Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, nor do I own the song "Baby" by Justin Bieber. I do own Aiden and Tyler :D
Warning: Justin Bieber song present. For those of you who don't like him...please, it's not that huge of a section, it's just necessary for this chapter. No actual singing, right?
Enjoy!
Verse 8 - Dancing
Tezuka was enjoying himself immensely. He couldn't remember feeling so relaxed around anyone since Fuji left, except for the old Seigaku Regulars. And he hadn't seen most of them after starting on his MBA program.
Fuji was still everything he remembered and more: charming, witty, funny, evil, mysterious, pleasant, sarcastic, evil, crazy, weird, annoying, evil, and some other adjectives that Tezuka couldn't think of at the moment. Fuji still enjoyed knowing that Tezuka was uncomfortable (in a friendly way) around him, and loved teasing him. He was probably still making up for lost time, Tezuka mused.
Of course, he tried not to be too obvious about his elation, but Fuji could usually read him like an open book. And though Fuji's teasing was downright the most irritating thing on the face of the earth, Tezuka realized he'd missed that about Fuji the most.
And he knew that Fuji knew almost every thought that was running through his head. It was disconcerting, to say the least, but there was a reason Fuji was a tensai. Tezuka still wondered how Fuji simply seemed to know things he really shouldn't.
"Ne, Tezuka, you like dancing right?" Fuji's tone was overly friendly.
Tezuka gave Fuji a blank stare that he knew would correctly be interpreted as saying 'are you serious?'
"So, I'm sure Aiden has told you we have plans for tonight. We're going…"
Fuji paused for dramatic effect. Tezuka simply raised an eyebrow.
"…dancing!"
Tezuka had yet to see how this related to him at all.
"And you're coming with us." Fuji offered Tezuka a sheepish grin, which really didn't look any different from his usual smile.
"No." Tezuka knew before he had even uttered the word that he was fighting a losing battle and Fuji would win. That didn't mean he was going down without a fight.
Fuji's already evil looking smile widened. "But you know you want to."
"No."
And it widened some more. "I'm taking you with me, and you will dance."
"No."
Didn't Fuji have any facial muscles? And, if he did, didn't they stop contracting at some point in time? "Tezuka…"
"No."
For such an angelic looking boy, Fuji sure did a wonderful impression of a shark with multiple rows of sharp, pointy, glistening teeth. "Great! So we're leaving in a half hour. We have to get you dressed!"
He'd lost. Tezuka sighed internally. He knew that his fight had been extremely poor. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd actually said "no" to something Fuji wanted to make him do.
Fuji dragged Tezuka out of the living room and back to his own room, all the while chatting away about how much fun dancing was going to be, how Tezuka really needed to just loosen up sometimes, and how they were going to meet an old friend again…and some other stuff. Tezuka honestly stopped paying attention, and instead just focused on not getting lost in the house.
"Come on in!" Fuji's soft, chirpy voice finally broke through his reverie, and Tezuka walked into where he had been earlier that morning. He successfully blocked any thoughts or images that may have made their way into his head about what happened and focused on describing the room instead.
For the first time, Tezuka noticed the number of stuffed toys in the room. It reminded him of Kikumaru's place when he was younger. The redhead had grown out of that phase, but still liked to keep one or two stuffed animals around.
But, Fuji's (and Aiden's) room was full of stuffed toys, everywhere, just like a little kids room (except, more organized). There were all kinds – from small little kittens and puppies to giant sized koala bears and giraffes.
It was a bit sickening. Leave it to Fuji to like stuffed toys. But the boy had never really liked them before, had he?
"This way, Tezuka. I'm sure you'll fit into some of Aiden's clothes. You two are about the same size."
Tezuka once again followed Fuji towards one of the closets, and they entered.
It was huge.
It was probably about the size of the actual room itself (Tezuka wondered why someone needed a closet that big). There were carefully labeled and grouped sections for shoes of different styles and brands; shirts were separated by occasion, color, brand, style, and frequency of use, as were all pants, jeans and trousers. There was even an accessory section (separated into hats, sunglasses, bracelets, etc. in the same fashion as the other sections).
Fuji immediately walked over to the section labeled dancing and then gestured to Tezuka to join him.
Tezuka had a strange urge to leave the house and never come back. He had a feeling that Fuji looking for something to put on him would last forever and be very tedious – even if they only did have a half hour. Tezuka vaguely wondered whether he should point out that Fuji needed to get dressed too. It wouldn't work, he realized. Knowing Fuji, he was completely prepared for their little and harmless outing.
