[Prince of Tennis] [Oshitari/Mukahi] [#9 Starry Heavens]
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 4- Call
Oshitari got up and brushed the dirt off his clothes as Mukahi ran off. He stared at the disappearing shadow for a moment before brushing it off and going back up to his apartment. Well, at least the matter was settled; Mukahi was safe and sound, but…
“How come I did that?” He instinctively read a hand to touch his lips. It was strange; it felt so familiar, but he and Mukahi didn’t have any eye-to-eye until now. The silent tensai shook off the thought. He shouldn’t dwell on such things. He was only performing CPR.
Unlocking the door, he stepped into his small apartment dropping his jacket on the way. Peeking in the bathroom, he realized that in the rush, he forgot to give Mukahi his wet clothes. Oh well, he’ll have to give them back tomorrow. Picking up the smaller clothes, he threw them in the wash and turned the washing machine on. He wasn’t going to return the redhead wet clothes.
Oshitari was returning to his desk to finish his homework when he noticed that his beeper was blinking. Since he couldn’t hear the doorbell, he installed a blinking light to the doorbell, so that when someone was ringing the bell, he would know it. Still, he wasn’t expecting anyone. Putting down his pencil, the silent tensai got up and pulled the door open.
Who was behind the door caught him off guard. There were two crime scene investigators looking at him expectantly. “Are you Oshitari Yuushi?” one of them asked. He nodded. “We’re sorry to bother you at this time, but we need you to come with us.”
At this, Oshitari started to get scared that he did something wrong, though logically, he didn’t do anything. The other investigator noticed his anxiety and said, “It’s all right. We’re not accusing you of anything. We just need you to come to the station to identify someone for us.”
Identify someone? Sure he had some experience in DNA-testing before, but the professional forensics could probably do better than he could. Still, it was a request from authorities, and he couldn’t back down, so he followed the two crime scene investigators down the stairs to their parked car in front of his apartment building. Getting, Oshitari still couldn’t figure out what the police wanted with him.
As the car neared the scene, one of the investigators explained, “There was an accident in Osaka later this afternoon.” Osaka? “A man was breaking the speed limit and ran into another car killing the woman and himself.” A woman? Wait, could it be…
“We want you to tell us if this is your mother.”
As the car pulled up to the scene of the accident, Oshitari started to see the two wrecked cars. One was smashed in the front and the other was completely overturned with the windshield smashed. The silent tensai had to fight the urge to show that he was getting nauseous as he got out of the car. The investigators led him to the two cars where two medics were kneeling over a bloody form. This time, though, Oshitari couldn’t suppress his nausea from showing on his face.
Lying dead on the stretcher was his mother, or what was left of his mother. Her body was bloody, especially her head and arms. Her skin was ghostly white and her hair was also matted with blood. The sight was horrifying, especially since Oshitari hadn’t seen his mother for the last year. Oshitari couldn’t bear to look, but he couldn’t help but look.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned his head to look at the investigator. “Is this woman your mother?”
Oshitari could only nod his head quickly before racing off to throw up in some nearby bushes.
-X-
The next several hours were but a blur to Oshitari. After asking Oshitari about his mother, the investigators went through a bunch of papers including his relatives, where he lived, etc. It turns out that his father moved away two years ago leaving his mother alone, and all of his relatives lived in America.
As the hours continued to fly by in the small office, Oshitari started to think about the last time that he saw his mother. He had sworn to not come back, as she wanted it to be, but here he was, back in Osaka, and his mother was dead.
Oshitari’s parents had divorced when he was 16 after his mother found out that his father was having an affair. It was a difficult period in Oshitari’s life as the two of them were fighting over custody. He would often come home and the two of them would be arguing over everything.
Finally, it got to a point where they were fighting over him. His father had wanted Oshitari to pursue a career as a doctor, so he could take over the family clinic, but his mother was doing everything in her power to keep him. He was already taking an interest in becoming a novelist, but neither of his parents would hear of it. They thought that a tensai shouldn’t be wasting his talent on writing.
