Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis

Chapter 7:

Tezuka walked the streets with only one goal in his mind: 'Get Aya to stop this ridiculous plan of hers. I will never belong to her.' So he walked, trying to get to the house whose address he just found out earlier. He was anxious and furious at the same time. 'How could she send a man to do that to Syuusuke? Is she that desperate?' All this time, he thinks that this was all Aya's fault. He believed that this is all Aya's doing. The man he saw harassing his Syuusuke, was a man hired by Aya. Aya is the mastermind of this all. However, his thoughts were wrong. No matter how he looked at it though, it all falls to Aya. That is because he didn't know anything of what happened in the past.

In the dark streets, Tezuka neared his destination. At the end of the block he was currently standing at, he could see the house that bore the address of the girl he was targeting.

He started walking yet again, this time though, he saw someone: A girl walking towards the same house, 'Aya,' so he walked even faster. He was going to talk to her today, not tomorrow, but today.

As he grew closer, Aya didn't even notice him one bit as she was lost in her own thoughts. She was already in front of her house, but before she could even set foot on their front lawn, somebody grabbed her arm and turned her to her side.

"What the-" she got annoyed, but that annoyance suddenly turned into shock. Her eyes widened and her mouth stayed open. Her mind became a mess as she wasn't able to think straight and no words were being uttered. The one who grabbed her was no other than Tezuka.

Aya just stared into his sharp eyes and felt as if he was going to kill her any second now. Emotion could actually be seen in Tezuka's face; anger. Sure, his normal, emotionless face could make people think that he is annoyed or whatnot, but this was definitely different.

"Why did you do that?" Tezuka asked, his furiousness getting worse with each passing minute. He kept his hold on Aya's arm and his eyes on hers. He didn't care about the people around him at that time; he just wanted this whole mess over with.

"What do you mean?" Aya asked back after a moment of silence. Her heart was beating as fast as it could be.

"You hired a man to hurt Syuusuke." Finally, Tezuka let go of Aya's arm, but his eyes kept glaring daggers. "You're too desperate."

"What do you mean?" Along with fright, confusion came to Aya. If this was about Fuji, she admits that she has done something wrong, but she really had no idea of what Tezuka was talking about. All she knows is that she got in this because of her friend, and her friend got in this because of his friend. After all, she wasn't given enough information.

As for that line, 'you're too desperate,' it hit her hard. She knows that she was too desperate to listen to her friend, but she was about to end this all. She didn't want any part in this mess any longer, but it seems as if she's too late.

Tezuka however didn't reply to her question, 'don't play dumb with me.' He just stood there, boring holes unto Aya as he waited for an answer.

Realizing that Tezuka wouldn't reply, Aya sighed and spoke. "Could we talk about this inside?" She lowered her eyes as the shame started to creep up on her. "I have a lot of explaining to do. I'm also alone at the moment, so there's no need to worry." She turned and headed towards the door. Aya kept her head down the whole time and didn't look back as she addressed to Tezuka once again. "I'm going to tell you the truth. If you don't want to come and listen because you don't trust me, then leave me already. If you want to listen to my story, please follow." She kept walking until she reached the door, stopping in front of it. She held her hand out to the doorknob ever so slowly as she listened to whether or not Tezuka would follow her because of the eerie silence between them. Before she was able to touch the said doorknob though, she heard footsteps going towards her. 'He's actually going to listen to my story? I better apologize' she thought as she opened the door. She walked in and let Tezuka enter too. When they were both inside the house, she brought Tezuka to the living room to talk; and they did.

After about twenty minutes, Tezuka was furious. "So, this is all the idea of Hiro's friend?"

"Yes." Aya bowed her head.

"And you have no idea who that friend of his is?"

"No." That answer was all that Tezuka needed after their talk.

"I better get going now." He stood up and headed towards the door. "Goodbye." He said as he didn't dare to look back as he kept walking. 'I don't know if I should trust her or not,' he thought, 'I'm going to talk to Hiro tomorrow.'

--Eiji's place-his bedroom—

Momo, Fuji and Eiji were just staring at nothing in silence. Fuji was on the floor lying against the wall while Eiji was seated on a chair and Momo was standing up, arms crossed in front of his shoulders.

The three stayed like that for about ten minutes until Fuji, the one the two were worried about, spoke.

