Author's Notes: Sorry for the late update ; My final exams are finally over cheers XD So now, I can have more time to write the rest of the story lol I also just want to thank all my reviewers, you're all so awesome and you encouraged me to continue writing this, thank you all so much! X3
READ ME!: Haha, just to get your attention. I just learned another IM message, though American pplz don't know this cause it's used only in the Chinese language (I'm Chinese, in case you're wondering XD). The way the Chinese say "Thank you" on the Internet is shorted to "3Q" because the pronunciation for the number 3 is "san," so therefore, if you add up the sound of "san" and "Q," it'll sound something like "sankyuu." I think the Japanese also say this a lot as well heehee.
Disclaimer: Look back at the first chapter
Chapter: The 72nd Hour
Story: The 144th Hour
It was a restless night for Tezuka. He was conscious that his eyes were open at 1-o-clock in the morning, and more than that, he was stiffly wide-awake. He's never had trouble sleeping before, not that he can last remember.
Or well, he's never had trouble sleeping without someone on the same bed as he is in.
His eyes shifting to the left, Tezuka found himself staring at the brown-haired man for about the fiftieth time. There was nothing more surprising than that face that slept so angelically and so calmly, eyelashes closed and lips slightly opened.
Lying still and facing the ceiling, Tezuka took a long deep breath.
All right, sleep now! What the heck is wrong with me?
It was just like Fuji to suggest sleeping in the same bedroom, on the same bed ultimately. It occurred to Tezuka that the first response he should give is "No" and the second response should be "No" again. However, that was not the case, for when Fuji pleaded a second time, a nod was answered back.
Tezuka grunted. How idiotic, now he might go through sleeping disorder because he had agreed to let a man sleep with him on his own bed.
And it just had to be Fuji.
Glimpsing at him, Tezuka heard Fuji purr in his sleep, curling up even more until he was just barely touching Tezuka.
He stiffened.
Anyone can say now that Tezuka was beginning to lose his oxygen.
Tezuka sighed with defeat. It was a wonder of what affect this new "guest" had on him. He closed his eyes, indefinitely trying to ignore the caress of soft hair brushing against his arm. Lesson learned, Tezuka should be more on guard in the future.
And yet, within all the silent torment in the air, Fuji's lips suddenly curved into a small smile.
You like me, ne Tezuka?
Though it was only the third day, Tezuka felt like Fuji's been in his house for decades. That's probably because he basically memorized every detail about this man, and at long last, he was certain that Fuji didn't mind being observed at all.
In fact, at times, he could feel a pair of blue eyes stung upon every part of his body as well. Tezuka fingered his chin.
Hmm, it seems I'm not the only one whose most bothered by another's presence.
"Ne Tezuka?"
"Mm?" he said as he put on his black jacket.
Fuji showed up at the kitchen doorway with a towel draped around his neck. Apparently, he had ultimately decided to take a morning shower, not that Tezuka cared at all, but the fact that this man had been naked inside his own bathroom was kept in secret anxiousness at the back of Tezuka's head.
Till now, though, Tezuka wasn't so sure what to think anymore. The trickle of water down Fuji's honey brown wet hair was too much to bear for his eyes.
Fuji smiled. "Come back early today."
Tezuka frowned.
"I mean," the smaller man continued, "I want to spend the afternoon with you, ne?"
He stared at the dark-haired man in front of him, who was ponderously looking down at him as well.
"What do you want?" Tezuka suddenly asked.
Fuji chuckled at such seriousness. "Mm, you sound awfully gloomy today, Tezuka. You might as well stay here then."
Tezuka eyed him carefully. "How long, exactly, do you plan on staying here?"
"Maa, I don't really know."
He abruptly exhaled. You just couldn't get anywhere when talking to Fuji, he realized. There was nothing this light brown haired man can do but talk you around in circles until you get so dizzy that you don't even know what you're doing anymore.
"Demo," Fuji said. "You said I could live here, didn't you?"
Tezuka grunted. True, and perhaps that was somewhat a mistake.
He turned around and opened the front door. "Hai, I'll be back by 5, and we'll go out to eat. Sound good?"
Fuji nodded brightly. "Ah, sankyuu."
With that, he gently shut the door behind him.
Truly, he suddenly felt tired, and perhaps a little hot inside. Sitting down on the couch, Fuji sighed heavily as he closed his eyes and leaned back, his arms laid down at his sides with exhaustion.
Somehow, everything just instantly felt too silent.
Fuji took a deep breath, his towel on the verge of falling off his shoulders and his hair still soaked in warm drenched water. Looking down, he realized he was still wearing a bathrobe, though by the fact that it came from Tezuka's bureau, it was definitely too big on him.
There was something that mingled at the back of Fuji's mind, and it's been there for too long already.
It's the third day huh. I'm taking too long.
Usually, by this time, he would've already finished off his victim and gone back to Atobe for news of completing the mission successfully. He would've already had the murder planned in such a way that blame never laid upon him, but a fraud, or perhaps, it was known as suicide instead.
Either way, this time was just too strange.
He was already almost halfway through and he still hasn't come up with anything yet, no plan, no weapon, no nothing.
Immediately, Fuji sat up and clenched his fists. "Argh…"
It was getting on his nerves really. He's never felt more distracted than ever in his entire life. He's never had such difficulty with killing; it's always been a game to him, always just a game of fun.
Yet there was just… there was just something about… Tezuka.
Lowering his head down a little, Fuji panted as he laid a hand on his forehead, trying to clear the whole situation.
Why… am I feeling this way?
Visions of Tezuka sprawled all over Fuji's mind. The way he stood, sat, and walked, the way he talked to him, not as a stranger, but as a friend. The way he comforted him as he carried him into the house the other night. The way he would ask him such questions that Fuji would have never thought he'd care.
They weren't much, and they weren't very obvious in any sense, but all the while, Fuji could feel the kind of warmth and touch he's never felt before in his life.
And it really had felt so… good.
Why?I don't even know him.
He's done just as he's always done before. Seduction never failed, even Atobe assured the success. The same manner was applied, those smiles, those laughter, and those acts of intimidating Tezuka the same way.
Only that Fuji's never felt so… weak.
He panted.
Nande? I just met him, I don't even know who he is at all.
"Ah…" clutching his head even more, entangled with his bangs, Fuji felt like he was burning up so much inside that the air around him seemed to shun the atmosphere. He grabbed the side of an armchair, his head bent down at the side, curled up like an unknotted ball on the couch.
His breath was heavy, and despite the cool conditioning, he was sweating.
What… what is this… feeling?
For once, Fuji began to panic. He began to feel the nervous tension inside of him rise up, the kind of sixth sense of what might happen.
The image of Atobe portrayed in Fuji's mind, and that only made him cringe even more, in fright and betrayal. It was a feeling of fear, terror, and longing.
That feeling… was only failure.
I'm sorry, Atobe.
That's right, Fuji won't be completing the task this time.
No, not that he won't.
I'm so sorry, Atobe. I can kill whomever you want me to kill… except…
…not if it's Tezuka.
He can't.
He just can't do it.
"I knew it."
Fuji gasped. The voice rang inside his head so fast, so quickly, that he almost didn't know who was standing right behind him before he heard it. He immediately swung his head around, his blue eyes glowing with horror, and his mouth opened in absolute shock.
Standing in his usual selfless position, the man was a distinguished white haired being, his posture slanted at the wall as his hand left a trace on his face.
It was Atobe.
Immediately, Fuji scrambled up to his feet. "A-Atobe?"
The man laughed. "What, it's only been three days, or perhaps, two. You've forgotten me already?"
Fuji did his best to present himself in the best manner, though the lack of words he could find at the moment caused him to stumble on his lines. "Ah…N-no, you just…surprised me."
