Subzero

AU, TezukaFuji. Someone once told me that when I grew up, I could be whatever I wanted to be. I decided to be me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. I wish I did, but alas, I do not.

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews from the first chapter. I promise I'll do my best for future chapters.

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Subzero

Two Degrees

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"Good morning, Tezuka-san."

Tezuka turned his head to the opening door, and the soft, feminine voice that accompanied it. Out of politeness, Tezuka answered immediately, "Good morning."

Tezuka had never been one to judge based off of appearances alone, but the moment he saw the one opening the door, he viewed that person as innocent and sweet. Sweet in the sense that this person was too sweet. Innocent, in the sense that he person had battle-weary eyes, and yet somehow still managed to retain the golden innocence from his childhood years.

He had honey-brown hair, abnormal for someone of Japanese descent, a solid, but petite stature, and the most haunting cerulean blue eyes he had ever seen in his life.

The boy opened the door, and shut it with exaggerated softness behind him.

"Please forgive my tardiness, Tezuka-san."

"We are both early," Tezuka replied easily, "...You are Fuji Syusuke, the head of the company?"

Fuji gave a smile, "But you got here before I did, therefore making myself late." He paused. "And yes, I am Fuji Syusuke."

Tezuka eyed the smile on Fuji's face that had seemed to come to him as easily as breathing did. His expression did not change as he looked Fuji over.

"Is something the matter, Tezuka-san?"

"No, it is nothing."

Fuji just gave him a serene smile, and sat down, two chairs away from Tezuka. All the while, Tezuka's dark eyes followed the slim chief. "I see. Well then, I would like to explain to you what you are going to be doing today." Fuji began.

Tezuka listemed quietly, absorbing the information that Fuji began to recite to him. He wrote swiftly with his left hand, while dually taking in characteristics about his new boss.

As Fuji spoke, the boy smiled, while letting his hands rest on the top of the table. There was no idle fidgeting and no lack of eye contact. Fuji was behaving towards him as a normal person would, giving off the impression they had known each other for a long time. However...

Fuji's cerulean eyes offered up nothing, no curiosity at a new employee, no judgements through a first appearance. There was nothing other than the customary politeness one would exert when meeting someone for the first time. Tezuka mentally took note of this.

There was a moment of silence and then, Fuji broke Tezuka's gaze and looked down at his watch.

A dry smile appeared on his face, "Saa, it seems that it is time for the board meeting to begin."

Tezuka waited silently.

"Would you care to join me, Tezuka-san?" Fuji asked, the corners of his mouth tilting up into a pleasant smile.

Tezuka did not look at the ever-present smile on the face of SAA's president, but settled for holding Fuji's eyes again, "Ah."

There was a muffled sliding sound as Fuji stood up from his chair, "Let's get going then."

Tezuka followed Fuji out of the room with an, "Ah."

Tezuka soon found that despite his small stature, Fuji had a brisk pace. But at the same time, his steps were light, silent, and graceful.

They soon arrived at a room which, like all the others, had a double door on it. Saeki was standing in front of it, his back straight and stiff. When the silver-black haired man saw Fuji and Tezuka approaching, a relieved smile broke out onto his face. Tezuka could see from the tilt of his eyebrows and the sigh that Saeki heaved, that the smile Saeki gave them was genuine.

"Good, you're here, Fuji." Saeki breathed.

"Sorry," Fuji apologized, his eyes fixed on the door. "Am I late?"

Tezuka knew he wasn't, but chose to remain stoically silent all the same.

A displeased frown took over Saeki's handsome features, "Che. You can never be early enough with them."

Fuji just gave off another smile to glaze past the obvious dislike for the people inside the room. "Now, now, Saeki." Fuji chastised gently, "Be patient."

The aggresive tense in Saeki's shoulders drooped almost instantly, "Hai." He complied, but didn't look happy.

"Let's go, Tezuka-san, Saeki." Fuji said, opening the doors to the room.

B354 - Meeting Room

--

"Please forgive me for being late." Fuji said, entering the room.

Tezuka noted that the group of elderly men that surrounded the long table looked up in disapprovement of Fuji.

One of them sneered at the boy, "And may I ask what the great Fuji Syusuke-san was up to?"

