It was Monday and it showed: perfectly evident in every unenthusiastic greeting, every listless plod, and every pair of stooped shoulders. The memories of the previous, blissfully school free day were slipping quickly away from most students, while some only wished to forget by concentrating on the now of the day with an unwavering intensity and a staunch determination to simply not think about it at all.
Oishi was one of the first players to make it into the club room. He changed quickly then bolted out onto the courts, not pausing to greet or chat with any of his teammates. After several minutes of fairly intense stretching, he'd always found his flexibility somewhat lacking, the remainder of the team had congregated and the vice-captain began to lead them in still more stretches and some warm-ups. Oishi threw himself headlong into the warm-up exercises until his heart pounded and his muscles began to feel the spreading heat. He found that he could make the rest of the world simply disappear if he focused on the throbbing in his chest and the burn of his muscles.
He worked on a line drill, hopping side to side rapidly across the baseline, his eyes down at his feet. A stern "eyes up!" reminder from the coach forced Oishi to look back up at his doubles partner bouncing effortlessly across the sideline. A bead of sweat already forming under the strenuous warm-up trickled into his eye. Oishi winced at the sting that made his eyes water so much that the moisture threatened to roll down his face. He looked down for the last minute of the drill not caring if the coach was glaring at him or not. A sharp whistle blow broke through the pounding in he ears. Oishi paced around a little, shaking out his legs, enjoying the tiny desperate twitches of his muscles.
Kochi-Yagi pulled his mouth from the whistle slowly, as if reluctant to give it up, then began to bark his orders. "Play the practice matches as listed on the board in, that order, no compromises." He gestured militantly, "Singles play on those courts, doubles over here." He hardly waited a second before screaming back at the team, "Don't walk! Run!" Oishi silently lamented the coach's foul mood before he jolted his legs into motion, grabbing his racket and jogging over to the court where his partner was already waiting.
Kochi-Yagi had never stood much on formalities so the time that Oishi had spent chasing tennis balls during High School was nil. Oishi and Eiji, as well as Fuji, had been easily incorporated into the practice schedule and if anyone was the least bit surprised at the status at the formerly nationally ranked Junior High players no one said a thing. Oishi, usually mindful of those around him, wondered at that occasionally but was none the less proud of the compliment to the skills he and Eiji had worked so hard to build together.
But as their game against the D2 regulars progressed, pride quickly became the furthest thing from Oishi's mind.
He couldn't look at Eiji. So he didn't, and their game showed it. They hadn't performed this poorly since they had first stepped onto a court together. Oishi was reminded unpleasantly, as they lost yet another volley for being out of position, of Momoshiro and Echizen's makeshift doubles. Oishi sighed, and with they way Eiji was playing he was surprised he hadn't gotten a serve in the head.
They lost the match six-love, with a couple of love games mixed in. It was all around a general disaster. The whispers from off the courts made Oishi's ears burn and the tenderly consoling utterances of 'good game' from their opponents made Oishi want to crawl under a rock.
He was only peripherally aware that Eiji was following him off the court as he felt his feet dragging him towards the sideline.
"Oishi! Look lively!" the coach called.
"Yes, sir," was Oishi's instinctual response and he jogged briskly over to the side of the court until he and his partner gradually slowed to a stop directly in front of the coach.
Kochi-Yagi scratched his square chin and tilted his head as he squinted his right eye closed and considered the boys standing before him with the other, as though they would somehow make more sense that way.
Their coach drew in a deep breath and Oishi winced as he braced himself. "Kikumaru," the voice came out softer then expected and Oishi breathed out a sigh of relief, "go over to court C and play Sasuga when the other game finishes," Kochi-Yagi made a vague sweeping motion with his free hand as he continued to intently study the clipboard in his other as though he was unaware of the terrible significance of what he had just done.
Oishi's breath caught tightly in his chest at the seemingly casual pronouncement from their coach. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder, seeking out that same gaze that he had avoided so carefully since that...incident yesterday, but Eiji had already turned around and was walking towards court C, and Oishi found that what he wanted more than anything in the world was to follow him.
"Oishi...you stay here for a moment until I figure out who I want you and Achigawa to play, alright?" Oishi found that he barely had the energy to give a brief affirmative nod and couldn't find the power to protest this separation. He could only look on as Eiji took the court against the regular Sasuga-sempai without his partner by his side.
Oishi felt the time slipping away from him again as he stared at his partner, watching the intricate solo dance and the style that he had grown into so beautifully. Quicker, yes, and more stamina of course then when he had first seen him play over three years ago, but those recently grownup, slimly muscled limbs more than anything were what kept Eiji continually in position and able return nearly everything that Sasuga-sempai could hit at him.
It was only as the match was coming to an end, surprising close for anyone who hadn't known Eiji and his skill and tenacity, that Oishi realized that he had been defeated. Eiji had defeated him a long time ago; it had taken Oishi this long to figure out that he wasn't needed anymore.
