Author Notes: The next chapter! Am I too fast? ^^ I must admit that I almost do nothing but sitting in front of my beloved computer apart from the daily lectures I attend. I just can’t get this pairing out of my head! Well, finally I can write Tezuka/Fuji again, which in some point is so frustratingly difficult. Tezuka is very cold and Fuji is just too hard to be guessed. Oh well, I hope you still enjoy this fic. Thank you for my reviewers, who compelled me to have the keyboard on my lap. Have a happy reading!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine.

WARNING:

For the entire story: (read in the first chapter)

For this particular chapter: PG perhaps. There is nothing special with the kissing -_- and some confusing sentences, I guess.

Italicized words mean the words are somehow important.

/Italicized words in here/ represent the character’s thought, whose thought it is I think you can guess.

Chapter Six: A Momentous Second

Fuji’s Residence

October 5 – 06:37 p.m.

Course of whispers scurried to and fro across the main room where most of the members of Fuji Clan assembled due to an unpredicted crisis which had taken place barely twenty-four hours ago. The waiting murderers were sitting either with their legs crossed or bent into an elegant kneeling stance as mutters were emitted from their mouths. No wonder; a phenomenon where a member of the Clan managed to be caught during a mission had never occurred, at least to their knowledge. The shame they suffered was so horrendous that there was no speaking which spared the young deplorable malefactor a hint of sympathy. All insulted and despised him, except perhaps the two grim figures which were isolated from the rest of the crowd.

Fuji Shuusuke sat upright at his place next to his sister. Still he had his eyes closed but now his lips no longer formed a smile, only a thin indiscernible line darker than the rest of pale skin coating his face. Some glances went into his direction but no one dared to speak it out loud. The three siblings had always been special; exclusive and detached from the rest of the clan, chiefly because they were the offspring of their matriarch, not to mention that one of them was also the finest assassin imaginable. Unequaled by the rest of the family, young or old, only few had doubted that he would eventually become the next Head of clan. It was much healthier to keep a nice profitable relationship with him. Follow the course of the waves and suspicion would not rest its eyes upon you; one of the code that they had held onto faithfully for many counts of years.

The murmurs abated as soon as the figure of a tall charming woman glided into the room, no other but the current leader of Fuji Clan herself. Her face was cold, passionless, and even though smile was still the scarcest expression that ever had crossed her stiff countenance, each person in the room could tell that she was beyond angry. She took her imposing place in front of them and a deep strong voice reverberated throughout the quiet room.

“I believe each and every one of you are aware of the reason why this meeting is called out. Twenty-one hours ago one of us was detained by I2. This is, of course, a humiliation for us, the worst one that has ever happened in my time. Yet, I want you not to be disconcerted by this unpleasant incident. I will appreciate much if that concern is to be materialized in more vigilance during missions. If you are not able to do it, it is better to clear it from your mind. I will not have anyone saying anything about my son, is that clear?”

The look of disbelief traversed most of the mute faces due to her unpredicted words. The whole time, their chief was notorious for her lack of prejudice, which was shown palpably in conferring her own children penalty if they indeed deserved it. But her impartiality seemed to have dissolved, now that one of her sons was taken captive. Their immediate thought was that she would set them out at once to save her beloved son. Still she remained sophisticatedly adamant and shared the sharp glances of hers to the mass before her.

Since no one dared to complain, she resumed, “We still have three missions for this coming week and concentration is needed. If this misfortune were to happen again, with no excuse I would take it by my own hand and I guarantee that none of you will ever forget.” She emphasized her last words and once again delivered her daunting stare around. As soon as she was convinced that her squad would not defy her, they were dismissed.

“Except the two of you,” her gaze lingered on her remaining children.

The rest of the family walked their way out with stealing glances to the two siblings. They were still wearing the impassive mask, even Fuji with his eyes closed could be mistaken as a sleeping guy if only his posture was not so rigid. The last person leaving the room closed the sliding door tightly.

The lingering assassins waited in silence, listening intently of the waning sound of tentative footsteps. Then there was another one, approaching the room stealthily, nonetheless still audible for them. Faint knocks on the door followed and the mother answered coldly, “Come in.”

Someone threaded his way in with utmost caution and later knelt before the Head of clan. From the edge of his eyes, Fuji recognized the figure of Mizuki Hajime. Now to think of it, he recalled of not seeing him during the previous meeting session. The black-haired head was bent low with eyes closed in respect. Held in his hand was a black map, the one which usually was handed to the tensai, covering crucial information regarding missions he was about to take.

“For your next mission.” His mother flat voice dragged his attention back to her.

