Hey. I am SO sorry for the HUGE lack in updates. But school is out now, so I have plenty of time to write! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I will be posting the last two as soon as I can. :)
Several days had passed. Houses became less frequent and food ran short. Tempers flared and several times members of the group had threatened to go their own way. Hyoutei fretted over Atobe and Seigaku over Kawamura. Although no one could deny their progress, people became restless and impatient. And all the while, Tezuka and Fuji walked side by side in silence. Tezuka never knew quite what to say and Fuji made no effort to converse. Their only conversations were short and stiff. It was strange, Tezuka thought, as the group made their way down a dirt road. He had confessed his love to Fuji and suddenly there was nothing. No rejection, no acceptance. It was as if Fuji was pretending nothing had happened. Tezuka clenched his fists. Why?
"What's wrong?" Fuji's voice was soft and monotonous.
"Nothing," Tezuka replied automatically, before pausing. Fuji glanced over his shoulder and stopped, too.
"Tezuka?"
"Fuji, do you remember that day in the kitchen?"
"When?" Fuji asked, glancing up at him as they fell back into step.
"After the bomb. In the kitchen of the house we used as a base for a while." Fuji shook his head.
"Where I told you that I loved you," Tezuka said, swallowing hard. Fuji's eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks.
"What?" he croaked, gazing uncertainly at Tezuka.
"You don't remember?" Tezuka asked. His chest felt tight and he took a deep breath.
"I thought it was a dream," Fuji whispered. "I woke up and thought..." Tezuka shook his head.
"No... It was real." There was a long silence, before Fuji suddenly burst out laughing. His eyes shone and his smile was broad. Tezuka gave him a weak smile in return.
"I spent all this time wondering about it," Fuji said, grinning up at Tezuka. "Why didn't you say something before?"
"I thought you were angry with me. Or disgusted," Tezuka replied, looking away.
"I could never be," Fuji said, his voice suddenly soft. "Tezuka." He smiled again and Tezuka felt something warm brush against his palm and in the next moment, his hand was wrapped firmly around Fuji's. "Let's stay together, okay?" Fuji murmured. "No matter what happens." Tezuka nodded firmly.
"Always," he agreed. Fuji squeezed his hand.
"Always."
--
"If my calculations are correct, we should reach the park by late tomorrow, if we keep up this pace," Inui announced, glancing down once more at the map they had salvaged from one of the houses they had passed long ago. "We're here," he said, pointing to a thin line on the map, "and we want to be here," he finished, pointing to a space near the coastline. "It's not more than 20 kilometers."
"By tomorrow," Kikumaru breathed, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Do you hear that, Oishi? By tomorrow!" Oishi smiled and ruffled Kikumaru's hair. Everyone was talking amongst themselves excitedly. Atobe rose and stepped away from the group, unnoticed.
"Jiroh," he mumbled, turning his face to the sky. "Kabaji." It was dark, and the stars shone dimly through the thin layer of clouds. He could barely make out the constellation of Orion, standing tall and proud in amongst galaxies.
"Hey, hey, Atobe, what's that? See, those three stars in a row there..."
"That's Orion's Belt, Jiroh."
"Oh, wow! Where's the rest of Orion?"
Jiroh had laughed when Atobe showed him how Orion was mapped.
"Wow! I never would have seen that by myself. Whoever thought this stuff up must have been really cool, just like you!"
Atobe chuckled softly and reached up, covering the constellation with his hand. He could hear the group behind him, still murmuring about the park. "Tomorrow," he whispered. "Jiroh. Kabaji." He lowered his hand. "I don't deserve to be here any more than either of you two did. But to make it up to you both, I'll live my life for all of us. So you just have to tell me what to do." He laughed again. "We'll be unstoppable, the three of us. Together."
"Atobe."
The silver-haired boy turned to face Shishido, who was watching him carefully.
"Yes?"
"So you're okay, then," Shishido said. "Good."
