Disclaimers: I don't own Prince of Tennis. I don't own the characters. I only own the plot of this story and the few OCs scattered about.

I also don't share Fuji's opinion on a certain profession that is compared to prostitution in this chapter. Please don't send me angry emails. That is not my personal opinion, but I apologize beforehand if I offend anyone.

All characters in this story are over the age of 18.

Chapter three: Reasoning isn't always logical

Monday, June 21, 2010
Approximately one month prior.

It was about two weeks after the fateful family dinner—in which he discovered Yuuta's relationship with the man known as Mizuki Hajime—that he got the phone call. Fuji glanced down at the screen of his cell phone with mild irritation. He didn't recognize the number and he wasn't sure he wanted to pick it up. Deciding to let his voicemail deal with it, his eyes turned back to the book he was reading.

He scanned the page, his eyes searching for the paragraph he left off on. The ringing had made him lose track of where he was. Familiar words filled his vision as he scanned; he'd read this particular book more times than he could count.

He'd only just found his place when his phone started ringing again. A glance down confirmed that it was the same number. He sighed and placed his bookmark between the pages. He then gently closed the volume and reached for the disturbance.

"Hello?"

"Is this Fuji Syusuke-san?" A fluid masculine voice filled his ear.

"May I ask who's speaking?" His voice may have been a little harsher than it was normally. He'd only answered because he wondered if it was someone he knew calling him from a different number.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "This is Fuji Syusuke-san, then?"

"Yes, this is him," Fuji confirmed belatedly.

"This is Iida Yuujiro from Shining Stars." The man answered as if this explained everything.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not sure—"

"No," he cut Fuji off rudely. "We know you don't know of us. We're a male modeling company prepared to offer you a large sum of money to sign with—"

"I'm not interested." Fuji returned the favor of cutting the other off. He wanted this stopped before the man started his spiel.

A sound of disbelief reached Fuji's ears. "Sir, this is quite a good opportunity. If you would like to come in and tour our facilities...?" He left it as a question.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm still not interested." Fuji was getting annoyed with this man. He was a tennis player, not a model. He didn't want to subject himself to that sort of thing. Getting paid to show off your body was too close to prostitution for his liking.

Undeterred, the man continued. "Are you sure? We're prepared to pay a generous amount if you'd just—"

"I believe I said that I'm not interested and, if you don't mind, I'd like to hang up now." He explained to the other man, his voice now cold. He could admire the guy's persistence on some level, but he'd turned him down several times now. One would think that he'd get the idea.

"Yes, yes. If you ever change your mind..."

"I won't, but thank you." He tapped the "end call" button. How did the company even get his number? His mind started working. Perhaps someone he had worked with in the past had given it out? No, nobody he knew would do something like that.

He sighed. He supposed it didn't really matter how they got it, only that they left him alone now that they knew he wasn't interested in their offer. No amount of money was going to change his mind. He was a student first and a tennis player second. He had no place in his life for this kind of thing.

He shut off the ringer and turned back to his book, but he couldn't seem to concentrate now that he was interrupted so effectively. He let out an annoyed sound and set the book on his headboard; he'd get back to it later when he was in a better mood. Maybe he'd head down the hall to the common room. Eiji was sure to be there. He could always tease him for a bit. That would cheer him up. He smiled at the thought and exited the dorm he shared with Tezuka.

oXo

Over the next week, the company called at least twice a day. Fuji answered for the first few days of this treatment to remind them that, no, he still wasn't interested and, yes, he was quite sure. He was amazed at how fast the dollar amount offered went up, but nothing would make him sign a contract with those people. He was not a person so easily persuaded; they couldn't bribe him into doing what they wanted.

Eventually, Fuji got tired of rejecting them and stopped answering altogether. That's when the offers in the mail started. Two of these came on separate occasions, both of which went unopened. He wrote "return to sender" on each and placed them in the public mailbox at the entrance of the dorm buildings.

