Disclaimer: I don't own PoT

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He really did feel better after having talked to all the people, after recounting all the numerous adventure they had. Eiji noticed that the man in the suit came back. He gave some sort of closing statement. Then to Eiji's surprise he opened half of the coffin, and people started lining up to pay their last respect to Oishi. Eiji found himself at the end of line, joined shortly by the rest of Seigaku regular and their manager Inui.

All too soon they found themselves in front of the coffin. Most of them silently said their goodbyes, some talking to him, some watching him as if they were expecting him to move. Echizen's goodbye was particularly memorable.

"Hey Oishi-sempai, you better keep watching over all of us…" said Echizen, they all smiled. "… Pay particular attention to the next Wimbledon, I'm gonna win that for you Oishi-sempai, and even better I'm gonna win it with your moon-volley." Said Echizen pulling the bill of his hat lower over his face, presumable to hide the tears that were beginning to form in his eyes. Apparently he was taking it as bad as the others were.

Before he knew it Eiji found that he was the last to say goodbye to Oishi. Fuji gave his hand another encouraging squeezed before he took a couple of steps back to stand with the rest of the team. Eiji hesitantly took a step forward. Oishi was smiling. He was calm and relaxed, it just didn't fit, and he'd been smiling and relaxed when he was killed. Just what had he been thinking about? Where had he been going? Why had he been going wherever it was? Eiji did know Oishi normal schedule and had concluded early on that his friend had no reason to be by a road at that time of night.

"What were you doing?" Eiji whispered to Oishi. Oishi didn't answer and suddenly Eiji was very angry at his friend.

"Just what do you think you were doing!" he demanded slightly louder. His team looked up at him slightly worried.

"I haven't beaten you yet," said Eiji quietly. "You said that we would play doubles until I could beat you! You said I would be stuck with you until I could beat you!" said Eiji his voice getting louder, still only enough that his team heard, but they already knew the story.

"I haven't beaten you yet!" this time it attracted more attention. Oishi's college friends looked over a little agitated hearing the way their friend, although he couldn't hear it, was being address. The young red headed man sounded angry and they didn't like it.

"OISHI! YOU GOD DAMN JERK!" yelled Eiji, as angry as he'd ever been in his life, before turning on his heal and running out of the funeral home as fast as he could. The Seigaku team looked confused. They knew Eiji wore his heart on his sleeve but to go from being okay to that angry in a matter of minutes was a bit of a surprise, maybe there was some truth to his statement that Oishi was his emotional stability.

Oishi's college friends taking offense at Eiji slander of their friend jumped into action and began to go after the red head. Kaidoh and Inui, looking rather intimidating, stopped them at the door. Inui and Kaidoh were joined shortly by the rest of the regulars, who didn't really understand what had happened, knew that there was no way that Eiji actually meant what he said about Oishi.

It was actually Oishi's roommate Kiyoshi that ended the confrontation.

"Jiro! Guys! Calm down!" They college boys backed off slightly. "You guys may not know Eiji real well, but you know me, and believe me…. There's probably a ton of stuff going on in his head right now… I can tell he's having a hard time with this, probably harder than anyone else… Kikumaru didn't mean what he said," said Kiyoshi.

"There's no way he could have," he murmured, as he looked the way that Eiji ran. "… Guys, they were best friends, well actually I have my suspicions that they were infinitely more than best friends, but-" said Kiyoshi blushing lightly. All present looked slightly confused. Kiyoshi looked at the Seigaku team.

"You mean you guys didn't know? I thought this level of relationship had been going on for a LONG time," said Kiyoshi.

"…Well," began Fuji after a moment, "the sexual tension between them has always been almost palatable…" said Fuji, Tezuka nodded his agreement.

"There was a 97.4 chance that they would be lovers before the end of college," Inui informed. Momo looked horrified.

"All this time I thought you were taking Tennis data!"

"There are many types of data," concluded Inui pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I thought it was obvious." Stated Echizen coolly. "I mean, come one, the 'Golden Pair,' " He said using finger quotes.

