~*~ LOVE POTION ~*~

Chapter 7


Don't own POT!

I'm so sorry my stories have been taking forever to update! But please don't worry~ I will finish all of them!

Please enjoy! ^_^


Recap:

"I'm sorry, Tezuka... I wont be coming to practice this afternoon" He said, waiting for a reply from the captain. Tezuka nodded. Fuji bowed a thanks and turned to leave. Kikumaru looked with worried eyes at his best friend's retreating back.

"Nya, Oishi! what could be wrong with him?"

"I don't know, Eiji... Tezuka?" The mother hen of the team turned to the captain for an answer. Tezuka looked at them with a serious face then looked at Fuji. Maybe when he has calmed down a bit, he could pry some answers. 'To be able to shake the tensai of Seigaku I knew into this state…' Tezuka thought to himself and suppressed a sigh.

"This is definitely going to affect the whole team"


Seigaku

As it turns out, Tezuka's prediction was right. The last 2 weeks had been extremely uncomfortable mostly to the regular members. Seigaku's Singles 2 (Fuji Syuusuke) and singles 3 (Echizen Ryoma) was off there game for two whole weeks now and seeing as how close to the nationals they were, that is definitely a bad sign. Fuji had been uncharacteristically serious lately and Echizen had been unable to focus in a practice match for more than 5 minutes, most unlike him. The first week, Tezuka and Oishi had tried to sort out the problem between the two alone because coach Ryuzaki had been away for family issues.

Tezuka had Fuji and Echizen stay in the club room after practice one afternoon to try and talk things out. What a head ache that had been. Fuji, all smiles, merely played along. Seemingly trying to strike up a conversation with Echizen but his topics were;

"Is there any TV shows you like to watch, Echizen?" and

"I've learned to bake this cake recently…" even

"Have you ever though of what kind of weather the day will be on the time of your death?"

Tezuka had nearly used up all his patience and cool with the two that he didn't have much left for the rest of the Seiaku tennis team. Heaven help him, Tezuka nearly lost it for a moment when Fuji's topics started to get on the shady side. Ryoma's reaction was as cool as ever. He barely looked at Fuji for more than a few seconds the entire time they were in the room. Oishi was at a loss for words either. Its so hard to try and help people who doesn't want to be helped. The session ended when Ryoma had had it with Fuji's nonsense and asked Tezuka if he could leave now. Regrettably, They ended that little meeting with no improvement at all. Ryoma had all but run out of that room.

On Monday afternoon the next week, Coach Ryuzaki gave the two a good hard stare.

"Do you two plan on keeping this up until the finals?" She asked sternly. Coach Ryuaki didn't give them a chance to reply as she continued "If not then by next week Monday, I want whatever the problem is to be settled! I don't know how you do it but do it! Otherwise, you will be taken out of the regulars!"


Saturday Evening

Weather it's because of the weather that's making him feel gloomy or the fact that by tomorrow, he will be out of the regulars, Fuji wasn't sure. He absentmindedly stirred the rice he was frying for his dinner, the farthest thing on his mind at the moment.

The day after Ryoma and he got yelled at by their coach, Fuji HAD tried to contact him. Fuji called Ryoma's home several times… Fuji turned of the stove, after the smell of burnt rice registered in his brain, then closed his eyes and sighed. 'That's not quite true' he though to himself. 'I called multiple times but each time, it was Ryoma who answered and Fuji always UNiNTENTiONALLY hang's up. 'Reflex then?' the thought, frowning.

"I… Don't want to loose my regular spot" He said to himself, staring out the kitchen window. It had been raining all day and it was making Fuji feel really down. Not wanting to loose his spot was one reason but the truth was, he wanted to make up with Ryoma already. The past few days, It had been Ryoma who tried to talk to him when they were alone but Fuji would always make up excuses and leave before Ryoma could say anything.

