Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or such from this series. It makes me sad, but I don't. Don't sue me. I'll just be sadder.
Author's Note: I'm not sure how I thought of this one. I do know that I love trying to imitate Eiji's odd thought processes, hehe.
Please review! I appreciate all comments.
Eiji was distracted.
He was trying to work on his algebra, but it just… wasn't working. Even worse, he felt like it was pointless since Oishi said he'd help with it after school the next day. Why study now?
Eiji stared at all the question marks he'd written by the problems he didn't understand. They seemed to dominate the page. So he sighed and closed his book, set it on his lap, and leaned back into the couch cushion. The clock read 10:29. It was so late. And there were still 7 problems he had not even attempted. But he promised Oishi he'd at least try them all…
Just as he was about to open his book again, one of his sisters burst through the front door, giddy. "I'm home!" she sang.
His older sister appeared out of nowhere (actually, probably the kitchen), sipping a mug of hot chocolate. "So, how did it go?"
So much for studying. His chatty sisters talking about a date were far too much of a distraction. Tossing the book to the floor, Eiji peered over the back of the couch to listen.
"Oh, it was wonderful!" the younger one chirped. "He was such a gentlemen. He pulled out my chair for me and everything! And he said I had eyes like the moon…"
"Oh, come on. Every guy says that." Suddenly, the elder sister had lost interest.
"He really meant it!"
"Yeah, sure. He's probably said that to hundreds of girls. I give your relationship two weeks."
"No! You don't get it!-"
They set off onto one of their usual arguments. Meanwhile, Eiji was confused. Eyes like the moon? He'd never heard that before. How could someone have eyes like the moon?
"That's stupid, nya," he blurted suddenly, causing both of his present siblings to turn.
"What's stupid?" asked his annoyed sister, who two minutes ago had been on cloud nine.
"To say you have eyes like the moon. That's stupid." This earned him a glare.
"See, told you," the older one said smugly.
"You just don't get it, Eiji," The other one shot back.
"But you don't have eyes like the moon, Oneechan."
He immediately regretted this comment as his sister stomped towards him. She leaned in close to his face. He shrunk back. "Then what are my eyes like?" she asked coldly.
Eiji found himself in an uncomfortable position. And, as always, his mind gave blank.
"I dunno… eyes?"
She threw up her hands and stormed up the stairs, again saying (this time, yelling), "YOU JUST DON'T GET IT!"
Eiji looked to his other sister for support. But even she shook her head in disapproval and left the room.
What did he say that was so awful? What was wrong with having eyes that didn't look like the moon? His sister had very pretty eyes. But they didn't remind him of the moon.
He snuck outside onto the back porch and stared up at the simile in question. And he tried to imagine someone with eyes like the moon. But the image wouldn't come. If anything, it would look kind of scary, he thought. Feeling compelled to give up on both this train of thought and algebra, Eiji went back inside to get ready for bed.
The next day after school, Eiji looked up and saw the moon on his way to the locker room for tennis practice. It was nearly full, so it was out in the daytime. And his sisters' argument came back into his head. Once again, he wondered what it would be like to have eyes like the moon.
After a moment's thought with no avail, Eiji decided he was on a mission. A mission to find eyes like the moon. Tennis practice didn't really matter today anyway; he wouldn't be able to practice his all-important doubles without a partner. Oishi wasn't going to be at practice today because of… something. Maybe a doctor's appointment. Eiji never remembered when Oishi told him about any such events. At least this time, he'd remembered that Oishi wouldn't be there.
Eiji arrived maybe a little late. When he opened the door to the locker room, the only person still getting dressed was the team's star freshman. And even he, who couldn't have cared less that day about practice, was already almost finished dressing. He turned and gave an unenthusiastic greeting to his senpai.
"Hi, Kikumaru-senpai."
"Hoi, Oichibi-chan!" Eiji gave Ryoma his daily glomp.
Trying to seem unbothered, Ryoma remarked, "Someone's late to practice."
Eiji laughed and rubbed his neck. "Yeah, well, I guess I just kind of took my time walking, nya."
Eiji took this opportunity to look at Ryoma's eyes, causing an awkward pause. They were huge, they were gold… but they were just kind of… eyes. Good eyes, sharp eyes, but just eyes. They certainly weren't like the moon. But Eiji felt he had to come up with something, so… marbles. Oichibi's eyes were like big, gold marbles.
"What is it, Kikumaru-senpai?" Ryoma finally asked.
"Oh, nothing…" Eiji turned away and whistled.
"Whatever." Ryoma grabbed his racket, and he was gone.
Eiji hurried to get dressed and went back outside. By the time he got out there, his teammates had already started running laps. He dashed to catch up with them, suddenly frightened. Everyone knew what was in store for the last person to finish.
"How many?" Eiji yelled as he flew past Tezuka, who was, as usual, just standing by.
"50," came the answer. Crud.
One of the first people Eiji passed was Kaidoh, who was pacing himself. The 8th Grader hissed as Eiji raced by. The acrobat turned to make a face, taking time to notice Kaidoh's eyes. They were also like marbles. Little, black marbles. But Eiji thought twice. Weren't everyone's eyes kind of like marbles?
