Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Hejira ❯ Aftermath ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Author's Note: I know the prologue was a little puzzling, and probably confusing, but don't worry, it'll all clear up in time. Now it's time for our favorite guy to appear—Fuji! And plus, a short reunion with Tenaya, Ryoma, Sakuno and Tezuka. Enjoy.

Also, just to clear it up, Hejira is actually a word. It's usually spelled Hegira, but I thought it looked better with a J. It means "A flight to escape danger".

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Hejira

Aftermath

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Fuji Syusuuke sat at his dining table on Saturday morning, at 6:30 a.m. to be exact, carefully spreading cream cheese onto his bagel as the early morning newsman droned off the local news in the living room. He wiped the edge of the knife clean before sticking it into the carton of cream cheese, not even realizing what he was doing. But a happy smile remained on his face as he wiped his hands before picking up his breakfast.

But just as Fuji was about to take a bite, a snippet of the local news reached his ears and he almost dropped his bagel. He placed it onto his plate and quickly wiped his hands, walking over to the TV. His eyes widened as he saw the reporter standing in front of a house engulfed in flames. Dozens of people were running around it, trying to put the fire out.

"…to find the whole house in flames. Because the Sugisaki family owned so much land, smoke from the fire was not noticed by the neighbors until only about a half-hour ago. Unfortunately, there are no survivors, and investigators estimate that over forty people have died. Included in the list of victims is twenty-five year old Yukio Sugisaki, as well as his father, Hiroi Sugisaki. Because they have no other living relatives, their deaths bring, not only grief to our community, but also an end to the Sugisaki Motors Company."

Fuji stared blankly at the screen, with his jaw hanging slightly open, as if not quite believing what had just come out of the reporter's mouth. He plopped down onto the couch behind him, still staring into space. Yukio Sugisaki…dead? Not only was he Fuji's friend, Sugisaki's company was also one of Fuji's main sponsors, as well as Tenaya's and Ryoma's. Sugisaki Motors was one of the richest establishments in Japan, with over 15 billion dollars in net worth. He didn't want to sound cold, but having them as a sponsor was a huge accomplishment, and now that this had happened, they would be short on a lot of money - money that paid for their equipment, rental fees, and sent them to the grand slams.

Fuji was shaken out of his thoughts as an annoying newswoman literally bounced into the screen, reading off the weather forcast in a high, whiny voice. Fuji switched off the television set disgustedly and grabbed his bagel, stuffing half of it into his mouth. He then looked at the clock, realizing that if he didn't leave soon, he would be late for practice, which would result in another lecture from Tezuka. So with the bagel still in his mouth, he grabbed his tennis bag and exited the house.

As he got into his car, he wondered how the news would hit Tenaya and Ryoma, who had most likely missed the morning announcements. Fuji pondered this as he cruised down his street.

After stuffing the rest of his breakfast into his mouth, he reached over to the glove compartment to grab a napkin. However, as his hand searched around, he couldn't seem to locate the small package. So, taking his eyes off the road, he dug around until he found the Kleenex box before shutting the compartment and looking back up.

As his gaze returned to the road, Fuji spotted something large in the street, approximately 15 feet away. His eyes widened as it grew closer and closer before he hit the brakes, bringing his car to a screeching halt just a few inches before the object.

He sighed with relief before frowning and slowly getting out of his car. He took a few tentative steps toward the "thing". It kinda looked like a dog from far away, a really big dog, with brownish-red fur. But as Fuji got closer, he realized with a gasp that it was a person, a girl to be specific. He immediately rushed over, kneeling before the person. He winced as he looked her over.

She lay there on her side, unmoving, dressed in black pants and a short sleeved dark brown shirt. Her head rested in a pool of blood, and her black hair was soaked with it. Her whole body was covered in painful looking bruises and scratches, and it seemed like every single pore on her body was bleeding. It looked like somebody had dropped a bomb on her. In fact, the only thing that was, for the most part, unscathed, was her face, which Fuji noticed was fairly attractive, although deathly pale.

