Oishi was walking to morning practice the next day as he usually did with a number of things on his mind. Did Taka overwork himself? Has Eiji gotten enough sleep? Is Tezuka's arm hurting him? What did Inui invent today? What if it's harmful to your health? What if Tezuka hurts his arm during practice? He might not be able to play tennis again! ex, ex…

He nervously went to open the gates only to find them locked. This significantly added to his paranoia since Tezuka was always first to come to school to unlock the gates and review the lineup for the upcoming match. The mother-hen quickly picked up his phone and dialed Ryuzaki's number faster than the speed of light.

[Oishi-kun? What are you calling me this early for? Tezuka made a deal that he would be in charge for today. Oishi? Are you there?

Oishi was frozen in place as key facts registered in his mind. Tezuka… not here… supposed… in charge…locked…hurt.

Eiji found Oishi collapsed by the school gates fifteen minutes later. Oishi was lying on his side facing the school with a broken cell phone parts around him. At first Eiji was really worried because his best friend and doubles partner was lying on the cold concrete unconscious in the cool morning air, but then when he got over the shock Eiji was overcome with an overwhelming urge to laugh. He tried to only giggle to hold it back…but…"HAHAHAHA!!! OISHI FAINTED!" followed by loud laughs that were heard in Germany.

"Where do you think he is?" Momo asked Fuji after they were safely inside when Inui showed up moments after Eiji finding Oishi on the ground and Eiji in uncontrollable fits of laughter, (Which he silenced by bringing out his latest, untested form of Inui Juice.) and promptly called Ryuzaki-sensei who was woken up from ker sleep for the second time in less than an hour.

"I can't say I'm not concerned," Ryuzaki coughed out. She informed everyone last-minute that practice would be canceled for today, "This really isn't like Tezuka. Have you checked his home?"

"Yes, his parents said they thought he stayed over at a friend's since he didn't come home last night," Fuji replied with a concern mixed into his voice that was not usually present.

"Do you think we should call the police since he didn't come home?" Eiji asked huddled up on the floor next to Oishi that was lying still unconscious.

"Yes…I think it's for the best."

A single thought passed through their head as they thought of some way to help find their beloved captain. The thought, as always, was their oh-so convenient kohai.

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"Yadda."

"What!?" all seven regulars minus one screamed as Ryoma calmly took out his textbooks.

"You heard me. No."

"Aren't you supposed to be a detective?!" Momo argued getting more irritated by the second.

"I work as a medical assistant for DDS. I only got a little detective training as backup. Legally speaking, the little detective work would be considered going against child labor laws," Ryoma explained, smartly leaving out the fact that the "little detective work" that he had done was in India where child labor laws are often ignored.

Eiji, who had never lost his temper before, grabbed Ryoma by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the lockers, "Our captain is missing and could be hurt or dead! How could you just stand there and not help us!" Eiji cried out angrily as Ryoma looked almost unfazed.

"Please get your hands off me before I charge you with assault, Kikumaru-senpai," when Eiji didn't flinch, Ryoma sighed and went on as bored as ever, "Tokyo is one of the largest cities in the world and hundreds of people go missing every day. With so many search investigations going on already it would be perfectly reasonable if they didn't get to your captain for a couple of days. For me to bump you up would be an abuse of my power. Besides…I don't have anything to do with you anyway. I have my own problems to solve." Ryoma shoved Kikumaru away walked to class. Inui placed a hand on Kikumaru's shoulder and shook his head when he pleaded.

"He has a point, we should just be patient."

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Ryoma kept on walking as if he didn't know what they were talking about. It was true. He didn't have anything to do with them. What did it there captain matter to him? He barely knew the guy. Okay, so he could pull a few strings and start a 5,000 men search party complete with satellite pictures and help from NASA if he wanted to, but why go through all the trouble? Senpais should learn to not try to take advantage of people and work with the resources they have at home, they are supposed to be models for the younger students after all. Ryoma didn't have the time or the energy to care, no matter how emotional their begging was.

A large amount of pain surged into his arm the familiar feeling of having someone peering into his mind entered him.

"Rizaya?"

"Kitten-san! Finally, I got to you"

"What happened? You don't feel well."

"Oh, nothing big.Same old. Speaking of feelings…"

"Ni-san?"

"I'm thinking of joining you."

"What!?"A larger gash of pain surged up and Ryoma could feel his blood trying to exit his body.

"You heard me, Kitten-san. I'm coming over. Things here are getting too complicated. Besides, there are more interesting things in your area, right?" more pain and blood loss, "Any objections?"

"None at all."

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Heh, heh, heh. "runs away from angry mobs of fans with pitchforks" I guess I really blew it. This one is at least a bit longer than the last one. I have nothing more to say. "runs away sobbing"