Wow, who knew Summer was supposed to be so busy? I got a full time job, then I come home and baby sit for a few hours. Then my dad, who I'm visiting for the summer, usually takes us to the lake till midnight. So let's just say I haven't got much time to relax, let alone write. I'm enjoying it though, just like I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS.

Chapter 6

Bonds of Brothers

'Where am I?'

A tired, pain filled voice, echoed around his head. It felt like he was floating in the pit of black that surrounded him, swallowing him whole. His body was limp from the sheer exhaustion that filled his veins.

"Ohayo!"

Fuji jolted in shock as Eiji excitement filled voice echoed around the black void; disturbing the peaceful tranquility that had remained only seconds before.

"Nya, where's Ochibi and Momochi?"

"Eiji?" Fuji called out, but no one answered him.

"According to my data there is a 93.4% chance that Momo and Echizen both ended up sleeping in and are now hurrying here,"

"Mada Mada Dane, Sempai."

'Whats going on?' Fuji thought; his usual calm composure was now replaced with one of confusion and uncertainty.

"..."

"Yeah, I just didn't sleep well."

"..."

"Not really, just a nightmare, nothing serious."

"Hello!?" He shouted,voice filled with desperation and fear. Once again, he was met with the empty sound of silence. He whipped his head from side to side, trying to catch a glimpse of the people the voices belonged to. It was useless though; he was still trapped in the never-ending black pit.

His friends voices still echoed through the darkness, ringing in his ears. He could hear their laughter, as well other the voices of many other individuals mixed in.

"What's happening?" Fuji whispered, trying to make sense of what was happening, but with little success.

Suddenly a piercing scream of pure pain echoed around him.

Letting out a cry of surprise and he fell to his knees, placing his hands over his ears trying to block out the bone chilling screaming. Fuji squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for the voice to stop, for someone to make it stop.

Images of a train suddenly flashed through his mind and suddenly everything came flooding back to him in painful waves.

With one last burst of strength, he forced his exhaustion ridden body to open his eyes.

Fuji could feel his body stiffen in shock at the unnerving scene that stood before him. A deadening silence came with it. The black void had been replaced with something much, much worse. Around him lay what was left of what once was the conductors cabin.

For one, it looked like the entire compartment was now laying on its side. The windows had been completely shattered and were now replaced by giant junks of rock and rubble that had tumbled through the windows and now lay strewn all over the ground. What once was the roof of the train was now a mere memory. Parts of the roof had collapsed, letting beams of sunlight and smoke stream through. The entire half of the compartment looked like it had been completely crushed. From beneath the rubble a pale, lifeless white hand could be seen.

'Oh my God,' Fuji thought, horror filled his porcelain blue eyes and the next thing he knew, he was heaving the contents of his stomach onto the ground beside him. His entire body trembled and shook.

He tried to stand, to sit, to even move; only to have a blinding white pain erupt from his chest. Slowly lowering his eyes, he could not suppress the gasp of disbelief that escaped him.

He froze in a sort of denial. He kept telling himself that this wasn't happening, that this was only a dream, a figment of his imagination. It was hopeless though, no matter how hard he tried, the image of the long pole of metal that was impaling him right through the stomach never varied.

Fuji could feel himself begin to hyperventilate, as raging panic finally overcame the initial shock. He tried to force his body to calm down, but could not stop the way his breath sped up, the way his hands trembled in shock and the way his body shook in panic.

Suddenly the sound of voices nearby reached his ears, along with the sound of barking. He tried to call out to them, to alert them that he was there, but all he managed was a low moan. His vision began to go in and out of focus and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He attempted to alert the people nearby one last time, before he finally lost consciousness.

"Hello?" He whispered, voice breaking. Fuji's eyes scrunched up as another bolt of pain flared through his chest. The barking that had been gradually getting closer, now sounded distant and far away. He knew it was only a matter of time before he died, before the world around him faded away. He knew the ambulance wouldn't make it in time.

Fuji managed to get out his last pain filled words before the world around him began to fade, "Sayonara, everyone."

"We found one! Get a stretcher over here now!" Someone shouted loudly, but the words sounded like whispers in Fuji's ears. "Come one kid! Don't you dare die on me! That's an order" Fuji gave a smile. Even now he could see images of Tezuka ordering the regulars to do laps; Even now he could see the faces of all his friends flash through his head..

