A request from BibbieSparks

Chapter 6: Aches and pant size.

They're really tight. Trying to button up the jeans he bought last month, Fuji struggled with the opened pants zipper and button, trying to get the two to meet. He gave up a couple minutes later giving a loud exhale in frustration, sitting back on his bed after stripping the pants off his back giving out after just standing for about ten minutes with the tight jeans.

Everything felt so heavy and he couldn't even get up to school sometimes, making him miss the last of his class and almost failing his finals. At least the vomiting stopped, but sometimes he felt his throat gagging up on him during the mornings. Even just now he threw up before he put on the pants because he wanted to go out and buy some stuff for…everything in this apartment.

He hasn't been cleaning during the time when he felt sick and everything sort of pile up, especially the dirty clothes and the remains of the dishes in the kitchen sink. The plates that Oishi cooked for the two that time was washed but he used them again.

Staring at the fan above him, he replayed his head back to that night. He had confessed and he felt free but it was still bothering him for some reason that he couldn't place a finger on it. Oishi looked widely concerned and he could still remember the words that left his mouth.

"I was raped." A silence was overwhelmed into the kitchen's area. It seemed to Fuji that he thought Oishi didn't hear him right. He only did mumbled his sentence. He didn't know whether or not that Oishi would be pounding the confession out of him or to keep on waiting. The other's eyes were so sad and pitying, making Fuji swell into the feeling that he could have when he thought that he would have to deal it off by himself. The only thing that he didn't want to hear was Oishi's next question.

"Who did? Who did that to you?" His voice was caught in his throat and he could feel it sliding down back into his stomach, staying there dissolving the name of the person who did that to him. Should I tell or should I leave him anonymous? Struggling with the thoughts, Oishi could see that he needed to elude that topic for a while and decided to ask another question.

"Was it at that night on New Year's?"

"…Yes." Fuji decided not to say anything after that. If Oishi could figure out who it was just from remembering that night then he wouldn't need to say anything except for a confirmation.

Oishi thought back with his eyes closed and his finger playing with his chin, leaving the food to the cold. He didn't remember much from there since he was too busy handling Eiji with his drinking and fooling around with the other tennis players at that time. But he did remember Fuji with someone. Someone with dark hair…

"Was it Momo?" His eyes were wide as the plates with the food on top, making Fuji stare at him before burst out laughing. Him and Momo? He couldn't even imagine where it went wrong from there. He couldn't even remember the last time he laughed. It was happy like and it was interesting too. He had a hard time keeping to himself and lessening the chuckles before telling the other that he wasn't the one. Oishi was surprised at the laugh, it sound genuine and teasing.

"Oh…Hmmm…" He doesn't remember much that night. He didn't think that he wouldn't remember anything from that night but who would?

"Was it…someone we know?" Fuji froze a smile that was plastered on his face even after the comment about him and Momo together. He wouldn't know… There were a lot of people at that party, he probably wouldn't find out. If he did, he might never forgive that person.

"…Yes, he was." Looking at Oishi with wide eyes, he couldn't help but think about the dark spiky hair man with the almost as green colored eyes as Oishi, kneeling above him with only the look of want on his face.

Oishi didn't know what to say or think about that after Fuji admitted that it was someone they both knew from. He wasn't sure what he could say after that.

"How did you get home?"

"Took the cab. It was early in the morning when I left." The unbearable pain that was etched in his body remembered the feeling and it still leave Fuji to shiver when he thought about it.

"I see…."

The conversation ended there and they both tried to finish their food but they couldn't stomach down anything. Oishi left shortly after that, saying that he'll call Fuji when he gets back to his dorm. Fuji didn't need to tell him that he can't tell Eiji. He knew Eiji would be furious and pound the guy's name out of Fuji and then beat the guy up himself…with Momo and Taka anyway.

But when Oishi was about to leave, with his shoes already on and his hand at the doorknob, he looked back at Fuji who was leaning on the wall with a worried look. Curious at the look Oishi was giving him; Fuji got nervous and crossed his arms.

"Yes? Something wrong?" Oishi looked at him uncertainly; making Fuji wonder what else the other has on his mind.

"…If…if you see that person again… can you call me? Or tell me? I don't want you to do anything reckless."

