Mirror, Mirror
Summary: Fuji falls through a mirror one day and lands in a complete different world. Sometimes, while doing a favor for someone else, you realize that they're actually doing a favor for you.
Warnings: Shounen-ai
Pairings: Atobe x Fuji
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine.
I don't have time to type much right now, since I'm about to head to a party, but I'm glad I remembered to update! Read, review, and enjoy!
Chapter 9: The Unlikely Relative:
Yukimura sighed when Fuji had left the library and sat down on the same armchair that Fuji had been sitting in only a couple of moments ago, but not before carefully removing his father's journal from the armrest. He hadn't meant to scare Fuji away, and he was sure that Fuji had returned to his world by now, if he had found the way to the throne room (Yukimura found that the brown haired boy didn't have the best sense of direction in the world). He was just very protective of his father's and mother's things, since they were both dead now.
What Yukimura was the most curious about, though, was the fact that Fuji had found the key and book in the first place. He knew his father had told him a while ago that the book would be sealed with magic so that only people with his father's blood in them could find the key. And the book could not be seen without the key. How had Fuji found the key and book, then? Yukimura picked up the journal. He told himself that he would never read it, but he had changed his vow recently.
Recently, Yukimura had been having flashbacks, regarding a brown haired boy and himself, much younger, playing with each other, under the supervision of his father and another kind looking woman. Yukimura now told himself he would never read the book until he found out who these two people (the brown haired boy and the woman) were. Yukimura also vowed to himself that he wouldn't read the book, either, until he caught someone else reading it. Yukimura knew that he would be so puzzled by the other person reading it that he would want to read it for himself, and he knew the urge would be irresistible. And it was.
Yukimura took the book off of the armrest and delicately fingered through the pages, in the same manner that Fuji had. He had expected it to be written in the angelic language, and would actually be surprised if it were not. Yukimura immediately began reading about his father's adventures, with the door to the library now shut and locked. He was amazed by the fantastic story he found inside those old pages, and he could now understand why Fuji had kept reading it, though he knew it was wrong. He now sympathized with the brunette a bit and he wished he could take back some of the things he had said. But that thought soon left his mind as he reached the part in the journal that described the brown haired boy that he had so vividly dreamed about.
Yukimura then found something stuck in the pages that, somehow, Fuji had missed. It was a photograph of the brown haired boy. Yukimura dared not look at the photo without reading whatever was written on the back first. So the turned the photo over without looking at it and read the note. It said, Dear Seiichi, I know you're the only person who will find this photo, because I sealed it with magic this way. I think you might remember this boy, and you might not, since he was long out of this world before you began maturing. In case you haven't found out already, he is your half-brother, related by blood. He might have found this journal already, but he couldn't have seen this picture. This was meant for only you. I hope you find this boy sometime, and perhaps reunite with him. He will probably have very few memories of you being his brother, but maybe you can entertain some memories out of the back of his mind. Sincerely, your father.
Yukimura then took a deep breath, after reading the touching, yet revealing letter and flipped the photo over. At first, he couldn't see the picture clearly, but then he realized that he needed to focus his mana to see the picture. How tricky his father was. Yukimura focused his mana on the image and the image only, and now he couldn'tbelieve what he was seeing. This brown haired boy…it looked exactly like a younger version of no one other than Fuji Syusuke!
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Fuji sat on his bed, head resting in his hands and elbows resting on his knees. He hadn't meant to anger Yukimura; he just figured that when Yukimura said that everything in the library was open for Fuji to read, he had meant everything. Fuji knew that Yukimura hadn't expected him to find the key or the book, but it was blatantly obvious to anyone who had any sense of mana, especially the princes. Fuji still wondered why no one else had found or read it yet. How could someone not find the book? Mana was practically seeping through its pages.
Still, Fuji felt bad about reading Yukimura's father's journal. He knew that the man had long since passed on, and Yukimura probably hadn't even read the journal to respect his father's wishes. But how was Fuji to know? And when he had read the book, there seemed to be some kind of force urging him to read on, even when he found out that the book belonged to the late king.
