Still Wind

by yukuro

It was always hard forgetting those who had been important before. After meeting an old acquantance unexpectedly, Kamio finds himself in a dilenma of who is most important to him.

Disclaimer: Ah, Konomi-sensei is one rich man ;.;

Still Wind

by: yukuro

He was really surprised at that time. In fact, Kamio Akira stood in silent shock before the familiar face he had absolutely not been expecting to see. Most especially not at the new high school he had just transferred to. The last time he had seen that person was in his second year of junior high at Fudoumine. Now, that person stood before him again, equally surprised, but a huge grin spreading across his face.

"Lucky! It's former Fudousan tennis' Rhythm-kun!"

Yes, Kamio could never forget that incredibly annoying "lucky" exclamation along with the wrong way of saying his former junior high name, and not to mention the annoying nickname that person constantly called him. Feeling a frown tug at his lips, Kamio squeezed his eyes shut in irritation. "For your information, my school's name was Fudoumine, not Fudousan! And when are you going to stop calling me that name?!"

"Heh, you're exactly the same as you were before, Rhythm-kun!" Sengoku Kiyosumi exclaimed with cheerful smile. "Even though you look like you've grown some physically, you still have that fiery temper of yours."

Eye twitching, Kamio turned around and continued to walk in the direction he was going before he ran into that person. It was rather interesting and almost a little bit nice to see an old acquaintance again, but Kamio's "fiery temper" had gotten the better of him.

Still smiling happily, Sengoku cheerfully turned to walk in the same direction as the younger boy, only three steps behind him. "I didn't know you were at this high school," Sengoku said to Kamio's back with a bright smile. "Oh, well maybe that's because school just started and you're a first year, but still…"

Kamio held back his urge to dash forward and ditch the smiling boy without a second glance back. As unfortunate as it seemed, Sengoku had now become his senpai, and that meant Kamio had to restrain himself from disrespecting him. This thought only fed the flame of Kamio's fury.

"Are you going to join the tennis club?" Sengoku began again, completely ignoring the fact that Kamio was doing his best to ignore him. As Kamio turned the corner, Sengoku followed close behind him, still with a smile. "Maybe we can play on the same team this time! Ah, it makes me excited just thinking about it…!"

"Then stop thinking about it," Kamio muttered flatly, staring at the ground as he walked with annoyance. Lifting his eyes slightly to look over his shoulder, he frowned when he realized Sengoku walked close behind him with that annoying smile of his that showed his annoying perfect white teeth. Everything about him seemed annoying… "Are you following me?"

"Ah, maybe," Sengoku replied cheerfully without a second thought.

"Why?" the redhead demanded, stopping and spinning around to face the older boy who had just nearly run into him. "I mean, so we go to the same school now. What's so great about that?"

"Maybe it doesn't make you as happy as it makes me, but now I get to see you again," Sengoku replied seriously, his smile growing soft and gentle for a moment. After that single fleeting moment, his smile became bright and cheerful again. "Haha! I've always felt it before, even when we were in different schools, it seems that we're always together."

Feeling his face grow awkwardly warm with an uncontrollable blush, Kamio turned around again and walked forward. He had to admit to himself, Sengoku did look different than he did before. A little taller and slimmer than in his junior high days, the former Yamabuki tennis vice captain looked more tired and less energetic than before. Kamio wondered if it was the effect of high school. Even so, he was still as good-looking as before… Noticing that Sengoku continued to walk behind him, the younger boy asked stonily, "So why are you following me again?"

"Well, seeing Rhythm-kun has cheered me up, so I want to feel happy for a little longer," the older boy responded truthfully. "Well, that and I want to see your cute face for a little longer too."

Face deepening in color, Kamio hunched his shoulders forward slightly in attempt to hide his embarrassment as he pressed the crosswalk button. What does that guy think saying?! Straightening himself again and squeezing his eyes shut as he took a step forward, Kamio declared loudly, "Yeah, well, it's starting to get dark now and…"

"O-Oi, Kamio-kun!"