Fuji's vision swam and the guy's voice slowly faded into the distance. It hurt to breath, it hurt to stay awake. If God was going to kill him, couldn't he make it quick? Fuji felt his vision and the world around him begin to fade.

He could feel his body begin to go numb, taking the pain away with it. He knew he didn't have long.

His last thought was of how Yuuta and his sister would take the news. Fuji hoped they wouldn't cry. It was then that Fuji remembered how much he and his brother had gotten along the past few weeks. He let out a small chuckle at the irony of it all. He thought he could faintly hear his brother's voice, but dismissed it as his imagination. The traces of a smile were visible on his face as the world around him faded into a never-ending black.

The minuscule form of Fuji Syusuke sat in his father's lap, gazing curiously at the fragile child held in his mother's arms. The hospital room was silent as his mother gazed lovingly down at the newborn.

Beside him his older sister Yumiko sat with a look of awe placed on her face. "Oka-san what are you going to name him?"

Yoshiko looked towards her husband, who held her 1 year old child gently on his lap. "Any ideas?"

Sokito shrugged his shoulders; he had never been good at anything that involved names. Particularly remembering them.

Fuji who had sat up a little straighter finally got his first glimpse at his younger brother's face. He couldn't help, but be amazed at how fragile and small the child looked, even if he was one himself. He then remembered the one word he had glimpsed in one of his mother's baby books.

"Yu-ta," He murmured softly. He wiggled off his father's lap and walked over to where his mother sat. He stood on his tip-toes so he could get another look at the baby, "Yuuta."

Yoshiko smiled down at her son, lifting him onto the hospital bed. She placed him down beside her and turned her gaze towards the newborn child, nestled in her arms. "What a wonderful name," She exclaimed, face brightening. "Yuuta, I love it."

She turned to look at her husband and daughter and found they were both nodding, smiles planted on their faces.

"Welcome to the family Yuuta."

Yuuta let his gaze linger on the setting sun in the distance. The limousine he was riding in, steadily taking him farther and farther away from the mansion filled with panicked middle-schoolers.

During the last few hours he had come to hate that place; he had come to hate the pitying looks he received from everyone there, the way they treated him like he a was a fragile china doll, ready to break at any moment, the way they looked at him like they knew his brother was dead.

Yuuta refused to give up hope, to give up on his brother. He knew he might be acting childish; they had all seen what was left of the train after the crash; but he couldn't bring himself to give up the tiny fragment of hope that maybe his brother had survived the crash.

After all, what kind of brother would he be, if he did?

Even though it wasn't like he had exactly treated his brother all that great that past few years. On the contrary; he had been the absolute worst brother imaginable and he knew it. He also knew how much it had pained his aniki when he ignored him; he had seen the heartbroken, dejected look that filled his brother's eyes every time they saw each other.

Yuuta flinched at the memory of it all.

The worst thing was, it hadn't even been his Aniki that he had been mad at.

Afterall, it wasn't his brother that had always expected Yuuta to be exactly like Syusuke, it wasn't his brother that always compared Yuuta to Syusuke and it wasn't his brother that always expected Yuuta to be perfect, exactly like Syusuke.

But it had been his brother that Yuuta had projected his anger onto. It had been his brother that Yuuta had blamed for everything and anything. Even now, a pain filled his heart as he remembered how cruel and unfair he had been towards Syusuke.

Despite what people believed, his brother wasn't perfect, no one was after all. Yuuta knew this better than anyone. He had seen the way his brother stayed up late into the night completing homework, struggling with assignments, double checking everything to make sure he got nothing wrong. He had seen the way his brother got up extra early every morning to practise tennis, before coming home to make breakfast for everyone, before heading out to his actual tennis practise. He had also seen the way his brother built up a mask around his emotions and never, ever let anyone in.

Not even him, Yuuta, his own brother.

Maybe that was what angered Yuuta the most. Maybe it was the feeling that his brother didn't trust Yuuta enough, to share with him how he was feeling, or about an assignment he was struggling with. Maybe it was how Syusuke never had enough time to spend with Yuuta, because he was always busy trying to impress others. And maybe, just maybe, it was the way Fuji seemed to take on everyone's pain, but never let anyone take on his, never let Yuuta see how upset he was, never let his own brother past the wall around his emotions.

Thinking about it now, Yuuta was pretty sure it was all of the above. A sort of guilt began to burrow its way inside him.

"Yuuta, we're here," Mizuki's voice broke through his thoughts, causing him to jump slightly and turn his head to where Mizuki sat beside him and Atobe sat in front of him. It took him a second the realise they were at a hospital and another second to remember why they were there.

