Princes of Rock
by Suke

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Sidetrack 3: Counter-Clockwise

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Fuji Yuuta hated his first name. It was all wrong. Fuji was like Fuji Mountain. It meant 'not second'. The main problem of course was that Yuuta was always second. It's not that he didn't understand the attraction of his older brother. And it would be easy to imagine but it wasn't really because Yuuta was jealous of his brother either.

Fuji Syuusuke was smart and talented and, though given to bouts of sadism, so very pretty.

Yuuta didn't care but there was also that little thing about people comparing the two of them all the time. Yuuta didn't mind being second. He just didn't like other people talking about it as though, being brothers and sharing genes, they had to be the same.

He was Yuuta. He wasn't like his brother at all. If Yuuta was a reagent, his brother would be a counter-reagent. They were total opposites!

There were hundreds of rumours floating around about how Yuuta had left the classical music scene because he didn't like being compared his brother all the time. And how he had changed his singing style to a less technically perfect one so he would be different from his brother. Yuuta had even read once that he usually avoided returning home or going anywhere his brother was likely to be.

Although the rumours were all true, Yuuta hated them. Why didn't people have anything better to do with their time? Didn't they have their own lives to be bothered about?

Rounding a corner in the furniture store, Yuuta found himself in the kitchen fittings section. It was unlikely for him to find anything suitable for his brother's housewarming gift there. The scruffy-headed boy was about to turn around and leave when he heard the distinct voice of the reason for his shopping trip.

"Oh, it's not your eyesight I doubt," Fuji Syuusuke, the ever smiling tensai, said pleasantly and watched the faces of the men slowly turn an ugly shade of purple as the meaning of his words registered in their minds.

"Why you little runt! Think you're so smart do you? We'll teach you to make fun of us!" The leader of the group demanded.

"Ma," the blue-eyed boy said cheerfully, "I don't think anyone needs lessons for that."

There were four of them and one of him. They practically towered over the diminutive tensai, trapping him against a set of kitchen cabinets. His aniki was such an idiot! Yuuta fumed. His brother was outnumbered and outsized and, true to his baka self, still taunting them. His brother never did know when to let things go.

They advanced on him. The foremost one swung his fist towards the pale jaw. Yuuta's eyes widened in horror. He had to go save his aniki! He never wanted to see his aniki get hurt again, not since that time...

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Yuuta had only been six and in his first year of primary school. His aniki was seven and they were best friends. They met at the school gate after school everyday to walk home together. Yuuta's friends were all envious that Yuuta had such a smart and nice older brother. They all knew that his aniki was the top student in his level and a super good musician.

He didn't even know who they were, only that they were some older boys at school. It had begun because, as Yuuta was walking past the soccer field, a voice had called out that he looked like a girl. The little boy had spun round indignantly to find his accuser. It was not a difficult search because the speaker was still looking at him, surrounded by his group of laughing friends.

"Just because you're ugly doesn't mean that you have to take it out on everyone!"

Expressions of shock changed to anger and then to contempt.

"Isn't that precious?" One of them mocked. "The little girl has a temper."

"It's going to be very hard to make your face uglier than it already is but I'm going to try!" Yuuta snarled and launched himself at the closest boy.

Yuuta's returns were always direct and faster than anyone ever expected. He always hit before his opponent had time to react but he didn't have a chance against the larger boys. He didn't know how long it took but he found himself bruised and on the ground, surrounded by his tormenters when a shadow fell over his face.

"Aniki."

"Don't worry Yuuta. I will take care of you."

They both returned home covered with bruises and grass stains that day. His aniki had tried to clean him up. Yuuta had cried.

When they got home and they mother had asked them what had happened, Yuuta had said a bomb had fallen on the school but the building was miraculously unharmed. His aniki had concocted something about animals breaking loose from the zoo and attacking everyone. Both had gotten grounded.

"We should have just said we fell down," his aniki said later when he had come to Yuuta's room to inspect his otouto to ensure he was properly clean and bandaged.

Yuuta had to admit the wisdom in that.

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"Yuuta! What are you doing here?" Fuji rubbed his aching jaw, propped upright with his arm against a kitchen cabinet.

"It's more even this way," Yuuta growled and threw a punch at one of the men.

Yuuta watched as his brother sidestep a kick and lash out with his leg towards his assailants back. The man cowered, his face screwing up in preparation for the impact. And Fuji laughed, foot dropping back to the ground without even touching the other man. The embarrassed man glared angrily and Yuuta found himself grabbing his brother to pull him out of the way of a vicious right swing.

"What do you think you are doing?" Yuuta snapped at his aniki.

"Yuuta, this is the counter I like," Fuji smiled serenely, running a hand over the marble top of the kitchen cabinet.

"Do you want to get beaten up?" Yuuta said, wincing involuntarily from an earlier blow. Fuji looked penitent at once.

"There are other counters," Fuji gestured to the rest of the shop momentarily, looking pleased at his joke, before delivering a painful uppercut to one of their opponents. "This one is called Hakugei (whale)." The man was thrown back, bounced against a fridge and fell back into Fuji's fist.

The blue eyes flashed and the tensai rammed his shoulder into the next man, knocking him against a shelf so that it rocked dangerously.

"Higuma Otoshi (bear drop)," Fuji said succinctly as a porcelain bear ornament fell from the top shelf and smashed on his opponent's head.

Yuuta was thrown heavily against a cupboard and watched helplessly as his brother was punched in the stomach, causing him to stagger over to Yuuta's side. Fuji retched as the shouts of security personnel were heard in the distance. The four men quickly turned and ran. Yuuta grabbed Fuji's arm and dragged him off too at a half-stumbling pace, only stopping when they reached the car park to let his aniki throw up painfully.