Fuji thought that perhaps a bit of time spent in his world might calm him down or cheer him up a bit. Fuji never had to think about much in his world, since he compared it to the mirror world; he realized that the only thing that really mattered was school. In the mirror world, there were so many things that mattered and so many hidden mysteries; Fuji felt like his world was so…bland. Sometimes, though, like now, it could be a good thing. He missed school a bit, anyway.
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The next day, Fuji woke up to sunshine, just the thing he needed on a day like that. He yawned and stretched, feeling refreshed and calmed down a bit. He stepped out of his bed, changed, and went downstairs to leave. As soon as he stepped out of the door to meet Kikumaru, whom he normally walked to school with, the redhead pounced on him. "Fujikoooo!!!" he shouted, awfully excited.
As soon as Fuji pried the living magnet off of him, he said, "What?"
"Did you hear the news?!" Kikumaru asked.
"What news?"
The bouncy boy gasped. "You've got to be kidding me! It's all over the place!! The news about Atobe and Yukimura?"
Fuji cocked his head. This could be interesting. "What about them?" By 'all over the place', Fuji figured Kikumaru meant 'all the gossip', meaning that they were dating or something, but he was obviously proven wrong by Kikumaru's next bit of current events.
"They've been missing since yesterday!! Everyone has been looking for them!!!"
Fuji blinked. That's right, he thought. When Atobe had summoned the two bodies to the mirror world, they had gone missing in the real world. The brunette smirked. They wouldn't be returning for quite a while. Fuji realized that he would have to find that accursed orb before all of Japan was in chaos because of Atobe going missing. Once he found the orb, he would return all the bodies to the mirror world, and he would live there and never return to this world, since nine tennis players would've been missing by then, and Japan, if not the whole world, would become paranoid. "Hmmm…" Fuji said, trying to sound more perplexed than he actually was. "Hopefully they will be found soon."
Kikumaru sighed exasperatedly. "Is that all you can say?! Perhaps I should expect less from someone who hangs around Tezuka all the time…"
Fuji chuckled.
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Yukimura inspected the picture he was holding in his hands carefully. He knew that on the picture was two boys, and he was absolutely sure that they were Fuji and him (Yukimura)! They were both smiling at the camera benignly, smiling their million dollar smiles. Could they really be…brothers? The more the blue haired boy thought about it, the more it made sense. It pretty much pieced together all his doubts and flashbacks. The boy in his flashbacks had been Fuji, and the woman had been Fuji's mother, the one that had been executed. The mother had been an exceptional magician and Fuji no less. That had to be the reason that Fuji was able to find the book.
Yukimura, though, after all his reasoning, still could not believe it. Fuji…his brother? Jiroh's brother? Jiroh had been born about a year after Yukimura and the older princes (Yukimura, Atobe, Kikumaru, Tezuka, Saeki, Oshitari) and around when the middle princes had been born (Jiroh, Yuuta), and a year before the youngest prince (Ryoma) had been born. Yukimura was Jiroh's brother, Atobe and Kikumaru were twins, Tezuka and Ryoma were brothers, Saeki and Yuuta were brothers, and Oshitari was an only child. Fuji was…Yukimura's half brother, and a part of the family web, somewhere. Should Yukimura tell the other princes?
Yukimura laughed when he remembered the first words that had been said to Fuji (courtesy of Saeki) when the boy had first fallen through the mirror.Hey, who are you, another member of the royal family? The prince now knew that ironically, though the question had been sarcastic, it was true.
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The two boys walked along in silence. Finally, trying to break the ice, Kikumaru said, "Speaking of Tezuka, do you still like him? I mean, I remember you telling me a while ago that you had a crush on him or something, nya. You always hang around him, anyway. Are you over it?"