He carefully placed his hand on her cold wrist, and was surprised to find a pulse, although it was extremely faint and slow - probably only about twenty beats per minute. Unless she was an Olympic athlete, her heart rate was dangerously slow, and she was probably on the verge of death. However, as Fuji looked down at her face, he just couldn't leave her there to die, cold and alone.

"Tezuka's gonna kill me…" Fuji muttered as he placed his arms under her and lifted her limp form, surprised at how light she was. He carried her over to the car and placed her gently in the backseat before getting in the driver's seat and slowly driving back the way he came. As he cruised at a slow speed, he pulled out his cell phone, dialing Sakuno Ryuuzaki's number. Sakuno, after trying tennis for a few years, decided that she had another calling: medical school. So after she graduated, she went on to become a doctor. One would think that she would be too squeamish to be a surgeon, which was what she wanted to be, but she had graduated from medical school at the top of her class. Over the years, she had matured from the shy, blustering girl she once was to a mature, sophisticated, successful surgeon who always carried about an air of professionalism.

Fuji decided that he had better call her over, just in case there was a chance the girl would survive. After telling Sakuno the predicament, he hung up, pulled into his driveway, and got out. He then opened the back door and picked the girl up before walking up the walkway and through the front door. He ignored the blood that dripped from her body as he placed her on the living room couch. He was about to clean her up a little, before deciding that it was probably safer if he didn't touch her.

As he waited for Sakuno to arrive, he gave Tezuka a call. Fuji was now about a half-hour late, and Tezuka was probably freaking out.

"Hello?" The tension in his deep voice confirmed Fuji's prediction.

"Hey Tezuka, it's Fuji."

"Where are you?" Tezuka demanded.

Fuji frowned, trying to think of an excuse. "Sorry, I don't think I can make practice today. My arm is really sore from…gardening. Yeah, I was doing some yard work yesterday."

"Gardening."

"Uh-huh."

Tezuka sighed. "Fine. But you better come to practice Monday. The US Open is in less than a month."

"Don't worry, I will." Fuji replied. In the background, he could hear Tenaya's voice.

"Um, Tenaya wants to talk to you." Tezuka said, sounding annoyed. "Hold on."

Fuji smiled as he waited for Tenaya to take the phone.

"Fuji?" She was breathless, probably from tennis drills.

"Hey Tenaya."

"How come you're not coming?" Her voice sounded concerned. "It's not your ankle again is it?" He had hurt his ankle during Wimbledon, causing him to forfeit his match halfway through the semi-finals, and give up his chance of winning his tenth grand slam.

"No, it's not that." Fuji hesitated. "It might be hard to believe but..."

"Yeah?" Her voice sounded eager.

"Okay. I didn't tell Tezuka because I didn't think he'd believe me, although you can tell Ryoma if you want. The truth is, I found this girl on my way to practice, like, in the middle of the street, and I have no idea what happened to her. And she looks really hurt. I'm surprised she's not dead yet. So I've taken her back to my house, and I'm waiting for Sakuno to come right now. "

"No…way."

"Way."

"So…you can't make it to practice because you're trying to save a corpse?"

Fuji sighed. "She's not a corpse yet. She might live."

"Oh. I see." Fuji could hear Tezuka's voice in the background, yelling for her to get off the phone. "Hold on a minute!" She yelled back.

"Oh yeah, did you hear about Yukio Sugisaki?" Fuji said, remembering.

"No. What about him?"

"His house burned down."

She gasped. "It did! How about him? Did he or his dad survive?"

"Unfortunately not."

"Uh-oh." Fuji could just imagine her biting her lip like she always did when she was worried. She probably had the exact same concern he had had. "And Tezuka's already in a bad mood. And if I tell Ryoma, I'd probably burst his little bubble." Ryoma had won Wimbledon, and had been extremely happy since then, even though it was so long ago.

"Well, I just wanted to let you guys know."