Unexpected. He knew that she would waste no time mourning for her detained son, but to hand another assignment so early? Yet, there was still no reaction from the genius, as if the instruction was out of his earshot. Instead, his sister was the one who went vocal first.

“Another mission?” Fuji heard her disbelieving voice coming from his right, “Mother, Yuuta has been caught! Do you care not for him?”

The older woman was clearly displeased by the sudden interruption and attempted nothing to conceal it. “If you really have to know, my daughter,” she replied in cold annoyance, “this mission involves that unworthy son.”

Yumiko sighed in relief as her rigid shoulders slumped back. Of course; no matter how ruthless their mother was, to leave her son in the hand of enemy to be tortured to death was impossible. And, her gaze flickered to the one beside her, if her genius brother was the one to execute the order, their chance of success could not be closer to 100 %.

“Learn it,” their mother ordered as Mizuki passed the map to Fuji. “I will have it held tomorrow night. This is a one-man mission, thus ensure yourself that you are not to fail.”

He took the map and opened it. Frankly, he had never been assigned to a rescuing mission before, but he perfectly aware that if there was indeed one person who could sneak into the I2 Headquarters unnoticed, it was no other than Fuji Shuusuke. As a result, if a certain captain did not cross his path, the mission should be accomplishable. Yet before he could compose any sequence of his upcoming mission, the first page inside the map froze him in his spot.

Target: Fuji Yuuta Objective: Annihilate the target

Fuji stared blankly at his brother’s snapshot next to his name, interspersed by repeated glances to the word ‘annihilate’ in the objective part. No, his eyes were functioning normally. Slowly he looked up to catch his mother’s emotionless stare, a lopsided smile appeared on his lips. “Is this some kind of jokes?”

A nasty gleam flashed in her eyes. “Unfortunately for you, no.”

The exchange of words puzzled the daughter. Yumiko found the whole situation rather disquieting and on top of that, she disliked the satisfied expression Mizuki was wearing. Something was horribly wrong. She tried to take a peek to the map in her brother’s hand and on the next second felt that her heart had ceased from beating. Was it for real?

Before any word could come from her mouth, again the mother had spoken. “We cannot risk our identities to be revealed because of a mistake that is hardly ours. It is his fault and from this hour henceforth he is no longer a part of the Fuji clan.”

The room was silent for a full minute. Mizuki was watching the scenes unfolding before him in quiet amusement. It was such an incredible honor to witness the downfall of a genius murderer by his own eyes. A part of him hoped that Fuji would be angered by the order and then initiate a dissension with his mother, but the thought of seeing him living his life miserably without his brother was also quite appealing. It was thrilling, to wait with bated breath of what would happen next. /Now, what will you do, Fuji Shuusuke?/

Eventually there was some reaction from the tensai. His smile had vanished without any trace, replaced by a pair of fully revealed blue orbs. Mizuki could not help but to shiver slightly when he discerned into those orbs. Ominous, terrifying, bloodcurdling; name any fear-provoking word and he would nod in agreement. He was grateful that the look from those eyes was not directed at him. So much for a tensai; he would prefer to call him a demon, as ridiculous as the word might sound.

The slender fingers stirred to close the map and place it on the floor before him. His eyes gleamed dangerously as formally he announced in a steady clear voice.

“I refuse.”

There was an absolute stillness plaguing the large chamber. The Head of Clan and her inheritor were immersed in a battle of cold nerve-racking stares, leaving the other two inhabitants hushed in cautious scrutiny, as if absorbed by the scene before them. The silence was so thick, almost deafening, portentously waiting for a sharp stab of a katana to cut in and loosen the tension.

A century might have passed, which most likely not, when a gentle soothing sound of bell played by the paltry wind seeped into the room. As for the mother and son, it sounded more like an earsplitting blast of cannon erupting in the middle of their silent mêlée. Eyes narrowed menacingly as the war was put into a ceasefire and she spat in pure hatred, “Get out from my sight.”

Fuji rose almost immediately with his chin lifted high, emitting an air of authority and arrogance. Without any hint of courtesy to his mother, he took his leave. His paces were swift and hurried, as if he was determined to shoot dead a prey that he was chasing. No one would be valiant enough to bring him or herself before the prodigy’s sight in his current state. Anybody would flee from the seething depths of ocean, as the other kinsfolk who chanced to cross his path actually did, seeking asylum elsewhere as long as they could vanish from his line of view. Unpredictable was the genius murderer’s deed if he was put in his brink of patience and life seemed still too precious for them to be wasted in finding out.

The prodigy gritted his teeth, suppressing curses which were about to be spilled out not to reach his tongue. He could bear innumerable exhausting missions but not this one. Not to kill his own brother.

--- ---

I2 Headquarter

October 5 – 07:12 p.m.

