MEMORY FIVE

Inui had not been sure which seat to take in Fuji's car. He would feel silly sitting in the back with Kaidoh with room up front but all he wanted to do is be near Kaidoh. He had to hold back. If he was lucky, Tezuka would turn up for dinner and he could sit close to him on the way back. Plus, he could sit next to Kaidoh at the sushi bar anyhow. For now it was all about self-control…

He decided to sit up front with Fuji who was occupied with starting the engine of the car as he slammed the passenger door shut. Beforehand, Kaidoh had ducked and slid in right before him through the gap in the front seat. It was a two-door car after all...

"Kawamura-senpai is expecting us, yes?" Kaidoh asked as he buckled his seat belt.

"That's right, Kaidoh. I think we'll also be meeting his family from what he told me on the phone," answered Fuji.

"We're not being intrusive on his time with his family are we?" Inui inquired. He hadn't known about Takashi's family being involved in this dinner get together. In a way, it made sense. He was probably always working running the restaurant and would take any type of family time he could get with his busy schedule.

"Not all! They want to meet us. I saw a picture of his little girl. She looks rather adorable if I do say so myself," Fuji mentioned with a fond smile.

Kawamura having children was strange to think about and yet, it was fitting. Inui tried to imagine any of the other members with children and he concluded that other than maybe Kawamura who had already fulfilled this or Oishi...he couldn't see it. For some reason, it just didn't fit with anyone else. Though in his years thinking about Kaidoh, Inui had entertained several strange ideas but children was not one of them… He knew it was foolish considering he would not confess to Kaidoh and may have miscalculated Kaidoh ever having any sort of feelings for him. However, in his head, Inui played out several fantasies. Ones of Kaidoh giving him a love letter looking all flustered in high school, Kaidoh stopping him at the airport to tell him he loved him, or Kaidoh surprising him in South Korea and demanding that he come back home. Inui squirmed slightly. Even the idea of it would make his heart race…

There were also the other scenarios of them being together as an established couple. Inui would definitely want to propose to his lover and possibly get legally married somewhere. He moved his hand to push up his glasses to hide the smile on his face as he tried to compose himself. Wifing Kaoru Kaidoh up had been the ultimate dream as he had gotten older and regretted not coming back. The fantasies of Kaidoh greeting him home from work clad in an apron and all...possibly adopting a cat was one-hundred percent appealing… No, he had never thought about children unless cat-children counted. He knew Kaidoh secretly had an affinity for felines and would have loved to indulge his cute little kouhai with one.

"You were great by the Kaidoh. I don't think neither Inui nor I gave you praise," Fuji continued which interrupted Inui from his thoughts.

"Ah. Yes. You were quite skilled. I was taken by surprise, Kaidoh," commented Inui. He glanced in the rearview mirror at Kaidoh as street lights flashed glimpses of the man's face in the backseat. He was seemingly composed at the praise as if he were adapt to hearing at the time.

"What made you join a band if I may ask?" Fuji inquired.

"Kitamura-senpai and Yuri-senpai both played tennis in college. They'd visit my family's house a lot after practices or drop me off home after. My brother was in high school and wanted to create a band. He knew Yuri-senpai was a music major and that Kitamura-senpai played drums and kind of hounded them every time they'd come over….which lead to them bothering me about playing bass. Fssshhh, to be honest….they all kind of bullied me into it," Kaidoh explained. He almost sounded begrudgingly annoyed but Inui noticed the slight soft smile on his kouhai's face. Seeing Kaidoh smile like that had been a rare sight to see and Inui assumed it was because he had fond memories that came with forming a band with his brother and teammates.

Inui was bemused at the idea but he was not shocked at what had happened in order for Kaidoh to be pulled out of his comfort zone. It honestly was rather easy to bully him. It only took a little coaxing before Kaidoh would eventually give in to a request. Especially if it was one of a senpai's….

"How did you meet Sutamori-san?" he asked.

Kaidoh blinked, "Senpai...She nor I never mentioned her last name to you…"

The bespectacled man's heart stopped. Crap. Now he sounded like some type of creep...He usually was more careful about giving what he did and did not know but he was just high off of the thoughts of Kaidoh and being around him that it had truly made him careless.

"Saa, that's my fault Kaidoh. I had looked Zero up on the internet and I had explained to Inui who she was. Beforehand Eiji had told me to my shock. While we waited around at my home, I had looked up some things," Fuji interrupted.

