*Tah-dah! It's here, loves, chapter nine! We would like to thank all of our reviewers, but especially chocolvr69, who has been with us from chapter two without fail. Also thanks to hoove-print-on-your-heart for reviewing.
**Ah… Uh, to those who favorite/alert… It's lovely that you do so, but it would be greatly appreciated if you would review as well. It brings us great happiness.
***You should know we don't freaking own Prince of Tennis by now, damnit!
In case anyone's wondering, I got my wallet back from Eiji... Well thanks to Taka and his racket anyway. It's actually a really interesting story, but that was a week ago. It's old news now.
Even though it's Tuesday, my mother didn't give me any lessons. Instead, my grandfather came over and talked about the good old days. I guess that's supposed to qualify as a geneaology lesson, but I have no idea. As if talking about his favorite geisha from when he was younger helps me understand my family any more. And to think, I could be reading manga and eating Pocky right now! But, as it turns out, Dad ate all of my Pocky. He sent me to fetch some more. I'm pretty sure he just saved my sanity right there, but I'm still mad that he ate all of my Pocky.
I'm craving strawberry Pocky right now. It's my new fetish - my favorite flavor of Pocky changes every few days or so. Dad wants chocolate Pocky though, so I can't spend all of the money on strawberry Pocky. That makes my heart cry.
The internal tug-of-war raging over Kakeru and/or Momoshiro is killing me and making my brain hurt. Needless to say, I don't really know how my emotions are doing right now. I've sort of tuned them out.
Fuji comes over quite often to feed Aphrodite, and I'm fairly certain Aphrodite likes him. Lately I feel as though I've grown much closer to him as well. Between Fuji and Eiji, I never really feel alone anymore.
All of this was running through my head as I walked home with my bag of Pocky. That is, until I heard someone yelling.
"Hey! Watch out!!!" I turned in surprise, but it was too late. I got flattened by the bike that was racing towards me.
I'm dead, aren't I? That damn bike has killed me.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" I heard a familiar voice say as he tried to help me up.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine." I opened my eyes to see none other than Momoshiro. "Oh. It's you."
"You sound so thrilled to see me..." he said awkwardly.
"Well, would you be happy with the person who just ran over you with their bike?" I challenged.
"You were never happy to see me before then!"
"Why would I be happy to see you?" Oh man....Another yelling match.
"Well, you're happy to see all of your boyfriends all of the time!"
"My boyfriends?! Are you calling me a whore?!!"
"Maybe I am...!"
"At least I'm not a dumbass like you!"
"What's your problem with me anyway? First you insist on calling me Momoshiro, then you told me I was acting like I was seven, then you knock me out with a tennis ball, and then you made fun of my hair! What did I do to you?!" Momoshiro had a strong grip on my elbows. His eyes were desparate. It was as if he actually cared about me, even though I had been nothing but a bitch to him. I looked him straight in the eyes and tried to hold back frustrated tears.
"You're off your freakin' rocker! All I've done is be a bitch to you! Now why can't you take a hint and leave me the hell alone?!" He stared back into my face with determination.
"Because I don't know why you hate me! 'I just don't like you' isn't an answer!" I scowled, and looked away. "Tell me why, and I'll stay away from you!" The tears started to fall... and then I heard a -
"Momo-chan! What are you doing with Aki-chan, nyah?" Momo looked over towards the voice as a reflex. I took advantage of it, and ripped myself out of his grip.
I ran around the corner, completely disoriented, only to run into Kaidoh Kaoru. He exhaled in that peculiar way he does, and then looked at me with angry eyes, saying, "Chiaki-san?"
I couldn't help it. As soon as he said my name, the tears started running, and I almost took him to the ground with a hug. He wasn't sure how to react - he just stood there. After a moment I pulled away.
"S-sorry, Kaidoh-kun... I g-got carried away..." I'd switched formalities without realizing it, but Kaidoh didn't do anything to stop me.
"Fsshhh..."
I swallowed once, and said, "Well, I guess I'll go home now... Thank you."
Kaidoh seemed unmoved, and I started to walk home, until I heard that damn voice all over again, "Oi! Viper! Have you seen Chiaki-san?" I locked up; I'd rounded a corner, and was out of sight, but if Kaidoh sold me out, Momo would be upon me in a second.
"No. Now go away, bastard."
I sighed in relief. I really owed Kaidoh for that. I took off down the street again until I stopped, realizing that I dropped my bag of Pocky in the bike collision. Great, now I would have to go back there. I'm pretty sure Dad wouldn't let me in my house unless I had that Pocky. Either way, I'm pretty much screwed.
Well, if I went around the block, Momoshiro would probably be a few blocks down by then looking for me. So, maybe I would be okay...
I looked around the corner of the building to see the bike right where it crashed into me. The owner was nowhere to be found. Thank God. I jogged up to the bike only to find that my Pocky was missing! My only guess was that Eiji stole it. He likes to steal things of mine. But I don't think he'd take it without letting me know about it. He's hyper, not evil. If he did take my Pocky, he'd be back soon anyway. I guess I could wait for a few minutes just in case. I plopped down on a nearby bench and let that scene replay in my head.
"Tell me why, and I'll stay away from you!"
Maybe I should tell him. Then I wouldn't have to deal with all this. But part of me doesn't want him to stay away from me...
The sky was overcast when I left the house, but it had started to rain. It was a steady downpour. I was thankful for the rain. It wasn't as easy to see my tears that way. I brought my knees up to my chest and cried silently. I was completely drained of all reason. I wasn't even sure why I was crying. Maybe it was because Kakeru had said some of the same things Momoshiro had said to me. I rocked myself back and forth to try to ease my welling emotions. I heard a soft voice from beside me.
"Chiaki...san...?"
My vision was blurred. I looked up and saw what, in my deranged mind, looked like someone I wanted to hate. "K-Kak-ker-ru...?" I studdered.
"Uhhh... Who?" the figured said, obviously confused.
"K-Kakeru..." I whispered and closed my eyes.