“Impressive.”

Tezuka looked up from dark circular patterns drawn on the massive mahogany desk in his commissioner office to the stern face of a middle-aged man. The Solff had his report of the previous night incident opened on his large calloused palms.

The luxurious office had burgundy carpet adorning every inch of the granite floor, which mystified himself from time to time of why bothering to import the costly marble in the first place. Each glass window had maroon curtains coating them securely which closed every possibility for any kind of light to permeate the chamber from outside. The only source of light brightening the room was a glowing lamp floating aloof three metres above his head. An ideal depiction of a secretive meeting which convoked between the Solff and his two vices accompanied by each trustworthy attendant.

“Fuji Yuuta.” The First Vice had to prevent himself from flinching at the mention of a certain name. He would keep the surname for himself if he were the only one in I2 recognizing the boy, which unfortunately was not. “I wonder if he has anything to do with the Fuji Clan.”

“I am inspecting it at the moment,” Tezuka answered straightforwardly, his eyes were fixed on them which were his leader’s.

“And you mention here,” The Solff went through the bundle of paper once more before halting at a certain page, “he has an older brother who enters the same school as you do, Tezuka-kun?”

“Yes,” he responded flatly, resenting himself even more with each spattering of the syllable. There should be a law of a certain limitation for honesty, such as disclosing a truth which did not bring comfort for its confessor was highly prohibited.

The constant stare fell on him questioningly. “And?” It was so unlike the First Vice to let a sort of simple matter slipping off his grasp.

“I have yet to meet him today, he was absent.”

“Ah,” the old man’s eyes glinted with unspoken possibilities. “Perhaps his nonappearance is related to this, perhaps not. Make sure that you will question him tomorrow, no matter if he turns up at school or not.”

After receiving a dispassionate solitary nod from Tezuka, he turned to his other vice. “I hope you have reached several noteworthy progressions in your investigation Tachibana-kun,” the voice chiming was in its most antagonistic state, considering the terribly few advances the Second Vice had reached in the last four days, not to mention the sudden disappearance of the twenty-three precious could-be-informers, presumably were sent by the Saeki Clan. What was unknown to him, his faithful First Vice currently sitting in front of him was the source of most adjournments and abortive attempts.

“Not yet, Sir,” came the steady answer from Tachibana. “I’ve reached some developments they still hold doubts.”

“I suggest you to come with more than a mediocre chimera,” the Solff replied sarcastically, deliberately ignoring murderous looks Kamio was shooting him. “The two of you know well that I will take my retirement this year and one of you,” he accentuated the last word heavily, “will be my successor then. In that case, I will put close scrutinizes upon you both from now on. The burden you shall care as a Solff is far from light and I will not make a mistake by choosing the wrong one. Do I make myself clear?”

Both second-in-commands inclined their heads obediently in one simultaneous motion as their leader ran another appraising glance on them. So young in their age and yet too reliable; an indispensable quality he couldn’t find in older agents he had. Heaving an inaudible sigh, he dismissed them.

“Tezuka.”

A forceful grip on his arm and the First Vice found himself staring at the charka on Tachibana’s brow, once they were outside. His colleague was solemn, ominously serious and it refrained comfort from Tezuka.

“I wish to speak with the victim, the one whom you brought to Central Hospital that night.”

The Seigaku captain felt like blood had stopped flowing in his veins, the steady beating of his heart had ceased all of a sudden. Of course, what else would he expect from Tachibana? It was nothing unforeseen and in fact rather surprising that the astute Second Vice didn’t ask him sooner about ‘the victim’. A silence was stretched amidst the two vices, each was trying to fathom what the other was plotting.

Tezuka shifted his arm until he had it released from his companion’s firm fingers. “You can meet him anytime at Seigaku,” he retorted calmly and resumed his deferred paces.

/Brilliant,/ a voice from the back of his mind congratulated with nothing but audible sarcasm. His perfunctory manner would undoubtedly raise more suspicion from the other vice. But then, what else should he do? His brain was heavily crammed, up to the point that he could virtually feel a piece from the jumbled mass of chaos inevitably plumped down to the floor, smashed into minuscule splinters. Now that Fuji had his beloved brother confined, nothing would be able to prevent the enraged assassin from doing further damage for I2. Things would get worse.

Eventually he stopped his strides, wearied by quiet intrusions and furtive scrutinizes, not to mention extremely angered. And he was expected to not realize it? Fucking nerve of the bastard.

“Do you have anything to say?” he called out edgily to nothing in particular in the empty hallway.

