Rumored Relationship ~ Chapter 2
Story Summary: A certain rumor leaves Tezuka wondering as to exactly what Fuji means to him. shonen-ai: Perfect Pair.
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.
Chapter 2
For once, Tezuka chose to ignore the lesson that was being taught. He instead worked on figuring out the best course of action to take when class ended and tennis practice began.
‘Why did Fuji have to tell me that?’ Tezuka scowled down at his textbook. ‘He’s a good friend, but I don’t like him like that. At least, I don’t think I do. This is entirely that rumor’s fault. I don’t even see how anyone could believe it.’
By the end of class, Tezuka still had not decided what to do.
“Is something wrong?” Oishi asked as he saw that his friend seemed distracted while they were packing up their things. “Did you and Fuji have a fight earlier?”
“Not exactly.”
“It’s about the rumor, right? You don’t like the fact that the two of you are dating is public.”
Tezuka remained silent.
“Don’t worry about it.” Oishi placed a hand on Tezuka’s shoulder. “It’s not that big of a surprise. All of the Regulars had already figured out that you and Fuji were dating even before this rumor.”
Hazel eyes widened slightly in surprise before narrowing. “What do you mean?”
“Well, the most obvious thing that everyone first noticed is how the two of you always manage to be next to each other. If we’re at tennis practice and neither of you have a game or are running, then Fuji always stands to your left. According to Inui, Fuji has always stood on your left side, but ever since you got hurt in first year, he’s stood twenty percent closer than before that incident. He already stood ten percent closer to you than other people, so now it’s thirty percent. Inui’s the only one that realized exactly how much closer he stood though. The rest of us knew that Fuji stood closer to you, but not that exactly.”
“That was in first year?”
“Yeah. I thought that it was just because he didn’t want you to get hurt any more than you already were. Eiji was actually the first one to work out that there was another reason for it. He said that he thought it was cute how Fuji always gets angry whenever anyone else stands to your left.”
“He does?”
“Well, Eiji says he does. I’ve never realized that, but they are best friends, so it’s no wonder that Eiji can read Fuji better than I can. Oh, that’s the other thing that we used to figure out that you were together with Fuji.”
“What is?”
“I don’t even think that the two of you realize that you do it.”
“Do what, Oishi?”
“Most of the conversations between the two of you aren’t actually conversations. It’s mainly silence with a few words every so often. A lot of the times you don’t even use words. You just look at Fuji, and he knows what you’re thinking and vice-versa. We’ve seen you two have a completely silent conversation all throughout practice before. That’s why the Regulars always try to keep the line of sight between you and Fuji clear. Haven’t you noticed that even if the two of you are on opposite sides of the court none of the Regulars stand between you? Even if one of us is talking to either of you, we always stand off to the side instead of directly in front of you. Well, except for Echizen.”
“How long?”
“Eh?” Oishi blinked in confusion. “How long what, Tezuka?”
“How long have you thought that Fuji and I were dating?”
“Well, Eiji figured it out first in the middle of first year. Then he told me. Inui overhead and told us the statistics I told you before. Then he told Taka-san, Eiji, and me the probability of you two being together. Momoshiro and Kaido figured it out towards the end of last year. Surprisingly, Kaido figured it out first. Echizen figured it out about a month ago.”
Tezuka frowned. “Why didn’t anyone say anything?”
“Because neither of you did. None of us wanted to say anything if you two didn’t tell us yourselves. All of us agreed not to say anything, so you can be sure that none of the Regulars started this rumor.”
“Tezuka-sama!”
Both tennis players turned to look at the doorway. A group of at least ten girls stood just outside of the classroom. The leader of the group steeped inside and addressed the captain.
“Tezuka-sama, while we are saddened by the fact that your heart is no longer available, we wish you happiness in your relationship with Fuji-san.” That said the group left, each girl calling out her own well wishes.
“You really do have a lot of fangirls, don’t you?” Oishi stared. “There are going to be a lot of spectators at today’s practice.”
