Mirror, Mirror
Summary: Fuji falls through a mirror one day and lands in a complete different world. Sometimes, while doing a favor for someone else, you realize that they're actually doing a favor for you.
Warnings: Shounen-ai
Pairings: Atobe x Fuji
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine.
-BASHES HEAD AGAINST KEYBOARD REPEATEDLY- I don't normally update this late, and I'm REALLY sorry about that! I've been so busy lately, and...GAH. I must remind myself next time! DDDD; I'm really sorry about not updating for a while! This is a nice chapter, and it's decently long, so I hope that makes up for it a bit! I'll definitely make it up to you guys in the chapters to come! I promise! In the meantime, please read, review, and enjoy!
Chapter 7: The Fight of Fire and Ice:
Fuji fingered Atobe's hair as the older boy was sleeping. He has such soft hair, Fuji thought, and smiled. It was a lot more natural than Fuji had thought it would feel. He was jealous.
It was currently somewhere around 5:30 and 6:00 in the morning, and the air outside was hazy and foggy, and there was no sun to be seen. It was almost like they were living in clouds. Fuji could see the faint outlines of the forest around them, and he could feel that the wind was blowing just from the draft that blew through the window every now and then. The mist was so dense that it almost felt like a very light rain when Fuji stuck his arm outside the window.
"Jealous of what?" a voice said, breaking his thoughts. Fuji looked down, surprised. Had he actually said that out loud? Atobe was looking up at him with one eye open, his hand resting under his head.
Fuji's hand dropped from Atobe's hair instantly. "Your hair," Fuji said, despite his antics.
Atobe sat up and stood up, making it all look like one motion, and moved closer to Fuji. The taller boy let his hand run down Fuji's hair, and a bit onto the back of his neck. "Your hair's not too bad, either," he said, smirking. "What brings you up this early in the morning, anyway?"
Fuji could feel his face turn a bit darker in shade, though he was normally calm and composed. "A-ah, I guess you're right," Fuji said, not thinking that he would stutter at the beginning like he had. "I just woke up early, I guess. Maybe the wind woke me up, but I couldn't go back to sleep."
"So you come to my room instead?" Atobe smirked, seeing that he had gotten the reaction that he wanted, and moved even closer so that their chests were touching. His right hand, which was still behind Fuji's neck, tilted the brunette's face up toward Atobe's gently. His left hand snaked around Fuji's waist and brought their bodies together, and Fuji's arms fell naturally around Atobe's shoulders. Without thinking, Atobe leaned down and kissed Fuji.
At first, the kiss was just a sweet, tender lip to lip kiss, but Fuji then felt something in his heart, and he pulled himself up to deepen the kiss, surprising Atobe. After the initial shock, Atobe pulled Fuji up, too. But then, he abruptly broke off the kiss. Atobe pushed Fuji to the wall, and stepped in front of him quickly, just as an arrow narrowly missed his head.
Fuji only let a gasp as it hit the wall that was at a ninety degrees angle to the wall he was leaning on right now. "A-Atobe," he said.
Atobe growled. "Stupid assassins. They're always after us." Atobe walked over to the wall and jerked the arrow out of it. With one fell swipe against the stone wall, the arrow was as sharp as it had come. "Are you alright?"
Fuji nodded. "Thanks to you."
Atobe inspected the arrow carefully, almost surprised that it wasn't laced in deadly poison or toxins. He poked the arrow through the hole in the wall again, and then found the poisons that he had been searching for. He grabbed a canteen that hung from the door and cleansed the hole in the wall thoroughly, but left the arrow still soaked in the toxins that had been on the inside of the wall. "I'll take care of this guy once and for all."
Fuji stepped up behind him. "Has he or she been bothering you for a while now?"
"It's probably a girl," Atobe said. "The shaft of the arrow is made of a lighter material. But yes, she has been bothering me for a couple days now. She never hits, though, obviously." Atobe turned and stepped over to the window, grabbing his bow from beside his bed in the process. He strung the bow quickly, and notched the arrow. As he pulled it back, a flame lit on the tip of the arrow. Fuji could see the flame well, yet there was something different about it. It was almost as if it wasn't giving off any heat at all.
