February 28/29, 2009

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Title: Monochrome

Rated: M

Summary: AU Perfect Pair: Syusuke is a young, wealthy boy, living comfortably with his sister. Tezuka is a wanderer, on a journey to search for someone. One day, when Fuji's sister throws him from their home and tells him, "See the world." He meets Tezuka, and an unwanted love story begins.

--

"Syusuke, tell me something."

"Hm?"

"Would you...like to see the world?"

"...what?"

"It has come to my attention that you should go out and experience things. A life here is far too sheltered, and it would certainly do you some good to see what goes on outside the mansion."

"...Pardon?"

Yumiko rose to her feet.

.....

"Ah!"

"Go on now, Syusuke. Go and see the world."

--

Syusuke stared at a trickling fountain, listening to the playful sound of tumbling water. Occasionally, a few droplets would fall from the fountain and kiss the ground gently.

"Go out and 'see the world', nee-san says," he mumbled to himself. "I guess...I've just gone on a very long vacation."

Syusuke looked about him at the people walking around the town square. The shops were busy, with people of the city walking in and out of them, carrying purchased items or small children.

Syusuke ran a hand through his hair and continued to murmur pointlessly, "I wonder what I'll do about food and water. Shelter too. I guess money might also be an issue..."

Then, he shrugged and hopped off the bench. He began to walk towards a tunnel leading out of the city.

"No point in worrying about it, I suppose. Better leave, though. Nee-san might get mad if I stay around in town." Syusuke mused. "Even so, it would be nice to get someone to travel with, since I don't know how long I'll be out...here..."

The scene in front of Syusuke was quite strange indeed.

A man was on the ground, glaring defiantly at the one who stood over him. The former's clothing was slightly dirty, and his hair could use some work. The latter had messy brown hair, and cold, golden eyes that contrasted with the tone of his hair. This person held a gun that was black as ebony and had a sleek shape like its bearer.

Fuji smiled. Good enough. He decided and began to walk forward. But this time, with real purpose.

"Hey, you. Would you like to come with me?" he asked.

The man with the cold golden eyes turned his head a fraction of an inch to look at him.

The other saw his chance and quickly scrambled to his feet. He dashed away speedily, shouting behind him, "Thanks for saving me, miss!"

Syusuke stared at his back and huffed a little, "...I am not a 'miss'." Then he looked at the man with the black gun again.

This guy...standing in a tunnel in broad daylight, holding a gun. How weird. But...

The man turned the gun towards Syusuke. His eyes remained on the spot where his prey had been, almost as if in remorse--which Syusuke would have thought to be the case, except for the fact that there was no emotion on the man's face at all.

He looks like.... a rebel, with a frighteningly calm expression, gold eyes, and an unbeatable poker face.

"What do you want?" the man asked again, shifting his eyes in Syusuke's direction.

Syusuke sighed and looked to the side.

What a boring expression, however...

"Then, I've decided." Syusuke said in a final voice. The man's gold eyes narrowed. Syusuke raised his hands in the mimicry of a gun, and pointed them at the other man's ebony weapon. "You can come with me, and I'll see if I can change that boring expression of yours."

Then, Syusuke grinned and opened his cerulean eyes a crack.

"Bang." He said.

---

Syusuke laughed. "Sorry about that. You can go ahead and eat as much as you like." He said to the gold eyed man sitting across the table from him.

"...do you even have money?"

Syusuke shrugged his shoulders. "No, I don't. But the owner of this restaurant owes me a favor, and he said to go ahead and eat my fill."

"...and mine?"

Syusuke smiled slyly. "He isn't here at the moment. He won't know."

The other man stared at him for a moment, and then picked up his utensils and began to eat. Syusuke leaned back in his chair and felt the sun warm his back through the window. At the table next to him, sat a group of villagers, eating and grumbling something about a bandit who lived in the woods bordering town.

Syusuke just pushed the thought to the side. His mind shifted to the matter at hand.

I say that now...but how am I going to earn money and pay for food later on?

"Kunimitsu, how do you earn money to survive?"

The fork touched the plate. "Don't call me that."

"Eh? Well, why not? You said your name is Tezuka Kunimitsu. I'm just calling you by your name."

"It is just Tezuka."

Syusuke frowned and twirled his fork lightly in his hands. "If you insist. Then, Tezuka, how do you earn money?"

