[Prince of Tennis] [Oshitari/Mukahi] [#5 His Place]
Title: Tsuki to Houshi
Author: samurai_jun
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: Oshitari/Mukahi
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU, possible OOC
Disclaimer: Not mine
Chapter 7- Places
It took two weeks to move all of his stuff into Oshitari’s apartment, but after that, he started to get settled in. He still couldn’t believe that he was finally going to get away from Kurotori once and for all. To him, Kurotori was like the bogeyman that visited him every night. It made him so happy to find that Oshitari asked to live with him; he thought that it was worth meeting the silent tensai.
That day, he had been prepared for his daily torture from Kurotori, but somehow, Oshitari had sensed him in danger and knocked the rapist out. Whether it was the smell of alcohol in his dorm, or the phone call, or both, he didn’t know. What made him so ashamed was the fact that he had cried, something that he despised, but the silent tensai was understanding and let him weep on his shoulder. When he had asked to talk to him at his apartment, he led him away quietly.
After drinking some water, Mukahi blurted out his entire story with Kurotori. Everything, from the alcohol issue, to when he screamed to stay away from him, he told Oshitari everything. He had written down some statements in between, but those were mostly questions. Somehow, when he told Oshitari all that, he felt a large weight being lifted off his shoulders.
Then Oshitari had brought up the subject about his scar. It was more of an accident than intentionally, but it still got Mukahi annoyed. Still, didn’t Oshitari deserve to know? So, he told him about the accident, and how his mind always draws up a blank when he tries to remember junior high, but he assured him that he didn’t mind.
At the mention of junior high, though, it made Oshitari uncomfortable. The silent tensai had put his hands to his ears, the sign for the word ‘deaf’. He had asked Jirou earlier about some signs, and ‘deaf’ was one of them. The other one was ‘normal person’. It had turned out that he wasn’t watching the sleepy student carefully enough, and had ended up doing it wrong. After correcting it, he began to ask Oshitari for more words in sign language.
The two of them had so much fun that they lost track of the time, until they realized that it was past ten. It was then where Oshitari asked if he wanted to live with him. It came to him so fast that he didn’t know how to react. Even though that Oshitari seem trustworthy, he was still nervous about it because Kurotori seemed trustworthy, and he turned out not to be.
Oshitari told him that he never thought of sex much, but it still didn’t convince. Somehow, one statement changed his mind. “You’re my best friend. And friends respect each other.”
After hearing this statement, Mukahi was so eager to get away. Still, that didn’t mean that it was going to be easy. He first had to notify the school that he wasn’t going to live in the dorms anymore. After that, he had to pack his things, but Kurotori was being overprotective and actually tried to unpack his things. Finally, the redhead had to resort to packing in small quantities and taking it over to Oshitari’s apartment when Kurotori wasn’t around.
Despite all the pity Kurotori gave him, including stop raping him, Mukahi gave him no pity and kept on packing until all of his things were over at Oshitari’s apartment. Let him drown his sorrows in alcohol! He wouldn’t care. People like him don’t deserve any pity, unless they can change, and Kurotori will never change.
-X-
“So, like this?” Mukahi asked while trying his best to do every sign right. Sign language can be so hard…
Oshitari nodded as he finished the sushi roll in his bento. Then he made an unknown sign.
“Eh?”
“Fun,” he mouthed.
“‘Fun’? This is fun?” Mukahi guessed. “Yeah it is.”
“What’s fun?” a voice piped up. Startled, Mukahi turned around to see Jirou with a tray of food.
“Jirou!” Mukahi said in surprise.
Turning to Oshitari, Jirou said and signed, “You never told me you two were friends.” Oshitari nodded and then started signing. “You’re living together? Really? Wow! Hey…” Jirou stopped talking and made some signs that Mukahi didn’t know, but could guess what they were when the grinning student put his thumb and pinky together (Note: In Japan, sticking your thumb up means you’re talking about someone’s boyfriend, and sticking your pinky up means you’re talking about someone’s girlfriend, so putting them together would mean ‘couple’).
