Epilogue

The Nationals…

Fuji's characteristic smile stretched into a wide grin. The sun was shining on the tennis courts, the birds were singing in the trees, he had teased Tezuka endlessly on the way to the courts (it took the edge of disappointment off the fact that he had had to take the public bus).

Life is good, and we made it to Nationals!

He couldn't resist a little laugh, causing Tezuka to give him an odd look as the Seigaku team made their way over to the courts they were designated to play in. "What's wrong, Teauka?" he asked playfully as he walked along the stoic captain's side.

"It's nothing." He laughed and continued on his spirited trek, holding a cheerful conversation with Eiji as he did so. The acrobat was happy to comply with his best friend's happy chatter. A sudden mewing, however, directed the boys' attention to something at their feet. A small white cat sat in front of them, looking up with the occasional flick of her ears. It was an awfully familiar cat, Fuji noted, as he knelt down so that he could better see the small creature.

"Seika! Seika!" Desperate voices were suddenly heard, and Kurumi and Narumi burst out into the path. "There you are!" the sixth graders exclaimed, swooping down to collect the feline. Seika took one look at them and darted behind Fuji, clawing her way up his tennis bag so that she could perch on top of it. "Seika!" Kurumi cried, glaring at the small bundle of fluff. "Get off of Syusuke-onii-chan's tennis bag!" For answer, Seika simply mewed.

"Hoi, hoi… aren't you Aa-chan's little sister?" Eiji asked brightly, popping up from behind Fuji. "Is Aa-chan here, today?"

"I think she's coming," Narumi said sweetly. Seika mewed again, her tail flicking from side to side as Fuji reached up and picked her up. The cat snuggled for a few moments before leaping down to the ground. "Good luck at your first match. Who are you playing against?"

"We're not until the later matches, but if everything goes well with the match between Higa Chuu and Rokkaku, then our opponents will be Rokkaku," Inui muttered into his notebook. They continued walking, with the twins waving goodbye as they left (placing Seika in a cat carrier lest she decided to go off and roam some more) for their other errands.

"It'd be nice to play against Rokkaku again," Fuji said brightly. "I'm looking forward to displaying a new counter of mine."

"I'm sorry I'm late!" They turned to find Miho running towards them, a digital camera clutched in her hand.

Eiji blinked. "Why do you have a camera?" he asked, pointing to the device.

Miho grinned. "Oh, this?" she asked, holding it up. "It's the Nationals! Of course I have to bring a camera! Besides, until Asa-chan gets here (if she can make it), I intend to take a bunch of pictures so she can see the matches!"

"Oh… I see…"

Miho chuckled, giving them a thumbs-up. "Do your best, ne? It's your dream to go to Nationals, so now that you're here, win it and become Japan's No. 1!"

"Of course!"

***

When Seigaku won the Nationals and indeed became Japan's No. 1, Miho couldn't quite say that she was surprised. After all, Seigaku was a team who worked tirelessly towards all of their dreams. Eiji bounced happily around her, a look of absolute bliss on his face, and she stopped him only when she couldn't take it anymore. "We won, we won!" he kept crowing, pumping his fist excitedly in the air. "Can you believe it?"

"Congratulations."

Eiji blinked, puzzled by the soft congrats, only to discover seconds later that it hadn't come from Miho. "Ah…! Aa-chan…!" he exclaimed. "You made it! Did you see Ochibi's match?" And he was off, his mouth moving at around 70 miles per hour as he recounted every shocking part of the matches against Seigaku and Rikkai Dai, taking care to put emphasis on Fuji's newest counter, Hoshi Hanabi. "We could really see stars!" he raved, but then shushed when he noticed Fuji's face having a light frown on it. "Nya, Fujiko-chan, why don't you look happy?" he inquired, "We won, didn't we?"

"I lost," he said flatly.

Eiji was puzzled, before realizing what he meant by those two words. "Oh! You mean that match against Shitenhoji's captain, Shiraishi, don't you?" he said, still cheerful. Fuji's expression darkened. "Cheer up, cheer up!" Eiji said brightly, patting his friend on the shoulder. "In the end, it all adds up!"

Fuji, true to his nature, was stubborn. "I lost," he continued, looking sulky.

"Ah… the semi-finals, was it? You were in Singles 3? I heard it on the radio," Asa mused. Fuji twitched, and then sighed. That was to be expected, wasn't it? This was a nationally ranked competition, after all. "But it was impressive," Asa continued with her musings. "You caught up from nothing to his 5 games, didn't you? As expected of Seigaku's tensai."

