Detective Tezuka Chapter 16

[tacuma]

Title: Detective Tezuka chapter 16 – One More Try
Writer: tacuma811 
Pairing: Perfect Pair
Chapter: 16/ ?
Genre: AU, romance, angst, crime
Word count: 3032 words
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis

Chapter 16 – One More Try

Tezuka and Yagyuu knocked on Nomura's door impatiently. It took a while before it was opened. Nomura was on the phone, and said goodbye to the person he had been talking to. He was surprised to see the two policemen in front of his door.

'Come in,' he said as a greeting. Tezuka and Yagyuu walked to the living room and sat down. They declined when Nomura offered them a cup of tea.

'Sit down please,' said Tezuka. When Nomura sat down the Chief Inspector continued. 'You told us you and Akazawa-san weren't really good friends. Why do you think Akazawa-san told you that Mizuki-san was blackmailing him? We know he didn't have many other friends, but why would he talk to you and not to one of the other people he knew?'

'I don't know,' answered the other. 'Maybe because he knew I wouldn't tell anybody else about it?'

'If you two didn't know each other that well he was taking a risk to tell you. You could tell the world about it if you wanted,' answered Yagyuu. 'Why did he trust you enough to tell you? Have you ever told him some kind of secret? Did he blackmail you with it?'

'No, I never told him a secret. I don't understand either why he told me. If he was still alive we could have asked him,' sighed Nomura.

'Did Akazawa-san make you work for him?' asked Tezuka. 'Did he make you do whatever he had to do for Mizuki-san?'

Nomura's eyes widened a little. He looked at the two policemen. 'What are you thinking?' he said. 'Speaking such words about a man who can't defend himself anymore. That is really cruel. I wouldn't have thought two decent men like you would do that. I don't want to answer any of your questions anymore.'

'Didn't you hardly know him?' asked Yagyuu. 'You're defending him like he was a good friend, or even family. I think there is another reason why you don't want to answer our questions anymore. Why, Nomura-san?'

'I…I just don't like the way you speak about someone who died,' stuttered the smaller man. 'You just shouldn't speak in such a way.'

'Akazawa-san made you clean Mizuki-san's house, right?' said Tezuka. He didn't know if it was right. It was all a big gamble. 'Mizuki-san told us about it. He knew Akazawa-san was using you, but he didn't care, as long as the job was done. He made you cook for Mizuki-san, he made you shop for groceries. He made your pay for food you never got to taste yourself, he made you polish all of Mizuki-san's shoes and he made you buy rare items Mizuki-san wanted. Akazawa-san was blackmailed by Mizuki-san, but you were the one who suffered, right?'

Nomura was almost crying. There were tears in his eyes. He stood up from the couch and turned his back to the two policemen. He wiped his tears away and walked to one of the cupboards. Yagyuu stood up and followed him to check if he was alright. When he stood right behind Nomura, the smaller man turned around and held a knife against Yagyuu's throat.

'You don't understand how much I suffered!' he shouted. 'Don't you see that Akazawa-san was the killer? He humiliated me. He killed me inside.'

Yagyuu tried to take a step back, away from the sharp knife.

'DON'T MOVE!' shouted Nomura, and he pushed the knife closer to Yagyuu's throat, drawing a little blood.

'Nomura-san,' said Tezuka stern. 'We know he humiliated you. We know you've been through a lot. But you should have come to us. You didn't do anything wrong, right? We could have caught both Mizuki-san and Akazawa-san.'

'That wasn't enough,' whispered Nomura softly. 'I wanted him to suffer. I accidently overheard Akazawa and Mizuki-san talking and found out Akazawa had used anabolic steroids. I thought I would be free. I knew his secret, I could blackmail him now. But when I told him he laughed at me. He laughed! He said I had no prove. If I would want to tell anyone it would be his word against mine. He said nobody would believe a loser like me. He walked away and I followed him. I told him I wouldn't let him get away that easily. He answered I was pathetic and should just get lost. That moment I took my knife. I don't even know why I brought it. I stabbed him. I don't really know how it exactly happened. My memories are blurry. All I know is that I stabbed him and after that I ran away. I didn't feel scared, and I didn't feel guilty. He deserved it. I should have stabbed Mizuki-san when I had the chance.'

'You should let my colleague go,' said Tezuka to Nomura who was still pointing the knife at Yagyuu. 'Killing a policeman will only lead to many more years in prison. You got your revenge, Akazawa-san is dead. You're not getting blackmailed anymore and you won't be humiliated from now on. Now put down the knife, alright?'

Nomura hesitated. He didn't want to give in.

'Put it down, Nomura-san,' said Tezuka again.

Slowly the small man put the knife on the floor. As soon as he moved to stand up straight again, Yagyuu kicked the knife away, grabbed Nomura's arms and handcuffed him. Tezuka took the knife and put it in a plastic bag. Inui would be able to find out if it was the murder weapon.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

'Well done,' said Yukimura to Tezuka and Yagyuu. 'I'm glad you both returned without any dangerous injuries. It seems that in the end the damaging of Fuji-san's art had nothing to do with this murder case. Speaking about Fuji-san, I guess you and your team deserve a little rest, Tezuka. Then they can help you and Fuji-san with moving.'

