Author's Note: Merry belated Christmas, everyone! Yes, I am a failure when it comes to deadlines (runs off to cry in the corner).
Rating: PG (sorry)
Focus: Farewell, Tezuka Kunimitsu
Though Tezuka only made his announcement to the regulars, the news of his imminent departure nevertheless spread through the tennis club faster than a brushfire. By the next morning, everyone had heard about it. The news spread to even those who were not on the team, who had only attended a few matches or just knew of the club's existence and they all reacted with some degree of astonishment. The news of course was most hard-hitting to the actual team members, who wandered the school halls like zombies, their dazed state only interrupted when they happened upon a fellow teammate with whom they were able to share their turmoil with. You heard? Can you believe it? What's gonna happen to the team? were the most common questions that fell from their lips. It was too astounding to believe that their esteemed captain would be leaving them in the middle of such a crucial period of time, in the midst of the Regionals, for crying out loud! Not to mention, with him gone, would they even be able to make it to the Nationals? How could their team possibly make it all the way without their beloved leader?
While everyone else in the tennis club were grappling with the calamitous reality of their captain's surprising decision, Echizen was dealing with troublesome emotions of his own: namely, an irrational sense of annoyance that was slowly but surely transforming into something akin to definite anger at the news. So irritated was he that even the mere mention of Tezuka was enough to make his teeth grind. He was just as shocked as anyone else when he first heard the words from the senior's mouth about leaving for Germany, but after that brief moment of paralysis passed, he found himself overcome with an emotion that had made him turn away and head stiffly for the lockers without another glance back, even when he heard one of his senpais calling out his name. No one pursued him however, nor did they try to talk to him afterwards. Although he felt occasional furtive glances aimed in his direction, there must have been something in the set of his eyes and jaw that told them to keep their distance. When he left the locker room and saw that Tezuka had already taken his leave after making his announcement, his face had hardened even more, so much that he was practically glaring at anyone and everything the whole way home.
Naturally, his mood only worsened now that he had to deal with the fall-out from yesterday's news. Unlike the regulars who were in the know and therefore smart enough to stay out of his path, the other members of the club had no clue. As a result, people like Horio, Osakada and Sakuno did not even think twice about pestering him for his take on the consequences of Tezuka's decision. When he fended them off by displaying a seemingly nonchalant attitude, they were left bewildered, completely unaware that they had barely escaped being used as verbal scapegoats for his mounting wrath.
It didn't help that even after not mentioning one word to him about Germany in all the time they spent together following the Hyotei tournament, or even one word for the rest of last night after dropping the bomb—that damned guy hadn't even tried to seek the entire time they've been at school today. The fact that he even unconsciously tried to make it easier for Tezuka by going up to the roof during lunch made him all the more pissed off when the older boy didn't show up. When the lunch bell rang and he still remained the only soul up there, he cursed emphatically underneath his breath and headed to class, the scowl he brought back with him scaring even his teacher.
O
O
O
O
O
"Ah, there's Echizen," Fuji murmured to Eiji, who turned to look in the same direction. They were standing by the window of a classroom, discussing what the team's future might be in the Kantou tournament in Tezuka's absence, when the tensai spotted the freshman in one of the windows of the adjacent building as he navigated through the halls.
"Poor Ochibi, I wonder how he's doing."
"By that look on his face, I would guess not very well," was Fuji's reply.
"Did you see his reaction yesterday? It's as if he just took Taka-san's Hadoukyuu in his face."
Fuji couldn't help smiling a little at Eiji's description. "We were all shocked by the news."
"I just can't believe Tezuka didn't mention anything at all to him beforehand."
"I'm sure Tezuka had his reasons."
"Yeah? What could they possibly be? If the person I liked kept something that big a secret from me, I'd be so upset I wouldn't talk to him ever again."
Fuji sighed wistfully and tipped his head back to look up at the sky. "I'm not saying I would have done the same."
"Fuji! You don't think, they'd break up or anything?"
"I hope not, but there's hardly anything we could do about it."
"That's horrible! Maybe you should talk to Tezuka. Tell him to explain himself to Ochibi or something."
Closing his eyes, Fuji shook his head. "Mmm, I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not?"
