Author's Note: So sorry I haven't updated as i had planned but the SATs rolled around again and I had to take them. Not to mention that AP testing is this week and next week so I'm pretty busy. But since I had some free time, I thought I would write this chapter and post it.

Disclaimer: I don't own PoT/TnO!

Chapter Sixteen

Oishi spun angrily around to face Atobe when the bus disappeared from sight. Eiji's voice continued to echo it's mournful wail in the now silent air as Oishi stared Atobe directly in the eyes. His emerald eyes glared at the Hyotei buchou, not bothering to mask the anger and frustration he felt. Atobe just cost him something important to him and as nice a guy as Oishi was, he couldn't bring himself to forgive the said buchou.

"Atobe," Oishi said through clenched teeth.

"Back to practice," Atobe said.

Oishi shook his head and continued to glare at the Hyotei buchou. "Why did you…"Oishi began to ask, forcing himself to calm down.

"They were not supposed to be here," Atobe said with an air of finality. He did want to focus on this situation any longer than necessary because he knew Oishi was more curious than ever about his past. Atobe wasn't going to allow Seigaku to win. "Back to practice." He said, waving all the regulars back to the courts. Oishi stood where he was, refusing to listen to Atobe. Atobe narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. "Ore-sama commands you to get back to practice!"

Oishi continued to look at the buchou and gave a firm shake of his head. "I won't," he said.

"Don't think that just because you're Fukubuchou, it means you can defy Ore-sama!" Atobe began to shout.

"Then I quit," Oishi said quietly. It was Atobe's turn to stare as slowly, Oishi turned from Atobe and started to walk away.

:Seigaku:

"Ryuzaki-sensei," Tezuka greeted, walking into Seigaku's coach's office. The other regulars filed in quietly behind him. Eiji gave a quiet sniffle as he shuffled into the room.

"Tezuka," Ryuzaki-sensei said, her voice strained and quiet. She stared at Seigaku's buchou, waiting for him to answer. Tezuka had his head bowed. "You told me you were there for a mock match. However, you failed to mention that Hyotei hadn't agreed and so you went there, uninvited."

Tezuka raised his head and stared at his coach. "Aa," he answered simply.

"You have broken the trust I placed in you," Ryuzaki-sensei said. "A captain should know better."

Tezuka bowed his head again. "I understand," he said.

"Tezuka," the gentleness in his coach's voice cause him lift his head.

"The team, including myself, will partake in any necessary punishment," Tezuka said. The other regulars nodded in compliance.

"You found him, didn't you?" Ryuzaki-sensei asked.

Tezuka gasped inaudibly and looked at his coach, who was smiling gently at him. How could she have known? Many questions ran through Tezuka's head as he tried to come up with an explanation of how she found out. The other regulars just gaped at their coach.

"Aa," Tezuka said. "However…"

"How did I know?" Ryuzaki-sensei finished for him. Tezuka gave a curt nod. "You and Oishi are close, I know. Ever since you found out he wasn't coming back, you've been acting strangely."

"Hn," Tezuka said.

Ryuzaki-sensei sighed. "Since this is a first offense, I'll let you off the hook. But, this doesn't mean you're clear of charges. All of you." She said, glaring at the rest of the regulars. "Cleaning duty for a month as well as extra laps during practice. Not to mention that all of you are banned from going to Hyotei. Do I make myself clear?"

"Hai, sensei!" the whole team chorused.

"Dismissed,"

With a bow, the whole team made their way back onto the courts. As they stepped back onto the courts, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lucky she wasn't mad," Momoshiro said.

"Nya…we're banned from Hyotei!" Eiji cried out. "How is that lucky?"

"Kikumaru-senpai," Ryoma called out.

Eiji ran and almost tackled Ryoma to the ground when he wrapped his arms around the freshman. "Nya, Ochibi, I want to see Oishi!"

"Itai! Kikumaru-senpai!" Ryoma said, his voice muffled by Eiji's arm.

"Ochibi! Go and beat up stupid Gakuto!" Eiji cried, hugging the freshman impossibly tighter.

"He really needs to learn some restraint," Fuji said, his azure eyes once again made visible to the world.

"Which reminds me," Tezuka said. "Kikumaru, one hundred laps, now!"

"Nya! What?" Eiji cried, letting go of Ryoma in his surprise. Ryoma took this opportunity to get as far away from his clingy senpai as possible.

"You're behavior at Hyotei was unacceptable," Tezuka said. "One hundred laps!"

"One hundred? Wah, Fuji!" Eiji cried looking desperately towards the tensai.

"Maa, Tezuka," Fuji said, his eyes closed once again. "That's a little harsh."

