Author's Note: I thought I'd upload chapter one as well... I don't really have much to say. Reviews much appreciated.

Enjoy!

Eiji and I had known each other for a few months, and had begun to practice together, spending all the time we could playing tennis, or at least spending time getting to know each other. Well… I was. I had a hard time sparking interest in my new doubles partner. He always asked why I insisted on doing things the way I did. Rarely could I give him an answer besides what I had read and inferred from the doubles book I studied so hard. But Eiji refused to live by the book.

Captain Yamato had noticed that we were becoming good friends, and soon figured out that we hoped to play doubles together. I don't know if he saw potential in us or just took pity, but one day, while the other club members were running, he called us over and told us he was going to help us out.

"I have a special exercise for you two," he declared. "I think it will help tremendously."

"You'd do that for us, Yamato-senpai?" Eiji's blue eyes sparkled. (1)

"Of course. We're going to get you to Nationals, maybe as soon as next year. But you must work hard to prepare."

I caught my breath, mystified. Nationals? There was no way. But… our Captain believed in us… Did he know something I didn't?

Eiji evidently liked this plan. He was bouncing back and forth from foot to foot in his own little eager warm-up. "What are we waiting for? Tell us what to do!"

Captain Yamato smiled softly, patiently, knowingly. It was a smile I'd never forget. And I'll never forget watching him slowly walk to the bench where his tennis bag sat, and ruffle through it, searching for something. He let out a quiet "Ah!" when he found what he was looking for, and pulled it out.

It was a little, golden bell on a shiny, black ribbon.

Eiji and I stared at it as the captain held it up dramatically for us to see. We simultaneously leaned in to get a better look. It was a cheap little object, probably something one would buy at a craft store to create Christmas decorations or something.

"What's this for?" asked Eiji's reflection in the bell, which was glinting gold in the sunlight. I could see that the awestruck sparkle had somewhat diminished in his eyes, showing that he was less than impressed.

"This," the Captain answered, "is your new training equipment."

"Training… equipment?" I heard myself repeat.

"Yes," he promptly replied. "Namely, your training and Kikumaru's equipment."

With an ingenious lack of ceremony and delicacy one often finds when seniors deal with freshmen, Captain Yamato spun Eiji around and tied the bell around his neck. My partner blinked twice, dizzy and confused. I was dumbfounded and twice as baffled.

The Captain stood straight again, pleased at his bow-tying skills. "One thing I've learned while playing tennis: one must train their reflexes to respond correctly, especially in doubles. When your partner moves one way, you must move another. And it helps when all of your senses are involved in this training. Sight, touch, and sound."

Eiji had begun to fiddle with his new accessory, ringing it once or twice, clearly thinking it ridiculous. "Then how come Oishi doesn't have to wear one?" he whined.

"Because you're the net player."

"I am?"

"You're good at it." And with that, the Captain pushed Eiji towards the court. He went reluctantly, muttering something about how everyone would laugh at him. I turned to my superior, awaiting whatever odd instruction he might give.

"Yes, I like that arrangement," he was saying, his eyes following my partner. "That means I'll need to teach you both how to switch positions accordingly at any point in the match. But if Kikumaru is going to play at net, then you, Oishi, must master the baseline." Now he turned to look down at me. "I'll hit some easy volleys to Kikumaru. Pick up anything he misses, but mostly just watch and listen."

I walked onto the court and stood behind the baseline. Yamato-senpai hit the ball to the corner, and it got past Eiji. I forgot to hit it, distracted by the big, black bow hanging at the back of my partner's neck. He turned to glare at me, causing the bell to give a little "ding!"

"Stupid! You're supposed to hit the ball." Clearly, someone was cranky. And blushing.

I turned to retrieve the ball, which was bouncing next to the fence. As I hit it back to the captain, he apologized, saying, "Sorry. That first one was just for fun. I didn't expect you to get it back."

Captain Yamato hit a real one this time. Eiji picked it off with ease. Same with the next, and the next, and the one after that… Considering that he was even shorter than I was, Eiji really was good at volleys. He liked to make a big show of it though, diving for balls and jumping up high to pick up overheads when he could have just backed up a little. He quickly got into his game, despite his embarrassment.

I had seen all of this before. But with the bell, it was a new experience. I watched my partner more carefully, too, trying to figure out what movements made the bell ring a certain way. When he moved left, it rang one way… When he moved right, it was mostly the same… When he switched directions, it usually rang twice… When he jumped up, the ring was a little muffled, but rang again when he came down… When he dove, it rang more loudly…

I started moving my feet a little. I knew that when he went one way, I should go the other… I did it by sight at first. Then I tried reacting to the sound. I kept messing up, apparently getting ahead of myself. So I quickly gave that up. But as I kept moving, I focused on the tinkling sound of the little bell. It was so sweet, so light… I don't know if it had anything to do with the training, but looking back… I was falling in love with that sound.

We played like this for more than an hour. Eiji was getting really tired, and the shots the Captain hit him were becoming increasingly more difficult as well. At this point, he had to dive for most of the balls. One time he even tried to hit it by swinging the racket behind his head, but it didn't go in. I found myself having to pick up more of the shots.