Fuji smiled pleasantly at the old man, "I was meeting with our newest employee, Tezuka Kunimitsu-san." He gestured quickly with his hand towards Tezuka, who bowed. Fuji made his way towards the empty seat at the head of the table. Tezuka had barely come up out of his bow before walking over to a seat off to the side of the room where Saeki also sat. There was a slightly bitter look on Saeki's face as the man watched.

Fuji had the attention of all the men as he placed a few sheets of paper on the oak table in front of him.

"Now, according to our business department's analysts, the stock prices for Kusurugi Insurance have been dropping slightly," Fuji began to explain. Tezuka's pen hovered in the air above the blank notebook paper he held in his lap. He had known this already, after having done a final check on his company's stock pricings. Fuji continued, "I believe we should pull our stocks out of Kusurugi Insurance."

There was a loud babble of argument.

"Pull out? Preposterous!"

"Absurd!"

Tezuka's eyes remained on Fuji, even while Saeki growled in his seat. "Hey, just wh--" Saeki was cut off abruptly.

"Tezuka-san?"

Still, Tezuka's eyes stayed on the catalyst for the flurry of argument. "Wait." He murmured.

"We cannot pull out of Kusurugi Insurance, Fuji-san," a man with a slight balding problem protested, amidst the angry voices. "Too much of our income depends on it. Your father bought us a large portion of stock from them, and that is the reason why we are being paid so well."

Fuji was leaning back in his chair calmly, "While that is true, Kazamatsuri-san, the stock prices have begun to drop within this last month; it will continue to do so. If we do not make a move now, we may well be caught up in the financial issues of Kusurugi Insurance. That is why I propose we pull out."

"But your father--"

"My father made a poor choice," Fuji said. "We cannot place all of our hopes into a company that has been doing well for the past few years. At any given moment, the stock prices may plummet for that particular group, and we will be found helpless."

The old men around the room quieted quickly, but still grumbled angrily.

"You will be the death of the company, Syusuke." A thin, beady-eyed man growled.

Fuji just gave him a level glance, "That may be so in the future, but as for the moment, it does not appear that way."

The beady-eyed man smirked evilly at him. Tezuka felt his fist tighten, even though the look was not directed at him. Fuji just watched him with a firm, not quite cold look, waiting. "Either you will be the death of the company, Fuji Syusuke; or the company shall be the death of you."

Saeki leapt to his feet with a roar, "Are you threatening Fuji-san?"

The man made it clear that he was looking down upon Saeki by the disgusted gleam in his beady eyes. "And if I am?"

Saeki growled.

Tezuka continued to watch Fuji as he stood up calmly.

"Then we shall see." Fuji murmured. The words were quiet, but enough to gain the attention of the board members and Saeki. Fuji then gave a smile to the board members. "But I trust that you can handle it, can't you?"

The depiction of a child rattling the cage of an angry beast ran through Tezuka's mind as he watched the faces of the board members grow red with blood and rage and hatred.

SAA's Lunch Area

--

"Sorry that Fuji-san had to leave like that, Tezuka-san." Saeki apologized, setting his tray down at a table for two.

Tezuka, finished with his analysis of the lunch room, sat across from Saeki, "It's all right." Saeki appeared to have calmed down from the meeting with the board members.

Nevertheless, Saeki offered Tezuka an apologetive smile.

After a moment of contemplation, Tezuka replied with a question, "Is Fuji always busy?"

He realized a beat after the words had left his mouth that the question sounded foolish. Saeki, however, seemed to understand and nodded his head as he unscrewed the cap on a water bottle.

"He is," Saeki confirmed. "Fuji-san rarely has time to sit down and eat."

Tezuka nodded with understanding. He had thought there must have been a reason for the slight bags under Fuji's eyes. He speared a tomato with the fork he had been given for his salad, placed it in his mouth, and chewed, all the while thinking. "The board members..." He began.

The calm look on Saeki's face vanished at the mention of the board members of SAA. With the way Saeki's shoulders seemed to sag, Tezuka guessed that Saeki had been anticipating a question about that.

"Unless it causes trouble..." Tezuka said.

Saeki shook his head, "No. I had a feeling you would ask, and Fuji instructed me to explain the situation with the board members to you, anyways." Then, Saeki took a large breath in an attempt to calm himself. "You see, Fuji inherited this company from his father."

Instantly, Tezuka was alert. All it had taken was one word: inheritance.

