Ryumi and Eiji look to Oishi expectantly, holding their breaths as they await his verdict.

Suddenly Oishi's surprised face turns to one of happiness. "That's great!" he exclaims, making the two glance at each other with excitement in their eyes.

"So you're okay with it?" Eiji asks, just to be sure.

Oishi nods in reply. "Of course. If you two think you can take it, it's fine with me." he states, making them cheer as they receive Oishi's approval for them to play doubles.

"I promise I won't hog too much of his time Oishi. You guys getting to the Nationals is still top priority." Ryumi vows.

Oishi nods. "Thank you. But when will the first match be?" he wonders.

"The preliminaries will be after the regionals. It's to see if we are selected to participate. The actual matches won't start until after the Nationals." she explains.

Oishi smiles. "I'm sure you two will have nothing to worry about." he assures them.

"No we won't! Yosh! This calls for a group hug!" Eiji shouts excitedly, pulling Oishi and Ryumi to him, squishing the three of them together.

"Eiji, we're going to miss the train." Oishi laughs, squirming out of his friend's grip.

"Oh, right." Eiji muses, letting Oishi go so they can resume walking, he keeps a casual arm slung over Ryumi's shoulders though, who fights to hide a blush.

She remembers the day before. Eiji was immediately excited to have a go at this doubles tournament with her, the way his eyes lit up like a kid during Christmas… Why was she ever worried?

"How can you have this much energy at this time of the night?" Oishi chuckles, receiving a grin from the redhead in reply.

….

Ryumi looks around at everyone with a small smile. They all gathered late at night at the train station at Oishi's request. Their mission: to watch the sunrise at the top of a mountain. It will be the last thing they will do together before Tezuka is leaving.

It was such a shock to his team when Tezuka announced his leave, but over the last few days, they have accepted it more or less. Soon he will leave, for weeks, months…. Who knows? As long as he returns in good health.

"Well, let's get this party started." Momo says, ready to go. "We have a long climb ahead of us." he states, marching towards the right platform their train will be at.

"Fssh. Don't just take the lead like that." Kaidoh hisses, irking Momo.

"Last one on is a rotten egg." Ryoma tells them as he passes them in a leisure pace, making them break up the fight before it starts and rush towards the train that just rolled into the station.

They quickly settle down into their half an hour ride out of the city, playing cards, talking or just staring out the window.

….

"It smells nice here." Ryumi sighs after taking in a deep breath. They have just started their journey up the mountain and a light fog has settled down on them, but nothing to serious.

Eiji points his flashlight at her when he hears the rustle of a paper bag. "What's that?" he blinks curiously, watching Ryumi pop something into her mouth.

"Licorice." she answers with her mouth full. She hears Ryoma make a gagging noise behind her. "Want some?" she offers, holding out the bag.

Eiji looks skeptic for a moment before taking a piece. "Have you ever had any Eiji?" Fuji asks, watching his friend's face.

Eiji shakes his head. "Here goes, nya *gulp*."

Suddenly he holds his hands in front of his mouth and Ryumi swears on her life his face grows green. "It's okay Eiji. Just spit it out if you don't like it." she urges, not wanting him to choke on it.

"Blegh!" he dumps the contents of his mouth into a bush.

"Gross senpai!" Momo calls from slightly above them.

Fuji chuckles. "It's not for everyone." he muses, taking a piece for himself and popping it into his mouth.

"Here Eiji. Have some juice." Ryumi offers, handing him a bottle Inui just offered her.

"Ah, thank you." Eiji sighs, downing the contents quickly in hopes of getting rid of the taste. Suddenly he freezes, his face set in horror before he turns to the bush again, dry heaving.

"Huh?" Ryumi blinks in surprise before picking up the now fallen bottle and sniffing the contents. She turns to glare at a certain person behind her. "Inui!"

"Too bad. I had wanted for you to try it just once." Inui mutters, before turning away to sulk.

After a few minutes, Eiji manages to get himself walking again, though he hangs on Momo and Taka's shoulders for support for the first hour.

….

"Nee-san. You can still continue?" Ryoma asks his sister, a little worried. It's quite the trek after all.

Ryumi nods. "Yeah, I'm doing surprisingly well. Maybe because the path isn't so steep." Ryoma nods, happy with her answer.

"I think we're nearly there everyone!" Oishi calls excitedly, sprinting ahead. And he's right as the woods open up before them, leaving them standing at the peak on a platform overlooking the city.

"Just five more minutes until sunrise. We're just in time." Oishi sighs, checking his watch before looking back up over the city. There is still some fog hanging around and the clouds are a bit packed on the horizon, causing him to look a bit worried.

"I don't think we are gonna see anything." Momo hums, looking bummed out for having go through the trouble and have nothing to show for it.

Oishi hangs his head. "Sorry everyone…" he apologizes, but then a faint light hits their faces and looking at the few, they see the sky slowly clear up, just before the sun casts his glow over the city.

"Oishi, it's the sunrise!" Eiji calls, jumping up and down, making his friend look up and soon his face brightens with a smile.

"The sunrise…"

Ryumi grins at the sight before her, pulling her little brother to her in a one armed hug as the other guys cheer.

She glances towards Tezuka, who's eyes have turned from the sight before them to the spectacle the boys are making next to him, a hint of amusement and also sadness in his eyes. He won't ever say it out loud, but she's sure that he will miss hanging out with them.

…..

Momo snickers behind his hand so as not to make too much noise and disturb his source of amusement.

Fuji has already pulled out his camera to take advantage of the moment.

"It's not that funny." Ryoma mutters tiredly, turning to look outside and watching the landscape pass by in a hurry as the train rushes forward towards home. He thinks it's best to ignore the hysteria made by his sister and Eiji.

Fuji zooms in on the two who are fast asleep next to each other. Eiji has sagged into his seat, his head thrown back as he snores occasionally with his mouth hanging wide open.

Ryumi is seated beside him, leaning against his shoulder as she has curled up in her seat. She frowns suddenly as Eiji shifts a little and reaches up to fluff up his shoulder like she would a pillow before settling again.

"Kawaii!" Momo nearly squeals, making Kaidoh scoff at his childishness. Though even he is intrigued. A little gossip and intrigue is always welcomed in Seigaku and one of the greatest instigators, Inui, is scribbling furiously in his notebook.

Oishi smiles before turning to Tezuka who sits across him. "I suppose you heard about their plan to compete in a doubles tournament already?" he questions.

"Yes." Tezuka nods. "It's interesting." he states, not giving much else away.

Oishi hums in agreement. "They will find their way to the top together, one way or another."

Hi guys. I came back from holiday just last night. I'm still beat, but I didn't want you guys to wait any longer. I hope you had fun reading.