Flash Effects

Summary: Before classes start for Fuji, Atobe, and Shiraishi, Fuji finds out something no one can predict. Then, all kinds of problems start popping up.

Warnings: Shounen-ai

Pairings: Shiraishi x Fuji, Tezuka x Atobe, Chitose x Yukimura

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine.

Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter! Yukimura appears in this chapter, finally, and a new pairing is revealed, kind of! So please read, review, and enjoy! I'm not getting that many reviews, but thanks to the people who have already reviewed. I'll continue uploading this story for you guys:)

Chapter 5:

Fuji woke up with the thought that he would have to go to classes, but then almost hit himself in the face, because it was Saturday. The only reason he didn't was that his arms were around Shiraishi, and he didn't want to let go. He hugged Shiraishi closer to him, and Shiraishi's arms, which were around Fuji's waist, also tightened.

"Awake?" he said quietly. Fuji nodded and huddled himself against Shiraishi's chest. "When are we going to play tennis with Senri and the others?"

Fuji then remembered what he was going to do. "I can't go today; I have something I need to do. Well, I can go in the evening."

"What is it that's so important?" Shiraishi asked Fuji. He leaned his face closer to his, so that they were only centimeters apart. Fuji blushed.

"I planned to go on a lunch date with one of my friends later today," Fuji replied.

"Who is it?"

"Yukimura Seiichi from Rikkaidai," Fuji said.

"Oh, the former captain of the school that swept ours in the Nationals a while back."

Fuji cringed.

"Yes, yes," Shiraishi went on. "He's worthy."

Fuji sighed. "Don't scare me like that. I probably would've gone with him anyway."

"Yeah, that sounds like something you would do."

There was a relaxing silence. Shiraishi got up. "Okay, then let's get you ready to go. We woke up late today, anyway. There have been too many days of waking up early."

"I kept waking up in the morning, but you kept making me go to sleep again."

"How?"

"I don't know. I would just lie there, and after laying long enough and being nice and cozy, I would start to feel sleepy again."

Shiraishi extended a hand to Fuji, who gladly took it and was pulled up on his feet. "You want to wear something of mine?" Shiraishi asked. "Since you're not going into your original room, right?"

"Right. At least you wear the same kind of clothes as me. I'm not so sure about the size, though. I think the shirts will be fine, since I can always wear shirts that are slightly big for me."

"I might be able to find a small pair of khaki pants or something," Shiraishi said.

"That will be good, then." Fuji opened the closet door and turned to look inside. "Did you pack your entire wardrobe or something?!"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Wow. Just wow."

Fuji threw on the best looking yet still casual shirt he could find. It was just a plain white collared shirt, with some pants that were slightly too small for Shiraishi. Fuji asked why he brought them.

"I have no idea," Shiraishi replied. "Now go to your little lunch date. You don't want to arrive late."

"Okay. I'll see you later then," Fuji said as he headed out the door, camera in hand.

Fuji stumbled out the door and into the arms of Yukimura who swiftly caught him. "Sorry about that," Fuji said. "I must've tripped or something."

"It's fine," Yukimura replied, smiling. He looked just like he did the last time Fuji saw him. Blue wavy hair, medium length, smiling and gentle, but scary when he wanted to be.

"So why did you accept my invitation anyway? You had to come all the way out here to Osaka," Fuji said.

"Oh yeah, you didn't get the news. I moved here," Yukimura said.

"Really?"

"Yep."

"How far is your house from the school campus?"

"Not too far, actually. It's near Chitose's apartment."

Fuji blinked. "And how do you know where that is again?"

Yukimura stopped walking and leaned in closer to Fuji's face. Fuji felt his face heat up almost instantaneously. "Secret reasons," he whispered and pulled back again. "But why did you invite me in the first place?"

They started walking again, and now they were at the place Fuji had intended to go, a small café across the street from a pleasant looking flower shop (1). "It's something about college."

"And you're going to ask me?" Yukimura asked. "You know I don't know much about art."