Inui could have kissed Fuji right then. Thank god. Kaidoh did not need to know that Inui was now gathering lots of data on this Yuri Sutamori person… Fuji hadn't lied. He had given Inui a last name and he had just so happened to make a point to remember it. How could he forget that after she had claimed Kaoru so openly?

"Fsssshh. I see… ah well, Kitamura-senpai was the college captain. You do know that at the universities, the tennis is co-ed right?" Kaidoh pointed out.

"How interesting! I had no idea," Fuji stated amusedly.

"What positions do they play? Singles? Doubles?" Inui asked.

Fuji chuckled, "Oh Inui, you truly haven't changed one bit. You're still gathering data on people as usual!"

"They play doubles," answered Kaidoh.

"Oh? Both of them? Not you and Yuri-san? Or Kitamura?" Fuji questioned.

"Fsshhh. Yuri-senpai and I never figured how to strategize. We….don't work well together in that regard. Kitamura-senpai can play singles tennis but he prefers being Yuri-san's doubles partner. They're very good. They should play Oishi and Kikumaru-senpai one day if they still play…"

Inui mentally took note of this new information in his head and felt a tinge of triumph mixed in with his well-established jealousy that had taken over in the last couple of hours. Inui wasn't sure how good both he and Kaidoh would still be at double's tennis but he always thought they had been decent at it. Not as good as the Golden Pair when a game was in dire need of a win, but good enough to have won a few times when they weren't under pressure… Otherwise, the pressure just lead to chaos...and injuries… Inui had a habit of overthinking and Kaidoh angered easily if things weren't working out to hide his anxiety of throwing the match.

"I bet they would be down for that. It seemed like Eiji and Yuri-san would get along quite well," Fuji agreed as he turned a street corner. The road was starting to finally look familiar to Inui. He remembered this route to the sushi bar back in his youth. It felt strange coming down this way in a vehicle years later… He wondered if he'd feel different and gain a sense of deja-vu if he took the route walking and tried to calculate the probability of such feelings occurring at what time of day and season…

A borderline awkward silence filled the car until Fuji had arrived near their destination and parked in the paid parking lot down the street. They had run out of things to talk about suddenly… Both Inui and Kaidoh had offered to pay as Fuji rolled down his window to grab a ticket from the dispensing machine only for the tensai to refuse multiple times.

"Not to brag about such things but I make way more money than both of you do. Do not worry about it. You are my guests," the fawn-haired man insisted as he removed himself from the car and shut the door behind him.

Inui opened the passenger door and moved to pull the lever on the seat to move it forward in order for Kaidoh to get out of the car. He had just moved back to give his former kouhai space to exit only to hear Kaidoh yelp in surprise and violently flail forwards towards Inui.

Inui barely had time to register what had happened before quickly grabbing Kaidoh by his waist in order to prevent him from hitting the pavement. He had to ground himself steady so he wouldn't fall from Kaidoh's sudden weight on him as well. Kaidoh had tripped over the front passenger seatbelt as he had tried to get out and had knocked right into Inui who caught him just in time. The glasses-clad man couldn't believe what situation had just physically played out… Kaidoh had unintentionally pressed his whole toned body up against his own and Inui had to bite back a moan at how nice the other boy felt up against him.

"Are you okay Kaidoh?" he managed to ask as he continued to hold the smaller male in his arms. He could felt Kaidoh's breath against his face and a set of familiar brown eyes meet his own hidden green hues. Inui thanked the gods as his glasses concealed his eyes because his gaze immediately went to Kaidoh's thick pout just mere inches away and the temptation to kiss him was great. He felt Kaidoh squirm against him as he blushed in embarrassment.

"Fshhh...I-I'm fine…" Kaidoh answered as he averted his eyes away.

Inui smiled wickedly and decided to have a little fun with the situation. Fuji was right. He needed to win Kaidoh back...even if it meant stealing him away from a girlfriend. He noted that needed to be cautious and start slow. He didn't want to scare Kaidoh away after not seeing each other for so long. He just….wanted Kaidoh to maybe think about what could be... Inui felt confident. He had gotten Kaidoh riled up before that way in junior high and despite the two of them being grown now; Inui had a feeling he could definitely get his adorable kouhai's mind working in overdrive if he teased in the right ways.

