DOUBLE STORY
Sorry for the wait! It took me longer than expected to finish reformatting this.
(And I apologise to Atobe fans in advance, in case you end up hating me or something.)
Chapter 3
Fuji looked at Yumi with alarm. She looked very tired, as though she hadn't slept much or slept well at all. The rings around her eyes attested to that.
"Yumi! Are you okay? Did something happen?" he said, jumping up and pulling out the chair for her.
"I'm okay. Sort of. Thanks, and so sorry to call you on such short notice."
"It's all right. I'm sorry my assignment didn't end a week earlier, if you're looking like this now. What's wrong? Tell me."
"Shouldn't we order first?"
He grinned. "I took the liberty of ordering your favourite ice-cream for you before you came."
"Aw… That's so nice of you."
"No problem. I'm glad I did anyhow. This way we can talk more. And you look like you really need to talk."
Yumi sighed and closed her eyes. "It's a rather long story."
"And we have all day to talk. It's Saturday, after all."
She told him what she'd overheard the week before at Atobe's garden party. When she finished her story, Fuji wisely kept silent. Yumi took a spoonful of ice-cream and then continued, saying, "I don't know… I'm just… Just… Argh. I don't know."
"Furious with Atobe?" he suggested.
"Oh, I am indeed. But… I'm also – sad, I guess."
Fuji looked at her questioningly. She dug her spoon listlessly into the ice-cream that had been served a short while before and ate another spoonful.
"Whatever hope I had that there was a possibility Tezuka cared for me… It's gone now."
Given the words she had heard, Fuji could understand her thoughts. But he still felt that Tezuka did care and she had misunderstood it. He had no proof, of course. Tezuka had always been rather tight-lipped about his feelings, especially when it came to Yumi. Maybe Oishi knew for certain, but Fuji certainly didn't.
"You don't know for sure that's what he meant, Yu," said Fuji, trying to reassure her.
"Perhaps. But how many reasons can there be for something like 'You presume too much of my intentions'?" She pushed the ice-cream cup aside and leaned back in her chair, hand over her eyes. It was some moments before she spoke again. "You know, angry though I am at that idiot Atobe (now I think I know why Suzume calls him that)…"
Fuji had to chuckle. Idiot? That was a new one. He had never heard anyone call Atobe an idiot before.
"… I think I'm actually more disappointed." Yumi sat straight again and rested her head in one hand, staring at the table top. "Disappointed. Yea, I think that's the right word."
She fell silent again. Fuji waited a bit, then prompted her to continue. "Disappointed…? In Tezuka?"
"A bit. No, not really. I think… Maybe I'm disappointed that my hopes came to nothing. That he doesn't seem to care that way. Disappointed and annoyed at myself too, for being so stupid." She let out a bitter laugh. "I am stupid, aren't I? Wishing and hoping like that. Probably I'm also stupid for being so upset over it. I should have known…"
"Yu," began Fuji, but then he stopped. A tear was running down her cheek. He didn't know what to say and decided that saying nothing was best.
Yumi blinked hard, trying to keep back anymore traitorous tears. "But, you know, Syuusuke… It hurts to be disappointed. It hurts - so much." Her voice trembled slightly at the last two words.
Fuji could only watch her, pained that his friend was hurting. She was certainly very angry with Atobe – the tone with which she referred to him indicated as much – but at the same time, she was heartbroken. He wished he could assure her that it wasn't as she thought, that Tezuka did care, but he knew he couldn't give her proof of it. It would just be a gut feeling. And that would not be enough at this time. It made him highly annoyed with Atobe for interfering, and also regretful that Tezuka had not actually spoken up so far. He had known her for about ten years now. How long did he need to decide that he cared for her?
Yumi dabbed her eyes with a tissue. "This is silly. I shouldn't be crying…" She hated it when she lost control of herself like that.
It took Fuji all of three seconds to move his chair closer to hers and put an arm around her shoulders. "It's okay," he said, softly. "It's not silly. Don't worry about it." He ruffled her hair slightly.
"Don't do that," she chided, jokingly. "It's as if I'm a little kid. I'm older than you are, you know."
"Only by a few weeks," countered Fuji.
She shut her eyes once more and leaned on him. "Thanks," she whispered.
