[PoT] Perfect World, PG, Angst/Romance, FujiRyo
Title: Perfect World
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: FujiRyo
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine.
What is real? There are so many possibilities of “reality.” Who says you’re allowed to choose?
30_kisses theme: #6 the distance between dream and reality
Perfect World
by meitachi
In one world, Fuji is a famed photographer and travels too much to support a family. He thinks he’ll consider settling down after the peak of his career. He’s only in his twenties, after all, and that’s plenty of time.
In that world, Ryoma is a tennis pro and still winning titles left and right. He and Fuji run into each other on occasion and remain on slightly friendlier-than-professional terms. They have a history, after all. Seigaku is unforgettable.
~
In another world, Fuji and Ryoma both compete fiercely in the top ranks of the world’s tennis circuits. They are both prodigies in their own right and competition only hones their skills. They are both driven by unspoken things and their ferocity, their dedication, is seen on the courts. It’s enough to leave one breathless.
They see each other often, as opponents, and instead of commiserating together over the hells of bad hotels and dogged paparazzi, they let the sport come between them. Ryoma has always seen Fuji as someone to overcome, and now that he’s done it, he wants to move on. But Fuji won’t let him. He continues surprising Ryoma, continues learning new moves, new strategies, until Ryoma is anticipating destroying him all over again.
Their cycle is a vicious one and their relationship is almost poetic.
~
In yet another world, Fuji discovers a talent for marketing in college and is now the CEO of a flourishing sports equipment chain store. He meets a passionate girl in that same college, one whose flashing eyes and determination almost reminds him of someone else. Her name is Shikawa Keiko and Fuji finds himself inexplicably drawn to her. He proposes on Christmas Eve five years later.
Ryoma loses his father in a plane crash his second year in high school and the shock sends him into a severe depression. When he emerges, almost a year and a half later, tennis is a hollow hobby. He can’t touch a racket for the memories it brings and turns instead to painting, something he has a surprising gift for. In time, he recovers, and his paintings become famous.
Fuji is surprised to see a familiar name on the Chinese landscape he buys to hang in his and Keiko’s sitting room. For a moment, he lets his thoughts wander into the past, but then Keiko slips her arms around him and makes a delighted comment about how the blues of the river remind her of Fuji’s eyes and he smiles, forgetting.
~
In one more world, Fuji kisses Ryoma when the latter is only fifteen and Fuji is graduating from high school. Thus begins a tumultuous relationship that lasts until Ryoma, in college, stumbles upon sexual experimentation with the female sex.
Nothing is quite the same after that and no matter how many times Ryoma apologizes, Fuji does not smile.
Ryoma has his pride too, and they break up.
Fuji works for a tennis magazine and does freelance photography on the side. He has his own apartment and gets by. He doesn’t get close to people and only a privileged few have seen the inside of his home-his family, of course, and a friend he’s had from childhood. Kikumaru Eiji.
Ryoma continues playing tennis. He turns pro, naturally, and travels the world. In Europe, where the moral code is a little looser than in uptight Japan, he enjoys sex with both men and women. It’s almost as exhilarating as tennis, he thinks, but not nearly as satisfying.
Neither sees the other again and it’s easier that way.
~
In some other world, Fuji and Ryoma become good friends in high school, and a bond that goes deeper than childhood infatuations is created. Ryoma is almost surprised at how close they’ve become and how much he’s come to rely on his senpai, but he doesn’t question it because he’s grateful.
When Ryoma moves back to America for college, they maintain an email correspondence and a costly frequent phone correspondence.
Fuji decides to fly over to California for Ryoma’s twenty-first birthday.
His plane encounters severe engine malfunctions and crashes near the southern tip of Alaska at 6:48 p.m. local time.
Ryoma hears the news and doesn’t say anything for a long time. He takes his tennis racket and goes to the community courts and hits balls past midnight by the artificial lights.
He was going to tell Fuji, face-to-face, on Christmas Eve that he loved him.