Inui decided to test the waters and moved his mouth over next to Kaidoh's ear lobe as he softly uttered, "Are you sure Kaoru? That was pretty rough….Would you like me to check you out?"

Inui felt the boy's muscles tense up and shudder as if it weren't the middle of summer and he was freezing.

Inui moved away before Kaidoh could push him away or yell at him, "I meant check out your ankle. You didn't twist it did you?"

He noticed that Kaidoh's had acquired an interesting expression as he moved away from him. Inui had never quite seen him so...agitated. It wasn't necessarily in a good or bad way either. The older man wasn't sure.

Kaidoh was about to open his mouth to respond until Fuji called out, "Are you both okay? That was an amazing save Inui. That happened all so fast. I swear Kaidoh would have landed straight on top of you at that force…"

Inui could hear the mischievous tone in Fuji's voice even in the dark. He could bet before even looking that Fuji's eyes were probably wickedly wide open and bemused. In a way, it was good. Give Fuji something to focus on other than Tezuka….

"I-I'm fine Fuji-senpai. I just tripped on your seatbelt," Kaidoh meekly answered.

"That does happen sometimes. You should let Inui help you out next time," said Fuji.

Inui took sympathy on Kaidoh and advised, "That or I'll trade with you and sit in the back if you feel better about that."

Kaidoh looked taken aback for a moment and Inui assumed it was because maybe Kaidoh maybe had thought on the same things Inui wanted him to think about and the sudden coldness from Inui was making him second guess himself. Ha. Yuri wasn't the one good at games as Inui recalled Kitamura pointing out.

"I'll be more careful next time," Kaidoh stated before quickly proceeding towards the Kawamura shop ahead of them. Inui walked next to Fuji who gave him a smug look.

"Look at you taking my advice," he teased.

"It was an accident. I just seized the moment," retorted Inui.

"You both look ravishing together," Fuji stated with a tone of envy.

Inui laughed, "Trust me Fuji, I watched you and Tezuka for years. I wanted what I thought you had. I might not even have anything..."

Fuji looked solemnly for a moment…

"Sometimes I don't even know I did either. If that was real or just a dream. Maybe I was just imagining things," he said.

Inui shook his head in protest.

"No, Fuji. I was envious for a reason. I saw it too."

"I see…."

The pair rounded the corner and Kaidoh had gone inside before they had. He must have walked briskly out of embarrassment. He probably needed that short time to recover and had decided not to wait for them.

"You're about to find out tonight… That is one-hundred percent for sure," Inui says as he grabbed the door handle and opened it. He coaxed Fuji inside the shop first before entering himself.

"You're slow!" announced Momoshiro.

"I don't think me driving how I usually do would have been a good idea. I think Kaidoh's been shaken up enough for one night," explained Fuji with a smirk. The old crew minus Tezuka who still hadn't arrived yet burst out laughing at Kaidoh's expense. He, looked like he wanted to sink down into his chair in shame…

"Fujiko you monster! Don't tell me you took up street racing too. You've been full of surprises post-graduation!" Kawamura teased. Inui noted that the man despite aging, looked very well behind the counter as he prepped food.

"Nice to see you too Takashi! No, no. None of that. I've just been told that I'm an aggressive driver," Fuji explained airily.

"What the fuck scared you mamushi?" Momo pressed.

"None of your damn business!" Kaidoh snarled.

"Language!" Kawamura chided. He shifted his head to the back of the small restaurant. Kaidoh's eyes suddenly widened as he heard an unannounced presence's throat clear. There were two figures sat at one of the small private tables towards the back. One was an older woman with fawn brown hair and shining blue eyes… She had on a purple short sleeve top and a long white maxi skirt that a small preschool-aged girl hid behind.

Kaidoh stood up from his seat bowing profusely at the woman, "I am so sorry ma'am. My deepest apologies."

The woman smiled reassuringly and patted Kaidoh on the shoulder, "It's fine. I'm pretty sure Chie-chan has heard her father curse while being sliced with a knife during his prep times. Just as long as we are aware there are children in this room now." She knelt to then talk to the smaller human, "Chie-chan, you're never to repeat any of what you heard just now okay? It's not lady-like language and princes will be scared of you if you say words like those when you become a princess."

"Before you guys came in, I was introducing the others to my wife and daughter. You weren't that slow," Kawamura explained.

