Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Tattered Strips of Green ❯ Chapter 2

Tattered Strips of Green

 

Chapter Two

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own PoT or the associated characters. I do, however, own Gremlin and Mitsukake. Literally. They're my pets. Isis belongs to Syldana, who has graciously allowed me to write her as one of Kaidoh's pets.

 

~*~

 

The next morning, Inui awoke at exactly twenty minutes past four. It was the first step in what had become his morning ritual shortly after moving into Yukiko's former work room. The next step was to put his glasses on and walk across the hall to Kaidoh's room, wearing nothing but the boxers he had slept in.

 

Asleep, Kaidoh looked at peace with the world. He cuddled a small black and blue merle dog in his arms, the side of his face buried in her silky fur. A black cat lay curled up against his back while a white cat was draped gracefully over his hip.

 

The animals were the only beings Kaidoh hadn't cut himself off from. They didn't lie to him or try to hurt him. They would never turn their backs on him. All they would do was love him, with no strings attached. Inui knew they were aware of his presence, but they didn't stir. He wasn't interesting enough to pull them away from the man they adored.

 

Inui sighed softly and crouched, gazing intently at Kaidoh. He could almost pretend he was looking at the same person he had known eight months ago. No, more than that. He looked younger in his sleep, more like the quiet, introverted teenage boy he had fallen hopelessly in love with all those years ago.

 

He shifted forward onto the balls of his feet, reaching his arm out until his hand was a mere centimeter above the other man's head. If he lowered it that one centimeter he could gently stroke the soft, black hair. But he wouldn't. He wouldn't risk waking him up and being confronted with that cold, unfeeling gaze.

 

Inui stayed that way for nearly five minutes before he finally stood and quietly returned to his own room. By the time he had finished getting dressed and had completed a short set of exercises, it was five in the morning and there were soft sounds coming from the living room.

 

He ventured out to see Kaidoh already up and dressed, getting the dog ready for its morning walk. The cats, Isis and Gremlin, rubbed against Inui's legs on their way to the kitchen.

 

“Inui, make yourself useful and feed the cats instead of standing there in the hall like an idiot.”

 

Inui winced slightly. The old Kaidoh never would have spoken to him like that. He took a deep breath and pushed his glasses back with one finger.

 

“I have quite a few things to do today. I will most likely end up leaving Nabiki with your parents for several hours.”

 

“Hn. Whatever,” Kaidoh said, heading toward the door. “Come, Mitsukake-chan.” The small dog barked, her plumed tail waving happily as they left the house.

 

Inui sighed and went to the kitchen to feed the cats. He managed a small smile as the sleek white cat, Isis, rubbed herself against his leg, meowing loudly. The lovely creature was either hard of hearing or completely deaf, but he didn't know which. The loud meowing could be because she could barely hear herself, or because she could feel the vibrations from the sounds.

 

Once he would have gathered data to find out for sure, but data collection just hadn't been all that important to him for the past seven years. With a last rub against his leg, Isis deserted him to join her black-furred mate at the food bowl, their sides touching.

 

It was suddenly painful to see them together, so he turned away. He had more important things to do than watch cats. He filled a glass with water and took a selection of vitamin supplements from a cabinet. Most of them were natural mood enhancers.

 

“Heh. I'm such an idiot,” he said softly to himself, staring at the handful of brightly colored capsules. “I drove us both to the edge seven years ago. But even though you broke first, you were the stronger one.”

 

He had used his knowledge of the human body and various chemicals to make a thin rope of sorts for himself. Kaidoh had clung to the edge of their shared cliff with nothing but sheer willpower and determination. And he had started to pull himself back up before Yukiko sent him falling.

 

“Kaidoh…” he whispered as memories overwhelmed him.

 

“I've gathered all of the data that I need,” he said, the comment seemingly coming from nowhere as they walked beside the river. “Now would be a good time to end the more intimate aspects of our association. And possibly even the association as a whole.”

 

The eighteen-year-old boy at his side stopped and stared at him incredulously. “What are you talking about?”

 

Inui adjusted his glasses before answering. “This experiment has come to its natural conclusion.”

 

“Experiment? What the hell is going on? Did you get hit on the head when I wasn't looking?”

