Summary: In high school, Momoshiro Takashi has spontaneously declared himself Kaidoh Kaoru's best friend and at the same time, his eternal rival. Inui Sadaharu is 'secretly' in love with Kaidoh but it seems that everyone knows except the one he loves. So what about Kaidoh? He's too busy dealing with his own problems – fan girls and classmates included.
Upside Down: 逆さまに
Chapter Twelve
十二
Since his mom called to tell them she wouldn't be home tonight, Kaidoh decided to take this chance to burn those pictures once and for all. So at around midnight, Kaidoh walked out of his room, tiptoed past Hazue's room and down the stairs. Then as quietly as possible, Kaidoh opened the back door. He shivered lightly as a rush of cold air hit his face. Clutching the white envelope in his left hand, Kaidoh stepped outside and pulled the door behind him with a soft click.
Kaidoh scanned the yard and his eyes lit up once it landed on what he was looking for. Rubbing his arms, he quickly rushed over to the corner of his yard and stood over a metal trash can. Squatting down, he lifted the lid off and peaked inside, relieved that it was empty.
Setting the lid down quietly next to his feet, Kaidoh dug into one of his shorts' pocket and pulled out a lighter. Holding on to the lighter, he opened the white envelope in his other hand and pulled out the stack of photos. He let out a tiny hiss as the cold wind bit at his bare arms and legs.
Wanting to get this over with, Kaidoh fiddled with the lighter and lit the corner of the first photo. He held the lighter in place for a few seconds to make sure the flame wasn't going to blow out. A few seconds later, he dropped the burning photo into the metal can as the fire grew. He continued to feed the fire, dropping in a photo, one after another. He would prod the fire after every few picture, making sure they all burned evenly.
When they were all in the can, Kaidoh watched intensively as the fire grew brighter and the photos turned to ash. His unblinking eyes started to water as he stared at the last photo burning. His hold on the stick tightened as the two figures in the last picture – a smaller one under the bigger one – was eaten away by the hungry flames, turning it into nothing but ashes.
No more…
Kaidoh allowed himself to finally blink as the fire started to die down. That part of their life was – is – finally over. No more whispers behind their backs. No more looks of pity and disgust. No more crying. No more hurting.
No more…
The sudden vibration coming from his shorts' pocket startled Kaidoh. Heaving a sigh of relief, he dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Kaidoh raised an eyebrow in surprise at his caller. Why was his senpai calling him so late?
"Hello?"
Kaidoh paused hearing no response. He looked at his phone again before replacing it back at his ear. "Hello? Inui-senpai?"
"Ah…Kaidoh, I hope I didn't wake you up?"
Kaidoh bit down hard to prevent his teeth from chattering. It was getting colder and colder being out here.
His eyes quickly glanced back down to the metal can, now holding nothing but black ashes. He bent down and quickly placed the lid back on before rushing back into the house.
"No, senpai. I'm still awake," said Kaidoh, reentering his house. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, sighing softly as the warmth of his kitchen washed over his numbed cold body.
"It's late, shouldn't you be sleeping?"
Kaidoh furrowed his eyebrows and switched ears. "I could say the same for you too senpai," he said, pausing to take in his senpai's low chuckle through the phone. "Besides, why did you call me if you're expecting me to be asleep? It makes no sense." Kaidoh walked out of the kitchen, switched the lights off and quietly tiptoed back upstairs to his room.
"Ah, you've got me there. I must admit I lost track of time. I was about to hang up when you picked up," reasoned Inui.
"Oh…" Kaidoh closed the door with a quiet click and headed over to his desk. Sitting down on his chair, he spun forward and picked up his pencil, continuing with his Chemistry homework.
"So…" Kaidoh started when Inui didn't say anything. "Did you need something?"
He could hear the other's breathing over the phone.
"I heard you've been discharged today. Congratulations."
"Thanks," muttered Kaidoh, forehead creasing with concentration on the current problem. He chewed the top of his pencil, trying to figure out how to balance the chemical equation. "But I still can't play tennis," Kaidoh said into the phone distractedly.
"Your shoulder isn't completely healed?"
"No."
"Oh…how long are you going to be out?"
Kaidoh scratched out the wrong numbers and rewrote another one on top. "The doctor said at least two weeks. No vigorous activities."
"No training even?"
Kaidoh sighed and scratched out the whole thing, rewriting the original equation under it to start over again. "No. Okaa-san is going to kill me."
Kaidoh's heart skipped a beat hearing the sound of Inui's laugh through the phone.
"At least now you can experience a normal high school student life, without a care in the world."
Kaidoh frowned and sandwiched his cell phone between his shoulder and ear as his hands shuffled through some notes. "I don't want to," he whined a bit childishly. "Tennis is my life."
"Don't be dramatic. I'm sure there are plenty of other things you can do now that tennis isn't chaining you down."
"Senpai," Kaidoh said in an exasperated voice. "I don't want to do anything else. I want to play tennis and tennis only."
"Consider this a well deserved break."
Kaidoh only sighed and returned to his homework. The two teens fell silent for a minute as Kaidoh focused completely on balancing out the chemical equation.
In the middle of checking his math, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. "What about you senpai?"
"Hmm?" Inui sounded surprised. "What about me?"
"I meant what about your tennis?"
"Well I'll just go on like I usually do."
"I…I'm sorry…" Kaidoh apologized all of a sudden as a wave of guilty washed over him.
"Why are you apologizing Kaidoh?"
