DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis. Takeshi Konami does.

Chapter 4: Mirrors

Snarls echo throughout the woods. Two male wolves attack each other. Alone in the forest with no one to watch the fight for dominance they bleed. Cuts, twigs, dirt, their own blood and the other's blood smear in a coagulated mess on their spiky fur. No whining or displays of weakness that night. The loser would die; the winner might live to survive the injuries. Dark coal fur favors his right hind leg while the dusky red coat can no longer see from his right eye. Growling penetrated the forest. Luminous moonlight of a three quarter full moon highlighted their primal battle. Snap. Branches break and the fight resumes. The lone owl hoots.

…

Fuji lounged back in a large padded chair knees hugged tightly to his body, one hand twirling a lock of hair. An ancient leather book lay on the arm rest. Glazed eyes stared out a viewless window. Cliché, he was reading by firelight as three logs burned in the Victorian styled fireplace. The room was opulent, that came from the characteristics of the Tomoe clan to surround themselves in luxury. A dainty glass sat on the table next to him filled with a sticky red liquid. Not a sound entered the room except for the crackle of the fireplace and the sound of his breathing. Shadows danced on the walls as the fire flickered. Below the room, he could feel the raw emotions and thoughts of the inhabitants of the house. Yumiko was performing a reading, Kaa-san dabbling in witches potions, Eiji clearing his head with blaring rock music, and Yuuta had just marched in the house dissatisfied from a hunt. Kaa-san would listen to his problems.

Nightmares. Voices. Temptation. All kept Fuji from resting. Contrary to traditional beliefs, Vampires did need to sleep as everyone else. They didn't fall into comas as soon as the sun rose, otherwise Fuji and Eiji would not be attending Seigaku. A vampire could roam about whatever time of day they felt, but the stronger and older they were, the more the sunlight irritated them. Yumiko had to cover her skin and wear sunglasses though she hadn't reached fifty yet. Their lives were longer than that of humans, but they weren't immortal, only very long lived. Only a few hours of rest was needed a week, more if they were injured. It was difficult to fill the long hours of the day, so often their kind would sleep more than needed or develop unique hobbies. While they dared.

Often he wondered what it was humans saw when they looked at their reflections in the mirror. He loathed glimpsing even a glimmer of the image in the mirror. What looked back at him was a slim, slightly tall boy with shoulder length honey brown hair and a false smile that didn't reach his eyes, but still gave off an air of easy approach and a gentle demeanor. Deceitful. Simply a lie. That is all he saw. Not the slender young man whose posture and every move hinted at an experienced killer, hypnotic eyes demanding blood, a cruel promising smile complete with sharp glistening fangs. A truer reflection. But how does something as simple as a mirror reflect a person with two personalities? Because that was what Fuji was- a being with two personas.

The first was a rational, fun loving character who enjoyed excelling at a range of activities, spending time with friends and family, or teasing the most solitary of figures. A personality that fit in with the rest of the world, enjoying every interaction and natural wonder it offered. Not so with the other half. The predator, the stronger of the two, constantly craving blood and with a malicious taste for violence. Overwhelming raw emotion that was prone to change moment to moment, always whispering, crooning to the first half, the controlled half, to give in and satisfy its desires. And the more time that passed the stronger it became. Fuji deplored that half as much as he desired it. It was the reason for him growing further away from his friends, and as much as he tried to stop it, it would only return raging and speaking louder and louder until he gave in. Then… Then blissful silence, for one moment. Not worth a fraction of its cost. He felt the need to be hysterical, but bit down on the emotion. What he needed was to be in control. To stamp down on the voice that kept him awake making him more susceptible to it.

Creak.

"Am I disturbing you?"

Fuji blinked, refocusing, turning his head to stare at the speaker. Tezuka stood at the entryway adjusting his glasses, staring at him from the corner of his eyes. Taking his arm away from his legs, he waved the other young man in. His hand drew the hair from his eyes.

"Hello. I didn't hear you knock. Sit down."

An eyebrow raised, eyes glancing mirthfully around the room. Fuji was sitting in the only chair.

"Fuji-san let us in. I knocked once but you didn't open the door so I decided to come in."

Giving a slight smile, he patted the coffee table. He could swear he saw Tezuka roll his eyes.

"Oh." His eyes followed Tezuka as he walked over and perched lightly on the table in front of him. Being a lycan, it had to gall him to be sitting in the lower position. That was fine with him; he was still annoyed with Tezuka. "Sorry. Who is us?"

