Disclaimer: Kono-sensei owns them…T.T

A/N: Fourth Chapter's up!...the mysterious person has been finally revealed…:D

Visitor from the Past

Hn, this place looks really nice, Fuji thought as he entered Pierre Gagnaire a Tokyo, a two-star French Restaurant in the Aoyama District in Tokyo. He looked around and saw couples enjoying their time over some good food. Then suddenly, a waiter approached him and asked him to follow. Fuji did so, for the waiter seemed to be expecting him. The said waiter led him to a corner, and told him to sit down there. Fuji thought that the view from his place was great. He was still enjoying the view when he felt someone touch his right shoulder. He looked around and saw the person he was waiting for.

"Long time no see, Syuusuke." The person said. He looked at the tensai whilst Fuji smiled and motioned for the person to sit down. "Good morning Saeki," Fuji answered. "It has been a long time," he continued.

Saeki sat down and grinned jovially. He asked for the menu and ordered some food for the two of them. When Saeki handed back the menu to the waiter, Fuji decided to start a conversation.

"So, Saeki, how are you doing?" Fuji asked, stressing on his former best friend's last name. A faint emotion that seemed to be hurt crossed Saeki's face, but Fuji took no notice of it. The tensai smiled, waiting for his answer, pretending to fiddle with the spoon and fork on the table.

The person questioned answered, "My tennis is doing fine. As for you, I know that there is no more need to ask. In regard with my personal matters, I can't say that I'm doing very fine since there are some things occupying my mind, like pining for you…" he said intentionally, fixing his gaze on the tensai.

Fuji's head snapped up to look at the man before him. "Saa…what do you mean, Saeki?" He asked. Right now, he had more important things in mind, like thinking up a good and believable excuse to tell Tezuka later as to why he skipped school and ignored his calls. He didn't have the time to ponder on the avowal that his former best friend said. "I can't really identify with what you're trying to say," he added with a shrug of his shoulder.

Saeki sighed and said, "Syuusuke, I have a little secret to tell you." Saeki held the hand on the table that was Fuji's. The tensai, although surprised at the sudden contact, remained eye contact with Saeki, revealing a pair of captivating blue eyes. "When we were still young, something happened, without either me or you knowing. I mean, it just happened, and when I realized it did, it was too late. I loved you, but you were gone. You were already out of my life."

Fuji was trying to see where this conversation would go. But a scene from the past prevented him. Suddenly, he was afraid to look into the future because something might happen. For once, he was afraid that something might happen.

"I was never able to tell you how I felt toward you. I was never able to make you feel the way my heart beats when you're around." Saeki sported a pained smile, but Fuji's face was unreadable. He was lost in his own thoughts, thoughts of what happened in the past.

"Saeki, why are you telling me this just right now?" From the way Fuji said those words, it seemed more of a statement than a question. The tensai retracted his hand and looked out in the window. The beauty of the outside world now seemed to disappear as tears started to form from the corner of Fuji's eyes. "Why?" He asked again.

Saeki, feeling pangs of hurt gnawing in his chest after Fuji withdrew his hand, lowered his gaze to the table. As he was about to respond to the unanswered question that was thrown to him, the waiter came and put down their orders.

"Here are your orders, sirs. We hope that you will enjoy them," said the waiter as he put down the Roasted Cauliflower soup, the Roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken and the Winter Squash Puree, oblivious to the two boys' earlier conversation.

Fuji looked at his food. True, they looked delicious and tempting, but Fuji lost all his will to eat. It's as if the prior conversation sucked all his appetite. If only the waiter had served the cuisines a few minutes in advance, he would have slurped down the soup and chomped on the chicken and the puree.

"Those don't contain poison, so don't just stare at them. Might as well enjoy your food, it's almost lunch time. Itadakimasu," Saeki said with a small chuckle. Fuji noted that, even if Saeki sounded cheerful, his eyes were showing a great deal of pain. Fuji stared at his food again and thought about what Saeki said. "Itadakimasu," the tensai whispered.

The two ate in silence, occasional glances being thrown to the person in front of them when they thought the other wasn't paying attention. Finally, before they started for the chocolate torte, Fuji decided to break the silence.

"You know," Fuji started. Saeki looked at the tensai, waiting for what the latter was about to say. "When you turned me down before, I asked myself why you did that. I thought that maybe you were just startled by my confession, so I waited for you. I waited for you to tell me that you felt exactly the same way toward me. But I grew tired Saeki. I grew very tired that I decided to give up."

"I know. That's why I hated myself for making you wait. When you confessed to me, told me that you loved me and asked me if I felt the same way, I evaded your question, saying that you shouldn't say things like that. Back then, I said that because I didn't think that a person of your caliber would fall for a person like me, an ordinary tennis guy." Saeki chuckled at his words, but Fuji didn't find it amusing. Instead, he wanted to punch the living daylights out of Saeki's petty little mind.

"That's it? That's the reason why you turned me down?" Fuji said.