"I don't think Tezuka would appreciate my interfering."
"Interfering! That's not interfering! We're just trying to help out as his friend!"
"While that may be, we both know very well that Tezuka's not the impulsive type. He must've thought about this thoroughly before making his decision."
"Yeah, but…but what if he didn't realize how upset Ochibi would be?"
"It was pretty obvious, wasn't it? Tezuka must have his own reasons for not approaching him yet."
Eiji snorted disdainfully. "Whatever reasons they are, I think they're stupid."
"Maybe he's waiting for the right time."
"Right time! When's the right time! When he's in Germany!"
The other boy chuckled softly and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Eiji, I think we should have more faith in Tezuka, don't you agree?"
Glowering unhappily, Eiji crossed his arms over his chest and asked, "How can you always be so calm, Fuji?"
"It's not a matter of calmness. I just think since they were able to manage without us all this time, I'm sure they'll be able to work this one out on their own as well. Why don't we give them a chance before offering our help?"
"They better work things out," Eiji replied, worry coloring his voice. "I don't think I can handle another crisis right now."
As Fuji continued to smile reassuringly, he patted Eiji on the back and said, "I'm sure it'll be fine."
O
O
O
O
O
Tezuka dropped to a sitting position and leaned his head against the wall of the enclosure as he tried to catch his breath. He lifted his hand to look at his watch. 5:30. Probably another half hour or so until sunrise. He'd have to return home soon after so that he could shower before he went to school. He should continue practicing in what little time he had before then. He glanced at his watch again. Another minute and then he'll continue. After all, he'd been out here practicing virtually non-stop since 3 am. The muscles in his arm were already protesting the exertion. He knew he shouldn't overdo it; no good would be had if he ended up injuring his good arm as well, but he was also very aware of what little time he had left so he couldn't stop himself even when he reached the point of exhaustion. He had to accomplish this task, for himself, for the team, and for Echizen, before he left for Germany.
Expelling a deep breath in a sigh, he brought his knees up and rested his racket on them as a small, barely detectable frown crinkled the corners of his lips and the bridge between his eyes. I should call him, he thought for what was probably the hundredth time since yesterday. It always ended the same way, with the thought surfacing and then being quickly suppressed. What would he say? What could he say? I'm sorry I didn't tell you before telling everybody else? He shook his head. That was ridiculous. It took triple the amount of time for him to decide not to tell Echizen about his decision to go to Germany than it did for him to actually decide to go in the first place, so he had to be confident that it was the right choice.
So why was it that since his announcement, since seeing that absolutely stricken expression on Ryoma's face, did doubt begin to eat away at his resolve?
He shook his head again. I can't think about this right now. He stood up, ignoring the aches in his body and limbs, and dropped another coin in the serving machine. As he got into a ready stance, he pursed his lips and steeled his jaw in determination. It'll work out in the end.
O
O
O
O
O
After three consecutive no-shows by Tezuka after waiting the whole lunch period for him on the roof, Echizen decided he had had enough. Even if that guy were to show up on the roof tomorrow, too bad. He was not about to sacrifice his precious time with the general population for the sake of someone who was too stupid to realize there was someone waiting for him on the roof.
Who said I'm waiting for him? he thought angrily as his scowl darkened.
"Hey, Echizen!"
The freshman continued walking, ignoring the voice and the footsteps hurrying behind him to catch up. Even when the person finally reached him and put a staying hand on his shoulder, Ryoma's sour expression didn't change in the least at the sight of Momoshiro panting slightly beside him.
"Didn't you hear me calling you?" the upperclassman questioned. "Hey, slow down, will you?"
"I need to go to class."
"We have time."
"What do you want, Momochan-senpai?"
"Uh, nothing, not much," the second year hedged, "Just, you know, haven't seen you at lunch these last couple of days." When there was no response, he continued, "And during practice, there's always so many people around. Everyone's busy with practice. Then you just speed off right afterwards."
"And?"
Momoshiro hesitated. "You, uh, alright there, Echizen?"