A red-haired guy emerged in front of him, rage tinged by quiet respect spoiled his good-looking countenance. Tezuka could see it, very clearly, absolute veneration for the one and only Tachibana-san. Kamio would die for him if he were expected to do so, with no further queries of why. Sometimes, the never-ending rivalry between two poles of each vice bored him to death. He himself, as a matter affect, never cared much for the so-called ‘battle for the ultimate seat’. He was more interested in tennis than being a Solff.

“Tachibana-san is too polite to say this, so I’m the one who will,” he spat his anger out, “You are the lowest creature I’ve ever seen who cannot even compete fairly to have the Solff’s seat. Do you think I don’t know why you’re covering that Fuji Shuusuke? Tell me out loud! Shout to the whole world that you wish to be the Solff! You don’t want our investigation to succeed thus you will have his eyes on you only!”

Amazing. He could have been annoyed or disgusted by the implausible indictments but he felt none save for relief. They didn’t even come close to his factual reason, which was why he was ambivalent to what he should appropriately feel. Sure enough; who would ever guess that the honorable First Vice had fallen for an assassin?

Tezuka chose not to reply and merely walked passing the infuriated guy, which enraged Kamio even more. Furiously he turned around and was about to grab his superior’s shoulder and yank him to the floor violently when stern fingers clasped his wrist in an iron-like grip. He stared wildly at the expressionless face of Atsushi Kisarazu.

The First Vice continued to walk unsympathetically, leaving his faithful subordinate to hinder the red-haired guy from chasing him. He could still hear the outraged voice shouting sordid words at him, which earned him a hard slap on his cheek from Atsushi. Like the hell he would care.

--- ---

Seigaku High School; Tennis Courts

October 6 – 05:39 p.m.

Unremitting sounds of ball being hit by taut strings filled one of the many courts in Seigaku. The evening practice had yet to end but the remaining courts were deserted of any player, with the rest members of the tennis club cramming the outer border of a particular congested one, leaving two metres or so space to give more room for the playing regulars. All had their breaths hold, eyes pinned at the ongoing rally, engrossed by the subtleties and grandeur of the game displayed before their very eyes. It was more like a battle of life or death than a mere practice game.

Tezuka gave a sidelong glance at his opponent at the other side of the court as his feet tirelessly chased the high-speed ball which was aimed to the edge of his right double line. Fuji still held his eyes closed, a flawless pretense which he perfectly realized merely to spare their teammates from finding out that he was beyond irate. Yes, the prodigy was cross with him for capturing his brother. And instead to discuss the matter privately with the involved agent, he chose to prove it with a match, a strenuous match in that case. Why did Ryuzaki-sensei have the idea to meet them up in a game during such times?

Returning the ball over the net, he watched incredulously of how the tensai managed to avoid his Tezuka Zone. Instead of following his course of playing, Fuji held his racket near to the ground and countered the ball so low down that it inevitably touched the top of the net. The yellow sphere spun for a moment on the thin white surface before falling to the court and crawled silently. The captain could only stare at it stopping a second later.

“Game, Fuji! 6-6!” Oishi’s voice rang piercingly at the silent court.

Soft murmurs began to rise here in there but he paid no heed of them. His eyes were fixed on his adversary who eventually decided to reveal his intense cerulean ones, loaded with resolution to crush the person in front of them. Even from his distance, Tezuka could observe how the white-clad chest shifted up and down in erratic pace, mirroring his own panting gasps of breath. It was beyond his recalling when the last time he had played so equally serious was. Not even his game with the Hyoutei captain demanded his strength as much.

It was a tiebreak and Fuji served.

“It has been too long,” A quiet anxious voice, apparently coming from Kawamura, rose about the watchful spectators. He spared a glance at their coach who had a grim look on her elderly face but remained silent nonetheless.

“It is not as if any of us can still stop them at this rate,” Inui spoke in her stead, still scribbling interminably on his devoted notebook even in so much tension and heat surrounding the overwrought court. “This is no ordinary game. They have a purpose far greater than we can possibly imagine in playing this match. Something personal, I guess.”

“Then why Buchou doesn’t just have sex with Fuji-senpai and get done with it?” came a sardonic reply from Echizen who still had his eyes focused to the court.

The bespectacled regular looked up for a moment, disbelieving his ears, before ultimately replied, “The answer to your question, Echizen, is still beyond me, I’m afraid.”

“Say ‘I don’t know’ for once, Inui-senpai,” Momoshiro chuckled light-heartedly.

“But I understand what Taka-san meant,” Kikumaru interjected with an uncharacteristically restless tone in his childlike voice. His eyes were watching his best friend, who seemed to begin losing his breath, in discernible worry. “This match had gone for nearly three hours non-stop. If we let them to play any longer, I’m afraid...they will faint or....”

