Ghost Hunt 
by No. 13


Disclaimer: Not mine.

Further warnings: focused entirely on Fuji and Tezuka

Author is no native English speaker (always glad to accept corrections)

Angst


3. Air

It wasn’t raining on Thursday morning, so Tezuka had to get up early for practice. Temperatures had dropped since yesterday and the cold, clammy air effortlessly penetrated his thick woolen coat, creeping through the layers of his uniform until he could feel it even on his skin. The sky was still overcast; dark gray clouds threatening rainfall and promising an early nightfall.

Actually, most cars had their headlights turned on and Tezuka wouldn’t have minded had the street lanterns been adding, too. It felt far too dark to be daytime actually, he thought, wondering if anybody else would be appearing for morning practice today.

“Good morning.” Oishi greeted him, the moment he stepped on the bus. He tried his best pretending to be cheerful, but drooping eyelids and the way his smile was no more than a tired lip movement, told Tezuka that had Oishi been a less responsible person he wouldn’t have left his bed.

“How are you?” the vice-captain asked, catching sight of shadows underneath his captain’s eyes.

“Fine.” Tezuka replied, fixing Oishi with a gaze that was meant to stop him from asking anymore questions at least – if not to stop him from worrying altogether, before he turned to stare out on gray, lifeless streets.

Oishi followed his gaze and sighed. “It’s the weather.” He muttered “It’s wearing everybody down.”

Tezuka nodded in reply and both fell silent for the rest of the ride. People around them were less noisy than usual. It seemed as if the dreadful weather had actually managed to shut all those giggling schoolgirls up.

Oishi yawned tiredly, when they emerged and even Tezuka only straightened his posture when the school building came into sight.

“Do you think anybody’s going to come?” Oishi asked, sidestepping another puddle on the sidewalk. Life had returned to his voice – maybe the promise of a well-heated locker room and a hot shower after training was at fault there.

“They’ll be running 40 laps at least otherwise.” Tezuka replied, suppressing the urge to take off his glasses and wipe the last remains of sleepiness from his eyes.

Oishi chuckled. “That’s harsh, buchou. But I think the majority will be there.”

“Aa. That’s good.”

“They’re simply to afraid of what will happen if they don’t appear.” Oishi added, still smiling, picked up the pace and Tezuka’s lips twitched in response.

For a moment he managed to forget about the rain clouds overhead. The locker room was warm and well-lit, and gripping his racket was enough to chase any lingering worries out of his head.

Maybe he should play a match against Echizen or Fuji today, just to distract himself, he contemplated while watching the other regulars arrive. Most of them were remarkably awake – Kaidou arrived already dressed, having jogged the way to school. Kawamura appeared a bit more timid then usual, yet the moment he picked up his racket, every trace of autumn depression vanished instantly.

Inui’s notebook had gained a waterproof cover and Oishi softly whispered to Tezuka that he wondered whether Kaidou’s latest headband wasn’t waterproof, too. Eiji arrived with his eyes half-closed, almost too late and would have walked into the door, hadn’t Oishi hurried over and steered his partner safely into the locker room, where he proceeded to convince him to join the world of the waking.

Fuji looked better than yesterday evening, Tezuka noted with relief, even if still a bit pale. Momoshirou and Echizen were as lively as ever, perhaps the only ones unaffected by the dreary weather.

“Everyone!” Tezuka shouted to gather attention, “Thirty laps to warm up!”

“There’s Inui’s Health Juice for those who lag behind.” Inui added, glasses glinting eerily.

Thus, practice proceeded more or less normally. Fuji lagged behind at the laps though and was rather out of breath after finishing them. Since he fended Eiji’s and Oishi’s worried inquiries off with a smile, there seemed to be no reason for Tezuka to be concerned. Yesterday night might have been harsh on them, but he had to trust Fuji’s judgement here. And if his friend only tugged the sleeves of his jersey down before joining Echizen for volleying practice, everything had to be more or less all right, Tezuka decided while frowning up at the darkening sky.

It was only a question of time until the clouds would open up and unleash their torrents. He hoped it would happen during a lesson, but it could happen any minute now. With a heavy heart, Tezuka eventually decided against holding long matches today and just have everybody doing target practice, rallying and one-set matches.

Most played better than expected – Tezuka hadn’t really been hoping to find any form of enthusiasm on the courts today. But looking at Momo driving his balls into the far corners of Inui’s court, made him reconsider his notions.

The liveliest match ongoing was however the friendly competition between Eiji and Kawamura. Although none were using their special moves, they weren’t necessarily holding back, with Kawamura hitting the balls hard and fast into every possible direction and Eiji acrobatically returning them.

