Title: Nine Tenths
Rating: PG
Theme: 2--news; letter

When Kai got the first letter, he threw it in the trash.

It was an occupational hazard of being on Higa's tennis team; they all got love letters all the time. Kite seemed to attract the lion's share of them—something that Rin needled him about endlessly—but none of them were immune to it. Even Tanashi got a few, something that sent the large boy into fits of bashfulness. Kai averaged about three a week, and he never paid a bit of attention to them. Why should he, when he had Rin? There was no reason this should be any different. The girl would get the hint and move on.

When Kai got the second letter from the same girl three days later, he started to wonder if maybe he should change his assumptions. So far, she was the most persistent, but it was only one extra letter. So Kai tossed it, too, with a shrug. It meant nothing to him, and he had better things to do with his time than read the letters of some girl with a crush. Like tennis with Rin, or surfing with Rin, or tanning with Rin…well, anything with Rin.

But then the third letter came, followed closely by the fourth and the fifth. Kai began to suspect that maybe this girl wasn't the type to fade into obscurity like the others.

Two days after the sixth letter arrived, Kai couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. At first he tried to ignore it, preferring to think that he was imagining things, but when he kept seeing the same face wherever he went, Kai had to sigh and give in to the inevitable—this girl was going nowhere.

He knew of her, of course. She was a year below him, small and slender, her gaijin heritage given away by her large eyes and toffee-colored curls. (Not that that was any particular sin in Okinawa. The American soldiers had been spreading their favors ever since the end of the Second World War, and there were many, many families that had gaijin blood now, Kai's and Rin's among them.) She had a reputation of being intense and driven, and it was probably the only reason Kai could identify her at all.

It was also the same reason that Kai wanted to smash his head into a wall whenever he saw her. But he didn't, because that would get Rin's attention, and for as open and friendly as Rin could be, he could be just as vindictive and ruthless when he wanted to be. He was Higa, after all. So Kai was more than content to just let matters be and to keep ignoring her. Surely she would get the hint sooner or later.

But she didn't.

The letters kept coming, and Kai's frustration grew. The girl was starting to follow him off school grounds, too, and it made Kai nervous and self-conscious. And worse, because of that, Rin was getting mad and anxious, since Kai was changing his behavior, afraid to be affectionate when she was around.

But it would stop soon, Kai hoped.

"This has to stop, Kai."

Kai blinked, looking up at Kite. "Are you freaking psychic?"

"No. I am simply not blind." Kite nodded at the too-familiar face outside the courts. "Your play is becoming shit, and it started when we picked up a new fangirl." He smirked. "I'm the captain for a reason, Yuujirou."

"Yeah…." Kai looked down. "I'm not sure I want to talk to her, Eishirou. She may take it as encouragement."

Kite pushed his glasses up. "She's also being encouraged by the fact that you haven't sent her packing. And Yuujirou? I'm not the only one that's not blind."

Kai blinked. "What do you mean?"

Kite nodded at Rin. "Do you think Rin hasn't noticed? He's seen you changing, and he's seen what caused it." He paused. "Yuujirou…Rin was talking to me this morning. He thinks you're going to leave him for her."

"The hell?!" Kai's eyes widened. "No fucking way, Eishirou! I'd never do that to Rin!"

"Then you need to fix it. For his sake and for yours." Kite nodded. "And before I have to remove you from the team, because you can't beat our freshmen the way you've been playing lately, frankly."

Kai scowled. "Bite me, Eishirou," he muttered, but he knew his friend had a point. "I'll do something about it, I promise."

Kite crossed his arms and smiled. "Good."

*~*~*~*

Of course, Kai thought to himself, some things are easier said than done.

Even though he had the best of intentions, Rin was proving to be almost impossible to pin down. No matter what, Rin was either just leaving, or he had something urgent to do, and damn if Kai wasn't getting tired of seeing Rin all but glued to Chinen's side during tennis practices. Yeah, I know their combination is important for Nationals, but damn it, Chinen, stop LOOKING at Rin like that! He sighed. Why doesn't Rin want to be anywhere near me?

Kai could feel eyes staring at him, and he remembered. Scowling slightly, he turned to look at the girl who had started all this, wincing when he saw the hope bloom in her eyes, now that he was noticing her. "Alright," he muttered to himself, squaring his shoulders and marching towards the edge of the court. "This has to stop now."

With his eyes only on the girl, Kai missed Rin's sudden cessation of movement. With the girl's confession ringing in his ears, he missed Rin's indrawn breath. And, with his eyes fixed on the girl, watching her for any sign of movement, Kai certainly missed Rin's furious stride over to him.

"No," Rin practically snarled, yanking Kai backwards. "You want to go out with some twit? Fine, I'm not stopping you! But you're damn well going to look me in the face and tell me it's over, first!"

With a strength that everyone, even Kai, kept forgetting that Rin possessed, the blond spun Kai around so that he could look into furious eyes that suddenly filled with resignation. "Tell me, Yuu…tell me it's over," he whispered. "Just…tell me you want her."

"W-what?" Kai could barely stammer out the word. "Rin…I'm not breaking up with you. I don't want her! I would've told her that if you hadn't come charging over here like a jealous princess, either!" Though Kai couldn't deny the bit of smug warmth that curled in his chest at the thought of Rin doing that for him.

"Now you're going to call me princess?" Kai only had a second to try and identify the odd light in Rin's eyes before he found himself pinned back against the chain link, Rin's mouth claiming his own with a deep intensity that Kai had never before felt coming from his boyfriend. And all Kai could do was match it, his arms wrapping around Rin, pulling him closer as their lips and tongues battled for dominance in a kiss that Kai never wanted to end.

Neither of them noticed the sudden silence from the courts, or the girl quietly taking her leave. Kai did notice, though, when Rin was all but pulled from him. He opened his eyes, intending to gouge out the eyes of whoever was getting between them, but was instantly cowed by Kite's patented Captain's Glare.

"Hirakoba-kun. Kai-kun." Kai knew Kite meant business. "As…enlightening as this show has been, may I remind you that it is tennis we will be playing in the Nationals?"

"Yeah, yeah." Rin, always quick to regain his equilibrium, even while Kai was still reeling, straightened out his uniform jersey. "We got it. On the court, bu~chou?"

"Laps. Fifty." And Kai also knew that it was only because it was incorrigible Rin that they hadn't gotten one hundred. Plus, Kai suspected that Kite was simply glad to see the drama done with.

"Right," Kai said hastily. "We'll get right on that!" He dragged Rin away before he could say something that upset even Kite's seemingly limitless supply of patience where Rin was concerned. And was that something he should be jealous of…?

He shook the thought away. He had more important things to concentrate on right then. Like Nationals, and those fifty laps, and how good Rin's ass looked in those shorts, and what he was going to do with it later….

--The End--