Tezuka looked surprised. 'How do you know that Fuji will be moving away?'

'I was discussing the case with Oishi, Sengoku and Ohtori when he called. When Sengoku answered the phone he told Fuji-san that you were gone to catch a murderer. Fuji-san seemed to be happy about that and when we asked why, he explained that he would move in with you after you solved the case. Congratulations, Tezuka.'

'Fuji-san is moving in with you?' asked Yagyuu surprised. 'I didn't expect that of you. But I'll give Nioh a call. I'm sure he won't mind helping with moving.'

'The others offered to help as well,' said Yukimura. 'They told Fuji about it over the phone. Oishi offered to help when he heard Kikumaru Eiji would be helping as well. After that the others didn't want to be left out, so Sengoku and Ohtori will help as well.'

'Thank you,' said Tezuka, a little flabbergasted. 'We will need the help. I don't think Fuji will be able to clear Saeki-san's room. Maybe some of you can do it.'

'We will,' answered Yagyuu. 'See you tomorrow.'

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

That night Tezuka was eating on his own. He just received a message from Inui that the knife was indeed the murder weapon and that only Nomura-san's fingerprints were found on it. Tezuka was more relaxed now that it was proven that Nomura-san was the murderer. He ate his dinner as he watched over the city. This would be the last night on his own. From tomorrow on Fuji would be here with him. The thought made him feel happy.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

The next morning Tezuka woke up early. He got dressed, had breakfast and took out the last things that were still in the second bedroom. From today Fuji would sleep there. When he was done he got into his car and drove to Fuji's house. Tezuka wasn't the first to arrive. Eiji and Oishi were already there. Sengoku as well. The moment Tezuka arrived Ohtori and Shishido arrived as well.

Fuji greeted his colleague and Shishido and the three of them went inside. The front door was open, because Eiji, Oishi and Sengoku were walking in and out of the house with boxes. Tezuka greeted them as well before he searched for Fuji. He found his lover in the kitchen.

'Good morning,' he said as he hugged Fuji from behind.

'Good morning,' said Fuji with a smile. He looked over his shoulder at Tezuka. 'We're already working hard, so everything can be moved to your place in one day.'

'I'm sure we will be able to move it all today,' said Tezuka. 'Sengoku probably told you already that Ohtori, Shishido, Yagyuu and Nioh will be helping out as well. Ohtori is already here. Yagyuu is bringing a trailer, so we can move the bigger furniture as well.'

'Great. It's nice to have such good friends,' answered Fuji. He turned around in Tezuka's arms and wrapped his own arms around his lover. When they were facing each other Fuji pulled Tezuka down a little and pressed a kiss on his lips. 'Lets help them. It would be bad if they were the only ones working.'

Tezuka and Fuji went to the living room and helped the others to carry out the boxes and small objects out of the house and into the cars. Now and then they drove the cars to Tezuka's house and brought the stuff inside. When Yagyuu and Nioh arrived Tezuka helped them to carry Fuji's bed on the trailer. The bookshelf was placed next to it and Fuji's wardrobe ended in a few pieces on the trailer as well. They would put it together again once they were at Tezuka's place.

The other furniture wasn't needed. Tezuka already had all the furniture that was necessary, so they brought the things Fuji didn't need anymore away. The last photo frames, albums and cacti were placed into Oishi's car. Tezuka told Fuji to go with Eiji and Oishi. Ohtori and Shishido took some of the boxes as well and drove to Tezuka's place for the last time.

For what was coming next it was better if Fuji wasn't around. They had to empty Saeki's room. Tezuka knew where the key was and he opened the door. There was dust everywhere. Nobody had been there for more than half a year already. Together Tezuka, Yagyuu, Nioh and Sengoku took everything out of the room. They put it all on the trailer and Nioh brought it away. Tezuka, Sengoku and Yagyuu cleaned the room quickly.

'They're here!' said Sengoku when he noticed Oishi's car outside. 'Hurry!'

They took the cleaning materials out of the room, locked the door and acted like they had been cleaning the living room and the kitchen.

'You haven't done much,' said Fuji with a grin. It was true. They had hardly cleaned anything besides Saeki's room. 'You've been talking too much!'

'You're right,' said Sengoku, grinning back. 'This is the first time Tezuka let us slack off. We took advantage of it.'

'You can slack, because we brought lunch,' said Eiji happily. They all sat down on the floor and shared the food. When they were done eating they cleaned the last parts of the house. Within a day they managed to empty the house completely.

'Thank you very much,' said Fuji to his friends. 'We would never have been able to take everything out in a day on our own. If there is anything I can ever do for you, just tell me, I'll gladly help you.'

'Make Tezuka happy,' said Sengoku. 'Maybe he will allow us to slack more often.'

'That's not going to happen,' answered Tezuka before anyone else could utter a word.

Fuji laughed. 'If I can help you with anything else than that you should just let me know then.'

