CHAPTER 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Hajime no Ippo...
Onwards...
XOXOXO
Ippo kicked at a stray can and furrowed his brow. Sendo had gone home from the gym after their much anticipated spar, and Ippo was left with his thoughts and a slew of new emotions careening through him. He'd had the time of his life fighting Sendo again, but something had gone from bloodthirsty to passionate at the end of the spar. And not his normal passion for boxing, either. Seeing Sendo draped over the ropes, struggling to remain conscious had sent a hot spiral of guilt shooting through Ippo's gut. One minute, Ippo had been riding the high of the Dempsey Roll, and the next minute, he'd been offering Sendo his help.
The volatile brunet was so strong and stubborn, just like Ippo, but Sendo had his limits as well. Even though the other man hid them well, when they were revealed, it was the most endearing sight Ippo had ever witnessed. He thought back to their last fight before the spar and blushed as he recalled Sendo's strong arm going around his neck and Sendo's deep voice murmuring tiredly into his ear. Back then, Ippo hadn't thought twice about the good sportsman-like gesture, but now...
What exactly was going on?
He stopped along the river bank and sat on the grassy hill that overlooked it. After plucking a few blades of grass from the ground beside him, he blew out a frustrated breath. He was so confused. Where had all these sudden feelings come from? Why was he starting to think about Sendo the way Takamura-san thought about the girls in his porn videos and magazines? And then, there was the mortifying moment in the shower where Sendo had walked in on Ippo masturbating.
He hung his head in shame as his cheeks grew warm. He hadn't even planned on doing...that. However, seeing Sendo's vulnerable side had seemingly changed everything. Ippo had become aware of how handsome his friend and rival was. Sendo's untamed, brown hair, his intimidating and piercing brown eyes, his wide, canine-heavy grin, his rock-solid body and soft, tanned skin...all of it made Ippo hot and nervous and scared and confused.
What was wrong with him?
He sighed again and stared out at the glistening surface of the river. The sun was on its way down, and the reds, oranges and yellows seemed to blend with the water and turn it the same shade as blood. The only sounds he heard were the faint squawking of the nocturnal birds, the cars passing by on the nearby bridge, and the gently rolling waves of the river. The atmosphere was peaceful and afforded him the time to think without the distraction of his friends, which was exactly why he'd gone there to begin with.
What was he going to do about this Sendo thing? Now, whenever he looked at his rival, all he thought about was how it would be to have the other man give him his first kiss; how it would be to have Sendo smile at him without it being sarcastic or taunting; how it would be to be able to touch the brunet without the use of boxing gloves or the ring. Those were interesting thoughts, but what he wanted to know was why he was thinking them to begin with. It was so strange and abrupt. Ippo had no idea what he was supposed to do.
"Woof! Woof!"
Ippo frowned a bit as he lifted his head and glanced over his shoulder towards the noise.
"Hm? Wanpo?"
The huge, furry, white dog bounded over to him, tongue lolling out of its mouth as it nearly tackled Ippo. Ippo grinned and pushed Wanpo's eager tongue and cold nose away from his face.
"Hey, boy," he chuckled as he tousled the soft fur on his dog's head. "You came and found me, huh?"
Wanpo gave an excited bark and nosed Ippo's cheek before settling down beside him and laying his head on Ippo's right thigh. The warmth from the dog was comforting and allowed Ippo to get back to his previous activity of wondering just what the hell he was supposed to do now that he was clearly attracted to his friend and rival. Attracted enough to masturbate in the shower. Ippo blushed every time he thought about it. Sendo's face had been even more puzzling, though. The brunet hadn't recoiled with disgust like Ippo had been expecting once he'd realized that he'd been caught. In fact, Sendo had appeared shocked, of course, but more than that, he'd seemed like he was more curious about what had been going on than he should have.
What did that mean? Ippo fretted as he wondered what could have been on the brunet's mind. Had it been a negative thought? But it couldn't have been. Sendo wouldn't have hesitated to frown, and Ippo would have remembered if the man had been frowning. So, that brought him right back to where he'd started. What could Sendo have been thinking to make him look like that?
Ippo leaned forward on his knees and tucked his chin between them. Now what was he supposed to do? Did he tell Sendo what he was feeling? He immediately shook his head. No, he couldn't do that. Sendo would probably make fun of him, or worse, try to make him feel gross. A sudden jingling caught Ippo's attention and made him lift his head from his knees. He looked around for the source of the noise and tensed with shock when he saw Kumi-chan riding towards him on her bike.
"Makunouchi-kun!" she called.