Oishi didn't register their coach's voice until after Achigawa, a pleasantly mannered second year, put a hand on Oishi's shoulder.
"It's our turn to play," he said softly as he smiled giving Oishi a gentle push towards the court before jogging into position facing off against a second year doubles pair.
The game progressed just fine, well one might even say. Achigawa was a strong player, confident; good enough for Oishi to realize, as the other boy leaned forward on his toes, calves tensing as he prepared to receive the serve, that he didn't want to play with this person who was not his partner.
He couldn't put a name to exactly the shift in atmosphere around the court, but Oishi was still painfully aware of the exact moment that Eiji finished his game, the moment those deep blue eyes fixed on him, watching Oishi's legs tremble with a weakness that wasn't in his muscles.
The trembling didn't stop even after the game had ended, Oishi's Moon Volley proving terribly effective against the less experienced players. Oishi turned and was unable to stop himself from scanning the sidelines in a perverse sort of masochism, but he wasn't there.
Even though his match was won, Oishi felt, more clearly then ever before that he had truly lost.
The strap of his overly full bag was digging into Oishi's neck as he walked out of the clubroom door, setting new records for changing time as threw his school uniform back on and his practice wear into his bag. Heading quickly towards the school gate, Oishi had just managed to get into a good rhythmic stride when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps unmistakably trying to catch up with him.
For one long heart-stopping moment Oishi seriously considered just keeping his eyes forward as he walked away. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do to turn around and fix his troubled green gaze on the person behind him.
Only it wasn't him.
It was...her.
She paid no mind as Oishi tried to pick his chin up off his chest, just smiled at him instead. "Hello, Oishi-kun," she began in a gentle but attention-commanding voice, "It's certainly nice to meet you." She boldly met his gaze as Oishi stared at her, trying to make sense of her presence. Trying to fathom why she was here, looking so...
She has really beautiful eyes.
For a long moment as Oishi gathered his wits Kimiko simply looked at him, face showing a pleasantly neutral expression. "G-good day, Ashiwara-sempai," he finally managed to stammer, falling carefully back into the role of stuttering first-year with ease all the while searching his jumbled thoughts for an escape route.
The corners of her lips tugged up helplessly at Oishi's words as she slowly lost the desperate battle to suppress her amusement at his consternation. "It's okay," she chided gently as she slipped a piece of her short blonde hair that hadn't seemed out of place back behind her ear. "I'm not going to eat you," she continued, smiling as Oishi blushed bright red at her works, "I just want to talk to you."
It was silent, between them, or at least seemed to be at first for Oishi. As the seconds ticked away he became aware of the noise of the boys leaving the clubroom behind him in twos or threes and the faint noise of the wind in the fall leaves. Kimiko sighed as her entire face tensed.
"Could you just come with me for a bit Oishi-kun?" her eyes curved pleasantly upwards as she smiled and Oishi was torn as to weather or not they did so to hide her true expression.
Oishi took a nearly subconscious step backwards. "I...I'd like to, but..." he trailed off for a moment as he racked his brain for an excuse, but the retaliatory statement came before he even had a chance to breath.
"Ah? It'll only take a moment," her eyes began to plead silently even as her voice stayed deep and steady, "then you can be on your way."
Oishi felt his brow pinch together, not knowing where this cross feeling was coming from exactly, but not particularly caring to examine it at the moment. "I really don't think that I should...ah!" further words were halted as Oishi felt a strong circle of fingers clamp tightly around his wrist. "Hey...wait!" he cried out in futility as he felt himself pulled forward by an insistent tug on his arm.
"Just come with me for a moment," her voice stayed pleasant even as she dragged Oishi behind one of the equipment storages sheds, letting go and backing away only after she'd managed to pull Oishi out of sight of the main path.
Oishi, for all his maturity and level headedness, was seething. A thousand shouts and insults and protests all leapt to the tip of his tongue but he bit back all of them until the accusation, "Are you always this familiar with people you've just met?" simply spilled out of his mouth.
She leaned back against the building, lips pulled together in a little pout of concentration as she took a moment to really consider the question. She hummed softly to herself as she thought then replied, "No, not usually," her tone as dismissive as her words. Her eyes leveled with Oishi's. "I've just heard so much about you that I feel as if I know you somewhat."
Oishi grinned fakely, "Ah, really. I guess I can't say the same," he retaliated, words strained.
She sighed heavily and crossed her arms in front of her; "I can't say I'm that surprised, I guess..." she trailed off, leaving the vague accusation hanging in the air around Oishi's ears making them ring with long suppressed emotion.
The long moment of silence didn't seem to bother Kimiko; at least not in the same way it bothered Oishi, forcing him to reinitiate the conversation. "There was something you wanted to talk to me about?" The words were drug out slowly but softly as if each was terribly heavy.
