Author's Note: I honestly didn't really expect this chapter to be done so quickly, the first few paragraphs took some thought, but then after that my hands just seemed to fly across the keyboard every time I sat down to write. I hope it flows well. Read and lemme know whatcha think.
Eiji's words practically haunted Ryoma. Why had his sempai jumped to those conclusions with all that nonsense about love? It was ridiculous, right?
Whatever, he thought, might as well try to get some sleep. Exhausted from a combination of practice and sleep deprivation Ryoma fell into a fitful sleep.
"Fuji-sempai!" Ryoma cried out. It was always the same, chasing Fuji through the dark, the rain pouring in sheets. He never stopped to wonder what he was going to do when he caught the tensai, nor did he think about why he was chasing him to begin with. But, those aren't the sort of thing that one thinks about in their dreams.
"Fuji-sempai...Fuji-sempai...Fuji-sempai..." Ryoma cried as he tossed and turned in his bed.
At first Fuji thought he'd been caught, hearing Ryoma call his name. But when the younger boy didn't open the window or make any action Fuji realized Ryoma appeared to be asleep. The sleeping boy's face held an expression Fuji had never seen before, it looked like fear. Mixed feelings coursed through the tensai, was he somehow the cause of Echizen's distress and lack of sleep? Was Echizen afraid of him? The longing to comfort him was suppressed only by the realization that it may only complicate things for Ryoma to awaken in the early morning hours with his sempai's arms around him.
I guess I have to make my move now, Fuji thought, I can't just put it off forever. Who knows, it seems like Echizen already has me on his mind all the time.
"Fuji-sempai!" Ryoma cried, bolting upright. Another night of that dream. Sempai, why won't you get out of my head? Ryoma thought, groaning inwardly. Begrudgingly crawling out of bed, doing his best not to wake up the sleeping Karupin Ryoma stifled a yawn. The clock read 4:27AM, at least he'd almost slept through the night, right? Hopping into the bath Ryoma decided that it was best if he at least spoke to Fuji at practice. He'd wait until afternoon practice though. It seemed less troublesome that way. He really would rather get the Tensai alone for this sort of discussion anyway.
"What sort of discussion exactly?" Ryoma mumbled, a faint blush coming to his cheeks. Sliding out of the bath, the boy quickly readied himself for the day. It was still early, but there was no harm in getting to practice a little early for a second day this week. Tennis is Tennis, right? he thought to himself as he began the trek to Seigaku.
"Echizen-kun?" a voice inquired of him as he stepped onto the school campus. A voice he could easily place.
"Good morning, Fuji-sempai," Ryoma replied, pulling his hat down over his eyes, hoping that he wasn't blushing. The tensai couldn't read minds, right?
"Ne, Echizen, why are you here so early? Didn't you know there wasn't any practice this morning?"
"Oh," was all Ryoma managed to say as the brunet slung his arm around him.
"A match, then, Echizen?" the sempai asked, his smile even more enthused than usual.
"Yeah, ok," boy wonder replied, as they walked towards the tennis courts.
Fuji smiled wider, if that was possible, the smile sending chills down Ryoma's spine, for reason's beyond his understanding. Fuji knew Ryoma would never turn down a match. So it began, the two rallying back and forth almost constantly, a point here and there either way, it wasn't long before both boys were sweating, but Fuji had the upper hand.
"Che. Sempai, you seem so serious today," Ryoma said, a grin on his face as he served.
"Mmm," the tensai hummed in agreement, his deep blue eyes assessing Ryoma, a clear indication he was taking Ryoma seriously. Fuji easily returned the serve, scoring a return ace, which surprised them both. The fact is, Ryoma didn't even try to return it, it was as though he was dazed.
"Ne, sempai, did you come early today knowing I would be here?" Ryoma asked, a scowl masking his features. Sure it sounds crazy, it's probably just a coincidence and I'm being a kid, he thought, why would Fuji-sempai have come early just because of me?
But Fuji hesitated, surprising them both, "Saa...I wonder," Fuji replied, "Did you come early hoping I'd be here? I doubt you didn't know there was no practice this morning."
"Sempai, you shouldn't answer questions with more questions," Ryoma nearly whispered, a tinge of red on his cheeks, as he served Fuji a particularly hard twist serve.
Fuji easily batted back the serve for another ace with a smile, Echizen was flustered, had he hit a nerve? "It's more fun that way," the tensai replied as he returned yet another serve for a return ace. "Echizen-kun, you usually don't let your emotions interfere with your play," he teased, his eyes now concealed, his face turned up in that signature smile, "Game won by Fuji, 6-0, a love game Echizen that's so unlike you," the sempai pressed.