(Flashback)

Once Mizuki had managed to calm Yuuta down, the group of middle schoolers were left in a tense silence. All eyes were fixed on the T.V. Everyone was waiting for an update of the situation.

It was another hour before the news cast turned back on. Everyone leant forward, anxiously waiting, wondering what would happen now. They had been surprised to find out that as it turned out some survivors had been found, but not without some casualties too.

Anybody with family members who were known to be on the train, were reported to head towards Kinjuku Local Hospital. There they would be able to find out the status of their loved ones, whether they had been found dead or alive.

Atobe had instantly ordered a limousine to be ready in no less than five minutes. He had then ordered Yuuta to grab his coat, but Yuuta was stopped by Mizuki, who placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm going too," Mizuki stated, eye's flashing towards everyone in the room, daring them to object. To his surprise, Atobe merely waved his hand.

"Grab your jacket then," He muttered, but not without rolling his eyes at Mizuki, "Yukimura, Ore-sama trusts you will be able handle things here? Try calling everyone's parents to get them to pick them up." This was met with some protests, but Atobe decided to ignore these. " Everyone is welcome to eat some of the buffet. Afterall, we won't be needing it much."

"Sure thing," Yukimura nodded and began to get everyone lined up. If they weren't the one using the phone, they were welcome to dig in.

Atobe, seeing that he had left everyone in good hands, headed towards the door and outside to the limo.

Once they were all in, he ordered the driver to take the fasted route to Kinjuku hospital.

(Flashback End)

Yuuta quickly stepped out of the car, closely followed by Mizuki and Atobe, both of whom shared a look, which Yuuta purposely ignored in favour of heading inside.

He couldn't help, but be surprised at the long line up towards the front. Once people were done giving their name, they were ordered to sit down in the waiting room, which was already almost full; nurses could be seen bringing out extra chairs. If one of the train passengers were identified, the family would be notified immediately.

So they were forced to wait in line for almost 25 minutes before they reached the front.

"Name," A woman asked, barely sparing them a glance.

"Fuji Yuuta," Yuuta replied, narrowing his eyes at the lady.

"Relative(s)?" She asked again.

"Fuji Syusuke," Yuuta watched as she scribbled both their names down on a piece of paper before flipping the page.

"Next," She called out and Yuuta took this as a sign to go sit down.

They ended up finding seats in the corner of the room. As they waited, paramedics could be seen rushing people in on stretchers. The bodies however were covered, so it was impossible to recognize any of them.

Countless people were called to the back, but never Yuuta. Soon he found himself drifting back into his thoughts. He found it better than staring at the clock for hours on end. He couldn't help but to think how unfair this all was.

Him and his brother had finally started to repair their broken relationship. Now Yuuta wasn't even sure he would ever be able to have another conversation with his brother, much less spend time with him.

'God damn it!' He thought angrily, hands clenched into fists until his knuckles turned white. He decided that if there was a God up there, than he was a cruel, heartless bastard to make something like this happen.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw another nurse enter the waiting room. He had expected her to call another unknown name and lead them to the back. So when she called his name, let's just say it was quite the surprise.

"Fuji Yuuta," Her voice echoed around the waiting room.

Yuuta's eyes widened and his mouth opened in shock. He leaped to his feet, heading towards the nurse. "Ha-Hai!" He replied, fear suddenly gripping his very soul.

"Right this way," The nurse said, leading him into the back.

Yuuta followed silently. Behind him he could hear another pair of footsteps and deduced they were probably Mizuki. As he was led farther and farther into the back he caught glimpses of some people hugging family members in relief and some sobbing on their knee's after finding out that their kin had been unlucky enough not to survive the crash.

Yuuta could feel dread begin to surround him and began to wonder if he even wanted to know his brother's condition. After all, what would he do if his brother did die? What would he say?

In front of him the nurse stopped at a door labeled '133'. Yuuta couldn't help the uncertaintly that bubbled up inside him, or the fear that suddenly gripped him. The nurse, not noticing any of this, opened the door and lead Yuuta inside.

Yuuta paused in the doorway, eyes frozen on the bed in front of him. Mizuki was frozen beside him.

"Aniki!" he cried and took a step towards the bed.

A/N

Did you like it?

Is Fuji alive?

Did they manage to save him?

What about the others?

Was it too long?

Please review and tell me how I did.