"Thanks Fuji." She said. More yelling came from the background. "Okay, I'm coming!" Tenaya yelled. "Jeez. Anyway, I gotta go. I hope the girl's okay, and I'll see you on Monday okay? Bye!"

"Bye." Fuji said. Right as he hung up the phone, the doorbell rang.

Fuji padded across the kitchen to the front door. "Hi, thanks for coming on such short notice." Fuji said after opening the door.

"No problem." Sakuno said, smiling at him before stepping inside and taking off her shoes. "So where is she?"

Fuji pointed to the living room. "I found her about ten minutes ago in the street. I'm not really sure what happened, but I think a car might have hit her."

She frowned as she walked into the living room, laying eyes on her. "Oh boy." She kneeled down beside her and took her pulse. "Well, she's alive all right, although I'm sure that when, and if, she regains consciousness, she'll wish she wasn't. And all these wounds are still bleeding, which means that they're fresh. She couldn't have been lying out there for more than two hours." She frowned. "But she still should have died from blood loss by now." She looked her over briefly, quietly muttering her observations. "Broken arm, concussion - probably major, bruises, scratches, a really deep looking laceration on her fore-arm…" She carefully pulled up the girl's shirt to reveal her stomach, and also rolled up the legs of her pants. Fuji winced at the sight.

Sakuno sighed, continuing her observations. "Broken ribs, good chance of internal bleeding, more bruises and scratches." Fuji gasped when he looked down at her calves and ankles, and Sakuno's eyes widened. "Two gunshots, one in her calf, and one on the back of her ankle. This is serious. She couldn't have gotten gunshot wounds in her leg if it was just a car accident. If I stop the bleeding soon, she might survive."

Sakuno opened up her medical briefcase, pulling out a few rolls of gauze, rubbing alcohol pads, scissors, a scalpel, and tweezers. Fuji shivered, looking at the instruments and wondering what she was about to do with them. "Shouldn't I call an ambulance?" Fuji asked.

Sakuno shook her head. "In most cases, yes. But with her gunshot wounds, if we bring her to a hospital, the bullets could be easily identified. I'm not sure if that's something she wants everybody to know. And plus, by the time an ambulance arrives, she could very possibly have bled to death."

Fuji nodded.

"Why don't you go get some aspirin and water?" Sakuno turned to Fuji briefly before unrolling the gauze.

Fuji nodded again, before heading to the kitchen and returning with a spoon and the aspirin and water. He crushed the two aspirin tablets carefully before spooning it into the girl's mouth with some water.

"Now I need to bandage her wounds."

"Okay."

"…Which means you have to leave the room."

"Oh!" Fuji said, realizing what she meant. "Okay." He stood up and exited the living room.

Sakuno shook her head, chuckling, as she turned back towards the girl, before pushing her shoulder-length hair out of the way (she had taken Ryoma's advice sometime during high school and cut off her long braids) and putting on her gloves. She carefully took off the girl's shirt and pants. 'Is this girl superhuman?' Sakuno wondered as she ripped open the packages of alcohol pads. Nobody should be able to survive all this.

Sakuno carefully dabbed all her wounds with alcohol, thanking the lord that this girl wasn't conscious at this moment, before picking up her scalpel. She carefully cut the skin and flesh around the bullet holes, ignoring the new rivers of blood that began flowing out. She carved away (not to sound crude) until the bullets were visible, and then she pulled them out with the tweezers. The gunshot in her calf was buried deep, to the bone, and the impact of it had made a small crack in the bone. On the other hand, the gunshot in her ankle had damaged the Achilles tendon, and she probably wouldn't be able to walk properly for a few weeks.

After cleaning the girl up, Sakuno wrapped all of her wounds up in gauze, including her head, and placed her arm in a splint. She then threw her gloves away, as well as the girl's bloody clothes, before going to find Fuji.

She found him sitting on the bottom of the stairs, elbows rested on his knees. He looked up as Sakuno walked in. "Is she going to be okay?" He asked, standing up.

