"The missing subject"

Author's Note: This is a super late birthday gift fic to my friend Satsuki (as she is known on life journal, since I don't want to disclose real names). But basically her favourite character is Fuji and since she heard about how I did a gift fic for blue penguin for Christmas, she kind of asked me to do a similar thing. Since she is currently doing an OC story I thought I'll use her OC (who ends up with Fuji.) yet involves my own story about Shiraishi and Ashita- because she says she is doing that too.

Truth be told, I don't really like the result, I don't really like this story. This is a bit like double victims, it has Ashita in it so it has the plot that involves with her, but it is not related 'Sacrifice', 'chapters', and 'the cracked mask' in anyway. Because I simply do not have the character of Delrossario Hanakou in my story. As I said, I don't like this story probably because I really don't like Fuji, and I don't really like her OC either. I mean, Satsuki is a really good friend of mine, which is why I am writing this, but I still don't like her OC. If you want to know more about her ideas then you can find her on my friends list.

Since this is a birthday fic for her, I will call Fuji by his given name, which I don't do myself. She also helped me to edit it.

Completed: March 1-7, 2008.

Fuji Shuusuke smiled when his two kohai addressed him after they won their match, he continued to smile when the whole team welcomed Kawamura back, just as the smile remained when Tezuka won the match, along with the semi-finals, very gloriously.

He naturally had to smile when the two teams shook hand because he didn't want anyone to think that he wasn't happy with the result, but the truth was that he did not feel like smiling at all, he was actually really tired of doing this.

He shook his head a bit, as if he could clear away all these thoughts just by doing that. He should stop now as his loss did not have a disastrous effect on anyone other then himself.

"Alright, let's go and celebrate by eating yakiniku, as promised!" Kikumara yelled out loudly. "Hanakou! Hanakou!! We are leaving now!"

"Eiji, you better ask Tezuka first!" Ooishi reminded him. "And don't be so loud, Shitenhouji is practising for their match tomorrow."

"Isn't that Kikumaru-senpai's friend?" Momoshiro whispered to the nearby Echizen. "Hey, she is walking toward the Shitenhouji team!"

"The possibility that she knows one of the regulars in Shitenhouji is xxx." Inui began automatically with his notebook in hand.

"Eiji!" Ooishi gave a loud yell as Kikumra was clearly ignoring him a second time by going to the place his friend was.

"I'll go and help Ooishi." Shuusuke said before he gave all of his kohai a slight glare. "Don't follow me as we don't need things to get worse."

This was a valid reason because Ooishi was simply much too nice. He would probably accept any insult as angry words spoke in bitterness even if they were clearly not.

But the real reason was due to Hanakou, although the way she was greeted immediately made his emotion altering from that of worry to indignation.

"Oh great, as if the day can't get worse." Zaizen muttered as soon as he saw her.

"I want to talk to Shiraishi." Much to the three Seigaku regulars' surprise, Hanakou spoke without being affected at all.

"I am not your messenger." Zaizen said with a roll of his eyes, "Beside, knowing you the message is going to be something really stupid."

"What is your problem?" Kikumaru demanded angrily. "Hanakou didn't do anything to you so why are you being so rude?"

"Oh but she has." Oshitari Kenya said very calmly as he arrived. "Zaizen, be grateful that Shiraishi is busy as he would not be so lenient right now. Go and run some laps."

"Thank you." Ooishi began politely. "We are very sorry for bothering you guys in your practise but…"

"Don't thank me." Kenya interrupted him briskly. "The only reason I told Zaizen off is because he was being too rude. Otherwise I agree with him. If Shiraishi had time to spare then he should have spend it with some of his kohai instead of teaching her."

"It almost makes us wonder who his girlfriend is, as well as the real reason of why they broke up." Zaizen butted in.

"What are you still doing here for? Start running." Kenya snapped before he turned to the others. "Once again, I only stopped him because he was too rude. Delrosario-san, as you should be able to see, we are very busy right now."

Although his voice was polite, they could still detect the annoyance in it.

"Very well." Hanakou said calmly. Her business was very important, but her pride forbade her to make a scene. Besides, she was not alone right now, as she should be with a matter that was as sensitive as that.

Shuusuke's curiosity was increased even more due to his own evasion- he rather be puzzled about Hanakou's problems instead of thinking about his own confusion in regard to that singles 3 game.

"I am sorry that you could not speak to Shitenhouji's Shiraishi." He began suddenly, almost startling her.

"Oh yes…but it might be better for him, in a way." Hanakou muttered as she resumed eating.

