This is my second PoT story that I posted. The reviews I got from my previous fic (Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! I'm not really sure if the ones who read my story will be reading this but if they do, I would love to give them my UTMOST appreciation!) gave me some confidence in posting another one of my creations. This is one of the first stories I've wrote and this is set during the time when Tezuka is still in Germany. This is suppose to be a humor fic (though I'm not sure if its obvious in this chapter) because honestly, angst or drama isn't really thing (at the moment…)
There will be numbers in bold throughout the fic and its corresponding notes are at the end of the chapter.
Oh, could someone teach me how to add asterisk and square brackets? My original document has it but it disappears once I upload it. It this supposed to happen or am I the only one having this kind of problem?
Sorry for the long intro. Unto to the fic! Let me apologize in advance for the typographical or grammatical errors I may have overlooked. Oh, and please review. I really get giddy when I see reviews for my fictions!
Disclaimer: Pince of tennis os Konomi Takeshi's and his alone. We are all merely borrowing his characters for our own personal amusement.
Taking Care of OishiChapter 1
"Aaa-choo!"
Coach Ryuzaki turned to the source of the sound who happened to be the temporary captain of the tennis club. "Ah, Oishi. Are you alright?"
Oishi rubbed his nose and slowly turned to his coach. "I-I'm fine, Ryuzaki-sensei. My nose probably just got irritated," the green-eyed youth replied with a small smile.
Actually, he feels terrible. When he woke up this morning, he had this splitting headache and his nose felt a little stuffy. His body also felt a little heavy. Unfortunately, his parents were not around because they were visiting their relatives. As for his younger sister, she was staying at a classmate's house until they finish their project. "I'm really fine, sensei," Oishi insisted, after seeing the look on his sensei's face.
Coach Ryuzaki frowned and approached Oishi. Her student doesn't look "fine" at all. He seemed a little pale and haggard. She placed the back of her hand to Oishi's forehead. "You're not 'fine'. You have a fever. Why did you go to school in that condition?! Go home! I'll tell your teacher you're sick."
"But, Ryuzaki-sen…"
"No buts! Momo! Come here!"
The junior, who happened to be in the middle of a glaring match with his 'Mamushi' rival, stopped and turned his attention to his coach. "Ha-hai…"
Oishi, confused on why Coach Ryuzaki suddenly called his kouhai, stopped his argument and stared at his coach and Momoshiro.
"Nani, sensei?"
"Accompany Oishi home. Make sure he goes straight home and straight to bed. Also, tell his parents about his condition," Ryuzaki said.
"What?! Sensei, I'm fine on my own. Besides, my folks aren't around. They went to visit some of my relatives…"
"So that's why you got to school." Ryuzaki sighed. "Momo…"
"Hai, Ryuzaki-sensei! Come on, Oishi-senpai. For once, let someone worry about you, not the other way around," Momo said, grabbing his senpai's arm.
"But… but… Aaa-choo!"
"Where are your things, Oishi-senpai?"
At Oishi's house…
"Thank you, Momo. I'll be okay now. Go back to school so that you won't be late for your first class," Oishi said to his teammate.
"Okay. But, be sure to get some rest, senpai. And take lots of liquids. And, I think vitamin C could help. And, umm…"
Oishi laughed. "Hai, hai. I will, now go."
Momoshiro said goodbye and left. Oishi then sighed. He's glad he's back home but he's worried about the things he will miss. His lesson, his duties for the class and for the team…
"Aaa-choo!"
'Hmm, maybe Momo's right. Try not to worry about every single thing. Besides, the sooner I get better, the, well, better!'
Oishi walked up the stairs and into his room. He started to change but then suddenly felt a little nauseous. He'll change later, he decided. Right now, the bed seems the best place to be. With that, he lay down on and within seconds he was in a deep slumber.
Ding dong
Oishi woke up to the sound of the doorbell. Who could that be? He checked his clocked and saw that it was already a little past 5 in the afternoon! 1 He slept the whole day!
