Commitment

by Talcum

During their training at the U-17 camp, Kaidoh notices that Inui isn't giving him the usual attention, which worries him a lot. Momoshiro senses that his rival is upset, and decides to meddle. An InuKai fanfic with a bit of KaiMomo as well. YAOI / BoyxBoy warning!

Commitment

WARNING: NEW PRINCE OF TENNIS SPOILERS! (Also BoyXBoy/yaoi/slash)

Pairring: Inui x Kaidoh and a bit of Kaidoh x Momoshiro

Rated M for sexual content

Yaaay first time in literally YEARS that I write something that I actually publish! :D
I'm in love with the Prince of Tennis series at the moment, so this had to happen. Apparently I always end up writing angsty stuff, and this got quite a bit longer than I planned, but I had fun writing it, and I hope it will be enjoyable to read :3
English is still my second language, so I apologize for any grammar/spelling errors.

-o0o-

Kaidoh was doing his best to ignore Inui. He kept practicing along with the other eliminated U-17 camp participants, on the cliffside. He swung the heavy racket with all his might, punishing the air. He took a short break to glare over at his megane senpai, only to see him engaged deeply in conversation with Yanagi.
Kaidoh let out a "fsshuuhhhh" and continued his work, now with even more aggressive power.

Winning the nationals had been one hell of a ride. Kaidoh had felt an significant increase in power and confidence. But the stronger he got, the further away he felt himself slip from that one person, who had believed in him from the start. The guy who had seen the true potential in Kaidoh and who had pushed him to the limit with an intense training plan. He knew he owed a lot to Inui.
Playing doubles together quickly made them closer, and some time later, a warm evening alone at the courts together, Inui had confessed to Kaidoh, that he had more than just friendly feelings for him.
Kaidoh could still clearly remember the way his legs had felt heavy, and his heart had beaten so fast, he was afraid it might explode. Inui's words that day had been a perfect reflection of Kaidoh's own feelings and it had seemed so unlikely that his senpai would share those feelings. At first he thought it was some kind of prank, but still he was too scared to do or say anything. It wasn't until the moment where Inui shyly had leaned in to kiss him ever so softly, that Kaidoh had realized that his senpai's words were genuine.
He also remembered the worried face his senpai had then looked at him with. The only thing Kaidoh had had the nerves to respond was "Don't make that stupid face… I'm still here, aren't I?"

The memory made Kaidoh feel a slight stinging pain in his chest. He slowed down a bit to catch his breath.

Their relationship had had its ups and downs. Kaidoh's temper resulted in some dramatic arguments, which usually ended up with one of them leaving in anger. But usually after they both calmed down, they would talk things out. Inui would break the silence first, trying to analyze what Kaidoh thought he had done wrong, wanting to understand and apologize for it. This would end up making Kaidoh shameful of his behavior and just make him curl up somewhere until Inui would puts his arms around him, and hold him until things seemed all right again.

Besides that, they usually had a lot of fun together. Inui seemed to love to put a grin on Kaidoh's otherwise so serious face, and Kaidoh loved to cook or do other small affectionate favors for Inui, when he had the chance.
Sex had been a super awkward topic at first, since they were both first-timers and super confused about how that worked, especially between two guys. Inui had eagerly read up on all the data he could find about the topic, while Kaidoh just tried not to think too much about it. Despite Inui's enthusiasm, they took it slow. At first it was a lot of kissing, caressing, rubbing and licking. Inui wanted Kaidoh to want it badly enough to beg for it, which finally happened one night. It had been a bit weird, but also exciting for the both of them. (And facing Kaidoh's family at the breakfast table the morning after, had just been suffocatingly embarrassing, as they were both pretty sure that the entire house had heard the noises Kaidoh had made.)
After that night it quickly became a habit they couldn't let go of whenever they were together. Sneaking in a quicky in the club room, with no one else around, even happened once or twice. With Inui's curious and experimenting nature, and Kaidoh's passion and tenacity, they were an unstoppable force when it came to making a mess of the bed sheets.

The rest of the tennis team had quickly accepted their relationship, since it – because of Oishi and Kikumaru – was already common for team members to date.

The heat made all the eliminated players sweat like hell, which made it difficult to hold on to the racket.
Kaidoh adjusted his grip and continued.

Soon the third years would move on to high school, and Kaidoh would be left with the huge responsibility of becoming the captain of the team that currently held the title of national champions.
The thought made him increase his pace with the racket.
Suddenly he felt the racket slip, and fly out of his hand, just a bit too late for him to react. It hit Momoshiro in the back of his head.

Momo quickly turned around, rubbing the now sore spot on his head.
"What the hell, Mamushi?!"

Kaidoh looked at him, trying to conceal his embarrassment of his mishap.
"Don't get in the way of my training, peach-face!"
Saying that his hand slipped would sound like a bad excuse anyways.

"Where you expecting it to come back like a boomerang your frickin' moron?!"
Momo got up close to Kaidoh, staring him in the eyes with an angry glare.

Kaidoh was going to answer something, but caught the glimpse of Inui in the corner of his eye. He watched him join the rest of the hard working guys, without even looking at Kaidoh for a second.

"Are you listening, you racket throwing psychopath?!"
Momo poked at Kaidoh's chest with his own racket.

Kaidoh looked at Momo and then down into the ground.
"Fssshhhuuuhhh…. Sorry I guess…"
He turned away to go get his racket.

Momoshiro looked back at him in surprise.