Every few seconds, Fuji would look from the clothes to Tezuka, then back to the clothes. He looked like he was having a very difficult time deciding what Tezuka needed to wear. He'd grab something off the racks every now and then; more often than not, he'd put it back. Finally, Fuji turned back to Tezuka holding on to about ten different shirts and seven pants, which were mostly jeans, but Tezuka swore he saw leather amongst the pile.
"Change into these one by one. I'll pick out the shoes after you're done."
Fuji stared at Tezuka expectantly, and Tezuka stared back. Then he belatedly realized that Fuji was waiting for him to change.
He hadn't expected Fuji to be in the same room with him.
That's stupid, he told himself. He'd changed multiple times with Fuji in the same room, with Fuji outright staring at him, and hadn't felt embarrassed. So why was his throat completely dry now?
To distract himself, Tezuka looked at the clothes.
"No."
Fuji chuckled.
Most of the shirts were either extremely tight – around Fuji's size, actually – or completely see-through. Or, as was the case with a reddish one, both. The pants, though not see-through looked like they were at least two sizes smaller than Tezuka.
"Why not?"
"Fuji…" Tezuka warned. His buchou air was coming off of him in waves, just daring Fuji to disobey. Fuji had always been pretty daring, though.
"These are perfect for dancing! You would look great in them!" Fuji argued.
Tezuka sighed, and tried reasoning with Fuji. They continued for about ten minutes before Fuji finally decided that Tezuka could wear an undershirt and bigger, more comfortable jeans. Tezuka still wasn't happy, but he wasn't about to let go of the best compromise he would get out of the tensai.
Tezuka had honestly expected Fuji to stay and watch him change, and was thus surprised when Fuji simply handed him Aiden's clothes and strolled over to his own closet.
"We have fifteen minutes, Tezuka. There's a bathroom attached to the closet if you want to take a shower. Hurry."
Tezuka, after his quick shower, changed into the distasteful clothes. How could people actually stand wearing this stuff?
However, as he looked himself over in the mirror, he had to admit, he did look good. A light lavender see-though shirt accentuated his bodice very nicely, the undershirt only adding modesty and mystery. His black jeans weren't skin tight, thankfully, but barely seemed to hang on to his hips. After a while, he figured out how to move in them so that squeeze the wrong bits of flesh and didn't fall off his waist. A lightly worn looking pair of Converse finished off his outfit in a simple, but not trashy, manner.
Tezuka looked sexy.
"Ready to go?"
Fuji's soft voice called out to Tezuka and the two headed out.
Tezuka stared openly at Fuji.
What was he wearing?
Fuji did not look modest in any definition of the word.
His light blue and white striped full-sleeve was also see-through (though not as that of Tezuka's) and he went without an undershirt. The collars were daintily done, and had little buttons attached to them – one had a winking face on it while the other said "let's go at it." His jeans were obviously too tight, but he still looked perfectly comfortable. On one ear, he had a silver crucifix, with a black snake around it, attached, and Tezuka realized that both of his ears were pierced. His hair was pulled back by a simple clip, leaving his bangs hanging out front and giving him a very feminine look – if only it were so painfully obvious that he was a guy from his almost bare, deliciously muscular chest.
If Tezuka looked sexy, Fuji looked absolutely delectable.
That's what Tezuka thought, until Fuji started walking in front of him. For some strange reason, he could not, for the life of him, remove his eyes from Fuji's ass, which screamed "fuck me right now", if Tezuka's word was anything to go by. It was probably the jeans, he surmised.
"See anything you like?" Fuji asked, his voice sounding just a bit deeper than usual. How Fuji knew Tezuka was staring, Tezuka could only guess.
"…Eh?" Tezuka snapped out of staring at Fuji and tried to get his brain to function again.
Fuji chuckled merrily and the two were off to "the usual place", as Fuji had told him.
Fuji drove. Fuji was a very good driver, better than Tezuka himself.
Tezuka wondered why he was a bit surprised that Fuji was good at driving – after all, the tensai was good at pretty much everything, a trait Tezuka envied with a passion.
"We're here. Do you have an ID with you?"
"Yes." Tezuka pulled his out and they both flashed it at the guard waiting outside. There was a line, but the guard seemed to recognize Fuji and ushered the two in immediately.
The place wasn't that full. It had the perfect amount of people not to seem empty, but didn't seem like a crowd either. The lighting was very dim, and if it weren't for the random bits of color that popped up every few seconds, it would've been pitch black. What Tezuka figured was popular music flowed from the giant speakers, the deep bass vibrating throughout the room, and through his body. Many couples – both straight and homosexual – were dancing openly on the middle of the floor.
