Date-O! Date-O! Arc - Middle School Years - 03by Wind Chijmes"You've got to be FREAKIN' KIDDING ME!" The echo of that horribly loud exclamation was still ringing in everyone's ears as they stared at the street tennis courts. Echizen's Date...was... "Dan Taichi," Inui pronounced calmly, adjusting his glasses. This was...rather out of his own calculations. He had already run through all possible candidates for the position of the Date, but he had overlooked a variable that would have thrown a wrench into all his calculations. Gender. Well...damn. A slow glance at the rest of his teammates told him that he certainly was not alone in getting both his guesses wrong. Kikumaru looked severely pained that he could not even guess right with two choices, Oishi was still looking green, Momoshiro was still frozen in his shock, Kamio (when did Kamio get there?) looked even more convinced that Seigaku was steeped in dark secrets, Ibu (now when did Ibu get there as well?) had the most peculiarly thoughtful expression on his face and Kaidoh...whose cheeks were still stained a pretty red ever since he witnessed the embrace between Echizen and his Date. Inui nodded to himself and turned to the Kaidoh Page in his notebook. He jotted down his latest discovery about the immensely fascinating sophomore. Kaidoh is easily scandalised. He thought for a moment, before nodding again and adding another assumption. Kaidoh is likely a virgin. "Ahh...lucky." Even Inui looked up in surprise at that unusual declaration from Fuji when everyone else was probably wondering if they would surely die from the latest Juice. Fuji however, was wearing his trademark nondescript smile on his face, except maybe it looked edged with something close to smugness. Hoh...? Inui reached into his bag and took out the strips of papers. He found Fuji's easily and opened it up. Behind the nearly-obscure glasses that Inui wore, impenetrable eyes widened. "Lucky WHAT, Fujiko?!" Kikumaru was demanding petulantly, even falling back on using his pet name for Fuji in his peevishness. "We have to drink that disgusting Juice, nya! I'd never survive it!" "Exactly!" Momo echoed, just as dismayed. "We'd DIE! And I'm only THIRTEEN!" "Oh shut up, Momoshiro!" Kamio was saying. "What's this Juice business all about? What's it got to do with Echizen and his...his..." "Boyfriend." Ibu finished neatly. When Inui had the time later, he might call on Kikumaru and Momoshiro's insult of his Juice, but for now, he was trying to wrap his mind around the two names that Fuji had neatly written on his betting slip. Dan Taichi. And Dan Taichi. Lips thinning into a grim line, Inui spared a glance of trepidation at the sweet-looking prodigy of Seigaku. Never, never underestimate the powers of a genius, Inui reminded himself. As if he had heard the mental note in Inui's brain, Fuji turned and smiled at him. "So, Inui? What about the penalty for the others?" It took a moment before the rest of the boys got it. But they did, eventually. "Others?" Oishi repeated incredulously. "You mean you..." Inui held up Fuji's betting slip so the 'others' could see for themselves Fuji's hundred-percent accuracy in his guesses. If not for the fact that Inui himself had gotten both of his own choices wrong, he might have enjoyed watching the looks of disbelief on the faces of his teammates. "That means Fuji-senpai DON'T GET TO DRINK THE DEATH POTION AND WE DO?!" Inui cringed inwardly at Momoshiro's howling. It was so loud, and it was getting so insulting too. Inui had been blending his Juice for *hours* to get that nice red colour and the right viscosity. He shut his notebook primly. "It's just a single shot, Momoshiro. One glass." Before Momoshiro could decide whether to be please about that fact, Fuji beat him to it. "Double, Inui." The prodigy raised two fingers as if to illustrate his point. "Two glasses." The realisation dawned on Inui the same moment Fuji finished his statement of finality. "I got both choices right. So, it's double for all the losers...right, Inui?" Never underestimate the mental processes of a genius either. A dejected Kaidoh summed it best for them all. "Fuji-senpai...is scary."