-o0o-

Since Kaidoh was used to it being Inui who kinda brought it up whenever there was a conflict between them, Kaidoh had no idea how to deal with his frustrated feelings. He knew that Inui had a lot to talk with his childhood friend, Yanagi, about, but it was close to impossible to get any of his attention, and it really started to scare the crap out of Kaidoh.
Kaidoh would follow Inui around the training grounds, in the shadows, and whenever Inui would look his way, he would pretend he was occupied with something else.
In the meantime Momoshiro really started to notice that something serious was up with his friend. He found a time where Kaidoh was alone by the forest.
"Oi… Mamushi…"

Kaidoh looked at his friend and rival with a tired face.
"Huh?"
He was on his way to get water.
"I don't have time for you…"

Momoshiro followed him.
"I'll come with you…"
He glared at Kaidoh.
"You'd probably get lost otherwise anyways… or something…"

"Fsshhhuhhh… what do you want?!"

Momoshiro was quiet for a bit.
"Kaidoh… what is… going on between you and Inui-senpai?"

Kaidoh stopped walking and looked at his friend with an annoyed look.
"Nothing is fucking going on, okay?!"

Momo looked at him with a worried expression.
"Well… Is that the problem?"

Kaidoh looked down at his shoes.
"He… I don't know why but… he has barely talked to me since we… got here…"
He couldn't believe hearing himself admitting the problem so easily to his rival. But the truth was that Momoshiro was probably the best friend Kaidoh had. Despite their usual fights, they knew each other very well, and could even laugh together at times. If he couldn't confide in him, then who else did he really have to talk to?

Momo nodded slowly.
"I noticed… Are you guys fighting or something?"

"No… that's the weird part…"
Kaidoh looked at Momo with an insecure face.
"He just… stopped… But I guess other people are more interesting than me anyways…"
He was clearly referring to Yanagi.

Momo crossed his arms.
"You are seriously scaring me right now… This is not the airhead Mamushi I know! You are usually so headstrong and confident!"

Kaidoh felt a bit angry by that remark.
"I know!"
He hissed.
"Don't rub it in my face!"

"Sorry."
Momo smiled lightly.
"Why don't you just try talking to him?"

"He would just think I was some kind of jealous idiot or something…"
Kaidoh looked away.

"Well, aren't you?"
Momo grinned at him.

Kaidoh turned away from him and started walking again.

"Hey, I was just kidding!"
Momo ran after him.
"Mamushiii wait up!"

-o0o-

Inui had seen Kaidoh and Momoshiro disappear into the woods together. He pushed his glasses back in place, and sighed.
He knew he had to talk to Kaidoh at some point, but just the thought of it was too much for him to bear. He walked over to some of the others who were starting a camp fire.
He knew he had to break up with Kaidoh.

-o0o-

Momoshiro had successfully taken Kaidoh's mind off his troubles, by racing him back to the camp. But as soon as Inui was in sight, Kaidoh's face once again changed into a worried frown.

Momo could only just look as his rival as he felt a deep sadness in his heart.

He wasn't quite sure at which point he had realized.

Momo had always liked girls, no doubt about that. Sure, they were scary at times, but also very wonderfully fascinating creatures.
When it came to guys, he usually befriended most easily, so the whole frenemy thing with Kaidoh, had confused him a lot. His feelings towards the bandana wearing pouty-face had been very intense. At first he was convinced it was just pure hatred, but after realizing he enjoyed their competitions, he slowly started to realize how much he really liked spending time with him. Momoshiro hated playing doubles, but with Kaidoh, time and place didn't exist. He would give his all, and always feel extra energized. One day when he was watching Kaidoh playing a practice game against Kawamura, he just stood there watching Kaidoh. Not his moves, or his attacks, but his face. He had just looked at that ever so serious mug, and had felt a tingly sensation in his chest. That was the day he realized he had a crush on Kaidoh. He felt a force pulling him towards him, and would sometimes just make up stuff so that there would be a chance of him arguing with Kaidoh. Whatever attention he could get from him, was enough.
Being carried by Kaidoh when they climbed the mountain side, had secretly been one of the best moments of Momoshiro's life. He had pretended to sleep, but actually he had just been afraid to make a noise or a movement, that would make the moment go away.
He could never dream of telling Kaidoh his feelings. Not only had he never felt like that about a guy before, but he also knew that Kaidoh was with Inui. And even if he wasn't he would probably still just punch Momo in the face, if he confessed. Instead Momo spend time with him, trying not to get his heart broken, and made sure – in his own cheeky ways – that Kaidoh would stay somewhat happy.
And to see him like this was too much for Momoshiro. He really needed to do something.

-o0o-

Kaidoh had fallen asleep right when he had gotten into his sleeping bag in the cave. He might have had a lot of thoughts during the day, but the merciless training that Mifune put them through, really made him sleep like a baby.
He didn't get to sleep for too long though, as he was shaken awake by a dark shadow above him. Kaidoh had to contain himself to not let out a scream of terror. He quickly recognized the shadow as being Momoshiro, though.
"What the hell, peach-brain, I want to sleep!"
He whispered angrily.

Momo held a bucket over his head.
"If you don't want to get wet, you better follow me!"

Kaidoh bit his lip trying not to yell out angry curses towards his friend. He got up and followed Momoshiro. When they were out of hearing range of the cave, he grabbed Momo by his collar.
"What the fuck are you doing, you piece of shit?!"

"I'm sorry I disturbed your beauty sleep, princess, but something more important has to be done."
Momo had a serious look on his face.

"Look, if you wanna be like those other monsters and train like a maniac through the night, do it yourself! I need to restore my energy to…"
He shut himself up as he heard someone approach them. Kaidoh felt a bit uneasy as he really did not like the dark at all.
His feelings quickly changed, as he realized that it was Inui.