"Anytime," he said. Then he ruffled her hair again. Yumi half-smiled in spite of herself.
----------
After seeing Yumi safely off to the station, Fuji took out his hand phone and dialled a number. She had told him expressly not to do anything to Atobe. "I'll handle Atobe myself. Don't you try anything," she had said, and he had agreed (albeit reluctantly).
But she didn't say anything about Tezuka, he thought, smiling to himself. Maybe it was time he gave Tezuka a little push. That could wait a bit, though. First, perhaps a little more cheer and distraction for Yumi wouldn't hurt. He raised his phone to his ear and listened for the dial tone.
----------
Suzume watched Yumi at work. She certainly looked better after she had that talk with Fuji two weeks before. After Atobe's garden party, she had been quieter than usual in the studio, and occasionally Suzume caught a strange, sad sort of expression on her face. She had refused to talk about it too, always thanking Suzume for her concern, and then saying she just didn't want to discuss it.
"Yu, Keigo's invited us for lunch. Do you want to go?"
Yumi looked up from her desk, a coloured marker in hand. "Today? What day is it today?"
"Mm…" Suzume checked the calendar on her table. "Friday."
"Oh, then I can't. Fuji's taking me to lunch today. Sorry."
"Ah," said Suzume. "It's all right. I'll go with him myself."
Yumi felt slightly relieved. She was not any happier with Atobe than she had been three weeks ago, and had little desire to see him still. She would much rather see Fuji. A glance at the clock told her there was about forty-five minutes before she was due to go and meet him.
I should probably leave soon…
The telephone rang, the blinking light indicating a call from the secretary's desk. She pressed the speakerphone mode button.
"Yes?"
"Hanazawa-san, there's someone here to see you. A Fuji-san."
"Oh?" Wasn't I supposed to meet him at the restaurant? "Send him in."
Yumi got up to open the door. Suzume looked up from her work. She had met the photographer a few times, and liked him. He had a pleasant, open attitude that was appealing.
But before Yumi reached the door, there was a crisp tap on it and then it swung open. Instead of Fuji, there stood someone else. Yumi gasped audibly.
"Yo." Saeki grinned, leaning on the door jamb. "Yu-chan, long time no see."
Yumi let out something like a half-shriek that Suzume had never heard from her before, and exclaimed, "Sae!!" For once, the usually dignified Hanazawa Yumi dropped her stateliness and all but threw herself at the tall man, who caught her in his arms and spun her round, to the amusement and curiosity of some of their staff.
"You've gotten a bit lighter," he remarked, putting her down. "Did you finally decide to lose weight?"
She poked him in the side and made a face. Saeki winced slightly, but laughed.
"Saeki Kojirou! When did you come?" asked Yumi. "Why are you here anyway? Where are you staying? How –"
"Whoa… Slow down. I just arrived this morning. Will be staying at Fuji's." He jerked a thumb in the direction of Fuji, who had been standing behind him.
"Is this your doing, Syuusuke?" said Yumi.
Fuji laughed.
"In a way, it is his doing," said Saeki, draping an arm over Fuji. "This guy here told me he has a friend who wants his son to have private tennis lessons before the district tournament, and he's recommended me for the job."
"Really? But isn't it troublesome for you?"
"Aaah. It's only a short-term thing." Saeki waved his hand airily. "Just weekends for about a month or so. I'm going to meet this person later and see if we can agree on the fee. It'd be a good change to do a bit of travelling. And it'd be good to see both of you more often too."
"That'd be great! But" – Yumi turned to the other man – "what have you done this time, Syuu? You're behind this, I know."
"I just thought you might like to see Sae again. And I really do have a friend who wants his son to have private lessons," protested Fuji. That is, after I talked him into thinking that the lessons were really necessary, he added silently.
Yumi didn't look like she believed him entirely, but then Fuji hadn't expected her to. They knew each other well enough to at least suspect when one or the other was involved in something sneaky. But his plan had worked, so he was satisfied. She wouldn't kill him for this, anyway.
Suzume watched them, a smile on her face. Yumi's transformation at the sight of her old friend was amazing. Before the door opened, she was normal – neither happy nor sad – but the minute she saw him, it was as if a light had been turned on inside her.
