title: innocent names
word count: 2,297
summary: They grew up together. When Fuji lost contact with Yuuta, Eiji lost a childhood friend as well. But things change – and a little game of rock, paper, scissors is enough to set things in motion.

innocent names

Karma was a bitch. Plain and simple, no matter how many people tried to tell him otherwise. Yuuta knew that no matter what he did, some things will always go badly for him. He didn't ask to have this innate desire to be a tennis player, he even tried his luck in volleyball, going through the different warm-ups and jumping drills his sister instructed him to. And again and again, he was drawn to those same seven lines that his brother was, compulsively following his brother's footsteps in everything he did.

So on a warm summer's day, Yuuta tried to ignore his brother's constant waving, focusing instead on watching the trails of Atsushi's red, crimson bandana flap lightly against the wind. Mizuki leaned heavily against his shoulder, murmuring this and that about 'rivals' and 'entwined destinies', all words that droned in Yuuta's ears like a mosquito humming to the sun.

"Is that clear?"
"YES MA'AM!"

On cue, twenty-five of the twenty-eight players assembled for the Junior National Camp bowed lightly at the waist. Yuuta was taught to be even more respectable than that, bowing deeply at Seigaku's Ryuzaki-sensei. A light chuckle was heard and Yuuta lifted his eyes to see his older brother smiling at him, his other hand lightly waving his fingers towards Yuuta's raised face.

He scowled, trying to focus instead on saying thank you for this opportunity, thank you for this chance to prove that perhaps, just once, he was better than his brother.

A few rows back, Eiji watched, his arms thrown high over his head and face radiating with joy. He laughed too, matching his chuckle with Fuji's own. It was remarkable how much Yuuta's grown since he left for St. Rudolph. This was not the same Fuji Yuuta who cried when the two older boys ran ahead to the community swimming pool, he didn't look like he would kick his heels and stomp his feet if Fuji refused to buy him ice-cream. But, Eiji giggled happily at the thought as he felt Oishi's hand grabbing at his side, Yuuta still could not stand Fuji's overt show of almost sadistic teasing. Things were going to get interesting with both brothers here.

Eiji had time to flash a thumbs-up when he met Yuuta's wandering eye, much to the embarrassment of the younger boy. And to make sure Oishi wouldn't die of utter disgust that one of his Seigaku teammates would show such overt rudeness, Eiji bowed quickly before raising his hand high into the sky.

"Yes, Kikumaru?"
"Ryuzaki-sensei!?! When's dinner, nya?"
--

Just as expected. Fuji sat off to the corner, trying not to return the stares of an inquisitive Sengoku or the friendly overtures of Oshitari. Yuuta sat in front of Fuji, but with his face staring at the opposite wall, teeth set and face determined to ignore Fuji's stares, his warm smile. The rest of the Seigaku regulars were scattered throughout the cafeteria, making small talk (or in Momoshiro's and Kamio's case, extremely loud, extremely off-putting accusations) before dinner. In front of Fuji stood a glass of water, untouched and redirecting a small slant of light from the window to illuminate Fuji's hand lying on the clean table, casting a golden glow on Fuji's long, slender fingers.

He pulled up a seat, noisily scrapping his chair against the ground, loud enough for Mizuki to look up (though Yuuta scowled and refused to turn around).

"Ne, ne, what you looking at? Wanna start a fight, Mitachi?" He scrunched up the end of his nose, reaching over to grab a hold of Fuji's water glass.

"It's Mizuki, Kikumaru-kun."

Eiji shivered at the taste of warm water mixed with liberal amounts of salt and just a slight tinge of something spicy. Fuji let out a laugh at Eiji's face, taking back the glass and setting it on the table.

"I told you never drink or eat anything that belongs to me."
"Hoi, hoi! How the hell aren't you sick from that, nya?"

Mizuki curled one of his front locks in frustration, trying to let out a breath, trying to ignore Atsushi's laugh. "It's Mizuki, okay?"

"You don't think this taste good though?"
"Like drinking soap water after Oba-san washes all the dishes!"

"Mizuki, Mizuki ---"

And still, the two chatted, Eiji pawing at the air as if to make his spoken words more valid, his eyes watching Fuji's face brighten, the shadow of pain he spied earlier that afternoon easing. At one point, Eiji reached over to grab Fuji's phone, quickly dialing a number much to Fuji's protest.

"I SAID ARE YOU LISTENING!" Mizuki slammed his fist against the table, upsetting the glass of water that stood by Atsushi's elbow, shaking Yuuta's bookbag to slide against the edge and onto the floor.

"HEY! St. Rudolph's awfully loud, aren't you?"
"WHAT YOU SAY?"

Mizuki turned in time to catch the menacing glance of Kirihara and quietly sat, burying his cheek against an upturned hand.

Yuuta threw a look of sympathy towards Mizuki. No matter how crazy he was, or how deep exactly his obsessions went, Mizuki certainly grown on Yuuta since first coming to St. Rudolph, agreeing even to be his roommate during their second year there.

"Listen, Mizuki –"

But his words of comfort were cut off by the loud shrill of his cellphone. Without even bothering to check who it was, Yuuta flipped the phone open, "Hello?"

"Ne, ne, Yuuta, turn around, nya! TURN AROUND."

Without a word, Yuuta ended the call, gathered his bookbag from the floor and walked out of the cafeteria.

"Sorry, Fuji."
"No, it's okay. You tried."

"Tried what, Kikumaru-senpai?" Momoshiro slid into the seat across from Eiji as Ryoma placed his tray next to Fuji's left elbow.

"Nothing, nya."
"You thirsty, Momo? Have some water."
--

He paced uneasily by the door, clutching and unclenching his fist. Karma really was out to get him, no matter what he tried to do. If he were to complain to any of the camp leaders about who was his roommate, he was almost 100 sure that they wouldn't abide to his desires. And he couldn't ask any of the other assembled tennis players to switch – Kikumaru must have spent a great deal of his time talking because his request to switch roommates was already denied four times. And Mizuki flat out refused, citing fear of his older brother and the wrath that may occur.

He tried to make things work between them really he did, but there were times when Yuuta felt a restraining hand circle around his heart, his breath suddenly constricting in the void of space between his lungs and his head pounded from the same type of exertion he had when he ran miles in preparation for tennis matches. Yuuta wondered why he was always so tired when he thought about his brother, and realized one day, while reading a tennis magazine that featured an article on Seigaku's tennis club, he was tired, because in his mind at least, he was constantly running to catch up to Syusuke's shadow.

"GAH!" He let out another yell of frustration and aimed a swift kick at the wall. The worst part of it all was that Syusuke's done nothing but smile and extend an open hand. It wasn't so bad at home, with Yumiko teasing Yuuta about Mizuki and his craziness, Oka-san reading aloud letters their father sent to them from London. But here at camp, where tennis was the only reason why everyone was here, Yuuta was starting to feel, once more, like a failure. There were as always, the disappointed stares of others when they realized he had the right last name but the wrong first one, something Yuuta did not have to worry about at St. Rudolph.

He kicked the wall again and again, until a voice called out, "Hoi, hoi! I was wrong about you bein' too old to throw tantrums, nya!"

"Shut up, Kikumaru." Yuuta blushed, trying to forget how when they were all younger, Eiji always held his hand walking back and forth from the playground, letting Syusuke borrow money so Yuuta can buy another ice-cream cone.

"Kikumaru? KIKUMARU??? What happened to calling me Eiku, eh, eh?"

Yuuta blushed again, refusing to turn around to meet Eiji's face. Of course Syusuke and Eiji would be best friends; they had the same sort of humor; loud, abrasive and unbelievingly charming. Even Yuuta, despite his embarrassment and his developing feelings of anger, had to smile, remembering the day he first met Eiji out by the swings, too young to pronounce Eiji's last name, but too shy to call him by his given name. When Yuuta, barely even 4 years old, stammered out "Eiku", Syusuke laughed and laughed as Eiji twirled and giggled too.

"Come on, just once. Eiku! Eiku! EIKU!"
"Leave me alone!"

"FINE!" His reflexes were extremely fast, something Yuuta knew was the key to Eiji's fame as a tennis player and before he could even react, Eiji bounded forward and grabbed a hold of Yuuta's tennis bag.

He twirled the heavy bag with one hand, almost as if it weighed nothing at all, hopping lightly from foot to foot.

"Yuu-chan, Yuu-chan!"

And though the name brought up images of Christmas at the Kikumarus, playing with the hose on a brilliant summer day and the sugar-dusted cookies Oka-san made for them during Boy's Day, Yuuta kicked at the wall again with the utterance of his childhood nickname.

"Don't call me that!"
"You'll always be Yuu-chan to me, baka!"

Eiji's smile faded as his eyes grew serious. He repeated his words again, this time setting the tennis bag on the ground. "You'll always be Yuu-chan."

He watched Eiji running away, shouldering his tennis bag, his bare feet barely making a sound in the hallway. It took Yuuta a minute before what Eiji said to sink in, a smile that he couldn't stop lightening the whole of Yuuta's face.

"Yuu-chan, eh?"

And then he remembered that in that tennis bag, he had not only all his money, his cell phone but also, his clothes. "GODDAMN!"

