Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Singing Juices: A Tenipuri Musical ❯ On the Way Home ( Chapter 2 )

AN: Sorry for the crappy songs in this one. This is basically all three of the crappiest songs stuck together in one chapter. But they fit so I had to use them and I needed to get them out of the way. Please don't go away because of them. And I've had people ask about if I'm going to use the tenimyu musical songs but I don't think I will. It just doesn't exactly fit into what I'm trying to do here. Plus I don't know them.

Oh and definitely thank you to the people who reviewed. Thank you! I love reviews.

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Chapter #2: On the Way Home

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“God, that was freaky.” Momo gave an exaggerated shudder, pushing his bike along beside him. “I definitely don't want to do that again any time soon.”

Finally leaving the school grounds, Ryoma and he were casually walking to Momo's house to play video games. Usually they would go to the burger shop after practice, but Momo was a bit worried that he would burst into song again, not wanting to be embarrassed in the middle of a crowded, public place. The other Regulars had been bad enough.

Watching his feet, Ryoma shrugged, nonchalant, “It didn't seem so bad.”

“Not so bad?!” Momo said, turning to Ryoma in shock, “I just burst randomly into song, a song I don't know, in front of everyone, and I don't even know why! I couldn't even stop myself! It was like someone else was speaking through me or something! I was possessed! How is that not bad?!”

“You should just be glad that the juice improved your voice too. It would've been a lot more embarrassing if you were croaking like a dying toad the whole time like you usually do.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Momo glared at Ryoma, annoyed. Some support. “Just you wait until it's your turn, then we'll see how much you like it.” Then he seemed to consider this. “I don't think I've ever heard you sing before.”

“And you never will.” Ryoma finally looked up at Momo. “The juice has already stopped working.”

“Yeah?” Suspicious, Momo looked down at him and frowned, “How do you know?”

“I'm not dizzy anymore.”

“And how do you know that means it's not working?”

“Because it makes sense.” The duh that followed this statement, while left unsaid, was heard loud and clear.

“Yeah, but since when has Inui-senpai made sense?” Momo replied.

Ryoma gave Momo a strange look. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well you know . . .” Momo shrugged, “Nothing about Inui-senpai makes sense, so nothing Inui-senpai makes will make sense.”

Ryoma stared at him for a moment, as if that was the stupidest thing he had ever heard, and his words matched his look. “That's just stupid.”

“No it's not! It makes perfect sense.”

“In your head, maybe. And that's not a place I want to be.”

“My head is perfectly fine.”

“It's connected to you.”

“Hey!” Momo protested loudly and Ryoma snickered. “Oh, not funny, Echizen,” Momo said, settling down to glare at the younger boy. “Not funny.”

Ryoma clearly didn't think so. “You should see your face.”

“And that's not even remotely mature. I thought you were supposed to be some big freshman now, huh? But really you're just a little kid.”

Ryoma smirked. “Better than an old man.”

“I'm not old!”

Ryoma laughed at his vehement protests, smiling in amusement, and Momo smiled in return, feeling his irritation easily vanish. It was hard to stay mad at Ryoma when he smiled. Even if it was at Momo's expense. He didn't do it nearly often enough.

From somewhere a soft melody began to play, the soft tinkling of a piano in his ears, and Momo's smile turned down into a frown. Looking somewhat confused, he stopped walking and turned to scan the surrounding area for a radio. “Hey, do you hear that?” It sounded really close.

“No. What?” Smile still on his face, Ryoma looked up at Momo, expression turning almost fond.

The sound of the piano got louder. “That! C'mon you have to hear it.” No answer, so Momo turned back to Ryoma, just then noticing his uncharacteristically fond expression. Because sure he liked it when Ryoma smiled but that was taking it a bit far. Momo started to look a little concerned. “Echizen?”

And that's when Ryoma began to sing. Softly. Gently. Totally against all personality traits. “Yoou make me smile. Even the times I'm trying to be ser-i-ous.”

Oh shit, Momo thought, his eyes widening. Not here. Not in the middle of the street. “Echizen?”

