A/N: Thank you everyone for your thoughtful reviews! I was relieved you were still reading. I'm always happy to know that this story has touched you, and am open to hearing any stories you have to you all for reading.

(Ryoma PoV) September.

I can't believe I'm actually expected to take the train home if it so much as rains. Bike riders can get away with a rain coat, but no, not me. I have to take the train.

I sigh, adjusting the flimsy cotton mask—a mask that people usually only wear if you've got a cold in Japan. Actually, maybe in Asia in general…I think I remember hearing about people in China wearing masks as well when there was some outbreak of some flu or other…

"Echizen!" Momoshiro hollers, running onto the platform and between the lines of passengers waiting alongside me.

"Hey Momo." I examine his wet school clothes. Momo is a bike rider. "What happened to your rain coat?"

"Er, I uh…" Momo grins. "I usually wear that on my bike, you know? Yeah, on my bike."

"You're soaked." I smile lopsided under my mask, but Momo wouldn't notice. "Why didn't you ride your bike? Didn't you tell me it's faster the train?"

Momo shifts on his feet. "Sticker." He blurts, and then rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I can't ride it until I get a school sticker…"

I frown. That doesn't quite add up. "What, you're telling me you didn't get one first semester?" Momo's eye twitches and I snort. "You got a new bike?" I offer, all the while wondering at the real reason.

"Yeah, yeah." Momo grins, going along with that.

The train arrives, and people rush out, and we file in. The train doors close. Neither of us speak for several long moments.

"Did you catch a cold?" Momo finally blurts out.

"…no. It's just for when I go someplace with a lot of people. I'm not supposed to handle other people's pens or money, either…"

Momo's face freezes up for just a moment, but he forces a laugh. Only his shifting feet suggest he's uncomfortable with, I dunno, Me. Me being sick.

"That's a good reason to get people to treat you. A great way to get people to buy you things."

I want to laugh and agree, or at least shrug and let it go. Momo is my best friend at Seigaku…or at least, he was. But I can't forget him and the scissors, and how Fuji and even Yukimura visited more than Momo did.

"So, eh, you caught up on your school work?"

I shrug. There's a knot in my stomach.

"You need some tutoring? Or at least, someone to do homework with…" Momo hangs from the bar, ignoring the plastic hand straps intended for just that purpose. I forget sometimes, but when he does stuff like that I remember that he's as tall as most high school students.

I stay quiet. The doors open and close again. Other passengers get on or off the train, clutching umbrellas and briefcases.

I look out the window, feeling more and more irritated with the rain, with my school and with Momo. Sure, he can't play tennis today either, but neither can I, not today, and not tomorrow. Not until the coach lets me back into practice. Unlikely if I keep putting my homework off…

But what's the point? Who cares about busy work, or summer homework I still haven't done, or stupid friends who don't visit enough.

"Echizen…your stop is next, right? Hey, you have an umbrella?"

"Ah." I look down at my bag, so much smaller without my tennis gear, but sure enough, there's no umbrella. I must have left it back in Seigaku's station…

"Re~ally?" Momo laughs again and I scowl. "I guess we'll have to hope good old 7/11 has some umbrellas left for us." He snickers.

"It's not funny," I snap. When the doors open, I dash through, eager to get away from my upperclassman.

But of course, with those monstrously long legs, he's caught up with me. "Slow down, jeez. I said we could get an umbrella."

I feel my heart thudding in my chest, and a wave of dizziness comes over me. Maybe it's the warmth of the train station compared with the cool, moist air outside. Or, it could be the weeks of no exercise. Irritation washes away all thoughts of illness ruining my form, of never being able to play competitively again. No way I'll let that happen.

But if I so much as run for a few minutes and spend fifteen minutes recover, that's bad. Some defeatist part of me can't help but think. I glare at Momo's sneakers. It's just not fair that he can catch up so easily, that he gets to play tennis every day without having to worry about his health. He only has to study and play tennis.

I want to run away again, but I don't. Instead, I hang out on the train station stairs while Momo buys an umbrella. Some elementary students run down the stairs with their bright yellow umbrellas, shrieking and giggling as the light rain hits their faces. A white flash of movement in the distance catches my eye. I look again.

Something small and white is in the hedges of someone's yard a few hundred meters away. I take a step forward. Is that…?

"Karupin?" I jog towards the tiny figure, completely forgetting about the rain. Easily winded or not, if that's my cat, I'll go get her.

