Words: 1,868

Disclaimer: Not mine… nope, nada, absolutely not mine. Don't own it, not even a tiny little bit. I just play with the characters. Yup.

Author's note: Thanks to all the reviewers and to FallingSilver. This chapter might have a little bit of Ryoma ooc-ness but I really hope not. I've been trying to stay in character this whole story. –hits head- I may have to write a story with an ooc Ryoma just to satisfy this urge to write him that way. Erg, sorry minna for being so late. I hate finals. DOWN WITH THE FINALS! bonks head well gombata ne for all those taking accursed finals and other tests and please forgive all the Japanese spelling errors I have. I'm going by sound and what I've learned. Can't always be reliable when there's no dictionary. On with the show…

Atobe's Little Plan

Chapter 8

Ryoma opened the fifth door on the right on the third floor carefully. He didn't want to disturb anyone inside. The sight that greeted him was of Eiji sitting beside a comfortable looking bed, Oishi's hand in his. Oishi was wrapped from head to toe in bandages. He had some heavy blankets covering him to keep the cold away. Takeshi was watching the two with a concerned look on his face.

"Ah. You must be Echizen-san. I've heard so much about you," a voice said behind Ryoma. He jumped slightly and turned around. The woman was in a lab coat but held her head high. She had long black hair pulled back into a long braid. She had clear glasses on, and her bright blue eyes held mirth in them.

"Domo," was all Ryoma said. As she smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkled suggesting a long life of laughing. An interesting woman, this doctor.

"Gomen, gomen. I didn't invite you inside, did I? Come on." She gently put a hand on his lower back and shoved him inside the room. Too startled by this woman's behavior to protest, he did as she told him.

He took a seat, his eyes immediately going to the pair by the bed. Oishi looked too pale. His face and hands were white; they nearly matched the sheet that was poking out from under the big comforter.

A chuckle interrupted his musings. "It's alright. That young man is going to be just fine. I find that when a person has such good friends giving him strength, they make it out faster then people who have no one."

Ryoma stared at her, startled.

"Yes. I know you're worried. The only really bad wound was the one he got on his side. He lost an insane amount of blood from that wound. The others are small, insignificant really."

Ryoma paid attention to the doctor. This was important. "Did that wound cut into anything vital?"

She rubbed her finger on her chin in thought. "It came very close to his ribs and one major artery, but it didn't actually hit them, and that's the important thing. He needs to stay in bed, though. If he gets out too soon, it could rip the wound open and further damage him. In other words, if he gets up from that bed before he's healed, the chance of the wound ripping into his ribs and artery is nearly 98."

He winced when she mentioned percentages; it reminded him too much of a certain sempai. "But if he stays in bed then he'll be fine. Right?"

She gave him a reassuring smile. "Yes. He will be fine." She clicked her tongue on her teeth. "My, someone able to fall off a cliff and survive. He must really have something he wants to live for."

She wasn't looking at Ryoma anymore. She was looking at Eiji, who was smiling through his tears but was whispering something in Oishi's ears, even though he was unconscious.

She got up to go check on her patient, leaving Ryoma alone with his thoughts. Takeshi came over when he saw the doctor leave Ryoma and sat next to him.

"It's been a long night, hasn't it?" he said, breaking the silence.

"Aa," was Ryoma's only response.

"Eiji's pretty worked up. He thinks it was all his fault that Oishi got hurt."

"Baka. He might have run but he didn't know there was a cliff."

"That's what I told him." Takeshi sighed. "He didn't even hear me."

"That's usually the way." An odd silence hung in the air as if something was waiting to be asked.

"Takeshi… would you have done for me what Oishi did for Eiji?" Ryoma blurted out, a blush climbing up his face.

Takeshi smiled. "I would. I told you, Ryoma, I couldn't live without you." The way Takeshi said his name made Ryoma shiver in appreciation.

Ryoma said nothing, but moved to lay his head on Takeshi's chest. Takeshi just shifted so that he could get more comfortable. They sat like that for almost half an hour, watching the pair on the other side of the room.

A clock chimed midnight, startling the two awake. They must have fallen asleep a while ago. Ryoma was content. He didn't care about anything as long as he could keep this feeling forever.

"That's it. You two love doves better get off to bed," the doctor reprimanded them from behind.

They jumped apart, blushes appearing on their faces. "I, uh, we're not tired," Takeshi stammered, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"It's okay, Momo-chan," a tired Eiji said from beside the doctor. "I can look after Oishi myself. It's my fault he's there anyway."

Takeshi traded worried glances with Ryoma.

"We can stay," Takeshi tried once more, a bit more insistently.

The doctor frowned sternly. "No. You two go to bed. Sometimes, too many is also bad for the patient. Especially when those people need strength themselves."

She grabbed the two boys' arms and shoved them unceremoniously out the door. "Good… night, you two. See you tomorrow." She slammed the door gently in their faces.

Ryoma threw his head back, making the curls jump. "Fine," he said as if that was what he intended to do in the first place.

Takeshi grabbed Ryoma with a laugh and pulled the boy to him. He kissed Ryoma firmly on the mouth. "You're just too cute in that outfit," he remarked once the kiss ended.

Ryoma glared at that remark. He unconsciously smoothed his skirt. "I can't wait to take this outfit off." He was so busy looking anywhere but at Takeshi that he missed the power player's hungry look.