They all said goodbye and left, except for Tezuka and Fuji. Fuji looked around the house. It was so different when it was completely empty. His eyes rested on the door of Saeki's room.

'Don't worry about that,' said Tezuka. 'We took care of it. We saved a few things for you we thought you wanted to keep. They're in my car.'

'Thank you,' said Fuji. He had been afraid to enter that room. It would have felt weird and painful to take everything out of there.

'I can still remember when Kojiroh and I got here,' he said with a small smile on his face. 'Our own place. We were so happy! We held parties almost every weekend in the first month we lived here. But when we got used to this place and we had to study hard this became more of a home. I will really miss it, even though your apartment is bigger and much more beautiful.'

'I understand,' said Tezuka. He lay one arm around Fuji's shoulders. 'For you it must be like you're saying goodbye to Saeki-san forever. But once you will live with me you will understand that Saeki-san's memories don't live in this house, but in you.'

Fuji wrapped his arms around Tezuka's waist and buried his face in his chest. 'I hate it when you're being so kind,' he whispered.

Tezuka smiled. 'I love you too.'

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

'Welcome to your new home,' said Tezuka when he unlocked his front door. They entered the house, took off their shoes and went to the living room.

'Are you done with your room?' asked Tezuka.

Fuji nodded. 'Yes, we put everything into place. I only have to unpack my books, photo albums and stuff like that. It's not so much anymore.'

Tezuka opened the door to Fuji's bedroom. It still looked really plain. There were no pictures on the wall and there were no cacti on the desk or bedside table, like Fuji had in his old house. Those things were still unpacked. Tezuka put down the box with things they took from Saeki's room.

'I think you should decide what you want to keep and what not. Take your time to unpack further. I will cook dinner.'

'Thank you,' said Fuji and he opened a few boxes.

Tezuka walked to the kitchen. He was a little disappointed he and Fuji wouldn't share a room, but he wanted to give Fuji time. His lover needed time to get used to this house and to get used to a house without so many memories of his dead friend. Tezuka sighed, put his thoughts aside and started to prepare dinner. If he gave Fuji the time and space he needed, they might be sharing a room in a few months.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

The days passed by as usual. It was like nothing had changed. Tezuka and Fuji were both glad they could see each other everyday, even though it was only in the morning, the evening and the weekends. They tried to eat breakfast together every morning, but Tezuka had to leave early, and Fuji didn't have to leave at all if he didn't want to. Every now and then he did have to go out to make photos for magazines or newspapers, but most of the time he was photographing for his next exposition and time didn't matter much when it came to photography. The light was best during the afternoon.

Sometimes Tezuka's work was running late, even though he always tried to be home in time for dinner. And other times Fuji didn't come home until midnight, because he had found something incredibly interesting to photograph. Whenever that happened Tezuka was a little disappointed. On such days they could hardly speak with each other, because Tezuka would already be asleep by the time Fuji came home.

One day when Tezuka came home, all the lights were on, but Fuji was nowhere in sight.

'Tadaima,' said Tezuka, but he got no response. 'Fuji?' He took off his shoes, dropped his bag and entered the living room. Tezuka took off his jacket and threw his tie on the table.

'Oh, you're home,' sounded Fuji's voice behind him. 'I didn't start cooking dinner yet, sorry.'

Tezuka turned around. When he saw Fuji he blinked a few times. The frown on his face got deeper and for a few moments he didn't say a word. Fuji was looking at himself in the mirror that hung in the living room. He was wearing nothing, but a red thong and a purple boa.

'What are you wearing?' managed Tezuka to ask. He had never seen that much of Fuji's naked skin before and his throat had become a little dry.

'I was asked to photograph an upcoming band,' explained Fuji. 'They wanted to wear this on the cover of their first album. I was just trying these clothes. If they don't look good on me they won't look good on anybody, right?'

'Do they perform in a strip club or something?' asked Tezuka. He had a hard time not to stare at the little piece of red cloth.

'No, it's just a little joke of them to wear this. They said they were sure their fans would like it. I guess I don't mind. It doesn't look all that bad.'

'You are going to photograph a bunch of guys wearing nothing, but that?' Tezuka asked.

'Oh, someone is jealous!' said Fuji happily. He turned away from the mirror to look at Tezuka. 'You know I only photograph things once, after that I lose interest. So…if you wear this and let me photograph you, I won't be interested in photographing other guys wearing this.'

Tezuka hesitated. 'It looks rather…gay.'

'These clothes make it very obvious that I'm a man, ne?' asked Fuji. 'But in case you didn't notice it yet, you are a man as well. That means we are gay. So, will you be wearing it for me?'

Tezuka blushed. 'The fact that I love you doesn't mean I can fall in love with other man as well. I'll cook dinner tonight.' With that said he quickly walked into the kitchen.

Fuji smirked. He managed to make Tezuka think about wearing a thong and a boa in front of the camera. One day he would manage to make Tezuka model for him. Dressed or undressed, Fuji didn't mind. He would enjoy it anyway.