"Syuusuke, I was afraid. I thought that you were just playing around and wasn't serious when you said you loved me. I didn't know how I felt about you, not until you moved away from me ad settle here in Tokyo," Saeki said regretfully.

"You were afraid? Saeki, people don't gain anything from being afraid," Fuji stated. He can't believe that he was turned down by his first love just because the man was afraid. The way things were was starting to piss him off. "What do you really want?"

Saeki was surprised by this, but continued to speak anyway. He was determined to return home knowing that Fuji has forgiven him, at the least. He hoped for the better, but being forgiven, considering the current situation, would be fine with him. "Syuusuke, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. It's just that…"

"Just what Saeki?" Fuji asked coldly. "Answer me. Just what were you thinking?"

"I just wanted to know if you're doing well. I just wanted to know if things between you and me can still be patched up. I was just thinking that maybe, just maybe, our friendship can still be saved…" Saeki's voice trailed as said those words.

Fuji's expression softened when he heard what Saeki said. "Sae-" he started, but Saeki cut him off. "Syuusuke! I'm willing to do anything, just please forgive me! Onegai…I'm begging you."

"Sae…no, Koujiroh, I have forgiven you. Even before you came here and asked for my forgiveness, I've already forgiven you. After all, that's what best friends do, right?" Fuji smiled at Saeki, who in turn was near tears because Fuji had finally called him by his first name, just like old times, and because Fuji had called him his "best friend", just like old times.

"Arigato, Syuusuke…honto ni…arigato gozaimasu," Saeki said.

After they finished eating, the two boys went to the park and sat there. They were enjoying their time when Saeki, out of the blue, asked Fuji something unexpected…

"Syuusuke, you've moved on right?"

"Hn…why?"

"Well, I was thinking. Who helped you move on? Who's your current special someone?"

Fuji wasn't able to answer the question immediately. In fact, he thought of evading the question. He thought that his best friend-turned-acquaintance was, still, in no position to know these kinds of things. When Saeki felt the sudden change in mood, he laughed quietly and said, "I didn't mean to make you feel awkward or something, it's just that, well, I just wanted to know. I wanted to know who helped you heal the wounds that I caused because…because…I want to thank that person wholeheartedly. I wanted to thank that person for taking care of you, and for making you forget the pain that I put you through."

When Fuji heard what Saeki said, he felt disheartened. It was true that, through his love for Tezuka, he was able to forget Saeki. But because he wanted to ignore what happened in the past, unconsciously, he repeated it. And now, everything hit him. He was in love, again, with someone who, this time for real, can never love him back. When the reality of that situation sank in him, a single tear began to fall down his cheek. When Saeki saw this, he was startled. "Syuusuke, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to make you cry…again," he said, his voice trailing.

Syuusuke laughed half-heartedly. "Saa, Koujiroh, I'm sorry you had to see that. It wasn't your fault. It's just that, well, history is repeating itself to me."

"Eh? What do you mean?" A puzzled Saeki looked at Fuji, who in turn, faked a smile.

"Well, it's true that I've moved on from you, only to unrequitedly love another." Fuji sported a dramatic pause, giving Saeki some time to think about where they're going to. The tensai then continued, "Tezuka distracted me from you, but he hurt me more than you did. His impersonality toward things drives me away from him at times. Unlike you, he doesn't seem to care for me genuinely. He asks if I'm okay, that's an undeniable fact, I mean, he just did yesterday. But he only does that because…because I was an asset…to the team."

Saeki looked at the crying figure of his beloved. He wanted to hug Fuji, to comfort him and tell him everything's fine and that he's there for him. But he couldn't because he knew that he isn't the one that can make Fuji smile. He knew that, now, Tezuka is the only person that can bring back Fuji Syuusuke's real smile, and that the best that he can do is give his best friend a pat in the back and console him.

"Syuusuke, always remember, that I'm always by your side. I believe in your strength, especially your ability to charm people and make them do the things that you want them to do. But just in case Tezuka breaks your heart, always remember that," he said with a smile, "boys' don't cry."

Upon hearing those words, Fuji Syuusuke smiled and felt glad that everything between him and Saeki was back to normal.

A/N: sorry for the super duper mega late update…I got carried away by school work…hihi...p nwei...hope you liked it..:D

Notes:

Itadakimasu – thanks for the food

Onegai – please

Honto - really

Pierre Gagnaire a Tokyo actually exists…:D it's a two-star restaurant in the Aoyama District in Tokyo (as mentioned above)…and well, I used it because it's internationally famous…and well, my crush's name is in it…hihi…:D

I used a local Filipino song for Saeki's confession…it's Muntik na Kitang Minahal by Aiza Seguerra…I just translated some lines and rephrased it to fit the situation

"people don't gain anything from being afraid" is something that Al said in FMA ep21...:D

and please do review...:D

Next up is some interaction between Fuji and Tezuka..:D (whew finally!!...P)