"Are you alright?" The brown haired boy laid a concerned arm on his aniki's heaving back.

"This, I suppose," Fuji said, straightening again with a smile, "is called Tsubame Gaeshi (swallow return)."

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The memory of Yuuta getting hurt when they were little was already more than Fuji wanted to remember, let alone seeing his brother get hurt all over again. It was like when they were little again, a moment where time was turned back, like watches running counter-clockwise, only in a way that made things opposite. If time was reversed, would their roles be reversed as well?

Yuuta was always the one getting into fights when they were younger because Yuuta's responses were always straightforward and immediate. And Fuji was always the one protecting him because Fuji didn't get into fights on his own. He just got even in other ways. After a while, people knew not to cross Fuji.

But today, it had been the other way around.

Things were pretty different now from before. Yuuta used to adore his older brother and follow him around all the time. Fuji loved his little brother and loved mothering him and teasing him. Yuuta had eventually grown out of it and they seemed to just get more and more distant.

But today, things seemed to have gone back to the past.

"Aniki," Yuuta said as he entered the small recording room. "I already promised to go home with you today. Why did you ask me to meet you here?"

"Yuuta," Fuji smiled happily. "Yumiko ne-san will be so glad to see you!"

"What are we doing here?" The boy ignored the comment and repeated his question.

"Actually," Fuji said, suddenly not smiling anymore. The blue eyes opened and met Yuuta's brown ones. "I wanted to talk about earlier today."

"Thank you for coming to save me," Fuji begun.

"Is that all -- "

"You didn't have to do it. Don't do it again," Fuji cut him off sharply.

"What? Aniki, what are you talking about?" Yuuta frowned.

"You don't have to feel obliged to help me just because we're brothers," Fuji said flatly.

"You baka! Is that why you thought I was helping you?" Yuuta yelled angrily.

"It doesn't matter about the past either. You don't have to repay me for helping you when we were young."

"I'm not!" Yuuta snapped.

"I helped you because I love you. I don't expect any repayment."

"It's not repayment! It's not because you're my brother, baka-aniki!" The rock star was angry now and grabbed his brother by the shoulders.

Haunted blue eyes met fiery brown ones again.

"Then why?" Fuji whispered.

"Because," brown eyes were cast down and a blush suffused the tan cheeks. He muttered: "Because I love you too, stupid."

"Yuuta," the aniki said, his blue eyes softening.

He hugged his otouto gently. And then, he turned to the completely reflective window and smiled.

"Thank you, you can stop recording now," Fuji said sweetly to the window.

The red recording sign above the window turned off.

"Yuuta, you're very cute when you're annoyed," Fuji beamed.

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"You never told me why you were arguing with those guys in the first place," Yuuta muttered as they took off their shoes at the entrance of the house.

Fuji shuffled into his pair of house slippers. His forehead was cut, there were abrasions across his cheek and his face was covered with yellow and purple bruises. He beamed at his brother.

"One of them said I looked like a girl."

Yuuta sighed. It was just like his brother to not be able to back down from an insult. Fuji traded blow for blow, countering every mistreatment in his own way.

It made Yuuta wonder sometimes that if things were completely reversed, if Yuuta was the more talented and well known and they were being constantly compared that way, how his brother would react. Somehow, no one else seemed to notice how much Fuji Syuusuke hated to lose too.

"What happened to the both of you?" Their sister stood at the end of the hallway in shock over her brothers' appearances.

"We fell down," both boys said simultaneously.

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Watching the Second (Dec 23, 2003, Sunday -- By Great Reporter Inui)

As time runs on by and the concert of the year draws close, excitement is rising all over the Japan as well as in the rest of the world. It seems things are happening at an increasing rate. Close on the heels of Atobe's clearing scandal comes news of yet another rock star involved in the concert.

This time, it is Fuji Syuusuke's otouto, Fuji Yuuta. Apparently, both brothers were involved in a fight and, against expectations (74%) due to the rumours of their tense relationship, the fight was not with each other. Instead, the older brother was reportedly attacked by a large gang of yakuzas while shopping for furniture because he had refused the advances of one of their members. The second brother, who happened to be passing by, arrived to hold off the ruffians until store security arrived.

Later in the day, the brothers were over heard assuring each other of their affection for each other. Despite tough times, the Fuji's are certainly not second to anyone in terms of brotherhood.

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Review! Review! Review! Onegai! Onegai! Onegai! Arigato!!!

Well, I've wanted to explore the Fuji aniki and otouto dynamics for so long so I just took the chance to slip this in ^_^ Trying to get into Yuuta psyche is not easy.

And I'm sad to say that my attempt at puns based Fuji being a counter specialist was an abject failure. Fortunately, I adore Davide-san and bad jokes just bring me closer to that ideal ^_^;

Next chapter: Ooh, day before the concert. What will everyone do when OISHI SNAPS?

Cheeseburger of Doom! Witty Phantom! Joey! Nall! Deedlit_elf! Regatto! Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you enjoyed this chapter ^_^

Witty Phantom: Aw, don't be so sad. There will be Inukai. I promise! Next chapter! So you have to read it (heh, Suke-san is so sneaky)

Joey: Ha, that's really a pretty good idea. I'll have to see about it. *evil thoughts forming in head*

Regatto: I totally agree. I think Tezu-Oishi would be nice but my attempt at writing it was kind of boring. And golden pair will come up soon (I hope). I'm just waiting for inspiration (or some form of madness) to strike.