“Of course not!” the redhead retorted blushing slightly.
“Just kidding, Mukahi-kun!” Jirou beamed innocently as he ate the rice on his tray. “So, I hear you’re learning sign language. How come?”
The redhead didn’t stop frowning and said flatly, “Because I’m interested.”
“Really? I never took you as the type of learning something on your own.”
Oshitari, who had remained out of the conversation until then, tapped Jirou on the shoulder and started signing fast. This time, though, he looked concerned, as if there was something wrong. Mukahi easily recognized one sign.
“He seems okay.”
Oshitari shook his head and pointed to the sleepy student’s lower jaw. It was then Mukahi noticed that there was a nasty bruise beneath Jirou’s lower jaw, as if he was choked. There was no doubt about it. He was abused.
“Who did that to you, Jirou?” Mukahi asked.
The student took one look at his bruise and said, “Oh, I just bumped into something last night.” Oshitari waved his hand in front of his face and started signing rapidly with a serious face. “No! I’m serious! I bumped into something!”
“You don’t get a bruise on your lower jaw from bumping into something!” Mukahi snapped.
“I-”
“Jirou! Let’s go!”
Jirou looked so relieved to see Atobe that his breathed a sigh of relief. “I gotta go! Ja ne!” With that, he grabbed his tray and ran off to join his boyfriend.
Well that was weird…
-X-
“Oi, Yuushi!” Mukahi said tapping the silent tensai on the shoulder as he studied his textbook. “Is Jirou normally like this?” He shook his head. “No wonder he seemed out of it today. Do you think someone choked him last night for his wallet?”
Pulling out a notepad and pen, Oshitari wrote, “Gakuto, who is Jirou’s roommate?”
“Jirou doesn’t live in the dorms anymore,” the redhead explained. “According to his roommate, he moved in with Atobe a month after they started dating. Why?”
“Because I think Atobe did that to him.”
“Eh?”
“I’ve noticed that Atobe seems to be staring at a chemistry major more often.” Wait, that can’t be Shishido Ryou! “His eyes show that he seems to be lusting after him. I assume that Jirou also noticed and might have asked impulsively causing Atobe to get angry.”
Mukahi’s mind was jumbling as he read the whole explanation. How could have Oshitari figured that out when he couldn’t hear a thing? He knew more than ever that around this school, rumors travel fast. He had heard about someone liking Shishido, but he always heard that it was an art major, not Atobe.
“So you’re saying that Atobe’s taking a liking to Shishido Ryou, and Jirou’s taking that to heart? That’s kind of rough. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true.” Oshitari quirked an eyebrow. “Atobe likes to go through dates a lot, particularly among males. He dates them, has his way with them, and then drops them. If you ask me, I always thought that Jirou would be the one that would last since Atobe normally ends relationships within a week, but I guess not.”
That’s cruel, especially for Jirou…
-X-
The next day went by so fast that Mukahi didn’t realize until Oshitari left for work that he’d be alone for several hours. He decided to finish his homework and study for the upcoming test. That soon became boring as the diagrams of cancer were etched into his memory, so the redhead locked up the apartment and left to take a walk.
Mukahi shivered as a cold draft breezed past him. It was freezing outside despite the fact that it was spring. He never got used to the cold. As he left the building, he saw Oshitari come through the front gate.
“Yuushi, you’re early,” Mukahi said.
Oshitari pulled out a notepad and pen and wrote, “The restaurant closed early, so I got off early.”
“Oh, I was going to take a walk since I was ready for next week’s test,” Mukahi explained clutching his jacket as another gust of wind blew. “Geez, it’s so breezy.”
The silent tensai tapped Mukahi on the shoulder and wrote, “I want to take you somewhere.”
Go somewhere? What is he talking about… a date?
A second note said, “Just to the empty dock.”
“Um… okay,” Mukahi replied still unsure about all this.
