-x-

There's a little bit of warmth always searching for me
in that arrogant voice.

I wasn't able to realize the loneliness you hid
but I was always grasping onto that hand.

When you laugh with that bright voice
that's more precious to me than anything else (1)

-x-

When they turned left at the next corner, the school's main building came into view, the big round clock on the wall glimmering as it reflected the sunlight. A handful of yawning students were groggily exchanging greetings as they entered the gate. Momo stopped at the main entrance and waited for Ryoma to get off before dismounting his bike and pulling it to where he usually parked it.

"By the way, Echizen. Where did you get those scratches from?" He peered curiously at the younger boy's face.

"Karupin."

"What, you stole the catnip again?" Momo laughed, remembering the time the cat followed its master to school unbeknownst to the younger boy. Back then, when he unwittingly confirmed Ryoma's suspicion that Karupin had indeed followed him (or rather the catnip) to school, he'd been surprised to see the younger boy's hands shaking.

That was the first and only time the usually cool and composed kid looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown.

"He was playing with my cap this morning." Ryoma corrected. "I wanted to leave early to avoid the rush hour, so when I tried to take it back…"

"Things got pretty violent." Momo finished for him, snorting. The mental image of the little prince of tennis running around, chasing not a ball but a Himalayan spotted cat, was far too amusing.

"I got too used to having it with me, I guess I just forgot I'm not using it anymore."

Ryoma's voice was barely louder than a whisper, but what Momo had heard left him standing in place. As Ryoma continued to walk ahead of him, he suddenly thought that the younger boy's back looked a little tired, as if the bag he was carrying was so heavy. Without thinking he grabbed the collar of Ryoma's black uniform.

"It's too early for first period isn't it? Why don't you come and watch the ranking matches first?"

"But…"

"Don't you want to see how much everyone's improved?"

"But!"

"Come on, I bet everyone would be happy to see you again."

"Momo-senpai, let go! I…"

"My first match is against Fuji-senpai. I bet you'd be interested in watching."

Ryoma sighed, making Momo grin triumphantly as he dragged his poor kouhai along.

When they finally reached the club room, Momo pushed Ryoma towards the door, but it opened before the latter even reached for the knob. With his hands on the kid's petite shoulders, he easily felt it when the younger boy became tense. Following Ryoma's gaze, he instantly spotted who had caused it.

Hazel eyes barely concealed by clear spectacles, Tezuka looked at Ryoma with piercing intensity. Momo felt relieved for not being on the receiving end of that look, and worried that it was being directed at his best friend. He almost wanted to praise the younger boy for not averting his eyes.

"You're not supposed to be here." Tezuka stated plainly.

It was a concise statement, spoken in a soft, albeit stern voice, yet Momo felt like it made something within him snap.

"Bu… Buchou!" His voice came out much louder than he intended but at the moment, he didn't give a damn. He glared at his captain, silently demanding an explanation. However, said captain's eyes were kept on Ryoma as if no one else was there.

Tense silence hung around them until it was broken by the sound of footsteps coming from the club room. Tezuka stepped aside, his face not giving away any clue on how he felt about doing something as un-captain-like as blocking the doorway. Fuji appeared behind him, face graced with his usual smile, a smile that faded a little when his eyes turned to Ryoma.

Momo figured as much. The boy's golden eyes were enough to show how Ryoma felt at the moment. He was silently broken, and seeing him like that was enough to affect anyone, even the tensai who was said to be immune to everything (including their four-eyed team mate's lethal juices).

Fuji's eyes barely met Ryoma's before the younger boy walked away.

"Echizen…" Momo was about to go after his best friend before he felt a hand on his wrist. "Fuji-senpai?"

"It's almost time for the ranking matches. If you go after him now, that would mean letting me win by default."

Momo knew full well that the prodigy didn't like winning that way, and Fuji's gentle smile did little to belie the firmness in his voice. Momo didn't dare to object, after all, this was Fuji Syuusuke and no one in his right mind would go against him. He quietly apologized to Echizen, making a mental note to check on the younger boy later.

Momo sighed. Satisfied, Fuji grinned brightly before turning his attention to their captain. "Tezuka, wasn't that a little harsh?"

Though Fuji's eyes rivaled the color of the clear morning sky, Momo mused that it held nothing of its gentleness and serenity. The way the shorter boy looked at Tezuka was just as intense as the way Tezuka had looked at Echizen earlier, if not more so. Momo felt the atmosphere around them starting to grow tense.