Looking at the newcomer, Suzume thought, So this is Saeki Kojirou. She had heard a lot about him from Yumi, and had seen some photographs, but had never seen him in person. In a way he looked like Fuji. Both were tall (Yumi often said Fuji had once been short – Suzume found that a bit hard to believe), brown-haired and blue-eyed. But even from photographs, the differences were evident. Now, seeing them in person, the differences were even more obvious, although at a quick glance they did look alike.
Fuji was thinner, had softer features and his eyes were more of a sky-blue colour. Saeki, on the other hand, was lean but more sturdily-built, had sharper, more defined features, and eyes that were almost electric blue. Suzume remembered Yumi saying that at one time Saeki had his hair dyed white and black and had actually managed to not look stupid. Seeing him now, she figured he certainly was the type who could carry the look pretty well.
Yumi had pulled both of them into the studio and shut the door. She introduced Saeki to Suzume.
"Takahashi-san, nice to meet you," Saeki said, shaking her hand. "I've heard a good deal about you."
"And I've heard many, many things about you," she said in return, privately observing that up close he seemed twice as attractive as Fuji Syuusuke, and at the same time wondering why she seemed to be imagining a different set of blue eyes instead of the startling pair in front of her.
"Do you want to join us for lunch?" asked Yumi, who was evidently in a shining mood now, and seemed to have forgotten that Suzume already had another arrangement.
Suzume thanked her, but declined, reminding her of her prior plans. Besides, she didn't want to interrupt the little reunion. She knew Yumi hadn't seen Saeki in a year and had missed her friend quite badly – the way she had reacted to seeing him confirmed that. Yumi wouldn't have disliked having her at lunch, she knew, but she didn't want to disturb the three of them anyway. She shooed them out of the studio, telling them to go and enjoy their lunch.
Catching hold of Fuji before he walked off, she said, "Have a long lunch. Tell Yu it's okay. We're not rushing anything today anyway."
Fuji looked at her and his gentle smile grew. "Thanks."
Suzume waved him off and set about getting ready for her own lunch appointment. Their secretary came in holding some letters for her and asked, "Was that Yumi-san's boyfriend?"
"What?"
"That man she called Saeki. Was he her boyfriend?"
"No, no," said Suzume, laughing. "He's just an old friend."
"Oh."
She looked at the secretary's face and laughed even more. "I swear, Miyu, you look like you've just lost the gossip item of the month."
"Well, it would have been interesting," said Miyu. "Most of us thought Tezuka-san was the one, but then we've never seen Yumi-san behave like that with him before."
"As far as I know they're just old friends. Fuji and Saeki are some of her best friends, in fact. So it makes sense to me that she was like that." But Suzume thought Miyu did have a point. Yumi seemed much more open with Fuji and Saeki. And speaking of Tezuka… She hadn't seen him for a while. She couldn't recall Yumi talking much about him either in recent days.
----------
Atobe was seated in a comfortable chair, tapping his fingers impatiently on the table. He had already been there ten minutes, and felt his patience waning. Sometimes he wondered why and how he had fallen for this aggravating woman called Takahashi Suzume. But at least he admitted it and actually tried to do something about it. Unlike that Tezuka. He just didn't see what was holding the man back.
He was contemplating calling her again when she finally showed up.
"You're late," he said.
She apologised and explained. "I had to finish up some stuff and deal with a couple of last-minute phone calls."
He frowned. "Couldn't you have left it to Hanazawa? If she's not here, I'm assuming she's back at the office."
"She does have her own friends, you know. Fuji came to take her for lunch with Saeki-san."
"Saeki?" The name was familiar, but he couldn't put a face to the name. "From Chiba?"
"Yea, I think so. You should know him too, shouldn't you? I think he was some big shot in the tennis scene too."
"Hmph. Hardly," sniffed Atobe. "I'd remember him more easily if he was."
"You only remember people you think important. Yumi says his school was pretty highly-ranked at one point."
"There were many better than his school." Atobe leaned back even further into his chair. It was really very nice to sit in.
"Whatever." Suzume shrugged and picked up the menu on the table. "He's quite handsome, though."
Atobe's head jerked upright. "Who?"
She glanced up from her menu and gave him a funny look. "Saeki Kojirou, of course. Were we talking about anyone else?"