-X-
The two of them walked towards the empty dock silently. Mukahi couldn’t help that this was so familiar despite that he’d only been down this path once. Shaking it off as something that he probably passed by a while ago, he continued walking alongside Oshitari.
They came across an empty playground. It was an average playground consisting of tubes, slides, a sandbox, and monkey bars. It was then when Mukahi could have sworn that he almost saw two junior high kids sitting down on the stairs that led up to the slide. He seemed to be hallucinating because it seemed as though the two kids were ghost. They seem to be talking to each other.
Am I imagining things?
Mukahi shook his head and continued walking. The two continued to walk to the empty dock passing by an empty curb. Once again, the redhead could have sworn that he saw the same two kids from the playground, except this time, one was bleeding and the other one was trying to help.
Why does this feel familiar?
Oshitari and Mukahi finally reached the dock. Upon the sight in front of him, Mukahi gasped. From the dock, he could see one of the most beautiful sunsets in Tokyo. Despite all the pollution in the air, the sunset had a beautiful blend of colors that seemed to be taken directly from a picture book.
Mukahi tapped Oshitari on the shoulder and said, “It’s beautiful.”
The silent tensai nodded in agreement. He then wrote on his notepad, “It brings back a lot of memories.”
Memories?
Then a thought occurred to him. Could something have happened here?
Once again, he could have sworn that he saw those two kids again. This time, both were running right to the edge. One jumped in followed by the other.
Wait, they look familiar…
He saw the two ghost-like kids burst out of the water and back onto the dock. Mukahi thought that those two were only having fun, but instead, one was unconscious and bleeding at the head, and the other was worriedly shaking the other trying to get him awake. It was then Mukahi saw the faces.
Is that me, and…
Suddenly, as if a typhoon hit him, the cavity in his memories was suddenly filled up with memories of his middle school life, but most importantly, the memories of the boy he fell in love with on the way. Gripping his head, he saw everything that had happened: meeting on the curb, giving the name “Houshi”, their first few dates, and then…
He didn’t…
A hand shook his shoulder snapping him out of his new memories.
“Are you okay?” Oshitari signed.
That face…
“Tsuki?”
TBC…
Author: samurai_jun
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: Oshitari/Mukahi
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU, possible OOC
Disclaimer: Not mine
Chapter 7- Places
It took two weeks to move all of his stuff into Oshitari’s apartment, but after that, he started to get settled in. He still couldn’t believe that he was finally going to get away from Kurotori once and for all. To him, Kurotori was like the bogeyman that visited him every night. It made him so happy to find that Oshitari asked to live with him; he thought that it was worth meeting the silent tensai.
That day, he had been prepared for his daily torture from Kurotori, but somehow, Oshitari had sensed him in danger and knocked the rapist out. Whether it was the smell of alcohol in his dorm, or the phone call, or both, he didn’t know. What made him so ashamed was the fact that he had cried, something that he despised, but the silent tensai was understanding and let him weep on his shoulder. When he had asked to talk to him at his apartment, he led him away quietly.
After drinking some water, Mukahi blurted out his entire story with Kurotori. Everything, from the alcohol issue, to when he screamed to stay away from him, he told Oshitari everything. He had written down some statements in between, but those were mostly questions. Somehow, when he told Oshitari all that, he felt a large weight being lifted off his shoulders.
Then Oshitari had brought up the subject about his scar. It was more of an accident than intentionally, but it still got Mukahi annoyed. Still, didn’t Oshitari deserve to know? So, he told him about the accident, and how his mind always draws up a blank when he tries to remember junior high, but he assured him that he didn’t mind.
At the mention of junior high, though, it made Oshitari uncomfortable. The silent tensai had put his hands to his ears, the sign for the word ‘deaf’. He had asked Jirou earlier about some signs, and ‘deaf’ was one of them. The other one was ‘normal person’. It had turned out that he wasn’t watching the sleepy student carefully enough, and had ended up doing it wrong. After correcting it, he began to ask Oshitari for more words in sign language.
