An AU story of sorts. It takes place in a different world than that of Twists, but exists within the same space as Lying to the Present. It's got a darker feel to it, but all that will be cleared in time.
Hope you enjoy!
Oishi Syuuichiro knew he was crazy. Insane. Absolutely mad. It was only a dream that something could last forever without fading, an impossible hope that perpetuity would exist. No person could remain so happy after five-going-on-six entire years of being a Doubles team. No Doubles team could ever last that long without complications between its partners.
The Golden Pair had lost its luster and only glimmered in its former glory.
Kikumaru Eiji was rarely ever the enthusiastically spastic cat-boy he once was.
And they definitely weren't best friends anymore.
The first day of senior year in high school. The last year to be a Doubles team with Eiji. The last chance to rekindle their dwindling friendship.
The first day to see Eiji after the red-head had purposefully avoided him during the two weeks of Spring Break.
Oishi knew he was being clingy, that he was being nothing but a nuisance to Eiji. But he wanted to prove that he wanted to still be friends with the Acrobat, much to the latter's dismay. Starting their freshmen year of high school, Eiji had been putting more and more distance between them, attempting to sever what once-indestructible ties they had. He lost his rumored eternal pep, the shine in his eyes that proclaimed, "I'm Eiji, this is Oishi, we're the Golden Pair, and we're gonna kick your ass, nya!"
It was as though Eiji had suddenly died and there was a boy who looked exactly like him in his place. Once in a while, Eiji would return from wherever he disappeared to in high school's freshmen year and pester Oishi just like he used to. When that happened, the tennis team was put at ease. It calmed the nerves that already affected them because of Fuji's disappearance.
Oishi had often pondered if Fuji's sudden withdrawal and disappearance had anything to do with Eiji's change in behavior, if it had everything to do with Eiji's behavior. He wondered if Eiji had been in love with that blue-eyed tensai, but Eiji sadly stated that he had simply lost an important sibling. Still, Fuji's absence affected him somehow.
It wasn't fair; in the span of the scant two weeks between ninth and tenth grade, three people had become lost to him. The first was Echizen, who had flown back to America for his eighth grade year. The second was Fuji Syuusuke, once a sadist and technician to the team. The third was his best friend, replaced by a shattered being held together with a desperation for the answers. The answers to what, exactly, were unclear, but the need to find them was evident to Oishi.
He was worried, to say the least.
And thus ends the prologue. A bit of a drabble that first popped into my head when I got the initial idea for this story. Coming soon will be its sister story, featuring Tezuka and (the lack of) Fuji. I haven't decided a name for it yet...
Look forward for the next chapter!
~Randomness