Another PoT story. I hope you like it! No spoilers.
Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of tennis ( sniff ) as well as ' The Little Mermaid.'
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" Ne, Tezuka, let me take a look at it. "
"……."
" Tezuka… don't be like that. It's just a book report, right? "
"……"
" Mou…. I really want to read what you have written…."
" That's barely necessary. " came the stiff reply.
Fuji was not always this interested in the buchou's homework, especially since they were not in the same classes anymore.
But today was an exception. Because the sensei had ( sadistically? ) asked Tezuka Kunimitsu; yes, the Tezuka Kunimitsu; scary, intimidating, stoic, frozen, wooden, stone faced captain of the Seishun Gakuen tennis club, also the president of the student council; to submit a book report – on ' The Little Mermaid ', as an assignment in literature. ( Fuji wanted to personally shake hands with that remarkable teacher, though he would have chosen ' Sleeping Beauty ' himself. )
The book being a timeless classic, there was no scope for argument. Besides, Tezuka was not the type to make noise over what to him was a rather troublesome topic for a homework assignment. It was accepted quietly; with a dignified nod, and a slight twitch of the left eyebrow, invisible to the naked eye.
Even more surprising was the fact that the less expressive than a brick wall boy scored a straight ' A ' as always. And now Fuji was more than interested.
" Tezuka, is that Oishi with Kumiko-san from the second year? "
" Hn? "
And with a quick swipe by the lithe tensai, the report had changed hands.
" Fuji. " Tezuka announced sternly. In commoner language, it may be roughly translated as ' I'm very annoyed at your actions, Give that back right now. And there will surely be consequences for such behavior. '
" Iyadda. " Fuji smiled in amusement, mimicking the style of their freshman regular ( of whom he knew Tezuka was almost fond of ).
" Fuji. " Tezuka repeated, impatience and annoyance, creeping into his voice in tiny amounts, undetectable to the untrained ear.
" Its checked already, isn't it? I'll return it in two days. " Fuji just smiled softly, displaying no signs of relenting.
"….." Tezuka sighed in resignment. This could be roughly translated as ' I let my guard down. Never let your guard down. '. " Fifty laps around the courts. "
" Hai, buchou. " Fuji just continued to smile, savoring his small victory.
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Sure enough, two days later Fuji dutifully returned the document back to its owner.
"…….." Tezuka accepted what had been rightfully his to begin with.
"……." Fuji's smile seemed smaller that usual.
"……"
"……"
They started to walk down the hallway, to their respective classes.
" Tezuka? "
"…..?"
"…….." Fuji looked like he was trying to find the right words.
"…." Tezuka waited patiently.
" There was no flaw. " Fuji paused. " You summarized every detail; from the rhythm of the tale, to the finer points of the author's writing style. "
" Hn. " Tezuka nodded in acknowledgement.
" Ne, Tezuka? "
"……? " Tezuka once again turned to his shorter teammate.
" I was a little confused at your own interpretation of the story. It's not something you see everyday. " Fuji spoke softly.
"……."
" Some lines caught my attention –
Actions of the protagonist portray a severe immaturity, lack of foresight and judgment. Sacrifices made without thought and proper considerations resulted in irrefutable, irreparable consequences, leading to the eventual and inevitable downfall; in what is, a tragic love story. "
" And? " Tezuka almost frowned.
" Is that your true opinion? "
" Hn. " Tezuka nodded.
" Tezuka, she was a woman in love. " Fuji protested.
" Blinded by love." Tezuka corrected him.
" Demo, Tezuka…."
" Her actions had no solid base or foundation. Her goals were not very clear. " Tezuka pointed out. " She was bound to lose her way. "
" Maa, Maa Tezuka. This is a fairytale we are talking about. " Fuji tried to argue. " And love knows no logic or reasoning. " he added softly.
" That's just a convenient excuse to use when things go out of hand. " Tezuka countered.
" Ne, Tezuka? Aren't you the same though? "
"…….? "
" You do reckless things when it comes to tennis don't you? " Fuji opened his eyes and searched the other for an answer.
" Tennis is different. " came the simple reply. " Besides.."
" Besides? " Fuji prodded.
" I always know what I'm doing. Always. " Tezuka replied firmly, eyes reflecting a resolve of steel, before entering his class.
" Is that so? " Fuji just smiled wistfully.
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" Fuji. "
"……."
" Fujiko! "
" Hai? "
" If you don't want your ice-cream, give it to me nya! " Eiji frowned. It was always a sad thing to see ice-cream just melting away, unappreciated.
" Its wasabi flavored. " Fuji commented mildly, licking away the ice-cream dripping dangerously near his fingers,. He was not too fond of the cold treat, but then Eiji loved ice-cream. And Fuji liked to see Eiji happy. And he was going home with Eiji today. Well, you get the picture, right? To make a long story short, ice-cream is a part of the package when you are friends with Kikumaru Eiji.
"……." Eiji just wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"……" Fuji smiled, always amused to see Eiji squirm like that. He wondered if he should have offered a bite of the said ice-cream. Now that would have garnered rather colorful expressions from the innocent boy.
