(A/N: Okay, I've done it! I have finally continued this story! After thinking about this for the last month, the idea would not leave my head till this story goes on. I seriously have no clue where this will go, but I have ideas. All I can say is…I need to give Oishi some justice! Some people don't like Oishi and even hate him for being with Eiji ("cough" oniichan "cough"). I like Oishi in a straight and shounen-ai way. Since I'm adding to the straight stories, this is just my dedication to him in the straight way. Thanks to the reviewers and everyone who reads this. Please continue to support! I hope you won't be disappointed. I'm going to make this the second part of the story.)
Disclaimer: I think you already know. If not, refer to previous chapters. I own Reiko…so don't steal her.
Timeline: Well, we know Tezuka is leaving. I've seen up to episode 80 and I know what happens after, so I apologize if there are small spoilers.
Italics mean the person's thoughts.
Title: Yakusoku o Mamoru (To keep one's promise)
Part II: Promises of the Present
Genre: Romance/Drama
It's been a week since Tezuka has left for Germany. The boy's tennis team now under substitute captain Oishi has continued to remain strong. Seigaku had recently competed against Jousei in the next round of the Kantou tournament with Seigaku coming out victorious. Their road to the Nationals was getting closer.
Reiko had recently found out that Oishi's wrist was still in the healing process when he played during the Jousei match. (Recall that he injured his wrist before the Hyotei match) That didn't bode very well for her, for that meant that Oishi didn't play his fullest during their match a few weeks before. Reiko was not as strong as most guys, which was probably why Oishi's wrist did not get affected much when they played. She decided to accept the win, but hoped for another match with Oishi when his wrist was fully healed. It wouldn't be for a while before that would happen.
Since taking over as captain, Oishi had become much more busy and rarely had any time to hang out with Reiko. Reiko had also been busy, for she was competing in the girl's ranking tournament. She had also started to mingle and become friends with some of the girls in the tennis club. Both of them lead their own busy lives, but were able to chat a few times a week during lunch break. Life in a way did resume back to normal. However, that can only go for so long…
Chapter 9: Old and New Situations
"Ittekimasu!" Reiko exclaimed as she ran out the front door. She skipped down the sidewalk happily as she went to school. There was no morning practice today, for the girl's tennis club had recently finished the ranking tournament. Reiko was excited that she had finally become a regular and would be able to play other schools when matches came around. In the ranking's match, she managed to finish with 4 wins and 1 lost. Her only lost came from the girl's captain. Upon losing to the captain, she realized she'd have to train harder in order for her to beat Oishi in a fair match. She knew it wouldn't be till after the boy's team went to the Nationals. She didn't mind, for she planned to practice hard till that time came around.
Reiko reached school and walked to her shoebox to change into her school shoes. She opened up the shoebox and about half a dozen letters fell out onto the ground. She picked up one of them and opened it up. Reiko giggled at what was written. Like most girls, she started to receive love letters from guys at her class level. Most the other girls she talked with in the tennis club also received love letters. Some of the letters had the person's name while others didn't. Although letters were flattering, Reiko felt she didn't have time for a relationship nor knew any of the guys very well so she would turn each of them down politely.
Reiko then picked up another letter off the ground. This one was very plain with her name written on it very neatly. She opened it up and started to read. The cheerful expression on her face faded as she continued to read the letter.
"Crap. I thought I wouldn't have to deal with this again. If its not one thing, its always something else."
As she finished the letter, she notice that there was no name given as to who sent it. She looked up and around, wondering if there was anyone watching her. No one was around, but the feeling of nervousness would not leave. Her hands started to shake uncontrollably and she suddenly dropped the letter. A tense look appeared on her face as she crouched down to pick up the letter she dropped and the other letters that fell out of her shoebox. As she was picking them up, she saw another hand help her gather the letters. She looked up to see who was helping her. As she saw the person's face, her expression quickly changed back into a friendly smile.
"Fuji-kun. Ohayou." Reiko replied cheerfully.
"Ohayou as well Reiko-san." Fuji smiled back.
"Did you just come back from morning tennis practice?"
He nodded. "Is it just me…or did I see a worried expression on Reiko's face when I came?"
Fuji picked up the rest of the letters and handed it back to Reiko. "Thank you Fuji-kun. Well I better be off." She started to walk away.
