When Jealousy Sets In….
"What?"
Fuji glowered at his best friend, Saeki Kojirou, who was perched on top of his desk. "How many times do I have to repeat myself to get it through that thick skull of yours?" he asked in surly tone.
They were spending their lunch break in class that day. Saeki, seeing how Fuji was perpetually in a sour mood these days, tried to wheedle the reason out of him. Unable to withstand his friend's incessant browbeating any longer, Fuji finally confessed everything.
Saeki was wearing a bemused expression on his face now. "Let me get this straight." He tilted his head slightly as if trying to arrange his thoughts. "Tezuka asked you out on a date, which you showed up looking like some sleazy character out of a comic book. He got mad, but when you went into hiding after seeing Atobe, he decided it was the last straw. Now, you are officially dumped. Have I gotten it right? Did I miss out anything?"
"That about sum it all," Fuji muttered none too happily.
"Wait, let me laugh it off first before I offer some advice," Saeki said, and proceeded to let out a loud guffaw.
Fuji eyed his friend contemptuously. "Are you done yet?"
Saeki tried hard to bring his laugh down to chuckles, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "Well, at least you have time now to hang out with me instead of fawning all over that guy..."
"Can't you offer something constructive for once?"
Deciding that he had riled his friend enough, Saeki took on a more serious expression. "Looks like Tezuka has a point, Syusuke. Even though you have accepted him, you are still afraid of people finding out about your relationship, aren't you? Why do you think that is?" he queried.
His friend's question set Fuji back. Why indeed?
"Well, I may have over-reacted a bit," Fuji finally admitted after stewing on it for a while, "because of Yuuta, I guess. He already hates me as it is now, I don't want his finding out that I'm dating a guy to fuel his hatred more...'
"You and your brother complex…." Saeki murmured under his breath. Aloud, he advised sagely, "I think you guys should talk this over. Learn to give and take. That's what makes a relationship thrives, you know."
He gave Fuji a suggestive nudge. "Why don't you give in to Tezuka's demand now and then? It wouldn't hurt you right, since you are probably used to the receiving end of things..."
Fuji shot his friend a dirty look. "Is that a double entendre?"
Saeki just shrugged and grinned back innocently.
Fuji decided to ignore his friend crude remark, and returned to his musing. Well, I guessed I could give in to Tezuka's unreasonable demand once a while, Fuji thought grudgingly. But only very occasionally….
He supposed that he ought to go apologize to Tezuka now and do some necessary groveling. Although it didn't sound particularly enticing to him, the thought of being with Tezuka again lifted up Fuji's spirits. I'm such a sucker for that guy…..
"Well, speak of the devil," Saeki suddenly whistled, disrupting Fuji's flow of thoughts. "Tell me I am imagining things…"
"What is it?" Fuji asked irritatingly but his friend was too busy staring at something out the window to reply.
Curious, he followed Saeki's gaze to see what had held him so enraptured. And saw red.
There was Tezuka, his Tezuka, walking some distance away. With a girl. A slender, graceful looking one with long silky russet hair all the way down to her butt. And walking indecently close together (that was only Fuji's perception, in actual fact, there was a meter gap between them).
Tezuka was in the midst of a conversation with her, looking as if he was enjoying it.
Fuji gripped at the windowsill, blue eyes wide opened and glinting dangerously. That bastard, we haven't even broken up for more than a week and he's already with someone new, his mind raged.
"Uh, Syusuke, are you all right?" Saeki asked with concern when he saw his friend's thunderous expression, looking as if he was about to blow his top.
"Do I look all right to you?!"
"Calm down. Don't jump to conclusion so hastily. It might turn out to be nothing at all….." Saeki tried consoling his friend, but he might as well save his breath. All his effort was falling on deaf ears.
Just then, Fuji happened to spy Inui Sadaharu, numero uno geek and avid data collector, passing by. He immediately jumped on the poor guy like a starved man on a feast.
Inui staggered back a little, adjusting his glasses nervously. "Uh…Fuji, what can I do for you?" He had a really bad feeling about this, because Fuji usually ignored him on better days.
"Inari, just the man I was looking for." Fuji bestowed his most dazzling smile on the bespectacled boy, guaranteed to send one swooning and melting inside.
"Inui," the boy corrected mildly, seemingly unaffected by the smile. Probably those ultra-tinted glasses of his had something to do with his immunity against Fuji's charm.
"I've heard of your prowess in the data world," Fuji complimented, laying it on thick, while leading Inui to the window. "Nothing can escape your eyes, Iwaki."
"Inui," Inui automatically corrected again, getting slightly irritated. But he followed Fuji all the same out of curiosity. Inui wanted to see what made the proud Fuji Syusuke humbly asked for his help.
"I was wondering if you could tell me something about that girl over there," Fuji asked sweetly, pointing to a slight figure in a distance.
Ah, so it's information he's seeking, Inui thought with a smirk as he peered at the russet-haired girl. But he was never one to begrudge someone for wanting information, especially if it was for the good of mankind. Not to mention there might be new data to be collected along the way.
And besides, if he helped Fuji, the blue-eyed boy might remember his name correctly in the future.
Inui brought out his trustworthy green notebook and flipped to a recent entry. He readjusted his glasses before reading out loud.
"Her name is Shiroyuki Nanako. She is a recent transfer student from Okinawa. Currently allocated to Class 3-1. Straight A student and an all-rounder. Excel in all subjects and most sports. Born on the 9th of September, incidentally a Virgo. Blood group B positive. Height 162cm. Weight 48kg. According to sources, her reddish-brown hair was natural, not dyed. Eyes are a smoky grey. Lives with her parents and two older sisters..."
Fuji was beginning to hate her more and more as Inui droned on. Nanako sounded like a prude to him. Saeki listened on intently, an interested expression on his face.