Kaidou and Oishi, though, were exchanging rather lax balls – both looked as if they would prefer a hot cocoa over the wet and slippery courts. Tezuka was just about to remind them, when another voice cut in.

“Buchou! Oi! Buchou!”

Echizen sounded strange. His usual exasperation held a tinge of worry that made Tezuka frown before he had turned around.

The sight greeting him made his blood run cold.

Fuji was kneeling on the ground, hunched over and coughing violently. One shaking hand was still clutching the racket, the other pressed against his mouth to muffle the coughs. But Tezuka could tell from the way his body was trembling that this was bad.

And causing a commotion, as a lot of first years had already wandered over to see what was happening.

Biting his lip and reproaching himself for having waved previous concerns away, he hurried to approach his friend who still hadn’t stopped coughing.

“Echizen.” he said, as he was close enough to see that there was actual worry written across the boy’s face, “Go and fetch something to drink.”

There was no reply, but Echizen took off instantly.

“Fuji?” Tezuka asked, gently putting a hand on a quivering shoulder.

The tensai slowly turned to face him, blinking as if he had trouble seeing clearly. His face was flushed, making Tezuka wonder if he was running a fever, too.

“Fuji, what happened?” Eiji exclaimed worriedly, bouncing over, “Nya, are you alright?”

Oishi followed closely behind and panicked the moment he got a good view of Fuji’s face.

“My god! You should go to the nurse! Wait, how bad is it? Has anybody a thermostat? Perhaps we should call an ambulance! Did you fall, Fuji? How are you feeling? Are you dizzy? Sick? Are you…”

“Ma, ma, Oishi.” Fuji flashed a strained smile at the vice-captain, “I’m okay. It’s just a little cold.”

Oishi wasn’t convinced by the tensai’s white face. And when the boy attempted to get up, he would have fallen immediately, hadn’t Tezuka reached out a stabilizing arm.

“Nya, Fuji…” Eiji watched anxiously, “Maybe you should go home.”

Oishi nodded, and even Echizen muttered a one-worded agreement. By now they had drawn quite a crowd, Tezuka realized. All regulars had abandoned their matches and a vast majority of freshmen had also wandered over, demanding to know what was going on.

“Oi, Fuji-senpai, are you alright?” Momoshirou asked, a frown marring his features.

The third year regular gave a tired smile and a nod in reply, unconsciously leaning closer to Tezuka’s body for warmth. Hiding another cough, he managed to whisper a ‘Don’t worry.’ in Eiji’s direction.

He couldn’t suppress the tremors cursing through his body, when the wind picked up, rougher and colder than before, scattering brown leaves across the courts. Thick gray clouds were racing across overhead and Tezuka felt his sweat-drenched jersey cooling rapidly. They’d all end up with a cold if they kept standing around…

“Everybody back to practice!” he ordered, giving a nod into Oishi’s direction. The vice-captain accepted the transfer of power with a frown, but didn’t protest.

Tezuka gently steered his team mate back to the locker room, while Oishi gave out orders behind them. There were glances lingering at their backs, watching as captain and tensai disappeared from the gray outside into a warm and well-lit room.


“Ne, it’s not that bad.” Fuji whispered softly, sitting down with a sigh of relief.

Tezuka raised a doubting eyebrow, watching his friend lean back and close his eyes wordlessly. Whatever exactly had happened to Fuji last night, must have been graver than he had expected… and deep inside Tezuka wondered whether he had actually gone so far as to ignore his friend’s condition because he wanted to forget about those events, that had no place in his well-defined and rational world-view.

“Really” Fuji insisted, but the chuckles soon turned into coughs.

“You aren’t fit for practice.” Tezuka remarked, his voice astonishingly emotionless and bland.

Blue eyes blinked tiredly, before disappearing in a smile. “I guess so.” was the weak response.

“Maybe you really should go home. Or at least to the nurse.”

Fuji shook his head. “It’s just a small cold, buchou. I’m sorry about practice, but I’ll be fine in class.”

And, true enough, Tezuka saw that the flush had disappeared from Fuji’s face, leaving him only slightly paler than usual. As Tezuka remained in skeptical silence, Fuji felt urged to continue.

“Honestly, I’m okay. That thing last night… didn’t do any … lasting damage.”

Tezuka’s forehead wrinkled. He hadn’t actually been referring to the surreal events – he had them nicely tucked away in a dark corner of his memory – but now, as Fuji spoke of them, he couldn’t suppress all the questions from welling up again.

“I’ve been wondering.” he began, uncharacteristically contemplative, “What did actually happen there?”