"You guys," he said as he kept his eyes on the floor, "are probably wondering what that was about."

"Uhm," Eiji said as he made sure to be careful with his words, "Yah, but you don't need to tell us if you don't want to."

"Thank you, Eiji," Fuji said so lifelessly, 'you don't need to be so nice to me'

Getting a bit irritated about not knowing how and why that scene happened, Momo spoke up, "But at least tell us who that guy is, Fuji-senpai."

Being told that, Fuji's face paled as he slowly faced his Momo. Eiji on the other hand looked at Momo with a face telling him to be quiet. Momo however didn't feel any pressure whatsoever. If they want this to stop, they must know the whole story.

After recovering from the shock, Fuji answered in a low voice as he turned to look down. "He is Shiro, an old friend. From Chiba, we transferred to this place before moving here in Tokyo. We stayed there for about five months before moving. That was before I entered Junior High here in Seigaku." Fuji paused and the other two in the room stayed quiet as they waited for Fuji to continue. "I met him there and we went steady." Fuji paused yet again and the others were stunned.

'What?!' The two wanted to scream out loud but didn't as they kept their mouths clamp together.

"Also, he was already a third year junior high student that time while I haven't even entered it."

'?'

Flashback-3 years ago

Fuji Syuusuke was playing on the swings. They just moved in a month ago and he was still adjusting with this new environment. He was alone as he wanted to think in solitude. Before he knew it though, a stranger approached him, a guy who was about 3 or 4 years older.

"Hey there," they guy said as a smile was plastered on his face. "Is this seat taken?" he pointed towards the vacant seat next to Fuji.

"No," Fuji answered as he just stared into the guy, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Being told that he was alone, the guy sat himself next to Fuji. "I've just seen you lately, are you new?"

"Yah," Fuji didn't dare to look at him.

"I'm Shiro," the guy said as he extended his hand to Fuji, "and you are?"

Not wanting to be rude, Fuji shook the hand reached out to him, smiled, and answered, "Fuji Syuusuke."

End of Flashback

"But I found out that he was playing with me. It turns out that he made a bet with his friend. I found out about it when I caught him one day. He was with his friend, telling about how he played with me."

Flashback

'I can't wait to see Shiro today!' A small Fuji thought as he was walking down the streets, heading towards the park. Reaching his destination, he saws Shiro on the bench with a friend of his. Feeling playful, Fuji, having the intention of surprising Shiro, hid behind the tree behind them. However, right before he was about to jump, he heard his name.

"Syuusuke?" Shiro questioned.

"Yah, how are you doing with him?" the other guy on the bench questioned back.

Shiro smirked at that question, "what do you think? Are you underestimating me or something? We're together already and much more, you need not ask."

His friend laughed. "Really? Prove it."

"I'll prove it to you when I see him"

"How?" the friend asked mischievously.

"You'll see." Shiro smirked yet again.

"Okay, okay. You'll get your money after you prove it."

"Better get ready with it."

"Still, you were able to get that innocent little kid into your hands? I can't believe you, dude!"

Fuji just sat behind the tree, his whole body frozen as he listened to their conversation.

"I told you, don't underestimate me. Also, that's what made it more fun, he's too innocent."

"I also saw you going inside their house once."

"He introduced me to his family, but he didn't tell about us. Good thing though, his father could've killed me."

"I didn't think that you'd actually go on with this. I thought you'd back out and feel guilty about this."

"You should be the guilty one for coming up with this. Anyways, it's fun to play around with that kid. He's nothing to me. I just treat me like a mere plaything."

That statement was the last straw as Fuji felt his whole world coming to a stop. Having no more strength to listen to the rest of the conversation, Fuji got on his knees, wanting to go home. He stood up and walked silently. However, he just couldn't control his anxiety and slowly, he ran. Bad thing though, he tripped when he was still near the two men whose conversation he was listening to just now. The two, hearing the noise, looked back and met the tree.

"What was that?" Shiro asked.

"I don't know," his friend answered as he stood up, "but I feel suspicious."

Scared of being heard, Fuji stayed on the ground for a short time before standing up, quietly.

Shiro's friend stepped to his side wanting to know what or who made that noise. He was surprised to find Fuji standing up, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Shiro," he exclaimed, "it's your Syuusuke kid!"

