A/N: Hey, thanks for leaving a review. Enjoy.

Edit: Thanks for the reviews guys, and you are totally right. Big bro should be calling Fuji, Sumiko... so he will! (16.8.10) (can't get nothing pass you guys)

Disclaimer: I should ask Takeshi Konomi if he ever got around to doing Prince of Tennis under water! (connected randomness)


Chapter Sixty Two

She tossed the keys up. They clanked down in a mangled mess of thin cold brass and steel in her palm. What bad luck! She had to open the changing rooms today and there was no way she could skip morning practise. Fuji rubbed her forehead. She didn't want to go in early. If she did, she could open the changing room doors and go straight to the library or somewhere away from the team. Then again… Arai would be there. All those vivid images and sounds created yesterday surged to the front of her mind and twirled within the blackness.

Fuji's sunk down on the corner of her bed, dressed, and hung her head low. Hardly any sleep made thinking a pain. She knew she had to go into school but she didn't want to do it.

For a moment she wondered how Sai was. He struggled to breathe… She remembered the sound of his shallow breaths. He was in so much pain. Fuji gripped the hem of her skirt. Damn. She didn't mean to use that much of her energy against him. She could have killed him. It wasn't a boast.

"…I had to. He would have… had I not pushed him away." She rubbed the back of her arm that scraped the floor when he dragged her down yesterday. It only began to sting this morning, now that she had time to reflect. Sai really would have, had she just let him…

She gripped the keys in her hand and grabbed her bag. She didn't have a choice. She had to go in.

"What ever happens, happens." Fuji said hopelessly to herself and made her way downstairs.

She stopped at the front door when her brother, Yukio, walked onto the landing behind her. He sat down on the stairs and watched Fuji put on her shoes. He looked around. The surroundings seemed to grieve for some reason. When Fuji placed her hands on the door he called to her. Stopping her from leaving.

"Go back to bed, Sumiko." He ordered.

She hesitated, deciding it was best not to look at him. "… Aniki…"

"You should know how you get when you're like this. Go back upstairs. I'll call in sick for you."

She lowered her hand and stared at the door. She didn't mind crawling back into her bed. Hide under the covers and act like nothing had happened… but life wasn't that luxurious. To hurt and be hurt. Fuji couldn't allow for things to linger. She had to go in.

When she raised her arm again, Yukio stood up. "Don't go to school today. Stay home and rest."

"I… I need to talk to her, aniki. When I did what I did, he gave me an opportunity to explain myself. She's my friend, aniki. I need to hear why she would do such a thing."

"But, Sumiko?"

She wouldn't listen. She opened the door and shut it quickly before Yukio could run down the few steps and catch her. By the time he opened the door and called to her, the garden gate swung closed and her shadow disappeared behind the neighbours wall.

"Sumiko." He should have run after her.

8 8 8

The girls were outside the changing rooms. They weren't all that early, which could only mean Fuji was late. Yokoishi stood away from the group tapping her thumb over her fingers. The others spoke in small groups. Kikumaru rotated her phone in her hand, wondering if she should call Fuji.

The boys would have a short practise round before getting ready to go meet Tezuka outside the airport and say their good-byes, which meant Ryuzaki-sensei was in her office making last minute phone calls for Tezuka. They wouldn't leave without her. She placed her phone down when the schools internal phone rang. For reasons unknown, she was summoned to the head master's office, something even she couldn't decline.

"Ah, there she is. Better late than never." Shikawara picked up her bags after seeing Fuji walk around the corner towards them.

"Oh, man! I don't wanna see." Yokoishi mumbled to herself and walked away over to the boys' courts. No one really heard her so they didn't think much of her behaviours, but she could feel Fuji's energy. It was too much for her.

Kikumaru turned to see Fuji with both her school bag and her tennis bag. She sighed with relief and replaced her phone in her bag pocket. She nearly tripped as she jogged over to her. She reached her hand out to take one of the bags off her when Fuji grabbed her extended hand and held it securely. Her soft skin was warm. The human touch gave Fuji a moment to breathe but it was never enough to calm her nerves and the erratic images that plagued her mind as she walked to school. That energy, she was never able to control, did as it pleased and reminding Fuji of the words she heard yesterday. Not only that, everything that may have been influenced by that photo overwhelmed her.