The common break for the members of the Seigaku tennis team could easily be the noisiest in the whole of the congested canteen of hungry students. The members had been careful to pick a corner that was away from the rest of the students to avoid any possible interruption, but it certainly hadn't prevented curious glances cast in their direction. Not even all of them from the regulars were there. Specifically, there were only those of them who had went on the little adventure of tailing Echizen. Kawamura was still in the dark for they couldn't trust him to hold his tongue if he was holding a racquet, *and* he saw Echizen. As for informing Tezuka-Buchou, it was a no-brainer there. He wouldn't have cared less if *all* of the tennis members were dating, lest to say only Echizen. The discovery of the true identity of the unknown Date had turned out to be the Event of the Year as far as they were concerned, cemented no less by the malevolent Inui Juice innocently named Supremo Deluxe Date-O Delight. It took all of them, excluding a decidedly sadistic Fuji, a week to recover and stop balking every time they saw the colour red. Oishi was shaking his head wearily. "Getting involved in a relationship at this point is the worst idea," he said heavily. "A cross-school relationship too. Shuttling between schools, meeting after training, and having to hide it from everyone. How will Echizen be able to concentrate on tennis?" "Oi~shi!" Kikumaru rounded on his doubles partner. "You're missing the POINT! And the point IS - Ochibi - " "Is dating - " Fuji rejoined smoothly. "A BOY!" Momoshiro finished in a near-yell. He would have continued too, if not for Kikumaru's hands clapping over his mouth to stifle the stream of exclamations bubbling from his throat in case the *whole* school knew about it next. Honey-brown brows rose as Fuji looked mildly surprised. "I was going to say Dan Taichi." Now Kikumaru looked indignant that *Fuji* had totally missed the point too. From beside Kikumaru, Oishi suddenly piped up. By this time, his forehead had creased into a deep frown. "Do you think I should talk to Yamabuki about this? After all, this concerns our two youngest players and maybe we should sit down and discuss it." He stopped, a little alarmed, when Fuji began to chuckle. The tennis prodigy subsided to an amused smile. "Oishi, you sound like you're going to *marry* Echizen off to Yamabuki." The Vice-Captain turned an unusual shade of red which got even deeper when Kikumaru collapsed chortling onto his shoulder. "But...shouldn't we do anything?" Oishi tried to continue despite Kikumaru's giggling even harder. "We can sit him down and force it outta him," muttered a peeved Momo, who obviously still hadn't gotten over the whole thing. "We can follow him on another date." Everyone turned to stare Fuji for actually suggesting that. "We shouldn't do anything." Everyone - meaning even Kikumaru - shut up at that. Surprised gazes swung around to the speaker. It was Kaidoh who had spoken, so far the quietest one from the start of the little adventure to this heated discussion. He was staring down into his drink, eyes obscured by a fall of night-dark bangs, but his discomfort was visible at the sudden limelight on him. "And why not?" Inui countered smoothly, his deep, sultry baritone challenging. The rest of the boys just stared at the weird exchange, although none too surprised. These days, every time Kaidoh opened his mouth, Inui would be sure to come up with some rejoinder like he was baiting the younger boy into more response. Kaidoh had quickly looked up at the tone in his Inui-senpai. However, his usually sharp and almost-fierce green eyes were widened in uncertainty as he then gazed around the group. "It's not our right to interfere," he said at length, the same uncertainty lending brusqueness to his tone. Now that was really out-of-character. Even Oishi seemed startled to hear that from Kaidoh. They all knew that Kaidoh valued customs, traditions, rules and strictures far more than the average schoolboy. And if then, it was not quite possible for Kaidoh to be so nonchalant after seeing...well...seen the obviously more than close relationship between Echizen and Dan. If anyone was expected to throw a fit, it was Kaidoh. "When we saw them..." Kaidoh began, and hesitated again. His fingers were clenched so tightly around his drink that his knuckles were white. He looked like he was struggling with very, very conflicting emotions. "Yeah, what is it, Mamushi?" Momo interrupted impatiently. His disbelief over Echizen's keeping such a big secret from him had in turn shortened his temper considerably. "Don't call me that!" Kaidoh snapped in reflexive retaliation more than anything else. Then he looked down into his drink for a moment longer, cheeks gradually taking on a tinge of pink that was starting to manifest more and more often these days, before suddenly looking up at the rest of them. His face was set in boyish seriousness. "When we saw them, it all...looked real! Echizen...I've never seen him with that look on his face. And that look...is real too. So - So...we...shouldn't do anything!" In that awkwardly gruff, brusquely inadequate Kaidoh way, the surprisingly compassionate sophomore said what was at the back of everyone's mind and what nobody but he thought to say it. And just like that, the tension was all but gone. There was a blink-and-you-miss-it smile that touched the corners of Inui's lips, as he flipped open his omni-present notebook to the page that he had been scribbling in more often than ever lately. Oishi broke into a rare, burden-free grin. "I see, Kaidoh." A bewildered Kaidoh blinked at that unusual reaction from his Vice-Captain. Before he could come up with any verbal reaction however, the rest of the table erupted in noisy discussion. "I am SO gonna give Echizen hell for not telling me!" Momo declared, cracking his knuckles like he was prepared to pummel an imaginary Echizen. "Count me in!" Kikumaru echoed, nodding his wild red head grimly. "We'll make him pay next time we go for burgers, nyaa!" "Me too," Fuji chimed. "And next time, I'll get Tezuka along." "Buchou?! In a fast-food outlet?!" "Interesting image, isn't it?" "I don't believe you can do it, nya! Tezuka'd never do it!" Inui cleared his throat. "We can take another round of bets on - " he didn't get very far in his suggestion. "HELL NO!"
Now, people. Echizen bounced another ball with his left hand in an exact copy of the serve he had unleashed just now, his right arm tensed. People were a different problem altogether. He slammed his racquet into the ball hard, before righting himself and watching as the ball lanced into the opposite court, met the ground with a resounding thump, then spinning upwards into oblivion. His feared Twist Serve. In a rather weird way, he supposed he was like his own Twist Serve. People find it hard to anticipate him, and if they could choose, they'd probably not want to have to deal with him. So how come Dan Taichi didn't think that way? Echizen didn't think he'd ever met someone who was so...enthusiastic about him. It seemed Dan was excited about everything - no matter how trivial or insignificant - that he did. Just the other day, Echizen explained a ridiculously simple stroke to Dan and the Yamabuki freshman reacted like Echizen had kissed him or something. Amber eyes rounded as the thought sank in. Pulling his cap down in one rough motion, Echizen tried not to blush. His mind was horribly errant these days, thinking things that usually he would never have thought of before. "Hey, Echizen!" The unmistakably buoyant voice of Momo-senpai hollered across the courts. "Wanna have a game or something?" Echizen looked up, momentarily snapped out of reverie. He could see that over on the next court, Momo-senpai and Oishi-senpai were rallying. Eiji-senpai had bounced over to them and joined Oishi in his side of the court. Doubles, huh. Echizen hesitated for a second. For some strange reason, his three seniors were looking at him with that sort of weird expectancy like they knew something he didn't. And when it came to his terribly inquisitive seniors, Echizen would much prefer to stay away. "Come on, Echizen," Oishi fuku-Buchou coaxed. He had held up an arm to obviously deter Kikumaru from bounding right over and dragging Echizen over to them. "It'd be good practice." Oishi-senpai always made everything sound so rationalised that Echizen couldn't even think of refusing. Nodding shortly, he gripped his racquet tighter and headed over to his seniors. Momo-senpai seemed unusually relieved, and Echizen reasoned to himself that Momo-senpai was probably just worried about taking on the Golden Pair by himself. The weirdness started no sooner than the end of the first game. The Golden Pair had taken the first game in characteristic charismatic efficiency; Oishi subtly controlling the game before forcing a gap and Kikumaru finishing the points off in acrobatic glee. Now Echizen was at the net, Momo-senpai preparing to serve behind him. He found himself squaring off with both Oishi and Eiji-senpai. His rusty mind tried to work out this formation. Double net-play? But it didn't make sense! Momo-senpai had yet to serve! "Echizen," Oishi-senpai said abruptly. His deep-green eyes were solemn. "It takes two to play doubles." Huh? Echizen blinked in confusion. Of...