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Notes: Yay! Third chappie is up! Have fun reading this! This was quite a hard chapter to write and I guess I might have rushed through some stuff, especially typing and retyping and everything, but it's all fine now. Enjoy!
Oh, and thanks all to all my reviewers, you don't know how big of a help you all were! Couldn't have got through this chapter without all of you XD
Chapter 3 - A Prince And A Prodigy
The air was cool, a wet relaxation of mist and a soft, soothing kind of fog mixed in the atmosphere. The leaves did not seem to hold still and they gradually began to float to the ground. It was the wintry season, yet the winds still caught a few branches here and there. Although, the fuzziness did not attract many visitors, the park was acceptable enough for Fuji and Tezuka. Sitting side by side on a bench, each was aware of the other's breath and the soaking sweat off the faces.
Hands clutched tight, clasping around each other, Fuji coughed. "How long has it been?"
Tezuka looked at his watch. "Twenty minutes."
Fuji sighed. "Do you think he's coming?"
"Mm."
Looking to his left, Fuji could see it clearly. The tennis racket Tezuka held, the equipment bag hung over his left shoulders. Of course, this shouldn't be bothering Fuji for he has always noticed Tezuka's habit of carrying his racket around 24/7, but it wasn't this that left Fuji suspicious. It wasn't Tezuka himself; it was the racket.
"Ne Tezuka, where's the other one?" Fuji eyed the tennis bag.
Seemingly to know what his friend was talking about, Tezuka replied, "It's at home."
"Demo, you always use that other racket during practice. Why are you bringing this one now?"
Silence. Apparently, Tezuka wasn't planning to answer this question.
Instead…
"Buchou!"
Ears perked up, eyes focused. Tezuka with no significant reaction, stood up. Fuji as well, but he could feel himself shaking. He could feel his body weaken.
There. Right there, in front of him, was that boy.
That boy named Echizen. After seven years, after all this time, he was here.
A smile emerged as Echizen stepped up. "Buchou." He shifted his eyes to the left. "Fuji-sempai."
Fuji smiled back, which was something he unexpectedly found difficult to do. "Ah Echizen, welcome back. It's been a long time since last we saw you."
"Heh," Echizen dipped his cap down, covering his forehead.
"I hear you've won all four world tennis tournaments," Fuji continued. "Eh? That's pretty good."
Tezuka nodded. Then, he suddenly spotted what Echizen was holding. "Is that your tennis bag?"
"Aa," Echizen replied.
Carefully examining and thinking it over, Tezuka began walking down the sidewalk, naturally followed by the other two, who lingered close behind; Echizen, then Fuji in a curvy line. It was funny that both of them did not question about their whereabouts. There was practically no one on the streets. Fuji could see the street names as they crossed the roads; Tezuka was heading to the university.
The university…the tennis courts…"So how has it been going?"
It was a question that both Fuji and Tezuka had expected to be asked. "Aa, it's been well," Tezuka responded.
Echizen tucked his hands into his pockets. "Mm, it's quite different without the others around. Heh, maybe I just might visit them while I'm still here these couple of days."
Fuji frowned. So he knows about that as well. Tezuka must have told him a lot of things.
He looked up ahead. There was Tezuka, he and everything about him that had appalled Fuji ever since they first met during their freshman years. There was nothing that wasn't noticeable about him. Fan girls shrieked around when he steps on the court, and many more asks for his autograph after he wins his games. Him and his atmosphere, his life, and his environment. Just him being Tezuka Kunimitsu was a beautiful sight to see in Fuji's eyes.
And so again, he observes to the slightest detail that he could see in Tezuka. The wind in his hair, the sun's shadow in his eye, his lips as they part to speak, his neck as he turns to the side, and his soft, smooth skin that shines his face out with the loveliest scent.
Yet, even now near Tezuka, Fuji couldn't feel the same serenity anymore. In fact, he could only feel the dim shade reflected in his face that failed to smile.
And then his gaze fell upon the grown, but still small boy in front of him.
If anyone could ever understand…
"We're here," Tezuka proclaimed suddenly. Looking up, Fuji saw the familiar tennis court his friend always practiced in. So Tezuka wanted a match? He chuckled. That's Tezuka for you, Echizen.
Echizen looked around and grinned. "Heh?"
"Ikutsou! Echizen!"
The small boy marched out to the opposite end of the court. He put on his ever so arrogant smile. "Hai!"
Fuji stood at the doorway, watching Tezuka put down his tennis bag and take out the racket. At close examination, Fuji realized that he has never seen that tennis racket before. It looked quite new, but not brand new, which meant that it has been used before, for probably at least a couple of months. Tezuka walked sternly out into the court, holding the unfamiliar racket in his hand.