Tezuka paused a moment to think. "I usually threaten people who look like they have money into an alleyway." He replied, and took a bite.

"That's terrible." Syusuke said, without any real conviction.

"You don't sound like you're objecting to it." Tezuka retorted.

"I'm not," Syusuke said with a small shrug. "I would just prefer a different way."

Tezuka looked at him and began to eat again. After a couple more bites, he continued without looking up. "You can also gamble if you're experienced."

This elicited no response from Syusuke.

"Odd jobs are the last method."

"...Those are our only options?"

Tezuka wiped his mouth with a napkin and folded it back into place. "There is nothing else."

Syusuke sighed.

In other words, he isn't willing to work at an actual job. This man...he really is a true criminal.

Minutes later, Tezuka was finished, and he and Syusuke stood. A waiter came over and bowed, "Thank you for your patronage, Fuji-sama. Would you like me to tell Oishi-san that you stopped by with a friend?"

Syusuke smiled and looked at the mountain of plates on the table.

"No need," he replied. "Just tell him he doesn't owe me a favor any more."

By then, Tezuka was already gone. Syusuke sighed and went out as well. The first sight that greeted him when he got out was not a pleasant one. Tezuka was grasping a man with his collar and had shoved him against the wall of an alley. In his hand was a blue wallet.

"Tezuka, what are you doing?"

"He gave this to me. Willingly."

The terrified look on the other man's face told Syusuke otherwise. He frowned. "That's only because you threatened to blow a hole in his head."

Tezuka just gave him a look that said, "So?" So Fuji sighed, "Give that back."

Tezuka did not acknowledge the order, but fixed the other man with an icy stare. "Where else can we find a good salary?"

Syusuke sighed and rested his weight on one leg. At least Tezuka had another motive...sort of.

The man being held captive by Tezuka stuttered in fear, "T-t-there's a man who lives in a mansion just down the road from here. He can give you a job if you ask him. It will definitely pay more than what is in my wallet now."

Syusuke stood up straight. "That's good enough. Let's go see this man about the job."

Tezuka, after a pause, released his captive and tossed back the wallet. A whimper of fear behind him told Syusuke the poor soul had run off down the alleyway, vowing never to go within five yards of an alley.

In the distance was said mansion, equpped with a bridge, sentries, and the whole works.

It looked incredibly expensive.

Syusuke smiled. But in this case, the more expensive a home looked, the better.

Maybe this journey nee-san sent me on won't be as bad as I thought.

--

Tezuka and Syusuke were shown in by a well-groomed butler, and introduced to a man who called himself Hiromaru Oujo. A man in his 50's with greying hair and a pair of spectacles, like Tezuka.

The moment he and Tezuka had entered the room, they were given their assignment.

"A band of thieves are wreaking havoc in the forest just outside of town. They don't come near town for some reason, but anyone who goes into the forest--merchants, civilians, passerbys, they are all attacked and stolen from by the thieves. This town doesn't have the resources to pull together a military and wipe them out, so we rely on people like you. Eradicate them, and you will be rewarded greatly."

Syusuke nodded, and touched his chin with two fingers.

"I see. And the band of thieves....who are they led by?"

The man frowned, and stared into the fireplace. "A woman by the name of Tess. She and her crew of thieves have been plauging the forest for a long time."

Syusuke bobbed his head up and down silently.

Hiromaru whispered, almost silently, "Such a malevolent woman."

"Saa....I wonder if she is so malevolent, as you say, because of someone else."

The man's head jerked up. Syusuke noted that in his eyes, there was the sharp glint of fear. Syusuke's eyes narrowed as he pressed on, "The one who won't let this Tess woman out of the forest...is you, isn't it?"

The glint increased, "Why are you asking me this?"

"What other reason would you have for mysteriously wanting a band of thieves gone? Why couldn't you have called in the military by now? Why isn't the town in an uproar? Or rather," Syusuke's cerulean eyes caught the moonlight and glowed. "Why can't you use your guards to go in and exterminate them? After all, all these people are are just a band of lowly bandits. Surely you can afford to use this incredible security you have to get rid of the issue yourself. Or is it that...you're scared of the bandits coming after you? Therefore, for you to be going to such extents to get rid of these people, this can be the only reason."

Hiromaru stared at Syusuke for a moment, and then scoffed, "How interesting. I was hoping that a foreigner like yourself would not be able to figure it out. You are a brilliant little boy."