~
In a sixth world, Fuji receives his first kiss from Eiji on a dare and only smiles as the other boy hops around wailing that now Oishi was going to make fun of him forever because Oishi had already kissed a girl. The Seigaku regulars enjoy their last party together before high school, before their genius freshman leaves for the U.S.A. They make memories to last a lifetime that night and when Ryoma leaves a week later, they are all at the airport to bid him goodbye.
Fuji hands him a letter before he goes and doesn’t hear back from Ryoma until almost a month later.
Dear Fuji-senpai, boy wonder has written, mada mada dane.
Fuji laughs at this typical response. He told Ryoma to be careful and to continue striving for excellence, and he knows it was unnecessary but he also knows no one has told Ryoma before, honestly, as a peer, of the respect he deserves as a fantastic tennis player.
In his next letter, Fuji gives Ryoma his email and from then on they continue a sporadic correspondence, with lapses while Fuji is swamped with college entrance exams or while Ryoma is away at a competition.
At age 17, Ryoma is making his presence known to the world, and one day, during a daily, routine practice, he inexplicably falls and lands the wrong way on his knee.
He will never play tennis again.
Had it been one of his wrists, he might still have had a chance; he is ambidextrous, after all. But there is no way even Echizen Ryoma can play tennis with just one leg.
Fuji doesn’t hear from him for a long time.
He gets an email, one day, from Ryoma, who is in college. They resume their friendship as if nothing had happened and Fuji doesn’t broach the touchy subject of tennis. This continues through Ryoma’s college education until, one hot day in July, a month since Fuji’s received an email from Ryoma, he comes home to his apartment to find a familiar face.
Ryoma has come back to Japan. He is not quite sure what he wants to do yet but he knows he wants to figure it out here.
Fuji willingly lets him stay. The future is yet undecided.
--
But in this world, there is no tragedy.
Seigaku wins the nationals, because they are the strongest team. Tezuka, Fuji, Inui, Kikumaru, Oishi, and Kawamura all move on to Seigaku High where they continue to play tennis. Ryoma later becomes the captain, the pillar of Seishun Gakuen, and joins the tennis team when he arrives at the high school.
Again, they take the nationals and, this time, the world notices.
Fuji and Ryoma grow close and develop a relationship because they find an interest in each other that they don’t find in anyone else. Their relationship is passionate and satisfying and, sometimes surprising to even themselves, they make each other happy. Everyone is gratifyingly supportive of their relationship, including their respective families.
In college, Fuji majors in photography but continues playing tennis. Kawamura has had the good fortune of being encouraged to continue to play as well; since his father watched the high school nationals, he’s been fully supporting his son’s career. The Golden Pair remains strong even in college and are often featured in international magazines, much to Eiji’s excitement. Oishi is much more practical and makes sure that his tennis partner and boyfriend gets his schoolwork done.
Kaidoh develops a surprising interest in biology and Inui, the latter who is only too glad to “tutor” him on a regular basis. Both continue playing tennis as well. Momoshiro is discovered to be an enthusiast of sports conditioning, becoming a personal fitness trainer at the college gym while continuing to play tennis. He and Tachibana An have finally gotten together, much to his delight and Kamio’s dismay, and he spends an inordinate amount of time with a silly grin on his face.
Tezuka, genius that he is, excels in all his classes but leans towards International Relations as a major. His tennis skills are still superior to those of everyone on the university campus until Ryoma shows up.
Ryoma would like to have just skipped the entire college thing and gone straight on to the pros, but his mother is adamant that he have an education to fall back on. So he takes a casual interest in Japanese history and English literature, both of which he does exceptionally well in, and continues defeating every tennis opponent in his way. At nights, he likes to cuddle up to his boyfriend and complain about his scary fan club.
They are a happy group of Seigaku graduates, but that can only be expected. Their jobs in the future will take them to places far from Japan but ultimately they will still be close to each other. Their interest in tennis ensures that, as well as the unbreakable bonds they share, forged in the heat and sweat and battle of middle school tennis.
Regardless of all else, their hearts will always be together and their home will always be in the Land of the Rising Sun.
--
Started/Finished: 04.24.05
Edited: 04.27.05
Notes: I’m aware that the last scenario is supremely idealistic and unlikely. That’s the point. You’re not supposed to know which of the other scenarios could be “reality.”