"It's not about that." The two boys walked into the café and sat down. They ordered some drinks. "You see, Atobe—"

Yukimura then cut him off. "Oh man, I thought he would last longer than that. But I guess I shouldn't underestimate you. You are Fuji Syusuke, after all."

"What?" Fuji said. "You knew?"

"Of course I knew."

"Are you saying that a lot of people knew?"

"No, I was the only one. Except for Tezuka and Atobe himself."

"Why didn't you tell me? After all those times we talked on the phone about them and stuff."

Yukimura sighed. "I knew you were going to ask."

"Who wouldn't?"

"Well, here's my answer. If Atobe was planning to tell you, I thought he should do it himself. He needed to be taught a lesson. And this is his consequence."

"Then you—!"

"Yes, I knew about it the entire time. Didn't we already go over this?"

"You…why didn't you…" And then Fuji ran off.

"Fuji, wait!" Yukimura shouted. He got up and almost ran into the lady who was serving them. She had come back with their drinks. Not the best time, he thought. He mumbled a quick but polite apology, and ran off after Fuji.

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Fuji ran into the bathroom and leaded against the wall by the sink. He felt his cheek. Wet. He was crying. Why was he crying? Why did he want to think about Tezuka?

Suddenly, Yukimura ran in. "Fuji!" he walked swiftly over to the tensai. "Fuji, are you okay?" He expected the shorter boy to turn away, but instead, he didn't move. He just gazed at Yukimura.

Yukimura looked at Fuji's tear-stained face gently. He stroked the remaining tears away. "Why didn't you tell? We're friends."

"Atobe…he should've told himself. It was his fault for not telling you to begin with. Both Tezuka and Atobe are to be blamed for this mess. You're the one caught in the middle. I don't think that's right. And besides, if I had told you, you probably would've dumped the blame on me."

"I don't think so. It's not your fault."

"Fuji." Yukimura looked at him hard. "When people hear bad news, they tend to release their anger on the person who delivered the news, even though it may not be the person's fault. It's just human nature." He then looked down. "If it had been the other way around, and you had told me bad news like that, I think I would've gotten mad at you, too."

Fuji looked up at Yukimura. "I see." He wiped his face and smiled sadly. "There's just one more problem, then."

"More? You're in this mess deep."

"Yeah, I'm sorry for getting you involved. The professors of all the departments have recently assigned a project. And I mean recently as in yesterday."

"Is that bad news for you? You're a genius. Especially when it comes to art."

"Yeah, but the problem is, I have to work with Atobe and Kuranosuke on the project."

"Shiraishi isn't bad, since you two are dating, but Atobe might prove to provide some…turbulence."

"Yeah. How are we going to pull this together? I want to do the project, but at the same time, I don't want to."

Yukimura seemed to be in deep thought for a moment. "I think you're just having a lot of trouble forgiving Atobe. And I can seriously understand that. Your heart can't let him off the hook that easily. But your mind keeps telling you to forgive and forget. It keeps telling you to move on."

"Atobe once told me that if your mind and your heart aren't saying the same thing, neither of them is right."

"When was that?"

"Right when we moved into college."

"He must have predicted this ending, then, and tried to warn you early."

"Then why didn't he just say it straight to my face?"

"I guess he just couldn't."

"But how can neither my mind nor my heart be right? Those are the only two options I have. Don't forgive, or forgive and forget."

"There has to be another way."

They two walked back to the table and sat in silence. Their drinks had been delivered, but neither of them was feeling the least bit thirsty or hungry at that moment.

"So tomorrow, or this evening, we're going to play tennis. You want to join us?" Fuji asked, changing the subject.

"By 'we', who do you mean?"

"Kuranosuke, Senri, Kintarou, and myself."

"Ah, I'll come, then."

Fuji smiled. "That's great! I don't think I would've let you say no, anyway."

Yukimura smiled back. "I don't think I would've said no. But that makes an uneven number. How are we going to play?"

Fuji thought. That might really be a problem. "I'm not sure."

Yukimura smiled again. "I have a proposition."