Atobe's mind started to filter through memories at top speed, trying to recall exactly what this Saeki fellow looked like.
Suzume didn't seem to notice Atobe gazing hard at her, and just went on talking as she read the menu. "Saeki has a nice smile. If we designed a men's line of clothes, I'd tell Yumi to hire him as a model in a heartbeat. Hm… I think I'll have the salmon."
Across the table, Atobe fought hard to keep his jealousy down. He failed somewhat, because when Suzume looked up at him again, she asked, "What's wrong with you? You look like you're choking or something."
He said nothing for once. He couldn't find (decent) words to say. It annoyed him to no end to hear Suzume complimenting some other guy, especially someone like this half-rate Saeki whom he could barely remember at the moment.
If Suzume saw the barely-controlled emotions flickering across his face, she didn't show it. She merely squinted a little at him for about a second, then looked thoughtful.
"What?" he managed to snap.
"Saeki's good-looking, but I think I like your eyes better, frankly."
The green-eyed monster on his shoulder shrank by half.
"His eyes are really striking, but maybe a bit too intense. Might be scary to have those piercing eyes looking at you all the time," Suzume said, looking as though she was comparing mental images of both of them in her head. "They're beautiful eyes –"
The green-eyed monster started to grow again.
"– but I have to say, I think your eyes are nicer. They're not such a striking blue."
Atobe finally found his voice. "But of course. It's me, after all."
She cast a withering look at him. "Don't be so big-headed. I only said your eyes are nicer. I didn't say you're better-looking on the whole. Get over yourself, Keigo. Now hurry up and order your food. Don't keep the poor man waiting all day," she said, pointing to the waiter, who was standing there patiently, notebook in hand. Atobe fixed his eyes on the menu, though obviously not really concentrating on it.
----------
"Yup. See you tomorrow at two then," Saeki said. "What, us – late? You're the girl. I should be telling you that." He laughed at her reaction over the phone and said goodbye.
After he put down the phone, he looked at Fuji. "So?"
"Did the Cheer-Up-Hanazawa-Yumi plan succeed?"
"So far, yes, I believe so," said Fuji. "What do you think?"
Saeki reflected on it. "I think… That she needs more cheering up still. It really got to her, what Tezuka said…"
Fuji nodded in agreement and said, "It's not really too much trouble for you, is it?"
"Not at all." Saeki shook his head and smiled wryly. "You know I'd do just about anything for the hime."
"Likewise, Sae. Likewise."
----------
Tezuka tapped a pen on the table. His eyes travelled from the phone to the clock to the papers in front of him to his computer, then back to the phone. Should he call her? It had been some weeks since he had heard from Yumi, and it was starting to really bother him. She had only called him once after Atobe's garden party, and that was to thank him (again) for going with her. Two weeks passed after it without a word from her, but he put it down to work and didn't think much about it. However, it had been nearly a month now. They had chatted online a little, but it hardly amounted to any sort of conversation. He couldn't recall such lack of communication from her since she graduated from university.
He gave up thinking and picked up the phone. It was useless to try doing any work when he was so preoccupied with that. If he tried doing any work now without at least attempting to resolve that, he might turn in articles with more errors than before they came to him.
"Hello?" came a familiar voice over the phone. But it wasn't Yumi.
"Takahashi-san?"
"This is Takahashi." She seemed to suddenly recognise his voice. "Tezuka? Is that you? It's been a while!"
"It has," he agreed. "Is Yumi-san in?"
"Yumi? Oh, er… She's out with Fuji and Saeki-san today, I'm afraid. They just left for lunch."
"I see." He hoped he didn't sound disappointed. "When would she be back?"
"Around two, I think. We've a photo shoot at 2.30, so I think she'll definitely be back by two."
"All right. Would you let her know I called?"
"Sure."
"Thanks." He was about to end the conversation, when he thought of something. "Takahashi-san, wait."
"Yes?"
"Er…" How was he going to phrase this? There was only the straightforward way he could think of, so he just went with it. "Has she been all right? Yumi, I mean."
Suzume fell silent on the other end for a few seconds. "Well… She was acting rather strangely for a while. Looked like she was upset about something, but she wouldn't tell me about it. It bugged me horribly. There was one day she came in looking like a ghost, almost. I really don't know what happened. She just refused to talk about it."
