Questions.

"Uh-wah, saiko darou!" Momoshiro sighed happily after he completed his laps.

"You like running laps that much do you Momo-senpai." Echizen asked.

"Baka-yarou!  Two more days and we get our school break.  I'm going to explode if two days doesn't come fast enough." He said panting a little.

"Teh, mada mada dane." Echizen scanned around the courts and spotted Sakuno.

She wasn't with the captain or within the tennis courts and watching or talking to the members.  Instead she stood some distance from the courts and had an intent gaze up at the sky.  Her gaze was so focussed he diverted his gaze up to the sky as well.  He saw nothing but the blazing sun and clouds.  He looked back at her, and suddenly she was wearing a bright smile, like she had just found what she was looking.

His heart dipped a little.  If only she could smile that brightly at me.

She turned abruptly to run off, but only into the captain's broad chest.  She stepped back rubbing her nose and laughing.  The two stood there and had a quiet conversation, oblivious to their surroundings once they found each other.

"Ii na…" Kikumaru sighed.

"DEH!" both Echizen and Momo cried in surprise.  They had sat down on the courts while observing the captain and hadn't heard a few other members arriving.

"What is it Eiji?" Fuji asked, with a smile on his face.

"Tezuka and Sakuno, that's what."

"And?" Oishi sat down beside Kikumaru and joined the group.

"They're happy.  She's beautiful, cute and extremely understanding, she's perfect!" Kikumaru whined.

"Eiji wa kawaii mo," Fuji inserted.

"Ch-chotto!! Is Kikumaru-senpai envious of buchou's girlfriend, or does he want to be like her?" Momo asked in confusion.

"Mou! Momo what's wrong with you?  Do I need to be beautiful and cute? I'm a guy!" he pounced on Momo and knocked on his head.

"Ahh! Wakatta wakatta!" Momo cried.  Everyone laughed, but Echizen.

He never really did get over her rejection.  There was no other word for it, rejected he had been.  He never knew how much he had angered her with his personality.  And he was sorry that she felt that way, because he hadn't wanted it to be that way.  But what he didn't understand, was that, what different was he to the captain?  The captain was as much, if not, twice as cold as he was.  He joined the others in gazing at the couple standing in the distance.

"Neh neh, look how close they're standing," Kikumaru said in awe.

"Eiji, it's been this way for a few months now." Fuji reminded him.

"Wakatta! It's still…surprising and stuff…" he drawled on.

"She's the only one that's smiling and seems to be enjoying herself, though," Momo joined in.

"Iyah." Both Fuji and Oishi said together.  Now that Inui, Kaidoh and Kawamura had joined them, they all turned and looked at the prodigy and vice-captain.

"Nani nani?" Kikumaru said eagerly.  He as well as the others knew that some interesting piece of news is going to slip up.

"Although Tezuka doesn't show his expressions and emotions, we can tell that he's really happy." Oishi began.  "Look at him, he may look stern and somewhat intimidating, but his face, you can just see how much he softens when he's with Sakuno-chan."

Kikumaru squinted and fidgeted to see this miraculous soft look.

"And just because we don't see it, we know that Tezuka treats her really well.  He's not afraid, embarrassed or ashamed to let her know how much he treasures her."  Fuji said.

At the word 'ashamed', Echizen felt his stomach tighten. 

"Had you really disliked me, or were you embarrassed to be seen with a clumsy girl like me?" she had said to him.  It was true, a long time ago, he was embarrassed to be seen with her.

"So that's how it is." Kawamura said to himself.

"Ii de-ta" Inui said scribbling in that annoying notebook of his.

"I understand what you guys are saying, and I can also see that to a certain extent, but I NEVER in my life imagined him to be…like THAT!!" Momo's voice rose up to a high pitch that sounded so funny, Kikumaru burst into giggles.

"That's what loving someone is all about." Fuji said softly.  "You're not afraid of showing them who you are, and what you're willing to do for them….Sometimes, you don't even know where the sweet side of you comes from.  I think, if it's the right person, that person will unconsciously bring out your inner self."

"And that's what happened between Sakuno and Ryuzaki-chan." Oishi finished.

"And HOW do you guys know that?" Kikumaru demanded.

"We're his friends." They replied in unison.

"I'm his friend too." Kikumaru said with a somewhat pained expression.

"Eiji, we didn't mean it like that.  It's just that, well, it's just something you tend to understand without being told." Oishi said comforting his golden partner.

"No doubt about it, but Sakuno-chan is seeing a side to Tezuka he'll never show another person, is that it Oishi-senpai." Momo said.

"Yeah."

"Mou! I want something like that to happen to me!" Kikumaru said. 

All the while that they were talking, Echizen had fallen into silence, which wasn't that unusual to the others, but he sat there half listening to their words, half sorting out his feelings, and his eyes trained on the two in the distance.

After several minutes, she gave him a little wave and was going to run off, when Tezuka caught hold of her hand.  His lips moved, she stayed quiet, then gave him a beautiful smile and nodded.  He let go of her hand and watched her run off.  Then he turned his head and looked straight at the crowd staring at him.

They looked like they were posing for a picture.  Kaidoh, Inui and Kawamura standing behind Fuji and Oishi who were sitting on the benches, with Momo, Eiji and Echizen on the ground.  Most of them looked frozen to be caught staring, but they began laughing.

Tezuka pushed his specs up, and momentarily while his hand covered his face, a small smile played on his lips at the sight of his friends.

"Let's begin everyone." He said striding towards the courts.  "Let's go ten laps." He suggested.

"We've already done laps!!" Momo complained.

"Uru-sei." Kaidoh muttered and jogged off.

"Oi Mamushi!!" Momo got up and ran after Kaidoh. 

"I understand what you said Oishi, and Fuji too, but he's still evil!" Kikumaru said, and he too ran off.

After most of them took off, Tezuka looked at Fuji.

"Let's go Fuji."

"You're running today?" Tezuka never really ran with them.  Fuji smiled.  They began jogging.

Echizen looked away.

Sure he's happy now.  It's not the first time that I've envied him, but I never thought I'd envy him for this reason.  I never knew how badly I wanted to be with her, until he came into the picture.  Why couldn't I have been less stubborn?

How long would they last?  Surely it wouldn't be forever would it?

Before he got carried away with mean thoughts he questioned himself.

 What would life be like if I had ended up with her?  I don't know, but I know that I'm not going to let my chance slip past if I get a second chance!