Double Story

Chapter Three

Author’s note(s):

I apologise in advance to Atobe fans for the later part of this chapter. Please don’t hate me. Allow this stressed-out author to indulge. ^.^

Random names and minor characters in this chapter that you need not worry yourself about too much: Miyu, Takami, Yamada, Aida Emiko and Nishikado Sayuri.

***

Fuji looked at with alarm. She looked very tired, as though she hadn’t slept much or slept well at all. The rings around her eyes attested to that.

“! Are you okay? Did something happen?” he said, jumping up and pulling out the chair for her.

“I’m okay. Sort of. Thanks, and so sorry to call you on such short notice.”

“It’s all right. I’m sorry my assignment didn’t end a week earlier, if you’re looking like this now. What’s wrong? Tell me.”

“Shouldn’t we order first?”

He grinned. “I took the liberty of ordering your favourite ice-cream for you before you came.”

“Aw… That’s so nice of you.”

“No problem. I’m glad I did anyhow. This way we can talk more. And you look like you really need to talk.”

sighed and closed her eyes. “It’s a rather long story.”

“And we have all day to talk. It’s Saturday, after all.”

She told him what she’d overheard the week before at Atobe’s garden party. When she finished her story, Fuji wisely kept silent. took a spoonful of ice-cream and then continued, saying, “I don’t know… I’m just…  Just… Argh. I don’t know.”

“Furious with Atobe?” he suggested.

“Oh, I am indeed. But… I’m also – sad, I guess.”

Fuji looked at her questioningly. She dug her spoon listlessly into the ice-cream that had been served a short while before and ate another spoonful.

“Whatever hope I had that there was a possibility Tezuka cared for me… It’s gone now.”

Given the words she had heard, Fuji could understand her thoughts. But he still felt that Tezuka did care and she had misunderstood it. He had no proof, of course. Tezuka had always been rather tight-lipped about his feelings, especially when it came to . Maybe Oishi knew for certain, but Fuji certainly didn’t.

“You don’t know for sure that’s what he meant, ,” said Fuji, trying to reassure her.

“Perhaps. But how many reasons can there be for something like ‘You presume too much of my intentions’?” She pushed the ice-cream cup aside and leaned back in her chair, hand over her eyes. It was some moments before she spoke again. “You know, angry though I am at that idiot Atobe (now I think I know why calls him that)…”

Fuji had to chuckle. Idiot? That was a new one. He had never heard anyone call Atobe an idiot before.

“… I think I’m actually more disappointed.” sat straight again and rested her head in one hand, staring at the table top. “Disappointed. Yea, I think that’s the right word.”

She fell silent again. Fuji waited a bit, then prompted her to continue. “Disappointed…? In Tezuka?”

“A bit. No, not really. I think… Maybe I’m disappointed that my hopes came to nothing. That he doesn’t seem to care that way. Disappointed and annoyed at myself too, for being so stupid.” She let out a bitter laugh. “I am stupid, aren’t I? Wishing and hoping like that. Probably I’m also stupid for being so upset over it. I should have known…”

“,” began Fuji, but then he stopped. A tear was running down her cheek. He didn’t know what to say and decided that saying nothing was best.

blinked hard, trying to keep back anymore traitorous tears. “But, you know, Syuusuke… It hurts to be disappointed. It hurts - so much.” Her voice trembled slightly at the last two words.

Fuji could only watch her, pained that his friend was hurting. She was certainly very angry with Atobe – the tone with which she referred to him indicated as much – but at the same time, she was heartbroken. He wished he could assure her that it wasn’t as she thought, that Tezuka did care, but he knew he couldn’t give her proof of it. It would just be a gut feeling. And that would not be enough at this time. It made him highly annoyed with Atobe for interfering, and also regretful that Tezuka had not actually spoken up so far. He had known her for about ten years now.  How long did he need to decide that he cared for her?

dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “This is silly. I shouldn’t be crying…” She hated it when she lost control of herself like that.

It took Fuji all of three seconds to move his chair closer to hers and put an arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay,” he said, softly. “It’s not silly. Don’t worry about it.” He ruffled her hair slightly.

“Don’t do that,” she chided, jokingly. “It’s as if I’m a little kid. I’m older than you are, you know.”

