A/N: And here is the last chapter. Honestly, I don't know if I should be sad or happy (maybe sappy? *gets whacked for stupidness*) Well, I know that I'll miss updating this fic and reading the nice reviews and such...
This update is so late, I know. It's actually Oishi's birthday today... and this fic is Fuji's birthday fic... -.-"
Let me just say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OISHI SYUUICHIRO." okay?
For the last chapter, I hope you'll be able to laugh a few more times ne~? Or atleast enjoy the random ideas :) And reviews are always greatly appreciated ^^
Just... Thank you for reading this story *bows* Domo arigatou gozaimasu! :D
"Tadaima."
"Ah, Okaeri, Syuusuke," Yoshiko greeted her son, before turning to him and seeing that he had brought his friends. "Oh, you brought your friends."
"Yes, Kaa-san. I'll be discussing a school project with them." Syuusuke smiled, knowing that his mother wouldn't mind guests.
"Konbanwa, Fuji-san. We hope you wouldn't mind having us," Oishi said politely for the whole team since Tezuka had kept his mouth shut all this time, seemingly trying to hide something.
"Of course not. It's always nice to have guests," Yoshiko smiled. "Have you eaten already?"
"Ah—"
"We've eaten, Fuji-san. Thank you," Tezuka finally spoke, cutting Momo off.
"Well if you ever get hungry, there's pie in the fridge," Yoshiko said and smiled at Momo.
"Yes, Kaa-san," answered Fuji.
"And Syuusuke," Yoshiko called before they proceeded to his room. "I think Yumiko and Yuuta wanted to tell you something."
"Hai, Kaa-san. I'll talk to them."
"Have fun then."
"Ne Fuji, what do you want to talk about with us?" Eiji asked as they were on their way to Syuusuke's room. Fuji smiled at him. "You'll see," he said as he opened his room door.
"Syuusuke, you're home!" Yumiko greeted him with Yuuta at his side. "And your friends are here." The regulars smiled at the Syuusuke's cheerful sister.
"Nee-san, what are you doing in my room?" Fuji asked curiously. It could have been normal if Yumiko was just snooping around, but Yuuta was there. And Yuuta would not be in his aniki's room without any valid reason.
"We wanted to give you this!" Yumiko handed him a box with a big blue ribbon on top arranged rather stylishly.
"Wow, that's a very nice ribbon," commented Taka-san.
"You like it? I even had a paper cut while doing that, and I had to wear a silly white glove," Yumiko smiled and shook her head.
"Arigatou ne!" Syuusuke said as he read the gift tag. "Nee-san. Yuuta."
"Go on, open it."
Fuji Syuusuke carefully tried to detach the ribbon, but it was so tightly wrapped that he needed something sharp enough to cut it.
"Tezuka, may I borrow your scissors?" Fuji asked. He saw a slight (almost invisible) twitch in Tezuka's left eye when all the regulars stared at him.
"What scissors?" Tezuka tried acting as if he didn't know about these scissors that Fuji was talking about. By now, the regulars were wondering what Tezuka would do with scissors anyway.
Fuji smiled a smile that made Tezuka regret ever asking. "The scissors you use to trim—"
"Here," Tezuka said firmly and handed the scissors immediately. The regulars almost didn't hear the last word that Fuji said.
"Thank you." Fuji's smile widened. He carefully cut the ribbon while preserving its magnificent style and tore the wrapper of the box.
"What is it? What is it?" Eiji asked eagerly.
"It's a…" Fuji paused momentarily. "Cellphone."
Syuusuke smiled at his sister. "How did you know?"
Yumiko, on the other hand, chuckled amusingly. "Why don't you talk to the one who asked for his monthly allowance in advance just to buy that?" And she threw a look at Yuuta who acted like he didn't care.
"You did that for me, Yuuta?" Fuji aniki asked.
"Heh… you do care for your brother after all," Echizen remarked, and smirked at Yuuta who just shrugged in turn.
"Thank you! But how did you know I needed a new phone?" Syuusuke asked.
There was a slight hint of nervousness and panic in Yuuta's expression before he continued. "Uhhh… I… ItriedtodeletesomethinginyourphoneandIaccidentally brokeit," he mumbled.
"EH? What?" Momo asked while Syuusuke looked at Yuuta questioningly and Yumiko was just giggling.
"Pshuu.." Kaidoh hissed in rare agreement with Momo.
Yuuta sighed. "Well, I took your phone last Wednesday and I tried to delete some things—"
"What things?" Syuusuke asked.
