Fourth fic already! Well, it's been so hard to think up new stories, not much time. So, 4 people, caught in one problem. What would be the outcome? Some of them may be out of character!
Like every other Saturday night, Oishi and Kikumaru were talking to each other on the phone. It seemed like any other Saturday night, Oishi was listening to Kikumaru rant off with his problems whilst looking out of his balcony. It was not unusual, Kikumaru always asked Oishi for help. That particular night, the stars were bright and several lights on the opposite block were on. The night looked beautiful. Suddenly, Kikumaru said,' Nya! Oishi, I think…. I like Tezuka. I get the excited feeling whenever I meet him, and I get cold sweat. It's like I want to speak to him whenever I have the chance. But right now, it feels so uncomfortable, being in the same club as him. We hardly talk now.'
Oishi got a shock. When did his doubles partner start becoming a gay? And besides, Tezuka and Kikumaru just experienced some problems a few weeks before. That's why Tezuka was ignoring Kikumaru. Or, that's what it seemed like to Oishi. Oishi then asked 'How do you know if he likes you? If he doesn't, then what would you do?'
Kikumaru was firm. 'No, I know he likes me, he told me before. Just a month back, after the tennis friendly with Rikkai, he did say something like I like you.' Oishi thought back and remembered that recently his doubles partner did seem kind of jumpy and nervous around the Seigaku captain. He had tried to get Tezuka to open up and went to talk to him sometimes. But Oishi could not get over the fact that Kikumaru would like Tezuka. A feeling of jealousy and anger swept through him. But to Kikumaru, he said' Eiji…. If you need someone to talk to about your feelings, you can trust me. I can understand the feeling. But if you ever get together with him, don't come to me again. ' Kikumaru was after all, his good friend. He continued 'Does anyone else know? If not, don't make it too obvious. After all, our team has many observant people…..' Kikumaru answered, ' No, I've not told any one else. And I don't want others to know. I'll be careful. Thank you.'
They ended the conversation there. That night whilst Oishi tried to sleep, he hoped and hoped that what Kikumaru said was not true, or at least it was a one sided crush and Tezuka didn't really like him. He could not bear Kikumaru to be with Tezuka. But he could not figure out if he was jealous of Kikumaru, or jealous of Tezuka. Should he trust Kikumaru, or Tezuka? Tezuka had told him a while ago that he detested Kikumaru's character. He always went to Tezuka with some problem and expected Tezuka to help him.
Several days passed and there was no tennis training. It was announced that there would be no training for a while as there was an important sports event coming up and there were too many activities. Oishi did not get a chance to talk to Tezuka much. They were in different classes and during break, he was always with Fuji. Even though Fuji was in the same class as Oishi, Tezuka and Fuji always spent much of their time together. Oishi never got a chance to ask Tezuka about Kikumaru. And part of him didn't want to know the answer. In a way, he was scared of the answer. He couldn't imagine Tezuka and Kikumaru being together, the thought was just too far-fetched.
Talking to Kikumaru had changed too. Kikumaru talked more and more of Tezuka, sometimes complaining that Tezuka was avoiding him, sometimes lamenting that he wanted more time with Tezuka. Oishi became more and more annoyed. He started to tease Kikumaru about Tezuka. Nothing too extreme, it was just an effort to stop Kikumaru talking on and on about Tezuka. Kikumaru had changed. A sudden quarrel broke out between both of them. It was then that Oishi started talking to Fuji more. They were after all in the same class and same tennis club. Fuji sensed that there was a problem between Kikumaru and Oishi, thus he spent some time with Oishi, hoping to help him and cheer him up.
Days passed. Everything seemed normal. But Oishi stared to realize that Fuji was starting to avoid him without any reason. That night, Oishi called Kikumaru again. Kikumaru said that he did tell Fuji about his feelings towards Tezuka, and he told Fuji that he was annoyed with Oishi because of the teasing. Not wanting to hurt Oishi, Kikumaru did not want to tell Oishi. But in the end, Fuji managed to get Kikumaru to tell Oishi the truth. Over the phone, Kikumaru kept apologizing to Oishi. He seemed to feel really bad about what he had done. Feeling sorry, Oishi forgave his doubles partner.
After the phone conversation, Oishi spent some a lot of time thinking to himself about the past events. Despite forgiving Kikumaru moments earlier, he still felt a certain anger surge through him. Kikumaru had turned Fuji against him, had made him go through an emotional turmoil the past few days, had expected him to solve his problems, and now he wanted Oishi to accept the changed Kikumaru and forgive him. Somehow, it seemed too much and beyond Oishi. It was then that he felt that he had a soft spot for not for Kikumaru, but for Tezuka. Because of Kikumaru, Fuji was dragged in too.
Oishi wondered what lays ahead. 4 people were trapped in this. How many of them will come out of this happy? Will this change the 4 of them forever? Will this end up in some love issue that would get 4 of them involved? For once, he was glad that there was no tennis training for the time being. Training with the rest of them would be uncomfortable for all of them.
That's the end for now. Any improvements needed? And what would you do if you are Oishi? Please comment!