Fuji peered up to Kikumaru with narrowed eyes, not totally open but closed as far as she could get them. She lifted her free hand and placed it over her other. With what little sanity she had left she asked Kikumaru to forgive her. Kikumaru only just heard Fuji's voice through the dry and husky tone, like she'd been crying for some time. Kikumaru wanted to pull Fuji away from the club changing room. Away so the team couldn't question her state of mind. She wasn't well. The dark rings under her eyes proved it. She shouldn't have come into school. Kikumaru peered down to their hands and wondered how she was even able to get to school today.

Kikumaru had to hold back the tears that welled in her eyes. She held Fuji's gaze and saw the whites of her eyes were riddled with veins. Fuji gave a soft squeeze with intentions of letting go but Kikumaru gripped tighter and kept the hold. Kikumaru would forgive her without question. She wanted to leave the girls for a moment but Fuji pulled her towards the changing rooms.

After yesterday, Fuji could barely hold 'it' back. Just like the 'boy' in Tezuka made a lot of noise in his ear, Fuji's 'dark-self' never felt so alive and in control. So when her eyes caught sight of Arai, standing so calmly by the changing room door, staring up at the sky without a care, it made Fuji want to do the same to her as she did to Sai. Wouldn't that be sweet to crack her bones too! Fuji walked very close to Arai.

Kikumaru still held Fuji's hand. Fuji stopped in front of Arai and turned to her. If only she could close her eyes, but she gave up on doing that along time ago. They both looked at each other. Arai was slightly taken aback when she saw the unwelcoming expression in Fuji's eyes. She waited before saying good morning. Fuji shuddered. Kikumaru felt it. The mere sound of Arai's voice forced her self-control aside and she accidentally clamped down on Kikumaru's hand.

"…Morning." Fuji soon murmured.

They stared at each other for a second, only being broken when Arai picked up her bag. Some of her thick, black hair fell from her back and brushed down over Fuji's arm… So that's what that energy was on his hand…

Fuji took the room keys out of her breast pocket and unlocked the door to let everyone in. The girls, though dubious of Fuji's greeting, went in regardless having lost ten minutes to their morning.

Nariko glanced down to Fuji, as she and Kikumaru sat on the bench together. It was Shikawara who noticed that Fuji didn't take her eyes off Arai once she went to her locker with Umeko. For a few seconds, Shikawara glanced between the two and began to question that air of contention between them. She wanted to ask Yokoishi a question but realised she wasn't with them. Shikawara placed her bags down with Nariko and kept her eyes on the two.

If Tezuka hadn't shown her such a forgiving heart, Fuji could never have allowed such patience. It was only because he did, that Fuji had to think about how and what she would say to Arai so to get as much understanding out of her.

Fuji shook off Kikumaru's hand and stood up. Kikumaru followed. Shikawara turned slightly. Fuji walked up behind Arai and stopped at arm's length. Umeko saw her first and beamed a smile. Fuji flashed a quick, baseless smile and called Arai to face her.

"Hmm? Need something?"

Fuji took a long and slow breath. What to ask first? "Arai-chan… why does Sai-kun call you, the dark one?"

Arai gave a particular look to her captain and shrugged. "He doesn't like me. He only likes you or hadn't you noticed?"

If yesterday was anything to go by, it was a certain no!

"I suppose… but… why did you show him a certain, harmful picture?"

Kikumaru stepped closer. Arai lowered her shoulders and stopped getting changed. She dropped her tennis dress on her bag and placed her hands on her hips.

"What picture?"

The thought that she still tried to act as if nothing was happening only fuelled Fuji. So much so that she grabbed Arai and forced her into the lockers. Fuji's clenched fist pressed against Arai's wind-pipe, her finger nails ripped through Arai's uniform and the few bags that were on top of the lockers fell off.