“Only by a few weeks,” countered Fuji.

She shut her eyes once more and leaned on him. “Thanks,” she whispered.

“Anytime,” he said. Then he ruffled her hair again. half-smiled in spite of herself.

***

After seeing safely off to the station, Fuji took out his hand phone and dialled a number. She had told him expressly not to do anything to Atobe. “I’ll handle Atobe myself. Don’t you try anything,” she had said, and he had agreed (albeit reluctantly).

But she didn’t say anything about Tezuka, he thought, smiling to himself. Maybe it was time he gave Tezuka a little push. That could wait a bit, though. First, perhaps a little more cheer and distraction for wouldn’t hurt. He raised his phone to his ear and listened for the dial tone.

***

watched at work. She certainly looked better after she had that talk with Fuji two weeks before. After Atobe’s garden party, she had been quieter than usual in the studio, and occasionally caught a strange, sad sort of expression on her face. She had refused to talk about it too, always thanking for her concern, and then saying she just didn’t want to discuss it.

“, Keigo’s invited us for lunch. Do you want to go?”

looked up from her desk, a coloured marker in hand. “Today? What day is it today?”

“Mm…” checked the calendar on her table. “Friday.”

“Oh, then I can’t. Fuji’s taking me to lunch today. Sorry.”

“Ah,” said . “It’s all right. I’ll go with him myself.”

felt slightly relieved. She was not any happier with Atobe than she had been three weeks ago, and had little desire to see him still. She would much rather see Fuji. A glance at the clock told her there was about forty-five minutes before she was due to go and meet him.

I should probably leave soon…

The telephone rang, the blinking light indicating a call from the secretary’s desk. She pressed the speakerphone mode button.

“Yes?”

“-san, there’s someone here to see you. A Fuji-san.”

“Oh?” Wasn’t I supposed to meet him at the restaurant? “Send him in.”

got up to open the door. looked up from her work. She had met the photographer a few times, and liked him. He had a pleasant, open attitude that was appealing. But before reached the door, there was a crisp tap on it and then it swung open. Instead of Fuji, there stood someone else. gasped audibly.

“Yo.” Saeki grinned, leaning on the door jamb. “-chan, long time no see.”

let out something like a half-shriek that had never heard from her before, and exclaimed, “Sae!!” For once, the usually dignified dropped her stateliness and all but threw herself at the tall man, who caught her in his arms and spun her round, to the amusement and curiosity of some of their staff.

“You’ve gotten a bit lighter,” he remarked, putting her down. “Did you finally decide to lose weight?”

She poked him in the side and made a face. Saeki winced slightly, but laughed.

“Saeki Kojirou! When did you come?” asked . “Why are you here anyway? Where are you staying? How –”

“Whoa… Slow down. I just arrived this morning. I’ll be staying at Fuji’s.” He jerked a thumb in the direction of Fuji, who had been standing behind him.

“Is this your doing, Syuusuke?” said .

Fuji laughed.

“In a way, it is his doing,” said Saeki, draping an arm over Fuji. “This guy here told me he has a friend who wants his son to have private tennis lessons before the district tournament, and he’s recommended me for the job.”

“Really? But isn’t it troublesome for you?”

“Aaah. It’s only a short-term thing.” Saeki waved his hand airily. “Just weekends for about a month or so. I’m going to meet this person later and see if we can agree on the fee. It’d be a good change to do a bit of travelling. And it’d be good to see both of you more often too.”

“That’d be great! But” – turned to the other man – “what have you done this time, Syuu? You’re behind this, I know.”

“I just thought you might like to see Sae again. And I really do have a friend who wants his son to have private lessons,” protested Fuji. That is, after I talked him into thinking that the lessons were really necessary, he added silently.

didn’t look like she believed him entirely, but then Fuji hadn’t expected her to. They knew each other well enough to at least suspect when one or the other was involved in something sneaky. But his plan had worked, so he was satisfied. She wouldn’t kill him for this, anyway.

watched them, a smile on her face. ’s transformation at the sight of her old friend was amazing. Before the door opened, she was normal – neither happy nor sad – but the minute she saw him, it was as if a light had been turned on inside her.