Inui stood there with his arms crossed and a sad worried face.

Momoshiro looked at them.
"I'm… sorry, but this has to stop!"

Inui pushed his glasses into place.
"You're absolutely right. I'm a bit embarrassed that it had to be like this… But it is indeed necessary."

Momo sighed.
"I hope… you'll figure this out together…"
He left.

Kaidoh had a hard time determining where to look, so he just stared down into the ground.

Inui cleared his throat.
"Kaidoh… I'm… sorry…"

Kaidoh now looked at him for a while.
"A-about what?"
He mumbled with a low insecure voice.

"For… not having this talk with you earlier."

Kaidoh felt his insides twist in anxiety.

Inui sighed.
"Kaidoh I… I love you. I really do, and I'm so damn proud of how much you have evolved this year. You have truly become someone worthy of the captain title. And… the time you and I have spent together, have truly been amazing…"
He took a break to take a deep breath. His heart pounded so fast he was sure Kaidoh could hear it.
"…But you and I both know, this can't go on."

Kaidoh felt the words knock the air out of his lungs. He felt his entire body go numb. He wanted to say something, or better, scream something at Inui, but not a single word could escape his lips.

Inui looked away. The devastated look in Kaidoh's eyes almost made him want to cry, but he knew he had to be strong right now. It had to be done.
"I'm going to be a high school student soon. I won't be a part of the team anymore. I won't see you at school, and I'll probably be a lot busier with my studies. It's just not… realistic… To keep this going on."

Kaidoh just stared at Inui. And the longer he stared, the more his sadness was replaced with anger.
"Are you… seriously fucking breaking up with me?! Just like that?! Right now after ignoring me for a bunch of days?!"

"As I said, I am sorry about that."

Kaidoh took a step towards his senpai.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"
Kaidoh felt all his muscles tense up.

"I've been giving this a lot of thought. We would only hold each other back. You need to focus on making the team just as strong as it is now, together with Momoshiro. You need to grow a lot more, and for that you need to be free."

Kaidoh just looked at him with disgust.
"You are… not the Inui I know… when did you become so fucking weak?! Did that son of a bitch Yanagi made you think like this?! I'll kick his fucking ass!"

"Kaidoh, I'm sorry. But I knew from the start. We are very young, and young love just rarely last… Actually there is a 93 % chance that…"

Kaidoh interrupted him with a quick fist at Inui's cheek.

Inui yelled out in pain and looked at Kaidoh with a surprised face.

Kaidoh looked just as surprised. Even though they had been fighting a bunch of times before, Kaidoh had actually never punched Inui. He immediately felt guilty, which only made him even more angry and sad.
"YOU CAN FUCKING GO AND KILL YOURSELF YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"
He turned around and left into the woods.

As he was out of sight Inui let the tears out. He just stood there with a painful face and cried silently.

-o0o-

Momoshiro had been hiding nearby, listening to the whole thing. He knew how much Kaidoh hated loosing. He remembered Kaidoh's first match against Echizen. Kaidoh had been so angry about his loss, that he had smacked his racket into his knee until it bled. Momo had often wondered if he was usually that self harming, but just usually hid it from everyone. And from this "loss" he was afraid what Kaidoh just might do to himself. So he ran after his friend into the dark.

He hesitated to call his name, since he was afraid it might make Kaidoh hide from him. But after searching for a while, he did it anyways.
"Kaidoh! Where the hell… are you?!"
He stopped to catch his breath, but then heard a sound.

A soft sniffle could be heard nearby. He followed it, and found Kaidoh sitting on the ground in an opening in the woods. He had tossed his bandana on the ground and was clearly crying.

"Go to fucking hell!"
Kaidoh yelled at him, without looking at Momoshiro.

"Kaidoh…"
Momoshiro called his name with a soft voice.
"I'm… so sorry…"
He stepped a bit closer, with caution.
"Are you… alright?"

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M FUCKING ALRIGHT?!"
Kaidoh looked at him with red tear-filled eyes.

Momoshiro felt a knot tightening around his heart. He kneeled besides his friend.
"I… I don't know what to say… I just…"

"WHAT?! You just want to what?! Make fun of how stupid I am for falling in love with such a piece of trash?! How gullible I was to believe that he actually loved me?!"

"Not at all…"
Momoshiro sighed.
"More like… wanting to say… how proud I am of you… that you were able to give your heart away like that… How strong you were to open up to someone like that…"

Kaidoh struggled not to break down into another sob-attack.
"What the hell do you want, Momoshiro?!"

Momo's worried eyes ran over Kaidoh's face, trying to scan for something that could tell him what to answer without making things worse.
"I want for you to be happy…"

"Bullshit… you fucking hate me… just like everyone else…"
Kaidoh hugged his knees.

Momoshiro realized how fragile Kaidoh had to feel at that moment. He clenched his fist, and decided to man up. He put his arms around his rival and hugged him tightly.

Kaidoh let out a surprised gasp. He then grabbed Momo, and pushed him down to the ground, laying over him.
"Don't fucking pity me like that!"

Momoshiro frowned, and pushed Kaidoh even harder on to his side, and straddled him, while pinning his arms down. Momo looked at Kaidoh's annoyed face, and leaned down to hug him even more tightly than before.

Kaidoh felt a bit helpless, and he had to admit that his friend's hug had a calming effect on him. He let it happen, and cried in silence.

Momo leaned a bit away to look at Kaidoh.

Kaidoh had calmed a bit down. His eyes were half closed and wet from the tears, and he just looked back at Momoshiro with an exhausted face.

