Disclaimer: I own Eiji... I wish I own Eiji.

----

The young Echizen closed the door and finally breathed out a sigh of relief. It wasn't like he didn't like his sempai. It was just that sometimes he'd get irritated a lot. He decided to go back to his room and go get some much-deserved rest. They didn't even have practice or did anything to that matter, but he felt so exhausted and sore. He silently walked towards up the stairs as he ignored Nanako's calls for dinner.

Kikumaru's childish laugh echoed in the kouhai's ears as he reached the top of the stairs. His knees suddenly got wobbly and he couldn't help but grind on his teeth. He grabbed on to the ledge for support and felt a weird sort of pain on his calves. "Ochibi! What's wrong?" His sempai's voice echoed in his head, he almost felt a pat on his back. "Che, go away Kikumaru-sempai." He whispered to himself.

Without Echizen's knowledge, his father was just right there spying on him. "What did you say? Are you dreaming of that kawaii fem-boy a while ago? Ho ho ho! My son is growing up a little slanted!" Nanjiroh jumped out of nowhere and wrapped one of his arms around the wobbly Echizen.

"Oyaji..." Ryoma's words were drowned out with his father's loud chuckling.

Nanjiroh kept slapping his son on the back and making all sort of odd noises. "Ho ho ho ho! I have nothing against it son! That kawaii fem-boy will for do for you!" Ryoma tried to get free from his father's grip. "Ah! But what about that poor Ryuzaki girl with pig tails! I think she fancies you too!" Nanjiroh slapped his son harder on the back, so Ryoma held on tighter to the ledge to prevent him from falling down. "I remember my puberty days. Women and men were chasing after me too! Ah, I guess your handsome genes came from me." His father took a couple of minutes of admiring himself at the mirror nearby.

While his father narcisstically admired himself at the mirror, he saw the chance to escape to his room. The weakness in his knees disappeared, so did Kikumaru's image on his head. He quickly sneaked to his room and opened the door. He slammed it loudly causing the mirror to slightly move. When Nanjiroh realized his son left him, he started rapping on the door.

"HOI! RYOMA! GET OUT OF THERE! YOUR OLD MAN WAS TALKING TO YOU ABOUT YOUR MANHOOD!" Nanako obviously heard this downstairs and quickly raced upstairs with the biggest pot she could find.

Kikumaru-sempai... A loud banging sound came from behind Ryoma's door. He heard his dad's scream of pain and Nanako's warrior cries. He collapsed to his bed and stared at his blank ceiling. He could still smell his sempai's scent on his bed. He tried to block out the thought by thinking of tennis. Unfortunately, connected to tennis was no other than, Kikumaru.

"What do you want?" He asked himself silently. His hands rested underneath his head for support and his eyes were completely transfixed on the empty ceiling. He felt pathetic for talking to himself, even more for thinking about his sempai.

----

"Here's your order!" The young waitress giggled as she presented the two bubble tea at the table. "Enjoy!" Fuji beamed a charming grin at the girl and sent her giggling back behind the counter. The girl ogled over the two junior high students behind the counter.

Tezuka couldn't help but stiffened up his shoulders a bit from Fuji's touch. His friend's finger was soft and graceful as it caressed over the sweat on his temples. The slender fingers felt like the gentle breeze on a perfect summer day. When Fuji's finger left his temple, he felt a sudden cold, emptiness in him again. He cleared his throat and shifted his gaze to Fuji sipping on his drink.

"Mmmm!" Fuji savored the rich taste of his drink. "You should drink yours, Tezu-kun!" He pushed the drink towards Tezuka and beamed another innocent smile.

The calm Captain inspected the cold drink in front of him. It looked like a green smoothie with little, brown, round things floating at the bottom. A fat straw rested at the hole of the cup. He took his right hand and took the cup. As soon as the cup's surface came in contact with his palms, the coolness of it paralyzed his hands for a few seconds. He tightened his grip on the cup and brought it near his mouth. He took a sip from the straw, avoiding Fuji's anticipating look on his eyes. "Mmm.." He sounded out and took the straw off his lips. "It's okay..."

It was more than enough for Fuji. He didn't expect Tezuka to suddenly hold a parade over a bubble tea. He merely giggled and took another sip from his cup. "I'm glad you like it!"