It was no use. His father got custody. From there, everything went downhill. He was forced out of all the English classes he was taking and into classes more towards a medical degree. He complied, but never put his energy into it. He passed the classes with ease that were dull to him, and began studying to get into Tokyo University, a university that his father was keen on getting him in.
One night, everything changed. Somehow, his mother easily slipped into the house and woke up. His mother had told him to hurry and pack as much as he could in one bag because he didn’t have much time to get out of the house. He had obliged, being the obedient son, but he didn’t know what was going on, until she pulled out an envelope from her purse.
She had told him that she had thought everything out, and although she couldn’t get him back, she could get him away. She had saved up her money to get him an apartment and talked with a friend to get him a part-time job, so that he can save up money to go to a college that he wanted to go to. There were some things already set up for Oshitari at the apartment, and she had paid for several months’ payment.
He couldn’t believe that his mother would do this for him even after losing him. He thought for sure that she would have given up on ever getting him away. That was how she lived by and how she made him live by.
“Why?” he signed.
“You’re still my son, whether the law says so or not,” she replied firmly. “I never loved your father, anyway. Our marriage was arranged, so that your father’s family clinic wouldn’t go bankrupt. I didn’t want you to become a doctor when you can become that novelist that you always dreamed of becoming.”
Mom…
“Go, and don’t come back here again.”
Those were the last words she said to him before he was roughly pushed out of the house with his few belongings in a bag. Swearing that he wouldn’t let his mother down, he hailed a taxi to get him to Tokyo since the train station was closed.
It was hard adjusting to Tokyo, especially because of his defections. He studied at a cram school for the first semester of college before taking the exam and getting into a college that he wanted. He decided on becoming a doctor anyway, but this time, he was keener about it. After his father had kicked him out of his literature classes, he lost the will to ever become a novelist. No matter how much he tried to write, he couldn’t come up with one story.
Oshitari wondered if he’d ever come to love both of his parents again.
-X-
Oshitari had missed a week’s worth of classes, but luckily, his college professors understood considering the circumstances. Two days after the accident, the funeral was held. It only contained his family and a few friends. Thankfully, his father wasn’t there. He wanted to make sure that the assumption that he was dead stay there, until the right time. Besides, his father probably wanted nothing more to do with him and his mother.
After the funeral, Oshitari stayed home as a lawyer divided all of his mother’s possessions among relatives. He received little, but he didn’t care. His parents never were like parents to him. Especially not after he went deaf several years ago.
“Yuushi, don’t cry. Everything’s all right.”
This time, though, it wasn’t all right, because he could never hear her voice again.
-X-
Oshitari silently ran a finger over the newly etched kanji in the gravestone. After the funeral, his mother’s body was cremated and put to rest with his ancestors. It was night, and the moon was out. He wanted to cry, but he couldn’t, because he had sworn a vow long ago to not cry. Tearing his eyes away from the gravestone, he forced himself to look at the sky, and the sight caught his eye.
In the sky was a crescent moon, and to the left of it, was a single star. Although there were other stars in the sky, it was as though that single star was the moon’s own special companion. Oshitari remembered when he had seen quite a sight in elementary school. His mother had given him an analogy to that.
“Mama, why is that star so close to the moon?”
“That’s because that star is the moon special companion.”
“But why that star out of all the pretty stars in the sky?”
“Because the moon wants to be with that star forever. The moon must have seen the star for how special it is and moved next to it, so that it can be with it forever.”
“That sounds like married couples, Mama.”
“That’s right, and when you’re old enough, you’ll find someone to love, too.”
The silent tensai sometimes wondered if he had found the star in his life, because his mother never found it.
-X-
The silent tensai stared at his Tokyo apartment building from the corner. A week had gone, he had tons of homework to catch up on, and the week he skipped was going to cost him a week’s worth of income off from his job. He had intended on going back the day after the funeral, but he had caught a fever and was forced to stay home. Not to mention that he still hadn’t given back Mukahi’s clothes. Oh well, he’ll give them back tomorrow.
