Painless

Summary: Fuji is 'Pain' and Atobe is 'Agony'. Their target is Tezuka Kunimitsu. But will their love for him get in the way? Or is it love for each other?

Warnings: Shounen-ai

Pairings: Atobe/Fuji, Tezuka/Fuji, slight Yuki/Fuji, super slight Fuji/Ryoma

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine.

This chapter is also kind of short, but I personally like it. Except for the Jiroh part. That got kind of screwed up. But I hope you don't think it's too bad. Please read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 7: Loveless

Now, of course, we haven't forgotten about our little stalker Jiroh, right? Obviously he saw all this from afar. Jiroh, the normally happy, fun-loving person wasn't so happy anymore. It wasn't fair that Atobe and Fuji could kiss like that without almost instantly being zapped back to the heavens with their mission aborted and a long lecture about all the risks of love, like what happened to Jiroh. Jiroh had forgotten who had reported him to an agent who had reported him to a god, but he vowed that if he ever got that person for an assignment, he'd make the person die from sleep deprivation. He certainly didn't care if the gods chastised him.

That's right, Jiroh was jealous of Atobe and Fuji. Jiroh's last project had been a disaster. He had fallen in love with a boy who was a lot like another boy he had met yesterday, Marui Bunta. They seemed to be like long lost twins, with even the same hair color. But the moment Jiroh had confessed, he realized someone had been watching him all along, and quickly reported him to the gods. And it was his job to report any mishap for this project, right? So Jiroh resentfully flew up to the heavens.

"What?! They were kissing? In public! Together?!" the head goddess of the love problems, Kitka, shouted. Jiroh nodded eagerly. Her lips pursed together to form a pale line. Everyone around her could tell that she was as angry as hell, but she tried to restrain it. "Pain…and Agony…they are probably the least susceptible to emotions out of all the agents, but they end up falling in love with each other…how ironic!"

"What are you going to do to them?" one of Kitka's friends, Mayu, asked. She was more of the innocent, bouncy type, and couldn't stand Kitka's job. She couldn't stand to see people suffer or be sad, which was why she didn't have a job of her own yet. The gods had yet to find a job that fit her personality and needs.

"The thing I normally do, separate them from each other. Since Pain was the one to confess first, I'll send him back to the heavens with an aborted mission…his first one aborted, right? How disappointing. And Agony can stay with Tezuka. And we can hope nothing happens between them." Kitka seemed to be brisk when stating it, but Jiroh could tell that the answer was strained, and that she was disappointed to see the two separated. But to the normal person, she seemed like she was being very brutal.

"That's so cruel…" Mayu replied, as is reading his thoughts.

"They deserved it!" Jiroh cut in. He couldn't tolerate seeing them side with Fuji and Atobe when they were so harsh with him. It just simply wasn't fair. Maybe he was just worked up that time, and didn't bother to notice the strain in Kitka's voice when she had to punish him, but brushed aside the possibility.

"Jiroh is right, Mayu," Kitka said sadly. The tension in her voice now was completely evident.

"I'm SO lucky I don't have this job…I don't think I could handle it. What a tragic love story! These two could be in a soap opera or something!" Mayu wailed. Despite the futile attempt fro humor from Mayu, the room stayed edgily silent.

Fuji slipped into bed. He had left the window open that night, hoping it would let in some fresh air; his room had been feeling extremely stuffy lately. Despite the discomfort, Fuji was content. He had finally confessed to the love of his life, and nothing had happened to either of them. Yet. Atobe was he first person Fuji had ever loved in his life, and he was not about to lose it. He closed his eyes and decided to save it for tomorrow.

Just as he was about to go to sleep, Fuji heard a voice at the window. It was unmistakably female. "Pain," she said. Fuji sat up, eyes wide open. "You have broken the law…"

Fuji widened his eyes even further. How could they have found out?! Someone from they heavens disguised as a human must've seen them. Fuji thought for a moment and then narrowed his eyes. Jiroh. No wonder he had been able to do all those weird things, including the incident at Hyotei. He had been the one entering his mind, too. He would punish Fatigue later, after he dealt with this.

"As punishment, you will be separated from your lover…he will stay on Earth, and you will return to the heavens, therefore aborting your mission and never seeing any of these mortals again, except for Yumiko and Yuuta," the woman said. She showed her face in the window. Her hair was blonde, a pale shade of blonde, and her skin was deathly pale. Fuji recognized her as Kitka, the goddess of love affairs.

"No!" Fuji screamed. He hadn't meant to be so loud, but that just showed how much that life meant to him. He had probably woken up Yumiko and Yuuta, and he would probably hear them running to his room in a matter of seconds. But the house remained surprisingly silent.

"Unless you want your lover to go in your place…" Kitka continued.

Fuji gasped and clutched the blanket. There had to be another way. There was always another way. He had seen so many of these tragic love stories in his lifetime, whether they were real or in a movie, book, or play, and Fuji simply sifted through all of them for a good answer. With his super-quick mindset, acquired from living all these years, Fuji thought of a plan. He never thought he would have to resort to the love stories for an answer to his own problems. He didn't think he would grow up to love anything or anyone at all, actually. The plan was risky, but it was the only chance he had. "I mean, not that…I just want one last thing before I go."

"The gods said not to…" Fuji opened his cerulean eyes and looked the woman straight in the eye in a way that no one could resist. She sighed. "What is it?"

Fuji was pleased at his ability to convince, but he dared not smile. "Please, the target; please let him witness it," Fuji requested desperately. The room was quiet with tension, and Fuji wondered if she was going to accept his request or not. But he didn't really wonder, though, because Fuji Syusuke almost always got his way. Especially when talking people into things.

The woman sighed, but in the end, she gave in to Fuji. Perfect. As predicted, and as expected from the genius. "You better not let the gods know about this," she said and glared at Fuji.

Fuji smiled gratefully at her. "A promise is a promise, Kitka-san."

Kitka lightened up and smiled back. "A secret for a secret, and life for a life." Kitka seemed to know Fuji's plan, and she sided with him. She wasn't a bad person, but angels tend to think of her as one, since her job was so cruel. Fuji empathized with her, since his job wasn't exactly pleasant as well. But they needed him to balance the forces of Yin and Yang. And everyone has heard of too much of a good thing.

Thus, the next day, the Seigaku tennis team was off on a short trip to Germany.

Did you like this chapter? Please review!

Next chapter: Seigaku arrives in Germany, and for some reason, Atobe has the instinct/urge to go as well. Ryoma comes in (sort of) next chapter!