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: FujiRyo
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine.
What is real? There are so many possibilities of “reality.” Who says you’re allowed to choose?
30_kisses theme: #6 the distance between dream and reality
Perfect World
by meitachi
In one world, Fuji is a famed photographer and travels too much to support a family. He thinks he’ll consider settling down after the peak of his career. He’s only in his twenties, after all, and that’s plenty of time.
In that world, Ryoma is a tennis pro and still winning titles left and right. He and Fuji run into each other on occasion and remain on slightly friendlier-than-professional terms. They have a history, after all. Seigaku is unforgettable.
~
In another world, Fuji and Ryoma both compete fiercely in the top ranks of the world’s tennis circuits. They are both prodigies in their own right and competition only hones their skills. They are both driven by unspoken things and their ferocity, their dedication, is seen on the courts. It’s enough to leave one breathless.
They see each other often, as opponents, and instead of commiserating together over the hells of bad hotels and dogged paparazzi, they let the sport come between them. Ryoma has always seen Fuji as someone to overcome, and now that he’s done it, he wants to move on. But Fuji won’t let him. He continues surprising Ryoma, continues learning new moves, new strategies, until Ryoma is anticipating destroying him all over again.
Their cycle is a vicious one and their relationship is almost poetic.
~
In yet another world, Fuji discovers a talent for marketing in college and is now the CEO of a flourishing sports equipment chain store. He meets a passionate girl in that same college, one whose flashing eyes and determination almost reminds him of someone else. Her name is Shikawa Keiko and Fuji finds himself inexplicably drawn to her. He proposes on Christmas Eve five years later.
Ryoma loses his father in a plane crash his second year in high school and the shock sends him into a severe depression. When he emerges, almost a year and a half later, tennis is a hollow hobby. He can’t touch a racket for the memories it brings and turns instead to painting, something he has a surprising gift for. In time, he recovers, and his paintings become famous.
Fuji is surprised to see a familiar name on the Chinese landscape he buys to hang in his and Keiko’s sitting room. For a moment, he lets his thoughts wander into the past, but then Keiko slips her arms around him and makes a delighted comment about how the blues of the river remind her of Fuji’s eyes and he smiles, forgetting.
~
In one more world, Fuji kisses Ryoma when the latter is only fifteen and Fuji is graduating from high school. Thus begins a tumultuous relationship that lasts until Ryoma, in college, stumbles upon sexual experimentation with the female sex.
Nothing is quite the same after that and no matter how many times Ryoma apologizes, Fuji does not smile.
Ryoma has his pride too, and they break up.
Fuji works for a tennis magazine and does freelance photography on the side. He has his own apartment and gets by. He doesn’t get close to people and only a privileged few have seen the inside of his home-his family, of course, and a friend he’s had from childhood. Kikumaru Eiji.
Ryoma continues playing tennis. He turns pro, naturally, and travels the world. In Europe, where the moral code is a little looser than in uptight Japan, he enjoys sex with both men and women. It’s almost as exhilarating as tennis, he thinks, but not nearly as satisfying.
Neither sees the other again and it’s easier that way.
~
In some other world, Fuji and Ryoma become good friends in high school, and a bond that goes deeper than childhood infatuations is created. Ryoma is almost surprised at how close they’ve become and how much he’s come to rely on his senpai, but he doesn’t question it because he’s grateful.
When Ryoma moves back to America for college, they maintain an email correspondence and a costly frequent phone correspondence.
Fuji decides to fly over to California for Ryoma’s twenty-first birthday.
His plane encounters severe engine malfunctions and crashes near the southern tip of Alaska at 6:48 p.m. local time.
Ryoma hears the news and doesn’t say anything for a long time. He takes his tennis racket and goes to the community courts and hits balls past midnight by the artificial lights.
He was going to tell Fuji, face-to-face, on Christmas Eve that he loved him.
~
In a sixth world, Fuji receives his first kiss from Eiji on a dare and only smiles as the other boy hops around wailing that now Oishi was going to make fun of him forever because Oishi had already kissed a girl. The Seigaku regulars enjoy their last party together before high school, before their genius freshman leaves for the U.S.A. They make memories to last a lifetime that night and when Ryoma leaves a week later, they are all at the airport to bid him goodbye.
