced through him."
Everyone was silent waiting for her to continue.
"But ever since then, he had this lung problem. So as to answer your question, yes Syuusuke does have a lung problem"
A few tears where still being shed by her and Honami had a protective arm around her. Suzuki-sensei was nodding her expression soft yet anger was in those deep brown eyes.
Inside Tezuka was a massive hurricane. His feelings were all jumbled up. Anger, confusion, pity, helplessness, fear were all swirling around him. How the fuck could anyone do that to Syuusuke and Yumiko!?
There was silence, but this time it was Tezuka who broke it.
"If he had a lung problem how did he continue to play tennis?" Tezuka asked softly.
All the adults whipped there head around to Tezuka, forgetting that he was there.
Yumiko smiled softly.
"Syuusuke is a genius." She smiled and then looked fondly at Tezuka.
"Syuusuke always said that you always complained about him not being serious in a match. Syuusuke may not have shown his true potential, but he was always manipulating the speed and pace of a game to benefit him." She smiled to herself, remembering the almost scary way Syuusuke could bend things to manipulate to his satisfaction.
Tezuka felt as is he had just been slapped.
"Y-You mean he…?" Tezuka stuttered.
Yumiko looked down biting her lip. She sighed again.
"Syuusuke is very special. He has always been gifted. There has never been a limit to what he could do. Shortly after the accident, he devolved asthma. It was serious when he was little, but as he got older it seemed that his asthma wasn't becoming a problem any more. When he entered high-school any hints that he might have lung problems diminished."
Tezuka clenched and unclenched his hands. He knew Syuusuke was a prodigy. That he held scary abilities, but to think that a human could manipulate countless other people for years, with a lung issue…was almost unbelievable.
Tezuka was glad for the silence, but at the same time he didn't know there was silence. His blood was rushing throughout his body, his eardrums where thrumming madly. His adrenaline was rushing throughout him. He almost seemed cut off from the real world.
"That does explain a lot. Thank you Yumiko-san for telling me this. But it does not explain…other things." Suzuki-sensei said. The look she gave Yumiko clearly said she could state her own hypothesis, but she would rather hear the truth.
"Other things?" Honami asked tenderly.
Suzuki-sensei gave him a brief look, and Yumiko nodded for them to be able to hear the news.
"Just to give you the basics, Syuusuke-kun shows all the signs of rape. He has internal bleeding from his anal muscles, along with a lot of bruises along his body." She sighed.
"That's not even the beginnings of it. It looks like the abuse has been going on for a while, but it is to hard to explain without knowing all the facts first" She gave a pointed look to Yumiko.
Yumiko sighed, pressing a hand to her temple. She massaged it slowly. Honami handed her another cup of water.
She held it in her hands, but did not drink it.
She closed her eyes, fresh new tears falling down to make a track against her flushed cheeks.
"I'm guessing that from your medical examination you've already determined that Syuusuke has been abused." Yumiko said, catching all of them off guard.
Suzuki-sensei was the first to recover, nodding her head.
Yumiko looked back down, and then to Honami. "Ken-san, you promised that whatever we discuss here won't leave the room, correct?"
Honami looked startled before nodding, his eyes radiating patience and trust.
"Then please, let me talk without interruptions. This is really hard for me to explain, and the only one who can tell you everything is Syuusuke himself." She looked around the room, but caught Tezuka's gaze and held it, as if what she was about to say was for him.
"As I said before, before my father died he had made our lives a living hell. He would verbally and sexually abuse my mother. I was young but I wasn't stupid. I could tell by the way that my mother cut herself off from the world, cut herself off from her family and friends, that she was broken. She went through a routine, a normal one, day in and day out, but there was no feeling behind it.
I learned from a very young age how to deal with reality. When Syuusuke was born, I took it upon myself to make sure that I would be his mother figure in this world. I did everything I could for him, aside from breast feeding him, I was in everyway his mother.
Then Yuuta was born and father died. Mother was left completely broken. All she would do is stay in bed and look out the window, her gaze always looking as if she wanted to touch the outside world, but would be slapped if she even approached it.
Grandfather had long since died, and any relatives that lived in Japan had either died, or weren't suitable enough to take care of us. I suspect that is the only reason my mother lived as long as she did."
Yumiko stopped, her gaze troubled. Tezuka knew that she didn't want to go, but felt a need to go on. Tezuka himself was hoping she would continue. He wanted to know.
Slowly Yumiko started to speak again.
"Throughout my childhood I had a very difficult time. I had to become a mother figure for my little brothers, keep up with my studies, take care of the house, and try and keep police business out of my house"
Honami looked like he was about to intervene, but Yumiko's cold glare stopped him.