Unfamiliar? Fuji somehow couldn't put it that way. He held his breath. Eyes examined the tennis racket closely.Somehow…
It was strange, but he sort of…Fuji actually had a sense that… He froze. I remember having seen that racket before.
It was a lonely night. The dark dull sky, black and blue, all around the world it seems, was a clear view where Fuji's room was located. Outside the window, a large tree was planted at the right side and an especially large branch extended out, long enough that Fuji could even touch the rough bark of the trunk.
The wind was mighty hard. Fuji had already combed his hair, but no sooner or later, it was all tangled again. His eyes looked up, his face looking toward the moon.
And for the first time, he questioned himself if the moon was actually even there at all.
Could it be an illusion or not, Fuji found that he didn't really mind at all. The light was tempting. It was a guide for the lost and poor, and it was beauty for the happiest man alive on Earth. Whoever that may be, Fuji would envy that man all his life; that much he already knows.
An arm extended out, out toward the sky, out for the moon. The hands cupped together, the fingers dug deep into the skin that was made contact with.
Yet however far he reached out, Fuji could never exceed that of the moon itself.
Just like Tezuka ne? He thought sadly to himself. How far would I need to go? How far is he away from me that I may reach him?
Far, he knew. Far away, so far, it's like the moon: unreachable, yet clear to the naked eye.
It was just then that Fuji instantly realized that there was someone else in his room. Jerking around, his hands quickly returning to his side, he gasped when he saw the boy standing in front of him. He may have spent about half the day with Echizen, but it was obvious that Fuji hadn't been accustomed to his return yet.
"Fuji-sempai."
"Aa, Echizen, I didn't see you come in." Fuji smiled, taking a step closer.
"It's all right."
Fuji sat on the bed. "How long have you been here?"
"Quite long actually."
There was a pause. Watching Echizen with a keen eye, Fuji noticed that the young champion did not have the eyes or the smile earlier on when Fuji and Tezuka met him. And nor did he carry his tennis racket with him this time. In fact, he didn't look a bit at all like the usual boy Fuji had known.
Or more so, Echizen looked…concerned.
"Echizen?"
"Betsuni, I just here to see you."
Fuji widened his eyes. "See me?"
Echizen sat down on the bed as well, right next to the prodigy. Though expectations of clarifying his statement before, Fuji did not receive any.
He grunted a little. "How did you get in here?"
"Eh? Oh, I didn't entirely leave the campus after the match with Tezuka."
"Maa, I see."
Echizen glared at Fuji. "Then again, I didn't recall seeing you after half an hour or so."
Fuji smiled. "Hontou? Aa, of course, I left early. I felt a little tired."
"You don't seem very tired right now."
"Mm, I missed the nature."
Echizen did not move. "Well, you missed out the match. That's fine by me anyways. Tezuka said that we could stop since we entered a tiebreak and it was getting late. Plus, he had some assignments due tomorrow and he wanted more sleep tonight." He grinned. "He said I could stay at his house until I find a temporary place to live in during my visit here."
Fuji could feel his smile shaking. Feeling lucky, ne Echizen? "Aa, so you had fun then?"
Continuing, "It's good to see my old friends."
Fuji could feel fire ignite within him. Old friends? When was I ever your friend, Echizen? In a low, threatening tone, he merely said, "Don't call me that."
Echizen shuddered. He looked at Fuji, a little sign of puzzlement in his golden eyes. "Fu…"
Fuji's head turned the other way. Fists clenched upon Fuji's laps and a part of him hoped that Echizen did not notice his anger, frustration, and irritation. He felt the confusion, the same kind of puzzlement that baffled him the most.
He was a prodigy. Yes, Fuji was a prodigy. The tennis prodigy. He is perfect in everything. He barely never fails anything at all. Everything came easy.
Yet, he lost now. And it was a fatal, yet easy loss. A loss to Echizen, Fuji thought, how could he? How could it have been so easy for you? For seven whole years, I've been trying to grasp Tezuka. And then…you came today and immediately ripped him away from me.
Why did Tezuka seek you out? Why you? Why not me?
How could you, Echizen? How could you do this to me?
Fuji couldn't accept it. No, he couldn't take it.
He was the prodigy. Seigaku's most honored prodigy.
He couldn't lose, not Fuji.
"Fuji-sempai…" Echizen put one hand on the tensai's shoulder. In a split second, Fuji turned around, taking the young champion by surprise and instantly, he grabbed hold of the pale hand, clutching it greedily. At the same time, he could feel his breath become thinner, his radical mind at the verge of attempting to twist the arm.
"Ah!" Echizen yelped. He looked up at Fuji in horror. Nani…
Fuji stayed quiet. The night assisted his silence. But then he cringed, his face in a distorted type of look.
What am I doing? Fuji thought.
This isn't right. This is Echizen. I can't hurt him. I…
And suddenly, he exhaled, almost gasping for air. How long had he held his breath?
