A/N: Vague? Me! Never!
Edited: (2/7/2016)
Disclaimer: If Prince of Tennis belongs to Takeshi Konomi then it belongs to me too! (Not true)
Chapter Eighty Two
The days went by quickly. The boys were getting themselves ready and set to take that long flight to Germany. This was not before having their match against Rikkaidai, which was just as hard as they expected but somehow they made it to the next round. And because of this they had some great news to deliver across the continent. While the boys were organising themselves, the girls occupied an empty room. It was time to get everything out in the open. Echizen on the other hand, knowing that he had to give an account of himself when he saw Tezuka, made sure he took the time out for extra practise and observed others play.
Ryuzaki-sensei managed to keep the peace between the girls by keeping the quarrelling doubles pair and Suzu doing laps and the three winners practising some new and advance techniques for two weeks until her departure. Ryuzaki-sensei said for the girls to relax and take it easy. They didn't have to go to after school practice for the time being. They could go to the beach or in town, or sleep-in in the morning. After their last games, she figured it would be wise to give them a time-out. If they wanted to practise, they could but they didn't have to.
Tezuka got the news by phone. Ryuzaki called him at his training centre and explained why they were coming over. He was elated by the news. He wanted to ask if Fuji was coming as well, but he didn't want to have to explain himself, knowing that sensei would lecture him about bothering her at an important time in the tournament. He got permission from his physiotherapist to have two days off to hang out with the guys. At 3pm he got a left to the airport by his coach. When he saw the team it warmed him up on the inside. He felt at ease and couldn't wait to hear their stories of the matches he missed. Ryuzaki-sensei came to the front to greet him. Close behind her were the guys, and even Horio, Kachirou and Katsuo were with them.
While the group gathered their luggage and sorted out their passports, Tezuka watched them, hoping she would come round a corner or emerge from behind a large group of people but once they were ready he realised she wasn't with them. He frowned. When he was told that the guys were coming over, he was sure that it was Fuji that organised it… but she wasn't with them. He didn't know why but it made him worry.
Ryuzaki-sensei saw his expression and shouted at him. "Who are you looking for?"
He felt caught off guard and said nothing.
"If you're looking for Sai-kun, he's not able to be here."
Though Tezuka did notice Sai wasn't with them, that wasn't his first concern, sad to say. It kinda made him feel as if he was losing his touch by the fact he wan't so concerned that Sai wasn't with them.
He followed everyone to their hotels, waited until they had sorted their bags and rooms, and took them around the area before relaxing at his training facility. He wanted to spend the evening with them but he had other concerns. When he saw that the guys were happy wandering around the campus and playing a few games, he took the opportunity to call Oishi up to his room so they could talk. He needed to get a lot off his mind.
"How is she?"
Tezuka wasn't wasting anytime and the question threw Oishi for a moment. Oishi looked at Tezuka and could see a change in his expression. Strange. Oishi couldn't help but smile and eased himself into the seat offered to him, while his friend sat on his bed looking as lonely as ever. When he realised Tezuka asked about Fuji, Oishi didn't know where to start.
"Erm… well, the last time I spoke to you, things really haven't gotten any better."
Tezuka looked away. "What do you mean?"
Oishi breathed out. It was more of a desperate sigh. He didn't want to say what had happened while Tezuka was away. The thought that she could do such a thing puzzled him. While Oishi remained silent for a few seconds, Tezuka wondered if he wanted to know. Not knowing didn't make it any easier on this nerves. And if he did leave it to chance he would be going in circles like last time. He would be waiting for her to tell him and then for drama to explode in front of him. He believed and had hoped that Fuji would have been on the plane with them. The fact that she wasn't meant something must be wrong with her. Did he want to know? Yeah, he did.
"So much has happened that I don't know where to start." Oishi began.
"Well, let's start by asking how she got my number?"
"Huh? Oh… you see, her sister is very quick on her feet. She swiped my phone from my hand. I didn't think she took any numbers out of the phone. It was so quick. The only way she could have gotten it was if she memorized it."
Tezuka shook his head. He didn't mind Fuji having his number. He would have given it to her had she asked for it. It only bothered him more that he didn't know who her sister was or her frightful brother. At least now he knew where Fuji got that over demanding behaviour. He lifted his hands to cover his mouth. How was Yukio able to call his bluff so easily?
"I got to speak to her." Tezuka said.
