Sorry guys! i know i said new chapter by the end of last week but i really didn't like how this chapter was turning out. AND i forgot to bring along my little outline with me (its really just a post-it) so i was being a little cautious with what i was writing. I didn't want to ruin the grand scheme of things XD

He was perspiring.

It was still early in the morning, but he preferred the exercise room like this; totally unoccupied and silent save for the breathing of the only occupants of the room. It seemed much more peaceful than exerting his strength while a horde of other grunting patients did likewise. The isolation somehow satisfied him.

Taking another breath, he looked back down on the parallel bars. His knuckles were white with effort but he could barely lift himself up now. His hands no longer had the grip they used to. It was only through the help of Idaichi Yuki behind him that he was able to raise himself to a reasonable height. Still, he did not mind so much anymore.

He was at a crossroad, somewhere between acceptance and quiet shame. The help he received everywhere seemed to be okay, almost expected. It had been so many years since he could walk again that he would have been too shocked to discover one day that he could indeed walk the very next day. He would be ecstatic for sure, but feel a small bit of regret at having the mundane routine interrupted. Yet it did not stop him from dreaming, every single night, of running without end…

"Are you okay? Do you want to stop now?"

He felt her breath on his neck, just barely tickling his skin. Her hands still had a firm grip on his hips that was surprising for a woman of her stature. She felt her hands shift slightly to get a better grip. Her foot touched his foot.

"Yes. A little longer."

But his breath was already coming in short bursts. His muscles ached like they hadn't before and a dull pain was starting in his chest. His grip on the metal was slipping.

"I think it's good for today Syu-kun. Don't overwork yourself now."

Even before he answered, Yuki started to help him pull away from the bars. He complied without complaint. She was a nurse afterall.

"Thank you Idaichi-chan." He said as she handed him a bottle of water, the cap already twisted off. She smiled easily, fanning herself carelessly.

"No problem Syu-kun."

He sipped the water slowly, trying his best not to let any water spill. Handing the bottle back, he wiped where he thought he felt a trickle of water pass. Yuki took a drink from the same bottle.

They addressed each other differently now. As he began to mature, Yuki had started to call him 'Syu-kun'. Perhaps it was to acknowledge that he had grown, or perhaps it was because of a personal growth. Nevertheless, he was secretly glad that the request for 'Yuki-chan' was changed to 'Idaichi-chan'; it was uncomfortable referring to a woman more than 10 years his senior as 'chan'.

"Let's see the headlines today shall we?"

The nurse settled herself as comfortably as she could on a stiff bench facing Fuji's wheelchair while spreading the day's newspaper out in front of her. Fuji waited with a smile on what she would choose today to read out aloud.

It was not that he needed help reading. Thankfully his eyes were still intact; however it had started out as a little custom of theirs a year or so ago. When he was experiencing more blurriness than usual, he had, with growing anxiety, confessed his fears to the nurse, imploring her not to tell his parents. She had complied more willingly than he had expected. Ever since that day she had started reading to him. Fuji had not figured out the inner workings of the nurse's mind yet but it seemed to lean towards the fact that she wanted to show him that everything would work out, even without sight.

Coming back to reality in which Yuki was reading an article about a celebrity's life, he nodded and smiled while not truly listening to what happened in the amazing life of a Japanese singer. His mind wasn't settled today; it was jumping constantly to vague notions that even he could not name.

"Ne, Syu-kun."

He turned slowly so that it would not be apparent that he hadn't been listening at all. He felt his lips turn up automatically. The nurse was looking at him wide-eyed, a question ready to spring from her tongue.

"Do you have a job right now?"

His first reaction was to laugh. Him? A job? Impossible. No one would hire him. And really, what could he do? He quickly suppressed the rising laughter that would surely sound bitter. Instead he only smiled bigger, shaking his head in a no.

"Ah really? Than I have the perfect opportunity for you! It'll be perfect!"

"Really?" He managed. The idea of a job loomed over his head quickly, and not with happiness. Quivers started in his chest that put his façade in jeopardy; what job? What could he do? A poster child for a fundraiser? Surely Idaichi-chan was not so cruel.

"You see my cute little brother's starting a radio show and he needs a show. Someone with a good voice. So I told him that one of the people I work with at the rehabilitation center had a nice voice for the air! And he agreed to listen to you later today. See, everything's all set up. Isn't that nice?"

She giggled, fully expecting to be thanked. But he didn't know what to say. Without his consent, or any say whatsoever, a job interview had been arranged. Today. Why was everything moving so quickly when he wanted everything to move as slowly as possible?

"Ah… thank you… Idaichi-chan."

She jumped up in excitement, one of her childish clips falling to the floor. "You are welcome! I'm so excited! Someone I know will be on the air! I mean isn't that-"

"I can't accept."