She pulled to a stop at the top of the hill and climbed off the bike before putting up the kickstand. After that, she wobbled down the hill until she made it to Ippo's side and plopped down next to him in the grass.
"Whew! Wanpo was running so fast! I thought I'd lost him!"
Ippo gave the girl a hesitant smile. "Haha! W-what are you doing here, Kumi-chan?"
"Hm? Oh, I stopped by your house, and your mom told me you were at the gym, so I brought Wanpo with me to see you."
Ippo didn't understand. After the way they had parted earlier, he would've thought that Kumi-chan would be upset with him. He averted his gaze to his feet and hung his head.
"You're not...mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad at you, Makunouchi-kun?"
"Well, earlier at the sea...I mean, the way I left..."
Kumi-chan put a hand on his shoulder, making him tense even further. For some reason, it felt strange when Kumi-chan touched him.
But not when Sendo does, huh?
Ippo was eternally grateful that Kumi-chan interrupted his thoughts.
"No, no, I understand!" she started. "You had something else to do. That's nothing to get mad about."
Now, most people called him naïve, even gullible, but to Ippo, it seemed as though Kumi-chan had a small case of denial. He had clearly dropped her like a heavy book after their trip to the sea, but here she was making excuses for him. He didn't understand it.
"I suppose not," he mumbled, instead of saying what he'd really been thinking. "W-was there something you needed?"
Kumi-chan went quiet for a few moments as she seemed to study the hem of her dress, her fingers idly toying with it. She took a few deep breaths, the last one ending as a sigh. Then, her head lifted and her gaze locked with Ippo's. He wanted to recoil from the intensity of Kumi-chan's eyes. What was going on now?
"Makunouchi-kun...I...I...I've been meaning to tell you this for a little while now, but I wasn't sure whether the time was right. But I'm tired of waiting, and I want to know how you feel about me. I know how I feel about you."
Ippo's face darkened as he turned away from Kumi-chan's imploring brown eyes. That had been totally unexpected. What was he supposed to say? Of course, he liked Kumi-chan, but he wasn't sure if he liked her quite that way anymore. With his new and confusing feelings towards his rival, he didn't know what he wanted anymore. How could he tell that to Kumi-chan, though, without hurting her feelings? He didn't know what to do!
Luckily, a reprieve came in the form of a mischief-making dark-haired man with a broad grin. Takamura-san tromped down the hill and stopped right behind the other two, arms going across his chest as he continued to grin.
"Ohhh? What's this? You guys on a date or somethin'?" he boomed.
Kumi-chan blushed nicely, and before Ippo could open his mouth to reply to his mentor, she lifted a finger to her cheek and grinned coyly.
"You could say that."
Ippo was horrified. Not only was Takamura-san going to torture him with teasing, but that wasn't true. Kumi-chan had come and found him to confess to him. There had been no preset date. Why was she telling Takamura-san such a blatant lie? He turned to the girl in question and looked her over, wondering what kind of expression she was wearing. Maybe by doing that, he could figure out what was going through her mind. However, when his eyes roved over her face, all he found was a shy embarrassment.
"Ho-ho!" Takamura-san shouted. "I taught you well, huh, Ippo?"
He wanted to bury his head in the ground beneath his feet. Why was this happening? Now Kumi-chan would think that Ippo wanted to be with her. That maybe he returned her feelings. But he didn't. He couldn't seem to keep his mind off of Sendo, so there was no way he could feel anything more than friendship towards Kumi-chan.
He lifted a hand to the back of his neck, wracking his brain to come up with something that wouldn't put the girl on the spot or make her feel bad. As he was inwardly panicking, a sharp kick to his back sent him sprawling forward onto his stomach and face. He lifted his head and spit out a few blades of grass, his astonished eyes finding the taller man's over his shoulder.
"T-Takamura-san! What was that for?"
"You weren't even listening, and I was spreading my infinite wisdom to you youngsters!"
Ippo sat up and rubbed the sore spot on his back. "Sorry, Takamura-san. I didn't mean to drift off."
Takamura-san grunted and folded his arms across his broad chest again. "Fine. I was saying that even though you may be horny and want to tear each other apart, you still have to use protection, or you'll be a family a lot sooner than you'd planned."
Ippo hung his head in mortification. He didn't know what to say. What could he have said to that? Takamura-san was jumping the gun, not even caring that he was saying such lewd and inappropriate things in front of Kumi-chan. Not only that, but the man's words would only serve to further expand the security blanket Kumi-chan was no doubt creating for herself in regards to Ippo.
