Eyes Closed [Prince of Tennis: Seigaku gen]
title: Eyes Closed
fandom: Prince of Tennis
characters: Seigaku ensemble (minus Kawamura which I didn't notice 'til near the end and apologize for, but I didn't picture him in this. We get around that by saying this is obviously set after he quit tennis ;) )
prompt: 31_days: 15 September 2005: Your eyes closed
notes: I was reading about Postulates. This has nothing to do with that anymore, really. 988 Words.
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Eyes Closed
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There are nine on them on the bus, not including the driver.
Ryuuzaki-sensei is talking animatedly on her phone in the front seat.
Oishi is slowly but surely burying himself under room assignment sheets, emergency detail sheets times eleven, medical information for everyone, current assessments of everyone's skills, and lists of things they can work to improve on this week.
He doesn't seem to mind, though. Even when half the papers slip out of his right hand and spread around on the floor.
"Here, Oishi." Eiji says helpfully, plucking up a sheet that has fluttered all the way to his seat behind Oishi. Oishi nods and flushes a dusky pink as he accepts it back and makes a face that says he wants to smack himself on the forehead for being so clumsy.
No-one else takes the slightest bit of notice, except perhaps Inui.
Inui, who is doing what he is always to be found doing; writing in his notebook, scrawling anything from notes upon the human scene, to figures and predictions. His nose peers over the top sometimes, his eyes dart from one side of the bus to the other behind his glasses. He sits nearer the back than most everyone, to see as much as possible.
Momo and Echizen have claimed the very backseat, five chairs across. Momo's legs stretch all the way to the centre seat, while Echizen's just scrape the beginning of the seat. Their feet almost touch.
Momo runs through his phone's entire ringtone collection in full and on the highest volume. Echizen tips his hat down further, folds his arms across his chest and pretends to sleep.
The first time Tezuka glanced round towards the back, they both simultaneously swung their feet off the chairs and onto the floor, trying to look innocent and achieving utterly guilt-ridden.
Kaidoh is listening to his music after the bus trip having started so early he hadn't had time for his morning run. Even without the exercise, the music starts his day up. He watches the world go by out the window and doesn't think any further on the music or any of it.
He thinks about the constant rhythm of his feet treading the ground when he runs.
Eiji will not stay in his seat. Last time anyone can remember, they had been told to keep their seatbelts on for the entire ride. One moment he is hanging off the back of Oishi's chair, leaning over, peering over the top and enquiring as to what Oishi is doing, and why, and why now, when he could be doing it later, and how comes he is doing all of the paperwork when Tezuka is the actual captain?
Oishi is just a little relieved that they all got a two-seater chair to themselves. The only thing worse than an inquisitive Eiji over his shoulder would be one in the seat next to him.
Tezuka pretends he doesn't hear Eiji's question in regards to him. He is not in the least bit tempted to answer it, especially not with the truth.
He takes advantage, just a little. Abuses his position and his power, just a tad. He is, in fact, human.
He dislikes paperwork, so he pushes half of it onto Oishi, sharing the burden equally. Oishi notices problems where there aren't any, and offers to take on any extra work Tezuka does not have time for, what with all the other activities and responsibilities he has. Oishi has those too, but they pale in comparison to Tezuka's, in his own mind.
Tezuka sits about mid-way down the bus, in the seat across from Oishi, the two of them the closest to Ryuuzaki-sensei anyone dares to be. Eiji is behind Oishi, with Kaidoh behind him, plus an empty seat between them, and Echizen a few more gaps beyond. Momo across from him, Inui across from Kaidoh but one further back, and Fuji across from Eiji.
Fuji sits with a pad in his hands, too non-descript to pin down as either a notepad or sketchpad, pencil alternately flying across the page and stopping completely, humming songs under his breath.
Tezuka pretends he cannot hear.
He looks out of the window at the scenery of mostly trees, and sees leaves and bark and the wind through the branches. He sees right through everything.
He hears noise around him; Eiji's chattering, Oishi's page-shuffling, Kaidoh's music spilling out of his earphones. Inui's pen scratching across the page, Echizen's light snoring, Momo's furious texting on his phone. Fuji's humming.
He lets it all go over his head. Even his breathing is near-silent.
Tezuka's hands are in his lap. He has no phone, no notebook, no music, no fidgeting to keep him occupied. He looks out of the window and doesn't see the sights, he sits on a bus full of people and doesn't hear the voices, he sits with his hands folded neatly in his lap and doesn't move them.
He both hears and doesn't hear a page being ripped out of Fuji's book. He can't hear the movements of the pencil over Fuji's humming. He sees, out of the corner of the eye that isn't really watching, a folded piece of paper pushed between the window and his seat, neat and square with his name on the front.
Inside is a graph which looks a little like a flower, what with it's central circle and lines coming out in every direction, extending out to more circles, with more names in them.
Tezuka is in the middle. Everyone else is around the outside, in alphabetical order, starting from twelve o'clock and running clockwise. Tezuka just happens to be last alphabetically.
"Even presuming to have nothing in common with someone creates a connection between you." Fuji says when they get off the bus.
Tezuka looks down at the crisp page, clean but for his name on the front. It is completely blank otherwise; a sketchbook after all.
