Chapter Text
TezuFuji
Fuji
3 years. 3 years had passed since the U-17 camp. 3 years we went our separate ways, one in Japan, one in Germany. 3 years and you turned pro and it was rumored that you had a scholarship to one of the best tennis universities in Germany. 3 years later and I was nowhere near to getting close to you. As I played my final match in a Japanese high school with fading visions of you in mind, I knew we would never be. So I knew I had to give it my all, now or never. For my last match at least, until the last breath after which I would go to Tokyo U and give up tennis altogether.
*Tie Break* 43-42. Fuji, lead.
1 more point, just 1 more point. I could do this. The sun rays glared intensely down from the clear summer cerulean skies. I could feel my throat burning, my muscles tensing, my breaths catching short in the 37 degree weather. Just 1 more point.
“Hakuryuu”
*Game and Match* Fuji Syūsuke.
I did it! But at what cost? I lay on the ground, unable to breathe. “Get a medic!” I heard Oishi yell. “Fuji!” Eiji cried. I could not reply.
……………………. “Beep, Beep, Beep.” There was something stuck in my throat. It scared me, I felt choked. I thrashed and tried to pull it but my hands were tied. Someone came and injected something in my arm. I felt a sudden wave of drowsiness as my consciousness left me.
Tezuka
“Thank goodness you picked up,” Oishi cried, obviously leaving out the “finally” in his common polite demeanor. Though no longer part of the same team or country, the former Seigaku captain was still treated formally by most of his teammates.
“It’s Fuji,” Oishi continued, not waiting for a reply. If he was speaking with this much urgency, it was sure to be of importance. Tezuka waited, listening intently.
“I know it’s the middle of the tennis season, but Fuji just collapsed.”
Collapsed? Now Tezuka was worried, but he let the previous vice-captain continue.
“They think it’s a combination of rhabdomyolysis and acute asthma exacerbation. Tezuka, he might not make it.”
That was all Tezuka needed. His hand gripping the phone shook, even worse than it did when he accidentally drank Inui juice.
Oishi kept going on about medical terms, something about his diaphragm seizing up and his bronchioles constricting, but Tezuka wasn’t listening anymore. Until Oishi finally said,
“Yuuta is with him in the ambulance, I’m following with Eiji by car. Tezuka…can you come?”
Tezuka almost couldn’t answer. Almost. This would mean giving up everything he worked for. He was finally turning pro. He remembered when the former captain Yamato showed him his arm. He had always put others before him to be the pillar of support for Seigaku. Now he had chosen himself. Chosen to go pro while carrying the hopes and dreams of German fans. Which was fine.
And yet…… He might miss out on the last few moments of life of his best friend and rival from Seigaku. When he was in the hospital, Fuji was there, waiting for him outside. Fuji had fueled his desire for tennis. He had helped him evolve. He was his rival as much as his confidant. Would Tezuka really be choosing himself if he left everything behind to go pro? He knew Fuji would be mad at him for giving up this chance if he knew but………..
“I’ll be there.” He replied earnestly.
Oishi then proceeded to give him the name of the hospital that Fuji was being transported to. “I’ll text you the room details later,” he added.
“Thank you Oishi,” Tezuka stated.
Tezuka looked up the available one-way flights from Germany to Japan.
Book. There was no turning back now.
At the Hospital
“I never knew Fuji had asthma,” Eiji whined. “If I knew, I would have done something!”
“You couldn’t have known,” Yuuta whispered. He was still very visibly shaken up.
Syūsuke and Yuuta were now attending the same high school. Yuuta had resolved his differences with Syūsuke and realized his own tennis.
But he never expected, never hoped, that with the luxury of finding a friendship with his brother on a daily basis would it also come to be that he was the first family member to be contacted since he was the closest physically. He never dreamed he would be in an emergency vehicle watching his brother spasm, unable to breathe on the tennis court.
“It was an old thing,” Yuuta continued, seemingly unable to stop talking. “My older brother was diagnosed with asthma at age 2. He used to have breathing treatments almost on a daily basis and had to carry an inhaler around until he was 5. But by then he was already playing tennis. And my parents thought the fresh air and exercise was doing him some good since it was improving. By the time he was 7 he no longer needed any breathing treatments or inhaler.
…I never expected it to come back this way. I know recently he was complaining, but I didn’t think it was his asthma since he would always joke around afterward.”
“I think he just didn’t want to worry you,” Oishi comforted.
“I know that’s how Fuji is, but it’s really selfish,” Eiji complained.
Hours passed as they waited in the ICU. Fuji had collapsed at 8 that morning. It was now almost 8 in the evening. 12 hours had gone by while they waited for news on Fuji’s condition. In the meantime, Oishi had taken the chance to text all the previous Seigaku members as well as Atobe, Saeki, Tachibana and Yukimura. Yuuta had also contacted Yumiko and Yoshiko. They all greeted Fuji and left. Yumiko and Yoshiko cried a few tears, lingered a bit longer, but in the end, they too had left, as the sight of an intubated Fuji tore at their hearts. Now, only Yuuta, Eiji and Oishi remained.
“Ah, he’s here,” Oishi said suddenly. “Hang on, I have to send Tezuka Fuji’s number.”
“Tezuka’s in Japan?!” Eiji exclaimed.