Fuji opened his eyes and stared at Kikumaru. "You remember that?" Fuji asked, clearly surprised and not even bothering to hide it. He almost didn't remember it himself. Now that he thought about it, though, he knew that he had indeed told Kikumaru about a year ago about his crush on the captain. With all the events and everything happening, he had nearly forgotten about the bespectacled boy. Sure, Tezuka existed as a prince in the mirror world, too, but he almost never talked to Fuji, not really taking a fancy like everyone else had to Fuji. He should've expected that; after all, it was Tezuka, even though it may have not been the same Tezuka. Even Ryoma had taking a liking to Fuji a bit, if not an admiration (or perhaps it was resentment; Fuji couldn't tell).
Tezuka in the mirror world liked to spend his time by himself in his room, or in the library occasionally. He wasn't even in the throne room a lot of times when all the other princes were. Maybe that was why Fuji had really paid no mind to him. The throne room was where the princes spent time together anyway, besides at the dining tables. Fuji smiled. He had really 'gotten over' Tezuka, hadn't he?
Fuji saw his friend waving a hand in front of Fuji's face. "Earth to Fujiko!" Kikumaru said.
Fuji shook his head. "Sorry about that." He remembered the time when he had first entered the mirror. He had been studying in his room with Tezuka. His mind had been on Tezuka completely then. He was thinking about Tezuka day and night, and he remembered that the first thing he had thought when falling into the mirror was that he was being such a klutz in front of Tezuka. "Yeah, I suppose I've gotten over that," Fuji replied. "There's someone else in my heart now."
Kikumaru's face brightened instantly, eyes shining with curiosity. "Who is it?! Does he or she go to Seigaku? Do I know this person?" he said, showering Fuji with questions.
Fuji smiled placidly once again. He did have someone else in his heart, and no, they did not go to Seigaku. But Fuji wasn't going to tell Kikumaru who it was. Besides, the Kikumaru in the mirror world already knew, and this Kikumaru would find out soon enough, once Fuji found that orb. Fuji showed his affections in the mirror world quite blatantly. Yes, the person on his mind was Atobe.
Fuji had always found Atobe charming and his personality interesting, to say the least, ever since he had first met the boy. Fuji had watched the match between Atobe and Tezuka with intense eyes not only for Tezuka, but for Atobe as well. It was a match worth watching. Since then, he had liked but also hated Atobe for what he did to Tezuka. He didn't admire Atobe, he just liked him. He didn't show it at all, of course, with his mind caught up with Tezuka, but as soon as Fuji entered the mirror world and met an Atobe whose attention was almost all on Fuji, the brunette really discovered his feelings and the fact that Tezuka was off his mind helped, too.
"Are you going to tell me?" Kikumaru asked. "We're nearing the school now! Tell me before people hear, nya!"
Fuji shook his head, still smiling. "I can't tell you," Fuji said. "Sorry."
"Oh,come on! Pleeeeaaassseee????" Kikumaru pleaded. Fuji felt bad about denying his friends wishes, but Kikumaru couldn't keep a secret if it was this strange. He could keep the secret about Fuji and Tezuka, but that was because it wasn't that strange. But if it was Atobe…Fuji didn't even want to think about how many people Kikumaru would tell.
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Atobe sat in the throne room, still shocked at how Fuji had dramatically entered and left the scene. It was obvious that there was something wrong, something that had originated in the library, which was only a door away, and it had something to do with Yukimura. There could only be one explanation: it was something about Yukimura's father's journal. The blue haired prince had told Atobe about finding it one day and vowing not to read it until someone else had read it.
Atobe glanced at the door to the library and shook his head. Yukimura had been in there for quite a while since he had entered. He couldn't possibly be reading the journal. Then what was keeping him so long? Atobe figured out of all the princes in the throne room, he was probably the only one thinking about it much. It was all because he had been thinking about how Fuji had stepped into the mirror. His thoughts again drifted back to Fuji. He found that they had been doing that for a while now.