The freshman shot him a look that made him instantly regret even asking. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Groaning inwardly and hating Eiji for talking him into this, the older boy cleared his throat awkwardly and answered, "You know, we've all been, uh, kind of dealing with, uh, the captain's announcement in our own way, so with the way it's been, we didn't have a chance to…talk to you."
"Talk to me? About what?"
"About how you feel," Momo explained while waving his hand. "About the whole thing. How are you, uh, coping?" he almost cringed at that, again hating his senpai for sticking that word in his head.
"Coping?" Echizen repeated sharply. "He's going to Germany, he's not dying."
"I know that!" Momo exclaimed. "But you know, since…" he glanced around surreptitiously and then lowered his head to whisper, "you two are close…."
Rolling his eyes in disbelief, Echizen snapped impatiently, "It's fine."
Yeah, that's obvious, the other boy thought as he shot a skeptical look at Ryoma, but instead of commenting, only said, "Have you spoken to Tezuka-buchou?"
"No." Echizen's voice could have frozen water.
Eiji-senpai was right. What's the captain thinking? Out loud, he ventured gingerly, "Have you, er, tried calling him?"
That earned him a glare. "What for?"
"Well, he is leaving soon. Don't you…have stuff you two need to talk about?"
"No."
"But, it might be weeks, even months, before you'll see each other again."
Echizen pressed his lips together tightly and rather than saying anything more on the matter, simply said, "Here's my class". He then headed into the room without another parting word to the upperclassman.
Frowning after him, Momoshiro scratched his head vigorously, at loss as to what else he could do. That went as well as I thought it would, he thought sarcastically. As he went off in the direction of his own class, he was heard mumbling, "I need to stop listening to Eiji-senpai."
O
O
O
O
O
Later in class, as the teacher's voice droned on in the background, Echizen was staring out the window, his mind not thinking of anything in particular. He had his elbow on the desk and his chin resting in the palm of his hand. Out of the blue, he grumbled to himself in a barely audible voice, "He knows how to use the phone too. Idiot."
O
O
O
O
O
That day during practice, when Tezuka made his appearance once again, Ryoma found his gaze automatically drawn to him, like a thirsty man to a well. Old habits died hard, so it took a good amount of willpower to turn away from the familiar figure of the senior and pretend that the other boy's presence had no special significance to him. Tezuka also made things easier by ignoring him as well, purposefully striding right past him to Fuji in the next court without even the slightest pause in his steps. Though Ryoma had most of his attention focused on returning Momoshiro's balls, the senior's steps still sounded as clear as thunder behind him. He tried to remain unfazed, however, only faltering momentarily when he saw Tezuka using his right arm to rally with Fuji. The others noticed that as well and also paused in their actions in astonishment. Only the senior regulars had ever seen Tezuka use his right arm, and even those occasions had been very rare.
Echizen wondered idly if Tezuka had always been able to use his right arm, but then, suddenly remembering what he had been doing, chased the thought away in the next second with a dismissive, so what? I don't care.
He was able to stick to that attitude of detached nonchalance so well and believe in it that even when Tezuka finally addressed him directly at the end of practice, he barely blinked an eye.
"Echizen, get on the court. We're going to have a one set match."
The freshman hid his surprise well, even allowing himself to reason that it was actually a good idea. In fact, he was rather pleased that he could play against the young captain before he went off to Germany for God knows how long. It seemed right, somehow. Full circle, of sorts, with the only difference being that he will emerge the victor this time instead of the senior. He was certain that there was no way Tezuka could be a match for him without using his good arm. Regardless of how long and hard he probably practiced with his right arm, there was simply no way he could win.
I will defeat him, Echizen thought with certainty as he served up his Twist Serve without holding anything. That'll teach him.
His vindictive smugness increased when he started scoring consecutive service aces in the first game, and hardly wavered even when Tezuka begin returning his shots by the next game. Therefore, when he finally realized how deeply entrapped he was in the Tezuka Zone, he was completely blind-sided. Questions like, when did he master the Tezuka Zone with his right arm? Had he always been able to do that? Did he just accomplish this during the short time after the Hyotei tournament? When did he have a chance? ran through his mind as Ryoma returned well-manipulated volley helplessly. Everybody was asking themselves the same thing, even those who've seen him use his weaker arm.