Kaidoh's eyes automatically trailed up to his calendar. There was a red circle around the dates 17 and 21. Game days. And today was the 12th already – or 13th since its past midnight already.
"The game…next week…"
"…oh…" Kaidoh shook his head and continued with his homework. He only had a few more problems to go. And then he could finally go to sleep.
"I guess I should start looking for a new partner." Kaidoh heard the joking voice behind Inui's words but it didn't register in his mind. His chest suddenly constricted and his grip on the pencil slackened in his hand. He watched blankly as it slid out of his hand and rolled off his desk to land on the floor with a soft ploink.
Kaidoh suddenly became irritated and unknowingly hissed into the phone. He didn't know why but the thought of his senpai getting another partner extremely grated his nerves. Sure, he had no claim over the older teen but still! Kaidoh worked best with Inui and Inui worked best with Kaidoh. That's why they're still partnered up. No one can separate them or come between their partnership – just like the Golden Pair. It just didn't happen. But the thought of Inui simply replacing him like that…made his heart clench painfully.
"Kaidoh? Are you okay?"
Kaidoh shook his head, trying to get rid of all those thoughts. Ever since Inui started training with him, he's been a little to dependant on the older male, a little too attached. Kaidoh Kaoru doesn't get attached and he certainly doesn't depend on anyone else but himself. So the thought of losing Inui to someone else was scaring him. It made no sense!
"Kaidoh? Kaidoh!"
Kaidoh shook out of his reverie and refocused his eyes. "Y-yeah?" he mentally cursed his sudden stuttering.
"Is something the matter? You hissed."
Kaidoh blinked. How does hissing indicate if anything was wrong?
"Um, no," he said uncomfortably. "But what does my hissing – "
Inui cut him off. "Ever since you entered Seigaku High, I've noticed that you only hiss when you're irritated or put in an awkward situation."
Kaidoh fell silent. He didn't realize that happened.
He hoped his senpai wasn't going to ask what was wrong, because he had no idea how to say it. He was confused himself.
Inui's low chuckle over the phone captured Kaidoh's attention once again and he felt himself relaxing to the sound.
"Don't worry Kaidoh. I was just kidding. I'm not going to find another partner."
Kaidoh's face heated up and was thankful that they were talking on the phone instead of face to face. It was scary how his senpai knew what he was thinking. Too scary. And weird.
"B-but you have to!" exclaimed Kaidoh, despite his brain shouting at him to not talk. "You can't play if you don't." Kaidoh winced as the words slipped uncontrollably out of his mouth.
"It's okay. I don't mind."
"But – "
"Kaidoh." The tone of Inui's voice caused his mouth to snap shut. "I don't want to play with anyone else. I only want to play with you. I only need you."
A soft smile graced his lips as he listened to his senpai talk. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach and his chest suddenly felt a bit warmer. Completely forgetting his homework, Kaidoh got up and walked over to his bed. Laying down, his eyes fluttered closed and his smile widened by a fraction as his head hit the soft pillow.
"You're my partner and I'm your partner. No one else. So stop telling me to find someone else. Unless…"
Kaidoh waited patiently for Inui to continue.
"Unless…you don't want me anymore? Is that why you're telling me to get a new partner?" Kaidoh picked up the hurt behind his senpai's voice and quickly snapped his eyes open.
"NO!" he half-shouted into the phone. "I mean…that's not what I meant. I…I don't want you to get a new partner but…" Kaidoh closed his eyes again and heaved a heavy sigh as he threw one of his arms over his eyes.
"I don't know when I'll be able to play again," he said softly.
"…then I'll wait. I'll wait for you Kaidoh, no matter how long it takes."
Kaidoh's tongue darted out to lick his dry lips. "Are you…are you sure you want to wait for me senpai?" he asked hesitantly. "I…I'm not…holding you back?"
Inui's breathing was the only sound Kaidoh could hear from the other teen. "Is…" he took a deep breath, gathering up all this courage. "Is it…worth it? Is it senpai?" Kaidoh asked in a shaky voice, wanting to know the answer yet not wanting to know at the same time. His heart was thumping crazily and his palms were getting a bit sweaty.
Inui finally answered after what seemed like an eternity for Kaidoh. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, listening to Inui's breathy "Yes."
His face immediately heated up realizing how foolish and needy his questions must've sounded like. Kaidoh let out a nervous laugh. "Um…sorry senpai. I was just blabbering. Forget about what I just sa – "
"It's worth the wait, Kaidoh. You're worth the wait."
Kaidoh's face flushed even more and unknowingly, his small smile evolved into a dazzling smile and his eyes shone brightly with unexplainable happiness.
"I'll be waiting for the day you return to my side…"
Despite the sudden warmth erupting in his chest and the fact that he couldn't stop smiling, Kaidoh subconsciously wondered if they were still talking about tennis…or about something else.
AN: Um...an update! Yay? Well, I'm really thankful to all the people who are still reading this and supporting me. I love you guys! I have no idea when the next update will be but I'll try to get it out soon, alright? So please review. Loads of InuKai fluff to make up for the (extremely) late update!
FAQs
What were those photos?
You'll probably find out later. But there's a huge hint at the beginning of this chapter. Cookies to whoever could figure it out! ;)
What was the purpose of Inui's call?
The purpose of his call was lost due to his conversation with Kaidoh. But we'll find out later why he called.
Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to support Upside Down. (No matter how slow I get with updates.)
