Leather Bound Book
Wigs and Hair Curlers
Kiyami: Slap me for this chapter if you want. It's just a filler so I can gather my thoughts for the really important chapter that's coming up. Personally I'm starting to question my sanity when I was writing that List.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Prince of Tennis because if I did then you'd see a lot of kissing going on.
Dear Diary,
Today we faced Jyosei. I didn't get to play, but it was a lot of fun watching the games. I liked watching Singles 3. It was Kaidoh against a player named Wakato. It looked like a lot of fun pretending to be Kaidoh even though he got really angry. Ffssshuuu…
Ryoma got hurt during his match. I was really worried. Everyone was. I thought that Oishi was going to pass out or something. He probably worried the most.
I wonder if Wakato can pretend to be like Yuuta. No! I wonder if he can pretend to be Kunimitsu! Oh, it sounds as if Yuuta's come home!
Yudan sezu ni ikou –smile-
"Hello? Sparkle, Sparkle Beauty, Wakato speaking." The former Jyosei regular cheerfully said into the phone.
"This is Tezuka Kunimitsu formerly of the Seishun Gakuen tennis club." Tezuka replied.
Wakato Hiroshi had pursued a career as a hair stylist. After he had gained experience and enough money Wakato opened up his own business. His style was deprived from already existing hairstyles that he mixed and matched with the people who came in. Every Friday was Change Over! Day where Wakato pretended to be someone for the entire day. Unfortunately, or fortunately for Tezuka, today was only Monday.
A smile formed on Wakato's face. He had never personally met the guy, but he had heard a lot about him. Wakato always wanted to play against Tezuka, but the opportunity never arose. He was always prepared for that match that never came. A small pile of tapes of Tezuka had formed in a corner of his room when he was in Jyosei. Tezuka was strong enough to be admired by Wakato, but Wakato never got the chance to use Tezuka's style of play in a real game.
"So what is that you would like, Tezuka? Haircut, manicure, pedicure, full body make over? I think I'll suggest the Kajimoto look to you." Wakato smoothly said with practiced ease. He held onto the phone while pressing the phone against his head with his shoulder. He needed both hands to paint his nails with that nice shade of red Youhei had suggested.
There was a long silence. Wakato could hear Tezuka moving uncomfortably in his chair while shuffling some papers around. Wakato was starting to miss his Jyosei days a lot. Captains were so fun to interact with.
"No, but I'm requesting your help," Tezuka replied firmly.
"That's a shame. So Tezuka what can I do for you?" Wakato blew on his nails gently. He leaned back in the black, leather chair in his office.
"I had been told that you used to specialize in imitating other people. I am in need of your help." Tezuka frowned when he finished his sentence. No turning back now.
"Oh is that so?" Wakato chuckled lightly at the idea. Tezuka was supposed to be some stoic, cardboard captain, right? "Who do you have in mind? Do I know him or her?"
"You probably do know them. Two of them were on Seigaku and the other was on Hyotei. Kikumaru Eiji, Kaidoh Kaoru, and Atobe Keigo. Those are the people I need to imitate." Tezuka heavily emphasized the 'need.' He didn't want Wakato to think that Tezuka was doing this for fun.
"Oh that bouncy fellow who played against Oota and Daichi. That weirdo, Kaidoh, I played against." Wakato mumbled to reassure himself and Tezuka that his memory was perfectly fine. "Ah Atobe. You picked a nice person to imitate, Tezuka. Just the right person to come to too. I've been copying Atobe's style for the last several months."
By style Wakato meant style in fashion. Atobe Keigo went from athlete to supermodel.
"When can I come to your…Sparkle, Sparkle Beauty?" Tezuka sighed.
"Tomorrow's fine. Come in any time. I'll be waiting!" Wakato ended the call by smacking his glossy lips, which created a kissing sound.
Tezuka turned off the phone. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He just wanted to take an aspirin, lie down, and hope that everything would be normal when he wakes up. Fuji would be alive and Tezuka would be back to his boring lifestyle.
But Fuji was dead.
On the outside Sparkle, Sparkle Beauty attracted the eyes of many. It was bright pink in color that contrasted sharply against the red brick of the building to the right and the beige to the left. Large, white letters announced the name of the place.
Clear windows showed what was going on inside the beauty parlor. A neat line of black, leather chairs faced a mirror stretching along the wall. People, mostly women, sat in the chairs as stylists dressed in a black uniform worked on them. To the right was a woman sitting behind a desk. She was helping a pair of ladies set up their next visit. Two teenaged boys swept the trimmed pieces of hair off the ground. They laughed and joked with each other about the usual things.
On the walls were posters of models showing off their silky locks. Some of them were recognizable such as the Tanaka twins. A photographer for a fashion magazine discovered the unit one day. He was able to convince the twins to start a modeling career together. A lot of people thought the idea of identical twins posing together in matching outfits as cute.
Tezuka pushed open the glass door. A silver bell rang merrily to announce the arrival of Tezuka. The first thing he did was go to the lady behind the desk.
"May I help you?" She asked.
"I'd like to see Wakato Hiroshi."
