Author's Note: Eep! I'm being attacked by my readers. –sniffles- I'm such a horrible author. Ah well. I'm hoping this chapter makes up for the last chapter. Promise, it was a one time thing. The evil plot bunnies told me to write it. Thanks all for the reviews. Even though I'm the evilest author in history now I still appreciate the reviews. Here's Tezuka's story.

Ryoma's Plan

Chapter 7

Tezuka Kunimitsu checked his watch for the seventh time that hour. Oishi and he had been walking around since morning. They'd been in Vegas for over four months now, and Oishi was filling out quite nicely. With no Eiji around to guilt-trip Oishi, he'd been able to eat as much as Tezuka was able to get him.

He sighed mentally. That wasn't all true. Oishi still ate like a bird, picking at his food here and there. He'd finish the meal… eventually, but it sometimes took hours of just sitting in one restaurant. It had gotten to the point where Tezuka hated meal time.

He looked at his watch again and sighed out loud. It was as he thought, noon. Time to stop and eat. It was his job to remember eating. It was his job to bring Oishi out of whatever was bugging him.

His hand clenched. If he couldn't bring his love out of his depression, what made Echizen think that he would be able to bring Oishi out? It was a question that haunted him even while he slept.

Unconsciously, his hand slipped into his pocket and he fingered the letters Momo had given them before they left. He'd wanted to read the letters but, at the same time, he didn't. What did Echizen have to say to him? Could Oishi be the one who was supposed to heal him? Could he have been mistaken?

He slipped his hand out, leaving the letter where it was. He was too scared to look at the letter for now. He decided to speak up.

"It's time to find some place to eat," he said simply.

Oishi nodded to show that he'd heard. They hadn't talked much, which wasn't unusual. They hadn't talked a lot when they were kids either. Besides, Oishi was the one who usually talked then, and that was the problem. He was hardly talking at all now.

Tezuka glanced up the road and saw a sit-down diner. That looked like it would be good. He led Oishi over to the diner and waited patiently to sit down. They were lead to a window seat and given menus and had their drink orders taken. Tezuka glanced at the menu for a second before choosing something. He gently folded the menu and placed it on the edge of the table.

He watched as Oishi's eyes scanned row after row of food. Those eyes were dark, too dark. Finally, he folded his own menu and patiently looked at Tezuka. He raised his hand and was satisfied when a waitress promptly showed up.

"Are ya all ready ta order?" she asked, her accent only slightly heavy.

Tezuka nodded. "I'll have the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and biscuits." She nodded as she wrote. Then she looked pointedly at Oishi.

"I'll have a single chicken breast with nothing else." His voice was so low that she had to lean in to hear him.

"Is that all right, honey? You look like ya all need some meat on them bones."

Oishi smiled one of his disarming smiles. "No thanks. I'll be fine."

She looked troubled. "Well, all right then." She took the menus and walked away.

Tezuka waited a second and then said, "I need to use the bathroom. I'll be back."

Oishi nodded.

Tezuka walked toward the bathroom, but when Oishi was out of sight, he changed his direction and headed for the kitchen. The girl who just served them was talking to another woman. He caught her eye and jerked his head slightly to show he wanted to talk to her. She came over.

"I want you to put some fries with that and make a fuss when he tells you that the order is wrong." He looked at her. "Is that okay?"

She smiled broadly. "I got it all clear. Ya all tryin to get 'im to eat?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

With that, he walked back to the table. They were the only ones in the restaurant, so it didn't take long for their orders to arrive. As he thought, Oishi made a fuss about the fries.

"I didn't order fries. I said only the chicken."

The girl didn't look at all harried. "Oh my, is that right? What am I all gunna do?"

To Tezuka's eyes, it looked as if the girl was going to burst out laughing. He hoped Oishi was too depressed to see it.

"You can take back my order and get rid of them is what you can do," he said softly. Tezuka suppressed the smile. He was.

She looked hurt. "Ya all wanna know why this here restaurant is so good? It's 'cuz the waitresses are graded. If I take this here food back, then I'll get a horrible grade."

Tezuka's brows rose in amazement. This girl was good. She had judged Oishi's nature perfectly. Oishi looked cornered. Tezuka busied himself with eating so that he wouldn't have to partake in the discussion.

Finally, Oishi relented. She even got him to promise to empty his plate. Tezuka nodded mentally. He'd made a good decision.

