Author's Note: Ahh, I feel so loved. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I love you all!
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis/ Tennis no Ohjisama
Chapter Two:
Everything was hazy when Oishi woke up. His eyes were going in and out of focus.
'Am I dead?' he thought when awoke and saw the white room. Everything was one color. The sheets, the bed, even the clothes he was wearing.
His eyes fluttered a little, trying to adjust to the sunlight. But as soon as his eyes adjusted, his head started to pound. It felt as if thousands of hammers were hammering every inch of his skull.
"Oishi?" a voiced called out to him.
'Oishi?' he thought. He turned his head, despite the pain and looked to the young man who sat in a chair beside his bed.
"You're awake," the man said.
"Where…am…I?" Oishi croaked out.
"The hospital. Do you remember what happened?" the young man asked.
Oishi tried to think about what happened, but all he managed to get was more pain in his head. He shook his head slowly.
"I-I can't remember anything," he said. "Who are you? Were you the one who brought me here?"
Tezuka just stared. 'He does not remember who I am,' He thought. "You are certain you do not know me?" Tezuka asked softly.
Oishi just stared blankly at him. "Should I know you?" he asked.
An unfamiliar pang stabbed at Tezuka's chest. 'He truly does not remember who I am,' he thought. 'It is my fault.' "I am Tezuka," Tezuka said, his face betraying none of the emotions that swirled inside.
Oishi felt a little flutter but dismissed it as a side-effect of his headache.
"Ah, I…what is my name? I remember you called me 'Oishi.' Is that my name?" Oishi asked.
"Aa," Tezuka answered.
"Then you can call me Oishi," Oishi said, with a small smile.
'How is it possible he can smile?' Tezuka wondered. "I have contacted your family," he said.
"My family?" Oishi asked. "Am I from around here?"
"Aa, they will arrive shortly."
"Arigatou," Oishi said, "I'm sorry to have bothered you."
It was so much like the Oishi that was his best friend. Oishi, his best friend since they were freshman. The politeness still remained intact, though his memories were not. It almost brought Tezuka to tears. "Iie," he managed to say, forcing all emotions aside.
"Tezuka-san?" Oishi called out.
"Hai?" Tezuka answered, clinging to the voice that also remained unchanged. He would have to leave soon before the emotions overwhelmed him.
"Will you tell me what happened since I can't remember?" Oishi asked, his green eyes boring into Tezuka.
Tezuka's heart thudded in his chest. The accident played again in his mind. Oishi had dropped his tennis bag and run towards him. He could see the concern in his eyes as he raced to his side. He still remembered the push Oishi gave him to knock him out of harm's way and take the blow instead. Tezuka's hands clenched involuntarily, the only sign of his pain and regret that he expressed.
"Hai," Tezuka answered. "You were involved in a car accident."
"Ah," Oishi said, staring out of the window that provided a view to the city. He turned to Tezuka again. "How do you know me?" he asked.
"We are classmates," Tezuka said.
"Souka," Oishi said, more to himself than anyone else. "So that's how you know my name."
"Aa,"
A blanket of silence drifted down on both young men. Oishi took this little gap of silence to study the other guy. 'I wonder if we were friends?' he thought. He tried again to think about Tezuka but again, all he drew was a blank and his head ached more. He winced from the pain. Tezuka noticed his discomfort and in a very un-Tezuka like manner, allowed concern to flood his voice.
"Do you need the doctor?" he asked.
Oishi shook his head gently. "I'll be fine," he said, giving Tezuka a small reassuring smile.
Another tug at Tezuka's heartstrings. 'He doesn't know so he doesn't blame me.' He thought. 'His manners are the same as he was before the accident.'
At that moment, the door burst open and a hysterical woman burst in.
"Kami-sama! Shuuichiroh, daijoubu?" the woman asked, grabbing a hold of the injured boy.
Oishi gave Tezuka a startled look. "Who is she?" he asked.
"Your mother," Tezuka answered.
The woman let him go. "Y-you don't k-know m-me?" she asked.
Oishi shook his head. "Gomen, I don't remember anything," he said truthfully.
Tears ran down Oishi's mother's eyes. "He doesn't know me," she whispered. Behind the woman suddenly appeared a very strict looking man. He took one look at Oishi and briefly allowed himself to let pain glaze into his eyes.
"Shuuichiroh," he called.
Tezuka stood up and bowed to Oishi's parents. "Oishi-san, gomen nasai," he said profoundly.
"For what, Kunimitsu-kun?" Oishi's mother said.
"I was at fault," Tezuka said. Remaining bowed so they would not see the miniscule droplets of water forming at the edge of his eyes.
A hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked up. It was Oishi's mother. "Kunimitsu-kun, we know it wasn't your fault. You were the one who saved Shuuichiroh. We're grateful," Oishi's mother said. "Arigatou gozaimasu."
Tezuka couldn't take it anymore. "Ah, sumimasen Oishi-san, I must return home," he mumbled.
"Aa," Oishi's mother said. "You should go home. You have been with Shuuichiroh for three days, you deserve a rest. We really appreciate you being here for him when we were away."
"Iie, it was my duty as a friend," Tezuka said. He almost loathed himself for saying those words. He did loathe himself for keeping Oishi's parents in the dark. He loathed himself even more when he thought of the way he treated Oishi just minutes before Oishi risked his own life to save his. Giving another bow, he said. "Sayonara, Oishi-san."
"You too, Kunimitsu-kun," Oishi's mother said.
As Tezuka walked home, all he could think about was Oishi, lying in a hospital with no memory of who he was. 'It should have been me in that hospital bed.' Tezuka thought mournfully.
Reaching home, Tezuka called out. "Tadaima." His grandfather greeted him.
"Na, Kunimitsu, how is Shuuichiroh-kun?"
"He has memory loss," Tezuka replied.
His grandfather just nodded, not saying anything. "He will be fine," his grandfather tried to reassure him.
"Aa," Tezuka said automatically.
"Kunimitsu-kun, dinner will be served soon," his grandmother called to him.
"Arigatou obaa-san," Tezuka said back.
He went to sit down at the dinner table, his mind far from his house.
:A Few Days Later:
"Where's Oishi, nya?" Eiji asked, a bit worried about his double's partner. Oishi had missed many days of practice, which was rare.
The other regulars shrugged.
"Tezuka-buchou," Ryoma called out, noticing something was off with his normally perfect buchou.
Tezuka was just staring off into space and totally oblivious to practice. The other regulars started whispering to each other.
"What's wrong with Tezuka, nya?" Eiji asked.
"He may be here in person but his mind isn't," Fuji said.
"Nya, Fuji, what could be wrong?" Eiji asked the tensai.
"Hmm…" Fuji said, looking at Tezuka. 'He is regretful.' He thought.
"You think Tezuka-buchou's finally lost his mind?" Seigaku's powerhouse, Momoshiro said. Unfortunately, Tezuka chose this time to come back to practice.
"Why are the regulars standing around during practice? Twenty laps, everyone!" Tezuka rapped out.
Everyone sweatdropped and thought at the same time. 'He's just fine.'
In truth, he wasn't. He missed Oishi.
Author's Note: I hope this chapter was okay.
Read and Review! Arigatou!