More then two years has passed since their first meeting but it seemed that nothing had changed. She and Kikumaru were still talking in a way that he could not participate as he did not know her that well. Hanakou's words to him were still polite and even a bit guarded, just like how she addressed him.

"Do you know them well?" Kikumaru asked from her other side. "Are you going to abandon us again?"

"Of course not!" she replied with a smile for his sake. "It is not as if I know them that well."

"But you seem to know some of them well enough." Inui said as he suddenly crept up. "Delrosario-san, what do you actually know?"

"Inui-san…Seigaku has already played against Shitenhouji." Hanakou began rather nervously, somehow Inui always have this affect on her, ever since their first year. Though he would smile at her at times, she felt that he was much too calculating.

"Data is always useful." Inui said firmly. "Delrosario-san, if you help me then I will let you have a special taste of my latest…"

"I am really sorry but I have to go to the bathroom, my stomach suddenly hurts a lot."

In her hasty departure, Hanakou knocked over her own bag, which she had placed between her and Shuusuke. As he was the closest person to the bag, he bent down to pick it up.

That was how he saw the photo…a photo that was quite interesting to him because he could recognise one of the people in there.

It was rather strange for Hanakou to have this photo as the two people in it were clearly very intimate with one another.

Upon being asked what he was doing, he quickly resumed putting Hanakou's things into her bag as an answer. In this process, he accidentally flipped the photo.

The first thing he noticed was the large and short writing done by a felt tip pen and like any body in his situation, he couldn't help but to automatically read it. The words were simply: 'Kuranosuke and I on my 14th birthday'.

Then he saw the much lighter and smaller words in pencil. If this photo belonged to Hanakou then he would not have read it out of respect and courtesy for her. But because the owner of this photo was the unknown girl in the picture, he did not see the need to stop himself.

I don't want this photo any more because I think I finally given up on you. I saw your game today and you looked so desolated when your team mates lost. In that moment I realised that nothing other then Shitenhouji winning can make you be happy in that situation.

Yet Shitenhouji winning can make you smile even after you broke up with me, in fact, that was why you broke up.

You know…I never pretended so be someone really special other then having you caring about me. But because of that I thought that you might be able to accept losing if I am beside you. Maybe that is why I came to Tokyo, but it seems I thought too highly of myself.

When you broke up with me, I didn't agree. I give you my agreement now.

A photo captured a single moment in time, it did not give any indication of how the exact circumstances that let this photo come to being, nor could one guess about this couple's fate just by looking at this moment.

Perhaps their matches were similar. The matches itself was like the moments that would be captured by the shuttle. Who but the person themselves would know of all that they did to be standing at that place at that time?

Life would go on too, regardless of whether it be a loss or win. But they would not see that, all they usually saw of their opponent was when they played against one another.

Shuusuke couldn't help but to wonder what Shiraishi had been like when this photo was taken, as well as how he had changed since that day.

"It is my wish to let my team win the nationals." He had thought that it was then natural for him to win when he said it, since he wanted it so badly. But as he looked at this photo he had to ask himself why he didn't think that his opponent might want the same thing.

"Fuji-san." Hanakou began, only to pause as she saw that he was still holding onto the photo.

"Delrosario-san, you arrived just in time." He said with a forced cheerfulness as he took her by the elbow. "I'll just borrow you for a second."

"Fuji, that is not fair!" Kikumara protested, although he couldn't do much as he was soon distracted by Ooishi's lectures about the right way to grill meat.

"First of all, I am sorry for looking at this photo and reading the words on the back." Shuusuke began when he handed the item back. "But Delrosario-san, what did happen with Shiraishi and this girl?"

"I know that it is not my business but…Delrosario-san, when I played against him in the semi-finals, he had a very strange expression. He was not happy even though it was his match point. Instead, he displayed a sadness along with weariness. I can't help but to wonder why, what could have happened to make him act like that at such a situation?"

"I do not know why I shall tell you this but I will." Hanakou said slowly. "Perhaps it is because you remind me of him a bit. Shiraishi is not someone who easily lets others see what he is thinking as well.

"The girl with him in this photo is Tanako Ashita, one of my closest friends in Osaka. She was also Shiraishi's girl friend from our second year. The two of us would occasionally go to watch the regulars practise and they had to tolerate it since Shiraishi is the buchou." A slight smile appeared as she recollected how Tezuka had made her leave despite Kikumaru's pleadings. But it quickly disappeared to make place for a frown of disapproval.

"But they broke up at the start of the year. Well, Shiraishi broke up with her. He told her…he told her that as the buchou he must focus on his team completely, he can not allow himself to have any distractions."

Perhaps Shuusuke was not the only one who smiled a fake smile.

