FOR THE NEWEST CHAPTER AS IN ABSTRACT, TURN TO MOST RECENT CHAPTER!!!

This would be a collection of one shots, and each chapter focuses on one pairing. Feel free to choose and read whichever pair you like, there will be many choices. However, one character will only be used ONCE!!
That said, enjoy and please, review.

Chapter 1 – Trap Master

Fuji Shuusuke liked scheming. He liked planning his trap, careful and detailed, and watch the prey being led on little by little into the heart of the spider web, where he would strike, and leaves the other no place to escape.

Some traps take a week to lay out, others a month, but he had patience.

All the waiting was worth it, as he would watch with exhilaration while the prey got stuck on the tar, and sticky slime poured on them until they are rendered immobile and at his mercy.

After all these years with his beloved teammates, all of them had been victim to his sudden sadistic quirks one time or another. That was why Fuji was usually even more feared of than their stoic captain.

Speaking of Tezuak, it seemed that he was the only person on the team that had never fallen prey. Echizen Ryoma, Fuji’s newest victim, stared at their captain with envy. Sometimes he was truly willing to exchange some of his talent in tennis for Tezuka-bucho’s immunity to Fuji-sempai.

But little did he know. Little did anyone know, that Tezuka was in one of Fuji’s greatest schemes so far, a trap he had already spent four years building.

Fuji smiled smugly towards the sakura in full bloom right outside his classroom window. The day was perfect, the sun was bright but not too warm, the wind carrying the smell of freshly sprouted leaves, and the sky a murky blue – the best kind of clear blue sky you could get in Tokyo anyway. Everything was perfect, and he was in a good mood.

It was time to harvest, the sweetest fruit of his preservation.

It all began in the last year of junior high, the most triumphant and turbulent year for Seigaku tennis. Watching Tezuka breach his limit in his match with Atobe, seeing him off to Kyushuu for rehabilitation, and clenching his fists so hard it hurt during as Tezuka fell in his last match with Sanada in the National finals. It hit him, clearer and harder each time, that Tezuka had become a ticking bomb in his heart. If he did not remove the danger in time, Fuji Shuusuke could be gone like Hiroshima, while Tezuka the culprit turns to leave, uncaring and scot free.

He couldn’t have that, could he? So the gears started churning.

Step one: get to know your prey. Fuji began trying to talk to Tezuka every change possible, even if it’s nonsensical one-sided chatter. Then when his guard is down, small bits of vital information may leak out of his tightly sealed lips.

Step two: physical proximity. This is certainly the next most important thing up the list. Especially after entering the Seigaku high school department, where the world gets bigger, and more rivals were bound to appear to try to snatch his prey away. Therefore, being in the same class was absolutely necessary. Sneaking into the teachers’ office and checking the class list, then trying to suck up to the homeroom teacher to sweet talk him into accepting a wonderfully prominent student such as he into the class, were a piece of cake compared to getting himself defrosted every time after a conversation with Tezuka.

Step 3: competition control. Having successfully planted himself behind Tezuka in their new high school classroom, he certainly couldn’t let those pesky flies divert his prey from his course to entrapment. Talking helped, try talking to Tezuka every spare moment, to show the sign of ownership. Even if Tezuka didn’t respond, at least he won’t totally ignore Fuji’s presence, which already said a lot to those adamant onlookers. So what if it isolated Tezuka? He could cover all his needs anyway.

Step 4: small touches. Some say that physical contacts can greatly promote psychological closeness to somebody. But of course, the prodigy Fuji Shuusuke didn’t need to abide by such silly rumors. It just happed that Tezuka had these very interesting little bits that just begged to be touched, such as his slightly jutted tie in the morning, or the small piece of shirt that wasn’t tucked in properly after changing for practice, or that his ears were so sensitive that they sort of wriggled at each slightly loud sound. These were just too cute to resist. Ahem. That said, he only touched because it was part of the plan. Definitely not because his hands would go out of control, growing a mind of their own. Definitely not.

Step 5: everlasting presence. The last stage of his trap laying, and the longest one to take effect. The rule was to stick beside him, no matter where he went, and follow like a shadow. Being taken as a pervert during the first few weeks was general occurrence, but after the adaptation stage passed, seeing Fuji beside Tezuka would become the most natural thing in the world, both to other people, and to Tezuka himself. Let him get used to you presence so much that he would feel weird when you weren’t there. Sinking yourself into his life, and you’d have succeed.

It took him two years, to finally feel that he should have achieved possessing a portion of the stoic Tezuka’s mind. Like Inui would say, he now has 70 percent confidence that he would triumph after his last strike.

So here goes nothing.

“Ne, Tezuka,” Fuji began, in his placid usual way on their walk home. The sakura was doing a good job at maintaining the atmosphere, petals floating down gently and harassing Tezuka’s cheek. “My family’s thinking of moving to Sapporo.”

Tezuka’s brows creased. “When?” He asked cautiously.

“Maybe in another couple of weeks.” Fuji replied, keeping his smile at the same angle, while adding just a touch of forced feeling into it. He opened his blue eyes, and tried to take in every twitch of a hair strand. “My Mom’s frantic over packing things now, but having a hell of a time shopping for winter clothing.”

“Why did you wait until now to say it?” The lines between his eyebrows deepened, his glasses caught on the reflection of the sunlight and blocked away access to his eyes.

