Disclamer : Tennis No Ohjisama belong to Konomi Takeshi-sensei. Words in /….: someone's thoughts
Words in Italic : flashback
Big thanks to G.Rei Lam for corrected me that St. Rudaolp's buchou's name is Akazawa. Somehow I get misplaced it with the 'da ne' guy. >
A Half-Second Dream
Chapter 7 : Fuji's Past
There was a long silence when they heard what Yumiko had said. No one knew what to say. They never expected things to turn out like that. That the reason for Fuji to never talk about his birthday had something to do with death.
"Uhm, Yuuta." Akazawa coughed. "I think we better leave now."
St. Rudolph's Buchou was a polite boy. He had seen everything from the time Fuji came out from his room only to ignore them and went to the kitchen till Rokkoku's Fukubuchou said he's leaving with Fuji. Akazawa knew that something was not right. He could see the sheer of panic and upset in Yuuta and the Seigaku regulars. Even Atobe. Mizuki seemed grumpy while the others looked curious.
Akazawa had wondered if he was the only one who didn't know what was going on. But after observed all the guesses, he was sure that his team mates were the same as him. Well, it seems that only Mizuki and Kisarasu that knew about what happened. Since they didn't include him and his team mates in the matter, Akazawa thought it would be wise to leave so they could talk freely.
Yuuta seems distracted. A part of him was relief that his buchou was so understanding that he wanted to give him time to solve his problem. But another part of him was feeling guilty. He felt that he had used them as a reason for throwing a party. And now they must leave before the party even started.
"Uh, Akazawa-senpai, you don't have to. The party isn't even started yet." Yuuta tried to be a good host.
"It's okay really, Yuuta. I think you have a lot to talk to with Fuji-san." He nodded to Yumiko.
"That's ridiculous." Yumiko finally took the charge. "There're so many foods here that would be waste while there're many people out there that needed them more! No body could leave this place before they are full. Please, Akazawa-kun, I'm insiste. Just make yourself comfortable."
Yumiko turned to her otouto and said, "Yuuta."
Yuuta looked at her, expecting a command. He didn't have to wait long.
"I believe you can take care of everything from here, correct? We'll talk about it later."
Yuuta nodded gratefully.
"Well then, gentlemen, please enjoy the party." She nodded gracefully to them then left them on their own.
---
It was the worse party everyone had attended. The food was good, but no one could really enjoy it. They didn't joke and fool around. Only ate silently. They changed one or two words quietly to their companion. The rest of time they just stayed silence.
Atobe had commented about the tiramisu that they ate. It seems that the cake was better than the one he ate at Italia. Yuuta had said absently that it was his aniki's home made. Everyone was surprised. The discovery was added as some ability that Fuji had.
After they ate, Akazawa said his goodbye again. This time Yuuta didn't stop him. He said his thanks for his senpais' time. Akazawa left with his team mates, except for Atsushi. Mizuki had wanted to stay because he wanted to know about Fuji's untold story. But Akazawa didn't let him. He dragged Mizuki along by saying he owned Akazawa an explanation.
Yuuta looked cautiously to the remaining ones. Atobe sat with his hands crossed above while he glared to Yuuta as daring him to tell him to leave. Kirihaya had the same look on his face. Yuuta knew the Seigaku regulars wouldn't leave. After all, it was because of them that he found out something that he never knew before about his aniki.
The Hyoutei regulars looked expectedly to him. Since their buchou didn't show the sign to leave, they didn't see why they should leave. Of course Kabaji just showed a blank expression like always. No one knew if he really wanted to know or just be there for Atobe. Mukahi just didn't want to lose a chance to watch a good show, so naturally Oshitari stayed to make sure he would out of trouble.
Ohtori felt bad about all this. He didn't think it was their right to be here but he didn't dare to be unrespectful to his senpai tachi. Especially Atobe. It wouldn't be wise to against his buchou's big ego.
"Leave."
