Osaka
Summary: For Fuji, Osaka is a place of warm yet chilling and surprising yet predictable memories. Shitenhouji, Fuji, and Atobe centric.
Warnings: Shounen-ai
Pairings: Shiraishi x Fuji, Atobe x Fuji, slight Chitose x Fuji
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine.
So, another one of my stories! xD I posted a cover to my other story (Painless) on my profile. A link to it, anyway. And I drew it myself!
Anyway, if you don't know who Shiraishi is, go watch the first OVA episode (he's the guy in that part when they're drawing for places in the Nationals, he has bandages on his arm and brownish-grayish hair that kind of flips out like Kajimoto's) or go read manga chapter 314. He's really awesome, and he's from the school Shitenhouji, which is my second favorite school (under Hyotei). Wikipedia also has an article about him, which has a picture of him, I believe. Just search 'Shiraishi Kuranosuke'. Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy!
And one more thing: The chapters are named after cities in Japan to match the title (again!). They've got pretty much nothing to do with the story. xD;;
Chapter 1:
"Syusuke! Can you please get the mail?" Fuji's sister, Fuji Yumiko, called from the kitchen. Fuji nodded and walked out the front door. It was springtime, and Fuji was expecting something in the mail, something all seniors want to see.
Fuji was a senior in high school, and was currently attending Hyotei high school. He had been somehow recruited by Atobe at the end of junior high, took the entrance exam, and passed with flying colors. He was obviously accepted, and took the offer. All of the people he had met in the various tennis tournaments he had played in during junior high were still attending Hyotei, so they helped Fuji fit in quickly.
Of course, Fuji became very popular very quickly, which is also what happened at Seigaku. The entire school welcomed him with open arms, since they didn't have new students very often. He joined the tennis team, and earned a Singles 2 spot. Not surprisingly, all of their members were freshmen when Fuji's class joined. Atobe, though being a first year, easily gained a spot as captain again, and he kept his narcissistic manner. Their Singles 3 was Oshitari Yuushi, Doubles 1 was Shishido and Ootori, and Doubles 2 was Gakuto and Taki, since Hiyoshi was still in junior high. Atobe worked them even harder than he did before, obviously not pleased about the fact that they hadn't won the national tournament in junior high. With Fuji, though, and all the extra practice and hard work, Hyotei easily cruised through the prefecturals, and then the nationals, almost completely sweeping Seigaku.
Fuji had also gone on to beat many of the people he had lost to in the past, including Shiraishi Kuranosuke. He never played Tezuka on the courts, though, since Tezuka always took the Singles 1 spot, playing against Atobe.
In the latest national tournament, Ryoma was in the line-up as a first year. Hyotei lost Doubles 2, but won Doubles 1. Oshitari won his Singles match against some new person that Fuji had never met. Since Ryoma was in the Singles 1 position, Fuji, in Singles 2, was to play one of his eternal rivals, Tezuka Kunimitsu, finally after two years. They faced each other; Tezuka struggling a bit with Fuji's Gatekeeper of the Hecatoncheires, but finally managing to break it. Fuji then used all of his counters again, but still not being fully serious. When Tezuka was up 5-4, Fuji finally went all out. He reached almost every ball, bringing the score up to 6-6. They then went into a tie-break that was actually as long as Ryoma and Atobe's tie-break in the Nationals two years ago. Fuji's final ball landed in the net, his body finally giving in, and Tezuka won the tie-break, 128 to 126, and won the match 7-6. Fuji wasn't even able to stand after that, and the team virtually had Atobe carry Fuji off the court.
Hyotei won the nationals again that year, though, when Atobe pulled through in the end, beating Ryoma 7-5. Surprisingly, they weren't as evenly matched as Fuji and Tezuka, which showed how much Atobe had trained himself in the past two years, knowing that he would eventually play Ryoma, and not having to go through the humiliation of losing (and getting his head shaved) again.
Fuji nearly skipped out the mailbox, eager to get the item he was waiting for, an acceptance letter from the top Art and Design College in the country. He had applied to that college a couple of months ago, and finally, he was going to find out whether he had been accepted or not. All of his friends at Hyotei, including Atobe and Oshitari, were sure that Fuji would make it in, but he wasn't so sure himself. After all, the school only accepted 8 of its applicants.
