Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ In Dreams ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

 

The concert hall was empty; considering it was nearly midnight that was hardly surprising, save for a lone figure standing on the stage. Fingers moving with a technical precision few seasoned veterans could boast but with a passion that gave the instrument an almost human voice. Eyes closed and lost in the music he didn't see the person who came in and sat in the front row.

 

She had debated long and hard with herself about getting him involved in this on an active level but since Fuji has specifically asked her to help she had little choice in the matter. He was the only other person aside from herself who knew what was really taking place and he was of Fuji and Tezuka's peer group. He would have the ability to weave in and out of their lives without suspicion far better than she could. She had gone to the concert hall because she knew that was where he would be and that in all likelihood there would be no one else around to overhear their conversation. She had been correct in that guess. She made her way down to the front row and sat down, listening to him play, she thought it was Paganini: Caprice 5 if she recalled correctly. The piece was complex, technically difficult and fast. She never ceased to be astounded by his ability with the instrument. Unfortunately, he was usually capable of playing her just as well as he played the violin.

 

Eventually the song was finished and the bow lifted from the strings along with his eyes. He had known someone was there, it just hadn't registered who it was nor had it mattered at the time.

 

“Sensei,” he said, nodding to her. “To what do I owe the honor of your presence?”

 

She stood and walked around to the steps at the edge of the stage. She climbed them and came to stand next to him. “I was asked for my help today and I need yours to accomplish what was asked of me.”

 

Dark eyebrows shot up. “I take it this has something to do with the project we've all been working on?”

 

“Would I be here otherwise?”

 

“Sadly, no.”

 

She gave him a hard stare which he shrugged off indifferently.

 

“Which one of them came to you?”

 

“Mr. Fuji.”

 

“I thought as much. I doubt Tezuka would admit to having a weakness of any kind if he could avoid it.”

 

“Probably.”

 

“What is it that you need me to do?”

 

“Find out where and how I need to push things. Move matters along if you can. Any window of opportunity we have will be closing soon.”

 

He frowned a little. “How soon?”

 

“Everything needs to be in place by the end of the semester at the very latest. That is pushing the boundaries hard but I think I can manage to make all of the pieces fall into place if you help. I hadn't imagined Tezuka would be so recaltricant about this.”

 

“He wants him, there's no doubt about that. There never was a doubt in anyone's mind aside from Tezuka himself and Fuji, of course, is clueless about anything concerning his own life.” He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. “I wonder if a nudge applied at the proper time and place would help.”

 

“At this point in time it certainly couldn't hurt. You push his buttons in the real world and I'll push them in the dream world,” she said, turning to walk away then looking back at him. “I saw your recital on Thursday. You were excellent as usual.”

 

“Thank you, Sensei. I'm honored that you enjoyed my playing.”

 

“I always do. Let me know what happens in the usual way. I hate to rush things but our time is running out,” she said, walking to the edge of the stage and down the steps to the floor.

 

“Kishi,” he said, tilting his head to study her for a moment.

 

“You know you aren't allowed to call me by my given name,” she said pointedly.

 

“I'm aware. Your time is running out as well.”

 

“My time is running out for what?”

 

“Running.”

 

She shot him a look that said she feared for his sanity. “Running from what?”

 

He smiled a little and put the violin back under his chin. “I graduate in exactly ninety two days, Kishi. You owe me a great deal after that.”

 

She snorted and shook her head in disbelief at the sheer gall of his statement. “Stupid child,” she said, turning on her heel and walking away.

 

He laughed a little to himself. “Stubborn Elder.”

 

***

 

Tezuka sat straight up in bed, his heart pounding hard in his chest and the rest of his body breaking out in a cold sweat. He felt like a million tiny bugs were crawling over his skin and he felt mildly nauseous. He shook his head several times trying to clear it. He knew he hadn't been woken by a dream this time but by something else. He had the strongest sensation of being watched and the hair on the back of his neck stood up at that thought.

 

“Tezuka? Whassamatter?” Fuji asked sleepily from his side of the room. “Did you have another dream?”

 

Tezuka shivered a little and tried to clamp down on the feeling of his skin crawling. He scrubbed his clammy hands against the blanket. “No. Not a dream. Just . . . I can't really explain it.”

 

Fuji stretched a little then got out of bed and turned on the light. He came over to Tezuka's bed and sat down on the edge of it.

 

“You should really talk to someone about these nightmares you've been having,” Fuji prodded.

 

“They aren't exactly nightmares,” Tezuka said, trying to ignore the fact Fuji was wearing only pajama pants and sitting on the edge of his bed. He was close enough that he didn't have to squint to see him without his glasses. It seemed some part of the Tezuka he was in his dreams took over his thought processes for a moment and began presenting him with options he knew he shouldn't be thinking about. Such as, it would be so easy to reach over touch Fuji. To let his hands wander over the exposed expanse of skin presented to him. So easy to push him the rest of the way down onto the mattress. Easy to . . . He grimaced a little, forcefully kicking his mind out of the gutter. “It's more like they're . . . things I would normally never think of doing in the waking world.”

 

“Like what?” Fuji asked.

 

Tezuka gave him that patented look Fuji knew all too well. The look that said the conversation was over and he wouldn't be getting anything more out of his former Captain any time soon. He sighed a little.

 

“For whatever it's worth, I still think you should talk to someone about it. It might help you sort out why you've been having these dreams.”

 

Tezuka shook his head. “I'll handle it.”

 

“You haven't been handling it very well as far as I can see,” Fuji said huffily and bounced off of Tezuka's bed. He turned off the light and got back into his own bed.

 

Tezuka stared at the dark ceiling with his arms crossed beneath his head. He sighed. “I'll see if I can talk to someone about it tomorrow.”

 

“Good!” Fuji said.

 

Tezuka thought he could almost hear him smirking.