Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Singing Juices: A Tenipuri Musical ❯ The Longest Day: Part 2 ( Chapter 8 )

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Chapter #8: The Longest Day: Part 2

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“Oh come on, Echizen. I'm over here. Look at me.”

It was later, after practice, and everyone was in the locker room getting changed out of their practice clothes. Momo was in the middle of his fourth attempt that practice to get Ryoma to look at him, speak to him, and Ryoma was still being stubborn. It was starting to get on everyone's nerves.

“Come on,” Momo continued, not even started on changing out of his practice clothes. He was too busy trying to get Ryoma to pay attention to him. He waved a hand in front of Ryoma's face, hoping to get his attention. “Just look at me once. Once. That's all I ask. Once.”

“Ochibi,” Eiji whined pitifully, eyes closed as he leaned his head against his locker. “Just look at him. Please.”

“Fine,” Ryoma said angrily, roughly pulling off his shoes and getting to his feet. Shoes in hand, he turned to Momo and glared at him. “There,” he snapped, “I looked at you. Now go away.” Looking away, Ryoma opened his locker and shoved his shoes inside, getting out his shirt.

“That wasn't a look,” Momo said, “And I'm not going away until you talk to me too.”

Eiji groaned, sounding like he was in pain, and began to slowly beat his head again his locker. They weren't being cute anymore.

“Go away, Momo-senpai.”

“Not until you pay attention to me.”

“I'm not going to pay attention to you if all you do is keep bugging me.”

“Yeah, well, you're not gonna pay attention to me if I let it go either so deal. You need to make a decision already.”

“Stop,” thump, “Talking,” thump. “Stop,” thump, “Talking,” thump.

Sensing that everybody was starting to get irritated and wanting Eiji to stop hitting his head, Oishi made an attempt to stop them. “Momo,” he broke in gently, “Why don't you just go get changed?”

Momo waved a hand at Oishi impatiently. “Not right now. I'm busy,” he said then turned back to Ryoma, “Echizen—

“No, Momo,” Oishi said, determined to stop this, “I really think you should get dressed now. Why don't you leave Echizen alone for a little while and maybe then he'll talk to you again.”

“Yeah, Momo-senpai,” Ryoma said, turning to glare at him irritably, “Listen to Oishi-senpai.”

“No!” Momo was determined. “I'm not leaving you alone. I know you. If I don't bug you every step of the way you won't think about it and you need to think about it.”

Ryoma was starting to get frustrated. “I'll think about it! Just leave me alone while I do it.”

“And how long are you going to take, huh? Huh? The next week? The next year? I need an answer some time this decade!”

“It's been two days. That's hardly a decade, Momo-senpai.”

Clearly Oishi didn't think so either. “Yes, Momo. Maybe you should give him a little more time. Just . . . step back for a little while, okay?”

But Momo was adamant. “No. He needs to decide right now. Right here. With everyone watching.”

Ryoma stared at him, mouth hanging open a bit, unable to believe this. “I can't just decide like that. You can't make me.”

“Oh, come on, Ochibi,” Eiji said, pulling himself away from his head-thumping and getting into the fray. “It's not that hard. Remember what we talked about?”

Ryoma turned to stare at Eiji, still unable to believe this.

Eiji smiled encouragingly, gesturing for him to go on. “Just say it. One little word and this is all over.”

“Eiji . . .” Oishi said, turning to stare at his doubles partner in disbelief. “You can't force Echizen to make a decision he doesn't want to.”

“You don't even know what the decision is about,” Eiji snapped back, clearly not liking that he was essentially being reprimanded. “It's really not that hard.”

“Well, if it's about what I think it's about then yes. It is that hard,” Oishi said, starting to get irritated.

“It's one little word.”

“It's a big decision!”

“You just don't wanna make it because it freaks you out,” Eiji said, the line between the Momo-Ryoma situation and his own beginning to blur. “Admit it. You're afraid!”

“It's a big decision!” Oishi repeated, not admitting it but not denying it either.

“Yeah. See!” Ryoma exclaimed, turning to Momo and pointing at Oishi as though he had answered everything. “He gets it!”

Momo snorted, unimpressed. “He's also been running away from Eiji-senpai for years. Do you want us to be like them?”