"...Hobbies include playing tennis, swimming, hiking, playing the piano, horseback riding, cooking and painting. Was president of the tea-ceremony club and student council vice-president in her old school. She won the Junior Tennis Open in the women category last year, three gold medals in the state's swimming competition and no less than five blue ribbons for her horse riding skills. Other accomplishments include winning the state's debate competition and being crowned 1st runner up in a local teenage beauty pageant..."
"Beautiful, talented and smart. Wow, she sounds perfect," Saeki breathed, earning a killing look from Fuji.
"...And," Inui finally closed his book with a satisfied snap, "latest data showed that she's Tezuka Kunimitsu's betrothed."
Saeki immediately shot a nervous glance out of the corner of his eyes at his friend. Knowing Fuji's temperament, he expected to see him exploding anytime now. Maybe he ought to go and find a hiding place….
Fuji's face registered shock and disbelief initially, then hurt and finally profound anger all in a matter of seconds, before being efficiently replaced by a congenial smile, albeit a rather strained one. He didn't explode as predicted, much to Saeki's surprise.
Inui watched the fascinating display of color on the other boy's face from pink to burgundy with something akin to amusement. Interesting data…..
"Why, thank you for that wonderful information, Inoue," Fuji beamed at Inui, determined to keep his cool.
"Inui," Inui corrected for the third time, completely miffed now. Then he sighed abjectly. At least, he tried to cheer himself upthis time it sounded almost like his name.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"Psst! Kojirou, over here..."
Saeki was on his way home from school and just about to take a corner on the street when a voice called to him. He glanced around him, bewildered, but couldn't seem to find anything amiss.
There it was again……
Something waved at him from the shadows of the alley between two tall buildings. That something looked like Fuji. Tentatively, he made his way there.
"Syusuke...?" Saeki called out, peering into the gloom.
"Not so loud," a voice hissed before dragging Saeki into the alley with him.
As Saeki's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that it was indeed Fuji, but something seemed off. His friend was strangely dressed in a trench coat, complete with shades and a deerstalker.
"What are you doing?" he whispered loudly, perplexed.
"Stalking," came the nonchalant reply as Fuji peered surreptitiously around the building. "Kojirou, I need your help."
Saeki raised an eyebrow at that and crossed his arms over his chest, but he didn't refuse. Fuji wouldn't let him live if he dared to back out from him. Resignedly, he surrendered himself to his fate. "Who are we stalking by the way?"
His friend was too preoccupied to reply him. Suddenly, Fuji whispered frantically, "They are coming! Quick, disguise yourself..." He handed something to Saeki.
"Hey," Saeki complained. "Why do I have to put a paper bag over my head while you get to dress like Sherlock Holmes?"
Fuji shrugged. "I don't have any extra trench coat..."
Grudgingly, Saeki put the paper bag over his head. Peering through the two holes cut into the bag, he tried to get a good look at their target, wondering who it might be.
He should have known. It was none other than Tezuka. With Nanako beside him.
They really make a great looking couple together, Saeki thought. But he wasn't about to tell that to Fuji, least his friend got into his head to choke him to death after cutting out his tongue for such a statement.
Nanako was smiling at something Tezuka said. As the two of them walked past their hiding place, Saeki caught a whiff of their conversation.
"You flattered me too much, Mitsu-kun," Nanako was saying in a surprisingly cool and down-to-earth voice, unlike the shrill, ear-splitting ones that most of the girls her age seemed to possess. "How about this Saturday then? What time shall we meet?"
Fuji was about to burst a blood vessel hearing that. "That bitch. How dare she call him so intimately?! Even I haven't progress to that stage yet!" he fumed.
"Syusuke, I think..…"
But Fuji wasn't listening to his friend, as intent as he was on the two figures in front of him. Tezuka and Nanako were slowly walking away from them.
"Let's go, Kojirou. They are leaving our sight." Fuji stealthily followed them.
"Well, I'm not going to walk around with this," Saeki muttered as he threw away the paper bag. He began to trail along at a more sedate pace.
Saeki was conscious of the amused glances going Fuji's way, dressed as he was. They probably thought his friend had just escaped from an asylum. Maybe if he lagged behind enough, they wouldn't associate him with Fuji…..
Tezuka and Nanako entered a pastry shop. Fuji stopped and snooped from the phone booth opposite the street.
"What is Tezuka doing in a pastry shop?" Fuji ranted. "He hates sweet things."
Saeki let his friend rave on while trying to stay as inconspicuously as possible. He didn't know how Fuji managed to drag him into such embarrassing situation.…
Then Fuji stiffened, his hands balled into tight fists at his side. "Kojirou, he smiled at her," he said in a hurt tone. "Damn it, how could he do this to me? He never used to smile at anyone in school! His smiles belong only to me!"
Saeki stared incredulously at his friend. Fuji was really losing it, big time. "Uhm, Syusuke, aren't you being a little... obsessive here?"
But Fuji wasn't listening to him, again. Saeki wondered peevishly why his friend wanted him to come along at all, if he was going to ignore him all the time.
"Unforgivable!" Fuji swore. A dangerous glint began to form in his blue eyes. "I'm not going to allow such offensive conduct to carry on. This calls for drastic measure."
Saeki was suddenly afraid. Afraid for Nanako and Tezuka. Angelic as Fuji might looked, deep inside he was a sadist to boot. And a riled Fuji was as dangerous as a pyromaniac with a box of matches in hand.
Fuji's next words confirmed Saeki's fear. "Yumiko-neesan just might have the things I need," the blue-eyed boy said cryptically, an evil grin adorning his angelic face.
A/N: I have only one thing to say, I kinda sucked at humor.….Sigh. Please forgive me if it isn't up to your expectation.