After the second offer was sent back, they stopped contacting him. Fuji was confident the ordeal was over. They couldn't harass him forever, after all.

It was three days after he mailed back the second offer that he got a phone call from his younger brother. That alone was surprising. Although their relationship had improved dramatically over the years, the boy still longed to be independent of his older brother and rarely contacted him unless it was absolutely necessary.

Yuuta informed him that he had been getting cryptic messages in the mail. There was no return address, so they had to have been placed directly in his mailbox by the offender.

"At first it was just weird, you know?" Yuuta explained. "But now I'm a little creeped out."

"What do the messages say? How many and how often?" Fuji tried to suppress the mild panic in his voice, but he wasn't sure if he was successful. He knew he tended to over-react when it came to Yuuta, but he really couldn't help it. He loved his brother.

"Slow down, Sherlock," his brother chastised. Fuji felt a brief twinge of annoyance at his younger brother criticizing him, but it quickly passed and made way for amusement. "Four have come so far: one today and one each of the last three days."

"What do they say?" Fuji grabbed a notebook and pen and wrote down what information he had. A passing thought reminded him that this was usually Inui's thing, but he brushed it aside. He wanted to be able to keep the details straight later.

"They all say the same thing except for the one that came today. 'It's not a secret; we all know.' Weird, right? It freaked me out. I wasn't even sure they were supposed to be to me until...until today." Yuuta's voice broke up a little toward the end.

"Yuuta?" Fuji encouraged gently.

"Ah. Sorry. I'm sorry to bother you with all this. Don't worry about me. I'm okay. Actually, I'm sure it's nothing, after all." His voice was fast and urgent, his volume had dropped dramatically.

"Don't hang up, Yuuta!" Yuuta was not going to dismiss this as nothing. With his reactions, Fuji really wanted to know what was in today's message.

"I..." Fuji heard his brother take a sharp breath and whisper something to an unseen person.

"Is someone there with you?"

"My girlfriend. You remember her, right?" Yuuta put a little too much emphasis on the word "girlfriend," but Fuji didn't question it. "Don't worry about this, aniki. I'll take care of it."

"You don't want her to know, is that it?" Some of the missing details started falling into place. Yuuta was upset and wanted to talk, but he didn't want the girl to worry. That was understandable.

"No, it's not that." Yuuta threw his careful pondering out the window with that. "I'll call you before I go to bed, okay?"

"Oh. Please remember to call me, okay?"

"Right."

"I love you, Yuuta," he said teasingly. Fuji smiled at the sputtering he heard on the other end. His brother was too cute. "Take care."

"I...Uh. Yeah. Bye!" He heard another whispered exchange and then the line went dead.

"Hmm," he wondered aloud. He glanced over his notes again and waited for Yuuta's call.

It finally came about half-past 10pm. "Aniki?"

"It's me. How'd your date go?"

He heard the blush in Yuuta's voice when he responded. "Don't ask things like that. And it wasn't a date! I was just helping her with some studying."

"Oh? Alone, in your dorm?" he teased again.

"No!" His voice was outraged and Fuji couldn't help but chuckle. "Mizuki-san was here! He still is, actually."

"...What was in today's message, Yuuta?" Pointedly ignoring the last pieces of information, Fuji got the topic back on track.

There was whispering that he couldn't quite make out before Yuuta responded. 'Hm? A lovers' spat?'

"There was a picture in this one. One of Mizuki-san and I…." He trailed off, but Fuji could figure out the rest.

"Where were you two?

"Oh. We had a…we were on a…." He couldn't seem to be able to get the words out. Fuji stifled a laugh by biting his lower lip. The poor boy. "Mizuki-san! He's not going to want to—"

"We were on a date." Mizuki's cool voice, talking over Yuuta's, flowed over the line (much to Fuji's irritation). "We went to the park for a picnic. Nfu. You should see your brother. His face is bright enough to light a room, dear rival of mine."

"Rival?" Fuji laughed. "Mm, if that's what helps you sleep at night."

