Remembrance - Day Five
Title: Remembrance
Pairing: TezukaFuji
Rating: G for now
Genre: Romance/Drama
Warnings: Spoilers, and this is shounen ai
Disclaimer: I don't own Tezuka and Fuji. They own each other, though.
Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
A/N: I'm probably making up for the lack of birthday gift for Tezuka. Hope you'd enjoy this chapter. It's the longest one I've written for this series yet. Unbetaed at the moment because I feel cold. The rain doesn't seem to stop.
Hint No. 5: The Days are longer because 'I' is getting more response from 'you'
oOo
One runs a risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed… - The Little Prince, by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
oOo
Remembrance - Day Five
oOo
Being fond, you realized, was fairly easy. Very little variation took place between you and him. You still went to the library, spending most of the time reading and studying with him. You still went about your way to walk home with him after practice. And, as per usual, you took your seat right beside him in class, always making sure that he got the seat closest to the window.
But there was a wee bit of a change in you that I don’t think you realized just then… You smiled. Of course you didn’t smile just as he did. I like to think that you would have scared a lot more people if you did. But the lines of thought left your forehead and your lips curled up ever so slightly whenever he pointed out something amusing in his readings. Other people may not have noticed your smile but there was no chance that it could have gotten past him.
“You should smile more often,” you heard him mumble as he watched overcast clouds through the library window.
You turned to him and said sternly, “Fuji, the homework.”
As always, he ignored your curt words and said, “Really, Tezuka, you’re only a child for the first eighteen years of your life and you’ll be an adult for the rest of it so don’t be too eager to grow up.” You saw his eyes crinkle more at the corners and you suspected that he was amused by your lack of reaction. “You really should smile more often.”
“Fuji, the homework,” you said wryly, patting your math book.
“Just smile. It shouldn’t be too difficult,” he told you as he continued to wear one of his light grins.
You pressed your lips disapprovingly but you put your pen on the table and shut the book as if in resignation. The math homework was so lengthy you no longer wondered why the teacher agreed to your classmates when they asked for ‘pair work’ when the homework was assigned. And with him highly distracted and very insistent, you knew that there was no way you could finish the task by the time the library closed. You still didn’t smile, though, as you said, “We should finish this at home.”
“Ahh?” he asked. You felt that, somehow, he was giving you a surprised, inquisitive stare beneath those slightly shut eyelids of his. “Aren’t you going out?”
“Going out?”
“Yes,” he said pointedly. “I was going to offer to take the homework with me.”
A frown formed on your face as you regarded him. “No,” you said firmly. In your opinion, what he had just suggested would lead you to abandon your responsibilities and, to you, negligence was a sin that should be punished by at least a hundred laps around the tennis court. “You can ask your sister to pick you up at our house; it’s going to rain soon.”
“It’s your birthday,” he said, as if reminding you. “Aren’t you going out with your family to celebrate?” he asked you quickly.
“We already celebrated this morning,” you said cursorily. “Otousan has a business trip.”
“Oh?” he said interestedly and you thought his smile was brighter when he added, “Can we really go to your house?” He cast you a thoughtful look. “I’ve never been there.”
When you nodded, you were quite certain that his smiled widened almost instantly.
You heard him cluck his tongue playfully. “And I suppose you’d need help with your sacks of gifts?”
Throwing a glare at him, you neatly packed your things and said, “Let’s go.”
He was, of course, unmindful of your sharp, piercing eyes. You just saw him beam at you as he stuffed things in his bag.
The rain began pouring while the two of you were inside the bus. Even with huge umbrellas, you weren’t able to keep yourselves dry as the wind kept blowing the torrid rain toward your direction. Your mother looked particularly fretful when you finally stepped inside your house.
“Kunimitsu,” she said, wearing a worried smile as she saw your disheveled state. “You should go upstairs and - “
“Ahh, okaasan,” you said, interrupting her. You gestured him inside your house and said, “A classmate, Fuji Syusuke.”
Your mother looked up and you found that her smile softened at the sight of him. “Oh, dear,” she said in a very affable way as she studied him. “You should get changed, too.”
“Good afternoon, Tezuka-san,” he said, bowing politely to your mother. “My name is Fuji Syusuke. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.”
“I’m glad to meet you,” she said, matching his beam with one of hers, probably making you realize that he and your mother resembled each other what with their never wavering smile. “Do you have something to change into?”