"He should understand why." Tezuka replied curtly, meeting Fuji's gaze evenly.

"His eyes clearly told me what exactly it was that he understood. I wonder if that was what you were trying to tell him."

Before he blinked, Momo could've sworn that Tezuka's eyes widened slightly. But when he opened his eyes again, the captain's expression was no different from before. Seeing Tezuka show even the slightest emotion was rare, and whether he imagined it or not was a question he knew would bug him for a long time.

Without a word, Tezuka walked towards the courts. Fuji didn't bother to go after him, which Momo thought was too bad, really, since Fuji's question also piqued his interest. He was just thinking he might've figured out what the mysterious tensai meant when he realised his hand had gone numb.

"Um… Fuji-senpai. My wrist."

"Right. Sorry." Fuji grinned sheepishly before letting go.

Looking at Fuji's retreating back as the prodigy sauntered towards the courts, Momo mused that for someone who looked so delicate, Fuji had a surprisingly strong grip.

---

Step. Step. Step.

The way the sound of his footsteps echoed as he climbed the stairs told Ryoma that he had indeed come too school a little too early. The corridors were empty and seemed a lot bigger than usual without the students that usually filled them. Most of the students were still in their club activities, and those who didn't belong to a club, like him, probably weren't even at school yet. When he finally reached the landing, he turned left and headed for his classroom.

He was just about to open the door when he heard voices coming from inside the room. He wouldn't have been bothered by it if he hadn't heard his name. The boisterous laughter and the rudeness in their voices as they spoke was enough to call his attention.

// "Oh, come on, man. Just admit that you're bitter because the little runt beat you in getting the top rank for the entrance exam." //

// "Yeah right. That was just pure luck. I bet he had to give up tennis to get that score." //

// "Come to think of it, he didn't play in last year's Open, right? Too much tennis probably made his brain rot so he had to quit to recover." //

// "You'll see. There's no way I'm going to lose to someone who's got no masculine pride. I mean, just look at him, he's so short and cute, just like a girl!" //

// "Oh, I know! Why don't we hit on him? Maybe that way he'll let us copy his answers." //

// "Assuming he doesn't beat us up with his racquet first." //

Another round of laughter followed.

Not feeling up to facing morons so early in the morning, Ryoma decided to take a detour and headed for the rooftop.

Three years ago, he'd go up there whenever something happened or he just wanted to take a nap during lunch break. That place had already become his little sanctuary, because no one would bother him there. He just hoped it was one thing that hadn't changed.

He closed his eyes at the gentle wind that greeted him as he opened the rooftop door. After looking around, he sighed, relieved that no one was there. He closed the door behind him and strolled off to his usual spot before dropping his bag and settling on the ground, using his bag as a makeshift pillow.

Looking up at the sky, he watched as the wisps of clouds idly passed. The lazy motion was quite hypnotic, helping him block out a lot of the things on his mind. The clouds, coupled with the sound of the wind, was all too relaxing that it made his eyelids feel a little… heavy.

---

Momo was munching on his fourth bread roll when he finally reached the ichinen trio's classroom. He was surprised when they told him that Ryoma wasn't in the same class as them anymore, as the boy was in class A. He was doubly surprised when they followed it up by saying Ryoma had actually topped the high school entrance exams.

What surprised him most, however, was when he went to Ryoma's classroom only to find out that the boy was absent. That couldn't be true, unless the younger boy had decided to play hooky- something the little genius had never done before. That, or the Echizen Ryoma that rode along on his bike and the Echizen Ryoma in class 1-A were two different people sharing exactly the same name.

While looking for Ryoma, he once again remembered the incident involving Karupin. He imagined how the boy must have felt, looking around for something so small in such a large campus and at the same time thinking of the worst possible scenarios. Momo shook the thoughts out of his head.

Worrying would just make him hungry, and that wouldn't do unless he wanted to spend the rest of his allowance for the week on more bread rolls.

"Hoi? What ya doing, Momo?"

Momo blinked. He hadn't realized that he'd already reached the seniors' floor. One glance at the nameplate situated above the doorframe told him that he was right in front of Eiji's classroom.

"Yo! Eiji-senpai, did you happen to see Echizen?"

"Ochibi?" Eiji turned to Fuji questioningly, who looked back at him with an equally curious expression. "No. Why, did something happen?"

