Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Electronic Love ❯ Decisions to Make ( Chapter 11 )

Decisions to Make

“Fujiko!” Eiji squealed loudly as he latched himself onto his best friend.

“What is it, Eiji? You seemed happy.” Fuji asked smilingly while trying to remove Eiji so that the redhead wouldn't block his breathing.

“Guess what? Oishi just asked me out on a date today!” Eiji released Fuji and started to bounce up and down beside him. “I was rather surprised when he said he want to say something to me. Mou, I thought he was going to dump me or something.” Eiji pouted slightly, but then brightened. “But then it turned out that he only wants to take me out after school, nya!”

“That's good. He's been neglecting you for almost a week now, hasn't he?”

“He still called!” Eiji defended his boyfriend. “But it's been a week since the last time we spent time together.” Eiji pouted again when he mentioned this. It was clear that he wasn't very pleased to be neglected for a period of time. “But the point is that we're going out today, nya! Isn't it wonderful, Fuji?”

Fuji nodded. “I'm happy for you.”

“But what about you?” Eiji asked suddenly.

Fuji tilted his head to one side playfully. “I'm sure I can make it back home safely without you today.” He joked.

“Fuji! That's not what I mean!” Eiji whined. “Are you happy now? What's up with Prince Charming?”

“I'm quite content. There's no news yet from Prince Charming. I sent him an email last night, but he hasn't sent any reply.” Fuji sounded just slightly disappointed when he said this. Eiji realized it and sat down beside Fuji.

“Fujiko, what's wrong?”

Fuji looked at his best friend, sighed and told him the silly dream he had last night and the poem he made because of it. Eiji's first response was, predictably, completely unrelated to his issue.

“How did the knight beat that dragon?”

“I don't know. I didn't pay attention then. Next thing I knew was the knight burst in through the door… put down a racquet…”

“A racquet?” Eiji asked incredulously.

Fuji nodded. “He put down a racquet then took of his helmet and then it turned out that he was Tezuka.”

“Wow.” Eiji gushed out.

“I just want to convince myself that Prince Charming is not Tezuka. So I sent him a message asking for some hints about him, but he hasn't replied yet.”

“I want to see you in 17th century dress.” Eiji said distractedly. “Maybe this Prince Charming is busy preparing for your rendezvous. I'm sure he'll answer once he has the time.”

“I hope so.”

“He hasn't been able to resist you this far, right? He'll send a reply very soon. I'm positive about that, nya!”

Fuji smiled at Eiji's confident remark. He was still in doubt but he didn't want to make Eiji worry about him even more. Quickly, Fuji changed the topic to Eiji and Oishi. “So where is Oishi going to take you to?”

“I don't know. He didn't tell me.” Eiji looked thoughtful for a moment, wondering what his boyfriend had in store for him. “It doesn't matter where he took me to! I'll be happy as long as I'm with Oishi!”

Fuji smiled at Eiji's enthusiasm and loyalty. Inwardly, he wondered if he'd ever be like that.

*

After school Tezuka and Inui went to Kaido's uncle's lake house. Tezuka had proposed this idea during school hours because he thought that they needed to think about the decoration now that the issue with food was done. Oishi had wanted to come with them but Tezuka told him to go with Eiji instead because he felt that he had occupied most of Oishi's time lately. He didn't want Eiji to get suspicious or worry and told Fuji about this.

That evening Tezuka, along with Inui who had come to the house before, inspected the place for inspiration for the decoration. The two-story house had four bedrooms and three bathrooms. There were two dining spaces; a formal indoor dining room and another one outside on the lookout to the lake. There were also a kitchen, theatre, swimming pool, Jacuzzi and other luxurious things. Now they just needed to decide how to decorate the house for the occasion.

“I've been thinking about the appropriate color theme. What do you think about red, gold and black?”

“It sounds good.”

“To enhance the mood, we can use candles.”

Inui looked up from his notebook ad looked around the family room. The large glass window on one side of the room showed the lake outside. The furniture was covered in white clothes to block the dust. There was also fireplace on one of the walls for winter.

