Future Appreciation

"Fuji-sempai, what do you want?"

"Ah, Echizen-kun, I suppose I just wanted to thank you."

Ryoma blinked at him, confused, but kept his expression bland. Fuji had asked to speak with him after practise, and as Ryoma recalled, he didn't do anything significant to get thanked by him. He took in Fuji's sincere smile and truthfully kind eyes, a facial expression that seemed almost unnatural on him.

"What for?"

Fuji's facial expression had sunk a bit, then brightened as his familiar façade took it's normal place, reprimanding himself for thinking that Ryoma would notice the change in him.

"It's a bit late, but I wanted to thank you for your help in the finals against Kirihara. If you hadn't given me that advice, I'm not sure that I could say the outcome would've come out the same."

"Ah." Ryoma was mildly surprised that Fuji would thank him for that, despite not knowing anything for certain about his character. But then again, that entire match had surprised him. Ever since that match, Ryoma's desire to compete with Fuji had only heightened to new levels. "It was a good match anyways."

"Saa, I suppose it was. I discovered some things about myself I never knew."

"I know."

Know he did. When Ryoma played Fuji all those weeks ago with the rain swallowing them and only the thrill keeping them afloat, he thought Fuji was almost as worthy of beating as Tezuka, that victory over the other would bring with it that rare satisfaction he yearned to breath from. But during that match in the finals Ryoma saw a transformation, before his eyes he saw Fuji fly free from the binds he kept around himself, he saw a new limitless Fuji, he saw someone that surpassed Tezuka in every aspect of the word 'better'.

"Did you?" If Fuji was surprised he didn't show it. His question seemed more rhetorical then curious as his eyes smiled.

"You've improved since the tournament. You worked on improvement. I don't know if I should be surprised or happy."

It wasn't only an improvement in ability, but an improvement in attitude. He saw it when he played. There was still that whimsical attitude, that pleasant harmless seeming smile, that careless aspect of the world- he doubted that would ever change. But it was his aura that had changed, one that refused to lose, one that now actually cared about the aspect of winning. Before Fuji never had that desire to see or achieve the flag of victory like he or Tezuka did, that desire that Tezuka had glowed so prominently with in the match against Hyotei.

"And why would you be happy?"

"Beating you will be more worthwhile the better you are, of course," he spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And as a cheeky afterthought added, "Besides, I'll enjoy breaking your new counter along with the rest of them."

A twitch of the lips and his smile became an almost cruel smirk. "So, is coming up with new counters the only way to catch your attention? Maybe I'll have to come up with another one to return your mind to me. After all, you want to beat Tezuka more than anything at the moment, don't you?" His mouth became kind again. "He certainly surprised everyone after that last match, ne? No one but the members of Rikkaidai seemed to know about it, Hyaku ren jitoku no kiwami. You said you were going to take the pillar of Seigaku away from him. I look forward to seeing that."

"You sound almost jealous."

"Do I? Sa, maybe I am. I had your undivided attention once, and I seemed to have lost it. I think I miss it." He reached out a slender hand to capture the delicate curve of Ryoma's jaw. "You helped me find and achieve victory. I was able to free myself from the limits I thought I had. Your motivation let me push myself through the boulder on my path that was never there in the first place."

Ryoma made no move to remove the offending hand, he didn't notice. Fuji's words were spoken so softly and comfortingly, like red satin silk caressing his body. The hand didn't seem to be holding onto him to keep him from leaving, it was more like a hand asking for help, beseeching in a subtle matter.

"Motivation? I thought you didn't want to lose after what he did to you."

"Did to me? Oh! You mean the temporary blindness? No, that wasn't it. I was foolish to get distracted enough to create such an opening. I should've known better than to start musing when playing someone like him, after all, I knew what he's like. We all did after that match with Tachibana-san, the one you saw personally. Even if Tachibana-san wasn't hurt seriously, everyone saw what he was capable of." His gaze flickered momentarily, going to Ryoma's knee and back to his face.

His face seemed closer now for some reason, Ryoma thought. It seemed to be stealthily probing at secrets, unimportant ones, but things that weren't supposed to be known.

"Then what was it?"

"I wanted to defeat him before I was injured. I wasn't happy with him. After all, he was the one that hurt your knee, wasn't he?"

Ryoma jolted his head back startled at the slight accusation. How did he know?

"Don't look so surprised. You had that injury the day after you went off to get your rackets tightened. I never thought you clumsy, and all of Rikkaidai was staring at you in that peculiar way before the match. I assume you won your game." Fuji's smile suddenly dropped as if it was never there. "Mainly, there was the way Kirihara reacted when it looked as if I was going to hurt his knee, guilt and fear unknown to him heavy in his eyes. Your knee's fine now. But I calculate with his nature in that state and your reflexes, he was aiming to destroy your knee and you just managed to avoid getting hit in the vital spot."

Ryoma's eyes hardened slightly, his guard growing. "Calculating is Inui-sempai's specialty, not yours."

"Are you going to deny it?"

Silence greeted Fuji and Fuji knew he was right.

"You get hurt often in tennis it seems. Whether it's your opponent trying to hurt you, or your own bad luck and racket. If you weren't as coordinated as you are, I have a feeling you'd be disabled."

"What's your point?" Ryoma snapped.

Fuji didn't think it was worth replying. He never liked being straightforward about some things, and he saw no way of speaking subtly about this matter. He didn't want to admit a weakness. That it made him worry, and he didn't want to worry. He didn't want to show his affection for Ryoma at this time. He didn't want to be the one to go to him. He wanted to be found for once, found in the right places that no one ever looked. Those chasing him always saw him in places he hated and would never go.

"Whatever, I'm leaving." He flicked his head to the side before turning the rest of his body with him.

"Ryoma-kun." Fuji watched as he stopped, his body acting like he didn't hear. "Now that you've helped me free myself, I will reach an entirely new level. You won't win against me. And when you finally defeat Tezuka. And when you have no one left to turn to, a lone pillar, you'll turn to find me. There I'll be waiting patiently for you." The brilliance of the blue burned imprints in Ryoma's mind as he didn't need to see to know, those eyes set so intently on him, making his crawl in gripping tingles. All sound ceased as Fuji's voice kissed the air, a voice to breath sultry whispers of words in the most intimate of ways. "Because I know that in the end, you'll turn to me."

Ryoma frowned, slightly irritated, and pivoted to show off his biting tongue, only to find, that Fuji wasn't there anymore. His brow crinkled and he muttered curses he shouldn't know under his breath. He didn't care where he ended up at the moment, his mind was in the present, and first thing was first. Win the nationals, beat his stupid father, and take the pillar of Seigaku away from Tezuka. This matter could be ignored and tagged as annoying.

Ryoma set off for home, clearing his head of confusion, settling back into the normal routine of his body and mind.

And in the back of his mind, the words repeated and fell away deep into his unconscious, poisonous, but oh so addictive. The words will resurface when the right time comes, haunting his dreams until the awaited day.

And when you have no one left to turn to, a lone pillar, you'll turn to find me. There I'll be waiting patiently for you. Because I know that in the end, you'll turn to me.

-in the end you'll turn to me-

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