"Ah, well…"

"Eiji!" Momo jumped at the loud call from behind him.

"Ah, oh, hi there Momo." Oishi grinned before walking towards his doubles partner. Momo tailed behind him.

"Did you guys see Tezuka? There were some things I wanted to discuss with him about this afternoon's lineup."

"So Tezuka is missing too, huh?" Eiji pondered out loud, earning an inquisitive frown from Oishi.

"What do you mean, Eiji?

"Ochibi is also missing, nya."

"Eh? Where could those two be…?"

Momo struggled to bite back his laughter at seeing Oishi's worried expression. The vice captain was switching to his Mother Mode again. Signs of panic were beginning to appear before Eiji came to his side and grabbed his arm.

"Now, now, it's okay, Oishi. I'll help you look them." With Eiji leading his doubles partner, the Golden Pair wandered off down the corridor.

"Interesting… I wonder if it's just a coincidence." Fuji rubbed his chin, chuckling. He turned towards the window and leaned on the grill, lazily watching the students playing soccer on the field. Momo turned to leave, but just as he was about to walk away, he heard Fuji's voice again.

"That aside… Momo, I was a little disappointed with our match this morning. Too bad, since you were my first opponent I was really looking forward to a good match."

He didn't understand why, but somehow, he felt relieved that Fuji was looking the other way as he spoke. He couldn't imagine what sort of expression Fuji might have had at that moment, but those words certainly sent a chill down his spine. He had to think of a way out of the situation. Fast.

"Were you bothered about what happened this morning?" Fuji looked sideways at him, smiling. He couldn't decipher the meaning behind the kind of smile he was seeing, but it somehow wiped out the need to come up with an excuse before he even started to think of one.

"Yeah… I just don't understand why Buchou had to do that. You saw it too, didn't you? How much it affected Echizen."

Fuji turned his gaze back to the view outside the window as he spoke. "Ne Momo, if, for example, you developed a life threatening allergy of burgers…"

"Fu… Fuji-senpai!" Momo gaped.

"That's why I said if, for example, ne?" Fuji reiterated, grinning innocently. "If that were to happen, and you passed by a burger joint on your way home… Tell me, Momo, how would you feel seeing all those people inside eating burgers with such happy faces?"

"I…" Momo paused, thinking. It didn't take a minute for him to figure out what Fuji meant. His eyes widened slightly, realization dawning on him. "Oh. I see."

Momo had to admit that the mistake was on his part. It was pretty selfish of him, dragging Ryoma to the tennis courts where everyone could play to their heart's content. It was a pretty insensitive thing to do to someone who wanted to play more than anyone else but could only watch from the side.

"Fuji-senpai, Echizen, he… hasn't given up on tennis, has he?"

"The Echizen I know wouldn't do that."

Fuji looked straight into his eyes, smiling serenely. Momo mused it was the first time he had seen those blue eyes open without them unnerving him. He almost wanted to take back what he'd thought of them earlier, because if Fuji really wanted to, his eyes could reflect not just the sky's color after all, but its gentleness as well.

"Don't think badly of our captain, Momo. Tezuka couldn't and wouldn't purposely hurt Echizen."

'None of us can.' Momo added as an afterthought, nodding. He grinned, feeling his usual cheerfulness bounce back. He hurriedly thanked Fuji before sauntering down the corridor.

When Momo reached the stairs, he smacked his forehead as soon as a thought struck him, earning him strange looks from the students around him. There was only one place Ryoma went during lunch breaks, and that place should have crossed his mind before. Now that he thought about it, that place should have been on the top of his list.

He headed for the stairs leading to the rooftop but the door opened before he'd climbed the first step. Unfortunately, it wasn't Ryoma who came in but the last person he expected to find there. Perhaps the person who he least wanted to see at the moment as well, because seeing someone whom he'd just thought ill of was kind of awkward.

"Buchou." He bowed slightly.

Tezuka acknowledged and returned the gesture before trotting down the stairs and passing him wordlessly. Momo looked back and briefly followed Tezuka's retreating form with his eyes until he saw the captain meet with Oishi and Eiji. He resumed his climb and upon opening the rooftop door, the first thing he saw was the boy he'd been searching for, sound asleep.

He briefly wondered what the captain had been doing up there, and throughout the entire lunch break if Oishi had been looking for him for that long. Shrugging, he decided to ignore it. That was between Tezuka and Echizen. He closed the door and walked towards the younger boy.