The sight made Momoshiro's brain shut down for a moment. His body took over, and he leaned down to feel Kaidoh's lips against his own.

Kaidoh froze completely. The shock of Momo's doing seemed to make the pain feel a bit less agonizing. Kaidoh just let it happen for a moment, before he wrapped his arms around his rival, and pulled him close.

Momo had ever so often wondered, what Kaidoh's lips would be like to kiss, and he couldn't believe the softness now that he finally got the chance to experience it.

Kaidoh suddenly started licking Momo's lower lip gently. As Momo let his lips part a bit more, Kaidoh took the chance, and slipped his tongue inside Momo's mouth. The taste of Kaidoh's tongue, surprised Momo, but he quickly caught his pace, and let his own tongue twirl forcefully against his rival's.
Kaidoh pushed Momo over, to once again be the one on top. He continued their deep kiss, and pushed his hand up under Momo's shirt.

-o0o-

"So… did you guys talk it over?"
Yanagi slowly approached Inui, who sat by the edge of the cliff.

Inui was staring out into nothing.
"I… think so yes…"

Yanagi sat down next to him.
"So?"

"I guess… it's over."

"I see…"

They were quiet together for a while.

Inui sighed deeply.
"Nothing in the world could have prepared me for this pain…"

"You should have known."

"His… face…"
Inui put a hand to his chest.
"The probability of me never forgetting that face he made… 120%!"

"You're such an idiot… I told you it was a rash decision."

"I meant what I told him though. I would… only hold him back. He needs to be strong…"

"Are you implying that being loved is a weakness?"

Inui looked at him with a surprised face.
"N-no… I just…"

"This is not really about him, is it?"
Yanagi looked at him with a serious face.
"It's about you being afraid of commitment. From the beginning you thought of your thing with Kaidoh as a bit of middle-school fun. But your relationship quickly turned into something so much more than that, and you feel like this is your only chance to let him go. Holding on to what you've got, despite the distance, would make it a lot more serious."

Inui was speechless. He just stared at his childhood friend.
"What… you…"
He raised his hand to rub his forehead in confusion.
Damnit… He is… right…

-o0o-

"K-kaidoh…"
Momoshiro grabbed Kaidoh's hand that was now on its way down Momo's pants.
"What are you…"

"Just let me fucking do it!"
Kaidoh had the eyes of a wild animal guarding over his prey.
"I just want it to… go the fuck away! I want to forget it! I want to do it with you, that'll make it all better!"

Momo sighed.
"You and I… both know… that it won't stay better…"

Kaidoh just looked at Momo for a while, until the tears started bursting out again. He moved away from Momo, to sit in the grass and hid his face in his hand.

Momo rested on his elbows and looked at Kaidoh with a sad smile.
"I'm sorry; I was the one who started it. To be honest I had no idea you would get so much into it."

Kaidoh blushed a bit and looked away.
"What did I have to lose?!"
He tried drying his eyes.

Momo immediately felt terrible. His intentions had from the start been for Inui and Kaidoh to make up, but instead he had ended up making things even more complicated.
"Kaidoh… I might as well… just tell you…"
He took a deep breath.
"I… I love you… I've been in love with you for quite some time. I know that might be the most stupid thing you've ever heard but…"

"I know…"
Kaidoh pulled a handful of grass out of the ground in frustration.
"Or at least… I've had the feeling that you might feel something like that…"
He tossed the grass away.

Momo almost felt a bit relieved.
"Really? I guess… I've been a bit more obvious than I thought."
He smiled in embarrassment.
"All I wanted to say is… Despite my feelings, I really truly want you to be happy. And I've never seen you happier, than you are together with Inui."
He sighed.
"So… despite how good of a kisser you are… I really don't think we should… be together. I believe you can be the happiest with Inui-senpai"

"Don't you get it? He doesn't want me! He already decided to move on!"

Momoshiro thought about it for a while.
"Maybe… he is testing you! Maybe he wants to see how you truly feel about him!"

Kaidoh looked at his friend with a very skeptical face.

"I guess not…"
Momo smiled.
"No matter what… I still think it's too soon to give up. You guys have so much history… you know each other pretty well… You should be able to talk this over. At least in a better way, than ending up with you… hitting him and running away."

Kaidoh blushed in shame.
"It's not like… I wanted to do that…"

-o0o-

Inui tried to figure out what to do next. Yanagi had left, to go get some sleep, so he was waiting alone in the dark for whenever Kaidoh would return.

He heard footsteps and saw a shadow appear from the darkness of the small forest. He turned to call Kaidoh's name, but then realized that the silhouette was of someone a bit smaller.

Echizen looked at him with his ever so cool eyes.
"Evening..."

Inui knew that he had most likely been doing some late night training.
"Echizen. Do you happen to know… where Kaidoh went off to?"

Echizen looked away with a thoughtful expression.
"Yeah…"

Inui sighed.
"Good. Where?"

"Well… I happened to see him and… Momo-senpai…"
He now looked a bit more serious, even a bit worried.
"But uhm… They were kinda making out…"

Inui felt his blood freeze.
"Wh-what?"

"Well, I've been noticing you and Kaidoh being apart a lot more recently. Have you guys… broken up or something?"
Echizen usually didn't care too much about other people's private business like this, but the unsettled look on his senpai's face, plus his swollen red cheek, was not something he could just leave be. He wasn't heartless either.

Inui took a deep breath to collect himself.
"Well… Yeah…"

"Oh, okay… I guess it makes sense then…"
Echizen felt a bit uncomfortable about the topic.