Eyes snapping open when he felt himself being jerked back suddenly, Kamio lost his footing and fell straight backwards…

"Itetete…! Are you alright, Rhythm-kun?"

…right into Sengoku's arms, knocking them both backwards onto the ground. Kamio stared bewilderedly as a car zoomed by in front of him, honking the horn noisily as it went. A second more and he would have been hit for sure. In his embarrassment, Kamio realized the light was still crosswalk light was still a bright red. A bright red that probably matched the color of his face at the moment, Kamio thought in mortification.

"You should be more careful," Sengoku told the younger boy on top of him with a slightly worried grin. "Even for someone as fast as you, it would be difficult to get away when a car is so close." Letting out a sigh of relief, the older boy added with a relieved laugh, "I'm just glad I was lucky enough to save you."

The small group of people standing at the corner waiting to cross the street watched the pair of boys curiously. A few high school girls giggled while adults whispered among themselves with a combination of worry and disapproval.

Finally noticing he lay scrambled across Sengoku's lap in a compromising position, Kamio leaped to his feet and walked quickly away from the crowd with a flaming face. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! He barely slowed down when Sengoku called out to him and jogged up to his side to then walk slowly behind him again.

"I'm guessing this means you aren't hurt then," Sengoku said with a sheepish grin. Raising his arm to rest his hand behind his neck, the older boy directed his grin down at the ground. "I'm sorry. You must have felt embarrassed back there…"

"No," Kamio admitted with a sigh, stopping suddenly and for a second time nearly making Sengoku crash into him. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, shifting his gaze. "Thank you for saving me. Maybe you're not so annoying…I mean…! I'm not ungrateful, really, I just—"

The redhead was silenced by a finger brought up to his lips. Sengoku smiled with deep relief on his face. "Hush," he said quietly, slowly pulling his finger away from the boy's soft lips. "I'm just glad that you're unhurt."

"Why…?" Kamio asked with creased eyebrows. His fists clenched at his sides. "I've never done anything for you. Why are you being so nice to me?"

"You've done much more for me than you think, Rhythm-kun," Sengoku said more cheerfully this time. "Or maybe I should say you've done much to me. I think about you a lot, you know."

"…I'm not sure how to respond when a senpai has dirty thoughts about me," Kamio said flatly without a drop of humor in his voice and flat eyes. Even so, Sengoku burst out laughing. "Perverted old man, Sengoku-san?"

Laughing still, Sengoku continued to follow Kamio as he walked ahead. "Do you really think so lowly of me? Heh… Ah, so where are you going right now?"

"…nowhere," Kamio replied with a brief moment of thought. Just because Sengoku had saved him, did not mean he needed to know whatever Kamio planned to do. Shinji probably would not exactly be thrilled at the presence of a third wheel either.

"You're not going to tell me, right?" Sengoku said cheerfully.

"Yes," the redhead replied instantly without missing a beat. He only vaguely heard the question Sengoku had asked him, really.

"Are you going to meet someone?"

"Yes."

"A friend of yours?"

"Y-Yes."

"Is it really important?"

"Yes."

"Is it personal?"

"Yes."

"Are you just going to keep saying 'yes'?"

"Yes."

"Oh, really? Then, can I kiss you?"

"Ye—…what?!"

Chuckling, Sengoku lifted his hand up to rest on his chin as he studied Kamio's flushed face with his head cocked to the side. "Did you really think I was lying when I said you have a cute face, Rhythm-kun? It looks even cuter when you're angry and blushing, you know. No matter how long it's been since I've seen you, you still always look so cute."

Sputtering angrily, Kamio glared at the ground, his face only flaring brighter with red. This development probably did not help his situation much. "I'm not a girl," he spat angrily, picking up his speed slightly. "Speaking of girls, don't you have girls you like to be following right now instead of following me?"