"Chotto Matte."
"Hm?" Reiko turned around quickly.
"You haven't changed your shoes yet." Fuji pointed at Reiko's shoes. She noticed that she was still in her normal shoes and hadn't changed into her school shoes. Reiko giggled in embarrassment and walked back to her shoebox to change her shoes. Fuji waited around till she was done.
"I better get going to class then." Reiko attempted to dash away quickly.
"Um…Reiko-san?"
"What is it Fuji-kun?"
"Since we're in the same class, wouldn't you rather walk together?"
Reiko lightly smacked her head in embarrassment. "Haha…why didn't I realize that! Of course!" Both of them started walking towards their class. Fuji was observing Reiko as they were walking. "Hm…I think I was right earlier. Something seems to be bothering her. I wonder what it is?"
"Um…Fuji-kun?"
"Hm?" Fuji did his trademark smile.
"I guess it would be rude for me to ask you this, but I don't see Syu-kun often and I haven't been here that long. You seem to know him pretty well since you've been to the same school for a while and played together in the tennis club." Reiko was sort of unsure if she should ask.
"What do you need to ask me Reiko-san?" Fuji gave her a reassuring look. He was very curious as to what Reiko was going to ask.
"Do you know if Syu-kun has a girlfriend?"
Fuji's blue eyes widened upon hearing that question. That was one of the few questions he didn't expect Reiko to ask him. He wondered in the back of his mind why she asked that. "From what I know, he doesn't appear to have one." Fuji replied with a puzzled look.
"Oh I see." Reiko responded with a confused look.
"Hm…do you like Oishi?" Fuji asked curiously.
Reiko nodded and smiled back. "Of course I like Syu-kun."
From the response Reiko gave, it didn't seem like she was referring to the same 'like' that Fuji was thinking about. He decided to ask another question to verify that. "Eh really? Is that why you wanted to know if Oishi has a girlfriend?"
Reiko shook her head. She took out the letter she was reading earlier and showed it to Fuji. "I wanted to ask because of this." Fuji read the letter and his blue eyes widened. He realized then why Reiko had the worried expression when he first saw her. Fuji read to the bottom of the letter and turned it over. "Eh? No name? That's quite cowardly to leave a message like this without a name." Fuji smiled and handed the letter back to Reiko. "Don't worry. I think it's probably because you interact with Oishi better than most girls do. As for the name, I think I have a way to find that out."
Reiko smiled back as thanks. In the back of her mind, she had many reasons to worry. She knew what would be coming later.
Class was about to begin, so they hurried to their classroom 3-6. As they were to enter in, Reiko lightly tugged on Fuji's sleeve. This caused Fuji to stop and turn around.
"What's wrong Reiko-san?"
"Whatever I just told you…please don't tell Syu-kun."
"No problem. Any reason why?"
"I think you know the reason already." Reiko then walked into the classroom. Fuji stood there for a moment. A smile appeared on his face again. It was then he found that Reiko had become a much more interesting person. "And yes I do know the reason."
Fuji walked into the classroom. Reiko was turned around in her seat talking to Eiji in a cheerful manner. Eiji was excitedly telling her about how he avoided Inui's drink at morning practice when he beat out Kaidoh in a regular's match up. Fuji sat in his seat and joined in on the conversation. He casually watched Reiko's personality, noticing how it was slightly different from when they were talking earlier. There was a lot more to Reiko than what was shown…and Fuji was curious to find out.
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Lunchtime came around. Reiko left quickly, for she couldn't join Eiji and Fuji at lunch because she had a meeting with the girl's regulars. Eiji moved over to Fuji's desk and they both ate lunch together. Fuji noticed that Eiji looked a little down. "Ne…Eiji. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing much..." Eiji looked out the window as he replied. "Hey Fuji. I was wondering…do you know if Oishi likes Reiko?"
Fuji blue eyes filled with interest. "Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you be asking Oishi this?"
"I've been thinking it over for a while, if I should ask Oishi or not. I noticed that Reiko and Oishi don't hang out very much. However, the few times they do they're really connected. I've never seen Oishi act so friendly and normal with a girl before. Since he knows her, I wanted to ask him before I made a move. If he does like her, I'd most likely back away for his sake…though I really don't want to. I think I'm just scared of what he'd say." Eiji closed his eyes and let out a big sigh.