“Every electronic equipment works. The kitchen is very spacious. Taka-san can cook there. Do you think we've missed something?”

Tezuka looked away from the captivating scenery outside. “I'd like to see the bedrooms.”

“Okay.” Inui led Tezuka deeper into the house and into the spacious and luxurious master bedroom. “Do you want us to prepare them, too?”

Realizing the hidden meaning behind the question, Tezuka decided not to answer. He checked all four bedrooms silently with Inui following him closely behind.

“So? Should we prepare the bedrooms?” Inui asked again when his captain finished his inspections.

Tezuka cleared his throat softly and pushed his glasses up. “I'll think about it first.” He wasn't going to admit that he did want them to prepare the bedrooms. If the meeting went well, he knew very well that he wouldn't want to stop at just that. Of course it all depends on Fuji's reactions…

Inui hummed softly and took notes about this. “So we need to start decorating the house soon.” Inui paused. “I'm sorry to say this but I doubt any of us is romantic enough to do it.”

“What do you mean?”

“We need additional support. Not only for decorating the house but also determine the real chance of you success.”

Tezuka stared at Inui silently to show that Inui's words didn't make much sense to him. At this, Inui explained. “This far we only speculated about what Fuji likes. I think we need to confirm these speculations. We need additional support.”

“…”

“We need to involve Eiji… and Yumiko.”

*

Tezuka had a lot in mind when he arrived home. He ate his dinner absentmindedly, prompting his mother to ask whether he felt alright. After finishing dinner, he went to the sanctuary of his room to think.

Inui's idea to involve Eiji made sense. They needed help from people close to Fuji. Eiji's cooperation would help them determine what step to make. It's a risky business, but the end result might worth it. Inui told him that he had told Oishi about this idea but Oishi didn't agree. It seemed like Oishi was unsure of his own boyfriend's ability to keep secrets. That's very interesting since Eiji had managed to hide his crush on Oishi from him for two and a half years behind his friendliness.

Tezuka himself personally had doubts on Eiji's reliability. But Inui had a point and being a captain, he had faith in his players, Tezuka knew Eiji was Fuji's best friend and he'd probably do anything within his power to ensure Fuji's happiness. Tezuka was positive Eiji would keep this from Fuji once they managed to convince him that this was for Fuji's happiness. Tezuka decided that they should tell Eiji about this and ask his help.

But Inui's other proposal proved to be rather difficult to agree with. Tezuka knew that the Fuji siblings were very close to each other. He was sure Yumiko, just as Eiji, would do anything for Fuji. But Tezuka was still unsure of the risk. What if Yumiko didn't find him worthy of her brother and told Fuji about his plan?

Tezuka didn't know Fuji's sister very well and he wasn't good at diplomacy. Yumiko's help would probably be the most important investment in his relationship with Fuji. But how should he persuade her to help him win her brother's heart?

The beeping of his cell phone interrupted Tezuka's train of thoughts. With a sigh, he checked the incoming message. His interest grew when he saw that it's from Fuji.

“Prince Charming… Where art thou?”

Tezuka smiled slightly. It seemed like he'd been neglecting his kitten for too long. Quickly, he typed a reply.

“Right here, my kitten.”

“Have you forgotten of me?”

“Never. Pardon the delay of the reply for you note. I have been preparing for our rendezvous.”

“Is it so? What are you planning, my Prince?”

“Why don't you wait and see for yourself this weekend? I'll send you my reply tonight.”

“Can hardly wait. Good night, my Prince. Don't tire yourself too much for my sake.”

“I won't” Tezuka replied verbally. He smiled at his cell phone's screen. Minding his promise, Tezuka went to his computer and turned it on. What was Fuji's last email? Right, he asked for hints about Tezuka. Now how should he reply?

Tezuka paused with his fingers just above the keyboard. What kind of hint should he give? Tezuka didn't want to reveal his secrets too early. Their rendezvous was approaching and he'd rather not see all his efforts go to waste. Tezuka closed his eyes to concentrate. Words and lines started to form in his mind. Fuji asked for hints about him and Tezuka was going to send him the most general hints.

