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).

I know it has been 2 years since my last update. I deleted so many versions of this chapter… I am stuck and I am not happy with the way the story flows of my earliest versions. To my readers who are waiting for this chapter... I hope you guys are not disappointed. Thanks.

Thanks to Carzla for editing my story.

Please leave a review if you like the story.

: Ready… Go :

Chapter 15 - Confrontation

"Fuji-kun! Gosh, what happened to you this time?" A nurse barely managed to control her exclamation upon seeing a very pale Fuji being carried in a pair of strong arms. But Fuji just gave her a weak smile as his childhood friend carried him into the doctor's examination room. A middle-aged doctor with a name tag 'Hinomoto' looked up as he signed a document. Then he quickly went to examine Fuji after he was placed on the bed.

Upon completion of the examination, he frowned disapprovingly at his patient. "Fuji-kun, you disobeyed me again," he scolded in a gentle tone. "Now you've managed to make it worse?" he asked, though that remark sounded more like a statement.

"I got careless, doctor," Fuji said with a sheepish smile albeit he was still as pale as the moment he was brought in. "Tripped on the stage," he added, looking remorseful at having to recall that particular memory. He left out the fact he overlooked all his instructions on not straining his ankle. If he were to tell the doctor that he had been hiding his injury from everyone by attending tennis practices as usual, wearing high heels in rehearsals and the stage play, tripped while still wearing high heels, attempted to run laps afterwards, fought against being carried in Koujirou's arms… he would have gotten a heck round of scolding for sure.

"Surely it isn't that simple," the doctor replied simply, but didn't sound accusing. To that, Fuji wisely kept silence. "Now shouldn't you take care of your health first before everything else? A strained ankle, especially when you have aggravated it, takes weeks to heal. In your case now, we will have to put a cast on your ankle instead of a normal bandage. I will issue you a medical certificate. Get a week's rest at home and you're prohibited from any activity that requires physical movement."

Then Fuji blanked out the rest of the doctor's words. He was extremely troubled by his own predicament. How was he going to break the news to the team? He had risked the team's chances of winning in the tournament by aggravating his injury, after all. Tezuka would be mad at him… Heck, who was he trying to fool? Tezuka was already looking enraged enough by the incident on the stage…

Anyway, the next thing he knew, the doctor was done and he was allowed to leave. "Look I don't need anybody to carry me," Fuji protested when his friend approached him. But when he stood up, he immediately winced and fell back to his chair. The doctor seemed to watch his struggle in amusement. Really, what kind of doctor enjoyed seeing the patient in pain? But then again, the doctor might just be as sadistic as Fuji was.

"Just this once, Syusuke," Koujirou said as he crouched in front of his long-time friend. "On my back this time," he offered while chuckling at Fuji's obvious discomfort at the thought of being carried bridal style. Eventually Fuji gave in when he noticed his childhood's friend's effort in trying to minimise his embarrassment.

"I swear Koujirou, you're enjoying this," Fuji muttered as they went out from the clinic, leaving a trail of squealing nurses and excited whispers from crazed gay-fangirls.

To his horror, the Rokkaku player said "Yes, yes my princess" and earned a knock on his head though it did nothing to stop his laughter. "Hey, you're the one who made your injury worse."

Unbeknownst to them, a certain Seigaku captain was watching the exchange between the two close friends with astonishment. Then, out of a sudden, he was filled with adrenaline and found himself rushing towards them. "Fuji," Tezuka said in a crystal clear voice that demanded immediate attention. Fuji's closed eyelids snapped open in shock before he closed them, as if wanting to shield the pain that flashed across his sapphire eyes.

Saeki Koujirou, Tezuka still remembered the vice captain. His hazel eyes met the other's for a moment. As if on cue, he walked towards a bench in a park nearby and gently set Fuji down. Of course, Fuji's protests were ignored, to which the genius seemed to glare at his childhood friend disapprovingly. "I'll tell you this, Tezuka-san. Perhaps you should put more trust in Syusuke," he whispered to Tezuka's ears when he passed the captain. "He's like a child, really." Then he disappeared with a wink to Fuji, who looked betrayed.

