"Oooh. What's this?" Eiji pondered, looking over the selections available to him from the vending machine. "Jolt Cola? Wonder what that tastes like..."
Eiji deposited the proper yen and pushed the button for the drink. When the can dropped, he removed it from the machine and popped the top, lifting the drink to his lips.
At that moment, each of the Seigaku regulars felt a chill go down their spine.
"Hoi hoi! Come on, hit another, hit another, hit another! Let's go! Come on, you slow poke, hit the ball! Hit it, hit it, hi it!"
The whole of the tennis club stopped what they were doing and turned their eyes on the center court. A bewildered Kaidoh stood with a ball in hand, gazing over the net at a literally bouncing Eiji. The redhead was hopping up and down in spot. If he wasn't so quick with it, it would have looked like he was trying to do a split step.
"Kaidoh! Come on, hit the ball! Snake shot! Boomerang! Something!" Agitated, Eiji did a standing back flip, bouncing again when his feet were under him. "You're so slow today! What's wrong! Pick up the speed, go! Go, go, go! Gah, you're no fun! Oy, Oishi! Wanna play me!" Eiji darted off their court, leaving Kaidoh to stare at the spot where his senpai had stood just a second before.
Each of the regulars Eiji approached stared at the redhead with something akin to fear flickering across their faces. Inui stood off to the side in his workout outfit, notebook in hand, watching the interactions intently. Eiji's energy level was 73.6354 higher than normal today, and he needed to find out why.
That's why he cornered Eiji in the locker room after practice and the others had departed. Eiji was still bouncing around, chattering endlessly, despite the fact that Oishi, the person he was apparently addressing, was no longer even present in the room. In fact, he'd been one of the first to leave.
"And then she...Oishi? Nya, that's not very nice, leaving me alone like that! How could he leave me alone? That's so cruel. We were supposed to walk home together! And then he...oy, Inui, I didn't see you there! Why are you still here? You don't have some juice for me to drink or something, do you? Because I really don't want to drink any of your juice today. You know that stuff is really gross, right? I'm sure you do. You're kinda sadistic, aren't you?"
Inui merely cleared his throat quietly, lifting a hand to adjust his glasses. They glinted ominously in the growing dark of the locker room. "Saa, Eiji, I have a question for you. Your energy level is through the roof today. May I enquire as to whether you've changed your diet or anything?"
Eiji blinked at him owlishly for a second, leaning his head to the side curiously. "Anou...iya. Though...nya! I had this really really really good drink today. I mean, really really REALLY good. Like...EXTRA good. It was super!"
"Eiji..."
"It's this drink called Jolt! Have you ever heard of Jolt? I wouldn't think you had. I mean, I just saw it for the first time in the machine today and..."
"Eiji..."
"...so I took a drink and then I got this AMAZING burst of energy. I mean, it was like CRAZY explosive! And it's still there! Isn't that weird? Usually the effects would have worn off..."
"Eiji..."
"...but this just keeps going and going and going and going and it doesn't wanna stop and it's so FUN and---"
Eiji was silenced when Inui ducked forward, pressing his lips to the babbling redhead's. He pulled back, blinking rapidly, though just a touch but flushed. "What was that for?"
"You wouldn't be quiet."
"Oh." Eiji's head dropped forward at this, the blush growing more pronounced.
"...And...well, I've been wondering what it'd be like for a while."
A pregnant pause, and another, softer, "Oh."
"Say, Eiji...would you care to show me where you got that soda? I'd like to study its contents."
Eiji's head was still forward, and he was fidgeting slightly. "No problem."
Inui bowed forward and turned his head up to look at the blushing redhead. "And, if you don't terribly mind...I'd like to study the inside of your mouth some more."
This caused Eiji to yelp and stumble backwards, knocking into the lockers, his arms flailing in every direction. "Inui!"
The bespectacled boy merely chuckled quietly and turned on his heel, exiting the locker room, leaving Eiji to catch up to him.