Fuji looked at Eiji, wondering what to say. It was quite interesting that Fuji was in the middle of the situation. He knew that Oishi liked Reiko, but he wasn't sure of his feelings. Reiko appeared plain naïve on the whole situation. And now…Eiji has developed feelings for Reiko. Fuji just couldn't help but smile at the position he was in. However, as much as he would like to see people suffer, this wasn't something that he would like to see go wrong.
"Remember that Oishi has known Reiko for some time before, which is why he acts normal around her. I think, since you consider Oishi your best friend, you should ask him. Oishi is an understanding person so he'll answer you truthfully."
Eiji paused in silence as he thought over what Fuji said. "I think I will do that."
Meanwhile at the tennis courts during lunch, Oishi and Momoshiro were practicing. With Tezuka gone, Momoshiro easily took back a regular spot. Oishi was glad to have Momoshiro back as a regular. He helped Momoshiro practice his shots and smashes so that he'd be ready to play in the next match.
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Lunchtime was coming to an end, so Oishi and Momoshiro walked off the court. As they were going to the clubroom to change, a girl walked up to Oishi, asking if she could talk with him. Momoshiro nudged Oishi in the side and gave him a large grin as he hurried off to the clubroom, leaving Oishi alone with the girl.
"Um…" The girl blushed as she tried to talk. "Oishi-sempai…I wanted to say…. I really like you."
As always, Oishi lightly blushed when he heard that. He shook it off quickly, for he knew what his response would be. He smiled at the girl. "Arigatou. I'm sorry, but I'm not looking for a relationship. I hope you can understand."
The girl shook her head. "It's alright Oishi-sempai. I understand. Excuse me." The girl looked like she was about to cry as she ran off. Oishi sighed. He really didn't like doing that, but there weren't many girls he could relate to well. The only girl he felt he could relate to well was Reiko. As he pictured her in his mind, a blush came upon his face. Oishi shook it off quickly. He went back to the clubroom and proceeded to change back to his school clothes.
Oishi was walking back to his class from the outside of the school building. As he rounded the corner, he saw Reiko standing alone. Oishi was about to call her name, but then noticed that she was standing there with a guy from his class. Oishi then hid behind the corner. He felt he shouldn't be hearing in on her conversation, but he wanted to know what was going on.
"Um…Reiko-san. Did you get my letter?" The guy asked nervously.
Reiko nodded. "Yes, I did read your letter."
"So I was wondering…if you could give me an answer."
Oishi was a little shocked that Reiko was being asked out. He then realized that he hasn't spent a lot of time with her, which was why he never noticed. "So Reiko is going through the same thing." Nervousness went through him as he waited to hear how Reiko would respond.
Reiko closed her eyes and bowed politely. "Gomen, but I'm not looking for a relationship now."
"But…I really like you. Is it because there is someone else you like?" He walked over to Reiko and placed his hands gently on her shoulders. Oishi saw the gesture and a blush came to his face. He leaned himself on the side of the school building. "Why am I feeling so nervous now?" Oishi could feel his heart beating fast.
Reiko shook her head and smiled at him. "You are a really nice guy. But, we don't know each other very well. I hope we can become better friends later on."
"Ah I see…" The guy said sadly. He then walked away, not looking back. Reiko continued to watch as he left. The gently breeze blew her long black hair lightly and she brushed her hand through. A slightly sad look appeared in her eyes as she let out a small sigh. "It's true though. I don't think anyone knows me well…"
"Rei-chan?" Reiko turned around and saw Oishi walking towards her. A smile appeared on her face again. "Hi Syu-kun! It's been a while since I last saw you. Did you practice tennis during lunch break?" She talked happily.
Oishi nodded. "You had a meeting today right?"
"Yup. It just ended recently."
"Um…Rei-chan. About what just happened…"
"You saw?" Reiko replied back quickly. Oishi nodded his head again. "Gomen…I didn't mean to."
"Don't worry about it. I've been getting this often lately. It's nice, but sometimes it's hard to tell people the truth. I really don't like hurting people. Don't you go through the same thing?"
"Huh?" Oishi answered with a slight blush on his face.
"You know. I heard you have your own fan club. Don't girls ask you out a lot?" Reiko looked down at her shoes. "Aren't their any girls that interest you? They must be really nice."
