To Return
Summary: Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.
Warnings: Shounen-ai
Pairings: Yukimura x Fuji
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine.
This is only two weeks from the last chapter. Kind of skips around, because, again, I only write about the important things. And this thing is quiet important. xD;; Normally I love to write long author's notes, but this time, I don't know if I have anything to say. xD;; I'm doing pretty well with my other story that I've been telling you guys about. Now I know it's one I'm going to finish. I just stumbled over a couple days of writer's block, but now I'm back in the game. I can't wait until I finish it! Remember guys, it's RyoFuji and TezuFuji! Excited now? xD;;
Chapter 9:
Fuji Syusuke stood at the school gates, getting ready to walk home. Snow was again falling around him, piling up slowly but surely at his feet. Fuji had remembered to bring a heavier jacket today, and he pulled up the hood on his jacket, covering his almost freezing ears. Yukimura walked up to him.
"Hey," Fuji said. "How are you feeling?"
Yukimura sighed. "How many times have I told you? I'm fine."
Fuji nodded. "That's good to hear." The date was November 21, 2006. Two more days until the fourth Thursday in November, the day that Yukimura had collapsed. Fuji was glad that in his past life, he had asked Marui the exact time and day that the blue-haired boy had collapsed, so now, he could keep track of him.
Fuji had waited out almost two weeks of suspense, and Yukimura was showing no signs of GBS. But he learned that GBS was normally diagnosed two weeks after the first symptoms occurred, so he was waiting out the two weeks. He didn't plan to tell Yukimura the time and day; instead, he was going to tell him the day after, whether he collapsed or not.
Yukimura and Fuji started walking home through the snow. Fuji knew that Yukimura was one of those people that, like Fuji, sometimes cared for other people more than himself. Fuji knew that Yukimura could very well be lying, just to get Fuji off his back, or to stop worrying him. But as he looked at him, he looked fine. But the brunette didn't want to take chances. He knew the one person that Yukimura told everything to, and decided to ask her the next day after school the very same question.
Despite the strange appearance, Yukimura trusted her. Despite the headphones constantly draped around the neck and the long, old fashioned flowing dress rippling around the ankles, Yukimura trusted her. Despite the slightly un-kept black wavy hair sticking to her neck and constrained because of the headphones, Yukimura trusted her. And despite the strange patterned, colorful spaghetti straps she always wore, Yukimura trusted her. Yukimura trusted his sister, Naruko. And Fuji Syusuke knew this more than anyone.
He decided to drop Naruko a visit the next day, when he knew that Yukimura would be out for his piano class, Wednesdays at 5:15PM (1). Fuji knocked on the door, and in almost less than a second, it was opened by none other than the one Fuji had been pursuing.
"Fuji? What are you doing here?" Naruko asked.
"I just wanted to ask you something," he replied. "How is Seiichi doing?"
"What are you asking that?" she said in an almost annoyed voice, matching her personality. Fuji inwardly smirked. On guard and always alert, just like her brother.
"Just wondering."
She sighed. "He recovered from that sore throat almost two weeks ago. He should be perfectly fine. Why are you asking me and not him?"
Fuji smiled. The exact reply that he had predicted. "Seiichi's one of those people that, sometimes, cares about others more than himself. I figured that, since you were his sister and you are with him whenever I'm not, he would tell everything to you and he trusts you the most. Sometimes, he lies to get others to stop worrying about him, you know?"
Naruko looked at him with still a frown on her face. "Don't you do that, too?" she asked.
Fuji's eyes snapped open. He had not anticipated that reply from her. But inwardly, his smirk grew even wider as he thought of a counter that would surely touch a nerve. "Saa…I guess I do sometimes. But," he smiled, "how would you know that? I'm sure I never do it to Seiichi, and you're not around me enough to know."
Her expression looked shocked and slightly horrified at the same time. "That would be…" she started and trailed off.
"That would be…?"
"I'm friends with your sister," she said finally.
Fuji nodded. "I understand that. Though," he remarked, "it is strange, since she's 22, almost 23, and you're barely 15 years old. Though I guess I could understand how you two could get along, I guess."
She nodded, as if assuming that if he figured it out himself; he would let the subject go. But Fuji was not about to do that. He smirked even wider inside, if that was possible.
Fuji looked at Naruko for a moment. "Now that I take a closer look at you," he said, "you look just like my older sister's best friend." He knew that they were the same person, but he also knew that she obviously didn't want him to know, nor did she know that he knew.
She blinked and the same expression that she had been wearing earlier appeared on her face momentarily, until Fuji spoke again.
"I must be just imagining things," he said. Enough talking for today, he thought. He was beginning to get cold, anyway, and Fuji needed to get home before Yukimura got back. And he knew that under no circumstances would Naruko let him into the house without a reason.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Fuji smiled. It didn't matter if he was arguing with a team member or True Light, the goddess of time travel; he could play anyone with words. It was almost torture debating with Fuji Syusuke. And that was just the way he intended it to be. "Thanks for the information. I'm glad to hear that Seiichi's really doing well," Fuji said. He waved to Naruko and turned around to leave. Then, he saw Yukimura walking up the path.