As the surprising revelations continued to pile up—from Tezuka's breaking of both his Twist Serve and Drive B to the right-handed Zero Drop Shiki—Ryoma's shock soon gave way to the old familiar grudging admiration for the young captain. Ill feelings were momentarily forgotten, swept away by the spirit of their game. He was overcome with the same unique surge of emotion that was a mixture of fear and excitement that he only felt whenever he played against his dad and Tezuka. His own discovery of how to break through the Tezuka Zone only heightened his sense of challenge. He felt both exhilarated and revived.
By the end of their match, he realized he was wrong. They had not come full circle at all. The fact that he had once again lost against Tezuka notwithstanding, on the level of a tennis player, he still had a further ways to evolve. And despite what he had accomplished with his right arm, Ryoma knew it was the same for Tezuka. The thought of how far their tennis could still grow and how awesome their match would be when they've reached the end of their evolution almost made Echizen tremble with anticipation. As Oishi called out the final score, Ryoma told himself with a certainty that was steeped in absolute confidence of his own abilities instead of just superficial arrogance, Next time, I will beat him.
And when he met Tezuka's eyes from across the net, Ryoma finally allowed himself to acknowledge something that had been bubbling underneath the surface ever since he heard about Germany three days ago; the very thing that was most likely the main culprit for his feelings of aggravation, frustration and anger. It was one thought, almost overwhelming in its honesty:
I am going to miss him.
O
O
O
O
O
Afterwards when they were cleaning up in the locker room, Tezuka at long last approached Echizen. By that time, most of the team members had already cleared out. Whether it was on a conscious level or not, the two of them had taken their time changing, showering and packing their gear so that when they were done, the majority of the team would be gone. They weren't entirely alone, however, despite their efforts. In fact, all the other regulars still remained, except for Kawamura who had departed to work at his restaurant, along with the three freshmen and two of the second years, Ikeda and Hayashi. As if by some unspoken agreement, the six regulars had also taken their time in order to keep an eye on their captain and Echizen, with Momo and Eiji being especially hawk-eyed. They sensed something was about to happen and wanted to be present when it did. The fact that the freshmen boys and the two non-regular second years were also there was just an unfortunate coincidence.
As soon as they spotted Tezuka making his way over to Echizen, both Kikumaru and Momoshiro stopped dead in their tracks and stared, first at the two boys and then at each other, eyes wide with identical expressions of panic. Should we do something! their looks conveyed.
"Anyone in the mood for McDonald's?" Fuji called out with ease from behind Eiji.
It took a split second for them to realize that the tensai had once again come to the rescue. Momo was the first to respond, eagerly crying out "I am! I am!"
Eiji chimed in with an equally enthusiastic, "Me too!"
"That's a great idea!" Oishi supplied while glancing nervously in Tezuka and Echizen's direction. Neither of the two gave any indication that they were listening to them. "We should all go!"
"Eh? We get to come too?" Horio exclaimed excitedly.
"Of course!"
"Yes, yes, everybody, let's all go! Oishi-senpai's treat!" Eiji announced as he draped himself against his partner's back.
Oishi started at that. "Eiji!" he whispered indignantly, "I didn't say that!"
"Come on, Oishi, do it for Tezuka and Ochibi," his friend whispered back.
"Even if you say that, I don't know if I have enough money!"
"Don't worry, I'll pitch in," Fuji volunteered from beside them since he overheard.
"Alright! Let's go, let's go!" Momo cried as he started ushering the non-regulars out.
"Wait, what about the captain?" Ikeda questioned.
"He, uh, has some stuff to discuss with Echizen," Momo lied.
"What stuff?" Horio demanded as he glanced curiously towards the two people in question.
"Regulars stuff. None of your business."
"Aren't you a regular too, Momochan-senpai?"
"Er, he's spoken with me already. Come on, come on, let's hurry before the senpais change their minds."
As Momo forcefully heralded the group out, Oishi stopped to grab Inui and Kaidoh's arms to pull them along as well after noticing that they were both pointedly staring over at the couple: Tezuka was standing beside Echizen, who had not looked up from packing his bag. In a low but firm tone, the vice captain said, "Come on, you two, let's give them some privacy."