"Eh?"

He looked at her firmly with his eyes. There was one thing he learned about Idaichi Yuki, and that was that when you were serious, you had to be unyielding to anything.

"I can't accept Idaichi-san," he pleaded, switching back to the more comfortable suffix, "It isn't right. I don't think I should. But thank you for your thought."

"So why not?"

She was fighting back. Her brown eyes were innocent save for the gleam of defiance burning dimly in the back. She did not smile when she asked.

"I don't think I should. I would be bothering you."

He smiled as if he had presented a perfectly clear reason though he was well aware that it was shaky. He only had to hope that she would reconsider at this moment-

"You wouldn't. No worries. I rearranged my schedule for this so it's fine." She smiled back sweetly.

"I see. But I'm not sure if my parents would allow it."

"I already talked to your sister. She probably told your parents already. Since they haven't told you anything, I'm guessing they agreed."

Fuji ceased smiling. Even his parents were in on it. It was like the conspiracy that he thought was going around when the Seigaku regulars stopped checking in. Painful, hateful, but not unattainable in escape. He could only do so much…

"Idaichi-san please don't do this. I don't think I can do it."

She twisted her lips, her eyes getting harder. She retrieved her clips and stuck it hastily into her hair.

"You don't think I know about your condition do you Syu-kun?"

He froze. His condition…?

"You probably sit at home and do nothing don't you? Gradually going into acceptance."

He tried to lick his dried lips but his mouth seemed to be sealed tight. His tongue felt heavy.

"While a little acceptance is good, don't get too comfortable. It's not healthy."

She kneeled down so that they were closer, her knees nearly touching his knees. The presence was overbearing; his hands strayed to the idle wheels.

"Just because there isn't a cure right now, doesn't mean you give up. You have to fight it. No going into remission. Do you want to leave the world so early?"

Her words hurt, striking solid blows to his heart. His insides stirred uneasily inside him. The topic that he hated the most: his imminent death. To even mention was to stray into dangerous territory. He felt the familiar sting of his eyes at the thought of nothingness.

"Stop thinking. Stop thinking you can't do anything right now. You can still do lots of things. You can still speak. You know the gift of speech is so precious. You can't accept things so easily; you're sweet-tempered but that doesn't get you far with the disease."

It was the first time she had spoken so directly about it. He had always thought that she didn't know, or chose to ignore for his sake. Instead she knew everything. And for his sake she had remained silent. And still it confused him…

"You can do a lot of things still. When you lie in bed one day when you can only observe the world passing by, than you would be able to say that you did everything that you could. Everything."

No one would know… no one would know.

"And it's enough that you know it. If you believe it, know it, than everyone else would know it. It's proof."

Silence reigned in the room, deafening him. He had nothing to say. His words were now meaningless.

"Okay? I'll drive you from the hospital around two. Don't be late Syu-kun."

She skipped away joyfully after petting him lightly on the head. Like nothing had happened. As if she hadn't spoken those words that lingered in the air.

Still, he was speechless.

--------------

"We're here my cute little brother! Where are you??"

Fuji winced at the volume of Yuki's voice. Who would have guessed that she was sprouting such thoughtful speeches to him just a few hours ago? It seemed to renew the phrase 'never judge a book by its cover'. He chuckled to himself as Yuki searched the unfamiliar room vigorously, all the while ignoring the confused look of some of the employees.

And just as a young woman sitting at one of the desks reached out to talk, a man came out from the room next door marked 'media'. His bored expression was replaced by a look of alarm as soon as he laid eyes on Yuki's latest endeavor.

"Ah! Nee-chan! Don't touch that!"

He rushed with unimaginable speed to retrieve from Yuki's possession a picture frame that she was holding loosely in her hand. He breathed in relief when it was safely within his hands but seemed to cower as Yuki grinned mischievously.

"Oh… is that yet another girlfriend Haruki? Or is it that old one you broke up with…?"

Idaichi Haruki seemed to panic and let out a noisy 'shh!' to his older sister.

"Not so loud! It's my personal life we're talking about!" He whispered frantically. He did not notice a woman behind him giggle at learning something new about her employer.

"Well anyways, we'll talk about that later. I'll introduce you to Fuji Syuusuke. Syu-kun, this is my little brother Idaichi Haruki."

There was a glint of surprise across the man's eyes as he looked down at Fuji. The brunette could not detect anything beside genuine astonishment in his eyes. He smiled and offered a shaky hand.

"Nice to meet you Haruki-san."

Haruki offered his own strong hand to Fuji without hesitation. He grinned widely to him, much like Yuki herself. He could see the family resemblance.

"Nice to meet you to Fuji-kun. Want to go right away or do you want to look around first?"