Atobe's authoritative voice had startled everyone. Ohtori accepted the command without question with silent understanding, followed by Shishido who merely grunted. Mukahi wanted to object but Oshitari dragged him off quickly. Even after all the punishment, Mukahi still didn't know how to close his mouth. Kabaji 'usu'-ed and followed them obediently.
"Hmm, I must be going now. Thank you for the invitation, Fuji-kun." Yukimura's soft voice broke the awkward silence.
Yukimura lifted an eyebrow to his fellow team mates. Kirihara stayed silent, stubbornly keeping his hands in his pockets. His Buchou just shook his head and turned to Sanada.
"I'll leave him to you. Make sure that he wouldn't make any trouble, ne, Sanada?" He patted Sanada's shoulder gently and left.
"Mm." Sanada nodded. "Please be careful on your way home, Yukimura."
Yukimura smiled at him sweetly. "You too."
Yuuta looked at around. Since it seemed that no one else was leaving, Yuuta sighed in defeat. So he went to call his neesan.
---
Yumiko was surprised to see that there were still so many people left. She frowned while debating whether she should tell them what they wanted to know.
"We're really sorry for bothering you, Yumiko-Neesan." Eiji said quickly. "But we're really worried about Fuji. He wasn't himself these past weeks. And the talk between us leads us to more questions than answers. But… Our intention to help him is really sincere. Honest!"
Yumiko's gaze had softened when she heard Eiji's words.
"That's really kind of you all. I know that we shouldn't let Shuusuke drown in his grief all this time. I just don't know what to do. I'm afraid we'll lose him for good if we keep pushing him."
They looked at her expectedly.
"First of all, I want you to tell me what you know about Shuusuke."
They looked at each other. They never expected her to ask them that. Finally Eiji was the first one to speak.
"We know that Fuji never likes to talk about his birthday. Inui here had noted the pattern of days when Fuji missed school. And there're some symptoms too before he disappeared."
Yumiko seemed interested about the patterns. So Inui explained the patterns and the symptoms to her. Also about Yuuta's assumption that Fuji's birthday was at the first days of March, but they still didn't know about the exact date.
"Yuuta said Fuji got a scholarship in US when he was ten years old. Oh, and Fuji had a photographic memory!" Eiji exclaimed.
Atobe twitched. So Fuji had a photographic memory. That's mean it was Fuji's choice to ignore him and pretended he didn't knew him when they met again.
"Fuji-senpai reads various books, mostly math. There're spiritual books and traveling books also." Ryoma stated. While he was speaking, Tezuka frowned at the blank look in his eyes. It was as if he was there physically, but his heart was somewhere else. "He also had published his pictures twice. The first one was published 3 years ago in US while the second one was published 1 year ago in Japan."
Ryoma could see a bewilded expression from the others, except of Seigaku regulars. Kikumaru-senpai didn't waste any time to tell the other regulars about their little adventure to Fuji's house after their left. So all the Seigaku regulars already knew about it. Kikumaru had acted like a knight that had returned safely after encounter a dragon's wrath.
"He entered a young tennis tournament when he was nine years old and became the champion." Atobe said dryly. "He had started tennis only 6 months at that time. It was the first and the last time he entered the tennis tournament."
"During that tournament, he was accompanied by two boys. Atobe thought they were Saeki and Tezuka. But Tezuka said it wasn't him." Sanada said calmly.
"Fuji was born premature. His health wasn't so good when he was little. That's why he stayed with his grandmother at Chiba and befriended Saeki-kun." Oishi said.
Yumiko seems more interested to Kisarasu Ryou's story. About Fuji's call to the sea horses' story.
"Saa, it seems you really did your research." Yumiko said calmly. "Hmm, I don't know where I should begin to tell you."
Everyone looked at her expectedly.
"First of all, Shuusuke's birthday is at February, not March."
"Nani? But… I… we…"
"Calm down, Yuuta. I think I know why you could mistaken remember Shuusuke's birthday. Because most of it we celebrated his birthday at March 1st."
Yuuta was speechless.
"Shuusuke's birthday is at February 29th."
