disclaimer: nothing but the plot is mine

Chapter 2: Denial

Strands of honeyed gold fell softly onto his face, like the gentle showers in springtime. Caressing lightly, lovingly. He could see the colour of the sky through the golden mist; the grey of a new dawn broken over the cerulean ocean. He idly tried to search for the right words to describe the perfect beauty he beheld above him.

Magnificent. Exquisite. Sublime. Breathtaking.

It was all that, this vision above him; all that and more.

He reached up to pull it towards him and the warmth that pressed against him suffused through his entire being, rendering him more alive than he had ever been before. Every touch and every breath on him made him just a little more aware. A little closer to paradise.

He felt himself ablaze with sensations, and he was getting near. Nearer and nearer…

And Echizen Ryoma was startled out of his sleep as he fell off his bed, crashing to the floor. He groaned as he rubbed the back of his head gingerly. He groaned even louder when he realized how late it was after a casual glance at his alarm clock which was lying sullenly on the floor next to him; he must have swatted it off his nightstand at some point in time as usual. He had barely ten minutes to wash up, gobble down breakfast and get to school. Talk about tight schedules. Heaving a sigh of resignation as he valiantly attempted to disentangle himself from his sheets, he figured that if he did all three real fast, he still had hopes of getting to practice no more than ten minutes late. Perhaps if he skipped half of breakfast and forwent his morning shower…

For the third time within that minute, Ryoma groaned when he was finally free of his blanket and felt the familiar stickiness in his pajama pants. "Not again…" he grumbled as he slapped his forehead; skipping the shower was not an option now.

Ryoma scowled darkly as he made his way to the bathroom; this problem was getting very much on his nerves. It had been happening for some time now, this… phenomenon. It was becoming more and more frequent for him to wake up from unsettlingly arousing dreams to find himself in the most humiliating state imaginable in his opinion.

To be entirely frank, he wasn't all that ignorant towards sexual issues despite his genuine disinterest in the perverse publications his father loved to indulge himself in. Ryoma knew very well that such occurrences were not unusual for boys at his age. The knowledge was of course reinforced by his father through ways he'd much rather not recall, but the bottom line was that he knew it was only natural for such an occurrence to take place. Therefore, he had no qualms about having wet dreams, naturally. What was there to fuss about your natural bodily functions? But then again, it wasn't all there was to the picture. The main problem lay with the content of his dreams.

As the near-scalding blast washed over him, Ryoma's thoughts started to wander.

He could not pinpoint exactly when it started. Echizen Ryoma was never one for details; he'd rather take things as they came. It's much easier that way. More convenient, he would say. So he had not noticed the first signs, and when the pattern was finally set, the boy had been shocked to the core. Never in the whole of his life had he ever thought that he would one day be fantasizing about…

Ryoma felt his face burning, not merely from the heat of the shower. He'd much rather not think about the subject of his nightly fantasies. He was in denial, and he knew it. He liked to take things as they came, and this had yet to become an urgent matter in Ryoma's opinion. One thing at a time.

This mentality would naturally lead to an inevitable snowball of problems for the young prodigy in the near future, but he did not need to know that. Yet. All he needed to know at this point in time was that time was running out and he now had less than four minutes to the start of practice.

He was going to be so dead.

The atmosphere was tense that Saturday morning as the tennis club started practice; even the air smelt of static sparks that were ready to go off any time. Oishi shifted uncomfortably as he glanced at the courts uneasily. Everything appeared as normal as could be. Everyone was in his place, doing what he should be doing, and there really wasn't anything wrong with the picture that the fukubuchou could point out. But then again, he had never been as sharp with things as Eiji or Fuji. Maybe he was missing out on some minor details like he was prone to. But that didn't make much sense to him. His brow furrowed slightly as he chewed absently on his lower lip; if it was really something small that he was missing out then why in the world was he feeling so unsettled? One only felt what one could observe, and if it really, really, were some minute detail that he failed to notice, then wouldn't it make more sense for him to not feel anything at all?

