A/N: Hi Everyone! Four Chapters and running! I'm so happy to see so many people actually taking the time to read my story! You guys are truly an inspiration. Thank you once again for reading!! Feel free to leave a shout out if so moved. HUGS
Disclaimer: PoT is the genius of Takeshi Konomi...and I do not profit from this. Thank you
(Chapter 4)
Uma had to admit, she was a bit flustered about going to school on Monday. What would happen, would anything change? She thought as she walked through the school gates. She shook her head.
"No, I can't think that way," she said to herself as she walked up to her locker. "He's my friend. I just went to watch. That's all. Nothing will change." She quickly changed her shoes, grabbed her books and walked to her class. Uma was always the first one to class in the mornings. She liked to get there early and go over her homework. It also gave her some time to listen to her music too. When she stepped through the doorway she found two things strange.
One, Kaidoh was in already in the classroom at his seat. She paused. Kaidoh usually had morning practice, so he was always the last one to come into class. Secondly, he was reading in his English book. English wasn't until the end of the day, so that surprised her the most. He looked like he was very engrossed in what he was reading; his face was scrunched up in utter most concentration. Uma smiled lightly. She didn't want to disturb him, so she quietly made her way to her seat.
Kaidoh had come to class early so he could get caught up on his homework. Once he got home last night, he went straight to bed. Tezuka had let them out of practice earlier than usual this morning, so he knew that practice this afternoon would be tough. Not that he minded tough practices. He had been struggling with all his subjects lately and he didn't want to fall behind, especially in English. He didn't want to disappoint her. As he was reading in his book he felt someone watching. He sat up and slowly turned around. There was Uma trying to tiptoe her way to her desk. He raised his eyes in surprise. She paused in mid-step.
"Ah, um, Good morning!" she said brightly her cheeks blushed pink. Kaidoh let out an amused hiss.
"Good morning, Uma, you are here early." He said simply as she collapsed in her seat behind him. She laughed.
"I'm always here early!" she said lightly as she reached into her bag and pulled out a book and her iPod. "I saw you studying there so I didn't want to disturb you, so I tried to be quiet."
Kaidoh snorted. That seemed very much like Uma. "Ah, well, we got out of practice early this morning and I thought I could use this time to get caught up on some homework." He replied indifferently.
"That's good. What are you working on?" she asked as she leaned over her desk in attempt to peak over his shoulder. He held up his book.
"English?" she asked surprised. "But I thought you were doing so well! I guess I haven't been a very good conversation partner." She teased lightly.
Kaidoh shook his head. "Oh no, no, Uma, it's not like that. I'm actually reading ahead in English."
"Oh, I see," she said as she settled back in her seat and opened her book. Kaidoh turned back around in his seat and pulled out his algebra homework. He disliked math so very much and this last problem was giving him the most trouble. He just couldn't figure it out. Mentally he was cursing himself for not being more responsible with his school work, but it was too late to feel sorry for himself.
Uma wasn't really reading her book. She was watching Kaidoh trying to finish his school work. It was kind of humorous, he was hissing under his breath and mumbling to himself all the while scribbling and scratching away on his paper. Finally, she couldn't take much more of it.
"Um, Kaidoh," she asked cautiously. Kaidoh stopped and turned to look at her, an annoyed expression on his face. Uma leaned back. Kaidoh sure could look scary when he wanted to.
Kaidoh hadn't meant to glare at her. But, he was frustrated and he was never good with dealing with his emotions. He had surprised her, the look on her face proved that. However, she quickly straightened herself up.
"Do you need help with your homework?" she asked as she put down her book. Kaidoh blinked. She was leaning forward on her desk. She was just a few inches away from him. She'd never been this close to him before. He couldn't help but notice how the front of her uniform pulled just slightly on her chest or the sweet fragrance that radiated from her. He could feel his face grow warm.
"Uh…" his mind went blank. "…what?"
Uma laughed. She had flustered him. "Your homework, I couldn't help but overhear your battle with it." She said pointing to his paper. Kaidoh smiled lightly.