"Heh, I'm not like Eiji…" But nodding slightly at him, Oishi gave out a mental sigh of relief and waved him a good bye as he opened the door to the light up darkness, leaving Fuji to think whether or not if he would see that person anyway. They were both in different cities after all. Inui being as smart as Fuji, went off to Shinjuku while Fuji stayed in Tokyo, it was still near to Tokyo but he never knew when that person would by just coming by from coincidence or some sort of gathering.

But if he did, he wasn't sure if he could keep that promise.

Getting up from the bad slowly, which was all he could now nowadays, before his back starts hurting and made him want to sleep in be all day. Going over to the small closet, he found sweatpants, the only pants that would fit him no matter what size he was. Putting them on, he looked down and found a small bump between his chest and his pelvis area. It wasn't really visible but to him, he was the only one who could probably see it.

Am I getting fat? It's probably from sleeping in too much and not doing anything in the house. Even Eiji want to get a leash and walk him like a dog so he could get some exercise when he sees him at home, coming over to babysit him. Fuji shook his head at the thought of being walked with a leash on his neck with Eiji beside him. People wouldn't stop staring if they did do something like that.

Walking out to the door with a jacket on, Fuji turned the knob of the door outside and had a whiff of spring air, the smell of the crisp and gentle wind with a hint of rain and lavender. The signs of winter was soon over and soon the cherry blossom festival will arrive.

Oishi and Eiji invited him to go along with them but he didn't really feel like up to it. The Seigaku team always went every year. It was probably more horrifying that there was a chance that they're going to bump each other. Knowing the team players well, they always seem to find each other no matter where they went. That includes the other players and rivals from the different schools they would find. This year, he wasn't sure he wanted to go or not, especially when Eiji was bugging him all day during his visit, whining over to him and complaining who would pay for him for his food and games when Oishi runs out of money. He was kidding about it though when he saw Fuji's scary and irritated face.

The times when Oishi came over though, Oishi only asked a few questions every time he was with him though they were nothing bad, just…sensitive. He asked him once how they got into the room and Fuji couldn't answer, thinking that he would be spilling everything to talk.

The supermarket wasn't close by but Fuji decided it was better for him to try and enjoy the walk even though his back was hurting and he wanted to lie down in bed and just sleep the pain away. But even though the tensai added ointment and every possible thing that would relieve the pain, the aching back wouldn't stop being sore. Fuji wondered if his back would get tired of being sore.

I should probably get some patches then… Eiji said they were really good to use but why am I using him as reference? Obviously from all the visits and babysitting, Eiji have gotten to be an influence on him without having to know it. Seeing the market at the distance, he tried to walk a little faster but it only started to make his legs ache. What is all with this aching? It was starting to pissed him off and he started to stomp on his way over to the place, just making his lags twinge with pain even more and not noticing the other people who were staring at him weirdly.

The doors slided open when he got near and he grabbed the red wire basket near the entrance, not caring whether or not there was leftover items in it or whether or not it was dirty. Looking for the familiar aisles where the vegetables and fresh foods, he found himself in the canned foods aisles instead. Looking through the shelves, he found canned radishes, peaches, tomatoes, peas, carrots, cranberries… Cranberries...He did have a craving for cranberries just two days ago and now he wanted some with lemon cake with chocolate fillings. It didn't occur to him that it would seem strange that he was craving for the weirdest foods since he enjoyed Inui's strange drinks and everything.

He took a couple of cans and looked at the pasta section next and thought that spaghetti would go well with the sauce and just decided to take some. It would probably only last a day so he had to find some more food or else he's going to starve. There's also some cleaning supplies and other things he needed to buy and that was going to be a lot of baggage. He was going to have to come back tomorrow then…

Glancing around at the aisles, he passed by the candied and the drinks area. There wasn't anything there that he wanted or what he was craving. There was the cold delicacies though, but the meat's scent was overwhelming, Fuji had to find a place to get away or he was going to feel sick in the stomach again.

He found himself at the cold food section where he saw ice creams and the frozen meat which turned his stomach inside out from looking at the bloodied packages of meat and bones together. His reflection at the glass of the doors made his face turn pale and greenish, making him walk off with the basket in his arm to another direction. Fuji swore at the food and wonder why he couldn't just have someone deliver the foods to his apartment instead of walking all the way to the market. Looking at where he was now, he found himself at the packaged aisle.