"Oh! You must be Tezuka-san! Everyone, he's Tezuka-san!" The woman stood up and pointed at Tezuka. Everyone, including the hair stylists, customers, and the two boys who swept the hair from the ground, looked towards Tezuka.
They stared for a moment before turning back to whatever they were doing. They murmured about things and some glanced back.
"You can go to him through that door over there." The woman directed Tezuka to a door besides her desk.
Tezuka looked at the people in the room before turning the doorknob of the door.
This was it.
Tezuka entered the room. It was brightly lit. There were shelves of wigs against the wall and an open closet door led to a room filled with all sorts of strange costumes. A wooden desk was in the middle with a mirror hanging behind the comfortable chair.
"Tezuka! Glad you could make it. Take a seat." Wakato joyfully ordered as he appeared out of the closet wearing a ridiculous blue feather boa around his neck.
Tezuka sat down on the plush chair in front of the desk. He felt uncomfortable in the gaudy surroundings.
"Well, do you remember the request I made yesterday?" Tezuka asked.
"Of course I do! I'm going to have so much fun!" Wakato squealed. Tezuka started to question himself whether this was really a good idea.
"If you don't mind, I'm short on time today. I can spare one hour, two at the most." There were things to be done elsewhere.
"That's fine, that's fine. I spent all night looking at my old school videos. I've been preparing for your visit ever since you called!" Wakato disappeared under his desk and reappeared from beneath it. He placed a cardboard box on top of his desk. "Am I not great?"
Wakato opened the box to reveal an assortment of items. Slowly, carefully, he took out the items and placed them on his desk. Tezuka watched as three plastic heads modeled wigs. The first one had a green bandana on it on top of a black wig made to look like Kaidoh's hair. The middle one resembled Kikumaru's and the third was Atobe's hair.
"You didn't have to go through the trouble of making these wigs for me." Tezuka said.
"Oh I didn't make them for you. I made them for myself a long time ago." Wakato pointed to the shelves with the wigs. Tezuka could see Echizen's cap, Mizuki's hair with slight curls everywhere, Kamio's hair with the bangs pushed to one side, and others like…
Like Fuji's hair, soft, sweet-smelling, silky…
"…Got me interested into costuming so I decided to dress up as some of the tennis players I saw when we were young. Well, let's get started then!" Wakato had been talking while Tezuka was looking at the wigs.
Tezuka gulped nervously, the horror was just waiting to begin. Sometimes it felt as though Fuji had created this list just for Tezuka to complete.
For the next hour Wakato showed videos and notes on the little habits of the three people. He taught Tezuka Kikumaru's way of speaking, Kaidoh's slouching walk, and Atobe's habits such as ending his sentences with the usual "Naa, Kabaji?"
"Repeat after me, hoi hoi!"
"Hoi. Hoi." Tezuka repeated with as much enthusiasm he could muster, which wasn't a lot.
"Snap you fingers then!" Wakato snapped his and created a sharp, loud sound. Tezuka tried and his was barely audible.
"Alright, hiss, glare, grunt. Try it."
"Ffshh…" Tezuka managed to do the glare and the grunt. Kaidoh was the easiest person to mimic for Tezuka.
"Feeling! Feeling!" Wakato shouted hoping that his encouragement would get some emotion out of Tezuka.
It continued on like that until their time ran out.
"That was exhausting." Wakato muttered as he lounged back lazily in his comfy chair. His voice was muffled by the white cap covering his face.
"I'm terribly sorry for burdening you with today." Tezuka said feeling just as exhausted as Wakato.
"It's fine, it's fine. It makes up for not facing you in a real tennis match. A shame our youth has departed." Wakato sighed dramatically. "Anyway, you better send me pictures when you're pretending to be them. A tape would be nice, but I'm not too demanding."
"I'll send them to you as soon as they are developed." It was the least he could do for Wakato who had spent an entire day trying to teach him how to mimic people. "Oh, Wakato-san?"
"Yes?" Wakato removed the white cap.
"I was wondering whether you still play tennis or whether you're willing to start again." Tezuka asked.
"Haven't given up on it yet. I play with Kajimoto all the time. Why?" Actually he spent a generous amount of time with Kajimoto who worked nearby as a teacher.
"I can't say. I'm hoping to start something, but I'm not sure whether it will happen. Anyway, I have to go now. Thank you for helping me out." Tezuka stood up from his chair and gratefully took the box with the items Wakato had generously given to him.
"I want to be the first to know about this thing then. You owe me." Wakato politely opened the door for Tezuka.
Tezuka nodded and left with the box in hand.
Dear Diary,
Today I met and faced that bastard Mi-something. I hate him for intentionally letting Yuuta hurt himself. I don't know what Yuuta sees in him. He looks like a fake. I bet his hair isn't naturally like that. I want Yuuta back here, but I guess it's better for him to be there. He improved a lot since I last saw him play. I can't wait for the day where we'll face off in a spectacular match when his skills are on the same level as me!
"Hajime, why don't you get dressed now? Tezuka-san's coming." Yuuta asked.
"Nfu, what's wrong with the way I am now?" Mizuki asked.