Fuji reached into the mailbox with his pale arms (despite the sunny weather), and pulled out everything. He grabbed it with both hands and walked quickly back into the house. Dropping it all delicately on the table, Fuji sifted through the mail. Most of it was for Yumiko, obviously, and Yuuta had gotten one tennis magazine. Fuji's hand stopped on one thick envelope. It was the size of a normal piece of paper, and it was about 1 ½ centimeters thick. He pushed aside a couple of envelopes covering it, and looked at the return address. It was from the college that he had applied to, his dream college. Fuji took a deep breath and carefully tore open the letter. He took out the top sheet of paper and read it. Dear Fuji Syusuke, it read, We hope to be the first to say, Congratulations! You have been accepted to Osaka University of Arts, a private art university located in Kanan, Minamikawachi District, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
Fuji caught his breath. He had actually made it into the college! "Yumiko!" he shouted. He lived alone with Yumiko mostly now, since Yuuta was almost always at St. Rudolph, and his parents were virtually always on travel or not in the house.
Yumiko came pounding down the stairs quickly, and ran into the kitchen. "Did you make it into Osaka?" she said excitedly. Fuji nodded happily. Yumiko hugged her brother tightly. "I knew you could make it! I KNEW it!" she shouted.
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The next day, Fuji drove to school, as usual. He slammed the door to his car, locked it, and ran hastily to practice. The first he was approached by was his bouncy friend, Akutagawa Jiroh. He bounced up to him and grabbed his arm, nearly knocking Fuji's keys out of his hand. "Fuji-san! You made it into the school, didn't you?!"
Fuji blinked and laughed. "Am I so obvious?"
Jiroh jumped happily. "I knew it! I knew it I knew it I knew it! You're amazing; I absolutely knew you would make it in!"
Of course, everyone at practice heard Fuji's loud friend. Oshitari and Atobe approached him next. "Ore-sama would like to have the honor of being the second one at Hyotei to congratulate you," he said.
"As high-handed as ever, eh Atobe?" Fuji asked.
"You sound like you haven't seen me in years," Atobe replied.
Fuji smiled. "I feel like a new person, being accepted into this college."
Atobe looked around. By now, everyone had gathered around Fuji. "Since we don't have any tournaments to prepare for, why don't we have a celebration for Fuji?" Everyone cheered, since even though they were high school students, they still loved parties.
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Fuji sighed as he stared out the window of the train. The summer had passed by quickly, with some parties here, and a couple tournaments there. He had been looking forward to this day ever since last spring, though, when he had gotten that letter. He was currently on a train now, from Tokyo to Osaka, where the school that both Hyotei and Seigaku had encountered in the national tournament, Shitenhouji, was from. He only knew three people from there, Shiraishi, Kintaroh, and Chitose. He also partially knew Oshitari's cousin, Kenya, since they talked quite often. But Fuji was looking forward to seeing them again.
The train suddenly came to a screeching halt. Fuji blinked and looked out the window. They were at the train station, finally. Fuji hustled and gathered his stuff, and he walked quickly out of the train. He only had a couple bags, one being his camera bag, one being his backpack with his laptop, textbooks, and notebooks, and the third being his luggage, with all the clothes he would bring. Yumiko insisted on bringing another suitcase, but Fuji didn't want any more to carry. His hands were already full now.
He called a taxi to bring him to the college. The ride only took roughly thirty minutes, and Fuji tipped the man. "You must be a pretty good student to make it into this college," he said kindly.
Fuji smiled. "Thank you," he replied.
The guy gave him a thumbs-up. "Good luck." Fuji nodded and walked toward the front door. The college had rooms that they would be assigned, and the building for the rooms itself was significantly tall, reaching twenty-one floors. The buildings for the classes on the campus were pretty normal, though. Fuji was looking around everywhere, since he had never visited the college before.
He was staring at a beautiful statue while walking across the campus, when he accidentally bumped into someone. "I'm sorry," Fuji said politely.
"Don't mention it," the guy said. Fuji kept on walking with his head down, slightly embarrassed, but the guy stopped him before taking more than one step. "Fuji Syusuke from Hyotei?"
Fuji turned around and looked up at the guy, meeting a familiar face. "Shiraishi?! I haven't seen you in a while!" Fuji smiled kindly. "Who knew you were going into art?"
Shiraishi shrugged. "Who knew?" He smiled back at Fuji. "You were pretty predictable from the day I met you, back in junior high, though."
