Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Hejira ❯ Revival ( Chapter 3 )

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

Author's Notes: This story is a lot harder to write than I thought it would be. I gotta be careful about the pace of the plot. Can't make it boring, but can't rush it either. Ugh. I don't even know why I like writing fanfics. Sometimes it just feels like another stressor to me.

IMPORTANT! Please read this if you haven't read the prequel, "Translate This".

I'm sorry I didn't explain earlier, I just assumed all my readers were returning from TT. Ok, here's a brief summary of the story background:

-All original characters from the anime are existent, although might not appear in the story.

-In TT, a girl named Tenaya Rialles traveled to Japan from America, and eventually, after a lot of fluff, she and Ryoma fell and in love and the story ended with their marriage.

-Fuji is Tenaya's best friend, and also an extremely good friend of Ryoma's. The three of them are very close, along with Eiji at times.

-All of the characters are out of high school and college. Tenaya is 22, Ryoma is 23, and Fuji is 24. All three of them are professional tennis players.

I hope that answered some questions, but anyone can ask me if there's still confusion.

Hejira

Revival

Aiko sat up suddenly, clenching her head as it throbbed painfully. She moaned. Why was it hurting so much? She shook her head and took a deep breath. She sighed, lying back down as the throbbing of her head started to recede. She frowned, trying to recall the dream she had been having before she woke up. But it all was too hazy. All she could remember was her running. She couldn't tell if she was running to something, or away from something. Or both.

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Fuji looked down at his watch, then at Aiko. It was already 1:30 pm. Should he wake her up? He sighed, carefully shaking her shoulder. Her eyes slowly opened, and she blinked a few times before yawning and sitting up. “What?” She muttered.

“I thought you should get up. You've been sleeping for quite a while.” Fuji replied.

“So?” Aiko yawned again. “I'm hurt, let me rest.”

Fuji rolled his eyes. “You probably would be out for another week if I did that. Now get up, some fresh air will be good for you.”

Aiko perked up a little. “Fresh air? You mean, we're going outside?”

“Yep.” Fuji said, pulling the covers off of her. “I need to go shopping. And you need some clothes.”

Aiko thought about that for a few minutes before carefully getting out of bed. “Okay, I'll go.”

Fuji nodded. “Good. Now here, you can wear this until we buy you something.” He handed her the sweats and shirt she had been wearing, cleanly washed.

Aiko reached out a hand, and Fuji placed the clothes in them. “I'll be waiting for you outside the door okay? Call when you're done.”

Aiko nodded, waiting for the door to click shut. She then pulled off her shirt and pants, picking up the clothes he had given her. She made a face as she tugged them on. They were big and baggy on her small frame, and she had to roll up the sleeves a billion times before her hands peeked out. “Done." She called out, running her fingers through her hair, wincing as she grazed her still sensitive head wound.

She heard the door open. “Alright then, let's go.” He took her hand and placed it on his arm. Aiko held on lightly to the material of his shirt as he led the way out of the room and down the stairs. Her ankle throbbed with every step they took.

She scowled. She hated feeling so helpless. Not only was she amnesiac, but she was blind as well. Might as well hire her a babysitter.

They made their way out the front door and into the car. Fuji pulled out of the driveway, driving to the nearby clothing store, and then helping Aiko out of the car. As they entered the shop, he wondered exactly what he should buy her. He wasn't exactly an expert on women clothing, and it wasn't like Aiko could pick out something herself. So instead, he just snagged a sale's lady aside, telling her that his `sister' was blind and needed some clothes. The sale's lady helpfully picked out a few shirts, some pants, and two pairs of shoes, and Fuji took them to the register to pay.

Whilst this was going on, Aiko limped around, feeling her way through the crowded store. She was beginning to feel panicky as she bumped into person after person. She felt slightly claustrophobic, or maybe human-phobic. Either way, she was trying to find a way out of the store.

Finally finding the door, she pushed it open eagerly, relaxing a little as she stepped outside into the fresh air. She breathed in deeply, ignoring the pain in her chest as she tried to clear her head. The night before, when she was falling asleep, she had been thinking about her current situation. Maybe having amnesia wasn't so bad. After all, it didn't seem like her old life was all that great. Maybe she could start over with a clean slate. Fuji seemed like a nice guy. Maybe he could help her.

But as she kept thinking about it, she lowered her arms in sadness. How would she feel, living out her life with such a large patch missing? What was she supposed to build her life on? How could she avoid making the same mistakes, when she didn't even remember what the mistakes were? "I'll just have to get my memory back then." She thought to herself. Deep down, she knew she would never be able to really start over. She had scars, physically and emotionally, that would never be erased.

