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.

Yay, the epilogue is finally here! This is the real end of the story. I hope you guys have enjoyed it, and thanks the most to all my faithful reviewers! I'm so glad you guys (and all my readers but not reviewers) have stuck with this story! It's my first multi-chapter one, and I hope it wasn't too bad. Thanks again, and please read, review, and enjoy!

Epilogue: Endless

Fuji smiled as he watched the little kids play in the park. The wind blew comfortably, and all was back to normal again. The blue sky was so bright today, and the birds chirping were anything but annoying. The smell of daisies in the summertime was so sweet. Daisies were his favorite flower, anyway, since they were so pure, innocent, and clean.

He was sitting on a hill that was too far away for any of the kids to spot him. He had been on Earth again for three weeks since the incident. Back in the heavens, he found out (courtesy of Jiroh) that he and Atobe had become legends relatively quickly. They were known all throughout the heavens (it wasn't like they weren't already pretty famous, though) as 'The Two Angel Lovers' that broke the rules to be with each other. Fuji was sure that it would be a legend that would be passed down from generation to generation.

He thought about his relationship with his four closest boy friends who had gotten him into loads of trouble, but had also been there all the time to support him and help him gain his life back.

First, he thought of Yukimura. To Fuji, Yukimura was an older brother who liked to flirt and tease. He was funny, cute, and good looking. He was also protective, and would probably go frantic if anything happened to Fuji. Fuji felt safe when he was around him, and proud to be so close to him.

Ryoma, on the other hand, was Fuji's younger sister. Or should he say younger brother. Fuji thought he was just simply adorable, and Fuji loved to tease him and play around. In terms of tennis, though, Fuji thought of Ryoma as nearly his equal. Fuji smiled. Nearly. They had yet to finish that game, though, and they promised to, if they ever got the chance. But Fuji knew that the chance would come, because he would make it come. Ryoma was one of the most thrilling opponents.

Tezuka, Fuji thought, was like another older brother, but a different kind. He was protective, in a quite type of way. Fuji also loved to tease Tezuka, just for the heck of it, and loved him dearly. They would both go hysterical if anything happened to either of them. Fuji was also proud to be close to the stoic captain. He also yearned to play another game with him, and continue to, until one day, maybe, just maybe, Fuji would win.

And finally, Fuji thought of Atobe. Atobe was like a husband to Fuji, and he was such a flirt. Atobe played around with Fuji, even in public, but Fuji didn't mind. He knew that Fuji was the only person Atobe would ever love, and he was glad. Even during those occasional moments when Atobe would tease Tezuka, Fuji didn't get jealous, he just found that absolutely amusing.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Atobe walked up behind Fuji. He gave him a little peck on the lips. Speak, or think, of the devil, Fuji thought.

"Just thinking a little bit."

Atobe looked at Fuji quizzically. "You sure have been thinking a lot these past few weeks. Is there something going on that I should know about? With the angels?"

Fuji laughed and shook his head. "No, nothing of the sort. I was just thinking and enjoying the perfect weather."

"Perfect weather indeed." Atobe and Fuji turned toward the new voice. "I'd have to agree with Fuji. The perfect time to just sit outside and clear your mind." It was Yukimura, Fuji's near counterpart. Fuji smiled at Yukimura and Atobe frowned.

"But Fuji was thinking, not really clearing his mind, neh?" Atobe said. They (Atobe and Yukimura) turned toward each other.

"Yes, but thinking could also be clearing one's mind, because one is thinking about all the things that they had still to think about, and now they have nothing left. So it's also clearing one's mind."

"But your mind isn't really clear when you're thinking, right?"

"I never said that one's mind had to be clear, I was talking about the process of clearing one's mind."

Fuji looked from person to person. They were always at each other's throats for some reason. Always...Fuji wouldn't exactly call it fighting, but nor would it be a playful banter. More like an argument or dispute. So they were always arguing with each other, though Fuji couldn't understand why, since he almost never argued with Atobe, and Fuji and Yukimura were so similar.

The unknown reason was simple, in Atobe's mind. It was that Fuji spent a great deal of time with Yukimura. Atobe couldn't understand his need to dislike Yukimura so, since Fuji also spent a lot of time with Tezuka, Ryoma, and Kikumaru, but they just didn't really bother him as much as the captain of Rikkaidai did. Maybe it was just because he didn't trust Yukimura as much.

Soon, Tezuka was with the threesome, accompanied by Ryoma. They were slightly out of breath.

Fuji noticed this and decided to take advantage of it. "Neh, Tezuka, did you run all the way here just to see me?" he all but purred. He looked at Tezuka and smiled a smile that was a mix of an evil, deceitful smile, and a lighthearted, cute smile.

The only way Tezuka could conceal his blush was the fact that he indeed had been running, and his face was red, but not for the reason that Fuji had mentioned. Well, Tezuka had to admit, that was partially the reason. But he shook his head anyway.

"Then what were you doing?" The moment Fuji asked the question, he mentally slapped himself.

"Tennis," all five of them said, laughing. Tezuka and Ryoma were just like that. When they were playing tennis, they were completely oblivious to the world around them, and their own limits, so they might push themselves past them. Fuji knew this because Atobe was exactly the same way. He didn't find that the case with Yukimura, though, since he pretty much didn't have limits. That was why whenever Fuji had the chance, he would always wish them good luck with their matches and tell them to be careful. Behind his sadistic demeanor, he was also caring. That is, if you deserved his caring-ness.

Fuji wished that moments like these could last forever, but he wouldn't be as disappointed once they were over, since he knew they would come again. Again and again, the five of them met, coincidentally, at the strangest of places. But they seemed to be able to see right through each other, and there were no secrets between them. That was why they would stay so close for the rest of their lives, for highschool, college, and even after that. But Fuji was living in the present right now, and that was the way things should be.

Fuji reminded himself that his entire life with the tennis players was just like a game, and Fuji wished the game would never end. But he knew he shouldn't take any moment for granted, since at any time, he could be whisked away again. To a different world, time period, or life. But again, Fuji knew he was thinking too much about the things that could happen in the future, and it wasn't what he should be worried about. He had learned from all his past lives that humans thought way too much about the disasters of the future that they didn't really enjoy the life that they were so marvelously living currently. And Fuji didn't want to succumb to that. Not now, not ever. And he constantly reminded his friends not to, either.

Fuji also knew that humans were tiny, fragile beings, and at any moment, their lives and everything they lived for could just snap. He had gone through that, and so had his friends. Once, and not ever again. So, to him, humans had to be treated with the utmost care and gentleness, yet he also knew that they could be scolded, chided, and teased without even flinching. They were hard to understand, Fuji mused, but that just made things all the more interesting. He enjoyed testing humans' limits, and seeing how far they could push themselves, not only in tennis, but in other aspects of life. Thus, Fuji's strong sadistic record appeared. But it was only to understand human beings more, so there was nothing wrong with it, right? Or that was Fuji's philosophy, anyway.

Fuji had learned so many things throughout the years and lifetimes, but this one had been by far the most thrilling of them all. It was something Fuji would most definitely not forget, and something that he did not want to get go of. But he knew that he would have to leave some time, and at that time, he knew that he wouldn't just drop this life and move on. Oh no, it was something that would stick to him forever.

But he still had a ways to go, as Ryoma would put it, and the journey there, compared to what would happen then, would be painless.

Finally, the end. The real end. Thank you for reading, and please review!