"T-Takamura-san, th-that's...that's not..." his voice trailed off as words failed him.
Ippo took a chance and peeked at Kumi-chan from the corner of his eyes. At least she had the decency to blush and look thoroughly harassed.
"Takamura-san, I don't think Makunouchi-kun and I are ready to go that far."
Takamura-san grinned and rocked back on his heels. "I don't know! You two look kinda close to me!"
Ippo shot to his feet, startling Wanpo and Kumi-chan. He'd heard and had enough. He didn't want to deal with Kumi-chan or Takamura-san at the moment. He just wanted to be alone so he could think. He never had this problem when Sendo was around. The thought made him blush and hide an unexpected grin. He really couldn't go for long without thinking about his brunet rival.
"I have to go," he blurted and took off running up the hill, Wanpo closely on his heels.
He ignored Kumi-chan and Takamura-san calling his name. He just fled the scene, running as fast as his legs could carry him. The rush of the wind against his face exhilarated him, and soon enough, the situation with Kumi-chan bled out of his mind. Thoughts of Sendo quickly replaced them. He thought of Sendo's voice, he thought of Sendo's wild brown hair, he thought of the man's swift temper and brash personality, and then he thought about how he felt when he spent time with Sendo. Ippo came to a grinding halt, Wanpo sliding to a stop a few feet ahead of him, large head titled to the side and tongue lolling out of his mouth.
It was official. He really had a thing for his friend and rival, Takeshi Sendo.
XOXOXO
Sendo paced the floor of the candy shop. It was a little after five in the afternoon, a day after his spar with Makunouchi, and he was going through it. He couldn't get the shorter man out of his head. He couldn't stop seeing those large, gray eyes, that charming grin, and that polite, soft-spoken tenor. He couldn't get his mind to stop recalling Makunouchi's perfect body and unique scent. But worst of all, he couldn't stop replaying the moment in the Kamogawa gym locker room. Makunouchi's hand had been tightly wrapped around his impressive length, fluidly moving up and down. Sendo stopped pacing and shuddered violently. If this kept up, he was going to have a nervous breakdown.
"Ta-ke-shi!" his grandmother scolded from her perch on the floor at the front of the store. "What are you doing?"
Sendo shook his head, clueless himself. He didn't know why his thoughts were centered on Makunouchi. Even in the past, it hadn't been as bad as it was now. What had caused the dramatic change?
"I'm just thinking about something, 'Baa-chan."
"Well, if you keep thinking about something, you're going to ruin the floor. Why don't you go for a run or something?"
That was actually a good idea. It would give him time to release the extra energy he had, as well as give him time to zone out and free his mind.
"I think I will. See ya, 'Baa-chan!" he called as he jogged out of the store.
As soon as he emerged into the early evening sun, he was attacked by a group of three kids, who always seemed to know exactly when to catch him. Not to mention, they were annoying as all hell.
"Heyyyyy, Rocky! Where ya goin'?" the one with the pink nose and baseball cap called.
"Out ta train?" the girl added.
Sendo pulled up short and rolled his eyes as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his warm-up pants. They always interrogated him like they were his parents.
"What's it to you guys?" he grumbled.
"Ehh? Don't be that way! We just wanna know what our hero's doin'!"
Sendo pressed the tip of one of his index fingers to the leader's forehead. "I'm mindin' my business. You should do the same. Jeez. Talk about nosy brats?"
"Heyyy! We're gonna tell your grandma you're bein' mean ta us!"
Sendo turned and started jogging again. "Tell 'er! It ain't gonna change nothin'!"
With that, he tuned out their affronted yelling and rapid footsteps as he took off up the street. He wasn't paying much attention this time to his fans who were shouting encouragement to him as he ran past. Even though he was making every effort to think of anything else, his mind kept drifting back to his rival. Makunouchi lorded over his brain like a tyrant wielding an iron staff. What was his problem?
His feet pounded against the pavement as he ran through the streets of his neighborhood. He'd just started sweating, when he paused near a stop sign and swiped a hand across his forehead. This was getting him absolutely nowhere. He was still unbearably restless, and he'd still made no progress in getting Makunouchi out of his head. He doubled back to the store and his home, agitation with himself rising seemingly with each step that he took. This was ridiculous, and he was starting to understand why he was feeling the way he was.
He made it home and went straight for the telephone next to the cash register. He picked it up and dialed Makunouchi's number. He had to talk to him. He had to discuss what was going on face-to-face or he would slowly lose his mind. The line rang three times before Makunouchi's mom picked up.
"Hello?"
