[Log] Kikumaru, Tezuka, Oishi, & Fuji: Night Out!
Characters: Kikumaru Eiji, Tezuka Kunimitsu, Oishi Shuichirou, Fuji Syūsuke
Location: A club on Entertainment Deck 1
Time: April 4, 2012. (...Five-month rule? XD)
Rating: PG for mention of drinking/state of drunkenness.
Summary: (Previously referred as Double Not!Date log.) Timeline is a bit wonky for this log, but please bear with us. This log takes place shortly after the events in the Mixed Doubles log and the Prince of Billiards log. A boys' night out for Eiji and Tezuka results in four-way awkwardness. (Fuji's follow-up entry for this log, dated three days after, is here.)
Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances and player hiatuses, we were forced to adjust the log's direction in favor of closing it without further delay. We apologize for the abrupt ending. ^__~
It has been much too long since Eiji has had a chance to catch up with the captain. He stretched a little as he made his way down the hall towards Tezuka's cabin and doublechecked the nameplate on the door before he knocked. There were so many things he had planned. Firstly, there was the nightclub they were going to venture to and listen to t.A.T.u. music for a while and then there was rock climbing. Maybe Tezuka could be convinced to go to the casino for a little while. The redhead had never been to a casino before and it seemed like such an adventure to go in and play some of the games. Knock, Knock, Eiji rapped on the door before him lightly as he stood there, bouncing from foot to foot. Hopefully Tezuka was up for some excitement tonight anyway. Who comes on a cruise to not do anything fun after all! There was a wide grin on Eiji's face as he stood there. Over the past few days, the cruise has gotten so much more fun since certain things were resolved. "Ne, Tezuka! Let's go! We have a whole night to do all the fun things on the ship!"
Tezuka was sitting in his room, listening to Bach Overture No.3 in D Major BWV 1068 while looking out at the clear night sky and calm waves. It has been some time since he last got such an opportunity to relax. There were a number of things on his mind and the music was helping to prevent him from getting stressed up over them. Looking up at the sound of a knock on his door, Tezuka wondered for a moment who exactly had business with him that night; he did not remember making any prior arrangements. The following cheerful greeting reminded him then of the one ‘appointment’ he had been trying to forget, hoping that in doing so he wouldn’t have to deal with it. No such luck unfortunately. Kikumaru was a persistent fellow when he wanted to be. Turning off the stereo system, Tezuka walked over to the table and picked up his mobile phone, wallet and keys before heading towards the door. “Not the whole night, Kikumaru; I do intend to get some sleep tonight.” Tezuka corrected the other man as he stepped out of his room and closed the door behind him.
"Eh~ Sleep?!" Eiji chimed with a shake of his head. "It's not like you have school or anything tomorrow, Tezuka~ Let's go do everything on the ship!" It was almost quite obvious now that Eiji was doing his best to be overly cheerful. Not just in the hopes that his cheerfulness would be contagious to Tezuka (although that would have been a good assumption) but in order to cover up what a disaster that doubles match was earlier in the afternoon. And to hide the fact that he was still actually quite upset at Oishi at the moment. "Do you want to go to the clubs? Or I found the rockclimbing walls down by the petting zoo!" He grinned already making a move towards the elevators anyway, either way they'd need to start going in that direction. The redhead was determined that they were going to have the most crazy of nights that night, no matter what he needed to do to get it.
Tezuka frowned upon hearing Kikumaru declare that they should try out everything on the ship. He knew the facilities weren't those that he would come across often and this would likely be his first and only moment where he would have the time to go but to be honest, he wasn't too interested in most of them to begin with. Also, even if he was interested, there was no way they could do everything in one night; assuming that they did not sleep at all, which was something he did not plan on having come true. Till now, it seemed like Tezuka still needed to assume the responsibility of the older, wiser one; despite the fact that they were all grown-ups in their own rights. "Sleep is important for a healthy body; one should always ensure that he has at least seven hours of sleep each day and preferably turn in before midnight." The taller boy blinked at his friend's next sentence. Was Kikumaru giving him the option of skipping the clubs in favour of the rock-climbing walls? If so, he was tempted to take up that offer, even if it was unintentional on the redhead's side. A pity that rock-climbing was a sport better done in the day..."Do I have much choice?" Tezuka gave Kikumaru a wry look as he followed after the man in front of him towards the elevators.
Eiji grinned as he practically bounced half the way down to the elevators. Quite excited that he managed to get Tezuka out of his cabin more than anything else and that they were actually going to do non-tennis things together. Beneath the surface he was still a little angry at Oishi for the hijinks of that afternoon so any distract right now was a very welcome distraction. He turned to Tezuka and raised an eyebrow. "Yea! You can choose if you want to go to the clubs or the rock climbing." he nodded resolutely. Part of him actually hoped Tezuka would choose to go to the rock climbing walls right now as the clubs would be a lot more fun to go to closer to midnight anyway. And he didn't know when the TATU set would startup so it didn't really matter anyhow. "We're not going to sleep before midnight, Tezuka! We're going to party tonight." The wide smile on Eiji's lips said it all. He was going to go out, have fun and forget about Oishi and everything else tonight and they were going to turn in during the whee hours of the morning when everything felt much nicer than the horrible feelings he had now.
Somehow Tezuka had a feeling that even if he were to choose rock climbing, it wouldn't free him from having to go to the club with Kikumaru. Better to get things over with; besides, the earlier they went, the earlier they would be able to leave, or at least for him if Kikumaru wanted to stay on. Going to a club made him uncomfortable; staying in one till late made him even more uncomfortable. It wasn't that he had never visited such places before given how he occasionally was dragged by acquaintances for a drink or two over the years; he just never really got used to being in one. "Club, we will save rock climbing for another day." Tezuka shot the other a glance that said he would make sure the both of them got back to their rooms before morning no matter what. "No heavy drinking, Kikumaru. It's not good for your health and especially now that you are a stuntman, it's all the more important that you take care of your body," the taller man warned his friend as they got onto the elevator and he pressed the button that would bring the lift up to entertainment deck 1.
Either way, Eiji would have been happy so upon hearing the decision there was a small woop and a stabbing of the elevator buttons. He hopped impatiently from foot to foot as he felt the elevator slowly take the two of them towards the night scene entertainment deck. "I won't be drinking that much." Eiji wasn't really that much of a heavy drinker...maybe except until now. He was frustrated with Oishi enough since that afternoon to attempt anything to get away from these feelings. The redhead kept those emotions in check as much as he could, not wanting anything to ruin the fun night out he had planned with his old school friend. "We'll dance until the sun comes up~" the redhead declared a moment later when the elevator doors opened back up. "Ne, Tezuka...which one did you want to go into...?" Atobe had taken liberties to organize many different clubs which were filled with different themes from library to a traditional bar kind of club. There was even a choice between gay night clubs or regular night clubs seeing as how each of the clubs seemed to be filled with people (crew members off the clock or even crew members hired to make it seem like the clubs were always lively) at all hours of the day and night.
Tezuka looked on amusedly as he watched the excited man give a little cry of happiness and start pressing abusing the buttons rapidly. "That's good to hear," Tezuka relaxed a little upon hearing his friend state that he wasn't really a drinker. Still, he had better keep a lookout for the other; drinkers aren't always aware of the fact that they had such a problem and if they did know, many were wont to admit it. If Kikumaru had a problem with liquor, Oishi would need to know about it as soon as possible. His eyebrows rose at next sentence. He most certainly wasn't going to do that; Kikumaru had the interest and stamina for it but this was most certainly not his cup of tea. He intended on just seating at a table and have one or two drinks while watching the rest of the people in the club party. "There's more than one?" Tezuka asked, puzzled as he started to walk around and take a proper look around the place. He never really paid much attention to the place before since he hadn't any intention of visiting the area.
Walking up to the front of what he assumed was a club, Tezuka hesitantly opened the door by a little and peered in. His eyebrows went up again in puzzlement as the first thing his eyes took in even though the whole place was somewhat dark were the books on the shelves along the walls. Just as the stoic man was about to think that he had somehow stumbled on a library, his eyes caught a flash of light and he froze. Coloured lights made their way about the place and shone at random spots and he could hear the techno music booming from the loudspeakers overhead. Coupled with the group of people dancing away to the beat, it wasn't hard to come to the conclusion that he had indeed stepped into a club, despite the oddness of the setting. Tezuka's glasses turned an opaque white as he softly closed the door and quickly moved away from the place, doing his best to forget the sight he had seen just seconds ago as he marked the spot in his mind and made a note to keep his distance from it in the future. Eyes roving for what would be a more traditional club, he headed in the direction of one as soon as he spotted it from afar.