Oishi pondered over this a little more as he surveyed the scene before him more carefully. He eventually gave up; it did not make any sense to him and he would gladly leave it at that before his brain fried itself with all that thinking. Maybe he could ask Eiji about it later.

"Oishi." Tezuka's stern voice sliced through his thoughts like cutting butter. "Are you listening?"

Oishi almost jumped at the sharpness of Tezuka's voice. "H…Hai, Tezuka," he stammered nervously as he struggled to avoid Tezuka's piercing stare and maintain his dignity both at the same time. He was failing miserably.

"We're in the middle of practice right now, Oishi. The least you could do is to at least focus a little more. Not to mention that we're currently engaged in a discussion about the lineup for the upcoming Districts…" Tezuka said, a little harsher than need be.

In spite of himself, Oishi's head snapped up to study Tezuka a little more closely. There was something about the way Tezuka spoke that wasn't quite right.

"Tezuka, are you…"

"Am I what?" Tezuka returned coldly before Oishi could finish his question. The fukubuchou flinched involuntarily. Something was definitely amiss, he decided. But what was it that was irritating his best friend so much? If he hadn't known better he would have thought Tezuka was… angry. But as it was, he had known Tezuka for long enough- and well enough- to know that Tezuka was hardly ever angry.

A small frown made it way up the fukubuchou's forehead as he pondered over the puzzle. Tezuka's uncharacteristic outburst coupled with last night's conversation had becoming highly worrying in Oishi's opinion. What in the world was wrong?

"I asked a question, Oishi."

Oishi spluttered in surprise as he was once again hauled out of his thoughts by Tezuka who was presently glaring icily at him. He gulped nervously. "Ah… go..gomen, Tezuka. Ano… I was just asking if… you know… if…" he floundered helplessly as he felt himself fast withering under Tezuka's scrutiny.

Tezuka's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at Oishi's hesitation. He almost snapped at his friend again when he heard a faint rustling in the nearby shrubbery.

"O-ishi!" Eiji exclaimed as he suddenly materialized out of nowhere and latched himself onto the fukubuchou's back. "There you are! I was looking all over the place for you!"

"Eiji! What are you doing here?" A smile blossomed on Oishi's troubled face unconsciously as he gently pried his boyfriend's arms off his shoulders, forgetting for a moment that Tezuka was still glowering darkly at him.

"Nyah!" Eiji pouted as Oishi turned to face him. "I've been warming up with Fujiko-chan for the past half an hour while you talked to Tezuka! I want to practice that new formation with you now!" the redhead wheedled in a decidedly child-like manner.

"Oishi will resume practice once we have decided on the lineup for the Districts, Kikumaru," Tezuka deadpanned as his eyes gleamed ominously.

Eiji's eyes widened a little and Oishi thought he saw something flash in those chocolate depths. But it was gone as suddenly as it came and Oishi wondered if it was just a trick of the eye. "Nyah…" he whined as he threw his arms around Oishi once again. Oishi patted Eiji on the back lightly as he looked nervously towards Tezuka.

"Oishi," Tezuka started warningly when he was suddenly interrupted by a silken drawl.

"Ne, Tezuka. I'm sure it won't hurt to wait until practice ended to discuss the lineup, will it? It's pretty much settled anyway, ne?" Fuji quipped as he looked around the corner.

"Fuji!" Eiji exclaimed happily as he waved at his friend.

The tensai smiled as he sidled up to the trio. "Besides, Eiji has been so jumpy all the while we're warming up that I suspect he'll explode soon if you intend to keep Oishi for even a second longer," he drawled as he turned his head to address Tezuka directly. Eiji nodded emphatically in Oishi's arms.

Tezuka glanced sideways at the tensai who was still smiling benignly up at him, unaffected by his more than apparent ill disposition. They stayed that way for what felt like a very, very long while and Oishi was becoming more uncomfortable by the second. Eiji's hands tightened around Oishi.