Looking at the newcomer, thought, So this is Saeki Kojirou. She had heard a lot about him from , and had seen some photographs, but had never seen him in person. In a way he looked like Fuji. Both were tall ( often said Fuji had once been short – found that a bit hard to believe), brown-haired and blue-eyed. But even from photographs, the differences were evident. Now, seeing them in person, the differences were even more obvious, although at a quick glance they did look alike.

Fuji was thinner, had softer features and his eyes were more of a sky-blue colour. Saeki, on the other hand, was lean but more sturdily-built, had sharper, more defined features, and eyes that were almost electric blue. remembered saying that at one time Saeki had his hair dyed white and black and had actually managed to not look stupid. Seeing him now, she figured he certainly was the type who could carry the look pretty well.

had pulled both of them into the studio and shut the door. She introduced Saeki to .

“-san, nice to meet you,” Saeki said, shaking her hand. “I’ve heard a good deal about you.”

“And I’ve heard many, many things about you,” she said in return, privately observing that up close he seemed twice as attractive as Fuji Syuusuke, and at the same time wondering why she seemed to be imagining a different set of blue eyes instead of the startling pair in front of her.

“Do you want to join us for lunch?” asked , who was evidently in a shining mood now, and seemed to have forgotten that already had another arrangement.

thanked her, but declined, reminding her of her prior plans. Besides, she didn’t want to interrupt the little reunion. She knew hadn’t seen Saeki in a year and had missed her friend quite badly – the way she had reacted to seeing him confirmed that. wouldn’t have disliked having her at lunch, she knew, but she didn’t want to disturb the three of them anyway. She shooed them out of the studio, telling them to go and enjoy their lunch.

Catching hold of Fuji before he walked off, she said, “Have a long lunch. Tell it’s okay. We’re not rushing anything today anyway.”

Fuji looked at her and his gentle smile grew. “Thanks.”

waved him off and set about getting ready for her own lunch appointment. Their secretary came in holding some letters for her and asked, “Was that -san’s boyfriend?”

“What?”

“That man she called Saeki. Was he her boyfriend?”

“No, no,” said , laughing. “He’s just an old friend.”

“Oh.”

She looked at the secretary’s face and laughed even more. “I swear, Miyu, you look like you’ve just lost the gossip item of the month.”

“Well, it would have been interesting,” said Miyu. “Most of us thought Tezuka-san was the one, but then we’ve never seen -san behave like that with him before.”

“As far as I know they’re just old friends. Fuji and Saeki are some of her best friends, in fact. So it makes sense to me that she was like that.” But thought Miyu did have a point. seemed much more open with Fuji and Saeki. And speaking of Tezuka… She hadn’t seen him for a while. She couldn’t recall talking much about him either in recent days.

***

Atobe was seated in a comfortable chair, tapping his fingers impatiently on the table. He had already been there ten minutes, and felt his patience waning. Sometimes he wondered why and how he had fallen for this aggravating woman called . But at least he admitted it and actually tried to do something about it. Unlike that Tezuka. He just didn’t see what was holding the man back.

He was contemplating calling her again when she finally showed up.

“You’re late,” he said.

She apologised and explained. “I had to finish up some stuff and deal with a couple of last-minute phone calls.”

He frowned. “Couldn’t you have left it to ? If she’s not here, I’m assuming she’s back at the office.”

“She does have her own friends, you know. Fuji came to take her for lunch with Saeki-san.”

“Saeki?” The name was familiar, but he couldn’t put a face to the name. “From Chiba?”

“Yea, I think so. You should know him too, shouldn’t you? I think he was some big shot in the tennis scene too.”

“Hmph. Hardly,” sniffed Atobe. “I’d remember him more easily if he was.”

“You only remember people you think important. says his school was pretty highly-ranked at one point.”

“There were many better than his school.” Atobe leaned back even further into his chair. It was really very nice to sit in.

“Whatever.” shrugged and picked up the menu on the table. “He’s quite handsome, though.”

Atobe’s head jerked upright. “Who?”

She glanced up from her menu and gave him a funny look. “Saeki Kojirou, of course. Were we talking about anyone else?”