There's nothing romantic I can say about me

For I'm not a poet, I am not known for creativity

Just look around you and start to see

Somewhere around you, is me

If there were something to say about Tezuka, it would be unromantic and uncreative. Though now after he started to correspond with Fuji, he started to doubt his own theory. Perhaps deep down inside Tezuka was a romantic person but tennis and school had forced that talent to the back of his subconscious mind. His determination to communicate with Fuji discreetly had awakened the hidden talent.

Well, now Tezuka knew he had talents with words. But did he have the same creativity when it came to decoration? Tezuka wasn't so sure about leaving the job to fourteen years-old male tennis player no matter how accurate the data about his and Fuji's preferences the said tennis player might have, either.

Tezuka realized that his big scenario had several loopholes. One was the lack of information and the second and recently found loophole was the need of romantic touches in his rendezvous, something which neither he nor Inui could provide. He must make a quick decision about whom else to be involved in this.

Eiji and Yumiko.

Should Tezuka ask for their help?

Information… at times like this information was crucial. To ensure and raise his chance of success, Tezuka needed information about Fuji as soon and accurate as possible. Eiji was the key to this.

That's it then. He would ask Eiji to join his little team. He'd ask Oishi to arrange a meeting with the redhead tomorrow.

But as for Yumiko… Tezuka was still unsure. He'd need to discuss this further with his friends tomorrow. Right now, he'll focus on persuading Eiji to help him.

*

“And then? Have you sent him any reply?”

“Yes, I have, Eiji. I told him that I'm rather disappointed that he wouldn't give me more hints and I said that I can't wait for this weekend.”

“Did you print you reply? I want to see it, nya!”

Fuji handed Eiji a piece of paper containing both Prince Charming's and his reply. He listened with a smile as Eiji recited the poems to him. Since it's Eiji, the poem sounded funny instead of gushy and romantic as Fuji and Prince Charming intended it to be.

Your reply, I was disappointed to hear

But I am content to know that you're near

Subtlety seems to be your virtue

I definitely can't wait to finally see you

“So what do you gather from this?” Eiji asked after he finished re-reading the poems.

“That in real life he is unromantic and uncreative. And that he is close to me.” Fuji explained his hypothesis.

“Do you think it's one of our classmates, nya?”

“I don't know, Eiji. He could be anyone.”

“Well, at any rate, you'll find out next weekend!”

“I don't want to wait that long.” Fuji whined with a slight pout. Eiji thought he looked adorable like that.

“It's only a few days away, nya! Give him time to prepare everything!” Eiji tried to cheer his best friend. “I wish Oishi were that romantic.” He sighed then.

“What about the date yesterday?” Fuji asked upon hearing Oishi's name.

“It's good, nya! He took me to a restaurant to eat!”

“Is that it?” Fuji asked teasingly.

“Well, yes. Oishi seemed rather preoccupied with something. Yesterday he kept wanting to say something to me, but he said nothing.” Eiji pouted. “I'm so worried about him.”

“Maybe you should ask him about it. It could be something serious.” Fuji advised. Of course he had slight suspicion that Oishi had wanted to ask Eiji to move one step further in their relationship. But Fuji decided not to say it out loud. He'd let Eiji figure it out on his own.

“I have. But he said it's nothing.” Eiji's face suddenly brightened. “But then last night he suddenly asked me to go with him again today!”

Fuji blinked slowly in confusion, but this went unnoticed by his redheaded friend. This was rather suspicious. Whatever Oishi was trying to tell Eiji, it must be important. Oishi wouldn't suddenly ask Eiji to go out with him like this. Especially after saying nothing about what's bothering him, yesterday. Was there anything wrong?

Or maybe Oishi just needed to gather his courage. Maybe he wanted to say something sensitive to Eiji. Fuji could only hope it's a good kind of sensitive thing because Eiji seemed very excited right now. It wouldn't do to shatter his hope like that. Fuji hoped Oishi were sensible enough not to hurt Eiji. It's for Oishi's own good, after all.

