So okay, in this chapter there will be a tiny TINY time skip. It'll just be minor, like a few weeks or so. It won't affect the story much except bring the Junior Selection Camp closer :) Enjoy!
Blah – thinking/ emphasis
blah - flashback/narrated flashback
What's wrong with falling down? You can always stand up again.
-1 Liter of Tears
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Fuji yawned.
It was relatively early in the morning, but tennis practice was going to start soon. He had heard his sister leaving, so if he didn't hurry he would be late. Walking out of the bathroom, he wondered what he should have for breakfast. It had been a while since he had the kitchen to himself. Perhaps pancakes with apple and wasabi on it? That didn't sound bad.
The sleepy tennis player opened his closet door. His uniform lay neatly folded on a drawer inside and his coat hung on a rack as of waiting for him. He absent mindedly grabbed for them; it was a habit now, he barely needed to think about it.
Checking the clock in the den, Fuji hurried down the stairs. Fifteen minutes till seven already; he might not make it. He would just have to take an apple to eat on the way. Letting his fingers trace the banister, Fuji rushed down the stairs. Approaching a curve, Fuji followed through the curve of the banister with his hand. Within a few moment though, his rarely opened eyes revealed their ethereal blue.
Strange, the banister isn't there anymore.
Fuji glanced briefly to see his hand letting go of the banister, his only source of balance other than his foot firmly rooted to the edge of the stairs. But even that failed him. His eyes opened even wider as his leg suddenly gave away from its own weight.
For a moment, he was flying. He could see the wooden stairs below him to the side. They looked unusually sharp in the morning light. He had no thoughts as he saw it, his inevitable fall. It was too sudden. There was no time to do anything. No time…
Pain surged through his body as his right arm made the first impact with the wooden stairs. Fuji gritted his teeth as he half-rolled and half-slid down the stairs. He gasped when a railing hit his head, making a loud 'thwack'. He wasn't aware of the tears forming behind his eyes from the pain and surprise.
Before he knew it, he had stopped. No more confusion. He lay on the floor, trying to discern what had happened.
I fell…because I let go of the banister… but… Fuji's mind replayed the moment when his leg had suddenly bent under its own weight, throwing him off balance. He had no comments on that. He couldn't think of anything to say or think about it. It was too abrupt. If he were to say anything about it, it would be a lie. He couldn't even remember what he felt. Had there been enough time to feel anything? His hands began to shake. But…
Slowly, he tried to push himself up. However his body throbbed everywhere. His arm hurt when he moved it even slightly. His head rang loudly; he had somehow managed to land on it also. Gradually, he pushed on the floor to at least lift his head a little. Unimaginable pain emitted from his entire body. He must have hurt himself more than he had thought. Fuji tried breathing slower. He stayed like that, half-crouched on the floor, until the sound of a door opening attracted his attention.
"Syuusuke! Gomen, I forgot my notebook."
Fuji looked to the door. Yumiko had come back. He tried to stand up quickly but only ended up sitting down again in pain. The world swirled around him and rang with intensity. Through the turmoil, he noticed his sister's footsteps growing slower. She had noticed.
"Syuusuke? Are you okay?"
Before he could answer, the older sister had taken his face into her hands. Her brown eyes widened as she checked the damage. There was a cut on his right cheek and a series of bruises seemed to be forming from his forehead to his left cheek, looking like a crescent moon. Fuji's surprised blue eyes stared up at her. Without letting go of his face, she looked for other injuries. It seemed that there would be bruises all over his arms and legs. She also looked back at his head to see a nice swelling developing just above his ear. She frowned and looked at the red mark on his arm. He had most likely hit his arm on the stairs as he fell. But what worried her was that there weren't as nearly as many bruises as she had expected to be on the forearms. She let go of his face and instead picked up his hands to see if any wounds were there. She was taken aback at how cold they were: the fall had shocked him greatly. However, there were no bruises or abrasions of any kind. It was as if he hadn't tried to protect his face at all.
She looked at her younger brother again, this time with determination in her eyes.
"Syuusuke, I'm taking you to the hospital."