He could not understand how Shiraishi managed to continue smiling when he realised that his dream was still not going to come true even though he abandoned so much in order to be here? Nor could he work out why it was him that Shiraishi allowed to see the truth behind his appearance when he had not allowed his own team mates to do so.

Maybe it was because of what Hanakou said, they were a bit similar.

"We went to watch the semi-final of the nationals together this afternoon and afterwards Ashita gave this to me to give to Shiraishi." Hanakou concluded. "I can understand why she does not want to hand it to him herself but I don't really want to do it either."

"She is unable to face him- his pleadings might change her mind." Shuusuke said softly. "Though she must regard him as having done wrong to her she still cares about him enough to want to be with him again. I can understand that although my own experience was not so painful, nor was the girl in so much wrong." An almost evil smile appeared on the genius' lips. "You see, she just left Tokyo and went to Osaka without much warning."

If he expected to make her blush, then he was certainly successful.

"Let me do it for you." He said as he gently took the photo out of her hand. "I will give it to him."

It was not hard to find any of the Shitenhouji members as they were all practising, with the exception of Gin due to his injuries. As they were not able to return with a place higher, they were determined to get what they had obtained last year.

Right now, Shiraishi was taking a rest by supervising the match between Koharu and Yuuji, who were playing against Kenya and Zaizen, while Gin was observing the match between Kintarou and Chitose.

"Fuji-kun, how can I help you?" Shiraishi said rather politely with a courteous smile, one that Shuusuke now realised as being as fake as his own.

"I have a message from Delrosario-san, who got it from Tanako-san."

"She is in Tokyo?" Yuuji exclaimed in surprise.

"I think she is thinking about returning to Osaka tomorrow morning, before your game." Shuusuke said as he handed the photo to the buchou of Shitenhouji.

"Is that so?" Shiraishi muttered softly as he turned the photo over, only to quickly flip it back upon seeing the words.

"Everyone, resume practising." He ordered briskly even as he let out a deep sigh and rested his head into his own hands. "Fuji-kun, thank you for giving this back."

"Are you just going to sit there?"

Shuusuke's tone made Shiraishi look up quickly because it was more then a little sharp.

"What do you think I should do then?" Shiraishi asked wearily. "Everything she accused me of is true. I had to do what I did because I am not," he said with a very mocking smile, "a genius."

Shuusuke suddenly remembered the very first time he saw Hanakou as well as the numerous occasions when he deliberately went to talk with her. Some time during that short period, he had started to care for her.

But she went to Osaka without very much warning. She and Kikumaru continued their correspondence but he found it rather hard to do the same, thoughts of her reaction kept on making his courage falter.

It seemed that Shiraishi and his girl friend had undergone a similar thing, the only difference was that she had accepted him. Unlike him, he didn't even have a chance to try and change his relationship with her: the subject in the photo left before he even had the opportunity of clicking the shuttle.

"I don't have to be a genius to know that you shouldn't let her slip away." Shuusuke whispered very softly. "If you truly care about her then you should try and talk to her one last time."

Shiraishi did not answer him this time, but Shuusuke knew what would happen, as he started to walk away he suddenly heard his name.

"Fuji-kun, do you know the other reason why Zaizen dislikes Hanakou-san so much? Because she once told him that she knows another genius in Tokyo who is so much better than him. It was said in an argument, but it was not something said in pure anger as she was very calm and certain about it."

Shuusuke did not really get to talk with Hanakou due to the chaos that Inui caused by bringing out his Inui-sauce. The data gatherer innocently pointed out that they never once said that they didn't want any sauce.

"It is all Inui's fault that Hanakou was throwing up and is not with us now." Kikumaru said angrily. "And Momoshiro for swapping his plate with her's."

"But you did the same too, senpai!"

"That's different, I'm Hanakou's best friend." Kikumaru stated very simply.

"The match is starting." Tezuka said sternly, silencing the arguments.

"This is an unexpected data." Inui suddenly said. "Delrosario-san is right over there, a few steps away from us."

"HANA…" Kikumaru was forced to stop when Shuusuke gently probed him on the arm.

Standing beside Hanakou was a girl in a yukata, someone that the Seigaku regulars, save for one, did not know about. Even though her eyes were slightly puffy, she was smiling with true happiness.

Tanako Ashita smiled even more when Shiraishi deliberately walked to her and whispered something that made her laugh along with a slight blush.

When Shiraishi turned to meet Shuusuke's glance, he smiled a truly sincere smile as well as nodding slightly before he said something to Hanakou.

Shuusuke found himself doing the same thing, and his grin grew wider when Hanakou came over to pass the message, which was three simple phrases.

"You are right.

"Thank you.

"Good luck."