He got up and panicked. Why wasn't he in school?! Then he began to recall the things that happened. He also realized that he was still wearing his uniform. His tennis uniform.
Ding dong
'The doorbell!' He forgot that there was somebody at the door! He walked out of his room and when he reached the stairs, he felt a little dizzy. He touched his forehead. Just as he thought, he still hasn't fully recovered.
When he reached the door, he opened it and was greeted by Fuji and Eiji.
"Hoi, hoi! Oishi, how are you?"
"Eiji! Fuji! What are you doing here? Did something happen? Isn't there practice and this time?"
The ever-grinning tensai gave Oishi an even bigger smile, if that was even possible. "Maa, maa, Oishi. Stop worrying too much. Ryuzaki-sensei cancelled practice because she said she had some things to attend to. Besides, we can't practice without our buchou-dai 2 there, right?" Fuji paused a while to look at Oishi, who was looking sheepish. "Anyway, Eiji insisted we check on you after class. He was really anxious during class knowing that you were sick. He was really worried about you so here we are."
"Fuji!"
"Saa…" Oishi suddenly felt guilty. He didn't want his friends to be worried about him. It was really irresponsible of him to let himself get sick. Not only did he let his team down, he made his friends worry! And…
"Oishi!"
The buchou-dai snapped out of his thoughts and was surprised to see his partner just a few inches away from him. "Eh?"
"Stop worrying will you?! Unnya!" The acrobat said frustratingly, shaking his hands for an added effect. Suddenly, his expression changed as he stared at Oishi's profile, as if just noticing it for the first time.
"Oishi, were you planning on going to practice even at your condition?!" Blue sapphires stared accusingly at the "Okaa-san" of Seigaku Tennis Club.
"Eh?" Oishi stared down at his clothes. "Ah! No! It's just that when I got home this morning, I was not able to change from my school clothes before…" Oishi stopped shortly as he looked at the two faces staring back at him. "Umm, actually never mind. Come on in." He didn't feel like telling them that he felt too sick to change because it might make them more worried.
Oishi lead his two friends into the living room before offering them to sit. He then took a seat opposite them.
"I appreciate you two coming here but you really didn't have to. I'm feeling much better now." Oishi flashed them a smile in hopes that they would believe him.
"You sure, Oishi? Honestly, you seem a little pale…" the tensai commented.
Oishi just continued to smile as he nod. "I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me. Ah, Fuji, Eiji, would you two like something to drink? Some juice perhaps?…" Oishi began to stand when he suddenly felt his head began to throb. He staggered a bit but recovered quickly. However, his action wasn't left unnoticed by the quick eyes of his two teammates.
"Nya! Oishi, you alright?" Eiji almost immediately stood and approached his friend. Fuji opened his eyes, concern evident in those blue orbs. "Maybe you should just rest?…"
"Nah! I've rested quite enough. I was asleep the whole day." Oishi stated, as he placed a hand on his throbbing head. "I just have splitting head. It's really nothing." He gave his friends a strained smile.
"The whole day? Does that mean you were not able to eat anything?" Fuji asked.
Oishi blinked. He didn't realize that. During breakfast, he was able to grab some juice but that was all. Now that he thinks about it, his friend did have a point. He gave Fuji and Eiji a sheepish grin.
"Oishi! How will you get better?! Don't worry, Fuji and I will stay with you until you get better!" Eiji flashed his doubles partner a big smile.
"Anou… You really don't have to do that…"
"Come on! First, we should get you to bed while we prepare you something to eat. Some chicken soup might do you good!" Eiji exclaimed as he pushed the still protesting Oishi towards the stairs.
"Fuji, I'll meet you there at the kitchen," Eiji called over to his ever-grinning friend.
"Hai, hai."
Oishi gave up on his protest as he let himself be dragged upstairs by his hyperactive partner.
Notes:
1 – I'm not sure what time junior high school classes end but let's just say its 5 pm. If someone has some info about this, please drop me a line.
2 – buchou-dai. I believe this is what the Regulars started calling Oishi during Tezauka's absence which means temporary captain. Please correct me if I'm wrong.