Instantly self-conscious, Kaidoh mumbled a quick apology and hastily rushed out of the room. Inui only shrugged and mused, "I guess I could gather data some other time."
As soon as the door closed behind the boisterous group, Ryoma stopped his motions and sighed. "That was subtle," he groused.
"They mean well," Tezuka said from above.
The other boy didn't immediately respond. When after a brief stretch of silence, he still remained silent, Tezuka began with, "Ryoma."
When the freshman finally looked up at him, it was with a hard, admonishing glare. "You could have said something."
Taking a steadying breath to quell the anxiety he hadn't even realized he had been holding in until now, Tezuka nodded and then after the tiniest hesitation, sat down next to the other boy. "Gomen. I believed it was the right thing to do."
"Right? In what universe?" the other boy retorted, his voice barely masking the sudden bitterness he felt.
"Ryoma, remember when we had that conversation outside your house? About special treatment?"
Echizen drew back, incredulous. "Special treatment? That's special treatment?"
"Ryo—"
"Something like that," the freshman continued, "you'd at least tell your friend about it, wouldn't you? Not to mention I'm not just…." He stopped all of a sudden and shot Tezuka mean look before glancing off to his side.
"You're right, I don't just see you as a friend. You…you do mean more," Tezuka confessed. Echizen turned back to face him, though the stubborn hardness in his eyes and jaws remained. "That's why it was even more important for me not to tell you before anyone else."
"What?" The annoyance was apparent in the other boy's voice.
"It wouldn't have been fair. If you had known before anyone else, it would be blatantly obvious that I don't treat you as I do everybody else, which I don't."
Expelling a puff of breath forcefully, the freshman pointed out with absolute bluntness, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Most of them don't know and the ones that do, how could they not expect for you to tell me something like that?"
"That's exactly it. Of course I would tell you first, because of our relationship, right? But had you been any other person on the team, would I have told you?"
"It's not like you're giving the secret line-up to our next tournament. This is Germany we're talking about. You're going out of the country!"
Tezuka sighed. "I decided to go mainly with the team's future in mind. If it were just for the sake of my own future in tennis, I would have waited until the end of this school year. I made this decision as captain, and that is why I have to uphold the principles I have as captain."
Seeing that the scowl had not abated on the other boy's face, Tezuka went on to say, "I know it makes little sense to you, and I wish I knew how to explain it better. Suffice it to say, it means a lot to me to be able to maintain the boundaries I have drawn for myself as team captain. It would mean a lot to me if you could understand how important my beliefs are, even if the beliefs themselves do not make much sense."
"That's fine for you, but how considerate is it to me?"
"I know it might appear to be completely inconsiderate, outside our relationship here in the club, but within it, I have to consider the others as well. And though it may seem that in my need for not singling you out I might just do the opposite, can you trust me when I am constantly trying to find the best balance for every situation because there is never a moment I am not taking yours and everybody else's feelings in mind?" He paused and then added, "Even in that, there is already an built-in imbalance because of how I feel about you outside of our roles in the team."
"Only you would come up with such anal retentive logic," Echizen pointed out after a length of time. "Is part of the reason for your disappearing off the face of the earth for the last couple of days also due to consideration for me?"
Tezuka shook his head. "I knew you were upset. I wanted to call. All the time. In the end, I decided that would have been meaningless. I felt that this was still the best time to properly explain myself to you."
"Why? You figured beating me in a match would smooth the way?" There was no bite to Echizen's words, however, despite the glower on his face.
Tezuka flashed a genuine smile, the first one in days, relief brightening his eyes. "You hardly made it easy, as usual."
"How long have you been practicing with your right arm?" Echizen questioned with a slight nod at the appendage.
"To be honest, it was your father that reminded me about it. It's not that I've never used my right arm before, but since my left is still my stronger arm, I never put concentrated effort into practicing with it until now. At first I was just testing it out of curiosity. It was only when I decided to go to Germany did it really become my focus."
"You're not bad with it, why not just use your right arm for the upcoming matches? You were able to beat me after all, how weak could it be?"