“So what about Tezuka?”

Fuji was shaken from his vengeful daydream by the mentioning of Tezuka's name. It never seemed to fail to gain his attention.

“What about Tezuka?” Fuji repeated the question.

“Tezuka seemed to keep Oishi busy these days. Do you think that Tezuka is Prince Charming and they were planning your date? Tezuka fits the unromantic description. And you two are kind of close!”

Kind of close. Somehow whose words stabbed Fuji's heart. Yes, he and Tezuka were kind of close. Like two feet close. They were only close physically. They'd talk occasionally, but only about tennis. Personally, they don't know each other very well. Not to mention about Echizen's presence between them. They're close alright.

“No.” Fuji shook his head. “I've thought of it. It just can't be.”

“But don't you wish that Prince Charming were him?”

Fuji smiled sadly. “I've given up on Tezuka. I don't want to wish, Eiji.”

No, Fuji didn't want to wish. But why was he still wishing that Prince Charming were Tezuka? He hoped his wistful thinking would end soon… And the only way to end it was to see for himself that Tezuka wasn't Prince Charming. Fuji definitely couldn't wait for their rendezvous.

*

Eiji was surprised when Oishi stopped him in front of the restaurant in which they would eat. Oishi seemed very nervous as they walked there after school and the serious look on his face now only served to make Eiji more and more worried. The redhead watched with his breath held as Oishi slowly took a deep breath.

With an uneasy smile Oishi turned and said to Eiji, “Eiji, there's someone who wants to see you.”

Wisely, Eiji said nothing and only nodded and followed Oishi into the restaurant. Eiji kept watching the back of Oishi's profile, wondering if anything was wrong. Suddenly they came to a halt near a table on the corner.

Of four chairs in that table, one was occupied. Eiji peered over his boyfriend's shoulder to see this person whom Oishi claimed to want to see him.

“Buchou!” Eiji's eyes widened and he exclaimed in shock.

Oishi sat on one of the unoccupied chairs and motioned his boyfriend to sit down also. Eiji complied wordlessly, still in surprise and confusion. Why did Tezuka want to see him?

“Eiji,” Oishi began, gaining his boyfriend's attention immediately. “Tezuka's here because he wants to ask for your help. But before that, we need to tell you something.”

Oishi took a deep breath and glanced at Tezuka who looked at Eiji with his usual expressionless façade. Eiji turned to his boyfriend in fear, disbelieve and confusion. Was Oishi having an affair with Tezuka behind his back?

“Do you remember the poems for Fuji you told me about? The ones from his cyber friend? Prince Charming?”

Eiji nodded silently.

“Well,” Oishi glanced at his captain again. “Tezuka is the Prince Charming.”

Eiji went silent and still. Oishi and Tezuka waited for his response with their breaths held until finally, Eiji blinked owlishly.

“Oh, that's good! I thought you were going to say that you're having an affair with Tezuka or something!”

Oishi gaped like a goldfish out of the water while Tezuka cleared his throat slightly in discomfort. “Aren't you surprised?” Oishi asked warily once he recomposed himself.

“Not really.” Eiji shrugged casually. “I guess I've known all along, nya. I've told Fuji so, but he doesn't believe me!”

Now Tezuka wasn't sure whether to be amused by Eiji's observation or concerned that even Eiji was able to figure that out. Fuji could probably be lying. Just like in tennis, Fuji was good at deceiving people into thinking he's harmless when in fact he the complete opposite of that.

“So what do you want me to do, nya?” Eiji asked nonchalantly.

“Well…” Oishi began hesitantly. “We want you to tell us about Fuji's response to Tezuka's advances.”

“Like a spy? Sugoi, nya!” Eiji exclaimed excitedly.

“Yes, like a spy. But we need you to be as discreet as possible. You must've known that Tezuka asked Fuji out to a rendezvous, right? We don't want to spoil the surprise before it.”