Ryoma's eyes widened. "Of course… The missing date."
"You're right." Yumiko nodded. "That's why we always celebrated Shuusuke's birthday at March 1st when February 29th wasn't on that year. So no wonder Yuuta thought Shuusuke's birthday was on March. You were still too young that time, Yuuta."
Yuuta scolded. He felt like an idiot. Then he remembered something.
"Neesan, you said Aniki's best friend had died. Who was it? Why didn't I ever hear Aniki mention about that person?"
"Well, Shuusuke refused to talk about it. I could understand his feelings. With his photographic memory, the accident that happened almost five years ago would always seem like it happened yesterday for him."
The movement was very subtle, but Yumiko noticed Ryoma cringe.
Then she continued with a sad look in her eyes. "He would always remember every detail of that tragic moment forever."
"The first weeks after the accident, Shuusuke hardly slept because he kept dreaming abut the accident. So not only he saw it over and over again in his mind, he saw it too in his dream. He had a terrible case of insomnia because of it. And he also had trouble eating. It was really a hard time for us all."
Yumiko's voice sounded distant. She thought back at that tragic accident. She had thought it wouldn't be long before she would lose her brother too because of Shuusuke's reaction that time. Nobody dared to say anything. They just waited patiently for her to continue.
"His name is Katsuhiko. Tsukino Katsuhiko."
The Seigaku regulars looked bewilded.
"Katsuhiko as written in kanji 'victory' and 'man'?" Eiji asked.
"Yes, that's right. How do you know?"
The Seigaku regulars looked at each other.
So Oishi told the others about their meeting with the little soccer player boy. Inui added about what he found from Inoue. The other boys were surprised to find out that Fuji had played soccer and that he was really good at it.
"Yes, they were playing soccer before. The reason for Shuusuke to join the young tennis tournament only once was because he was busied with soccer. You see, the three of them had become the candidates of All Japan Under Twelfth. So they had trained harder. Besides, they were not only the players at their school team but also the coaches."
They looked surprised.
"The three of them?" Kisarasu Ryou asked.
"Yes. Kojirou as the goal keeper, Katsuhiko as forward, and Shuusuke as middle field."
So Saeki used to play soccer too. The information was too much for them.
"Fuji-san, you said that they were not only players but also coaches. Why could that happen?" Tezuka asked curiously.
"Our Obaasan's home was at Katsuura city at Chiba Prefecture, not at the city where Kojirou lives now. Katsuura is a beautiful city near the sea. There's a little forest near the sea. With good nature, it was a perfect environment for living. But people who used to stay in a modern city wouldn't like it. So there're not many people lived there. And not so many children either. "
"They school was closed because of the lack students. So along Katsuhiko and Kojirou, Shuusuke must be transferred to other schools. They had chosen Mizuho Elementary School, a school that newly builds. I didn't understand why they had chosen it since it didn't have a soccer team. I knew they had offers from schools that concentrated in soccer."
"They had asked permission from the head master to make a soccer team in the first day they joined Mizuho. Since it was a new team, lots of things still not ready. They didn't have a coach so they the one who teach the others. They had only 11 members so they didn't have substitute. But do you know? Since the first time they entered the tournament, Mizuho never lost. They became a legend. People had expected a lot of the three of them."
They were speechless. Yumiko's story added with what Inui said to them made them realized that Fuji was not only good in soccer. Fuji was really really good in soccer. To be known as 'The Field Magician' in Japan and Fantasista at above, also to reach MVP at the world championship even though for people under twelfth years old.
"Well, it seems that Fuji's staying at Chiba was really good for his health." Atobe said dryly. "He surely made an amazing story there. He could even spend a little time for tennis back then."
He felt offended that Fuji only joined the young tennis championship with a half hearted and yet he beated him viciously. And after that, Fuji just simply threw tennis away.
"I don't think Shuusuke joined that tennis tournament willingly."
Everyone turned to Yumiko with surprised.
"At my visited to Katsuura, I found out that Kojirou had started learning tennis because of an old man that had a playground on his yard."