When Tezuka approached him, Fuji made an attempt to stand. Now he seemed like he didn't bother to let Tezuka witness his weakness. Instead, he looked like he was trying to get away from him as soon as possible. Needless to say, he wouldn't let Fuji go without a direct confrontation. As sneaky as Fuji might be, this time Tezuka had the advantage of not letting the sandy-haired boy escape.

He caught hold of Fuji's thin wrist effortlessly but the latter yanked his arm away. Then he frowned and swayed to his right before Tezuka managed to grab hold of him to prevent the fall. Instantly, he noticed Fuji was trembling… that was not supposed to be due to cold nor fright. Pain would be most likely it, the captain deduced.

"Why are you here," Fuji's soft voice said with a slight tone of resignation and weariness after the captain released his hold.

"That is what I want to know," Tezuka countered, glancing briefly at the cast on his ankle then to the bench. Taking it as an invitation to sit, Fuji sat down tentatively. "Is this why you couldn't complete the laps?" Suddenly remembering how broken Fuji looked and how he cut his friend's explanation short just a few hours ago, Tezuka frowned.

"You already knew what you want to know," was the only reply he got. Dissatisfied, Tezuka towered over his friend.

"You have a knack for hiding," he pressed while his brain recalled the words exchanged between the Rokkaku player and Fuji. "Which one is the real you?" he asked, frowning deeper when the words escaped his lips. He was furious when Fuji pranked him in front of the whole school, families and everyone else. Not to mention, that was his first kiss… Scratch that, Fuji owed him an explanation this time! Many questions crossed his mind.

"I've been me all this while." No, an evasive answer wasn't going to be acceptable.

"No you haven't. When did you hurt yourself? I'm the captain. You ought to inform me when you're not in the right state for tournament." Now it left a bitter taste in his mouth. His words were downright harsh and it sounded as if he only cared for his team's victory. Of course, he was selfish in pressing the truth out of the sandy haired boy when the latter obviously didn't want to fulfil his curiosity.

For a moment, there was a pregnant silence before Fuji's icy cold voice said, "Alright. I'll quit the tennis team from now on. I don't owe you any explanation. I apologise for the inconvenience I caused to the tennis team."

"Fuji! Just why are you refusing to tell me anything?" Tezuka's voice raised a notch. Annoyance was evident in his tone, and he let it show. How could Fuji dismiss his regular spot as if it valued nothing to him? How could Fuji act like everything was fine? Swirls of emotions caught in his heart.

Just when he thought Fuji wasn't going to give a response, Tezuka heard a barely audible answer. "The same reason you refused to listen…"

For some reasons, the reply diffused his annoyance. Fuji… Fuji was an enigma. He understood Tezuka well, one of a few friends he truly valued. Yet, the genius was too mischievous for his own good. Tezuka failed to understand his friend. Unlike Fuji, he didn't possess the skill to see through everyone… especially someone as complicated as him.

"Saa… I did apologise. I think it's enough," Fuji said, since Tezuka pretended that he didn't hear his friend's reply just a few seconds ago.

A sudden thought crossed his mind. Saeki asked him to believe in Fuji more. Fuji's broken voice came back to him at the same time. 'You won't believe me', the genius said and at that moment, Tezuka really didn't. Was it because of his anger that caused the other to shut himself off from him? Tezuka couldn't help but to compare him to an injured kitten… one that would definitely run and hide when hurt. And he could only see it now. Fuji was hurt. But so was he. He felt betrayed. Who wouldn't? Considering how your best friend kissed you in front of everyone? How your best friend hid things from you and quit the tennis club in order to hide further?

"An apology won't take back what you did. An explanation might serve justice." At that, Tezuka turned to look at Fuji, just in time to see his creased eyebrows. Then he put his arms on Fuji's shoulder and shook him slightly as if to press his point.

It was a pregnant pause before the sandy-haired player opened his eyes slowly… "I merely wanted your attention, Tezuka."