"What?" Shiro exclaimed as he suddenly stood up, panic rising within him. He walked to stand beside his friend, looking at the direction where his eyes were directed. There, he saw little Fuji Syuusuke.

Not a second later, Fuji ran, leaving the two dumbfounded at where they stand.

End of Flashback

"But what he did after I found was the worst," Fuji said as he paused yet again, this time being longer. "I'm sorry but, I don't know if I could tell it just yet." He looked at them.

Eiji spoke, not wanting to pressure his best friend any longer. "You don't need to tell us the whole story. Really, it's fine with us."

Momo, feeling guilty for asking Fuji -but at the same time a bit satisfied for at least getting a bit information, apologized, "I'm sorry for asking, Fuji-senpai.

With that apology, Fuji stood up and put on the smile that is always displayed on his face. From being so lifeless, his façade changed into his normal one. However, the other two in the room knew that it was just fake and it was just forced upon his face. "I'm okay, Momo," he said "I better get going now, sorry to bother you."

Before he could even turn around, Eiji spoke. "It's okay for you to stay here if you're not feeling fine. I already told Yumiko that you'll be staying the night here."

"Did you tell her why?" Fuji asked as his expression didn't change.

"No."

"Then I'll tell her that we finished our homework early." Fuji turned and headed towards the door. "See you at school," his smile staying on his face.

Before Eiji and Momo could say another word, the door closed.

"What do you think we should do, Eiji-senpai?" Momo asked.

"Nyah, I don't know, but I think that Tezuka should know about this." Eiji said as he kept his eyes on the door.

"But," Momo felt nervous at the thought, "who's going to tell him?"

Eiji froze at the thought. Getting Tezuka angry is never an option for him or anyone else. Sure, Tezuka might be thankful for them telling him this piece of information, but who knows how he'll react when told that. "I'll call Oishi."

"Good idea."

Eiji grabbed his phone from his pocket as he dialed Oishi's number.

As they contacted him, Fuji was walking in the streets outside, heading towards his house.

'How could he,' Fuji's thought's were occupied as he walked, his expression plastered on his face. 'I've been living quietly all these past years. I thought that he was finally out of my life, but no.' Fuji wanted him gone by any means necessary. 'First, he got my email ad, then my cellphone number. He even called me when Kunimitsu and I got together. And now, he knows where I study. Where does he even get this information? I know that I can't face him and that I lose myself in front of him, but I'll try to be strong.' He felt fright rise in him yet again as he remembered certain memories. 'I can't get scared anymore. The next time I see him, I'll make that point clear to him. I have to be strong,' he didn't want to hurt or to let anyone else feel it, 'for Kunimitsu. I can't be weak.'

His mind was occupied with those thoughts as he neared his house.

'I can't let this go on.'

Before he knew it, he was in front of his house, the time being eight thirty in the evening.

I'm going to use Syuusuke here, k?

In the Fuji household, everyone was busy doing their own things when entered the house. Yumiko, being at the living room, heard this and went to see who it was. There she saw her brother, Syuusuke.

"Syuusuke, I thought that you'd be staying at Eiji's for the night." Yumiko said as she looked at her brother who was slowly closing the door.

"We finished early," he turned to look at his sister. The smile that he put on while he was at Eiji's was still there on his face. "That's why I decided to come home." 'I wouldn't want to trouble Eiji and Momo with my problems any longer.'

"Have you eaten yet?" Yumiko asked.

"Yes, sis," 'actually no, but I don't feel like it' "I'll go to my room now." Syuusuke replied as he started to walk towards his room. "I'm tired," 'very tired.'

So he walked, but stopped when Yumiko addressed him when he reached the stairs. "Syuusuke, wait."

"Yes, sis," he turned to look at his sister.

"Father decided to surprise us." Yumiko said as her smile stayed on her face.

"What do you mean?" Syuusuke asked, his smile never leaving his face. His expression was the same as always, it showed happiness and contentment. However, his heart was beating fast and he was a wreck inside, especially after being told of this 'surprise.' 'Please, he can't come home yet.'

"He's coming home tomorrow."

TBC

Okay, so… the flashbacks are just part one of Fuji's past here in this story. And don't worry, none of them are going to stay weak throughout the whole story.