What To Give

"What to give...what to give..."

Kikumaru chirped vibrantly on a Wednesday morning. St. Valentines Day. Their first, together. And even though he has to share her to the others on this very special occasion, it doesn't bother him that much. Knowing that eventually, after everything, he'll still have most of her attention. That despite what their O'Chibi claims about owning half of her full attention, he will still have every bit of it in the end.

"Eiji! Seiyume-chan is already here! Don't make a nuisance of making her wait!" Kikumaru kaa-san bellows downstairs. "Hurry up and get down here!"

His heart instantly slams against his ribcage at the mention of her name. Fortunately enough, the rest couldn't see him right now. Especially Fuji. He sweatdrops while imagining what particular sadistic smile will his bestfriend impose when he do really see him right now. He quickly pick up his bag and brashly runs down the stair as his heart nearly jump out his chest when he saw Seiyume, smiling up at him. The ever popular yet mysterious Echizen Seiyume...giving him now the smile he calls his own. After greeting each other good morning, his mother left them and disappeared towards the kitchen.

"Happy Valentines, Eiji," She kissed his cheek, making him blush furiously on his feet. Seiyume let out a rare girly giggle and huggled Kikumaru to wake him up from his trance. And when she sensed that he's back, she handed a blue box of chocolate to him with a smile. He bounced on his feet seeing a box of his favorite sweets, giving her a kiss back on the cheek.

"Likewise, Seiyume. But...I have no-"

Seiyume placed a finger against his lips and shakes her head, "How about you give me some of your time alone? It's enough to be a valentines gift Eiji."

oOoOoOo=^_^=oOoOoOo

During lunchbreak, Seiyume tried her very best to be polite to every people(majority of them are boys...much to the disdain of the team) who bothered giving her flowers and chocolates, by simply throwing them a simple 'thank you' and a small smile. But she couldn't help to heave out a sigh everytime she shortens the impending long conversations the givers plans to engage with her.


"Hard to be popular, ne Echizen-buchou?" Her vice captain, Daesa intercepts through her thoughts, making her frown after hearing the teasing tone in the former's voice. "To think its us girls who should give chocolates at this ocassion, not the other way around."

Its never been her choice to be like this...popular and a public figure. Since for this day, all that she wished for is to spend the day with Kikumaru alone. But, even that is not possible especially when she have eight other pair of eyes surrounding her, obviously scaring the wits of those other males who are trying to vye a little of her attention. Most of all, eight pairs of eyes who are always glaring at Kikumaru whenever he sneaked Seiyume alone by himself.

"Enough about this me talk. How about you Daesa, how's the day treating you?" She starts, diverting the topic they had begun with.

Daesa propped her hand on her arms and flashed a smile, "I received a teddy bear from Atobe, that's one. Then I also receive an invitation for the grand party at Hyotei tonight."

Her eyes involuntarily rolled after hearing the name of the sender. "And you're going I presume?"

"You're not?" Daesa shot back, making Seiyume flinched on her seat.

"You can't make me. Besides, I am not a party goer, not if the organizer is Atobe himself," Seiyume drawled sarcastically with a dismissal tone.

Daesa giggled sensing the turmoil in Seiyume's voice. Atobe had been persistent on her buchou once. But knowing the scary leader of the girl's tennis club, she turned Atobe down so many times that the fingers on her hands could not even keep up anymore. The buchou is infuriated everytime she finds the Hyotei emperor popping everywhere she goes. Fortunately for Seiyume, Atobe eventually, and miraculously stopped and directed his attention to someone else...only, it annoyed her in return that her own fukubuchou started zoning out since she started dating Atobe.

"He is not that bad Buchou," Daesa chided with a smile, making Seiyume scowl unceremonously back.

"He is only annoying. Now I'm wondering what do you see on that egoistic, arrogant Adonis," Seiyume replied haughtily, darting her sharp eyes at Daesa. Daesa only shrugged her shoulders and gave Seiyume a knowing smile that hadn't escaped the buchou's sharp orbs.

"They are not going here...right?" Seiyume asked in a hiss. Daesa is about to say something more when Kikumaru's arms suddenly wrapped around Seiyume's shoulders, dragging her up and down from Kikumaru's bouncing. Fuji, Inui and Momoshiro appeared from behind, catching her attention in a split second.

'Happy Valentines, Seiyume-senpai. So, broken any bones yet?" Momoshiro inquired, too late to realize what his words meant since he knows it is very unwise to crack a joke like that to a person like Seiyume. But since he's confident that she wouldn't bother to break his bones for now because its indeed heart's day, he hadn't thought that he'll escape the wrath on her eyes. Because as his last word drop out of his mouth, Seiyume's glares sharpened for her to tear him pieces to pieces. Fuji interrupts Momo's impending doom by taking the empty seat infront of her and gave her his usual happy smile leaving Momo obviously relieved that his execution is not due until she could have the freetime to kill him thoroughly.