"Oi, Echizen! Wait up a bit," Momo calls after me. He runs past the neat lines of people heading towards their houses or the station."What's got into you?" His eyes are trained on me, so he doesn't see the small white animal run from under the hedge and into the road.

He notices me dashing after her though.

"Echizen, you brat, don't—" he winces as I do just what he was about the say not to. That is, run into the road. "This isn't America, you crazy kid!"

I ignore him, and follow the cat to the other side of the street and across another street. I wind up near the river, half under Momo's newly bought umbrella, half damp from the light rain.

"Why are we stalking that cat?" Momo asks, exasperated.

"That's my cat, and I want to take her home. She doesn't like to get wet."

"Well, she's wet already, and getting you wetter. You hold the umbrella. I'll get the stupid cat."

Karupin crouches low in the grass. Momo walks slowly, kind of diagonally towards the cat. But Karupin is smarter than that. She lets out a pitiful meow and scampers away from my friend.

I squat down and call to my cat. "Karupin, come here. I'll take you home."

"Kitty, come on," Momo joins in, trying out some English. I snort at his accent.

"Ah. She ran away..."

"Your cat listens about as well as you do, Echizen." Momo sounds amused even as Karupin hides farther into the weedy riverside. "Are you sure we should be out here in the rain? She'll come back on her own, you know. She'll come back. It doesn't look like the rain bothers her much at all."

I shake my head. "I'm not leaving my cat out here to drown."

Momo sighs and then dashes after the cat. Karupin is still to fast, and she runs farther along the river. Finally, seemingly at random, she heads towards the rows of houses.

I watch the two—it's almost like watching a scene on repeat. Momo gives chase. Karupin stays out of reach. Repeat.

I jog after Momo and Karupin.

At last, Momo performs a particularly impressive jump over someone's garden fence, which startles Karupin into freezing.

"Got you!" Momoshiro yells happily, but then his face freezes. He bows, his face apologetic. "Sorry!" I follow his gaze to see a lady with a baby watching through the sliding door.

Momo grins apologetically and rejoins me under the umbrella. By now, he's more than a little damp and smells like grass. I tell him so.

"Let's go to your house, brat. I want to dry off..."

(Momoshiro PoV)

Echizen's cousin is not happy with us. At least, I think she's not happy, even though she got us both towels and hot tea to drink. She probably would still be fussing, if the phone hadn't rang.

Somewhere nearby a door is shut with a resounding noise. I nearly jump out of my seat. "Aah, youth!" Echizen's dad sings out. His voice is loud even from the other room. "Rainy or shine, they take their time coming home. Where did you go today? The good old convenient store? The classroom hallway? Talk to any girls?" His odd, showman-like way of talking is so different from Echizen, who usually doesn't say anything at all.

Unless he's provoking you into a match. Or smarting off, the brat.

"We took the train. It takes a while." Echizen is saying, but his cousin's voice is louder.

"They came home all wet! I took Ryoma's temperature, but it seems to be all right...do you think we should have him take a hot shower or change clothes?" His cousin—Nanako, I think her name is, drapes another towel on Echizen's shoulders.

"What's this? Wet? From rain?" For a moment, he looks genuinely worried, but then he laughs. "I'm sure it's fine. Your choice kiddo. Take a hot shower and get changed, or blow-dry your— hair and get changed."

"I don't need to blow-dry—"

"No, you need to do what your father says," Nanako scolds. "I think you should take a nice hot shower...but we could run the bath with those nice salts...oh, or you could take shower now and a bath later...oh no, you're not supposed to get your catheter wet!"

"No, my port-o-cath can get wet. I got the port-a-cath, not the hickman catheter." Echizen corrects. I can't help but stare, which is probably why he is still glaring at me after Nanako said something.

Or maybe she was talking to me...

"Huh?" I say. I guess I can't grin my way out of this one...

"She asked if you wanted to blow-dry your hair while I take a shower."

"Nah, s'kay." I shrug, and can't help but look around the kitchen. There's some sort of complicated medical chart—is that all the meds he's on now?— and visitor name cards and all sorts of stuff I never would have expected in Echizen's place.

Echizen shrugs. His expression is (as usual) unreadable. He ducks his head and stands up abruptly. "I'll take a shower..."

"Wait up a sec, you can finish your tea." I look at Nanako hesitantly. "Wait, he can, can't he? Then he can blow dry and whatnot..."