Tezuka started to close and open his right fist as he said, "Because my left arm is still my best arm. In a way it is like smoke and mirrors. How else would you have been able to break through my right-handed zone?"
"Hmmph." They fell quiet again until Echizen demanded gruffly, "When're you leaving?"
"Tuesday."
He started in surprise. "This coming Tuesday?"
The older boy nodded. "The sooner I go…." he trailed off.
"Oh." Echizen crinkled his forehead. "When will you return?"
Tezuka frowned. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. "As soon as I can. Definitely by the time of the Nationals. No matter the outcome of my therapy in Germany, I will be back for that."
"You're pretty confident that we'll even make it that far."
"I am. I believe in everyone, and I know Oishi will make a fine captain in my stead." Tezuka paused. "Although I wish…I wish I could stay. It is difficult leaving everyone, missing the upcoming matches. Even missing school. I had to make a lot of arrangements with my teachers and with student council so that they can carry on smoothly in my absence. There were times when it seemed hardly worth it." Another beat. "And then there's you."
Their eyes locked for a brief, significant moment. Echizen was the first to break away, shaking his head as he did so. "You're so annoying sometimes."
Caught off guard, Tezuka inquired earnestly, "Why?"
Echizen shook his head again and mumbled under his breath, "Idiot." Just as Tezuka was about to ask for the reason again, the freshman leaned forward to kiss him. It took only a second for the senior to get over his surprise before he was eagerly kissing back. Soon enough, they had their arms wrapped around each other so that there was barely a hair's width between them while their lips and tongues dueled passionately. Echizen slipped one of his hands underneath Tezuka's shirt and up his back to the nape of his neck. When Tezuka felt Ryoma's other hand snaking down the front of his pants, he responded instantly by covering that hand with his own and pressing down. He gasped at the stimulation and began to lean back, losing the energy to remain sitting up. It was at that moment that he realized three things: a) there was nothing to lean back against since the wall was still a distance away from the bench they were on, b) they were sitting on a bench, and c) they were sitting on a bench in the tennis club's locker room.
"Echizen!" His voice came out in a yelp most unbecoming of captain Tezuka. When the younger boy didn't immediately respond and instead started to reach into his pants, the older boy grabbed a hold of that insistent hand and intoned more firmly, "Echizen."
"What?" the freshman demanded, his face scrunching up in slight irritation at being interrupted.
"We can't do this here."
It took a few beats before he realized what the senior meant. "Oh yeah, we're still here," he said with a crooked grin. He then glanced around and with a mischievous glint in his eyes, suggested slyly, "Although, there's really no one here now but us…."
Tezuka couldn't help chuckling at that but nevertheless his tone was resolute as he stated, "Absolutely not."
Echizen sighed. "So boring, buchou."
"I have an image to preserve after all," the young captain responded jokingly.
They hurriedly gathered their belongings and headed out the door. As Tezuka locked up the room, he asked Echizen, "We're alright then?"
Pursing his lips sardonically, the freshman's answered cryptically with, "I'll let you know in a couple of hours."
Tezuka grinned, glad that things did work out all right.
O
O
O
O
O
Inui, Eiji, Momo and Kaidoh walked together in stunned silence, retracing their steps back to their original destination, McDonald's, before they had made the horrendously erroneous decision to return to school to peek in on their captain and Echizen. They had only wanted to make sure everything was "okay" with the two of them, nothing else. They had only planned to peek in, with no intention of interrupting their privacy at all. Just the same, Oishi had tried his best to stop them. Unfortunately, with it being four against one (Fuji had just observed the whole exchange in amusement while the five lowerclassmen were barely able to make any sense of their coded dialogue), he didn't have a chance. They had overpowered his protests easily, their insistence fueled by an overwhelming sense of curiosity with just a smidgen of concern mixed in. As they were heading back to the locker room, they had been joking about what they would find. At the worst a fighting match between the two (this idea supplied by Momoshiro), at the best a cute but innocent embrace (this idea supplied by Eiji). The sight they were greeted with instead completely blew all their expectations out to space.