Fuji walked up to Shiraishi and gave him an unexpected hug. "I'm so glad I know someone at this school. I thought I would be SO lost! See, I was planning on visiting you, Kintaroh, Chitose, and Kenya later today, after I got my room number."
"You'll be sharing it with someone, though I'm sure you already knew that," Shiraishi said.
"That's not really a problem," Fuji replied.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Shiraishi took Fuji's suitcase from his hands and the two ran to the front desk. Fuji was handed a packet of paper, with a map, his courses, and his room number for both semesters. Fuji blinked when he saw the room number.
"Number 13 on the thirteenth floor? What's up with that?" Fuji said. Shiraishi laughed.
"Maybe you're just cursed."
Fuji frowned. "I don't really believe in superstitions." They walked back out onto the campus. Before long, a junior approached them. He looked at Fuji.
"You're the one who got the 13th room, right?" he asked. Fuji blinked.
"How did you know?"
The guy laughed. "We know everything." Then, he continued with a more serious tone. "That room in cursed, you know."
Fuji scowled at the guy. "You're a junior in college, nearly an adult, and you still believe in this stuff?"
"No, but you don't understand. The guy who roomed there last year got so scared that he requested another room."
Fuji approached the junior. "But do you know precisely what happened to him?"
The junior was taken aback, obviously not used to people approaching him like that. "Well…not really…"
"Exactly." Fuji pivoted on his heel (a habit he had acquired from being around Atobe too long) and stalked off. "Come on, Kuranosuke."
Shiraishi blinked and smiled apologetically at the guy. He followed Fuji obediently and ran to catch up with him. "Someone's got a little attitude problem? Last time I met you, you were always calm and collected."
Fuji didn't turn to look at his friend. "I normally am, but I don't like it when people act immature."
Shiraishi shrugged. "Whatever, Syusuke," he said, playing along with the first-name-game. "But at least we're on the same floor."
Fuji's face immediately brightened. "We are?"
Shiraishi nodded. "But I was hoping to room with you…" Fuji blushed. Shiraishi noticed this and laughed. "C'mon, Syusuke, if you're so embarrassed about that, I don't think you'll ever survive college."
Fuji pouted. "I'm not embarrassed; I'm just not used to it."
"Oh, right, neither Hyotei nor Seigaku are boarding schools, are they?"
"Of course not."
Shiraishi smiled. "Well then, I guess your brother would be better off than you."
"Oh, shut up."
Fuji tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the elevator to reach the 13th floor. "Someone's a little eager, huh?" Shiraishi said.
Fuji turned toward his friend. "I've been waiting for this day for months! I almost can't believe it's finally here."
The elevator dinged to a stop and to doors opened. Fuji stepped out first and looked around. The walls were covered in wallpaper and sparingly decorated with some paintings, photographs, and other stuff, obviously made by students. Then under the work, there would be a small plaque, saying the artist's name, the title of the picture, and the date taken.
"Wow, it's really nice. Almost like we're in a hotel or something," Fuji commented.
"You should see the seniors' hallway," Shiraishi added.
"Another time," Fuji replied. "I'm just eager to see my own room right now."
"It should be the second to last room in the hallway. It's right across from my room, which is the 14th." So Fuji and Shiraishi walked down the hallway, stopping at the second to last door. "I'm going to my own room now, since I'm sure that you don't need help getting into yours," Shiriashi said.
"That's fine," Fuji answered. "I'll see you later, then." Fuji looked at the lavish sign on the door, confirming that it was the correct room. Fuji pushed his key into the slot gently, and opened the door slowly.
The room was nice, and it did look like a hotel, matching the hallways. The carpeting was a cream color, and the walls were the same, with a wooden molding along the bottom of the wall. To his left was a bathroom, in which the door was closed. Fuji didn't feel like opening it, wanting to set down his stuff first. He looked up. There were two beds, and the sheets were a tan color, almost like his hair, with pale green bamboo stalks on them. The second bed was just the same as the first one, but there was someone else sitting on it. Fuji's first instinct was to ask what he was doing here, but then remembered that they were going to be sharing a room.
But when Fuji looked at the said person's face, he saw someone all too familiar. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was dreaming. The boy smirked. "Fuji Syusuke, it's a pleasure to see you again."
Like the first chapter? Just letting you know, the Thirteenth room thing isn't the MAIN storyline. We're still getting to it. xD Patience is a virtue! Please review!