She grinned back brightly at him. "Glad you asked," she replied quickly, and Oishi couldn't help but notice that the sort of tired sarcasm that she had been giving him before had completely melted away. Oishi balked, it took just this one small kindness? A little consideration and Achigawa Kimiko-san was pacified, no thrilled, and gratitude shone like light from her.
She had such a pretty smile.
Oishi shook his head a bit, hoping desperately that she wouldn't notice as he tried to physically fling the thoughts from his head. They felt too much like infidelity. And if Kimiko noticed she said nothing about Oishi's expression of consternation. She simply proceed to speak.
"I..." she began tentatively broke off with a tiny bubble of laughter, "now that I have your attention I'm not sure what to say." Her admission flowed easily and her smile stayed, laughing inside at her own lack of maturity and composure. "It's just..." she started again then sighed, "I had so much that I wanted...needed to say to you, but I don't think that you're really a bad guy."
The color disappeared from Oishi's face and his stomach lurched dangerously upwards leaving a strange and empty feeling void inside. But even as he body felt frozen in a sort of painful suspension his mind whirled. If she has that idea about me, that I'm no good, gruff, unkind, what has Eiji been saying to her? He felt his heart nearly stop, what does Eiji think of me now?
Kimiko nearly laughed aloud at the look of absolute worry and bit her lip to hold back the smile. Oishi's face was like a book she had already read many times; and that more than anything, as she took a deep breath to continue, convinced her that she was doing the right thing.
"No it's alright Oishi-kun," she continued her voice gentle but full of something that sounded suspiciously like regret, "Eiji-kun never says anything bad about you, he only says good things about you, it's just..." Her voice had risen to a strained pitch before she quickly broke off looking away for a moment as she concentrated on her breathing. She looked back at Oishi and persisted, her voice painfully steady, "Can't you see how much you're hurting him?"
She let the question linger for a long tense moment, not expecting a response, but leaving a small gap for one anyway. She met Oishi's eyes with a steady hazel-brown stare studying him with an intensity she normal reserved for important games, then spoke again, her voice softer this time. "And now I can see that you're hurting each other."
She waited for a long moment, holding Oishi's gaze as she studied the emotions that flickered and gleamed behind his eyes, waiting for some sort of verbal response, a hum, a nod, something.
Nothing.
She sighed and began again, "Eiji-kun and I..." the vaguest hint of uncertainty passed through her eyes as she stopped for a bare moment searching for the right words, then, "our relationship, it's going nowhere fast, and pretty soon Eiji is going to have to admit that." She tried to swallow the tightness in her throat discretely. "I want you to be there for him when that happens."
She visibly steeled herself and took five determined steps forward, bringing her toe to toe with Oishi, who grappled with the desire to simply run but determined to hold his ground against the approaching figure.
Kimiko studied Oishi face for a long moment, studying each detail of his uncertainly and fear. She would have laughed had the moment not been so serious. "I don't care what happened between you," her voice was quiet but bubbling with the intensity of a pot on the stove. She ignored the blush the spread across Oishi's face and continued, "And I really don't want to know," she shook her head emphatically, "but you need to be together." She paused, searching for a moment, then, "Eiji needs you."
Oishi stood, frozen in place by her intensity so much that he hardly twitched when she grabbed both his shoulders pulling his face close to hers. He realized, belated, as her eyes bore into his that she was nearly as tall a he was. Something in the back of his mind reasoned distractedly that she was probably quite used to using her height to intimidate people, but all stray thoughts were squeezed from his mind as she continued.
"I don't want you to think of this as an order from a sempai," her voice developed a soft, almost conspirational tone and Oishi could feel her breath on his cheek, "I don't even want you to think of this as an order. It's a..." she searched for the word a moment, "plea, from a friend of a friend." She sighed and pulled back slightly, but didn't release Oishi's shoulders. "I'm worried about him," she continued, "I'm worried about my bo-...my friend." Her eyes quivered for just a moment and Oishi felt his breath catch. "I'm worried about my friend," she repeated softly.
She pulled her hands away and turned from him suddenly, surprising the tennis player, and cleared her throat before she continued in a forced tone, "I've got to be going now," she turned back on her heals sharply, "I've taken enough of you time." She gave a quick little bow that seemed out of place and turned away stepping out from behind the building and calling out to some friends somewhere up ahead on the path so quickly it left Oishi's head spinning and his thoughts a tangled mess.
He sighed and turned around, preparing to walk the other way; only to have the blood in his veins turn to ice at sight of the figure standing not more than seven feet from him.
"Oishi...we need to talk."
Japanese:
-san: Title of respect
-sempai: Title of respect reserved for those older then you in school or business
-kun: Title implying familiarity, used for those younger then you
