Catch My Fall

Chapter 13: I'll take it all, arrows or guns, hundreds or more to save you from one.


The air outside was cold, and Tezuka tugged his jacket on jerkily, not stopping his pace to put it on properly. All he really cared about was getting to Fuji before anything happened. The note was bad enough, but it was the photograph that disturbed him more than anything.

Tezuka once again tried to contact Yukimura as he raced down the streets towards the club. He had to stop himself from slamming the phone onto the hard concrete as he once again tried to leave a message.

"Yukimura-san, where are you? Fuji went to the club. Alone. He thinks Yuuta's been taken there. Just come!"

He shut his phone and shoved it in his pocket as he turned the corner, and ran faster. Why didn't Fuji just wait for him or drag him out of the shower? He didn't like this situation in the slightest.

Tezuka knew by then that being pelted with the milkshake wasn't random at all. It was all too perfect timing. He just happened to go to the shower instead of to his room and Fuji naturally started to unpack without him, so he'd see the note first. It was all rather frustrating because Yukimura was supposed to have ensured that the flat was safe, and now it was clear that it was anything but.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he almost stopped to retrieve it. Hastily, he opened it, disappointed to find that it only signaled the appearance of a message instead of an actual call. With half of his attention on trying to avoid running into people, he tried to punch in his password to access his voice mail.

"Tez…ra…we fou…I…so…don…hi…ph…..lu…ad…hi…se…ji…." The sound had cut in and out so badly that he couldn't tell who had called. Tezuka wished he hadn't even heard the message because now he could only fill in the blanks and he wasn't sure if reality was worse than his own worries.

Finally, Tezuka sighed in slight relief as the sign to his club finally was in sight. The front door was unlocked, but closed. If he used it, the noise would alert all inside as soon as he pushed it. Something told him that it would be a bad idea to startle whoever this person was.

He hurried to the side door, and let himself in as quietly as possible. The kitchen was still dark, but there was a light shining from another part of the club. As soon as he was fully inside, he wedged a piece of wood under the door to hold it open. He quietly walked toward the door that led out of the kitchen. He could hear voices, but not what they were saying yet.

As soon as he took a step out of the kitchen, he heard Fuji. It took all that he had not to call out. He didn't know if it would put Fuji in more danger or if the person was prone to react, so he set about at least getting to a place that he could see him.

"Where's Yuuta?" Fuji asked, voice slightly trembling with fear and anger. Tezuka wanted to yell out that Yuuta was fine, but he couldn't risk Fuji to do that.

There was a chuckle in response but nothing else. It sounded wrong. There was something not right about the voice. It was very strange, but Tezuka couldn't pinpoint why exactly.

"Face me and TELL ME WHERE MY BROTHER IS!" Fuji yelled. Tezuka now knew that they were all in the storage area. He could tell by the slight echo of Fuji's voice. He slowly found his way to the door, and tried to peer inside, and saw nothing but a shadow against the floor. Both of them were outside of his sight.

The laugh that followed was even more strange than the slight chuckle. It danced between deep and shrill, and his brow furrowed as he tried to push the door open a little wider so he could at least see where one of them was located in the room.

"TELL ME!" Fuji demanded again. Tezuka looked around the door, and saw Fuji glaring at the other end of the room, hands balled into fists.

"We all want something," the person said in a singsong voice. He watched as Fuji's hands uncurled as the person spoke.

He couldn't see it himself, but it was clear that the person turned around, and Fuji knew exactly whom the person was.

"You?" Fuji asked, shock in his voice. "I don't understand."

The voice moved closer to where he was standing, thus closer to Fuji and Tezuka found himself pushing the door open a little wider. The need to grab Fuji and the need to make sure this person wasn't armed warred within him. He didn't know what the right thing to do was, but he did know that he wished that someone would arrive that could help.

"Syusuke. I've tried to protect you for so long. I failed, haven't I?"

Fuji took a step backwards as he looked at the person in front of him. "Protect me?"

"Yes, protect you. Ever since you took those photographs, I've had to protect you. I was too late this time it seems."

"Sensei, please tell me where Yuuta is," Fuji asked, stepping back again.

The person finally stepped into view. Tezuka was stunned. He had short, messily chopped black hair. It didn't look right. The shirt fell on him awkwardly, as if there was something underneath it. He walked rather stiltedly, unnaturally, and he could tell by the voice, that there was something off about him.

"I hoped that you'd wait for me. When I realised that I couldn't change your mind, I tried to become what you wanted. It wasn't easy. But, when I came back, you were already with him. Take my eyes off of you for one minute and you fall for the first person to look at you. Don't worry. I won't let him interfere with us anymore."

Fuji took a step forward instead of back, fists curled once more. "Stay away from Tezuka."


Before he could stop himself, Tezuka pushed the door open the rest of the way and darted inside. He barely took a moment to chide himself before he stepped in front of Fuji and stared at the man responsible for everything.

Tezuka stared as he realised that the man was, in fact, a woman. A woman who did everything, barring surgery, to hide that fact. Tezuka could see the lines of tape clearly under the shirt, trying to eliminate the appearance of breasts. The hair was short and clumped on top of her head, any iota of femininity finely stamped out.

He could feel the weight of Fuji's hands on his back, comforting him, even if they were trying to tug him away.

"Shiba-sensei," Fuji said as he likely noticed the maniacal grin plastered on her face. One hand was down by her side, the other resolutely behind her back.

"Fuji, please get out of here," Tezuka said as calmly as he could. He would rather take his place, than let him get hurt. "Yuuta is fine."

The sigh of relief was audible, but Fuji didn't move. Tezuka stared at the person in front of him, and was surprised to see a close resemblance to Kirihara's description, except for one noticeable difference.

Tezuka couldn't risk turning to face Fuji, but he didn't tilt his head toward the door. "Fuji, leave."

"Not even on a first name basis, yet he's already had you? Tsk, tsk, Syusuke," Shiba said in a mocking voice.

Fuji tried to walk around Tezuka, but he blocked him as best he could.

Shiba took another step towards them. Tezuka didn't like the look on her face at all. "Stay away from Fuji."

"Why should I now that I'm the man he needs me to be? If you walk away now, I promise not to hurt you for touching what's mine."

Tezuka stood firm, glaring at her as she smiled. "Never."

She took another step closer, and he tried once again to move Fuji towards the door, but he refused to budge.

"Sorry," Fuji whispered, and before he had a chance to ask anything, Fuji pushed him as hard as he could to the side, knocking him off of his feet.

From his position on the floor, he could see the gun behind Shiba's back. He got to his feet as quick as he could, but not before Shiba was able to have it aimed and pointed at Fuji. Tezuka moved faster than he thought possible, trying to get there in time.

"You should have waited for me," Shiba said sadly, before she pulled the trigger.

Tezuka only stood for another minute before he dropped back down to the floor. Fuji fell to his knees, holding him instead of trying to get away. He took a moment to be irritated at Fuji for being so beautifully stubborn. Just as his eyes closed, he heard shouting, but the warmth of the arms around him lulled him to sleep.


A/N: There's only one more little bit left. Thank you for the reviews. I appreciate every one of them.