Atobe wasn't stupid nor was he naïve. He knew that he had feelings for Fuji, and he had known that since Fuji had first stepped into the mirror. Atobe had never really opened up to anyone except for Yukimura, and now Fuji, too. He surprised himself sometimes at the things he told Fuji that he thought that he would tell no one with the exception of Yukimura.
Atobe stood up and walked over to the door of the library. Obviously it was locked. He tried the door once again, though he knew he could do nothing about it. Yukimura's locks were insanely impossible to pick, though it looked like a simple lock. Yukimura had sealed the room, too, so that no mana could get inside. Meaning Atobe couldn't summon Yukimura to him and ask what this was all about. He resorted to knocking and after a while pounding on the door.
"Seiichi," he said loudly. The other princes paid him no mind. "What's going on?"
After knocking on the door for so long that he was sure his knuckles were bleeding, it finally swung open to reveal a clearly shocked Yukimura, though the younger prince somehow tried to hide it. "What's going on?" Atobe asked once more, and Yukimura just shook his head.
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me," he said quietly.
"Try me," Atobe said.
"I'll tell everyone at dinner."
"Why not now? They're all here, even Tezuka."
"Fine." Yukimura couldn't deny that he was dying to get out the news. He clapped his hands twice and everyone looked up from what they were doing. "I have an announcement to make, and it might shock all of you." He smirked, finally getting over the initial shock about Fuji. "But first, do you think you can guess what it is?"
Atobe almost hit himself in the forehead, and he would have, if he wasn't so dignified. "It has something to do with Keigo?" Kikumaru guessed. Yukimura shook his head.
"Something to do with Fuji," Ryoma said right after, and of course Yukimura nodded.
"You're…dating him?" Saeki asked, making Yukimura laugh out loud.
"No," he said. "Fuji belongs to Atobe." Everyone chuckled a bit at that.
"He's a girl after all?" Yuuta asked, and again, Yukimura shook his head.
"He died?" Jiroh asked sleepily, just waking up from a nap and not knowing what anyone was talking about. He just wanted to participate in the conversation.
"How would I have found that out from the library?" Yukimura said. He then turned serious, noticing that no one had any other guesses. "Alright everyone, playtime is over. You might not believe this. I was just reading my father's journal from long ago."
"You mean the one no one except those with your father's blood can read?" Ryoma asked.
Yukimura nodded. "Guess who was reading it a little while ago?"
"Fuji," all of the princes answered resolutely, and Yukimura nodded once again.
"But how?" Atobe asked.
Yukimura glimpsed at the picture in his right hand that had been found in the book and decided to remove the magical seal from it. He didn't know if it was his father's wishes or not, but he knew that his father would only want what was best for him. Suddenly, the picture became visible to everyone, but he made sure he was covering it with his hand. Still covering the front of the picture, Yukimura showed the back to Atobe. "Read this out loud," he instructed.
"Dear Seiichi, I know you're the only person who will find this photo, because I sealed it with magic this way. I think you might remember this boy, and you might not, since he was long out of this world before you began maturing. In case you haven't found out already, he is your half-brother, related by blood. He might have found this journal already, but he couldn't have seen this picture. This was meant for only you. I hope you find this boy sometime, and perhaps reunite with him. He will probably have very few memories of you being his brother, but maybe you can entertain some memories out of the back of his mind. Sincerely, your father." Atobe read.
"You mean the person on the front of that picture is your half brother?" Oshitari asked, keeping quiet for some time now.
"What does this have to do with Fuji?" Ryoma asked. Yukimura walked up to him, flipping the picture around so that his hand was no longer covering it, but it was facing him so that still, no one could see it.
"You tell me," Yukimura said, holding the picture steadily in front of Ryoma's face. "Who does this look like to you?"
Everyone instinctively leaned in. Ryoma's eyes widened further than Yukimura thought they could. "F-Fuji…"
Whoa! Fuji is Yukimura's half brother! I think most of you saw it coming, though, after the last chapter. It was kind of obvious. xDD;; But anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, and please be courteous and review before you fave/alert!