Author's Note: Isn't this insane? Yet another chapter! I should win an award or something! Kididng, I just hope you enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: Srill don't own PoT/TnO...yeah, sucks.

Chapter Six:

Over the course of the next weeks, Atobe constantly "asked" Oishi to attend practice. Atobe had also been meeting with Coach Sakaki about having Oishi become a regular. The coach did not give him an answer right away, much to Atobe's discontent but soon enough, Sakaki gave then go ahead.

"I expect nothing short of perfection," Sakaki said.

Oishi gave a bow to the older man, "Hai," he said. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity." His heart beat madly in his chest. It was like a dream; he was actually a regular!

"Hn, Atobe was the one who convinced me," Sakaki said. Oishi looked up and glanced over to Atobe, who just smiled back. "Do not make me regret this decision." With that, the coach walked back towards the school, leaving the players to practice.

Oishi turned back to Atobe. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

"Ore-sama does not need to explain," Atobe said.

"But…" Oishi wanted to know. Why was Atobe helping him? It didn't make any sense. Just a little while ago, he was just the new kid and now, here he was, a Hyotei regular. He had accomplished what few had. A Hyotei regular after only a few weeks of training. Most of the players on the Hyotei team were third years and they would never become regulars.

"You would not want to be late to practice your first day as a regular," Atobe said.

Oishi shook his head. "Iie," he answered.

He followed Atobe back to the courts where the other regulars were waiting for them. Ohtori was the first to speak.

"You're already a Hyotei regular, Oishi-san?" he asked.

"I-it would seem so," Oishi said, a bit embarrassed that he was attracting all this attention.

"Just don't drag the team down," came Shishido's remark.

"Shishido-san!" Ohtori said, chastising his double's partner.

"Hn, who would have thought you would be so fortunate," Oshitari said, adjusting his glasses.

"As long as you play well enough," Gakuto said.

"This is enough! Back to practice," Atobe ordered. "Forty laps now!"

Oishi froze for a second on that order. 'Why does it seem so familiar?' Oishi thought. 'I know I've heard that order before, but not from Atobe.' Oishi rubbed his temples, trying not to push his mind too hard in attempts to recall who it was that ordered laps like Atobe had done.

"Yo, Oishi, you running or what?" Gakuto asked, nudging the other player.

"Ah, hai," Oishi said. He broke off into a run, following the other regulars. The question still plagued his mind. 'Who was it?'

:Seigaku:

Tezuka watched as the Seigaku regulars practiced their drills. They were now training harder than ever. This was to say that it did require some "persuasion" on Inui's part. The sadistic juice blender had come up with a new version he called "Super Victory Inui Juice Version Five," a bubbly orange mixture that set many fearful expressions on the regulars' faces when they happened to glance at it every so often.

Today, they were practicing their hand-eye coordination with the drill Inui had set up for them long ago. The colored balls were brought out and so were the cones. Tezuka remembered the look of horror passing across every regulars face when Inui had brought out the equipment. Only Fuji seemed to remain calm, though that was to be expected. The same rules applied as it did when they first tried this exercise: if a ball was called wrong, or a regular missed the ball completely, or if the ball did not hit the correct cone, the player would have to down a whole glass of Inui juice.

"Nya! Inui, you're not seriously going to make us drink it, are you?" Eiji had protested loudly.

"Those are the rules," Inui said, the light glinting off this glasses.

Everyone shuddered and Tezuka almost felt pity. Almost.

"A-Aka!"

It was Eiji's turn and he was trying so hard not to gain a glass of Inui's newest concoction.

Inui's glasses glinted again as he hit the next one. Eiji focused on the ball nad gave his answer. "Kiiro!"

"Eiji, wasn't that blue?" Inui asked.

"Nya?" Eiji said, second-guessing himself for only a split second. But a split second was all it took for Eiji to hit the red cone. "Nya! Inui, you cheated!"

Inui gave him as innocent look as he could muster. "I must have been mistaken," he said. "But, rules are rules." He approached the now terrified player with a glass filled with the orange drink.

Eiji backed away from Inui, screaming at the top of his lungs. "NYA! I won't drink it! No, no, no, no, NO! Fujiko-chan, Ochibi, save me!"

Eiji ran towards Fuji and Ryoma and cowered behind them. Eiji clung to the freshman who let out a gasped "Let go, Kikumaru-senpai!"

Fuji smiled his smile and looked at Inui. "Saa, Inui, I'll drink in his place."

Inui shook his head. "Eiji earned his glass," he said, holding out the said glass to the cowering player.

"Nya!" Eiji screamed, running towards Tezuka.

"Stop this foolishness!" Tezuka said, glaring at the acrobatic player.

"But…nya!" Eiji said sniffling, hoping this display would move the stoic captain just a little so he wouldn't have to drink…that!

"This will be a lesson," Tezuka said.

"I wish Oishi were here, he would save me, nya," Eiji muttered. Tezuka froze. "I want Oishi!" Eiji said.

"Kikumaru, thirty laps!" Tezuka ordered. "After your laps, you may drink what you have earned."

"Nani!" Eiji asked incredulously, but the glare from Tezuka silenced him.

"Back to practice!" Tezuka shouted.

