Wow, I'm really putting off my other writing…

PS: Why am I so bent on destroying Tezuka…?

DISCLAIMER: ME NO OWN PoT, OKAY! HURR HURR.

Sorry if the format is a little weird, I'm updating from a Mac. DIE.

Oishi Syuuichiro is a simple man. He is hard working, understands others well, and generally enjoys himself. As the vice-captain of the Seigaku tennis team, Oishi took a certain pride in getting to know and connecting with the Regulars as well as the other players. However, Oishi found it antagonizing when people put up a barrier and refused to talk. It could be a bad grade on a test, being in a sour mood, or just being tired. Most of the time, if the person had such a justifiable reason, Oishi would understand and give them space or try to help them out. The painful thing is when the person doesn't talk at all.

Oishi had pondered long and hard if he should dare to do what he desired to do. It wasn't like him to be so imposing, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind egging (HAHA EGG HEAD pun unintentional) him on to do so. Oishi had an ambition. A goal. This goal was to crack the steel egg, Tezuka Kunimitsu.

The stoic captain's conversations were quiet, concise, and to the point. He never rambled on (A/N: like I'm doing now) about irrelevant subject matters. On the other hand… the person who Oishi had become most acquainted to speaking with was Kikumaru Eiji. Eiji was not known for his "intellectually stimulating dialogue". He tended to wander off from whatever the subject was and turn it 180 degrees to a completely different topic. Tennis to lampshades. Lampshades to socks. Socks to watermelons. Watermelons to radios. Radios to bridges. It didn't matter where it started. By the end of the conversation, you would forget about what you had mentioned in the first place.

Eiji enjoyed taking control of a train of thought and derailing it and going on quick, brief adventures before someone put the train back on its tracks again.

Oishi, being accustomed to this, didn't exactly know how to approach Tezuka. He didn't know how to break the ice or even what to say if he managed to get a response from Tezuka. The only logical way to get Tezuka talking to him would be to talk about tennis.

He didn't care. Oishi was determined.

The late afternoon sun was shooting its orange beams into Ryuuzaki's office where Tezuka and Oishi sat. Practice was over, and Oishi, Ryuuzaki, and Tezuka had just ended a very brief meeting about ranking matches. Oishi had plans to go to Eiji's house that evening and he knew that Eiji would be looking for him as soon as the meeting was over (God forbid he was allowed in the meeting room). With that in mind, Oishi felt pressured by the very short time frame he had to work with. Tezuka was straightening up some papers and preparing to leave. It was time for Oishi to take action.

"So…!" This was always a good way to start. Oishi was sure of it. "It's finally the weekend!" Oishi was relieved that it was Friday, and came fully equipped with several topics that he could rapid-fire at his opponent.

"So it is…" Tezuka stated blandly.

Oishi thought that maybe Tezuka would say something on his own will at this point, but no such thing happened. To deter his prey from leaving, Oishi had to quickly revive the already dead conversation.

"Do you have any plans or engagements this weekend?"

"Yes."

There was a pause, and then Tezuka stood up and stretched out his arms. Oishi had seriously thought that after receiving a positive response, Tezuka would elaborate more on the subject at hand. Oishi was peeved. Tezuka was just being too difficult.

You could have cut the silence with a knife.

"SUCH AS…?"

Tezuka blinked at Oishi, who realized that he had sounded quite miffed when he had asked the question and immediately regretted his accidental tone. The little light bulb floating above Tezuka's head flickered a little, and then had a steady, dim glow.

"Oh. Umm…" Tezuka seemed a little embarrassed at having frustrated the usually non-frustratable vice-captain. "I'm going over to Fuji's house this evening."

AHA. JACKPOT. Now this conversation was finally going somewhere! Eagerly wanting to know if Tezuka would actually talk to him about what he does whenever he goes over to Fuji's, Oishi was almost unable to control himself.

"Oh! What do you plan on doing?" Oishi was so close. He could feel it. His little hummingbird heart was about to explode out of his chest and smack Tezuka in the face.

A slight tint of rouge was visible in Tezuka's cheeks at this point. "Fuji and I are—"

"EIJI-SENPAI! I FOUND HIM!" Oishi's heart stopped as he turned his horrified face over to the doorway where Momoshiro Takeshi was standing. Not long after being beckoned, Eiji bounded into view next to Momo and set his sights on Oishi.

"OISHIIIII LET'S GO GO GO GO GO…!" Normally Oishi wouldn't have minded this but he was so close to learning about Tezuka's personal life…!

"Ah one moment Eiji!" Oishi quickly turned his focus back to his target only to see that he was now accompanied by Fuji Syuusuke. He had managed to sneak in undetected and stood directly to Tezuka's right. It didn't matter. Oishi was desperate… but would Tezuka tell him something like this with people like Eiji and Momo around? And how did he get to be such good friends with a weirdo like Fuji, anyway?

"So! Tezuka! Your plans?" Oishi tried not to look crazy.

"We're practicing our hand-eye coordination." Tezuka deadpanned.

An unsuspicious response for a tennis captain. Or is it? It made sense because hand-eye coordination is vital to the art of tennis but… Tezuka had quite some time to think about a legitimate sounding response to come up with while Oishi was distracted with the appearance of Eiji. Oishi was defeated by Tezuka. He would try again someday, but for now, would let it go.

Tezuka turned to address Fuji. "Let's go." Fuji nodded and the two walked toward the door. As they exited, Fuji nodded to Oishi and gave him a smile that made him feel like Tezuka was covering something up. He then promptly left the facility with Tezuka.

"Eeeee how admirable! That's just like our prodigy and captain to spend their free time honing their tennis skills!" Momo marveled.

"Ehh does that mean that you don't train in spare time?" Eiji teased. A sneer was plastered across his face.

"OF COURSE I TRAIN IN MY SPARE TIME." Shouted a flustered, retaliating Momo. Now he, Oishi, and Eiji were the only ones left in the room. Oishi stood blinking at the doorway.

He was so close. Tezuka had almost confessed something, he was sure of it. That smile that Fuji gave him… that was unsettling. Something was up. The captain is hiding something. Tezuka just HAS to be—

"Oishi! Are you ready to go?" The spirit of reality had been channeled through Kikumaru Eiji, who was now kicking his friend lightly in the knees. Oishi managed to snap out of his state of confusion.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Sorry about that…" Oishi headed for the door with Eiji hopping around behind him, punching Momo a bit.

Oishi couldn't think of anything else the rest of the evening. What could it be that…?

"Ne, Tezuka…" Fuji started with an innocent smile.

Tezuka, in the Fuji residence, put down his teacup, stared at it, and delivered a simple "hn".

"You shouldn't have lied to Oishi like that back there… he trusts you a lot…" Tezuka's eyes shot up from his tea to match Fuji's.

"I didn't lie."

"You could have just told him…"

"What I told Oishi was apt and accurate. I have nothing to be ashamed of." He loathed it when Fuji cornered him like this. Loathed and despised it. Tezuka then directed his attention to some yarn and a pair of needles to his left. He clumsily picked them up and glared at them.

Fuji decided to relent.

"I guess learning how to knit does take some hand-eye coordination…"

THE ENDZ0R5

OMGROFL