Letting go of his grasp Fuji looked down on the floor. Expecting him to say something, Echizen stared at the tensai. He could feel the red mark on his hand. It was somehow painful, but not in a physical way. When Fuji had clutched it Echizen could feel the hurt in the prodigy's eyes. There was something in the turmoil of blue that he couldn't really extinguish, something terrifying, and something so deadly.
"Get out." Fuji's words were a command, a voice that did not soften.
There was something between the two that neither could express. But that something would not leave them for another century to come. It was a small sign, so small, so tiny, that it wouldn't have been taken notice of until it was too late to change anything. From that moment on, nothing would ever be the same.
Almost too quietly, Echizen's voice filled the air, though Fuji had a hard time deciphering his words. "Ja ne, Fuji-sempai."
The sound of the door creaked, closing gently as if any louder would disrupt the nature the world now balances on. Right after Echizen left the room, Fuji suddenly took notice of the loneliness inside of him.
Like a withering flower, Fuji could feel his whole presence die. Suffocation, dehydration, and struggle for survival, all together would kill a plant; all together, tenderly, slowly, and painfully, Fuji could feel himself fall.
"Come on, come on…"
The screen brightened, a little spark of orange flashed. Fingers quickly pressed the buttons on the device held in both hands. Eyes were locked and piercing and his mouth was watering. Although hungry for another burger, he was essentially trapped in the realm of the video game.
After a few minutes…
"Yoshi!" Momo jumped up and bounced on his couch. "I won! Sugoi!" He counted his fingers. "Hacha! I'm getting better at this game every single time I play! This'll be great! Maybe I can even get to the last level and de—"
"Momo!" a voice called from upstairs.
He jumped off the sofa and touched the stairs railing. "Nani?"
His friend, Akat, had on a big grin and his right hand held the wired phone. "Here, Momo. Phone."
"Hai," Momo quickly grabbed a slice of ham, cheese and two breads to make a sandwich, and then dashed off to the living room after taking a big bite out.
"Mush mush?" Momo mumbled, trying to make out the words while chewing on his burger.
From the other end of the line, "Momo-chan sempai?"
Momo gasped. Kono…
The sandwich fell to the ground. A pair of eyes stared at the lamp in front of him.
His heart stopped. It felt like the beating ceased to exist. The room surrounding had vanished, time had halted, and his vision felt blurred.
This voice, Momo thought. There's no mistake.
He could feel himself go red hot and numb when the same words sounded over the phone. "Momo-chan sempai, are you there? Moshi moshi?"
This voice…it's so familiar…
Momo gulped. It was he. It had to be. He came back.
"E…Echizen…"
(3 days later)
Such wondrous times happens varying upon season. Perhaps the spring colors represent new comings or advents of the summer days. Probably the reason for likings from so many people, the warm weathers are significantly favored. However, things can go overboard at times, as in, for being too hot can be sensed as unpleasant as well. And maybe that is why even in some good things, there are negative aspects mixed in also. And then comes fall when the world turns bare and nature begins to decay for the oncoming cold season. So winter, like all others, are the days of endurance, whether that may be a gain for a pay or to pay without gain.
And it is at this time of Saturday wintry morning that Echizen meets Tezuka in the public tennis courts.
"Ah, buchou, coming out to play?"
Tezuka gave him a sign of recognition. "Aa, the weather is warmer today. It's good for practice."
Echizen put on a grin. "Eh? Do you want to finish the game from a couple days ago?"
"Iye. I'm just here for warming up." He unpacked his equipment and stepped onto the court. "Would you like to rally a few balls with me?"
His left hand pulled out from his back pocket, taking off his cap held in front of the captain. Echizen looked up. "I'm honored to."
…
…
…
"Tell me, Tezuka-buchou. How is Fuji?"
It was madness in this freezing weather, but their bodies were hot, steamy and sweat full of odor and warm breath. A shirt hung over Tezuka's shoulders and Echizen covered his face with a hand towel. The simple, easy-going silence was unbroken until Echizen asked that question.
He pulled the towel off his face and looked to the right. "Buchou, what's going on with Fuji?"
Tezuka took a deep breath, closing his eyes from the sun, but however much he wanted to, the light almost found a way to pierce through. Sighing, he nudged on the bench to sit upright.
"Doushite?"
"I had a talk with him one night," Echizen answered.
Tezuka paused, wondering which night Echizen was talking about, but a second overlook told him that it was unnecessary to know of for the time being. "Mm, souka."
"He sounded a little…disturbed. I'm not too sure how to put that."
Tezuka breathed. "You know Echizen, a lot has happened when you were gone. Everyone has left to pursue their own careers, their own dreams, taking with them memories of their school life in Seigaku. Almost every member is now on the other side of Japan. Of all the changes here, I'm relieved to know that you can accept that."
