Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Lady Monozuki: I loved writing this chapter. There are so many elements and deep emotions that really just made me shiver as I wrote them. I hope you'll enjoy it and feel the intensity as you read. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Please enjoy!

Chapter Seven: Blurred

Ryoma breathed heavily as he lay on the wet sidewalk. He tried to calm himself down, trying not to replay the moment in his mind. If he did, then he would go back to his past—the one place that he didn't want to return. He felt a weight disappear from one half of his body. Barely, he registered that Oshitari had moved.

"Are you okay, Echizen?" the man asked.

His side hurt slightly, but it didn't feel like anything serious. He looked over to his left arm, the one that Oshitari had pulled. The sleeve was pushed upward, revealing his scars. He quickly moved to pull down his self-harm. His eyes wandered toward Oshitari, who was examining himself for injuries. Ryoma sat up slowly.

Feeling his side, he confirmed that there was only bruising, nothing was bleeding. He stood, taking in the surroundings. Many people were staring at him, silently asking what the hell he had been thinking walking into the street like that. He lowered his head, trying to block them all out. He wanted to vanish.

Oshitari cleared his throat, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Oshitari repeated.

"Just some bruising," he muttered. "I'll be fine."

"That's good." There was an odd air of relief from Oshitari, one that he couldn't identify fully. Then he remembered.

"I've already been to the hospital once today. I don't want to make a second trip."

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Don't apologize. I've just had incredible timing today. First with Tezuka and now you," the man said with an edge of bitterness. "Though I like the way this one turned out better."

He frowned. "Tezuka?"

"Shit," Oshitari muttered. "I probably shouldn't have said anything about that."

"What happened to Tezuka?" he asked.

Ryoma waited impatiently as Oshitari ignored his question.

"I'll tell you, but not here. Do you want to come to my place? It's only a block and a half from here."

He hesitated. He had never been alone with anyone outside of his exes in a long time. "Fine."

He followed the blue-haired man.

-Stand-

Gen didn't know how long he had been holding on to Yukimura. However, in his mind, all he could think about was Syuusuke. How he had come so close to one of his exes, only to be rejected in the end. Every time that he thought of the almost kiss, he felt himself losing control of all of his emotions. All of his restraint was quickly slipping. Every desire, passion, and need rushed at him in his weakness.

He held on to Yukimura tighter, melding their bodies together, destroying every emotional barrier between them. The rawness and intensity of his emotions burned between them, sending searing sensations throughout his entire body. It was painful and pure pleasure all at once. Gen lifted his head to meet the gentle face of Yuki—no, Fuji. He brushed strands of hair out of the others face before letting his fingers trace the fingers of his ex.

To be in the embrace of one of the people he loved was why he lived. His fingers traced the gentle lips. He leaned in, closing the gap between him and his ex. The heat in his body intensified at the connection. They broke apart, breathing heavily. Gen eliminated the distance between them once more.

-Stand-

Ryoma entered Oshitari's living room. The room was inviting and warm. He didn't sit though, not wanting to ruin the others' furniture. He knew that he was soaking wet, and being outside of the rain made it painfully clear.

The blue-haired man had walked off, leaving him alone for the moment. He took in the surroundings, impressed with the tasteful decoration. Though it felt surprisingly empty for such a large space. Oshitari returned with tea and a towel. He accepted the towel offered to him and began to dry his hair.

"I really don't care if you sit on the furniture. None of it's new anyway. My parents gave it to me when I moved out and I've been looking for an excuse to replace it," Oshitari commented.

Ryoma nodded and sat down, noticing that Oshitari had done the same. He accepted the warm tea given to him out of courtesy, even though he didn't want the beverage. He stared at his drink, not sure how to push the conversation forward.

"I'll make you a deal, Echizen." He looked up at the older man. "I'll tell you what happened to Tezuka and you tell me why you walked in front of that car."

He didn't want to tell anyone though. There was so much that the other man didn't know, that he didn't want the other man to know. But he didn't have much of a choice.

"Okay," he whispered.

"I ran into Tezuka by accident too, though a rather unfortunate one. I was coming home from a business meeting when I noticed a local gang walking by. I knew their history and avoided them. However, I noticed a trail of blood and followed it. That's how I found Tezuka. He wasn't conscious, and barely breathing, but he was alive at least."

"How is he?" Ryoma asked in a strained voice. He didn't know how to feel about the news. He wanted to feel sad that this had happened, but all he could think about was what the other had done to Syuusuke. There was a small part of him that felt that Tezuka deserved this to happen. He hated himself for it.

"The doctors operated on him for hours. They're keeping him under observation still, but it seems like he'll make it through."

He nodded and took a sip of his tea, ignoring the bitter taste it left in his mouth. He knew that it was his turn to speak, but he didn't want to. Just the idea of it made him feel ill. His head spin with so many emotions and feelings that he couldn't keep them straight. All that he could distinguish was fear. Fear of what Oshitari would think of him if he knew the truth. They had never been close. He hardly knew the other man, but he couldn't back out of his word.

He tried to breathe, but couldn't. Something was cutting off his air supply and all he could feel were hands around his throat, trying to choke the life out of him. Ryoma tugged at the hands, struggling against their powerful grip. Every second that they held him, he could feel his strength failing him. He tried to push away, everything that he could do in order to escape, but there was no way to get out of it.

His world went black.

-Stand-

Syuusuke was brought out of his dark world by the loud vibrations of his phone that was on top of the wooden coffee table. He stood up and looked at the number. Just one sight of the name—Ryoma—was enough to make his heart clench tighter. He answered the phone.

"Ryoma? Are you all right?"

"This is Oshitari speaking," a voice said on the other end. "I found Echizen's phone in his pocket and remembered that Atobe said he was staying with you."

Syuusuke frowned. "Is he okay?"

"I honestly don't know. He went through a fit of something and then passed out. Doesn't help that he's running a fever, probably from staying in wet clothes."

Syuusuke let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. "I'm sorry. I'll come get him. Where are you currently at?"

-Stand-

Yukimura took in deep breathes after such the intense moment between him and Gen. His mind relived every minute of their heated, passionate, session that had robbed him of all thought and rationality. He finally caught his breath and looked over at the muscular man lying next to him, who had fallen asleep after they had achieved pure bliss. He smiled.

The moment had been everything that he had dreamt it would be and more. To share with Gen such an intimate moment had made all of the years of waiting and being ignored worth it. He turned his body and brought himself closer to the other man. He sighed in content. This is how he wanted every day to be like. This is how he wanted every special moment to feel.

The other stirred from their sleep. He felt his heart beat faster as the other turned toward him. Dark eyes met his and he beamed.

"Sleep well?" he asked before pressing a kiss to Gen's forehead.

The other sat up, eyes raking over the discarded clothing and the items knocked over before finally looking over at him and his naked body.

"Oh god," Gen breathed out.

He felt his heart clench at those words.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We didn't, did we?"

He frowned. "We did," he confirmed.

Gen brought his hands to his face, covering it and rocking himself slightly—something he always did when he was deep in thought.

"Gen," he whispered. "What's wrong?"

Yukimura reached out to touch the other man. His hand was slapped away. He felt his heart drop.

"I'm sorry," Gen whispered. "I shouldn't have—"

"I wanted it to happen," he insisted.

"You don't get it," Gen said in an even quieter voice. His best friend had stop rocking and was looking at him. "In my head, I thought you were Syuusuke."

His heart broke.

To be continued…