Mizuki's trademark nefarious chuckle met his ears. "But we are rivals, you see? We're rivals for Yuuta's affection. Haven't you noticed?"

If looks could kill, the glare that Fuji shot at his phone in that moment would have been enough to convict him of mass homicide. "Tell me, Mizuki. What have you been doing to help Yuuta through this crisis? It can't have been much if he came to me." Silence followed his words, and then Yuuta's voice was back on the line.

"Aniki, what did you say to Mizuki-san? He handed me the phone and walked out the door."

"Mm. So you were seen with him in public? This could be troublesome, Yuuta." Again, he pointedly directed the conversation away from the other man.

"You'll have to acknowledge him one day, you know." Yuuta's voice was quiet.

"Is he the one you're marrying, then?" Fuji winced after the careless words. He hadn't meant to go that far. Honestly, he didn't hate Mizuki. Any ill feelings he might have harbored for the man originally had disappeared long ago. Mizuki took care of his brother all those years when Fuji couldn't; and he could see that Mizuki genuinely loved Yuuta. That was not something that Fuji could hate. He enjoyed teasing the curly-top, that's all. Making him angry and watching him react was greatly amusing to Fuji. There was also the fact that Mizuki knew just the right ways to rub Fuji the wrong way.

"That was too far, aniki." Yuuta's tone wasn't even angry. He sounded depressed.

"Yuuta, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to—"

"Do you really dislike him that much? Do you really hate him so much that you have to remind me of her whenever we talk? That you have to remind me we can't be together officially because of her? Do you?" His volume increased with every question.

"Yuuta, please calm down. I didn't mean what I said. I was careless with my words." Fuji's attempts at placating his brother were only mildly successful.

"You always do that! You piss me off and then you apologize so sweetly. I hate that! One of these days, you're going to really mess up, aniki. You're going to really mess up and you won't be able to fix it."

Fuji sighed. "Yuuta, I apologized already. Can we please get back to the problem you're having?" He ignored Yuuta's personal attack. It would do no good to argue with him while he was in this mood. Especially seeing as he was the one who put him there.

"Fine. You're sorry; I get it." There was a long pause. Fuji heard a door open and close. He wasn't sure if Yuuta had left his room or if Mizuki had come back in. "Don't worry about me. I don't want your help after all. I can figure this out myself."

Fuji bit his tongue to keep himself from reacting. Honestly, Yuuta was so childish sometimes.

"You still there? I said I don't want your help," he repeated. As if Fuji hadn't heard!

"I'm here. Perhaps your kept man—excuse me—Mizuki can be of more assistance."

"Aniki!" Fuji had to hold the phone away from his ear. Yuuta was shouting at him again. That was nothing new. Fuji felt a small smile creep onto his lips. At least Yuuta was back to his usual self. He never wanted to hear him that depressed again.

When he'd finally calmed down, the two men said their good-nights and hung up.

oXo

It was days before he heard from Yuuta again.

Tezuka had just left their dorm when Fuji heard a knock on the door. He looked up from the small desk at which he was studying and gave the person permission to enter. His curious expression turned to one of surprise, then sympathy. Yuuta was crying. He was trying to hide it, but it wasn't a very successful attempt.

He hurried to the younger man, knocking his chair backward as he stood. "Yuuta! What's happened?"

A small noise came from Yuuta's throat. He took a few steps into the sardine can that was Fuji's dormitory and collapsed into Tezuka's desk chair. Fuji quickly shut the door behind him and righted his own chair to sit across from his brother.

He didn't say anything to Yuuta, nor did he offer physical comfort. Yuuta wouldn't have taken it. He sat there calmly and allowed his brother to cry in peace. He would talk when he was ready.

"Aniki?" After a few moments, he spoke. His voice was thick from crying and the tears flowed faster after speaking. He took a few deep, steadying breaths and tried again. "Aniki, I'm in trouble." He met Fuji's gaze slowly, then averted his eyes. "Don't…don't freak out, okay? Or get mad at me. Please? I don't even know why I'm here, but…."