TBC…
Author: samurai_jun
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: Oshitari/Mukahi
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU, possible OOC
Disclaimer: Not mine
Chapter 4- Call
Oshitari got up and brushed the dirt off his clothes as Mukahi ran off. He stared at the disappearing shadow for a moment before brushing it off and going back up to his apartment. Well, at least the matter was settled; Mukahi was safe and sound, but…
“How come I did that?” He instinctively read a hand to touch his lips. It was strange; it felt so familiar, but he and Mukahi didn’t have any eye-to-eye until now. The silent tensai shook off the thought. He shouldn’t dwell on such things. He was only performing CPR.
Unlocking the door, he stepped into his small apartment dropping his jacket on the way. Peeking in the bathroom, he realized that in the rush, he forgot to give Mukahi his wet clothes. Oh well, he’ll have to give them back tomorrow. Picking up the smaller clothes, he threw them in the wash and turned the washing machine on. He wasn’t going to return the redhead wet clothes.
Oshitari was returning to his desk to finish his homework when he noticed that his beeper was blinking. Since he couldn’t hear the doorbell, he installed a blinking light to the doorbell, so that when someone was ringing the bell, he would know it. Still, he wasn’t expecting anyone. Putting down his pencil, the silent tensai got up and pulled the door open.
Who was behind the door caught him off guard. There were two crime scene investigators looking at him expectantly. “Are you Oshitari Yuushi?” one of them asked. He nodded. “We’re sorry to bother you at this time, but we need you to come with us.”
At this, Oshitari started to get scared that he did something wrong, though logically, he didn’t do anything. The other investigator noticed his anxiety and said, “It’s all right. We’re not accusing you of anything. We just need you to come to the station to identify someone for us.”
Identify someone? Sure he had some experience in DNA-testing before, but the professional forensics could probably do better than he could. Still, it was a request from authorities, and he couldn’t back down, so he followed the two crime scene investigators down the stairs to their parked car in front of his apartment building. Getting, Oshitari still couldn’t figure out what the police wanted with him.
As the car neared the scene, one of the investigators explained, “There was an accident in Osaka later this afternoon.” Osaka? “A man was breaking the speed limit and ran into another car killing the woman and himself.” A woman? Wait, could it be…
“We want you to tell us if this is your mother.”
As the car pulled up to the scene of the accident, Oshitari started to see the two wrecked cars. One was smashed in the front and the other was completely overturned with the windshield smashed. The silent tensai had to fight the urge to show that he was getting nauseous as he got out of the car. The investigators led him to the two cars where two medics were kneeling over a bloody form. This time, though, Oshitari couldn’t suppress his nausea from showing on his face.
Lying dead on the stretcher was his mother, or what was left of his mother. Her body was bloody, especially her head and arms. Her skin was ghostly white and her hair was also matted with blood. The sight was horrifying, especially since Oshitari hadn’t seen his mother for the last year. Oshitari couldn’t bear to look, but he couldn’t help but look.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned his head to look at the investigator. “Is this woman your mother?”
Oshitari could only nod his head quickly before racing off to throw up in some nearby bushes.
-X-
The next several hours were but a blur to Oshitari. After asking Oshitari about his mother, the investigators went through a bunch of papers including his relatives, where he lived, etc. It turns out that his father moved away two years ago leaving his mother alone, and all of his relatives lived in America.
As the hours continued to fly by in the small office, Oshitari started to think about the last time that he saw his mother. He had sworn to not come back, as she wanted it to be, but here he was, back in Osaka, and his mother was dead.
Oshitari’s parents had divorced when he was 16 after his mother found out that his father was having an affair. It was a difficult period in Oshitari’s life as the two of them were fighting over custody. He would often come home and the two of them would be arguing over everything.
Finally, it got to a point where they were fighting over him. His father had wanted Oshitari to pursue a career as a doctor, so he could take over the family clinic, but his mother was doing everything in her power to keep him. He was already taking an interest in becoming a novelist, but neither of his parents would hear of it. They thought that a tensai shouldn’t be wasting his talent on writing.