*course* it took two to play doubles. Next to Oishi-senpai, Eiji-senpai wagged a finger at Echizen like he was admonishing a small child. "Be nice to your boyf - partner, nya!" HUH?! Then Mom-senpai served and Echizen stared in disbelief as the ball went completely wide. He spun on his heels to glare at his partner for that horrendous serve. To his bewilderment, Momo-senpai not only seemed totally unconcerned about his fluffed serve, but he was also staring at Echizen with unusual...concern. "Not a kid anymore, ne, Echizen?" Momo-senpai grinned somewhat awkwardly, but genuinely. Echizen just shook his head in silence. He didn't know *how* to respond to his seniors' strange behaviour. He didn't think it was possible but his seniors *could* actually be more freaky than they already were every time they were up to their senpai ways. "Let's continue the game." Echizen very nearly demanded what was going on when he saw Inui-senpai and Fuji-senpai join their court - and their game. Kaidoh-senpai had taken his place in the umpire's chair. So, instead of the Golden Pair against the Momo-Echizen pair, it was suddenly Golden-Pair-Fuji versus Momo-Echizen-Inui. The most suspicious part was that nobody seemed surprised at the sudden shift in the game dynamics, except for Echizen. Momo-senpai served again, and Echizen was suddenly jostling for space at the net with Inui-senpai. This time, Eiji-senpai had fallen back to take the serve, while Fuji-senpai parked himself at the net. The return-serve sailed into Echizen's court and he whipped it back sharply, forcing Fuji-senpai into a full stretch as the prodigy volleyed back and out of reach of Inui-senpai. "Not bad, Fuji-senpai, " Echizen said with grudging admiration. That had been a good volley. Fuji smiled back at him, eyes glinting behind his fall of bangs. "Oh no, Echizen. You deserve the credit for getting there before me, Echizen." What...the hell was going on?! Echizen could feel himself tensing up as he regarded Fuji-senpai with suspicion-narrowed eyes. It seemed as if his seniors knew something they shouldn't. And what was with all these cryptic one-liners?! The last straw came when Inui-senpai joined in the fun. "Echizen. You *have* far exceeded your data." Echizen knew Inui-senpai certainly wasn't talking about tennis, but too bad. He wasn't hanging around to find out what all his seniors meant. Lowering his racquet, Echizen turned away from the others. "I've practised enough. I'm going home." He turned to leave, pretending not to hear the surprise from his seniors, especially not the soft exclamations of concern.
A frown creased Echizen's young features. How had things changed so suddenly in the space of weeks?! No...things hadn't changed as much as they had gotten worse. He didn't know what he and Dan were. They've met up several more times since the Da - meeting - and each time it had been about tennis. Did that make them kinda like teammates or something? Comrades? Then he remembered how Dan always liked to end their meetings by subjecting Echizen to two-second hugs. Echizen knew they lasted two-seconds because he had counted while he had stood stiffly every time it happened, waiting until the too-warm snuggling against his neck and cheek pulled away and he could breathe again. Did hugging make them a couple?! Echizen was sure he turned a little green at that thought. "Echizen-kun! Echizen-kun!" Amber eyes flew wide. No...he groaned inwardly. Not today, especially not now. His patience had been *quite* tested by his bunch of seniors. Dan Taichi popped up anyway, in that increasingly irritating fashion of his. His longish bangs were hanging rakishly all over his head and into brown eyes that shone like stars. The only things that weren't the norm was that his green band was missing around his forehead and he was clad in the all-white Yamabuki uniform. "Echizen-kun!" Dan gushed warmly as he curled his hands into fists. "I came to do my homework with you! I heard that you're incredibly good at English! SO, I've decided to ask you to tutor me! I'm sure that my grades will improve a lot if you - " "No," Echizen interrupted flatly, already rounding his infatuated admirer. Whether it was tennis or schoolwork, he was not in the mood to do anything with Dan. He knew himself, and he knew that while he preferred to use silence or snarkiness to counter situations, whichever suited the occasion, he did have a temper which could be unpleasant. "But!" Dan persisted, chasing after Echizen, even breaking into a jog so he could keep up with Echizen's greater strides. "I came all this way to ask you to tutor me, Echizen-kun! Please, please, please! I really need your help!" Echizen squeezed his eyes shut, his feet slowing not a whit as he tried to tune out everything. Weeks and weeks of self-questioning and his increasingly