AN: As a matter of fact, I started writing this fic over 2 years ago and have simply forgotten to finish it.
Once again I wanted to write something since it's Momo's birthday and thus I decided to work on this one.
This's just the first part of it, there should be at least 2 more to come. I hope I can finish writing it and post the rest
of the story pretty soon. I suppose I'm not very happy with it, but nonetheless, here is the first part for Momo's birthday:
What a boring day. In fact, it was a ridiculously boring day. Momo had already gone through all of the numbers that were saved in his mobile phone. The only person he didn't dare to bother was Tezuka-buchou, and he probably wouldn't have been at home on such a sunny day anyway. Obviously everyone else had gone somewhere, too, either to the sea or the mountains, or perhaps they had errands to take care of or whatever. Although Momo had even bothered to go and check the street tennis courts, he hadn't seen anyone hanging around there, either, which had also been a terrible disappointment.
It began to seem as if everyone Momo knew had just vanished. Thinking about such a thing made him anxious. He wasn't comfortable being alone. Playing with his little siblings was also out of the question, they had gone somewhere with their friends. Why was Momo suddenly so alone? It seriously pissed him off when he rode his bike through the town trying desperately to find something interesting to do.
Going to the game center alone wouldn't be any fun. The same with the cinema. And who would even bother to go to the cinema on such a wonderful summer day? After all, it was the very same reason why Momo didn't want to stay at home playing video games in his room or lie on his bed reading manga. If he could just find someone to be with him, anyone would do.
It must have been a subconscious decision. Without giving it much thought, he had already ridden to the river bank where he could easily bump into someone he knew. To Momo's surprise that someone was truly there. Of course his number was on the list in Momo's mobile phone, but somehow he had just skipped it. As a matter of fact, he might have done that deliberately. But now that he saw the other boy doing his daily practice, he cheered up a little. With a little bit of provoking that boy would easily fall into his hands, Momo was certain of it. Then they could play tennis or do whatever since at the moment anything was fine with Momo, he was really that desperate for company.
"Yo Mamushi, how's it going?!" Momo yelled stopping his bike, leaving it to the top of the river bank, and began to hop closer to the bandana-clad boy.
"What are you doing here? Fssshhhh!!" Right away there was the typical glare and hissing, only this time all of that was very welcome.
"How about we play a match?" Momo asked ignoring the question, even though he didn't have his racket with him and shortly noticed that Kaidou didn't seem to have his, either.
"I have no time for you," Kaidou grunted going back to the stretching he had been doing.
"What if I say "please"? You like to practice so that would be a part of practice, too," Momo pointed out.
"I said I haven't got time for you, go back home, or wherever you came from," was Kaidou's irritated reply. But Momo wasn't going to give up. Although he didn't like Kaidou's attitude at all, not to mention him as a person, he was in need of attention. He had to think of something while Kaidou was still there, still talking to him.
"Okay, how about a deal? How does that sound?" Momo suggested thinking what exactly was he trying to accomplish with that. Truthfully, he wasn't quite sure what kind of a deal was he going to make, but he knew he could come up with something if Kaidou was ready for it.
"Hmph. I'm not interested. Go away and leave me alone." Kaidou's voice sounded harsh. The conversation wasn't going well. Nevertheless, at the moment it truly seemed like Momo was clutching at a straw and that straw happened to be none other than his number one rival, Kaidou.
"Is there anything else except practice? Like is there something that you'd like to do, somewhere where you'd like to go? It's summer holiday after all." It wouldn't have surprised Momo if the other boy really didn't do anything else except train throughout his holiday, but there was still a possibility that he would have wanted to do something else. For some reason it was what Momo really wanted to know now.
"What's it to you?" At least Kaidou turned his head to face him. Yay for picking up this particular subject!
"I just wondered if you don't want to play tennis with me, then we could do something else together. You can choose, whatever you like." Oh no. Momo had honestly said that. Perhaps the heat was making his head soft or something.