He was going to have to talk to Atobe about this...
There was a childlike grin playing over Eiji's lips as he followed Tezuka, watching him look into each club they passed, cringe a little and then slowly back out. He probably won't find a suitable buchou-like club for a while. He tagged along the other man for a little while longer, pointing at a few other places then spied a little bar close by, not too different to Taka's sushi restaurant. Eiji then promptly grabbed his arm and pulled him towards a slightly more quiet looking area. Why not get him started with a more quiet location and then work their way up to the pumping clubs? They had all night to work towards t.A.T.u. anyhow so why not? The redhead waved at the barkeep as he motioned for Tezuka to sit down at the bar with him. "So...a nightclub is just like this except there's a dancefloor and loud music too." He explained like that would make the situation any less intimidating for someone who didn't enjoy the night scene already. And Eiji had been so sure that a nightclub like the library would entice Tezuka in as well. Oh well...maybe they could go back to that one later. When the barkeep made their way over to them, Eiji paused for a moment before ordering a beer...then thought about it for a moment before adding a couple of random shots to his order as well just for some fun. The cat-like smile now teased on his lips as he watched over at Tezuka expectantly.
Each club he peered into was no better than the previous; somehow he found fault with ever single one. The one two clubs back played music that was so loud he was surprised nobody's ears were bleeding from being in there for just a few minutes, much less hours. The one he had just peered into...he didn't want to think about it. The strobe lights hurt his eyes too. The bespectacled man wondered how on earth did Kikumaru managed it all, particularly since the other's eyes were much more sensitive than his own. Just as he was about to resignedly move on to the next club his friend had pointed out to, he found himself hooked by the arm and firmly towed away to a small bar. It was a quiet place with one set of fixed lights which though slightly dim, at least did not flash like the rainbow. Pockets of people were scattered about the place, a couple at the bar itself as well but the spot the redhead had chosen was conveniently empty. Anything at the moment was better than the clubs he had seen in any case; Tezuka sighed as he followed his friend and took a seat on one of the stools. "Amazing difference a dance floor and loud music makes," Tezuka murmured in reply as he watched his friend order a beer and add shots to it. Turning to the bartender, Tezuka signalled for his attention. "One apple martini please." Time to watch the other carefully and make sure they get through this night with minimal damage...and loss of dignity.
"Yes!" Eiji agreed happily with that statement, though not for the same reasons. "When you have a dance floor and loud music, the energy rises so much." He had never really had much time to go to clubs to be honest so most of the visions he had in regards to what it was like to go clubbing was based on what he saw in the dramas he had stunt doubled in and the stories people had told him. As they waited for their drinks, Eiji looked up at the other man that sat before him. Someone Oishi was close to and had always been close to. He had been a bit curious as to their relationship when he first joined Seigaku, about the admiration that Oishi had for the other and was curious as to how he would get Oishi's attention. Now he had Oishi's attention...somehow. He wasn't sure he wanted it anymore if things were going to keep turning out this way. "What have you been up to since we graduated...?" He was curious to get to know Tezuka a lot better than he did in the past...well that and anything to keep his mind off Oishi. Their drinks shouldn't be that far off either and a drink always helped to get rid of some of the horrible niggling feelings.
Tezuka wasn't too sure that he liked the sound of that. Unused energy that pent-up had always been a recipe for disaster and considering the fact that it was a club, that made things all the more worse. In addition, such unnatural stimulation would only leave the person doubly drained after the effects wore off; that wasn't a good thing. Unsure of what he ought to say in response, Tezuka decided to mull over it for now and respond to Kikumaru's second question first. "I accepted the invitation from Germany to go over and train there to become a professional. Training at Niki Pilic Tennis Academy in Munich, I took classes at the high school nearby, working out a schedule with my coach to ensure that I would be able to handle both studies and tennis. I wasn't going to abandon my studies even if I decided to become a professional. After completing high school, I then enrolled in the nearby university Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, completing a bachelor's degree at the faculty for History and the Arts. Learning German and spreading my time between tennis and studies wasn't easy but it was rewarding when I finally obtained my certificate. A few months later, upon recommendation from the academy, I made my debut at the Wimbledon tournament and the rest fell into place. My performance caught the attention of the media who labelled me as a dark horse who suddenly came onto the scene and fought my way to the quarter-finals before being defeated. I received more offers to play at various tournaments and continued training, eventually working my way up to where I am now, 5th seed on the ATP rankings, behind amazing players like Federer, Djokovic and Nadal."
The redhead sat there quietly as Tezuka started this seemingly endless lecture about what he had done for tennis and his education for the past few years, his eyes kind of glazing over from all the information after a while. He nodded a few times when he felt like he needed to nod. Tezuka had done so many more things than he had. Heck, Tezuka's recount was so much longer and more confusing than his own he had no idea where to store all that information in his mind. So many different names of such prestigious sounding things that Eiji was kind of glad he wasn't going to be tested on this later on. It was almost the most welcome thing ever when the drinks arrived and the shots he ordered came with little extra things on the side. His eyes lit up, Eiji had always wanted to try tequila shots. The routine of salt, drink, lime had always intrigued him and even though he had reached drinking age a long time ago, had never had time to really do any of these fun things. Eiji took one of the plates for himself and then pushed the other plate towards Tezuka. "You can try this with me." The wide grin on his face said it all.
Satisfied that he had given a suitable and detailed explanation, Tezuka noted his friend's slight grimace with a tinge of amusement. The acrobatic redhead was never one for details, preferring things short and simple. The bespectacled man reached for his own glass of apple martini before looking down at the drink Kikumaru offered him with an inquiring look. "I assume you know how best to enjoy the drink?" Judging from the other's words. Tezuka guessed that it was his friend's first time trying the alcoholic beverage and he was honestly curious to know if the other would simply down the drink straight or would use the salt and lime provided. He had previously tried drinking Tequila straight as well as with lime and salt; while he didn't really remember much of the experience, it probably had been interesting to the say the least. If Kikumaru was going to drink it straight, at least his first experience wouldn't be too bad; Atobe would likely have ensured that everything on board the ship was of the finest quality and naturally the alcoholic beverages would be no exception, especially since their quality was a good reflection of the man's wealth and status. After thinking it over a little more, the stoic man decided that it would probably be better if the redhead drank it straight if he wanted to taste the flavour properly.
Blue eyes stared intently at the little glass, wondering just how much damage such a little amount of liquid could do. Can't be that bad. He grinned towards Tezuka and shook his head a little. "I've seen this done on TV!" He announced proudly. Then picked up the salt and poured a little bit onto the back of his hand. "I think...they...." he held it out next to the shot glass and then lined up the lime after it before looking towards Tezuka to make sure he was doing it right. Before he did anything further though, he pushed one out of the other three shots on the table towards Tezuka. Two each wasn't too many was it? Surely not. They were such little teensy tiny cups after all. The redhead grinned towards his former captain. "We do it in this order, right?" And he was going to do as many as it took to make these horrible feelings surrounding Oishi go away. Him and that...that Jimi doubles player... ....there was a little bit of a sad glint in his eyes before Eiji shook it out of his system and then steeled himself to go ahead with the shot without waiting for his partner in crime. Salty. Warm. SOUR. ....there was a few second pause before Eiji's eyes widened and he felt the sour mix with a trail of burn that followed down his throat.
Watching Kikumaru glance ever so often at him with a slight worried look on his face to make sure he was doing things right, Tezuka told himself sternly not to laugh. The stoic man had all but given up on viewing the other as a grown-up; the redhead would always be a fourteen year old in his mind's eye; hyperactive, prone to childish acts, a person who wore his heart on his sleeve and to sum things up, a good-hearted person he was proud to call a friend, though he would never admit that last part out loud. Tezuka stared at the shot glass Kikumaru pushed over to him for a moment before picking it up as well; since he had been dragged out by the other, might as well humour him for the night. Curious to see his friend's reaction first before downing his own portion, hazel-brown eyes fixed themselves on the other man, noting the flash of sadness across the other's blue eyes before the redhead downed his drink. The widening of the other's eyes told him enough; the poor guy probably had felt the burning effects of the alcohol quite strongly despite having used the salt and lime. Waiting a moment for the other to recover, he then proceeded to down his own glass, san salt and lime, allowing himself to taste the flavour. There was the usual burn that he remembered to have accompanied such drinks but it was milder than the last time he tried a straight tequila shot; perhaps he had developed a slight resistance? It was either than or the quality of the drink was much better than those he drank previously. Tezuka was inclined to think it was the latter since he was well aware that the occasional times in which he drank could not possibly have gotten him used to the feeling yet. Calmly putting down the glass back on the table, he turned his attention back to his friend with nary a change in his expression throughout the whole moment. It wasn't anything big that warranted a reaction.
