Aishuu Offers:

Dross

mbsilvana@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Konomi-sensei, manga-ka!

Notes: Eiji muse has run away with me, so this looks like it might become a bit longer than I anticipated. O/K and some T/F. 

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Part Two

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Of everyone at Seigaku, Oishi had been closest to Tezuka and Kikumaru. Seeing them after nearly ten years of separation was like plunging into an icy pool. His eyes fell first on Tezuka, because Tezuka still had that aura about him that commanded respect and attention.

Tezuka hadn't changed, not really. Not where it mattered — he could tell. His former captain might have been a little taller, his striking face even more refined, but the core of Tezuka Kunimitsu had remained.

Tezuka was still a leader among men.

Oishi exhaled a breath he wasn't been aware he'd been holding, relieved to see that Tezuka, too, had met his potential. He knew Tezuka hadn't pursued tennis, and a part of him had wondered if something inside of the stoic man had been broken by that decision.

Still, Oishi felt himself tensing even more as he walked a bit closer, close enough to see Kikumaru Eiji. Everyone else seemed to be doing well enough, and he knew it was too much to hope for that Kikumaru had as well. The odds were against it.

Kikumaru's hair was shorter, and no longer curled up around his cheeks in the cute flip he had spent their entire second year of middle school cultivating. It now was just long enough to curl forward, and it was cut to angle toward his face. He wasn't wearing silk, like Inui, but his clothes were good, and he seemed to be active as he waved a hand to make a point to Tezuka. He hadn't noticed their approach, since he was standing with his back to them, and it took Tezuka clearing his throat for him to turn around.

Spinning around like the cat they had always teased him of being, Oishi noticed that Kikumaru's face, too, had refined. His features were sharp and fox-like, and his eyes seemed to have become more angular after his cheeks had lost the last of the baby fat that had made him "cute."

Oishi knew he shouldn't be thinking Kikumaru had become "sexy" but that was what had occurred.

Kikumaru's eyes scanned the four newcomers quickly, and before any of them were aware what had happened, he threw himself at Fuji, wrapping the smaller man in a hug that probably squeezed the breath right out of him. "Fuji! I'm sorry I haven't called! It's just been really hectic lately!" he said. "I'm so sorry I didn't make it to your graduation — but did you get my gift?"

So Fuji and Kikumaru had been keeping in touch, Oishi noted. He wondered how they managed, with Fuji in med school. Oishi's life had practically been non-existent while he'd been going through it. Then again, Fuji was a genius, and he was not.

Fuji's laugh was light and pleasant as he gradually extracted himself from Kikumaru's hands. "It's fine. It takes two to stop calling," he said gently. "How have you been?"

Kikumaru hesitated a bit as he stepped back. "Busy!" he pronounced. "You know how my job is — it's never 9 to 5." Turning, he smiled over at Oishi, and Oishi felt like he was falling across the years, back to the time when they were the Golden Pair. Kikumaru's next words shattered the illusion, though. "It's been a while, Oishi."

Oishi nodded, his throat too tight to speak. He didn't know what to say, how to apologize, but then Kikumaru was stepping forward and he found himself locked in an embrace that was warmth and sunshine. Kikumaru was still using the same shampoo, he noted absently, as he wrapped his arms around the man who had been so much a part of his formative years.

The others were respectfully quiet, and Oishi wasn't sure how long they stood in each other's arms, thinking about what had been, but he knew when Kikumaru slipped back, a slightly regretful smile on his face that time had indeed passed. "Inui tells me you just got your doctorate. Congratulations!" Kikumaru said, and the distance returned, like a wall of glass neither was sure how to break through.

Kikumaru's words, though, opened a floodgate, as others apparently decided it was time to do the obligatory ten-year review.

"Ne, Tezuka," Fuji said, and the serpent-like tone had everyone turn wary eyes on him. Apparently Fuji's venom had come closer to the surface in the intervening years. "How are things going? You know what they say — all work and no play makes Tezuka a dull boy."

Oishi blinked a bit, turning to see how Tezuka was going to react. In his memory, he could never recall Fuji confronting Tezuka so directly — he wondered what had happened.

Tezuka, though, merely gave a slight smile, one which made Oishi feel off-balance. Tezuka's smiles used to be rare as diamonds on the ground, but it seemed that there had been some changes. "My life is proceeding according to plan," he said.

Fuji's eyes narrowed a bit, and Oishi felt like he was watching a silent war as Tezuka stared back.

"Eiji, what have you been up to?" Oishi asked, not only because he was sincerely interested, but because he didn't want to watch Fuji bait Tezuka, and listen to Tezuka's ice water replies.

Always the peacekeeper.

"I'm in Social Services," Kikumaru said, his smile a bit softer than Oishi remembered. "I work with kids."

Oishi hadn't been expecting that — but he hadn't been expecting anything of Kikumaru. He had never been able to imagine a future for his partner, because Kikumaru was so much a creature of the present.

But the future had arrived, and it looked like Kikumaru had survived. There was something a bit quieter about him, a bit more subdued as he listened to Kawamura immediately launch into a long spiel on his own precious ones, but he seemed to be alright.

It was like a prayer Oishi didn't know he had been making had been answered.