 

“Teenagers often experiment with relationships. It doesn't really mean anything. It's just training for when they're ready to get married and have a family. You do want a wife and family, don't you, Kaidoh?” They had been using each other's given names when alone together, but he felt that was too familiar for this conversation.

 

“No, I don't,” Kaidoh answered, unconsciously shifting into a defiant stance, his hands clenched at his sides. “I don't want a wife and family. I just want you.” His cheeks tinged pink at the blunt admission, but his expression was determined.

 

Inui turned away from him. “That may be, but you can hardly expect me to give up my hopes for the future because of your ridiculous fixation on me.”

 

There was a soft gasp of shock and hurt from behind him, but he ignored it and continued to speak. “As I said before, I have sufficient data on relationships now. I have no further need of you. Goodbye, Kaidoh.”

 

As he walked away, he heard a soft thump that could have been Kaidoh falling to his knees. He didn't turn back to look.

 

“Inui-san?”

 

Inui slowly came back to himself at the sound of his name and the feel of a small tug at the hem of his shirt. He glanced down, his eyes focusing on a young, worried face that was like looking at Kaidoh in miniature.

 

“Are you okay, Inui-san?” five-year-old Kaidoh Nabiki asked.

 

“I'm fine,” he lied, smiling down at her. “We should be going, Nabi-chan. There are many things to do today.”

 

…

 

“Don' wanna run twenty laps. You know you liked it, Buchou,” Ryoma muttered as someone shook him.

 

“Wake up, Echizen! And shut up. I'm pretty sure I don't want to know what you're muttering about. Don't want to know at all.”

 

Ryoma blinked sleepily and glared at Momo before shifting his gaze to stare balefully at the clock. It was barely fifteen minutes until six.

 

He hated mornings. Just waking up before noon was a terrible ordeal. Being expected to wake up before six in the morning was pure, inhuman torture. So why was Momo in his room, torturing him? Where was Tezuka? And why didn't his room look like his room?

 

“Echizen!” Momo said sharply, shaking him again.

 

Ryoma focused on him, blinking again as he remembered. That was right. Momo had called him last night, inviting him to stay with him at his parents' house rather than checking into a hotel.

 

“Why did Inui-senpai have to schedule this for so early?” he grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

 

“Quit complaining and get ready,” Momo replied, ruffling Ryoma's hair before leaving the room.

 

Ryoma yawned, wondering if it was all really worth getting up for. Then his attention was caught by the scrap of green and white cloth still tied around his wrist. He clenched his fist, his hazel eyes gleaming with determination. No matter how early it was, he would meet with the others and play his part in punishing Yukiko for what she had done.

 

…

 

Birdsong rang through the park as the singers danced through the air on feathered wings. On the ground, an almost angelic seeming young man stood, his head tilted back as he watched their flight. His lips curved up into a serene smile as the sound of grumbling approachers quieted the birds.

 

“A lovely morning, isn't it?” Fuji asked softly, turning to face the just arriving Momo and Ryoma.

 

“Ochibi!” a voice called out before Momo or Ryoma could respond to Fuji. Eiji bounded over to them and leaped onto Ryoma's back, rubbing his cheek against the side of the younger man's head.

 

“Gack! Kikumaru-senpai, get off!”

 

“Hee!” Eiji jumped down and waved at the other two. Then he looked around, his head tilting quizzically. “Nya, where's Inui? He said to be here at six.”

 

“I'm here, Kikumaru,” Inui's voice called out as he appeared from behind a tree. Nabiki trotted along at his heels as he approached the others. He immediately fixed his attention on Ryoma. “Your part in this starts today. Are you prepared?”

 

“Nn.” Ryoma nodded and pulled a small book from his pocket entitled Seduction for Beginners.

 

Momo stared at the book. “Our plan is doomed. So doomed.”

 

Eiji laughed and hugged Ryoma from behind. “Don't worry, I'll make sure our Ochibi is charming enough for that nasty woman.”

 

“Fsshuu~”

 

Eiji made a small, startled sound and bent his knees to hide behind Ryoma, peering over the younger man's shoulder at the little girl by Inui's side. She stopped hissing and fidgeting as she blinked at him, cocking her head slightly.

