Hey! Sorry for the late update. I was really busy with school this past year. I know this is a short chapter but I'll be uploading one more in a day or two.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except this story.

Way Back To Your Heart

Chapter 5: Blast From the Past

I was annoyed with my brother as I turned the knob of my cabin door. But as I stepped in, I saw someone I had not met for nearly ten years and the anger faded away.

His jet black hair was no longer concealed under a cap and had been cropped short. His physique was like never before. He looked worn out. The muscular form he previously had was no longer noticeable and he seemed weak.

"Sanada?" I said. It nearly sounded like a question.

"You remember me. That's a relief." He joked.

"What brings you here?"

"Well, I came looking for a job."

"A job?! Shouldn't you be playing on a court in Wimbledon or something?" I questioned.

"That was the plan originally, but it didn't work out."

"What happened?"

"I dropped out of high school to pursue a very promising career in tennis. I even relocated to London with my older brother but whilst my few years in the spotlight, I was severely injured in a car crash and haven't been able to play ever since. I couldn't even get a decent job since I don't have a degree in hand and when I came to know about how successful you've become, I thought…" He cut off and quietly handed me an envelope containing his resume.

"Not needed" I said handing it back to him.

"Fuji-san, please help me out here, I re-"

"I don't want to look at your resume because I know how devoted you are to tennis. You're known to have a very accurate eye and I definitely need someone like that. Let my assistant know what salary you're looking for and he'll tell you all the benefits that come along with your job as well. You mind starting from tomorrow? I need someone as soon as possible." I said cutting him off completely.

"Fuji-san, how could I ever repay you?"

"Well you can start off by calling me Syuurei." I replied.

"Arigatou"

"It's alright." I said as I picked up the phone and informed my assistant about the job. Soon, Sanada had completed all the formalities and was officially my employee. Deep inside I felt rotten.

Truth be told, when Sanada asked me about the job my head was so full of Tezuka. All I could think of was that if Sanada worked here, I would never have to face Tezuka again! If someone with analytic experience was needed to interview him, Sanada was just as good. I knew it was selfish but I wasn't quite ready to face him yet.

Days past and I had not heard the word 'Tezuka' and I was grateful for it. One Sunday morning, my son woke up extremely cheerful.

"You woke up early and you also seem quite happy. Did you have a good dream or something?" I asked a smiling Naoki at the breakfast table.

"It wasn't a good dream. More of a good reality. I'm starting tennis coaching today remember?"

That's when I remembered the promise I had made to my son a long time ago. I had told him that once his winter vacations start, I would coach him so that he would be the next tensai. I had a lot of work at the office but I called it all off .

Before we could start I said to my son "I haven't played for quite a while now. Mind if I warm up with uncle Yuuta?"

The first few games were off for both of us but I managed to win the set.

"Still a tensai." My brother remarked as he pulled me into bear hug.

"Aniki!"

"My turn! My turn!" Said an excited Naoki.

The day with Naoki was quite… unexpected. I gave him a few tips and he tried his hand out with Yuuta first. But before he could be beaten by his nephew, Yuuta handed over his racquet to me and declared retirement.

I had completely defeated my son in two matches when it happened. Out of nowhere, my son pulled out a shot I was more than familiar with. A zero-shiki drop shot.

Yuuta left the newspaper he was pretending to read and rushed to prevent me from fainting and falling to the ground.

I gained consciousness and when I opened my eyes, I saw Tezuka. "Are you okay mom?" he asked worried.

That wasn't Tezuka. That was my son. I pulled him into a hug as soon as that struck me and for some reason I was consoling him. Yuuta walked by and said "Naoki, I need a minute with your mother."

Naoki ran off to his room confused and visibly tensed. Yuuta sat down beside me and stared quietly till I spoke.

"It's been so long since I've seen that shot and to think that he did it with such precision…" that's when it hit me. "How did he learn that shot anyway? Did you tell him about it? Did he see it on TV? Or maybe read about it in a magazine. Does he know about Tezuka?" I had several other questions when my brother took my hand in his.

"Look, he's not only your son. He has some of Tezuka's talent as well."

"Yeah but to duplicate that shot! Even I cannot do it with such… perfection!" I said. He knew I was right.

"I'll talk to him okay? Ask him where he learnt it. But you've got to be ready for it if he says he learnt it from Tezuka."

"Okay." I said not knowing what I would soon be facing.

Naoki's POV

I was having an amazing time defeating uncle Yuuta. He knew he would be crushed and humiliated and so he retired and handed over his racquet to mom.

We had a good time too; until I pulled out my special drop shot. It was something I wanted to show mom for a while. I wanted her to be proud of me but instead, she fainted.

She must've been weak because of all the exertion. No that wasn't it. She fainted because of something else. I could read it from uncle Yuuta's face.

Uncle Yuuta carried her to her room and went downstairs to fetch a glass of water. Meanwhile, she started talking in her sleep. "Te- Tezuka. Zero-shiki. Naoki"

That's when she woke up. On seeing me, she looked bewildered. Like she had just seen a ghost.

"Are you okay mom?" I asked and she grabbed me into a hug and consoled me as if I was the one who needed consoling.

Uncle Yuuta came in and seeing mom awake, he told me to go to my room. I walked out of mom's room, worried but I didn't go to my room. I was on my way to the living room where the laptop lay idle. Uncle Yuuta wouldn't be here for a while. It gave me enough time.

In her sleep, my mother had mentioned some 'tezuka' and 'zero-shiki' and then my name. I needed to know what she was talking about if I wanted to help.

I switched on the laptop praying nobody heard the startup sound. I quickly typed 'Tezuka zero-shiki' into the search engine and hit go. The results made me feel like I was hallucinating.

In the image results that popped up there was a man holding a U.S Open cup. The caption read 'Tezuka Kunimitsu at the U.S Open final" He was a complete replica of me except for his eyes. They were hazel brown. I erased the search history and logged out and raced to my room and shut the door. I settled to the floor trying to digest the bitter truth.

That man with the trophy. What if he wasn't a replica of me? What if I was a replica of him? The hair, the expression it was scary how alike we looked. I ran to the mirror staring into the brilliant blue eyes of the image. These eyes were my mother's so did that mean that the rest of me was a carbon copy of my father?

Was I the son of a tennis superstar? Why had mom hidden this fact from me? Why had she kept it a secret all this while? Had he abandoned us to become a star? I needed answers so I marched up to my mother's room but stopped short.

"I'll talk to him okay? Ask him where he learnt it. But you've got to be ready for it if he says he learnt it from Tezuka" said uncle Yuuta.

"Okay" replied mom.

I ran off to my room and a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

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