Atobe’s mind started to filter through memories at top speed, trying to recall exactly what this Saeki fellow looked like.

didn’t seem to notice Atobe gazing hard at her, and just went on talking as she read the menu. “Saeki has a nice smile. If we designed a men’s line of clothes, I’d tell to hire him as a model in a heartbeat. Hm… I think I’ll have the salmon.”

Across the table, Atobe fought hard to keep his jealousy down. He failed somewhat, because when looked up at him again, she asked, “What’s wrong with you? You look like you’re choking or something.”

He said nothing for once. He couldn’t find (decent) words to say. It annoyed him to no end to hear complimenting some other guy, especially someone like this half-rate Saeki whom he could barely remember at the moment.

If saw the barely-controlled emotions flickering across his face, she didn’t show it. She merely squinted a little at him for about a second, then looked thoughtful.

“What?” he managed to snap.

“Saeki’s good-looking, but I think I like your eyes better, frankly.”

The green-eyed monster on his shoulder shrank by half.

“His eyes are really striking, but maybe a bit too intense. Might be scary to have those piercing eyes looking at you all the time,” said, looking as though she was comparing mental images of both of them in her head. “They’re beautiful eyes –”

 The green-eyed monster started to grow again.

“– but I have to say, I think your eyes are nicer. They’re not such a striking blue.”

Atobe finally found his voice. “But of course. It’s me, after all.”

She cast a withering look at him. “Don’t be so big-headed. I only said your eyes are nicer. I didn’t say you’re better-looking on the whole. Get over yourself, Keigo. Now hurry up and order your food. Don’t keep the poor man waiting all day,” she said, pointing to the waiter, who was standing there patiently, notebook in hand. Atobe fixed his eyes on the menu, though obviously not really concentrating on it.

***

“Yup. See you tomorrow at two then,” Saeki said. “What, us – late? You’re the girl. I should be telling you that.” He laughed at her reaction over the phone and said goodbye.

After he put down the phone, he looked at Fuji. “So?”

“Did the Cheer-Up-- plan succeed?”

“So far, yes, I believe so,” said Fuji. “What do you think?”

Saeki reflected on it. “I think… That she needs more cheering up still. It really got to her, what Tezuka said…”

Fuji nodded in agreement and said, “It’s not really too much trouble for you, is it?”

“Not at all.” Saeki shook his head and smiled wryly. “You know I’d do just about anything for the hime.”

“Likewise, Sae. Likewise.”

***

Tezuka tapped a pen on the table. His eyes travelled from the phone to the clock to the papers in front of him to his computer, then back to the phone. Should he call her? It had been some weeks since he had heard from , and it was starting to really bother him. She had only called him once after Atobe’s garden party, and that was to thank him (again) for going with her. Two weeks passed after it without a word from her, but he put it down to work and didn’t think much about it. However, it had been nearly a month now. They had chatted online a little, but it hardly amounted to any sort of conversation. He couldn’t recall such lack of communication from her since she graduated from university.

He gave up thinking and picked up the phone. It was useless to try doing any work when he was so preoccupied with that. If he tried doing any work now without at least attempting to resolve that, he might turn in articles with more errors than before they came to him.

“Hello?” came a familiar voice over the phone. But it wasn’t .

“-san?”

“This is .” She seemed to suddenly recognise his voice. “Tezuka? Is that you? It’s been a while!”

“It has,” he agreed. “Is -san in?”

“? Oh, er… She’s out with Fuji and Saeki-san today, I’m afraid. They just left for lunch.”

“I see.” He hoped he didn’t sound disappointed. “When would she be back?”

“Around two, I think. We’ve a photo shoot at 2:30, so I think she’ll definitely be back by two.”

“All right. Would you let her know I called?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.” He was about to end the conversation, when he thought of something. “-san, wait.”

“Yes?”

“Er…” How was he going to phrase this? There was only the straightforward way he could think of, so he just went with it. “Has she been all right? , I mean.”

fell silent on the other end for a few seconds. “Well… She was acting rather strangely for a while. Looked like she was upset about something, but she wouldn’t tell me about it. It bugged me horribly. There was one day she came in looking like a ghost, almost. I really don’t know what happened. She just refused to talk about it.”

Tezuka grew troubled by ’s description. What had happened?

“But she got better after talking to Fuji,” said . “And when Saeki showed up, I think that completed the cure. She’s been a great deal more cheerful ever since. Lost the haunted, depressed look too.”