Eiji and Oishi forgot their own developing fight to turn to Momo, insulted. “Hey!” Eiji shouted. “Leave us out of this!”

“Sorry, senpai,” Momo said, waving his hands in apology but not sounding very sorry, “Just making a point.”

“Yeah, well, make your point away from ours,” Eiji said, still insulted.

“Eiji, that doesn't even make sense,” Oishi said patiently.

“And what do you know about making sense?” Eiji snapped as he turned back to glare at Oishi, still irritated with his partner. Oishi had been avoiding him and putting down what they could have together for too long and it really was starting to get on Eiji's nerves. He'd spent the entire day trying to get Oishi's attention. Who was he to tell him what to do or say?

“And who do you want us to be like?” Ryoma asked Momo, bringing them back on point. “Hojo and that crazy girl? You just want sex!”

“What!”

Ryoma nodded sharply. “That's all you want. Sex!”

“What!” Momo just couldn't believe this. He took a step back and stared wide-eyed at Ryoma. “That's what you think of me?”

“Well, don't you?”

“No!” Momo denied loudly.

Ryoma scoffed at his answer and crossed his arms over his chest, turning away. “Right.”

“Well, okay, fine,” Momo allowed, sounding annoyed, “I do. But sometime. I don't need it right now. And it's not like—”

“See?” Ryoma interrupted, not really listening past what he wanted to hear. “Sex! That's all he wants.”

“Ochibi!” Eiji protested, putting his back to Oishi. He'd deal with him later. “You're not even listening to him.”

“I don't need to.”

“Yeah, well,” Momo struggled for a comeback, coming up with, “At least I'm not asexual!”

Ryoma snorted, not insulted in the least. “Just because I don't hump everything that moves—

“Hey!” Momo protested, looking insulted. “I don't hump everything.”

“But you do hump most things.”

“Can we please stop talking about humping?” Oishi asked pleadingly, looking embarrassed.

“Oh, is this gay talk too much for you?” Eiji asked snidely.

“We're in a public place!”

“So? Nobody cares.” At least Eiji didn't care. He turned to Kaidoh, who had been carefully keeping out of the fight, head down and focusing intently on tying his shoes. “Do you care?”

Kaidoh noticeably cursed the fact that he was still there. Keeping his head carefully down, he quickly shook his head and went back to tying his shoes with a single minded focus. He couldn't get them tied fast enough. He didn't want anything to do with the huge blow-out that was going to be taking place in the clubhouse at any minute.

His point proven, Eiji turned back to Oishi. “See?”

“Well, I care,” Oishi said.

“You only care `cause of your homophobia.”

Momo looked surprised. “Oishi-senpai's a homophobe?”

“No!” Oishi said, turning to Momo to deny everything. “I'm not! Really!”

Eiji put his hand to his mouth and stage-whispered loudly to Momo, “He is.”

“Eiji!” Oishi protested as he turned to him with wide-eyes, unable to believe that Eiji would say such a thing. Again. As if the first time hadn't been bad enough.

Eiji turned back to him and blinked as though he'd said nothing wrong. “What?”

“You can't just go around saying things like that. People will get the wrong idea.”

“Or the right idea.”

Ryoma sighed and rubbed his brow wearily. “You idiot,” he said to Momo, “Oishi-senpai's not a homophobe.”

Momo turned to him with a glare. “Well, I didn't really think he was. Guess I'm not as stupid as you think I am, huh?”

Ryoma shook his head tiredly. He was getting sick of this fighting. “You'll always be an idiot.”

“Yeah,” Momo said, crossing his arms and looking away, still a little insulted and hurt from previous comments. “And apparently a pervert too.”

Ryoma looked at him, not going to apologize, and said simply, “Yeah.”

Shoes tied, Kaidoh took this time to grab his bag and run for the door. Done changing into his street clothes, Fuji simply sat back and continued watching, a small frown on his face as he took everything in and plotted. Inui sat on the bench with his head in his hands, seemingly ignoring everybody.

Eiji and Oishi were still busy fighting with each other. “I'm not a homophobe!” Oishi declared loudly.

“Then you're just a chicken!” Eiji said.

“Is wanting some time such a big crime?” Oishi asked, getting exasperated.

“It is when you take too long,” Eiji replied then turned to Momo for help. “Momo agrees with me, don't you?”