Tezuka grew troubled by Suzume's description. What had happened?
"But she got better after talking to Fuji," said Suzume. "And when Saeki showed up, I think that completed the cure. She's been a great deal more cheerful ever since. Lost the haunted, depressed look too."
"That's a relief," he said. "When did Saeki come?"
"About two weeks ago, maybe. He's been coming up on weekends. She said he got a temporary coaching job here – giving private lessons to the son of one of Fuji's friends or something."
"Oh."
"It's been really good for her, though. They've done a magnificent job of cheering her up and hauling her out of that depressed state she was in. I still have no idea what upset her so badly, but Fuji and Saeki seem to know. Do you know what might have happened?" she asked, curious.
He admitted that he didn't know (and felt rather foolish saying so).
"You don't know either?" Suzume sounded astonished.
"She hasn't said anything about it to me," he said. "Perhaps I'll ask Fuji if I see him Thank you, Takahashi-san."
After hanging up, he thought about what she had told him. It looked as though Fuji and Saeki were the only ones who knew what was going on. If Yumi hadn't even told Suzume, and hardly seemed keen on talking to him lately, there was little chance she would tell him if he asked. He would have to ask Fuji.
----------
Fuji had been somewhat surprised by Tezuka's invitation to dinner. But he had a feeling it would have something to do with Yumi, and he soon found he was right. Unlike Yumi, Saeki and himself, Tezuka was not the type to be subtle. After the pre-emptory exchanges, Tezuka had put the question to him quite frankly: What had happened to Yumi?
It had taken Fuji a few moments to contemplate how and what to tell him. Obviously he could not tell him exactly what had happened. There were several possible repercussions if he did, and he liked almost none of them. The only good possibility was that Tezuka might be spurred into action, convinced he had unwittingly broken her heart. The other possibilities Fuji could think of all ended with Tezuka making things worse by backing off, getting angry, or getting so worked up about it himself that he wouldn't be able to do anything anyway. Tezuka had to think things through on his own. Fuji wasn't going to tell him directly what Yumi felt either. Let the man figure it out himself!
"I can't tell you much," he said at last. "Let's just say she found out something that really hurt her and it was hard for her to get over it."
"I see," said Tezuka. "Is that why you brought Saeki to Tokyo?"
"Mostly, yes. She needed more cheer and comfort than I could give her alone."
"Why didn't she tell Takahashi?"
"I think she just felt this was something she couldn't really talk to Takahashi about. It might have been better for her if Emiko was around as well, but she's in Canada now."
Tezuka nodded slowly. Aida Emiko had been Yumi's best friend since elementary school, and if there was anyone closer to Yumi than Fuji and Saeki, it was Emiko. But Emiko was away at the moment, and nothing could be done about that. It was likely that Yumi had told her anyway – through e-mail or something – but he knew that for Yumi, nothing beat actual companionship when she was upset.
"How is she now? Takahashi told me that she's much better these days."
"I should hope she is," said Fuji. "She looks happier, at least. Sae's been doing a marvellous job of helping keep her spirits up – he's always been good at making her laugh."
Fuji couldn't have chosen his words better. He caught a flicker of something in Tezuka's face. He allowed himself a small, sly smile. Bingo.
Later, on the phone with Saeki, Fuji told him of what had transpired between him and Tezuka. Saeki laughed. "I wonder if I should be pleased that I make such good 'bait.'"
"You should be pleased you managed to make Yumi a bit happier. The 'bait' thing is secondary. Tezuka merely just gave me a convenient opportunity to make use of the situation. And besides, this whole thing was partly your own idea, remember?"
"With you, Fuji, it's always 'opportunities' and 'chances' and 'coincidences,'" said Saeki, ignoring his last sentence. "You probably planned this from the moment you told me about Yumi."
"I learnt it from you, Sae."
"Actually, I think you had it in you all along, but if you insist that you learnt it from me, then this is a case of the pupil surpassing the teacher. Come to think of it, any idea what Yu has up her sleeve?"
"Yu?"
"Yeah. I have a feeling she's going to do something to Atobe... I just don't know what. But I hope I'm there when she does it."