"…You know, those videos and pictures… that no one else in this room should know about…"
"Oh," Syuusuke smiled in realization. "You mean the ones with you—"
"ANIKI!"
Syuusuke laughed at his brother's cute expression. "Gomen, gomen. So… what happened then?"
"I tried to delete… some stuff on your phone… and I accidentally clicked something and everything was in French and I couldn't understand anything… I might have clicked a lot of buttons before I could turn it back to a language I understand…"
"So that's why it suddenly makes strange sounds… and in the middle of class, on top of that," Syuusuke thought loud enough for all of them to hear.
"You brought your phone to class?" asked a surprised Oishi.
"Isn't that against the school rules?" Taka-san asked. Surely Fuji wouldn't violate the school rules… right?
Syuusuke smiled rather sheepishly. "It was an accident."
"Ii, data," muttered Inui.
"Well now that that's done, we should leave you now ne?" Yumiko smiled and took Yuuta out of the room.
"Oh by the way," Yumiko stopped, remembering something. "I just went shopping this morning, Syuusuke," she said and winked at him.
Syuusuke knew what this meant, of course. Another cross-dressing experiment by Fuji Yumiko.
And Fuji Syuusuke could almost feel the revengeful smirk on Yuuta's face.
Ignoring whatever the uneasy feeling was, Fuji finally turned his attention to his teammates. "Saa, let's get to business, shall we?"
"WHAT?!" All the regulars exclaimed, except Fuji and Tezuka.
"Mou… do I have to repeat myself again?" Fuji asked, feigning disappointment. He took the permission slips from his bag and gave one to each regular.
"So… basically, you'll just take pictures of us… right?" Taka-san asked, trying to hide his nervousness. It couldn't be *that bad… right?
"And I'll add some interesting information about you," Fuji added. "So, are you in?"
"Che. It's not like we have a choice, senpai," Echizen mumbled, loud enough for them to hear.
Fuji smiled. "Ochibi's getting smarter ne~?"
"Here's my idea," Fuji started. "You'll be dressing up in costumes according to your role in the Seigaku Tennis Team."
"Ca-Can't we just… wear our jerseys, Fuji senpai?" asked Momo.
"That's no fun, Momo."
"Costumes? What kind of costumes?" Eiji asked eagerly. He was quite used to cosplaying, since his sisters liked to dress him up a lot when he was younger.
"Like… Kaidoh would be a snake, Oishi would be a mother, Inui would be a computer… or a notebook, Taka-san could be Super Man—"
"Oh, can I be a cat, nya~?"
"Sure. And Momo could be a burger, Tezuka could be an old man… then he wouldn't have to dress up like one anymore, Echizen could be a… can of grape Ponta…"
"And what would you be, Fuji?" Inui asked.
"Me? I'll be a tensai, of course." Fuji smiled.
"What? Not even a cactus… or a camera?" asked Eiji.
"Eiji, I'm the photographer. I wouldn't be included."
"Eh? That's not fair…" Eiji pouted.
"Tezuka…" Oishi called to the captain worriedly with a hint of nervousness. Tezuka gave him a rather reluctant nod.
"Fuji, Seigaku's tennis team has a reputation to uphold. Dressing us up as inanimate objects wouldn't help," Tezuka explained, though he knew there was a slim chance of Fuji giving up.
"So I'll dress you up as animate objects then?" Fuji asked, provoking their captain.
"I think what Tezuka's trying to say is… will you pick more… mature costumes?" Oishi suggested cautiously.
"So you all want to be dressed as an old man?" Fuji asked again, smiling widely.
"I know what Oishi is trying to say!" Eiji proclaimed.
"What is it then?" asked Fuji.
"He's saying your ideas are silly," Eiji said innocently.
"Hmm… Is that so?" Fuji opened his eyes, and everyone froze. No one bothered to speak or make any unnecessary movements. Then Fuji smiled with his eyes open and the regulars swear they could spell doom in that smile.
"Okay then," Fuji said, returning to his usual smile. He took a box from beside his desk and put it in the middle, where everyone could see it.
"If you don't want 'silly' costumes, then you'll just dress up as each other," Fuji announced.
"Eh?" Momo, Eiji, and Taka-san asked at the same time.
"You don't like having your pictures taken because it might ruin your image, so you'll dress up as each other. That way, you'd have your pictures taken… as someone else," Fuji explained as he opened the box.
Inside the box were very familiar belongings.
An orange bandanna.
.
A 'Fila' cap.
.
Rectangular glasses that don't seem transparent at all.
.
A receipt for 12 burgers and 5 large fries, signed by unintelligible writing.