“There you are!” Fuji's anxious voice cut Aiko's thoughts short. She turned towards the direction of the voice. “Sorry.” She said quietly.

“It's okay. Just don't run off like that again.” Fuji warned, soundly strangely motherly, and placed her hand on his arm again and walked towards the car.

After getting in, Fuji looked at his watch. “Uh-oh. I have tennis practice soon.” He said.

“You play tennis?” Aiko asked as she fumbled with her seatbelt.

“Yeah, I do. I make a living from it actually.” He said, buckling her seatbelt for her.

“You do?” Her green eyes widened in disbelief. “You're a professional tennis player?”

“Yeah." Fuji smiled a little. It felt weird, yet nice to have someone actually not know that.

“Well that's cool, I guess." She frowned. "I wonder what I did for a living."

"Hmm…Journalist maybe?" Fuji suggested, taking a wild guess.

She made a face. "I don't think so."

Fuji smiled as he pulled out of his parking space. "How about an engineer? Or nursing?"

She shook her head.

"Financing, teacher, professional athlete, police…" Fuji listed.

She shook her head.

"Hmm, maybe something more artsy." Fuji thought. "Singer, pianist, photographer, painter-"

Aiko's smiled a little. "That one rings a bell."

"Painter?" Fuji smiled as he turned into his driveway.

She nodded.

"Maybe you were one."

"Maybe."

Fuji stopped the car in his driveway. "Do you want to come with me to practice?" It just struck him that Tenaya would be dying to meet Aiko.

She looked at him in surprise. "Go with you?" She unbuckled her seatbelt. "No…it's alright."

Fuji frowned. "Um, okay. I'll see you in a few hours then."

She nodded, getting out of the car carefully.

He got out as well, walking over to help her to the front door. But as he reached out a hand, she shook her head. "I can do it." She said simply.

She slowly walked forward, pausing when her foot hit soft grass. She then turned left, walking along the grass until the lawn ended. She proceeded right down the walkway, and turned left again after a few steps. Carefully, but not slowly, she walked forward, reaching her hand out to feel for the stair railings. She came to a stop before the first stair, resting her fingers lightly on the cool metal bar. One, two, three, four, five. Five stairs exactly. Standing on the porch, she continued forward until she came to a stop on the welcome mat before the door. She then turned her head slightly towards Fuji, waiting patiently for him to unlock the door.

Fuji watched her in amazement. Sakuno, are you sure she's blind? He thought. “Impressive.” He took out his keys.

She only nodded in thanks.

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“So she's alive and kicking huh?” Tenaya asked in short breaths, returning Tezuka's feed with a smooth backhand.

“Yep.” Fuji said from where he was practicing. They were standing side by side, Tenaya taking the backhand side and Fuji taking the forehand. Tezuka fed them, respectively.

“How is she?”

“She's doing good. She's got amnesia though, and doesn't remember anything about her life. Oh, and she's blind. But Sakuno said that might be temporary.” Fuji said.

“Take a break!” Tezuka yelled, setting down his white racket.

Fuji and Tenaya put down their rackets, jogging towards the shade to join Ryoma, who handed them each a bottle of water.

“So how's that girl?” Ryoma asked.

“Pretty good.” Fuji wiped his forehead with a towel, making a face at how sweaty he was.

“What's her name?” Tenaya asked.

Fuji shook his head. “We're not really sure, but I'm calling her Aiko. It was the name I found on the back of her neck.”

“A tattoo of her name?” Tenaya frowned.

Fuji nodded. “Well, actually it looks more like a burn.”

Silence

“Ow.” Ryoma contributed.

“Yea” Fuji replied.

Tenaya rolled her eyes at the both of them. "Well, what's she like so far?"

Fuji frowned. "It's hard to tell, she's a difficult person to read. She seems a little cold."

"Give her a jacket."

"Not literally Tenaya."

"Oh." Tenaya looked at Ryoma, who was flipping through a tennis catalogue. She'll probably open up eventually. She thought. He did.

"But she's really smart, it seems. Or perceptive, at least." Fuji added, remembering her little performance earlier.

"Is she cute?" Tenaya asked with a grin, taking another drink.

"Umm…" Fuji hesitated. "I think she's pretty."

"Great!" Tenaya exclaimed, setting down her water bottle and hitting him lightly on the arm. "Make your move." She laughed.