Colorful bags of packaged noodles and snacks were displayed messily at the aisles, probably from some little kids from after school that were bored from waiting for their parents to buy the groceries for dinner. It would have been nice if his sister and his mom was here with him. He didn't tell them anything. He didn't want them to worry like Oishi and Eiji. They would be worse than those two, he thought horribly. He rubbed his temples just from thinking about them; they wouldn't be staying for just one or two hours, they would be sleeping over or even following wherever he went.

"Fuji sempai?" Hearing familiar voice, the brunette turned and found dark green hair at his eye level. Wondering why he only saw hair and not skin, Fuji looked down and found golden eyes boring into his and was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Oh, Echizen." Quirking an eyebrow, he was holding a basket of his own with nothing but snacks, cat food and a case of Ponta grape juice. As expected of him. There was nothing else he loved than grape juice. Fuji thought he got over it already but it looked like he didn't. His other hand was on his hips, underneath the wool blue jacket he has.

"What are you doing here, Fuji sempai?" The same snarky attitude hasn't changed a bit. Fuji had to smile at that, at least some were still the same people since middle school. He thought that being with Atobe more was giving him the influence.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Fuji smiled at the younger pro tennis player while walking slowly down the aisle. His stomach was hurling and twisting, almost about to collapse on the floor but didn't lose the composure. If Echizen finds out…

"Well…it looks like you're just avoiding a lot of places, mostly the meat section. Why?" Jabbing a thumb behind him where the section was, Fuji wasn't surprised from his observation and sharp eyes. He was right about the avoiding the meat places but he doesn't know what to say about it.

"I just don't like smelling the meat over there." Fuji smiled the smile he always gave out and just continued walking, the small man beside him.

"Besides, how are you and Atobe?" Ryoma gave out a frown and then a face.

"He's being a monkey, that's all." He grumbled while swinging the basket to the other arm. It seems that he and Atobe are having some problems…just like how a real couple are. It made Fuji a little envious that Ryoma has a relationship that he could have ups and downs with someone that he loves. How much they could be able to give out the warmth of another person's body without any negative feelings or any sort of bad things inside that the person won't have to feel when he's next to the other.

"Really? What did he do now?" He doesn't even know what they do. All they ever did was complain to each other in public and then make out in front of others. Really, Fuji doesn't even understand why those two were together in the first place. But Ryoma seemed to not be listening to him as he grumbled some curse about the other under his breath.

Passing out from the aisle, Fuji thought that maybe he should get some vegetables for health but he thought it was a pain to go over to the other side when he was just over there near the entrance. But his conscience told him to go over there and grab some or else he would regret it. I'll just buy the cleaning supplies tomorrow. Oishi's coming by so I can ask him if he could bring some supplies. Walking slowly to the aisle, Ryoma thought it was weird for the tall man to get over to his destination slowly, but he didn't question it. He feared that something would happen even if he did ask.

Finally getting over to the large section of greens and health, his heels were hurting underneath his soles; Fuji took a whiff at the section and thought it was fine until he got over to where the onions and garlic were. He had to hold his breath while going through the place without holding his nose or else Ryoma and other people would see and he would be stared at.

After what it seemed like hours of staring and being picky of deciding of what to choose, Fuji decided on broccoli tips and some peas that he could use for soup. But for the soup, he had to grab an onion which he thought to ask the smaller man who had been following him with a confused and curious face expression.

"Sorry Echizen, did you want to get going?" Looking down at the younger man, Ryoma made a blank face.

"I don't have anywhere to go. Besides, the monkey king won't even come to a place like this here." That's true. He wouldn't come to a commoner's place like this even if it had to be the last place he has to go to. Fuji chuckled at that; as if he would see the great Atobe shopping here, he would have stayed here for an entire day until he gets what he wants. Plus, with him being picky, it will make things even worse.

Just when Fuji was at the cashier, he heard a voice behind him that wasn't Ryoma's and gave an intensely cold shiver down his spine.

"Oh…What are you two doing here?" Fuji holding his breath and had to turn around as Ryoma replied to the one behind them.

"Oh, Inui sempai."