Fic for paranoid_fridge

The room was saturated with laughter. It seeped through the walls to the outside and echoed heavily within the room. Yet none of the occupants seemed to care, not even the serious young captain. It had been awhile since all nine boys had been together. With their celebration for winning the Kanto tournament cut short because of a rouge captain and the commencement of a stricter training regime for nationals, now was good a time as any for celebration.

Tezuka listened intently to the gesticulating Eiji as he retold of their journey. The trip sounded like one that only his team could encounter. From the lost baggage, an old quarrelling couple jealous of youthful jubilance to a creepy stalker who fell in love with Fuji and asked for ‘her’ hand in marriage. Eiji updated their captain with a passionate monologue only sparing an occasional glare for anyone who interrupted or accused him of embellishing details.

As the hours dwindled by, the stories being shared slowed, as most tales were told and exhaustion set in. The regulars were shooed to their rooms which the hospital was graceful to offer. Doubled up in a total of four rooms the regulars drifted asleep.

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The singing birds and rising sun greeted different scenes in certain rooms of the German hospital. The room closest to the cafeteria revealed two young men still asleep, one whose mouth hung open and arms flung widely apart snored hard enough to bring down straw houses. The other was more graceful in sleep, a hat; an essential part of daylight existence was perched on the night stand. The second room depicted little variation. One boy still slept, arms wrapped tight around a large brown bear. The other bed was empty though neatly made. On the ground with his back against the bed sat a boy, magazines of various German tourist attractions scattered around him a camera in his lap as he changed batteries and loaded film. The third room was empty, both beds neatly made showing no evidence of being slept in. Its’ occupants were outside, one running around the compound of the hospital while the other recorded data with precision.

The occupants of the other room worked in peaceful solitude. A schedule of events and visits of tourist attractions were drafted in vigilance since the creator wanted everyone to enjoy the trip. The other indebted to his father for approving the trip diligently perused various German delicacies planning to take back a new recipe for his father. The person in charge of this circus otherwise known as a teenage boy’s tennis team sat in the office of Tezuka’s personal trainer. In front of her a computer engaging in the task of emailing the parents of all the boys she brought on the trip reassuring them of their children’s safety and current status. In the last room hosting foreign guests, the original resident of the institute sat by the window, a steady gaze directed outside, sipping on his favourite tea.

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All good things eventually come to an end.

The calm was replaced by calamity. The floor swayed from side to side, as the walls rattled and shook the sound of glass breaking, objects falling and concrete crumbling to pieces permeated the air. A great grumbling echoed in the distance as the earth trembled. Screams and enquiring shouts battled for dominance with the screeching of twisting steel and falling concrete. Frightened unwilling participants of the terrible natural disaster dove for cover under beds, tables and sturdy doorways. Those outside stared danger in the face as slabs of concrete toppled from the roof crashing down with unnerving speed pulled by the force of gravity. No safe haven glimmered for them; the only option that supported survival was attempting to run. A mad dash into open space to save a life.

What seemed like days or hours ended in mere minutes. The shaking eased and an ominous silence filled the air. Probably, in less time, the announcement traversed the earth and nine terrified parents questioned the safety of their children who were staying in the epicentre of an 8.3 earthquake.

Somewhere between sleeping and scrambling off the bed Eiji wondered how he got under the bed. He was unaware of Fuji’s frantic attempts of heaving his heavier frame into safety. He remembers meeting the Chocolates and spending a day with them which in retrospect was most likely a dream. His tired body and preoccupied conscience was unaware of the quivering earth and the room which crumbled around him. Fuji was up onto his feet in milliseconds after the first shake. Experiencing an earthquake was nothing new since Japan was a country which had several minor quakes. His training and survival instincts reacted almost automatically and his brain reminded him in mid dive under the bed about the snoozing Eiji. His halt was immediate, spinning on his heels he ran to where Eiji was still sleeping shouting at him on the way as an attempt to rouse him. He narrowly missed being struck on the head by a collapsing wall. His struggle with the bulkier Eiji persisted until pure adrenaline flooded his system giving him to the strength to drag Eiji off and under the bed.