The Seigaku regulars turned to Ryou. So Rokkoku's coach was the one who responsible to bring Fuji and Saeki to tennis.
"Shuusuke had learned it to accompany Kojirou. Katsuhiko didn't interest in tennis and only teasing them. A few months later I visited Shuusuke again. I knew that something happened during that period. I just couldn't find out what was it. All I know is that the three became much closer because of it. And one thing for sure, Shuusuke didn't want to play tennis anymore."
Everyone looked surprised. They couldn't think a reason for why Fuji had suddenly despised tennis.
"So I think the reason for Shuusuke to join the tournament was to accompany Kojirou. Kojirou had joined the tournament but he was lost at the first matches."
"How did Katsuhiko die?" Yuuta asked after a long silence. "And you said he was died at Aniki's birthday. At that time there wasn't February 29th was it?"
Yumiko looked sad.
"They were just come back from the world championship under twelfth. Shuusuke's leg was injured at that final match. He couldn't use his leg freely for weeks. Then it took him more time to be able to walk without the crutch. At their journey home from school, there was a drunken high school boy who rides a car. He wasn't legal enough to drive! He was too drunk to know what happen."
"Shuusuke was standing near the traffic light. The light already turned red for awhile. Shuusuke knew he couldn't cross the street quick enough because of his injury so he decided to wait until the light turned to red again. That drunken boy had led his car straight to where Shuusuke stood."
Everyone looked at her with wide eyes.
"Shuusuke couldn't move fast enough because of his injury. Katsuhiko had run back from across the street to push Shuusuke away. He got the full impact from the crash. The car had spinned aside and crashed Shuusuke's injured leg too. They were brought to the hospital. Shuusuke's injury became worse but he survived. As for Katsuhiko… He didn't make it."
Everyone was silent. No one knew what to say. It was an awful accident. It should be avoided if that high school was sober enough. It made everyone felt sad that a young life must go in vain.
"The accident was happened at February 28th afternoon. Katsuhiko struggled to hold on much longer than what the doctors expected. When it was almost midnight, Katsuhiko asked the doctors to let Shuusuke and Kojirou met him. He said that he was sorry he couldn't fulfill his promise to Shuusuke that year. But he was glad that he had the opportunity to say happy birthday to Shuusuke for the last time. He passed away no longer after the day switched to March 1st."
"Till now I still think that Katsuhiko was the reason for Shuusuke's ever-present smile. He had asked Shuusuke to always smile because he loved Shuusuke's smile. But I think Katsuhiko didn't mean for Shuusuke to hide everything behind his smile. He just asked Shuusuke to not be sad. Shuusuke took the words literally."
"Fuji-san," Inui said. "I could understand the reason for Fuji's disappearing in the pattern before his birthday. Do you probably know the reason for Fuji's disappearing at December?"
"I believe it was because Katsuhiko's birthday was at December 11th. I do notice that Shuusuke became more depressed around his birthday and Katsuhiko's. Every morning he just went in his school uniform as usual but he never reached the school. I found out about it after the school informed me. So I told them that Shuusuke was sick. Because it was the truth. But the sickness is not in his physic, it's in his heart."
Yuuta debated with himself whether he should ask the question in front of the others. Finally he braced himself.
"Neesan, why do our parents like that?"
Yumiko looked at her otouto with a blank expression.
"I don't know what you mean, Yuuta."
"Neesan, onegai." Yuuta looked at her determinedly. "I know. I'm not blind. Well, not anymore!"
"I think what Fuji-kun wanted to ask is about Fuji's relationship with your parents." Inui said while adjusting his glasses.
There's a silence. Inui had stated the matter so clearly. The listeners had split into two groups. One who wanted to hear the answer while the others thought they had already crossed the limit that they should back off right there. Yumiko silenced made the uneasiness heavier.
"Yuuta," It was Yumiko who broke the silence first. "Our parents love us all. You know that right?"