“You are possessing the qualityyyy mysteriiioooouu-oouus. A special sty-y-yle. You, you, you, you make meeee smiiiiile.”

“Hey, Echizen. Snap out of it.” Balancing his bike with one hand, Momo waved his other hand frantically in front of Ryoma's face. Snapped his fingers. All Ryoma did was smile at him, looking genuinely happy. And now that expression was starting to freak him out a bit. “C'mon, man. Don't do this. Not here.” Momo looked around nervously to see if anybody else had noticed. So far, no one had.

“Yoou make me smile,” Ryoma sang. To Momo? Was he singing that to Momo? “Even the times our future's looking gloom-i-er. Come through the door and then the room looks rooomiieeeeeeeer. And for a whiii-ii-iile. You, you, you, you make meee smiiiiile.”

And then something even freakier happened, which was hard to do. Voices started singing in his head. “Together forever. My heart says forever. No one makes me feel like you do.” Momo jerked in surprise and looked around for the source. No one was there. He blinked warily, beginning to become a little scared.

“You make me smiiile,” Ryoma sang, apparently not hearing the voices.

“When we're together I know it's forever `cause nobody does what you do,” came from out of nowhere and Momo blinked again, deciding that, for the sake of his sanity, he would ignore the voices, and turned back to Ryoma. Who was still singing. Maybe that wouldn't save his sanity.

“That's how I feeeeel boy,” Ryoma sang, “Whenever I'm with yoo-oouuuu.”

“Echizen, come on,” Momo begged, pleading.

Ryoma ignored him and kept right on singing. “Yoou make me smile. We're never thinking that it could be so poss-i-ble. Now on the other hand it's highly probabaaaaaaaal. I'll staay awhi-i-iiile. `Cause you, you, you, you make meee smiiiiile.

Then the phantom singers were back. Apparently they were Ryoma's back-up. “Together forever. My heart says forever. No one makes me feel like you do.”

“Yoou make me smiiiile,” Ryoma sang. And Momo needed to make it stop. People were going to start noticing soon. The man walking his dog across the street was already looking at them funny

“When we're together I know it's forever `cause nobody does what you do,” the phantom singers sang.

“That's how I feeeeel boy. Whenever I'm with yoooo-ouuuuuu,” Ryoma sang.

And then it was the phantom singers again. “Together forever. My heart says forever. No one makes me feel like you do.”

“No really. I mean it. Stop it,” Momo begged, debating taking Ryoma by the shoulders and shaking him, but he needed one hand to hold up his bike. “You're freaking me out,” he said instead.

Ryoma simply smiled happily, not even seeming to notice that he had spoken, and looked up at Momo adoringly. “Yoou make me smiiiiile.”

“When we're together I know it's forever `cause nobody does what you do,” the phantom singers sang.

“That's what you do to me, baby,” Ryoma sang and Momo's eyes grew even wider. He drew back to stare at his friend. Was Ryoma calling him baby?

“Woah, woah, woah, woah,” the phantom singers sang in the background.

“Echizen, I'm not joking,” ignoring the baby comment, Momo decided to try again, “Stop it,” he ordered, “People can see you.” Maybe that would get through to him.

But Ryoma didn't seem to hear him and or even care that he was starting to draw attention. More people than the guy with the dog had noticed the boy singing the love song in the middle of the street and had stopped whatever they were doing to stare. Luckily there weren't that many of them. For Ryoma's sake, Momo prayed more wouldn't come.

“All the things I seem to feel uptight aboooout ain't so devastating aaaafter aaaaall,” Ryoma sang. And was he getting louder? Maybe it just seemed like he was. Momo winced, looking around at Ryoma's audience. This was so embarrassing. “This must be what life is all aboooout. Standing tall each time you take a faaaaaaall.”

“Echizen,” Momo begged helplessly, starting to lose hope. This couldn't last forever could it?

“You. You. You make me smiiile,” the phantom back-up singers sang, “You. You. You make me smiiile.”

“That's how I feeeel boy. Whenever I'm with yoooo-ouuuuuuu-uuuu,”(1) Ryoma drew out the last note for a long while before finally ending his song and shutting his mouth with a snap.