"Very well," Tezuka said finally. "After practice then."

"Ok! C'mon Oishi!" Oishi barely had time to blink before he was dragged off to the practice courts by a very bouncy Kikumaru Eiji. Oishi shook his head a little in a futile attempt to clear his thoughts; he knew that something was terribly wrong but he could not point it out. Had he been a little more clear-minded, he would have noticed the relieved expression on Eiji's face. But he was not, therefore the tell-tale signs that slipped liberally across the acrobatic player's face went by unnoticed.

Behind them, Tezuka and Fuji kept up the staring contest, neither looking away from the other. It was after their friends were out of earshot that they started to talk and the tension in the air upped a notch.

Kisarazu Atsushi was a habitual early riser; he never understood how anyone could ever sleep so late into the day that it was late afternoon by the time they were up and about. Therefore it had always irked him that most of his teammates turned out to be late risers. Especially Mizuki Hajime. Despite being manager and advisor to their team, bossing them about in an almost inhumane way, the dark-haired boy was notorious for sleeping in. Atsushi scoffed at the thought as he made his way to the canteen for breakfast.

Where he stopped dead in his tracks.

He stared at the sight before him in disbelief. Then he rubbed hard at his eyes to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating at all. Nope, he wasn't. Atsushi briefly wondered if the sun had risen from the west this morning; it seemed like a possible reason given that Mizuki Hajime was currently seated at one of the tables sipping coffee, toying with something in his hands. Mizuki Hajime who never made an appearance before one o'clock in the afternoon on a non-school day.

Weird.

He wondered briefly if he should join Mizuki at the table if just out of courtesy. The decision was taken from him as Yuuta slowly made his way to Mizuki's table with a laden tray. Atsushi blinked. In his stupor at seeing Mizuki up this early he had failed to register Yuuta's presence in the canteen as well.

Yuuta took a seat across from Mizuki and began to eat while Mizuki continued sipping his coffee.

Atsushi frowned a little; weren't they a little too quiet? Mizuki Hajime had a habit of rambling endlessly, but it was worse by tenfold whenever he was around Yuuta. Practice schedules, training menus, taunts about Yuuta not being able to beat his tensai aniki, so on and so forth. Light-hearted banter. But they were strangely quiet today with neither talking much to the other.

Weird.

But upon closer inspection, Atsushi caught the slightest movement of Yuuta's lips. So they were talking. Whispering, to each other. And Atsushi suddenly felt uncomfortable as he continued to watch the two of them. It was as if he was intruding on some private moment that wasn't meant for public eyes. He considered returning to his dorm so as to give them a little privacy when he saw Mizuki slip something across the tabletop to Yuuta. It was a small package. It was the something that he had seen Mizuki toying with.

The last thing Atsushi saw as he slipped quietly away was the shadow of a smile about Yuuta's lips as he picked up the package.

If he had stayed a second longer he would have seen Mizuki hiding his smile behind his cup as he took yet another sip of coffee.

"What do you want?" Tezuka asked coldly as he regarded the tensai who had taken up a more comfortable posture by the wall.

"Ne, Tezuka. I think you should be asking that question of yourself; Oishi did nothing to deserve that kind of treatment from you. That was rather mean of you, Tezuka," Fuji drawled calmly. "You really should learn to control your anger."

"I am not angry." Liar. Liar. Liar.

"Maa…" Fuji's eyes opened just a little. "You do realize that only a fool would believe that, don't you? The way you were ordering twice the usual number of laps and the way you were barking and glaring at everyone in the club are rather telling, don't you think? There is a reason why everyone is so wound up today, you know."

"That is most unfortunate, but I can hardly help it when they're plainly asking for it with the way they're slacking off."

Fuji's smile froze. "You're being childish, Tezuka," he stated silkily, "throwing tantrums and venting your anger on others. Grow up, won't you?"

Tezuka felt his eyes twitch. "If you have nothing better to say, I'd suggest you return to practice."

Fuji smirked. "Scared?"