“Yeah!” Momo said enthusiastically.

“It's been two days,” Ryoma put in again, obviously irritated.

“Two days is hardly a long time,” Oishi agreed.

“Can't you wait at least one more day?” Ryoma asked, frowning as he looked to Momo.

“No,” Momo said firmly, “I want an answer now!” Jabbing a finger at the ground as he said this.

“Well, I don't have an answer now,” Ryoma said irritably, “Go away for a little while and maybe I will then.”

“No.” Momo shook his head, holding his ground. “You're not getting rid of me that easily.”

“You think this is easy?”

“Momo,” Osihi said, coming to Ryoma's defense, “You have to understand. This is a big decision. He needs time.”

“But it's not a big decision,” Eiji said. “It's just one little word.”

Oishi turned to him, Eiji's insistence on the easiness of the decision irritating him. “One little word that will change his life forever. He won't be able to go back. Everything will change.”

Eiji rolled his eyes. “You're being over-dramatic.”

Oishi frowned. “It's actually called fore-thought. Being rational.”

Eiji's eyes snapped back to glare. “And are you saying that I'm not rational?”

“Eiji-senpai is being perfectly rational,” Momo jumped in to help. “It's you and Echizen who are being difficult.”

“You're the difficult one,” Ryoma snapped, glaring. “Always going on and on about stupid things. Making me listen to your constant monkey chatter.”

Oh so they were getting personal now. Well Momo could do that too. “Well one of us has to talk and it's sure as hell not gonna be you. All you talk about is tennis. Has anyone ever told you that you're boring as hell?”

“You like tennis.”

“Not to the scary point that you do, Mr. Tennis-Obsessed. Get a life, man.”

“Oh and you have a life? Constantly following me around. Making me do things I don't want to do.”

“Somebody has to. You need a guardian to make sure you don't accidentally get your stupid self killed one of these days.”

Ryoma glared, not liking the insinuation that he couldn't take care of himself. “I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, you'd think so, huh? But no. Do you know how many fights I've had to step in and stop for you?” Momo went on to answer his own question before Ryoma could say anything, “Hundreds.”

Ryoma didn't know what Momo was talking about and that irritated him. “What fights?” he asked angrily.

“And you don't even notice!” Momo said, throwing his hands up in frustration. “God, man, how dense are you?”

Ryoma opened his mouth to reply but Oishi broke in before he could begin. “Maybe we should all just settle down,” Oishi said, making a `calm-down' motion. “We don't want to say anything that we don't mean.”

“Oh, no worries there,” Momo said, crossing his arms over his chest again and glaring at Ryoma, “I've meant everything I've said.”

“Well, so have I,” Ryoma snapped, glaring back at the older boy.

“And you should just leave them alone,” Eiji told Oishi irritably, “Deal with your own issues before sticking your nose in everybody else's business.”

“I'm not sticking my nose in their business,” Oishi said, getting annoyed again as he turned back to Eiji, “I'm—

“Sticking your nose in their business,” Eiji finished for him, glaring. ”Leave them alone.”

“You're one to talk,” Oishi snapped back. “Trying to get Echizen to make a decision he doesn't want to make.”

“I'm encouraging him. I'm not telling him to do anything he doesn't already want to do.”

“You're pressuring him,” Oishi corrected. “You're pushing him into something too fast.”

“Yeah, well, if he went at your pace then they'd finally get somewhere by the time they were old and wrinkly, sitting in rocking chairs at the retirement home. You want him to be a slug just like you.” Eiji knew that he and Oishi were really reading their own situation into Momo and Ryoma's situation, but he didn't care. Oishi was being annoying and hard-headed. He deserved to be snapped at.

“I'm not a slug,” Oishi said, clearly getting more and more annoyed. “I'm cautious. I actually look at the consequences of my actions.”

“And I don't?” Eiji asked, insulted.

“I didn't say that,” Oishi said.

“But you implied it. You're saying that I don't think about things. That I'm an idiot.”

“I didn't say that,” Oishi repeated. “You said that all on your own.”

“Well, I do think about things, okay? I just don't think everybody's out to get me like you do.”