"Me. Oishi."

"Why are you here then?"

So he hadn't completely forgiven him for the accusations the past few weeks? Vindictiveness was deserved in this case, they were friends. Tezuka should be more supportive. Pouting slightly, he glanced at Tezuka who was staring at him. They locked eyes, Fuji glanced away first.

"You're still mad at me."

"No."

Sigh. Fuji pulled the hair out of his eyes once again.

"You didn't answer the question."

Glancing over, he saw Tezuka looking at his clasped hands. How near was it to the full moon? Calculating the days since the last full moon, Tezuka spoke.

"Oishi was worrying himself to death over Kikumaru's safety. He'd changed and paced around his house, so his mother threw him out, and told him to see me. For some reason he insisted on climbing the tree, instead of coming through the door, whining at the window until I went to see him. He looked like a heartbroken lovesick puppy, Kaa-san growled at me to take him to visit Kikumaru."

Fuji wanted to chuckle. Those two were so clueless at times. On the other hand he felt mad. His baka bucho still hadn't forgiven him; it had taken an order from his parents to come to his house. There was no way he was going to let the baka know he was angry; he smiled widely.

"Is that all?"

Damn. Tezuka was eying him suspiciously, kneading the bridge of his nose.

"I couldn't sleep; otherwise I would have ignored him. Dreams. Oishi was probably lucky he was locked outside when I woke up. We were already on our way here before Kaa-san threatened me. She might be annoyed with Otou-san. I can't tell, but he was hiding outside."

One week. Seven nights until the moon would be full. Tezuka sat cradling his head, rubbing at a migraine. Fuji observed him for a moment. His false smile turned into a wry grin. He'd never been able to resist the furries when they were upset. They were just too cute. Reaching out one of his hands, he ran it through Tezuka's hair patting him on the head. Watched as Tezuka's body went stiff and he bit back a low growl. Adorable.

"Fuji…."

"Yes Tezuka?"

"Stop petting me."

"It's okay, I don't mind if you purr."

"I'm not a cat."

Fuji shut his eyes letting a teasing smile alight his face. Tezuka glared up at him beneath his glasses.

"So what do you think the two lovebirds are up to?"

Yes. Tezuka definitely rolled his eyes that time. Score one for the Vampire.

"Nothing you would do."

Fuji's eyes flashed open at the smirking Lycan. Oh, he was going to pay for that.

…

Oshitari sighed, adjusting his glasses. It had only been ten hours since he received the call from Inui-san. 'Ore-sama' was not pleased. Unfortunately, Oshitari understood why. The Atobe family hated hunters ever since they had left Europe in the Middle Ages and relocated in Japan because of the witch hunts there. Yet for some inane reason, Atobe was the one that had brought a hunter onto their team. He still hadn't figured that out after five years. Smirking, he remembered the drama it had caused among the rest of the council. Perhaps he did know why Atobe did it.

Snap.

Atobe clicked his phone shut, glowering at it. For the last three hours he'd been on the phone trying to contact the head council members. It was impossible to get in touch with them during the day; their secretaries were masters of the 'Please, Hold.' But that was what happened when someone tries to get a hold of fussy multi-millionaire corporate wizards. Even if one was the son of the strongest, most influential of those fussy multi-billion corporate wizards. That is until they discovered their stocks plunging by more than twenty percent the next morning. Oshitari had more than a slight inkling that Kabaji would be the one screening calls tomorrow, or possibly Jiroh. Jiroh was the more entertaining of the 'secretaries' because the wizard would fall into a false sense of security, before they realized three hours later they were getting nowhere.

"Remind me to call Otou-san and inform him what incompetent fools are sitting on the council Oshitari."

"Hai Atobe."

"Have my informants gotten back to you about that information Ore-sama requested?"

"They haven't found what you asked for yet, but they report hourly. It seems the trail for the Hunter goes cold with the death of the companion. No one has shown up to view the body or claim it as stated in the newspaper. So it seems the partner is smart enough not to visit. Identification cards are false, and no matches have been found for the DNA samples that were taken. Basically, she's a ghost."

Atobe stared frigidly at him, but Oshitari didn't take offense to it. The diva was a perfectionist and expected the same from everyone else.

"Tell them to keep searching, Ore-sama wants results. It seems if we want any more information than was given we'll have to send representatives to the meeting Seigaku called for. Where is Shishido?"

