Disclaimer: POT and HXH don't and will never belong to me.
Chapter 19: Memories of the past
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"Tezuka Kunimitsu would be mine!"
"Yes, and without Tezuka, Fuji would soon learn to love me."
A plan, to bring two people their desired love and to tear two people in love apart, was hatched behind Ann Tachibana's house.
"He should be going through that same stretch of road tomorrow morning, if we act according to our plan…"
"Soon, we will have the love we wanted…"
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Tezuka took the familiar turn with his usual care. But that day, his mind wasn't on the road, instead he was thinking of Fuji.
A gentle smile flitted across his lips as he imagined Fuji still snuggling on the couch with his cat.
How can yesterday seem so bleak and today so promising? As he was alone on the car, he permitted a silly grin to hang off his lips.
Gripping the steering wheel in a loose hold, he turned it smoothly across another bend. His eyes left the road for a moment as a blinking light caught his attention.
The moment he turned back, it was too late.
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"TEZUKA!"
Fuji jerked awake with the scream still echoing in the empty room. The cat purred and walked up to Fuji, looking baffled.
Gathering the soft creature into his arms, he sought comfort in the warm being.
The dream seemed so real, Tezuka was running towards him and then he just vanished. Shivering at the lingering feel of pain and loneliness, Fuji choked back a sob.
It can't be true, it was a dream.
But the twinge in his heart refused to fade.
Shifting across the couch with the cat still secured in his arms, he reached for the phone to check on Tezuka. Before he can pick up the cordless phone, it rang.
He was shocked; shocked that he was afraid of picking up that phone, afraid to hear whatever news it would bring.
His hand trembled.
"Moshi…"
Minutes passed and Fuji sat like a stone on the couch. The cat purred as if asking him what was wrong.
A tear slipped from his eye and then another.
"TEZUKA…"
The world seemed to have darkened with the anguish heard from that scream. As if paying respect to the dead and the gone, nothing was the same again; everything had dimmed and would soon fade in the face of the cruel reality.
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Ann paced the length of the room; her eyes never left the still body lying on the bed. Her mouth moved soundlessly. She realized belatedly that she was praying.
Tezuka had been lying there without as much as a twitch. She was scared.
Silently cursing Kurapica, Ann looked at Tezuka again. Please wake up; I didn't mean to hit you so hard…please, please!
Their plan was supposed to be flawless.
She was to stop Tezuka's car and lured him out of his car by pretending that her car had broke down. And when Tezuka wasn't looking, Kurapica would knock him out.
But he wasn't supposed to hit him so hard till Tezuka was bleeding. If only she hadn't hit him so hard.
Now, she was stranded with an unconscious Tezuka and policemen calling to check if he was with her.
An empty car parked right in the centre of the road was bad enough, but with blood spotting the road; it definitely aroused the police's attention.
Kurapica had gone to 'comfort' Fuji Syuusuke.
She knew that she must remove Tezuka to somewhere else, somewhere safe from Fuji. Somewhere like her summer house in France!
Jerking from thoughts, she focused on Tezuka. Seeing that he had awakened and was moaning softly, Ann hurried to his side. She wanted to be the first person he saw.
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He couldn't breathe, sitting on the bench which flanked the room, fear was blocking his airway.
The call he received that morning was from the police, to inform him that Tezuka's car was found empty on the road and there were signs of struggle.
They found Tezuka's wallet and gotten his address and home number.
For the first time, he couldn't stop the fear from consuming his reasons and logic.
He wondered almost numbly, is this how their love is meant to be?
"Fuji-sama, I am Detective Akaya, I would be in-charge of this case. However I need some information from you, Inui there would take down the information for me."
"Iie data…Fuji-sama, this way please…"
Fuji followed the voice blindly; he was lost in his thoughts, lost in his grief.
Somehow he knew that Tezuka had left him unwillingly, even if the police hadn't told him about the signs of struggle seen at the scene.
Somehow, in his heart, he could still hear Tezuka calling him, pleading him to wait.
His normally closed eyes snapped open in perfect alertness. Someone was holding his Kuni-chan from him, and he wouldn't allow it.
Answering Inui woodenly, he provided the officer with the information he sought. However, another part of his brain was working furiously narrowing down the possibilities.
"Inui-senpai…there is someone here to see Fuji-sama…"
"Kaido-kun… Hmmm…please escort Fuji-sama out to see his guest and later ask Kirihara-senpai in."
"Fshhh…hai…"
Pushing all the minor details out of his mind, Fuji followed the dour-faced man out.
Tezuka…where are you now…please tell me…I can hear you, I must…
"Syuusuke…Daijoubu ka?"
"…Kurapica? Nani…ah…Daijoubu…doumo…" Fuji smiled wearily at his cousin.
He was about to move away when something caught his attention. A blood stain spotted Kurapica's sleeve.
An outrageous thought flashed though his troubled mind. Is it him? Kurapica…my cousin…
Looking seriously into Kurapica's blue eyes, Fuji's heart sank.
In the same blue eyes, he saw something he never thought he would see in his cousin's eyes…
Anger, guilt…and triumph…
Kurapica…what have you done?
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"Why am I in this room…Ann-chan?" Tezuka asked a shocked Ann Tachibana.
"…Iie…you…you were drunk again last night…that's why…"
"Drunk…again…" he growled softly as he massaged his abused head, "again…I was always drunk…why?"
"Because Fuji-san left…" she gasped at her slip of tongue. Looking guiltily at the stoic man, she waited to be reprimanded.
"Fuji…why is that name so…familiar?" Tezuka looked away from Ann, his face worried.
"Nani?"
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How can you forget it so easily, the past we shared?
Pining for it, I waited
No longer, I would not hurt for you again
This is the coldest summer
Slowly, it frosted over, my love, my soul and my dreams
Perhaps it was me, I asked for too much
Perhaps that was why, you walked away
Never looking back, never stopping
The yellow scarf I tied for you
It was my yearning for you
But the wind had swept it away
How can you forget the past we shared?
How can you forget my love?
How can this dream end now that I had just find you
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Author's note: What if Tezuka really forgotten about Fuji, would it spell the end of their love? Stay tuned! Final three chapters!