Sendo's hand immediately went to the back of his head. There was something about Makunouchi's mom that made him feel like a teenager all over again.
"U-uh, hello, Makunouchi's mom. It's Sendo-kun. Is Makunouchi home?"
"Ara! Hello, Sendo-kun. Ippo just got home. He seems so different. Is everything alright?" she asked, concern lacing her gentle tone.
Sendo shrugged. "I dunno. I'll ask 'im about it, though. C-could you put him on, please?"
"Sure, one second." Sendo listened as she set the phone down and called for her son. "I-ppoooooooooo!"
A few beats dragged by with Sendo shuffling from foot to foot as he waited for Makunouchi to answer. Finally, he heard the man's muffled voice. A few seconds after that, Makunouchi's breathless tenor was on the line.
"Sendo?"
"Yeah, it's me, Makunouchi. Listen, what are you doing?"
"Me? Nothing right now. I just got in from the gym. Wh-what about you?"
"I'm coming to see you," Sendo stated plainly. "I gotta talk to ya 'bout somethin'."
"O-oh. OK. I'll be here."
"Alright. See ya soon, Makunouchi."
Sendo ended the call and turned on his heel, but was pulled up short yet again. His grandmother was standing in front of him, their cat, Tora, in her small arms.
"Who was that on the phone?"
"I-it was just my friend from Tokyo."
"Oh, the Makunouchi boy? He's nice and polite. You could learn a thing or two from him. Are you going back to see him again? Weren't you just there the other day?"
"Yeah, 'Baa-chan, but I got important business ta discuss wit' him, so I gotta go back."
His grandmother stared at him for a bit, then gave a slow, wide grin.
"If you say so, Takeshi."
After she'd said her piece, she ambled back to her spot on the floor and made herself comfortable. Sendo wasn't sure what was going through the older woman's mind, so he dismissed it and hurried to his room. He had a bag to pack and a train to catch.
XxxxxxX
The train ride seemed shorter this time around, Sendo thought as he left the Tokyo station.
He knew his way to Makunouchi's house by now, so he didn't stop to ask for directions. Instead, he made his way there on foot. As he walked, he thought about what he was going to say to Makunouchi and how he was going to say it. He wondered what Makunouchi's response would be. To hell with it. He'd just go with the flow and hope for the best. That was all he really could do. If Makunouchi didn't want to be bothered like that, Sendo would respect the man's decision. Not only that, but he would make it his business to keep things from going weird between them. How he was going to accomplish that was beyond him at the moment, but thinking of that was better than dwelling on the sensation of being rejected.
With him worrying so, he ended up making it to Makunouchi's house a lot sooner than he'd expected. He stood at the door of the garage and took a deep breath before knocking. He hoped this wouldn't be too painful. He waited a few more moments and had his hand raised to knock again when the door was yanked open, revealing Makunouchi on the other side. He was again wearing a pair of boxers and a white t-shirt, his feet bare as he ran a towel through his dark, spiky hair. His arm slowly lowered as he stared at Sendo.
"Hey," he said, voice quiet.
Sendo nodded and cleared his throat before saying, "Yo."
They did the staring thing a bit more before Makunouchi finally stepped back from the door and waved a hand.
"Come on."
Sendo nodded again and entered Makunouchi's home, closing the door behind himself. He removed his sneakers at the door and followed behind the shorter man as they made their way to Makunouchi's room. Sendo remembered his first time being in Makunouchi's room. He remembered that night too, when he'd realized just how much he wanted to kiss and hold his rival. Makunouchi slid open the door to his room as Sendo glanced around for the man's mother, wondering where she was. When she didn't appear, he turned to Makunouchi with a small frown.
"Hey, Makunouchi." Makunouchi jumped and faced Sendo with big gray doe eyes. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. Before Sendo became distracted by that endearing gaze, he posed his question. "Where's your mom?"
"Oh, she's in her room doing some reading. She, uh, said she didn't want to bother us...or anything."
Sendo grinned. He knew he liked Makunouchi's mom for a good reason. He followed the dark-haired man into his room, waiting while Makunouchi closed the door. After that, silence fell, leaving the atmosphere tense and awkward. Sendo sighed after a while and went to a corner near the window, where he dropped his bag. He went back to the middle of the room where Makunouchi stood and stared at the man. When all Makunouchi did was fidget and avert his eyes, Sendo put a hand on each of Makunouchi's strong shoulders.