Syusuke glared at the man.

"While this might be true, I have my reasons for doing so." There was a barely audible tremble in his voice.

Syusuke smirked. He walked towards the closed door, and Tezuka followed, a silent shadow, "Oh, I see now."

Hiromaru breathed a startled breath.

"You're afraid, aren't you? That thing you must have done...it must be really terrible for you to be this scared of a woman and her bandits."

Anger blazed in Hiromaru's grey eyes. "Silence! You should simply do as you are told, and not ask questions!"

Syusuke whirled around, a cold, strange light glittering in his eyes. They seemed to light up the dark room even more than the fire.

"I would, but I am a curious person." Fuji said, slowly lowering his lids again, "You don't need to worry though, because we won't mention this to anyone." Tezuka opened the door, and Syusuke followed, "Getting rid of the bandits. That is my job."

The door shut behind Syusuke and Tezuka, and silence reigned in the room. The man rose from his arm chair and crossed the room to the window. Outside, two figures were making their way from the mansion back to town.

Fear gave fire to Hiromaru's eyes.

Behind him stood three people--the butler, and two other men.

"Kill them."

The butler nodded, and raised his hand to the two burly men. They also nodded, bowed, and exited through the door.

--

Tezuka gave a sidways glance to Fuji who wore a smile on his face.

"How exactly do you plan to get rid of this bandit woman?"

They passed into the border of the forest, and the shadows threw distortions of sunlight across their faces.

"Saa..." Fuji mused.

Then, shadows leapt from the shadows themselves, and landed on the ground. Tezuka and Fuji's faces reflected off of the glint of steel. A woman's low, hard voice called out from one of the figures. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"...I have no idea." Syusuke said quietly to Tezuka.

Tezuka just sighed and let a hand drift to his ebony gun.

Syusuke reached over and stopped Tezuka's gun hand.

Tezuka fixed him with a cold, mute stare. Why not? He reasoned. The bandits were the issue, and it was their job to eradicate them, as they had been instructed to do. However, the look in his new partner's eyes stopped Tezuka. He was a man who survived on mostly basic instincts--staying away from dangerous places, taking shelter, and the like. But staring into this boy's eyes, something inside the golden-eyed man told him to obey.

From the moment Tezuka and this child had met, Tezuka knew there was something odd, something peculiar about him. The boy himself was an enigma, like gray, his fake smile was dangerous, like black, and his eyes cast a light through everything, like white.

Slowly, Tezuka's gun hand lowered, and he let Syusuke take the initiative, as a woman, swathed in cloaks and robes suddenly appeared from the shadows. She was close enough for Tezuka to see that her eyes were a strange shade of murky brown. Her bangs hung low over her eyes and appeared black in the shadow of the forest. She had a slight figure and looked as though she were no more of a threat to someone than Fuji.

"Who are you? What is your business here?"

Tezuka noted the defensive tone of the woman's voice. Someone with the character of a bandit would not have such a defensive sounding voice, as if she had something to be afraid of.

The bandits surrounding them looked completely identical, and the pasty color of their skin made them seem untangible.

"Are you Tess?" Syusuke asked, stepping towards the woman. He showed his hands which held nothing that could be of concern.

"...I am." Tess replied carefully. "What manner of business do you have here?"

Syusuke stared long and hard into her eyes, then he gave an oddly bright smile. Tess blinked in confusion. "W-what?" she snapped.

Syusuke's eyes remained unblinking as they stared at Tess, as though seeing into her soul. It sent goosebumps up and down Tezuka's arms. "You are being retained here, aren't you?" the boy asked. "That man, Hiromaru won't let you leave, will he?"

Tess scoffed and looked away, laughing. The other bandits that surrounded them also laughed.

"Of course not, you fool." Tess said, "We stay here to rob any and all passerby's of valuables, because that is what bandits are supposed to do." She began to laugh again, but this time it was more forced than anything else.

Tezuka looked to Syusuke to see how the boy would handle this. Syusuke's continued to stare at the woman. During the whole time, he hadn't blinked. The set of Syusuke's eyebrows told Tezuka he was pitying this woman.

"Why do you continue to defend him?" Syusuke's voice was endearing and almost helpless. His eyes swept over the bandit woman. "You are in love with this man, aren't you?"