Umeko and Kikumaru, who were the closest were taken by surprised. They froze. Jinhana heard the heavy thud and glanced over. Shikawara who saw what was coming, was already between the two to stop it from going anything further, but a mere glare from Fuji warned her not to interfere. What more could Shikawara do but stand close by. As numb as she was, even she could feel something.

"Get off of me!" Arai yelled.

"Arai-chan, why would you go so far?" Fuji eased her hold on Arai so she could talk.

"Did Sai-kun fill your head with nonsense? Get off!"

Fuji lowered her right hand and slowly rolled the fingers of her left hand. Shikawara recognised the notion behind the movement and stepped closer, letting Fuji know that she would stop her if that left arm moved.

Arai straighten her shirt and scanned over all the eyes that were on her, probably more surprised to see the shock in Kikumaru's eyes.

"Fuji-senpai, what's wrong?" When Shikawara couldn't get the words from her captain, she looked across to Kikumaru. Kikumaru didn't say anything, she had looked to the ground. Like Fuji, she now started to put two and two together and didn't want to believe it. "Umeko-senpai, what's going on?"

"I don't know! I'm serious!"

Shikawara was going to reprimand both Umeko and Kikumaru when Fuji spoke above her.

"What have you been saying to him? When and why did you show him and Sai-kun? What was you hoping for?"

"You really want to talk about this now?"

"It's for the team, isn't it?"

Arai flicked her gaze away. What Tezuka said yesterday about having already spoken to Fuji was true. Fuji wouldn't drag out the idea of it 'being for the team' so randomly.

"I can't understand what they've said to you unless you tell me, Fuji-chan?" Arai said, not ready to say anything just yet.

"You exposed yourself when you were speaking with him yesterday. I heard you. I saw you."

Arai understood what Fuji spoke about and held her breath briefly – she didn't know she was that careless. She stared rigidly at Fuji's fringe, as it covered over her eyes.

"So?" Arai refused to say anything.

Fuji shook her head – disbelief, frustration, rage. Many emotions ran through her, she didn't know which one to engulf her. Everything. Everything! Her's and Tezuka's flow, his anger towards her… Fuji could have fixed it. She could have! Tezuka wouldn't have had to worry about anything and he wouldn't be going to Germany. But Arai's damned interference sent him on a plane to a foreign country. And for her to get his last kiss-

Fuji lifted her right arm to grab her, but Kikumaru was there in time to stop her gently. It was enough for Fuji to lower her arm again. Shikawara watched the patient movements of Fuji's steady fingers.

"Come on you guys, I'm sure you can resolve this by other means." Shikawara tried to reason with them.

"Unfortunately not." Arai told her and the surrounding team. "I can tell them about what you've been doing Fuji-chan but I don't think you'd what others to know."

"It was never like that Arai-chan, I can't believe-" Kikumaru would have gone on had Fuji not held her hands up to silence her.

With bits of information, Kikumaru didn't want to believe it was Arai – her doubles partner – someone she also trusted - that handed that picture to Tezuka. Even for Arai, it was too much of a misunderstanding – why couldn't she see that?

"Tell them how your selfishness cost Tezuka-san his shoulder, Fuji-chan?"

"Arai!" Kikumaru yelled but was again told to back off by Fuji.

"You took advantage of him. I think he has every right to be mad with you."

Now with her eyes open, Fuji heard something she never heard before. Come to think of it… Arai always spoke like this. Why only now could she hear and feel the distaste in her words? That bitterness had been there for a long, long time, but Fuji had always admired that part of Arai. The showy anger and flippant attitude. It confused Fuji for a moment. She fidgeted with her hair and wiped her eyes and cheek. She flicked her fingers out. There was so much disgust in Arai's words. The alarming thing for Fuji was that it was always there. It wasn't new.

It made sense to Fuji now, why Arai was deflecting the blame. What did Arai have to hold on to but her pride by making Fuji out to be the bad one, and even in front of her team, Arai still wanted to look the better person. Fuji had to hold back from shaking and crying – oh, but it wasn't easy and she could barely control her dark energy. Now that she realised Arai's game, she couldn't do anything but play into it. That dark energy would make her out to be the bad one.