"Tell me what's happened, Yuuta." Fuji's voice was as gentle as it always was; his smile was set firmly in place.

"Right, right." He sniffled a little and looked at his feet. His face was flushed a bright red. He seemed to be embarrassed that his older brother (or anyone, really) had to see him in this state. "I got a phone call. They're blackmailing me, aniki."

Fuji's eyes flashed a dangerous blue. He really hoped that the assumptions that just flashed through his mind were wrong. "Who?" His voice was still calm, gentle, but his expression told another story entirely.

"This damn modeling company! Isn't that the dumbest thing you've ever heard?" Yuuta rose from the chair in his anger.

Fuji took a moment to calm himself before he spoke. "Tell me exactly what happened, Yuuta."

His brother sighed and seated himself. "They called me the day after we…after you and I…," he struggled for words in his frustration. "The day after we had that argument. They called me. 'Fuji Yuuta, we need you to work for us or we're going public with the fact that you're gay.' Honestly, why do they even care about blackmailing me? Isn't that stupid? I mean…I'm not famous or anything. Why the hell would they want me. They should be—"

"Yuuta," Fuji interrupted his brother's rant. "Who called you?" His voice no longer sounded gentle to him. He was angry. He knew who called his brother. He knew who was doing this to him. He even knew why. He understood what was going on, but he didn't have to like it.

"'Shining Stars,' the guy said. Such a stupid name."

'His anger allowed him to conquer his tears,' Fuji figured. 'But that doesn't explain why he was so upset in the first place. Yuuta wouldn't cry over such a little thing.'

"Blackmail, huh? Your girlfriend would leave you. Our parents would be very displeased since they had planned on the two of you marrying eventually. Aneki wouldn't be very happy, either. She liked the two of you together. And I 'wouldn't approve' because of who you're 'gay' with." He made sure Yuuta knew that the chosen words weren't his by making air quotes. "They know you don't like disappointing your family. Hm. They did their research."

"Do you have a point?" Yuuta's voice was hard, his mouth tightly set. Other than that, he didn't get much of a reaction. 'Strange. I wonder what he's hiding.'

"No, not really." Fuji's smile was back.

Yuuta sighed loudly. Fuji knew it was mostly for his benefit. "Look, I came here because I wasn't sure where else to go. If you're not going to help, then I'll just leave."

"No. I'll take care of it."

Suddenly suspicious, his brother narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean you'll 'take care of it?'?"

"Don't worry about it, Yuuta." His usual expression placed carefully on his face, he dismissed Yuuta's worries.

"I want to know what you're planning. Is this going to get us in trouble?"

"Don't worry about it. Nobody will be bothering you again." He stood and placed his hand on Yuuta's head playfully which his younger sibling quickly shook off in annoyance.

"I'm not a dog! Don't do things like that."

"You're cute like a puppy." Fuji bit back a chuckle at Yuuta's expression.

"You know what? I'm getting out of here. You're so weird."

Fuji was glad that things were back to normal. "Mm. Talk to you later. Take care, Yuuta."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. See you."

Fuji called Shining Stars immediately after Yuuta left. He spoke with an Iida Yuujiro. He gave his terms and they were agreed to. The next day, he took a bus into town and signed a contract. And that is the event that sent him spiraling down a path on which he never wanted to tread.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed! ^^ I decided to release this in-between chapters two and four because it's only about half the length that my chapters normally are.

Anonymous replies:

1: I reply to all of my reviewers. ^^ I look at it this way: if you all can take the time to write a little something about my piece, the least I can do is thank you.

Yes, I agree with that (reading fanfiction based on the writing, not the pairing). A lot of the pairings I ship now are a result of good writers introducing them to me (YuuMi included). I'll be writing more of Yuuta and Mizuki in the future. Probably not in this story as they're not the focus, but I love their dynamic. ^^

Blaaaaaaahh: I have a regular update schedule for this story, although I appreciate your enthusiasm. ^^