"Oh, well, sure, if you wouldn't mind. I'm stuck on this last problem." He said turning his body so he faced Uma's desk. He placed his paper and his book between them. Uma looked at the problem lost in thought.
"I see! Here, Kaidoh, this is where you made a mistake on this equation." She said pointing to the problem. Kaidoh looked down. "See? You should have multiplied this number by three. You were trying to cube it."
Kaidoh nodded. "No wonder my number was so big!"
Uma smiled. "Yep. You know, if you ever need help with something, you can just ask."
"I didn't realize how smart you really are, Ito Uma." Kaidoh said happily as he quickly went back and corrected his problem.
"Most people don't. It's no big deal." She said shrugging her shoulders. Uma was indeed very intelligent. She placed in the top five of their year every semester. Since she never did much after school anyways, she just did her homework. It was easier that way. Both of them heard voices in the halls and turned around to see some of the students begin to filter into the classroom.
"Ooo, Kaidoh-kuuun! You are here earlier!" came the shriek of some of their classmates as they walked through the door. Kaidoh ducked his head and Uma winced.
"I see your fan-club is all powered up this morning." She mumbled as she cranked up the volume on her iPod in attempts to drown out the squeals as the girls came rushing around Kaidoh like a raging river.
Kaidoh hissed in annoyance. He really hated all this unwanted attention. The girls were swarming now around his desk and he was trying very hard to ignore them as he gathered his papers and put them away.
"Man, what are those girls thinking," Uma heard a couple of the boys talking to each other. "I feel sorry for Kaidoh. He doesn't stand a chance." Uma smiled to herself. Her thoughts exactly.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
"I meant to ask you earlier," Kaidoh stated as the two came together for Conversation on Friday. "How are your knees and elbows? You had them covered up at the tournament, so I didn't know if you were okay."
He really didn't know why he was bringing this up now. Uma was a tough girl and wouldn't be bothered by a couple of scratches on her knees. He was really just looking for an excuse really to work up the courage to ask her on the date he promised. He had tried all week to bring it up, but managed to stop short with incoherent sputtering and blushing. She didn't have a clue.
Uma blinked. "Oh, they're great." She said as she held up her elbow and laughed. Though she was wearing her school jacket she could feel the band-aid that she had placed over her scrape. Kaidoh didn't look convinced and stared down at her knees. Instinctively she pressed her knees together in surprise as he leaned down for a closer inspection.
"I hope your knees weren't too scraped up. They did bleed a bit." He murmured. He saw the edges of two large bandages peeking out from under her knee socks. Unconsciously he reached down and touched her knee. Uma froze. It was just a light touch, but it sent a shiver up her spine.
Kaidoh paused and quickly pulled his hand back and stared down at the ground. Oh great, he thought miserably as his cheeks flushed red. She's going to think I'm some sort of pervert trying to look up her skirt. As he willed down the redness on his face he heard her chuckling. He took a peek up at her. She was smiling as if she found whole thing amusing. He grinned back and sat up in his seat.
"My knees and elbows are just fine. Thank you for their concern." She laughed.
"Well, I figured as much, but, you know, I just wanted…" he mumbled as he scratched the back of his head and leaned back in his chair.
"So, Kaoru," Uma started immediately in English. She never said his first name in Japanese, only in English, because that seemed to be the way it was done. Kaidoh still wasn't quite used to that. True, he didn't call her Ito-chan, she had insisted just calling her Uma, but to hear his given name out loud was always a pleasant surprise.
"Yes?" he answered back.
"What does it feel like to be going to Kantou?" she asked excitedly. Kaidoh raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Well, it feels good, I guess, it's just another step along the way to reach Nationals." He said simply. Uma laughed. That was just Kaidoh to say something so blunt.
"Good, I'm glad!"
"Oh!" Kaidoh's eyes lit up for an instant as if he remembered something. This was the perfect time to ask! Uma gave him a curious look.