Sakuno nodded. "I think so. By the way, do you have some extra clothes? I don't have any of mine with me, and all of her clothes are torn and bloody."

Fuji nodded, going up to his room and returning with a pair of gray sweats and a light blue T-shirt.

"Thanks." Sakuno said before returning to the living room to put the clothes on the girl. "Okay, you can come in now." She called out after finishing.

Fuji walked in a few moments later and his eyes widened when he saw the girl on his couch. "Wow, she looks a lot better. You're good."

Sakuno smiled. "Thanks. And just to remind you, you're going to have to feed her aspirin every 6-8 hours even though she's unconscious. Most of her wounds have stopped bleeding so you don't have to worry about taking off her shirt or pants."

Fuji sighed in relief.

"But the bullet wounds in her leg will probably continue to bleed, as well as the wound on her head. You're gonna have to change those bandages when they become too soaked with blood. And I'll make you a list of everything that's wrong with her so you can have it on hand." Sakuno said professionally, whipping out her notepad and pen and began scribbling.

"Other than that," she said after a few moments. "Just make sure she's comfortable and hydrated. When she regains consciousness, which shouldn't be for another few weeks, make sure she stays bed-ridden and call me immediately." Sakuno handed the slip of paper to him and started towards the door, Fuji following. "Good luck." She said. "I'm by the phone if anything goes wrong." She slipped on her shoes and opened the front door. "And just to tell you, there's a good chance she'll die sometime today or tomorrow. If she survives the first few days, then she should be fine." Sakuno smiled grimly at him before walking down the steps, getting into her car, and driving away.

Fuji closed the front door, and looked down at the list Sakuno had given him. "Holy hell." It practically went off the page. He shook his head before returning to the living room. He looked at the girl and decided that she would be more comfortable in a bed, so he picked her up and went up the stairs. After pondering which bed he should put her on, he decided that it would be best if she stayed in his bed, that way he could keep an eye on her. Plus, it wasn't as if he needed all of his king-sized bed. He carefully placed her down, pulling the blanket up to her chin. After making sure she was comfortable, he smiled at her and then sat down before his computer, opening up some files to work on.

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Fuji blinked, opening his eyes in the darkness. He could hear the steady beeping of his alarm clock, and he reached over to switch it off. It's glowing red letters read 12:00 PM. He had set it eight hours ago so that he could feed the girl aspirin halfway through the night. He looked down at the girl laying about a foot away from him, still unmoving. Hurriedly, he picked up her arm and tested her pulse, relieved to find that it was beating stronger and at an almost normal rate. He then checked her wounds, all of which were fine, and, reassured, he pulled the covers back over her. He didn't know why he was so worried about this girl. After all, he had only just found her less than a day ago and he didn't know a single thing about her - not her name, or where she lived, or even if she appreciated his concern. But he felt that since it was he who had decided to ensure her life, he would continue to do so until she was okay again.

He got out of bed and switched on the lights, blinking in the brightness. He picked up the aspirin bottle and water from his table. He yawned as he crushed two tablets in the spoon and put a little water in it. He sat down beside the girl and carefully lifted up her head. As if knowing what he was about to do, her lips parted slightly, and he slowly poured the mixture in. Her eyebrows knitted together for a short moment in response to the bitter taste. Fuji looked down at her, surprised that she was actually responding, but her expression had turned blank again.

Fuji put the spoon and water down on the nightstand and then crawled into bed, pulling the covers up carefully so as not to disturb her. Before turning out the lights, he looked down at the girl's face. She had such a peaceful look on, as if she didn't have a care in the world. Her chest rose up and down slowly, and if Fuji was close enough to her face, he could feel her warm breath on his skin. Her dark, thick lashes fluttered lightly against the creamy skin of her cheeks, and her lips curved into a tiny smile. Fuji smiled as he carefully brushed a strand of hair away from her face, switched off the light, and lay down beside her.

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Author's Note: I made the first chapter a little longer to make up for the short prologue. There's still a lot of things that aren't explained yet, but it'll make sense eventually.