He straightened himself from bowing and paused to consider. “No, ma’am,” he replied. You noted that his cheerfulness did not quite leave his tone despite the cold. “But I’ll be dried up in a while.”
“Oh, that wouldn’t do,” your mother said almost snappily. “I’m sure Kunimitsu can lend you some of his clothes.” She waved her hand, gesturing him to follow up the stairs and up to your room. She handed you a fresh set of clothing and pointed you to the bathroom. “I’ll just get Fuji-kun something that he can be comfortable in.”
You nodded quietly, figuring that you didn’t need to say anything, and found your way to the bathroom. As you cleaned and dried yourself up, you could hear your mother’s muffled voice through the bathroom door.
“You’re smaller than Kunimitsu, dear,” you heard your mother say. “But I’m sure I’ll find something.” You could make out the sounds of something scuffling against wood, perhaps, inside your closet until you heard your mother’s almost triumphant words. “Ahh, there you go. This isn’t an exact fit, but I think this will do… I hope you don’t mind this, Fuji-kun.”
“Ah, no, not at all Tezuka-san,” you heard him say. “Thank you.”
The tiny sound of feet scraping against floor approached you and a knock came on your door. “Faster, Kunimitsu,” your mother said. “Fuji-kun might catch cold.”
Being the only child, you weren’t wont to sharing your bathroom with anyone and you liked to take your time while cleaning yourself. But you also didn’t like to be blamed if he caught a cold and you didn’t want your mother to barge in to your bathroom, which she would probably have done if you decided to dawdle. Changing quickly, you turned the knob and allowed him to get inside.
“Wait for Fuji-kun and get down to dinner,” your mother told you cheerfully.
“But we have to do homework first and Fuji has to go home soon,” you said quietly.
“But the unacha I prepared might get cold,” she said, grinning at you.
“Unacha?” you asked.
“Yes, unacha,” answered your mother. “I’ll be waiting downstairs and preparing the table. And be good to your guest.”
You watched your mother leave your room and you scowled, probably silently accusing your mother of bribery. You turned your head as the door creaked and said, “Okaasan wants us to have dinner first.”
“That’s very thoughtful of her,” he said in amusement.
Your eyes blinked just then when you realized that he was wearing a set of your overgrown clothes. If you thought that he looked odd in it, you didn’t say so, but you stared at him as he folded the sleeves of your shirt.
Over at dinner, your mother was even more joyful than normal. She shared the reason with him, saying that you hardly had anyone to visit you at home, not even on your birthday, so she was very glad that you still had friends in spite of the lack of emotion in your face. She also said that she was relieved that she had the foresight to prepare more unacha seeing as you usually ate so many.
Probably thinking that he was grinning, you tried to shoot a glare at him, but you were disrupted when you had to bow as your grandfather joined the table. “Good evening, ojiisan,” you said courteously.
Your grandfather eye’s turned abruptly to him and, at the corner of your eyes, you saw him bow as well. “Good evening, Tezuka-sensei. I am Fuji Syusuke. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.”
Your grandfather only nodded his head and you dropped to your seats, proceeding into a very silent meal.
“Your mother is very nice,” he told you as you finally finished your math homework at around ten in the evening.
You nodded quietly as you flexed your finger. You looked at him and said truthfully, “Your mother is very nice as well” as you, perhaps, recalled the many times that his mother invited you to dine with them.
“You take after your grandfather,” he said and you observed that his smile was amused, almost knowing.
Before you could give a response, you heard a ring and you watched as he excused himself and picked up his phone.
“Really? But, neesan, it might be a bother… I can wait… yes, it is raining very hard… I’ll - hang on.” He lifted his head and held the phone away. “Ahh… Tezuka,” he said cautiously.
“Hn?”
“Would it be too much to ask if I can stay overnight? Neesan can’t pick me up. There’s been a minor accident on her way from the office and it’s blocking the traffic,” he said and you thought he sounded mildly worried.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” you said, trying to reassure him. “Let’s go ask okaasan.”
You waited for him to trudge behind you as you went to find your mother, who was watching some primetime drama. She took the call from his sister and after a few moments of conversation, she said, “Yes, of course you can stay, Fuji-kun. Your sister says she’ll pick you up after school and you don’t have to worry about your school uniform. I’ll have them dried.”
He bowed again and murmured his thanks.
Later that night, he took a good look at your bookshelf and dragged a copy of some classic literature, The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli. “You really like political and social science, don’t you?” he asked as he sat on your bed and opened the book.
“Hn.”