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fandom: Prince of Tennis
characters: Seigaku ensemble (minus Kawamura which I didn't notice 'til near the end and apologize for, but I didn't picture him in this. We get around that by saying this is obviously set after he quit tennis ;) )
prompt: 31_days: 15 September 2005: Your eyes closed
notes: I was reading about Postulates. This has nothing to do with that anymore, really. 988 Words.
-
Eyes Closed
-
There are nine on them on the bus, not including the driver.
Ryuuzaki-sensei is talking animatedly on her phone in the front seat.
Oishi is slowly but surely burying himself under room assignment sheets, emergency detail sheets times eleven, medical information for everyone, current assessments of everyone's skills, and lists of things they can work to improve on this week.
He doesn't seem to mind, though. Even when half the papers slip out of his right hand and spread around on the floor.
"Here, Oishi." Eiji says helpfully, plucking up a sheet that has fluttered all the way to his seat behind Oishi. Oishi nods and flushes a dusky pink as he accepts it back and makes a face that says he wants to smack himself on the forehead for being so clumsy.
No-one else takes the slightest bit of notice, except perhaps Inui.
Inui, who is doing what he is always to be found doing; writing in his notebook, scrawling anything from notes upon the human scene, to figures and predictions. His nose peers over the top sometimes, his eyes dart from one side of the bus to the other behind his glasses. He sits nearer the back than most everyone, to see as much as possible.
Momo and Echizen have claimed the very backseat, five chairs across. Momo's legs stretch all the way to the centre seat, while Echizen's just scrape the beginning of the seat. Their feet almost touch.
Momo runs through his phone's entire ringtone collection in full and on the highest volume. Echizen tips his hat down further, folds his arms across his chest and pretends to sleep.
The first time Tezuka glanced round towards the back, they both simultaneously swung their feet off the chairs and onto the floor, trying to look innocent and achieving utterly guilt-ridden.
Kaidoh is listening to his music after the bus trip having started so early he hadn't had time for his morning run. Even without the exercise, the music starts his day up. He watches the world go by out the window and doesn't think any further on the music or any of it.
He thinks about the constant rhythm of his feet treading the ground when he runs.
Eiji will not stay in his seat. Last time anyone can remember, they had been told to keep their seatbelts on for the entire ride. One moment he is hanging off the back of Oishi's chair, leaning over, peering over the top and enquiring as to what Oishi is doing, and why, and why now, when he could be doing it later, and how comes he is doing all of the paperwork when Tezuka is the actual captain?
Oishi is just a little relieved that they all got a two-seater chair to themselves. The only thing worse than an inquisitive Eiji over his shoulder would be one in the seat next to him.
Tezuka pretends he doesn't hear Eiji's question in regards to him. He is not in the least bit tempted to answer it, especially not with the truth.
He takes advantage, just a little. Abuses his position and his power, just a tad. He is, in fact, human.
He dislikes paperwork, so he pushes half of it onto Oishi, sharing the burden equally. Oishi notices problems where there aren't any, and offers to take on any extra work Tezuka does not have time for, what with all the other activities and responsibilities he has. Oishi has those too, but they pale in comparison to Tezuka's, in his own mind.
Tezuka sits about mid-way down the bus, in the seat across from Oishi, the two of them the closest to Ryuuzaki-sensei anyone dares to be. Eiji is behind Oishi, with Kaidoh behind him, plus an empty seat between them, and Echizen a few more gaps beyond. Momo across from him, Inui across from Kaidoh but one further back, and Fuji across from Eiji.
Fuji sits with a pad in his hands, too non-descript to pin down as either a notepad or sketchpad, pencil alternately flying across the page and stopping completely, humming songs under his breath.
Tezuka pretends he cannot hear.
He looks out of the window at the scenery of mostly trees, and sees leaves and bark and the wind through the branches. He sees right through everything.
He hears noise around him; Eiji's chattering, Oishi's page-shuffling, Kaidoh's music spilling out of his earphones. Inui's pen scratching across the page, Echizen's light snoring, Momo's furious texting on his phone. Fuji's humming.
He lets it all go over his head. Even his breathing is near-silent.
Tezuka's hands are in his lap. He has no phone, no notebook, no music, no fidgeting to keep him occupied. He looks out of the window and doesn't see the sights, he sits on a bus full of people and doesn't hear the voices, he sits with his hands folded neatly in his lap and doesn't move them.
He both hears and doesn't hear a page being ripped out of Fuji's book. He can't hear the movements of the pencil over Fuji's humming. He sees, out of the corner of the eye that isn't really watching, a folded piece of paper pushed between the window and his seat, neat and square with his name on the front.
Inside is a graph which looks a little like a flower, what with it's central circle and lines coming out in every direction, extending out to more circles, with more names in them.
Tezuka is in the middle. Everyone else is around the outside, in alphabetical order, starting from twelve o'clock and running clockwise. Tezuka just happens to be last alphabetically.
"Even presuming to have nothing in common with someone creates a connection between you." Fuji says when they get off the bus.
Tezuka looks down at the crisp page, clean but for his name on the front. It is completely blank otherwise; a sketchbook after all.
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