“Well, it is our captain and the prodigy we’re talking about,” Momoshiro remarked hastily. “But as a matter of fact, I’ve never seen Fuji-senpai this serious.”

Inui pushed his nontransparent spectacles higher up to the bridge of his nose. “That is actually why Fuji is the prodigy. Nobody, as far as I know, can play as deceptive as he can, which makes my data as good as useless when it comes to him.”

“Here goes again the rally...” Kawamura sighed in despair. The other fell silent and once again concentrated their undivided attention to the two players. Not even a point any of them had scored for both wielded their ability to the full extent not to lose. It was impressive how they could still perform better than their best in such an unbelievable degree of weariness. Despite their breeding apprehension, the remaining regulars could not help but to watch the breathtaking match quietly.

Far from their guess that both players were abysmally worn-out, Fuji seemed to have some acceleration put on his speed. The prodigy could vanish and the next second would appear at the other end of his court, adding more troubles to his captain. His stateliness of movements was far from what a tennis player could gain from mere tennis practices. One could only achieve a sort of quality from harsher longer training which none of their level obviously did. But Fuji had always been in a different level anyway.

The ball had blurred into a dazzling light of yellow, hardly could be seen without eyes Kikumaru or Echizen possessed. Tezuka was not taking it lying down either, sending every shot aimed at him back to the other side of the court, where his opponent had waited in the accurate stance. None of the spectators leaked any sound until they heard their vice captain shouted.

“Game and match! Tezuka! 7-6!”

Almost in one simultaneous moment, they breathed out in relief. Mutterings once more emerged amidst them, shattering the heavy tension into merry flattering chatters.

Fuji stood still in the court, clutching his stomach since it throbbed painfully due to his lack of air and water. He sent his stare across the net at his captain who appeared to be in a similar miserable state. Their eyes met and the tensai smiled, genuinely. He was appeased oddly after playing so fierce, so determined against the one he had wished to play squarely with for ages. Their match helped him to forget, even for a fleeting moment, of his predicament and he was truly thankful to the one and only Tezuka Kunimitsu. It was not long until he sank to his knees.

“Fuji!” He heard his best friend rushing to his spot, frantic worry consuming his voice.

The prodigy looked up and tried to smile normally. “I’m fine, Eiji. Only a little bit exhausted for pushing myself too hard.”

“No, you’re not,” the acrobatic player thrust his bottle of water to him, annoyance colouring his usually adorable expression. “I know how much you want to play seriously against him, Fuji, but this is too much!” Still with grumbles and complaints over his friend’s thoughtless action, he helped Fuji on his feet and brought him to a bench at the side of the court.

Fuji complied obediently without many objections and sat down, trying to regain his breath. The next moment he found himself smiling under the furious stare of his coach, who had a livid expression on her face. Her sharp words reached his ear but not digested by his brain since the pain too much demanded his attentiveness. Most people would have tried to evade pain, but not Fuji Shuusuke. He would taste it, until he identified what kind of pain it was, and savored it. He had to since there had been too much pain in his life already for human tolerance. For the sake of his sanity.

Ryuzaki-sensei assembled them after she finished her lecture to Tezuka and dismissed her in-charges with a final message to keep their concentration for the National. The second and third year members left immediately to the changing room, still discussing the match vigorously, while the first-year minus Echizen went along the court to pick the scattered balls.

“Fuji!” Kikumaru flung his arm around his best friend’s shoulder once they had changed into the school uniform. “We’re planning to have some burgers! Want to join us?”

“Come with us, Fuji-senpai! It’s Eiji-senpai’s treat again!” Momoshiro joined them with an evil smile.

“Like hell I will,” the red-haired player stuck his tongue out.

“I’m afraid I can’t, Eiji,” the tensai answered apologetically. A disappointed look on his friend’s face compelled him to elaborate further. “I have promised our Buchou a date.”

A chorus of ‘ooh’ came from the fellow regulars except Echizen who merely muttered offhandedly, “See what I said.” Inui rapidly took his notebook and wrote furiously the new albeit foreseeable fact regarding their captain. At the other end of the room, Tezuka merely raised his eyebrows, questioning his memory when he had agreed to have a date with the prodigy in reality.

Most of them had left, including Fuji who managed to say frustratingly loud, “I’ll be waiting outside, Tezuka.” The captain silently resumed his packing, ignoring the look of wonder his vice captain was shooting him. Really, he got nothing but trouble for involving with Fuji, yet since everything was already too late now, he had but little to be complained out loud.

“I’m leaving,” he mumbled to his friend and walked out. He knew he would find Fuji outside, waiting for him, but obviously not in this state. The prodigy was on his knees, speaking softly to a little girl who seemed about to cry. His face was gentle, his voice was soothing, and soon the child found herself smiling happily to the stranger in front of her. She clutched her tattered doll even tighter to her chest and gave Fuji a kiss on his cheek, before resuming her promenade merrily to find her friends.