"Happy heart's day Seiyume-chan. What do you wish for me to give to you?" Fuji greeted and asked here simultaneously.

"Some time alone with Eiji, if you all won't mind," Seiyume thought wearily, unaware that Fuji had read her mind

"It's alright with me, I just don't know about the others," he whispered on her ear, making her grimace and surprise at the same time. Fuji shifts his attention to Daesa, leaving her secretly dumbfounded and amused.

It always amaze her everytime Fuji reads her thoughts, anyone's thoughts without even asking. Only, most of the ways he reads them has either this sadistic look or with his incorrigible smile. No wonder Tezuka twitches everytime the tensai smiles with the implication of 'I'm-setting-you-up' or 'I'm-going-to-torture-you' scheme.

"Want to have a walk outside?" Kikumaru interrupted, pulling her attention to him from Fuji.

Seiyume gave him a nod and enlaced her fingers to Kikumaru's. She secretly has worries about her poor romantic inclinations towards the opposite gender since half of them are scared of her. She's so sure about it since she consulted Inui's accurate datas. And now she's dating Kikumaru, it makes her worry on what to give him that will make this particular day happy for him. He is always bouncy and full of life, opposed to her being somewhat elusive and a loner. He is always one of the crowd while she prefers to be alone with one or two of her close friends. They are different in many ways and it worries her that it will dull their blossoming relationship with each other.

"What's wrong Seiyume? Something's bothering you?" Kikumaru asked with a worry, seeing her very quite even now that its only the two of them alone.

"I think you should go now Eiji. Tezuka hates people who are always late at practice," she let go of his hand and started heading to her own clubroom. But before she could even take a step further, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back into his arms. She surpress a sigh and wrapped her arms around his waist. Kikumaru might not possess the sharp insights those like of Tezuka, Fuji or Atobe has. But it is so obvious that he is a very sensitive person, next to Oishi.

"If you won't tell me then let me do that for you. Seiyume, I know you're worry about us," Kikumaru fills in, gently tightening his embrace. "Opposite attracts, similar repels remember? You are always the worrier among the two of us, that's enough for me to know that you actually care. I don't see it as something negative. Simple gestures on your part are enough to let me know that we are up on the same thing. So stop worrying okay? It will just bring you no good."

And to Kikumaru's surprise, sounds of hiccups escaped her lips. And even though it ain't funny, Kikumaru couldn't restrain his self from laughing. Her tear glistening eyes glares at him, only making him smile more while his fingers gently brushes it all away.

"Seiyume..."

"What? I am busy being dramatic here, don't interrupt me..." Seiyume growls, annoyed at Kikumaru's laughter.

"What is about Hyotei coming here?"

She eventually forgot that she was having a hiccup as a groan escaped her throat. Her eyes rolled in disbelief, thinking about how Gakuto will react if ever he sees Kikumaru again. Then there's Atobe's posing that perfect lifting of his eyebrow when he feels Tezuka's presence and after seeing their little academy. And of course with Oshitari who'll throw those annoying sarcastic remarks he has in his mouth when crossing their own tensai's path. Everything of this is because of Daesa's date, being Atobe's girlfriend for infinity's sake.

"Don't remind me," she answered while trying to surpress another hiccup.

"But why? I thought you are in close terms with Shishido, Akutagawa and Ohtori?" he points out, seeing that Jirou had became Fuji's fan since Fuji defeated him in the District Finals.

"Those three are normal, well except for Jirou-kun's constant sleeping...but what about the rest, minus Kabaji-kun? See, Atobe is annoying, Oshitari is as well with those rude comments and reaction of his...then there's his doubles partner Gakuto who has this distinct glint of murdering you. Tell me, should I be happy upon seeing them?" Seiyume explained with a mild sarcasm.

"Its heart's day. Spare them," he jests, Seiyume finally glaring back at him. He only smiles back, abusing the fact that she's having hiccups and having a hard time mincing him back.

"What's funny? I am not even joking..."

"You are a monster, my dear Seiyume," before she could react, her hiccups paralyzed her ability to retaliate. Then Inui suddenly appeared from nowhere with a glass of green juice and orange bubbling on top.

"Drink a glass of my concoction so that your hiccups will stop Seiyume-chan," Inui offered, placing the glass on her eye level.

Kikumaru and Seiyume glared in unison at Inui. Knowing the bespectacled boy, his container never contains water or anything edible to drink. She had never tasted any of his evil experiments yet and she has no intentions of doing so. Since just by looking on their faces when they are forced to drink Inui's inventions, she could clearly tell that it is not safe to drink.