Again, the other laughed. "Oh, I did?"
With a nervous sigh, "How did you get in here?"
"You don't know? I've been watching you since the first day."
Fuji looked away. "Hm."
Atobe smiled as he stood up straight and took a step toward the smaller one. "Really now, you look tired today."
Fuji held his breath.
He could sense the fire within Atobe's voice. Trouble was not one to be lured by a man without knowing, Fuji was well aware about this. It was rare to see Atobe show up during the progress of a mission, and most of the time, the news was not great. In fact, the presence of this man in front of him only stirred up the hidden depths of Fuji's heart.
"Well? Is something wrong, Fuji dear?" Atobe said as he gently held his chin, tilting it up so the two met eye contact.
The voice was more than a piercing needle, it was deadly as it was disguised in poison substances. With little mental strength left in him, Fuji shook his head.
A slight frown, Atobe leaned his head closer to that of Fuji's. "Hontou?" he asked softly.
After a short hesitation, Fuji again, shook his head, only this time, he was less confident.
Atobe grinned subtly as he fingered the soft skin of the brown-haired man's cheeks, enjoying the tickling sense he received. "You've changed, my sweet Fuji. You've changed. Where did that awfully seductive smile go now?"
He was all in control, Fuji knew that, so much that he couldn't feel his body anymore. A sudden grasp upon his wrist told him that there was ultimately no way of backing down.
"What now, Fuji? Why do you look so… cold?" a hoarse whisper trickled upon Fuji's lips.
A pause.
Fuji swallowed nervously, trying to keep in the raspy pants he was making right then. He had learned never to show signs of weaknesses in front of Atobe, though at times like this, it was inevitable.
Those eyes. Atobe's stunningly glorious, yet cruel eyes yielded passion of neither love nor care.
Those were the eyes, of a murderer.
Instantly, Fuji felt the hold of his wrist loosen, the hot breath of Atobe's mouth part from his skin, yet, only to be thrown off to the wall behind him as a hand suddenly came in contact with his reddened cheeks.
"Gah!" he hit the wall on his side, slithering down onto the ground as Atobe's voice sounded into his ear.
"You fool!" The white-haired screamed as he clenched his teeth.
Fuji cupped his cheek with pain.
He could sense the other man step forward. A hard kick at his stomach threatened to gorge out the blood from Fuji's throat, though he kept steady, kneeling down with his hands supporting him on the wooden floor.
"You weakling! You can't even make a single move!" Atobe yelled, grabbing the thin strands of Fuji's golden hair and jerking it back, receiving a hurtful howl from the smaller man.
"I said kill him, Fuji. Kill him!"
Fuji panted.
"KILL HIM!"
A wavering smile spread across Atobe's face as he watched the fallen man silently plead for mercy. He kneeled down, coming to a close facial contact with Fuji's. Slowly and painfully, Fuji felt dry, hot lips seal him as a pink, wet and moist tongue scavenged the insides of his mouth.
It was full of need, an easy win as Atobe entangled his tongue with Fuji's, stretching deeper and deeper down his throat. Fuji choked, he hissed, he moaned at the attack, though making no move as he was forcibly laid onto the ground on his back.
Atobe grunted when he, at least, parted. "You were a beautiful baby boy when I started raising you, remember that?" He slicked his tongue over the skin of Fuji's ear. "You had such… pretty eyes, and… glorious… hair."
Fuji could only stare up blankly at the man above him, soothing him, touching him, licking his face, his neck, his chest. He slowly closed his eyes.
"You're mine, Fuji," the taller man said with a groan. "Mine. Don't you forget that."
Fuji stirred in a tinge of pain.
"Don't you forget that, you hear me?" Atobe reinforced. "I saved you, I raised you, I nourished you since you were only a child. You belong to no one but me."
With a gradual sensation, Atobe got off and stood up, looking down at the sweaty angel before him. He snickered. "Oh, but he is a dashing one, isn't he? Ah, what's his name? Tezuka, isn't it…"
A heavy heart, Fuji scourged what's left of his strength as he tried to get up.