"Won't that burn out when the air hits it at that strong of a force?" Fuji asked.
"Just wait and see," Atobe said, aiming so that the arrow would land in the forest near the castle somewhere. He finally let go, and the arrow whizzed through the air even faster than it had come. Fuji stared after the arrow.
"And the forest? It won't catch fire?" he asked.
Atobe shook his head. "That's called an 'energy flame'. The flame is made of energy, and when it hits something, then it will create a large explosion. It's mostly used on tips of arrows, javelins, kunai, etc. The longer distance it travels, the more intensity it gains, and the larger and more powerful the explosion will be. The explosion will only affect humans or anything resembling a human, and if created specially, it can also be 'set' to only affect humans with large amounts of energy. Meaning, no trees or animals in the forest will be affected. The flame will never burn out until the explosion is ended, or if the creator of the flame wishes it to be gone. Also, it doesn't always have to be a flame. The tip can be poisoned, ice, and all sorts of things. But since fire is my specialty, besides summoning, you know."
Atobe and Fuji both stared out the window for a while, seeing nothing. Finally, after a while, there was a loud boom and a deafening scream that pierced through the crisp morning air. Fuji could see the bright orange-red energy forming a hemisphere on the ground, and it was spreading quickly. It was almost as if the sun had just hit the ground, since there were flares whipping out from the ball of pure energy. Atobe and Fuji were forced to step back and shield their faces from the power of the air around the huge mass. The ball of energy came dangerously close to the window and castle, but faded into nothing as soon as Fuji thought that it would destroy all life inside the castle.
"That," Atobe said, "is the power of energy, or as it is more commonly called in this world, 'mana'. The way a mana explosion works is that it drains the mana out of whatever victim happens to be in its way, which makes the explosion a bit bigger. Mana exhaustion is the most painful and agonizing way to die, mixed with one of the next most painful ways to die, which is by poison. When the poison is mixed with the mana from the tipped arrow, the effects are mixed, too. The poison reaches wherever the mana explosion reaches, poisoning anything in its path, or anything that inhales the poison. But, like the mana, it only affects human resembling creatures."
"So if we would've been touched by that giant ball of mana…" Fuji started.
"We might have not been exhausted of our mana, since we're not very close to the center of the explosion, but we might've gotten poisoned, since the poison spreads evenly throughout."
Fuji looked at Atobe. "Next time, watch where you're firing. You almost got us killed!"
Atobe shrugged. "How was I supposed to know how much mana that girl had? I underestimated her. Were you blown back by the invisible effects outside of the explosion?"
Fuji nodded. "That was one forceful attack."
"That's strange," Atobe said. "I made it so that the explosion only affected those with a lot of mana, or only powerful creatures. A lot of people go hunting in this season because it's almost winter time, and I didn't want to hurt anyone."
Fuji smiled. "Then perhaps I'm just really powerful," he said jokingly. But inside, both of them wondered if Fuji really was the reincarnation of the most powerful magician ever to exist.
-------------------------------
"And then you do the wrist flick," Yukimura said quietly, flicking his wrist as he had said to do. The water in the puddle on the ground was lifted. He trailed his hand around himself, and the water seemed to follow his hand as if it were being pulled by a string. Then, with another silent flick of the wrist, the water was cast off, and it hit Atobe square in the back.
Atobe twitched, but didn't show any signs of movement other than that because he was probably used to it by now. After all, they had been using him and Ryoma as targets for a while now, since they were right there and had their backs turned. Fuji laughed quietly. "You try it now," Yukimura said, and held Fuji's hand. He directed it exactly how his own hand had been moving, and flicked Fuji's wrist also, but this time, right at Ryoma's back. It splashed onto an already drenched Ryoma.
Ryoma turned around with an extremely agitated look on his face. "That's it!" he said, leaping up, flying over to Fuji, and pinning him to the ground. "You are not using me as a practice target anymore!"
Fuji was laughing hysterically. "It wasn't me!" he said jokingly, kicking Ryoma off. After all, it didn't matter how much magic Ryoma had, Fuji was still older and stronger.
Yukimura suddenly clapped his hands together. Both Fuji and Ryoma looked at him with confused expressions. "This is perfect!" he said delightedly. "This gives Ryoma an opportunity to practice his strength, and Fuji an opportunity to practice his magic and fighting skills!"
