Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to someone else, not me!
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Sometimes the scents that surrounded Echizen were unbelievably bad.
The hot sun that invariably beat down upon their practices only exacerbated the situation, but Echizen suspected that his teammates' redolent odors were mainly due to the erratic washing schedule of some of their sweat suits.
So one day, when the faint smell of something good broke through the wall of male stench, Echizen immediately stopped what he was doing to look for its source.
It wasn't from the viper, who had just jogged past. It wasn't from Momo-chan-senpai, drinking water behind him, who smelled (as usual) like a sweaty french-fry. It wasn't Taka-senpai, stretching on the ground in front of him, whose sweaty scent was layered with the slightest hint of tempura batter.
Aha: the nice, faintly musky scent was from Oishi-senpai, who was sitting on a nearby bench fretting over something in a folder.
Echizen breathed deeper. Oishi hadn't warmed up yet, that was clear. There was no sweat to undercut the odor. But what was it?
Nose tingling with curiosity, Echizen stepped closer.
"Oishi-senpai," Echizen said. Oishi jumped, the lead of his pencil breaking. He'd been working on practice schedules, Echizen noted.
"Ryoma-kun! Don't sneak up on me like that."
"Oishi-senpai, you smell…" Echizen leaned in and sniffed again. Yes, he confirmed privately, it was definitely a nice odor. "You smell a bit like," but here Echizen hesitated. Echizen wasn't quite sure what Oishi smelled like, only that he liked it.
Oishi blushed all the way up to his antennae. "Ah, thank you, Ryoma-kun. I'm wearing cologne, today."
"Cologne? What kind? Any reason for it?"
Oishi was clearly uncomfortable with Echizen's questions. "Eh – well, I wasn't planning to practice until later, and I just got a new bottle of this, so I thought maybe I'd try it…"
"So, no special occasion, eh? Well, you smell much better than the rest of us, fuku-Buchou."
Oishi smiled. "I agree with you there – you're all smelly! Perhaps I should provide cologne in the locker rooms?" He made a small note on the side of a sheet of paper.
Echizen shook his head. "Always thinking about the team, aren't you."
"Speaking of the team, shouldn't you be practicing?"
"See, I'm just not as concerned when you say it, because I'm not afraid of running extra laps if I don't return to practice soon enough…"
"Are you saying you want laps?" Tezuka's voice cut into their conversation. "Ten. Get moving."
"Ah – Buchou – I…" Echizen said.
"Go."
"Yes, Captain!"
Tezuka remained standing next to Oishi, and watched Echizen start his trot around the practice courts. "Have you finished the practice schedules yet?"
"Eh?" Oishi looked startled, as if Tezuka had interrupted a thought. "Well, not yet. I was just pondering Inui's recommendation that we all wear weights…"
"Oishi, is there something on your mind? Something else?"
"Ah, nothing I'd bother you with," Oishi said.
Tezuka opened his mouth to gloss over the situation, feeling as though he'd perhaps asked one too many questions anyway, but then stopped. There was something strange about Oishi today, Tezuka thought, staring at the slim young man.
They gazed at each other for several moments without speaking before Oishi finally said, "Er, are you okay, Tezuka?"
"I know that scent," Tezuka said abruptly. "The one you're wearing."
Oishi blushed scarlet again. "Tezuka…"
"You – have you been spending time with Atobe? He wears that. L'eau D'Issay." Tezuka's glasses glinted in the sun, rendering his expression more unreadable than usual.
Oishi shook his head, but then nodded. "I asked Atobe for advice, that is true. About cologne. He seemed amused at my request, but gave me some suggestions."
Tezuka's eyes became visible again. "When was this?"
"At the Junior Invitational Training Camp. I noticed that Atobe smelled good nearly all the time – except for on the court, of course. And I wanted to, to, well…have people think I smelled nice too," Oishi finished somewhat lamely.
"Eh?" Oishi leaned closer. He could have sworn Tezuka said something like, "Bastard wanted me to have him on my mind."
"What was that, Tezuka?"
"So, about the practice schedule."
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Later that day, walking home with Kikumaru, Oishi noticed that Kikumaru was eyeing him curiously.
"Oishi! There's something different about you," Kikumaru said. "I know, you've dressed…no, it's just your uniform. Your hair? No," Kikumaru pulled Oishi's bangs, "still pointy. Hm. Your shoes? No…"
Oishi waited while Kikumaru ran down the list of Oishi's possible changes.
"Eiji," Oishi said finally, "You want to know what it is?"
"Nya, Oishi" Kikumaru said, "I was just teasing you. I know exactly what it is." Kikumaru leaned close and exaggeratedly snorted a huge lungful of Oishi-scent. "YOU SMELL NICE!" He said in English.
"Eiji! Quiet – everyone will hear!"
But then Oishi had to deal with a Kikumaru special tackle that included a curious nose against various skin surfaces.
"Where'd you put it? Here?" Kikumaru held up Oishi's wrists. "Your neck?" He leaned in. "Your temples?" He brought his face close to Oishi's.
Oishi's flesh felt hotter than the cement on the court at this point. Enough was enough. "Stop, Eiji!"
But Eiji's nose lingered near his for just a moment longer. "Ne, Oishi. You can wear this more often."
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Tezuka, walking down the hill behind the two, noticed the tussle.
He wondered whether he should warn Oishi about Atobe, that asking Atobe for anything (even advice) was akin to making a deal with the devil.
But then, when Tezuka noticed that Kikumaru's arm had slid up to drape casually around Oishi's shoulder, he decided that perhaps Oishi knew exactly what he was doing.