Chapter four

Echizen glanced across at the grumbling man next to him. He had formerly introduced himself as Sanada Genichirou, Atobe's assistant, and said he was there to accompany Echizen during the photo shoot. And then he'd sat in the helicopter and grumbled to himself the entire journey about stupid bosses and mountains and photos.

The helicopter began to descend, and the pilot - Hiyoshi - told them that they would arrive in ten minutes. Echizen looked out of the window, to gaze at the surroundings, when two moving figures caught his eye. They appeared to be hiking up toward where they would be landing, and he presumed that one of them was the photographer.

They landed, and exited the helicopter, settling onto the rocky ground below. Echizen stumbled as he left the aircraft, his legs shaking slightly. He'd never minded aeroplanes, but helicopters were completely different things. He sat himself down on a nearby rock, glad to finally be out of the air.

He flinched, as a hand rested itself on his shoulder. Looking up, he caught Sanada's eye. "Are you okay?"

Echizen blinked, and nodded. The hand lingered on his shoulder a moment longer, before Sanada's phone cut through the silence, and he reached into his pocket to answer it. Sanada looked at the name, and growled.

"Hello. Yes. Yes. No. Yes. Why would that happen? Whatever. No, I'm not there, and there's no Starbucks in the mountains," he hung up, groaning to himself. They glanced at one another, before they heard the cheerful voice of the photographer cut over them.

"Hellooooooo, isn't it wonderful how everything echoes here, Tezuka?"

"Hn."

Echizen looked back to Sanada, who was staring at the man beside the photographer - who he presumed to be Tezuka - a glint in his eye.

"Ah, Sanada and Echizen," the photographer said. "I brought along my friend Tezuka, I hope you don't mind."

"Sure, Fuji-san," Sanada answered.

"Just Fuji, please," Fuji said, before turning his eyes widely to Echizen. "Ah, you."

Echizen froze. "Err -"

"I want you here," Fuji pointed at the rock face. He glanced across at Sanada. "What clothes did you bring?"

Sanada retrieved a pile of clothes from the helicopter. "There's some tennis gear, and smart clothing, a suit -"

"Well, whatever he's most comfortable in," Fuji said dismissively, staring at the spot where he planned to put Echizen, intently. Echizen grabbed his sports clothes from the pile, before glancing around, looking for somewhere to change.

"Right, you can change here," Fuji told him, pointing directly in front of them.

Echizen's eyes widened slightly.

"You can change over there," Sanada told him, pointing toward the bushes. Nodding, Echizen moved toward them.

Hiyoshi brought the last bags out of the helicopter. "Is that everything?" Sanada nodded toward him. "Alright, I'll be off. I'll be back at seven to get you." With that, he returned to his helicopter, and flew off.

Having quickly changed, Echizen moved back out, dumping the clothes he'd been wearing before back on the ground.

"Ah, Ryoma, may I call you Ryoma?" Fuji asked, grabbing the boy without waiting for a reply. "Ryoma, stand here. Perfect."

With a smile, Fuji took his camera out of its case. "Let's get started."

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Watching the photo shoot unfold before them, Sanada and Tezuka sat together on a large rock.

"So, you're close to Fuji?" Sanada asked the stoic man beside him.

"I've known him two weeks."

"Oh," said Sanada, surprised. "But you've been up here before with him."

"We kind of bumped into each other," Tezuka paused, regarding his words. "But how do you know?"

"I saw the photo."

Tezuka's eyes widened. "Photo?"

"Yeah, of you in the sunset."

The brunette vaguely recalled the blinding flash as he'd climbed over the ledge.

"Fuji."

The photographer turned toward him. "Yes?"

"You've been showing my picture to people?"

"Sshhh, Tezuka, I'm working," Fuji dismissed, continuing to take photos of the tennis player.

"It's in his portfolio," Sanada added to Tezuka, whose glare darkened.

"Fuji."

"Working."

Amused by the interaction before him, Sanada nearly missed his boss' phone call. He managed to get to it in time, though, and asked, "Hello?"

"Sanada, Jiroh's sleeping."

"You sound surprised," Sanada answered. He could almost hear Atobe's glare down the phone.

"Don't get smart with me. He's sleeping, and I don't have people to do my stuff."

"You sent me into the mountains."

"Yes, well, you should've taken things into account before you left. Jiroh's sleeping and I don't have my latte. I need my latte."

"How about… you get it?"

Atobe snorted as if this was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. "Do Starbucks deliver?"

"I don't know."

"Hn. They do now," Atobe said, before ringing off.

"Whatever," Sanada mumbled, placing his phone back into his pocket.

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Atobe sat at his desk, staring off into space. In front of him, Oshitari laughed to himself.

"How did you survive without him…?"

"Shut up. Go away. Jiroh, wake up."

Jiroh didn't even bother to stir.