“Yes. Echizen is also taking a flight from America. I’ll text him when he arrives.”
“Woah, everyone’s coming back together,” Eiji whistled.
“Brother,” Yuuta whispered. “If only you could see how many people care for you,” he thought.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
“Ah, I’ll get it,” Oishi jumped, glad to have something to do to calm his nerves.
But the knock was followed by a quick “I’m coming in,” by one of the nurses.
“Hello, sorry to bother. We’re just here to get some vitals.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” said Oishi. “How is he doing?”
“Well,” she began. “To be honest, we’re not sure. The intubation is getting the necessary oxygen to his lungs, but we don’t know if he’s ready to be weaned off just yet. We just have to keep checking his vitals and labs to see if he’s stable enough for a CPAP.”
“I see,” Oishi stated. He understood less than half of what she said, but from what he could gather, they weren’t sure.
A series of blood pressure cuffs and monitors later and the nurse responded with, “His oxygen saturation is 90% which is okay, but still low. If we can get it a little higher that would be great, so the doctor can trial the CPAP soon, we’ll see. His blood pressure is steady, 102/70, heart rate 63, temperature 98.9. Nothing too drastic, not the best but not the worst. We can just keep monitoring him from here I’m afraid.”
“Thank you,” Oishi replied as she completed her assessment.
“Tezuka!” Oishi then exclaimed as his phone lit up with Tezuka’s name. “Sorry I need to step out for a moment.”
“Sure,” said the nurse. “We’ll update you as we learn more.”
“Tezuka! Are you here?”
“Oishi. What’s the room number?”
“302. It’s the ICU.”
“Got it. I’m coming up.”
“One of my other teammates is coming, will that be a problem?” Oishi asked.
“That should be fine, but visiting hours are only until 8. And there can only be 2 of you in a room, I’m afraid. Even now, there should really only be 2 of you here.”
“Oh, we’ll leave then,” Oishi beckoned to Eiji.
“Is it any issue if the visitor stays over?” Oishi continued.
“Unfortunately we don’t allow overnight stays in the ICU,” the nurse stated. “But there are hotels nearby. Visiting hours are until 8, but since it’s close to 8, it should be fine if it’s just him staying longer. But the outside doors will close at 8, and he will have to use the emergency exit to leave.”
“I’ll go,” piped Yuuta. “Oishi-san, I’ll walk with Kikumaru-san to your place. It’s best if you stay and explain to Tezuka-san everything that happened.”
“Okay…” Eiji complained, a little depressed that he wouldn’t be able to cry to Oishi right away.
“Eiji, be strong,” Oishi comforted. “I’ll follow by car later.”
Oishi turned to the nurse. “Afterward, he will be the only one here. Is that okay?”
“That should be fine. But no overnight stays,” she reiterated.
“Understood,” Oishi said. “I’ll see you soon Eiji.”
10 minutes later, Tezuka found his way to room 302 outside of which Oishi was diligently waiting.
“How is he?” Tezuka questioned, trying to maintain composure, but very visibly nervous from Oishi's point of view.
“He’s…. Well… They don’t know.” Oishi sighed.
“They’re checking vitals every 2 hours, and getting labs to see if they can take out the tube. He’s in the room, but he’s heavily sedated so he won’t wake up,” Oishi continued.
“I’m about to leave, but I’ll be back tomorrow. They don’t allow overnight stays but if you don’t have a place, Yuuta said it’s fine for you to stay with them.”
“I’ve booked a hotel,” Tezuka stated.
“That’s just like you,” Oishi commented. “Are there any other questions you have for me?”
“How did this happen?” Tezuka begged to ask.
“.......Based on what Eiji told me, he wanted to meet you in tennis. Yuuta said he was complaining of his asthma, but would always brush it off as a joke. In his final high school match of the year he played his best, Tezuka. You wouldn’t believe it, how seriously Fuji played.”
“That was not what I was asking,” Tezuka wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut.
How could this have happened without him knowing?
“It’s my fault,” he wanted to say, but he knew that Fuji would reprimand him for that. Fuji would feel weak, like he was letting Tezuka down if Tezuka ever said anything like that.
And yet, it couldn’t be anyone else’s fault. It was Tezuka’s fault for pressing their rivalry so far, for refusing to finish his match with Fuji at the U-17 camp, for running off to Germany to go pro, pushing Fuji to catch up to him, and for, not once, contacting Fuji afterward. For choosing a university in Germany, stating it so publicly and making himself so unavailable. Thereby pushing Fuji to exceed his limits, despite all the medical signs that he should take a breather.
Yet, there was no point in ruminating any further, so he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind.
“He’s in this room?” He asked instead, turning toward Fuji’s room.
“Yes,” Oishi said. “Is there anything else I can do?”
“It’s fine. Go home.” Tezuka stated in his usual ‘Captain of Seigaku’ mannerism.
Oishi picked up his things and began walking toward the exit.
“Tezuka…” Oishi stopped in his tracks. “We’re here for you, you know? Even if you do play for Germany, you were still our captain.”
“Thank you Oishi.”
It was now 8:30 PM. Tezuka was alone. He walked into room 302 to find Fuji silent, breathing through the tube in his mouth, all the machines humming with a steady “beep, beep” sound.
“Fuji…,” he whispered.