Inui crossed his arms.
"So… He is with Momoshiro-kun…"

"Surprised me too, to be honest… But I guess they ARE close after all."
He met Inui's glare.
"Are you… okay with it, senpai?"

Inui faked a smile.
"Oh yes, of course! Well, I guess it's a bit weird but… I'm happy for him."

Echizen nodded slowly.
"All right. I'll go get some rest then. You should too, senpai."
Echizen kept walking towards the cave.

Inui just looked at the spot Echizen had just stood in, still with that fake smile on his face.
That was fast… But I guess it must have been on its way… That's what I get for not being there…
He looked up at the sky.
I'm happy for him… If that's what he wants now… I'm happy for him.
Tears ran down his face, and his smile faded into sorrow.

-o0o-

Kaidoh looked for Inui around the camp grounds for a while, alone. He felt really terrible. The least he could do was to apologize for hitting Inui. But he was nowhere to be found, so he returned to the cave, realizing his senpai had been there the entire time, sleeping.
He crawled into his sleeping bag, and tried to get some rest, hoping that the next day would offer him a clear answer to what he should do.

-o0o-

The next morning after breakfast, Kaidoh felt a determination. He kept an eye on Inui, trying to find a moment where he was alone. He finally found a right time and approached him, when no one else was around.

Inui just looked at Kaidoh with an indifferent expression.
"Morning."

Kaidoh clenched his fists.
"Sadaharu…"

Inui looked a bit surprised. Kaidoh rarely used his first name, actually it was mostly only when they were being intimate.

Kaidoh looked into his eyes.
"I'm… sorry for hitting you."

Inui touched his still sore cheek.
"That's okay. I guess I deserved it."

"No you didn't. In fact… No one is allowed to hurt you. Especially not me. I am supposed to be the one who protect you from jerks who might do shit like that."
He looked at his senpai with a fire in his eyes.

Inui still looked at him with a calm face.
"I can take care of myself. I accept your apology. Now, if you will have me excused…"
He was about to leave, but Kaidoh grabbed the fabric of his t-shirt.
Inui now looked a bit annoyed.
"Kaidoh, what do you want? We broke up, remember?"

Kaidoh didn't let go.
"I know but… I refuse to accept it! I want a better reason for it!"
He pulled Inui closer.
"Look into my eyes, and tell me that you really don't want to be with me anymore."

Inui looked at him from behind his thick glasses.
"I know about you and Momoshiro. I hope the two of you become happy together."

The words surprised Kaidoh enough for him to let go of Inui.

Inui took the chance, and elegantly slipped away from Kaidoh, and left.

Kaidoh just watched him walk away, with a terrified look on his face.
He... saw us? Or did someone tell him?
He felt an ice cold sensation run down his spine.
Shit… it wasn't… like that though…
He felt everything fall apart around him. He filled his lungs with air.
"I CAN'T BE WITHOUT YOU!"

Inui stopped.

Kaidoh staggered towards Inui.
"Don't you understand?! I'm freaking' useless without you!"
Kaidoh didn't care that some of the others were now looking at them.
"Please don't do this to me! The thing with Momo… It didn't mean anything!"

Inui turned around and looked at Kaidoh, with a now annoyed face.
"Don't you get it?! It's not about Momoshiro! It's not about you either!"
He sighed and looked away with a sad expression.
"It's… it's about me, okay?!"

Kaidoh looked at him with surprise.
"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I thought I could do this. I thought I could commit… But I guess I'm a loser like that! Love probably wasn't for me in the first place. I know too much data about the risks of being in a relationship, and I just… I'm not… ready to get my heart broken!"

"Isn't that a bit too late?!"
Kaidoh clenched his fists in frustration.

"Yes, and you are only making things worse! The thought about you and Momoshiro now being together…"
Inui relaxed his otherwise tense shoulders.
"It made it easier for me. If I could just pretend that we had never happened and that you were with someone else."

Kaidoh just stood there staring at him.

"You say that you are useless without me? Maybe that's the problem? If you feel so useless on your own, maybe that's exactly what you need. To grow strong on your own."
Inui rested his hand on his hip.
"You know why we are here. This is a once in a lifetime chance to get stronger. To evolve. And we're just wasting each other's time…"

"But…"
Kaidoh wanted to say something, but felt his throat tightening together, choking the words.

"I'm so sorry, Kaidoh… Please… go on and be happy without me."
He once again turned around and left.

Kaidoh felt numb for a moment. He then slowly realized the people that had been watching them, and now felt like a complete idiot. He blushed angrily and started walking.

-o0o-

Momoshiro was getting ready for the tough training waiting them that day, when he saw Kaidoh walking towards him, with a scary look on his face. He wanted to say something, but was then grabbed violently by his arm, and pulled along with him.

"Oi, Mamushi! What are you doing?!"

"Shut the hell up!"
Kaidoh pulled him up against a tree, out of sight from the rest of the camp. He leaned in and kissed Momo desperately.

Momo tried to push Kaidoh away.
"MMmbllmmm-… wait!"
He sighed and tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

"I talked to Inui again… Apparently he knows what happened between you and me, last night."
There was pain in Kaidoh's eyes.
"I… fucked up. It's over…"

Momo thought for a second.
"Did you explain?"

"I tried to … It's not just about us…"
Kaidoh grabbed Momo's shoulders.
"I just… I need to… can we please just…"

Momo smiled caringly at Kaidoh.
"I have to admit that you are really adorable like this, but… No matter what, I doubt this is what you want."

"I don't care anymore…"
Kaidoh kissed him again, and this time Momo didn't fight it.