The few coughs that followed couldn't have been prevented. Eiji had to stop himself from reaching for his throat as if he was gagging and sniffed a bit. Blue eyes blinked a few times to get rid of the tears and he took a few deep breaths. "...G...good..." He managed to mutter out before he had to stop for a few more breaths. After he managed to collect himself, a slight goofy grin played over Eiji's lips. First taste of alcohol on an empty stomach and not having been hydrated properly after many days of being upset. It was a good start. Eiji reached for the second shot, this time forgetting about the extra steps he had taken before. He ran a fingers over the brim of the shot glass, head feeling mildly tingly and quite...enjoying this experience. "Tezuka~" He started, feeling quite a bit braver and more open about things than he had been even just a short while ago. "Do you like anyone from our tennis team...? Because I do..." He blurted out the last few words quickly. Then downed the next shot without much warning, this one hitting him much quicker. The burn matched that of the first and this time blue eyes squeezed shut to bear with it. His head was feeling much fuzzier now as he continued to babble. "And when you like someone...you have to really go for it~ Nyaa...." He crossed his arms on the table and slumped his face down, resting his cheek against his arm as he watched up at Tezuka. The little childlike grin constantly playing over his lips. "You and Oishi were always so close..." Not an accusation...not much of anything. A useless statement that didn't even make sense in the context of the conversation.
Tezuka carefully watched his friend, ready to provide any form of assistance in case the coughing became more serious and the other needed help recovering. After a few seconds, Kikumaru thankfully managed to get the coughing under control and got out a word though he was clearly still out of breath. Something within Tezuka sunk as he noticed the expression on the redhead's face. "He's drunk already and only from one cup much less," Tezuka sighed inwardly. He was starting to get the feeling that the night wouldn't end without something going wrong, as much as he would try to prevent it.
Seeing Kikumaru reach for the second glass with the sole intention of downing it straight despite his previous adverse reaction to the alcoholic beverage, the stoic man couldn't help but be a little worried; perhaps he should stop his friend before the other got too inebriated and started to do things he would regret not having carefully thought through first. That brought him back to the question at hand.
Why would Kikumaru ask him if he liked anyone on the team? Weren't they all friends? Of course he liked them, otherwise he would have never have been able to put up with all their antics, which he would only admit privately often drove him near insane, make it through all the trials together with them and win the Nationals. Even after all these years, they could still talk easily with one another, sans one particular perso- he will would not go down that path, not now at least. If that wan't a clear example of the fact that everyone in the team liked each other enough to re-connect, the bespectacled brunette wasn't sure what constituted 'like'.
Kikumaru's next sentence serve no purpose but to add to his confusion. Why would you need to go for if you were friends? Tezuka was honestly starting to suspect that the alcohol was dulling his friend's capacity to form coherent thoughts that made sense, at least to him. The final words that the redhead mumbled were the only ones that he understood and acknowledged.
"I suppose you could say that; he is a dear friend I could really trust and rely on, especially back when I had to leave everyone for rehabilitation..." Tezuka trailed off. Expressing himself out loud wasn't something he often did and it felt awkward. He wasn't good at this sort of thing and unsure of how to respond either; perhaps it would be better to leave it as that.
Eiji sniffed loudly at that response. He sat there, hand now around a glass of beer which had come with their previous order and he had left until last just to see what that would taste like after everything else. "Why does.." He hiccuped a little bit and sat there, head feeling a little bit dizzy. "Why does everybody like Oishi..." The voice was a little bit whiny but more similar to that of a lost child just wanting to get some attention. "Why does...everyone..." He hiccuped again and took a big mouthful of the golden liquid before he rested his cheek down on table again, his hand offering a slight cushion. "...want to take away Oishi.." Obviously not talking about Tezuka now. Eiji's blurry mind slowly drifted to the doubles game they had just had that afternoon, little pangs of regret and selfishness jolting through his chest.
Minami wanted Oishi...
Oishi had good chemistry with Minami.
Eiji was now obsolete.
The redhead sniffed loudly again as he sat there. "Why doesn't anyone want to keep me....?" He whimpered again. Clearly the anyone in that sentence specifically pointing to a someone which anyone who knew Eiji would know who he was trying to claim. Luckily the person who sat before him was someone who had known him for many years, albeit probably not as well as he would know the other half of the golden pair. Specially since Eiji had called Tezuka a demon once during junior high school - purely in relation to tennis of course. He hiccuped again, feeling quite lightheaded now even though the thoughts in his head were...confusing.
This...was bad. If it wasn't obvious that the his red-headed friend was drunk previously, it definitely was now. The other man was already slurring after consuming two glasses of alcoholic beverage and mumbling about things he didn't quite understand, especially since Kikumaru was no longer pronouncing the words properly. All Tezuka knew was that something wasn't quite right and considering the number of times one particular name was being mentioned, it probably had something to do with a certain close friend of both of them. What would Oishi do when Kikumaru got into such a state? The stoic man had no idea how he should handle the redhead in such a situation; back during their school days, he focused on discipline and the nurturing of talent while his vice-captain handled the motivation, emotional issues and complexities that his club members were wont to end up tangled in. He would have to trouble his good friend again. Slipping his handphone out of his pocket, he quickly flipped it open and keyed in a short text message to the other before sending it, hoping that the medical student would be able to send a reply soon.
Oishi, what do you do when Kikumaru's behaviour starts to deviate from the norm? He's drunk and mumbling a lot of odd things.
After having spent the afternoon exploring the ship on his own, and settling down to dinner in his room, Oishi was enjoying a nice, quiet, decidedly normal evening out on his balcony with fresh air and a book. Text books hadn't been the only reading material he'd brought along on this trip luckily-- and he was enjoying something a lot lighter (and painfully sappy and romantic.) He had just ended a chapter on a cliff-hanger when his cell phone buzzed and chirped from the pocket of his shorts. "Hm? Tezuka?" It would be a little late for an invitation to have a match, wouldn't it? Curiously he flipped the phone opened and his eyes scanned over the message. "... drunk and mumbling a lot of things... Wait, drunk?!" His voice pitched, bolting upright so quickly that his lounge chair squealed and tipped. He was already walking. Where, he wasn't sure just yet. Towards the restaurant and service levels was likely his best bet-- his feet were moving of their own accord. His thumbs passed over his keypad as he met the elevator.
Eiji is drunk?! Why is he drinking?! Where are you two? A few minutes into his travels, he had a moment to ponder just how strange it was that Tezuka and Eiji would be hanging out together in the first place.
Another little sniff could be heard from Eiji's part of the table as he leaned back on his seat now and signalled at the waiter to bring over another round of shots. This was just the beginning of the night and he was going to damn well enjoy it. With or without Oishi.
...Oishi....That little pout creeped over Eiji's lips again. "Why..." He mumbled a few words and ended the sentence with "...Oishi...." He rubbed his eyes a little bit and then put on his best smile towards Tezuka. "This stuff doesn't taste half bad huh..."
Tezuka looked on in worry as he watched the redhead signal for the waiter to bring more alcohol. Quickly, he caught said waiter's attention and mouthed the words, "no more please." The waiter nodded back to indicate that he had understood the stoic man and then moved off to attend to his other duties, disregarding Kikumaru's holler for him to bring the drinks when it became clear that the man was not acceding to the stuntman's orders.
There it was again; it seemed like every other sentence was punctuated with the mention of his best friend's name. It did nothing to assuage his curiosity about what exactly was going on between the two. He had noticed the discomfort both shared whenever they met but hadn't yet managed to figure out the cause of the problem. Perhaps by probing a little now, the other might drop some clues in his drunken and less reserved state.
"Naturally, given whose cruise ship we are on," Tezuka replied, a little amused by Kikumaru's comment.