Atobe nodded.
"You made us all worry, you selfish idiot," Shishido grumbled. "You looked like you were gonna give up or something."
"Have you ever heard of me giving up?" Atobe scoffed, placing a hand on his hip. "I just needed to figure some things out. You all are the idiots for worrying. I'm captain. I take care of you."
"We know," Shishido said. "That's why we were worried. We couldn't make it without you. Stupid. Geez." He scowled and turned away. "Making me say such uncool things. You and Choutarou." Atobe smirked and followed Shishido back to the group. He sat down beside Hiyoshi, who glanced up at him.
"Back?" he asked. Atobe nodded. Hiyoshi shrugged. "Okay."
--
They set off sometime before the sun rose, their spirits considerably higher than they had been in days. Tezuka and Fuji walked hand in hand at the front, the silence between them comfortable and light. Behind them, Inui walked with Kaidoh, speculating about living arrangements once they reached the park. Kaidoh nodded in all the right places, but Inui knew he wasn't really paying attention. Chuckling to himself, he continued talking. Behind them, Kikumaru was skipping in circles around Oishi, who was laughing and telling him to calm down before he wore himself out too early. Momo walked beside them, Echizen on his back. The two of them conversed amiably about tennis and burger joints. Gakuto rested on Oshitari's shoulders, braiding the taller boy's hair as they went. Shishido and Atobe helped Ootori walk, while Hiyoshi and Kawamura brought up the rear. Kawamura was walking now, but Hiyoshi insisted on carrying him every now and then to preserve his strength.
According to Inui, they reached the edge of Fuji-Hakone-Izu at three fifty one P.M. It was light and the sky was clear. They climbed over the gate, talking and laughing as if it were a game. They pushed through the trees until they found a trail, which they followed for another hour. Finally, they came across a wide clearing. It was sheltered by a ring of thick, tall trees and the soft gurgling of a river promised water nearby.
"This is amazing!" Kikumaru cried, turning cartwheels through the grass. Momoshiro laughed and carefully set Echizen down on the ground before chasing after Eiji.
"It's beautiful," Ootori said, smiling.
"I could get used to this," Shishido agreed, collapsing onto the grass and folding his arms behind his head, letting the sun warm his face.
"Yuushi, let me down!" Mukahi cried, watching enviously as Kikumaru somersaulted through the grass. Oshitari chuckled and lifted Gakuto off of his shoulders. The redhead dashed off, laughing. Atobe chuckled and glanced over at Oshitari.
"What do you think?" he asked, coming to stand beside the dark haired boy.
"It's no substitute for real life," Oshitari said, bending down and running his hands over the grass. "But it's heaven compared to what we were suffering through before."
Atobe nodded.
"It doesn't smell like death," he said, grimacing. "We'll be happy here for as long as it can last." Oshitari made a soft noise of agreement.
They spent the rest of the afternoon arranging places to sleep and cook. They managed to fashion a fireplace that stopped the smoke from rising too high in the sky and giving them away, and piles of leaves served as their mattresses.
"We'll be fine as long as the weather doesn't get too cold," Inui said, dropping onto the ground and arranging the thin sticks he had gathered into a pile next to the fireplace. Kaidoh nodded and sat beside him. Inui smiled at him.
"Things feel better now, don't they?" he asked, adjusting his glasses. Kaidoh was still uncomfortable seeing his eyes so clearly. "It's like suddenly, it's that much easier to believe that everything will be okay."
"Yeah," Kaidoh agreed, shifting slightly.
"What's cooking?" Momo asked, appearing suddenly and slinging an arm around Kaidoh's shoulders. "I'm starving!"
"Nothing, idiot," Kaidoh muttered. "Just because we have a fireplace..." He rolled his eyes and shrugged away from Momo's touch.
"Are we gonna catch our own food, then?" Momo inquired, his eyes lighting up with interest. Inui nodded. "I can do that!"