“I don't think everybody is out to get me,” Oishi said, obviously straining to stay patient and calm. “I just think that there are some bad people in this world and that we should do our best to avoid putting ourselves in situations where we have to deal with them hurting us.

“Key word being `some',” Eiji said. “Some,” he repeated with emphasis. “Not all. Some,” he said again.

Oishi closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and out slowly, trying to stay calm. “And I agree with you,” he finally said past clenched teeth.

“Good,” Eiji snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Fine,” Oishi said angrily, opening his eyes to glare.

Eiji `hmmph'd' and turned away, still angry and not wanting to look at Oishi anymore. Oishi barely refrained from rolling his eyes at Eiji's actions and turned to Momo and Ryoma, who had stopped glaring at each other and were watching Eiji and Oishi fight almost curiously. Oishi had to admit it probably was a strange sight to see him and Eiji fighting and he was almost embarrassed to have been caught in the act. He felt so childish.

He tried to smile and ignore the last few minutes of his life completely. “I think it's about time we all went home, don't you?”

Momo and Ryoma said nothing, watching him, but then Ryoma turned to Momo and said clearly, “I'm not going home with you.”

“Oh come on,” Momo said, turning to him and looking disappointed, “You always go home with me.”

“That was when you weren't being so annoying.”

“I won't be annoying anymore, I swear.”

Ryoma snorted, obviously not believing him, and turned to grab his tennis bag from where it lay on the bench. Throwing it over his shoulder, he turned and made for the door.

“Echizen!” Momo cried. Hurrying over to where his bag lay, he grabbed it up quickly and then rushed after Ryoma. “Hey! Wait up!”

Watching the two younger boys leave, Oishi then turned to Eiji and regarded him silently for a moment. Then, still saying nothing, went to grab his own bag, nodding a good-bye to Fuji as he left. Inui was still sitting with his head in his hands, seemingly deaf to the world. Oishi briefly wondered if he was okay, but then his mind was on other things.

 

 

Ryoma eventually did let Momo take him home and Momo was good on his word and didn't say anything about The Decision the entire ride home, showing remarkable restraint on his part.

And by the time he got home, jumping off the back of the bike and waving his good-bye to Momo, Ryoma was almost completely over his anger at Momo for pushing him so hard. He wasn't all the way there, but he was getting to that point slowly. He would be angrier—Momo had told him to take as long as he needed, hadn't he?—but he knew that it just wasn't in Momo's nature to be patient and Ryoma hadn't really expected Momo to be that patient in the first place.

The worst part was that Ryoma could actually understand where Momo was coming from. He could understand why Momo was so adamant about getting an answer as quickly as possible. He'd want an answer quickly too.

Ryoma just honestly didn't know what to do. Eiji had made it sound so simple when they had talked at lunch, but Ryoma just didn't know.

The problem was that he knew that he did feel something. He just didn't know what he felt. Was it friendship or something more? What did love feel like? Could he maybe have been in love all this time and just not know it? How did a person know?

Ryoma opened the door to his bedroom with a sigh and threw his tennis bag and backpack on the ground next to his bed. Then he fell onto his bed and lay there, staring up at the ceiling.

And what did Momo really want from him? What would he be expecting Ryoma to do exactly? Sex? Ryoma wasn't sure he was really ready for those types of things.

Ryoma groaned softly and rolled over onto his side.

This was all too hard. It was too big of a decision for him.

He didn't want to hurt anybody, especially not Momo who didn't really deserve it, but he wanted to be sure in his feelings before actually saying anything. Momo seemed so serious about this and Ryoma wanted to be just as serious. He wanted to be sure.

But how could he know? What was he supposed to be feeling?

Ryoma adjusted his position on his bed so he was more comfortable and let one arm dangle off the edge of his bed. “Every day I wake up to another day gone by,” he sang to himself, “Nothing but the open road and the never ending why. Anything can happen, yeah, but nothing ever does.” He brought his arm in and adjusted his position again. “I try to change. It's kind of strange. Sa-ame as it ever was. Now look at us!”

Giving up on lying on his side, he rolled back over onto his back. “How do I deal with you?” he sang expressively, “How do I deal with me?” gesturing at himself, “When I don't even know myself or what it is you want from me. How do I deal with us? How do I know what's real? When I don't even trust myself and what it is I feel. And how do I deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal?”< /div>