You all should know my usual pair by now...

warning: YAOI

And I've just read that saying "desu" is like being polite, or something. So of course, using "desu" excessively like Taichi does, it is considered strange. That's the only reason why I recognized him in THAT episode. Don't want to tell you, cuz it might come as a spoiler to some. .

~*~

"Echizen Ryouma."

Collect data. Must collect more data. Twist serve, split step, drive B, drive A, super rising.....

"Echizen Ryouma."

"AH! If you say that name one more time!!" the screeching voice woke the sleeping yamabiki player up immediatly.

"Ah, where am I?!"

Horio looked over to Taichi with a grin on his face, "Ha? Taichi-kun is thinking of a certain someone, AGAIN." Taichi had "clueless" written all over his face. "Nani, desu?"

He looked around, puzzled, then remembered he had been here with Horio and the other two. He must have fallen asleep! Ack, and it was already night time, too. "Where's-"

"They went home after you fell asleep, so I had to stay here until you woke up."

"Arigato, desu."

They walked home, Horio was mostly talking about how much everyone was improving, not to mention about his 2 years of glorious tennis experience!

Of course, this conversation did not bore Taichi in the least, not that Taichi was really that much paying attention.

"Hey! Did you hear what I said?"

"Ah? Nani?"

Horio began to get annoyed, "Tomorrow! After practice, we're having a Valentine's Day celebration at Taka's restaraunt. You're invited, you know!"

"Wh-what? Me? Why?"

"Beats me." Horio was smirking, like he knew something.... Not that Taichi really caught it. So everything went as normal as it could go, and once Taichi was home in his own bedroom, he lay on his bed to contemplate.

.............

VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

He shot up into a sitting position. Valentine's Day?? Tomorrow?? Taka's what? Ryouma-kun should be-will be there?! Ryouma-kun!! ....Ryouma-kun....

Taichi shook his head, why was all train of thought lost to Ryouma-kun? Maybe a bath would do... He walked into his bathroom, turning the faucet and watching hot water pour into the tub. He stared and stared at the rising water, it took a while to get to the right level.

He had only began when he saw his face in the reflection of the now still water. He was reminding himself of Ryouma-kun... Now he was feeling uneasy getting undressed in front of his own reflection! Maybe he's in love?

...

Of course not! It's an obssession. An obssession with tennis. An obssession with winning the game. An obssession with feel of tennis. An obssession with playing against the strongest of opponents. An obssession.... with Ryouma-kun.

"Ie, I'm getting too tired desu."

After bathing, which seemed quite difficult, he got dressed for bed. Pulling up the covers, getting in, wrapping himself up in the blankets. A final thought of his current idol, sleep...

1:39am....

Taichi got up out of bed, sweating and panting, what a nightmare! He dreamt of confessing to Ryouma, then getting completely humiliated by the entire Seigaku team. Terrible! Ugh!

He stared over at his clock, focusing on his vision until it cleared from sleep, and get used to the darkness of the room. It was still so early. Only about 4 hours had passed since he had fallen asleep. Placing a hand of his forehead, Taichi sighed of sheer exaustion. This little "obssession" was getting the best of him. Though he did feel a slight feeling of regret, almost, like whenever he had to lie to someone. He felt like he was lieing to himself. But about what?

Taka-san's restaraunt, 5:00pm...

Everyone was eating and chatting and having fun. Though, on this very special occassion, also quite unusual, some had dates. Eiji clung to Fuji constantly, Momo and Kaidoh argued more than usual, and Oishi and Taka-san were exceptionally nice. Only loud mouth Horio, and Ryouma were not really hanging out with a "partner."

Though, neither seemed to mind, both behaving in their usual manner, except Echizen was maybe... More passive...

"Ah! I almost forgot! Where's Taichi-kun?" Horio screeched.

Ryouma seemed to have snapped back to reality, true, that one person was the only one missing. It didn't really matter though, right? One person less does not make a difference.

Dan Taichi.

Valentine's Day was an annoying and troublesome day...

~*~

Where the heck is Taichi?!

Anyway, next chapter will be last, and I'm so sorry I had to devide it into two chapters, and the second only come AFTER Valentine's on the 15th. But I'll put it up as soon as possible... Later this morning... yah, it's after 1am now... *yawn*

And HAPPY [late] VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Please excuse any spelling errors, but anything else you'd like to flame about, go on ahead. Though I prefer nice, friendly reviews. (Who doesn't?)

^___^