Fuji blinked. He quickly tried smiling to reassure her. "I'm fine nee-san… we can treat these at home… I'm not even bleeding."
It didn't phase her one bit. She tapped his arm lightly. "This one bruise is serious." Now that didn't convince Fuji. He frowned at the red streak on his pale arm as if it had betrayed him.
"But… it's hardly serious enough for a hospital. You'll be late too…"
She smiled. Kind Fuji always thinking of others. She gently helped him up. "It's fine. I can afford one late day. Let's hurry!"
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"What happened Fuji?!"
The prodigy looked terrible. There was ointment on his face and a makeshift bandage was stuck above his left ear. His long pale arms were littered with bruises as well as his leg. There was a thin red line across his right arm also. All in all, it looked as if someone had beat up the Seigaku regular.
The injured 3rd year smiled. "Nothing much. I fell."
The reply was followed by an uncomfortable silence. The regulars all seemed to glare at Fuji, daring him to tell the full truth. The tensai only smiled. However, it was a smile that warned others not to try to comfort him; he needed no comforting or charity.
"It's the truth. I fell."
After what seemed like forever, the tennis club members finally dispersed, not knowing what to make of it. They couldn't exactly say Fuji was being clumsy could they? After all, when describing the genius Fuji Syuusuke, the word clumsy hardly came to mind. They all looked back at the smiling prodigy. Nothing slipped through to the world they lived in.
Without realizing, Fuji relaxed his shoulders as the stares disappeared. Somehow, he could never stand stares. He would stare himself, always, unnerving others. But one way or another, he couldn't tolerate being stared at. It made him feel unnatural.
Fuji started making his way to the other regulars doing muscle training only to be met by the coach. Her expression was serious and threatening. Fuji smiled. If he wasn't familiar with her as he was now, he would probably have backed off. But, since he knew she probably didn't mean anything by it, he stood his ground.
"Hai, sensei?"
She continued to look at him. The silence built and made Fuji almost uncomfortable. The tension made his body feel heavy and awkward.
"Fuji, did you fall and hurt yourself?"
She seemed to glare pointedly at the bandage around his head. Fuji touched it lightly with his fingers; it hurt less than before, but it still hurt.
"Hai. I'm sorry for being late."
Coach Ryuuzaki paused. She wasn't too keen on admitting that he got the damage from falling. How had he fallen to sustain that many bruises? Sending him to do muscle training with the regulars could cause further injuries. She sighed. He wouldn't be happy, but it was the best solution.
"Fuji, go home and rest. I don't want you to do harsh training before that bandage is off at least."
"Pardon?"
This was a surprise. He could go home but it would seem strange when he came all the way over to the courts. If he came, than he should play. No one would notice if he covered up anyways-
"Your arm hurts when you swing your racket doesn't it?"
How does she know? Fuji closed his eyes which had opened momentarily. He had swung the racket before, behind the change room to experiment. There was a minor shock, but he could play. I didn't think anybody would be there…He smiled again. Being excluded, he didn't like that.
"No. I'm fine."
The coach stood silently. Was it truly okay to let him play? After all they were bruises, but if they caused him pain…
"Go home Fuji. Come back when you've recovered."
The smile disappeared. Somehow he felt guilty for not playing. After all he was a regular no? And everyone is trying so hard… I can't let them down for the Nationals. Fuji tried his best to be polite
"But I believe that I can still play. I know-"
"Fuji!"
He flinched. He heard shuffling, the sound of everyone stopping what they were doing to look at him. He tried to concentrate on something else, but he didn't dare look away from Coach Ryuuzaki when her brows were furrowed in displeasure. Maa…I've made her mad.
"Fuji, listen to your elder when they tell you what to do! I am telling you this because I think this is the best for you. Do you understand?"
"…Hai."
He breathed. He wasn't mad at her. Just… upset. He had wanted to practice with them, for once. He had come for tennis today, not the thrill. He had come to practice, hadn't he? But if it was for the best then he would wait. He looked at her. She was waiting. Without hesitation, Fuji bowed.
