The Greatest Gift

DISCLAIMER: Rawr... of course I don't own it.

Author's Notes: Hello everyone, this is shaskia speaking (writing?), one of nhowy's friends. She was banned from using the computer because she was caught surfing the net on an internet cafe when she was grounded. Nhowy begged me to type this for her. She was still the one who wrote this. I just typed it. Btw, thanks a lot to vierblith for betaing this fic.

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Nhowy told me that this is one of the confusing chapters. She also said that everything will be cleared in the next. She also wanted to say sorry for not having replied to the wonderful people who sent her reviews.

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Chapter One

"Nya...now that I think about it, I haven't seen Fujiko in a year. I wonder if he still looks the same." Eiji commented.

"You're right, Eiji. I haven't seen him since our last reunion. Have any of you seen him after that?" Oishi asked.

All the other regulars minus Ryoma nodded their heads. "I saw him in the Wimbledon," he said bluntly before taking a sip of Ponta.

"He was there?" Inui asked.

Ryoma nodded.

"I didn't see him." Inui stated.

Ryoma shrugged.

"Aira, was he there for work?" Taka asked.

"Nope. He was there for vacation. I told him to cool off for a bit since he was being a workaholic and that is so not Syusuke," Aira replied.

The thoughts of a workaholic Fuji made some of the regulars shudder.

"Ochibi, nya!!!!!!!!!! How did Fujiko look like?" Eiji asked as he glomped the younger boy.

"Well...he looks younger," Ryoma answered.

Everyone sweat dropped.

"Mou... that doesn't tell us anything you know..." the redhead whined.

Ryoma contemplated for a moment; thinking how he should answer the question. After a few moments of silence, he said, "Fuji-senpai grew his hair out. It's a bit past his shoulder back then. He looked more like a girl. Maybe that's why Inui-senpai didn't see him. And he also calls me Ryoma."

Everyone visualized a Fuji with past shoulder length hair. Tezuka twitched. Taka, Kaidoh and Oishi blushed. Inui grinned and scribbled on his notebook. Eiji and Momo wolf whistled.

"Echizen, why does Fuji-senpai call you Ryoma now?" Momo asked.

"No idea and I don't care. It's kinda nice when Fuji-senpai started calling me by my first name. I don't know but it felt as though I understand him more and vice versa." he replied.

"Nya...did something happen between you two?" Eiji asked, teasingly.

Tezuka's eyebrows twitched.

Ryoma shook his head and said: "Of course not. Syusuke-okaachan is not like that."

"Syusuke?"

"Okaachan?"

All the regulars were confused as to why Ryoma called Fuji that.

Aira's eyes opened wider as if they had made a new discovery.

The doorbell rang.

Aira opened it and let the newcomer enter.

It was Fuji.

Fuji smiled serenely at them. All the regulars sans Ryoma stood transfixed.

Aira took the two bags Fuji was carrying. "Welcome home, Syusuke." Aira said before giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Ah." Fuji replied.

Eiji blinked twice before he came to his senses and shouted: "FUJIKOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I MISSED YOU!!!!!" He then glomped Fuji to death.

"Eiji...let go of him! I think he can no longer breathe." Oishi said worriedly to the redhead.

After much persuasion from Oishi, Eiji finally let go.

Aira chuckled at the interaction between the old friends. "Syusuke, I'll put your things in your room." she said.

Fuji nodded and said: "Thanks a lot."

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"Fujiko-chan, you really look like a girl now." Taka said when everyone has settled in the living room.

"Saa...I guess it's because everyone has been pampering me to death." he replied.

Aira coughed in denial.

Fuji looked at her and said: "Well, everyone except Aira-chan."

Aira sent him a glare.

"Fuji, Echizen called you Syusuke-okaachan awhile ago. Why did he do that?" Inui asked.

Fuji looked at Ryoma with his eyes open, smiling sweetly(evilly?).

"He was the one who called me that. Ask him not me." Fuji replied.

"Ryoma-chan, could we talk for a moment? In private." Aira asked.

Ryoma and Fuji looked at her. Something in her voice meant business. It was scary.

Without waiting for a reply, Aira walked away. Ryoma followed.