Everyone scrambled back to the hand-eye coordination exercise. One by one, they all succumbed to Inui's Super Victory juice, except Fuji, who savored his glass. All the regulars were at the public fountain, clutching their stomachs, their face contorted with agony. Eiji had finished his laps and screamed when Inui popped up behind him with his glass.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Eiji screamed as he threw his glass away and ran to the fountain to empty the contents of his stomach. "Nya, that's…so…horrible."

Tezuka stared at Eiji, his comment from earlier still in his mind. I wish Oishi were here…I want Oishi…I wish Oishi were here…Oishi…Oishi…

"Cease this immediately!" Tezuka burst out.

All the regulars stared at their captain's outburst.

"Oi, buchou, daijoubu?" Momoshiro asked.

"Tezuka?" Kawamura called.

"Iie, I'm fine," Tezuka said.

"Ne, it's about Oishi-senpai," Ryoma said.

All the regulars turned to the freshman. Tezuka narrowed his eyes the slightest bit.

"What are you talking about Echizen?" Momoshiro asked.

"Ochibi?" Eiji asked.

Ryoma looked at Tezuka and shook his head. "Mada mada dane," he said, adjusting his trademark cap.

"Come on, buchou, tell us what's wrong," Momoshiro prodded.

"Baka! Respect other people's privacy!"

"Who're you calling 'baka,' mamushi?" Momoshiro said.

"What did you call me?" Kaidoh asked.

"Baka mamushi," Momoshiro grinned

"Fsssh,"

"Enough!" Tezuka said. "Practice is over. Dismissed. We will resume the same time tomorrow!"

Then Tezuka walked to the clubhouse, not once looking back at his team. 'It is getting harder and harder to concentrate.' Tezuka thought as he opened the door and proceeded to change.

:Hyotei:

The 'swish' of fabric was heard in the changing room as players were changing out of their practice uniforms and into their regular school uniforms. As Oishi was buttoning his shirt, Atobe called for him.

"Oishi, Ore-sama would like to discuss something with you!"

Oishi made his way towards Atobe, his tie hanging around his neck and the top two buttons were still unbuttoned. "Hai?" he asked.

"Ore-sama has decided to schedule a match between Seigaku and Hyotei," Atobe informed him.

"It is so close to Zenkoku," Oishi said. "Would it be alright if we had this match?"

"It will not be an official match. Friendly competition," Atobe assured the other.

"Ah," Oishi said. "Should I call to schedule this?"

"As buchou, Ore-sama will," Atobe said.

Oishi nodded. "I don't mean to be rude, but why did you tell me this?" Oishi asked.

"Ore-sama was not finished," Atobe said.

"Ah gomen, I did not mean to interrupt," Oishi said.

"Ore-sama requests you to become Fukubuchou of Hyotei," Atobe said, giving a little smile.

Oishi was slightly taken aback. "F-fukubuchou?" he asked. "But, I couldn't…"

"Nonsense," Atobe interrupted. "Ore-sama thinks you will fill the role."

Oishi flushed a little under the compliment while Atobe was mentally attacking himself. 'Ore-sama has gone too soft.' He thought.

"I…I thought Jiroh…" Oishi began to say.

Atobe waved his hand in a careless gesture. "Ore-sama has chosen you to be fukubuchou," Atobe said.

"Ah, as long as no one else wants to be fukubuchou, I guess I can," Oishi said, still uncertain.

"No one is worthy of being fukubuchou," Atobe said, letting the statement slip out before he had a chance to think about it. 'Too soft.' His mind concluded. 'Ore-sama never gave out compliments quite so easily before. Why now?'

Oishi flushed again. "Has everyone…agreed?" he asked.

"They have to. It is Ore-sama's will," Atobe said, his arrogance never missing a step.

"You cannot force people to accept what they don't want to," Oishi said.

"Ore-sama can and does," Atobe answered. "No one dares to compete with Ore-sama."

Oishi shook his head. "You forced the other regulars to accept me as fukubuchou?" he asked, emerald eyes flashing.

"If I did?" Atobe asked.

"Then I cannot accept this position," Oishi said.

This time Atobe's eyes flashed dangerously. "You should consider yourself lucky," Atobe said, his voice barely hid the fury. "Had it been anybody else who said what you did to Ore-sama, they would have been…dealt with."

Oishi glared back at the captain. "You threaten people too easily," Oishi said. "People here fear you."

"As they should. All of them are beneath Ore-sama," Atobe said with a toss of his hair.

"But I do not fear you," Oishi said.

Atobe just stared. Having said what he wanted, Oishi excused himself and went back to finish packing. Atobe stared after the other, his eyes widening. 'He dared to…have that tone with Ore-sama! No one has said that to Ore-sama before.' He didn't know why but Atobe, surprisingly, wasn't mad at Oishi. In fact, he dared to say that he was the tiniest bit…impressed. It took a lot of courage to stand up to Atobe. 'Perhaps his amnesia has also given him a boost of confidence.' Atobe said.

He continued to watch Oishi finish packing, a slight smile played on Hyotei's captains lips.

Author's Note: Well, this chapter certainly was...interesting, no? Blargh! I think that my writings getting worse and worse. :cries: Awww, hopefully next chapter will be better. Ja!

Read and Review! Arigatou!