A/N: ...Hey guys. I'm sowwy. I'll finish this!
Disclaimer: When Takeshi Konomi asked where I had been, he didn't believe me when I said I was sucked into Prince of Tennis Universe and only just escaped after four years. (Seer-Randomness)
Chapter Ninety One
Fuji sat down outside his door and waited.
There wasn't a chance to speak to him during lunch. The boys crowded around him while he ate. If she had called out to him for a private chat he wouldn't have followed and if he did it would have cause a lot of unwanted rowdiness. After lunch everybody went off to their separate training sessions. She too was whisked away. There was no chanced of sneaking away not after Haramura-sensei personally came along to fetch her. Sensei wanted to work on all those irregularities Fuji had displayed since arriving.
Sensei put her through several hours of agonizing training. Even when Fuji told sensei that she wasn't here to be selected, it immediately fell on deaf ears and she pushed Fuji onto each workout equipment, the weights and then outside for techniques. This was all separate to what the boys were doing. Sensei made it very clear that Fuji was making up for lost time. She realised quickly that sensei did not like disobedience or being taken advantage of... This much, Fuji couldn't blame Oshitari for.
After that, Fuji was too exhausted to hunt around for him, let alone eat dinner. It took her an hour and a half to hold and lift her chopsticks in her trembling hands, and then ten minutes to climb the flight of stairs. Five minutes were taken up by resting on the top step. Everything hurt, shook or just didn't want to be pushed anymore. With all that had happened, and the late morning, it was all starting to take its toll on her.
Even though sleep was calling to her and making her eyes heavy, she wasn't going to let the day finish without having the conversation with him. That's why at 9:45 in the evening she was sat outside his room, waiting for him.
She raised her knees to rest her out stretched arms on them and stared out of the small window opposite his door. The dusk glow of the setting sun faded slowly behind the distance hills. It was starting to be a struggle to keep her eyes open. Soon she closed then. Her body felt heavy with fatigue, but she fought it. She kept one eye open to fight off sleep.
Throughout the day the look on his face never left her mind, that moment of shame. She pondered a few reasons why he did it. Some reasons were obvious to her but she had time to speculate.
She peered down the corridor when she heard voices and people walking up the stairs. Finally, she thought, and waited for them to get closer. She recognised them. One was the cause of her current pain, Haramura-sensei and the other she hoped was Tezuka.
"Fuji-chan? What are you doing here?" Haramura-sensei questioned, believing that Fuji had gone to bed. "We have so much more exercises tomorrow. Go to bed."
Fuji peered up at the figure standing next to sensei and pointed at him. "I need to speak to him."
Sensei crossed her arms. "I'll continue to work on that stubbornness. We will continue tomorrow, Tezuka-kun. Make sure you get some sleep, Fuji-chan. I won't accept you wandering down after eleven o'clock again. Good night." She walked off back down stairs leaving the two alone.
Fuji remained quiet and turned back to look out the window. He didn't say anything, first waiting for her to speak to him. The longer he waited the more awkward their silence grew.
"What's the matter?" He finally asked, though didn't move just yet.
"Today, after my match with Oshitari-kun, the look on your face concerned me. I want to know what that was about."
He signed loudly and wiped the side of his face. She didn't look up.
"I'd like an answer. There must be a reason for it." Fuji said.
"Does it have to be now?"
"Yes, it does."
Tezkua now moved. He kept note of the fact that she didn't look at him and decided to sit on the floor by the window, directly in her line of sight. She didn't expect it, believing he would have stood up. She turned away and stared at the base of his door. For a couple of seconds Tezuka watched her. He raised one knee to lean his arm against it.
"I'm sorry." He said.
She blinked slowly, wanting to look across to him but she kept her sight now to her lap.
"Why are you sorry?"
"I won't do that again... I scared you, didn't I?"
She squeezed her hands together. So he was concerned about yesterday. That look from this morning was remorse over his behaviours. He recognised that he was acting outside of his normal self. Even when knowing it was because of her energy, he understood that what he did wasn't acceptable. Fuji tried to meet his eyes but couldn't. She didn't realise it until now, but she was wary of him.
"I won't do that again." He repeated.
Fuji parted her lips to say something, but decided not to. She didn't have to bring up the fact that she saw shame in his eyes earlier. His apologise expressed that. Every now and then Tezuka sighed, thinking about what he did.
"You should get some rest." He stood up and proceeded to his room. "It would be best if you didn't come around me while we're here."
"What?" When she turned sharply from her hands to face him he wasn't there. She clambered up to her feet, leaning against the wall, but now he avoided her eyes by facing the door. "Why would you say that?"
"Yesterday wasn't how I wanted to greet you. I don't want to do that again, when I'm near you I-"
Fuji slammed her fist against the wall. "Don't tell me not to go near you. That's not what I want to hear."
"Then what else?"
What were her options? She remembered what Yokoishi's said to her on the phone, which only confirmed why she should be careful around him, but she wanted to make the most of their time. He'd be going back to Germany for sure. He wasn't supposed to be here in the first place. Not even Ryuzaki-sensei knew why he came. It only meant that he would have to go back. And who knew how long it would take for him to return.
But that wasn't the main problem. Whether he was here now or when he would return, that seal would still be on his lips. That was the bigger problem.
"If you can't wait..."
He let go of the door handle and turned to approach her. Without thinking she flinched back and that told him all he needed to know.
"Good night." He entered his room leaving her perplexed and by herself.
She didn't mean to move away from him, giving him the wrong message, possibly making things worse. To, in one breath, say she wanted to be with him and in the next cower from him. Stupid body. What bad timing. To have spent all afternoon and evening waiting for him and for it to result in their separation she should have interrupted him at lunch time.
"It's always something." She whispered bitterly to herself.
She tried to stop her thoughts from thinking about the 'if only's' but two of them were too strong to hold back. If only Arai didn't touch him. If only he wasn't naive enough to take her dark energy. They should be spending this short time together more meaningfully.
What else could she do? He wasn't going to come out, that was for sure. So much for saying he missed her, she thought. Fuji carefully made her way back to her room. An hadn't returned yet. It was the perfect opportunity to soak in the bath for an hour.
She leant her head against the back of the bath and thought about his words. Don't be in his space... she never thought he would say that, but what more could she do but give him what he wanted. She would keep away, and even the idea of it left a sour taste in her mouth.
...tbc...
A/N2: This turned out to be a short chappie. Could have added it to C_90 or C_92 but... oh well...
Chapter 92: Fuji is challenged to another match.