“The ghost was stronger than expected.” Fuji replied, unconsciously mirroring his sister’s words from the rainy night before, “And quite malevolent, too. Though I do wonder…”

He trailed off, fixing the bleak wall with a thoughtful look before turning back to Tezuka. “Say, do you have the keys for the house? We forgot to take our stuff yesterday…”

It sounded like a bad idea. Still, Tezuka found himself nodding, telling himself not to listen to those ridiculous voices warning him of ill-meaning spirits, the evilness of the ancient mansion and the foreboding dwelling within his chest.

“Let’s go after school, then.” Fuji cheerfully suggested.

Tezuka wanted to protest, saying there was practice. But looking outside, he saw that the clouds had finally opened up, releasing fat, cold drops, while Fuji coughed behind him.


Fuji Yumiko didn’t feel any better after having slept eleven hours. University classes only started late in the afternoon, and she contemplated whether she ought to go after all. The living room’s vast windows provided a sight of heavy rainfall, and with a sigh she switched on the lights, chasing at least the darkness within the house away.

She couldn’t chase away the dreary thoughts haunting her since last night. The spirit had left her breathless, shaken and doubting her own abilities. Never before she had encountered a presence as ancient and violent – hadn’t she known better she would have deemed it a demon.

The intent had been clear from the first moment on – to harm, to kill – and yet, nothing had happened. And that hadn’t been due to timely interference on her part. All had happened frighteningly fast; the moment the candles had blown out, the ghost had already reached her brother.

But why, why hadn’t the spirit finished its job? What were the factors she missed? What reason was capable of stalling such a powerful creature?

Yet, when she recalled the setting, she only remembered the darkness, the rain, the all-consuming loneliness. A shadow of former glory, perhaps, but long, long gone now. A sense of destroyed happiness, a sense of…

Yes, she was getting closer. Yumiko carefully reached for a deck of tarot cards, closing her eyes and drawing one by chance. Somehow, she accidentally dislodged a second card, sending it tumbling down on the polished floorboards.

Surprised she opened her eyes, staring at the two cards. The Devil in her hand, and the Lovers on the floor.

‘Totality and relationships.’ she thought, frowning, ‘I wonder…’

Curious, she reached out once more, focusing on her memories. Calling in mind the mansion and trying to bind it to the first two cards.

The Hierophant. With a snort, she let the tension drain from her body. ‘Enlightenment. So there is a story behind this…’

And she knew from experience that the cards wouldn’t tell her anymore right now. She had to gather additional knowledge to unlock the doors closed now. Or just find a loophole…

Then again, maybe she was getting paranoid. She hadn’t set up her cards correctly, so there was no telling her reading just now said anything. It could all have been pure luck, after all.

With a soft sigh, Yumiko tore her gaze away from the torrents of rain outside and kneeled down in front of a low table. Chasing unwanted thoughts out of her head, gathering her concentration and detaching herself from the immediate surroundings as well as her emotional attachments, she recalled Yuuta’s face.

"Show me Yuuta." she ordered the cards.

The Sun. With a detached nod, Yumiko returned the card to the deck. She’d always drawn the Sun as a general representation of Yuuta’s personality. So, most probably she wasn’t losing her touch.

Time to test a more removed person.

"Show me … Echizen Ryoma.”

She chuckled when the card turned up to reveal the Magician. The result had been well in her expectations and fit the reality beautifully.

The third and last test was more done from routine than any desire to acknowledge the results.

“Show me Syusuke.” she ordered.

And instantly dropped the card she drew with a startled gasp. Trembling fingers reached out, picked it up and brought it in front of a pale, surprised face.

The Wheel of Fortune. Which was NOT Syusuke’s card. Hadn’t ever been, too. Breathing deep to calm herself, Yumiko force herself to contemplate the implications without panicking. The Wheel of Fortune wasn’t a bad card, everything considered. Perhaps even a little better then the Moon – which had been the traditional result when she’d drawn a card for her oldest younger brother.

What did it mean, again? Events, happenings, the general proceedings of the world, history and man’s place within. Being part of a greater plan…

Nothing to give her heart a reason for beating frantically, nothing to loose any sleep about. So, something happened somewhere to change the card representing her brother – yet, things like this happened from time to time, she knew from experience. Yuuta’s character cards seemed to change almost on a regular basis, and years ago she’d drawn another card for Syusuke, too.

The only thing to be concerned about was perhaps that she had no clue why Syusuke’s card had changed. Usually, she managed to discern the events heralding a change in cards, even if it was only in the aftermath. But right now…

‘Part of a greater scheme… Maybe it refers to his tennis team’s ambition to win the nationals.’

Yet she couldn’t quench the unease deep within her heart.


Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it and if you have suggestions or comments, please share them with me.


On to Chapter 4~