When Eiji was finally allowed to take a break, Captain Yamato met me at the net. "Good, Oishi. You've got a good feel for doubles, and knowing where you should move compared to your partner. Now commit to your movements, focusing more on that than listening now."

Eiji returned a moment later with rose-colored cheeks. The upperclassmen must have asked questions and teased him on his way to and from the water fountain. "More?" he moaned.

Captain smiled. "More."

He had told me not to focus on listening, so I didn't. Frankly, I didn't notice anything different from the way we had played games before we met our new friend, the bell, but Yamato-senpai seemed satisfied with our "progress" when we were done. And who was I to question our Captain?

The sun had already set when Eiji and I were dismissed. Back in the locker room, I could tell my partner was dead tired. But not too tired to complain about how exhausted he was.

"Talk about 'cruel and unusual punishment'! Oishi, you'd better have gotten something good out of that. It was humiliating and I worked myself half to death, not to mention the fact that it made no sense. And I thought your training techniques were weird. This takes the cake… I am sooooooo tired…" he moaned, wiping his forehead with a towel.

It was quiet all of a sudden. I didn't really have anything to say, but I knew I ought to say something.

"Well, you did really good out there, Eiji… Thanks, I guess."

I turned to see his response. His back was to me, and he said nothing. He silently slipped his arms into the sleeves of his clean, white school uniform shirt. As he buttoned it, I heard a faint ring.

"Eiji, you're still wearing that bell." I hadn't noticed because his collar was covering the ribbon. I hoped he couldn't detect the smile in my voice.

"Huh? Oh, that." He touched it gently. "I forgot I was wearing it…" His voice was soft and distant. I wondered if he was blushing. Or maybe he had just been thinking about something before I mentioned the bell, and his mind was still somewhere else… And I wondered what he could be thinking about… Eiji inspired many more questions than answers, I mused.

He started to reach back to untie the thing, then changed his mind lazily and plopped down on the bench. "Oishi, will you get it for me?"

I obediently sat beside him, and he turned so I could comfortably reach the bow. I had to fumble with it for a few minutes. Captain Yamato had tied it very tightly, and it felt like my fingers weren't working. Because of this, my right hand slipped off the ribbon and brushed across the back of Eiji's neck.

"Ah! That tickles!" My friend promptly slapped his hands over the area to protect it.

"I barely touched you!" I protested, shocked at the irritation in my voice. Maybe I was a little tired, too…

Eiji's grip around the back of his neck loosened. "I'm… ticklish around my neck..."

I felt my face get warm, suddenly realizing that some of the irritation was also embarrassment. "Sorry…" I continued untying the slippery ribbon, more carefully this time. When I was done, he pulled it off and stuffed it in his tennis bag, clearly hoping not to see it again for a while.

We had planned to go to my house after school, as we pretty much always did on the weekends, either to my house or his. On the way there, Eiji walked slowly, dragging his feet, and soon begged me to stop and let him rest a minute. We found an open bench and sat on it. To my great dismay and surprise, Eiji tipped over like a falling tower and let his head land straight in my lap. He was probably asleep before he even hit.

To say the least, this was an awkward position. During the first few minutes, I came close to waking him up more than once, but was too shy to actually do it. So I decided I'd let him sleep for a little.

I think this was the first time I noticed the soft smile he wore whenever he had a sweet dream. In fact, I'd never really carefully watched him sleep before. Every time we'd had a sleepover, as soon as we said goodnight, we pretty much just ignored each other until morning. I couldn't help realizing that Eiji really was… someone different when he slept. And yet his expression was so like him.

I looked at my watch. It told me that almost twenty minutes had passed. Where had all of that time gone? I looked back down at my friend and listened to his peaceful breathing. Time could wait. I remember putting my hand gently on his shoulder and leaning in slowly to get a closer look at his face, studying him like I did my doubles book, trying to figure him out. He had very long eyelashes. They just sort of… brushed against his cheeks, like the fringe on a curtain brushes against the floor, covering a window of sapphire glass...

My cell phone rang. I jumped a little, realizing I had no clue what I was doing. Fumbling, I pulled it out and answered it as quickly as I could.

"Shuichiro?" It was my mom.

"Um… yes?"

"Where are you? It's late."

I had forgotten it was dark; our bench was underneath a bright streetlamp, and I had found my own little world beneath its glow… I glanced down at Eiji, hoping my activity had not driven him into groggy consciousness. He was stirring. Shoot.

"Uh, Eiji and I are on our way there, Mom. Practice went pretty late…"

"Okay. Just come right home."

"Okay, Mom."

"Love you, sweetie."

"Love you too, Mom. Bye." I hung up.

Eiji rubbed his eyes, still using my lap as his pillow. "What time is it?"

I helped him sit up, unable to keep from smiling at his sleepiness. "Time to go home."

Footnote:

(1) "senpai"- a Japanese honorific term used to address one's superior.