(A/N: Um…I like the golden pair and thought this would be a nice theme to show how meaningful their "friendship" is. Implied Oishi/Eiji (mild shonen ai), but you can think whatever you want. ^_^. This is my first try at a story like this so please be nice)
Disclaimer: As much as I would like to own the rights of PoT/Tenipuri, I sadly don't. Please do not sue me, for I need money to go to college. Curse the government for raising UC fees!
Timeline: Around episode 75-76.
My Dear Friend (Taisetsu na Tomodachi)
It was a nice sunny afternoon. The sky was a bright blue and not a single cloud was present. Oishi casually looked outside from the dining table he was sitting at, which was covered with various papers and textbooks. It was a glorious Sunday and he was inside the house working on a tedious math assignment due the next day. He usually didn't wait till the last minute to finish his work, but the responsibilities of taking over as substitute captain and being the caretaker for the team really strained his time. He warily stretched his arms out and leaned back on the wooden dining chair trying to ameliorate the stress inside of him.
A few knocks at the front door were heard. From the distinct sound of the knocks, Oishi knew who was behind the door. He smiled, stood up from his chair, and walked to the front door. Upon opening the front door, a cheerful smiling red-haired boy greeted him.
"Hi Oishi! Thanks for letting me come over!" Eiji said in his hyperactive voice as he entered through the front door with his backpack slung over his shoulder.
Both of them walked back to the dining table where Eiji took out his textbooks from his backpack and sat on one end of the dining table, while Oishi fixed his scattered papers and textbooks and sat on the opposite side. Eiji had asked the previous day if he could help him on an English assignment, which happened to be due on Monday. Oishi's favorite subject at school was English so he was the perfect choice to help him out. Although he was busy himself, he couldn't help turning down his friend in need. Oishi was also glad Eiji came over because he always felt relaxed around him. While Oishi always worried about the team, Eiji's facetious attitude would somehow melt away the pressures in life and give his mind ease. Sometimes assignments would take longer than usual since the two would chat repeatedly instead of focusing on their work. However, that didn't matter. The times they spent together were just what Oishi needed to relieve the stress and worries occurring in life.
Today was not one of those days.
It first started out after a few minutes of silence when both of them had their noses in the textbooks working on their assignments. Eiji, being one not to stay still for more than 5 minutes, broke the silence.
"Oishi. Can I ask you something?" Oishi just nodded his head and tapped his pencil in his hand as he continued to look at the textbook in front of him trying to figure out an arduous formula. Eiji scooted himself and his textbooks from the opposite side of the table and sat in one of the dining chairs adjacent to Oishi. He looked around quickly and then turned his head to Oishi. "Oishi…have you ever gone on a date?"
Oishi dropped the pencil in his hand and began to blush slightly upon hearing the question. He turned to look at him with a mix of frustration and embarrassment. "Eiji! Why are you asking me this suddenly? Didn't you need help on your English assignment?"
Eiji looked at him with a mischievous smile. "I do need help in English, but this is more important. So I'm asking…have you gone on a date?"
Oishi looked at him in embarrassment. Sadly, he never went on a date before. There were many girls in his fan club that had asked him out, but he politely turned each of them down. There was nothing wrong with the girls. He felt that tennis was more priority in his life and getting to the Nationals was the most important thing to him. Now that he was substitute captain, dating was one of the last things on his list. Oishi turned his head down sheepishly. "No Eiji. I've never gone on a date before." He then turned his head up to look at Eiji. "By the way, is there a reason why you are asking me this?" Oishi asked in curiosity.
Eiji's face had a flush of bright red as he looked down and played with his fingers. "Well you see…" He stuttered as he talked, wondering how he should explain the situation to his friend. "…do you know Isumi Haruka?"
Oishi nodded. "I know Isumi-san. She's in classroom 3-3. I heard she's quiet, always has her hair tied back in a pink ribbon, and hangs out at the library a lot." He paused, trying to figure out what Eiji was asking. "Is there a reason why?"
Eiji got an even brighter red. "I…I really like her…"
Hearing Eiji say this was not new to Oishi. Eiji liked a lot of girls, but every girl he asked out had declined his offer. Eiji would wail at Oishi each time it happened, but he got over the rejection within a day. Oishi just sighed and worried that the same thing would happen again. He then decided to discuss this with Eiji so that the same mistake would not occur. He closed his textbook and turned the dining chair to face Eiji so that he'd give him his full attention. "So Eiji, have you talked with Isumi-san? Besides being cute, are there any other reasons why you like her?"