"You are to join him, Fuji," Tezuka said.

Smiling, Fuji just shrugged and went over to where Eiji was cowering. "Shall we?" Fuji asked.

"Fuji!" Eiji whined. "You were supposed make me not run laps!"

"At least you have someone to run with," Fuji said, pointing out the bright side (if there really was a bright side to running). Eiji protested all the while Fuji was dragging him away to begin running their assigned laps. Momoshiro tried not to laugh at the sight of his senpai dragging his feet into the ground to stop from running laps. But a loud "You better not be laughing, Momo!" from Eiji, shut him up.

"Tezuka-buchou," Ryoma called.

"Hn," Tezuka answered, sparing the freshman a glance.

"Monkey King didn't want Oishi-senpai to come back," the freshman said.

"Hn," Tezuka said.

He had already known that since the first time he saw Oishi dressed in a Hyotei uniform. The smirk on Atobe's face back then told him all he needed to know. Now, with Oishi in his grasp, Tezuka knew Atobe would never let him go because he needed Oishi as a weapon against Seigaku.

:Hyotei:

Oishi continued to walk quickly away from Atobe, not bothering to look back when Atobe shouted for him to return. Oishi blocked out all sounds and focused solely on his pounding heart. He didn't know how much disappointment and how much torment he could take.

Every time he was close to finding out something important, it was cruelly ripped away from him some way or another, leaving his heart yearning and yet not able to alleviate it. Oishi stopped by a tree and slammed his fist into the trunk, ignoring the sharp stabs of pain that shot up his arm. He continuously pounded his fist into the trunk letting out all his frustration.

"Why?" he asked out loud. 'Why did I have to lose my memory? Why do I have to go through this torment?' His mind screamed internally. He wanted…no, he needed answers and he knew that Seigaku was the only place he would find them. Finally able to calm down, Oishi pushed himself away from the tree and continued walking, ignoring the crimson drops that fell from his hand.

:Seigaku:

"Oi, Echizen, you missed a spot!" Momoshiro called out to the freshman, pointing to a spot on the courts where the water had missed.

Pointing the hose towards the spot, Ryoma let the water gush out a bit too forcefully and it drenched the junior powerhouse instead. "Momo-senpai, you're wet," Ryoma said.

"Why you…" Momoshiro said, trembling. "Come here!" He started to chase after the freshman who had thrown down the hose and took off sprinting.

All the regulars were helping to clean up the courts as part of their punishment doled out by Ryuzaki-sensei. Ryoma was in charge of hosing the courts while Momoshiro, Kawamura, Fuji, Eiji and Kaidoh all had brooms and swept the courts clean. Tezuka and Inui were responsible for raking all the leaves of the courts.

"Echizen, you did that on purpose!" Momoshiro exclaimed, continuing to chase said freshman. "Come here so I can repay you!"

"Yadda!" Ryoma called out behind him.

"Nya, Ochibi, Momo, stop fooling around!" Eiji said with his hands on his hips. "You're just making the courts dirty again!"

The two continued to run, not bothering to even acknowledge their senpai. Eiji's eyebrow began to twitch and was about to scream when Tezuka cut in.

"Momoshiro, Echizen, since you both love to run, fifty laps around the courts!"

"What!" both of them exclaimed. "Buchou!"

"Now!" Tezuka ordered.

Groans were heard from the both of them and Ryoma was heard muttering.

"Baka Momo-senpai!"

"Oi, it's not my fault! You drenched me first," Momoshiro shot back.

"You started it," Ryoma said.

"Did not!" Momoshiro said.

"Did!"

And with that, Ryoma took off running, leaving Momoshiro unable to argue further. "Oi!" Momoshiro shouted and took off running after the freshman. Ryoma smirked as he rounded the corner and continued his blistering pace around the courts. He turned back to look where his senpai was and didn't see a figure standing right in front of him until it was too late.

Ryoma ran full speed into the other person, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Momoshiro was fast approaching but slowed down when he saw Ryoma fall against someone. 'Intruder?' Momoshiro asked himself. Cautiously, he made his way to where Ryoma was.

"Oi Echizen, you alright?" Momoshiro asked.

"Aa," Ryoma answered.

"Hey are you alright too?" Momoshiro asked the person Ryoma crashed into.

"H-hai," the other person answered.

Momoshiro and Ryoma's eyes widened as they saw who it was.

"Oishi-senpai!"

Author's Note: Was Oishi OOC here? I tried to keep him in character but considering what he was going through...yeah. So anyways, a little bit of humor to counter the predominately angsty and drama-y tone of this story. So was this chapter good? Bad? Please let me know!

Read and Review! Arigatou!