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They ended up in the rooftop.

"You know something. Tell me." Aira commanded.

Ryoma's golden eyes looked at her. They shone brightly. There was the same glimmer in those eyes had whenever he was facing a challenge. "What if I do? Why do you care?" he asked. Challenge was so obvious in his voice.

Aira smirked and replied: "I'm not foolish and I know that something is definitely up here. The way you called Syusuke back then was a clue right? You were trying to tell us something. I know. Don't lie."

Ryoma smirked back at her.

"You're quite witty but extremely nosy. Are all Filipinos like that?"

"Seriously. When you've spend a year working with Fuji Syusuke, finding out something like your clue is no big deal."

"I guess that is true. But I still refuse to tell you anything. Find out for yourself."

With that, he left the rooftop, smirking.

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Tezuka groaned inwardly. So that was how Fuji wanted to play. The other boy was quite good at avoiding him without being too obvious. He really wanted to talk to the tensai. To clear things up, of course.

Suddenly, he heard a sweet soothing voice. The voice was singing a rather sad song. He followed the voice and there he saw, in his effeminate glory, Fuji; sitting on a rock in the garden.

'Standing here, in the midst of the darkness

Alone, with no one to hold,

Hoping, that in the end,

I'll be able to see the light.

Crying, waiting, wanting and longing for your forbidden love.

A love that I've been yearning for far too long.

A hopeless fantasy that will be trampled upon by reality.

Things that I cannot understand lingers in my heart

But I hope that in this silent night, you'll be able to see

That deep inside, it's still you I want to stay beside.'

He must've said something then because Fuji looked at his direction; the smiling mask, ready as always, put on his face.

"Tezuka, is there something you need?" he asked.

Tezuka found himself unable to reply to Fuji. There was again that feeling. The feeling he could not quite understand. It felt strange but he couldn't say that he didn't like it.

Fuji tilted his head inquiringly. Tezuka would be lying if he said that Fuji didn't look cute at that moment and he felt that the ambiance was just perfect. The colorful flowers and the setting sun had made Fuji look as if he were glowing. The beauty that Fuji held put the flowers to shame. He was doing injustice to the roses and orchids that were in the garden.

"Tezuka?" he asked again, opening his eyes.

He was drawn to the charisma Fuji had. How come he had never notice just how pretty Fuji looked? Why only now? He was lost; drowned in the depths of Fuji's sapphire eyes.

"Tezuka?" Fuji asked once more.

Again, Tezuka couldn't reply.

Fuji sighed and moved closer. He then put a hand on Tezuka's forehead.

Fuji's hands were soft and warm. Tezuka thought.

"Tezuka...I don't think you're sick." Fuji said.

Tezuka snapped out of his daze and blinked. "Sorry." he muttered.

"Now that you're back to your normal self, what do you want?" Fuji asked.

Tezuka didn't know how to say it. For a year he had been training himself to face Fuji and confront him about the letter. Now, it seemed that all those preparations were put to nothing.

"Is something going on between you and Aira?" Tezuka asked. Mentally, he hit himself for asking that. It was, after all, none of his business.

"I don't know..." Fuji started. He went back to the rock and looked at the sky and then at Tezuka. "She's nice and very playful. In a way, she interests and thrills me." Tezuka winced inside. "But for an unknown reason, I can't bring myself to tell her that I love her more than a friend." he continued. "It feels as though I'll be betraying her if I did that. She always takes care of me but that's in a sort of brotherly way. Here, I feel welcomed and loved. Karl, Abby, James and Aira are always there for me - caring and never demanding. Whenever I'm with them, I don't need to be the tensai everyone expects me to be. They have accepted me for who I am and that alone, made me crave for their presence. I am never alone in this place for they – especially Aira - have and are always giving more than I ask." he finished with a smile, a genuine one.

Tezuka felt his heart crumble to pieces. Those words hurt a lot. It was as though Fuji was telling him that he had never been good enough, that he wasn't able to give what Fuji wanted, that Fuji had found someone better than him. Fuji's words were affecting Tezuka in a way that the latter never thought it would. In a way, he felt betrayed. But he didn't know why he should be feeling that way.