"Hmm," Atobe laughed. "I've warned you, didn't I? Don't fall for him, there'll only be infinite pain underneath those handsome features he possesses."
Curiously, the honey-haired man looked up.
With a cruel grin, he stopped. "Oh no, or perhaps you did fall for him, did you Fuji?"
Fuji gulped. He never considered if he truly fell for his victim, or that it was only a mere thought. It just never passed his mind, not even once.
Atobe observed the reactions he received, in consequence of a slight snort.
"You may want to retrieve your steps. Your feelings mean nothing. You're only a murderer; a murderer doesn't feel." Atobe turned back, facing away from the other man. "A murderer only kills."
The smaller man clenched his fists. No…
Atobe smiled with satisfaction. Laughter filled his heart as he walked out the door, leaving a pair of blue eyes in a state of reverie.
Silence.
Why… why am I crying?
Why am I…?
The church bell chimed at the tick of noon, twelve dongs in the manner of the two-hour strands pointing up at only one direction.
And at the sound of the last chime, Fuji collapsed.
"Eh? I didn't know you came back. When was that?"
It was out of habit of having a quiet manner, especially when living alone for most of his life. Of course, Tezuka had expected his friend to be there when he came back home, but a sign of arrival was not necessarily clear.
Tezuka though, had ignored the question.
Fuji nodded in comprehension. "Maa, I guess you're no more than a man of few words, ne?"
"Mm." He set his bags down on the couch.
He brushed past the other's presence and headed to the bathroom, washing his face and changing his working clothes into that of something more approachable on the streets. After having cleansing his glasses as well, which is one of the most decent routines of his organized daily life, he walked out.
Looking up again, he found Fuji in the same position as he was since Tezuka came back, a figure standing at the stairway, a solemn face, his blue eyes opened in wonder, but this time without company of the once carefree smile.
Tezuka frowned as he neared him. "Something wrong, Fuji?"
There was no reply.
"Fuji?"
The blue-eyed man turned around. Something about those eyes almost astounded Tezuka, there was something there that wasn't present in the past two days, something that could be feared perhaps.
At last, a soft whisper came through. "Ne Tezuka…"
He stood, looking deep into the ocean orbs while Fuji tended to bend down his head at the floor.
"I want to ask you something."
The voice was so timid that he could barely hear the words spoken. Tezuka was quite a bit shocked at the sudden change in this man, for he's never looked so serious, or perhaps, so nervous. All the while, he's had on a cheerful, brave and encouraging face, something that showed content, not remorse.
Tezuka nodded.
With a deep breath, "Have you ever… hurt someone?"
He was a bit taken aback. "What?"
"I mean, have you ever tried to threaten someone… someone close to you or someone you know?" Fuji asked.
There were no words that could be applied to answer such an awkward question. Tezuka sighed with impatience.
"Fuji, I have no time for games."
No response.
It was a strange atmosphere, Tezuka realized. The man in front of him was bending his head low, though features of his face was still visible for someone at Tezuka's height. What's going on now? What's wrong with him?
"Come on, Fuji," he said as he patted the man's shoulder. "Let's go eat."
"Iya, matte," came the reply.
Tezuka stopped.
Fuji looked up at the man, a sudden foreign feeling rise within him as he stared at the beauty in front of him. "Can I ask you another question?"
Here we go. "What is it now?"
"Would you… kill someone…"
There was only a sudden burst inside of him even as the question was left unfinished. "WHAT!" Tezuka exclaimed.
Fuji looked unaffected however.
Tezuka frowned bitterly. What is he asking me? "Did you just ask me if I would kill someone? For what?"
With a casual shrug to cover up his anxiousness, Fuji looked away. "Well I mean, if your life depended on it perhaps, would you kill someone to save yourself?"
This is insane! It was an absolute surprise; Tezuka was appalled. "Who? Who in the world would I kill?"