" Nya Fujiko-chan, is something wrong today? " Eiji asked, licking away at the last of his strawberry ice-cream.
" Why? " Fuji murmured, though it was no surprise. Eiji could pick up the tiniest hints of distress, especially where it concerned people close to him.
" You keep spacing out! " Eiji walked ( bounced ) in step with his friend.
" Aa. Gomen, Eiji."
"……."
" Ne, Eiji? "
" Nani? " the other boy blinked huge indigo-blue eyes.
The conversations of the day replayed in the tensai's head. " What do you think of ' The little Mermaid ', you know the…"
" Nya! I loved that movie! It was so kawaii, nya?! " Eiji interrupted him, easily excited.
" Not the Disney version, Eiji. " Fuji shook his head.
" Hoi? "
" I mean the old story. Where the little mermaid, youngest princess of the sea, gives up everything; her voice, her life in the sea, suffers endless pain with each step she takes, all just to be with the human prince she fell in love with. In the end the prince fails to recognize her love, because of her silence, and instead marries a human girl, who he believes is his rescuer during a shipwreck. Demo, in truth, it was really the little mermaid who saved his life , at that time.."
" I have read it. " No surprise there. This was a boy who liked classic history after all.
" And? " the sky eyed boy prodded.
" It was a sad story nya. I liked the Disney movie better. " Typical Eiji answer.
" Aa. The princess was such a baka, ne? " Fuji spoke softly. ' That is what Tezuka says…'
" And why is that? " Eiji frowned in confusion.
" She lost everything. Even her sacrifices had no meaning. Sacrifices which fail to achieve any purpose are a wasted effort. " Fuji quoted some lines from their buchou's report.
" Fujiko? "
"…..? "
" You don't sound like yourself! " Eiji playfully flicked the other boy on his forehead.
"……." Fuji rubbed at the spot where his skin still tingled a little.
" I think its okay nya. "
"…..? "
" Fujiko, the princess was in love, right? She did what her heart told her to. " Eiji simply shrugged, not understanding what the confusion was about.
" And ….. you don't think it was wrong? " Fuji voiced the thoughts of his other friend.
" How can it be wrong?! " Eiji blinked, twice at the suggestion. " And besides…"
" Besides? " Fuji prompted.
" I don't think the princess was sad nya. " Eiji answered after a moment of ( cute ) consideration.
" Oh? "
" I think she was happy nya. Eto…. how to say this…" Eiji paused and frowned, bringing a finger to his lips, pondering. " It's like….. I don't mind losing a tennis match too much as long as we have fun playing. "
" Sou ka? "
" Nya! What I mean is you should be able to give your hundred percent, right? The little princess did her best, didn't she? It's important to do your best, isn't it? " Eiji tried to explain, hands waving in all directions. " She would have been sad if she hadn't tied so hard. Because then there would be something remaining, and that's not too good…….. Nya Fujiko! This is complicated, makes my head hurt! " the troubled redhead pulled his hair in frustration.
" What you want to say is, she had no regrets? " Fuji helped out his friend.
" Exactly! " Eiji nodded his head up and down.
He knew why this person was his closest friend. " Eiji, if you were in place of…" Fuji started.
" I'll do the same thing. " the other boy answered before Fuji could even complete his question. " I guess that will make me stupid then nya? "
"……" Fuji's lips were curving into his usual smile.
" Fujiko-chan is also the same nya. " the redhead winked.
"…..? " Fuji raised a delicate eyebrow in amusement.
" Fujiko will also do the same thing! "
" Saa…. " Fuji murmured, smiling softly.
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" Nya, Fuji? "
Fuji was standing at the other boy's doorstep, ready to drop him home.
" Hai? "
" I didn't like the prince in the story, he was a little….., you know…. "
" Dense? " Fuji asked.
" Um. " Eiji nodded. " If Fujiko was the prince……" he added as a barely audible afterthought.
"……? "
" Nya, what I mean is Fujiko will make a nice prince too. " Eiji was once again fumbling with his thoughts, trying to frame them into proper sentences. " Nya what I want to say is Fujiko would have noticed that…."
" Eiji. " Fuji placed a hand on the other's head, patting the soft mop of red hair.
" Nya? " Eiji murmured, suddenly aware of the close proximity of the tensai, any wrong move and their noses would be touching.
" Want to be my princess? " sky blue eyes opened, sparkling with mischief.
" Nya? What are you talking about?! Go home already! " Eiji jumped about three feet into the air, face flushed a rather attractive faint rose.
Fuji just chuckled lightly.
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And when the night came, Fuji could sleep peacefully.
Because even though Eiji was somebody else's princess, and he himself was tangled in a separate fairytale, he could always go to Eiji for a happy ending.
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Because some things never change.
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And they lived happily ever after….?
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Owari
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A/N: I really don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this, or where I was trying to go with it! But it was fun writing!
I hope you liked it, if you did, do press on the little review button, I could use a happy ending too!
Thank you for reading.