Title: Speculation
date written: 11-11-06
Warnings: There's a Japanese phrase in this one (because I think it sounds so much cooler in Japanese than in English). If you don't know what it means, scroll down to the bottom where there is an explanation/translation. Also... in retrospect... this one is pretty weird... you have been warned.
"Why do you even care?" Shishido asked, exasperated, as the regulars changed to get ready to go home.
"I don't care," Gakuto retorted, as if rattling on about the same boring subject for ten minutes was something you did when you didn't give a damn. "I'm just curious, that's all. Aren't you?"
"No," said Shishido. And he wasn't. He couldn't care less what Jiroh dreamed about. Gakuto seemed to think that it mattered somehow, like it was a clue to some puzzle about the sleepy boy that he wanted to solve. Shishido was a little curious about how Jiroh managed to sleep all the time and never face any repercussions for it, but not enough to admit it, and not enough to ask.
"Senpai once told me that he sometimes dreams about things he likes to do," Ohtori piped up. Shishido rolled his eyes while the rest considered this information.
"What, like hobbies?" Gakuto said, frowning as he looked through his bag, searching for something. "Well that's stupid. I mean, he sleeps practically all the time, he could just get up and do them instead of dreaming about it."
"Perhaps his hobbies are not so easily carried out?" Oshitari commented, joining the conversation.
"Come on, Yuushi, how difficult could a hobby be?"
"This from the guy who likes to throw himself from great heights for fun," Oshitari countered wryly. Gakuto shrugged. None of his teammates had ever understood why he enjoyed bungee-jumping, and he had given up trying to explain the thrill.
"What kind of hobbies does Jiroh even have?"
No one really had an answer to this question. As far as anyone knew, Jiroh's only hobby was napping.
"Tennis?" someone suggested.
"Tennis is not a hobby," said Atobe from across the room where he stood in front of a mirror, teasing his hair into its perfect shape. "It is a vocation."
"Yeah, right, Atobe. You're just mad because you think he should be dreaming about you."
Amidst the snickering that followed this comment, Atobe turned to give Gakuto a haughty look.
"Who is to say that he isn't?" he said before going back to the mirror and his hair. "Ore-sama is a fascinating subject."
Gakuto was going to say something clever in response to this, but he was interrupted by a contented murmur that came from where the subject of conversation lay, curled up on the clubroom's plush sofa.
"Mm… barabara… satsujin…"
At this everyone in the room, even Atobe, paused in what they were doing and blinked.
"Uh…" Shishido said finally, breaking the silence, "did he… just say what I think he did?"
They all turned to look at Jiroh, who, to all appearances, was still sleeping innocently. While they watched, the boy giggled softly and smiled. Whatever he was dreaming about, he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. They exchanged glances.
"You know…" said Gakuto, slowly, "on second thought, I think… I don't want to know."
The rest of the regulars silently agreed with this statement and the subject was unquestioningly dropped. After a few minutes the conversation picked up again with their usual inane chatter and banter. There was an uneasiness the in air that they all carefully avoided acknowledging, but it continued until one by one they left, all giving Jiroh a wide berth.
Jiroh smiled slightly to himself and rolled over. Next time, they would know better than to ask.
Translation Note: Barabara satsujin means "dismemberment murder". no joke.
A/N: Funny how they never stop to wonder if Jiroh's actually asleep… Probably I should explain where this one came from before I'm branded as a psycho. The other day I was watching an episode of the anime "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" which, despite all the cutesy in the first episode, is very very creepy and disturbing. The phrase "barabara satsujin" actually came up quite a lot, and I ended up going to bed with the word on my mind... which probably wasn't a good idea. This is the result.