Hmm. He'd have to come up with something different for Kaidoh. True, his eyes were kind of like a snake's, but that seemed so unoriginal. Like Ryoma's, they were sharp, but Kaidoh's eyes were also somewhat piercing. Like arrows. Yes, Kaidoh's eyes were like arrows. Once Eiji thought of this, he was very satisfied with it. Thinking about it, Kaidoh kind of aimed his eyes like one would aim a bow, and shot glares like arrows.
Hey, he was getting good at this.
By this point, Eiji had already passed most of the herd. But his thoughts were interrupted by laughter and the sensation of someone passing him. It was Momo. Following the precedent set by his senpai, he turned back to mock Eiji.
"That juice seems really fresh today, Eiji-senpai!"
"Nyaaaa, Momo! Not fair!" Eiji whined. He decided he shouldn't increase his pace, though. Momo would soon get tired, and be done showing off. Then he'd be sorry.
What were Momo's eyes like? They were purple, for one thing. Eiji had always thought that was cool. Grapes? Nah. That was stupid. Eiji decided he'd have to really think about this one.
Momo's eyes could flash sometimes, like when he was angry or playing tennis. Perhaps they were kind of like lightning. But that didn't explain what Momo's eyes were like the rest of the time. And Eiji's first impressions of Momo were more… happy-go-lucky. Eiji had known him since he was a freshman, and then he was just cute. How does one describe such eyes?
A grin crept across Eiji's face, and he almost laughed out loud when he found the answer. Sweet-tarts. Momo-chan's eyes were like Sweet-tarts. Sweet and sugary, but, yes, a little tart sometimes.
Eiji somehow avoided being the last to finish, actually managing 3rd place, and he collapsed on the ground. The last person to make it was the usual suspect, the only person who didn't dread Inui's terrible juice. And that was Fuji.
As Inui poured a glass for his smiling test subject, Eiji suddenly felt annoyed that he couldn't see Inui's eyes. If they were like the moon, no one would ever know. But Eiji mused that Inui's glasses were a lot like closed doors. Kind of formidable, even.
Fuji drank the juice. The entire glass. As usual, he felt the need to compliment the owner of the concoction. "This one's better than last time, Inui." He even began to pour more into his empty cup.
Eiji felt the need to protest. "Fuji! You're lying, nya!"
Fuji knelt next to Eiji and leaned towards him, holding the now-filled glass uncomfortably close to Eiji's nose. Obviously trying to make Eiji uncomfortable, he opened his sky-blue eyes and suggested, "Why don't you see for yourself, Eiji?"
Eiji backed away, vigorously shaking his head. Fuji stood up again, and the sunny smile resumed on his face after he'd finished his refreshment. Eiji was relieved. Fuji's eyes were like ice.
Their captain had already begun to give assignments. Everyone was to be playing mock-matches, all singles. When Eiji heard his name called, he leaped up and faced his captain.
Tezuka took a moment to check his notes for the assignment. Eiji took a moment to check his eyes. Definitely not like the moon. Tezuka's eyes were like lasers. Maybe sunbeams, because they were gold. They had very precise direction to them, and maybe seemed to burn one's eyes a little if one stared into them too long.
"Kikumaru, you'll be playing against Kawamura."
Eiji turned to look at his opponent. Taka had already picked up a racket and was yelling something in English, looking very fired up. This would be a good match. Suddenly Eiji was excited to play.
After a narrow victory, Eiji shook hands with Taka over the net. It was already sunset, and Eiji knew he'd have to run pretty quickly to get to Oishi's house at the promised time. But before he left, he quickly glanced at Taka's eyes. His were easy to describe; they were like a fireplace. When holding a racket, Taka's eyes were ablaze with fire. But the rest of the time, they could still be warm, but they were kind of dull and grey. Yes, definitely a fireplace.
Running, Eiji glanced at his watch. Oishi wouldn't mind if he was late, but he still wanted to get there quickly. The sooner he could understand algebra, the better.
He rang the doorbell and was greeted by his doubles partner with a smile. "Hey, Eiji. How was practice today?"
After a couple of hours, Eiji felt a little more comfortable with the concepts. He knew that would only last about a week, and then there would be more difficult concepts to learn, but for now, at least he knew he could pass the next test. He finished up a few practice problems and passed them to his tutor with a confident smile. Oishi grabbed his calculator and began checking Eiji's work. Eiji rested his chin in his hands and watched silently. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
"Nya, Oishi, your eyes are like the moon!"
Oishi looked up at Eiji and blinked twice, clearly thinking the comment rather out-of-the-blue. "What do you mean, Eiji?"
Eiji smiled despite realizing that he had said something a little awkward. "Well, they're soft." He blushed, suddenly finding it a little more difficult to describe. "And… sometimes they're a little far away, but they can also seem really close. Sometimes they're really bright; sometimes they're a little darker. But they always kind of glow, nya."
Oishi laughed a little, finding his friend's sentiments very cute. "Well, thank you, Eiji." He quietly finished checking the last problem and handed it back to Eiji. "The only one you missed was this one, but you just made a silly mistake. You understand it, though. See if you can figure it out."
Eiji studied the problem again. "Was it a multiplication mistake or an addition mistake?"
"You'll see it."
Eiji chewed on his pencil. Oishi put his elbow on the table and leaned against his hand, watching his doubles partner think.
He broke the silence. "You know what your eyes are like, Eiji?"
"Huh?" There went his thought train. Oishi's eyes were glowing dreamily.
"Stars."
-end-