Fuji walked over and bent down to the small girl's level and took her tiny little hand into his, "It's nice to meet you Princess Chie. I am Syusuke."

The little girl's eyes brightened as Fuji flashed the girl a charming look.

"AAAA! Mister, are you a prince?!" she squeaked excitedly.

"I could be," Fuji mused.

Chie's little yellow gingham sundress was as vivid and cute as she was and she was so excited that her little odango buns with ribbons were threatening to fall as she bounced up and down on her little legs. She turned around to face her mother and declared happily, "Mama! I'm going to marry Prince Syusuke one day!"

Everyone in the room cracked up at Chie's comment including the usually moody Kaidoh and Ryoma. It was truly an adorable sight. Kids could be so blunt without a bit of hesitation...

"But Chie baby," Kawamura began, "There are so many other princes to choose from when you're a big girl!"

"I mean, come on, Echizen's ain't known as the Prince of Tennis for nothing!" Momoshiro remarked with a snicker.

Ryoma elbowed the man next to him in annoyance as he did not want to be bragged upon.

"Wow! So there's TWO princes having dinner with you daddy?" Chie cheeped.

"Oh my god…" Ryoma muttered darkly as he facepalmed in embarrassment.

"Tell you what, there are as princes are you think there are in this room and that's why mommy and daddy want you to be on your best behavior okay?" Kawamura said.

"Okay, daddy. Imma go sit down and be a good girl now," stated Chie. Fuji continued to hold the little girl's hand and lifted her back into her too-big for her chair before moving to find his seat. The mother moved around the table to give her a show to watch on her phone before sitting down at the bar table with her husband. Beside Fuji was Oishi but on the other side near the door, a free seat that would be for Tezuka if he ever decided to show up….

"As I was saying, you've met the others earlier but this Kaidoh, Fuji, and Inui," continued Kawamura.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I am Takashi's wife Satoko," the fawn-haired woman greeted warmly.

"It's nice to meet you," Inui said as he took the only other free seat. The other members had the same idea that he had planned out in his head beforehand and kept together only leave two seats next to each other on either side of the shop. It was clear that everyone would want Fuji and Tezuka to sit together given their situation. This left Inui and Kaidoh to dine beside each other near the end of the table where the wall was.

Inui was still the tallest of the Seigaku boys and he had to squeeze himself between Momoshiro and Kaidoh to fit into a chair. It was a tight fit. It was likely that the sushi bar held six people and not eight but Kawamura had always made it to where everyone would always be able to fit. It had been much easier when Ryoma was smaller, but now that he had caught up in size to the rest of them it was way more cramped than Inui had remembered. Momoshiro was gladly hogging Ryoma's space to the hat-clad boy's annoyance but Inui assumed it was also out of habit. Ryoma was smaller in height and build back then and so Momoshiro usually had room and wasn't intrusive.

However, Inui had no complaints. He slid into his cramped space and felt his leg brush up against Kaidoh's own. Warmth radiated off of him still and Inui wondered if Kaidoh was hoping to disappear into the wall with how pressed he was into it in an attempt to give Inui space. The gang was already in a rambunctious conversation which mainly consisted of his team members laughing as Satoko and Fuji bantered about Taka's mood swings and crazy habits. Momoshiro did a scarily good impression of his senpai that left Satoko laughing so hard that she was crying and having a hard time serving drinks to each person.

Inui took this distraction as a good time to reassure Kaidoh once more, "Kaidoh….I don't bite. You don't have to make yourself uncomfortable. Please, move over here."

Kaidoh blinked confused as if he was unaware that he had been clinging to the wall.

Inui gently pulled Kaidoh's arm to where the boy was no longer on the edge of his seat but solidly up against Inui's leg and as Kaidoh reached to accept his drink with both hands his left arm lightly bumped into Inui's right.

"Ah...fshhh sorry," Kaidoh quickly apologized, "For that...and for earlier in the parking lot."

He would not look at Inui as if he were scared to or was shy.

Inui intentionally moved his arm so it once again moved against Kaidoh's, "Stop apologizing. I should be the one apologizing to you, no?"

He figured he might as well be blunt with it while Kaidoh had no place to run to and avoid him.

Kaidoh bristled, "You….I…." It seemed like he was unable to find the words he wanted to say to him.

"Kaoru…." Inui began at length.