Fuji pointed at Ryoma. "You want me to fight him?" he said, face almost paling. "I can't fight him!"
"Aww, Fuji, it won't be so bad," Atobe said, cajoling Fuji. "If you feel like you can't fight anymore, then admit defeat! It's simple. Or if someone else decides that you're too hurt or exhausted to continue."
Ryoma smirked. "Yeah. If you want to get it over with, then admit defeat."
Fuji glared at Ryoma darkly. "Not to the likes of you!"
Yukimura smiled. "Perfect! They're both competitive and riled up! This'll be great! You two ready?"
Fuji sighed. "Ready as I'll ever be." Ryoma just nodded.
"Then fight!"
Ryoma, as expected, was the one to act first, literally flying at the speed of light toward Fuji with nothing but a short dagger shaped as an ice crystal that he always kept with him. It was an aquamarine color, as Fuji noticed before he unsheathed his own dagger, and blocked Ryoma's attack. Fuji's dagger, on the other hand, was longer and red. It was shaped like flames coming out of a hilt, more for decorative than tactical purposes. But it was obvious that if the dagger got thrust into someone, it would hurt to pull it out.
Ryoma fell back, still physically weak, but he landed on his feet smoothly, not wasting any time in getting off of the ground once more. He kept trying to hit Fuji, clearly trying to mortally wound, if not kill the older boy. Fuji could tell that the youngest prince was not holding back at all, and that was the way he liked it, even if he were to get wounded. Fuji blocked and parried every attack efficiently, turning left and right to meet Ryoma's face, and sometimes even taking a moment to smile at him, only aggravating the younger boy even more.
What Ryoma was not noticing, though, was that Fuji's dagger, much like its appearance, was laced with burning fire, though it couldn't be seen. Every time Ryoma's dagger hit it, there would be a significant chip on the surface of Ryoma's dagger, exactly as Fuji had intended it. Ryoma finally took a moment to glance at his dagger, noticing the chips and scrapes, and glaring at Fuji. Fuji merely smiled, and elbowed Ryoma in the ribs. He then delivered a rough kick in the same spot, sending Ryoma flying.
Fuji hadn't expected Ryoma to recover so quickly from that hit, though, and hadn't expected to be face to face with the younger boy in an instant. He had pretty much forgotten that Ryoma could still fly. Ryoma then returned the favor to Fuji, elbowing him, and then kicking him. Somewhere in the midst of the blows, Ryoma had sliced Fuji's left cheek, and it was bleeding profusely. Just as Fuji thought he couldn't take anymore and was about to surrender, he had the breath knocked out of him by one final blow by Ryoma and was sent crashing into the wall.
His eyes were closed, and he could hear Ryoma panting. He could also hear Yukimura stepping up to Ryoma, saying, "That's enough." He could almost see Ryoma glaring at him intently. Keeping his eyes closed and hair over his face, Fuji smirked. He felt a surge of energy, or mana, rushing into him from an unknown source, and he didn't even feel his wounds. He could feel the mana almost overflowing, and somehow, he had to use it up.
Fuji stood up on the spot, stepping over to Ryoma. "No," he said cryptically. "It's not enough." Ryoma looked shocked to see Fuji there, standing, and not feeling a thing. Yukimura was looking at Fuji strangely, too, and Atobe was watching from a distance. The other princes who were in the room had also focused their attention onto the fight. When Fuji opened his eyes, everyone could clearly see that there was something not normal about them. Though they were normally blue, it seemed even more intense now than usual. It was almost as if they were glowing, or illuminated, and they didn't have that trademark playfulness in them. Yukimura stepped back, watching Fuji eyes intently. He had an unreadable expression on his face, as if he felt surprised, nostalgic, and mournful at the same time. Yet, he looked dazed.
Meanwhile, Fuji grabbed Ryoma by the throat with no effort at all. Not only his eyes, but his whole body seemed to be surrounded by an abnormal amount of mana now. Ryoma shouted out in surprise while trying to free himself from Fuji's mana-secured grip. Fuji now had both hands around Ryoma's throat. He released his clasped fingers slowly, but Ryoma still was not out of Fuji's grip. The only explanation would be that Fuji's mana was holding the grip together. But the last time any of the princes checked, Fuji was incapable of such amounts of mana.