"I'm sure it's fine..." Nanako says doubtfully.

"Go sit at the kotatsu.(*1) We can turn it on...I always like it there." Echzien's dad offers, and moves our tea cups back to the tray.

"Yeah, yeah. Kotatsu and tea...anyone have oranges?" I grin and follow.

We're all settled and back to sipping our tea, but neither of us says anything for a few long moments. Nanako finally stopped hovering, and Echizen's dad is humming away in the kitchen. I glance at the clock. It's nearly five thirty. My mind whirls as I strain to think of something to say...tennis is sorta out, and I don't want to mention his...illness...I guess I could mention his cat—

"Momo, just spit it out. You're making my head hurt."

"What?" I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "I was just thinking—"

"About what?" Echizen rests his head on his chin and fixes me with his gaze. That look would make Tezuka or Atobe itch to have a match.

"Er..."

"You don't have to avoid talking about stuff, you know. I still like tennis. Even if I can't practice with the regulars right now."

"You 're still a regular." I protest, but even I know it's not quite true.

Echizen snorts. "You don't have to talk about me being sick, Momo. Just talk about what we always talk about—tennis, school...food. Your life. My life."

"Er, yeah. I will..." Echizen just stares. I sigh. "I'll work on it. Listen...about..." I fidget. It's really not quite cold enough to need the kotatsu. Really, I was just thinking how nice it was that the summer heat and humidity had broken. But how can I say—aaaarrrg. I clear my throat. "Anyways, thanks for the tea! See you tomorrow kiddo. If you're taking the train, leave early." I flash him a grin.

I stand up and put my school uniform jacket back on. My back is to Echizen.

"Momo."

My hand feezes on the door. "Yeah?" I look behind me, settling my eyes on his shirt-collar.

"We're still friends, right?"

"What? Yeah!" I sputter. Echzien only nods. "Why would you ask—"

"It's nothing." Echizen doesn't drop his gaze. I squirm under the pressure.

"Come on Echizen, what?" I roll my eyes.

"You're not the same. You don't talk to me." He takes a breath and now he looks away. "You didn't visit."

I turn around to sit back down. "You're angry."

"No." Stubborn brat.

"Sorry." My voice sounds almost angry—not like I meant for it to sound at all. "Sorry," I say again. "I meant to visit more...but, it's y'know."

"What? It's what?"

"Er...I know it's hard for you. It's got to be harder for you than for me, but it's hard to, for me, I mean. It's hard toseeyoulikethis. AllsickImean. It just..."

Echizen raises an eyebrow. I laugh. I didn't know he could do that...

"You look like-" I laugh some more. "Er. Sorry."

"What did you say?"

"It's hard to see you sick. I mean, you're the super rookie from Seigaku! You're supposed to beat all of our butts and then tell us we've got a ways to go. Not..."

"Be done in by some rain." Echizen offers. "I know. I feel like that too...Pathetic, aren't I?" His voice sounds so bitter. I feel immediately guilty for laughing.

"No. You're not. I was wrong...I mean, it's hard, but I was wrong. Really, it just shows how strong you are." I feel heat in my cheeks, but rush to finish. "You're...I dunno, really brave. You're the strongest first yea—"

"No I'm not!"Echizen yells, cutting me off. "I'm not brave. I'm just sick. I'm not courageous or strong or anything because I have leukemia. I'm scared. I don't want to be sick, or to die, or to never play tennis again—" Echizen takes a deep breath. "And I don't want to go to school when I can't even play tennis."

I don't know what to say. "Echiz—"

"Forget it Momo. I'll see you in school tomorrow." He pushes past me and disappears down the hall into a room.

I sigh. That didn't go well.

tbc...

A/side Note. Somehow, I don't see Momo calling Ryoma's dad "Mr. Echizen," and definitely not Nanjiro. Momo is casual like that...

(*1) Kotatsu. A low table with a (usually electric) heater. Usually it has a blanket under the table top. Usually it isn't used until winter, but the Echizen family may have taken it out early for Ryoma to warm up on a rainy day in September.

A/N2. On updates. (Next chapter is probably sometime late July or August? I'm busy applying for grad school.) It's interesting writing from 12 and 13 year old's perspectives...I really try to keep their word choice appropriate, and try to express their feelings in more or less simple sentences and not so complicated structure. That's interesting.

Don't feel down! Ryoma will cope. By the way, I'm toying with the idea of introducing Ryoga to this story...what do you think?