Inui and Kaidoh had faced death in the eye. As the shaking began Inui had been able to average an approximate magnitude from the progressive strength and the rocking buildings around him. He had placed its intensity somewhere between a 6 or 7.5 on the Richter scale. A quick glance at his surroundings revealed the poor shelter possibilities, with a quick calculation in his head he decided to attempt running to the open field 200 feet away from where he stood. The statistics he discovered was against his and Kaidoh’s survival but yet he decided to abandon his data. He could do it, they would do it despite data that suggested otherwise. The mind debate lasted for a few seconds before he shouted at the stupefied Kaidoh who stood rooted in the same spot to run. A falling concrete pillar that would fall on top of Kaidoh pushed Inui to increase his speed. Forcing his mind to stop calculating the chance that he would make it in time he lunged forward, his entire weight collided against Kaidoh toppling him to the ground, a move that forced all air out of his lungs. A deep blush spread across Kaidoh’s cheeks as he realised the intimate position of Inui’s body flushed against him. Inui the more clear headed of the two remembered their situation climbed to his feet dragging Kaidoh up as well again broke into a run tugging the younger boy behind him.

Tezuka was quick in huddling inside the doorframe. He had made five strides from across the room before reaching his destination. Oishi and Kawamura simultaneously sought refuge under the desk Oishi had been working on. They had huddled together under the narrow space until the earth stopped moving. Being who they were, their immediate concern had been the rest of the team. A supportive glance to one another encouraged them to leave safety. Upon opening the door, their mouths hung ajar at the massive scene of destruction. The building was a complete mess, broken walls and fallen ceiling partitions made up the debris that blocked the way.

Echizen awoke with a start before blearily seeking out the culprit that woke him. He turned to stare at Momo who was still sound asleep, mouth open arms flung askew. The rattling picture of the ocean that hung on the wall and the falling bottles and figurines on the desks and side table slowly clued Echizen into what was happening around him. He fumbled across to Momo and started to shake him awake. The peach head only grumbled awake when the earthquake ended and savagely attacked Echizen for waking him. Lucky for them that their room was near the cafeteria the only part of the building that sustained the least amount of damaged. The same fate was not handed to an aged lady whose whereabouts was now unknown to her charges. Three fingers were barely visible underneath the rubble of a broken desk from a fallen ceiling fan. 

From 200 feet away, Inui and Kaidoh stared at the partially destroyed building. The front portion had crumbled to the ground. The floor and supporting beams were visible even from that distance. Sparks were ignited periodically and water dripped from broken pipes. They could do nothing here. It was impossible to once again enter the building.

“Come Kaidoh, we need to find help for the others.” Inui pulled the boy forward to begin walking. They were walking away, walking away alive and hale from a scene that screamed death. They could only hope and pray that the rest of their teammates, their friends were alive. Though, a nagging little voice that loved data told Inui that their chances were bleak.

Oishi and Taka-san cautiously crept around the fallen wires that sparked every so often. They were trying to make their way to the room of their nearest teammate which happened to be Tezuka. A cold draft swept through their bodies causing them to look up at the gaping fissures in the ceiling. The creak of broken wood and the scraping of iron against concrete close to Tezuka’s room increased their speed. They reached in time to witness the door slowly inching forward and a Tezuka squeezing through the small opening he managed to create. Except for the thin trails of blood oozing down his arm he seemed to be whole and uninjured.

“Thank goodness Tezuka, you’re okay.” Oishi breathlessly whispered.

“Hn, Are you two okay?” A quick nod was his answer. “Let’s find the others.” The stern voice commanded as he began to cautiously step away heading in the direction of Fuji and Eiji’s room.

Echizen wanted to smack the silly buffoon in front of him. He had been able to pry the strangling fingers off his neck long enough to inform him of the earthquake. The results had been a collapsed jaw and wide unbelieving eyes. A hard “placks” sounded after five minutes and the ridiculous expression reverted to normal.

Momoshiro was shock, baffled, bedazzled and a whole lot of other synonyms could be used to describe his current state. He had slept through an earthquake. If he was to believe what Echizen said something that he usually did then that made it more unbelievable. At first Momo had been disappointed at being place in this room which was an incredible distance from the rest of the team and next to the coach of all persons. He had cheered up a bit when their guide had announced that the room was only three rooms away from the cafeteria. That meant he could stuff his face without Eiji or the others cramping his style, the only competition he had was Echizen who was a little below par with him on eating competitions. The L-shape of the building made it possible for the occupants of this particular window to see the rooms of the rest of the team. The night before, he had annoyed Kaidoh by making obscene gestures through the open window. As he pulled open the now close window his face again return to a gobsmack expression. The other side of the building was a mess, some rooms were now wall-less and others had been completely crushed in. A tear rolled down his eyes when he realised that the same window which last night had contained the furious face of his rival was now under rubble. There was no way Kaidoh could have survived that. Or Inui, his mind interjected as Echizen stood next to him.

“Sempai lets go to Ryuzaki-sensei.” The sound voiced from big cat-like eyes pleaded.

A respectable knock was given at the door of their coach’s room. They stood idle for awhile before opening the door. The room was still intact as expected but there was no sensei present.

This was not a movie but it was certainly playing out like one Fuji mused as he held onto a babbling Eiji. They were now stuck in between the bed and the wall. When a portion of the ceiling broke off it fell to the edge of the bed pushing it up to lean against the wall behind them only giving them a lean-way type of protection. The top of the bed was against the wall and the bottom gave way to a small hole. An opening only Fuji could barely squeezed through. He had made the mistake of telling Eiji that he would crawl through to find help since both of them together were unable to push the bed away. Eiji held him in a bear hug that stifled the air out of his body at a faster rate than all of his other hugs and pleaded with him not to leave him alone. He acquiesced since he had no other choice if he wanted to breathe and plus he could not find it in has heart to leave a teary frightened Eiji behind. He engulfed Eiji in his own hug, one least likely to end your life, promising he would stay with him.

Taka-san, Oishi and Tezuka stood outside the room in which Inui and Kadioh was housed. They had pushed, shoved and slammed into the door yet the door did not give. Their calls of their names yielded no reply. And since this terrifying event began, the three teenage boys were starting to feel alarmed.

“Eiji, be quiet. I hear something.” Eiji’s prattling stopped and the vague sound was a little clearer, what it was saying was distorted but the voice was recognizable anywhere. Tezuka! Fuji could only smile as Eiji started screaming out Oishi’s name, the movie played on, the hero’s were rescuing the damsels in distress so maybe just maybe this story would have a happy ending. A little grimace tried its best to show on Fuji face as he realised that he just called himself a damsel, in distress.

Oishi was the first one to step towards the next room, he placed his ear against the door frame and listened. Eiji. He called out to his doubles partner and waited for the muffled reply which came immediately after. Tezuka and Taka-san was soon standing next to him as he tried the door. Nothing. Same as before the door did not move, they were only reassured by the incessant prattling of Eiji. Tezuka’s reassurance however was little improved. Yes he could hear Eiji but the voice he wanted to hear was silent. His stomach twisted a bit at the image which his mind produced.

Tezuka was a cautious person by nature. He would never jump into a situation he could not control or start something he was unsure about. These two characteristic limitations were what held him back from confessing his love to Fuji. He could not control Fuji, no one could, that was given and that was the reason he had fell for him in the first place. He had never met a person as spontaneous and carefree as Fuji was before. He was particularly unsure to the question of Fuji liking him back. He had used the close proximity that Fuji stood next to him and the sweet smiles that masked emotions directed at him to speculate that Fuji liked him too. But, Tezuka Kunimitsu and speculation were two inverse words. Tezuka acted on certainty. This iron-hand that held his desires broke during the earthquake, it took all his will-power to remain under the doorframe and not run to Fuji as the world rattled and shook around him.

“Fuji?” He questioned at the closed door and his heart wobbled at the silence.

“I’m okay Tezuka.” Those three words spoken in a voice, only Fuji could possess compelled Tezuka’s heart to accelerate in its beating. Fuji was fine, and if they ever got out of this situation alive he would know the love that Tezuka held for him.