“OK!”

Eiji's enthusiasm raised worries in Tezuka and Oishi. Eiji was a good friend, but he wasn't very good at being discreet. Inui was right when he said that Eiji wasn't that unreliable; after all he managed to hide his crush on his double partner for over three years. But during those three years, Eiji had also jumped and glommed Oishi at any given opportunity. Anyone with keen eyes (i.e. Fuji) could see the true meaning behind these seemingly childish acts. It wasn't innocent motives that drove the acrobatic player to do such thing to his double partner. In fact, it was the furthest thing from childishness. And when they eventually got together, no one was really surprised. Most of them would just shrug and said that they had expected it to happen sooner or later anyway. The point was that most people could read Eiji quite easily. And if most people could read him, then Fuji, who was Eiji's current best friend, would be able to read him even easier.

Well, it's too late to back out now. They couldn't take back what they had said. Tezuka, especially, could only hope that Fuji wouldn't notice anything out of ordinary in his best friend.

“But first, I think Tezuka here needs to see Fuji personally and convince himself that Fuji hasn't a single clue of who Prince Charming was.” Oishi nudged Tezuka playfully. “Besides, you two haven't met each other in a while, have you?” At Tezuka's nod, he proceeded. “Can you arrange a gathering tomorrow? Just Tezuka, Fuji, you and I without any disturbance and possible eavesdropping?”

“Alright! How about lunch in the schoolyard? Under that sakura tree?”

Tezuka nodded under his friends' excited gazes. “That sounds fine.”

“Why don't you come to my class tomorrow and help me make Fuji come with us? It's kinda hard if it's just me.”

“OK.” Oishi answered for Tezuka.

Right then, Tezuka's cell phone suddenly rang. Tezuka glanced at the caller's ID and excused himself. Eiji and Oishi watched him with mild interest as he walked away to receive the call.

“Eiji.” Oishi suddenly called his boyfriend softly in conspiration. “Do you happen to know whether Fuji like Tezuka? And I mean as Tezuka, not as Prince Charming.”

Eiji beamed at this question. “Of course.” He whispered back in excitement. “I asked him this several days ago and he confessed that he likes Tezuka. But since he thinks that Tezuka doesn't like him back, he decides to get over him.”

“Hence he accepted Prince Charming's offer.”

The redhead nodded vigorously. “He still loves Tezuka, I can tell it. He seemed so sad when he said that Prince Charming couldn't possibly be Tezuka. He still wishes Prince Charming were Tezuka! But he's so stubborn and won't admit it, nya! Imagine how he's going to be when he knows that Prince Charming is really Tezuka!”

Oishi nodded at his boyfriend's outburst. “Eiji, I need you to do something. Don't tell Tezuka about this. Let him wonder. Wouldn't it be cuter if they find out later during the rendezvous?”

It wasn't difficult to convince Eiji. He immediately nodded in agreement. When Tezuka returned from receiving the phone call and reclaimed his seat, he had completely no idea what his friends planned for him.

“Inui will be here soon.” Tezuka informed his friends.

“Right. So what are we going to do tomorrow?” Oishi asked, glancing at Eiji to warn him to stop giggling lest Tezuka would get suspicious.

Tezuka ducked his head slightly, solemnly. But probably he was just too shy to look at them in the eyes. “I just want to know if he likes me or not. This would mean nothing if he doesn't even like me at all. It isn't necessary to bring up the topic of Prince Charming.”

“But it'll be suspicious! I think you should talk about it just a bit. Just to prove that you care about him!”

“Oishi is right.” Suddenly a familiar voice came from behind the vice captain and the acrobatic player. Oishi and Eiji jumped in surprise but Tezuka barely twitched an eyebrow at the intrusion.

“Inui! Don't surprise me like that, nya!”

“Good evening, everyone.” Inui greeted them as he sat down on the remaining chair. “So you've decided to involve Eiji. That's great. Now what about the other one that I suggest?”

Eiji looked at Inui in confusion. “The other one?”