With a little guidance from the crew, Oishi navigated his way through the various eateries and bars until he'd found the corner where "a man with red curly hair" and "a brunette with glasses" had settled in. At the bar. Tezuka and Eiji. Right now he had so many questions they were all toppling helplessly over each other. He hadn't taken either of them as drinkers, or bar flies, and despite not having talked to either of them recently with the exception of this cruise, he couldn't see either of those two things changing. And together. That was the part that really had him scratching his head.
Once he'd spotted them, he hurried over. He immediately noticed something was off with Eiji, all fat-lipped and sullen. He gave Tezuka a puzzled look and then switched his attention over to that redheaded partner of his. The partner who was currently sloshed. If Tezuka was under any impression that Oishi would have any clue on what to do with a drunken Eiji-- as if he'd ever been in this position before-- he was sorely mistaken. "E-Eiji, what are you doing drinking?"
Fuzzy blue eyes stared up at the man that had just appeared at the table, barely held the green gaze before dropped back down to the table. He waved at another waiter in the opposite direction when it was apparent the first one had "forgotten" to bring his next round of drinks. He signalled that Oishi should also be included in the next round of double shots. Eiji's lower lip wibbled a bit as he sat there, followed by a light sniff before he looked up at Oishi. "Why don't you want meeeeee.....?" He whined out before that lower lip wibbled again. Eiji was so easily replaced. By other doubles partners....by other people in Oishi's life. He did just fine without him.
He lifted his glass of beer and downed the rest of it whilst awaiting the next round and just as he thumped the empty glass back down on the table he flashed a big dopey grin at Oishi. "Is awwwkay..." He slurred a little. "I don't ..." He hiccuped and then looked at the table with a gloomy gaze. "I don't need...yaeither..." Eiji continued with his slightly dopey smile as he sat there, unable to really process what he was doing or saying. More alcohol! That's what he needed.
Tezuka's eyebrows went up the moment he saw the medical student blundered into the bar and rush over once he spotted them. He had sent a simple message asking for some advice; how did things turn out such the man ended up personally coming down himself and how had he even located them when Tezuka had not mentioned any venue? Not to mention now that the redhead's former doubles partner had arrived, said drunk man was becoming increasingly talkative; none of it made much sense to him though. If he went by body language, it reminded him of the tension he had seen between the night of the reunion dinner, though this time round it wasn't as bad.
"Oishi, what are you doing here? Also, since you are here, is there anything you can do about Kikumaru? Consuming that much alcohol is going to have rather unpleasant effects for him the next morning."
Oishi immediately corrected the round of drinks Eiji had ordered for them, refusing any glass meant for himself especially. He had to assume it was the alcohol that caused the wobbly redhead to think he'd come here for a drink. Why don't you want meeeeee…..? "W-what are you talking about?" He truly had no idea what Eiji's issue was, or why he was drinking, or why he and Tezuka were here drinking. Nor why Tezuka was so calm about all of these things in unison. His former partner was barely coherent.
He ended up climbing awkwardly on the bar stool on the other side of Eiji, justifying his sitting down as making it easier to keep those waiters from bringing him anything more to drink. His eyes were still wide in disbelief-- if getting absolutely plastered was one of Eiji's hobbies, it was a new one. "Y-you told me he was drunk! That's why I'm here!" He reached over and slid the splash of alcohol still in the glass away from him, "Eiji, what are you doing? You're going to make yourself sick!" Only to get a stubborn whine and an argument in response. He clearly wasn't having any of Oishi's lecturing today. It was vaguely comforting that Tezuka was watching out for him, but not enough that it might keep him from worrying. Since when did Eiji drink?!
A few more minutes of this stubborn back-and-forth continued before Oishi too had pulled out his phone, sending out a quick message to the only person he could think of who may have been capable of talking sense into him at a time like this.
Fuji, please come to the bar ASAP. Brief, to the point, ridiculously vague.
"I knew it!" Eiji mumbled and half slurred as he pushed himself up in a...wobbly standing position. "You don't want me. You ....can see....sme....sin..." He paused for a moment as if the english word had completely disappeared from his vocab for a moment before he managed to finally figure it out. "Synchro!" ...with anyone would have been the end of that sentence but he was too proud that he managed to remember the word that he did a little dance and almost tipped himself over on the floor. Eiji giggled a little bit and sat back down. Then stared into the bottom of his glass. Why was it...empty?
He waved the glass into the air and hoped that this time a competent waiter would finally bring more alcohol over to him. Then the redhead stared up at Oishi. And stared. Tried to figure out just what was going on. Then slumped down over the table again. "I'm a bad doubles partner...." He managed to mumble out into the table so that it was only half audible.
After his usual evening workout, Fuji had retired to his room to take a shower. He'd just finished blow-drying his hair when his phone beeped. Still clad only in his bathrobe, he crossed the room to pick up the phone.
From Oishi? The message was vague, but the only times Oishi summoned him so urgently were Eiji-related. The whole thing with Oishi and Eiji wasn't quite resolved yet, but the last he'd checked, the two had reconciled. Fuji's brows creased with a worried frown. What could be the wrong this time?
On my way, Fuji texted back, and walked to his closet. Since he had no idea what the trouble was, he bypassed the dressier clothing and chose a pair of khaki pants and a white button-down shirt. He folded up the sleeves just under the elbows as a finishing touch, and left the room.
When he arrived at the bar, Fuji was greeted by the sight of a flustered Oishi, a confused Tezuka, and one very drunk Eiji. Fuji closed his eyes, wondering whether he should be amused or irritated. "Where's the fire, Oishi?" he asked, popping up just behind Oishi for the full effect. "How on earth did Eiji get so drunk under your watch?" His eyes flickered to Tezuka and -- okay. Awkward.
Predictably, Oishi jumped half a foot in the air at Fuji’s uncanny ability to sneak up like a ghost on people. His hand touched his chest and he sighed heavily, “I-I had no idea he was up here!” And the redhead was still mumbling incoherently to himself, seemingly flip flopping between hating Oishi and feeling disappointed that he wasn’t giving him enough attention. “And I certainly didn’t know he was getting drunk with Tezuka.” Another baffled look was sent their captain’s way.
God, Eiji was really going to be sick if he kept this up. The sad mumble had Oishi worriedly behind him, a hand rubbing wide circles over his back. Though he still had no idea what Eiji was upset about, as he repeated clearly again. He wasn’t even sure why he’d decided to call Fuji earlier, only that the brunette always seemed capable of talking Eiji down from questionable decisions. “Geez, have you ever even drank before?!”
Fuji shrugged, his earlier concern soothed back to amusement. Not to mention, since Oishi was already here, Eiji was in good hands. "Maybe you should help Eiji back to his room?" Fuji suggested. If Oishi wasn't here, he'd see to it himself, but...he rather thought Eiji might appreciate Oishi's help more. Besides, whatever had gotten Eiji so upset had obviously to do with Oishi, and it would be best for them work it out in private. "I don't think he's in shape to do anything more tonight."
While Oishi was tending to Eiji, Fuji took a short breath and turned to Tezuka. "Sorry for interrupting your evening," he said softly, meeting Tezuka's eyes, and was reasonably sure none of the awkwardness he felt was visible on his face. "If you'd like, we could meet up later to make up for it? You did promise me your travel pictures, after all."
Tezuka's nod of assent eased a small knot of nervousness inside, and Fuji held back a sigh of relief. So far, so good.
Oishi nodded all too readily at the suggestion, glancing up at Fuji with weary green eyes and silently communicating a 'thank you' for the support. Eiji had a great deal of experience in arguing (successfully) against logic where Oishi and emotions were involved, having another voice of reason to weigh in and assure him that going back to his room was the best course of action right now was greatly appreciated. Eiji had a harder time arguing against Fuji.
"Come on," He encouraged, the hand on his partner's back sliding under an arm. Despite the cranky, mumbled protests, he managed to get the pair of them into a very precarious stand. Eiji was still muttering short, stilted sentences about being replaced or being unwanted-- all things Oishi would have to sort through once he was sober. As the last few minutes had proven, attempting to argue with him now was a fruitless endeavor.
"Sorry to have troubled you both," Oishi apologized on their way out, still flustered and wrestling with an Eiji who was now gesturing wildly to make a point about something. Very soon he'd left Fuji and Tezuka at the bar alone, accompanied by an awkward air even he felt was palpable.
After Oishi and Eiji left, Fuji bade Tezuka good night, and excused himself as quickly as decorum allowed. He was acutely aware the matter of Tezuka was yet to be concluded, but... Not now, Fuji decided. Not so soon, with the billiards match with Echizen and their subsequent argument (if one could even call it that) still fresh on his mind. One thing at a time.