Eiji's eyes filled with excitement and he squirmed in his dining chair to tell Oishi about the details. "Remember how all last week I didn't eat lunch with you guys? I heard Haruka went to the library during lunch so I went over there to see if I could meet her. I was walking behind her and noticed she was reading a National Geographic magazine that featured various animals. I asked her if she liked animals and before I knew it, I was sitting down next to her at the table talking about all sorts of things. Everyday that week I would meet her at the library and we would talk. I heard she wants to be a veterinarian, just like what I want to do. She's quiet, but once you talk with her she can be quite a conversationalist. I don't know how to say this…but I think she's the one I've been looking for." Eiji once again blushed and sat on the dining chair nervously as he envisioned her presence in his mind.
Oishi sighed again. There were many girls which Eiji thought were the one he was looking for. He rubbed his forehead trying to figure out the best way to not hurt his friend, but at least give him some understanding. "Eiji. I know you really like Isumi-san and you want to ask her out, but perhaps you should wait a bit before doing that."
Eiji blinked a few times and tilted his head slightly in confusion. "Wait before asking her out? But Oishi, I already asked her out and she accepted. I asked if you went on a date before because I'm not sure what to do." Oishi was shocked upon hearing that. He didn't expect Eiji to actually win over a girl due to the number of times he was rejected before. Oishi looked at Eiji and smiled. He was happy knowing that there was a girl out there that took interest in his friend. Eiji was sitting in his dining chair now squirming and rocking back and forth in nervousness. "Oishi…what should I do? I've never gone on a date before so I'm not sure where I should take her. Do you have any suggestions?"
Oishi leaned back in the dining chair and thought of some possibilities. If he were on a date, he'd take her to the beach or to an aquarium. Since it seemed like Isumi-san liked animals, there was one perfect place to go. "How about you take her to the zoo? I'm sure you'd both have a great time there."
Eiji's eyes lit up upon hearing that idea. "Oishi! That's great! I think I will do that! Thank you so much!" The enthusiastic boy jumped out of his chair and gave his friend a big teddy bear hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Eiji kept repeating excitedly. "Thank you so much for the idea! I'm so glad you're my friend!"
Oishi blushed a little with Eiji tightly hugging him in his cheerful hyper state. He felt relaxed seeing Eiji all happy, but somehow a sense of worry kept bothering him in the back of his mind. Oishi wasn't sure what it was.
"Augh! I still have to work on my English assignment! " Eiji exclaimed in a frantic panic. He flipped through the thin pages of his massive textbook looking for the next problem he was on. "Oishi! I need help on this one. Can you help me out?"
Oishi laughed. "Of course Eiji. Wasn't that the reason why you came over today?" He sat down next to Eiji and helped him work out the question. The sense of worry from the back of his mind came back as he sat next to Eiji. "What am I worried for? Eiji is happy now. Is it because I'm worried he found someone else he's interested in that he'll forget about me?" Oishi thought as he worked on the next problem.
"Oishi!" Eiji pointed at the next problem in the book he was working on. "You're working on the wrong one!"
He focused back and noticed he was writing out the wrong one. "Ah sorry about that." He apologized and erased the problem. "Hey Eiji…" Eiji looked up from the book to his friend's face that showed his usual worried look.
"What's wrong Oishi?" Eiji looked at him with a naïve face. "Ah! Are you worried that the date might go wrong?" He then patted Oishi on the back playfully. "Don't worry! I'll try not to screw it up. I was able to ask a girl out so I don't want to blow my chance!"
Oishi shook his head. "I'm probably just worrying too much. Whatever happens, whether this works out or not, we'll still be friends right?"
Eiji laughed upon hearing that remark. "You're worried about that? Oishi! I'll always be your friend. You've helped me out so much that I don't know what I'd do without you."
Oishi smiled and smacked his head playfully. "You're right Eiji. I shouldn't have doubted you. Of course we'll still be friends." He then continued to help Eiji with his assignment. "I'm so stupid to have thought that. I guess I don't have anything to worry about..."
Little did any of them know how much that would change within the next week.
To be cont.
(A/N: So how was that? I hope I kept in-character. This will probably be a short story and I might imply other pairings later on. Please review since this is my first attempt at this type of story. I welcome all comments that will help me out. I hope this didn't suck because if it did, I'll just toss it out. Just trying out a new idea that was bugging me ^_^; Thanks for reading and remember to review!)