"Echizen." He poked the boy's pale cheek. When he didn't get any response he poked some more, and he kept poking and poking until he earned an annoyed groan from the younger boy.

"Go away…" Ryoma weakly slapped his hand, turning over grumpily. The action seemed to cause him pain, as he winced and abruptly sat up. "Ow…"

"Echizen? What's wrong?" He eyed the younger boy curiously.

Momo's question was answered when Ryoma reached inside his pocket and pulled out a tennis ball. They boy groggily blinked at the offending ball then promptly threw a glare at him. "Funny way to wake someone up, Momo-senpai."

"O… oi, it wasn't me!"

Ryoma looked at him suspiciously, his eyes searching. Burning twin orbs glistened like the sun but Momo stood firm and tried hard not to blink. When it looked like the younger boy was finally convinced that he didn't do it, those golden eyes softened ever so slightly.

"But who could've left it here? I was the only one… Momo-senpai, was someone else up here?"

Looking at Ryoma's puzzled expression made Momo chuckle. That clueless face always seemed to make the boy look younger than he really was. It made him look somewhat… cute.

"Well?"

Momo snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing Ryoma's voice. "Hm? Ah! That's right."

"What is?"

"I think I know who put it there." Momo put on his usual goofy grin.

"Who?"

Momo got up and held out his hand towards Ryoma. "Lunch break's almost over, let's go back in."

Ryoma blinked at him, eyes silently chiding him for his poor attempt at changing the subject.

Knowing that Ryoma wouldn't accept it, Momo withdrew his hand and walked towards the rooftop door. Without looking back, he offered an explanation, hoping to pacify his irritated kouhai. "It would be meaningless if I tell you who it was. Besides, I'm sure you'll figure it out in no ti… Ow!"

Momo suddenly felt something hit his head. The pain quickly reduced to a dull throbbing as he rubbed the spot. He looked back just in time to see Echizen catching the ball in his palm, and the action easily changed Momo's eyes from glaring into widening with amazement.

"Don't even start if you're not planning to finish what you were going to say." Ryoma scowled before pushing him out of the way and exiting the rooftop.

Smirking, Momo called after him. "It's bugging you, isn't it?"

"As if!"

The way Ryoma retorted in obvious annoyance just made Momo laugh.

---

Ryoma scowled. Despite what he'd said, the tennis ball did bother him all day, enough to divert his attention from the afternoon lessons. Long after the last class ended, his mind still wandered to the rather conspicuous lump in his pocket as he made his way to the library with a much taller pile of books compared to the day before.

It wasn't as though he hadn't figured out who did it. In fact, he was quite positive that it could only be that person he had in mind. What was bothering him wasn't the 'who' but more of the 'why' behind it.

When he got to the library, he was just about to put down the books to open the door when he felt something hit his head, causing him to lose his hold on the books, scattering them all over. The spot that was hit ached for a bit before the pain turned to a dull throbbing. Rubbing his head, he couldn't help but think of what he did to Momo earlier.

'Must be divine punishment.'

He bent down to pick up the books one by one, brushing dirt off of them. As he reached for the fourth book a girl came running towards him and bowed, apologizing profusely. "A… Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean it. I… I think I hit the ball too hard and so..."

"I'm fine." He said dismissively as he picked up and dusted off the last book. From the corner of his eye, he saw the girl also pick up her tennis ball. He got up and looked at who it was. She wore a white cap, her long hair neatly fixed into two braids. Her eyes widened upon meeting Ryoma's gaze.

"R… Ryoma-kun…"

Ryoma blinked, thinking back whether he had seen her somewhere before, and if so, when and where. His attempt to remember was halted when he suddenly felt the weight of the books in his arms. It looked like the girl had noticed it too, for she hurriedly opened the door for Ryoma.

"Doumo." Ryoma nodded and stepped in. He looked back when the door shut behind him, but the girl was no longer in sight. Thinking that she might have gone back to practice, Ryoma proceeded to deliver the books to the librarian and attend to his library duties.

Just one more section and he would have been finished and able to go home, but as luck would have it, just when most of the books he had to put back belonged to the top shelf, the stepladder had to be broken. As if that wasn't enough, the books were also hardbound, making things doubly difficult.

It was time do what the most sensible thing a person- short person- would do in such a situation. He stood on his tiptoes, stretching his arms as much as he could. Too bad he was still a couple of centimeters too short.

