Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own PoT (*sobs*). However, this fanfic is entirely my fault. Written from the point of view of Kaidoh. My first (rather fail) attempt at a 1st person perspective. Hope it's not too bad.
Released Tension
It was the 17th time we saw each other today. We'd met at early morning practice, several times in the halls, during lunch, in math class, again in the halls, and now at afternoon practice.
It was also the 17th time we'd fought today.
"Stupid Mamushi! Did you see how far out that Boomerang Snake was? You must be getting weak."
I hissed. "Urusei, baka. How about that last Dunk Smash that didn't even land near the baseline? Heck, it hit the back fence and bounced back! Can't you learn to control your shots?"
We glared at each other, tossing insults back and forth. Why in the world had Ryuzaki sentenced us to play doubles today? Why? God knew I couldn't focus on hitting properly when Momoshiro was so close, his muscles rippling as he hit each shot, sweat glistening on his forehead… I snapped out of my reverie at a particularly insulting comment, and reentered the fray.
From somewhere behind me, a soft voice said, "This is the 17th time you've fought today. There is an 89% chance that something has happened between you, as you are fighting about 200% as much as you normally do. You usually only fight about 8-12 times a day." I nearly grinned to myself, forgetting the argument yet again. Trust Inui-sempai to have all the data. But then, Momoshiro said something that really pissed me off, and I started ranting again.
"Argh! I can't take this any more! Let's take this somewhere else, Mamushi!" Momoshiro had finally burst, challenging me at last. Hissing, I nodded, accepting the challenge. Who did that baka think he was? Like he could ever take me on in a fight. We left the courts. Somewhere, some part of me, wondered dimly why the other regulars had let us go. Tezuka, in particular, would never have let us carry on for so long without assigning laps. But my anger built, pushing this thought out of my mind, as Momoshiro led us to a secluded area of the school grounds.
He turned to me, face full of emotion. His cheeks were flushed with anger, and his amethyst eyes sparked with rage. Quietly, intensely, he said, "Kaidoh…"
I started a bit when he said that, forgetting even my anger. He never used my name, only ever called me Mamushi. For some reason, I'd hated that. It made me feel like we weren't close friends… oh wait, we weren't. And why did that make me sad?
I was jolted out of my unsettling thoughts when Momoshiro suddenly appeared in front of me. When had he moved? Without thinking, I stepped back, but found myself against a wall. Shit! How could I have been so stupid? He'd pinned me against the wall without my noticing. He placed his hands by both sides of my head. Crap. There was nowhere to run now…
Hoping to save myself, I hissed, "What, you coward, attack me when I'm thinking about something? Are you really so weak that you have to spring when I'm not ready? Why don't you challenge me to a real fi-" He cut me off, shutting my mouth quickly and effectively.
With his own lips.
It was an angry kiss, harsh and unforgiving. Yet it was full of passion, so even as I gasped in surprise, I felt some hint of heat curling in my stomach. And at the same time, I felt something else, like a great deal of tension had left my body.
We broke apart, panting and gasping for air. I couldn't do anything but stare at him. His cheeks were still flushed, his eyes still sparking, but they held more than anger now. They held… lust? Want? I wasn't sure.
"Kaidoh… I… I'm sorry. I just wanted you to stop talking, and that seemed like the best way, and I've liked you for a long time, I just didn't know how to say it, and I'm sorry that I keep blowing up at you, it's just that there's so much frustration in me at not being able to talk to you normally, and…"
Stop ranting, I wanted to say. Just stop talking. I know what you're trying to say. I understand it completely. Because I've been feeling the same thing for the past few days, but I didn't know how to express it either, so I took it out as anger. And I know exactly how you feel, so just stop talking. Just stop…
"I'm really sorry about that kiss, it was just in the spur of the moment and you looked so cute with your face flushed and mphhh!" I stopped his flow of words with my mouth. This was nothing like the first kiss. While that one had been driven by tension and probably anger, this one was just to shut him up, and to show that I felt the same way. It was tender, with a hint of surprise, but the passion was still there, burning fiercely.
As we broke apart this time, Momoshiro still looked rather dazed. Bringing his hand up to his lips, he whispered, "Kaidoh…" I said softly, "I've been feeling the same way. And I'm sorry too. But not for the kiss. Never for that."
He smiled at me. He had never smiled at me before. He smiled at everyone else, Echizen, Fuji, Eiji, even Tezuka. But never at me, until now. And when I saw his smile, it felt like suddenly my world didn't revolve around the center of the earth anymore. Rather, it spun around this person before me, Momoshiro Takeshi, and it created a vortex that was inevitably sucking me in. I couldn't stop it, and I didn't want to.
"I… I like you, Momoshiro." For some reason, Momoshiro shook his head at that. I was scared by that simple action. What had I done wrong? Could it be that I'd misunderstood him? Had I completely destroyed my last chance? "… Takeshi." Huh?
Momoshiro looked levelly into my eyes. "Call me Takeshi. Since we like each other, shouldn't we call each other by our first names?"
Thank you. God, thank you. Thank you so very, very much for giving me this chance, for allowing me to love such a wonderful person, for letting that person love me back. Thank you. Tentatively, I smiled back at him. "Ta… Takeshi… call me Kaoru."
"Ok, Kaoru."
"Takeshi…"
"Kaoru…"
"Takeshi…"
He burst out laughing, and after a moment I did too. We must have sounded ridiculous. Grinning, he draped an arm around my shoulders and said, "Come on, Kaoru, let's go back to practice. I'm sure that there'll be hell to pay when we go."
I just grinned back. Who cared if there was hell to pay? I had Momo… Takeshi at my side now. Nothing could faze me.
"Momoshiro, Kaidoh. 100 laps."
Ok, maybe that could. Wincing, we set off. But this time, we ran peacefully side by side, rather than striving and racing in an attempt to beat each other. The tension was no longer there, rather love and peace.
We were truly a pair now.
A/N: Ok, this idea kinda just appeared out of nowhere. I really don't know how I came out with it, but here it is. Reading it now, it looks like total crap, but it made sense in my head, ok? Don't flame me too much… *hides from the scary fires* Please R&R!