"Mou Inui! Don't you dare give her that evil juice of yours. I'm warning you!" Kikumaru growled defensively, snatching her away from Inui. Tezuka appeared before them with the rest of the team behind him. Kaidoh approached Seiyume and handed a bottle of water, a real one, after seeing her clutching the front of her uniform.

"Thanks, Kaoru-chan," she manages to say in a broken sentence, allowing Kaidoh's blushing deepen with Momoshiro smiling and having entertainment seeing their Kaidoh-chin's face undergo beet red color.

Oishi approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Drink it, it will lessen the hiccups."

And when she finally had the last of her hiccupping, Kikumaru could swear he is seeing something not nice radiating from the rest of his teammates. "Hoi! Nyah its not what you're thinking!"

But instead of listening to what he's going to say, they charge at him with a torturing phase, making him to step back...sweatdropping at the looming smiles on their faces. And after only a record of ten seconds, Kikumaru ran away for his life, for the umpteenth time. Leaving Seiyume, Inui, Fuji and Tezuka behind, watching them chasing Kikumaru back and forth. She drew out a sigh knowing that the chase would then again take a bit more of their time rather than practicing.

"So there goes my Valentine's date," she muttered wryly under her breath. She then broke into a laugh and apologized to Tezuka. The captain nodded slightly and took out a white box of chocolate from his pocket.

"Maa, I thought its the girl's duty to give box of chocolates every Valentines? Can't wait for White's Day?" Tezuka blushed faintly, forcing her to stifle the threatening laughter on her throat. It's a very rare oppurtunity to anyone to see the stoic boy's captain blush in such simple teasing. So instead of embarrassing him more, she quietly say her thanks and smiles back.

"Tezuka made it yesterday and almost burned my kitchen down. While Inui nearly blew the microwave oven with his newest concoction instead of helping us melt the chocolate we used. Its like my kitchen suddenly turned into a jungle," Fuji explained, seeing Tezuka twitching on his side.

"...still thank you. I didn't imagine you'll even bother to take such effort just to give this to me."

"Anything for our ohime-sama. I just wish Inui and Tezuka stops planning of burning not only my kitchen but my house as well the next time they drop by," The male captain glares at Fuji who, just like always, dismiss his glarings and weave on to whatever he is enjoying to do. She sigh, realizing that she has to endure few more months to be able to pass this madness.

Fuji leaned closer on her ear and whispered, "Don't ever think of what to give to any one of us...Seiyume-chan. Your unyielding care and attention are more than enough to be a payment." Then he softly kissed her cheek, allowing her to absorb everything he just said.

oOoOoOo=^_^=oOoOoOo


"Zurui yo ne¹ nyah," Kikumaru pouts when they finally reached her apartment door, smoothing his aching legs after running away from his crazy team mates and from enduring Tezuka's hundred laps punishment.

"Eiji, its heart's day. Spare them," Seiyume shot back, making him frown hearing his own words thrown back at him. He pulled Seiyume on his lap and embraced her like a child seeking for comfort. There's only one thing that's bothering him ever since lunchbreak that wouldn't even let him at peace.

"Say Seiyume," his voice muffled. "Why did Fuji kissed you this lunchbreak?"

Seiyume leaned away from him, her eyes twinkling in amusement, "Does it bother you?"

"Of course it does," he replied defensively, trying not to look like a nine year old boy to her eyes. "Can't I?"

She brushed her nose against his and simultaneously plants baby kisses on his cheeks, "Its not healthy to be jealous of someone, especially if it has to be Fuji, Eiji. He is a friend. Your bestfriend. My friend. Why be jealous of him? Stop biting the bait or else, I might visit you in the asylum in the future. And besides..."

Seiyume leaned closer to his ears and whispered something that peaked the height of his interest. After that, she embraced him tenderly, stiffling a laugh trapped on her throat.

"Honto ni?² They are dating³?" he finally uttered, absorbing the impact of the secret she just revealed.

"Hai. So stop that or you'll deliberately answer to Tezuka-buchou," she chided teasingly, comical laughter bubbled on Kikumaru's lips.

"Inui knows?" he asked in-between laughters, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Well, I think so. Since when a matter like that escapes Inui, hn? Besides, it won't be Inui if he really let that precious data escape him."

He embraced her tight, exhaustingly burying his face into her soft raven hair. He then closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of her body just next to him, momentarily surrending to the exhaustion he has throughout the entire Valentine's day.

What to give? Hmm, I guess I got more than I could wish for...one heart's day I know I'll never regret...

end
oOoOoOo=^_^=oOoOoOo

/© 01/17/07 by Hitsuzen Nakagauchi

1.zurui yo ne means its so unfair or its not fair

2.honto ni is roughly translated as "really?"

3.i think you know whose Fuji-ko is dating...i did gave it away on the next dialogue.