Momo regarded him cautiously, just in case Ryoma was going to start singing again or flip out in any other major way. When it seemed like Ryoma was done, he asked, somewhat hesitantly, “Echizen?”

Not answering, Ryoma looked this way and that, noticing the people staring at them, and blushed as bright as his tennis racket. In his school uniform and with no hat to pull over his eyes, he quickly looked down at the ground, obviously trying to ignore everything.

Momo didn't want to make any sudden movements. “Are you back?”

Pause. A barely perceptible nod.

Momo nodded, still watching Ryoma carefully for any more out of character behavior. Making sure he didn't just bolt. “Good.”

 

 

Watching his feet as he walked back home alone, Kaidoh scowled and shoved his hand in his pockets. Now that there seemed to be a problem with Inui's precious juice, Inui had bailed on their plans for the evening and so Kaidoh was training alone tonight.

Not that there was anything wrong with that. Inui needed to work on his juice and Kaidoh understood that. He wasn't some kind of clingy girl that needed to be the center of her boyfriend's life, doing everything with him, never having her own personality.

Kaidoh Kaoru was an individual. He didn't need Inui. He wanted him. There was a difference.

And he understood the need for working on the juice. He certainly didn't want to be doing anymore singing. That one time had been embarrassing enough. Kaidoh reddened just remembering it and ducked his head.

He wouldn't forget that feeling any time soon. Of being trapped behind the daze, knowing that he was singing, hearing the words, but being unable to do anything about it. Just having to go along with the words that were involuntarily spilling from his mouth. Kaidoh shuddered.

It just would've been nice to spend some time with Inui for once. They hadn't been able to spend much time together in what felt like months. If it hadn't been one thing it had been another. Inui was always so busy.

Not that Kaidoh was complaining. Inui was a busy guy. Kaidoh had known that going into the relationship. Everything was fine.

So what if Inui was a little distant. So what if they never spent any time together. Kaidoh didn't need things like that. He was fine.

He just couldn't figure out why he was obsessing over it.

“Blu-uee,̶ 1; came out of his mouth before he realized it, “I'm getting kind of close to yoou. Like a shadow I can't looose. Hee-e-ey. You've been hangin' with me everyda-ay. Now you're getting in my waqy. I know you understand me but don't you think that maaybe it's time to move oooooooon.”

Distantly realizing that he was beginning to sing, Kaidoh panicked and tried to fight back, but it was no use. His body wasn't his own anymore.

“What's up lonely?” he sang, “Seems you're my only friend who wants to share my pain. Tell me heartache. What's it gonna take for you to leeave me aloone today? Just when I think that you're gone you're in the mirror looking back at meee. So what's up lonely?”

He was just thankful that nobody was out on the streets to witness this and prayed that nobody would suddenly feel the need to take out the trash and come outside. But it didn't really matter. He kept on singing.

“Sometiiimes I wish you weren't by my siiide. Can't you find another shoulder `cause III-I-II - I want to leeave this broken heart behiiind. We're both wasting too much tiiiime. Find someone else to rain on I'm really getting tired of singing this sad sooooooong.”

He really needed to stop before someone came out. This was so embarrassing. What the hell was he singing? Kaidoh felt himself turning red, but his body still took a breath and started right on singing again.

“What's up lonely?” he sang and looked up from his feet to observe his surroundings, “Seems you're my only friend who wants to share my pain. Tell me heartache. What's it gonna take for you to leeave me aloone today? Just when I think that you're gone you're in the mirror looking back at meee. So what's up lonely?”

Why was he singing about being lonely anyways? Hell, why was he singing at all? What had provoked it? Before it had been Momoshiro, but Momo wasn't there to be an idiot.

“Don't want to give you a reason to hang around anymoooore. You won't be hurting my feeliiings if you find another brooken heart you can leean ooooo-oo-o-oon,” A car drove past, one little kid pasted to the window, staring at him, and Kaidoh cringed inside. Still there was a pause and he took a breath, before singing, much louder, “Gotta go. Gotta move on. Gotta go. Gotta move on. Just leeave me alooooo-oo-oone. 221;

He'd been thinking about Inui and how he didn't care that he would have to train alone again. Did that have something to do with it or was this just random? It didn't seem random.