"Is that a challenge?"

Fuji shrugged. "What do you think?"

A pause as they continued to glare at each other.

"I think this is pointless." Tezuka turned to leave. Fuji lunged forward to capture the taller boy's wrist. Tezuka frowned as he attempted to shake off the tensai's grip.

"Stop it, Tezuka. Can't you see that everyone's worried about you? Eiji, Oishi and me. What good is it going to do you if you intend to keep it all cooped up like that?" Deep cerulean eyes stared straight into Tezuka's steel grey ones. "What's wrong?"

Tezuka felt the warmth in those beautiful eyes wash over him, soothing and comforting. But he wasn't about to give in. "I appreciate your concern, but I suggest that you tend to your own matters before meddling with others' issues. You are hardly convincing if you can't even settle your own problems." Cold and expressionless.

Fuji withdrew his hand as if Tezuka's skin burnt. Tezuka knew he had cut the tensai to the quick, but strangely felt no guilt.

Vengeance was sweet.

"Tezuka…" Fuji's voice shook just a little before the usual smile slid back in place and his eyes closed once more. "It seems neither of us is ready yet, ne? Maybe if we aren't so scared we could have made confidantes of each other."

"Maybe, but don't count on it, Fuji."

And Fuji smiled just a little more except it looked more pained than the usual amusement.

When Ryoma finally made it to school, forty minutes of practice had already passed. Fully aware of the horror of Tezuka's punishment for tardiness, the freshman attempted to slip in as discreetly as possible. Which could only be accomplished in his wildest dreams.

"Ochibi!" Eiji, being ever-vigilant, had been the first to spot the stealthy boy. There had been a special reason for being extra-vigilant today of course, but Eiji was not about to admit it to anyone. Not even Oishi. He had a hypothesis to prove and until it was proven he would not let anything slip.

Kikumaru Eiji was sneaky that way.

"Eiji-senpai!" Ryoma cried, distraught, flailing about helplessly in an attempt to free himself from the death grip of his energetic senpai. Eiji laughed as he mussed up the freshman's hair, kicking up a royal ruckus complete with much screaming, kicking and the likes. Oishi watched on almost as helplessly as Ryoma, heaving a heavy sigh of resignation.

Any time now… Eiji looked out of the corner of his eye for the familiar figures he was waiting for. Any time now.

And sure enough, there were Tezuka and Fuji making their way to the courts.

"What is going on here?" Tezuka demanded, face expressionless as always.

A secret smirk to himself, Eiji released the unfortunate freshman. "Ochibi's here!" The redhead beamed at his friends as they entered the courts.

Upon setting eyes on the freshman, Tezuka's lips thinned. "Tardiness is one thing I will not tolerate from club members, especially the Regulars. One hundred laps. Now." Ryoma bit back a groan as he jerked his cap downwards forcefully.

"Hai, buchou."

As he passed Fuji on his way out of the courts, the tensai rested a comforting hand on the younger prodigy's upper arm, a sympathetic smile gracing his features. Ryoma nodded sullenly before starting on his hundred laps. Tezuka watched the freshman round the corner before resuming his vigil of the other club members' training. All this while, Eiji was watching and carefully taking notes. As he turned to face his boyfriend again, he allowed himself a secret triumphant smile; he was one step closer to the truth now. For Kikumaru Eiji was the only one to notice how the tension seemed to have dissipated from the air the moment Ryoma's presence was made known.

As the acrobatic player resumed his place on court, he smirked involuntarily. Geniuses could be such delusional beings sometimes; they never realized they were being read until it was too late.

A/N: sorry for the late update. a big thank you to all of you who have read and reviewed this fic; greatly appreciated. hope this chapter is worth the wait... maybe not. hehez. but writer's blocks are such hateful things, and when coupled with school, well, you get the picture. sigh. a note before i go though. eiji's plans may seem a little abrupt here, but i'll be clearing things up a bit in the following chapters. yepps. please hold on there then:D