The wonders of a paradox

Disclaimer: Please refer to the previous chapters.

Rating: PG or K+

Genre: General, slight suspense

Pairing: Nope in this chapter.

Warnings or notes: AU, OOC-ness, might be confusion.

Sorry for the long delay. I kind of had to rethink whether I shall post this chapter or not (because of the messed up storyline). Also, I was planning to finish my 'The Prince of Tennis Play' first before I continued with this one. Saa… Anyway, I decided to reveal Aiba Hiroki's identity in this one. Hope you enjoyed guessing!

Thanks, Johin for beta proof my story. :)

Review if you have anything to say about this chapter. Thanks.

: Ready… Go :

Chapter 6 – Life as Aiba Hiroki

A soft gasp was heard in the teachers' office. A few of the staff heard and turned to the direction, giving a puzzled look. A female teacher, in her early thirties, only offered a sheepish smile before she turned back to her job of grading artwork.

"Fuji Syusuke's work, isn't it?" Suddenly, a deep voice said, startling Kamiya as she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Heard he's intelligent and capable of many other things. It seems like he's born a genius."

"Y-yeah," she managed to reply weakly. Apparently, she was not one to be shocked or she might have a heart attack. "His style is very familiar to me… I assume he copies the style. But I can't recall from where or whom he developed such skills from."

"I'd say otherwise, Kamiya-sensei. That kid's looks can be deceiving, I assure you," the other replied smoothly. "He tops in his class, but it seems to me he doesn't try his best to top the whole form." With that as parting words, the male teacher returned to his seat as if nothing happened.

Kamiya heard rumors from other teachers regarding this transfer student several times before. He was able to answer questions that they had yet to be conducted. He was as famous as their star pupil Tezuka Kunimitsu. He was friendly and polite to all people. He had no broken records and many other things. Now it had come to this.

Lying on the teacher's desk was a painting of the ocean and cloudy sky. The theme of the art was simple actually; 'Dream'. If anyone was to judge the artwork based on it, they might say it was totally out of the theme. However, if one really looked closely, they might have seen something else hidden beneath the art. It contained a hidden message behind a piece of masterwork.

At first glance, Kamiya thought a student simply enlarged a photograph to the size of an art block and handed in to her. The incident happened before, and she was not pleased with the excuse given for the poor trick. But, when she traced her fingers on the canvas, she was shocked and that was when she let out a soft gasp. Her eyes caught the name of the student immediately; Fuji Syusuke.

She stared at it again, her stomach giving a funny knot. It was as if she could feel the raw emotions in that piece of work. Sitting there in the office, she mentally laughed as she could almost feel the gentle breeze brushing through her cheeks and that she could almost hear the sound of water splashing. To think her brain was projecting such things because of an amateur art piece. It was something only the professional artists did to her.

Who was this Fuji Syusuke? Surely he was more than an average middle school teenager that transferred to Seigaku in the middle of the year, was he not?

On the other hand, the said boy was tapping his pencil on a desk. Fuji stared at his sketch with a genuine small smile on his girlish face. "'Dream' eh…?" he murmured to himself in slight amusement. "Now I am back here to where I belong, to where I shall fulfill my dreams, but then why… why there is something missing still?" he asked silently as his eyes locked onto the sketch of a calm ocean with cloudy sky. It was a sketch of the painting he handed in to his art teacher yesterday.

Actually it was a simple painting, if it was to be compared to his other work. It was a far call of being a masterpiece, but Fuji liked it still, because it reflected his deep desire. Unlike the others, this one gave others a calm and peaceful, yet undoubtedly confusing feeling. In black and white, it displayed an odder combination of various emotions.

"One day, I am going to 'complete' this art…," the twelve year old boy remarked with another soft smile. Then, he tightened his grip on the pencil he was tapping on his desk earlier and gave a sign on the sketch. Instead of his name, he signed 'Aiba Hiroki' with a small written date below the signature. When he finished signing then only he realized his mistake.

A vow was made that day. Once Fuji could finally complete the piece of artwork, there was no need for 'Aiba Hiroki' to reappear. By then, Fuji Syusuke's life was complete and the purpose of being 'Aiba Hiroki' could finally be fulfilled.

Tezuka could not shake the feelings off him. His hazel eyes were fixed at the painting displayed in the school hall. A painting of the ocean and cloudy sky captured his attention at once. It was an excellent art. "But something is missing," he commented dryly. How he knew that, he had no idea. One thing for sure, Tezuka failed to see who the painter was, because no name was offered. But he had a feeling he knew who. How weird.

: To be continued :