"I promised you, did I not? A date! We need to decide where we are going!" he said suddenly. Uma blinked. Whoa. So soon?
"Yeah, you're right. Where should we go? And when?" she asked lightly. Admittedly, she was very excited about the chance to hang out with Kaidoh more, especially if they were actually going to do something besides play tennis. But, she kept herself under control. She didn't want to come off like some freaky fangirl like Midori or Chiyo. That was very unprofessional and she thought she had a very professional, if not weird, friendship with Kaidoh.
Kaidoh pondered this question for a minute. He never really went anywhere on the weekends, and to his surprise and small horror, he realized he had actually had never been on a date before! He had always been minutely interested in the tales of his senpais weekend escapades and had wished he paid more attention in the locker room. He panicked slightly.
"Well, I," he said slightly disheartened. "I have no idea. Truth be told, Uma, I've never, uh, been, uh, on a date before." Uma watched as Kaidoh's face turned three shades of brilliant red.
"That's okay; I've never been on a date before either." Kaidoh sighed in relief. Good deal. "Besides," she continued loftily completely unaware of what she was saying. "It's not like we're serious, it's not going to be a serious date anyways, right?"
Kaidoh nodded silently. "Oh, right," Not serious? Kaidoh was a very serious person, whether it was about tennis or life! Did she not take him seriously? Did that mean she didn't take their friendship seriously?
Uma watched Kaidoh's expression as she continued talking. He looked a little let down. She could tell that what came out of her mouth was probably the worst thing to say to a guy who was always serious. And she knew Kaidoh was always serious. She instantly regretted it.
"But, if you want, we can go on a serious date, I mean, that is…" She was floundering. Kaidoh was looking at her skeptically. Oh great, I screwed up! She thought miserably as she was trying to form complete sentences in her head.
"If you don't want to, then that's okay…I mean, it's good! Great! I…uh….oh," Uma started laughing. It was her stupid nervous laugh too. Keep it up Ito! She thought as she wiped away a few tears. Keep looking stupid in front of the boy who you've admired so long! STOP IT!
"Oh, Kaidoh, I'm sorry," she finally spit out as she calmed her nerves. Kaidoh sat there stoically as Uma brought herself under control. Several groups were looking over at them, whispering behind their hands. How embarrassing. "Truly, I am. I'm really looking forward to going out with you. It's just I don't take myself very seriously. I don't take a lot of things seriously. Maybe that's why…" she babbled. Kaidoh held up his hand and she stopped.
"I was hoping you'd take this seriously, you and me…" he whispered softly in Japanese as he looked away. Uma barely heard it. Now she really felt bad.
"I am sorry, Kaidoh," she whispered back just as softly. "I want to, I really do, but, the thing is…" she let her last statement trail off and go unfinished. She didn't know exactly what she wanted, did she?
Did she just hear him!? Kaidoh thought wildly. Her response was in English, he had barely heard her, but could have sworn…
"Saturday, six o'clock." He heard himself say. "Let's go eat. I know a good sushi place. Then we'll just go from there." She nodded silently, her eyes downcast. His voice was cold and detached. She had let her mouth run from her. She knew she had disappointed him.
As soon as the words were out of his mouth the bell rang and all the students quickly broke away from their groups and rushed towards the door. Kaidoh stood up and walked over to his desk. He stuffed his books in his bag and made his way to the door. He didn't know exactly what he was feeling right now. Was he angry, nervous, or disappointed? Yes, he decided. But, he was man of his word; he was going to take her out. Right now, he really needed some fresh air.
"Kaidoh!" He paused and looked back at Uma. She was standing there with a determined expression on her face. "I think…I think…that sounds just fine!"
Kaidoh smiled lightly. "I'm glad. Meet me by the ticket counter at the station." And he was gone.
xoxoxoxoxoxox
As soon as Kaidoh stepped out into the halls, he was immediately pounced on from behind. He hissed in annoyance.
"Kaidoh-chan, what's up?" Eiji exclaimed as Kaidoh tried to pry his hands apart.