 

“Did she just…” the redhead blurted before trailing off.

 

Ryoma rolled his eyes. “She is Kaidoh-senpai's kid.” Like Eiji, he had never heard Nabiki hiss, but he wasn't surprised. He had imitated the sound himself before, receiving a light bonk to the head for it from Kaidoh, and had even heard Sakuno's annoying friend do it a few times.

 

Inui frowned slightly and adjusted his glasses as Nabiki began fidgeting again. “Eiji, do you understand your role well enough?”

 

“Keep Ochibi out of trouble and do my best to keep Fuji from knowing that his new fiancée is being seduced.” He winked at Fuji as he said it.

 

Fuji's ever present smile widened a bit. “I'm sure you'll do a wonderful job at that, Eiji,” he said with a touch of laughter in his voice.

 

Correctly guessing the reason for Inui's question, Eiji stopped hiding behind Ryoma and held out his hand to Nabiki. “Let's go play, nya?”

 

She nodded and took his hand, letting him lead her deeper into the park. Once they were out of sight, the remaining four continued the meeting.

 

“Most of my data regarding Yukiko is incorrect,” Inui said. “Fuji is fairly certain she's being her true self around him though, so we'll use his information to work out the details for the rest of the plan.”

 

“Yukiko dislikes children and animals, for one thing,” Fuji said. “And she likes the companionship of people she considers charming, elegant, and beautiful.”

 

“Charming, elegant, and beautiful?” Momo repeated in disbelief. “Someone please remind me just why she ended up going after and marrying the mamushi. Even I'll admit he can be disturbingly cute when he wants to be, but `charming, elegant, and beautiful' is pretty much the opposite of Kaidoh.”

 

“You know why as well as the rest of us, Momo,” Inui answered. “He was an easy target for her, and the perfect way into the social circles she wished to be a part of. His tendency to hide from public view after he went pro only made things better for her.”

 

They were all quiet for a moment until Fuji broke the silence. “Our mamushi deserves a lot better than what he's received from people who have claimed to care about him.” His piercing blue eyes were fully open and fixed on Inui as he spoke.

 

The other man looked away. “We should get back to discussing the plan.”

 

…

 

Nabiki loved to run. When she got up to full speed, she thought it must be just like flying. She laughed with the pure joy of a young child as she ran, the air rushing past her face and drowning out the sound of Eiji's frantic calls as she disappeared among the trees.

 

She gave a small shriek of surprise as she tripped over a tree root, falling and skidding a bit across the ground on her forearms and knees.

 

“Fsshuu~”

 

“You shouldn't do that.”

 

Nabiki lifted her head a bit, her eyes first taking in the sight of a familiar little black and blue merle dog. Beside the dog were a pair of sockless feet encased within white tennis shoes.

 

“P-papa?”

 

Her father stood in front of her with the cold, disinterested look in his eyes that had become the norm during the past eight months. The little girl fought not to cry. She didn't care as much about losing her mother - she had loved her, but the woman had never really had much to do with her - but she desperately wanted her father back.

 

“If you hiss, people will think you're weird, and they won't like you,” he said.

 

“You do it all the time,” she pointed out, though she hadn't heard him hiss at all in the past eight months.

“I'm weird and people don't like me.”

 

“Lots of people like you, Papa. Even Momochan-san likes you, but he doesn't like to admit it.” She shifted backwards onto just her knees, unconsciously giving another low hiss as she realized she had a nasty scrape along her right arm.

 

She expected another advisement against hissing. Instead, he moved closer to her and crouched, pulling off his red and black bandana as he did so.

 

“Have Inui take proper care of this when you get back to him,” he said, tying the bandana around her arm.

 

Acting on a sudden impulse, Nabiki threw herself forward, nearly knocking them both to the ground as she hugged him. “I love you, Papa.”

 

Kaidoh was silent for a moment, then spoke quietly. “I know. I'm sorry, kitten. I can't be who you need me to be right now. That's why….”

 

“That's why Inui-san takes care of me now,” Nabiki said, hugging him tighter.

 

He gently pulled away from her and stood, turning to leave. “Kikumaru's been calling for you. It isn't polite to worry your elders.” He took a few steps away, then stopped as he heard her getting to her feet. “Nabi-chan?”