“Tezuka,” he said, slightly shutting the book and marking it by keeping his index finger on the page that he was reading. “Why don’t you open your gifts?” You saw him eye the boxes on your desk and you heard him cluck his tongue. “Your admirers might get disheartened if they found out that you haven’t been opening their gifts.”
With a sigh, you dragged the boxes near your bed and you sat beside him, unwrapping some of the presents. You evidently pressed your lips after the ripping open the sixth box of cake and seventh box of chocolates.
“Why?” he asked. “Don’t you like them?”
“I appreciate them,” you replied with all honesty. “But I don’t think I can finish all these food in time.”
He let out a low laugh. “It does seem a bit wasteful.”
You thrust a box of chocolate at him and said, “Eat it but brush your teeth later.”
“Hm?” he said, turning inquiringly at you before finally helping himself to a piece of the heart-shaped chocolates. “Thanks.”
As you piled up the boxes neatly, you found a box that was small in comparison to the others. Curiously, you took it and opened it. After seeing what was inside and reading the enclosed note, you stared at him.
“What?” he asked, jovially munching on his piece of chocolate after realizing that you were gaping at him.
“What’s this?” you asked, holding out a necklace with a pendant of a piece of stone.
“A coiled necklace,” he told you as if nothing could have been more obvious.
Your frown became evident then as you thought he wasn't being completely truthful.
“It’s an opal coiled necklace,” he said with a sigh. “Neesan said it’s good for friendship, emotion,” he stopped to chuckle and your eyebrows did twitch then, “fulfillment of desires and dreams, friendship… It’s also good for the eyes and it entails healing forces.”
You didn’t look at all satisfied with his answer as you crossed your arm and waited for more.
“What?” he asked innocently. “It’s a gift for your birthday… From neesan and I, since I couldn’t afford to buy it alone. I thought it’d be good for your arm, for a fast recovery, you know? It’s your birthstone, too!” He flashed a broad smile at you. “I can exchange it and give you chocolates, though, if you want.”
“Is this why you didn’t agree to go with the others whenever they wanted to go out and eat?” you asked darkly.
“Ah, yes,” he said unabashedly. “I was saving for it.”
Your face was grim as you looked at him in disbelief. But you gave in, probably because he was smiling at you and encouraging you to wear it. Submitting, you tied the necklace around your neck and you mumbled your quick thanks.
“You’re very welcome,” he said with a shrug. “It’s a living stone. Don’t let it dehydrate.”
“Ahh,” you said. “Thanks.”
As you were gathering the boxes of gifts and the wrappings, he leaned on your bed and went on reading. When you came back after putting the wrappings into the trash, you found him lying on his stomach, with his head on the closed book. You really couldn’t blame him; the book was difficult to read because it was about Western politics and the English was quite hard to understand.
Rubbing your eyes, you must have wondered whether you should unroll a futon to sleep on. But as sleep and exhaustion were daunting, you decided not to bother and you crawled to bed right beside him. Before you finally dozed off, you found yourself dazedly considering that having someone to stay at your home and wear your clothes and sleep on your bed wasn’t very bad at all.
oOo
As his lips opened slightly with the suspicion of a half-smile, I said to myself, again: “What moves me so deeply, about this little prince who is sleeping here, is his loyalty to a flower - the image of a rose that shines through his whole being like the flame of a lamp, even when he is asleep…” And I felt him to be more fragile still. I felt the need of protecting him, as if he himself were a flame that might be extinguished by a little puff of the wind… - The Little Prince, by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
oOo
a/n:I went ‘aww’ over the opal scene. Well, that’s my interpretation of Tezuka’s necklace in the anime. I know Fuji is well off. But an opal is still an opal and Fuji is in second year of middle school. He isn't as well off as Atobe, is he? Comments are loved. Theories on who the 'I' is will be confirmed. ^_^
Glossary
Okaasan - mother
Otousan - father
Neesan - elder sister
Ojiisan - grandfather
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu - Please take good care of me. I didn’t want to translate it. It would have been a bit awkward in the English context.
Unacha - it’s Tezuka’s favorite dish, in case you don’t know. It’s a ricebowl of grilled eel and other toppings and you pour it with hot green tea so I thought it’d be fitting for a rainy birthday of Tezuka’s.
Tezuka-sensei - well, I decided that Fuji can call Tezuka’s grandpa as ‘sensei’ since Kunikazu is a Judo master at the local police academy. I didn’t want to have two ‘Tezuka-san’s.