"And in the end, I still lost," Fuji glowered at the ground as he spoke, looking furious. If I remember correctly from Inui, he's never lost an official match before, Asa thought, beginning to look worriedly at her friend. He's taking it rather hard. But he looked perfectly fine during the last match with Rikkai.

"Are… you alright, Fuji-kun?" she offered up tentatively. "A loss once in a while isn't that bad, is it? Everyone loses once or twice…" I wonder… does that include Tezuka-kun? Conveniently, she had missed the match between Tezuka and Sanada, both in person and on the radio, otherwise she wouldn't be wondering about this.

"Maa… I guess the experts are right when they say that geniuses are fragile." This statement caught everyone's attention, and Fuji cocked his head to one side, looking like he was debating on whether to take offense at the phrase or to shrug it off like he would any other. "They're so used to being so high up that one slight dip sends them crashing to the ground."

"Saa… you're comparing me to a bird, now, Aa-chan?" Fuji asked, still trying to decide how he should properly react.

"Not quite; a bird will right itself up immediately and catch the next current upwards."

"Ah… so I'm worse then a bird?"

"You can't fly."

"True…"

Tezuka gave a light cough and they turned their attention to the stoic captain. "Don't let your guard down," he said sternly, "We may have passed this hurdle but there are many more to go." Asa simply assumed that he was referring to his teammates, so she moved herself backwards slightly, only to snap to rigid attention when he barked out her name. "Ijuuin! Where are you going?" He was frowning at her, looking clearly displeased.

"I thought you were talking to your teammates, so I was moving back to get out of the way," she offered lamely.

"Absolutely not," he growled. "Pay attention; this is very important."

"Ah… hai!" She was tempted to add 'buchou' after that and tried imagining his reaction to it, although she didn't for fear that he would be heartless enough to make her run laps. That would… not be pleasant. Tezuka-kun is acting slightly strange… maybe he's too happy about having won the Nationals?

If she had thought his behavior was slightly abnormal compared to his usual character, the next thing he uttered, that 'very important' thing that he had mentioned earlier, left her thoroughly baffled. "Take care of Fuji while he's in your care."

Maybe it's too hot. These boys have been running nonstop in the heat all day today. That's it. There is no other explanation. Maybe when they cool down Tezuka-kun will be back to the emotionless Tezuka-kun I know. She was frantically trying to reassure herself when Fuji butted into her thoughts.

"Is something bothering you?"

"They… he…" Wonderful, she was stuttering now. "He makes you sound like your dying of some terminal illness!"

"I am dying."

"Wha--?" It took her a while to register that he was joking, to which she pouted, looking furious. "Don't joke! It's not funny!" He must not have shared her thoughts, because he looked like this was the most amusing part of his day. To say the least, it was rather infuriating.

It was only with Taka-san's gentle reminders that they should get going now (Eiji and Momo happily invited themselves over to the Kawamura's restaurant for sushi… not that Taka objected, of course) and Asa being called back to her mother, who was standing next to a wheelchair looking dutifully worried for the well-being of her eldest child.

"Ne, Aa-chan. We'll come visit one day! Don't plan anything without running it by us this week, OK?" Fuji called out, smiling at her. She gave a small nod before being subjected to the acts of being pushed into the wheelchair and wrapped snuggly in a blanket, despite her protests of what a hot day it was (the issue in her mind was hoping that she didn't do anything strange like Tezuka had just done moments ago). "It's a date!" Fuji called out, loud enough for those left in the stadium to hear him. Inwardly, she cringed. Her mother looked ready to burst with either pride or tears. Which one it was, she couldn't tell.

Somehow… summer isn't as great as I thought it would be.

But in truth, she wouldn't have it any other way.

End...?

A/N: I just imagine Fuji as one of those guys who would get a kick out of scaring the living daylights out of half his friends (mainly Oishi) by saying he was dying of some terminal illness (who knows, it could be possible! The part where he does it just to scare them, that is.) It was rather fun to write. And why Tezuka was being strange? Feel free to come up with your own conclusions. Tell me them! I'd love to hear them (click the green review button. CLICK IT! XP)

The Epilogue... I've finally reached it! ^_^ But wait... there'll be more! I'm thinking of adding an omake (maybe two... if I add the cheese one. I should, shouldn't I? *pokes Teresa*) And, yes, there will be a sequel! Thank you to all my readers who have submitted reviews (more would be better, of course...) and to those who added Shine to their Favorites and Story Alerts. You don't know how happy it makes me to know that my stories are actually being read! *sniffles*

OK, sentimental-ness over. ;)

As always, read and review. Thank you lots!