"Fuji's father retired from his job when he was around seventy. During that time, Fuji was about 22, just finishing college. But as it stood, the company that Fuji's father had been running could not be shut down, as it was a vital part in stocks and trading at the time." Saeki explained. Tezuka leaned back into his chair, remembering the fact that this company had been previously named S&T Co.

Saeki continued, "Therefore, Fuji-san was pushed into the decision of becoming the head of the company, which he renamed as SAA. Soon after, that is when the troubles with the board members you saw started."

Tezuka ignored the buzz of voices that went around the lunch room, "What kind of troubles?"

There was a lurch from Saeki. His face seemed to freeze. Obviously, this was one thing he hadn't been instructed to tell Tezuka. He began to stutter, "Uh... th-that is...I..."

After a good while, the silver-black haired man gave a defeated sigh, "There have been death threats directed towards Fuji-san before." Saeki confessed.

"By the board members?" Tezuka couldn't see anyone else willing to threaten Fuji's life, especially when he seemed to well-liked by a vast majority of his company, save for the board members.

There was a bitter and forlorn look on Saeki's face as he nodded, "Unfortunately." Saeki scowled, "They think that Fuji-san is too young and inexperienced to handle a prestigious company like this one. Also, the fact that Fuji-san also runs things different than his father makes things worse between the board members and Fuji-san...it just isn't a good position for Fuji-san, either way."

Tezuka stared at his half-eaten lunch. Finally, he closed the lid on his empty bottle of water and stood up. He bowed to Saeki, "Thank you for telling me about this. I appreciate it."

Saeki stood up too, "Are you going home now, Tezuka-san?"

The taller man nodded, "Ah."

"Then, we should get going."

Tezuka watched as Saeki nearly jumped out of his skin. "F-F-Fuji-san!"

Tezuka thought that Saeki looked like an electrocuted cat. The man's hair was standing on end and his body was rigid all over.

Fuji cocked his head, an inquiring look about his face, "Yes, that's me. Is something the matter, Saeki-san?"

Saeki laughed, while nervously rubbing the back of his head, "N-no! Nothing at all, Fuji-san. P-please excuse; I still have some work to do today. I'll see you tomorrow."

Fuji just watched him for a few moments longer before waving, "Good work, today, Saeki-san."

"H-hai, good work, Fuji-san." Saeki stuttered again before speeding from the room.

"Saa, why don't we get going too?" Fuji said, turning to Tezuka.

Tezuka nodded, "Hai."

Fuji chuckled quietly, "Not a man of many words, are you?"

Unsure of how to respond, Tezuka setted with the sure-fire, "Ah."

"Saa, now this is a problem..."

Tezuka leaned back against the seat of his car. Indeed it was a problem. His car refused to start up, sputtering and groaning instead. He had been planning to begin working as soon as he got home, too. He reached into his pocket, fingers brushing against the cool metal of his cell phone.

Fuji tilted his head to the side, "What are you doing?"

"Calling the car maintenance shop to have them fix it." Tezuka replied while dialing numbers.

"Why? They are already on their way." Fuji said, extending his hand, showing Tezuka a list of numbers that had been called recently. One of the numbers on the list was the car maintenance shop that Tezuka had been about to contact.

Surprised, Tezuka slid the phone back into his pocket. "Thank you. But you didn't have to do that." He hadn't expected such a random show of affection from Fuji.

"Of course I do. It is my job to take care of you," Fuji chuckled. Tezuka felt just slightly uncomfortable with the sentence. There was an amused gleam in Fuji's eyes, "I am your boss, don't forget."

Then Tezuka felt stupid.

"Well," Fuji said, turning to the elavators. "Shall we get going?"

Tezuka hit the 'lock' button his keys. The car gave off a shrill honk, indicating it was locked. Then, he followed behind Fuji who had already started off at his graceful, quick stride.

When he caught up to Fuji, the boy was standing inside the open elvator, a finger stationed on the 'open door' button.

The number 3 on the floor dials was already glowing. "Thank you." He said, standing next to Fuji.

Fuji just smiled serenely, "It's no problem."

With that, Fuji released the button, and the doors began to slide shut.

Perhaps it was a trick with the lighting, but just before the elevator shut its doors, Tezuka saw a dark shape make its way towards the stairs. He frowned.

"Ne, Tezuka-san."

"Yes?"

"Where do you live?" Fuji asked.

Tezuka's first reaction was to ask why Fuji needed such confidential information, but then remembered, before he embarassed himself again, that it was now Fuji's duty to see that he got home. He complied, "I live in the Kanda Apartment Complexes." He said.

