Author: Lizzie alias Fridoline
Pairing: InuKai
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Unfortunately the characters don't belong to me - Prince of Tennis
Warning: well, ..er…random story? Don't expect anything special, it's a fluffy cliché-fic xD; maybe a somehow open end?! What do you think?

They met at the courts one hour earlier than 'usual', what in itself was already one hour before the normal Seigaku regulars' training schedule.

So they had two hours for themselves, more than enough you could say.

Kaidoh had insisted in playing a match against his Senpai to get an impression on his improvement because lately he had the feeling that he wouldn't do any better at all.

Inui gave in to his wish. There was no harm in trying it out and it was a chance to update his data on Kaidoh and above that he simply wanted to play against the younger one again.

Inui really enjoyed playing tennis with and against the other boy, more than with anyone else from the team, and their last match actually dated back quite a while already.

At the training the last weeks to Inui his Kouhai seemed to be somehow distracted and he recognized that Kaidoh's concentration had decreased rapidly.

Being the person who wrote the training menu for him, Inui of course was well aware of the sophomore's constitution. Kaidoh was healthy and his body was in a more than excellent condition right then.

So the only reason for his lack of improvement could be a mental problem.

This fact concerned him but Inui didn't dare to directly confront the younger one with the question if there's something on his mind.

He didn't want to bother him because he knew Kaidoh was easily offended and it wouldn't help to solve the problem.

There was also a high probability of this match being the solution to his problem and help him to clear up his mind.

A chance of 78 to be exact. It was Kaidoh's way of dealing with his problems and it had helped very often before.

On the other hand he had the habit of proving Inui's data just then wrong when he expected it the least, but that's what made him so interesting.

And it was not only for the sake of his data that he wanted to get to know everything about his Kohai, it was more something like a personal interest.

Lately Inui more and more came to the conclusion that it could be …love.

Even to himself it somehow sounded weird but then again wasn't he supposed to be the weirdest person at school anyway? And
you couldn't call Kaidoh an average guy as well, so it would fit…at least it didn't feel as wrong as it might sound to others at all.

But right then Inui didn't have the time to let his mind wander off that early in the morning when their match was about to start.

Right from the beginning both player were highly concentrated and put all they had in every shot. It was a counterbalanced and wearisome fight, which pushed both, Inui and Kaidoh, to their limits as neither of then wanted to give away a point that easily though it was meant to be a friendly game.

They had played for exactly one hour, three minutes and forty-two seconds when Inui took the last point and made it his win (seven games to six).

Exhausted and heavily breathing Kaidoh collapsed onto the ground and actually smiled a little bit. 'Reliability of data confirmed', Inui thought while adjusting his glasses and smiling relieved as well. He changed the side of the court, walked over to his Kohai and reached out his hand to him.

Kaidoh hastily wiped off his sweaty hand on his shirt before accepting the help offered to him. He thanked his Senpai but in the blink of an eye lay on the ground again.

Inui had miscalculated his strength after that harsh match and pulled a bit too hard, which caused him to lose his balance. And there he was lying on the sandy court just as Kaidoh did a moment ago, who is now positioned on top of him.

His Kohai seemed too startled to move and Inui wanted to apologize but couldn't even get one word out of his mouth as he felt Kaodoh's heart pondering against his chest just where he could feel his own one hammering against his ribcage as fast as it never had before.

At least concerning his own pulse he was sure the reason for its abnormal speed was not the match but the person lying on top of him, who slowly seemed to realize what had happened.

Kaidoh suddenly tried to back off but Inuis body reacted on its own and he pulled him back.

"Senpai…!"

He got a glimpse of the younger one's flushed face and tightened his embrace.

Inui tried to sound as calm as possible as he shortly answered, "…hmm? What is it Kaidoh?"

His Kohai hissed weakly. It took a while before he got a reply from him, but Inui could feel him releasing his tension then he heard a murmur.

"Senpai, … our hearts, they beat at the same rhythm,…they are in sync.", was what Kaidoh had mumbled into Inuis shirt, who now smiled brightly as of course he'd understood the words.

He reached for his glasses to adjust them because they slid of his nose a bit when he lost his balance before. Slowly he pushed them up the bridge of his nose again.

"…indeed."