"Fuji, Tezuka." Oishi called.

The two looked at Oishi.

"Maa... the reunion won't be complete without you guys." Oishi said.

"We'll be right there." Fuji said.

Oishi nodded and went back inside.

Fuji stood up and motioned for Tezuka to follow him. Too busy discerning his feelings, Tezuka just obeyed.

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"Nya! Let's play a game!!!" Eiji said.

"Right! Let's play." Momo agreed.

"What will we play?" Taka asked.

Silence.

"Aira, what would you like to play?" Eiji asked.

"Eh?! Why me?" she asked.

"Mou...just think of a game." Eiji said.

"Fine." she muttered.

Moments of silence.

"How about we put some questions on a bowl then spin a bottle whoever the bottle points at, will have to answer the question truthfully. If not, I'm sure that Sadaharu could fix that for us." she said.

Kaidoh slightly winced.

"Aira, how did you know about Inui Juice?" Momo asked, twitching.

"Syusuke is a mine of information you know." she answered, playfully.

All the regulars who hated Inui Juice looked at Fuji accusingly.

"And here I was thinking that if it was Aira who chose the game then we'll be safe from Inui Juice." Eiji said as he grabbed an empty bottle and bowl.

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"Has everyone put at least five questions?" Fuji asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Aira, kindly spin the bottle first. This is, after all, your idea." Inui said.

Aira nodded and spinned the bottle.

And it stopped on...Ryoma.

"Nya!!! Ochibi, pick your question." Eiji said excitedly as he practically shoved the bowl to Ryoma's face.

Ryoma groaned before picking out his question. Ryoma blushed as he mentally read the question.

"Ryoma's so cute when he's blushing." Fuji stated.

Ryoma glared at Fuji, who Fuji merely smiled in return.

"Ryoma, what's your question?" Aira asked.

Ryoma shook his head.

Inui whipped out a bottle of yellowish, greenish, brownish liquid in front of him.

"Echizen, pick either the question or the juice." Inui said, grinning evilly.

Ryoma gulped and began reading his question out loud:

"To whom did you lose your virginity?"

Kaidoh, Taka, Oishi and Momo(surprised?) blushed.

"Syusuke, that's your question, if I'm not mistaken." Aira stated.

"Who knows?" Fuji replied as he grinned sadistically.

"I'm still a virgin." Ryoma said calmly.

Everyone looked at Ryoma as if he had grown an extra head. "What?!" he asked, a bit annoyed.

"Nothing." All the rest muttered.

Ryoma spinned the bottle and this time, it landed on Tezuka.

Tezuka picked a question from the bowl.

"What did you get buchou?" Momo asked.

Tezuka handed him the paper and Momo read aloud:

"If you want to have something you've been wanting for eternity, how would you get it?"

"Eh?! That's stupid. Who asked that?" Eiji exclaimed.

Everyone shook their heads in denial.

Tezuka coughed.

Everyone looked at him.

"Select the target first, then achieve the goal." Tezuka answered.

"That's just like you, Tezuka." Oishi commented.

Aira smirked.

"Buchou, spin the bottle." Momo requested.

It landed on...Fuji.

Inui handed him the bowl and he picked a question.

"Are you in love with someone?" Fuji read the question aloud.

Eiji glomped him and asked:

"Ne, Fujiko are you, nya?!!"

"I'm not sure right now but I used to be." Fuji calmly replied to the redhead.

Eiji blinked once and shouted: "What happened to you Fuji?! I can't believe that you just gave me a straight answer!!!!!!!"

Fuji opened his eyes in surprise at the sudden outburst of Eiji while Aira just chuckled.

"Fuji-senpai changed a lot." Ryoma stated.

"What do you mean? I don't think I changed at all." Fuji said.

"Fujiko-chan, I have to admit, you did change a lot. You seem to be more open to others than before." Taka said.

The phone rang.

"I'll get it. It must be Karl." Fuji said.

Everyone nodded.

"Sometimes, people are just too blind to see the things that are obvious. We tend to be ignorant and miss out what is laid before our very eyes." Aira commented as she watched Fuji go out of sight.

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