"What is it?"

"Do you think we could bring Atobe along?"

Fuji's eyes opened. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. I'm not the one that hates him, anyway. He hurt you, though, and that's inexcusable. But maybe that would help straighten things out."

"O—Okay." Fuji sighed. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad. Maybe Yukimura was right.

When Yukimura and Fuji got back to the campus, Yukimura stopped Fuji before bidding his goodbyes. He leaned down towards Fuji, stopping only a few centimeters away. Was he going to kiss him? But finally, after Yukimura stared at Fuji for a long while in that awkward position (Fuji wondered what people passing by thought), Yukimura whispered, "Forgive, but do not forget."

Fuji blinked, and in an instant, Yukimura was gone. He hadn't thought of that alternative. Maybe, there still was a chance.

He walked to Shiraishi's room and walked in, since Shiraishi had left the door open. He opened it to find his boyfriend on the computer, tablet in hand, drawing. He looked so focused, and Fuji smiled. He just stood at the door for a while watching him draw.

When it looked like Shiraishi was less absorbed, Fuji took a step towards him and he heard. He looked up and smiled at Fuji. He got up from his seat and walked over to Fuji, picked him up, and kissed him. Fuji leaned in to Shiraishi's touch.

"So how was the date with Yukimura?" Shiraishi asked.

"Okay," Fuji replied. "He taught me a valuable lesson."

"Will it help with your current situation?"

Fuji tried to shrug, but he found it difficult, since he was still cradled in his boyfriend's arms. "I hope so. That was the main reason I asked him to see me, anyway," Fuji said.

"No inside reasons I hope?" Shiraishi said.

"Of course not," Fuji said and smiled. "I think he's dating someone, anyway. I don't know who, though."

"Oh really? We're going to find out, then."

"Of course we will. Let's hope we do today."

"What?"

Fuji leaned up and kissed Shiraishi, who was still holding him. "We're going to play tennis, right? I invited Yukimura to come with us."

"I have no objections," Shiraishi said, to Fuji's relief. "But won't that make an uneven number?"

"Yukimura's…got that taken care of," Fuji said and looked down.

"Atobe's coming?" Shiraishi asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, maybe it will help clear up this mess."

"Yeah, I hope."

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Fuji walked with Shiraishi, Chitose, and Kintarou to the tennis courts. They were located at a park just around the corner from Chitose, Kenya, and Kintarou's apartment. The sun was just about setting, and there was no wind. The weather was nice and cool, and the air was dry. It was the perfect day to play.

Fuji glanced at the courts and saw the boy that he had seen back during his first days in Osaka playing tennis on the single court (there were four courts and a single court, separate from the others. Strangely, there was no one playing on the four courts. But it was a good thing, since they had a large group. Yukimura had already arrived and was sitting on a bench between two of the courts, smiling at them. Beside him sat Atobe with a straight face on. Fuji figured it was because he wasn't so thrilled to play with Fuji, but he wanted to play tennis.

"Hey, Yukimura, Atobe," Chitose greeted for all four of them. Fuji figured that Yukimura's house was closer to Chitose's than he had thought. He still wanted to know the 'secret reason'. But now wasn't really the time.

"So how are we going to figure this out?" Shiraishi asked. "Who's playing doubles and who's playing singles?"

"I've got it taken care of. Spin your racquet, and if it lands smooth, you're singles, and rough is doubles," Yukimura said.

"That's a good idea." So the group each spun their racquets and looked at the butt of the racquet.

Shiraishi's was the first to land. "Smooth. I'm singles."

Fuji's was next. "Rough. Doubles."

Next was Yukimura's. "Rough. I'm doubles, too."

"Smooth! I play Kura-chan!" said Kintarou.

"That leaves Atobe and Chitose to play doubles," Fuji said. "How are we going to figure out teams?" he asked as Shiraishi and Kintarou walked to the court beside them to start warming up and pulled the dark green mesh curtains so that tennis balls didn't go flying.

"Since Fuji and I landed first, we'll be a team, and Atobe and Chitose will be one," Yukimura said.