distracted state of mind were making themselves felt in the tightening thread of his control. "Echizen-kun..." Dan's small hands curled into the sleeve of Echizen's jacket. And before he knew it, Echizen was whipping around, yanking his arm away in one hard motion. "I said NO!" he snarled. He could feel Dan losing balance; his smaller frame almost jerked off his feet by Echizen's unexpected lashing-out. Echizen felt a wave of dismay as the Yamabuki freshman stumbled backward with a cry and fell to the ground in an awkward heap. Yet Echizen still stood frozen to the spot as he stared down at the mass of limbs and paling face that was Dan. "You..." Echizen said in a croak. Dan looked up quickly, smile already in place. "Daijiobu!" he said, dismissing his fall with a laugh. "I'm fine! See?" He made as if to get to his feet, but no sooner had he shifted himself, he sank back into that heap again with a stifled groan. Shit. Echizen dropped his bag to the ground and knelt by the other boy. At first he was just unsure of how to proceed from there on, but then his years of tennis kicked in and it was damage control first. Gingerly he laid his hands on Dan's uniform-clad leg. He felt the boy's startled gaze on him. "I'm checking your injury," Echizen said as levelly as he could. Carefully, he slid a hand under the calf, before getting a good hold on the track-shoe that Dan wore, and sliding it off Dan's foot. All the while, Dan had to muffle his whimpers of pain with a fist at his mouth. Echizen forced himself to focus on the revealed foot. Without the track-shoe, it looked small and vulnerable, and the swelling at the ankle was all too obvious. "It's not your fault, Echizen-kun," Dan said firmly and quickly, correctly guessing the nature of Echizen's silence as amber eyes surveyed the injured foot. "I fell when I was chasing the bus. And I guess the sprain got worse when I fell again just - oh no! I mean, it really ISN'T your fault, Echizen-kun! I mean, I shouldn't have been so clumsy myself..." he trailed off awkwardly. Dan's words, if anything, made Echizen feel worse. Silently and not meeting the other boy's eyes, Echizen rummaged through his bag with one hand, groping for the familiar feel of the...yes, he found it. Pulling out the ankle-guard, he showed it to Dan - just a silent affirmation of what he was going to do to ease the sprain - before proceeding to slide the guard over Dan's foot. The guard was very tight, of course, and Echizen had to tug and pull painfully before Dan's heel managed to slide into place and lock the ankle-guard into place. It wasn't until he was done that Echizen realised that Dan hadn't made a sound during the whole process. He looked up in surprise and saw that tears of discomfort were obvious in Dan's eyes but they held fast. "Don't worry, Echizen-kun!" Dan grinned rather weakly back at him, enthusiasm apparently not dimming in the slightest. "I'm not gonna cry! Oh, you did such a good job! My ankle doesn't hurt as much as before!" he laid his foot flat on the ground and tested it. Echizen's attention was already fixed elsewhere. Getting to his feet, he began picking up the scattered contents of Dan's bag when it fell open on the ground. He gathered the several school exercise books, the textbooks and the miscellaneous stuff like the stationery-case, and packed them back into the bag. "Oh, Echizen-kun! I can get my things by myself! You don't need to do it for me!" His hands paused when they encountered what looked to be a file. It had a clear plastic cover and its contents were all bared to amber eyes. What were especially striking were the English test-paper and the failing mark of forty-percent decorating its cover in glaring crimson. "I...I really do need your help in English, Echizen-kun!" Dan sounded sheepish behind him. Echizen turned, his shoulders feeling suddenly very heavy. He stared down at Dan's hopeful, upturned face. For the first time, Echizen saw the fatigue on the boy's features, the strain in brown eyes, the smile that was still bright but edged with weariness. And yes, Echizen could make the connection between Dan's frequent rushed trips to Seigaku just to meet him before travelling all the way back home, and the physical toll it was taking as well as how it had affected his grades. Extending his arms, Echizen managed to help lift Dan to his feet. The Yamabuki freshman leaned heavily into him, almost curling into his chest. Echizen firmly but gently shifted until Dan was no longer leaning onto him like that. He slung Dan's bag around his shoulders. "Go home, Dan," Echizen