The former St. Rudolph manager sat on a stool by a table. He wore a white T-shirt with his purple pajama pants that had ducks all over them. On top of that he had on his purple bathrobe and white fuzzy slippers. In front of Mizuki were a laptop and a mug of coffee.
"It's noon now and you haven't even gotten dressed."
"I'm working now, Yuuta-chan. I'll change when I feel like it, alright?"
"Fine." Yuuta sighed in defeat.
Mizuki worked at home a lot now. He was a romance novelist and claimed the kitchen was the only suitable environment he could work in. He was popular for his unique love stories that often portrayed men together.
Yuuta on the other hand worked as a detective. Surprisingly he was paired with a former tennis player. Hiyoshi of Hyotei was his partner. They got along fairly well with the same interests that they held.
The doorbell rang and Yuuta checked to see if everything was in order in their home. He went to the entrance of their house and opened it for Tezuka. Yuuta led Tezuka inside where coffee and cookies awaited them.
"Ah Tezuka-kun, nfu, how nice to see you." Mizuki said while curling a lock of hair around a slender finger.
"Likewise." Tezuka replied.
Yuuta and Tezuka took a seat in the living room. Mizuki stayed in the kitchen where he rapidly typed with the sudden inspiration that came. Mizuki mumbled softly to himself as he put his ideas into words.
"I'll join you soon." Mizuki said loudly.
"So Tezuka-san what brings you?" Yuuta asked before biting into a chocolate chip cookie Mizuki personally made.
"Well, you know how you gave me those photo albums and diaries of Fuji?" Tezuka sipped the hot coffee that was sweetened by the sugar and cream.
"Yeah…I do." Yuuta looked down when the thought of his aniki returned to him.
"I found this while going through it." Tezuka pulled out the List and gave it to Yuuta.
Yuuta read through it. "I never knew aniki had so many strange wishes." He muttered.
"I was wondering if you could help me on some of them. Your sister requested that I complete this list for Fuji. I'd be grateful if you could assist me on several of the wishes. Particularly numbers nine and ten." Tezuka pointed to the ones he mentioned.
"Did you say something about me, Tezuka-kun?" Mizuki looked up from his laptop with his eyes on Tezuka.
"It's nothing, Hajime!" Yuuta gave the List back to Tezuka and stood up. "Hajime curls his hair every morning. It's fake." He offered.
"Yuuta-chan!" Mizuki stood up so quickly the stool feel over.
"Well, it's the truth, right? You spend so much time in the bathroom every morning that I'm always late for work. I have proof too!" Yuuta disappeared into the bathroom and came back with supplies for the hair in his arms. Hair curlers were among them. "See? You're hair is straight, Hajime. I see it every morning when I wake up."
"Nfu, Yuuta-chan?" Mizuki's voice took on a dangerous tone.
"What?" Yuuta realized his grave mistake.
"I hope you like the couch." Mizuki said softly. "Nfu." He picked up the stool and walked over to Yuuta. He took the hair styling supplies from him. "You'll be sleeping on it for the next month."
Tezuka coughed discreetly into his hand. Yuuta sighed and sat back down by the table. "I'm sorry for causing that." Tezuka apologized.
"It's alright. Hajime gets abusive sometimes in his sleep." Yuuta shuddered at the memory when Mizuki nearly suffocated him by wrapping his arms so tightly around his neck. There were other painful memories like when Mizuki kicked or stole Yuuta's half of the comforter. "Anyway, I'll be glad to do number nine. I haven't played much tennis lately, but I haven't forgotten everything. Who will I play since aniki is dead?"
"You'll play against me." Yuuta nodded at this response.
"When should we start?"
Tezuka opened his mouth to reply, but then the phone started to ring.
"Please excuse me for a moment. The call may be important." Yuuta got up. He was waiting for a call from Hiyoshi. They were working on an important case at the moment and Hiyoshi had volunteered to do some researching in his free time.
"Hello?" Yuuta answered the ringing phone. He listened to the voice on the other end. Yuuta's eyes went wide. He set down the phone.
"Hajime! Hurry and get ready! Neesan just got rushed into the hospital! She's going into labor!" Yuuta shouted while running into their bedroom to retrieve a suitcase Yumiko left with them just in case she couldn't bring her own items personally.
"Seriously? Isn't it too early?" Mizuki stuck his head out the bathroom.
"No, they just called." Yuuta said.
Mizuki rushed out of the bathroom and went to go change into something more suitable for going outside. Tezuka got up and helpfully put away the cups of coffee and the cookies.
"I'm sorry, Tezuka-san, but I'll have to make your visit short. Of all the times." Yuuta muttered as he pulled on his jacket.
"It's alright, I'll go with you." Tezuka grabbed his things and left to go start the car.
"Yuuta-chan, will Yumiko be alright? A month too early." Mizuki muttered nervously. Mizuki had grown quite close to Yumiko after Yuuta and he started to live together.
"I don't know, I don't know." Yuuta held his cellphone to his ear while he waited for his parents to pick up the phone.
"I hope they'll be alright."
Kiyami: Yes! Done! …I hate this chapter. Anyway the next chapter will be up shortly! I'm working on it immediately.
Next chapter: Lost Futures