"Huh? What are you scheming anyway?" The expression on Kaidou's face shouted out disbelief. Momo sat down on the grass, pondered an answer and eventually decided to tell the truth.
"There's no one anywhere. Except you right there. And there's absolutely nothing to do. Except something you'd agree to do with me." Momo sighed. "I'm not used to solitary the way you are, you get what I mean?"
"Do you really think I'd suddenly start hanging out with you, idiot? I've got better things to do than keep you company." Of course Kaidou would refuse. That was just the way he was. But there had to be a way to provoke him, something to make him go along. Sadly Momo couldn't do it with tennis this time, even though that must have been the dearest thing to Kaidou in his life.
"Are you really gonna spend your whole holiday just practicing?" Because Kaidou was like that, so serious, stubborn and introverted, Momo wasn't really interested in being best buddies with him or anything. But right now he was the only one to talk to.
"It's none of your business. Why don't you just go somewhere and make new friends since you're so good at it?" Kaidou suggested frowning. The look in his eyes was growing darker.
"Sounds a lot like you're trying to pick a fight with me but I'm not interested, I have no interest in that at all. How about we become friends? We kinda know each other already and all that so it'd be much easier, don't you think?" Or perhaps not. Kaidou had never seemed the type that would be ready to become friends with anyone just like that. For a second or two, Momo wondered if Kaidou had really set some sort of qualifications for the people who could be close to him. That would certainly be awkward but not completely unheard of.
"Why would you wanna be friends with me? And in fact, I don't even wanna think about it. You're far too annoying to be with." It started to look like Kaidou was going to leave. "I'm going. Deal with your problems on your own."
From his sitting position Momo watched how Kaidou had begun to jog, swiftly moving farther away from him. Without a single thought his body started to move on its own, going after the other boy. The opportunity was still there and he couldn't let it pass by just like that. Just damn everybody for having to run after someone like Kaidou.
"Oi wait! We aren't finished yet! You didn't answer properly!" Momo shouted grabbing the back of Kaidou's sweating tank top right when he had caught up to him.
"Get your dirty hand off me now!" Kaidou bawled turning around to get rid of the fingers that were grasping a part of his tank top.
"A...aa!!" And the next thing Momo realized was that he had stumbled on the ground, now lying on top of Kaidou. His eyes were closed which was pretty lucky for Momo. Something about the situation had made him blush and he definitely wouldn't have wanted Kaidou to see it.
"You damn jerk," Kaidou mumbled angrily as he opened his eyes slowly at the same time trying to push Momo off him. But instead of letting go, Momo pushed back. This was his ultimate chance to get Kaidou to listen to him.
"Sometimes I get lucky..." Momo smiled gradually lifting the corners of his mouth almost all the way up to his ears.
"You're freaking me out! Get off, get off!" Kaidou struggled harder and harder to get up from the ground, but Momo had decided it would be his victory this time.
"Let me ask you again. Is there something that you'd like to do or somewhere where you'd like to go? And that has nothing to do with practice, nothing about training then," Momo said rather harshly staring at Kaidou's face that was only a few centimetres away from his own.
"Why's that so important? Why do you even care? Go home and do whatever you like. What I do or wanna do, and places where I want to go have got nothing to do with you, moron!" Kaidou growled avoiding the stare of the shining violet eyes.
"What if..." But Momo really didn't know what. What if what? And did it have to be so damn hard to persuade Kaidou? Somehow it just didn't seem worthwhile.
"That doesn't reply to my questions!" Now his eyes were suddenly aimed straight at Momo's. Even with all the hatred glowing in them, there was a glimpse of loneliness somewhere on the other side of the dark irises. Seeing it so closely made Momo think that perhaps he could do something about it, make his rival understand that being alone wasn't the only option there was available.
"What if I..." Momo mumbled turning his head to look at the grass under them. "No. Not like that. Because I AM going to kiss you if YOU don't tell me what I've been asking!"
