Hello all! It's about time for an update, even if it's a short one. I've been pretty busy with school, it being finals week and all. But the upside is that after finals, summer starts! So hopefully then I can be able to update more…if I can drag myself out of bed.  That aside, thanks for reviewing! I really enjoy getting the reviews. And indeed, it is a little OOC, but you know, college is starting. It's about time Tezuka softened up a bit.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Chapter summary: Tezuka decides he wants to buy a dog. Go figure.

Chapter 3:

"Are you sure that's everything?" My new landlord (whose name I have already forgotten) asked me uneasily, as if he was about to be sick. I could tell he was trying to be nice, but, if anything, I wanted him out as soon as possible.

I eyed him cautiously. There was no way I was going to have a puking landlord in my brand new (NEW!) apartment. (There's a story behind this.)

"No, thank you," I shook his clammy hand. Maybe he was going to have an asthma attack, or maybe it was just because he was incredibly fat. Poor guy had probably never gone up this many flights of stairs in his life (13th floor times 5 trips with heavy boxes). He had admitted to me that he had just acquired title of landlord, and this was only his second day. I put on a face of mock sympathy, but to be honest, I wasn't here to make friends with him.

"Th-then, I'll be on my way, I guess…" he stuttered, and then shut the door quickly behind him. I sighed, glancing around at my nifty little apartment. The college which I had elected to go to was out of dorm rooms, and I was ready to move out of the house, so I bought an apartment right next to campus. I had just moved in today, but I was already feeling lonely.

I jumped off my bed and in one spastic movement, I had the keys in my hand and was flying out the door. The summer sun shone through the glass window in the elevator, which overlooked the college campus and downtown. It was pretty late in the afternoon, but not even close to getting dark. I stopped by the bakery, picking up a pastry(or two). Classes started in just a few days, and I had mixed feelings about them. I was excited, for one, because Fuji would be there with me, and we had several classes together. I was reading to start being a man.

I just kept walking, not really knowing where I was headed. It eventually started to get dark, so I turned around, crossed the street, and attempted to find my way back. The stores started turning on their lights, and everything was suddenly lit up with bright fluorescent light. I stopped at a street corner and pressed the walk button, but something caught my eye. I slowly turned, facing a local pet shop that was closing up. I pressed my nose to the window, eyeing the small group of puppies that were rough-housing in the small crate. They were all so cute, their little tails waggling and the sharp squeaks that was the immaturity of a bark.

Suddenly cedar shavings were flying everywhere, and a great white puppy was unburying himself from the bottom of the crate. His poufy white fur was covered in the brown shavings, and he was shaking, spraying the other puppies with soiled bedding.

He put his massive paws on the screen, looking me right in the face. He licked the screen separating us a few times, then hopped down and curled into a large ball.

"He's cute, isn't he?" a female voice startled me. I turned around. The lights in the pet store had gone out, and a petite girl with black hair and brown eyes wearing a blue "Dog Shop" shirt was smiling at me. "The white one is a great Pyrenees. He's potty trained, too!"

I turned back to the white puppy who had successfully reburied itself in the bedding. "Is he for sale?" I asked, curious. I might look into getting a dog.

"For sale? Man, for you, he's free!"

I stared.

"We've been trying to sell him for months," she was now unlocking the store. "I can't understand why no one wants him." She flicked on the lights, and I followed her in.

"Koby," she whistled, and the white dog was running towards her in a matter of seconds. She picked him up in her arms, gave him a kiss, and handed him to me. He greeted me by slobbering all over my face.

"He likes you!" she was picking up sample size packages of food, shoving them in my pockets. She was a bit too enthusiastic for my taste. In a few minutes, she was shoving me out of the door, locking it, and jogging away to catch her bus.

"But…wait…" I said desperately, but she wasn't in hearing range. "I didn't want this…" I sighed, but made my way slowly back to my apartment. All I wanted to know is if the dog was for sale, not to buy him! The pup had fallen asleep in my arms, snoring lightly. Did my apartment even allow dogs? I didn't even have a collar for the darn thing!

I stopped in front of my tall building, looking up. It was pitch black outside now, except for the lights in the buildings. I took a deep breath, pressed the puppy to my chest, zipped up my jacket over him, and stealthily crossed the lobby to the elevators. I slammed my finger onto the up button, and ran into the first one that opened. I made it! I was safe.

A hand suddenly shot out into the elevator's closing doors. I stared. A beautiful woman who looked my age slid in, a blue and green messenger bag slung around her thin shoulders. She was gorgeous, with long, light brown hair and violet eyes that were magnified by the clear-framed glasses that were slid half-way down the bridge of her sharp nose. She was wearing what any normal person would wear; a green long sleeve shirt and some jeans that were held up by a studded rainbow belt.

"What floor?" the woman turned, staring at me curiously.

It was then that I recognized her; she was the hot doctor! Doctor Griffin. I didn't recognize her without her fancy clothing. There were bags under her eyes, but she looked a little more at peace than she usually did.

"13," I said. I must have looked so dumb, standing there with my arms wrapped around a bulge in my shirt.

"Oh," she murmured. She pressed the button and turned back to face me. "I remember , right?"

I nodded. "Our appointment hasn't been changed, has it? I just moved, so I have no messages…or phone…"

"Ah, no," she glanced at the floor sign. We were at level 6. "Tomorrow, 10A.M., right?"

"I believe so."

"Awesome," she said. She went to turn, but held up her finger in question. "That…" she was pointing to my jacket.

"New puppy," I said quickly. "I don't really know what to do with it though. He pretty much fell into my arms by accident."

The elevator slowly passed level 8.

"I know floors 16 and up allow pets, which is completely ludicrous because you'd think they'd want the pets on the lower levels…" she trailed off.

"And what if you don't live on one of those levels?" I asked smoothly, but I was beginning to feel uneasy. This was getting worse by the second.

She grinned. "Make sure your landlord doesn't find out."

She was really pretty when she smiled. I stood there dumbly for a couple of minutes, staring at her. She had seemed so tense the other times I met her, what was different this time? She wasn't smiling, but her face wasn't all pinched in frustration, either.

"Hey, buddy, this is your level," she said, as if she was questioning my sanity. The door was about to close, but Koby and I made it through before it squished us. I dug around in my bulging pockets for a moment, searching for my key. I set the puppy on the ground as soon as we got inside. He sniffed around for a grand total of 30 seconds, found my bad, struggled for a second to get up, and laid himself down right on my pillow.

"What am I gonna do with you?" I asked him, making myself a cup of tea. He just looked at me, in a way that said, "I don't really care, so long as I don't have to get off this pillow."

I sat down on the small sofa, relaxing myself for the first time that day.

I let my mind wander; I thought about school, textbook fees, things to buy for the dog, how I was going to pay for all of this, how tired I was, how much money Dr. Griffin was making, where to find a job, my appointment tomorrow, where my alarm clock was, and once more on how tired I was. I pulled off my clothes, searching for an old t-shirt and shorts to sleep in. Koby was still watching me, and snuggled up against my chest when I had turned off the lights and crawled in bed.

"What a mess," I whispered to myself, scratching behind Koby's ears. He whined quietly. My eyes drooped, and I knew sleep was upon me.

I fell asleep thinking of Dr. Griffin that night.