"I ain't gonna beat around the bush here, Makunouchi, so I'll just say what I got on my mind. I've been thinking about this for a while now, and it's botherin' me to the point where I can't think about nothin' else." Makunouchi audibly gulped as he stared back at Sendo. So far, so good. Even though things hadn't gone south yet, a strong case of butterflies made Send stall. "So, here goes nothin'," he mumbled before taking a slow, even breath. "I...want...you..."
He was going to chicken out! He felt it with every word he uttered. Three small words, but each one sapped his confidence, made his courage disappear like vapor. And the look on Makunouchi's face certainly wasn't helping matters. Not one little bit. Sendo internally struggled for something else to say that would lighten the mood, but nothing was forthcoming. He was totally anxious about Makunouchi's response. However, he should have known that Makunouchi wouldn't be much help.
"W-what? What do you want me to do, Sendo?"
Now there was a thought. But Sendo shook away the lechery creeping into his mind and tried again. Maybe if he reworded it, Makunouchi would understand what he meant.
"No, Makunouchi. I don't want you to do somethin'; I want you."
It took some time, but Makunouchi eventually got it. His gray eyes went round and his cheeks, ears and neck flushed. His lips parted in obvious shock as he stared at Sendo. But he still didn't say anything. Sendo shifted around nervously.
"Say somethin', Makunouchi. Yer killin' me here."
Makunouchi's eyes cleared from the astonished daze he'd previously been drowning in and his head shook back and forth shortly.
"But why?" he uttered. "Why would someone as amazing as you want me?"
Sendo snorted and pulled Makunouchi to him in a hug. "I think ya mean why wouldn't I want ya, right? Makunouchi, yer not so shabby yerself, ya know? I told ya before. And I think I like ya. I know I can't stop fuckin' thinkin' 'bout ya."
Makunouchi's cheeks darkened as he lowered his head, hiding his face from Sendo. Sendo grinned as he tightened his arms and buried his nose in Makunouchi's still damp hair. Makunouchi was so cute when he did stuff like this. It never ceased to amaze Sendo just how adorable the Japanese champion could be. They stood that way for a few comfortable minutes, Sendo just enjoying the way Makunouchi felt in his arms. He'd dreamt about this so many times.
Finally, Makunouchi pulled out of the hug and glanced up at Sendo. "I feel the same way. K-Kumi-chan confessed to me yesterday, but I couldn't respond to her. Not the way she was hoping for, anyway. I only just realized that I might like you in a – in a romantic way."
Sendo grinned from ear-to-ear. So, he didn't have to worry about that stupid girl now? That was the best news he'd had in a long time.
"That's a good thing, I hope," he murmured, drawing Makunouchi back to his chest where the man belonged.
Makunouchi gave him a shy smile and nodded. "It is. And Sendo?"
Sendo was too busy inhaling the fresh scent of Makunouchi's shampoo to actually do much more than hum in response to his name coming from the shorter man.
"Call me Ippo, please."
That caught his attention, though. He leaned his upper body away and stared down at Makunouchi. "Ippo, huh? I think I can get used ta that if ya let me."
And then, Makunouchi – Ippo – did something completely out of character. He smiled and leaned forward, eyes closed and lips puckered. How cute was this? Sendo ignored the butterflies soaring around wildly in his gut as he closed the gap between his and Ippo's bodies and pressed their lips together.
It's just like kissing a girl, Sendo thought. Only better.
He moved his lips over Ippo's gently before carefully tracing the champion's soft bottom lip with his tongue. Ippo stiffened, but allowed Sendo to continue. It was clear that Ippo had no idea what to do next, or else he would have opened his mouth. Therefore, Sendo slid his tongue between the crease of Ippo's lips and ran it over the man's teeth. Ippo took in a startled breath, which was exactly what Sendo had been banking on. He lifted a hand to the back of Ippo's head and used his tongue to explore the inside of the shorter man's mouth. Ippo kind of got the idea afterward. His tongue met Sendo's and began to move with it, both men sighing and quietly moaning. It was Sendo who pulled out of the kiss first, a crooked smile erupting across his face.
"So, can I call you Ippo-chan now?" he asked.
Ippo chuckled and shook his head. "No way. Can I call you Takeshi?"
"You can call me whatever you want, Ippo-chan."
"Hey!"
Sendo just kissed the man again. He felt incredible.
So, at first I had intended for this to be a oneshot, but that turned into three more chapters. And then I had planned to introduce a little smut. But I changed my mind. I think I'll save the steamy scenes for my other Sendo/Ippo story, Mix-Up. I think I want to just keep this one nice and lighthearted. So, I hope you enjoyed this! I know I enjoyed writing it!
Thanks for reading!