Oishi rubbed his head. "Its true the girls are nice. I've been quite busy taking over as captain so I don't have much time to date. But, sometimes I think none of them really know me well so I'm not interested." Reiko blushed and was startled by his response. "That's the same reason I had. Weird…we both feel the same way about this."
Oishi continued to talk. "I was wondering…"
*Ring*
Lunchtime has ended. Reiko giggled. "I guess we'll have to continue our talk later. So we're meeting tomorrow for lunch at the usual place right?" Oishi nodded in agreement. "We better hurry back to class before we're late." Oishi smiled at Reiko and the two walked back to their classrooms.
As they were walking away, a few students from afar were watching the two with furious looks on their faces.
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The end of the day went by quickly. Besides the usual fights Momoshiro and Kaidoh had and the torturous juices Inui brought, practice was normal. The sun was beginning to set as Oishi called for the end of practice. The regulars continued to train hard to make sure that they would save a seat for Tezuka at the Nationals when he would return from Germany. All of the regulars were tired from the intense training they had and everyone went back to the clubroom to change.
As usual, Oishi was the last one to leave and lock up the clubroom. He turned to leave when he noticed that a figure was waiting for him.
"Oishi." Eiji was waiting near a tree outside of the clubroom and walked up to Oishi. "Are you walking back home?" Eiji responded with a smile, but the hyperactive personality was nowhere to be seen.
Oishi nodded. "Yes I was going home."
"Mind if I walk with you?" Oishi could tell from the way Eiji was acting that there was something bothering him. Oishi smiled. "Sure, I don't mind at all."
Both of them continued to walk. Oishi was waiting for Eiji to talk, for it seemed like he had something to talk about. After about 5 minutes, Oishi couldn't wait any longer. "Eiji. You don't seem like your normal self. Is something wrong?" Oishi stopped walking and faced Eiji.
Eiji started the play with his fingers and was getting nervous. Oishi was his good friend, yet he was still iffy to ask. Eiji recalled the conversation he had with Fuji earlier. He decided he would say what he planned. "Ne..Oishi. I've been meaning to ask you this. What's your opinion on Reiko?"
Oishi was confused as to what he was trying to say. "What do you mean Eiji? Reiko is my childhood friend."
Eiji shook his head. His face began to blush as he stuttered on what he was going to say. "No. I mean…do you…love Reiko?"
A gush of wind was the only sound heard, for silence at the moment was the only answer.
Oishi's face became entirely red when he heard Eiji ask that. He was speechless and had no clue how to respond. "Well…I really don't know…" That was all Oishi could say because he seriously didn't know. He barely even saw her these days. A part of him did have feelings for her, but another part still saw Reiko as a childhood friend.
"Oh I see…" Eiji walked up to Oishi and whispered into his ear. "I just want you to know…that I'm falling in love with Reiko. Oishi…if you don't plan on pursuing her, I'm going to."
To be cont.
Quick thank you's:
Tsubame Gaeshi- Well here is the continuation of the story after a month long stop. Thanks for always supporting.
Jen-chan- I know you wanted this story to go on, so this continuation is dedicated to you as well. You always supported my stories, though I don't think they are that great. Big thanks to you!
Aya-chan- Thank you so much for your review. I'm so glad you liked and appreciated this story. I hope this will continue to be a decent story for your enjoyment.
AstarInDaSky05-Thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you like this story! Thanks for reading the cracked out fantasy story as well. I like shonen-ai as well, but it would be nice if some straight stories existed. Hope you continue reading!
Shortichan- Thanks for the support and there needs to be more Oishi fans!
To everyone else, thanks for reading and please continue to support. I love hearing from the readers! ^_^
(A/N: First off, does anyone care that I didn't give names to the people that asked Oishi and Reiko out? If there is a character of importance I will give them a name. Oh lord, I did it. I made a controversial triangle between Reiko and the Golden Pair! Don't worry though, it won't get too complicating (Yeah right). Any comments or suggestions? Email if you want! I like anything that will help me improve and make the story much better! Give me criticism if you like (don't flame too bad though)! Thanks for reading as always! It might take longer for chapters to come, for school is around the corner. I tend to post new things on Fridays or the weekends. Please be patient.)