He received the first letter after tennis practice. His mother put it in his room. He was intrigued as there was no return address and no post stamp, but he opened it in no hurry. He pulled out a black card from the envelope, and read the red romaji alphabet 'SHINE' on it. Then he pulled out another thing, a squished cockroach in a laminated plastic.
He doubted that the sender meant SHINE as glow in English.
He burned the envelope, the card, and the cockroach.
The second letter came a week after that. This time there's no card in it. Instead, he cut his fingers as he reached into the envelope. He wondered who could've hated him so much to put razors in an envelope and sent them to him.
Again, he burned the envelope and threw away the razors.
The third one he received was not a letter. It was a package. He opened it carefully, afraid that there're snakes inside. Instead, there's a mutilated white mouse in the box.
He wanted to throw up, to panic, to cry, whatever, but in the end his control won and he burned the box. He didn't burn the mouse, though. He buried it somewhere in his huge garden. It's not the mouse's fault it was sent to him.
He felt a bit guilty to the mouse.
And then came valentine, and he was neck-deep in chocolate boxes. The number of admirers that year seemed to multiply. Fuji took pity on him and helped him carry some of his presents, although the tensai also received quite a many. In fact, he, Fuji, and Echizen almost tallied in the numbers of boxes they received. The regulars put the boxes in the changing room and counted them after practice.
Then Momoshiro complained that the captain, the tensai, and the small tennis prince were being unfair to them, as they received so many chocolates and that they're supposed to share, damn it!
So Oishi, ever the peacemaker, suggested that they ate one chocolate from each box and share the rest with the other regulars. Tezuka agreed wholeheartedly, with the amount of chocolates he had, he'd be sick if he ate them all. So they opened the boxes and share their chocolates and gather the cards. Some of the boxes came anonymously, but it's no surprise. That's why he's not surprised when he found yet another anonymously sent heart-shaped box for him. The chocolates in it were of one heart shape and size with different colours, brown, white, pink, and blue. He took a blue one and popped it into his mouth while pushing the rest to Momoshiro.
A second later, he dashed into the nearest bathroom in the changing area and promptly threw up everything he had for lunch, and maybe breakfast, along with the chocolates he'd eaten.
Fuji and Oishi were with him in no time, helping him as he continued retching, until he had nothing left in his stomach. He felt cold all over. He didn't refuse when Fuji silently guided him to one of the benches and sat him there.
He knew that he's pale; he could feel that he's shivering, and his heart beat erratically in his chest. Echizen offered him a glass of water, but he shook his head. Kikumaru knelt in front of him while Oishi rubbed his back in a soothing motion. Inui and Kawamura hovered close, while Kaidoh and Momoshiro kept their distance.
Momoshiro was still holding the heart shaped box.
Fuji followed his line of sight, and noted the box, "Is something wrong with the chocolate?" the tensai asked.
Tezuka couldn't bring himself to answer.
Kaidoh, being closest to Momoshiro, took a pink chocolate, and examined it.
Tezuka shook his head weakly, "Don't eat them," he could only say.
He, though, didn't expect Kaidoh to look at Inui, who gave him a knife, and break the chocolate in two on the chocolate-laden table.
Red poured like syrup from inside the chocolate, and Tezuka had to swallow to keep himself in check.
Gasps were heard, and then Kawamura's timid voice asked, "Is that… blood?"
Tezuka felt weak, he couldn't say no when his regulars except Fuji moved to break the rest of the chocolates.
They found more blood-filled chocolates, and also other fillings such as sharp pieces of glasses, wood splinters, short broken needles, and dead bugs.
Fuji's hand that was on his shoulder tightened.
"If this is a joke, it's not funny. Not funny at all," Momoshiro said, stricken.
"Nya… we could've been killed!" Kikumaru lamented.
"No…" Inui shook his head, "Not us. Tezuka could've been killed."
Every eyes looked at the tennis data-man as he continued.
