Disclaimer: I don't own PoT.

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Child's Play

Chapter One

- Tezuka Kunimitsu -

"I understand."

Tezuka Kunimitsu, captain of the Seigaku tennis club, looked at his coach with a resigned look and massaged his temples. Which, when converted into the what-an-average-person-would-do standard, would equate to falling off his chair, struggling to get up, failing, crawling to the wall, and bashing his head against the wall.

"Very well. I wish you the best of luck then." Ryosaki-sensei said, as soothingly as she could, before exiting the tennis club office.

"Yes."

Tezuka watched his coach leave, but his brain was still buzzing with her sudden message.

His tennis club, one would think, was not about plays, right? Fuji Syuusuke, the tennis tensai, was not, one would think, a playwright, right?

Wrong.

Apparently his club was about plays.

Apparently Fuji was a playwright.

Fuji's play, which happened to be not even remotely related to tennis, had attracted the principal's attention. Better still, the principal was under the impression that the tennis club should act it out for the school festival.

And he thought Seigaku had a drama club.

Tezuka took out a piece of paper, and wrote, in his neat writing, "F, 100."

He stopped. Is that too much? Surely Fuji can handle it.

But it is cold outside, a small voice reminded him.

Fuji was lazy on very cold days, so he would complain afterwards. Not that Fuji complained about laps. No, Fuji never complained. But Fuji had always made him pay in the end. Fuji would, for example, steal his lunch the next day. Actually he wouldn't steal it. He would ask for it, saying he doesn't have a lunch and could Tezuka kindly share his. He would put in lots and lots of wasabi. Then Fuji would sit there and watch him eat with a bright smile. Fuji would also ask for his water. If he doesn't give it to him Fuji would end up not drinking anything for the whole day, which was bad for his health, so he would always end up giving in, even though he knew that Fuji only asks for his water to contaminate it with some Inui Juice. Fuji would also draw, in his dictionary, a crying teddy bear running in a blizzard, with an iceberg monster chasing after it. So in a way Fuji did complain. It could get very troublesome when others see his dictionary. Not that he minded the weird looks, but he preferred to avoid uncomfortable situations if he could. So he kept a dictionary just for Fuji, who had grown more dependent and practically borrowed it everyday, not to use it properly but to draw in it. Really.

Thinking about Fuji made his head ache.

He hastily scratched out the 100 and wrote 50 on top.

But maybe that's still too much? The uncertainty crept up again. Fuji seems to tire very easily lately.

Winter was just around the corner, and Fuji tired easily when it's cold. Fuji's body temperature had always been lower than average, so he must wear more to keep warm because when he's warm he doesn't feel as sleepy. It didn't show in spring or autumn because Fuji had a small frame, but in winter Fuji must be literally wrapped from head to toe if he were to function properly. And since Fuji disliked being special he wore far too little for his own good and had always ended up burning himself out. So by practice Fuji's usually not in his prime condition. In winter Fuji avoided moving as much as he could and slept more too.

But is today really cold?

Tezuka snapped out of his thoughts when the door gently creaked open to reveal an egg-shaped head.

"Good afternoon Buchou." Oishi greeted him respectfully, before stepping into the room. "I just saw Ryosaki-sensei in the hallway. She said we will organize a play for the school festival."

"We must." Tezuka replied, slowly massaging his temples again. "One, we do not have any matches during winter, and two, we need to fundraise. Here." He handed the vice-captain a stack of papers.

True enough. The school did not seem to think they were serious about that new court. The principal said he would only approve the application if the tennis club could raise five hundred thousand yen by January.

"Oh. I didn't know we need that much. Do you think it possible?"

"With Fuji's play, yes." Tezuka said dryly.

Oishi turned pale. "Fuji's play? The one about that girl?"

"Yes."

"Tezuka, do we have to?"

The captain nodded. "I will inform the other regulars today after practice."

Groaning inwardly, Oishi decided that it was high time to go shopping again, for aspirin. Funny, he thought he just bought a box a couple of weeks ago. Didn't he? Now where did they go? What if Eiji mistook them for candies? Oh no! He must find them quickly. Actually he must go find Eiji quickly...

"Oishi, is it cold?"

"Huh?" Eiji? Cold? "No. Why?"

"Nothing."

o0o the beautiful divider o0o

Wow. I got reviews. Cries

Thank you for reviewing. I really appreciate it. It makes me so happy. Smiles

I hope Tezuka is not too OOC in this chapter. This is my interpretation of Tezuka. I think he is concerned with his team members' well-being, although he does not show it like Oishi does.

Hope you liked it.