Lost and Found

Eiji the Cat

Kiyami: The first chapter of a continuous series. Depending on the reviews I might make it long ten chapters or more story or a two-chapter thing. Mmm this focuses on Golden Pair and man, I wish I had a cat. I don't know how they behave so that'll give me some homework this weekend. Read and Review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tennis no Oujisama.

Oishi wasn't one who easily lost his possessions. Usually he was neater and more organized then some of his other teammates. Every now and then he would lose something and so went to that special part of the school building. In a little corner of the school was a box with a sign hanging over it with big, bold letters.

LOST AND FOUND!

Hopefully someone had found his missing tennis racket and had brought it over to this spot. Piles of books and worn clothing were piled messily into the brightly colored orange box. He crouched by it and carefully sifted through the found items. Hopefully his tennis racket wasn't stolen.

Fingers brushed against something warm and furry. Oishi quickly drew away his hand from fear that it would be some sort of rodent using the piles of clothing as a home. Awakened by the touch of the tennis player whatever it was poked its head from beneath the garments.

OISHI!

Oishi smiled warmly down at the cat sitting in front of him. He oddly resembled Eiji with the reddish fur and the grin on the cat's face. What made the cat look even more like Eiji was the strip of white fur on the right cheek of the cat.

He picked up the cat while temporarily forgetting about the missing tennis racket. Perhaps if no one claimed the cat he could give it to Eiji as a sort of present. This reminded him of Eiji's strange absence today. Yesterday he seemed perfectly healthy and Oishi was clueless to why Eiji wasn't here. After this he promised himself to visit the acrobatic player.

A cry of joy came from the tennis player when he discovered the now found tennis racket where the cat had been. Surely this kitty would bring him more luck although the cat was now nipping his hands as if to gain his attention.

Once the attention was drawn back to the cat, the cat began to make noises frantically. It purred, it mewed, it made all sorts of noise as if desperately it tried to tell a message. The large eyes stubbornly stared at Oishi's, but it seemed as though Oishi could not decipher what the sudden actions of the cat meant.

Carrying both the cat and the racket the Seigaku tennis player got up and left the building. A part of him hoped the owner wouldn't show up so he could give the cat to Eiji, but he had to at least give a small attempt at finding the rightful owner. Being guilty always made him make mistakes during tennis matches.

Kikumaru Eiji woke up happily. He didn't feel tired at all and felt well rested. He hopped out of bed and went downstairs for breakfast. No one was up so Eiji decided to be creative today and make something for himself. Unfortunately nothing edible was left at home. His stomach grumbled and both eyes noticed the time on the clock. No wonder why no one was here. He was late!

The good day suddenly turned bad as he made a rush to get ready. He'd probably have to run all the way to school. His usual enjoyable long time spent on brushing his teeth with his favorite brand of toothpaste was cut short with the need for time. Why didn't anyone wake him up?

Kikumaru changed into his school uniform and grabbed his bag. He ran downstairs and slammed the door on his way out. There were only fifteen minutes before class started!

It was a good thing that Eiji was in great athletic shape. The distance from his house to his school wasn't so long that he would lose all his stamina even though he was sprinting. Just a little more and he could just barely make it to class.

But out of nowhere an old man popped out right in Eiji's path. Even his fast reflexes could not slow himself down at the speed he was going at. Literally they crashed into each other and sent both falling onto the ground.

"Sorry! I didn't see you coming, nya!" Eiji apologized and helped the man get up.

The old man accepted the help and nodded as though it never happened. "Ah, such kind little kiddies these days, huh! Here take this, little boy, a present for being so kind to us elderly." Chuckling the old man picked up his cane and went on his way.

Gratefully Eiji stared at the bottle of milk. At least it was something. He multi tasked by running and opening the milk for the last quarter of the distance. It wasn't a smart idea to drink and run at the same time since some of it spilled onto the ground, but he would have no time once reaching school.

"Kikumaru! You're late! See me after class!" The teacher sternly shouted as Eiji opened the door. Colliding with the old man had made him five minutes too late.

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again, nya." Eiji replied and took his seat next to Fuji.

Fuji smiled at his fellow teammate. "Why were you late? You're bleeding too." Fuji pointed to the blood leaking out of a small cut from his hand. It must have happened when his hand got scraped against the asphalt ground.