"Of course I have girls I like. Plenty of them," the orange-haired boy said, picking up his own pace to keep up with Kamio. "But I really don't like a single one of them as nearly as much as I like you, Rhythm-kun."

"…you must really want to die," Kamio muttered dangerously as Sengoku laughed aloud. "I don't see how you're lucky when you can't get any girls so you resort to stalking boys. You're still annoying after all."

"So you really do think so lowly of me, eh?" Sengoku asked, slowing to a stop.

Hearing the comfortable tapping of footsteps behind him that he had grown used to slow to a halt, Kamio stopped as well and peered over his shoulder at the other boy. A tinge of guilt hit him when he saw the older boy's slightly hurt expression while a smile was still plastered to his face.

"Sorry for bothering you, Rhythm-kun," Sengoku said with obvious false cheerfulness. "You must be off to meet someone important right now. Heh, sorry for interrupting you before your date! I'll see you around at school then!"

"No, wait…" Before Kamio realized what he was doing, he reached out and grabbed Sengoku's wrist, making the older boy turn and look at him with surprise. Eyes locked on his hand attached to the other boy's wrist, Kamio felt his face heating up again. Partly from anger and partly from embarrassment.

Finding his smile again in the warm silence, Sengoku grinned softly down at the top of the redhead's head. "Yes, Rhythm-kun?"

"Stop calling me that!" Kamio blurted, lifting his face to glare hotly at the taller boy, cheeks still tinted slightly red. "Why won't you just say my name?!"

"I had no idea you felt so strongly about it," the orange-haired boy said with amusement and a characteristic smile. "I guess I'll go back to Kamio-kun then… Ah! Your hands are so cold!"

Kamio blinked rapidly and before he realized what had happened, he felt a slight weight on his shoulders as Sengoku draped his jacket on them. His eyes widened when the older boy even went to the extent of clamping their hands together. "H-Hey! Stop treating me like a kid!"

Bending over slightly and bringing Kamio's slim hands to meet his lips, Sengoku grinned to himself. "Would you believe me if I said I wasn't? I'd like to treat you more like a date. I really like you, Kamio-kun…"

"You're crazy," Kamio said bluntly, still unable to control the blush that stained his face. Even as the words escaped his mouth, his body felt heavy and immobile as he backed up against an alley wall. With a single look from Sengoku's gentle eyes, Kamio was silenced again and unable to turn away.

"I think," the older boy breathed, smiling softly and sincerely, "if you really hated me, you would have run away from me by now. I know you can outrun me and I'm sure you wouldn't care whether I'm your senpai or not. So why didn't you, Kamio-kun?"

Kamio froze when Sengoku's face gradually closed in the space between his own. "I…couldn't…"

Sengoku's slim hands found their way up to either side of Kamio's face to tilt it up slightly. His lips remained in a sweet smile as he left a soft, feathery trail from the boy's forehead to his cheek and slowly towards his lips. "Kamio-kun…you're so cute."

Actually, Kamio wanted to punch the older boy in the face and run away screaming as fast as he could, but his knees seemed to weaken at the intimate touches. At that moment, fainting seemed like the most probable action for Kamio. His knees weakened and he slid down to sit on the ground nervously before Sengoku's lips touched his own. "This…this is too weird…"

Chuckling quietly, Sengoku squatted down in front of the redhead to smile at him in the growing darkness. "Even though you say that, I don't see you running away," the orange-haired boy pointed out. His smile grew serious as he said softly, "Kamio-kun, this is really your last chance. Are you going to run away?"