The next hour was the best time of Tezuka's life in Vegas. One older-looking woman stopped by the table with a full glass of milk.

"Here you go, deary," she said, depositing the glass in front of Oishi.

"What's this?" he asked, totally confused.

"Oh, my, you didn't order this?" She looked horrified. "My grade," she whispered.

Oishi looked like he'd died. He gagged out, "Oh, I see. Yes, I did order this. Thank you very much for bringing this."

Tezuka hid his smile behind his napkin.

Then another pretty girl came with a cheesecake. Oishi didn't even bother complaining. He just hung his head and looked, pleadingly, at Tezuka. Tezuka for the most part, looked out the window as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

When it was time to leave, he told Oishi to go ahead of him. He needed to leave behind a tip. He checked in his wallet and dragged out a bill and tossed it on the table. Then he went to the register and paid for the bill.

It wasn't until they were out in the parking lot that he risked a look over his shoulder. All the girls that served them were staring out the window, gaping. He smiled at them to show his appreciation. He knew that the fifty dollar bill he'd left would do the other half of showing his appreciation.

After that time, they went to that restaurant to eat. Every girl there would fight to serve them. After a month of going there, Oishi seemed to be getting healthier. He had more color to his face and more meat to his bones. He now looked only half dead. Another few months of this and he'd be well recovered.

Tezuka could see a problem, though. Oishi's eyes never changed. They were as dark as they were a month ago in that restaurant.

He fingered the letters again. He figured it was time to read them. He waited until Oishi went to the ice machine to pick up more ice and then he sat on the edge of the bed. He tore open the letter addressed to him and read it. It said:

Tezuka-buchou,

You're probably wondering why I'm doing this. I'll tell you. None of you will change if you all have me there to fall back on. You would all see me as a shield to your personal demons and nothing will be resolved. I'm counting on you, Buchou, to heal Oishi. Don't let me down, Buchou. There have always been two pillars for this team. Yours has not crumbled yet. Don't let your guard down.

Ryoma Echizen

Drops fell onto the letter, and it startled him. He felt his face and his fingers found wetness seeping out of his eyes. Crying. That's what this was. He didn't remember ever crying before. He took his glasses off so they wouldn't get wet.

He dimly heard the door open and the ice flying everywhere as the bucket fell.

"Tezuka!" Oishi, at least he thought it was Oishi, called.

Someone placed their arms around him and held him close to them. He looked up and saw Oishi's worried eyes looking at him. He wondered why Oishi was looking at him like that. He hadn't seen that worried of a look in Oishi's eyes for a long time. Since high school, actually.

"Tezuka…" he said softly.

That was all it took for him to break down. He shoved his face into Oishi's warm chest and cried his eyes out. He couldn't take it anymore.

"I can't do it!" he whimpered.

Oishi gently stroked his back. "Do what?" he asked in that same soft tone.

"I can't heal you. I don't even know what's wrong with you. I can't heal what I don't know." Through his shaking, he could feel that Oishi was shaking too.

"Is that what made you break down? Am I the person who finally made you cry? The strong and able Tezuka cry?" Drops of water fell on Tezuka's face, and then he realized that Oishi was also crying.

"How can I heal you when I couldn't heal Fuji?" he asked in a bare whisper.

Oishi froze. "What's wrong with Fuji?" he asked. "He looked fine to me."

Tezuka sat there with his head cradled in his hands for the longest time. Then, finally, he began the tale.

"Fuji murdered someone. Not intentionally, but he did. He killed the guy with a tennis racket, of all things. I hadn't realized that tennis swings were that powerful, but he managed to bust in the man's skull and crack his ribs. His racket was made of metal, so it was as good as a weapon. They tried Fuji, but he got off by defending himself.

"Ever since then, he's been terrified of rackets. We came to Echizen because… because his pillar hasn't crumbled. I had believed that mine had. I can't do what Echizen is apparently doing to everyone."

"No, Tezuka, your pillar hasn't crumbled yet. You still lead this team, no matter what anyone says. Things are just out of your hands," Oishi explained. This sounded so much like the old Oishi that it made Tezuka's heart ache. "Look at you. You've had to put up with Fuji's depression and your own. You believed that it was your fault that you couldn't heal Fuji. Echizen and Momo were the only ones who we could turn to." He stroked Tezuka's hair back, which felt really good. "Did you know that Eiji and I had two choices to make? One was going to you and Fuji, and the other was going to Echizen and Momo. We chose Echizen because of his money. He was in the best situation to help."