"Che, good game sempai," Ryoma replied, ignoring Fuji's jabs, "I'm going to go take a shower before classes start." Echizen turned his back to the brunet not wanting his face to betray him, of course, Fuji wasn't fooled at all. He could see the tell-tale signs that something was eating at Ryoma, the adjusting of his hat, the fact he tightened his grip on his signature red racket as he walked away, had he really gotten under Ryoma's skin? "See you this afternoon Fuji-sempai," the boy said as he walked away, his voice sounding as aloof as ever.
Class dragged for Ryoma, English put him to sleep and surprisingly sensei hadn't awoken him to scrawl out the answers on the chalkboard as usual. It was amazing the way he could astound people with his comprehension of the language he had spoken for years of his childhood. Ryoma was actually awakened by Horio saying, "Ne...Echizen...get up, it's time for lunch." Ryoma stifled a yawn, before standing, he began the walk to lunch with his fellow freshmen.
A voice called out to Echizen though as he and the others rounded the corner to the lunch room. "Saa, Echizen would you care to have lunch with me today?" Fuji asked, his usual smile in place when Ryoma turned to face him.
"Uh...Hai," Ryoma replied, not even bothering to say his farewells to Horio and the others. Fuji led him up to the roof of the school, a place only a few would know to go looking for Ryoma, which was exactly the reason the tensai had chosen it. As the sempai held the door to the roof open for him Echizen stopped in his tracks, "Oh, sempai I forgot I didn't bring a bentou today."
"No worries, Echizen," Fuji replied producing two bentous from his backpack, "I have more than enough for the both of us." The sempai's unnerving smile was shining on Ryoma in full force.
"Uh...Thank you sempai," Ryoma replied as he took a seat on the rooftop, pressing his back to the enclosure fence that prevented people from falling off of the roof. The tensai sat down right across from him and handed him one of the two boxed lunches. Unabashed Ryoma popped the lid on the box, his jaw nearly dropping at the contents, how did Fuji-sempai know exactly what Ryoma liked? This couldn't really be a coincidence could it?
"I asked Kachiro-kun and the others what you liked," Fuji explained in response to the look pasted on Ryoma's face as he began to eat his own lunch.
"Thanks Fuji-sempai," Ryoma said again, he could feel the color flooding to his face as he tore into the bentou. Why is Fuji-sempai doing all of this for me? the boy wondered. Does he somehow know?
"Ne...Echizen, are you feeling ok?" the tensai asked, the blue orbs that normally remained hidden away coming into view.
"I'm fine," Echizen replied, he realized now that Fuji knew something was going on. But how could he possibly know anything? Ryoma had been meticulously careful not to stare at Fuji, or treat him any different than he had in the past.
Oh well, the brunet thought, I tried to be more discreet, plan B. Fuji pulled out his phone to shoot Tezuka a text, "Tezuka, would it be all right if Echizen and I missed practice today? You know how he's been. I'm going to see if I can figure out what's up with him."
Knowing Echizen wasn't one for small talk the two ate their meal in near silence while Fuji waited for a reply from the tennis captain. Sure enough within a minute or two a bing punctuated the arrival of said reply. "Fine, Fuji. But practice on your own, or take Echizen and play a match with him, but don't make it a habit," the buchou replied, his stern and commanding tone present even in a simple text message.
Fuji smiled inwardly, "Saa, Echizen, after school would you like to go play a tennis match with me?"
"What about practice?" the smaller boy replied.
"Now Echizen, answering questions with more questions is my thing, but don't worry, already spoke to Tezuka about it," the tensai replied , his eyes once more hidden in the facade he so often wore. "Perhaps, a day away from practice could help with your sleep."
"...How did you know I wasn't sleeping, sempai?" Echizen retorted, his eyes narrowing, suspicious.
"Saa, I believe it was Eiji who mentioned it," Fuji replied, unphased.
"Oh, ok," Echizen replied, blinking a few times as the bell signaling the end of lunch break rang out across the campus, "A match after school it is then. Thank you again for the lunch sempai. Wait for me by the main gate." With that Ryoma made a run for class 1-2, eager to get some time to clear his head.
Why was it that every single class was so boring? Ryoma sighed, putting his head down on his desk, he doubted the mathematics teacher would even give him a second glance. You know, Ryoma wondered, why has Fuji-sempai been offering to play with me so much lately, he must know something. "Echizen-kun, would you care to answer the question?" the sensei asked, his voice seemingly exasperated.
So much for leaving me alone, Ryoma thought, the look on his face leaving no doubt as to his annoyance. Ryoma walked up to the board and as always seemed to happen, rendered both the teacher and the class speechless, "That's correct Echizen-kun, you may be seated now." Without a word Echizen did just that, he really wished the teachers would just let him sleep or think in peace, it wasn't as if they'd be teaching him anything new for another year or two.
When the bell which signaled the day was over rang, Ryoma couldn't help but smile. He wasn't quite sure what he was so happy about, was he really that excited to play Fuji in tennis again? Or to be more honest, was he just happy to see the tensai himself again? The thought alone made Ryoma blush faintly.