"Let's get you back to your room." Something in Takeshi's tone sent an electrified shiver down to Ryoma's groin.

"Iie. Let's go back to yours. I don't like my room."

They walked the near dark halls to Takeshi's room and threw open the door. They walked in as if they were drunk, with Ryoma hanging onto Takeshi's arm and Takeshi trying to pull Ryoma down to the ground. Ryoma expertly dodged Takeshi and took a seat on the couch. As usual, Takeshi's room was messy. He had magazines lying all over the floor, couch and bed. Ryoma picked up a magazine with his picture on the front. He recognized it. It was from when he won a tournament a few months ago. He bent down and picked another one up. It didn't have him on the cover, but it did have a story about him on the inside. All of the magazines were the same, with either him on the cover or a story about him.

"I told you, I couldn't live without you." Takeshi had moved next to Ryoma while he was looking at the magazines. "I didn't have you next to me, so I got the next best thing. I bought magazines, recorded videos of all your wins and even watched the movies that you acted in." He smiled fondly. "Dang it Ryoma! I missed you!"

Ryoma pouted a bit. "So you'd rather have magazines than me?"

Takeshi glomped him and ruffled his hair. "Of course not." He grew serious. "We'd be idiots, though, if we thought all of our problems have been solved."

Ryoma nodded, wisely. "Aa." He spotted an object that he'd been longing for all night. He went to the bed and picked it up, satisfyingly putting it on top of his head.

Takeshi laughed. "Couldn't live without your hat?" In response, Ryoma tugged his hat over his eyes while he grinned.

"So what are we going to do about our parents?" Takeshi asked.

"I don't know. Oya-ji could be mad. I think he was hoping for some grandchildren to teach tennis to."

Takeshi blushed. "Well, between you and me, we can't have children."

"What about your family?"

Takeshi let out a long, painful breath. "Okaa-san will probably say that we're still just kids."

Ryoma tossed his head once again, making his curls bounce. "Well, she does have half a point." Takeshi raised a questioning brow. Ryoma grinned. "You're still a kid but I grew up a long time ago."

Takeshi gave him a mischievous grin and jumped on him. They were so busy that neither of them heard the knock on the door.

"I see you're busy," someone remarked loudly enough to be heard.

They froze, glancing up to see who it was. Tezuka was glaring at them. Ryoma was laying under Takeshi, while Takeshi had his hands up Ryoma's shirt. Ryoma burned with embarrassment, feeling Takeshi's hands on him. Hastily, the two boys got up, rearranging their shirts.

Takeshi rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Uh, what did you need, Tezuka-buchou?"

Tezuka looked hesitant. "Have you seen Oishi around?" He looked at Ryoma, who had his hat covering his eyes. "Pardon the intrusion miss." Ryoma kept silent, though a smile danced at the corners of his mouth.

Takeshi lightly hit the front of his forehead. "Doh! We forgot to tell you. Oishi hurt himself badly, so he's up in the doctor's room."

"He's hurt?" Tezuka asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"Something about arteries almost being burst and stuff like that." Takeshi waved his hand around.

"Where is he?" Tezuka's eyes darted to the door.

"Third floor, fifth door on the right."

"Arigato." He quickly looked at Ryoma. "Miss." He left the room as silent as he came in.

Ryoma gave a huge yawn when the door clicked shut. "Let's go to bed. I'm tired."

Takeshi sniffed. "You were nearly dead asleep during your last match a few weeks ago. How can you be tired when you sleep all the time?" He muttered softly under his breath just barely loud enough for Ryoma to hear. "I can't believe he didn't recognize Ryoma."

Ryoma lifted a fine brow. "You're complaining?"

Takeshi thought about it for a second. "Oh, when you put that way..."

Ryoma, bed. Ryoma in his bed. Ryoma sleeping in his bed. He could put up with that scenario. Tezuka's appearance flew out of his mind. He thought of something else, though, that stopped him in his tracks. "What about our parents?"

Ryoma glanced lazily around the room, already with his skirt and shirt off. "I don't see them near us. We can decide what to do tomorrow. No use worrying about it right now." He threw on one of Takeshi's t-shirts and burrowed under the covers.

Takeshi threw up his hands in defeat. He quickly got undressed down to his boxers. By the time he hopped into bed with Ryoma, the boy was already asleep. He spent a few minutes studying Ryoma's perfect face. Their parents would throw a fit, or at least his would. He didn't know about Nanjiro or Ryoma's mother.

He couldn't believe what had happened tonight. It was like a dream come true. He had discovered that Ryoma had the same feelings as him. He kissed him, knowing full well who it was he was kissing. Oishi had gotten extremely hurt. Tezuka looked out of it.

Man, tonight has been full of surprises, he thought to himself as he closed his eyes. As the darkness of sleep descended, he managed to whisper, "I love you, Ryoma."

He would have laughed if he could when he got a "Aa" in return. He felt a arm and a leg thrown over his person, and then he was gone.

Atobe: Where is Ore-sama? This title has Ore-sama in it and yet Ore-sama isn't in the story much.

Anifantwist: ;; Calm down Atobe. You have a major roll coming up. Be patient.

Atobe: How dare you tell Ore-sama to be patient. If Ore-sama doesn't want to be patient then Ore-sama shouldn't have to be patient. Ore-sama always gets what Ore-sama wants. Right Kabaji?

Kabaji: Usu.

Anifantwist: ;;; uhhh you're not going to be in the next chapter either…