Fuji rolled his eyes, chuckling a little himself. Tenaya, the Cupid.

"Anyway," Tenaya said, clearing her voice. "Bring her to tennis sometimes, we'd love to meet her." Ryoma nodded.

"Will do." He nodded. "Hey, isn't your three month anniversary next Saturday?" He asked, changing the subject.

Ryoma nodded. "Yeah. But we don't usually celebrate…every month…"

"So?" Fuji shrugged, putting the cap back onto his water. "It's still an occasion. 1/4th of a year!"

"If you say so." Ryoma and Tenaya replied together.

Fuji looked at his watch. "Alright, I'm going home."

"Already?" Ryoma asked. "Practice doesn't end for another hour."

"Yeah." Fuji replied guiltily. "I don't want her home alone by herself too long."

"Aw, how cute." Tenaya stuck out her bottom lip.

Fuji shook his head and laughed. "See you guys later!" He picked up his bag and headed towards his car. They waved. Fuji bit his lip, for the first time realizing how much work Aiko was turning out to be. He was willing to take care of her…but he had his own life. "And the US Open is in a month." Fuji thought, purposely avoided Tezuka's glare.

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Fuji unlocked the front door, pushing it open and dropping his tennis bag onto the floor. “I'm home!” He called out through the house. No answer. He frowned, making his way upstairs to his room. He peeked his head in the doorway, looking around. He saw Aiko, lying motionlessly on the bed.

“Aiko.” He called softly, but she didn't stir. She was curled into a ball, and the sheet was pulled halfway up on her small frame. Fuji slowly walked over to her, and gazed down at her sleeping face.

Fuji smiled a little, thinking of how innocent and naïve she looked sleeping. But a good look into her eyes told otherwise. Piercing and unforgiving, they weren't the eyes of your normal, every day, Japanese girl. They were the eyes of someone who had seen pain and betrayal enough to expect it around every corner, eyes that held a deep, sorrowful regret. It made Fuji wonder all the more exactly what had made her become this way.

&&&

"Come on Aiko! You'll regret missing out on a chance like this, we've got free tickets to the newest club in town!" Chisato insisted, waving the neon green stubs of paperin front of Aiko's eyes.

Aiko smiled, and shook her head. "But I don't' even like clubs Chisato. Why don't you invite someone else in my place?"

Chisato pouted. "But you never go out! Don't you have a life outside of school?"

Of course I do, Aiko thought. I only use school-related excuses to cover up.

"You need to go to parties more often." Chisato continued. "Be a teenager and have fun! We're seniors and it's time to do some major partyingbefore we all get tossed brutally into the real world."

Aiko smiled politely. You have no idea what the real world is. Plus, people like me don't go to parties and hang out with friends. Wejust don't. "Why do you want me in particular to go?"

"Well, because I think you deserve it. You've helped me so much over the last four years in Physics, I felt like I had to repay you. We've become such good friends and I wanted to do something for you in return." Chisato smiled warmly.

Despite herself, Aiko returned the smile. Chisato, although a little too hyper and bouncy at times, was probably Aiko's only good friend. And she was, for the most part, thankful for her friendship.

"Okay." Aiko said finally, giving in. Despite the fact that she usually hated large crowds and loud music, she decided that it couldn't hurt her to go for one night. Mainly for Chisato's sake.

"Really?" Chisato's eyes widened, and her face broke into a wide grin. "Yay! Awesome. I'll see you there at 8 pm tonight then okay?" She said enthusiastically, jumping off her deskand grabbing her backpack. "You'll have fun, I promise! Thanks Aiko!" She said, waving as she bounded out the classroom door.

Aiko shook her head, smiling a little as she stood up and began gathering her stuff together. Who knows? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

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Author's Notes: Here's a nice long one for you guys. Everything in italics are flashbacks. There will be a lot more, so don't get them mixed up with the actual story. Flashbacks are so fun xD

I wanted to thank all my readers, especially Ayaka Kirihara and White Alchemist Taya. Recently, I've been getting a lot of flame reviews, and the only reason behind them is the fact that I'm writing an OC fic, or a "mary sue". It offended me, but then some people reminded me that there will always be fans of my stories and that they would continue that reading, and that made me feel a lot better. So thanks for reading this story.

Flamers - If you have mary sue's then just leave. Don't read my story if it makes you puke, so save yourself some stomach acid and ALT + F4 ok?

Questions, concerns, whatever, leave me a review and I'll return it asap (: I hope this chapter was enjoyable.