Again, another shrug. "I-I don't know, take for example someone… like—"
"Like you?"
The interruption deserved great punishment, for Tezuka could feel a hidden cold fire inside of him ignite. He saw the other stiffen, a small gasp giving way before the head was turned even further around so that only the back of his head faced Tezuka.
He was about to apologize when Fuji spoke. "Maybe."
Tezuka froze. What is he saying? He whispered frankly. "What do you—?"
"Just consider someone close to you, like a friend or your family," Fuji fumbled to correct himself.
The silence that dropped between the two of them was unnerving, yet very much in caution. The breaths of each were bearable as it was audible. Fuji could sense that Tezuka was fairly pensive about his question and left him alone in a quiet mist of air to think through.
Finally, Tezuka replied. He stepped forward to stand side by side with the light brown haired man. "Probably."
Fuji looked up in wonder.
"You said it's a gamble on my life. I'd probably kill that 'someone' no matter how close we both are to each other."
It was the truth, and it was noticeable in Tezuka's voice. Honestly, Fuji was grateful that this man avoided lies.
"However…"
He wasn't finished, Tezuka that is.
Immediately, Fuji felt his body pushed harshly against a warm chest, two arms wrapped tightly around him and enfolding together on his back. There was shock everywhere all over him as Fuji gasped, suddenly realizing that he was within the gentle heat of Tezuka's body pressed against him.
"Tez--?" What is he doing? Fuji thought.
"However," Tezuka repeated as he smiled, the embrace strengthening and his head resting upon the soft brown hair that was in the possession of Fuji. "If it was you, Fuji, I'd rather die first myself."
Everything just instantly… stopped.
It took a while for Fuji to piece the words together, replaying it over and over again in his head.
"If it was you, Fuji, I'd rather die first myself."
Fuji could feel his breathing beginning to strangle.
With glory sustaining the passion, Tezuka closed his eyes and nested into the back of Fuji's neck, receiving somewhat of a small surprise. "You feel so good."
He began to pant. Everything was spinning out of control, everything.
He didn't know what to do, he felt so limp in those strong arms, he felt so vulnerable, so weak and so fragile. He felt like nothing, completely absorbed in a sense, cherished without spare of his soul.
And yet, Fuji felt so safe.
He felt so loved.
"Fuji, I want you… so much." Tezuka groaned.
At this, there was a chuckle. With a bit of curiosity, Tezuka inquisitively drew back a little and looked carefully at the man in his grasp.
It earned him a smile. "Saa, Tezuka," Fuji said as he grabbed his necktie and pulled him down, their faces so close they were only centimeters apart. "I guess we'll be missing out dinner, won't we?"
Hesitation.
And this time, it was Tezuka who smiled.
A loving, caring smile right before he captured those rosy lips underneath him.
Somewhere in the distance, a shadow stood upon a lofty roof, watching in observance with great tender speculation. A flash of white hair, combed in a fashionable way flowed in harmony with the nightly wind. His left hand played along the bangs, curling them around his finger until they loosened apart.
He too, smiled with less content than he had before.
I'll be waiting, Fuji. At three days time…
The clock at the church, from a visible view from where he stood, watched over the city from afar while its minute hand met a straight line with the hour.
…I'll see you again.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Twelve-o-clock.
Notes: (ooh, the last line rhymes, haha xp) I guess I tried to add in more viewpoints from Fuji's since most of the other times, it was all Tezuka's side heehee. How was it? Once again, I'm sorry for a really late update. I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner then XD I THINK I know what I'm going to write about next, but most likely, I might be changing some things. Oh well, anyhow, we're halfway through ne? Till next time, please review and comment.
Another important note: I might be delaying the next chapter, though my plans are to get it done before mid July, when I'd be going off to Seattle for vacation. Hopefully, I can get chapter 5 up before then. If not, then it'll be up around late August (omg, that's way too long TT).