"I'm heading to practice, senpai," he said simply. "Could you please get off my back?"
Eiji laughed and immediately jumped off and slapped his kohai on the back. Kaidoh grimaced. He took a deep breath and let it out. That was just Eiji-senpai.
"Soooo, Kaidoh," Eiji started as they walked outside and towards the clubhouse. "How was your day?" he asked giddily. Usually he wouldn't tease Kaidoh so much, but this boy needed his feathers ruffled every once and while. And since lately Kaidoh seemed to have a serious lady-friend, it was the perfect opportunity.
"It was the same as any day, senpai," Kaidoh said simply as he opened the door to the clubhouse. Everyone seemed to be there already, which was strange. They were all staring at him, expectantly. It was kind of disturbing.
"O-ho, really? Nothing exciting happened today?" Eiji exclaimed as he bounded over to his locker.
"No, senpai, nothing exciting," Kaidoh muttered. This was starting to grate on his nerves. He gave a low hiss. Where was Eiji-senpai going with this?
"Are you so sure? I'm pretty sure I would be excited if I had a chance to talk to girls all day long," Eiji goaded. Kaidoh hissed dangerously. He was starting to get angry. Oishi saw Kaidoh's expression darken and quickly pulled Eiji as far away from him as he could.
"Eiji! Stop it!" Oishi interjected as his teammate twisted out of his grip and quickly bounced out of the clubhouse and to the courts laughing.
"Sorry, Kaidoh, you know how Eiji can be,"
"It's okay, senpai," Kaidoh snapped. Oishi blinked. Kaidoh was more irritated than usual.
"Right, well, see you on the court," he replied as he grabbed his racket and hurried outside. The rest of the members followed soon after. They could feel Kaidoh's fury bubbling up and didn't want to be around when he finally boiled over.
Kaidoh sighed and pulled on his jacket. So, annoying, he thought. What's the big deal anyways? Who cared if talked to girls? And it was only one girl. Besides, he thought miserably. She doesn't want to be serious, not with him.
"Yo, mamushi how's Uma today?"
"That's it!" Kaidoh whirled around to face a surprised Momo. He grabbed onto Momo's collar and hissed angrily. "What does it matter!?" he shouted at Momo who stood there slightly stunned.
"Uh…" Momo was at a lost for words. Usually he would fight back, but there was something wrong with Kaidoh's mood than usual. This wasn't normal Mamushi behavior.
"Kaidoh, what's up?" he finally ventured to ask. Kaidoh blinked, growled, shoved Momo out of his way and stormed outside and passed an intrigued Inui. He didn't even bother to stop him.
"Inui-senpai, what's the deal?" Momo asked as both boys watched Kaidoh stomp onto the courts. The first years shrank back in fear as he walked passed him.
"It seems that Kaidoh is having some personal turmoil." Inui said simply as he adjusted his glasses. He took out his pen and flipped open to a page in his notebook.
"Woman troubles?" Momo ventured to ask. Inui wasn't really paying attention as he scribbled on the pages.
"Perhaps, but I guess we'll see," Inui finally said as he snapped his book shut. "Shouldn't you be warming up Momoshiro?"
"Ah, I guess you're right, I'll be going now." Momo said quickly and he scurried away.
xoxoxoxoxox
Kaidoh was in a foul mood. And to make things even more stressful, Coach Ryuuzaki had announced that they were going to have an inter-squad tournament to decide on the regulars for Kantou. There was no way he was going to lose his Regular position on the team. He'd come too far and worked too hard to lose his spot. And he definitely wasn't going to let constant teasing and girls cloud his judgment and hinder his performance.
"No way," he muttered as he looked at his block. "I'm not losing to anyone."
The whole team knew Kaidoh was upset, more so than normal and each one of them thought the exact same thing; was there a girl behind his rage? Of course, no one would dare talk about it out loud. Kaidoh's play was solid. He had calmed himself down and dominated his bracket. He easily won his matches and retained his regular position. Mission accomplished.