"I'm truly sorry for my rudeness Ryuuzaki-sensei. I will go home and rest." There was again an almost awed silence.
"It's fine," the coach said. Fuji straightened up to see her smiling a little. Guess I overdid it. "Don't push yourself. I wouldn't want an injured player to go to the American Junior Goodwill Tournament would I?"
I forgot! Fuji smiled. He had forgotten that there was to be another tournament during the summertime other than the Nationals. What great timing he had, getting hurt before the Junior Selection Camp. He mentally noted to heal quickly.
"I'm sorry. I'll come back as soon as I can."
She laughed at his genuine apology. "It's fine. Take it easy. But remember, we'll be leaving next week."
Fuji packed up and left quickly, making sure to say good bye to everyone. He hadn't even gotten to the change room when his phone rang. Searching through his tennis bag, he flipped open his white cell phone. The display read 'Fuji Yumiko'.
Nee-san…
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"He'll be coming soon."
Yumiko put her phone into her purse. The doctor nodded and wrote something on his clipboard. The low humming of the computer was the only sound in the room. She crossed her fingers, something she had watched from the American movies. It was for luck. Silly…what does he need luck for? The test will go smoothly and the strange foreshadowing you feel will be wrong…hopefully. She sighed. She hadn't meant to call Syuusuke into this, truly.
"Excuse me, Dr. Mabaki?"
The doctor looked up. He smiled as he recognized the sister of the patient he had just treated.
"Yes? What is it Miss?"
Yumiko opened the door a little further. She checked the hallway to make sure Syuusuke had gone outside to wait for her. She than turned back to the doctor.
"Ano…I'm sorry to bother you like this, but it's about my brother."
"Ah… Do you mean Fuji Syuusuke-kun?"
"Yes… I just wanted to…confirm. Because I noticed something strange…"
The doctor motioned for the concerned sister to sit. Yumiko cautiously sat on the bench. She quietly placed her purse on her lap before continuing.
"Ano… I mentioned before that he fell down the stairs but… there was something strange about it."
The doctor looked at her curiously. "Strange?"
"Well… he had a wound on his head. Normally, wouldn't you, even if you were rolling down the stairs, unconsciously protect your head from damage? I mean, block with your hands or arms?"
She glanced up at the doctor with worry. He looked at her thoughtfully.
"It is hard to say…The reaction time varies. If the person was aware that they were to fall, than the arms would come up immediately to protect the head, or to try to push away the ground."
"Yes yes, I know. But… his hands…they didn't show any signs of being used to avoid damage. It's just that… I thought he might have sore hands or at least have them turn red. Maybe even a minor scrape. But…"
"I see." The doctor twisted around to face his desk and began searching for something inside his drawers. After a while, he pulled out a plain white business card.
"If you are really worried, than I suggest you see this person. The address has changed though. He now works in the Rikotsu Hospital."
Yumiko looked at the card handed to her. "Wanazuki Keshime: Neurologist." She was taken aback. A neurologist? Was it that serious?
The doctor smiled at her expression. "Don't worry. He's one of the best in his field. Also, there isn't a high percentage that this is anything serious. It could do with his growth spurt."
Yumiko read the card again. "I see… well thank you very much doctor." She politely bowed before shutting the door.
And now I'm here, she thought. She watched the door, half expecting her younger brother to come through it, smiling as usual. He didn't. She guessed it would take longer than she estimated for him to come. She looked down at her finger again. Just in case, she crossed her fingers on the other hand as well.
Please be well, Syuusuke.
DONE! So yet another chapter of A 1000 Days and More. Yes, if some of you guys haven't figured it out yet, we are getting closer and closer to finding out what Fuji has!! It's coming in the next chapter! I'll update as soon as I can! Review please!
Oh btw, I'm sure all of you know, but just to confirm: I've made up the hospital, doctor and what not. Just some random name made by combining random Japanese letters.
And ALSO I know that it must have been one long steep staircase for Fuji to get the damage that he did. So let's all assume he has a long dangerously steep staircase in his house okay? Nya, good :)