It wasn't a very mature thing to do, avoiding such an important subject but he couldn't help it. When the coach had scolded them last week, Fuji ahd been determind that if Ryoma should approach him again, this time he wont runaway… The only problem was, Ryoma hadn't bothered with him at all. 'He must have given up… Now what?' He opted to give Eiji or Oishi or even Tezuka a call but what would he tell them? Sighing for the 10th time that hour alone, Fuji forgot about his breakfast and went to his room change. If Echizen wasn't going to talk to him anymore than Fuji will force him to! Fuji was just about to exit the front door to go to Ryoma's house when the phone rang. Sighing for the 11th time, Fuji released the door handle and walked to towards the ringing phone.

"Fuji residence" Fuji answered the phone. He waited for a reply for a few seconds and heard nothing.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Still nothing. Fuji though it was a prank and was about to put down the phone when he heard a voice say

"Um…"

"Hello?"

"… Fuji- senpai…" Fuji's eyes opened in surprise.

"Ryoma?"

"… Ah" Fuji gaped at the phone in his hand .

"Echizen, I was just about to go to your house! Have you suddenly turned psychic?" Fuji joked with a huge smile on his face. Fuji heard a low grumbling "Of course not…" for a reply.

"Anyway, Fuji- senpai, can you play a match with me?"

"Eh? Now? But its raining" There was silence on the other line and he heard Ryoam clear his throat.

"… Fine, Can I come over? I want to talk" It was a heart beat later before Fuji made a decision.

"Perfect! Lets have dinner together. See you around 7pm! Bye" Fuji didn't hear Ryoma protest and put down the phone. Perfect timing indeed since Fuji was alone for until 11 pm. The time his sister would come home from an office party. Both his parents are overseas and Yuuta sleeps in their schools boarding house. Fuji shrugged his rain coat of and walked to the kitchen. He has about half an hour to make a delicious meal. Now that he's inspired, that shouldn't be so hard to do. After putting an apron on, Fuji turned to the stove and stared at the lump of burnt fried rice on the pan he had been cooking earlier.

"Hmm? What's this?" He asked himself. He dumped the whole thing in the trash and started taking out fresh food from the fridge-


Echizen Residence

Ryoma stared at the phone in his hand, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. 'What? What? Dinner together?' Ryoma shook his head 'He must have meant with his family' Feeling suddenly shaken and nervous, Ryoma turned to go up his room to change clothes when his father intercepted him.

"Going somewhere, Ochibi?" His father asked slyly, grinning from ear to ear. Ryoma gulped and forced himself to relax.

"I'm eating out" He said, loud enough for his cousin, Nanako, to hear then walked passed his grinning old man and straight to his room. Nanjiro watched his Ryoma entered his room and slammed the door shut. He smirked to himself as he turned and walked towards the kitchen to where Nanako was busy preparing dinner.

"Ryoma's going out, Uncle?" She asked, not looking at Nanjiro who sat down and took out his news paper from under his arm.

"Yup, he's got a date" He said to Nanako then mumbled to himself. " 'Bout time he got over his depression, after all he had been staring at the phone every chance he got as if it would grow a head for 2 weeks now… ~sigh~ Mada mada~" Nanako turned to look at Nanjiro and smiled to herself, remembering what her aunt Rinko had said to her.


Flashback:

"Do you really think Ryoma-san and Fuji-san are… Like that?" Nanako had asked Rink one morning while preparing breakfast. Rinko just smiled gently at her then pointed outside the kitchen window. From where they stood, both ladies could see Nanjiro sitting next to the bell and reading his magazines.

"They are both so alike" Rinko had said, "No one understands Ryoma more than his father. Whatever it is he knew, Nanjiro kept it to himself"

"But… Why? I mean, he wasn't… Upset about Fuji-san?" Nanako felt ashamed to ask such a thing but she was curious. Rinko had remained silent for what seemed like a full minute then she turned to face Nanako.

" Rather than being upset… You could say, he became overprotective" Nanako's eyes widened

" I don't understand…" Rinko looked out the window again

" Personally, I think we are all free to love who we love. but still, the world isn't that kind. Nanjiro just… Didn't want his son to get hurt"

End of Flashback


Nanako was just about to set the table for her and her uncle when they heard Ryoma jog down the stairs and straight to the door.