"Uma-chan-senpai didn't walk by the courts today," Horio murmured to himself as he collected tennis balls after practice. He liked Uma. She was very nice and pretty. She didn't act all crazy like Tomoka and all timid and scared like Sakuno. She was cool like Momo-senpai. The other boys nodded in agreement. They had only really talked to her once, but they all agreed she had an attitude that was good, especially for Kaidoh-senpai.
Today had so much drama to it. Everyone was on edge, even the Third-years seemed hyper-sensitive to little things. Kaidoh-senpai had been extra irritated over something or someone, and to top it off, they found that Momo-senpai lost his regular position to Inui-senpai and Tezuka-senpai. When they all returned to the clubhouse after cleaning up the courts they were shocked to find Momo's regular jacket folded up in his locker and all his things were gone. What was going to happen to Momo now?
xoxoxoxoxox
"Kaidoh, are you sure you're only thirteen?" Uma called out as she walked up to the ticket booth at the train station. They had decided it was the easiest place to meet. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she mentally slapped herself on the forehead. Smooth, she thought as Kaidoh turned towards her.
Kaidoh had been leaning against one of the concrete pillars looking rather cool and aloof. She had been kind of intimidated about walking up to him. He didn't look like he usually did, he looked so much older…just so cool. Uma almost stopped and turned around. Kaidoh was wearing a light, fitted black and charcoal long sleeve jacket with dark blue jeans. Fitted dark blue jeans, she added mentally. He raised his eyes in surprise as she came over to him.
"No, I'm going to be fourteen in a few weeks." He joked lightly. "Are you sure you are only thirteen?" he retorted as he gave her a quick glance over. Wow, she looked good. Way too good to pass for a thirteen year old. Uma had pretty much spent the whole day trying to find something cute to wear. She really didn't have a lot of girly clothes. She had finally decided on a dark pair of jeans, her brown belt with a rhinestone buckle, a light blue fitted long sleeve shirt and her comfy casual tennis shoes with navy and light blue stripes. Casual yet elegant was the look she was going for and she felt like she managed to pull it off pretty well.
"Well, you know," she laughed as she did a little twirl in front of him. "I try."
Kaidoh smiled and nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "You look nice," he said.
"Really? Thank you! I had no idea what to wear!" She exclaimed with relief in her voice. "You clean up pretty good yourself!" she replied. Kaidoh blushed.
"So, where is this awesome sushi restaurant?" she asked as she tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. She usually didn't wear her hair long and down and it was starting to bother her. Luckily she brought an emergency hair tie.
Kaidoh straightened up and pushed off away from the pillar. "Oh, it's about a ten minute walk from here. It's actually a sushi restaurant owned by Kawamura-senpai's family. It's really quite good." He said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out the South entrance. Uma stiffened slightly. He was holding her hand!
'Why am I holding her hand!?' he thought as he bolted from the station, dragging Uma behind him. 'Do I let go? Do I hold on…OH MY GOD….!' His mind was racing in all directions. He was nervous, very nervous and Uma saw that. It was kind of cute.
"Kaidoh, are you okay?"
Kaidoh snapped out of his trance and braked suddenly at the sound of her voice. Uma, unprepared for the sudden stop, continued forward and smacked into Kaidoh's back. They both stumbled forward. Uma reached out and steadied herself but in the process pushed Kaidoh to the ground. Kaidoh landed rather hard on his hands and knees. Uma failed to control her balance, tripped over his back and landed hard on her butt with an embarrassing "Oomph!"
"Uma! Uma are you okay?" Kaidoh asked frantically as he crawled over to where Uma sat on the pavement. She had a dazed look on her face, as if it was torn between laughing and crying. "Uma?" he asked again as he stood up and brushed off his knees. His jeans didn't rip although his hands were kinda red and raw looking, but no blood. Uma looked up at him, her eyes wide.
"Kaidoh," she started as he reached down to pull her up.
"Yes?" he asked as he lifted her up.