As much as he wanted to, as much as his brain screamed for his legs to work and run away, Kamio still sat motionlessly on the ground, staring into Sengoku's gentle eyes. "I…can't…still can't…"

"I wish I could tell you exactly how I feel," Sengoku began, sitting down on the ground. His voice grew quieter as he leaned in towards Kamio's flushed face. Chuckling, he continued, "But I'm afraid you may not believe me if I did. Or even worse, you might get scared and run away…"

The moment their lips touched, Kamio felt electrocuted. It was a simple, small, chaste kiss but for some reason, it made heat spread throughout the redhead's body. The blush on Kamio's face intensified when he felt Sengoku's warm tongue on his lips. It was so strange to feel another person's lips so passionately, Kamio realized with growing heat on his face when the older boy's tongue entered his mouth. This kiss was too much different from the ones he had before. His lips were growing tired.

Pulling away for a gasp of air, Sengoku grinned slightly at the other boy with creased eyebrows. "Kamio-kun's lips aren't untouched, now are they?"

"Aren't yours?" Kamio asked dryly, shifting his body under Sengoku's weight.

"Actually, they are," Sengoku said cheerfully. "I've never actually tried anything like this before. Heh, I'm really not sure what I'm doing half of the time. Just going by instinct, I guess."

Kamio stared at the older boy in silent shock. Somehow, it made him feel embarrassed at the fact that he had been kissed before. "Does it really matter?"

"I'm a little jealous at the person who got to kiss you before I did," the orange-haired boy admitted, tracing over Kamio's kiss-bruised lips with his index finger. "I never was too lucky when it came to you, Kamio-kun."

"We can't all get what we want," Kamio muttered absent-mindedly, turning his head to look out at the street where the sun was beginning to set. He realized he was sitting in a darkening alley with a person he really barely knew and that person was sitting on top of him in a much more compromising position than when they had fallen over at the street corner. Even so, he was still unable to find the will to get up and leave.

"I know very well," Sengoku said truthfully, smiling wistfully at Kamio's profile. "I really was happy to see you, Kamio-kun."

Sighing slightly, Kamio turned back to face Sengoku again. "I know, I know," he muttered, closing his eyes, "and that's probably the reason why I wanted to hit you back there. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. You…don't even know anything about me."

Sengoku blinked rapidly as Kamio opened his eyes again to stare into his eyes. The orange-haired boy smiled gently and leaned forward again. "Aa, but I don't mind that. That only means I can look forward to getting to know you, Kamio-kun. Any other reason you're trying to warn me?"

"Maybe," Kamio muttered, feeling his body relax slightly when Sengoku leaned in for another kiss. His nerves were still set ablaze with even the slightest touch, but Kamio had grown used to it. His hands tightened into fists on the back of Sengoku's shirt when the older boy kissed his neck. "O-Oi…Sengoku-san…! What…?"

"You know I'd never hurt you, Kamio-kun," Sengoku said with a lopsided grin before he lifted his head to silence the redhead with his lips. "I'm sorry, but…I'm burning…"

Kamio's brain screamed for him to kick and run, but his legs seemed to think differently. The color of his face matched his hair when he felt hands slowly unbuttoning the front of his shirt. Too fast…

Sengoku felt his own face turn slightly red at the actions of his own hands. Well, that and the sight of the bare skin on Kamio's chest. He really had no idea what he was doing, but it made his skin tingle with warmth. Leaning forward, he placed a soft, awkward kiss on the redhead's shoulder.

"Shinji…"

This made Sengoku instantly freeze. Eyes snapping open, the orange-haired boy sat up straight and button Kamio's shirt back up with his face still slightly flushed. Once the younger boy was fully dressed again, Sengoku smiled at him almost painfully. "As much as I really like you, I'm not sure how to feel when I hear another person's name from the lips I was just kissing."

"No, Shinji," Kamio mumbled, twisting slightly under Sengoku's weight. "I forgot I have go meet Shinji. I don't want him to think I just left him there."

"So this Shinji-kun was the one you were going to meet?" Sengoku asked, lifting himself up a little to allow Kamio to sit up straight. "Your friend, right?"

It may have been his imagination, but for a moment, Kamio was almost sure he had heard a bit of hopefulness in the question. It only made him feel worse than ever. "Yes. My best friend."