"I'm leaving now!" Ryoma said, tying on his shoes. Nanjiro didn't look up from his newspaper but his grip tightened a bit.

"Come back at 10:30" Nanjiro said loud enough for Ryoma to hear. Both Nanako and Ryoma looked at him in surprise and for the same reason.

"What?" Ryoma said his eyes wide.

"You heard me!" Nanjiro mumbled before complaining to Nanako what was taking so long with the food.

Ryoma left his house and walked to the train station. He frowned a bit while thinking to himself. 'What was that about? A curfew?' In all his 12 years of life, that was the first time Ryoma was given a curfew. That's right. He was give almost complete freedom by his parents, that's just how much they trust him and Ryoma had never done anything to abuse that trust… So why was his father starting now? Ryoma would have said something but he was too surprise to think of anything.

Shrugging the thoughts aside, Ryoma quickened his pace.


Fuji Residence

At 5 past 7, the doorbell rang. Fuji rushed to the front door and placed his most charming smile on before opening the door.

"Echizen" Fuji greeted. Ryoma nodded his greeting and was stepped inside. He was instantly engulfed in the presence that was Fuji Syuusuke. The freshman swallowed as he followed his senpai into the living room.

"I borrowed a few movies earlier today. We can watch while eating dinner" Fuji said, practically pushing Ryoma to sit on the couch. Fuji then left the room and a flustered Ryoma to get him something to drink.

Fuji was nervous, no doubt about it. He felt butterflies in his belly… along with the strong urge to run away. In his nervousness, he nearly dropped the glass cup he was holding. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Fuji straightened his back and walked back into the room. Ryoma was no longer sitting on the couch but instead, was standing near the shelves looking at their family pictures. Fuji was about to say something but stopped himself. Ryoma didn't seem to notice him and Fuji was given the pleasure of seeing a soft smile form by those soft pink lips that Fuji knew all to well. Fuji gently placed the glasses he was holding on the table and quietly walked behind Ryoma who was looking at a picture of a 10 years old Fuji holding a trophy but the tensai wasn't smiling though.

"I won by default" Fuji whispered against Ryoma's right ear, causing him to stiffen in surprise.

"What?" Ryoma asked instead, hoping Fuji didn't notice he was caught of guard but at the same time knowing it was useless to try and hide it. Fuji partly opened his eyes at Ryoma's blushing face and smiled.

"I won by default at that match… I didn't want to display that picture but my mother insisted a win was a win" Fuji didn't wait for a reply and he took Ryoma's hands to lead him back onto the couch. Ryoma's eyes darted to their hands and looked away.

"So… Where's your family?" Ryoma asked, just noticing he hadn't greeted Fuji's folks yet.

"My parents are in abroad, My sister is out and my little brother doesn't sleep here much."

"Eh? Were alone?"

"Yes… just until 11" Fuji said with a broad smile. Ryoma's hear started to pound hard and sitting still was getting uncomfortable. 'I have to get this over with so I can go back home…' Ryoma lifted his face to look at Fuji's and opened his mouth to speak but Fuji beat him to it.

"I'm sorry" Ryoma's eyes widened as he stared at his senpai.

"What?" That was all he could think of saying. Fuji had on his usual mask now and sat down beside Ryoma.

"I guess I overreacted with your joke. I have to admit, I never would have though you can pull something like that off" It was like Fuji were talking about the weather. Ryoma frowned as he stared at Fuji. 'He's tense' Ryoma observed 'His hands are clench too…' Without thinking, Ryoma reached out and placed a hand on top of Fuji's. Fuji's eyes snapped open and stared straight at Ryoma's surprised ones. None of them moved. It was as if they were holding their breath. It was Ryoma who snapped out of it first. He hesitantly withdrew his hands and looked at the floor, guilt written on his face.

