Author's
Note: This is like a sequel to both Broken Smile and A Mid
Valentine's Day Dream Holiday Special. In case you haven't read one
or both, here's some of the background info that you need to know to
enjoy this story: Tezumi: Fuji's girlfriend. In Broken Smile,
she saved Fuji from drowning, almost at the expense of her own life.
Um, basically, it dragged on for 28 chapters before they got
together, so let me tell you, THEY ARE SERIOUS about each other.
Love potion: In A Mid Valentine's Day Dream, Eiji discovered
this by accident, and well, you can imagine what happened. This is
Eiji we're talking about. Anyway, Fuji was especially affected by it
because Tezuka fell in love with him, and um, well, take it as a
warning, all you girls dreaming about this buchou: You don't EVER
want him to fall in love with you. Really. But enough of my
babbling, let's start the story. Be warned, I am being very, VERY
mean to Fuji in this one.
Fuji Syusuke burst into tears.
And Tezumi didn't care.
The rest of the Seigaku regulars looked at each other.
"How did this happen?" Tezuka rounded on Inui.
The data collector struggled to keep his face straight. "I have no idea."
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Inui Sadaharu was almost at the point of tearing all his hair out. No, he was actually nearing the point of ripping up his notebook. A little more drastic, but it hurt less.
The reason for this sudden outburst of violence?
"My Inui Juice has failed, once again, to get a reaction out of Fuji Syusuke." Oh, how he hated the tensai for not screaming and begging for mercy at the very sight of his otherwise infamous juice! Of course, 'no reaction' was a slight exaggeration on Inui's part; Fuji had, at least, smacked his lips and asked for more of the poisonous green concoction.
Inui flipped furiously through his recipes, frantically searching for once that he hadn't already terrorized the regulars with, but in vain.
Tossing the irritating book over his shoulder, he proceeded onto the next best thing: mixing random chemicals together and hoping that the resultant mixture exploded, killing him and delivering his tortured soul from this horrendous maltreatment, or turned out to the ultimate vegetable juice feared by all. Even annoying prodigies with dysfunctional taste buds.
Sadly, these last desperate lunges at success were of no avail. He had, by combining several super corrosive acids, managed to come up with something halfway decent, but decided that a lifetime in jail was an unreasonable price to pay for the few moments of satisfaction he would get before Fuji finally died.
It was time, Inui mused, for a new approach. Since the tennis genius was apparently immune to pain of the internal organs, perhaps a psychological assult?
He wouldn't target Yuuta; no, St. Rudolph was too far away. Better to close on someone closer at hand. Tapping his pen slowly on his chin, a smirk of anticipation slowly grew and curled his thin lips.
He knew the perfect person and potion.
Inui's chance came a few days later when the Seigaku regulars gathered at Kawamura's sushi bar to celebrate yet another victory of their school. He had devised his master plan so that Fuji would never know what had happened before it had; and even better, the tantalizing tensai would be unknowingly planting the seed of his own destruction. He would never know what hit him.
Actually, not what had hit him...
"Saa, Tezumi, are you hungry? Have some sushi." Dear, considerate Fuji pushed the plate towards his girlfriend.
Unbeknown to the other regulars and their various dates, Inui slipped his Hyper-vitalized Extreme Love Potion out of an inner pocket. It was the revised and improved version of the love potion that had wrecked havoc in Seigaku last Valentine's Day, with the help of Eiji. Only by the redhead's account of events had Inui been able to pinpoint the former potion's only weakness: it was utterly uncontrollable; the weakness of love itself. Not that anything was strictly predictable in Eiji's hands, but Inui decided not to risk it again.
Thus the creation of the Hyper-vitalized Extreme Love Potion that made you shout "HELP!"
Literally.
Discreetly taking a cup of tea, his glasses flashed dangerously as he poured some of this new drink into the brown liquid. Another new feature was that instead of being pale pink, this new juice was undistinguishable from water--until someone drank it.
"Thanks." With a smile, Tezumi picked up a piece of sushi and popped it into her mouth, totally unsuspecting of her loving boyfriend.
"Ahh!" But then, Inui doubted that she would ever take anything the smiling boy offered again; at least, not any time soon. The dark haired teen didn't think Fuji had given her the wasabi sushi on purpose, but with this particular tensai, you just never knew.
"Here, Tezumi, drink some tea." The data collector shoved a cup into the hysterical girl's hands, as was the normal practice for people who had consumed Fuji's poor imitations of food. Tezumi gulped it down without a thought. His friends were so naive sometimes.
"FUJI!" On recovery, she turned on the still grinning prodigy, who found himself face to face with an irate girlfriend.
"Sorry, sorry."
He was the first person Tezumi had set eyes on after swallowing Inui's secrets weapon, but Inui wasn't worried; oh no, he definitely wasn't worried.
"Fuji Syusuke! How many times have I told you that I can't stand wasa--" Before she could even hit Fuji over the head for his crime, her rant slowed to a stop. She blinked silently.
"Tezumi? Tezumi, does it really hurt?" The light haired boy's smile faltered, getting up suddenly and hurrying over to her in genuine concern.
Slowly, her brain regained mobility. She wriggled out of his arms. "Inui?"
"Yes? Let the show begin. The best part about the new love potion was that whoever drank a little of it fell in love with...
"I love you." The person in possession of the rest of the drink.
Silence.
"WHAT?!" There were a few loud bangs as the remaining regulars hit their knees on the tables as they shot to their feet.
"Uh, Tezumi senpai? Jokes are supposed to be funny, you know." Momo attempted to laugh away the situation, as typical of him.
"Saa, Tezumi."
Inui couldn't believe it; the guy was still smiling.
"Tezumi, don't scare me like that. If you're bored, we can go somewhere together." Fuji reached out to take her hand.
Smirking inside, Inui let him.
"No! I don't want to go with you. Im staying with Sadaharu-kun!"
"Wow," Eiji said in a loud whisper. "She won't call Fuji 'Syusuke' but she calls Inui 'Sadaharu'?"
A few casualties couldn't be helped, Inui figured, seeing the way Fuji looked at the redhead.
"Ne, Tezumi, don't play like that."
Inui noted with glee that the nerve wrecking smile was finally gone.
"I'm not playing! I'm going to be with Sadaharu-kun for ever and ever! Go away!"
The potion's ability to change a person's character was also a lot more prominent. Inui didn't blame the others for gawking at the pouting girl in disbelief; she had once risked her life to save Fuij's after all. And people like that weren't usually in the habit of changing their minds overnight.
"Saa, don't you love me anymore, Tezumi?"
None of the other regulars tried to intervene. As much as they pitied Fuji, it wasn't every day they saw this side of the tensai, vulnerable and insecure with his voice all shaky. Inui knew that one untimely grin could basically cost him his life, but it was very hard to hold back the wild laughter building in him. The simple, harmless looking love juice had finally achieved what stomach burning, neon colored drinks hadn't. It had hurt the unhurtable tennis prodigy of Seishun Gakun.
"Tezumi?"
"No, I don't love you! I only love Sadaharu-kun! I hate you! Get out; I never want to see you again!" Inui just had to keep still, acting shocked, while Tezumi planted a big kiss on his cheek. "I love you, Sadaharu-kun!"
And that is how it came about that the cheerful, poker faced Fuji Syusuke burst into tears.