"That…was…awesome!" She exclaimed as she did a little jump in the air. Kaidoh looked at her with confusion. She was laughing.
"Oh wow, I've never tripped over a guy before! That had to be the clumsiest display of falling ever!" she laughed whole heartedly as Kaidoh smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah, it was," he agreed. "Are you okay?"
"Well, other than my pride, no bruises!" she said holding up her hands. Kaidoh laughed. She took his hands in hers and looked at them. He felt his face grow warm. Her hands were small and soft, but strong and stable.
"Oh man, you're hands look like they hurt!" she said sympathetically as she lightly ran her fingers across his palm. Kaidoh could stop the blush on his face and swiftly pulled his hands away.
"They're okay, no blood, they'll be fine," he said quickly as he unconsciously wiped them on his pants. They were starting to get sweaty. Uma grinned to herself. He's so cute when he blushes.
"Good! Shall we try this again, then? Only, a little slower paced?" she chided lightly as she reached out for his hand. Kaidoh looked shyly up into Uma's eyes. They were soft and shining. Truly, they were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.
"Y-yeah, let's walk slower." He replied as he grasped her hand in his. She gave him an encouraging squeeze as they turned and started back down the street. Neither one said anything as they walked down the street; Kaidoh walked slightly ahead of her and refused to look at her, least he trip and fall again. Uma observed Kaidoh's body language. He was so nervous and was trying to be very careful. He was also set on serious mode, so she resisted the urged to yank his arm backwards. She wanted to have a good time tonight, she wanted Kaidoh to know that yes, she did care; she cared about their friendship. She didn't want to disappoint him. She had already done enough damage for one week.
They arrived safely at Kawamura's Sushi and went in. There they were greeted warmly by Kawaruma-senpai and his father and were quickly escorted to a table. Uma didn't really know Kawaruma-senpai that well, but one glance could tell you that he was a total sweetie and the look that he gave the pair when they walked in was priceless!
"Kawaruma-senpai looked awfully surprised to see you walk in here, Kaidoh," Uma whispered as the two sat down at the tables. Kaidoh simply shrugged.
"How are you tonight?" Kawaruma asked eagerly as he came by their table with tea. "Is there anything special I can get you two tonight?"
Uma smiled up at her senpai. His face was twisted up in the most innocent of smiles and his eyes were big and round. He looked positively thrilled.
"I'm doing just fine, Kawaruma-senpai, just fine! How are you? I heard this was the best sushi restaurant in town? Is that because you make the sushi?" Uma asked excitedly. Kawaruma let out a nervous modest laughed and scratched his head.
"I wouldn't necessarily say that," he said lightly. "But my dad is one of the best!"
"I'm sure he is! I can't wait to try some of your stuff!" Uma replied. Kawaruma blushed and quickly excused himself with another nervous laugh. Uma smiled to herself as she watched him go.
"What an absolute sweetheart!" she said to Kaidoh who had been staring at her. Where does she get that confidence? Kaidoh had been thinking as he watched the two exchange conversation. She's completely at ease with everyone.
"Kaidoh? Kaidoh! Are you spacing out on me?" Kaidoh blinked and shook his head. He gathered his attention across the table to where Uma had propped her elbows on the table and was waving her hand in front of his face.
"Uh, yes?"
"I was asking you, what you recommended here." She said. "Since you've eaten here before, I trust your judgment."
Kaidoh sat up a little in his seat. "Of course!" he replied.
Kawaruma was busy behind the counter filling up drink orders and helping his father with preparation. He couldn't help but take peaks over at Kaidoh and his date. The girl was familiar to him. He thought he had seen her at the tournament but he was never sure. They are a good pair, he thought to himself as he took out another plate of sushi to the customers. She does a lot a good, I can tell that already.
"Takashi! Don't stand there like a lump on a log! Get these plates out to the customers!" his father shouted at him, knocking the young man out of his thoughts. He laughed.
"Right, dad, I'm on it." Yes, he thought as took one more glance at the two teens who sat talking and laughing, they are a good pair.