Tezuka stood and left the room with Oishi following. “Why do you say that?”
“Simple reasoning.” Inui stated, popping up from out of nowhere.
Oishi jumped at the other’s sudden appearance. “Inui! Don’t do that!”
The data player merely smirked before turning towards Tezuka. “According to my data, you and Fuji have the greatest amount of fans out of the Regulars. Because it is now public knowledge that the two of you are in a romantic relationship together, the probability of both fanclubs coming to practice in order to witness both of you is ninety-eight point seven percent. One-hundred percent chance that they will be waiting for either a verbal or visual confirmation of your relationship with Fuji. Sixty-eight point three percent chance that what is witnessed at practice will influence whether they will try to fight for either of you.”
“Wait a minute, you mean some of them might actually try to break Tezuka and Fuji up?” Oishi asked concerned.
Inui nodded. “The most likely to do so would be Fuji’s fanboys.”
“Fanboys?”
“Fuji has the most males in his fanclub out of the Regulars. It actually contains more males than the fanclubs of some of the more popular female students. These males will be watching to see if Tezuka is an appropriate boyfriend for Fuji. If it seems that they could treat Fuji better, then there is an eighty-seven point four percent chance of them trying to break the two up.”
“That’s horrible! How could they even think like that? Tezuka is Fuji’s boyfriend! Just because they’re not public about their relationship doesn’t mean that either of them is being treated badly. And Fuji’s been in love with Tezuka for years!”
“True. But while the Regulars are able to discern the subtle details that show their relationship, most others do not know either well enough to pick up on them. The non-Regular members are slightly more aware than the rest, but most just see them as close friends. Thanks to this rumor, though, they will most likely see that the reasons why they believed two to be such close friends are actually the few instances that they show their relationship in public. Today’s practice will confirm the relationship and its seriousness for the entire school.”
Tezuka listened silently as Oishi and Inui continued to discuss how the student body seemed to perceive his relationship with Fuji. ‘Do we really seem that much like a couple? The Regulars believed us to be a couple even before this. The third years have thought so since we were first years. Fuji said that he loves me, but I never noticed him acting differently. Then again, if he’s loved me since first year, he might have already been in love with me before I was able to read him so well. When did I even begin to know him well enough to know what he’s thinking?’
As they neared the courts, Tezuka saw what seemed to be every student surrounding the fence. ‘It looks like Fuji was right about there being enough witnesses.’
The trio of third years entered the locker room to find the rest of the Regulars changing and began to do the same.
“Nya! Oishi!” Eiji bounced over to his doubles partner. “Did you see the crowd around the courts?”
“It’s huge!” Momoshiro called out. “Every single person in the school must be here!”
“There really are a lot of people.” Kawamura stated nervously. “Why are they all here?”
“They’re probably curious about buchou and Fuji-senpai. Not that you can blame them.”
“Fssh. Nosy bastard.” Kaido hissed.
“What was that, mamushi?!”
“Go warm up.”
The locker room fell silent as Tezuka turned to face them. “Oishi, make sure everyone practices. Fuji, stay behind.”
The Regulars hesitated until Echizen pulled his hat low over his eyes and walked out the door. “Mada mada dane.”
When the door closed behind the last Regular, Tezuka stood in front of Fuji who was sitting on a bench head bowed.
“Did you want something, Tezuka?” Fuji’s soft voice seemed loud in the silent room.
“Why do you love me?”
The tensai looked up and blinked in surprise. “What?”
“You said that you’ve loved me since first year. Why?”
“Do I need a reason to?”
“Fuji.”
“Tezuka, I didn’t fall in love with you because of one specific reason. I love you just because you’re you.” Fuji stood and locked eyes with Tezuka. “It’s okay if you don’t love me back. I never expected you to.”
Tezuka frowned as blue eyes slid closed and thought that the smile adorned on the smaller boy’s face seemed more forced than usual.
“Come on.” Fuji walked past Tezuka, smile firmly in place. “Let’s go end this rumor.”
Tbc...