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thoughts

emphaziced words

Chapter 2

Ryoma sighed as he entered his small apartment. There was no need for him to call out that he was home, he was living alone, after all.

The fit of sickness and pain on the schools rooftop today had been embarrassing beyond belief. He didn't worry about the fit itself; the doctor had told him he could be prone to get short bouts of pain and sickness up to six months after his successful treatment after all.

What worried him was that someone had actually witnessed it. He hated it when people watched his moments of weakness.

As it was he had been assured at his last appointment that there were no indications for a relapse.

Che. As if I would believe anything those old frauds tell me anymore. They told me I wouldn't have to get a second treatment, after all.

His first stay at the hospital when he had been barely twelve years old had been difficult enough to bear for his parents. They had been devastated when they'd been told a bare year and a half later that he would have to undergo a second treatment.

If he were to relapse a second time it would destroy them.

That was why he had insisted to leave them and come to Japan alone. If he ever were to relapse again, he would make sure that no news of his condition could reach their ears.

He hadn't even brought his cat Karupin with him. If he had to stay at the hospital there would be no one to take care of him.

He took off his shoes, walked into the tiny kitchen and took a small bottle of milk out of the fridge before settling down on the small but comfortable green couch in the main room.

It was a pity that he couldn't watch the tennis team practice today, but he didn't want to meet Kikumaru-senpai's questions just yet. Tomorrow would be bad enough, because there would be no way for him to avoid his classmate.

Hmm, I could ask the headmaster to demote me. I'm sure he'd be delighted to make another exception for me, after having promoted me two classes because of my test results in the first place.

He snorted quietly and drank his milk.

He was tired and his body ached all over. It was a feeling that was all too familiar to him and it terrified him. It wasn't nearly as bad as when he had been ill, but it was the same kind of ache and he hated it.

Which was ridiculous, because his treatment had successfully ended eight months ago. He had even resumed his training, hell; he had had to beat his father in a match to make him agree to his move.

Yet he hesitated to engage in any kind of serious physical action here in Japan. He was afraid to get hurt, to do anything that might result in a visit to the doctors actually.

He was even more afraid that he would train to be stronger only to feel his new strength giving way to sickness again.

Angrily he balled his hands into fists.

You are being ridiculous, Ryoma. You are healthy, you are fit, you do endurance training every day and you haven't felt seriously ill for nearly a year.

He stood up and walked to the second door that lead away from the main room, straight through his relatively spacious bedroom to the bathroom. Taking his clothes off on the way, he stepped into the shower.

Tomorrow he would join the tennis club, they seemed friendly enough and it wouldn't hurt him to play a couple of matches. His hands had itched for a racket whenever he had watched them and he wouldn't deny himself the joy of playing out of fear any longer.

Today, well, today he would rest.

Eiji was relieved to see Echizen in class. The younger boy's sickness yesterday had worried him all night long. He could see that the other boy intended to evade his inquisition as long as possible, but he didn't care.

He would get his answers anyway. Eiji nodded happily to himself. And if he wasn't successful he knew another third year who wanted to get some answers, a certain brown haired someone who could terrify hordes with one innocent smile into adhering to his wishes.

"Ohaiyo, Echizen."

The green haired boy eyed him warily before replying sleepily: "Ohaiyo gozaimus, Kikumaru-senpai."

"You look like you're feeling better today. That's good, nyah."

He quickly patted Echizen's head.

"Ne, Echizen, don't forget you'll be eating lunch with us again. We'll eat outside by the trees this time. It's easier to get to the nurse's office from there if one of us should feel unwell."

Eiji's wide grin would have put a shark to shame.

Now he knew why Fuji enjoyed scaring people with his smile so much. Echizen's expression imitated that of a caught rabbit quite well.

"Hoi, hoi. It will be fun."

Why do I feel like I'm meeting my executioner? And when exactly did I agree to eat lunch with Kikumaru-senpai anyway?

Not that Ryoma had any way to escape the iron grip the redheaded senpai had on his right wrist either way. The older boy's deceptively slender body hid his strength quite well.

"Fuji will be glad to see you are well, too. He was quite worried after you decided to vanish yesterday, too." his captor chattered on.

Kikumaru-senpai actually had yet to stop talking for longer than it took him to breathe at all. After five minutes Ryoma had learned to tune him out. It wasn't hard; it just took him a moment to adjust to the lively chatterbox.

He didn't understand however why the senpai suddenly took such an interest in him. They had been in the same class for weeks with only the occasional exchange of words when the situation called for it.

When he caught sight of the senpai that had cared for him so kindly yesterday, he felt himself blush.

As if Kikumaru-senpai wasn't embarrassing enough on his own, now I have to face the boy I ran out of yesterday, too. Terrific.

Fuji was relieved when he saw Eiji with a reluctant Echizen in tow. The younger boy looked as if he wanted to bolt, Eiji's hand around his wrist explained why he hadn't, yet.

"Eiji. Echizen-kun." he greeted them, smiling kindly.

"Fuji. Look who I found in class this morning and right as rain, too." his friend replied cheerfully, tugging at his captive's arm not unlike a toddler would at his toy.

"Fuji-senpai." Echizen's voice didn't sound hoarse today, it was soft and melodic. It sounded beautiful to his ears.

"Echizen-kun. I'm glad you're feeling well again. You are feeling well, aren't you?" he asked pointedly.

"Hai. It was just a temporary stomach cramp. I'm sorry to have bothered you, senpai."

Fuji wasn't too pleased with that evasive answer and opened his eyes to fully look at the kohei for the first time.

"A temporary stomach cramp? Is that so?"

The younger boy fidgeted under the weight of Fuji's aquamarine stare, then raised his head and met his gaze with stubborn golden eyes.

"Yes."

Eiji, Fuji noted with amusement, was quite surprised at the kohei's attitude. His mouth had fallen open in astonishment and he looked back and forth between his two companions.

Oh, I so do love a challenge.

Widening his smile, but not taking his eyes off Echizen he said softly: "Saah, then I'll just have to look after you to make sure the temporary stomach cramp doesn't make a reappearance at an unfortunate time, ne, Echizen-kun."

He liked how the boy's eyes flashed golden fire at his words, narrowing in a complicated mix of emotions.

Indicating the place next to him he continued: "Please, take a seat. It is so unpleasant to eat while standing. You do have a bento today, don't you, Echizen-kun?"

The boy that had settled down warily next to him stiffened briefly, before nodding.

Lunch break, Fuji decided, hadn't been so much fun for ages.

"Fuji-senpai seems to be on a good mood today." Momoshirou mentioned when Eiji and were warming up together at afternoon practice.

"Nyah, Fuji had too much fun at lunch." Eiji replied.

"How comes?"

"Do you remember the boy I was talking about yesterday? The one that has roused Fuji's interest?"

"Yes."

"We had lunch together, nyah. Fuji smiled at him the whole time, staring at him with open eyes."

The second year blanched. "That poor soul, but I'm glad it wasn't me all the same."

"Hoi, hoi, but that wasn't the end of it. Echizen actually stared right back; he's got quite the attitude. And do you know what?"

Momoshirou wasn't sure he wanted to hear more, but like one couldn't look away from an accident, he couldn't stop asking: "What?"

"I think Fuji is even more interested in him now, nyah."

TBC