------

Oishi felt a sudden rush of warmness in him as he felt Kikumaru's hand touch his. He shouldn't be that surprised about it. They've held hands and had body contact a lot of times before, being the Golden Pair and all. But something about the moment made it seem like it was the first time. The first time for everything was always different and even if this moment wasn't the first time, he felt like it was. He smiled at his friend and helped the drenched Kikumaru to get back on his feet.

"Oishi!" The very sound of Kikumaru's childish voice sent a light feeling inside of him. "I'm so glad you're here. This mean car knocked me down to the puddle!" Oishi couldn't help but smile at the childish pout on Kikumaru's face.

The third year acrobat was not only soaked in cold water, but also muddy from the puddle. His bag was picked and tidied up by Oishi. It was muddy and soaked from the rain. "Nya! My books are going to be wet Oishi!" Kikumaru complained, wide-eyed.

"Don't worry, Eiji. I'm sure your books aren't wet. What's important right now is you." Kikumaru felt a little shocked from Oishi's last words. "You're going to get sick!" The redhead felt a little relieved as Oishi continued. "Here, take this." Oishi wrapped his Seigaku jacket around Kikumaru. "I'll walk you home."

Kikumaru couldn't help but turn pink from Oishi's concerns. "Eh..." He tried to say something, but all that came out was a sneeze. Oishi patted him on the head and held the umbrella up. "Let's get you home." The Vice Captain held Kikumaru's hands as they both trekked on the rain.

-----

"A-A..." Kawamura tried to break the silence, but every time he tried to Akutsu's presence intimidated him. Ah! It's just Akutsu! Why can't I even mutter out his name? Kawamura tried to busy himself by cleaning up the counter for the hundredth time. The counter was so clean that he could see a reflection of himself on it. He continued to rub the counter to get his thoughts off Akutsu.

"Are you planning to burn a hole in there?" Akutsu's voice startled Kawamura, causing him to get off balance and fall on the floor. "Hmph." His voice sounded so calm and he just continued eating, even with Kawamura on the floor.

"Ah, gomen Akutsu. I was just...Eto..." He wanted to say that he was just trying to break the silence, but he didn't think Akutsu would really appreciate that reply. "I was just...cleaning." Even if his reply sounded really pathetic, he merely smiled and tried to sound convincing.

Akutsu's head turned and flashed him a glare. "Stop cleaning Kawamura. Come here." His words were very short and commanding. Kawamura tried to resist Akutsu's orders, but was unsuccessful.

He walked towards the silver-haired Yamabuki student and sat across from him. He kept his head down and didn't dare to meet Akutsu's eyes. He was afraid that if they did had eye contact, he would just get blown away by Akutsu's glare. He stayed quiet and kept his hands to himself. He didn't dare make a single peep. He tried to hold his breath and steady his fast-pace heart beat.

"I heard what happened at your school today." Akutsu didn't even feel the bit nervous or intimidated, not that he ever did. His chopsticks continued to click and his Ebi sushi was quickly getting finished. Kawamura slightly jumped up from his position. Akutsu took his tea cup and drank the hot tea. "Hmph... Never really saw you as a trouble maker eh." He smirked and placed his cup back on the table.

"I didn't mean to do it..." Kawamura wanted to burst and defend himself. He really didn't mean to do it. It was all an accident. Instead of exploding in anger and defense, all he could do was whisper out those quiet words. He felt like a little child confessing to his parents about stealing candy.  He clenched his fists and tried to hold back his anger.

Akutsu dropped his chopsticks and looked intently at Kawamura. He had that cocky smirk on his face and his eyes held some kind of mysterious plot. "The counter needs more cleaning." He said it so commanding that Kawamura was taken aback by it. He liked being in control and making others feel inferior.

Kawamura gasped silently from the commanding tone of Akutsu's voice. He had been ordered by him a lot of times in the past, but the tone of his voice now made it seem like it was different. If he didn't feel so intimidated he would've just stayed on his position and even challenge Akutsu. Unfortunately, the great Kawamura didn't have his tennis racquet with him; even if he did Akutsu's power over him would over shadow his Burning Mode. "Ah...H-hai..." Completely dejected and infer orated, Kawamura stood up and decided to go back behind his counter.

While Kawamura made his exit, Akutsu silently stood up too. Kawamura's head was buzzing with too many thoughts that he didn't hear Akutsu's gentle footsteps behind him. Akutsu kept walking behind him with his hands on his pocket. When the two reached the edge of the counter, Akutsu grabbed Kawamura's wrist and pushed him on the wall.