First Momo had thought that Kaidou would kick him, hit him, bite him, well, do something violent like that, really. But he didn't. His body just froze. And he was hardly breathing. So in the end it might have not been such a good idea after all to blurt out such an unusual thing that had come to mind out of nowhere.
Then in the middle of all the awkwardness he noticed Kaidou's lips were moving. He had said something but Momo couldn't hear it.
"Huh? Can you repeat that? I would've liked to hear it, I really would've," Momo said gently not wanting to make the other boy even more upset.
Before Kaidou uttered another word, he closed his eyes again and hissed quietly. There was a shade of red colour on his cheekbones. Just looking at him made Momo wish it hadn't been him but some girl instead. Seeing Kaidou like that was in fact kind of cute, but a girl in the same situation would have been even cuter, without a doubt. At least that was what Momo was trying to reason.
"Yeah?" As a matter of fact Momo wasn't in a hurry to move an inch from the position he was currently in. Only that his head was full of disappointment. Why in the world did it have to be Kaidou? And even though it was really him, why did he still want to try touching the strands of the pitch black hair peeking out of the bandana? Because of all that Momo was sort of distracted, however, the second time he heard clearly what Kaidou said.
"The zoo." And that was it. It had sounded like a desperate sigh or maybe it was a sad declaration or just a lonely word, Momo couldn't tell the difference anymore.
"Oh. The zoo... Is a brilliant idea, Kaidou!" Momo's eyes sparkled as he was getting used to the thought. "Yes, let's go to the zoo!"
"Like I'd ever go there with you," Kaidou muttered but it didn't sound like he would have been against it that much.
"Damn you, Mamushi. You could've told me about this a long time ago. I can't even remember the last time I went to the zoo, I really can't." At that point it was more like Momo was talking to himself than Kaidou. After letting go of his arms, Momo got up gradually jolting the dirt off his shorts and shirt. Then he offered his hand to help Kaidou to get up, too, but of course he refused getting back on his feet on his own.
"So... Are you free tomorrow? Right now it's a little too late to go there," Momo said looking at Kaidou.
"Didn't you hear me? I'm not going there with you," Kaidou grunted beginning to walk away again.
"What's that supposed to mean? You told me you wanna go there so what's so wrong about going with me? It'd be great. All those animals to look at, and on top of that, tomorrow will be a sunny day like today so it'd be perfect. And if we go to Ueno, it's not even that far," Momo explained walking briskly beside Kaidou. And suddenly he stopped. Too soon for Momo to notice.
"Oi, what's up now?" When Momo looked back at Kaidou, he was surprised to see how his body kind of...twitched? "What's wrong? Are you alright?"
When Kaidou lifted his head, his stare was full of determination. It made Momo to step back. Kaidou wasn't going to start a fist fight or anything? There was no reason to do that, right?
"Hmph. You'll pay," were the words he said eventually. He looked pretty damn cocky standing there his hands shoved inside the pockets of his shorts and saying such a thing. But nevertheless, it meant he had accepted it after all?
"Fine. So tomorrow it is?" Momo wanted to be sure he had understood the somewhat odd message he had just heard.
"Do you really think you're able to wake up so early in the morning? It's better to go there before the whole place is packed," Kaidou pointed out still staring at him.
"It's not like I go to the zoo every day. Of course I can do that." Momo would certainly be able to do anything. Even if it was just to show Kaidou that he was capable of doing something unexpected.
"Oh really," Kaidou snorted with distrust.
"I'll show you," Momo swore picking his mobile phone from his pocket. "I have your number, but do you have mine? Or never mind. I'll call you after I've found out how we can get to Ueno."
"Hmph. I'm going now," Kaidou said and dashed off immediately without looking back. This time Momo didn't have to follow him. The next day he would have a plenty of time to spend with his dear rival.
-to be continued-