The others were similarly amused, for it seemed that Kawamura's passion for tennis had been transferred into an intense and abiding love for his children, and his wife, Reika. Every now and then he'd turn to Fuji, looking for encouragement, or Inui, who would provide statistics on normal child development, but Tezuka, Oishi and Kikumaru were his audience.

Eventually, though, Kawamura had to pause, and Inui brought up the next subject. "I know Oishi isn't planning on staying, so I was hoping we could go have a more private gathering tonight, after the welcoming speeches have been made."

"Why don't we just slip out now?" Kikumaru suggested, and a slightly mischievous smile lit his face as though he was suggesting something wrong. "I've seen everyone I want to, so there's no point in staying."

"As former student body president, I have to speak," Tezuka said. He crossed his arms over his chest, obviously not budging.

"Still so responsible," Fuji teased.

Tezuka turned his head slightly away, obviously ignoring the other man. Oishi wondered if something in particular had happened between them when he had lost contact – as far as he knew, he had been the first one to fall out of touch.

"What are you going to say, buchou?" Kikumaru asked curiously. His head tilted at the angle that Oishi knew meant he was being playful.

"You'll see. And I'm not your buchou anymore."

"You'll always be our buchou," Kikumaru said, and though his smile was teasing, his eyes were utterly serious. Even through there were in a crowded ballroom, the others seemed to reflect on what Kikumaru had said, and even Fuji stepped back, apparently deciding to leave off tormenting Tezuka. "But you never told me what you've been doing!" he said, apparently deciding the atmosphere was way too solemn. "You never write, you never call," he said, pouting a bit.

"I'm a lawyer," Tezuka said. "International law."

The others looked at him for a moment, obviously trying to decide what they thought of Tezuka's profession, but Oishi could see it working. Tezuka had always been a detail-oriented person, yet at the same time he didn't lack the ability to see the bigger picture. "Are you thinking of entering the diplomatic field?" Oishi asked.

"No," Tezuka said. "I mainly work on helping interpret treaties at the moment. I do a lot of overseas work, actually."

"Sounds difficult," Fuji said.

"It's not easy, because the wrong decision can affect thousands of lives."

Oishi felt a weight on his chest, knowing that in a few weeks, he would be in a similar position – though his decisions would be only be affecting one life at a time. Still, he would be able to put faces to their names,

"Even the right decision can have a bad effect," Kikumaru said suddenly, and all the eyes turned to see the redhead looking extremely thoughtful.

"Yes... but it's a case of doing what is best for the most people – and always obeying the law," Tezuka replied.

"And if the law is a bad one?" Fuji asked.

"Then you try to get it changed or deleted off the books," Tezuka said. "We don't win all the battles, but we try."

It wasn't too much longer before Tezuka was called upon to give his speech, but Oishi didn't really pay attention to what he was saying. He'd sat through innumerable speeches since deciding to pursue a medical career, and one obligatory career speech was much like any other, really.

Instead, he watched Tezuka's face, seeing the small changes time had wrought. Fine lines were started to form around the corners of his eyes, and the golden frames he was wearing glinted in the poorly lit ballroom. The shape was different, since the pair was obviously newer than the one Tezuka had worn during high school, but the slightly sharper angle still suited Tezuka's forceful personality.

Tezuka's deep voice washed out over their class, and Oishi heard the women sigh as Tezuka paused, straightening his glasses as was his habit when he was taking a moment to consider a point. Glancing over at his friends, he noticed that the others seemed enthralled, and Inui had some kind of hand-held recording device out. It wasn't quite a camcorder, but it was definitely taking both pictures and sound.

It seemed Inui had upgraded his methods, too, as time had passed.

Kawamura and Kikumaru cheered Tezuka on as their captain came to a close, applauding him loudly as he handed the microphone back to the reunion chair. Tezuka cast them a look that could have past for annoyed, but was too faint to really tell.

"You're embarrassing him," Oishi chided as Tezuka made his way back to them.

"Nothing embarrasses Tezuka!" Kikumaru teased, bouncing back and forth on his feet. He looked at where Tezuka had been stalled by a few people. Tezuka was listening to them politely, but not really saying anything.

Inui opened his mouth, obviously ready to provide a few instances where Tezuka had been embarrassed, but Fuji inserted himself smoothly into the conversation instead. "Did we want to go have a quiet dinner together, since this is Oishi's only night here?" he asked.

"I might be in and out..." Oishi said lamely.

Kikumaru looked at him with those purple eyes that made him feel like he'd just kicked a puppy. "I've got a double. How about you crash with me?" he offered. "It'd be nice to have you around..."

Kawamura agreed. "My wife will be coming later, if she feels better – you need to stay and meet her, Oishi!"

"I-I didn't bring anything..." Oishi started to protest.

"You can go home tomorrow and pick them up," Fuji argued neatly. "Besides, who knows when we'll all be together again?"

Oishi felt thoroughly trapped. "I... I guess it couldn't hurt."

Kikumaru threw his arms around Oishi's neck, and Oishi found the oxygen being driven from his lungs. "Yay! It's a slumber party!"

It couldn't hurt, could it? After all, how much could three days change? In three days, he would go back to his life, and they would head back to theirs.

That was the way the world worked, after all.

END PART TWO