"Syusuke?" Yukimura said, eyeing him. "What are you doing here?"
Fuji smiled. "Taking care of unfinished business," he replied vaguely and walked away before the taller boy could question anymore.
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Naruko stepped aside to let her younger brother into the house absently. She didn't even know what to think at that moment. What had Fuji Syusuke just said? She knew he was perceptive, but not that perceptive. Was he? Did he know about her being True Light? And Sayaka and Tamao?
How would he know? She hadn't let anything out. Had she? Now, instead of questioning Fuji's abilities, she was questioning her own. This had been the first time she had tried to be three True Lights in one dimension, and she thought that she had been doing quite well. But was she really up to the challenge? Did she miss something that she had let slip up? Or worse, did Yumiko tell them?
She decided to give the oldest Fuji sibling a call right away. She couldn't do it from Naruko's number, though, or else Fuji Syusuke might get suspicious of her. She let Naruko close the door to her room and take a nap, while True Light switched consciousnesses over to Tamao. She dialed Yumiko's cell phone number. How could Syusuke track that? She didn't want to take any chances.
"Hello?" Yumiko's voice said over the line.
"Yumiko, this is Tamao."
"Oh, hello. How are you? And how is your younger brother doing?" she asked.
Tamao slapped herself in the forehead in frustration. First of all, if Yumiko had said that and Syusuke had been listening, he would've been very apprehensive. Second of all, why was she asking?! Seiichi had recovered from his sore throat almost two weeks ago! Had Fuji Syusuke planned something? Tamao shook her head. She had to keep it in the game, and she couldn't start questioning herself again, or else she might let something slip.
"I'm fine," Tamao answered. "Seiichi's fine. Are you in a secure area?"
"Yeah," Yumiko said. "I'm in my room, why?"
Tamao breathed a sigh of relief. Good, she thought. At least she didn't have to worry about the younger sibling over hearing their conversation, if he didn't already know about it. She had to stop thinking like this. "We have talk about something. In a True Light to Returner way."
"Okay," Yumiko answered. "What is it that you have to ask?"
"Did you tell Seiichi and Syusuke about me?" she said. "More importantly, did you tell them about Naruko?"
"No," Yumiko answered firmly. "I didn't."
Tamao considered her friend's tone of voice and reaction speed for a moment. They were both normal. No rises in the pitch of her voice, and no forced answers. She didn't answer too quickly, nor did she hesitate. No signs of lying, Tamao thought. She could be hiding it, but Tamao deducted that impossible, since she had gone though enough human worlds to tell whether one was lying or not. But then again, Yumiko was of the Fuji family, a family strong at deception and manipulation, Tamao thought as she considered the younger brother. But right now, she was almost certain that Yumiko was not lying.
"That's good," she said.
"Why did you ask so suddenly?" Yumiko said. "The timing is kind of random, don't you think?"
"Yeah. I was just wondering," Tamao said, and hung up.
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On Yumiko's end of the phone, the Fuji sister heard the click of her friend hanging up. She still wondered why she asked. Yumiko had dealt with her younger brother enough to know when someone was evading a question. When you could tell when Fuji Syusuke was evading a question, you could tell when anyone was evading a question. Had Syusuke or Yukimura let something slip? Because Yumiko was sure that she hadn't. Had she?
She considered this alternative for a moment. There was no way Syusuke or Yukimura could've let something slip unintentionally. They weren't those types of people. Those two were almost always on guard; the only people that they slipped up to were each other. Did Syusuke do something intentionally to show True Light that he was in control now? No, he wouldn't have done that unless he had been really mad at her, and why would he be mad?
At that moment, the front door opened, saving Yumiko from having to doubt herself. "Syusuke!" she shouted. "Why are you so late?" She ran down the stairs and greeted her younger brother at the door.
"I dropped Yukimura Naruko a visit," Fuji replied smoothly, knowing that his sister would interrogate him, and there was nothing he could do to get away from that. After all, she was his sister.
"Why?" she asked. She knew that it was the question that he had been expecting, yet she didn't really care.
"I had some unfinished business to take care of," he said and turned to ward the stairs. He set his foot down on the first step, but could not go any further, considering that Yumiko had taken a firm hold on his wrist.
"Too vague," she said coldly. "Tell me the full and complete answer."
Fuji sighed and stepped back down to be face to face with his older sister. Well, almost, considering that in height, he only reached her shoulders. "The day, in my past life, that Seiichi collapsed on the courts is soon approaching. In fact, it's tomorrow. I wanted to make sure that he was alright. I did some research on GBS, and I tried to help by preventing him from getting the shot that, in my mind, might've caused it. I've been asking him every day how he feels, but like me, he's one of those people that will lie to others to try to get them to stop worrying about him. And I wanted to make sure he was telling the truth, so I paid a visit to Naruko, because I figured that he told her more than he told me," Fuji explained.
This time, it was Yumiko's turn to sigh. "Syusuke, if he really trusts you, then he would not tell Naruko more than he tells you."
"The thing is," Fuji said, "is that I know how similar he and I are, and I know that I would do the same thing."