"Saa, Echizen-kun," Fuji whispered into Ryoma's ear from behind, "it seems like every time I see you now you seem to be blushing."
"S-Sempai! You shouldn't surprise people like that," Ryoma blushed deeper, pulling his hat down over his eyes. "Let's just go Fuji-sempai," he pouted, starting off in the direction of the street courts.
Upon arriving at the courts they were both surprised to find all of them empty, "Guess it's just you and me Echizen-kun." The tensai smiled as he dropped his bag, his racket effortlessly sliding out of it, a ball perched upon the strings. For anyone else it would have looked like showing off, for Fuji it just seemed natural.
"Che. Your serve," the smaller boy replied, his racket already in hand as the two of them stepped onto the court. To Echizen's credit, he was at least able to return the shots this afternoon, but something was still obviously preventing him from playing to his fullest.
With both boys panting and sweaty Fuji announced, "Game goes to me Echizen-kun, five games to three, your serve." Guess it's time to stop being so discreet, the tensai thought, here goes.
As Echizen tossed the ball into the air, preparing to launch the twist serve Fuji spoke, the words hit Ryoma, Ryoma's racket never even touched the ball, the ball fell motionless to the ground, quickly followed by one red racquet. "Ne, sempai? Repeat that."
"Saa...I asked Echizen-kun, why can't you just come to terms that you have undoubtedly fallen for me?" The corners of Fuji's mouth were turned up like his usual smile, except the normally hidden blue orbs were in full view. The result was quite terrifying even for Ryoma. "...To terms with the fact that you have fallen in love with me and can't seem to get me off your mind, I'm even in your dreams, ne?"
Ryoma felt as if someone had just knocked the air out of him, all of it. "That's quite cruel, even for a sadist sempai," the smaller boy managed as he fell to his knees.
"Mmm, I suppose I thought this the best way to get through to you," the tensai hummed in agreement as he crossed the court and kneeled beside Ryoma, "How did you know I was a sadist though?" The tensai's smile hadn't wavered at all.
"Mizuki, you enjoyed it. You enjoyed turning his heaven into hell, you enjoyed his pain," Ryoma whispered, but strangely in awe, not in horror. It almost appeared that Ryoma was going to pass into shock. Am I that transparent, Ryoma wondered.
"Aah, but he hurt Yuuta," Fuji answered in a whisper, he reached out his hand and traced Echizen's jaw with a lone finger, "But aren't I the perfect match for a masochist like yourself?"
Ryoma flinched, so the tensai even knew that, what didn't he know, exactly? "A perfect match," Ryoma agreed nodding slowly. A strange numbness seemed to be working its way through Ryoma.
The older boy's eyes curved up then, into their usual half-mooned smile. "Saa...so then did you enjoy our first date, Ech...Ryoma-chan?" Fuji asked pulling a slightly shaken Ryoma to his feet.
"Baka Fuji," Ryoma muttered, another blush playing across his face.
"Hmm?" Fuji teased, "I didn't expect my boyfriend to talk to me so harshly, but really you are so kawaii when you blush." The brunet couldn't help, but laugh a little as his words had the expected effect of darkening Ryoma's cheeks further. "Ne...Ryoma-chan, you do embarrass so easily."
"Stop it, Fuji," Ryoma warned, his face seemed to have been permanently been dyed red, and a certain tensai was having difficulty taking Ryoma seriously at all.
"Syusuke, Ryoma," Fuji corrected, "I assumed it was pretty obvious that I was no longer 'sempai' or 'Fuji' for you."
"Ok, Syusuke," Ryoma replied without hesitation, to his credit the redness in his face was actually beginning to dissipate.
Fuji couldn't help, but smile, despite being a boy of few words, Ryoma had in no uncertain terms agreed to dating, and to dating on his terms at that. "Seeing as tomorrow is Friday would your parents allow me to borrow you for the weekend?" Fuji asked as he and Ryoma began the walk to Ryoma's home.
"Che, borrow?" Ryoma retorted. "I prefer 'keep'." This gave Fuji something else to smile about.
Either Ryoma is oblivious or rather sly, did he just say he belongs to me? "Good, you will walk home with me tomorrow after practice then, so pack for the weekend in your schoolbag." With that Fuji dropped Ryoma off at the temple and started on his way home.
Well, Syusuke, you showed him the real you, and he didn't run away, it's a start, Fuji thought as he opened the door to his home, now to see if he really does enjoy pain, and what he really will endure, or if he'll just run away.
Author's Note: I originally meant for this to be two chapters, but it felt wasteful to have it typed and not put it up. I know some of the sentence structures are a bit strange, but alas, as I am my own beta, I really don't know how to re-word them. Some of them I have stared at in twenty minute intervals. Of course, it's possible only I think they're strange. Read and lemme know whatcha think. It was fun to write, so I hope someone else enjoys reading.