“What's up lonely?” he sang, “Seems you're my only friend who wants to share my pain. Tell me heartache. What's it gonna take for you to leeave me alooone today? Just when I think that you're gone you're in the mirror looking back at meee. So what's up lonely?”(2)

Music he hadn't noticed playing slowly teetered out and Kaidoh was back to himself again. He did another quick check to make sure that nobody had seen him besides that one kid. Nobody was there.

“Pshhhhhhhh,” he hissed in relief, face bright red, and looked down at his feet again. Embarrassed, he upped his casual pace. Trying to get home quickly before anything like that could happen again.

What the hell had he been singing?

He didn't think it had been random chance that he had begun to sing that particular song. That wouldn't make any sense. Why would he suddenly start to sing something like that randomly? He wasn't a girl.

But if it wasn't random then what did that mean? Kaidoh quickly re-played the song in his head. He had heard himself perfectly well, painfully well, and it seemed he had been asking for the loneliness to go away.

What loneliness? Was he saying that he was lonely?

He would admit that something seemed to be missing from his relationship with Inui lately. Something major that all the other relationships he'd ever seen seemed to have. But so what? That didn't mean he was lonely. He was used to being alone.

So what?

It must've been a mistake.

 

 

Later when they were at his house and in his room away from all of the people on the street Momo tried to make Ryoma feel better. “You have a really nice voice.”

Having kept his attention on the ground and his feet the whole rest of the way there, Ryoma's eyes snapped up and glared. “I do not have a nice voice because it never happened.”

“Echizen,” Momo said almost gently as he sat on his bed and regarded the standing boy, “The whole street saw it happen.”

But Ryoma was adamant. “There was no street. We were never there. We were at school and then we were here. There was no in-between.”

Momo blinked, unable to believe that Ryoma was using that defense. “Echizen. We didn't just teleport here.”

“Yes. Yes we did.” Staring at him hard, Ryoma tried to make Momo admit this with the force of his gaze.

But Momo was immune to the gaze. “That's not even possible.”

“It's possible because I say it's possible.”

“That doesn't even make sense.”

Ryoma clenched his hands into fists at his sides, getting fed up with Momo's logic. “I don't care! It's what happened.”

Momo shifted on his bed and decided to try a different tactic. “Look. It's not like you're the only one it happened to. I sang too, remember?”

“Yeah, but your song was at the clubhouse with the others and not alone. It was funny, not—” Ryoma made a frustrated gesture, not willing to say anymore, and began to pace the small bedroom.

But Momo knew what he meant and grinned. “Not a sappy love song.” Unable to stop himself, he laughed. “I gotta say, Echizen. I never knew you felt that way about me.”

“I don't!” Ryoma said forcefully, stopping his pacing to glare at him, “I think you're annoying. You don't make me smile at all.”

“That's not what the song said,” Momo sing-songed.

And Ryoma clearly didn't like this. “Stop that! It's not funny.” If Ryoma were a little more childish he would be stomping his foot and pouting, but he wasn't.

Momo cleared his throat and tried to settle down. “You're right,” he said as seriously as he could, “It's not.”

Ryoma glared at him for a moment, making sure that he wasn't about to burst out laughing. And in the silence, staring at his best friend's serious face, Momo's brain flashed back to an adoring expression and the words “That's what you do to me, baby,” and he chuckled, tried to smother it, couldn't, and burst out laughing again.

“Stop it!” But Momo didn't stop and Ryoma made a disgusted sound. “Ugh, fine. Don't stop. Laugh to death for all I care. I'm leaving.” And he turned to do just that, throwing the bedroom door open and storming out.

“No. Wait!” Momo hurried to catch up, stumbling but catching himself, and raced out the door to catch Ryoma quickly making his way down the stairs. “What about the video games?!” he called down.

“Play them by yourself,” Ryoma answered and the door shut decisively behind him.

And, unable to stop himself, Momo fell into giggles right there, leaning against the railing, looking down at his front entranceway. And didn't stop for some time because, now away from the scariness of Ryoma acting so weirdly, that song had actually been pretty damn funny.

