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.
Thanks for sticking with me all this time, my loyal readers and reviewers! This isn't the last chapter, but we're almost there! So hang in there! Just to tell you guys now, this is a long chapter, being over 2000 words! A big accomplishment for me, and my longest chapter yet! And, as usual, please read, review, and enjoy!
Chapter 9: Hopeless
Fuji stared and smiled at his camera blankly. It was hopeless. He couldn't get them off of his mind. Their last words, their last smiles, Atobe, Tezuka, and Ryoma. He looked at the picture he had secretly snapped of Atobe while he was playing Tezuka. The next picture was of Tezuka in that same match, so intense. After that was the picture of Seigaku when they went mountain climbing before Tezuka went to Germany. And finally, there was a picture of Ryoma sleeping on the plane."You're missing a picture," a feminine voice said at the door. Fuji looked up.
"Welcome, Yukimura, what brings you here?" Fuji asked politely.
"As I said, you're missing a picture." Yukimura searched through his bag and brought out a picture and handed it to Fuji.
Fuji looked at it, eyes widening in shock. It was of them, on the hospital bed, with Yukimura's lips against Fuji's. "Did you take this?"
"Of course." Yukimura smiled. He got up and ruffled Fuji's hair lovingly. "Don't let Atobe see it."
Fuji shook his head quickly. He wasn't used to being treated like a little brother; he was normally the one doing the treating. No matter how much anyone tried to comfort him, life just wasn't worth living, since Fuji had found love.
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It had been two days without Fuji, and already Atobe felt broken. He had nothing in this life, none of his friends. Jiroh had been absent for the past two days, also. He wasn't one to normally feel anything for anyone, but now he felt a mix of emotions. He felt love and longing for Fuji, but also anger at him for confessing and leaving him. But at the back of his mind, Atobe knew that if Fuji hadn't gone, Atobe would've had to.
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Tezuka stared at his answering machine, as if expecting it to beep. Somehow, he had conjured up the idea that if he stared at it long enough, he'd get a call from Fuji like he did every other night. Only it wasn't working. Tezuka sighed and fell back on his bed. He was really gone. A feeling of emptiness overwhelmed Tezuka. He excused himself from his training that day.
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Ryoma twitched. And twitched. And twitched. Finally, he gave up and put the picture down. The picture framed in a simple blue frame was of him and Fuji at the park one day. Somehow, they had coincidentally met each other there, and Fuji had somehow managed to snap the picture. Ryoma's eyes were wide open, and there was strawberry ice cream all over his lips. Fuji was chuckling and had his arm around Ryoma. Moments like that would never happen again.
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"NYA! Where are Fujiko and O-chibi?!" Kikumaru shouted. Practice was extremely boring without the tensai and the first year.
"Quiet down, Eiji, I'm sure they're not feeling well or something," Oishi said. He was a bit worried, too, though since he hadn't gotten a call from Tezuka for the past two days. Had something happened to the three of them…?
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Two days later, someone knocked on Fuji's door. Fuji opened it slightly. "Yukimura, what are you doing here…again?" he asked.
Yukimura chuckled affectionately. Fuji was so cute. So adorably CUTE! He seemed so skeptical of everything Yukimura did and said. But he shrugged. It didn't really matter to him, since he knew that he deserved it. "I came here because Kitka and Mayu sent me here. They were looking for you."
Fuji looked up. He was doubtful. "…Really?"
Yukimura almost laughed out loud. As expected. And with perfect timing, too. Fuji seemed like he was reading the blue haired boy's thoughts. Instead, he merely smiled and rolled his eyes. "Yes, really, am I that unbelievable?"
Fuji laughed, his mood changing. He felt safe around Yukimura, almost like a brotherly bond between them. They were so similar, personality wise, anyway. "Sometimes." Which was why Fuji was absolutely sure Yukimura hadn't been the one to report him.
Fuji followed Yukimura out of his own house to the town square, where Kitka and Mayu were eagerly waiting for them.
"Hurry up! The gods are waiting for you!" Mayu said loudly. She reminded Fuji of his friend, Kikumaru.
"Calm down, Mayu. We don't know whether or not their news will be good or not," Kitka said. She was a lot like Oishi. Fuji nearly slapped himself. Since when did he relate the gods to his friend on Earth? He was just getting pulled deeper and deeper into this life. Or what it used to be, anyway.
As they walked along, Fuji could hear Mayu's chatter ahead of them. "But the quicker we get there, the quicker I get to meet the head goddesses! I've been looking forward to this for my entire life...!"
Fuji could understand her anxiety. If he weren't in such trouble right now, he would be feeling the same way, but not quite as...loudly. It was every angel, agent, and god/goddess's dream to meet the head goddesses. And Fuji had a sick feeling in his stomach right now.
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"Ah, you're finally here, Pain," the head goddess, Mikaya, said. Truly, Fuji had never seen her face before, or any part of her for that matter, but had only heard rumors about her. Her hair was a pale blue color, nearly the same color that the light had been when Fuji disappeared from Earth. But Fuji didn't want to think about that right now. Instead, he focused his attention back on Mikaya. Her dress was long, white, and flowing and it was modestly covering her entire body. Her skin was pale also; even paler than Fuji's own. Around her waist was a blue silk ribbon, slightly darker than her hair. She was also wearing ribbons in her hair, tying it back loosely. Those were the only accessories she was wearing. But it looked good on her.