"You couldn't catch a burger rolling down the street, Momo-senpai," Echizen said, limping over.
"Aww, come on Echizen, have a little faith!"
"No."
"I think Momo can do it," Kawamura said, grinning. He had wandered over with Hiyoshi to admire the fireplace.
"Aww, thanks, Taka-san," Momo said, clapping the boy on the back. "See, Echizen? I can do it!"
"Prove it, then," Oshitari drawled, perching elegantly beside Hiyoshi. Mukahi followed not far behind.
"Yeah," he said, poking Momo in the arm. "I'm hungry!" He grinned and his red hair flashed in the fading sunlight.
Tezuka watched as the group congregated around the fireplace with a soft smile on his face. It was good to see everyone happy again. Things had been hard on them. His gaze settled on Atobe, who was sitting with Oshitari and laughing about something. His cheeks had regained some of their color and while he was far from his normal self, he was no longer merely a shadow in the background. Sighing, Tezuka turned away and headed off the way he had seen Fuji go. The pathway he followed led to a rock formation, tall and dark against the reddish sky. He could barely make out a figure at the top.
"Fuji!" he shouted. The figure turned and waved. Tezuka reached forward and found a handle in the rock and began climbing toward Fuji. When he reached the top, he found Fuji stretched out on the rock, watching the sun set.
"You shouldn't be up here," he said softly, settling down beside Fuji.
"Why not?" Fuji asked, glancing up at him. "It's beautiful."
"It's not safe," Tezuka replied. "And you're hurt."
Fuji simply shrugged and turned back to the sunset. He reached forward and created a frame with his hands, moving it around the scene.
"I wish I had my camera," he said wistfully. "These would be such lovely photographs."
"Commit it to memory," Tezuka suggested. Fuji shook his head.
"It's not the same. I'll remember it differently than how it was. I'll change it to make it suit my likes better."
"Isn't that okay?"
"No," Fuji said, pushing himself up onto his knees. "I like to remember things themselves. Not what I wanted to happen." He rose and stepped forward, toward the edge of the rock. Tezuka reached out to stop him, but Fuji was out of reach. The small boy lifted his arms like wings and stared out at the sunset with a warm smile. "I like it here," Fuji said softly. Tezuka pushed himself to his feet and stood behind Fuji. He gently placed his hands on the light-haired boy's arms, lifting them higher. Fuji leaned back against his chest and closed his eyes.
"Tell me what you see, Tezuka," he whispered.
"The sunset," Tezuka replied uncertainly.
"No, I mean, tell me."
"I see... The sky, and it's red, like my favorite koi in the pond at home. The sun is still there, right above a tree, like one of those stars you put on the top of Christmas trees. It's sinking now, though. And I see you, too, with your arms outstretched. You're going places, right past this and everything that has happened and into the future, where you'll be happy. And I see me, right beside you, but it's a bit strange because I'm smiling." Fuji laughed. "But it really is me, I can tell. I must be smiling because you are, too." Fuji nodded.
"Thank you, Tezuka," he murmured. "I can remember that, now. Even without a picture, I don't think this memory will change."
"Good," Tezuka mumbled. They were silent for a long moment, before Fuji's eyes fluttered open.
"This is home now, isn't it, Tezuka?"
"For now," Tezuka agreed. Fuji nodded again.
"That's okay. Even though I'm not with Yuuta, or any of my family, I think..." He paused and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "I think here, with everyone else, I can make it. If I can keep them safe, maybe I can do the same for Yuuta and my family."
"You can," Tezuka assured him. "The courage you have will reach him. It will reach all of them. It's just a matter of trust. You have to trust them to take care of themselves."
"I do," Fuji whispered.
"Then it's just a matter of waiting. As soon as this is over, you can see them again."
Fuji laughed. "Mm. Just a matter of counting days, isn't it?"
Tezuka nodded.
"I can do that," Fuji said, smiling.
"We can all do it," Tezuka replied. "Together."