The tensai let a smile conquering his lips for a moment before his gaze fell on Tezuka. “She bumped into me and tumbled. Thankfully she doesn’t cry or else it would disgrace me for making a little lady cry.”

The captain found himself loss at words as he kept staring at Fuji. Just who was actually the guy standing before him? A murderer would not have such face, not while dealing with small girls and God damned him if it was a mere acting. Something was definitely wrong

“Shall we?” the prodigy’s voice distracted him and Tezuka found himself staring at an outstretched hand.

He snorted in distaste and walked passing him, ignoring the extended hand. An amused smile emerged on Fuji’s lips as he fell into pace beside his captain. No, he would not let his uptight leader free that easily, not now when he had several matters to be conversed seriously. Tezuka could swear that his heart skipped a beat when he felt the tensai slipped his hand around his. Putting forth as much annoyance as he could afford despite his palpitating heart, he looked at the shorter guy, “What is this ‘date’ thing?”

“I lost so I decide to take you on a date,” Fuji answered harmlessly, holding his captain’s hand even closer.

Tezuka managed an irritated grunt while his conscience was trying its best to disregard the fact that he actually liked the feeling of Fuji’s hand in his. It was so inappropriate to walk hand in hand with a guy while they were still at school with a possibility of being seen by other students. Still Tezuka did not make any useful effort to remove his hand.

“How is Yuuta?” Suddenly the prodigy’s voice rose in the silence.

The agent spared a glance at his friend who was still looking with his eyes shut to a black spot in the marooning horizon which was the school gate. “Encaged,” he replied impassively, succeeded to forbid the tinge of discomfort or guilt from marring his voice. “But he has yet to say a word.”

Fuji beamed rather grimly. “That’s how he is. He’ll rather die than giving us away.”

He was about to give a cynical response for such a foolish obstinacy when his keen ears caught a soft almost inaudible rustle. The tensai seemed to notice it also, from the abrupt cessation of his strides. A weird smile was playing on his lips as he disentangled his arm from that of his captain, pulling out a katana from his tennis bag. Tezuka lifted his eyebrows, unable to restrain himself from wondering what else was in the prodigy’s bag which could be labeled dangerous.

“I’ll take care of this and you stay where you are, Buchou.”

Almost as immediate, stealthy dark brown figures came from every direction, flocking them like ants would to a mound of sugar. They were shifting around, as if contemplating the best way to start their attack. Fuji still had his sedative smile on and his sword sheathed.

In one motion, the figures began their charge. It was obvious that their only target was Fuji, for completely ignoring the other guy’s presence. Not that Tezuka minded; he had enough dealing with Fuji to permit himself to be involved into another ordeal. His eyes evenly watched the fight before them, letting himself to be enchanted by the prodigy. He could have mistaken the agile movements he performed as that of dancing. They were graceful, beautiful to be beheld, and the face displayed by his tensai was far from implying that he was violently hacking and slashing. He moved in endless circular patterns, which brought more enemies down with every shifting. Fuji meant it when he said he would take care of them alone.

Nothing went amiss until one of them, apparently smarter than the rest, had the idea to attempt an attack on Tezuka. Being an I2 agent and all, it was highly possible that the particular assailant would end up lying pitifully on his stomach if he dared to try. Yet before he could reach a metre away from the coolly watching guy, a katana blocked his way and a low dangerous voice whispered to his ear.

“I am your opponent.”

The villain was sent back to where he appropriately should be and lay unconscious among his companions. Unfortunately his message seemed to be understood pretty well by his friends, who instantaneously divided themselves in two groups; one to block Fuji and the other to take care of Tezuka.

The prodigy was aware of this as well and ripped his eyes open, staring menacingly at the mass of murderers before him. Slowly, almost threateningly, he unsheathed his katana, revealing the glinting blade, touched by the last ray of sunset. Most of his opponents unwillingly shivered at this ominous sight, feeling as if they hearts had shriveled into a minuscule size. Yet they charged on.

With a razor-sharp blade at his right hand and the sheath at his other hand, Fuji managed to hold them for a moment but obviously not forever. Soon Tezuka had to take a part in routing them, sending more and more opponents unconscious on his feet.

Fuji stole a glance at his captain, hating himself for not being able to press them. He gave more speed which scared his attackers up to the point that they could only stare at him dumbfounded, frozen at their very spots. However, weariness began to consume him, partly out of the backbreaking match he had just undergone and it dimmed his senses even so slightly. Unnoticed by him, a shadow moved to his back without a sound, waiting for a chance to assault. It inevitably came to him when the tensai had both of his hands blocked by two other attacks. He moved forward and slashed down.

