Hitomi wo Tojite - Close Your Eyes

Prologue

'I'm always there, but you can't see.

I'm always watching you, but you don't see.

I know I shouldn't, but there's nothing I can do

So it's my last resource to let you know I'm in love with you.'

Tezuka sighed. He was used to receive letters from his fans every day, especially when the Valentine's Day was close. He thought seriously about forgetting that single message, but it was a little different from the others - no one had signed it. Ok, some of the other letters he received had no signature, also, but usually they did ask for a meeting or something like that. This one had no signature, wasn't asking for a meeting and wasn't asking for an answer. It only said one loved Tezuka.

The captain tried to remember if there was a girl in special that was always looking at him, but his memories went blank. The girls, he thought, show they like you by talking to you, cheering for you, staring at you. There was no girl that watched him that hadn't made Tezuka aware of her love for him.

The more he tried to solve this, the more his look diverted from the teacher to the courtyard, where sakura petals and the wind danced together.

"Err, Tezuka Kunimitsu, could you continue the reading, please?"

ACT I

"20 laps as a warming up."

The captain could hear his teammates complaining, but it was necessary. His fame as a very strict captain was due to these laps too, but it was just a warming up. That thought made Tezuka join them on their third lap around the courts.

"Nyah, buchou! If you're to join us, you'll have to run the three laps you missed!"

All the players couldn't help laughing at the comment, but Tezuka just nodded.

"Good data."

Tezuka decided to be left behind on the laps, so that, it would be possible to him to think about this morning events - including little poems - without having a player to look at his face and ask him why he was so distant or having Inui to get his data. Fuji looked back at him and smiled as if everything was ok.

Laps finished and Tezuka running three alone, Inui started introducing Ryuzaki-sensei his new plan to improve the practice. All the players but Fuji were anxious, not to mention scared as the coach and the bespectacled boy approached the courts and waited for Tezuka to join them.

"Inui's got a new training method for today" - started sensei, barely hiding her smile - "Everybody will play doubles this week. We have to check who's able to play doubles and who's able to play singles with two people." -Glaring at Momoshiro and Ryoma, she finished -"We are going to fix it. The main idea is prepare you two play tennis in both categories. Improve your abilities. And we can also have a clue of the best combos"

"I don't have to mention I have a new juice to our less excited pair, do I?" -Seeing the panic on his teammates faces, Inui smiled delighted and continued - "Ok. Let's pair you up... Kikumaru and Kaidoh, Momoshiro and Ooishi..."

ACT II

The practice was really stressful to Tezuka. He never knew when a burning and loud Kawamura would come from nowhere and hit the ball. But it was nothing a cold shower wouldn't fix.

Reaching for his bag, the captain found a piece of paper with a rather familiar handwriting. The same handwriting of the little love poem he found this morning inside his locker.

'I know you were thinking about it. And so was I.

I saw the sakura petals this morning and I bet you watched with your stern look their loops in the air. It was beautiful.

I know you're not used to waste your time on things like that, when you have to be so responsible. But it's ok if that responsibility is your heart's desire.

I just wanted to ask you if you like it when you close your eyes.'

Tezuka blinked and frowned as he read the note again. That person has definitely been watching him. Could that person be one of his classmates? He had no idea. All he knew is that he didn't like the effect of the message on him, because he felt hopeless. And he wouldn't ever let someone make him feel like that. On that moment, he decided he would open his eyes wider in order to find out who the writer was.

ACT III

Tezuka wasn't one to be curious, but on the day after, he woke up full of the will to hunt with his eyes the author of the letters. It's not that he was interested on that person, but he didn't like to be left in the dark.

"Ohayou, Tezuka"

"Ohayou, Ooishi."

As the players changed to morning practice, Inui, Fuji and Kikumaru entered the locker room.

The buchou sighed. He was so going to discover who was watching him. Tezuka tried to remember each girl that watched their practice. But then realized no girl was allowed to watch the practice. He wanted to hit himself, because he never felt so clueless. It was like someone got him blindfolded. And he didn't like that.

"Ne, Tezuka?"

"Fuji"

"Are you still sleeping?"

Tezuka frowned, but then took a deep breath and stared at Fuji as if asking 'no, why?'

"You see, it's because you sat there and looked at the floor as if you could see through it." Staring back at Tezuka, the tensai waited for an answer just for a second, but smiled when noticed the captain wasn't answering; because he didn't ask anything in first place. - "Let's go, everybody's in the courts already."

"Yeah. Sorry."

Fuji gave Tezuka that tiny smile of his and watched his buchou stand up, erect, full of his captain pride and walk towards the door. The tensai just followed him.

ACT IV

Inui's new training method sounds really simple when you hear it first time, but when it starts, it's hell. Not to remember the juice.

According to Inui's data, Fuji, Ooishi, Taka and Kikumaru could adapt themselves; Taka, Kikumaru, Kaidoh and Ryoma were difficult for you to get adapted to. Momoshiro and Kikumaru could play just fine this time; Fuji and Kaidoh could cause many injuries on their opponents and Tezuka had problems. It was difficult for him to have an intruder inside his zone. The Tezuka Zone, from where he could control anything and see everything.

"Now now, Ryoma, you can't hide yourself. You and Kawamura have to drink it."

"Ochibi! If you played doubles it wouldn't happen nyah!"

Distant, thinking with himself, Tezuka realized that just like in tennis, he couldn't use his techniques to find out who the mysterious writer was when that person was inside his zone, like a doubles player. Because he couldn't control a person. That situation was making his abilities become useless. Tezuka was getting frustrated.

He wanted to meet that person.

But he didn't know if he would praise that person for the abilities or if he would slap that person for making him feel so small.

To be Continued... mwahaha ;3