 

“Yes, Papa?”

 

…Safely within the coils of a protective serpent, there was a young man who seemed either dead or deeply sleeping. He was still, so very, very still. And then the fingers of one hand began to twitch…

 

“I love you too,” he said. And then he walked away.

 

…

 

“Do you think you can do it, Echizen?” Inui asked.

 

“Nn.” Ryoma yawned. “Should be easy. I just have to be charming and wonderful.”

 

“Doomed. So doomed,” Momo muttered. The others ignored him.

 

“We'll be meeting at Taka-san's place tonight. If everyone remembers their roles, it should all work out according to plan,” Inui said, looking over the notes he had made.

 

“Eiji's back,” Fuji said suddenly, pointing past Inui's shoulder.

 

The redhead waved at them as he approached. “Nya, she tried to make me eat a lizard!”

 

“They're good for you,” Nabiki insisted. “I've seen Inui-san use them in his drinks.”

 

Ryoma and Momo stared at Inui and slowly backed away. Inui didn't notice. His attention was fixed on the red and black bandana tied around Nabiki's arm. He recognized it as the one Kaidoh had been wearing earlier that morning.

 

“She got away from me for a bit,” Eiji said, his tone and manner suddenly serious. “When I found her again, she had that.”

 

“I fell down and hurt my arm. Papa was there.”

 

“I see,” Inui said quietly. Nabiki went over to him and held on to the hem of his shirt.

 

“I think we're done here for now,” Fuji said.

 

“Come on, Echizen.” Momo grabbed Ryoma's arm and started to drag him away. “I'll buy you some breakfast.”

 

“Oooh, get some for me too!” Eiji said, following after them.

 

“You're older, so you get to buy, Eiji-senpai,” Momo said.

 

“What? That's not fair!”

 

Fuji lingered behind with Inui and Nabiki as the others left, their good-natured arguing fading as they traveled out of hearing range.

 

“Is there something you wanted?” Inui asked.

 

Fuji nodded. “To ask you a question. When was the last time you were truly happy?”

 

Inui looked down at the ground, adjusting his glasses before answering. “Seven years ago.”

 

“Hm. That's what I thought. I'll see you tonight, Inui.”

 

And then Fuji was gone, leaving Inui alone with Nabiki and his memories. Memories of the night before he had broken Kaidoh's heart. And his own.

 

“You're like a tootsie roll pop,” he announced suddenly, gazing up at the young man laying comfortably atop him.

 

“You think I'm sweet and fruity?” Kaidoh asked, blinking in surprise. His head tilted slightly to the side as it usually did when he was utterly bewildered.

 

Inui laughed at that and reached up to stroke the eighteen-year-old's hair. “You can certainly be sweet when you feel like it, but that's not what I meant. You have a hard outer shell and a soft, chewy center, but that shell isn't just a mask. It's as much who you really are as your softer side.”

 

Kaidoh shifted and moved Inui's hand out of his hair. Then he rubbed his cheek against the other man's palm, lightly kissing his wrist while still gazing down at him, attentive as Inui continued his analogy.

 

“There are many who would get impatient and attempt to bite their way through to that softer side, but they'd risk hurting their teeth and breaking off shards.” He caressed the younger teenager's cheek. “A smart person would slowly lick their way through, gently wearing down part of the armor.”

 

The corners of Kaidoh's mouth quirked up in a small smile and his eyes danced with amusement. A sudden, overwhelming feeling of warmth filled Inui's heart. There were at least seven other people who'd been permitted a glimpse past the outer shell, but Inui was the only one allowed to see all aspects of the young man he loved. It made him feel special, to be the one person in the world entrusted with such a precious gift.

 

“Does that mean you intend to lick me until you get to my chewy center?” Kaidoh asked, his voice husky.

 

Inui chuckled and moved suddenly, flipping them so that he was now the one on top. “Will you let me?”

 

“Maybe.” He smirked. “If you're good.”

 

“Oh, I can be very,” he let his tongue flick across the side of Kaidoh's neck, “very good.”

 

It had been the last time Kaidoh had ever smiled at him. The last time he'd ever been given more than a glimpse past his outer shell.