The prodigy knew it was coming, yet there was nothing he could do in his state. His body stiffened, his eyes were partly closed, waiting for the sudden rip of pain tearing his back.

It never came.

Something jerked him out of his trance and Fuji snapped his eyes open. He could feel heat radiated from a body behind him and realized, in horror, that his captain had taken the slash. Spinning his lithe figure, he shifted to face Tezuka who still had his visage impassive despite a large cut on his right arm.

“Tezuka...” the name left his lips unconsciously.

“I’m fine,” the captain hissed as he settled a blow at someone behind his friend.

Anger. Fuji felt the same degree of anger with what he felt when his mother told him to kill Yuuta. The difference was now he had them to sate the convoluted mass of rage within him. No smile was traceable on his face and once again Tezuka found himself facing the assassin he encountered so many nights ago, in a very much more dangerous state. The eyes; they were not ones of human, with bestial flame radiating from within them. Lethal. The prodigy cocked his head to a side, revealing an insane smile, before suddenly disappeared.

Even with his trained eyes, the skillful agent found it hard to follow his friend’s movement. The falling bodies were the only prove that Fuji was there amidst them, crushing them. Every now and then he could discern a twisted smile on a very satisfied face, which sent a shiver down his spine. Just what kind of person Fuji truly was?

The last person fell down with a slash on his back. Mineuchi, Tezuka noted quietly. Even in his most furious state, the tensai didn’t put his code to prevent any killing beyond his missions out of his mind. The captain observed the soundless moving of Fuji’s shoulders and almost as instant the owner turned facing him. Annoyance was still colouring his face when he forcefully dragged the taller guy under one of the sakura trees lining the road.

Tezuka found himself shoved to the rough bark as his friend quickly but tentatively opened his coat. Irritated mutters came from the prodigy, who was inspecting the wound meticulously. “You are the most stupid person I’ve ever encountered. How the hell you manage to be chosen as the First Vice is beyond me.”

The other guy remained silent, watching the tensai fished a clean piece of handkerchief from his bag and began to tend the injury cautiously while still mumbled incoherently to no one in particular. “I can take that hack, I mean, I would still be able to beat them all even if I got hurt. But you? You have nothing to do with this so why the hell you interfered? You could just flee away, let me to deal with them, rather than standing there like an idiot. You dense, brainless, foolish-“

A hand pulled his head down and a second later Fuji found himself being held tightly by Tezuka. He froze for a moment, contemplating of how wrong it was, before immersing his face even deeper in the white soft fabric of his captain’s shirt. Restrained tears fell involuntarily, dampening the velvety piece of garment as he clutched to the shoulders as if they were his only pillars of life. He could resent himself for being so weak, for relenting under the gentle touch, for loving the scent he was engulfed in, still the mounting bitterness was hardly enough to force him to stir.

“As patient as I can be, your insults are already too much,” the deep voice pealed softly at his ears.

Fuji choked a laugh between his soundless sobs as the arm tightened its hold around him. How could he ever leave the only place he wished to be? He had loved this person too long and too deep to shut his heart closed once again.

“Baka...” he whispered to the cloth before his mouth, yet still audible enough to be heard by his leader. “I still think you are the most stupid person I’ve ever met.”

“What a coincidence,” Tezuka muttered, “I think so too.”

The prodigy chuckled and shifted his head to a side, facing his captain’s uncovered neck. “Because you are in fact stupid, Buchou.” His eyes reluctantly caught a sight of the no longer bleeding wound, which faded his smile a bit. Hesitantly he lifted his fingers, tracing the cut carefully, as the insurmountable bitterness resurfaced. “I’m sorry...”

“I guess it’s fine for a stupid person to have a scratch or two sometimes.”

“Indeed,” Fuji answered playfully before placing a kiss on the warm inviting neck, “but as horrible as a stupidity can be, that person must have someone who loves him so much, who will be grieved deeply if that person is wounded.”

Tezuka feigned a frown. “Do I have one?”

The smile turned into a mischievous one. “Have your own guess.”

Another comfortable silence embraced them. Sitting under a cherry-blossom tree, holding his worst enemy, was an image that had never crossed the stern agent’s mind for once. As bizarre as it could seem, he was oddly contented in a way that had never occurred to him before. Perhaps, just this once, he had done what was right, as disagreeable as it was.

“My mother wants me to kill Yuuta,” suddenly the prodigy cut the stillness.