“Just didn’t want everyone to get all sulky because of me.” Fuji kept up his front, covering the uneasiness that was beginning to build up in the pit of his stomach. He really shouldn’t give Tezuka too much time to ponder and dissect his lines to find any loopholes in them.

Suddenly striding a step ahead, Fuji swirled around and stared at his captain face to face. “I like you, Tezuka.”

The receiver of the confession stopped dead, his eyes opening half a centimeter wider and bore into Fuji’s blue irises. The defenseless moment fled past, and the glint of surprise in Tezuka’s eyes sank down to become something firmer and concrete, deepening the colour of his brown eyes to a dark chocolate. “Fuji, I –“

“It’s ok.” This was only the first part of his deadly strike, there were still chances. Fuji mustered a small, lonely grin to his lips. “I just want to tell you this before I go. I’ve liked you since the third year of junior high. I know it’s kind of irresponsible for me to confess now, but this is my last chance. I’m not expecting you to answer. In fact, it’s better for you not to. I know it will be awkward for you, so just bear with it for another two weeks. Let me enjoy the feeling that you know I like you.”

Did that sound too dramatic? But there was no time for self-questioning. Gently picking up Tezuka’s left hand and softly tracing the calluses from long-time training, Fuji lowered his lips to the center of his palm.

“I’ve got to hurry home to help packing. See you tomorrow.” Letting go of Tezuka’s hand unwillingly, Fuji turned around and started running. That was his limit. If he stayed one second longer, his face would probably have exploded into flames. His heart was pounding like a jackhammer, louder than during any tennis match. Of course, it was only from the exhilaration he felt from tightening his net, trapping his prey. Only that.

“Shuusuke, oh my, your face is burning!” Fuji’s mother exclaimed as her son burst through the door.

“Mom, I need you to help me with something.” Fuji smiled weakly.

The next day, Fuji slept till 10 am. Then, started making his room as messy as possible. He would really love to see Tezuka’s reactions when he realizes he’s not going to be in school today. This was the time all his built up efforts take effect. Would Tezuka feel uncomfortable if he wasn’t there? Would he panic about his absence after yesterday’s talk of moving? Fuji knew he wasn’t playing a fair game. He was literally forcing Tezuka into accepting him, with the threat of disappearance. But then, the threat would only have any effect if Tezuka cared the tiniest bit for him. What if he didn’t?

Just then, the doorbell rang. It was 12 pm, who could it…

“Ah, Tezuka-kun!” Fuji’s mother’s voice rang out merrily. “Isn’t there school today?”

“Is Fuji… Shuusuke here? He isn’t at practice today.” The deep smooth voice sounded somewhat ragged today. Fuji peeked out from top of the stairs. Even if it was only normal to call a person by the first name when you talk to his family, Fuji’s heart floated up a couple of inches on hearing Tezuka call his name. No, he wasn’t acting like a fan girl.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that. I kept him home to help me pack for moving. You know how busy it could be. But don’t worry, we’ll still let Shuusuke and Yuuta join tennis clubs in Sapporo.” Fuji’s mother replied, so natural that Fuji began to doubt if he inherited his sadism from her.

The image of Fuji being on another school’s tennis team didn’t really match. “So… it is true that you are moving to Sapporo…” Tezuka muttered under his breath. “Sorry, but can I see Shuusuke now? There’s something urgent I need to say.”

“Shuusuke! Tezuka-kun’s here!” Fuji jumped up from his post, and cast a brief glance in the mirror before rushing down. Was his trap working?

Fuji tilted his head up and looked at the slightly sweaty Tezuka, and in silent agreement, they stepped out of the house and started walking on a park trail. “Did you run over here? It’s supposed to be lunch time.” Fuji asked with a teasing tone.

Tezuka blatantly ignored the comment, except for a twitch of his eyebrow. “About yesterday… You said you’ve liked me since junior high. Why did you wait until now to confess?”

“I was afraid I would lose control of myself and jump you.” Fuji joked. Certainly he couldn’t say that he was preparing his trap, could he?

“Fuji!” Tezuka reproached, stopping in his tracks. Reaching up, he carefully traced Fuji’s fringe and folded some unruly hair behind his ear. Fuji’s skin tingled at the touch, sending his whole nervous system jumping into alert. Staring into Tezuka’s eyes, and seeing how the defense slowly began to lower within those brown depths, the ever-present smile on Fuji faded. His instincts were right. Tezuka was always a dangerous presence. “Tell me.”

Maybe because Tezuka had been captain for too long, Fuji couldn’t resist his every command. “I’m scared. It is just too easy and too possible that you’ll refuse me, and you can go on unaffected, but what about me? Unless I have a decent rate of success, I wouldn’t risk shattering myself to pieces against a stone wall like you.”

Tezuka’s lips quirked up into a tiny smile. “Never the reckless, just like you.”

Fuji gave a short bitter laugh. “No matter how rare your smiles are, right now I really don’t have the mood to admire and drool on them.”

“Who said that I could refuse you easily?” Gently moving his hand on Fuji’s hair to the nape of his neck, Tezuka pulled Fuji closer and closer, until his own cheek rested on the side of Fuji’s head. “It’s your win this time.”

The breath Fuji didn’t know he was holding was let go, softly absorbed into the material of Tezuka’s uniform. “You really aren’t romantic at all, you know?”

After a moment of silence, Fuji turned his head up, to see Tezuka in a deep contemplating expression. “I’ll try to work on that.” The stoic captain mumbled in a low voice.

Fuji smiled, chuckled, and turned into full fledged laughter.

See? His traps never fail to work.