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Hooked

Tezuka knew he shouldn't be there, but sometimes allowances had to be made. Despite what people believed, he couldn't play tennis twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

He should, by all rights, be in class, but today had been one of those rare days when he had felt the urge to take a break from the pressure of being "buchou" and merely be a student playing hookey from class. Tezuka was a good student, and he could well afford to miss a day of school for the lure of the mountains.

He hadn't been hiking since school began, and he had begun to feel cramped in the city. He loved Tokyo, with its tons of tennis courts sprawled all over the place, but there was something about the wilderness that called to him. Occasionally he would abandon his racquet, grab a fishing pole, and take a train to his family's cabin. Usually it required a three-day weekend, to make a proper trip of it, and since Golden Week had been spent playing tennis (of course), he hadn't had a chance to take a trip yet this year.

The fish weren't biting today as he sat by a small lake on his family's private land, but that really wasn't the point. It was about the peace and tranquility, the restful "plop!" as the bait dangled into the water. He could sit and think of nothing, indulge in idle musings, and pretend tennis didn't exist. It was relaxing, and he would feel the stress melt away, easing the strict mask he wore. When he returned, he would be the better for the brief respite. Of course, it probably would have been more restful if Fuji Syusuke hadn't someone invited himself along, but trying to stop Fuji from doing what he wanted was like trying to stop a hurricane with a house of straw.

Tezuka wasn't quite sure how Fuji knew what his plans were, but the two had been friends since they had entered Seigaku. The tensai tended to know what was going on, despite his usually oblivious pose, and did whatever he wanted.

Tezuka has learned not to argue with him.

So when Fuji had shown up on his doorstep that morning at 5 a.m., clutching a camping bag, Tezuka had merely grabbed his own supplies and started walking, Fuji falling into place beside him.

Fuji didn't need conversation, something Tezuka was glad for. At the moment, the tensai was flipping through /Ogura Hyakunin Isshu/ with a slight smile on his face. He had been quiet company for the three hours since they had arrived, calmly settling in without saying a word.

/Splash/

Another fish stole Tezuka's bait, the fifth time it happened that day. Tezuka allowed himself the luxury of sighing, knowing that Fuji wouldn't hold it against him.

Fuji's smile widened a bit, and Tezuka felt something settle in the pit of his stomach. Quickly he turned to the task of re-baiting his hook, unperturbed by the worms. Once he had taken Oishi fishing, and the vice captain had turned green at the thought of live bait.

A cast, another plop! and Tezuka was focusing on the water...

The water was the same stunning blue as Fuji's eyes.

Where did that thought come from? he wondered.

"This is nice, isn't it, Tezuka?" Fuji asked sleepily from where he was leaning against a tree. His smile was the same as ever, but there was a sleepy contentment in his voice that Tezuka rarely heard. Usually the other boy was hiding behind a series of masks, but when it was just the two of them, they could relax. There was competition between them, naturally, as the first and second players of the team, but they had always had a unique understanding that transcended words. Oishi was Tezuka's right hand, but Fuji was his left - and Tezuka was left-handed.

"Yes," Tezuka answered. He was never one for words, but ignoring Fuji on a day off would have been rude.

"It's almost worth getting in trouble for."

Tezuka quirked an eyebrow at the ridiculous thought. Teachers never came down on the good students; most of his teachers were terrified of him, and he knew that Fuji had them equally cowed. "If you hadn't come, no one would notice I was missing," Tezuka replied.

Fuji laughed at that, shutting his book and placing it into his backpack. "I don't think that's true. Everyone notices you, Tezuka."

"Maybe," he replied, even though he knew that Fuji was right, as usual. Tezuka was used to being able to command with his presence. It was something he took for granted - and without him, he supposed others lacked leadership.

Fuji's eyes were open, a sign that something serious was about to go down. "It's going to rain," he said softly. "Why did you come out here today?"

"Because the fish bite well in cloudy weather," Tezuka answered. "I've fished before through hours of storms."

The tensai sighed a bit, wrapping his arms around his knees. "I don't like the rain very much, Tezuka."

"You didn't seem to mind when you were playing the match against Echizen," Tezuka said.