Yuuta didn't know what to say. He wanted to believe Yumiko's words. God knew how much he wanted to believe it. But these days made him hard to believe it. Yuuta loved his aniki. His aniki always protected him. It was his turn to protect his aniki. Even if that means he must against his own parents.
"They do. That's the truth. They just…" Yumiko's voice had quieter. "They just don't know how to reach him."
"Why? Aniki is not a trouble boy that hard to get through!"
"Of course he isn't!" Yumiko snapped. "It just…"
She stopped again. Everyone became more curious. What was the big secret about?
"Shuusuke is a bright child." Yumiko suddenly said.
They looked at each other. They didn't understand why the conversation had switched suddenly.
"He is a bright child from the moment he was born." Yumiko seems lost in her thought. "Yes, Shuusuke was born premature. His condition was not good. The doctors said he would not make it to one month."
They looked at her bewilded.
"I still remembered how the joyous expression that our parents had turned to despair. They had waited so long before they finally had the son that they had long expected. Okaasan had cried. But they were not giving up. One month was passed and Shuusuke had struggled to live. Their hope was raised. After another examination, the doctors said Shuusuke had reached his limit. He wouldn't reach his two months."
"Okaasan cried. But they refused to give up. They hoped and they hoped. And Shuusuke was fought hard, he reached his two months weakly. The doctor then said he wouldn't reach his three months. Then Otousan… He didn't want Okaasan to cry all the time. He hated to see her devasted. So he talked to Okaasan to try to give birth again."
"What?" Yuuta asked harshly.
"Okaasan is not a strong person, Yuuta. I think you have known it too. Otousan didn't want Okaasan to keep her hope high only to be broken when her hope is just a dream. Shuusuke's progress didn't look so good. It was the only thing he could think of. If the new baby is born, Okaasan's grief would be lessening because of the new baby."
"How could they do that?" Yuuta yelled furiously. "It would be like they didn't expect Aniki to live!"
"Yuuta, I had told you the reason. And I expect you to honor that. Each of us is a different individual. Each has their own way to solve a problem. You can not expect everyone to do what you think they should do." Yumiko said sternly.
"Neesan, how could you say that? Don't tell me that you agree with them! Do you think what they do was right? Do you think that's needed?"
"What I think doesn't matter!" Yumiko's voice raised.
She stopped when she realized she had let her emotion to take control.
"What I think if I face the similar situation is for me to know." Yumiko said softly. "But I understand Otousan's reason. He loves Okaasan so much. If he must chose between the woman that he had spent years together with a child that could not make it to his three months living, even though the child was his, he definitely would choose her."
Yuuta didn't say anything. He could see Yumiko's reason now. But still… It was not fair for Shuusuke. He never thought before about his birthday which was closed with his aniki's birthday. Of course a pregnant woman could only feed her newly born baby with milk and baby foods from factory. It made he felt that Shuusuke was an unwanted child.
"What makes it worse is that Shuusuke remembered."
Yuuta turned his head to Yumiko with shocked.
"I said that he is a bright child right?" Yumiko smiled sadly. "Shuusuke has a photographic memory. But it is not the same like we used to hear. Shuusuke's ability makes him couldn't forget anything he sees and hears from the moment he was born."
Everyone looked bewilded.
"He even remembers the music that Okaasan used to play when she was pregnant. He could said his thank you to the nurse that had took care of him after he was birth. We never told him about her, we didn't even remember how she was looked like. But he did."
Ryoma let out his breath. He didn't realize he had held it. Everyone looked so tense. Yuuta's face was paler. Of course Ryoma knew what made Fuji's otouto so worried.
"If Aniki remembered everything, that's mean…"
"Yes," Yumiko nodded. "He knew that he wasn't expecting to live."
Yuuta bited his lower lip. There was a long silence that followed.
"What did the doctor say when Fuji reached his three months?" Eiji asked quietly.
"The diagnosis made them said the same. Only the time became longer. They said Shuusuke wouldn't live to his one year birthday, then three, then fifth. But Shuusuke proofed them wrong. The last he got his general check up was when he was six. The doctor said he wouldn't live till his tenth birthday. But Shuusuke's condition became better and better after he stayed in Katsuura. So Obaasan didn't bring him to take another check up."