"Some old man bumped into me while I was coming to school. I woke up late too and no one bothered to wake me up, nya." He sighed from the thought of being punished for being only five minutes late. It wasn't that much. "Tell them I'll be late for club today."

Fuji found it odd when Eiji never showed up for tennis club. He was usually here no matter what, but the thoughts were swept away when a fight broke out between Momo and Kaidoh. As soon as it got out of hand Tezuka ordered everyone to run thirty laps. Fuji dropped his racket and did so and watched with amusement as the two continued to argue.
Taka-san was on his way home. Momo and Ryoma had just missed him. The two had planned to trick the upperclassman into buying them hamburgers today, but Taka was already on his way to the sushi shop. The normally gentle guy stopped at the sight of Oishi up ahead. Taka called out Oishi's name and ran to catch up with the vice-captain.

"Ah, Oishi, who's this?" Taka asked and petted the sleeping cat that Oishi was holding.

"I don't know. I found him in the lost and found bin at school. I'm going to call him Eiji for now. Doesn't he look just like him?" Oishi asked.

Taka nodded, "He does look a lot like him. So where are you headed? Home?"

"No, I have to stop by the pet store to get Eiji some food and stuff."

"Well bye Oishi...and Eiji! See you tommorow!" Taka waved as Oishi continued past the sushi shop.

Inside the pet store there was an assortment of things Oishi wanted to buy for the cat Eiji. He had already picked out some cat food that looked like it would taste good. Now he was looking at the collars and the toys.

He picked out a blue collar and several small toys to keep Eiji happy. Oishi could make a bed out of some stuff at home. The cashier smiled at Oishi and complimented the cat. Eiji certainly did look adorable while sleeping.

Eiji couldn't remember what happened after he finished cleaning. He remembered falling, but everything that followed was fuzzy. Maybe he couldn't remember since it was a dream that had no meaning. Yup, in ten minutes he'd wake up to find that being a cat was all just a dream. It was impossible, right?

Eiji remembered something before falling though and that was drinking something else. Inui had cornered him in a part of the school building and gave him two options. Have all of his embarrassing moments exposed to the school or drink a tiny cup of his latest concoction. Kikumaru bravely took the latter option. One day Eiji would get him back for forcing him to drink the vile thing.

After that he had gone to the lost and found to look for a book he had misplaced. That was when he fell. Fell and hit his head on the wall. That was all he could recall. Perhaps it wasn't a dream after all. Why would his head hurt so much if it were all a dream?

Oishi was thankful his mom didn't mind him keeping the cat for a while. As long as he did his chores and took care of the cat it would be fine. Oishi set down the bag from the pet store and placed the still sleeping cat on his bed.

A section of his room had been cleared for Eiji the cat. It was big enough for a suitable bed, but small enough so it wouldn't get in the way of his other things.

Oishi made sure the lid on his fish tank was secure so the cat wouldn't get hungry one day watching his precious fishes. Once he made sure it was tightly on he moved on to opening the plastic bags containing the toys and making sure the cat was comfortable in its new home.

Eiji woke up to see Oishi's room. It wasn't the first time he was here. No, he had been here many times. He could see the fishes lazily swimming around in the tank and the assortment of cat items in the center of the room. He felt a sinking feeling at the sight of them.

"Come on, Eiji, I got some toys for you to play with." Oishi reassuringly said and placed the collar around his neck.

Eiji's spirit rose a little bit thinking that Oishi knew that he was the true Kikumaru, but sank back down when Oishi started treating him like a cat. Oishi waved the bright feather in front of Eiji's face. Kikumaru couldn't help but swat at the moving object.

This went on for a while until Oishi had to do his homework. Kikumaru was satisfied with keeping that wonderful smelling ball of catnip nearby. Wait! No, he wasn't...He had to turn back into a human again. But the catnip was so alluring and he was so tired from playing. Maybe just a little nap?

It was a tough decision on the poor Kikumaru. Already it felt as though he was becoming more cat-like. All he wanted to do was lazily lay on Oishi's bed and sleep, but he had to return to being human. Ah, but sleeping would definitely let him think well.

His thoughts drifted off with him resting peacefully on the pillow. The lights soon turned off and Oishi allowed Eiji to sleep on his pillow. He placed his head so that it was right next to Eiji's. The warmth of the cat soon made Oishi fall asleep.

Kiyami: Sorry if it got confusing when it started to switch back and forth! It wouldn't let me indicate where the flashbacks ended or started.