The Prince of Tennis Play
Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or Cinderella.
Rating: PG or K+
Genre: Drama, suspense, angst, hurt
Pairing: Implied one-sided Tezuka and Fuji
Warnings or notes: OOC-ness, grammar and other errors (English is not my mother tongue).
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Thanks to Carzla for editing my story.
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: Ready… Go :
Chapter 14 - Agony
Silence. The entire hall was stunned. The incident that took place just a few seconds ago was too unexpected. Even Fuji's sapphire eyes snapped open in pure shock, while Tezuka merely clenched his fists in silent anger. A whole minute passed in silence… until a girl squealed in delight.
"OH Kami-sama! They look so perfecttttttttt together!!" And the hall erupted into excited noises, fan-girl squeals, murmurs of disappointments, and gasps. But to the tennis club members on the stage, they were still stunned and oblivious to their surrounding. Eevery pair of eyes focused on their captain and Fuji, waiting for their reaction.
It was Fuji who reacted first. "Tezuka…"
As if on cue, everyone regained their senses and Momoshiro did the right thing; he pulled off the curtains immediately. Inui grabbed the microphone from Sakuno, who was shocked stiff and she had lost her ability to speak. "And so, Prince Tezuka lived happily ever after with Fuji-ella," the data collector recited the ending in haste. Somehow, nothing else mattered at that moment except for the unfolding drama backstage.
"20 laps around the courts, Fuji," came Tezuka's stern voice. He glared at the genius. Fuji felt it pierce his heart when he saw those cold eyes.
Fuji tried to explain. "Tezuka, I…"
But the captain cut him off mercilessly. "30 laps."
"But, Te…"
"50 laps."
Fuji realized Tezuka was furious, and he would not be able to explain in front of everyone. Turning around, he pulled off the high heels and walked backstage. Everyone dared not utter a word. Until Fuji disappeared from view, only Oishi dared to speak. "Tezuka, it might really be an accident this time," he said in a hesitant voice.
Tezuka just gave his vice-captain a look that said 'do you believe it?' Yes, every member knew how cunning Fuji could be. Even Inui would bet that Fuji pulled the stunt instead of being an accident. Nobody on the stage could convince themselves that the genius was innocent. Not when Fuji already tried a similar trick during practice.
"Clean up," was Tezuka's next command. All the members hurried off the clean up the stage, totally forgetting that supposedly the ones in charge were Inui and Oishi. Even those two had nothing else to say except to comply with their captain's command. It was best not to go against Tezuka, especially when he was obviously angered.
Tezuka heard the teachers' commands to hush the students and get them out of the hall. As the head of Student Committee, Tezuka knew he was supposedly in charge of the commotion had he not been involved in the stage play. But right now, he just wanted a moment to collect himself. Definitely, he would be required to give an explanation for the stunt Fuji pulled just a moment ago. Tezuka rubbed his temples in frustration. At that moment, even the strongest anti-relief medicine could not relieve his headache.
"Oishi, I'll leave the rest to you," was all he said before he went to the changing room and quickly changed out from his Prince outfit to a set of casual clothes. Right now, he had to take care of other matters before it worsened. 'As if it wasn't bad enough', Tezuka mused.
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Fuji could not stand to change in the changing room. He grabbed his bag and disappeared down a corridor. He just wanted to get away from all the suspicious stares. Deep inside, he knew nobody would have believed him. He hastened his pace towards an empty classroom, despite the pain on his ankle. Once he entered the room, he locked it and leaned heavily on the doorframe with his head hung. His front hair covered his face. A broken smile was plastered on his feminine face.
Many thoughts were flying through his mind at that moment. But he could not comprehend them. He could only register the pain in his heart. The feeling of being stabbed and bleeding overwhelmed his entire being. Tezuka's cold hazel eyes were directed at him. So cold, so furious. There was nothing could be done to reverse what he did. But Fuji really did not regret it. Yes, he knew what he did was wrong. Yet, it was really an accident. Could he be blamed for something he never intended? Okay, he might have pulled a similar trick in the practice before, but there were two different situations. Even he dared not embarrass Tezuka like that in front of so many people.
Fuji opened his eyelids. He stared at his injured ankle. Why, must it be such a coincidence that he tripped and kissed Tezuka in the middle of the play? Why couldn't he endure the pain for a little while more? The genius closed his eyes and frowned. "Saa… nothing can be done. Why not continue the 'play' then?" he muttered, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth after saying it.
The sandy-haired boy changed back to his casual clothes, which consisted of a white t-shirt and a pair of long pants. Then he proceeded to take off any accessories on his hair and body. He took out his tennis shoes and wore them while wincing slightly at the pain in his ankle. Next, he took a bottle of water and splashed his face before grabbing a towel to wipe his face clean of make up. He folded the costume and put it into another paper bag. "50 laps… huh," Fuji flashed a sad smile.