"She called you?"
"When I called back, I got her brother. Then her sister kept calling me, questioning who I was and why I would leave to go to Germany. Basically, she was telling me off."
"Ah, they must really care for Fuji-chan. Though I can understand why they would be so concerned."
Tezuka tapped his fingers over his cheeks wondering what she had done. He didn't mean to take her strength from her. Truth be told, he didn't think such a dark energy was swirling inside her that was now crying within him. He didn't think when he held her for the last time that something dark and eerie was living inside of her. He just wanted to take part of her with him… seems he took more then he bargained for!
He surprised Oishi by falling back on his bed and covering his eyes. Tezuka sighed deeply when he listened to her energy locked inside with his own. It was insane. How was she able to keep this thing quiet and smile as if nothing was wrong? He pictured her smile in his mind's eye and nearly grasped his shirt. Instead, he dropped his arm over his stomach and stayed as he was for a while.
He was overwhelmed by his behaviours… or were they his behaviours? It seemed that part of her in him was making him more emotional than normal.
"What are you thinking?" Oishi asked him.
He adjusted his glasses and folded his arms. "Tell me how she is?"
Oishi could hear the desperation in his voice. In this state, Oishi didn't think he should hear. He sighed once more and told him. "That day that I called you, I was in the nurses office with her."
Tezuka sat up.
"She got into a physical fight with Arai-chan."
"A fight!" No. Should he really be shocked? He lowered his voice and closed his eyes. Did Arai finally come clean to her? "What happened?"
"That's the strange part, the two haven't shared their side of the story. Nobody knows what caused it. Kikumaru said it's because Arai-chan interfered by showing you a picture, but neither of them have said anything to agree or disagree with it, and Fuji-chan hasn't really been speaking with Kikumaru all that much."
"I think that might be my fault."
"How can that be?"
"Before I left I spoke with Arai-san… maybe she went back to Fuji-san and said something to her."
"I don't think that's it. Kikumaru was sure it was about a picture. She… well, even Sai-kun, apparently got involved."
"Is that why he isn't here?"
Oishi raised his eyebrow. "Didn't Ryuzaki-sensei say anything to you? Fuji-chan put him in hospital! He's fighting for his life right now."
Tezuka didn't know what to say. He stared at Oishi, and all Oishi could do was shake his head. This was too much for him. He didn't want to hear anymore. Was Fuji really capable of doing such a thing? The boy in him, and now that circling dark energy told him she was, and he was naïve to think she was meek. Tezuka ran his hand threw his hair. He didn't have the will to get up and walk around. Now he had thoughts of going home. He needed to go home and see her. He covered his mouth again, to stop himself from speaking his mind. Whatever came out would be pure unfiltered emotion. Oishi would probably tell Fuji what they spoke about so he had to keep quiet.
"What did Sai-kun do to her?"
Oishi shrugged. "She won't say, and Sai-kun can't speak… Kikumaru said Fuji-chan was disheartened because of her match. Apparently she had to play against her sister. And, she said something about Yumi-chan, her sister, ordering Fuji-chan to open her eyes. Kikumaru said after Fuji-chan did that, she was differentf."
"Somehow… I feel this is my fault." Tezuka murmured.
"Again? How?" Oishi said quickly. He was starting to get suspicious and annoyed.
Tezuka tapped the tips of his fingers against each other. He didn't want to tell Oishi that she may have lost her temper because he took to long to tell her that he loved her… but… he's only ever said it in this thoughts. He hasn't told her yet! He thought he had. Thinking back he realised he hadn't. Why? Was he… could he still be angry with her? Knowing that she got into a fight with two people disturbed him. He checked with his heart, he didn't know if he could forgive her for that.
"I really need to get back to see her."
"There's more, you know." Oishi paused to get his reaction. Tezuka didn't move. "Ryuzaki-sensei has taken her captaincy away from her."
Now he moved. "What? Why? Who is leading the girls?"
"Arai-chan."
He was too disgusted to speak. No wonder Fuji didn't want to say anything to him on the phone, and how naïve of him to think that all was okay, especially after he got that text from her. 'Too late for that.' He didn't know what to say. Now he understood why she only wanted to tell him mundane things like she was cold and asked what time of the day it was. He understood why she couldn't sleep that night and sat in the garden until midnight. If only he didn't over react to Atobe's non-sense, then he could be by her side to comfort her.