"Shinji-kun must be very important to you then," the orange-haired boy said with a sigh, standing up. Reaching out, he took Kamio's hand to pull the younger boy up to his feet. He smiled at the redhead. "Isn't that right as well?"

"Of course… Of course Shinji's important to me. We've been through so much…" Kamio muttered quietly, almost to himself. His mind repeated his answer over and over again within his thoughts to remind himself.

"Then is Shinji-kun also the one who has been lucky enough to kiss you before me?" Sengoku asked with an almost painful smile.

It was more difficult for Kamio to answer than he had expected. Part of him wanted to whack the older boy over the head and demanded what in the hell made him gutsy enough to ask such a question, but then… "Yes."

"I see…" Sengoku breathed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Invisibly wiping the disappointment off his face, Sengoku brought his head back up to smile cheerfully at Kamio. "You know, Kamio-kun… Just as the still wind will someday sway again, so shall painful memories someday, somewhere, somehow eventually blow away. At least, that's what I used to think. But since I've known you, I find it harder and harder to do so. The wind will always be still for me, Kamio-kun. Always. Heh, I never will be very lucky when it comes to you."

"Sengoku-san…" Kamio began slowly, staring at the ground, thinking of some kind of way to apologize for what he had done. It was actually rather hard on him as well, unexpectedly. Strange, because there was someone else he was supposed to be thinking of.

"Kamio?" a familiar voice called out from around the corner. A boy with slightly long hair stepped into the alley with his eyes pinned on Kamio. "I was wondering where you were."

"Shinji," Kamio said in surprise, blinking slightly at his friend who had just walked over to his side. A gentle smile found its way to his lips as he noticed his friend's concern. "Sorry, were you waiting for me for a long time?"

"Not really," Ibu Shinji mumbled, shifting his gaze slightly. Even in the growing dark, a very slight tint of his cheeks was visible. "I was just kind of worried about you. Kind of…"

Sengoku smiled at the two as Kamio laughed quietly. Pulling a slip of paper out of his pocket, he scribbled something down and offered his hand out to Kamio for a handshake. "It was good to see you again, Kamio-kun," he said with the brightest smile he could manage. "I hope to see you around school sometime! I'll be leaving now, so be careful and look out for cars on your way home, ok?"

Kamio remained silent as he guiltily shook Sengoku's outstretched hand. The older boy's hand felt smooth and warm, passing along a caring sensation straight through Kamio's skin. Before he could open his mouth to say something, Sengoku winked at him and left.

His emotions swam and clashed, twisting themselves nervously within his chest. Kamio, for the first time, really did not know what to do. He was confused by the stinging sensation he felt, yet it was supposed to be right because he was now with the person he was supposed to be with. In the hand he had shaken hands with Sengoku, he held a folded strip of paper.

"That baka forgot to take his jacket," Kamio mumbled under his breath to himself as he slowly opened the folded paper with slightly trembling fingers.

A phone number.

"Kamio, who was that person?" Shinji asked quietly, his eyes on the alley corner while he brought his hand up to shyly rest on Kamio's shoulder.

Refolding the paper and tucking it away safely into his pocket, Kamio clenched the jacket still draped around his shoulders. "No one," he said softly. "Just someone from school. Let's go, Shinji. It's really starting to get dark now."

Kamio never did throw that slip of paper away.

Who really did know when the still wind, if ever, would begin to blow again?

--- --- ---

A/N: Ah…should this be continued or not? I'm not too sure myself, but I did enjoy writing this…

I'm not sure what started to get me into the initial SengokuxKamio pairing. Heh, probably when I rewatched that "Rhythm ni High!" episode. Too bad this pairing isn't too common. n.n;; actually, I can't decide which pairing I like more: SengokuxKamio or IbuxKamio… x.x;; Writing "Tenipuri Phone Messages" gave me many, many conflicts. Lol.

Ack! Well, back to focusing on "Tenipuri Phone Messages"! Thanks for reading, everyone!