For the past few hours, Fuji had been laying in his bed, trying to sleep, all the while hearing his parents and siblings talk. They assumed he was asleep, but no, he had been listening to them for hours now, talk about him. It annoyed him to no end. All they would talk about is how pitiful he was, how sorry they were, and how miserable they knew he should be. Why couldn't they just forget like Syusuke so wanted them to? Fuji didn't like them showing pity for him. He was not weak. Even though now he would be cast in a world of darkness for the rest of his life, Fuji was still.. Well, Fuji. He sat up, opening his eyes even though he knew he couldn't see. It was as if a black wall had been build in front of his eyes, preventing him from seeing the rest of the world.

Syusuke frowned when he heard their conversation turn to tennis.

"Syusuke..he'll never be able to play tennis again," he heard his mother say sadly. "That was his dream, too..."

Suddenly, Fuji could feel anger burn inside him. How dare they think that he, the tennis tensai, would never be able to play tennis again?

'Well, you won't,' a voice in the back of his head commented dryly. 'You're blind, you can't possibly play tennis. You can't see.'

The honey-haired boy sighed. Perhaps..his parents were right that he would never play tennis again? 'No,' a stronger voice said. 'No, you may be blind, but you still have your other senses. You can still play.'

Syusuke was then filled with fierce determination. He loved tennis. Tennis was his dream, his everything. No stupid disability was going to prevent him from playing. Nothing would prevent him from playing. With his mind made up, Syusuke decided that tomorrow he would begin to practice a new way of tennis. Tennis where he only used his ears, his hands, and his brain to play. Tomorrow, he would prove his family wrong.

Syusuke wasn't sure when exactly he had fell asleep last night, but he must have got a decent amount of sleep for he felt surprisingly refreshed when he woke up that morning. When his eyes fluttered open, he knew that he really was awake even though all he saw was that black wall. Stretching, he was about to get up and feel his way around his room when his arm touched something on the bed beside him. Freezing, Syusuke ran his hand over what felt like smooth skin.

Deciding that whatever was on the bed next to him was a person, he asked unsurely, "Who is it?"

"Why Syusuke, I'm surprised at you. How could you not know your old friend?"

Fuji grinned widely, recognizing that voice immediatly. "Saeki," he stated happily. "I've no idea how I could've forgot." The golden-haired boy could picture in his head Saeki smiling back at him.

"Ahh, Fuji. Long time no see?"

"Very," Fuji answered, nodding his head. He could feel Saeki sit up on the bed, and imagined that he was facing him. "So, Saeki. What brings you here?"

"You, of course," Saeki stated simply. "Did you honestly think that I wouldn't come see how you were doing when I heard you got shot?"

"I haven't had much time to think, Saeki," Fuji replied softly. "Everything has been such a blur. Arigatou, for worrying about me. Tell me, Saeki, does news really travel that fast?"

Saeki chuckled and leaned back. "Yes, it does, especially when it concerns Seigaku's tensai," he remarked matter-of-factly.

"I see. So has the news got around that I'm blind yet?"

"More than likely."

Fuji leaned back, closing his granite eyes. Unknown to him, Saeki was staring at his face with a soft expression.

"It amazes me, Fuji Syusuke, how you can sit and talk about your blindess so casually, without anything but a smile on your face," Kojirou whispered.

Syusuke's smile turned gentle. "I have nothing to be ashamed about..nor do I have anything to be sad about. I am alive, and one of the luckiest people in the world. Most people who are shot in the head don't survive, you know," Fuji stated.

Saeki nodded then sighed. "True, true. It still hurts me to see you like this. How will you go on?"

"Like any normal person," Syusuke told him. "I may be blind, but nothing can ever truly keep me from seeing."

Those words confused Kojirou slightly, but he knew they had a secret meaning to them. Smiling, he replied, "But Fuji, you're not a normal person. You're more than just that. You're a tensai. Speaking of that, are you still going to play...?" Saeki was unsure of what he asked, not knowing if that question would hurt Fuji or not.

Knowing exactly what Saeki was talking about, Syusuke nodded. "Of course I'm still going to play. Why, Saeki, I'm surprised at you. How could you ever think any physical disability would keep me from tennis?"

This made Kojirou's smile grow wider. "Forgive me for doubting you. I don't know what ever came over me. Going to make the impossible possible again, Syusuke?"

Syusuke's grin was equally as wide as his friend's. "Well, yes of course, Saeki. You know me far too well."

They laughed, and Fuji was thoroughly glad to have someone laugh with him instead of talking to him with a pity-filled voice.

"Well, Fuji. Who are you going to have help you? Because even though you are the tennis tensai, you're still going to need just a little practice using only your other senses."

Syusuke frowned, thinking deeply about this. Saeki was right. He would need some practice..and need someone there to help him. But who?

"What about you, Saeki? I know you are a wonderful tennis player."

Saeki laughed, then shook his head. "Syusuke, you know very well I'm not as good at tennis as you. You will need someone at least equal to your skills.. Which, someone equal to you will be hard to find," Saeki chuckled softly.

Syusuke's smile was back, lighting up his soft features. "Well..one of my team-..friends, could help me."

Kojirou frowned. "They aren't your teammates anymore?"

Fuji sighed softly, and shook his head. "They assumed I wouldn't be able to play anymore, so Inui is now a regular. Plus, they needed someone to fill in my spot while I was in a coma."

"Ah," Saeki commented, nodding.

They were both silent for a moment, until Fuji spoke. "However, I will regain my spot as a regular, as soon as I discover the uses of my other senses.."

'I don't see how anyone could have ever thought Syusuke would give up tennis that easily,' Saeki said mentally.

"Hmm..Echizen could always help me..when we played against other, our skills seemed to be pretty much equal."

"From what I've heard, Echizen has about as much patience as a mule," Saeki remarked, amused.

Syusuke laughed and questioned, "You mean mules have patience?"

Both of them laughed once more, and Fuji felt an enormous burden fall off of him.

"Well..perhaps..buchou then?"

Kojirou pondered this. "Ah, yes, your buchou. Hm, well, do you think he'd be willing to help?"

Syusuke nodded. "I think so."

Once more, they both fell silent. Out of the blue, a question struck Fuji.

"Saeki, how long exactly have you been here?"

Kojirou chuckled, then answered, "Not sure, exactly. I came to visit you while you were still asleep, and I nearly fell asleep waiting for you to wake up."

"Ah, gomen," Fuji said apologetically.

"It's alright. You know I don't mind, I was tired anyway," he laughed.

After another moment of silence, Saeki asked quietly, "Fuji, you know the police are going to question you, right?"

"Yes," Fuji stated, nodding.

"Are you ready for it?"

Fuji hesistated before saying, "I'm not sure.. I do remember a few things about the murderer but..I'm not sure of what use I am." In his mind's eyes, Fuji could still vaguely picture the man who shot him and took the life of his neighbor. Deciding that he didn't want to converse this subject anymore, he asked, "What time is it?"

Startled slightly, the silver-haired boy looked at the clock. "10 a.m."

"I woke up later than usual," murmured Syusuke. "Saeki..," Fuji hesistated, "what does it look like? Outside, I mean?"

Feeling a sense of sadness overwhelm him, Saeki described it to him. "It's very light outside, the sun is shining brightly, and there's no clouds to be seen."

Smiling, Syusuke sighed in content. "Yes, I remember now. Arigatou, Saeki." Fuji's head snapped up when he heard his door open.

"Syusuke? Oh, good, Syusuke, you're awake! We were worried about you!" He heard Yumiko say. "How long have you been up?"

"About an hour now," Saeki answered for him, smiling at Yumiko.

Yumiko beamed, then proceeded to walk over towards her brother. "Are you hungry? I can bring you some food, if you want," she offered kindly.

"I'm not hungry," Fuji responded softly. "Thanks anyway, 'nee-san."

"Well, alright then, I'll check back up on you in a little bit." He heard her close the door, then stiffened.

For some reason, when she said "I'll check back up on you in a little bit", a spark of anger flew through him. He didn't want Yumiko or anyone else to have a change of feelings towards him just because he was now blind. They hadn't been worried about him when he was home alone the night he was shot, had they? Well, now all of the sudden they were scared to leave him in the room alone. He didn't like that at all. Syusuke wasn't weak, and he hated the thought of anyone thinking he was. He didn't want pity, or sympathy; He wanted everyone to treat him the same way as they did before.

"Well, Fuji," Saeki stated, startling Syusuke out of his thoughts, "I guess I'll be going now. I'll get you some information on how to enhance your other senses." As Saeki was opening the door to leave, he called to his friend, "Oh yeah, and I'll be expecting to play a match against you after you're used to using only your other senses."

Fuji felt his smile grow wider and responded, "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't beat you in tennis."

Saeki laughed, still holding the door open. "I've gotten better since our last match, you know. We'll see who wins."

"Yes, we will," Syusuke commented cheerfully. "Arigatou for coming, Saeki."

"Can't wait till our match, better be prepared, Fuji!"

After he heard Kojirou leave, Syusuke laid back down on his bed. He felt a lot better than he had last night, thanks to Saeki. Surprisingly, Syusuke found that his thoughts were centered on his tennis practice tomorrow.

'I wonder if Tezuka will be surprised that I've decided to continue playing,' Fuji wondered. 'Ah well, I believe he will help me. He did comfort me, after all, when I was in the hospital, which is very odd of him, who would have known buchou would show so much emotion?' The boy mused. 'I will have to tease him about that later..'

Yes, no disability would ever stop Fuji Syusuke from playing tennis. No disability would ever stop him from being sadistic, either.

A/N: Yay, another chapter is done! Sorry it took so long! Oh, by the way, this chapter is dedicated to yamatoforever for figuring out a lot of things! xD Oh, and thanks for reminding me to put Saeki in there! o

Fightingdreamer5 - Well, most people do die when they're shot in the head, but not all people. You're right, no animal did shoot him, but when you are afraid you often try to think up excuses to calm yourself. Also, human curiousity makes you do ignorant things, that's why I believe he would've looked to see if someone was there. I guess it's basically just instinct, if you understand what I mean. Thanks for the review! Hope you like this chapter.

Anyways, I hope everyone likes this chapter, and that it turned out the way everyone wanted it to! Please review and tell me what you think! Please, no flames.