Trying to soothe his thoughts back into some semblance of order, Fuji headed back to his room.
Location: A club on Entertainment Deck 1
Time: April 4, 2012. (...Five-month rule? XD)
Rating: PG for mention of drinking/state of drunkenness.
Summary: (Previously referred as Double Not!Date log.) Timeline is a bit wonky for this log, but please bear with us. This log takes place shortly after the events in the Mixed Doubles log and the Prince of Billiards log. A boys' night out for Eiji and Tezuka results in four-way awkwardness. (Fuji's follow-up entry for this log, dated three days after, is here.)
Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances and player hiatuses, we were forced to adjust the log's direction in favor of closing it without further delay. We apologize for the abrupt ending. ^__~
It has been much too long since Eiji has had a chance to catch up with the captain. He stretched a little as he made his way down the hall towards Tezuka's cabin and doublechecked the nameplate on the door before he knocked. There were so many things he had planned. Firstly, there was the nightclub they were going to venture to and listen to t.A.T.u. music for a while and then there was rock climbing. Maybe Tezuka could be convinced to go to the casino for a little while. The redhead had never been to a casino before and it seemed like such an adventure to go in and play some of the games. Knock, Knock, Eiji rapped on the door before him lightly as he stood there, bouncing from foot to foot. Hopefully Tezuka was up for some excitement tonight anyway. Who comes on a cruise to not do anything fun after all! There was a wide grin on Eiji's face as he stood there. Over the past few days, the cruise has gotten so much more fun since certain things were resolved. "Ne, Tezuka! Let's go! We have a whole night to do all the fun things on the ship!"
Tezuka was sitting in his room, listening to Bach Overture No.3 in D Major BWV 1068 while looking out at the clear night sky and calm waves. It has been some time since he last got such an opportunity to relax. There were a number of things on his mind and the music was helping to prevent him from getting stressed up over them. Looking up at the sound of a knock on his door, Tezuka wondered for a moment who exactly had business with him that night; he did not remember making any prior arrangements. The following cheerful greeting reminded him then of the one ‘appointment’ he had been trying to forget, hoping that in doing so he wouldn’t have to deal with it. No such luck unfortunately. Kikumaru was a persistent fellow when he wanted to be. Turning off the stereo system, Tezuka walked over to the table and picked up his mobile phone, wallet and keys before heading towards the door. “Not the whole night, Kikumaru; I do intend to get some sleep tonight.” Tezuka corrected the other man as he stepped out of his room and closed the door behind him.
"Eh~ Sleep?!" Eiji chimed with a shake of his head. "It's not like you have school or anything tomorrow, Tezuka~ Let's go do everything on the ship!" It was almost quite obvious now that Eiji was doing his best to be overly cheerful. Not just in the hopes that his cheerfulness would be contagious to Tezuka (although that would have been a good assumption) but in order to cover up what a disaster that doubles match was earlier in the afternoon. And to hide the fact that he was still actually quite upset at Oishi at the moment. "Do you want to go to the clubs? Or I found the rockclimbing walls down by the petting zoo!" He grinned already making a move towards the elevators anyway, either way they'd need to start going in that direction. The redhead was determined that they were going to have the most crazy of nights that night, no matter what he needed to do to get it.
Tezuka frowned upon hearing Kikumaru declare that they should try out everything on the ship. He knew the facilities weren't those that he would come across often and this would likely be his first and only moment where he would have the time to go but to be honest, he wasn't too interested in most of them to begin with. Also, even if he was interested, there was no way they could do everything in one night; assuming that they did not sleep at all, which was something he did not plan on having come true. Till now, it seemed like Tezuka still needed to assume the responsibility of the older, wiser one; despite the fact that they were all grown-ups in their own rights. "Sleep is important for a healthy body; one should always ensure that he has at least seven hours of sleep each day and preferably turn in before midnight." The taller boy blinked at his friend's next sentence. Was Kikumaru giving him the option of skipping the clubs in favour of the rock-climbing walls? If so, he was tempted to take up that offer, even if it was unintentional on the redhead's side. A pity that rock-climbing was a sport better done in the day..."Do I have much choice?" Tezuka gave Kikumaru a wry look as he followed after the man in front of him towards the elevators.
Eiji grinned as he practically bounced half the way down to the elevators. Quite excited that he managed to get Tezuka out of his cabin more than anything else and that they were actually going to do non-tennis things together. Beneath the surface he was still a little angry at Oishi for the hijinks of that afternoon so any distract right now was a very welcome distraction. He turned to Tezuka and raised an eyebrow. "Yea! You can choose if you want to go to the clubs or the rock climbing." he nodded resolutely. Part of him actually hoped Tezuka would choose to go to the rock climbing walls right now as the clubs would be a lot more fun to go to closer to midnight anyway. And he didn't know when the TATU set would startup so it didn't really matter anyhow. "We're not going to sleep before midnight, Tezuka! We're going to party tonight." The wide smile on Eiji's lips said it all. He was going to go out, have fun and forget about Oishi and everything else tonight and they were going to turn in during the whee hours of the morning when everything felt much nicer than the horrible feelings he had now.
Somehow Tezuka had a feeling that even if he were to choose rock climbing, it wouldn't free him from having to go to the club with Kikumaru. Better to get things over with; besides, the earlier they went, the earlier they would be able to leave, or at least for him if Kikumaru wanted to stay on. Going to a club made him uncomfortable; staying in one till late made him even more uncomfortable. It wasn't that he had never visited such places before given how he occasionally was dragged by acquaintances for a drink or two over the years; he just never really got used to being in one. "Club, we will save rock climbing for another day." Tezuka shot the other a glance that said he would make sure the both of them got back to their rooms before morning no matter what. "No heavy drinking, Kikumaru. It's not good for your health and especially now that you are a stuntman, it's all the more important that you take care of your body," the taller man warned his friend as they got onto the elevator and he pressed the button that would bring the lift up to entertainment deck 1.
Either way, Eiji would have been happy so upon hearing the decision there was a small woop and a stabbing of the elevator buttons. He hopped impatiently from foot to foot as he felt the elevator slowly take the two of them towards the night scene entertainment deck. "I won't be drinking that much." Eiji wasn't really that much of a heavy drinker...maybe except until now. He was frustrated with Oishi enough since that afternoon to attempt anything to get away from these feelings. The redhead kept those emotions in check as much as he could, not wanting anything to ruin the fun night out he had planned with his old school friend. "We'll dance until the sun comes up~" the redhead declared a moment later when the elevator doors opened back up. "Ne, Tezuka...which one did you want to go into...?" Atobe had taken liberties to organize many different clubs which were filled with different themes from library to a traditional bar kind of club. There was even a choice between gay night clubs or regular night clubs seeing as how each of the clubs seemed to be filled with people (crew members off the clock or even crew members hired to make it seem like the clubs were always lively) at all hours of the day and night.
Tezuka looked on amusedly as he watched the excited man give a little cry of happiness and start pressing abusing the buttons rapidly. "That's good to hear," Tezuka relaxed a little upon hearing his friend state that he wasn't really a drinker. Still, he had better keep a lookout for the other; drinkers aren't always aware of the fact that they had such a problem and if they did know, many were wont to admit it. If Kikumaru had a problem with liquor, Oishi would need to know about it as soon as possible. His eyebrows rose at next sentence. He most certainly wasn't going to do that; Kikumaru had the interest and stamina for it but this was most certainly not his cup of tea. He intended on just seating at a table and have one or two drinks while watching the rest of the people in the club party. "There's more than one?" Tezuka asked, puzzled as he started to walk around and take a proper look around the place. He never really paid much attention to the place before since he hadn't any intention of visiting the area.
Walking up to the front of what he assumed was a club, Tezuka hesitantly opened the door by a little and peered in. His eyebrows went up again in puzzlement as the first thing his eyes took in even though the whole place was somewhat dark were the books on the shelves along the walls. Just as the stoic man was about to think that he had somehow stumbled on a library, his eyes caught a flash of light and he froze. Coloured lights made their way about the place and shone at random spots and he could hear the techno music booming from the loudspeakers overhead. Coupled with the group of people dancing away to the beat, it wasn't hard to come to the conclusion that he had indeed stepped into a club, despite the oddness of the setting. Tezuka's glasses turned an opaque white as he softly closed the door and quickly moved away from the place, doing his best to forget the sight he had seen just seconds ago as he marked the spot in his mind and made a note to keep his distance from it in the future. Eyes roving for what would be a more traditional club, he headed in the direction of one as soon as he spotted it from afar.