He saw Aiden speaking with who he assumed to be the DJ.
The bar – which had brighter lighting – was busy with a range of people from innocently flirting to completely stoned.
Tyler, Atobe and Sakuno were sitting at one of the secluded booths, Tezuka noted. He followed Fuji to them and they both greeted the others. Fuji took a seat next to Sakuno, and Tezuka filed in beside Atobe (though still keeping his distance).
"The others are going to be here soon. Yukimura-san and Sanada-san are supposed to meet our guests and they'll come together." Sakuno was practically screaming, but she hadn't been, no one would've heard her.
Time passed, and they ordered drinks. Tyler, Sakuno, and Atobe all ordered some fancy sounding alcoholic drinks with strange names, while Tezuka and Fuji simply got tea. The two were made fun of for being old men. "Seriously. Who drinks tea at a night club?" was Tyler's question.
When Yukimura and Sanada finally arrived, Tezuka finally got to meet another two people that he'd probably be hanging out with that night.
Then, he realized he already knew one of them, and the other looked vaguely familiar.
"Buchou," spoke the quiet voice against the background music.
Tezuka's protégé, Echizen Ryoma, stood tall and proud in front of them in full night club gear. His looks could rival Fuji's, yet Tezuka wondered why his own reaction to the boy wasn't as strong. 'Probably because he's still a kid to me,' he told himself.
Echizen had grown taller, much taller, than what Tezuka remembered. He now stood just as tall as Yukimura – about an inch shorter than Fuji. Apparently, his growth spurt had finally hit during his senior year at Seigaku's high school division, but, by then, Tezuka was already too busy with college. Echizen had then gone off to become a pro in the tennis world and had met with huge success. Last Tezuka had heard, Echizen was taking courses at some two-year college so he could earn a degree. He'd gone back to the pros after that.
"Echizen," Tezuka acknowledged, standing up and shaking the boy's hand. It had been six years, he reminded himself again. The familiar smirk, cocky attitude, and Fila cap were all there in their usual places.
Next to Echizen stood a blonde boy of equal height and the same age, Tezuka presumed. Striking blue eyes sparkled in the club's light while a pair of sunglasses rested on top of his head. Tezuka supposed they were there to make the boy look cool.
"To those of you who don't know, this is Kevin Smith. He used rival us in the Japan-America tournaments, from junior high throughout high school."
Ah. Now Tezuka remembered the boy. He had turned down going pro, last Tezuka had heard.
"Nice to meet y'all." Kevin smirked – apparently he hadn't changed much either.
The four newcomers sat down at their large booth and started chatting. It was mostly Fuji and Echizen talking in what sounded like some secret code, and then Echizen turning his attention to Sakuno, Tyler, Yukimura and "Monkey King". Echizen didn't seem at all surprised to see Sakuno – so they had had contact before. Tezuka remained silent unless a question was directed at him, and Sanada did the same.
When Aiden came to join them, the music changed. He held out his hand elegantly, and Fuji stood up.
"Ah, the usual dance competition." Tyler smiled knowingly, and pulled Sakuno out to dance as well.
There was silence for a moment as the DJ called the attention of the club. "We're going to have our monthly dance competition! Tonight, we have last month's champion, Shusuke Fuji, and the runner up, Aiden Clanes!"
The DJ paused while multiple people cheered.
"Everyone who wants to give it a try, please get on the dance floor." He paused once again and there was shuffling and some people walked up to the dance floor. Yukimura looked like he really wanted to go up there. "Alright, is that everyone? Then, what are we waiting for? Let's start the party!"
Surprisingly, there was a lot of order to the way the people danced. Groups of two or three would go up every few minutes or so and dance their best. Some did break dancing while others merely flailed about the dance floor. The winner was supposed to be decided by the amount of cheering they got.
And then, it was Fuji and Aiden's turn.
The DJ introduced the song as "Low" by Flo Rida, specially requested by Aiden.
Aiden went first. Just from the way he walked up to the center of the floor, Tezuka could tell he was an expert break dancer. As soon as the music started, Aiden was on the floor, most certainly not flailing around, but moving with grace that only years of practice provided, with a lot of careful choreography. He'd twist his body at impossible angles and slid around on the floor, every now and then showing off an obvious challenge to his fiancé. Sometimes, he'd be elevated in the air, other times, he'd be upside down, yet others, he would be on all fours on the floor. It was exciting to watch Aiden dance.
