I'M BACK! =DDD Happy New Year, minna!
Well, as you can see, I have returned to this story after however many months. If you want to know what happened, just read the update on my profile page. Sorry for the desperately long wait.
Well, it's been uneventful around here except for Christmas and the New Year, so I'm not gonna spend a lot of time ranting. I'll just get on typing the story. =DD (By the way, as a quick sidenote, I changed Ryoma's name from his last name to his first to avoid any further confusion or complaints one might have).
Momo had stayed back from school once again.
Kaidoh just wasn't convinced that Momo was ready to go back to school, considering his eye hadn't gone down and Momo was still having difficulty moving normally. He wouldn't be able to handle tennis practice right now.
It had taken about a half-hour of arguing, nearly leading into a shouting match, but with some help from Kaidoh's mother, Momoshiro finally gave in. Somewhat relaxed that Momo would listen to him right now, Kaidoh told him to get some rest. Momo nodded stiffly, and scowled at Kaidoh from the bed when he left the room, closing the door behind him.
At present, Kaidoh was on his usual jog on his way to school when he noticed another pair of feet pounding on the sidewalk behind him. He slowed down his jog ever so slightly, waiting for the unknown person to catch up.
A soft panting reached his ears and the person was beside him now, running at his pace. Kaidoh shifted his eyes to the left and say Ryoma jogging alongside him. One glance at the look on Ryoma's face told Kaidoh that they would talk later, once they had reached the school. Kaidoh nodded his head once at the silent statement, and saw Ryoma nod back.
The rest of the journey to the school was spent in silence. During the jog, Kaidoh wondered absentmindedly why Ryoma was jogging with him to school today before he remember that Momoshiro had been Ryoma's ride until now. There was no other way that the boy could get to school unless he walked, but the walk would have taken longer than if he ran, and that was exactly what he was doing.
Kaidoh huffed out a breath of air. He wondered if Ryoma was going to jog with him until Momo was well enough to return to school. It wouldn't be a bother, since Ryoma wasn't annoying him to a great extent. He was quiet, but he was still company. Kaidoh wouldn't mind, but still.
They reached the gates of the tennis courts in short time. Once they got closer to the clubhouse, Kaidoh slowed down to a walk, stepping into the small building with Ryoma following suit. Everyone else was already outside, ready and dressed. Kaidoh and Ryoma were too, but with the clubhouse empty, it would be a good place to talk privately without anyone listening in.
Once they caught their breath and Kaidoh had wiped the sweat off his face, Ryoma took a deep breath and spoke.
"So. What happened to Momo-sempai? Why isn't he here today?"
Kaidoh placed the towel on a vacant bench. "I made him stay home. I didn't think he was... fit enough to come back today."
Ryoma narrowed his eyes at his senpai. "What exactly is wrong with Momo-sempai, Kaidoh-sempai?"
Kaidoh frowned. "That's for him to tell you himself. He wants to talk to you today after school. You'll have to come over by my house, though."
Ryoma nodded, a small smirk forming on his lips. "Hai."
Kaidoh nodded back, and together they both stepped outside to join their sempai-tachi in tennis practice.
XXX
Momo looked up at the sound of the doorknob rattling open and grinned when he saw Ryoma's figure passing through the ajar door. "Hey brat," he greeted, pushing himself up in sitting position on Kaidoh's bed, wincing as a couple of sharp pains passed through his arms and lower back. "I was kinda wondering whether or not Mamushi would let you in to see me."
Ryoma said nothing, but closed the door behind him softly. He walked over to where his friend lay and Momo could see with every step Ryoma's eyes became wider. His smile wavered a little but remained intact on his face.
"I'm not going to bite, Echizen," Momo joked. He waved his friend over. "Not going to bite."
Ryoma frowned a little but trudged over to the empty seat beside the bed Kaidoh usually sat in. He lowered himself on the chair, not taking his eyes away from Momo's face. Or rather one part of Momo's face.
"That bad, huh?" Momo said, gently caressing his swollen eye. It still throbbed under his touch, but not as fiercely as before.
"What happened to you, Momo-sempai?" Ryoma suddenly asked, the sharpness in his voice forcing Momo to look at him.
Momo's smile dropped from his face. "Mamushi didn't tell you?"
"I got the gist of it," Ryoma said. Momo nearly grinned again at the familiar snap in the first-year's voice. But at the same time it made him feel uneasy. "I just wanted to hear it from you."
Momo blinked his good eye and sighed, leaning his head back carefully on the headrest of the bed. "My dad."
Ryoma was silent for a short moment before nodding and leaning back into the chair, disbelief written all over his face.
"Why haven't you ever said anything about it until now?" Ryoma muttered. Momo could still hear the hidden displeasure in his kouhai's voice, though. "Why wait?"
"I just... I couldn't separate us," Momo said shortly, referring to his brother and sister as well as himself.
Ryoma only nodded, but Momo knew he understood. And that was okay.
XXX
"The sempai-tachi miss you, Momo-sempai," Ryoma said as he lifted his bag over his shoulder. "You should come back to school soon."
Momo smiled and scoffed. They had spent most of the afternoon talking, even if the subject had been touchy for the both of them. In his own way, Ryoma had assure him that he'd be there for Momo, even if he didn't say it outright.
"Just don't get yourself killed, eh, Momo-sempai?"
Momo laughed a little, even though the remark wasn't made to be funny. Far from it.
"You're saying you don't miss your Momochan-sempai?" Momo said jokingly. "Brat."
Ryoma smirked and left not long after that, bidding his goodbyes to his sempai-tachi and Kaidoh's family. In Ryoma's place, Kaidoh walked into the room and sat down on the chair, hands in his pockets.
"Mamushi, you look like you're about to murder someone," Momo smiled softly.
Kaidoh arched an eyebrow.
"Then again, you always look like that," the lying boy finished. Kaidoh let out a huff of air and didn't respond, looking down.
"What's up?" Momo wondered aloud, somewhat curious about his rival's sudden silence. Kaidoh was almost always quiet anyway, but this was almost too quiet. He never kept silent whenever Momo threw a annoying comment his way. Or what Kaidoh considered annoying, anyway.
Kaidoh was saved from answering by a knock at the door. The two teenagers looked up to see Kaidoh's father Shibuki standing at the door.
"Kaoru," the man said. "A word, if you will."
Kaidoh creased his brows but didn't object his father. "Hai, tou-san," he responded and stood. With a quick glance at Momo, he made his way out the door, side-stepping for a moment as Takami and Tatsuki rushed in, and followed his father.
Ahhh. Good to be back. =DD Well, the good thing is now Ryoma knows! He was going to know one way or another, Momo is his best friend after all. The chapter ends here for now, and with a little cliffhanger. What does Kaidoh's father want to talk to him about?
Feel free to guess if you want. Next chapter gets dedicated to whoever gets it right, along with some other shoutouts I have. =) Thanks for keeping up this long, minna! Happy New Year!
