Disclaimer: I own very little.

Clarity

The headache was back.

Of course, to say "back" implied it had gone away at some point, which was most definitely not the case. However, for a moment Oishi had actually managed to ignore it successfully enough to concentrate on the practice. Now it was stronger than ever, it seemed, and very determined to spoil his game.

Mere headache shouldn't have affected him so much. Really, it shouldn't. However, as he missed yet another easy sot he had to admit he was not entirely in playing condition.

"Oishi," said a calm voice, and he immediately turned to look at his captain. "Leave the court. Arai will take your place."

Oishi's eyes widened. Surely he hadn't done quite that badly? He opened his mouth to protest, only to close it again as Tezuka spoke again.

"I mean it. You are obviously in need of rest."

It was Tezuka's firmest voice, the one you couldn't protest at. Oishi didn't even try, knowing his friend very well; instead he just nodded and headed for the nearest bench.

"Eh? Oishi?" Eiji looked at him from where he had been playing against Momo. "Nyaa, what's wrong with you, Oishi?"

"Nothing is wrong, Eiji," Oishi reassured his friend, forcing himself to smile even as his head felt like it was trying to split itself to two. "I'm just a bit tired." Surely it was that, after all. If he just rested for a bit, the headache would go away.

Never mind that it had hardly left him alone for at least a week, now.

Oishi tried to ignore the somewhat worried gazes of his team mates as he sat down on the bench, holding his aching head. They shouldn't have worried, not about him. He was the one who was supposed to worry about everyone.

The headache held his attention so completely he didn't at first even realize that someone had sat down next to him. However, as the someone cleared his throat, Oishi looked up to find Tezuka sitting next to him.

"I've noticed irregularities in your game for a while now," the captain said, his eyes firmly in the ongoing practice matches. "Care to give me an explanation?"

"I'm sorry, Tezuka," Oishi said quietly, hanging his aching head. "It's just…" Another stab of pain hit him, and he groaned, a hand on his forehead.

"Headache?" Tezuka guessed, and Oishi nodded miserably. "I see. And how long has this been going on?"

"I'm… not sure," Oishi said, somewhat startled to realize he indeed hadn't paid even that much attention to his own health. Was he even fit to care for an entire team? As he couldn't obviously even play, it'd be the best –

"Calm down, Oishi." Now, Oishi was somewhat startled. He was fairly sure he hadn't shown his panic on the outside. Then again, this was Tezuka, the one who knew him perhaps the best aside from Eiji. "While it's certainly not a cause for panic, you have to get it treated, for the sake of the team as well as yourself. A headache so bad it affects your playing is hardly a sign of anything good."

Oishi nodded again, slowly; doing it faster would have hurt too much. Tezuka was right; he was no good on the court as he was now.

"Very well. You are excused for the rest of the practice. I'll take care of locking up myself."

At this, Oishi could hardly protest. Taking his racquet, he started heading towards the clubhouse. On the way there, though, he was stopped by Inui, who had already finished his own match.

"Ah, Oishi." Inui adjusted his glasses. "The cause of your discomfort wouldn't be headache by any chance, would it?"

Oishi sighed. "Yes, it is." As though there could be something Inui didn't know.

Inui nodded, satisfied, as though Oishi had just provided him with a particularly valuable piece of information. And who knew? Maybe he had. "In that case," the data player sounded very serious, "I would suggest a visit to an optician as a first measure."

Now, Oishi blinked in surprise. This, he had certainly not expected. "What do you mean, Inui?" the vice-captain asked, confused. "There is nothing wrong with my eyesight!" This was the truth, obviously. He had never had any particular trouble with seeing, even if he wasn't a natural talent in this matter like Eiji or Echizen.

Inui, however, merely smirked a bit, in that way of his that implied he knew a lot more than anyone else and was not about to be proven wrong. "You may be surprised," was all he said now.