Once he finished, the club erupted with screams and cheers, the loudest yet. He wondered if Fuji could beat that.
Tezuka's question was quickly answered.
The DJ once again introduced a song, this one requested by Fuji, called "Baby" by Justin Bieber.
Fuji seemed to magically pop up on the stage once the verses started.
You know you love me
I know you care
Just shout whenever
And I'll be there
You are my love
You are my heart
And we will never, ever, ever be apart
The way Fuji's body moved was completely fluid – he made dancing like that look easy and completely natural. He obviously knew the song well, and each step seemed to tell a story, different from the one in the song.
Are we an item?
Girl quit playing
"We're just friends"
What are you saying?
Said there's another – look right in my eyes
My first love broke my heart
For the first time
Fuji seemed as if he was lost in a memory of a long time ago, of truly getting his heart broken. Something resonated within Tezuka, sometime powerful, but it went away just as quickly as he used his old defenses to shut it down.
Throughout the chorus, Fuji's dancing seemed to take on a new energy and you could see faint traces of lingering emotions emanating from him.
For you, I would've done whatever
And I just can't believe
We ain't together
And I wanna play it cool
But I'm losing you
I'll buy you anything
I'll buy you any ring
Fuji himself looked as if he was pleading, yet in an extremely graceful manner. He made Aiden's grace look like a bumbling elephant. His steps weren't as explosive as Aiden's. Actually, he probably stayed mostly within the same space. However, even his most angular moves flowed with what he was doing. It was as if Tezuka was in a trance.
And I'm in pieces
Baby, fix me
And just shake me
Till you wake me
From this bad dream
I'm going down, down, down, down
And I just can't believe my first love won't be around
Fuji looked so vulnerable, yet so strong out on the floor. He was radiating energy and the whole club had formed a half circle around him.
Fuji's eyes stayed closed the whole time and he used the rest of his body to express emotions that seemed as if they'd been repressed for a long time.
When I was thirteen
I had my first love
There was nobody that compared to my baby
And nobody came between us
Or could ever come above
She had me going crazy
Oh, I was star struck
She woke me up daily
Don't need no Starbucks
She made my heart pound
And skip a beat when I'd see her on the street and
At school on the playground
But I really wanna see her on the weekend
She knows she's got me dazing
'Cause she was so amazing
And now my heart is breaking
Most of all, the way Fuji's hips moved was hypnotizing. It looked shy and modest, yet extremely forward and dirty. He somehow managed to show them off no matter what step he used. Fuji would swing his hips in an extremely feminine way, drawing everyone's eyes to them. Not only were emotions rolling off of him in waves, so was the aura of pure sexiness.
As the bridge and the last of the chorus faded away, Fuji opened his eyes.
I'm gone…
The last words echoed throughout the club as Fuji's eyes met Tezuka's.
Tezuka took in a breath as he saw all the raw emotion, the fire bared in front of him. But the moment was gone as quickly as Fuji had presented it.
The other dancers had been cheering, screaming, shouting, and yelling their approval of Fuji's dance. He had easily wiped the floor with Aiden, and the rest of the competitors, and got a small prize (some sort of coupon and an official award) for winning.
As they made their way back to the table, things at the club started to go back to normal. People stopped Fuji and Aiden on their way to congratulate them, and ask for their numbers, but the two eventually sat down.
Fuji accepted everything brightly, and turned down the offers for dates and such with a sad smile.
Tezuka stared at Fuji sharply, searching his face. What had brought on the sudden spurt of what could only have been anger? Had he done something wrong? If he had, he wanted to fix it right then. He'd never liked when things between him and Fuji got awkward, though they rarely fought. He always felt terrible, as if he'd just lost someone very important.
However, his search was to no avail. No longer was any trace of Fuji's emotions even hinted at. He was back to the old Fuji.
Fuji even turned to him once, and asked, "Is there something wrong, Tezuka?"
Tezuka wanted to scream.
TBC
Haha, bad place to end it. Sorry. BUT! Echizen's back! What could this mean?
Anyway, thank you EVERYONE for all the reviews of the last chapter. I know I haven't updated in a while, and I just wanted to update this chapter before I go to sleep tonight.
It looks like I'm going to have a beta (yay, CoffeeTea :D) so the previous chapters will be revised in due time. Meanwhile, all chapters, from next week on (hopefully) shall be betaed. I think. We haven't really worked out the details yet, so no promises.
Anyway, please review! The time is ticking and it's almost been six days since Tezuka and Fuji met up again. And Echizen and Atobe seem to know something...
REVIEW! :D