Momo let him have the moment. He wrapped his arms around him, and admitted to himself, that he enjoyed locking lips with his rival, once again.
A moment later, he realized that Kaidoh was crying.
"Hey…"
He leaned back to meet his eyes.
"I can't kiss you like that. It kinda makes me feel like I'm molesting you..."

Kaidoh wiped his eyes with a shameful expression.
"Shit, sorry…"

Momo sighed.
"What can I… do for you Kaidoh?"

"Just… please…"
Kaidoh looked at him with an unusual shy expression.
"I don't want to be alone."

-o0o-

A couple of days later

Kaidoh almost knocked over a bunch of brooms and mops, inside the small cleaning supply closet, when he tugged Momoshiro, towards him. He desperately tasted his rivals mouth and tongue, and started pulling his t-shirt over his head.

The last couple of days had been rough as all hell. Momoshiro had stayed close by Kaidoh's side, as they had concentrated on getting stronger.
He had tried his best not to make things more confusing for Kaidoh. He treated him like always, teased him, and challenged him, but also remembered to add words of encouragement and support, during their training.

Kaidoh successfully pushed the pain away, and gained a bit of confidence from pushing himself to the limit, with the other trainees.

The two Seigaku rivals had still ended up making out, once in a while. Whenever they had been alone with no one around, Kaidoh would take the initiative, and Momo never minded it.
But they had never taken it to the next level. Kaidoh had pulled away, claiming that the place and time wasn't right for it.

Momoshiro knew it wasn't about that, but about the fact that Kaidoh clearly still hadn't let go of Inui. He didn't hold it against him. He just wanted him to feel better.

Finally they made it back to the U-17 camp, and were once again reunited with the other participants.

Momoshiro helped, by pulling his shirt off in a quick movement.
"Are you sad about us not being roomies?"
Momo send Kaidoh a mischievous smile.

"That probably wouldn't have been a good idea anyways…"
Kaidoh mumbled, as he gently caressed Momo's now exposed skin.

"Yeah, you'd probably keep me up all night with your snoring."
Momoshiro's hands found their way up under Kaidoh's dark tank top.

"I don't snore…"
Kaidoh kissed his neck.

"People are probably just too scared by your face, to tell you."

Kaidoh shut him up with another passionate kiss.

Momo sighed into his mouth.
"Kaidoh… Is this… the right time and place?"

Kaidoh stopped and looked at him.
"Huh?"

Momo had an almost sad smile on his face.
"We've had our fun, but it's about time you tell me whether or not this is something that we are going to continue."

Kaidoh looked down.
"Fsshuuuhh…"
He thoughtfully scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah… I guess that's fair."

"It's okay… I guess I know that you don't feel the same way about me as I do about you."

"Sorry. It's not that I don't like you. I really do. But…"

"You love Inui… I understand."

Kaidoh leaned back against the shelves.
"I've… really tried to push it away."

Momoshiro recognize the pain in his eyes.
"Kaidoh… I know how strong you have gotten. How amazing your tennis has become. Your endurance and your passion is just incredible. So maybe, just maybe, this camp wasn't for you to get physically stronger."
Momo smiled.
"Inui's way of thinking is with numbers and odds. If he's afraid to risk it, maybe he needs a stubborn airhead like you, to push him into it anyways. You never give up, and maybe this time that's the strength your relationship needs."

Kaidoh just looked at Momo with a warm feeling inside.
"M-maybe…"

"It's time for you to become your good old self again."

Kaidoh sighed.
"How about… you?"

"I'll be fine! I am… at most just thankful that I got to spend this time with you. I know you gave me all you could offer me."
He reached out and caressed Kaidoh's neck.

Kaidoh looked like he was considering a lot of things at once.
"Fine, but can I at least… give you one last goodbye then? As a thank you for being there for my sorry ass?"

Momo blinked in surprise.
"Uhm, sure I guess?"

"Good."
Kaidoh leaned in and kissed Momo again.

Momo smiled.
A last goodbye kiss. I'll enjoy this one last time.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sensation of Kaidoh now undoing Momo's pants.

"Wh-what are you doing?!"
Momoshiro blushed.

"It's fine if you want to save your virginity for someone who truly loves you back… But at least let me give you this one great thing to remember us by."
Kaidoh got down on his knees.

Momo held his breath for a moment as he felt Kaidoh pull down his pants. He gasped lightly as he then felt Kaidoh's hands grab his dick gently. Kaidoh didn't waste his time, and Momo soon felt his lips around it as well.

Momoshiro was already turned on, from the kissing action earlier, and Kaidoh's work soon made him hard as steel. He muffled his heavy breaths by pushing the back of his hand against his mouth, and looked down to gaze upon this magical sight, of his rival's doing.

Kaidoh clearly had some experience. He used both his mouth and hands, taking him all in, and sometimes just teasingly licked along Momo's length, while looking up at him with a devilish smile.

Momoshiro struggled to not lose himself too much, but still really enjoyed it. He quickly felt a well known sensation build up, and before he knew it, it was too late to hold back.
He came with a soft moan.

Kaidoh immediately swallowed, and wiped his mouth, as he stood up.

Momo bashfully pulled up his pants, and was going to say something, if it hadn't been for the door being slammed open the next second.

Kaidoh and Momo stared in shock at a just as shocked Tachibana who just stood there looking at them.
"Shit, sorry! I was just… looking for a broom! Didn't mean to… interrupt anything!"
He quickly turned around and left.

"Wait!"
Momoshiro tried to get to him, but he had already slammed the door at them again.
"Aw shit…"
Momo slapped his hand against his forehead.

