Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: Sequel to Abandoned Associates.

Conclusion of a Companionship

Going to Kawamura sushi wasn't a date, of course. A date was when you went somewhere with somebody with the intention of developing or maintaining a romantic relationship between the two of you. A date was not when you went somewhere and somebody just happened to be there by default.

Nevertheless, Eiji couldn't help but flush a little when his sister cheerfully asked who he was going to see that caused him to make such a fuss about his appearance.

"It's for no reason," Eiji muttered, then ducked out of the house, ignoring all the questions he was chased with courtesy of his curious siblings. This was none of their business.

Not that there was any business to be anyone's, of course. They were only interested because they thought he was dating, which he wasn't. He was just spending time with a friend, that was all, just ensuring Taka-san didn't feel abandoned now that he no more had tennis as a connection to the others. All the others were so busy with tennis and girlfriends and boyfriends and whatnot; it was his duty to make sure Taka-san wasn't alone.

Besides, Taka-san made sure Eiji wasn't alone in turn.

They spent their lunch hours together nowadays for the most part whenever Eiji didn't have extra practice. In the afternoons Eiji often found himself heading towards Kawamura sushi, more often to talk than to eat. Taka-san's father didn't seem to mind, as chatting with Eiji had never stopped Taka-san from working, and Taka-san himself seemed delighted every time Eiji walked in.

Eiji was yet to further analyze the warm feeling that took over him every time he saw Taka-san.

This time was no exception. As soon as he stepped into the restaurant and saw his friend, he felt strangely happy. "Hi, Taka-san!" he said happily. "Working hard as ever, I see, nyaa!"

"I'm trying my best," Taka-san said, smiling a bit. "And you're as happy as ever, eh, Eiji?"

"Just trying my best, nyah." Eiji grinned. "Hey, I meant to ask you earlier, but have you started working on that Biology project yet? If not, would you like to do it with me?"

"Ah, actually…" Taka-san looked somewhat uneasy. "I'm thinking of dropping out of school."

Eiji's eyes flew wide. "Whaaat?" he asked. "You can't, Taka-san! You are doing so well, nyaa!"

"Well, I am doing all right, yeah," Taka-san replied, looking vaguely embarrassed. "It's just… If I didn't go to school, I could help around here much more."

"But you need education, too!" Eiji protested, frowning. "Come on, Taka-san. If even I am going through high school, you must do it, too! Even – even Akutsu is! Dan-kun told me, nyaa!"

"But if I'm going to work at the restaurant, I don't need high school," protested the bigger boy. "It's just –"

"No, it isn't!" Eiji interrupted. "Think about it, Taka-san. You only ever see your friends at school, nyaa! If you don't go to school, you'll become a total recluse! And think of me, too, nyaa! If you aren't there, who am I going to eat lunch with? Oishi's with Naomi-chan all the time nowadays!"

"Ano –" Taka-san started, only to be interrupted again as Eiji continued his rant.

"And don't need it! What do I hear, nyaa? Of course you need high school education! How are you else going to manage a restaurant, not knowing how to count or anything? And what if the restaurant can no more feed you? I mean, you're doing well now, but – but what if there's a war or something? Or a new fashion diet that everybody goes crazy about, nyaa?"

"Listen to him, boy!" Taka-san's father joined the conversation. "I've been trying to tell Takashi he needs to go to school as well, but he's just too dedicated," he told Eiji. "I should be glad that I've such a hard-working son, but really, he shouldn't go that far!"

"Then it's decided, nyaa." Eiji looked at Taka-san with a frown. "Your father says so and I say so, so don't you dare even talk about dropping out again! I want to graduate from high school together with Taka-san!"

"Um… okay, then." Taka-san nodded slowly. "If Eiji says so…"

"I do." Eiji pouted. "I'm not about to let you do something so stupid, nyaa! What kind of a friend would I be if I did?"

"Ah – perhaps you're right." Now, Taka-san smiled properly. Eiji smiled back.

"So, about that Biology project…"

The restaurant was oddly empty as Eiji walked in. Backtracking a couple of steps, he noticed a little "Closed" sign at the door. Going back in, he frowned as Taka-san walked into sight.

"What's this, Taka-san?" he asked curiously. "Since when have you been closed in the middle of the day?"

"We're having special guests today," Taka-san said, smiling. "But you are more than welcome to come, too, I'm sure."

"Huh?" Eiji cocked his head to the side, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Just then, somebody walked into the restaurant. "Look at the Kantou champions," announced a familiar voice. "We won it easily, we won it really easily!"

"Ah, Momo," Taka-san said happily. "So you decided to come after all? That's great."

"Hey, hey," Momo said, grinning. "When have I ever refused being treated by my senpai?"

"You should more often, fsshuuu," Kaidou said from his side, glaring at the spiky-haired boy. "Ah, good afternoon, Kikumaru-senpai. I didn't know you would be here, too."

"Neither did I, nyah," Eiji replied, winking. "I just came to see Taka-san and apparently got in the middle of a celebration!" He watched as more boys entered the restaurant, some faces familiar, others not. "So this is your team this year, Momo, Kaidou? And Ochibi! And you're the Kantou champions now, eh?"

"Right," Momo replied with a bright grin. "You remember Arai, right?" He pointed at one of the players. "And then there's Ikeda and Kachirou-kun and Miki-kun and Miki-kun," he proceeded to introducing the rest of the team. "We got the championship with three straight victories!"

