Nekomaru Eiji?
By Hikaruchi

Kikumaru was impatient. He had to stay put for a whole hour? Like he could do that! He'd tried licking himself like he'd seen cats do on TV, but all that resulted in was making him feel sick, and coughing up a furball or two. He'd played with his tail some more, but that had only kept him occupied for 10 minutes or so... And he'd finished exploring and experimenting with his new body.

The redhead sighed. Being alone and bored really wasn't good for him - it got him thinking, and a thinking Kikumaru was not only a rare thing, but at this moment in time a bad thing. His mind began to wonder what was really going to become of him. Was he going to stay like this forever? He'd been too busy so far to reflect on this properly, but now it was making him a little worried. There was his family for one thing - how were they going to react? And the tennis club - he'd be letting down Seigaku by not being able to play doubles with Oishi...

Oishi.

Staying at Oishi's place might not be too bad, but how long would he be allowed to live there? Until Oishi grew old and wrinkly? Kikumaru shuddered. He wouldn't be able to bear it if he had to be around to watch Oishi fall in love with someone else, or even worse, get married. Shaking his head violently, as if trying to shake out the bad thoughts, he tucked himself into a ball, wrapping his tail around him.

No. He'd be fine - things always worked out alright in the end. And besides, if any crazy person came along trying to steal his Oishi, he'd claw their eyes out. Kikumaru smiled to himself at the thought and stretched out again on the ground. Yeah, he was going to be fine, he might as well enjoy the moments he was going to have together with his doubles partner to the full.

Yawning, Kikumaru decided the best thing he could do to kill time was sleep. After all, his dreams always managed to be interesting in some way or another. Closing his eyes and settling down behind a bush near the clubhouse, the redhead hoped for one that would involve Oishi before peacefully drifting off.

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"Out!"

Oishi shook away the beads of sweat that were beginning to form near his eyes.

"Hey... Senpai, are you ok?" Momo lowered his racket, sounding generally worried about his vice-captain.

"...Huh?"

"It's not like you to miss on your Moon Volley, and you've been acting strange all day..."

"Oh... Yeah, I'm fine."

The spiky haired second-year wasn't convinced, but didn't see the use in pursuing the subject. If Oishi wasn't going to talk, he wasn't going to talk.

"I'll be serving now then!"

The older boy nodded. It was true he was distracted, and it was true he'd been acting weird - he wasn't going to deny that - maybe all he needed was to go home and rest. Tennis wasn't really helping him to take his mind off things, and Tezuka was being particularly strict with them today. Oishi guessed the brunette wasn't exactly pleased to be missing two club members so close to the tournament, especially since one was meant to be playing as a regular and the other was meant to be coaching them.

Oishi's mind began to wander away from the match again and he had to mentally kick himself to keep focused. But that incident in the toilets earlier sure was strange... That cat seemed so familiar to him even though he knew he'd never seen it before in his life, and the thought of not seeing it again made him feel slightly apprehensive. It was silly. But then again, Oishi had been known for his intuition when it came to things going wrong... Another thing to add to his traits of being like Seigaku's mother...

"Out!"

The dark haired boy blinked in surprise. Did what happen really happen, or had he just been seeing things?

"Oi... Senpai... You sure you're ok?"

Oishi wasn't listening. He was sure he'd caught sight of a fluffy ginger blur through the fence behind Momo, jumping out from behind some bushes.

"...Senpai?"

No. Why would he still be here? And near the clubhouse of all places... It wasn't like Nekomaru could have understood what he'd said earlier... Could he?

"Oishi-senpai! Can't you hear me!?!"

"...Huh?"

"You looked really zoned out just then, senpai," Momo frowned while approaching the net.

Oishi managed a small smile before replying, "Sorry... I wasn't concentrating..." He flashed another glance over at the clubhouse's direction, but was disappointed to see no sign of the tabby on the ground.

Momo sighed. "Ahh it's ok, don't worry... It's about time we started packing up anyway - look at those guys over there."

The third year voiced his agreement, glad the session was finally over. Hurrying to get the freshmen sorted out and tidying his own racket away, Oishi felt the sudden urge to go check the area around the clubhouse more closely.

        --------------------

Kikumaru yawned again. Watching tennis wasn't half as much fun as actually playing, although it was pretty funny seeing Oishi look so distracted during his game. Purring under his breath to himself, Kikumaru sat rather impatiently on the roof of the clubhouse. He'd climbed up there only a short while ago after being awoken from his dreams by the sounds of balls bouncing against the ground and balls being hit against racket strings. And, of course, the sounds of people talking.

"Hey, Momo-senpai, you still want to go for a burger after this?"

Kikumaru looked with interest at the head of the first year standing in the doorway beneath him, listening for the reply from inside the clubhouse.

"Of course! I'm gonna be even hungrier than usual after all this extra work! Tezuka-buchou's so cruel sometimes..."

A small smirk appeared on the freshman's face.

"Then the last one out of here has to pay."

"Aaaah!!! No fair Echizen!"

Just as the word "pay" had escaped his mouth, Ryoma started to run out of the tennis courts full speed, leaving behind a surprised looking Momo.

"Oiiiii!!! I'm not even dressed yet!!!"

"Mada mada dane!"

Kikumaru heard another shout of "Echizen!" before the two disappeared from sight. He couldn't help but laugh inwardly at them, especially since the second year's shirt was still half open and his bag was falling off his shoulder. Oh, to be young again!

Shifting slightly in his position on the roof, Kikumaru flicked his tail from side to side behind him anxiously. But what was taking Oishi so long? Unless he'd missed him leaving... A rustling sound from behind him jolted the ginger feline from his thoughts, causing his fur to bristle as he span around. His shocked eyes met those of a dark haired boy, and he let out a surprised shriek.

Oishi!?!

"Aaargh!"

Startled by the unexpected noise from the tabby, Oishi stumbled backwards from his awkward position halfway up the side of the clubhouse and fell down to the ground with a thud. Rubbing his head, he opened one of his eyes gingerly to see Kikumaru poke his face over the edge of the roof to stare down at him.

"Mrreow?"

The bouncy redhead leapt gracefully down to join his double's partner. Landing between the vice-captain's legs, he proceeded to pad onto his stomach and up onto his chest. If cats could grin sheepishly, Kikumaru was sure that would be what he was doing now.

Oishi laughed gently as he sat up, catching the cat in one of his arms so it wouldn't slide off, and supporting his own weight with the other.

"Heheh... I thought I saw something up there..."

Comfortably sitting up straight now, Oishi ran his fingers softly through his small companion's fur, inclining his head and lowering his voice to murmur, "I was kinda hoping it was you..."

Kikumaru felt a warm shiver run down his spine. Why did it feel so nice to have Oishi whisper in his ear like that?

Leaning back again the dark haired boy chuckled to himself. Falling off the clubhouse was worth it somehow, just to be able to hold this tabby in his arms again. Standing up slowly, Oishi dusted himself off and hoisted his tennis bag onto his back again with one hand.

"Well then. I promised I'd take you home with me, so let's go!"

Refusing to put Kikumaru down, Oishi carried him snugly against his chest, unable to stop smiling the whole way home. The redhead felt the same way, unable to stop purring the whole way back to his friend's house.

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Notes: Umm not really much progress in the story, I admit that, but it's kinda needed to move things along - and I'm no good at making things concise... I ramble too much ^^; Hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly as long as this one did, and thanks again for the reviews! They really helped motivate me in writing this! ^^ (Hehe and no, I couldn't resist including Ryoma to say his trademark "Mada mada dane" ^^;)