To think, Ryoma, Mr. Aloof and Arrogant, had sung something that sappy. And about Momo!

Momo laughed.

Not that it wouldn't have been nice if Ryoma had actually meant it. Momo could definitely stand being the reason Ryoma smiled. Had actually dreamt of it. Aspired for it.

But that would never happen.

Giggles eventually dissolving to nothing, disappearing as this reminder hit him for not the first time; Momo leaned his head against the railing and frowned.

It was almost funny in a heart wrenching kind of way to even imagine Ryoma liking him like that. Momo wasn't that lucky.

Here, Ryoma was this amazing kid, smart and talented, and Momo was just . . . Momo. Big and kind of stupid.

Suddenly depressed, Momo closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he tried to will the depression down. Depression successfully squelched for the moment, he opened his eyes and pushed away from the railing, turning to go back into his bedroom. Going immediately for his dresser, he knew it was a bad idea but he needed to see. He reached inside the top drawer and pulled out the picture he kept of Ryoma and him, hidden under a few of his shirts. Staring at it for a moment, he softly ran his thumb over Ryoma's image.

Yeah. It would've been nice.

Distantly Momo noticed the sound of a soft piano melody beginning to play in his ears for the second time that hour but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the picture and what he could never have.

And softly, slowly, he began to sing. “Remember when we never needed each other. The best of friends like,” Momo's lips quirked into a small smile, “sister and brother. We understood we'd never be alone.” Momo gently put the picture back in its spot in his dresser, covering it up with one of his shirts. Wouldn't be good if his parents saw that. They might suspect.

Distantly, he realized that he was singing again, but he didn't really mind in the privacy of his own bedroom and so he just let the words flow, not even trying to stop himself as his body was hijacked.

“Those days are gone,” he sang softly, patting the shirt down to cover up all tracks, “and now I want you so much. The night is long and I need your touch. Don't know what to say. Never meant to feel this way. Don't wanna be alone toniiiight.”

His small smile disappeared and he frowned as he closed his dresser drawer softly.

“What can I do to make you mine?” he sang, “Falling so hard, so fast, this time. What did I say? What diiid you do? How did I fall in love with you?”

He'd tried to figure out how this had happened but honestly had no clue. Ryoma was good-looking, yes. Beautiful even, for a guy. And he was far from being a bad person. He was his best friend. But Momo had always imagined he'd fall for someone like Tachibana An not . . . whatever Ryoma was.

“I hear your voice and I start to tremble,” Sad but true. Why was he so pathetic? “Brings back the child that I resemble. I cannot pretend that we can still be friends. Don't wanna be alone toniiiight.”

Plopping down on the edge of his bed, Momo put his head in his hands, the weight of his unrequited love suddenly weighing him down heavily.
”What can I do to make you mine?” he sang, knowing it could never happen, “Falling so hard, so fast, this time. What did I say? What diiid you do? How did I fall in love with you?”

He laughed suddenly and looked up; imagining Ryoma was still in the room with him. Pretending he was telling Ryoma the truth.

“Oh I want to say this right,” he sang to the Ryoma in his mind, “and it has to be tonight. Just need you to know, oh yeah. I don't wanna live this life. I don't wanna say goodbye. With you I wanna spend the rest of my LIIIIIIIIFE.” His voice got loud on that last note, nearly shouting it, and he knew that his parents had to of heard, but he hoped they wouldn't come investigate.

Going back to singing gently, he reached out for the imaginary Ryoma. “What can I do to make you mine? Falling so hard, so fast, this time. What did I say? What diiid you do? How did I fall in love with you?”

Ryoma disappeared from the room and he was alone. Letting his hand drop, Momo looked back down at his lap and lamented his situation.

“What can I do to make you mine? Falling so hard, so fast, this time. Everything's changed. We never knew. How did I fall in love with you?”(3)

He'd never know.

 

 

 

“You Make Me Smile” by Jennifer Love Hewitt

“What's Up Lonely?” by Kelly Clarkson

“How Did I Fall in Love With You?” by the Backstreet Boys