And he left the room in silence without any trace. He had 50 laps to run. He had already run out of painkillers before the performance. For once, Fuji doubted whether he could fulfill such a simple command from Tezuka. Silently, Fuji headed towards the tennis court while trying his best to ignore the pain in his ankle. Once he reached the courts, he put down his bags. A brief warm up was done and he was ready.
'1… 2… 3, go.' At first, the sting was still bearable. As time went by, Fuji began to sweat profusely. His palms had cold sweat on them. The pain on his ankle worsened. It was until the 5th round that Fuji found himself could not continue any further and collapsed on the ground wearily. He stared at his injured ankle. The skin was becoming redder and it was swollen much. "Maa… there is no good in continuing eh? At this rate, I won't be able to help the club," he murmured and winced in pain as he pushed himself into a sitting position.
Fuji's sapphire eyes surveyed the school compound. 'Tezuka should be trying to settle the mess I made, eh…' Looking back at his ankle, Fuji sighed when he realized he totally ignored the doctor's advice. Hopefully it would not be as bad as it looked, Fuji mentally said to himself. Being a tennis player, he expected pain since every sport would involve injury. When Kirihara from Rikkai Dai explicitly assaulted him with the tennis ball back then, Fuji learnt the hard way of being a tennis player. He did not say he regretted in joining the tennis team of course. Being a genius, he believed he could handle anything.
Yet, now he fully understood there was something even a genius could not handle. Tezuka was one thing. Being helpless was second. Looking across the tennis courts for a split second, his sapphire eyes saddened when he thought of how Tezuka would react tomorrow. But, he was determined to say something to the stoic captain later. At least a sorry, although it was not his intention originally… he felt he owed the captain an apology for the trouble he unintentionally caused.
As seconds ticked by, Fuji just sat there and for the first time in his real, he truly felt what it meant to be in solitude. He was all alone in the tennis courts and there was nobody coming or passing by. The audience had probably left already and the students in charge might be too busy. The tennis courts were located at the other side of the campus, so it was impossible for anyone to go through there unless it was necessary.
However, he had a definite feeling that Tezuka would come. Since the captain assigned him laps, he would come to check on the cactus lover or perhaps demand for an explanation. So now Fuji could only wait till Tezuka's arrival. Letting out a small sigh, Fuji thought of how his plan was backfired terribly. His efforts of going through the troubles to blackmail the others, designing the costumes, asking Atobe for help (more like striking a win-win deal)… and every single thing was ruined because of a moment of carelessness. And to think it was all because his ankle chose the perfect moment to be throbbing and lost momentum…
The sound of footsteps snapped Fuji out of his thoughts immediately as he became aware of his surrounding once again. Little did he know he was sitting on the court for a long time already. Sapphire eyes snapped open, looking for the target. The footsteps halted for a few seconds as if debating on something. Then Tezuka emerged from the shadows created by the buildings. The stoic captain looked at Fuji, who was still sitting on the ground.
Cold hazel eyes were staring at him. "You have not finished the laps," was what the bespectacled boy said.
Fuji remembered the bitter taste in his mouth after trying to tell himself to go along with the flow and to keep silent about his injury was the cause of all the troubles. Suddenly, he wanted to change his mind. He really hated to look at such a cold Tezuka. It was as if he wanted to cease all relationship he had with Fuji. He realized, anyone else could have misunderstood him, and Fuji wouldn't have minded it. 'Anyone, but not Tezuka'. He did not want to lose Tezuka. He did not want Tezuka to hate him.
The genius tried to open his mouth to tell the truth, but instead of the explaining, all he said was 'Sorry, Tezuka'. After the tender moment, Fuji found words failed him. Shocked by his own unusual inability, he snapped open his sapphire eyes.
If Tezuka saw his expression, he remained nonchalant. "Add another ten more laps for not completing your punishment," Tezuka commanded as he turned around to leave, not giving Fuji another chance to say anything else.
Finally regaining a bit of his control, Fuji tried to stop Tezuka from leaving. "Wait, Tezuka. I apologise for just now, the incident on the stage. And I apologise for not completing the laps but…" Fuji babbled but the captain was already taking a few steps ahead. Seeing Tezuka was not going to listen to him, Fuji forced himself to stand in haste. He ignored the pain on his ankle and took a few unsteady steps towards the walking figure. "You won't listen to me, will you?" At that moment, hope was lost.
Those soft words stopped Tezuka from walking. "What do you expect from me, Fuji? I am not a puppet to be controlled by a string. You crossed the boundary this time!"
Cold sweat soaked Fuji's shirt as the pain became immense. The pain was unbearable till he had to collapse back on the ground. "You won't believe me," he said in a very soft voice, almost unheard. The thought of Tezuka not forgiving him was too much. The stoic captain did not even want to listen to his explanation. How badly it hurt… the pain was worse than his injury.
His elder sister's words echoed inside his mind. He had always put his trust in his sister's tarot card reading. When she said it would be fine, her words gave him confidence and assurance… but looking at Tezuka's retreating figure, Fuji doubted them somehow. After all, Tezuka also defied Inui's data at times. Or could it be fate was toying with Fuji?
: To be continued :