"A-A-Akutsu..." Kawamura whispered as Akutsu towers over him. He suddenly felt all flustered and awkward as Akutsu placed one of his arms above him on the wall. "Eh..." His voice sounded so flustered up and nervous that he decided just to stay quiet.

One of Akutsu's hands rested near the Kawamura's shoulder. "Kawamura..." He grinned at the flustered junior high student and enjoyed the burning face of Kawamura. Without warning he slowly leaned towards Kawamura and lifted his chin with his hands. When Kawamura looked up he saw Akutsu's face nearing his, he closed his eyes and tried not to think about what was going to happen next. What's this...Akutsu?

The next thing Kawamura felt was Akutsu's soft lip onto his. He wanted to try and resist, but Akutsu's kiss got harder and stronger. He moaned as Akutsu's tongue met his. Kawamura felt Akutsu's large hands on his waist and his hands dangling besides him. What's happening...? Kawamura wanted to open his eyes and see if it was really happening. Akutsu's continued to force his tongue in his and made Kawamura moan silently again. The hands on his waist found its way in Kawamura's shirt and he felt wide, warm hands caressing his back. Kawamura couldn't resist anymore and gave himself in and let Akutsu's tongue made his way into his mouth. It seemed like an eternity before Kawamura felt like he couldn't breathe anymore, when Akutsu quickly broke off the kiss. He couldn't even feel the warm hands on his back.

Akutsu's eyes were closed and looked rather satisfied. He had the usual dominating smirk on his face as he fingered his silver hair. He leaned closely towards the flushed Kawamura and leaned down and licked Kawamura's lips. "Ja ne..." With that, Akutsu, picked up his umbrella and quickly but gracefully left.

-----

"Ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku shichi, hachi..." Kaidoh's arms started to feel the burn as he reached his twentieth push-up. He had one arm at his back, while the other one balance off his push-ups. The dedicated Kaidoh decided to continue his daily work out at a local gym since their practice was cancelled. Hmph....Damn Kawamura-sempai...  His temples were starting to form small beads of sweat by his fiftieth one but his breathing still seemed steady and normal. It wasn't like he hated his sempais...He was just a rather hotheaded person and working out was the only thing that always keep him focused. "Shimatta..." He whispered out with the usual scowl on his face.

All of a sudden he felt a shadow that loomed over him. He lifted his head up a little bit, still in his push up position. A pair of green shoes appeared before him. Puzzled and rather annoyed he scowled and continued doing his push-ups.

"I knew I would find you here..." The voice sounded familiarly terrifying, that Kaidoh suddenly fell down on the ground in the middle of a push up. His eyes were wide-eyed and baffled to hear the voice. He heard a rather ominous laugh from the person in front of him. "I didn't expect that from you, Kaidoh."

The flustered Kaidoh shot back up to his feet and recomposed himself from his fall. "I-I-Inui-sempai!" Kaidoh cried out rather panicked. The square-rimmed sempai gave out a shrill laughter. "What are you doing here?!" Kaidoh asked trying to put the 'bad-boy' look on his face again.

Inui adjusted his glasses, making it glimmer in the light. "I figured you would be here." The very thought of Inui reading his thoughts gave Kaidoh chills on his spine. "I just wanted to help you with your training."  The juice-making sempai placed his hand on Kaidoh's left shoulder and applied a good amount of pressure on it. "What do you say?"

Completely shocked, Kaidoh's eyes started to flinch and his lips started shake. He felt the pressure of Inui's touch, crushing his shoulders. I-I-Inui-sempai... He looked directly at Inui and tried to look behind his glasses. He saw nothing but the devious smile plastered on his face. He couldn't just resist Inui's offer because of some stupid crazy imagination in his head. "Ah...H-hai. Arigatou Inui-sempai..." Kaidoh bowed his head and followed Inui.

"I think you're going to like this new training menu I worked up for you." Inui gave out another bone-chilling laugh. His hands were in tight grip of Kaidoh's wrist as they both walked towards the corner with fear looming over Kaidoh.

-------

"Achoo!" Kikumaru sneezed and rubbed his nose for the third time in the row.  His head turned up to Oishi, who had the concern look on his face. He merely smiled innocently at him with his cheeks flustered up.