"America has corrupted you," said Taka. Fuji got an evil grin on his face and turned towards the unsuspecting Kiyoshi.

"What exactly happened to make you realize it?"

"Um… well I was Oishi's roommate for three years… he had a tendency to talk in his sleep…" mumbled Kiyoshi turning bright red.

"Wait. You mean 'Eiji' is a guy! And that was him!" asked Jiro looking surprised. Kiyoshi nodded. Fuji smiled.

"There must have been more evidence?" he grinned.

"well, Kikumaru spent the night numerous times-" at the wide eyed looks of the other man, Kiyoshi quickly backtracked. "Not like that! Like a sleep over. Like little kids… It's just they never seemed to be awkward around each other, they had no problem sleeping in the same bed, sharing clothes, the bathroom… well, I suppose it just felt like they were an old married couple" finished Kiyoshi lamely. "I always felt like I was a voyeur in my own room." Kiyoshi blushed and Fuji opened his mouth to ask another question. Tezuka nudged him and gave him a look that plainly said knock it off.

"Shouldn't you be going after Kikumaru right now?" he asked raising an eyebrow. Fuji's expression sobered immediately.

"… I can't buchou… the only person that could go after Eiji right now is Oishi…" The reality of that statement hit the group hard. Fuji was right. No one could deal with Eiji when he was like this, except for Oishi, and Oishi wasn't here to fix it.

The college friends and the Seigaku regular split up. Fuji surveyed the scene around him. Everyone was dressed in black, which came as no surprise. They were all standing in groups talking in hushed tones, mostly about Oishi, remembering the good times, commenting on what others had said about him, and even a few groups talking about Eiji's latest outburst.

He looked to the corner to see The Kikumarus and the Oishis standing together and talking. The two mothers were hugging each other and consoling each other. He supposed that Oishi's death had hit the Kikumarus just as bad as it hit the Oishis. Throughout the years the two boys were rarely seen without each other and both families had practically adopted the other's son. The fathers were talking quietly. Eiji's sisters were weeping and hugging Oishi's little sister. Eiji's brothers seem to be caught between consoling the women or chasing after the baby of the family.

The man in the suit came back and announced that there would be a wake at the Oishi residence and that close friends of the family were invited there, before shuffling all the mourners out of the funeral home. Fuji found himself holding his breath as he watched the man close the lid of Oishi's coffin. He wasn't the only one. The Oishis and the Kikumarus, the Seigaku regulars and Oishi's college friends all seemed to be doing the same thing. As it finally clicked shut the two mothers wailed. Fuji could help but see the symbolism in the act. Closing the lid on Oishi's life. He found himself thinking that he was glad Eiji wasn't here to see. He wasn't quite sure how his friend would have reacted but he had a feeling that Eiji would have beat up the poor man to keep him from shutting the lid.

A few minutes later found a much smaller number of mourners in the Oishi household, and the Oishis themselves moving about the group playing the perfect hosts, even in this time of great sorrow.

Mrs. Oishi came up to the group of Seigaku regulars.

"Do you know where Eiji went?" she asked. Most shook their heads.

"… Do you think he's coming back here?" asked Mrs. Oishi.

"I honestly don't know," said Fuji. "Did you need him for something?"

"No…well… Shuichiro, he, he left Eiji a note." Said Mrs. Oishi.

"A note?"

"Yes… His roommate tells me that Shuichiro was on his way to visit Eiji when… it happened… well the doctors found a note to Eiji in his hand."

"Did he write it whi-" began Tezuka looking horrified at the thought of his friend lying in pain on the side of the road using the last of his life to write a note to Eiji.

"No… The doctors assure me it was written long before…just, it'll probably be a while before he comes to see us… he can be such a foolish boy at times, he's always welcome here…well, could you please just give him Shuichiro's note" said Mrs. Oishi pressing a folded letter into Fuji's hand before hurrying off to see to other guests.

"… Why do I feel like I'm missing some important detail," sighed Tezuka.

"I don't like not knowing what's going on," frowned Fuji.

"We just have to wait for Kikumaru-sempai to fill in the details," said Momo.

"… or not…" said Fuji holding up the note.