Pairing: TezukaFuji
Rating: G for now
Genre: Romance/Drama
Warnings: Spoilers, and this is shounen ai
Disclaimer: I don't own Tezuka and Fuji. They own each other, though.
Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
A/N: I'm probably making up for the lack of birthday gift for Tezuka. Hope you'd enjoy this chapter. It's the longest one I've written for this series yet. Unbetaed at the moment because I feel cold. The rain doesn't seem to stop.
Hint No. 5: The Days are longer because 'I' is getting more response from 'you'
oOo
One runs a risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed… - The Little Prince, by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
oOo
Remembrance - Day Five
oOo
Being fond, you realized, was fairly easy. Very little variation took place between you and him. You still went to the library, spending most of the time reading and studying with him. You still went about your way to walk home with him after practice. And, as per usual, you took your seat right beside him in class, always making sure that he got the seat closest to the window.
But there was a wee bit of a change in you that I don’t think you realized just then… You smiled. Of course you didn’t smile just as he did. I like to think that you would have scared a lot more people if you did. But the lines of thought left your forehead and your lips curled up ever so slightly whenever he pointed out something amusing in his readings. Other people may not have noticed your smile but there was no chance that it could have gotten past him.
“You should smile more often,” you heard him mumble as he watched overcast clouds through the library window.
You turned to him and said sternly, “Fuji, the homework.”
As always, he ignored your curt words and said, “Really, Tezuka, you’re only a child for the first eighteen years of your life and you’ll be an adult for the rest of it so don’t be too eager to grow up.” You saw his eyes crinkle more at the corners and you suspected that he was amused by your lack of reaction. “You really should smile more often.”
“Fuji, the homework,” you said wryly, patting your math book.
“Just smile. It shouldn’t be too difficult,” he told you as he continued to wear one of his light grins.
You pressed your lips disapprovingly but you put your pen on the table and shut the book as if in resignation. The math homework was so lengthy you no longer wondered why the teacher agreed to your classmates when they asked for ‘pair work’ when the homework was assigned. And with him highly distracted and very insistent, you knew that there was no way you could finish the task by the time the library closed. You still didn’t smile, though, as you said, “We should finish this at home.”
“Ahh?” he asked. You felt that, somehow, he was giving you a surprised, inquisitive stare beneath those slightly shut eyelids of his. “Aren’t you going out?”
“Going out?”
“Yes,” he said pointedly. “I was going to offer to take the homework with me.”
A frown formed on your face as you regarded him. “No,” you said firmly. In your opinion, what he had just suggested would lead you to abandon your responsibilities and, to you, negligence was a sin that should be punished by at least a hundred laps around the tennis court. “You can ask your sister to pick you up at our house; it’s going to rain soon.”
“It’s your birthday,” he said, as if reminding you. “Aren’t you going out with your family to celebrate?” he asked you quickly.
“We already celebrated this morning,” you said cursorily. “Otousan has a business trip.”
“Oh?” he said interestedly and you thought his smile was brighter when he added, “Can we really go to your house?” He cast you a thoughtful look. “I’ve never been there.”
When you nodded, you were quite certain that his smiled widened almost instantly.
You heard him cluck his tongue playfully. “And I suppose you’d need help with your sacks of gifts?”
Throwing a glare at him, you neatly packed your things and said, “Let’s go.”
He was, of course, unmindful of your sharp, piercing eyes. You just saw him beam at you as he stuffed things in his bag.
The rain began pouring while the two of you were inside the bus. Even with huge umbrellas, you weren’t able to keep yourselves dry as the wind kept blowing the torrid rain toward your direction. Your mother looked particularly fretful when you finally stepped inside your house.
“Kunimitsu,” she said, wearing a worried smile as she saw your disheveled state. “You should go upstairs and - “
“Ahh, okaasan,” you said, interrupting her. You gestured him inside your house and said, “A classmate, Fuji Syusuke.”
Your mother looked up and you found that her smile softened at the sight of him. “Oh, dear,” she said in a very affable way as she studied him. “You should get changed, too.”
“Good afternoon, Tezuka-san,” he said, bowing politely to your mother. “My name is Fuji Syusuke. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.”
“I’m glad to meet you,” she said, matching his beam with one of hers, probably making you realize that he and your mother resembled each other what with their never wavering smile. “Do you have something to change into?”