“I'm still not sure about involving Fuji's sister in this.” Tezuka answered Inui.

“Fuji's sister? You want to involve Yumiko-nee-san?”

“I'm still not sure about it.” Tezuka repeated. Then he paused for a while. “What do you think, Eiji?”

“Huh? Why ask me, nya?” asked a confused Eiji who suddenly found himself as the center of his friends' attentions.

“You know her better than us. Do you think if I were to propose this to her she would refuse and tell Fuji?”

Not wanting to disappoint his lovesick captain, Eiji thought about this carefully. “I think she wouldn't do that. Even if she refuses, she'll still respect your privacy and not tell Fuji.”

“Are you sure?” Oishi pressed.

“Yes. Yumiko-nee-san could be a bit evil at times. But I'm quite sure she won't do that.”

“So, Tezuka, what is your decision? Involving Fuji's sister will raise you chance of success by ten percent.” Inui said. “Not to mention that her additional help will be useful for your plan. Are you going to take the risk?”

Tezuka took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His friends were waiting for his decision anxiously. It must be the most risky thing he did for his plan. Should he risk it?

“Eiji, are you sure?”

Eiji nodded. “Yes.”

Tezuka paused, then made a decision. ”Then I'll do it.”

Eiji cheered, while Oishi smiled to him encouragingly. Inui was busy taking notes about this development. Actually he was rather unnerved by their reaction but fought back the urge to take back what he'd said. He reminded himself that the end result would (probably) worth it. With Yumiko's cooperation, he'd have better chance in winning Fuji's heart.

“Can you arrange a meeting for Tezuka and Yumiko?” Inui asked Eiji.

“OK. When do you want to see her?”

“They should meet as soon as possible. What about tomorrow?” Inui interjected.

“I'll call her tonight!”

“Make sure that she won't tell Fuji anything about it. We can't let him get suspicious.”

Eiji nodded enthusiastically.

*

“Anything new from our dearest Prince Charming?” Yumiko teased her brother.

“Nothing much.” Fuji replied. “He refused to give me hints about his true identity. But that's nothing new… I don't want to disturb him right now. He said he's busy preparing our meeting.”

“Hmm… the rendezvous.” Then Yumiko chuckled. She stopped washing the dishes and turn to look at Fuji who was sitting on a chair near the kitchen counter. “Speaking of the rendezvous… How do you want it to be?”

Fuji cupped his face with his palm. He closed his eyes and smiled as he started to fantasize. “Romantic. Loads of candles and flowers…”

“And whipped cream?”

Fuji laughed. “Well, that, too, if possible.”

“I always know you have it in you.” She teased Fuji before sighing melodramatically. “Romantic rendezvous, eh? It's so unfair. None of my ex had ever done that for me and yet my brother here has someone he doesn't even know who's willing to do that for him.”

Fuji chuckled at his sister's melodramatic display. He was going to say something about that when the phone suddenly rang.

“I'll get it.” Yumiko, who was closer to the phone, said. “Moshi moshi. Fuji's residence… Oh, it's you… Yes, why? Do you want to talk to… What is it?” Yumiko glanced at Fuji briefly. “Is it serious?… OK. Tell me the time and place… All right…. Yes. Good bye.”

“Who is it?” Fuji asked curiously after his sister hung up the phone. His sister seemed serious when she received the call. Was there anything wrong?

“A friend. He has something he wants to talk about.” Yumiko answered as she continued with the dishes. Fuji recognized this as a tactic to distract herself from her worry.

“He?” Fuji tried to lighten the mood.

Yumiko dried her hands with a cloth then swatted Fuji's head playfully. “He's not my boyfriend. And I don't think he wants to be my boyfriend, either. He already has someone. He wants to meet me tomorrow evening so I'll be back late. Can you prepare dinner for yourself?”

“Alright.”

“Now why don't you go to your room and study? Aren't you going to have exams soon? Our parents will murder you if you don't graduate.”

“Alright. Alright.” Fuji laughed and went to his room. Behind him, Yumiko watched his retreating back with concern.

^_^