Kaidoh had a slight smile on his face.
"Let's hope he doesn't tell his sister about this."

Momo's face turned a bright red.
"You goddamn…"
He grabbed Kaidoh by his shirt.
"I'll beat your ass!"

Kaidoh just laughed.
"Come at me!"

-o0o-

Inui was staring at the dark clouds passing by in front of the moon, lightening them up, in an eerie way. He leaned back against the audience seats behind him.
Yanagi had left the courts to go to bed, but Inui had decided to stay for another moment. The relief and success of making it back to the camp, had felt great at first, but had soon been replaced with an empty feeling. A feeling not even making up insane juice recipes with Yanagi, could fix.

"You know, the risk of getting a cold sitting out here alone in the dark is like… 97%!"

Inui looked down at Kaidoh, who were suddenly approaching.
"Uhm… first of all, it's not even close to being chilly enough for me to catch a cold. Second of all… you just made that number up."

Kaidoh grinned.
"So what?"

Inui realized Kaidoh had tried to be funny, which in itself was quite an unusual phenomenon. His smile lid up something inside Inui.

Kaidoh sat down next to him.
"How's your face?"
Kaidoh was referring to the injury he had gotten from his training in the woods, which had caused Inui to once again get his head wrapped in bandages.

"It's good to breathe and see properly again."

"Yeah."

Inui glared at him with an insecure look in his eyes.
"How… are you?"

"I'm fine. Very fine actually."

"Oh… uhm, that's great."

Kaidoh was a bit pleased with his senpai's for once not so overconfident way of being.
"In fact, I've never been better."
He leaned his head against Inui's shoulder.

Inui cleared his throat.
"I see. Fresh air really does something to you, doesn't it?"

"Indeed."
Kaidoh pushed himself closer to Inui, and lightly touched his hand.

Inui quickly removed it, and leaned a bit away with a sigh.
"What… are you doing?"

"I've really missed you these last couple of days."

"I know… I've… missed you too."
Inui pushed his glasses back.
"But we've talked about this."

"Yeah yeah. Can we just… forget about that for a moment? And at least talk together like friends?"

Inui nodded.
"Sounds good to me."
He now looked at Kaidoh.
"I hope you and Momoshiro-kun have had fun?"

"We've been training our asses off. Like everyone else."
Kaidoh now had a more serious tone in his voice.
"It's not like you've been lonely with Yanagi around, I guess?"

"I guess not."

"So, are you guys together or...?"

Inui looked at Kaidoh with an almost shocked face. He then chuckled.
"Even if… even if Yanagi was into guys. He would SO not be my type!"

"What is your type?"
Kaidoh's face was telling Inui that he was serious about his question.

Inui looked up at the sky again.
"You know… that…"
He felt a bit annoyed.
"I thought we were just gonna talk like friends?"

Kaidoh didn't answer that, but just stared at his own shoes.

"Are you… and Momoshiro together… like in a serious way?"

"No… I'm not gonna lie, we've played around a bit, but we are not. Whatever we had, it's over now."

Inui felt his blood boil with jealousy, and tried his best to hide it.
"I see…"

Kaidoh looked right at him.
"Don't worry, we didn't, like, do it. For real. Not like you and I…"

Inui tried to control his heart that was beating so fast in frustration.
"I don't mind it if you did…"

"I did suck his dick, though."

Inui stood up in a quick motion and looked at Kaidoh with a scary face.
"What the hell do you want with me, Kaidoh?! I get it! You are trying to rub it in my face! Trying to make me jealous, well guess what? It fucking worked! Now, are you gonna leave me alone or are you gonna torture me more like this?!"

Kaidoh also got up on his feet.
"I want to hear you say it!"

"Say what?!"

"Your true goddamn feelings for me! Not any of that data crap or how you might get in my way or any of that bullshit. I want to know what you feel, because that's what matters the fucking most to me!"
Kaidoh had a determined look in his eyes.

Inui ran his fingers through his hair.
"I… you know… I…"

Kaidoh just looked at him.

"Okay, OKAY! I love you! Like… I really, really love you! I love you so much that I've regretted losing you every single second, since that night! I miss you so much, that the pain from all the training didn't even come close to match the pain in my heart! I know I'm so damn pathetic! I thought that I was too weak to commit, but now I realize that I'm too weak to not be with you."
Inui had a hard time keeping away the tears.
"I realize all this shit now… And I am so afraid that it's too late. Whatever you've done with Momoshiro burns my heart, but not as much as the thought of never holding you again."

Kaidoh stared at his senpai with his heart racing. He felt comfortable chills from his words. His plan, of making Inui confess that he wanted him back, had succeeded better than expected.
"You are such a goddamn idiot!"
Kaidoh jumped into Inui's arms and hugged him tighter than ever before.

Inui wrapped his arms around him, and smiled, now with tears running.
"I am, aren't I? But I was still somehow smart enough to catch an amazing guy like you. And I let you go… but it looks like you came back?"
He looked at the younger guy.

"Of course, you'd be shit without me."

"True."
Inui pulled off Kaidoh's bandana, to caress his soft dark hair underneath. He looked into Kaidoh's eyes.
"Kaoru…"

Hearing Inui call his first name with his deep gentle voice, made Kaidoh shiver. He stared back into the dark green eyes hiding behind the thick glasses.

"…can we… make this work?"

"Of course."
Kaidoh's eyes brimmed with hope.

Inui sighed.
"In that case… will you be mine again?"

Kaidoh's heart skipped a beat.
"Well, are you gonna be serious about us? Or are you gonna pull some shit like this again?"
He pouted.