.
Oval, rimless glasses.
.
A band aid.
.
Wait… WHAT?
"Pshuu.. Se-senpai… what—"
"They're your cosplaying materials," answered Fuji with a proud smile.
"Fuji, where did you get these?" Oishi asked, surprised.
"A friend gave them to me as a gift."
"Hoi? What's this, nya~?" Eiji asked as he snatched a paper from the box.
"Eiji senpai, that's—!"
"EH? Momo, you ate 12 burgers and 5 large fries in one order?!" Eiji exclaimed in surprise. Where in Momo's body did those burgers fit anyway?
Momo just smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
"Fuji, are you… serious?" Taka-san asked carefully.
"Of course, Taka-san."
"Well, I guess this is the best we can get," Oishi said quietly, and sighed.
"Ah," agreed Tezuka. They were lucky enough that Fuji dropped his first idea.
"Inui, you'll dress up as Eiji. You're going to wear a band aid, you'll remove your glasses, you'll be noisy and glomp people, you'll cling to Oishi, and… you'll DYE YOUR HAIR RED," Fuji declared, to Inui's horror.
"Wa-wait… I'll…" Inui paused and a look of disbelief came across his face. "REMOVE MY GLASSES?! I… I can't…" He said, sweating nervously.
Fuji looked at him for a moment. "Fine. But dye your hair red."
Inui didn't seem to be affected by the dyeing part, just his attachment to his glasses. And he became his usual self again, scribbling something in his notebook.
Fuji continued. "Oishi, you'll be Echizen. You'll wear a cap, challenge people to a match arrogantly, drink grape Ponta, compete with Momo in an eating contest, and will have no greater interest aside from tennis, food, and your cat."
"Ha-Hai."
Echizen tugged his cap. "Mada—"
"Oh, I forgot. You'll also claim that everything in the world has lots more to work on," Fuji added with a smile.
"Taka-san, you'll be Tezuka. You'll wear glasses, order laps, and reply with limited number of words. You won't be in 'Burning Mode' when you hold a racket. Always remind everyone to have their guard up. Don't show any positive emotions like smile or laugh. And," Fuji glanced at Tezuka and his hair. "You don't know what a comb is." Tezuka tried to pretend he was deaf at the moment.
"Tezuka, you'll dress up as Kaidoh. Just remove your glasses, dye your hair black, wear a bandanna, and hiss at random people. Learn how to comb and keep your hair straight. You'll have a short temper and you love cats," Fuji said as Kaidoh turned pale.
"Momo, you'll be Inui. Keep a notebook and pen in hand, wear glasses, stalk people and claim you're collecting data, and turn any nutritious thing into liquid and call it 'juice'." Fuji smiled at Momo. "Of course, you'll be drinking that juice first."
Momo, just like Kaidoh, went a little pale, and gulped.
"Kaidoh, you'll be Oishi. Be constantly worried, be very kind, have two bangs sticking out, keep Inui as Eiji calm, and help the pregnant women you see around."
Oishi sweatdropped at that.
"And you'll stop Tezuka—as Kaidoh and Echizen—as Momo from fighting," Fuji added.
Echizen shrugged. "Che."
"Yes, Echizen; You'll be Momo. Eat as much burgers as you can, be friendly to everyone except Kamio from Fudoumine, Kaidoh, and your own father, Echizen Nanjirou-san, and say 'Don!' instead of 'Mada mada dane.' " Fuji paused, examining Echizen.
"Drink as much milk as you can in the next few days and stretch a lot… maybe that'll help your height grow somehow." Fuji smiled widely, teasing but serious. Echizen hid his face under his cap and rolled his eyes.
"And Eiji, you'll be Taka-san. Have a haircut and dye your hair light brown, remove that band aid, stop clinging to Oishi, and be quiet and shy when you're not holding a racket. And when you get hold of a racket, say 'Burning!' and other expressive English words instead of 'Hoi Hoi!' and 'Nya!'."
"But, Fuji…" Eiji complained. "Will we really dye our hair?"
Fuji opened his eyes and smiled. "Of course not, Eiji. It's against the school rules. Didn't you read the students' hand book?"
"Uhh… I…"
"Oh, man!" exclaimed Momo while Fuji's victorious smile didn't leave his face.
"You owe me burgers, ne Momo~?"
"Hai, senpai…"
"HUH? Why do you owe Fuji burgers, Momo?" asked a confused Eiji.
"What's going on?" Oishi seconded.
"Fuji senpai and I had a bet if Eiji senpai reads his books or not…" Momo explained regretfully.