"Heh, it's nothing to worry about."
"Possibly," Tezuka said. "But Echizen, how did you feel when you talked with Fuji that night?"
Echizen frowned, tilting his head to the side at a slight angle. Feel? He couldn't recall much of what he felt besides shock and terror when Fuji had suddenly snapped and looked as if he wanted to break his hand. And in addition to that, the conversation wasn't very long or comfortable anyhow.
"Feel? How did I feel…"
There was a hesitation as Echizen searched through his recent memories.
His eyes squinted. "I'm not too sure. I…I kind of…It was kind of funny, actually."
"What was funny?" Tezuka responded.
"What I had felt. It was…funny, you know, strange and weird, kind of like an odd sensation. I mean, it didn't…it just didn't…" Echizen tried to find the right words to put it. "Fuji just wasn't himself, at least not the way I knew him."
Tezuka quieted. "Go on."
Echizen tried to grasp some mental energy. He had seen everything. He saw how Fuji looked out the window, how his watery eyes reflected on the window glass, how his arms extended up, how he had clasped his hands together, and how his whole facial expression changed when he had turned around to face Echizen.
This, all this, how was Echizen supposed to tell Tezuka how he felt?
He set his arms on his laps, feeling ready to say something. "I don't quite know how to say it. You asked me how I feel, but to tell you the truth, I don't know how I feel. What I really felt, I think, was Fuji. I'm not too sure, but I could feel him, you know. There was something strange there, even when he talked, he just wasn't himself. He didn't sound like the Fuji I used to know of before. I could sense that something was bothering him. I have no clue what, but there was just that feeling. It was almost like…like…"
Echizen looked his thoughts back. Those eyes, that Fuji there. That man wasn't Fuji.
"Mm, I missed the nature."
"Ah, so you have fun then?"
"Don't call me that."
"Get out, Echizen."
They weren't hard. The sentences were short, pretty choppy, and directly on meaning. His voice was soft and gentle as always, but there was a hint of confliction behind the mask he had worn. That smile wasn't happy and in fact, it didn't show signs of sadness at all. Fuji was angry.
Fuji? Angry? Echizen thought.
Well sure, he can be angry. Echizen has seen him that way, the seriousness in his match against Mizuki and Kirihara, but this time, it was different. This time, Fuji was angry with Echizen.
But why?
Echizen cupped his hands. "Like pain, you know. Something hurtful, something that's eating him away." He focused contact at Tezuka. "It's like he's desperate for help, for…for…I don't know, just something. He just needs something, I'm not too sure what that may be, but he needs it."
Then, at once, Echizen stood up and looked at Tezuka eye-to-eye. "Buchou, tell me. Tell me, what's wrong with Fuji? Did something happen? Is there something I missed? Did I do anything wrong?"
His stoic expression did not change as Tezuka replied. "I'm not too sure how long it has been, but after graduation, I've noticed the same things about him. He wasn't himself. And he still isn't."
"Like what? What did you notice, Tezuka-buchou?" Echizen asked.
The former captain sighed. "See Echizen, you have to understand that many things changed. But Fuji changed the most and he changed in the most awkward way. Everyone else has left and separated for the good of themselves, to chase after their goals and achieve the motives to their best effort. Yet Fuji, he doesn't seem to be trying even."
He looked up at the boy. "Sit down."
Echizen plopped right on top of his towel laid on his seat.
"Fuji, he…" Tezuka went on. "He skips classes now. He wanders around the hallways and he's been suspended five times already in just one month. His grades have been dropping and he's been failing his classes. Apparently, I don't know what happened to him and even if I do, I don't know how anyone can save him."
Their breaths were slow. Echizen kept his ears and eyes open at all times, digesting every word his captain had to say, but even if he wanted to respond, Echizen found himself at a loss of words.
"And…"
Silence. Discontinuity.
Eyeing the buchou, "And?"
Tezuka swallowed. "The biggest thing about him that makes him a totally different man…"
…
…
"Fuji quit tennis."
The airport was in sight. Even though he may be still a few kilometers up in the air, Momo could see the neon lights that outlined the plane arena.
The announcements:
We have arrived at Tokyo, Japan. Please stay seated and keep your seat belts on until the plane has completely stopped. Thank you.
Momo leaned back on his chair.
In a few moments, he thought. He will be seeing that boy who suddenly left in one day, seven years ago.
"So soon," Momo figured. And then he smiled. "Aa, well, you had to come back someday anyhow."
And I'm glad you did, Echizen.
Author's Note: Well, I hoped this chapter was all right I trie dto cut down on a few lines, so it wouldn't be so extensive lol P PLEASE REVIEW! XD I'd like to know how I did on this one. I did not take enough time to proofread enough, so if there is any mistake in grammar or spelling, I'm terribly sorry v.v