Everyone was relief. So Fuji was overwhelming the doctors' diagnosis. Just as what you would expect from Fuji.
"Shuusuke was a quiet child." Yumiko continued. "He never cried like any babies. He just watched everything that happened around him. I believe his gift made him a curious little one. He had observed everything silently. Shuusuke could do anything faster than usually a baby would do. He could walked and talked faster than any babies. I remembered his first words and the chaos that happened because of it."
Everyone waited curiously.
"Okaasan was going to buy milk and baby portridge for him. She took me and Shuusuke along. Shuusuke was only eight months old. He looked at Okaasan that chosed the item she wanted to buy. Suddenly he said 'Ie, 'kaachan. Awful. Want that.' He pointed to a different brand."
"The words still not perfectly said but we could understood what Shuusuke wanted to tell us. Okaasan was so shocked that she dropped the goods. There were some people, even our neighbors. They were gathering around us and said their impress about how smart Shuusuke was. Okaasan just said her thank you and left quickly."
"Okaasan had locked us in the house for days. She was afraid to hear what others would say. She avoided Shuusuke too like she was afraid to him. Poor Shuusuke. He didn't know what mistake that he made. He just stared to Okaasan from afar silently."
No body knew what to say. It was not a story that they had expected to hear.
"Shuusuke is a sensitive boy too. And the days after that incident, things turn out worse. News spread so fast. Family, friends and neighbors came. They praised Shuusuke so high. It should be a good thing. But Shuusuke looked terrified to them. I couldn't understand at that time."
"But when Okaasan finally felt better and took us out, we accidentally heard the neighbors talked."
"Yes, that Fuji's little boy is surely a prodigy. He could understand what we said. He could answered our questions even though his vocabulary is still not much. At least we could understand what he wanted to say."
"That's right. I can't believe that a boy that not even reaches one year could talk so good. My son was three years old when he knew vocabulary that much. And he couldn't even understand what I said fully."
"But isn't it frightening? It isn't normal for kids to be able to do that at that age right?"
"You're right. We couldn't know what run in the mind of a child like that. Even though Fuji's son is a prodigy, I'm grateful that my daughter is normal."
"Okaasan didn't say anything. But she tried to not let Shuusuke be outside too much because she didn't want to hear more talks. Everything he did, people talked behind us. Shuusuke became quieter everyday."
"And much of Okaasan's attention was for you, Yuuta. You were the 'normal' child that she and Otousan expected. They cheered when you said your first word and took your first step. Everytime Shuusuke just watched from afar. He didn't even reach two years when he heard that."
"I can't take it! Why did he keep looking at me like that? Like he was judging me had treated him unfair!"
"Please calm down, dear. It's just your imagination. Shuusuke is just a little boy." He gently soothed his wife.
"It wasn't just my imagination! He kept stared at me. He kept looking at whatever I do! Why didn't he say anything. Just looked at me silently with wide eyes. I couldn't understand what is running in his mind. A not so sweet child!"
Outside their bedroom, Yumiko couldn't move. She couldn't come to ask their parents to take them to the zoo like she wanted to do before. Shuusuke stood silently. He pulled his hand from his neesan grip then walked to their room with his unstable steps.
Yuuta looked to her with wide eyes. With Shuusuke's photographic memory, it means that… He shook his head. He didn't want to think about it.
"How could they?" His voice was barely a whisper. "How could they!"
He almost yelled the last sentence.
"Yuuta, their reaction is normal." Yumiko said sadly. "Every parents have their own ideal picture about the child they would have. They already imagine about how they would teach their child to talk, to walk. How they would answer their child's innocent question about everythings."
"With Shuusuke, it was different. His ability was beyond their imagination. It was normal to be shock and afraid about it. As long as they could try to move on and accepted that. But Shuusuke's inability to forget created a thick wall between them. Times only make it worse. Our parents already didn't know how to get through that wall."