He was going to have to talk to Atobe about this...
There was a childlike grin playing over Eiji's lips as he followed Tezuka, watching him look into each club they passed, cringe a little and then slowly back out. He probably won't find a suitable buchou-like club for a while. He tagged along the other man for a little while longer, pointing at a few other places then spied a little bar close by, not too different to Taka's sushi restaurant. Eiji then promptly grabbed his arm and pulled him towards a slightly more quiet looking area. Why not get him started with a more quiet location and then work their way up to the pumping clubs? They had all night to work towards t.A.T.u. anyhow so why not? The redhead waved at the barkeep as he motioned for Tezuka to sit down at the bar with him. "So...a nightclub is just like this except there's a dancefloor and loud music too." He explained like that would make the situation any less intimidating for someone who didn't enjoy the night scene already. And Eiji had been so sure that a nightclub like the library would entice Tezuka in as well. Oh well...maybe they could go back to that one later. When the barkeep made their way over to them, Eiji paused for a moment before ordering a beer...then thought about it for a moment before adding a couple of random shots to his order as well just for some fun. The cat-like smile now teased on his lips as he watched over at Tezuka expectantly.
Each club he peered into was no better than the previous; somehow he found fault with ever single one. The one two clubs back played music that was so loud he was surprised nobody's ears were bleeding from being in there for just a few minutes, much less hours. The one he had just peered into...he didn't want to think about it. The strobe lights hurt his eyes too. The bespectacled man wondered how on earth did Kikumaru managed it all, particularly since the other's eyes were much more sensitive than his own. Just as he was about to resignedly move on to the next club his friend had pointed out to, he found himself hooked by the arm and firmly towed away to a small bar. It was a quiet place with one set of fixed lights which though slightly dim, at least did not flash like the rainbow. Pockets of people were scattered about the place, a couple at the bar itself as well but the spot the redhead had chosen was conveniently empty. Anything at the moment was better than the clubs he had seen in any case; Tezuka sighed as he followed his friend and took a seat on one of the stools. "Amazing difference a dance floor and loud music makes," Tezuka murmured in reply as he watched his friend order a beer and add shots to it. Turning to the bartender, Tezuka signalled for his attention. "One apple martini please." Time to watch the other carefully and make sure they get through this night with minimal damage...and loss of dignity.
"Yes!" Eiji agreed happily with that statement, though not for the same reasons. "When you have a dance floor and loud music, the energy rises so much." He had never really had much time to go to clubs to be honest so most of the visions he had in regards to what it was like to go clubbing was based on what he saw in the dramas he had stunt doubled in and the stories people had told him. As they waited for their drinks, Eiji looked up at the other man that sat before him. Someone Oishi was close to and had always been close to. He had been a bit curious as to their relationship when he first joined Seigaku, about the admiration that Oishi had for the other and was curious as to how he would get Oishi's attention. Now he had Oishi's attention...somehow. He wasn't sure he wanted it anymore if things were going to keep turning out this way. "What have you been up to since we graduated...?" He was curious to get to know Tezuka a lot better than he did in the past...well that and anything to keep his mind off Oishi. Their drinks shouldn't be that far off either and a drink always helped to get rid of some of the horrible niggling feelings.
Tezuka wasn't too sure that he liked the sound of that. Unused energy that pent-up had always been a recipe for disaster and considering the fact that it was a club, that made things all the more worse. In addition, such unnatural stimulation would only leave the person doubly drained after the effects wore off; that wasn't a good thing. Unsure of what he ought to say in response, Tezuka decided to mull over it for now and respond to Kikumaru's second question first. "I accepted the invitation from Germany to go over and train there to become a professional. Training at Niki Pilic Tennis Academy in Munich, I took classes at the high school nearby, working out a schedule with my coach to ensure that I would be able to handle both studies and tennis. I wasn't going to abandon my studies even if I decided to become a professional. After completing high school, I then enrolled in the nearby university Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, completing a bachelor's degree at the faculty for History and the Arts. Learning German and spreading my time between tennis and studies wasn't easy but it was rewarding when I finally obtained my certificate. A few months later, upon recommendation from the academy, I made my debut at the Wimbledon tournament and the rest fell into place. My performance caught the attention of the media who labelled me as a dark horse who suddenly came onto the scene and fought my way to the quarter-finals before being defeated. I received more offers to play at various tournaments and continued training, eventually working my way up to where I am now, 5th seed on the ATP rankings, behind amazing players like Federer, Djokovic and Nadal."
The redhead sat there quietly as Tezuka started this seemingly endless lecture about what he had done for tennis and his education for the past few years, his eyes kind of glazing over from all the information after a while. He nodded a few times when he felt like he needed to nod. Tezuka had done so many more things than he had. Heck, Tezuka's recount was so much longer and more confusing than his own he had no idea where to store all that information in his mind. So many different names of such prestigious sounding things that Eiji was kind of glad he wasn't going to be tested on this later on. It was almost the most welcome thing ever when the drinks arrived and the shots he ordered came with little extra things on the side. His eyes lit up, Eiji had always wanted to try tequila shots. The routine of salt, drink, lime had always intrigued him and even though he had reached drinking age a long time ago, had never had time to really do any of these fun things. Eiji took one of the plates for himself and then pushed the other plate towards Tezuka. "You can try this with me." The wide grin on his face said it all.
Satisfied that he had given a suitable and detailed explanation, Tezuka noted his friend's slight grimace with a tinge of amusement. The acrobatic redhead was never one for details, preferring things short and simple. The bespectacled man reached for his own glass of apple martini before looking down at the drink Kikumaru offered him with an inquiring look. "I assume you know how best to enjoy the drink?" Judging from the other's words. Tezuka guessed that it was his friend's first time trying the alcoholic beverage and he was honestly curious to know if the other would simply down the drink straight or would use the salt and lime provided. He had previously tried drinking Tequila straight as well as with lime and salt; while he didn't really remember much of the experience, it probably had been interesting to the say the least. If Kikumaru was going to drink it straight, at least his first experience wouldn't be too bad; Atobe would likely have ensured that everything on board the ship was of the finest quality and naturally the alcoholic beverages would be no exception, especially since their quality was a good reflection of the man's wealth and status. After thinking it over a little more, the stoic man decided that it would probably be better if the redhead drank it straight if he wanted to taste the flavour properly.
Blue eyes stared intently at the little glass, wondering just how much damage such a little amount of liquid could do. Can't be that bad. He grinned towards Tezuka and shook his head a little. "I've seen this done on TV!" He announced proudly. Then picked up the salt and poured a little bit onto the back of his hand. "I think...they...." he held it out next to the shot glass and then lined up the lime after it before looking towards Tezuka to make sure he was doing it right. Before he did anything further though, he pushed one out of the other three shots on the table towards Tezuka. Two each wasn't too many was it? Surely not. They were such little teensy tiny cups after all. The redhead grinned towards his former captain. "We do it in this order, right?" And he was going to do as many as it took to make these horrible feelings surrounding Oishi go away. Him and that...that Jimi doubles player... ....there was a little bit of a sad glint in his eyes before Eiji shook it out of his system and then steeled himself to go ahead with the shot without waiting for his partner in crime. Salty. Warm. SOUR. ....there was a few second pause before Eiji's eyes widened and he felt the sour mix with a trail of burn that followed down his throat.
Watching Kikumaru glance ever so often at him with a slight worried look on his face to make sure he was doing things right, Tezuka told himself sternly not to laugh. The stoic man had all but given up on viewing the other as a grown-up; the redhead would always be a fourteen year old in his mind's eye; hyperactive, prone to childish acts, a person who wore his heart on his sleeve and to sum things up, a good-hearted person he was proud to call a friend, though he would never admit that last part out loud. Tezuka stared at the shot glass Kikumaru pushed over to him for a moment before picking it up as well; since he had been dragged out by the other, might as well humour him for the night. Curious to see his friend's reaction first before downing his own portion, hazel-brown eyes fixed themselves on the other man, noting the flash of sadness across the other's blue eyes before the redhead downed his drink. The widening of the other's eyes told him enough; the poor guy probably had felt the burning effects of the alcohol quite strongly despite having used the salt and lime. Waiting a moment for the other to recover, he then proceeded to down his own glass, san salt and lime, allowing himself to taste the flavour. There was the usual burn that he remembered to have accompanied such drinks but it was milder than the last time he tried a straight tequila shot; perhaps he had developed a slight resistance? It was either than or the quality of the drink was much better than those he drank previously. Tezuka was inclined to think it was the latter since he was well aware that the occasional times in which he drank could not possibly have gotten him used to the feeling yet. Calmly putting down the glass back on the table, he turned his attention back to his friend with nary a change in his expression throughout the whole moment. It wasn't anything big that warranted a reaction.