Tess fought back more chuckles as she turned towards Syusuke. The look in her eyes was one of pain. "And what of it? What is it to you?"

Syusuke nodded quietly to himself. He looked once more to the bandit woman, Tess, and then looked no more. He had seen all he needed to, and he was unimpressed. This woman was just another sad case of a promise gone unfufilled.

"Forever, Syusuke."

A warm hand held Syusuke's.

"I love you, and I swear, we will be together, forever."

"Then if I am correct, the only thing keeping you bound here is nothing more than a promise."

"I'm sorry I have to leave, but I promise, Syusuke. I'll come back for you. Just stay here and wait."

Syusuke took the woman's silence as a confirmation and deemed her completely pitiful.

"Then you should know that he is never going to come back to you. Whatever it is he said to you is and always will be an utter lie." Syusuke said, and when Tess's eyes flashed, he interrupted her before she could speak. When he spoke again, his tone was critical. "You know it's true. What other reason would you have for lingering in the world of the living long after you had died?"

Tezuka, who had been standing with his eyes shut opened them wordlessly. The bandits were all vanishing. Their pasty skin grew more and more translucent until they disappeared altogether. All those bandits had been were fake phantoms, created by Tess to provide a means to create fear.

Tess sighed and her head dipped. Her entire form grew translucent as well, and her black hair grew silvery.

"My. I had never expected someone to figure it out." She laughed dryly.

Tezuka looked to Syusuke. Syusuke's expression was unfathomable, and within his eyes swirled a mix of feelings Tezuka found it difficult to comprehend.

"Tell me what happened then."

Bags under Tess's eyes made the ghost of the deceased woman look weary. She sighed.

"...very well."

--

Tezuka kept an eye on Syuske from his peripheral vision. They had left the forest just as it was getting dark, and Syusuke, at this point, seemed to have reverted back to his original self. A little smile decorated the boy's face as they walked side by side.

"You knew from the beginning she was a ghost."

It was not a question; it was a statement.

Syusuke nodded. "I did. I figured that something like a doomed love story couldn't happen between people like that, there was more to it. It just so happened that the piece that was missing was a time gap of about 20 years."

"You knew that that woman couldn't leave because of the promise she had made."

"Forever, Syusuke. We'll be together forever."

Syusuke shrugged his shoulders and looked away. "How stupid. If that had been me, I'd have killed him."

Tezuka walked on silently as Syusuke continued.

"No matter how much he would have begged for his life, I would ignore his excuses."

"I'm sorry I have to leave, but I promise Syusuke..."

Tezuka turned his head a fraction of an inch to look at Syusuke, whose eyes captured the light of the moon and were glowing. He watched the shorter boy, quiet and contemplative. Syusuke's voice had dropped an octave, giving depth to his words.

"He would suffer and regret having left me, and he would continue to suffer and regret until his last breath." Syusuke finished, his voice fading to silence.

Then, Tezuka stopped abruptly. He had heard enough.

"Fuji."

Syusuke turned to him, his eyes were light, as if the weight of his previous words had not affected him in the least. "Hm?"

"Have you ever been betrayed?" Tezuka asked.

Fuji blinked, startled. "What do you mean?"

"Has someone you trusted and loved, abandoned you and deserted you without rhyme or reason? Have you ever experienced anything like that?" Tezuka asked.

A cold wind blew through Fuji. But he barely felt it.

"I promise, Syusuke. I'll come back for you. Just stay here and wait."

Syusuke looked at Tezuka, and then away. His bangs shielded his eyes, and kept Tezuka from seeing the hurt and remembrance in them. "No." He replied, smiling fakely.

Tezuka paused, and then walked towards the hotel they were staying at.

"Then," he said and opened the door to the hotel. "Don't go around saying things like that if you have never experienced it. It's not pleasant to listen to."

The door slammed shut with a bang of finality.

--

(A/N:) Thank you for reading. For whoever has watched the anime, Hatenkou Yuugi, based off of the manga Sparkle, some of this may have seemed odddly familiar. But obviously, there are things that are different about it.

This fanfiction was created to commemorate Fuji Syusuke's non-existent birthday. Happy birthday, Fuji!

Next time: the conclusion of the Tess Arc, and further insight on Fuji and Tezuka's mysterious pasts.

"Syusuke, you know I would never hurt you. You know I could never leave you behind."

--

Sincerely,

-PurificationArrow