They had only opened the door a crack, being extremely careful as to not give any indication that they were there, and they had looked for only a few seconds, if that, but it was still enough time for the image they encountered to be seared into their brains, an image that would haunt them for days, nay, weeks, to come, if not more.
Afterwards, the speed by which they rushed off of school grounds broke records.
Momo was the first to speak up, mustering up a single, "Damn." Beside him, Eiji and Kaidoh were still incapable of speech. In fact, Eiji's mouth was still hanging wide open as if his lower jaw had come undone, while Kaidoh's face looked in danger of exploding from the amount of blood that had rushed to the surface and remained there.
Inui cleared his throat awkwardly. "There's definitely more physical contact than when I last saw them," he remarked.
The second year was nearly apoplectic with disbelief. "More! I'd say! They were..." he lowered his voice when he realized his yelling was attracting strange looks from people on the street, "They were this close to doing it right there in the locker room. The locker room!"
"Amazing isn't it? I never figured either of them to be the passionate type. At least not to that degree," Inui responded more moderately.
"Amazing doesn't even begin to describe it! I mean, we all know they've had sex, but I just…I never expected…never thought…geez."
"Pigeons," Kikumaru suddenly spoke up, startling both of them.
"What's that, Eiji-senpai?"
"I thought they'd be like pigeons. You know, how they are when they're mating?"
Momo blinked and debated whether his senpai's line of thought was even worth pursuing.
Unfortunately, Inui took the decision out of his hands by asking, "What do you mean by that, Kikumaru?"
Eiji shrugged, his forehead creasing in thought. "Well, ever since Ochibi told us about him and Tezuka having sex, the images of pigeons mating would just come up when I thought about them together. You know, kind of boring to look at, even when mating? I never thought it would involve so much… kissing, and hugging, and touching, and rubbing…."
"Alright, alright! We get it, senpai!" Momo yelled just as Kaidoh groaned and covered his ears.
The older boy blushed and ducked his head in embarrassment. "You know what I mean. But they weren't anything like how pigeons are. If I had to describe them, I would say they're more like…snails. Yeah, snails sound about right."
Momoshiro guffawed and then scrunched his face in disgust. "That's kinda gross, Eiji-senpai."
Inui decided to refrain from further voicing his views on the matter, lest that lead to an open invitation for them to question about his own experiences.
"You ever seen snails mate? If you ever do, you'll know what I mean."
"Uh, no, I think I'll pass."
"What was I thinking?" Kaidoh moaned unhappily all of a sudden.
Momo turned to him and asked, "Yeah, what were you thinking, viper? I thought you didn't want to know about stuff like that between the captain and Echizen."
"I didn't!" Kaidoh snapped. "I thought they'd be fighting! Were you expecting that?"
"Of course not! I was the one who suggested they'd be arguing like cats and dogs! None of us expected that!"
"Perhaps we're overreacting," Inui reasoned. "After all, they were only kissing. I'm sure we've seen worse."
"In comic books and tv and movies, maybe, but not live and in color and involving the captain and Echizen!" Momo replied. "That'll teach us to stick our noses where they don't belong."
"I don't know, after the initial shock, it is rather educating. Definitely valuable data in terms of Tezuka and Echizen."
"As if data like that will ever be useful on the court," the second year grumbled skeptically.
"Any and all data has its uses."
"You're not gonna describe that in your notebook, are you, Inui? That might be too much, don't you think?" This from Eiji.
"Of course not. I do have some scruples. Not to mention, I doubt I need to commit that image to paper in order to remember it. I'm a bit worried my memory will serve me too well in this case. Considering our relationship with Tezuka, this might create some degree of awkwardness the next time we see him."
"That's the understatement of the year," Momo muttered.
"Everyone, we have to remember to be careful!" Eiji warned. "We absolutely can't let them know we saw what we did!"
"That goes without question. Although…" the second year grinned, "somehow that's something I would expect to hear from Oishi-senpai. No offense, Eiji-senpai."
"Hey, I know when's a good time to joke and when's a good time to be serious, too," the older boy responded while reiterating his words by poking at Momoshiro's shoulder. "In this case, it is absolutely not a joking matter since we had no right to spy on their love-love time."
"You say that, but weren't you just as excited about spying on them in the park, senpai?"