The few coughs that followed couldn't have been prevented. Eiji had to stop himself from reaching for his throat as if he was gagging and sniffed a bit. Blue eyes blinked a few times to get rid of the tears and he took a few deep breaths. "...G...good..." He managed to mutter out before he had to stop for a few more breaths. After he managed to collect himself, a slight goofy grin played over Eiji's lips. First taste of alcohol on an empty stomach and not having been hydrated properly after many days of being upset. It was a good start. Eiji reached for the second shot, this time forgetting about the extra steps he had taken before. He ran a fingers over the brim of the shot glass, head feeling mildly tingly and quite...enjoying this experience. "Tezuka~" He started, feeling quite a bit braver and more open about things than he had been even just a short while ago. "Do you like anyone from our tennis team...? Because I do..." He blurted out the last few words quickly. Then downed the next shot without much warning, this one hitting him much quicker. The burn matched that of the first and this time blue eyes squeezed shut to bear with it. His head was feeling much fuzzier now as he continued to babble. "And when you like someone...you have to really go for it~ Nyaa...." He crossed his arms on the table and slumped his face down, resting his cheek against his arm as he watched up at Tezuka. The little childlike grin constantly playing over his lips. "You and Oishi were always so close..." Not an accusation...not much of anything. A useless statement that didn't even make sense in the context of the conversation.
Tezuka carefully watched his friend, ready to provide any form of assistance in case the coughing became more serious and the other needed help recovering. After a few seconds, Kikumaru thankfully managed to get the coughing under control and got out a word though he was clearly still out of breath. Something within Tezuka sunk as he noticed the expression on the redhead's face. "He's drunk already and only from one cup much less," Tezuka sighed inwardly. He was starting to get the feeling that the night wouldn't end without something going wrong, as much as he would try to prevent it.
Seeing Kikumaru reach for the second glass with the sole intention of downing it straight despite his previous adverse reaction to the alcoholic beverage, the stoic man couldn't help but be a little worried; perhaps he should stop his friend before the other got too inebriated and started to do things he would regret not having carefully thought through first. That brought him back to the question at hand.
Why would Kikumaru ask him if he liked anyone on the team? Weren't they all friends? Of course he liked them, otherwise he would have never have been able to put up with all their antics, which he would only admit privately often drove him near insane, make it through all the trials together with them and win the Nationals. Even after all these years, they could still talk easily with one another, sans one particular perso- he will would not go down that path, not now at least. If that wan't a clear example of the fact that everyone in the team liked each other enough to re-connect, the bespectacled brunette wasn't sure what constituted 'like'.
Kikumaru's next sentence serve no purpose but to add to his confusion. Why would you need to go for if you were friends? Tezuka was honestly starting to suspect that the alcohol was dulling his friend's capacity to form coherent thoughts that made sense, at least to him. The final words that the redhead mumbled were the only ones that he understood and acknowledged.
"I suppose you could say that; he is a dear friend I could really trust and rely on, especially back when I had to leave everyone for rehabilitation..." Tezuka trailed off. Expressing himself out loud wasn't something he often did and it felt awkward. He wasn't good at this sort of thing and unsure of how to respond either; perhaps it would be better to leave it as that.
Eiji sniffed loudly at that response. He sat there, hand now around a glass of beer which had come with their previous order and he had left until last just to see what that would taste like after everything else. "Why does.." He hiccuped a little bit and sat there, head feeling a little bit dizzy. "Why does everybody like Oishi..." The voice was a little bit whiny but more similar to that of a lost child just wanting to get some attention. "Why does...everyone..." He hiccuped again and took a big mouthful of the golden liquid before he rested his cheek down on table again, his hand offering a slight cushion. "...want to take away Oishi.." Obviously not talking about Tezuka now. Eiji's blurry mind slowly drifted to the doubles game they had just had that afternoon, little pangs of regret and selfishness jolting through his chest.
Minami wanted Oishi...
Oishi had good chemistry with Minami.
Eiji was now obsolete.
The redhead sniffed loudly again as he sat there. "Why doesn't anyone want to keep me....?" He whimpered again. Clearly the anyone in that sentence specifically pointing to a someone which anyone who knew Eiji would know who he was trying to claim. Luckily the person who sat before him was someone who had known him for many years, albeit probably not as well as he would know the other half of the golden pair. Specially since Eiji had called Tezuka a demon once during junior high school - purely in relation to tennis of course. He hiccuped again, feeling quite lightheaded now even though the thoughts in his head were...confusing.
This...was bad. If it wasn't obvious that the his red-headed friend was drunk previously, it definitely was now. The other man was already slurring after consuming two glasses of alcoholic beverage and mumbling about things he didn't quite understand, especially since Kikumaru was no longer pronouncing the words properly. All Tezuka knew was that something wasn't quite right and considering the number of times one particular name was being mentioned, it probably had something to do with a certain close friend of both of them. What would Oishi do when Kikumaru got into such a state? The stoic man had no idea how he should handle the redhead in such a situation; back during their school days, he focused on discipline and the nurturing of talent while his vice-captain handled the motivation, emotional issues and complexities that his club members were wont to end up tangled in. He would have to trouble his good friend again. Slipping his handphone out of his pocket, he quickly flipped it open and keyed in a short text message to the other before sending it, hoping that the medical student would be able to send a reply soon.
Oishi, what do you do when Kikumaru's behaviour starts to deviate from the norm? He's drunk and mumbling a lot of odd things.
After having spent the afternoon exploring the ship on his own, and settling down to dinner in his room, Oishi was enjoying a nice, quiet, decidedly normal evening out on his balcony with fresh air and a book. Text books hadn't been the only reading material he'd brought along on this trip luckily-- and he was enjoying something a lot lighter (and painfully sappy and romantic.) He had just ended a chapter on a cliff-hanger when his cell phone buzzed and chirped from the pocket of his shorts. "Hm? Tezuka?" It would be a little late for an invitation to have a match, wouldn't it? Curiously he flipped the phone opened and his eyes scanned over the message. "... drunk and mumbling a lot of things... Wait, drunk?!" His voice pitched, bolting upright so quickly that his lounge chair squealed and tipped. He was already walking. Where, he wasn't sure just yet. Towards the restaurant and service levels was likely his best bet-- his feet were moving of their own accord. His thumbs passed over his keypad as he met the elevator.
Eiji is drunk?! Why is he drinking?! Where are you two? A few minutes into his travels, he had a moment to ponder just how strange it was that Tezuka and Eiji would be hanging out together in the first place.
Another little sniff could be heard from Eiji's part of the table as he leaned back on his seat now and signalled at the waiter to bring over another round of shots. This was just the beginning of the night and he was going to damn well enjoy it. With or without Oishi.
...Oishi....That little pout creeped over Eiji's lips again. "Why..." He mumbled a few words and ended the sentence with "...Oishi...." He rubbed his eyes a little bit and then put on his best smile towards Tezuka. "This stuff doesn't taste half bad huh..."
Tezuka looked on in worry as he watched the redhead signal for the waiter to bring more alcohol. Quickly, he caught said waiter's attention and mouthed the words, "no more please." The waiter nodded back to indicate that he had understood the stoic man and then moved off to attend to his other duties, disregarding Kikumaru's holler for him to bring the drinks when it became clear that the man was not acceding to the stuntman's orders.
There it was again; it seemed like every other sentence was punctuated with the mention of his best friend's name. It did nothing to assuage his curiosity about what exactly was going on between the two. He had noticed the discomfort both shared whenever they met but hadn't yet managed to figure out the cause of the problem. Perhaps by probing a little now, the other might drop some clues in his drunken and less reserved state.
"Naturally, given whose cruise ship we are on," Tezuka replied, a little amused by Kikumaru's comment.
With a little guidance from the crew, Oishi navigated his way through the various eateries and bars until he'd found the corner where "a man with red curly hair" and "a brunette with glasses" had settled in. At the bar. Tezuka and Eiji. Right now he had so many questions they were all toppling helplessly over each other. He hadn't taken either of them as drinkers, or bar flies, and despite not having talked to either of them recently with the exception of this cruise, he couldn't see either of those two things changing. And together. That was the part that really had him scratching his head.