It was no use. His father got custody. From there, everything went downhill. He was forced out of all the English classes he was taking and into classes more towards a medical degree. He complied, but never put his energy into it. He passed the classes with ease that were dull to him, and began studying to get into Tokyo University, a university that his father was keen on getting him in.
One night, everything changed. Somehow, his mother easily slipped into the house and woke up. His mother had told him to hurry and pack as much as he could in one bag because he didn’t have much time to get out of the house. He had obliged, being the obedient son, but he didn’t know what was going on, until she pulled out an envelope from her purse.
She had told him that she had thought everything out, and although she couldn’t get him back, she could get him away. She had saved up her money to get him an apartment and talked with a friend to get him a part-time job, so that he can save up money to go to a college that he wanted to go to. There were some things already set up for Oshitari at the apartment, and she had paid for several months’ payment.
He couldn’t believe that his mother would do this for him even after losing him. He thought for sure that she would have given up on ever getting him away. That was how she lived by and how she made him live by.
“Why?” he signed.
“You’re still my son, whether the law says so or not,” she replied firmly. “I never loved your father, anyway. Our marriage was arranged, so that your father’s family clinic wouldn’t go bankrupt. I didn’t want you to become a doctor when you can become that novelist that you always dreamed of becoming.”
Mom…
“Go, and don’t come back here again.”
Those were the last words she said to him before he was roughly pushed out of the house with his few belongings in a bag. Swearing that he wouldn’t let his mother down, he hailed a taxi to get him to Tokyo since the train station was closed.
It was hard adjusting to Tokyo, especially because of his defections. He studied at a cram school for the first semester of college before taking the exam and getting into a college that he wanted. He decided on becoming a doctor anyway, but this time, he was keener about it. After his father had kicked him out of his literature classes, he lost the will to ever become a novelist. No matter how much he tried to write, he couldn’t come up with one story.
Oshitari wondered if he’d ever come to love both of his parents again.
-X-
Oshitari had missed a week’s worth of classes, but luckily, his college professors understood considering the circumstances. Two days after the accident, the funeral was held. It only contained his family and a few friends. Thankfully, his father wasn’t there. He wanted to make sure that the assumption that he was dead stay there, until the right time. Besides, his father probably wanted nothing more to do with him and his mother.
After the funeral, Oshitari stayed home as a lawyer divided all of his mother’s possessions among relatives. He received little, but he didn’t care. His parents never were like parents to him. Especially not after he went deaf several years ago.
“Yuushi, don’t cry. Everything’s all right.”
This time, though, it wasn’t all right, because he could never hear her voice again.
-X-
Oshitari silently ran a finger over the newly etched kanji in the gravestone. After the funeral, his mother’s body was cremated and put to rest with his ancestors. It was night, and the moon was out. He wanted to cry, but he couldn’t, because he had sworn a vow long ago to not cry. Tearing his eyes away from the gravestone, he forced himself to look at the sky, and the sight caught his eye.
In the sky was a crescent moon, and to the left of it, was a single star. Although there were other stars in the sky, it was as though that single star was the moon’s own special companion. Oshitari remembered when he had seen quite a sight in elementary school. His mother had given him an analogy to that.
“Mama, why is that star so close to the moon?”
“That’s because that star is the moon special companion.”
“But why that star out of all the pretty stars in the sky?”
“Because the moon wants to be with that star forever. The moon must have seen the star for how special it is and moved next to it, so that it can be with it forever.”
“That sounds like married couples, Mama.”
“That’s right, and when you’re old enough, you’ll find someone to love, too.”
The silent tensai sometimes wondered if he had found the star in his life, because his mother never found it.
-X-
The silent tensai stared at his Tokyo apartment building from the corner. A week had gone, he had tons of homework to catch up on, and the week he skipped was going to cost him a week’s worth of income off from his job. He had intended on going back the day after the funeral, but he had caught a fever and was forced to stay home. Not to mention that he still hadn’t given back Mukahi’s clothes. Oh well, he’ll give them back tomorrow.
TBC…