"You would tell me more than you would tell him?" Yumiko asked with mild surprise.
"No; I meant that I would tell him I was fine even if I wasn't to try to stop him from worrying."
"Syusuke, that doesn't matter, though. That's not what we're talking about. I'm saying that if he doesn't tell you the truth, he didn't tell anyone the truth."
Fuji looked up at Yumiko. "You sure?"
Yumiko smiled. "Trust me. You two love each other, and you and Naruko are the most important people in his life. He's not going to tell her more than he tells you. If anything, he would tell you two the same thing, if he doesn't tell you more."
"Thanks, sis," Fuji said. He couldn't remember how many times he had said that to her.
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Fuji sat up in his bed alertly. There was something about this day that was deathly important. He looked around the room and his eyes rested on a picture of Yukimura and him. Oh, right, Fuji thought. Today was the day. The day had finally come. The day that Yukimura had collapsed.
Fuji hopped out of bed and appeared as cheerful as ever when his sister handed him his breakfast. Despite that, she said, "Something wrong, Syusuke?"
"Nope," he lied. She looked at him skeptically. "Why do you ask?"
"Because your cheer today seems kind of…fake," she replied. "Oh well. I guess it's just me. Hurry along now; you'll be late for school."
Fuji looked at the clock. Indeed, it was almost time to leave. "Thanks for breakfast, sis," he said and ran out the door into the cold winter air outside.
Yumiko looked at his retreating back thoughtfully. "Oh, right," she said, to no one in particular. "I hope Seiichi will be alright today."
It wasn't a particularly difficult feat for Fuji Syusuke to follow Yukimura Seiichi around the school that day, since they had all the same classes and the exact same schedule. It was just another one of those lucky things that they had found out when they had first met each other last year. Fuji kept a watchful eye on his friend for the whole day, though he knew the exact time that Yukimura had collapsed. 12:37PM, on November 23, 2007, Marui had said in Fuji's past life. That was between his lunch and his next class. He collapsed in the hallway after gathering his stuff after lunch. Interesting, Fuji thought. Very interesting.
Fuji absentmindedly picked at his food. "Syusuke, are you okay?" Yukimura said, staring at him. Marui looked at him, too, and so did the other tennis players who sat at their table at lunch.
"Not another sick one," Kagami said. "And this time, it's Fuji, too."
"Ah, no, I'm fine," Fuji replied. "Just thinking about something."
"Ooh, suuuuure, that's what everyone says," Marui said, rolling his eyes. "Before they suddenly come down with a lethal virus that makes them shrivel into dark, powdery ashes right in front of their loved ones."
Everyone looked at him. "Marui, I think you've been reading too much science fiction," Yukimura said. They all laughed.
"What? Reading is good for you!" Marui said. Fuji remained silent, narrowly escaping questioning from Yukimura and/or Kagami.
"Syusuke." Never mind, Fuji thought. "What were you thinking about?" both Kagami and Yukimura said.
Fuji bit his lip, but right then, the bell rang for the next class. Fuji looked at the clock on the wall of the cafeteria. 12:35 and 48 seconds. Almost time, Fuji thought. He got up, as well as the rest of the table. They all threw away their stuff and walked over to the hallway. In the rush, Fuji still managed to stay by Yukimura's side. He picked up his stuff from the shelves just outside the cafeteria, and looked at the other clock hanging outside the office. 12:36, 52 seconds. Eight more seconds, Fuji thought.
12:36:53.
They took a couple of steps.
12:36:54.
Fuji walked slowly and Yukimura walked beside him, looking at him.
55.
"Why are you walking so slowly?" Yukimura asked.
56.
"I just want to keep an eye on the clock," Fuji said.
57.
"Why? You've never been late," Yukimura said.
58.
Fuji had no reply.
59.
"Syusuke, answer me!"
12:37:00! Yukimura picked up his stuff and suddenly stumbled. Fuji immediately reached out his arms to catch him, since he never used the shelves, but Yukimura caught himself with his other foot. He looked down.
"How inconvenient," he said. "Someone dropped their calculator. We should go turn it in to the Lost and Found. The office is right there, anyway."
Fuji nodded. "Yeah." That was close, he thought. He decided to wait for a bit longer before deciding if everything was alright or not. He followed the blue-haired boy into the office and to their next class. It had been well over a minute already, and there was nothing happening.
Yukimura looked down at him. "Is there a reason you're staring at me so intently?" he asked.
Fuji smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "No."
Most of you are probably cheering! I would be. Yukimura's safe and well! I'd be so happy if I were reading this fic, because who doesn't like Seiichi:D
Oh yeah, before I forget. (1): 5:15 on Wednesdays is when I have my piano class. Which is why I decided to make that the time Seiichi takes it. No clue if he really plays piano or not. It was just something I included for the sake of the story.
Have any of you noticed that time passes rather strangely in this story? xD;; Fuji spend almost and hour talking to Naruko, though their conversation was relatively short. Oh well, guess I'm just too lazy to write more. And it would've gotten kind of awkward, anyway (not that it wasn't already!). xD;;
Please review!