Once he'd spotted them, he hurried over. He immediately noticed something was off with Eiji, all fat-lipped and sullen. He gave Tezuka a puzzled look and then switched his attention over to that redheaded partner of his. The partner who was currently sloshed. If Tezuka was under any impression that Oishi would have any clue on what to do with a drunken Eiji-- as if he'd ever been in this position before-- he was sorely mistaken. "E-Eiji, what are you doing drinking?"
Fuzzy blue eyes stared up at the man that had just appeared at the table, barely held the green gaze before dropped back down to the table. He waved at another waiter in the opposite direction when it was apparent the first one had "forgotten" to bring his next round of drinks. He signalled that Oishi should also be included in the next round of double shots. Eiji's lower lip wibbled a bit as he sat there, followed by a light sniff before he looked up at Oishi. "Why don't you want meeeeee.....?" He whined out before that lower lip wibbled again. Eiji was so easily replaced. By other doubles partners....by other people in Oishi's life. He did just fine without him.
He lifted his glass of beer and downed the rest of it whilst awaiting the next round and just as he thumped the empty glass back down on the table he flashed a big dopey grin at Oishi. "Is awwwkay..." He slurred a little. "I don't ..." He hiccuped and then looked at the table with a gloomy gaze. "I don't need...yaeither..." Eiji continued with his slightly dopey smile as he sat there, unable to really process what he was doing or saying. More alcohol! That's what he needed.
Tezuka's eyebrows went up the moment he saw the medical student blundered into the bar and rush over once he spotted them. He had sent a simple message asking for some advice; how did things turn out such the man ended up personally coming down himself and how had he even located them when Tezuka had not mentioned any venue? Not to mention now that the redhead's former doubles partner had arrived, said drunk man was becoming increasingly talkative; none of it made much sense to him though. If he went by body language, it reminded him of the tension he had seen between the night of the reunion dinner, though this time round it wasn't as bad.
"Oishi, what are you doing here? Also, since you are here, is there anything you can do about Kikumaru? Consuming that much alcohol is going to have rather unpleasant effects for him the next morning."
Oishi immediately corrected the round of drinks Eiji had ordered for them, refusing any glass meant for himself especially. He had to assume it was the alcohol that caused the wobbly redhead to think he'd come here for a drink. Why don't you want meeeeee…..? "W-what are you talking about?" He truly had no idea what Eiji's issue was, or why he was drinking, or why he and Tezuka were here drinking. Nor why Tezuka was so calm about all of these things in unison. His former partner was barely coherent.
He ended up climbing awkwardly on the bar stool on the other side of Eiji, justifying his sitting down as making it easier to keep those waiters from bringing him anything more to drink. His eyes were still wide in disbelief-- if getting absolutely plastered was one of Eiji's hobbies, it was a new one. "Y-you told me he was drunk! That's why I'm here!" He reached over and slid the splash of alcohol still in the glass away from him, "Eiji, what are you doing? You're going to make yourself sick!" Only to get a stubborn whine and an argument in response. He clearly wasn't having any of Oishi's lecturing today. It was vaguely comforting that Tezuka was watching out for him, but not enough that it might keep him from worrying. Since when did Eiji drink?!
A few more minutes of this stubborn back-and-forth continued before Oishi too had pulled out his phone, sending out a quick message to the only person he could think of who may have been capable of talking sense into him at a time like this.
Fuji, please come to the bar ASAP. Brief, to the point, ridiculously vague.
"I knew it!" Eiji mumbled and half slurred as he pushed himself up in a...wobbly standing position. "You don't want me. You ....can see....sme....sin..." He paused for a moment as if the english word had completely disappeared from his vocab for a moment before he managed to finally figure it out. "Synchro!" ...with anyone would have been the end of that sentence but he was too proud that he managed to remember the word that he did a little dance and almost tipped himself over on the floor. Eiji giggled a little bit and sat back down. Then stared into the bottom of his glass. Why was it...empty?
He waved the glass into the air and hoped that this time a competent waiter would finally bring more alcohol over to him. Then the redhead stared up at Oishi. And stared. Tried to figure out just what was going on. Then slumped down over the table again. "I'm a bad doubles partner...." He managed to mumble out into the table so that it was only half audible.
After his usual evening workout, Fuji had retired to his room to take a shower. He'd just finished blow-drying his hair when his phone beeped. Still clad only in his bathrobe, he crossed the room to pick up the phone.
From Oishi? The message was vague, but the only times Oishi summoned him so urgently were Eiji-related. The whole thing with Oishi and Eiji wasn't quite resolved yet, but the last he'd checked, the two had reconciled. Fuji's brows creased with a worried frown. What could be the wrong this time?
On my way, Fuji texted back, and walked to his closet. Since he had no idea what the trouble was, he bypassed the dressier clothing and chose a pair of khaki pants and a white button-down shirt. He folded up the sleeves just under the elbows as a finishing touch, and left the room.
When he arrived at the bar, Fuji was greeted by the sight of a flustered Oishi, a confused Tezuka, and one very drunk Eiji. Fuji closed his eyes, wondering whether he should be amused or irritated. "Where's the fire, Oishi?" he asked, popping up just behind Oishi for the full effect. "How on earth did Eiji get so drunk under your watch?" His eyes flickered to Tezuka and -- okay. Awkward.
Predictably, Oishi jumped half a foot in the air at Fuji’s uncanny ability to sneak up like a ghost on people. His hand touched his chest and he sighed heavily, “I-I had no idea he was up here!” And the redhead was still mumbling incoherently to himself, seemingly flip flopping between hating Oishi and feeling disappointed that he wasn’t giving him enough attention. “And I certainly didn’t know he was getting drunk with Tezuka.” Another baffled look was sent their captain’s way.
God, Eiji was really going to be sick if he kept this up. The sad mumble had Oishi worriedly behind him, a hand rubbing wide circles over his back. Though he still had no idea what Eiji was upset about, as he repeated clearly again. He wasn’t even sure why he’d decided to call Fuji earlier, only that the brunette always seemed capable of talking Eiji down from questionable decisions. “Geez, have you ever even drank before?!”
Fuji shrugged, his earlier concern soothed back to amusement. Not to mention, since Oishi was already here, Eiji was in good hands. "Maybe you should help Eiji back to his room?" Fuji suggested. If Oishi wasn't here, he'd see to it himself, but...he rather thought Eiji might appreciate Oishi's help more. Besides, whatever had gotten Eiji so upset had obviously to do with Oishi, and it would be best for them work it out in private. "I don't think he's in shape to do anything more tonight."
While Oishi was tending to Eiji, Fuji took a short breath and turned to Tezuka. "Sorry for interrupting your evening," he said softly, meeting Tezuka's eyes, and was reasonably sure none of the awkwardness he felt was visible on his face. "If you'd like, we could meet up later to make up for it? You did promise me your travel pictures, after all."
Tezuka's nod of assent eased a small knot of nervousness inside, and Fuji held back a sigh of relief. So far, so good.
Oishi nodded all too readily at the suggestion, glancing up at Fuji with weary green eyes and silently communicating a 'thank you' for the support. Eiji had a great deal of experience in arguing (successfully) against logic where Oishi and emotions were involved, having another voice of reason to weigh in and assure him that going back to his room was the best course of action right now was greatly appreciated. Eiji had a harder time arguing against Fuji.
"Come on," He encouraged, the hand on his partner's back sliding under an arm. Despite the cranky, mumbled protests, he managed to get the pair of them into a very precarious stand. Eiji was still muttering short, stilted sentences about being replaced or being unwanted-- all things Oishi would have to sort through once he was sober. As the last few minutes had proven, attempting to argue with him now was a fruitless endeavor.
"Sorry to have troubled you both," Oishi apologized on their way out, still flustered and wrestling with an Eiji who was now gesturing wildly to make a point about something. Very soon he'd left Fuji and Tezuka at the bar alone, accompanied by an awkward air even he felt was palpable.
After Oishi and Eiji left, Fuji bade Tezuka good night, and excused himself as quickly as decorum allowed. He was acutely aware the matter of Tezuka was yet to be concluded, but... Not now, Fuji decided. Not so soon, with the billiards match with Echizen and their subsequent argument (if one could even call it that) still fresh on his mind. One thing at a time.
Trying to soothe his thoughts back into some semblance of order, Fuji headed back to his room.