"But Arai-senpai, wasn't you aiming for unity?" Nariko now stepped forward. "How is this helping the team?"

Somehow, Arai found room to grin. "I'm exposing the deceit in the team."

Fuji heard the bitterness and breathed in.

"What deceit?" Nariko questioned abruptly. Yes, in the past few weeks she felt uneasy about the secrets in the team but didn't see how exposing them so openly would achieve anything.

"No… she's right."

"Fuji! You don't have to admit that!" Kikumaru condemned her.

Fuji carried on. "I lied to my team and Tezuka-kun about what I was doing. I've already apologised to him about it, so I'll apologise to my team too. I'm sorry for lying; it wasn't a bug bite. Now, I want you to apologise for what you said to him yesterday and what you have said to him in the past – for interfering."

"I was helping."

"Apologise, Arai-chan. I can't forgive you if you don't."

"This seems too personal to be for the team Arai-senpai. Apologise so we can get back on the courts. You two discuss this later." Shikawara tried one last time.

"I won't apologise because I've don't nothing wrong – had she not done her business in the open… things wouldn't have been exposed."

Again, Fuji rolled her fingers into her palm and pressed her nails into her skin. Shikawara readied her hand.

"It's not my fault he hates you!"

Gosh, that word! She didn't like that word and for it to be wedged between her and Tezuka's name was too much for Fuji. She had feared he would hate her, especially that she couldn't find him yesterday.

The thought that the two people she loved the most hating her - Yumi and Tezuka - was too much of a loss for Fuji. She surrendered to the energy and let it carry out what ever it wanted.

Fuji right arm lunged forward, pushing Arai back into the locks, knocking her shoulder and head into the cold metal. She brought her left arm up. Shikawara caught her, but she didn't count on the strength of that dark energy and was easily thrown off, and shoved into Nariko and Suzu. Her glasses fell to the floor.

"Fuji-senpai, don't!" Shikawara tried to stop them but even she recognised that madden look in a person's eye. Fuji was too far gone to be call back.

Fuji put all her force into Arai's collarbone. "Is that what you were hoping for? For him to…"

Arai couldn't find any words. Like Sai and Yumi, she now realised the fierce strength behind that fallen smile. Too late. Fuji had already swung her left arm back and delivered a severe blow to Arai's abdomen. Arai couldn't cry out, she lost her breath. She fell forward wanted to crouch down to the floor but Fuji caught her and dragged her back up to eye level.

"Fuji-chan, stop it." Nariko shouted.

But Fuji had already pushed Arai back into the lockers. The sound made the girls cringe and they didn't know what to do. The door opened and they saw Yokoishi with someone. They came into the room to see what was happening. They saw Fuji pushing Arai into the lockers and rushed over to her. Fuji put all the strength into the next punch that would go straight for Arai's face.

But she didn't count on anyone interfering. A hand pulled Arai out the way. Fuji's fist went straight into the lockers. The person that pulled Arai out the way placed her on the floor and stood up to see what caused that loud, crushing noise.

He gasped when he saw the dent in the lockers and Fuji's had was lodged in it. She made a small hole that ripped layers of skin off her knuckles. He wanted to move her hand when he saw her lips quiver. Fuji never anticipated the intense pain that ruptured through her arm. Had she not clenched her teeth, she would have cried in front of her team.


tbc…

A/N2: Some of you are screaming out "That's not tennis!" I know. It's drama!

Let me explain some more: In an episode of Prince of Tennis, I can't remember which one exactly, but the team were running around the courts and Momoshrio asks Fuji, why doesn't he take the fall for the team as he likes the taste if Iuni's drink. Fuji turns to him, opens his eyes and says "I likes to see people suffer." (Or something to that effect.) Thus, the start of 'Fuji's dark energy'. Mahahaha!

Chapter 63: I wrote this chapter years ago and I can't find it. Grr. Don't count on a quick update!

:Ryuzaki-sensei is the bearer of bad news.

Thanks for reading.