“That’s a relief,” he said. “When did Saeki come?”

“About two weeks ago, maybe. He’s been coming up on weekends. She said he got a temporary coaching job here – giving private lessons to the son of one of Fuji’s friends or something.”

“Oh.”

“It’s been really good for her, though. They’ve done a magnificent job of cheering her up and hauling her out of that depressed state she was in. I still have no idea what upset her so badly, but Fuji and Saeki seem to know. Do you know what might have happened?” she asked, curious.

He admitted that he didn’t know (and felt rather foolish saying so).

“You don’t know either?” sounded astonished.

“She hasn’t said anything about it to me,” he said. “Perhaps I’ll ask Fuji if I see him Thank you, -san.”

After hanging up, he thought about what she had told him. It looked as though Fuji and Saeki were the only ones who knew what was going on. If hadn’t even told , and hardly seemed keen on talking to him lately, there was little chance she would tell him if he asked. He would have to ask Fuji.

***

Fuji had been somewhat surprised by Tezuka’s invitation to dinner. But he had a feeling it would have something to do with , and he soon found he was right. Unlike , Saeki and himself, Tezuka was not the type to be subtle. After the pre-emptory exchanges, Tezuka had put the question to him quite frankly: What had happened to ?

It had taken Fuji a few moments to contemplate how and what to tell him. Obviously he could not tell him exactly what had happened. There were several possible repercussions if he did, and he liked almost none of them. The only good possibility was that Tezuka might be spurred into action, convinced he had unwittingly broken her heart. The other possibilities Fuji could think of all ended with Tezuka making things worse by backing off, getting angry, or getting so worked up about it himself that he wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway. Tezuka had to think things through on his own. Fuji wasn’t going to tell him directly what felt either. Let the man figure it out himself!

“I can’t tell you much,” he said at last. “Let’s just say she found out something that really hurt her and it was hard for her to get over it.”

“I see,” said Tezuka. “Is that why you brought Saeki to Tokyo?”

“Mostly, yes. She needed more cheer and comfort than I could give her alone.”

“Why didn’t she tell ?”

“I think she just felt this was something she couldn’t really talk to about. It might have been better for her if Emiko was around as well, but she’s in Canada now.”

Tezuka nodded slowly. Aida Emiko had been ’s best friend since elementary school, and if there was anyone closer to than Fuji and Saeki, it was Emiko. But Emiko was away at the moment, and nothing could be done about that. It was likely that had told her anyway – through e-mail or something – but he knew that for , nothing beat actual companionship when she was upset.

“How is she now? told me that she’s much better these days.”

“I should hope she is,” said Fuji. “She looks happier, at least. Sae’s been doing a marvellous job of helping keep her spirits up – he’s always been good at making her laugh.”

Fuji couldn’t have chosen his words better. He caught a flicker of something in Tezuka’s face. He allowed himself a small, sly smile. Bingo.

Later, on the phone with Saeki, Fuji told him of what had transpired between him and Tezuka. Saeki laughed. “I wonder if I should be pleased that I make such good ‘bait.’”

“You should be pleased you managed to make a bit happier. The ‘bait’ thing is secondary. Tezuka merely just gave me a convenient opportunity to make use of the situation. And besides, this whole thing was partly your own idea, remember?” 

“With you, Fuji, it’s always ‘opportunities’ and ‘chances’ and ‘coincidences,’” said Saeki, ignoring his last sentence. “You probably planned this from the moment you told me about .”

“I learn from you, Sae.”

“Actually, I think you had it in you all along, but if you insist that you learnt it from me, then this is a case of the pupil surpassing the teacher. Come to think of it, any idea what has up her sleeve?”

“?”

“Yeah. I have a feeling she’s going to do something to Atobe... I just don’t know what. But I hope I’m there when she does it.”

“Honestly, I’ve no idea either. But whatever hidden card it is she’s going to play, it’s probably a good one. After all, she’s had two magnificent examples in us all this while.”

Fuji could practically see Saeki’s grin on the other end of the line.

***

was not pleased. Not pleased at all. How she had ended up spending her lunch break with , Tezuka and Atobe, she didn’t know. She had invited Tezuka, yes. But that was because she had finally decided