"The reason I didn't want the police involved was because I didn't want to be separated from Syuusuke and Yuuta. I knew what parental neglect was even at a young age. After father died, the stupid family services people kept coming to our house over and over again, to make sure we would be alright with just our mother. The life support we got from our father was the only thing that kept us going for a few years. I was 15 when money became a real issue; I needed to get a job. Now honestly what person would want to hire a 15 year old girl, that was only doing an average job in school?"
The answer hit all of them in an instant. Yumiko gave a bitter smile, before continuing. Tears had long since dried up, leaving the room colder than Tezuka ever remembered it.
"I sold my body. It wasn't hard to do; you would be amazed at how many pedophiles there are in Japan. I made enough money to support myself and Syuusuke and Yuuta. Syuusuke was only 8 at the time, but he was very mature. He kept out of my way, didn't badger me when I brought home men at different hours of the night, didn't question me when I didn't come home until the next morning. In a way he was more mature than I ever was. Syuusuke and I made sure that Yuuta never had to learn the harsh way of reality the way we did"
There was silence, and for a minute it seemed as though Yumiko wasn't going to continue.
"I was around 17 when I met him. He seemed like a nice enough guy, he was only 6 years older than me, and not one of those nasty old people. He asked if I was comfortable with what we were doing. I made the mistake of brining him home the first time he requested my…services." She sighed.
"I can't believe I was so oblivious. He was so nice and caring. I was so caught up in my impression of him, I didn't bother to notice Syuusuke's opinion. Even though I was almost an adult I was smitten with him, as if I was a 12 year old girl."
She paused, self-loathing evident in her eyes.
"He manipulated that. He used that fact against me. As soon as I hit 18, mom committed suicide. On my birthday. The police were once again visiting my house."
She looked down, her expression clouded. She didn't cry, no the better way to phrase it would be, she couldn't cry. She was tired of it.
"HE took custody of Syuusuke, Yuuta and I. He adopted us, after proposing to me. There was nothing wrong on his records, nothing to indicate that he wouldn't be a legit guardian. In a way everyone was fooled. Everyone but Syuusuke."
Honami had once again resumed comforting her, and she looked like she was gonna break down.
Tezuka clenched his fist, and closed his eyes, trying to look anywhere but at her. Suzuki-sensei was quite throughout the whole process.
"When I got married, I stopped my…job. He had more than enough money to provide for us, but I made the stupid mistake over never asking where he got all his money from. I think Syuusuke knew, but I haven't had to chance to talk to him yet." She looked down.
"5 years. I can't believe that for five years I never noticed. I never noticed Syuusuke's bruises and cuts, the way he was always tired. The way he was limping, and his smile was strained. I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T NOTICE!"
Suddenly Yumiko slammed her fist down on the table top.
"How could I have been so stupid!? I was so caught up in the way he treated me so special, I never noticed the way he was eyeing my brother!"
"Yumiko-san!" Honami called out as he gripped Yumiko's forearms.
"I'm so stupid! I'm such an idiot! He was treating me like a bitch, and I was stupid enough never to notice! The fucking man dared to touch my brother, and I never noticed!" Yumiko was full on screaming now, fighting against Honami's grip.
"IT FUCKING TOOK ME FINDING MY BROTHER TIED UP TO MY BED, COVERED WITH BLOOD AND CUM CRYING AS HE HAD A VIBRATER SHOVED UP HIS ASS, TO FUCKING NOTICE HE WAS BEING RAPED!"
Slap.
A sound of a slap resounded from the white room, as Tezuka slapped Yumiko.
"How could you have fucking noticed!? I didn't notice either, Eiji didn't notice, none of Fuji's so called friends noticed. He was that good of an actor, don't beat yourself up over it!" Tezuka yelled.
The room was silent as the adults looked at Tezuka.
"I didn't question for a whole fuckin 5 years why he was coming to practice with bruises littered over his body. I didn't question why as of late he was exhausted. I knew something was wrong but I didn't fucking bother to ask him what. He was practically screaming at someone to notice, but no one did!"
Tezuka had long since stopped talking to Yumiko. Now it seemed as though he was yelling at himself.
The room was plunged into silence.
Finally Honami sighed.
"Yumiko-san, Tezuka-kun, let me drive you home. It's already 5:24 in the morning and I doubt any of us got a decent night's sleep. We can discuss this at a later time" His voice was soft, but there was a firm undertone that dared anyone to disobey.
Suzuki-sensei sighed.
"Syuusuke-kun will be staying here for a few days, I'll explain everything else once we have this mess sorted out. We are all tired, let's get some rest okay?" She smiled kindly before picking up her notes and walking out of the room.
Tezuka slumped against the wall, and slide down until he was sitting down. He buried his face in his hands.
What the fuck had he gotten himself into?
(1) 110 is the emergency telephone number in japan.