"Honestly, I've no idea either. But whatever hidden card it is she's going to play, it's probably a good one. After all, she's had two magnificent examples in us all this while."
Fuji could practically see Saeki's grin on the other end of the line.
----------
Yumi was not pleased. Not pleased at all. How she had ended up spending her lunch break with Suzume, Tezuka and Atobe, she didn't know. She had invited Tezuka, yes. But that was because she had finally decided that she had gotten over her complicated emotions and would be able to see and talk to him normally again. Atobe she had most certainly not invited. He seemed to have a habit of inviting himself to wherever Suzume was. Why did Suzume tell him where they were anyway?
She sipped at her drink, feeling quite annoyed. It had been a tiring morning for her, since she had to wake up for an early photo shoot that was to last the whole day. Spending her lunch break tolerating Atobe Keigo had not been high on her priority list at all. There were some things she just hated and one of them was annoying people who tried to interfere with her life.
Keeping half an ear on the conversation at the table, and eyes on the window, she let her mind wander to various other things. Perhaps if she didn't think so much about it, she could forget he was even there.
"… I disagree," Suzume said. "The share looks good now, but given its records, it's likely to drop again soon."
"I'll trust what…"
Two teenage girls in school uniform passed by, giggling over a magazine. Yumi half-smiled, remembering her own relatively carefree schooldays.
"You're… Don't think… expert."
"… didn't say anything like that."
"Hmph. Tezuka, what do you say?"
"I think…"
Yumi's hand phone beeped, signalling the arrival of a text message. She took out her phone, read it, smiled and typed out a reply.
Tezuka glanced at her, wondering at her quietude and if it had anything to do with Atobe. She had sounded all right when she had called him to invite him to lunch, but when he had arrived, she looked positively frigid as Atobe sauntered up to the table at the same time.
Yumi replaced her hand phone in her bag and resumed people-watching at the window. A group of small children – evidently from the same day care centre – walked by the café with their teacher, singing some song Yumi didn't recognise. Cute hats, she thought, observing the bright yellow and white hats the children wore.
"… silly."
"What?"
"No-thing..."
"Shut up… Why –"
"… doubt that you…"
A well-dressed couple walked by, the woman holding a Shih Tzu puppy in her arms. The dog reminded Yumi of one her neighbour had.
"Oh! What a cute puppy!" exclaimed Suzume.
Atobe said something about his German Shepherd dogs being much better, but no one paid any real attention to him.
"I've always wanted to have a dog like that," Suzume said. "But okaa-san didn't like dogs." She sighed. "Pity."
"I don't really like dogs either," said Yumi, deciding to return to the conversation, since it had moved away from stocks and shares. She didn't want to appear too antisocial, even though it would be harder to forget Atobe's existence when he was right across the table from her. But perhaps Suzume would trigger some amusing reactions from him. After realising just how angry she was at him, all of a sudden Suzume's sarcastic and nonchalant jabs at him seemed doubly interesting to Yumi.
"You like dogs, Tezuka?" asked Suzume.
"I don't mind them," was all he said.
The couple with the dog turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Yumi said, "I've always wondered how people could stand their dogs licking them all the time." She shuddered involuntarily. "It's like… Aren't they afraid the dogs will bite them instead?"
"If your dogs are well-trained, and if they know you already, they won't bite," said Atobe.
"Trust me. I've had dogs all my life."
"Perhaps," Yumi said, her voice slightly icy. She looked to Suzume and Tezuka. "My sister got bitten by our neighbour's dog once, though. She wasn't even a stranger to it – she used to play with it a lot when they first got the dog. Then for some reason – maybe it was cranky or something; I don't know – it nipped her on the ankle a few weeks ago when we were watching it over the weekend for them. My sister says the dog was moody or something, but in any case, she had to go get a tetanus shot. We figured it was safer, even though it wasn't a deep bite or anything."
"Ouch," murmured Suzume. "A bite and then an injection. Couldn't have been fun for her."
"It wasn't at all fun," said Yumi. "She came back from the doctor's and insisted on telling me about it. I could almost feel the needle piercing my arm when she described it…" She rubbed her shoulder and grimaced. "And the spot hurt for two days after the jab. I think my sister would make a good storyteller. The way she described the injection… Er, Atobe-san, are you all right?"