Eiji waved his hand dismissively. "That was different. That was in a public place and it was our right to know at that point in time."
"Alright," Momo said dubiously. Shrugging, he added, "either way, I understand what you mean. I don't have any plans to breathe a word about this to another soul. Man's honor. In fact, if at all possible, even I would like to forget this whole thing ever happened."
"Same here," Kaidoh concurred.
"Of course we have to tell Oishi, Fuji and Taka-san about this, but otherwise, that's it."
"Are you serious, Eiji-senpai!" Momoshiro exclaimed.
"Of course. They have the right to know too!"
"Then by all means, I leave the honor of retelling to you two senpais. I won't be able to face Tezuka-buchou again if I continue to think too much about that scene."
Eiji nodded solemnly. "Of course, of course." He then beamed and thought eagerly, I can't wait to see their reactions! Especially Oishi's! He giggled and practically bounced the rest of the way to the McDonald's.
O
O
O
O
O
The night before the young captain was to depart for Germany, Echizen went over to his house to watch him pack. The freshman sat perched upon his bed watching him wordlessly, occasionally handing him something when asked. Since he had already started the night before, it didn't take long before Tezuka finally announced, "I think I have everything."
"You're done?"
The older boy thought about it some more as he stared down at his suitcase. "Yes."
"That's just one suitcase and one bag. Is that enough?"
"Yes. I don't need much to get by, just the essentials."
"How about your grandparents? Will they be okay?"
Tezuka nodded. "My aunt will come visit them from time to time just to check in on them."
"I could do that too."
"You will?" the other boy asked, mildly surprised.
"Sure, why not? I like their cooking."
Tezuka grinned. "I appreciate it."
"Oh, I almost forgot, I have something for you." Ryoma jumped off the bed and went over to his bag. He rummaged through it and then pulled out the thing he was looking for, presenting it to the senior. "Take this with you."
With an amused expression, Tezuka sat down on the bed and examined the item in his hand, turning it to look at the picture on one side. "It's a cup with a picture of Karupin on it."
Seating himself next to him, the freshman bobbed his head in confirmation. "Yeah. I use it all the time."
"But, if I bring it with me, what about you?"
Ryoma rolled his eyes. "I have other mugs I can use in my house. Just make sure you return it to me in one piece."
Tezuka continued to look down at it for a minute more, his lips stretched in a smile. Finally, he looked up at the freshman and said softly, "Thank you. I'll take good care of it." He turned and folded the mug into one of his towels before tucking it into his suitcase.
"Good."
After closing his suitcase shut, Tezuka went over to where the other boy was. Ryoma tugged him down onto the bed. "What should we do now?" Tezuka asked with a small knowing grin.
"I don't know," Echizen replied even as he began planting purposeful kisses on the other boy's face and neck.
"You have to go home soon."
"I know. And we both have to get up early tomorrow."
"It would've been enough for my grandparents and sensei to see me off; all of you didn't have to come along as well."
"We're just skipping morning practice. It's not like we could stay that long anyway cuz of school."
"So this is our good-byes then?"
"I guess. Unless you want to make a scene tomorrow in front of everyone."
Tezuka shot him a wry look as he shifted so that he could take off his shirt. He quickly got undressed and as he lowered himself down on top of the other boy, he breathed into Ryoma's ear, "Then, I guess I'll say good-bye for now."
To which Echizen answered with an equally tender, "Good-bye for now, Kuni-chan."
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Author's Note: I struggled with the length of this chapter for a while. The first draft was actually much more wordy. But then after re-reading it again and again, I realized a lot of the stuff can be cut out. Hopefully, I didn't end up making it not wordy enough.
Again thank you for your continued patronage. I should also say a big thank you to all of you who has posted a review, your feedback or even e-mailed me personally. I do try to reply but at the same time I am always grossly behind in e-mail, so if you haven't heard from me, or don't hear from, please know that your words are all greatly appreciated. When I first started this story, it was entirely for myself, but your words have really encouraged me to move forward with it. I apologize I cannot offer you anything in return, not even keeping to my word of posting sooner. sob I will continue to try!
And just in case you're wondering, there IS more to come!