He was off and running, chasing Eiji down the hallway.
--

He leaned forward, his shoulders pressed lightly against the slightly ajar door. His hands reached up to wipe away at the tears that formed in his eyes and suddenly, he was laughing, laughing so hard that he fell on his side, pressing his forehead against the clean floor.

Eiku, Yuu-chan, Fujiko.

He almost forgotten those innocent names, the reality of the present forcing him to forget those golden, sun-filled, grass-scented days. In an dormitory room where only one of the two beds were occupied and the window was thrown wide open to let in the summer breeze, Fuji laughed himself to tears.
--

"Ne, ne, Yuu-chan, let's settle this fair and square."
"With a tennis match?"

"NO! Rock, paper, scissors please."
"WHAT?"

"If I win, you drop this and just room with Fuji, nya."
"I don't want to."

"Have you –"
"Have I what?"

"Ever tried talking to him?"
"Course I have."

"I mean, talking to him about stuff besides tennis."
"…No."

"You should try it, Yuu-chan."
--

There was something bittersweet in the way Yuuta walked into the room, dragging his bare feet against the floor, his head hung low as if he was in trouble. In the bed near the window, Fuji sat, quietly reading, his face smiling but sapphire eyes glancing and absorbing each of Yuuta's slow footsteps.

He threw his tennis bag onto the free bed and sat at the edge to take off his shirt. Fuji set aside his book, watching his younger brother, his smile more gentle and sincere then before.

Fuji waited for Yuuta to finish rummaging through his tennis bag for a clean shirt before he spoke.

"Yuuta, I asked and Oshitari doesn't mind –"
"Eleven years and still I can't beat him."

"What?"

Yuuta turned, smiling, his eyes as warm as Fuji's own. "I can't beat Eiku in rock, paper, scissors, no matter how hard I try."

"Neither can I, Yuuta."
--

They stayed up all night talking, Fuji about how strange it is to see Saeki day after day after finally adjusting to not seeing him for years ("Saeki never liked me, did he, Aniki?" "Yuuta, you were the one who kicked him, remember?"), Yumiko's acceptance to Tokyo University ("God, that means she'll never leave home." "YUUTA!!!" "I was hoping she'll give me her room."), and how utterly ridiculous Eiji was ("How do you get any work done with Eiku in your class?" "Just barely."). Tennis rackets lined the wall like sentries guarding the fragile bonds of brotherhood slowly strengthening as the night went on. They didn't talk about the pros and cons of the eastern vs western tennis grips, how to achieve a perfect topspin while returning a volley, how doubles was not exactly the type of tennis they liked to play (though both knew that the other was a capable enough doubles player if the need arises.) Instead, they talked about their father, what London must be like, how summer would never come soon enough. They talked even as the sky lightened, the crack of early morning light, eggshell pink, spilling through the horizon.

And what they laughed the hardest about, both of them rolling off their beds to kick their heels in merriment, was how when they were younger, they always played rock, paper, scissors with Eiji in a show of protest, when deep down, both Yuuta and Fuji wanted to do the exact thing Eiji was suggesting.

And when they walked to breakfast together, Eiji was waiting for them, his voice echoing all over the cafeteria.

"Ne, ne, YUU-CHAN!!!!! EAT WITH US, NYA!"
"I told you, don't call me that in public."

And though everyone observed (and some were overjoyed) with the Fujis' recent show of goodwill towards one another, sibling rivalry a thing of the past, no one knew how that happened. Only Eiji knew, his bright eyes flashing with joy at the sight of Fuji and Yuuta eating together, eating off each other's plate and Yuuta's refusal to answer to Yuu-chan, though he blushed when Fuji accidently called him that. Eiji knew without a doubt that underneath it all, they were brothers and that bond was one of the hardest to break.
--

author's notes: Okay, one of my favorite, favorite episodes in PoT is the episode where Fuji totally destoryed Mizuki's ass, as well as the when Fuji destoryed Kirihara as well (man, Fuji's so cool). I love the flashbacks between the brothers. Yuuta is one of my favorite characters in the show, and I loved the way the show developed their relationship after their fallout occured. Awesome, awesome, awesome. In my take of the PoT universe, if Eiji and Fuji's houses were close to one another and they both grew up together, then Yuuta must have tagged along as well. Oh.. writing these one shots make me so very happy.

FF users Hropkey made me blush, she wrote something awesome on her profile about this corner of the room. JustJill, your words are always a source of encouragement to me. (don't worry, tergiversation is going to be updated soon.) Thanks everyone!! if there's an idea for a oneshot or a scenario (non shouen-ai I mean) you would like to see me write about, please drop me a review with your suggestion. Thanks for reviewing this fic!