Tezuka smiled. "That's good to know." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I suppose you want to know what happened to Eiji and me now?" Oishi asked gently.

"It would be nice," Tezuka remarked.

He took a deep breath and began. "We had a son. He wasn't our biological son. He was Eiji's nephew, Seth. Seth ended up living with us for two years because his mother was divorcing a real monster. When the divorce was over, he stayed with us. He became our son.

"He wanted to really badly take after Eiji and practiced flips and such. One day, Eiji and he were out in rush hour and Seth practiced one of his flips and tripped. He fell into the middle of the road. A car didn't see him and… he died. Almost instantly, the doctors said. Eiji's been blaming himself ever since."

Tezuka nodded. "And you've been blaming yourself because of Eiji's condition, like me."

Oishi nodded and smiled ruefully. "We're a lot alike, you and I."

"So, that's why Echizen placed us together. I see."

He looked at the crumpled up letter in his hand. Oishi gently pried the letter from his hands when he saw that Tezuka's attention wasn't on him anymore. Tezuka watched Oishi's eyes as they scanned the letter. His look was thoughtful. Finally, he looked up at Tezuka.

"Echizen is right, you know. Your pillar hasn't crumbled yet. You're the same strong buchou that I know." Tears slipped once again from Oishi's eyes. "I'm sorry I made you worry about me. I'm sorry I made Echizen worry so much about me."

His body shook with the effort it took not to break down. Tezuka, in a rare moment of tenderness, wrapped his arms around Oishi and just sat there. Oishi's tense body relaxed and he buried his head in Tezuka's chest. The sobs subsided into little whimpers, but those soon went away as well.

When Tezuka felt like it was time, he unwrapped his arms and let Oishi go. He received an uncertain smile for his work.

"Thanks. I needed that," Oishi explained.

Tezuka nodded. Then, he remembered the other letter in his pocket. It was addressed to Oishi. He withdrew the letter and handed it over to Oishi, who scanned the letter quickly. Tezuka was startled when tears appeared in Oishi's eyes. When he was sure Oishi was done reading the letter, he plucked it out of his hands and read.

Oishi,

Get well, Oishi. Get well and become the Golden Pair that we've all looked up to. Don't let us down. Don't let the past haunt you. It's already done and passed, why let it harm you now? Believe in me. Please. I'm begging you. I'll be waiting to take on the Golden Pair when you're well.

Ryoma Echizen

Tezuka smiled mentally. Even now Echizen was looking after them. He looked at Oishi and saw a far-off look in his eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

Oishi shook his head and looked at Tezuka. "I was just thinking of how stupid I was. You two have been doing everything you can to make me better. I've been an idiot and ignored you."

Tezuka sighed. "Now you're just beating yourself up. Stop it." Startled, Oishi looked at Tezuka with wide eyes. "If you feel bad about it, get well. Do what Echizen says and become the Golden Pair again," he said simply.

"But… I don't even know how Eiji's doing. I can't get better without knowing about Eiji."

Tezuka glared at him through his glasses. Oishi winced when he caught the full look of that glare.

"Don't think about Eiji. Trust Echizen. Do what the letter says to do."

Oishi looked at the wall for the longest time. Tezuka literally watched the shadows on the wall deepen into the afternoon. He knew that whatever Oishi's decision might be, it was his to make. Neither Echizen nor he could force anything on him.

Oishi finally looked at him. "Hey, Tezuka." He stopped for a second. "Do you think we have time for a game?"

Tezuka felt like smiling. "Yes, we have time for a few games, actually."

"Then let's go."

Oishi got up and grabbed his racket. He opened the door to their room. Tezuka lifted himself off of the floor, curious at what decision Oishi had come to. He figured there was only one way to know.

"But, what about the past?" he asked.

Oishi froze at the door. Never turning around, he replied, "What past?"

"What about Eiji?"

"Eiji can fend for himself. I trust Echizen."

Tezuka nodded, grabbing his racket. "Then let's go practice."

They left the room with a warm feeling. Tezuka knew that Oishi was healing. He just hoped that Eiji was too.

They rode the elevator down to the lobby and walked companionably outside. Oishi stopped once they were out the door and took a deep breath of fresh air.