He straightened himself from bowing and paused to consider. “No, ma’am,” he replied. You noted that his cheerfulness did not quite leave his tone despite the cold. “But I’ll be dried up in a while.”
“Oh, that wouldn’t do,” your mother said almost snappily. “I’m sure Kunimitsu can lend you some of his clothes.” She waved her hand, gesturing him to follow up the stairs and up to your room. She handed you a fresh set of clothing and pointed you to the bathroom. “I’ll just get Fuji-kun something that he can be comfortable in.”
You nodded quietly, figuring that you didn’t need to say anything, and found your way to the bathroom. As you cleaned and dried yourself up, you could hear your mother’s muffled voice through the bathroom door.
“You’re smaller than Kunimitsu, dear,” you heard your mother say. “But I’m sure I’ll find something.” You could make out the sounds of something scuffling against wood, perhaps, inside your closet until you heard your mother’s almost triumphant words. “Ahh, there you go. This isn’t an exact fit, but I think this will do… I hope you don’t mind this, Fuji-kun.”
“Ah, no, not at all Tezuka-san,” you heard him say. “Thank you.”
The tiny sound of feet scraping against floor approached you and a knock came on your door. “Faster, Kunimitsu,” your mother said. “Fuji-kun might catch cold.”
Being the only child, you weren’t wont to sharing your bathroom with anyone and you liked to take your time while cleaning yourself. But you also didn’t like to be blamed if he caught a cold and you didn’t want your mother to barge in to your bathroom, which she would probably have done if you decided to dawdle. Changing quickly, you turned the knob and allowed him to get inside.
“Wait for Fuji-kun and get down to dinner,” your mother told you cheerfully.
“But we have to do homework first and Fuji has to go home soon,” you said quietly.
“But the unacha I prepared might get cold,” she said, grinning at you.
“Unacha?” you asked.
“Yes, unacha,” answered your mother. “I’ll be waiting downstairs and preparing the table. And be good to your guest.”
You watched your mother leave your room and you scowled, probably silently accusing your mother of bribery. You turned your head as the door creaked and said, “Okaasan wants us to have dinner first.”
“That’s very thoughtful of her,” he said in amusement.
Your eyes blinked just then when you realized that he was wearing a set of your overgrown clothes. If you thought that he looked odd in it, you didn’t say so, but you stared at him as he folded the sleeves of your shirt.
Over at dinner, your mother was even more joyful than normal. She shared the reason with him, saying that you hardly had anyone to visit you at home, not even on your birthday, so she was very glad that you still had friends in spite of the lack of emotion in your face. She also said that she was relieved that she had the foresight to prepare more unacha seeing as you usually ate so many.
Probably thinking that he was grinning, you tried to shoot a glare at him, but you were disrupted when you had to bow as your grandfather joined the table. “Good evening, ojiisan,” you said courteously.
Your grandfather eye’s turned abruptly to him and, at the corner of your eyes, you saw him bow as well. “Good evening, Tezuka-sensei. I am Fuji Syusuke. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.”
Your grandfather only nodded his head and you dropped to your seats, proceeding into a very silent meal.
“Your mother is very nice,” he told you as you finally finished your math homework at around ten in the evening.
You nodded quietly as you flexed your finger. You looked at him and said truthfully, “Your mother is very nice as well” as you, perhaps, recalled the many times that his mother invited you to dine with them.
“You take after your grandfather,” he said and you observed that his smile was amused, almost knowing.
Before you could give a response, you heard a ring and you watched as he excused himself and picked up his phone.
“Really? But, neesan, it might be a bother… I can wait… yes, it is raining very hard… I’ll - hang on.” He lifted his head and held the phone away. “Ahh… Tezuka,” he said cautiously.
“Hn?”
“Would it be too much to ask if I can stay overnight? Neesan can’t pick me up. There’s been a minor accident on her way from the office and it’s blocking the traffic,” he said and you thought he sounded mildly worried.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” you said, trying to reassure him. “Let’s go ask okaasan.”
You waited for him to trudge behind you as you went to find your mother, who was watching some primetime drama. She took the call from his sister and after a few moments of conversation, she said, “Yes, of course you can stay, Fuji-kun. Your sister says she’ll pick you up after school and you don’t have to worry about your school uniform. I’ll have them dried.”
He bowed again and murmured his thanks.
Later that night, he took a good look at your bookshelf and dragged a copy of some classic literature, The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli. “You really like political and social science, don’t you?” he asked as he sat on your bed and opened the book.
“Hn.”
