Ignorance Is

by vez

It should have worried him more when members of the team tried so hard to be subtle with their questions.Their attempts at the leading questions were embarrassing failures and met with nothing more than a confused stare then a polite smile and (if they were lucky) an answer. It didn't take Ooishi too long to piece together what was going on. Neither did he think too much about it. After all, he was interim Captain with too much to do and an entire team to inspire.

But he was touched that they tried to be subtle about it. Whether it was out of respect for his position on the team or his close friendship to Tezuka, they tried nonetheless. He thought that given enough time and rigorous tennis practice they would forget about it.

Thus it was the more surprising when Echizen of all people asked the question as they finished up with practice and were walking home together. The freshman was known to be absolutely uninterested in anything except tennis. But, he was also known to be blunt. And the question had something to do with tennis and Tezuka, so maybe it wasn't that surprising after all. Or maybe Momoshiro pressured Echizen to ask the question since no one really wanted to do it.

Ooishi was thinking too much. He knew he was.

All he could do was chuckle nervously and brought his hand to his neck. His answer? He told Echizen, "Because it was the thing to do."

But now that they had parted ways and he was alone -- his only company were his thoughts. The more he had to think about and digest it, the more Ooishi felt that he could have answered the question a lot more differently and perhaps more truthfully.

"Ooishi-senpai, why didn't you stop Buchou from playing the match against Atobe? I think he would have if you asked. He listens to you."

The answer the second time around. The answer that no one would be privy to would go something like this:

Because Tezuka loves tennis more than anything in the world. It cannot be compared and it cannot be explained. It just is.

Because all this time we had the same dream of bringing the team to the Nationals.

Because Tezuka never had to choose between Tennis and Ooishi.

And if I had asked him, no, pleaded with him to stop, he would have to for the first time, choose between what he loves most in the world and me.

And I don't think I ever what to know the answer to that.

Ever.

End

A/N: if you liked it, please review it! Thank you for reading. (: