Shattered
by Regatto

First of all, a big thanks for all my reviewers. (wipes tears of happiness and gratitude) Thank you for being so kind and encouraging to me! It means a great deal to me to have comments from fellow writers, or should I call you Senpais?! ^_^

Disclaimers: None of the characters belong to me. Although I have a lovely Tezuka and Fuji wallpaper which I stare at constantly. Swoon.

2. Foreboding

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Berlin, Germany 2.40 am

"Fuji!" Tezuka woke up with a start, his heart pounding furiously, his ears ringing and his breaths coming in short, rapid pants. He was completely disoriented as he stared into the impenetrable darkness. Forcing the crisp night air into his lungs, it was a while before his mind finally cleared and his pulse gradually slowed to a normal rhythm. Chuckling nervously, Tezuka silently berated himself as he wiped the cold sweat from his brow with shaky hands. A nightmare. He had had a nightmare, that was all. Nothing but a figment of his hyperactive subconscious.

Why then did it feel so real? Squeezing his eyes shut, Tezuka tried desperately to banish the images that plagued him. But they only came back to him, more vividly than before, in lush Technicolor and surround sound. Fuji. Crouched in a dim corner, whimpering and shaking like an animal. His face twisted in anguish as unbridled tears ran down his ashen cheeks. Suddenly Fuji cried out: a chilling sound, more bestial than human, reverberating in the desolate room. Without warning Fuji's eyes flew open, startling Tezuka with their preternatural clarity. An insidious dread gripped Tezuka's heart as he watched the light in Fuji's eyes suddenly go out like an extinguished flame. Then everything turned red, drenched in hues of scarlet, and burgundy....and blood.

With an abrupt movement Tezuka swept his hand across the bedside table for his glasses, but in his haste his hand connected with an object and sent it crashing onto the floor. Damn it! Flicking on the light and putting on his glasses, Tezuka stared at the pile of shattered glass and porcelain, and small pool of water on the floor. The glass globe with a miniature Mount Fuji and ridiculous fake floating snow flakes that Fuji had given him as a present before he left for Germany!

"Neh Tezuka, this is for you." The tensai had smiled warmly as he handed the fragile glass globe to Tezuka. " So that you will think of Japan when you are in Germany," Fuji opened his eyes and smiled even wider, letting the warmth suffused his limpid blue eyes as he murmured softly, "and so that you will think of me as well."

His sense of foreboding coalescing into fear, Tezuka glanced quickly at his clock before he started dialing Fuji's cell phone number. "It's 3 am here, so it's 10 am in Tokyo. Fuji is definitely awake..." mumbled Tezuka. But no one answered. Without waiting to be transferred to Fuji's voicemail, Tezuka dialed Fuji's home number instead. However there was no answer again.

After 20 minutes of dialing, Tezuka finally stopped and said to himself in mild disgust, " I am a baka! Fuji's in class right now, of course his phone is going to be switched off! It's a weekday, no one is at home right now since they are at work or in school. I will just wait and call later, and then both of us can laugh at how paranoid I am behaving."

But as Tezuka bent down to pick up the pieces of the ruined glass globe, he wondered why he was not reassured by his own words.

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Present: A hospital in Tokyo, 11 am

"Yumiko-san!" At the sound of her name, Yumiko wearily lifted her swollen eyes to see Eiji and Oishi. A banal thought came to her mind: it's so strange how anxiety and worry can transform their faces, making them look like...strangers. She stood up suddenly but almost tipped over as a wave of dizziness swept over her; only the quick and firm grips of the two boys prevented her from collapsing onto the hospital floor like a broken marionette. Eiji quickly ran and brought a cup of sweetened tea for Yumiko. After a few grateful sips, some color finally returned to her face.

"Yumiko-san, daijoubu?" Seeing her nod of affirmation, Eiji burst out: "How is Fuji? You told us about Yuuta over the phone, and that Fuji has hurt himself. We rushed over here immediately! What...what did he do and how bad is it?"

"Syusuke..." Yumiko's trembling hand covered her mouth for a brief moment and then lowered as she continued, " he maimed his own hand."

Flashback 8 hours ago: Fuji Residence...

"Oh my God, Syusuke! What did you do to your hand?" Yumiko cried as she sank to her knees in front of her silent brother.

Blood. There was so much blood. On the carpet, on the mangled racket, on Fuji. His left hand still clasped a penknife while his right hand was... beyond recognition. At the periphery of her vision, Yumiko could discern ribbons of torn flesh and the startling white of broken bones. "Syusuke..." sobs wrecked her body as she tried to cradle her brother's once elegant hands. " Why did you do this to yourself? You must be in so much pain!"

"Nee-san," at the sound of Fuji's voice, Yumiko looked up and felt ice course through her veins. Fuji was grinning. " I am alright. I don't feel anything. Nothing hurts anymore."

Present

"The muscles and nerves of right hand were almost completely severed, and he broke the bones of his hand as well. The doctors spent almost 4 hours trying to connect them back and set the bones." Eiji and Oishi stood in shocked silence, their hands tightly clasped together for support as Yumiko rasped brokenly, " The doctors are hopeful that his right hand is still functional. But given the amount of damage, he can never play tennis again."

Oishi bit on his lips as a wave of painful emotions swept over him, threatening to overwhelm all his senses; Eiji, his eyes overflowing with hot tears, buried his face on Oishi's shoulders as he muttered, " Baka! It was not his fault! Why did he hurt himself like this? Nya, Oishi! How could he? Baka..."

" Eiji-kun! Oishi-kun!" Violently grabbing their hands, Yumiko shook Eiji and Oishi out of their paralysis, " Please do something, I beg of you! Something's wrong with Syusuke. He's too calm, too cheerful! As if nothing has happen! Please! I am so scared! My parents are near breakdown, and I have no one else to turn to. Please help my younger brother!"

Eiji and Oishi both nodded. " Fuji is awake now right? We'll go to his room now and talk to him."

An hour later...

"Nya, Oishi! Something is really wrong with Fuji! He was smiling and talking about school and everything. You would think he's ok...but his eyes." Eiji stared worriedly at his doubles partner, and Oishi nodded tensely.

Fuji's blue eyes had flickered open briefly during their visit, and what Oishi saw scared him. Because there was nothing in Fuji's eyes. It was like staring into the eyes of a Shikigami, opaque, lifeless...dead.

" I'm going to call Tezuka."

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Berlin, Germany 5.25 am

Tezuka's troubled reverie was broken by the melodic ringing of his cell phone. Who is calling him so early in the morning? Did something really happen in Tokyo? His heart beating in rapid staccato, Tezuka gingerly picked up the phone.

"Tezuka." He said shortly. It was a call from Oishi.

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Please RxR. I may have been a bit too heavy-handed, so the story may seem a bit draggy and maudlin. Gomen! I have a rough idea how I want to end the story in about 2 or 3 more chapters, but I would appreciate any feedbacks or inputs. Once again, thank you!