Suzume and Tezuka turned to look at him. Atobe was slightly pale in the face and his posture was stiffer than before. He glanced away and said brusquely, "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine," said Suzume, frowning a little. "You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine!"
"All right, all right. No need to snap at me like that. Geez… One would think you were scared or something, the way you're acting."
"I'm not!" he said, a little too quickly.
Suzume blinked and stared at him for a few seconds. A surprised look spread slowly over her face. "Keigo… Are you actually afraid? Of needles?"
If there had been any doubt before that Atobe was looking pale, there was none now. He blanched, though more out of mortification at being found out rather than out of fear. He knew he couldn't deny it. She knew him too well to believe any denial he tried now.
"I…"
"You are!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
As Atobe tried his best to worm himself out of the unpleasant situation, Tezuka looked at Yumi. She was watching Atobe and Suzume, her face mildly surprised and amused. A vague, suspicious feeling prickled at the back of Tezuka's mind. Was this unexpected revelation completely accidental?
"I've known you for twenty years already and you never told me?" Suzume said, rather as though she was admonishing Atobe for keeping the secret. "Why? And how have you managed to take any sort of jabs until now then, if you're that afraid of it?"
Atobe wondered miserably if she was angrier at him for not telling her – although he didn't see why she should be angry – or if she was more shocked that he actually had a phobia of something. Damn, damn, damn. Why in the world did such a topic have to come up when Suzume was around? She was the last person in the world he wanted to know it. To make things worse, even Tezuka knew now! And that was definitely another one he had not wanted finding out about this. He was glad when Suzume's barrage of questions was interrupted by the ringing of a phone.
"It's mine," said Yumi, turning to rummage in her handbag for her hand phone.
"I hope that's not Takami calling to say something's wrong with the setup for this afternoon's shoot," groaned Suzume. "That man is such a harbinger of gloom sometimes, though he is capable."
Yumi found her phone, smiled broadly upon seeing the caller ID and flipped the phone open.
"Hey! Where are you?"
"About two paces away from you."
Yumi turned in her chair and saw Saeki approaching the table, grinning at her with his phone held to his ear. She shut her phone and gave him a "you-sneaky-guy" look.
"Saeki-san!" said Suzume, forgetting about Atobe's newly-uncovered phobia in the surprise of seeing Yumi's merry friend from Chiba. "Are you joining us?"
"If I may," he said.
"Of course you may." Suzume looked around and motioned to the empty table next to them.
"Grab a chair."
Yumi moved her chair closer to Tezuka's, clearing a space between herself and Suzume for Saeki. He pulled up a chair, but before he sat down, he extended a hand to Tezuka and said,
"Tezuka, nice to see you again. It's been quite some time, eh?"
Tezuka shook his hand. "Yes, it has. How are you?"
"Doin' all right, thanks." He then turned to the other man at the table. "Ah. Atobe-san, I presume?"
"Keigo, this is Saeki-san, the friend of Yumi's that I mentioned," said Suzume, seeing that he was inclined to be rather ungracious and gave him a small kick under the table with the heel of her shoe to emphasize her hint. Atobe showed no outward sign of having felt the kick, but stiffly took Saeki's outstretched hand and shook it without a word.
Yumi watched Atobe and smirked inwardly. Letting Saeki sit between herself and Suzume had been a good move. She knew Atobe was partial to Suzume – he showed it, and Suzume knew it; she had often bemoaned the fact that he couldn't take a hint. Now it seemed quite obvious to her that Atobe was none too fond of Saeki, or rather, that he was not happy with the way Suzume chatted so gaily with him.
Sorry, Sae, I'm making use of your looks for a bit.
She knew he wouldn't be angry, but she'd make it up to him later all the same. He would probably be thoroughly amused at being part of the whole joke anyway, knowing him.
Although very much aware of the annoyance she had just caused to Atobe when Saeki arrived, Yumi had no idea of the confused and unfamiliar feelings in the man seated on her left. Tezuka tried to stay impassive, but he soon discovered an odd uneasiness in seeing Yumi being so friendly with Saeki. It was ridiculous. They were old friends, and as far as he could remember, she had always been that way with Fuji and Saeki. So why was he feeling weird now?