"Because I was distracted by the idea of making sure he didn't beat me," Fuji replied. His tilted his head back to watch the gathering clouds, and Tezuka's eyes were drawn helplessly up the slender column of the tensai's throat to when honey-brown strands of hair were falling across graceful cheekbones. There seemed to be a vulnerability in the elegant face, but Tezuka knew offering comfort would be very much like grabbing a tiger by the tail... once he did, he'd never be able to let go, for fear the tiger would bite him.

Tezuka raised an eyebrow, but Fuji, for once, wasn't looking at him. "What were you thinking of?" Tezuka finally asked, making his decision.

Fuji's eyes fell on the captain's face, seeming to weigh him. Whatever he saw there apparently satisfied him, for he answered after a moment. "When I was little, Yuuta was afraid of rainstorms. He would always crawl into my bed, and I would promise him that everything would be okay," Fuji said.

"That sounds like a nice memory," Tezuka replied. He knew how close Fuji was to his brother.

"It would have been, except... one day, it wasn't." Fuji stared at him slowly. "The rain came, a hard rain that filled the sky with lightning..." Fuji shivered a bit. "The phone rang that day, and it turned out our grandmother was killed in an accident, when her house was hit by a tree."

Tezuka was surprised by Fuji's uncharacteristic vulnerability. "I'm sorry."

"So was I. It was the first time I ever lied to Yuuta. So I don't like rain." Fuji moved a bit closer, and Tezuka wondered why he suddenly felt like he had just run thirty laps.

Tezuka's hands toyed with his fishing pole. "It's always made me feel alive," he replied. He didn't elaborate, knowing Fuji would understand the primal forces that rain brought out within him. Anyone who saw him play Echizen in that practice match would realize there was a killer inside of Fuji, one very similar to the one that lurked inside Tezuka, a ruthless beast that would devour anyone who got in his way when roused.

"I thought tennis made you feel alive," Fuji said, and Tezuka was caught in the incredibly blue eyes that had locked on his own. Fuji seemed to shake off his melancholy, and Tezuka wondered what thoughts were going on in that sly mind.

"There's more to life than tennis.".

"Really? Is this Tezuka Kunimitsu, captain of the Seigaku tennis club, speaking?" Fuji asked with the grace of one of his triple counters, unsettling Tezuka with the same skill he used to unnerve his opponents.

"There's fishing," Tezuka countered calmly, refusing to be one of Fuji's toys.

"I don't know how," Fuji said.

Tezuka handed the pole over, feeling his hands brush against Fuji's. Fuji's skin was surprisingly warm, and their fingers lingered together for a bit too long. "When one bites, jerk it to hook it, then reel it in," Tezuka said. They sat together with their sides touching as Fuji took control of the fishing.

Fuji gave him the smile that others found so frustrating, and Tezuka wondered why he was bothering teaching him. Fuji was constantly baiting other people... teaching him how to land fish was not anything that would help anyone's sanity in the long run.

Fuji was incredibly patience, Tezuka saw after a half an hour. The tensai sat still for nearly half an hour, resembling a statue. His should and hip brushed against Tezuka's, but the captain made no move to pull away. The other boy's warmth was comfortable, and the sleepy day was passing ideally.

Nothing even touched the line, for which Tezuka was grateful. He really didn't want to see Fuji catch anything, finding the mental picture of Fuji killing something strangely disturbing in how... accurate it was.

They could have sat there all afternoon, but a wet drop of rain landed on Tezuka's cheek. Normally he would have just kept fishing, but he glanced over at Fuji, aware now that he didn't like rain.

"You ready to go?" he offered, wiping his hands and packing up his tackle box.

"You didn't catch anything," Fuji pointed out.

"I think I did."

Tezuka caught Fuji's chin with his left hand, tilting the other boy's head up quickly before either of them could think things through. Leaning forward, he kissed Fuji Syusuke, just as the sky opened up over head, thoroughly soaking them.

He should have been in school. He should have been thinking about tennis... it was insane, to be sitting outside in a rainstorm, kissing one of his best friends...

But with Fuji wrapped around him as the rain pounded down, and all Tezuka could think about was how right this moment was.