As Oishi's eyes flickered back and forth on the court, following the blur that was the tennis ball, they also occasionally flit to the player on the right side of the court Eiji... he thought tiredly, before looking down at his paperwork.
When he felt someone else's gaze on him, at first his head snapped up and, in reflex, looked to Eiji. But the latter didn't seem to have any clue that Oishi had been looking at him, instead continuing to call and play tennis like he usually did- with laughter, his acrobatics, and teasing all the while (of course, with poor Momoshiro on the other side of the net, dashing here and there trying to get the ball that was flying in all directions). So it wasn't him...
Oishi scanned the courts. Nope, none of the regulars. Finally, he caught the gaze of Sakuno, who had been looking at him across the courts on the opposite side of the fence. Having gotten his attention, she waved shyly, the pink coloring her cheeks matching well with the ribbon in her hair. Smiling, Oishi waved back to his girlfriend and, at the same time, beckoned her to come sit with him.
Sakuno hurried over and then, after Oishi had kindly brushed off some dirt on the bleacher, plopped down. "Hello, Oishi-senpai," she greeted brightly while beaming.
"Hello to you, too," he replied with a smile.
Not much ensued afterwards, as Sakuno respected the fact that Oishi had work to do. Though, when they had first started going out, she had been slightly upset by the arrangement of his priorities, Sakuno knew, saw how much the team meant to him. And so, as her eyes returned to the ongoing match, Oishi dipped his head back down to continue the paperwork.
Well, until he seemed mostly done anyways. "Um...senpai?" Sakuno ventured as Oishi worked on the last sheet. "I have a question..."
"Hm?" Oishi replied absentmindedly, still scribbling.
"..." Sakuno opened her mouth, but then hesitated. It was a pretty sensitive topic, wasn't it? What if, what if, he got angry? Like, Oishi-senpai didn't get angry much, especially not with her, but still.
"Sakuno," Oishi turned towards her now, puzzled by the silence that ensued after he had given her the okay to go ahead. "What did you want to ask?"
She bit her lip, but then let go of it after preparing herself mentally. Oh, whatever. Here goes nothing.
"Is senpai afraid of never seeing Kikumaru-senpai again?"
"Eh?"
"Er. Well. I saw senpai looking at Kikumaru-senpai, but you didn't call out to him, or smile. Senpai is not like yourself today. And so..."
Oishi panicked slightly when Sakuno buried her face in her hands, both in helplessness and embarrassment. "I'm sorry, senpai. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked, I overstepped the line."
"No, no." He shook his head hastily, trying to calm her down. "For one, you're my girlfriend, Sakuno." He playfully touched the tip of her nose with his index finger and registered, with satisfaction, a blush spread across her face. "You have a right to ask me anything."
"Plus," he continued with a sad smile, "It's time to get used to this anyways." It was the truth that he was going to a different college than Eiji. And who said that they'd lose contact after high school? Best friends didn't break that easily...at least, that's what he told himself over and over again, hoping, praying that it would work out somehow. But regardless, he didn't want to make the people around him stress out, like she was right now. It was the last thing he wanted.
Oishi gently tugged her to his side, looping an arm loosely around her shoulders and leaning her against him. "I'm more worried about the team after we're gone. Each of the regulars I'm sure will do their best to hold it together, but in the case that Kaidoh and Momo get stuck in the same situation as middle school, I'm afraid..."
As he babbled on while walking back to the clubhouse to finish more work, Sakuno followed while scrunching her eyebrows together in worry. She knew that he was trying to alleviate her upset by forcing himself to be bright about the future and, instead, worrying about the others like he always does.
But if he always worried about the others, what about him? It wasn't really fair to Oishi-senpai.
After getting into the clubhouse, Oishi continued to babble on and on while still staring out the window at all the ongoing matches. When he finally finished stressing out about the team and comically wrung his hands for the last time, Oishi turned away from the window. As he took a step back towards the desk to finish his paperwork, he jumped slightly when two slender arms (which were very familiar) wrapped tightly around his waist.
"...Sakuno?"
She didn't reply, just buried her head into his back like a kitten in her mother's belly fur.
"Hey." Oishi attempted to turn and face her, but she surprisingly had the strength in those skinny arms to prevent him from doing so. "What's wrong?"
"Senpai worries too much."
"Hey hey, are you going to say I'm a mother hen, just like everybody else-" Oishi was about to joke-chide her for making fun of him, as he thought that was what she was doing, but Sakuno interrupted him.
"But it's not fair to Oishi-senpai."
Oh. That's where she was going. He felt a genuine smile this time tug on his lips, as something warm inside began to grow, at seeing the affection and attention Sakuno was showering on him. He couldn't describe it well-like a combination of gratitude, pride, and just pure happiness at having her as his girlfriend. Admittedly, she wasn't his first, because he had dated a few girls in the past. Nice girls of course, but...they wouldn't, couldn't match up to her.
Because he knew, Sakuno's eyes were constantly on him, observing him and making sure that his priorities were her priorities, even if it meant sacrificing their time together or a previously set date. Because, he knew, she cared for him that much. Even if she hadn't said anything, Oishi had realized what she was doing soon after they had gotten together. She was almost perfect-attentive, forgiving, yet never asking for anything in return except his company, when he could manage it.
"Thank you," Oishi said in reply after a moment or two of a comfortable silence. Thank you for everything you've done for me, for the team, until now.
"Thank you," Sakuno heard her boyfriend say in that gentle voice of his, and she relaxed. Most of the tension had left his shoulders, and, hopefully, if she wasn't wrong- he knew, he got what she was trying to say. And it made her blush and feel all fuzzy inside when she re-realized that this boy was hers. That they could be together for-who knows how long? Forever, perhaps.
So when Oishi pulled her arms off tenderly and turned around to face her, Sakuno avoided his gaze, instead burying her now-burning face into his chest this time.
If Oishi-senpai is going to worry about everyone else- Tezuka-senpai, Ryoma-kun, the non-regulars- then I'll be the one there for senpai. If senpai won't worry for yourself, then it's my turn to be the one worrying about you.
A/N: Okayy, so this was at the request of music4life XD hope it's all right? I realize it's a bit short, but I think here, shorter was better, captured the essence of the moment better. So...second of the Seigaku regulars, probably another Shitenhouji one (Chitose, Mistress Hydrangea? :]) coming up, depending on reviews.
SO REVIEW AND REQUEST, PEOPLE~ :)