There was a slightly forced smile on Fuji's face, "I know where that is."

Tezuka said nothing, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Fuji's mouth had grown taut and was no longer shaped into the placid smile he wore so often.

Although it was in his nature not to pry, Tezuka found that his curiosity got the best of him,

"...Fuji--"

"We've reached the third floor." Fuji interrupted, stepping out of the elevator. Then, Tezuka frowned again. Obviously there was something about the apartment complex he lived in that bothered Fuji.

He, too, stepped out of the elevator and followed Fuji to a metallic blue vehicle. The car wasn't a sports car, like Tezuka had expected the head of a prestigious company to have. It was, if anything, a very ordinary car, its purpose being only to transport the owner from one place to another.

"Time to get going now, ne?" Fuji's composure had been recovered; he was smiling the smile that made females swoon and Tezuka suspicious.

"Ah." Tezuka placed a hand on the handle of the door before he heard the swift slapping of feet against a cold cement ground.

He jerked his head out of the frame of the car door, only to hear sharp tone of Fuji's voice, "Stay down!"

Tezuka ducked his head back under the safety of the door, just before there was a glint of steel. A few feet away from where Tezuka crouched, a knife was embedded into the ground. Even from a distance, the bespectacled man could see rust coating the edge of the blade. He had no doubt that he would be in a tremendous amount of pain if Fuji hadn't told him to duck, seeing as the blade of the knife was also old and nicked.

Then, he heard the pitter-patter of feet moving swiftly, and the thump of Fuji's briefcase.

A whistling sound rang in the air; a sound that Tezuka could only assume to be another knife.

Someone was attacking them, and their prime objective was Fuji.

Tezuka straightened, and when he did, he saw Fuji stepping away from a man in black. And in the man's hand was a curved pocket knife.

There was no fear on Fuji's face, as far as Tezuka could see. But likewise, there was no smile, and instead on Fuji's face was the calm, contemplative look of one who knew what he was doing.

The man in black gave a feral shout and lunged at the boy, the knife waving wildly in the air.

To Tezuka's surprise and shock, Fuji made no move to run. He just stood there, the same, calm look on his face.

"Fuji!"

The man was upon him, and swung the blade.

What happened next took a few more moments for Tezuka to process.

The armed man--the ex-armed man was picking himself up off the ground and was stumbling away. Fuji was standing in virtually the same place as before, with the same look on his face.

The only difference was that there was a thin line running down his face from his cheek.

Tezuka picked himself up and went to Fuji's side.

"Fuji, you're bleeding." He stated with a frown.

Fuji's hand came up and touched his cheek. When he pulled away, there was crimson liquid on his fingertips. "Saa, that's what it looks like." Fuji mused in a light tone.

"That isn't good," Tezuka admonished in a disapproving tone. "We need to clean that out."

"I suppose so." Fuji shrugged. He bypassed Tezuka and went to the driver's side of his car. He stood there, waiting for Tezuka. "I should probably get you home first, though."

"Fuji--"

"I understand." Fuji cut in. "We'll make a pit-stop at my place."

Tezuka closed his mouth.

"All right?" Fuji asked.

"Ah." Tezuka settled for a nod, and sat in the passenger's seat.

Fuji followed his example and sat. He started up the engine, and shifted the gear stick. But before Fuji's foot pressed the gas pedal, his grip tightened on the steering wheel. He stopped smiling for just a split second, "I'm sorry for involving you in this, Tezuka. Please just forget about it."

And then they were gone.

But Tezuka knew that he couldn't, and that he wouldn't.

He wouldn't forget the obvious hatred the board members had of Fuji, the threats they had made towards him, the anger that had sparked the air, and Fuji's nonchalance towards it all. He wouldn't forget.

His subconsciousness allowed him to watch the pedestrians on the sidewalks, the sales in the stores, and the sound of the radio in Fuji's car.

A woman's voice said, 'The low for tonight is 10 degrees. From there, the temperature will only continue to drop...'

(A/N:) Thank you for reading this story. I am desperately trying to keep Fuji and Tezuka in character. Same with Saeki, but there wasn't as much of him in this chapter as the last one.

Thank you for the reviews, and please continue to review.

Sincerely,

-PurificationArrow

Quote: Listen carefully and remember; I will choose only you until the day I die.