"Don't let your guard down, Momoshiro."
"Mada mada dane, Momo senpai."
"Pshuuu… Baka, only an idiot like you would bet against Fuji senpai," Kaidoh said.
It was a rare occasion when Momo didn't fight back, because he knew Kaidoh was right. Well, except for the 'idiot' part.
"There's only a 41.8% chance you'd win on a bet against Fuji," Inui commented. Momo kept that in mind.
"The photo shoot would be held in the tennis clubroom when I get my camera back," Fuji slipped at the last part.
"Why? Where's your camera?" Taka-san asked curiously.
"I believe it was confiscated yesterday," Inui stated. Everyone else didn't bother to ask why it was confiscated (he's a member of the photography club, right?) as they were happy dancing mentally on the fact that their embarrassment would be delayed.
"When will you get it back?" Eiji asked, wishing that the school would hold on to Fuji's camera for a longer while.
"I'll get it back on Monday. Maybe we can schedule the photo shoot then." Everyone just wished they would be busy next week to avoid that photo shoot.
"Oh, then what about the 'interesting information' you said you'll add?" asked Oishi.
"Don't worry about that, Oishi. I have sources," Fuji replied, and gave a rather mischievous smile.
.
*Knock knock*
"Syuusuke, you have a package," Yoshiko called out.
"A package at night? I wonder who is it from, nya~!" asked a curious Eiji.
"Hai, Kaa-san," Fuji replied, then turned to his friends. "Excuse me for a while ne?" And he got up and went outside to take his 'package'.
.
When the door closed, Oishi and Taka-san sighed.
"Honestly, I think it's a good thing that Fuji's camera was confiscated," Taka-san confessed.
"Pshuu… I… I think so too, senpai…"
"Who do you think sent Fuji a package, nya~?" asked a still curious Eiji.
"Eiji, that's personal!" Oishi said, but no one really listened.
"Maybe it's Fuji senpai's childhood friend…that Saeki guy from Chiba," suggested Momo.
"Momo senpai, he was just at the party earlier," reasoned Echizen.
"Who would send a package this late at night anyway?" Taka-san asked, and there were sudden chills in the room.
"C-Could it be… a… ghost?" Eiji asked, scared. Kaidoh went pale.
"There are no such things as ghosts, Eiji," Oishi assured.
Inui smiled evilly. "Maybe it's Yukimura. Maybe he sent a copy of the tape of the hidden camera in their clubroom." Somehow, that thought was scarier than ghosts for them.
Silence.
And they felt sick again, remembering the fact that there was also a hidden camera in their clubroom.
"M-maybe it's just from someone special," Oishi said, trying to calm them down. Then, he remembered. "It's none of our business anyway," he said. But again, no one really listened to him.
"Maybe it's from an admirer! Or girlfriend!" Eiji said loudly.
"Eiji, that's—"
"Or boyfriend," Inui mumbled behind his notebook, but enough for everyone in the room to hear.
Everyone stared at Inui in confusion, disbelief, and horror.
There was an intense moment of silence before Inui finally looked up from his notebook and said, "Just a guess."
"Actually, I won't be that surprised if Fuji… you know…" Eiji said sheepishly. "But it's still awkward."
"Eiji!" Oishi scolded him, blushing at the fact that they were talking about… that.
Eiji mumbled an apology.
"But if Fuji senpai has a… lover… It should've been obvious, right?" Momo asked, and Oishi seriously wanted to shove a burger in Momo's mouth if that would make him shut up.
"Hmm… but Fujiko has many secrets too… Ne Inui?" Eiji said.
"Yes, Eiji, but I suggest we drop this topic now. It's for your own good," Inui told them.
"Eh? What's wrong, senpai?" Momo asked loudly.
Eiji looked confused too. "But we were just talking about Fuji's—"
"Kikumaru, Momoshiro, 20 push-ups," their captain commanded. It didn't seem convenient to run laps around the room so he decided on push-ups instead.
"HUH?"
"But—!"
"25 push-ups," was the reply.
As Eiji and Momo stood up to start running their laps, they saw Inui mouthing an 'I warned you.' with proud smirk. Everyone else was wise enough to keep quiet while in the midst of an irritated Tezuka.
In the midst of Momo and Eiji's 23rd push-up, Fuji came back with another box in his hand. He had a bright smile on his face. He looked confused for a moment when he saw Momo and Eiji doing push-ups in his room, but the bright smile returned soon after.
By the time Fuji sat back with the others, Momo and Eiji were tired and done with their push-ups.