Fuji bowed, as did Yukimura, Kitka, and Mayu. No matter what rank they were, they were no match for Mikaya. "What did Mikaya request to see me for?" Fuji asked.
Mikaya smiled kindly down at Fuji. "I wanted you to see this." She snapped her fingers and the wall behind her lit up. A familiar face was projected clearly onto the wall. Fuji opened his eyes.
"T—Tezuka?!" he nearly shouted. The difference was that Tezuka looked like he hadn't slept or eaten properly for days. He was staring at the photo album Fuji had given him before he had left for Germany.
"That is him now. This was him when you left him a week ago." She snapped again and a picture of a healthy, handsome Tezuka was projected onto the screen. "Look at the difference."
Fuji shivered. "Why are you showing me this? Is this to make me remember him and feel bad? Is this part of the punishment?!" Fuji did shout this time. Angrily.
"No, nothing like that," Mikaya replied. "Look, Ryoma hasn't attended school for the past week, and neither has Agony. Tezuka has excused himself from his rehabilitation for the past week, also."
Fuji winced. He hadn't known that they would be affected this much. But he felt a little bit of pride, from the fact that everyone had loved him so much. At least they had.
"I'm saying that this is the most painful thing that you have ever caused, or been involved in." Mikaya stepped down from her throne. Her co-head goddess, Midna (all due respect to Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess), stepped into the room.
She was completely different from her co-head goddess. Her hair was wavy and it only reached her shoulders. It was a dark blue shade, much like one of Fuji's friends, Oshitari's hair. It was streaked with black and glitter. Her sleeveless top only reached slightly below her chest, and her skirt was extremely low cut. They were also black and had sequins and rhinestones along their edges. Her skin was definitely darker, and her wrists and ankles were lined with bands and bangles. Only Midna could pull of something so elaborate and not look like a complete idiot.
"We've been talking a bit in the past week. We all know that this level of pain is unheard of; none of our agents has ever caused this much pain before," Midna explained. "It's absolutely insane."
She looked at Mikaya who looked back at her. The nodded, with Mikaya agreeing. "Even though you've been Pain only for the past couple of hundreds of years, even before you, way back, I've never seen anything like it."
Fuji narrowed his eyes. "And I'm supposed to be proud of this...this...accomplishment? What do I have to congratulate myself for? What is there to take pride in?! The fact that I'm separated from my friends for eternity? The fact that their suffering is seemingly 'worse than any you've ever seen'?" he snapped. He knew he shouldn't be talking to the two head goddesses this way, but it was just his nature; to really care about something he believed in, and to always find a distinct line between right and wrong.
Midna and Mikaya laughed together. "Not exactly," Mikaya said. "We're just saying that you might not want to be so snappy, because I think you're going to be happy about what we have to say next."
Fuji's temper simmered down slightly, and was replaced be curiosity. What could he possibly be happy about now?
"You see, we thought that because you were in love with Agony, you wouldn't be focused at all on your goal and target. But we were wrong. Deathly wrong. Apparently, all your effort to love Agony has come to this: you causing Tezuka so much pain that it's unbearable to even watch him," Mikaya said. "Look at him." She flicked the picture of him now back on the board. "He's an athletic boy, wonderful at tennis, and he has so much ahead of him, so much...potential."
"And he's such a handsome boy, too," Midna added.
Mikaya turned off the screen so that they wouldn't have to look at it. "And you just go and change his life so drastically like that, at first even meeting him, but now leaving him. You obviously didn't plan this turn of events, but that quick thought at the last moment in your bedroom was absolutely ingenious. You are not only a prodigy at tennis, but at being who you are, too."
Midna continued off of Mikaya's last words. "Consider this as a test. And you've passed."
Fuji was almost dieing of anxiety. He managed to control himself, and in an even tone, he asked, "So what are you trying to say?"
Together, Mikaya and Midna answered, "We're saying that we're going to allow you to return to Earth."
Fuji almost couldn't believe his ears. His eyes obviously shot right open, and he fell back. Turning his head around, Fuji looked at Yukimura, who was smiling at him. That meant that Yukimura could return, too, and so would Jiroh, to watch after the two. Or three, including Yukimura.
"We're also going to abolish the rule that agents can't love. In replacement, we're going to say that they are allowed to love, as long as they don't get off task. And if they do, Mayu can take care of that."
Mayu's eyes widened in astonishment. "I finally get a job?!"
Mikaya chuckled, and Kitka patted her friend's back. "Congratulations, Mayu," Kitka said. "It might be a big responsibility, but--"
"I can totally handle it!" Mayu finished. They all laughed.
Fuji jumped up and hugged a surprised Yukimura. Then, he walked over and hugged Jiroh briefly. The boy had really done nothing wrong to begin with. Jiroh was happy to be forgiven by Fuji. After all, if he hadn't been, who knows what kind of havoc Fuji could've caused.
Midna interrupted their moment of joy. "We will be departing tomorrow morning."
"Thank you so much!" Fuji exclaimed. The three of them (Fuji, Yukimura, and Jiroh) turned to exit the room, talking to each other excitedly.
But quietly, Mikaya added, "Just hope that nothing happens to Agony, Tezuka, or Ryoma until then." She was sure that Fuji couldn't hear her, though.
Next chapter is coming soon! Please review!
Next chapter: What's going to happen to Fuji when he gets back on Earth? Or more pertinently, what's going to happen to Tezuka?