Oshitari took off his glasses moving to clean them only to be interrupted by Atobe's fingers snapping a cleaning spell. Sighing he gave up and looked at Atobe.

"Shishido decided he would go and start his own investigation because your investigators were obviously incompetent fools. Personally, I don't think he could stand the thought of his sweet Chotarou's slain body."

Atobe's jaw clenched tightly.

"Ore-sama will deal with that plebian later. In the meantime, Kabaji, Ore-sama and you shall be going to the meeting at Seigaku. If the plebian is behaving we'll take him too."

"Atobe, it was recommended we only take two representatives from each of the respective council schools."

Huffing, Atobe lounged in one of his luxurious chairs. Disdainful, he looked at Oshitari.

"Seigaku will have all of its representatives there. Ore-sama will not come underrepresented."

Oshitari rolled his eyes. Figures.

…

Ryoma checked the computer clock. 3:00 AM. Shoot. He was going to be late for the appointment with his contact. Damn. Quickly, he reached over grabbing the microfilm he'd finished, putting it away in the order he'd found it. Going back to the desk he slipped the unfinished microfilm into a waterproof container slipping it into his bag. There were twenty three unfinished rolls of microfilm, and he didn't want anything to happen to them before he finished them. Shutting off the computer the room went dark. Swiftly he opened the door to the room, locking it from the inside running up the steps to the main lobby where he had to skip and duck in several places to avoid setting off the alarm. Reaching the main lobby he jumped over the librarian's desk rushing to the alarm control on the wall. 47 seconds. Closing his eyes he pressed the numbers 5-7-3-6-9 into the pad disarming the alarm. Typing in 7-8-2-4-3 he set the alarm again, giving himself plenty of time to exit the building. He made sure to relock the picked doors when he was out.

The air was brisk, but the city was shining brightly in the dark night. Looking up, he noticed the moon was almost full. Another week until it filled the night sky. Setting a moderate pace he descended the stairs and crossed the street heading for inner Tokyo. He wasn't worried about being spotted since he was dressed in pure black clothes loose enough to make him look like a rule obeying kid who was attempting to rebel by staying out past his curfew. At ten, he'd left the library an hour before it closed going home to change clothes, before heading out to meet with another contact. At a quarter to midnight he'd gone back to the library, picking his way in, disarming the alarm long enough to get to the basement to read more microfilm. And proceeded to lose track of time. As long as he got to the place before 3:30, he wouldn't miss the contact.

Glancing around, he saw the streets were mostly devoid of people. As in any large city it was never completely empty no matter what time it was. The few people he did see were harmless, at least to him they were. With news of Hunters being out to anyone who could read the signs in the news, he didn't have to worry about being caught by a non-human. This was just as well, considering he was heading to the least desirable streets in the city. Ryoma wasn't stupid, he'd come armed. There was always the slight chance his contact wouldn't want to talk. And he needed the information.

Stiffening, Ryoma sensed something as he entered the red light district, but quickly he forced his posture to be fluid. Someone was near. In three minutes they came into view. A thin, average height male between 16 to 21 years of age stood there. He was wearing loose fitting clothes that resembled something gang members wore, his long hair tied back in a ponytail and a silver earring in his right ear. Upon seeing Ryoma he glared, snorting to make a point that he wasn't to be messed with. Ryoma kept in character refusing to stare at him directly, edging away slightly. The guy snorted again passing him. Allowing Ryoma to get a good look at the tattoo on his neck. A thin silver stiletto over a spider web. Interesting.

After the guy was out of sight, he allowed a slight smirk to show. He would have to ask around for information on the guy later. The image was burned in his photographic memory, so he was sure to remember what to search for. There was a great chance the guy attending a council school within the city. Ryoma would be the only one to recognize the other if they saw each other. Before leaving the house, he'd put on blue contacts and darkened his hair. Never hurt to be cautious. Turning another corner he spotted his contact leaving. Deciding not to make himself known right away he tailed the person, seeing where it might lead him. Gradually the sky was becoming lighter, and he had less than three hours before he had to be at morning practice. That gave him an hour to waste.

Revised: 2/26/12

All the reviews that said update soon made me laugh. I get the hint.

Yet another installment and more characters introduced. A few introspective moments, break-ins and puppy love. In the next couple of chapters even more characters will be seen. Events might be confusing at the moment but they'll be resolved in future chapters.

Thanks for Reading!

Please Review,

False Sourires