"It feels nice out here." He looked at all the people walking to and from wherever they came from.

Tezuka nodded. "It does feel nice out here," he agreed.

He headed in the direction of a court, knowing that Oishi would be right behind him. Accidentally, he bumped into someone and dropped his racket.

"Sorry," a husky voice said.

He looked up into the most golden eyes he'd ever seen. She was short and wore denim pants with a sporty polo shirt. She had her shoulder-length black hair let down with only clips to hold it in place. She smiled at him, and only then did he realize that he was staring at her.

"I'm sorry," he told her. For some reason, this woman looked familiar.

Oishi ran up to the lady, placing a hand under one of her arms to help her stand up. "I'm sorry for my friend's inattentiveness." He smiled at the woman.

"It's okay. It was partly my fault as well." She brushed herself off. "Since it was, would you mind allowing me to take you two out for an early dinner?"

Tezuka didn't say anything. He was curious at how Oishi would reply to that question.

"Sure. You pay half and we'll pay half, since it was only half your fault," he told the woman. "I'm pretty hungry, so this was perfect timing."

She grinned secretively. "Is it now?" She looked at Oishi. "You make it sound as if I planned this."

Oishi held up his hands in defense. "No, I… didn't… mean that," he stammered. "I just meant…." He looked helplessly at Tezuka.

"It's fine," Tezuka said, suspicious of this woman. "We'll pick the restaurant."

All three of them walked over to the diner that Oishi and he had been eating at. They were quickly sat down, with Oishi and Tezuka on one side and the woman on the other.

"So, where were you going in a hurry?" Tezuka asked the woman.

Her eyes locked onto his. "I was on my way to do some shopping at… the mall."

Tezuka wondered about her hesitation. That was weird.

"The mall? It's on the other side of the city. That's a long walk for anyone." Oishi voiced Tezuka's thoughts.

She never took her eyes off of Tezuka. "I needed a good exercise and figured I'd walk to the mall," she explained.

Tezuka didn't buy her story. Something seemed off about it. But then the waitress came to get their orders, and Tezuka was forced to break eye contact. She tossed her head, with a small smile gracing her face. Tezuka nearly growled. She thought she'd won. Tezuka ordered his usual, the woman ordered a coffee, and Oishi was still trying to decide.

"I'll take the club with extra french fries and a glass of milk." He grinned at the waitress.

She smiled back while writing down the order. She knew something had changed and was glad. Tezuka could see it on her face.

Obviously, so could the woman because she said, "Why does that person look so happy at your order?"

Oishi smiled. "I used to be anorexic. The girls here have been feeding me for a while now. Today was the first day I freely ordered everything they've been giving me. Did you know that these waitresses are graded on how much people eat? It's interesting."

The woman's eyes flashed with some hidden emotion and Tezuka nearly placed why this woman looked so familiar. But it was gone faster then it came.

"No, I didn't know that," she murmured. "But I'm glad I do now."

One of the waitresses showed up with a cup of coffee. The woman poured in a lot of sugar. Tezuka eyed the amount of sugar she put in her coffee. She noticed where he was looking at and grinned.

"My lover once told me that I needed this amount of sugar to sweeten my personality. To get back at him, I made our coffee like this all the time. Now I'm just used to it like this."

Tezuka placed a hand over his mouth to hide the smile. She knew. This person knew Tezuka. That's what had been bothering him. He tried to think of where he remembered her from, but got nothing from his memory. She drank her coffee in one shot and got up.

"Well, it's been real, but I have to go. I have a tennis match to play in. See you soon," she said and walked away.

It wasn't until she was at the counter that he placed where he'd seen her before. He jumped up from the table and turned around.

"Echizen!" he yelled.

Everyone, even the woman, turned to look at him. Then she grinned.

"See you in a few months, Buchou," she said in Japanese.

Then she was gone. He dropped back down into his chair. Oishi was looking at him with a stunned look on his face.

"Was that really Echizen?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Wow." Oishi looked toward the door. "Echizen makes a very beautiful woman."

Tezuka nodded, not bothering to reply. Echizen was desperate enough to find out if Oishi was healed, to risk coming here himself. He wondered, briefly, what would have happened if Oishi wasn't healed. What would Echizen have done?

"Oishi?" He looked at the still a little thin Oishi. "Hurry and eat. Then let's go practice."

Oishi grinned. "Okay! Let's show Echizen that I'm better."