"Another great idea," Chitose said. Yukimura smiled at him. "Smooth or rough?"

"Smooth," Yukimura said.

"Rough, we'll serve."

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Fuji sighed and sat down on the bench for a break. He had to think of something because he and Yukimura were down a set. He took his bottle of water and drank from it. Suddenly, he saw a shadow over himself. He looked up, and there was Yukimura, smiling. "I've got a plan."

"You better, since I don't."

"Don't worry, it's good." He leaned down and whispered, "Australian Formation."

Fuji smiled. "That'll definitely throw them, but do you think we can pull it off?" he whispered back.

"We can do anything," Yukimura said. "Rest assured."

"Alright then, let's go!"

Yukimura looked up and saw Chitose staring at him hard. "What?" he said, smiling innocently. Chitose just sighed and walked away.

What was that about? Fuji thought.

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Fuji shifted at the net. He really wasn't assured. He didn't know how much he and Yukimura were in sync. He told himself that he had to be confident. That was the only way. The reason he had pulled off the Australian Formation with Saeki in the Junior Invitational Camp in junior high was the fact that they were confident in each other and themselves. Be confident, he told himself.

And that was exactly what he did. He went left, and miraculously, Yukimura went right. "No way," he heard Shiraishi murmur. "Syusuke and Yukimura have a prefect combination?" Shiraishi and Kintarou had played a one set match, and Kintarou had won. "Barely," he had heart Shiraishi's mutter after the match. "Only seven games to six. You only won because you won the tiebreak."

With the Australian Formation tactic, Yukimura and Fuji were able to come back and win the match, two sets to one, with the help of Fuji's signature moves.

When they went to the net to shake hands with the other team, Fuji grudgingly (though he didn't show it) shook Atobe's hand. He looked over at Yukimura, who's hand was lingering on Chitose's slightly too long. They smiled at each other.

"You guys did well!" Kintarou said. "I can't believe you pulled off the Australian Formation! That was amazing!"

"Like Yukimura said, we can do anything," Fuji said, smiling. He looked at the former Rikkaidai captain, and he was chatting quietly with Chitose. They seemed to be looking at each other more than chatting. Yukimura was smiling and standing close to the taller boy. Almost leaning on his shoulder, Fuji noticed. His smile widened. "Hey, Kintarou," he whispered to the younger but almost taller boy. "You want to help me with something?"

"What?" Kintarou whispered back. He knew that it would be important.

"Help me find out whether those two are dating or not," Fuji said and smiled evilly.

Kintarou smiled the same way back at Fuji. "You got it, Syu-chan." He looked at Shiraishi, who was talking seriously to Atobe. "Are we going to pull Kura-chan into this?"

"Nope. I'll tell him the news."

Meanwhile, Shiraishi was having a conversation with Atobe. One that was serious, and needed attention right now.

"Atobe, we need to talk," Shiraishi began.

"About what?"

"What else?" Shiraishi said, slightly annoyed. "The project."

"We're not going to get it together in time," Atobe stated simply, as if it didn't bother him at all.

"This is why you need to cooperate. We have to do well on this. I don't care if you don't care about the project, but I would like to do well. And this is important to Syusuke."

Atobe's eyes flicked across to a smiling Fuji talking to Kintarou. They had a sad glint to them, but he pulled them back to the horizon in front of him in an instant. "What can I do? He's not going to listen to me."

"We'll see about that," Shiraishi said, who looked at Fuji himself. "Make him listen to you. You can explain everything then."

Atobe paused for a moment and continued to walk on in silence. His expression was troubled. After a long while of listening to the shuffle of his group's feet, Shiraishi finally hear Atobe say, "Fine. I'll do it for Fuji's sake."

(1): Does anyone get the reference to my YukiFuji story, "A Liking to Flowers"?

I hope you like this chapter. It's shorter than the last one, obviously, but I happen to like it. Mainly because everyone is together, and I love to write everyone being together. They all have the coolest personalities! Anyway, please review.