Then, all at once, a strong gust of mana came from Fuji's hands, knocking Ryoma back forcefully from Fuji's hands to the wall and rendering him unconscious. Fuji smiled at Ryoma once more with his glowing aqua eyes, closed them gently, and fainted, only to be caught by Atobe, who had been stepping closer with each passing second. He had seen it coming.
-------------------------------
Atobe was sitting in his room, enjoying the quiet night and gentle breeze coming from the window. He was sitting at a desk, with his feet on a plush scarlet rug draped over the wooden floorboards and a lantern resting securely on the desk. He had his head in his hands, thinking about the events of that afternoon. Fuji was still passed out, and so was Ryoma, both with wounds that would take some time to recover. He knew it was going to be a bad idea for them to fight each other, but Yukimura had thought the opposite, apparently. Both of them were extremely competitive, especially with each other, and neither would give up until one was dead or unconscious, and that was exactly what had happened.
But what had happened to Fuji in the end? After Ryoma had beat him up bad and cut his cheek, Atobe was sure Fuji would be much too exhausted to continue, and be tired from the loss of blood, too. But as soon as he stood up, Atobe had a gut feeling that it would turn out to be just the opposite. What was in Fuji's eyes? Atobe knew they were a stunning blue, but not that blue. And mana had pretty much been seeping out of him. Atobe hadn't seen that much mana in one place since…the princes had accidentally toyed with the orb so many years ago. It was almost the same feeling.
Just then, there was a soft knock at Atobe's door. It was opened, and Atobe knew it would be Yukimura. And it was. "Can I speak with you for a moment?" Yukimura asked. Atobe shrugged.
"Sure," he said.
Yukimura sat down on the bed, still fully dressed, cloak and all. Atobe figured that Yukimura hadn't had time to change out of the clothes he had been wearing. He had been the one taking care of the injured and wounded, making sure the two boys were changed into clean clothes and tucked into their beds. Even though he had a commanding nature, he was still like a mother figure to the princes.
"I figured you might understand this situation the best," Yukimura said. Atobe knew that whenever Yukimura said something like that, it wouldn't be good news.
"What is it?" he asked, thought regretting it. He didn't want to hear the answer, and Yukimura could sense it.
"I'm sorry for burdening you," he said. "If you don't want to hear it, then I could just leave."
Atobe shook his head. "You already told me something was bothering you, and I want to know what it is now."
"Very well then," Yukimura said, sighing. "Since the…incident this afternoon, I've been having these strange flashbacks, but none of them were of things I remember doing. They were flashbacks of two young boys playing with each other. One had hair tied back in a ponytail, and the other I couldn't see so clearly. I couldn't see their faces well, but I knew that they were both very happy. Both of them seem very familiar, and I think the one that I can't see well might be me, but I don't remember living a life with any other person except for all the princes here, and I would've been able to recognize them right away.
"That was the first flashback. In the second one, I saw the same thing, but my field of vision was larger that time. Off to the side, I saw two parents, a mother and a father, watching the children and smiling. The father reminds me of my father, but I've never seen the mother before. And I can't figure out who they are or where they're from."
Atobe thought for a moment before turning to Yukimura again. "Was there something strange about any of the people you saw in your flashbacks? Something abnormal? Were they of a different race or species?"
Yukimura shook his head. "They were all humans. But I know all the people that I've came in contact with, and not one looked like that. I couldn't recognize him at all." Yukimura was referring to the boy with his hair in a ponytail, obviously.
Atobe shook his head, too. "I can't think of anything. Maybe you just shouldn't worry about it."
Yukimura sighed. "Maybe you're right. Perhaps I'm just hallucinating. Good night, and I'm sorry for bothering you." He stood up and walked out of the room wordlessly. But both princes knew that they couldn't just ignore something so blatantly obvious.
What's Yukimura having flashbacks about??? Tune in next time (or the time after that, or some time in the future) to figure it out! It's another cliffie, I'm sorry, everyone, but I hope I can remember to update on time this time! I'm really sorry! I love you all! And be sure to review before you fave/alert. Thanks a ton!