Saeki had to laugh when Suzume asked him why he didn't become a model instead of a tennis coach. "Me, model?" he said.
"Well you have the looks for it," she said in a most matter-of-fact way.
"Don't give him a big head, Suzu," warned Yumi, half-joking.
"But it's true. He does have the looks – and he definitely looks better than that model we saw in the June spread for… That brand, I forgot the name. Anyway…"
Atobe sat fuming in silence. Didn't this Saeki have silver hair or something back in school? He didn't recall a brown-haired Saeki from Rokkaku. And who was he to barge into their lunch like that? The nerve of him…
Saeki couldn't shake the sense of hostility coming from Atobe Keigo. He remembered Atobe's reputation as something of a snob and his supreme self-confidence, but that didn't explain the hostility. If it had been Tezuka giving off those hostile vibes, he would have understood, given what Fuji had hinted to him. But Tezuka seemed normal, only looking dimly perplexed, as if thinking about something he didn't quite understand. It all seemed so strange. He would just have to ask Yumi about it later.
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"You did what?!"
Yumi merely smiled at them, a very satisfied look on her face. Saeki gaped at her a moment longer, then burst out laughing, along with Fuji.
"I can't believe you did that!" he said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "So you knew he was afraid of shots?"
"Mmm. Yeah."
"How did you find out?" asked Fuji. "Inui?"
She shook her head. "Nope."
"Then how?"
"Got it out of Oshitari-san," she replied.
"I didn't know you were close to Oshitari," said Fuji.
"Not really, no. But I get along pretty well with Nishikado Sayuri – she's Ohtori Choutarou's girlfriend. She knows Yamada-kun too. Anyway, she asked me to join them for bowling one day – herself, Ohtori-kun, Shishido and Rika and Oshitari. I agreed just because… Well, I think I was trying to forget depressing things."
Fuji and Saeki exchanged looks. So she still hadn't gotten over it entirely.
"So I went with them, and it was fun, really… We had dinner after it and started chatting. Somehow we got to talking about phobias, and he mentioned it."
"'Somehow you got to talking about phobias'?" Saeki said, chuckling. "My dear, you're as bad as Fuji here, trying to make it seem innocuous. You manipulated the conversation to find out, didn't you? Just as you managed to twist it at lunch to unveil Atobe's little secret."
"What makes you say that?" she asked innocently.
"That gleam in your eyes, that's what," he said.
Fuji added, "Also, we know how good you can be at turning conversations to your own end. It's your specialty. Don't you think we know it by now?"
She shrugged, a smile tugging at her lips all the while. "Oh, by the way, Sae… I've a confession."
He looked at her questioningly.
"At lunch that day… I asked you to come on purpose."
"Huh?"
"Atobe is – well, he's rather attached to Suzume."
For a few moments, Saeki just blinked at her, trying to understand. And then it dawned on him. "Was that why he kept giving me those dark, 'go away' looks the whole time?"
"Probably." Yumi was grinning now.
Saeki smacked his forehead. "I couldn't imagine why he kept looking at me like that! And Suzume-san kept going on and on about how I should be a model too! No wonder he was mad." He fell to laughing again at the memory of it.
"Anyone care to fill me in on the joke?" said Fuji.
"My friend, our queen of conversation control has accomplished something worthy of your own twisted mind. In the span of less than two hours, she managed to humiliate Atobe Keigo by making him reveal his secret fear in front of the woman he's in love with and also in front of one of his oldest tennis rivals; and then she went on to hugely irritate this same person by forcing him to listen to his would-be girlfriend praise another guy for most of the remaining time. And I thought she was just being nice, asking me to join them for lunch. Isn't she marvellous? I'm so proud."
Fuji gave her an approving look. "Splendidly done, Yu. Your scheming has improved." He applauded her. "So all satisfied now that you've 'avenged' yourself?"
"Hmm…" She looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.
"What? You're not done with him yet?" exclaimed Saeki. "I thought it was pretty severe already, all things considered."
"I'm kidding," laughed Yumi. "I'm done – for now."
"I'm sure Atobe would find that answer so reassuring," Saeki said.
If you hate the way I've portrayed Atobe in this chapter, well… Sorry. But this is just a fanfic after all. Let me have my fun. Heheh...