He pointed in the general direction of the media room as he spoke, his Vivienne Westwood ring coming into view. Fuji raised his eyebrow at the ring, but did not say anything. He requested to try out right away. The office was giving him an uneasy feeling.

Idaichi Haruki walked in a general shuffle, contrasting sharply with the clipped happy walk of his older sister. He mumbled a little when he spoke, not caring to articulate his words clearly. At the same time, Yuki talked in a river of high-pitched words. They were somewhat similar but not really. Fuji responded as best as he could to the contradictory siblings.

"Well here it is. Step right in."

Fuji wheeled himself in, staring at Haruki's glance at the wheelchair. He had clearly seen that he could not 'step in' yet did not correct himself. A different reaction from what he was expecting.

The room was brighter than he thought, and there seemed to be no end to the number of gadgets in the room. Each shone with bright silver and black, obviously new equipment. He stared almost apprehensively at the mike placed in the middle. A headphone was popped around his head as he looked around. With a gentle click, he was alone. He gulped.

"….testing. Testing. Fuji-kun, you hear me?"

Haruki's voice reverberated painfully in his ears. Guessing that they were across the dark glass, Fuji signaled the volume to be lower.

"Sorry. Better?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Instead though, his fears seemed to be renewed. The wide room felt too stuffy and the beginnings of claustrophobia were stirring within him. He breathed out noisily. Since when was he so nervous about being outside? It seemed so unlike him… But he couldn't remember a time when he was comfortable about being out with the crowds of people, being one of them. There was only a light sensation inside him of this being wrong.

"Fuji-kun? Are you okay?"

He turned his attention back to the translucent glass. He could see a vague silhouette of two people. He smiled.

"Yes, I'm fine thank you."

There was pause before the voice took over again.

"Alright then. Let's begin."

Fuji nodded. Waiting for the worst.

"I'll just ask a question before trying you out on the airwaves. So why did you come? Were you always interested in the media?"

"Truthfully, no. And I came because Idaichi-san asked me too."

"I see. And do you have any expectations about the show."

"None whatsoever. I think that's the best isn't it?"

"Hm…Right. Just one more. Is this important to you?"

Important…? No. Not particularly. It would not hurt him if he did not get the job. There were no consequences if he did not get it. There was no one expecting him to get the job.

You can do a lot of things still.

"I…" it came out hoarse. He cleared his throat, stalling for time. Was he…

"This is important. Though it may not seem like it, it's like therapy. I'm… I'm still getting over my disease. I know that maybe one day I won't be able to speak. But I want to prove that I can still do something." No one spoke, and his confidence was encouraged. "People always think that I can't do much. I still can though." He was tired already, breathing heavily.

"I really can!"

His voice echoed in his headphone, sounding foreign to his ears. 'I really can' faded gradually, the raw desperate emotion present in every syllable. His breath against the mike sent a crackling emission through the equipment. He was worn out. He wasn't even sure of what he said. Who was it that said it? All he knew was that he felt refreshed like they had given him a new body. His old self.

"… Let's get started with the rest of it Fuji-kun. Do you want water?"

Water? No, his throat was not parched. He was just beginning. The smile, ever present in his younger days, was back. Sapphire eyes peaked out from his lashes.

"No thank you. Let's begin."

---------------

"So what'd you think?"

Haruki pouted, flipping through Fuji's profile.

"I think you gave him an unfair advantage."

Yuki immediately tackled her little brother, holding him in her 'loving embrace'.

"Oh come on! You liked him, I know you did. You liked him better than all the others that auditioned. Admit it."

The little brother reluctantly paused his pencil chewing to give an answer.

"Well… his voice worked the best with what I was planning. I'll say that."

Yuki sighed, leaning back against the couch she was sitting in. Her fingers ruffled the scarf hanging around her neck.

"He's pretty strong willed isn't he? I mean he came back against all that pressure."

There was no answer but the nurse continued her observation.

"I was impressed. I didn't think that he'd come back like that. You should've seen him Haruki. Cute but given up. I think I fixed him up pretty nicely ne? I think he'll respond better to the therapy now too."

"Hn."

She stood up right away to give her unsuspecting brother a furious noogie.

"Have more reaction little brother! Is he hired or not?" She dug deeper into the mass of hair to reach deeper into the scalp

"Ah! Stop stop stop! You'll ruin my hair nee-chan! It hurts!"

Grinning satisfactorily, she once again fell back into the couch.

"So?"

Haruki sighed. He really didn't have a choice did he?

"Sure why not? I kind of like the kid too."

Whew done! It's a little short but i think i did okay with the 'in between' representation. The next chapter will be a while too :( I'm sorry! I'll really try my best.

Psst! And i've been revisitng the bleach fandom again so you might notice some character overlaps with some characters from bleach. Too many fanfics read. Sorry XP