The two of them had so much fun that they lost track of the time, until they realized that it was past ten. It was then where Oshitari asked if he wanted to live with him. It came to him so fast that he didn’t know how to react. Even though that Oshitari seem trustworthy, he was still nervous about it because Kurotori seemed trustworthy, and he turned out not to be.
Oshitari told him that he never thought of sex much, but it still didn’t convince. Somehow, one statement changed his mind. “You’re my best friend. And friends respect each other.”
After hearing this statement, Mukahi was so eager to get away. Still, that didn’t mean that it was going to be easy. He first had to notify the school that he wasn’t going to live in the dorms anymore. After that, he had to pack his things, but Kurotori was being overprotective and actually tried to unpack his things. Finally, the redhead had to resort to packing in small quantities and taking it over to Oshitari’s apartment when Kurotori wasn’t around.
Despite all the pity Kurotori gave him, including stop raping him, Mukahi gave him no pity and kept on packing until all of his things were over at Oshitari’s apartment. Let him drown his sorrows in alcohol! He wouldn’t care. People like him don’t deserve any pity, unless they can change, and Kurotori will never change.
-X-
“So, like this?” Mukahi asked while trying his best to do every sign right. Sign language can be so hard…
Oshitari nodded as he finished the sushi roll in his bento. Then he made an unknown sign.
“Eh?”
“Fun,” he mouthed.
“‘Fun’? This is fun?” Mukahi guessed. “Yeah it is.”
“What’s fun?” a voice piped up. Startled, Mukahi turned around to see Jirou with a tray of food.
“Jirou!” Mukahi said in surprise.
Turning to Oshitari, Jirou said and signed, “You never told me you two were friends.” Oshitari nodded and then started signing. “You’re living together? Really? Wow! Hey…” Jirou stopped talking and made some signs that Mukahi didn’t know, but could guess what they were when the grinning student put his thumb and pinky together (Note: In Japan, sticking your thumb up means you’re talking about someone’s boyfriend, and sticking your pinky up means you’re talking about someone’s girlfriend, so putting them together would mean ‘couple’).
“Of course not!” the redhead retorted blushing slightly.
“Just kidding, Mukahi-kun!” Jirou beamed innocently as he ate the rice on his tray. “So, I hear you’re learning sign language. How come?”
The redhead didn’t stop frowning and said flatly, “Because I’m interested.”
“Really? I never took you as the type of learning something on your own.”
Oshitari, who had remained out of the conversation until then, tapped Jirou on the shoulder and started signing fast. This time, though, he looked concerned, as if there was something wrong. Mukahi easily recognized one sign.
“He seems okay.”
Oshitari shook his head and pointed to the sleepy student’s lower jaw. It was then Mukahi noticed that there was a nasty bruise beneath Jirou’s lower jaw, as if he was choked. There was no doubt about it. He was abused.
“Who did that to you, Jirou?” Mukahi asked.
The student took one look at his bruise and said, “Oh, I just bumped into something last night.” Oshitari waved his hand in front of his face and started signing rapidly with a serious face. “No! I’m serious! I bumped into something!”
“You don’t get a bruise on your lower jaw from bumping into something!” Mukahi snapped.
“I-”
“Jirou! Let’s go!”
Jirou looked so relieved to see Atobe that his breathed a sigh of relief. “I gotta go! Ja ne!” With that, he grabbed his tray and ran off to join his boyfriend.
Well that was weird…
-X-
“Oi, Yuushi!” Mukahi said tapping the silent tensai on the shoulder as he studied his textbook. “Is Jirou normally like this?” He shook his head. “No wonder he seemed out of it today. Do you think someone choked him last night for his wallet?”
Pulling out a notepad and pen, Oshitari wrote, “Gakuto, who is Jirou’s roommate?”
“Jirou doesn’t live in the dorms anymore,” the redhead explained. “According to his roommate, he moved in with Atobe a month after they started dating. Why?”
“Because I think Atobe did that to him.”
“Eh?”