"Shuusuke's sensitive also made his condition worse."
That took everyone's attention.
"He never said what he felt about everything. He kept them to himself. But his distress had affected his metabolism. He couldn't eat properly. He kept throw up what he ate behind us. We finally found out about it when he was collapsed. The doctor had suggested Otousan to take Shuusuke to a child psychiatrist."
"Shuusuke didn't say anything. The psychiatrist finally could only suggest our parents to take easy to him, to give him more attention. Till that time, Shuusuke couldn't eat much. Okaasan had stopped to push him to eat more after awhile. Because it had distressed Shuusuke more and he kept throwing up. At least if she didn't push him, Shuusuke could eat even for a little."
The news was really shocked them. They never knew that Fuji had eating disorder when he was a little.
"He grew so thin and his tall is shorter than kids that his age. As you grew up, you demanded more attention too. The neighbors talked became more often. They talked that Shuusuke was a prodigy. That he would be able to join Elementary School even though he was just fifth years old. Of course Okaasan knew that their praise wasn't sincere. But with all the distress that she endured, she talked to Otousan about letting Shuusuke to enter Elementary."
"After some tests, the school's principal agreed to let Shuusuke joined with the fifth grade students. But that was the beginning for Shuusuke's hell. It turned out worse till Shuusuke refused to talk to anyone. That was the reason why Obaasan took him to stay with here at Katsuura."
---
Tsuzuku…
Well, I don't know about the tradition in yours. I'm a Chinesse girl. Chinesse people never celebrates birthday earlier than the birth date. They believe it would bring bad luck. They say it could make the birthday one's age become shorter. Since Japanesse people's history had a related with Chinesse people (they say Japanesse's ancestor were Chinesse people that left their country and lived together with the origin people there), I assume that they would feel the same way about celebrate birthday earlier.
I used Tsukino as Katsu's last name. Because tsuki means moon. That's why Fuji knew that drinking the moon ritual was Katsu's idea, not Saeki.
Katsuura is a real city in Chiba Prefecture. It's location is near the sea. There's some forest near the sea that used as Katsuura Elephant Paradise (a place where elephants could live freely). The information was from Reaching For A Star by Orihara Mito, a story that based from Japan's first elephant tamer. But all about minor sum of people that live there was a make up since I don't know about the condition there. Although I read a lot Japanesse mangas about some schools that must be closed or merged because of less students they have.
In this story, Saeki's home now is at the town near Katsuura. He moved there before he went to Rokkaku because his dad got transferred there, after he graduated from Mizuho. Mizuho has Elementary School to High School in this story. So if the accident didn't happen, the three of them would go to Mizuho Junior High together.
Yes, Fuji's soccer life was inspirited from Kubo in Ooshima Tsukasa-sensei's manga, Shoot. I changed the name Kakegawa to Mizuho. Also Kubo was entered Kakegawa High School while Fuji and the others joined Mizuho Elementary School.
Fuji's eating disorder was happened when he was around forth years old. The idea I got from Tears Of Sheep, a manga by Hidaka Banri-sensei. The main idea was that whenever Fuji was under a lot of stress he couldn't eat anything without throw up. Because it was continue days after days, his stomatch was adjusted. He couldn't eat much. At the time he was in Seigaku, he could only eat a small portion (kid's portion). When he was upset, he barely eat anything.
So what's wrong at the past that lead Fuji to stop speaking to everyone? The next chapter would also be the first time Fuji met Saeki and Katsu. And of course, Yumiko only knew half the truth. There're things that she didn't know about Fuji's past. Some of her story was only her guessing since Fuji never said anything to her about his suffering. Some of the guessing is correct. But there is something that deeper than what she saw. You just have to wait till Saeki's turn to share his part of story.
Buchou : captain
Fukubuchou : vice captain
Nani : what
Dakara : because of that
Obaasan : grandmother
Onegai : please
Okaasan : mother
Otousan / oyaji : father
Ie : no