Pouting, he decided he wouldn't let that stop him. He was never one to give up. After all, being stubborn to the point of idiocy sometimes paid off when it actually made him win his tennis matches…

The thought unconsciously made him clutch the book tighter. He took a deep breath, trying to shake it from his mind, before getting back to the task at hand. 'That's it. Higher. Just a little bit more and…'

Someone took the book from his hand and placed it on the top shelf, at the exact spot he was aiming for. He turned around to face his helper, and was about to thank that person when he felt his entire body freeze. The hazel eyes that met his gaze weren't any less intense than he remembered seeing earlier that morning.

He took a deep breath surreptitiously. Clenching his fist in an attempt to steady himself, he bowed slightly. "Thank you. Sorry for the trouble."

Tezuka nodded. "Give me all the books that belong to the top shelf. I'll put them back for you."

"But…"

"This library has only one stepladder and it's broken, Echizen. How else do you plan to put back those books?"

Ryoma inwardly cringed. It was just like Tezuka to exude an aura of authority even outside of the tennis court. Somehow, the older boy gave the impression that if Ryoma disobeyed, he would find himself running laps inside the library.

"Ha… Hai."

Neither of them spoke as they returned the books to their proper locations. For some reason, Ryoma didn't find the silence unsettling. If anything, it made him feel comfortable and… safe.

"Is that all of it?" Tezuka asked when he finished putting up all the books Echizen handed to him.

"Yes. Thank you so much for your help." He bowed at his waist.

"If that's all, I'll be on my way now."

Before he realized what he was doing, Ryoma held on to Tezuka's sleeve. His hand seemed to have moved on its own, surprising even himself at what he'd done. But what's done is done and Ryoma didn't have any plans to turn back.

He paused for a while. His grip on the dark fabric tightened before he decided to throw hesitation out the window. "Aren't you going to ask why?"

Ryoma was sure they both knew what he was talking about. He was still unprepared to talk to anyone about what had happened that led him to stop playing tennis, that much he was sure of, but if it was to this person he knew that he would force himself to speak if he had to. He trusted Tezuka that much.

When Tezuka didn't answer for what seemed like a whole minute, Ryoma started to worry. Feeling a little dejected, his hold on Tezuka' sleeve loosened. He was just about to let go when the older boy finally spoke.

"You have a reason, don't you? That's enough for me to believe in. In time, I know you will tell me- all of us- about it, when you're ready."

Ryoma felt as though a heavy fog that had engulfed his heart had dissipated. He felt his tense shoulders relax as he finally let go. As soon as he did so, Tezuka started to walk away.

"Buchou" Ryoma called out to him, momentarily stopping Tezuka in his tracks. "Is it okay if I still call you that?"

Tezuka looked back, looking into his eyes as though searching for something. Hazel eyes softened and the usually stern face broke into a smile. Just as his words lifted the fog off Ryoma's heart, the captain's smile replaced it with warmth.

Ryoma gave back a small smile of his own, before he moved to catch up with him. Walking with Tezuka side by side felt nostalgic, but unlike his memories associated with tennis which he wanted to block out, it gave him a rather pleasant feeling. Together, they exited of the library.

When they got out, Ryoma hadn't expected to see Momo, Eiji, Oishi and Fuji waiting for them. Eiji promptly ran to cuddle him before Momo came in and joined the hugging binge, and it took only a few seconds before Oishi tried to pry them off, fearing they might smother him. Behind them, he noticed Fuji looking at Tezuka, wearing a meaningful smile.

"What is it, Fuji?"

"Nothing. It's just, Oishi said you went to the library to do your math homework. I was just wondering why it took you half an hour to finish something that, according to Inui's data, usually takes you just five minutes."

-x-

If we begin to walk, even slowly is okay
don't turn back; just face forward.
If we're able to run, even just a little
I want you to feel your forgotten wings

Don't go astray anymore. (1)

-x-

To be continued…

(1) Lines quoted from Tezuka's song "Road", from his album entitled "With". Translations credited to moonsalute.

A/N: So sorry for the late update (shrinks) I wanted to update sooner, but I had trouble writing this chapter down. Even though I already knew what to write, actually writing it proved to be ten times harder. Please bear with me, I'm also writing this fic as I post (sweatdrops).

Please send your hugs and kisses to arctic draconis for beta-reading :D

Comments and constructive criticisms are always welcome. Please continue to guide me as I write this fic. :D