Oishi stood up to lay a caring hand on his shoulder, forcing Tezuka out of his damning thoughts. "Tezuka, don't blame yourself. It's not all that obvious, but I can see the concern on your face. It's worrying, I know but I think it would be more worrying if you came back with us when you're not fully healed. Fuji-chan is okay. She's managing… but," It's at this moment that Oishi's mood changed. "it would help her a great deal if you stopped telling her to not be careless. It's okay when you say it to us, but it's a completely different matter when you say it to the girl you like."
"Okay."
Tezuka's reaction time was slow. He didn't grasp that Oishi had read and was referring to the text he sent Fuji a while back.
"Why are you agreeing? Isn't that common sense! To think that you would tell the girl you like to not make mistakes. What kind of boyfriend are you?"
Tezuka heard the sudden change in Oishi voice, felt the heavy hand on his shoulder before the weighty and authoritative voice followed. "To think you'd be so clueless. It's times like this that make me ashamed to be your friend. What happened to that conversation we had in the maths room? I said to say romantic stuff to her. If I had known you were saying mean things like that I would have reprimanded you a long time ago. Do I have to teach you a thing or two, Tezuka-baka?"
Tezuka never thought he would ever be on the receiving end of Oishi's motherly outburst, but it seemed even he couldn't escape his discipline. Oishi sat on the bed with him and forced Tezuka to tell him all the mean things he has said to Fuji up until now. Feeling under-pressure, he told Oishi near enough everything.
"Geez, it's no wonder she's so confused. I'm not giving you any more chances now. If you don't start giving her obvious levels of affection, I'll expose your lousy attempts at love to all the girls in school and your next college. You deserve to be lonely!"
Tezuka flinched, he could feel the sweat forming on his forehead. "Are you serious?"
The reproach began to burn in Oishi eyes and Tezuka couldn't avoid it. "I'll never forgive you if you break her heart, Tezuka. For all that she's been through in the last few weeks, you should be the last person telling her off. You should be the one she's running to and you should be the one to encourage her, yet you seems to be the one making her the most miserable."
Tezuka felt that in both his heart and his pride. Was he really that lousy? Argh, the thought that he was bad at something agitated him. And there he was thinking he was doing a… well, a decent job of it. He knew it wasn't great but he thought it was okay, after all she chose him… Fuji didn't choose Atobe.
With the thought of his name, Tezuka was tempted to ask if Atobe had been around Fuji since he was gone, but there came a knock at the door. Oishi ordered them to come in and it was Echizen, looking jetlagged. He rubbed his eyes and yawned into his hand and stared at them wearily.
"Buchou?" He mumbled, and Tezuka adjusted his glasses to hide his discomfort. "Sensei said we're heading to a restaurant to have dinner and for the two of you to join us."
"Thanks, we'll be down in a minute." Oishi said.
Before Echizen left he added one more thing. "Tezuka-buchou?" He yawned again. "Can you tell Fuji-senpai to stop using me as your replacement. She keeps hugging and kissing me. It's gross." He closed the door behind him and waddled down the hall half asleep.
Tezuka's glasses shifted a little… Was he losing to a twelve-year-old boy? Oishi snickered.
"Did you hear that? It's true. I've seen it with my own eyes. She was smiling when she was with him, and then she read your text and I couldn't understand why she stopped smiling. No more chances. Send Fuji-chan an email. The next chance you get to see her, you had better say things clearly to her and I don't care who is around you. Make her know that she is the most important person in your world."
It made sense. Tezuka nodded, but he didn't like the implications of what Oishi was asking of him. Whether they were in private or out in the public he would have to tell her something from the heart… It was a quick thought, but he suddenly didn't want to go home, knowing that he had made so many mistakes… Oishi made it more embarrassing for him. The room went quite but for the cheering outside. The thought that he made her miserable bothered him more then anything, which meant he had to be honest with his feelings towards her… but - and there was a but on his half - with the boy in him making a lot of noise, he didn't know if he could.
…tbc…
A/N2: Ah, poor Tezuka, it's hard being a man (not that I'd know... (¬_¬)). Did you really think Ryuzaki-sensei would let Fuji go with them after putting Sai in hospital! Dem's da'rulez ppl!
Chapter 83: The girls have fun on the beach, but who is that running over to give Fuji a big ol' hug?
Thanks for reading! (^-^)