Fuji hands him a letter before he goes and doesn’t hear back from Ryoma until almost a month later.
Dear Fuji-senpai, boy wonder has written, mada mada dane.
Fuji laughs at this typical response. He told Ryoma to be careful and to continue striving for excellence, and he knows it was unnecessary but he also knows no one has told Ryoma before, honestly, as a peer, of the respect he deserves as a fantastic tennis player.
In his next letter, Fuji gives Ryoma his email and from then on they continue a sporadic correspondence, with lapses while Fuji is swamped with college entrance exams or while Ryoma is away at a competition.
At age 17, Ryoma is making his presence known to the world, and one day, during a daily, routine practice, he inexplicably falls and lands the wrong way on his knee.
He will never play tennis again.
Had it been one of his wrists, he might still have had a chance; he is ambidextrous, after all. But there is no way even Echizen Ryoma can play tennis with just one leg.
Fuji doesn’t hear from him for a long time.
He gets an email, one day, from Ryoma, who is in college. They resume their friendship as if nothing had happened and Fuji doesn’t broach the touchy subject of tennis. This continues through Ryoma’s college education until, one hot day in July, a month since Fuji’s received an email from Ryoma, he comes home to his apartment to find a familiar face.
Ryoma has come back to Japan. He is not quite sure what he wants to do yet but he knows he wants to figure it out here.
Fuji willingly lets him stay. The future is yet undecided.
--
But in this world, there is no tragedy.
Seigaku wins the nationals, because they are the strongest team. Tezuka, Fuji, Inui, Kikumaru, Oishi, and Kawamura all move on to Seigaku High where they continue to play tennis. Ryoma later becomes the captain, the pillar of Seishun Gakuen, and joins the tennis team when he arrives at the high school.
Again, they take the nationals and, this time, the world notices.
Fuji and Ryoma grow close and develop a relationship because they find an interest in each other that they don’t find in anyone else. Their relationship is passionate and satisfying and, sometimes surprising to even themselves, they make each other happy. Everyone is gratifyingly supportive of their relationship, including their respective families.
In college, Fuji majors in photography but continues playing tennis. Kawamura has had the good fortune of being encouraged to continue to play as well; since his father watched the high school nationals, he’s been fully supporting his son’s career. The Golden Pair remains strong even in college and are often featured in international magazines, much to Eiji’s excitement. Oishi is much more practical and makes sure that his tennis partner and boyfriend gets his schoolwork done.
Kaidoh develops a surprising interest in biology and Inui, the latter who is only too glad to “tutor” him on a regular basis. Both continue playing tennis as well. Momoshiro is discovered to be an enthusiast of sports conditioning, becoming a personal fitness trainer at the college gym while continuing to play tennis. He and Tachibana An have finally gotten together, much to his delight and Kamio’s dismay, and he spends an inordinate amount of time with a silly grin on his face.
Tezuka, genius that he is, excels in all his classes but leans towards International Relations as a major. His tennis skills are still superior to those of everyone on the university campus until Ryoma shows up.
Ryoma would like to have just skipped the entire college thing and gone straight on to the pros, but his mother is adamant that he have an education to fall back on. So he takes a casual interest in Japanese history and English literature, both of which he does exceptionally well in, and continues defeating every tennis opponent in his way. At nights, he likes to cuddle up to his boyfriend and complain about his scary fan club.
They are a happy group of Seigaku graduates, but that can only be expected. Their jobs in the future will take them to places far from Japan but ultimately they will still be close to each other. Their interest in tennis ensures that, as well as the unbreakable bonds they share, forged in the heat and sweat and battle of middle school tennis.
Regardless of all else, their hearts will always be together and their home will always be in the Land of the Rising Sun.
--
Started/Finished: 04.24.05
Edited: 04.27.05
Notes: I’m aware that the last scenario is supremely idealistic and unlikely. That’s the point. You’re not supposed to know which of the other scenarios could be “reality.”