"I don't see why you're so triumphant, fsshuuu," Kaidou hissed. "You didn't even play!"

Eiji laughed as the fight continued even as the players started to eat. "The tradition continues, eh?" he asked, winking. "Aren't you ashamed of your freeloading, Momo-chan?"

"Huh?" Momo looked at him, mouth full. After swallowing, he announced fiercely, "Taka-san himself offered! I didn't even ask!"

"That's right, Eiji," laughed Taka-san. "I said I'd treat them to sushi if they won the championship. It's nice to see the new team every now and then, you know."

"What about you, Kikumaru-senpai?" asked Echizen, looking at Eiji seriously. "What are you doing here?"

"I said it already, nyaa," Eiji replied. "I came here to see Taka-san."

"Oh, of course." Momo grinned. "Can't leave your boyfriend on his own with the evil kouhais, can you?"

"Whaaat?" Eiji stared at Momo with wide eyes. "What'd you say, Momo-chan?"

"Please excuse the idiot," Kaidou said. "He just has a habit of not thinking at all, so he automatically presumes every rumour he hears must be true."

"That's not the way to talk about your captain, Mamushi!" Momo snapped, then turned towards Eiji, looking a bit puzzled. "Isn't it true, though? I mean, everybody's saying Eiji-senpai and Taka-san are dating, and I thought –"

"Well, we are not," Taka-san said, a bit flushed. "Eiji's just nice enough to spend time with me even if I don't even play tennis anymore."

"That sounds almost like tennis was everything that matters, nyaa!" Eiji said. "Don't say things like that! Am I not your friend, Taka-san?" He pouted, trying to conceal his own slight flush. The thought of dating Taka-san was… not as shocking as it could have been, actually.

"Of course you are!" Taka-san's eyes widened. "I just meant –"

"Hey, Momo-buchou," Echizen said suddenly. "Do you think it's wise to let Miki-kun and Arai-senpai fight like that?"

"Huh?" Momo turned to look, seeing two of his players about ready to start a fist fight. "Oi, Kyo-kun! Arai! Stop that right now or it's fifty laps to both even if you did win your matches, it's fifty laps to both of you!"

Eiji laughed, and if there was a slightly nervous tone in his laughter, nobody thought to mention it.

Eiji had a determined look as he walked into the restaurant – a man on a mission if there had ever been one. "Taka-san," he said, interrupting his friend's happy greeting as he grasped on the older boy's arm, "You are coming with me. Right now."

"But – I can't!" Taka-san protested. "The restaurant –"

Eiji waved off his protests. "Ah, Kawamura-san!" he shouted at Taka-san's father. "I'm borrowing your son for a bit; he needs to go out for a while!"

"Please do!" came the cheerful response. "Takashi definitely deserves a break!"

"There, you heard him," Eiji said, grinning at Taka-san. "Now, come on." He tugged at the bigger boy's hand.

"At least let me change clothes first!" Taka-san said. "I promise I'll come nicely…"

"Well, okay, nyaa. But hurry!" Eiji pouted. "You spend far too much time indoors, Taka-san!"

A moment later they were already outside, walking at a leisurely pace down the street. "Ano – why did you ask me to come, Eiji?" Taka-san asked hesitantly. "Did you want to talk about something or…"

"Nya, I just thought you could use a bit more fresh air," Eiji said, avoiding the other's gaze. "Well… that and there's something I need to talk about, yeah. But not here!" he then hurried to say as Taka-san opened his mouth to speak. "Come on, come on!"

Taka-san obediently followed Eiji until they ended up on an abandoned playground. Taka-san couldn't help but blink. He had always thought that conveniently empty playgrounds only existed in anime, but it sure didn't look like that right now, did it. Not asking any more questions, confident that Eiji would soon say whatever was bugging him. Eiji never could stay quiet for long, after all.

Eiji didn't sit down on a swing – good thing, that, or Taka-san would have seriously started to suspect he was simply having an anime-influenced dream. Instead, the acrobat kicked at the ground, obviously trying to find the right words. Taka-san waited patiently for him to find them.

"I've been thinking," Eiji finally said, breaking the silence. "About Oishi and Naomi and Fujiko and – well, everything. And especially that thing Dan-kun said once." He turned his eyes towards Taka-san, for once a serious expression on his face. "I think… I think I like you, Taka-san."

Taka-san was stunned for a while. Then, however, just as Eiji began to get a bit worried, he smiled brightly. "That's good," the bigger boy said softly. "Because I like Eiji, too."

Suddenly, all the nervousness and fear inside Eiji seemed to melt away, leaving behind a warm feeling he could only identify as happiness. "Great!" he exclaimed, bouncing forward to hug Taka-san. A pair of arms was wrapped around him in return, not as intensely muscular as they had been while they had still wielded a racquet on a regular basis but sure and strong nevertheless.

"Yes," Taka-san said, his voice just barely above a whisper as he murmured the words into Eiji's ear, "it is indeed great."

Going to Kawamura sushi wasn't a date, of course. A date was when you went somewhere with somebody with the intention of developing or maintaining a romantic relationship between the two of you. A date was not when you went somewhere and somebody just happened to be there by default.

Nevertheless, Eiji couldn't help but flush a little as he walked into the restaurant and saw Taka-san's smile brightening as the other boy spotted him. "Ah, Eijiko," Taka-san said, and the nickname made Eiji feel inexplicably warm. "Shall we go then?"

The movie they went to see – well, that was a date, all right.