Improbable though the suggestion seemed, Inui's words kept revolving in Oishi's mind as he walked home. He'd got to the habit of trusting Inui's word, and to disregard it now seemed stupid. But there was nothing wrong with his eyesight… was there?

There was only one way to find out.

Oishi stared at the optician. "Excuse me?"

"It seems you are in severe need of glasses," the man repeated patiently. "Your friend was right to refer you here."

"But I see very well!" Oishi protested. "I've never had trouble with my eyesight!"

"But you said you'd had headaches, correct?" As Oishi nodded in agreement, the optician smiled. "In young people, when the eye's lens cannot adjust itself to looking close, they unconsciously use the muscles around the eye to modify the shape of the eyeball instead. Thus they may not notice anything wrong with their eyesight, but the strain on the muscles causes constant headache."

"…Oh." Oishi didn't find anything else to say. What could he have said, really?

"Oh indeed." The optician indicated the various models of spectacle frames on display. "Would you like to have a look at our models?"

Thus Oishi soon found himself trying on various frames. His reflection on the mirror looked strange, he thought, like it was someone else entirely. How could he get used to the sight?

The door of the store was opened, and Oishi turned to look. A young, brown-haired boy walked in, heading right towards the nearest employee. "My glasses keep slipping down lately," he said calmly. "Could you perhaps adjust them?"

"Certainly," came the polite response, and the employee took the glasses the boy offered in his hand. Tempted by the somewhat familiar voice, Oishi took a step closer, blinking as he saw the other's face.

"Tezuka?" It was Tezuka, wasn't it, wearing what Oishi vaguely recognized as an old pair of glasses.

"Oishi," the captain replied calmly. "Inui was correct in his assumptions, I see."

"Inui often is." Oishi nodded before turning back to the mirror, frowning at his reflection. "…I look ridiculous."

Tezuka walked behind him, almost-smiling at him by the mirror over his shoulder. Most people wouldn't have seen any change in Tezuka's expression, but Oishi, who had known the captain for longer and better than others, who'd known him when he still used to smile, knew the difference well enough to tell. "…Perhaps."

"Tezuka would probably look quite strange without his glasses, of course." Smiling weakly, Oishi took the model frames off his face. "…Not these, either."

"Ah, let me." Tezuka stepped passed him to get closer to the displayed frames. Oishi stood still as Tezuka picked a pair, watching from the mirror as his friend resumed his place behind Oishi's back. Tezuka carefully slipped the glasses on his face, his fingertips brushing against Oishi's temples. "How about these?"

Oishi blinked at his reflection. He looked… not so ridiculous, actually. Much less so than with any of the frames he'd tried on before, certainly. "These… might actually suit me."

Tezuka's smile was almost visible now. "I thought so."

"Ehhh? Oishi's going to get glasses?" Eiji's eyes were blue and wide as ever as he stared at his friend. "Nyaa, I wonder what he'll look like!"

"Probably not all that different, really." Oishi smiled, a bit embarrassed, and rubbed the back of his neck. "If anything, I'll just look silly."

"Nyah, no you won't!" Eiji grinned. "I know since it's Oishi. Oishi never looks silly, ne?"

"Oh, trust me, Eiji, I can look fairly ridiculous at times." Oishi chuckled at his doubles partner's enthusiastic claim.

"Those should hopefully take care of your headaches." Inui smirked in that way of his that meant he had once again proven his data right and knew it very well. "When are you getting your new glasses, Oishi?"

"Some time next week," the fuku-buchou replied. He didn't comment on Inui's other statement. There was no reason to take away the data player's statement by pointing out his head wasn't hurting much at all.

The glasses would certainly be welcome, but he was still quite sure they wouldn't be as effective with removing his discomfort than the fleeting touch of surprisingly warm fingers on his face.

His eyes met Tezuka's, and once again he caught an almost-smile at his best friend's face, there one moment and gone the next.

Strange, wasn't it, how he didn't even have the glasses yet, and still he already saw so much clearer.