“Tezuka,” he said, slightly shutting the book and marking it by keeping his index finger on the page that he was reading. “Why don’t you open your gifts?” You saw him eye the boxes on your desk and you heard him cluck his tongue. “Your admirers might get disheartened if they found out that you haven’t been opening their gifts.”
With a sigh, you dragged the boxes near your bed and you sat beside him, unwrapping some of the presents. You evidently pressed your lips after the ripping open the sixth box of cake and seventh box of chocolates.
“Why?” he asked. “Don’t you like them?”
“I appreciate them,” you replied with all honesty. “But I don’t think I can finish all these food in time.”
He let out a low laugh. “It does seem a bit wasteful.”
You thrust a box of chocolate at him and said, “Eat it but brush your teeth later.”
“Hm?” he said, turning inquiringly at you before finally helping himself to a piece of the heart-shaped chocolates. “Thanks.”
As you piled up the boxes neatly, you found a box that was small in comparison to the others. Curiously, you took it and opened it. After seeing what was inside and reading the enclosed note, you stared at him.
“What?” he asked, jovially munching on his piece of chocolate after realizing that you were gaping at him.
“What’s this?” you asked, holding out a necklace with a pendant of a piece of stone.
“A coiled necklace,” he told you as if nothing could have been more obvious.
Your frown became evident then as you thought he wasn't being completely truthful.
“It’s an opal coiled necklace,” he said with a sigh. “Neesan said it’s good for friendship, emotion,” he stopped to chuckle and your eyebrows did twitch then, “fulfillment of desires and dreams, friendship… It’s also good for the eyes and it entails healing forces.”
You didn’t look at all satisfied with his answer as you crossed your arm and waited for more.
“What?” he asked innocently. “It’s a gift for your birthday… From neesan and I, since I couldn’t afford to buy it alone. I thought it’d be good for your arm, for a fast recovery, you know? It’s your birthstone, too!” He flashed a broad smile at you. “I can exchange it and give you chocolates, though, if you want.”
“Is this why you didn’t agree to go with the others whenever they wanted to go out and eat?” you asked darkly.
“Ah, yes,” he said unabashedly. “I was saving for it.”
Your face was grim as you looked at him in disbelief. But you gave in, probably because he was smiling at you and encouraging you to wear it. Submitting, you tied the necklace around your neck and you mumbled your quick thanks.
“You’re very welcome,” he said with a shrug. “It’s a living stone. Don’t let it dehydrate.”
“Ahh,” you said. “Thanks.”
As you were gathering the boxes of gifts and the wrappings, he leaned on your bed and went on reading. When you came back after putting the wrappings into the trash, you found him lying on his stomach, with his head on the closed book. You really couldn’t blame him; the book was difficult to read because it was about Western politics and the English was quite hard to understand.
Rubbing your eyes, you must have wondered whether you should unroll a futon to sleep on. But as sleep and exhaustion were daunting, you decided not to bother and you crawled to bed right beside him. Before you finally dozed off, you found yourself dazedly considering that having someone to stay at your home and wear your clothes and sleep on your bed wasn’t very bad at all.
oOo
As his lips opened slightly with the suspicion of a half-smile, I said to myself, again: “What moves me so deeply, about this little prince who is sleeping here, is his loyalty to a flower - the image of a rose that shines through his whole being like the flame of a lamp, even when he is asleep…” And I felt him to be more fragile still. I felt the need of protecting him, as if he himself were a flame that might be extinguished by a little puff of the wind… - The Little Prince, by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
oOo
a/n:I went ‘aww’ over the opal scene. Well, that’s my interpretation of Tezuka’s necklace in the anime. I know Fuji is well off. But an opal is still an opal and Fuji is in second year of middle school. He isn't as well off as Atobe, is he? Comments are loved. Theories on who the 'I' is will be confirmed. ^_^
Glossary
Okaasan - mother
Otousan - father
Neesan - elder sister
Ojiisan - grandfather
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu - Please take good care of me. I didn’t want to translate it. It would have been a bit awkward in the English context.
Unacha - it’s Tezuka’s favorite dish, in case you don’t know. It’s a ricebowl of grilled eel and other toppings and you pour it with hot green tea so I thought it’d be fitting for a rainy birthday of Tezuka’s.
Tezuka-sensei - well, I decided that Fuji can call Tezuka’s grandpa as ‘sensei’ since Kunikazu is a Judo master at the local police academy. I didn’t want to have two ‘Tezuka-san’s.