This was the result of what started out as a fifteen-minute word challenge, but ended up going much longer than that. The challenge word is stated at the end of the fic.
What Goes Around (Prince of Tennis)
By Haruka (email: haruka at ymail dot com)
Kaidoh Kaoru was a good boy. He respected his parents and teachers, and was a firm supporter of the senpai/kohai relationship. However, he also had notoriously bad luck.
Kaidoh had an appointment to meet his teammate Inui for a private training session. He was grateful for this opportunity for more than one reason. Inui-senpai was a genius when it came to knowing exactly what areas should be covered and how to see the best long-term results. He was also the one teammate Kaidoh had a long-time crush on.
He was ready to leave in plenty of time until his mother asked him to mail a letter for her along the way. As an obedient son, he would never consider refusing, and besides the mall was on his route and there was a post office there.
He jogged off, keeping a steady pace. Half-way there, he heard plaintive whining from an alley. Never one to be able to ignore an animal in trouble, Kaidoh went to investigate and found a bedraggled puppy. It was cold and still wet from the showers earlier that day, but it was wearing a collar and tag. The address wasn't within walking distance, so Kaidoh did the only thing he could – he called the phone number and waited for the owners to come retrieve their missing pet. He was going to be a little late, but seeing the puppy's tail wagging joyously as it was taken home safely was worth it.
He picked up his pace on the way to the mall. Once inside, it didn't take long to get the letter mailed, but before he could make it back outside, he saw a little girl crying and looking around frantically. "Kaasan?"
Kaidoh sighed internally. It seemed to be his lot in life that he was responsible for foundlings. He went over and crouched in front of the girl, learning that she'd become separated from her mother in the grocery store. Kaidoh figured the mother must be frantic and may have left the store by then, so he brought the girl to the mall security office.
"Don't leave me, Niisan!" she pleaded, grabbing his hand.
He didn't. He remained with her until her mother heard the mall announcement and ran in to embrace first her child, then an embarrassed Kaidoh.
Now he was VERY late, but Inui-senpai might have waited at the meeting place, anyway. He left the mall at a hard run.
When he came to the first red streetlight, he felt a touch on his arm and looked down at an elderly woman. She gazed up at him with a smile.
"Would you mind helping me across the street, young man?"
Naturally he couldn't refuse, no matter how big a hurry he was in. When the light turned green, he and the woman inched across the street step by agonizingly-slow step. To Kaidoh, it seemed to take an hour.
Once they finally made it, the woman grasped both of Kaidoh's hands in hers and thanked him sincerely.
"Such a sweet boy!" he heard her say as they went their separate ways. He blushed.
He didn't mind helping everyone, but a few minutes later when he looked down at the riverside meeting place and saw no one was there, he couldn't help feeling depressed. There was nothing to do now but go home.
"Oh Kaoru, you're back!" his mother said when he walked in the door. "You have a guest." She motioned to where Inui-senpai was having tea at their kitchen table.
"Kaidoh," he said, "I was worried when you didn't show up for training and thought I'd come by to see if you were ill."
"I don't know why you were so late just mailing my letter, Kaoru, but since your senpai went to all the trouble to come over I invited him to stay for dinner." His mother smiled.
"After we eat, we can take care of the training," Inui suggested. "I'm free this evening, anyway, so we'll have plenty of time."
"Why don't you spend the night then, Sadaharu-kun?" Kaidoh's mother asked. "Kaoru speaks very highly of his senpai, and his father and I would like to get to know you better."
"I would like that as well, thank you." Inui bowed and smiled in Kaidoh's direction.
Kaidoh blinked. Inui-senpai wasn't upset that he'd been kept waiting? And he was spending the night at his house?
He decided not to question fate. Sometimes you just enjoyed it.
(Word challenge – Karma)
(2005)
Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.