Tezuka froze at the impassive statement. A picture of the aristocratic woman he had seen two nights ago on the screen of his computer flashed through his mind. The emotionless visage, the thin lips; he agreed that she would be capable to lead a squadron of assassins, but to kill her own son?

“Tezuka,” Fuji straightened his position and stared deeply into his eyes, “if I tell the I2 about...my family, can I have Yuuta released?”

He doubted it. As a matter of fact, the wish was nothing impossible because all dealings in I2 were on their own and until now, no other juridical force had found out about the arrest of Fuji Yuuta. But would what Fuji willingly to reveal was enough to let his brother go? Or it would lead the prodigy to his own doom instead? Tezuka hurled the grim thought out of his head and returned the stare as solemn as he could.

“I’ll try.”

The tensai set a smile upon his lips, a forlorn one. He knew well what had gone through inside his captain’s head, but that promise alone was enough for him. He would try to save his brother, to save his sister who was still in their mother’s grasp, and to save himself.

The grim look on the prodigy’s face did not go unnoticed by the other guy. It was the face behind countless facades Fuji had put forth, a wretched soul without a life, a faint glow that had allured him. He wished nothing but to keep the light ablaze, a precious one which he could no longer ignore. Gently, he caught the back of Fuji’s neck and pulled him down to claim his lips. The soft pliant mouth trembled at first, uncertainties were still looming in it, but Tezuka refused to yield. It was not long before Fuji parted his lips, allowing the other’s tongue to invade his warm cavern. Emotions slowly ran along with their deepening kiss, shared by one to another. A painful knot began to unbind, followed by another one, and another.

Fuji’s lips formed a smile as he began to return the kiss. Too long he had his want held back for the sake of the two of them and now he could let it flow out unrestrained. Tongues were clashing, dancing and twisting around each other, fighting for dominance, intertwined into a bond they wished to share in the real life. Unbreakable.

Somewhere during the kiss, Tezuka stopped abruptly, which made his friend’s eyes to flung open in question. The captain pulled back a little and said matter-of-factly, “You’re staying with me tonight.”

“Understood,” Fuji replied playfully before closing the gap they had in between. He had yet to know where the kiss would lead him to but it was better. Perhaps because, at last he would have a life.

To Be Continued

Author Ramblings: There goes chapter 6! I don’t really like the ending, it’s just so far from perfect, world’s apart even. I just can’t get the Tezuka/Fuji scene emotional enough *sigh* I guess the next update will take longer time since I have ‘Symphonies of Life’ to work on (oh yes, I keep adding trouble to myself...) not to mention that I will have another Tezuka/Fuji scene in the next. Thanks for reading and please review!

My Replies:

Pure Assassin: Really? The fighting scene is really one of the hardest thing I’ve ever written, defeated only by the emotional scenes between Tezuka and Fuji, which usually took me about three days to write... Saiyuki is also one of my favourite animes! Really thank you for reviewing, for ‘A Present for A Friend’ too!

whity: I guess it makes me evil to torture my reader ^0^ Glad that you like this story and of course Tezuka/Fuji is the best! I hope I don’t disappoint you by writing them so poorly...

yukuro: When I first noticed your name, I was like...ahh! You’re reviewing me! ^^ I love your ‘Deep Snow’ so much! Thanks for reviewing! About Atobe, I have never really liked him either. I only love his voice, which completely tore myself in two since I don’t like his appearance a bit. But I thought he would make a wonderful boyfriend (read: in the past ^^) for Fuji.

Firefly: I’m so glad that you like the bits of Atobe/Fuji I wrote. I thought I would be doomed to hell by writing it ^.^ Thanks for the review, I hope you like the Tezuka/Fuji in this chapter!

Angel_of_Godess: I really love myself for updating so fast too XD Just kidding, I hate myself even because it seems that I write it in such a rush, which was totally impropriate for the best pairing ever known... I hope you still like this chapter!

nall: I put the cliffhanger deliberately there of course. Such a perfect place to have one... ^.^ I don’t mind what kind of way you use in expressing how you feel about this fic as long as you like it! I mean it! As for the Atobe/Fuji one-shot, maybe I won’t release it anytime near future because no inspiration has come to me until now. But I will, that’s one thing for sure. And about Saeki, I don’t think I can materialize it in this fic because if I do, this story will be like 30 chapters long O_O Thank you for the wonderful review!

Cheeseburger of Doom: Nice to see you again! I love it every time I see your name as one of my reviewers ^^ Thanks! Hope you enjoy this one too!

Lin-san: Thanks for the e-mail! Sorry if I’m a bit confusing… Hope you like this chapter!

Wings: I’m really happy to read your review, it’s really encouraging ^^ About the grammatical errors, I’m truly sorry. I will proofread it when I update the next chapter. Thanks for telling me that!