“I’ve noticed that Atobe seems to be staring at a chemistry major more often.” Wait, that can’t be Shishido Ryou! “His eyes show that he seems to be lusting after him. I assume that Jirou also noticed and might have asked impulsively causing Atobe to get angry.”
Mukahi’s mind was jumbling as he read the whole explanation. How could have Oshitari figured that out when he couldn’t hear a thing? He knew more than ever that around this school, rumors travel fast. He had heard about someone liking Shishido, but he always heard that it was an art major, not Atobe.
“So you’re saying that Atobe’s taking a liking to Shishido Ryou, and Jirou’s taking that to heart? That’s kind of rough. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true.” Oshitari quirked an eyebrow. “Atobe likes to go through dates a lot, particularly among males. He dates them, has his way with them, and then drops them. If you ask me, I always thought that Jirou would be the one that would last since Atobe normally ends relationships within a week, but I guess not.”
That’s cruel, especially for Jirou…
-X-
The next day went by so fast that Mukahi didn’t realize until Oshitari left for work that he’d be alone for several hours. He decided to finish his homework and study for the upcoming test. That soon became boring as the diagrams of cancer were etched into his memory, so the redhead locked up the apartment and left to take a walk.
Mukahi shivered as a cold draft breezed past him. It was freezing outside despite the fact that it was spring. He never got used to the cold. As he left the building, he saw Oshitari come through the front gate.
“Yuushi, you’re early,” Mukahi said.
Oshitari pulled out a notepad and pen and wrote, “The restaurant closed early, so I got off early.”
“Oh, I was going to take a walk since I was ready for next week’s test,” Mukahi explained clutching his jacket as another gust of wind blew. “Geez, it’s so breezy.”
The silent tensai tapped Mukahi on the shoulder and wrote, “I want to take you somewhere.”
Go somewhere? What is he talking about… a date?
A second note said, “Just to the empty dock.”
“Um… okay,” Mukahi replied still unsure about all this.
-X-
The two of them walked towards the empty dock silently. Mukahi couldn’t help that this was so familiar despite that he’d only been down this path once. Shaking it off as something that he probably passed by a while ago, he continued walking alongside Oshitari.
They came across an empty playground. It was an average playground consisting of tubes, slides, a sandbox, and monkey bars. It was then when Mukahi could have sworn that he almost saw two junior high kids sitting down on the stairs that led up to the slide. He seemed to be hallucinating because it seemed as though the two kids were ghost. They seem to be talking to each other.
Am I imagining things?
Mukahi shook his head and continued walking. The two continued to walk to the empty dock passing by an empty curb. Once again, the redhead could have sworn that he saw the same two kids from the playground, except this time, one was bleeding and the other one was trying to help.
Why does this feel familiar?
Oshitari and Mukahi finally reached the dock. Upon the sight in front of him, Mukahi gasped. From the dock, he could see one of the most beautiful sunsets in Tokyo. Despite all the pollution in the air, the sunset had a beautiful blend of colors that seemed to be taken directly from a picture book.
Mukahi tapped Oshitari on the shoulder and said, “It’s beautiful.”
The silent tensai nodded in agreement. He then wrote on his notepad, “It brings back a lot of memories.”
Memories?
Then a thought occurred to him. Could something have happened here?
Once again, he could have sworn that he saw those two kids again. This time, both were running right to the edge. One jumped in followed by the other.
Wait, they look familiar…
He saw the two ghost-like kids burst out of the water and back onto the dock. Mukahi thought that those two were only having fun, but instead, one was unconscious and bleeding at the head, and the other was worriedly shaking the other trying to get him awake. It was then Mukahi saw the faces.
Is that me, and…
Suddenly, as if a typhoon hit him, the cavity in his memories was suddenly filled up with memories of his middle school life, but most importantly, the memories of the boy he fell in love with on the way. Gripping his head, he saw everything that had happened: meeting on the curb, giving the name “Houshi”, their first few dates, and then…
He didn’t…
A hand shook his shoulder snapping him out of his new memories.
“Are you okay?” Oshitari signed.
That face…
“Tsuki?”
TBC…