And Eiji, being the rather fearless friend he is, asked: "So, who was the package from, nya~?"
Oishi, at this moment, felt like banging his head on the wall.
Fuji's bright smile turned to a playful one. "Guess."
"Is… is it from Yukimura?"
Fuji chuckled and shook his head. "He'll send those on my computer tomorrow."
Eiji sighed in relief. "Uhmm… Is it from… a special someone?"
Oishi didn't even bother, this time.
Everyone else felt tense with the questions that Eiji was asking. Especially when Inui had that evil smirk behind his notebook again.
"Saa… you could say that," Fuji replied, still smiling happily.
Eiji seemed reluctant to continue. "Is it from an admirer?"
Fuji's smile widened. His best friend's is so cute right now when he's being shy and careful. However, Fuji wondered why everyone else was quiet. Especially Oishi, who should be scolding Eiji for asking such questions right now.
"Hmm… maybe."
The atmosphere around them felt like a bomb could explode any time now. And the bomb was Eiji.
"Is it from your girlfriend?" Eiji asked carefully, yet he sounded eager to know the answer.
Fuji just looked at him, confused. The other regulars were a little nervous on what Fuji's reaction will be.
Then, Fuji laughed amusedly. And of course, it wasn't the reaction that Eiji and the others were expecting. Still laughing, Fuji shook his head.
At that very moment, Oishi wished either Eiji would drop the subject or Fuji would just tell the truth. If this went any longer, it's gonna get—
"Is it your boyfriend?"
Fuji stopped laughing and stared at Eiji with his powerful cerulean eyes. Automatically, the other regulars also looked at him accusingly, some shocked that he would actually ask that.
Tezuka was thinking of excusing Eiji from Monday practice just so he could run his tons of laps.
It was a tense atmosphere. And when Eiji was about to melt from everyone's stares, Fuji closed his eyes, but his smile wasn't there.
"What if it is?" Fuji asked. This time, it was Fuji's turn to stared at by everyone.
There was a long moment of silence, and everyone still stared at Fuji like he just confessed he was homosexual.
Wait… oh, right.
.
*click!*
.
Everyone was momentarily blinded by the sudden flash. Then, they heard a laugh.
"I was just kidding," Fuji said, still laughing as he examined the picture he took with the regulars' shocked faces.
"Fuji, where did you get that camera?" Oishi asked, suddenly nervous.
Fuji's smile widened. "It was in the package from Okaa-san and Otou-san."
"Oh…" Eiji whispered quietly, embarrassed.
"Senpai, I think it's getting late… and Echizen here really has curfew. Maybe we should head home now," Momo said, and Echizen looked quite annoyed.
"We don't want to keep you up late, Fuji. We had a long day, we should all get some rest now," Oishi added. As if to agree with Oishi, Eiji yawned tiredly.
"Oh. Well, don't be late tomorrow ne?" Fuji reminded them.
"WHAT?"
"The photo shoot will be tomorrow, since I already have a camera. Tezuka has a key to the clubroom, so we'll do it there. 8am sharp ne~? Jya, take care~"
The regulars sighed as they walked out the door and each headed home.
Tomorrow would be a long day.
Fuji lied in bed, tired. It had been a very eventful day for him, but enjoyable nonetheless.
He was about to turn off the lights and go to sleep when something caught his eye.
It was a small box beside his bed.
Fuji took it and recognized it as the one from his fans. He made a mental note to read the notebook (the one with the messages from each school) his fans gave him tomorrow.
He took the box and opened the lid, finding a wrapped gift inside. Attached to it was a note that said 'Reaility and Fantasy blended together'. And it reminded Fuji of his special homework, and he made another mental note to do that tomorrow.
He carefully tore the wrapper of what seemed like a book. Halfway done, he saw a glimpse of the word 'Prince'.
Could it be? Could it be his Le Petit Prince book that his fans took without permission?
After he tore the wrapper completely, he just sat stared at the book in his hands.
.
The Prince of Tennis [Volume 1]
.
"Go! Go, Seigaku!" Fuji was surprised at the familiar cheer. Where in the world did that come from?
He scanned the room, but he was alone.
"Go! Go, Seigaku!" It went again.
Finally, Fuji saw his new cell phone vibrating. It must be the default ring tone.
He opened the text message from an unknown number and read it.
Happy Birthday, for the nth time, Fuji Syuusuke.
Remember to always look forward to tomorrow-when things will possibly get better.
Even if time stops to give you eternity, savor every moment and every feeling—make them your precious memories.
Oyasumi~
-Fuji Apple