Oishi, being the mother of Seigaku, was concerned and worried about Kikumaru. "We need you get you home fast. At this rate you might get a fever by tomorrow morning!" Oishi wrapped his free arm around Kikumaru and held him close to keep him warm. "Here I'll keep you warm."

The two shared each other's warmth and walked on the streets with their faces glowing the shades of red. It was sheer bliss for Oishi to have his arm around the one he was longing for the most. He had that light and peaceful feeling in him. He wanted the moment to be captured perfectly so he breathes in every aspect of it. The chilly air blowing by, the sound of the drumming patter of raindrops on the umbrella, the splashing sound of the water on their path, and of course the very warmth that Kikumaru gave off as he kept his arms wrapped around him, all of these were captured in Oishi's head like a never-ending dream.

"Oishi?" The Vice Captain was so captivated by the bliss of the moment that he forgot that it was real. The sound of Kikumaru's voice brought him back to the reality of the moment. Oishi turned his head down to Kikumaru and smiled at him. "Why are you out so late?"

It was so Kikumaru to ask questions. It made Oishi felt like everything was back to normal -- maybe even better than normal. It gave him pure relief to know that Kikumaru was still the same. "Ah, I talked to the principal about today's events." He tried to keep his tone balanced to prevent him from gushing all over Kikumaru's eager, puppy face. He cleared his throat before continuing. "It took me quite long to convince him..."

"Convince him?!" Kikumaru interrupted with the gush of childishness in his expression. "We can practice on school grounds again?"

Seigaku's 'mother' nodded his head in response. He simply couldn't resist Kikumaru's charisma. "Hai, I was able to convince him after apologizing a million times." He giggled to lighten up the mood.

"Nya! That's great Oishi!!!" Kikumaru suddenly stopped and jumped at Oishi, knocking him down to a puddle on the sidewalk. "You're so amazing!" Kikumaru giggled with and hugged Oishi.

Completely taken aback, Oishi couldn't help but giggle and blush. It didn't matter if the rain was drowning the life of out him or that he might get sick from it. Kikumaru's warm, tender hug was enough to make him forget about life itself. He couldn't help but return Kikumaru's hug and play on the puddle with him. The two release their grips from their belongings and started splashing water to each other. Oishi managed to pin Kikumaru down.

The two laughed uncontrollably, not even realizing how close they were getting. Kikumaru was the first to open his eyes from his laugh and saw Oishi towered above him, giggling and wet. It was like a whole new view of Oishi. The rain actually illuminated his gentle face and the smile in his face glowed like the star on the sky on a nice summer evening. The cat-eyed Seigaku couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed and blush. O-Oishi... He turned his head to the side and tried not to look at Oishi anymore.

Oishi felt the sudden jerk of Kikumaru's head and stopped his laughter. He then realized the position he was in. His face suddenly lost the smile and expression changed to bewilderment. His whole face felt like it was going to explode. Just when he was about to say something, his heart suddenly stopped and the raindrops surrounding them froze in their place. His eyes were transfixed on Kikumaru's face turned to the right side. Without even thinking of what he was doing he lifted his right hand from the ground and placed it on Kikumaru's face. He gently turned it to face towards him. He saw the flustered face of Kikumaru. He could sense that his friend was trying to control the blushing really hard. He smiled serenely at him and stroked Kikumaru's face. "S-s...Suki desu..." His heart started beating again and his breathing came back.

Oishi caught Kikumaru's attention by his two simple words. He looked directly at Oishi's gazing eyes and held his breath. He didn't know what to do...His mind was blank and his heart was beating so hard and fast that it could power up the whole Japan for a century. They both just gazed into each other's eyes unsure of what will happen next.

-----

Was this chapter too short? Sorry! I just wanted to leave you all in a terrible cliffhanger XD. Yes, I know I am evil. Can you believe the whole thing took place in one day so far? Geez, I have time frame problems XD. Thank you for your kind reviews! How do you like by Akutsu/Taka action huh? It was actually my first slash kissing scene O.o. Did I miss anything in it? I would gladly appreciate criticism to make this fic better! Sorry if I'm updating too late, I had a small writer's block -.-.  What about the Inui/Kaidoh part? Yup, Inui is crazy. Ho ho ho! And the confused little Ryoma! Bwahahahaha. See what I'm going to be up to next! I promise some Fuji x Kikumaru action and more on Momo! Oh and maybe actually go to the next day XD! Thanks for the reviews!

Suki desu – I like you

Ebi sushi – Prawn sushi