SIX MONTHS LATER

Three taxis pulled up in front of Echizen's huge mansion at the same time. Momoshiro walked out of the door with Fuji right behind him. One by one, his friends got out of the taxis. He was amused to see that Kaidoh was the first one out of their cab. He limped over and thumped Momo over the head.

"Hey, what was that for!" he cried, indignant.

"For that letter, you idiot!" Kaidoh yelled.

"Well, you were asking for it!" he yelled back.

Kaidoh growled at him and he growled back. Someone forced them apart.

"Now you're going to hurt someone if you two don't stop," Oishi's motherly voice reprimanded them.

Kaidoh turned his glare over at Oishi. "That was my intention," he said angrily.

He huffed and limped over to sit on the steps. A small smile was playing on his lips. He looked very content.

Someone landed on top of Momo's back. He turned around to see Eiji hanging off of his neck.

"Hoi, hoi! Do I see a fight?" He winked at Momo. "I still have your promise of that all-you-can-eat burger spree we're going on with Ochibi. Don't you forget." He grinned insanely. "I practiced with Inui, so don't you think you're getting off lightly with that. I'll make a dent in yours and Ochibi's saving account."

Momo started. That would definitely be some eating spree. He was bent half over with Eiji hanging off his neck, and he was starting to feel it.

"Eiji-sempai, get… off. You weight too much." He ground his teeth in his effort to hold onto Eiji.

"Do I now? Nya! Momo's being mean to me and saying I weigh too much." He bounced off. "But I'll forgive you today because it's special."

Momo brushed himself off and looked over at Tezuka, who was viewing things without any expression on his face. Momo smiled to himself. Tezuka felt right. He could feel the endless amounts of aura coming off of Tezuka. When he last saw him, he couldn't feel anything. Their old buchou was back.

He froze when he heard scribbling. He slowly turned around and saw Inui writing something down in his notebook. There was a sinister gleam to his glasses that made him look, once more, like a mad doctor. It was made even truer with the fact that Inui was now a real doctor.

Right beside him was Fuji, looking inside the notebook and saying, "I see. Yes, you're right."

Inui froze and moved his notebook even closer, but the evil smile on Fuji's lips made him give up before he'd even begun. He started writing again, much to Fuji's intense pleasure. In Fuji's right hand, he held a racket. Every now and then, he'd shoulder it.

While Momo was viewing Inui and Fuji, Taka came over to stand next to him. "Everyone looks like they used to, don't they?" he asked, excitement in his voice.

"Yes, they do. Even Oishi and Eiji…" he trailed off.

He looked around the yard for said pair, but he couldn't find them. Leaving Taka, he went around the side of the house. Before he could turn the corner, he heard voices. He decided to hide and listen.

"Oishi, I'm so sorry for all the pain I've put you through." There were tears in Eiji's voice. It wobbled every once and a while.

"It's okay, my love. If I'd been stronger, I could have helped you," Oishi said gently.

"No. You couldn't have. I was really messed up. Even while I was healing, Inui had to threaten me with his drinks more than once to bring me back to the real world." There seemed to be something choked in Eiji's voice.

Momo understood. Eiji having to put up with Inui's drinks… His heart went out to Eiji. Poor, poor guinea pig… I mean Eiji, Momo thought. Tears came to his eyes with the force it took to keep from laughing.

He listened again and heard only a certain noise. No talking, just the noise. He wondered what it was. When he figured out what it was, he blushed and backed away. No use listening to Oishi and Eiji making out. They'd be back when they had made up with each other.

Excitedly, he went back to Taka and told him what he'd heard… minus the kissing part. Taka seemed as thrilled as he was.

"So the Golden Pair is back," Taka said with a smile.

"And we have our three geniuses," Momo said excitedly. He looked at Tezuka and Fuji.

"And our two power players." Taka shared a grin with Momo.

"What power player? I only see one and an idiot," a voice said from the stairs.

"Who are you calling an idiot, idiot!" Momo yelled at Mamushi.

"Who do you think I'm calling an idiot!"

"So when's Echizen coming home?" Fuji asked, interrupting the heated argument.

Momo grinned. "Ryoma! I have to go call him!"

He bounded into the house and ordered the phone to be brought to him. When it was brought to him, he dialed the number he knew by heart. It was going to be fun to tell Ryo how things had turned out. Would he be in for a surprise!