"Jiroh, now you're just becoming complacent."

His phone rang, and Atobe grabbed at it, pulling it to his ear. "Yes?"

"It's Starbucks, sir. They've arrived."

"Thank god," Atobe said, standing up and heading for the door.

"Going yourself?" Oshitari asked. "This is serious."

All he received was a glare in return.

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I got my latte.

Sanada stared down at the text on his phone, shaking his head. "So?" he mumbled, although he had a slight smile on his face. Tezuka glanced across at him, and Sanada looked up. "It's my boss. Again."

"Oh," Tezuka said. "Atobe, right?"

"Yeah," Sanada answered. "He's spoilt and selfish."

"I nearly started working for him," Tezuka continued.

"Don't." Sanada looked straight at him. "Seriously, don't."

"I didn't, I'm fine where I am."

"What d'you do?" Sanada asked.

"I'm an accountant."

"Really?" Sanada asked. "That doesn't seem right."

"Fuji said that too," Tezuka told him, softly. "But it pays the bills. Anyway, you don't exactly seem like an assistant."

"Well, it pays the bills," he echoed, glancing across at Tezuka. Tezuka smiled slightly, and nodded, before hearing the yell of, "Bend over further, further, further. Come on, Ryoma, further."

"Fuji," Tezuka warned him.

Fuji turned around to him. "…But he can go further." He looked back at Echizen. "Further."

"Fuji." this time it was from Sanada.

Fuji smiled. "Okay, Ryoma, you can get up." Echizen stood upright, glaring at the photographer. "I planned to stop for lunch, anyway," Fuji added, brightly. "I brought sushi."

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"It's not working," Fuji sighed.

Echizen readjusted himself out of the position that Fuji had just spent fifteen minutes putting him in. "What do you mean, 'it's not working'?"

"I mean this light," Fuji sighed at the sky. "I just… don't see it. No, we are definitely shooting this all wrong." He pulled a cigarette out from behind his ear, and took his lighter out of his pocket.

Echizen glared darkly at the photographer. "What d'you want me to do? Change the sky?"

Fuji lit his cigarette, and suddenly smiled. "That's brilliant, Ryoma. I knew you were here for a reason," he ignored the glare the tennis player was giving him. He turned toward Sanada and Tezuka, who were chatting amiably behind him. "We'll shoot at sunset!"

"What?" Sanada asked. "That's stupid."

"Yes, you're right. It'll be safest to shoot at sunrise as well." Fuji looked at the sky dreamily. "Most definitely."

"So we'll be staying the night?" Sanada questioned. "But we didn't bring anything."

"…Is this why you asked me to bring three sleeping bags?" Tezuka asked.

Sanada glared at Fuji. "You planned this."

"No. I was just… prepared."

"But, you only have three sleeping bags, and there's four of us…" Echizen pointed out.

"I suppose we'll just have to share, I don't mind who I'll be bunking with," Fuji said. He turned toward the tennis player. "You're the smallest."

"Err…" Echizen said, turning wild eyes toward Sanada and Tezuka.

"Fuji," Tezuka began.

"Fine, I'll share with you, Tezuka," Fuji told him, smiling. Sanada sighed, mumbling, "Guess I'd better call Atobe."

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Atobe sat in his office, sipping at his mocha latte, a proud look on his face. Yes, he'd managed to get his latte. Without Sanada's help. All by himself. See, he was capable. He wasn't dependent. He was a strong human being.

The phone rang, and calmly Atobe answered it.

"Hello?"

"Atobe, its Sanada. Can you call Hiyoshi and tell him he doesn't need to come get us yet."

"I am not your assistant, Sanada, you are my assistant," Atobe told him, before he took in what Sanada had said. "Wait, what do you mean he doesn't need to come get you?"

"Not until morning, Fuji wants to get shots of Echizen at sunset and sunrise," Sanada told him, with a sigh.

"So… you won't be back until tomorrow?"

"I guess."

"…Afternoon?"

"Yeah." Suddenly, all the chilled composure Atobe had regained was lost.

"But what about my morning latte?"

"You got it today, I'm sure you'll manage." He paused, and Atobe was sure Sanada could hear his heartbeat. "Look, it's not like I want to be up here."

"So you want to come back? Because I can arrange that -"

"No, it's fine," Sanada replied. "It's quite peaceful here."

"But, well, fine. Have fun with your peace." He hung up, glaring at nothing.

A yawn beside him alerted him to the fact that Jiroh had woken up.

"Ah, is it clocking out time?"

Atobe glared at him. "Now, now you wake up?"

Jiroh smiled, sleepily. "Yup…"

"Fine. Don't turn up tomorrow morning unless you have a latte."

"But, Atobe, I don't like lattes -"

"For me. Me."Atobe collapsed over his desk. It was gonna be a long night.