said quietly. Brown eyes rounded in distress. "But why? I still need you to tutor me! And - " "You need to get a tuition teacher for your grades. Or ask your teacher for help. You'd get nothing coming here," Echizen rebuked in that same quiet, firm, and stern manner. "Stop wasting your time on this." "It's not a waste of my time!" Dan protested, more weakly this time, his voice shaking. "It's a waste of mine," Echizen said coldly. "Go home. I'd walk you to the bus-stop." Dan's mouth opened and closed for several moments, each time looking more and more miserable. His hand, clutching on the strap of his bag, was so tightly fisted his knuckles gleamed white. "I..." he began, swallowing several times, then tried again. "I don't want Echizen-kun to walk me to the bus-stop." Echizen blinked in surprise. This was the first time he had been refused by Dan. Before he could respond however, another voice beat him to it. "Then maybe I can cycle you to the bus-stop, ne?" Echizen thought his eyes would pop out of their sockets when none other than Momo-senpai suddenly came up to them on his bicycle. Between them, Dan was glancing back and forth in confusion. Echizen shoved his own protests down his throat when, over Dan's head, Momo-senpai flashed him that utterly-patronising and yet utterly-comforting senpai grin. "Come ON, Dan Taichi," Momo gestured animatedly as he cajoled the Yamabuki freshman. "Look at that sprained ankle of yours. What if you worsen the injury? You don't expect Echizen to CARRY you, do you?" It worked. Dan's eyes widened and he shook his head violently. "N...no! But I...I don't want - " "You can always visit Seigaku another time, Dan-kun," Momo interrupted kindly. His large violet eyes danced with a curious mixture of both concern and mischief. Dan darted a nervous glance at a silent Echizen. "But...Echizen-kun said...I'm wasting...wasting..." "Who cares what Echizen says?" Momo said airily, waving a hand to illustrate his disregard for the prickly Echizen Ryoma and earning himself a glare from said freshman. "You do what you think is worth your time, ne, Dan-kun?" Echizen wanted to scream when he saw Dan grinning at Momo in obvious agreement. What was this?! Everyone around him was conspiring against him! His OWN seniors helping...helping the outsider! Turning back to Echizen in renewed enthusiasm, Dan nodded his head resolutely. "I'll come back another day, Echizen-kun! And when I do, it won't be a waste of my time, or yours either, Echizen-kun!" In vexed silence, Echizen shrugged gruffly as he watched Dan carefully easing himself onto the back of Momo-senpai's bicycle. Then, Momo-senpai was off, Dan perched behind him, messy bangs fluttering in the wind as he waved and laughed and his figure grew smaller and smaller into the distance. Without looking, Echizen knew the rest of his really, really, nosy seniors were gathered behind him, watching the whole scene like they were enjoying a movie. Between that annoying little voice suddenly reminding him that this was the first time since the Date that Dan hadn't given him that two-second hug, and the fact that when he turned on his heels and saw that his seniors were REALLY gathered behind him, Echizen felt sure he had reached his shock-quota for the week. Oishi, Kikumaru, Fuji, Kaidoh and Inui senpai gazed back at him in varying degrees of glee and concern and interest and curiosity. So, Echizen remembered his seniors acting weird ever since the Date and realised with a wryness of sort, that of COURSE, the only logical explanation was that somehow his bunch of seniors already knew the...thing between he and Dan. What next occurred to Echizen was how his seniors were taking the whole thing. Momo-senpai seemed okay with it, but then again, Momo-senpai was okay with many things. What about the rest of his seniors? As if answering his question, Fuji-senpai stepped forward, his smile less enigmatic and warmer than usual. "Here, Echizen." Echizen took the coloured, glossy object from Fuji and stared quietly down at it. He recognised the setting. Street tennis courts. It was that day of the Date-O. In the picture, he was caught in Dan's embrace. No...rather, Dan was embracing him, and he was...kinda hugging back in a way. Echizen felt his cheeks growing hot when he saw quite clearly his own arms twined around Dan's shoulders. He looked up, ready to berate his seniors for actually TAILING him on that Date! But he didn't even get to speak. "GANBATTE NE, ECHIZEN RYOMA!" And he found he still couldn't speak. ~*~ fin ~*~ On to Date-O! Date-O! Arc - Middle School Years - 04 |