"The chocolates were in bite-sized. It's perfectly logical if we'd just put one into our mouth and chew it instead of bite it in two. And nobody would think that we'd share our valentine chocolates. So logically, Tezuka would've gone home with the chocolate, and eat them whole. If Tezuka happened to get the one filled with glass piece or needle, he might hurt his mouth, or his tongue, or he might accidentally swallow it as he tried to choke it out instead. Tezuka, the chocolate you ate, I assume it's either blood, or bug, right?"
"Is it bug?" asked Kikumaru, his eyes wide.
Tezuka shook his head.
"It's blood, then," said Echizen carefully.
"Who would…" Kawamura blanched, looking at the broken chocolates with wide eyes.
"Someone must've hate you so much to do this, Tezuka…" Oishi said softly.
Tezuka gave a low groan as he closed his eyes " I think I'm going crazy…"
And then Fuji was kneeling in front of him, his hands on his knees; his blue eyes staring at him intently.
"I take it that this is not the first time?" the tensai asked matter-of-factly.
Tezuka opened his eyes and found Fuji's determined face, and he looked around to see his regulars' expressions, which range from scared to angry.
And he found himself nodding, telling them in halting words that simply couldn't stop once the first word fell out of his mouth, and he told them everything about the card and the cockroach and the razor and the mouse.
He felt as if he's an old man when he finally finished speaking.
Oishi was then standing behind him, and he found it easy to lean back against his friend. It's a show of weakness, but he's a breath away from panicking, so it didn't really matter. He felt Oishi's hand tightened on his shoulders, and Fuji's angry face gave him the courage he felt lack of. Inui looked thoughtful, Kaidoh mad, Momoshiro disgusted, Kawamura stricken, Kikumaru on the verge of tears, and Echizen looked ready to commit murder.
He cursed himself because he caused them those expressions, but he couldn't help it.
After awhile, Fuji stood up, "We must tell Ryuzaki sensei about it."
Tezuka was ready to protest, but Echizen's voice made him bit his words.
"Agreed," the small pillar of Seigaku said coldly, "And when I get my hands on the culprit, he'd be dead meat."
"Assuming the culprit is a he. It could be a she, you know," said Inui.
"So? She'd be a dead meat then."
"You know… I might help you with it…" Kawamura said, and Tezuka had to admit defeat.
So they agreed to tell Ryuzaki sensei the next morning.
That day, Tezuka was walked home by all of his regulars. He wanted to refuse, but Fuji said something about not being able to calm down until he's sure that Tezuka's safe in his house, and all refusals melt away.
They're only worried about him. And he did feel safer when they all walked him home So why refuse the offer?
He made his regulars called him when they got to their homes, though, and they called him incessantly after that.
That night, he was plagued by nightmares, and as a result, he came late to school.
The teacher looked at him worriedly as she let him enter the class. He couldn't blame her, he's sure he looked like a mess.
At break, he found his regulars waiting by his locker. He shrugged and didn't say anything. He simply opened his locker and put in the books he wouldn't need for the next periods. That's when his fingers touched something furry and sticky.
He froze for a second. And jumped back as if bitten the next.
His hand was red, smeared with blood.
His regulars gasped.
Fuji immediately put plastic gloves on his hands, reached inside Tezuka's locker, and pulled out a severed kitten head.
There were screams around him, originated from the students around them, but he himself found that he couldn't tear his eyes away from the feline's glassy eyes.
Reality seemed to blur around him, and he felt more than realized that Oishi and Kikumaru had dragged him away to the nurse station, and on the way, his knees buckled that Kawamura had to help him to the white-coloured room.
Shock.
He knows of the concept, but he'd never felt it before.
Kawamura made him sit on one of the beds, and Oishi made him drink water and a pill.
Soon, he felt so sleepy, and he didn't refuse when Kikumaru pushed him to lie on the bed, or when he felt blankets on him.
He felt so sleepy, and he wanted to forget… So he followed the strange urge and closed his eyes.
The last thing he heard was Oishi's voice, telling him that it'll be okay.
TBC
Author's note:
This story came even shallower than the rest. My attempt of creating a mystery/detective story hehehehe… Someone said I have a tendency for Tezuka-torture…
Sorry…
R/R greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Tenno Himekawa Rie