"I'm sorry too… I didn't man to hurt you, Fuji-senpai, I was just curious and… You… were there" Ryoma turned to Fuji, his face serious. When Fuji didn't instantly reply, he began to wonder if he did this right. He was never really a people person and this was the first time he had ever sincerely apologized to someone. Ryoma swallowed again and looked down on the floor, lowering his cap to cover his eyes.

"I'm really sorry. I'll do anything, just. I don't want to loose my regular spot" Ryoma lied. The truth was, he just wanted them to be friends again… At least with that Ryoma could live with. Fuji had no expression on but his eyes were open and were staring at Ryoma's. Then after a moment, Fuji closed his eyes back and laughed gently.

"Saa, I don't want to loose my regular spot either" After hearing this, Ryoma inwardly sighed in relief.

"Then every thing's okay now?" He asked. Fuji smiled brightly.

"Of course! Wait here while I get dinner, I hope you like horror movies" Once again, before Ryoma could protest, Fuji had stood up and run out the living room.

'He's lying' Fuji concluded the moment he entered the kitchen. 'Why is he lying?' His hands shook a little as he took out plates. Fuji was feeling disturbed. He wanted to ask, he really did but the emotions Fuji was feeling right now might just scare Ryoma away for good! 'Its best to just let it go… This way, it wont be so awkward being together anymore' He thought, smiling sadly ' Ryoma's just doing this for his regular spot, that's all… That should be enough, right?'

He couldn't stay put, Ryoma had to move or do something so he settled by looking through the video's Fuji had placed on top of the table. Ryoma's eyes twitched. None of them appealed to him at all! They were all horror movies (like Fuji said) and all of them were about betrayals. Lovers who died from suicides or accidents or murders, coming back from the dead to haunt their cheating spouse or boyfriend of fiancé.

Feeling more drained then ever, Ryoma placed them all back onto the table and decided to watch some tennis on TV instead. Halfway reaching towards the remote, the doorbell rang. Ryoma paused and looked at the doorway, expecting Fuji to walk by to see who it was but Fuji never came. The door rang again and still nothing. At the third ring, Ryoma decided to open it himself.

"I'll get it!" He said then stood up and walked towards the front door. Ryoma looked back one last time to see if Fuji was anywhere in sight. 'Nope' Ryoma thought and opened the door.


Yumiko's POV

"-And that's the problem." Nanako said, taking a huge gulp of her juice drink.

"Let me get this straight… You were feeling so guilty not telling your little brother about the picture and letter, that you have been keeping from him for two weeks, That you left the bachelorette's party an hour after it started to come and drink here alone" Her boyfriend looked at Yumiko in amusement. A broad smile on his face. "Good thing I called then, with a woman like you, no man can relax" Yumiko pouted cutely.

"This is serious! I think Syuusuke's being bullied!" Her boyfriend made a grimaced face.

"Somehow I really doubt that… Anyway. I think its best that you tell him about this" Yumiko sighed and leaned her head on her boyfriends shoulder.

"I tried telling him plenty of times but he had been so distant these two weeks. What if telling him about those pictures would just trouble him more?" Her boyfriend opened his mouth to say something but then Yumiko kept on talking.

"And there's also this girl who keeps coming over at our house too. Syuusuke's classmate. Since last week, she's been coming everyday" Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? So he's seeing someone now?"

"No, I asked him about it. He told me they were just working on a project that's all but I know what that girls really after"

"You're brother is a smart boy, isn't he? Being a tensai and all that. I'm sure he's aware of it too" Yumiko frowned, unsure.

"I suppose your right… I'm worrying too much" Yumiko's boyfriend wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a little hug.

"Everything will work out all right in the end, you'll see" Yumiko returned the hug and smiled.

"I hope so… I wonder if that girl came over again today…" Somehow, Yumiko couldn't help feeling strange, like something big was about to happen. She closed her eyes and did a little prayer for her brother to ease the tension inhabiting her.

'Please Syuusuke, take good care of yourself'


The end is near! I can smell it! *sniffs the air*… And other things… (lol)

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please continue reading this story until the end! ^_^ It wont be long now~

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Enjoy the rest of your day!