Inui kneeled before Kaidoh, and took his hand.
"I promise to love you with all my heart and soul. And should I ever be in doubt about my feelings or of our future, I will talk to you about it, before making any stupid decisions."

Kaidoh was blushing heavily, and thanked the darkness for hiding it a bit.
"Y-you better! I don't give a damn about our odds or you going to high school, 'cause I want this!"

Inui stood back up.
"Of course…"
He pulled him into another hug.
"We can make it work. Your determination alone gives us about a 73% better chance!"

Kaidoh looked at him with a crooked smile.
"You just made that number up, didn't you?"

Inui pinched his chin.
"Let me have that one, you're the one being unusually cheeky tonight!"

"I knew I had to change my game to even get to talk to you!"

"Sorry."
He scanned Kaidoh quickly.
"If you wanted my attention, you could just have taken off your shirt, though."

"What makes you think you deserve that?"

"Well, apparently you did some dirty things to Momoshiro?"
Inui looked a bit frustrated.
"And I of all people know how good you are at that!"

"Yeah? Want me to make it up to you?"

"I think that's the only way I can forgive you for it."
Inui tried to look calm, but the thought alone made him pretty aroused, especially since it had been a while since last time.
He leaned down to kiss Kaidoh.

Kaidoh willingly accepted it, and wrapped his arms around Inui's neck, while once again feeling the soft gentle sensation of his lover's lips.
It didn't take long before he also tasted his tongue, and felt Inui's warm hands against his skin under his shirt.
The feeling drove Kaidoh crazy, and he pushed Inui down, and straddled him, while continuing their kiss.

Inui did his best not to make his heavy breath into soft moans.
As Kaidoh pushed his crotch against him, Inui immediately felt that he wasn't the only one who was very much turned on. He grabbed onto Kaidoh's ass, and pushed him even closer, to rub against the hard bulge in Kaidoh's shorts.

Kaidoh let out a surprised gasp, and looked at Inui with a slight blush and an almost feverish expression.

"I don't think we can make do with just a blowjob."
Inui looked at his kouhai with a devilish smile.

Kaidoh simply answered with another passionate kiss.

Inui got up, and sighed frustrated.
"Let's… go find a comfortable place inside… where we can be alone…"
He grabbed Kaidoh's hand and started walking in a fast pace.

"I know a great cleaning supply closet."
Kaidoh mumbled, as he was being dragged along.

-o0o-

Momo had witnessed a smiling emerald pair, disappear into the very same closet, him and Kaidoh had hid it earlier. He sighed, and grinned.
Good… They finally got their shit together!

"Oh… did they…?"
Yanagi appeared next to Momoshiro.

"Yup!"

Yanagi sighed in relief.
"Thank god. Cheering Inui up was getting quite exhausting."

"I know what you mean."
Momoshiro nodded, still smiling.

Yanagi looked at him.
"But… didn't you and Kaidoh..?"

"Oh no, no!"
Momoshiro waved his hands in front of him.
"That was… just some fooling around! I'm gonna find me a cute girl instead, that's probably a much better idea."
Just as he had said that, Tachibana passed by.

"Excuse me…"
He was headed towards the cleaning supply closet.
"Never got my hands on that broom…"

Momo just looked at him for a second, and then realized.
"Wow, hey wait!"

-o0o-

Kaidoh desperately clinged onto Inui, as he tried not to make too much noise, from the amazing pleasure, the older guy provided, as he gently thrusted into Kaidoh.

"Kaoru…"
Inui whispered gently against Kaidoh's neck.

Kaidoh wanted to respond with Inui's name, but let out a moan instead, as he felt his lover hit a good spot.

"Don't hold back, let me hear you."
Inui gently sucked on Kaidoh's earlobe, which resulted in another moan from the younger guy.

Kaidoh would later on be ashamed of the noises he ended up making, when Inui now also grabbed his erection, to massage it rhythmically.

Inui was very close to his climax. Kaidoh's noises, his scent - that he had missed so much - and the feeling of his tight insides made Inui black out in sheer ecstasy.

It was Kaidoh who ended up finishing first, though. He arched his back, and sank his nails into Inui's shoulders as he came hard with a loud groan.

Inui lifted his hand, to lick it clean from cum, and continued in a now more selfish pace.

Kaidoh sighed in enjoyment and looked at him with admiration, as Inui too reached his climax, and came deep inside of Kaidoh.

Their eyes met, as they listened to each others still heavy breaths.

Inui embraced Kaidoh in a loving hug, and just like that, everything felt like the same again.
They both knew, this experience had only made their relationship stronger.

Author notes:

"Ahhh, ecstasy!"

I enjoyed watching New Prince of Tennis, but I was pretty sad about how little Kaidoh and Inui were interacting, since they are usually pretty close. So I started making up theories about them maybe being on a break or something, and well, that spawned this fanfic, which kinda just ended up being an angsty love drama story. But I at least feel better about them now xD
Emerald pair is my ultimate Prince of Tennis OTP, I love them so much! But since I also really dig rival pairings (and I actually really like Momoshiro too) I wanted to get a bit of KaidohXMomo in there as well x3 Inui will definitely use the stuff that Kaidoh did with Momo, as an excuse to get laid a couple of times, but he'll still forgives him for it. They were on a break after all! (I watch too much FRIENDS :/)
And don't worry, Momo will be fine. Most of us have been through those unrequited love situations, and at least they ended it as better friends than before. (And who knows, if Inui someday don't mind it, they might even give Momo the chance to join them in some late night fun BD I wouldn't mind that, meheh )

Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed it!