As all three boys used their full weight against the door it creaked like a century old wooden house before slowly moving back. Moving the heavy fallen concrete that held the bed in its upright position looked near impossible. Fuji told them about the opening to the side, so the three rescuers tried to see if they could make the hole wider. Fuji crawled through before promising Eiji that he would be right behind him. The three of them could not hold the opening long enough for both boys to come through so it was better that they only tried for one, Fuji explained to his best friend before he squeezed through the crack. With Fuji helping, they pushed against the bed making it big enough for Eiji to pass through.

Eiji and Oishi hugged each other as soon as he was freed from his prison. The three other boys watched on in joy. Fuji smiled at Tezuka when he noticed the intense stare he was receiving from the other boy. The unexpected hug initiated by Tezuka surprised him but he settled into it sighing in relief. The two pairs of boys continued hugging each other until a red-faced Taka cleared his throat and shyly stuttered about finding the rest of their teammates.

Echizen and Momo looked in the cafeteria for their coach but it was vacant. They had encountered some staff and two patients who were evacuating the building through an escape hatch to the side of the building. They looked at the direction the staff pointed to wistfully before looking at the corridor that would take them to their team. Even as one of the staff mentioned that the area was impassable, they ignored the warning and turned away from the path that would lead them to safety. They were already in the building and would not leave without their friends.

The group of five vigilantly trekked away from the devastated site. Fuji and Eiji had inquired about their neighbours receiving the shocking truth. They would have to leave their rescue to professionals; there was nothing that they could do. Now, they would try to find the three other missing persons of their group before leaving the building. Ten minutes of dodging still falling debris and manoeuvring around live electrical wires and fallen concrete blocks and posts they were reunited with Momoshiro and Echizen as they turned a corner. Eiji became an anaconda around Echizen’s neck bubbling over with glee. Momo scanned the group for his rival but found no bandana wearing scowling snake. Tezuka had been the one to explain the situation and Momo realising the truth he had seen staring out his window turned away and began walking. They still had to find their coach.

The group of seven had grown bigger. Along the way they checked the rooms they were passing for anyone trapped or too scared to leave. Fourteen individuals were now making their way to the escape hatch Echizen and Momo had told them about. The last room before they left the north wing of the building belonged to Tezuka’s trainer. Her door was blocked by a fallen wall and ceiling fragments which the large group quickly cleared away. They had found the woman inside her room chiselling away at the concrete wall leading to the next room with a stainless steel fork. It was from this lady, whose senile appearance and drunken disposition alarmed those who had never met her, that Ryuzaki-sensei’s fate was discovered. Ryoma and Momoshiro directed the group to the safety exit before joining their team to find their coach.

Following the lead of Tezuka, they were soon outside his trainer’s office. This part of the building suffered minimum damage so they were hopeful of finding the woman hale. Thankfully, Ryuzaki suffered only minor injuries, though the scene looked more gruesome when they first walked in. Eiji and Momo had broken out into loud wails at the site before the gruff voice of their sensei told them to shut up and help her up.

It was with relief and distress the Seigaku tennis team emerged from the ravaged building. They were relieved that they were alive but their hearts cried at their fallen comrades. There was nothing that they could have done to save them; they could not even rescue their bodies to give them a proper farewell. They sat wearily on the grass where an evacuation area was being set up 200 hundred feet way from the partially destroyed treatment centre. A small distance away, a list of missing individuals were being formulated so the team decided to enter Inui and Kaidoh’s name. They were fifth in line when they heard a familiar voice calling out very, very familiar names to the person in charge of the list. Pandemonium erupted as the boys reunited with each other especially since both thought that the other set were dead or gravely injured. The sight returned to normal as a suspiciously wet eyed Momo accused Kaidoh of being cruel as he was not where he was supposed to be resulting in a loud argument erupting between them.

Tezuka and Fuji slipped away unnoticed by the group and stood in front of a large pink flowering tree looking at the destruction of the building they were in. It was here, with devastation in front of them and beauty surrounding them as the pink flowers fell, they confessed their love for one another and had their first kiss.