Kaidoh's expression grew grim as he warned, "Senpai you're being really strange...it's starting to irritate me."

Inui flinched. He should have expected this reaction.

"It's not intentional. I just don't want you to be so uncomfortable around me...we have a lot to catch up on it seems," he softly coaxed. It was true. So much had changed.

"It seems like you moved onto your new life just fine Senpai….As have I. There's nothing to talk about" stated Kaidoh.

"You know that wasn't-"

"Then why didn't you let me know?"

Inui sighed, "If you'd let me speak, you should know that I'm trying to apologize for-"

Kaidoh took a swig of his drink and sat it down hard as if to prove he was irritated, "We shouldn't even be talking about this right now…"

"Then when, Kaoru?" urged Inui, "When you could get angry and run from me?"

Kaoru bristled and turned to face Inui, "Why in the fu-" he stopped before correcting himself, "Fshhhh, why do you keep using my first name like that? You never used to do that!"

"Ah I was-" he began only to notice Kaidoh abruptly look down in shock between then. He wasn't allowed to speak. Again. However, this time it wasn't because of Kaidoh's anger. Chie had somehow scooted down her seat unbeknownst to the distracted and rowdy adults and was tugging at the sleeve of Kaidoh's green python print shirt.

"You can't fight. Mommy says fighting isn't nice!" she squeaked. She had a worried look on her round baby face that made Kaidoh's expression instantly soften. Some adults would be irritated that their conversation was interrupted by a child who was breaking the rules of being seen and not heard. However, Inui couldn't blame little Chie. Despite the fact that she was previously being occupied by her mother's phone watching some children's program, she was sitting right beside Inui and Kaidoh at the table and could hear everything. Inui just hadn't realized the child would be listening in while occupied… Inui remembered being the type of child that tuned adults out if he were reading a book or focusing on something. Little Chie was really perceptive for her age being able to have such an expansive attention span on multiple things at once if that was the case…

"We're not fighting Chie-chan. We just haven't seen each other in a very long time…" Inui reassured. He fondly patted the little girl's head making sure to not ruin her little buns.

"Are you really not gonna?" she asked.

"No, Chie-chan we're not. Inui-senpai is right. We just haven't talked in a very long time and had a lot of unfinished talking to do," Kaidoh said.

The way Kaidoh said it made Inui feel relieved. Did he really mean that or was he just saying that to comfort this child?

"That's good. You should be friends," said Chie, "Like best friends!"

Inui smiled. Kawamura's kid was so cute. It made him almost want one of his own if it could be with Kaidoh who was extremely attractive to him right now. He was surprisingly good with children… Inui had to control himself from the thought of making Kaidoh his wife… Even then, he wanted cats, not children but Chie made the idea awfully tempting.

"We are friends," Inui remarked.

"Can I also be your friends?" Chie asked curiously. Like most preschool-aged kids, she was full of questions from the world being new to her while also directions to others as if to mimic her mother talking to her like the four-year-old would know what's best like her mom did.

"Of course, Chie-chan. Kaidoh and I are friends with your dad so that also makes us friends," Inui said.

Chie stood on her tippy toes to then grab one of Inui's fingers with her baby hands, "Friends play together! Wanna play with me?"

Kaidoh looked taken aback and then looked at Inui confused.

Inui took his chance. No. They had been fighting. This would be a perfect moment to bond even it meant doing so with Kawamura's kid.

"Chie-chan, have you ate dinner with your mom already?" Inui asked.

"Yes! She said I would get a tummy ache if I ate when the grown-ups did!"

"Okay, let me ask your mom if we can go play with you," Inui said.

Yes. The food would take a while. They had time. It seemed like Kawamura was still cutting up newly packaged fish since he had used today's supply and the ex-team was visiting beyond closing hours. Maybe even Tezuka would be here by the time the three of them got back...

Kaidoh raised an eyebrow at Inui as if to silently ask what he was thinking. Inui just moved his hand to signal to him that he would need a minute. He raised up out of his chair to ask Satoko and Kawamura if would be okay to take Chie to the park that was down the street. It was night time but Inui was sure it would be fine. He started they should tire her out since she's already up so late…

"I can trust you guys not to hurt my baby right?" Satoko asked.

Taka smiled, "I trust these guys with my life 'Toko-baby. Thirty minutes and you can go get her and watch, she'll be worn out by then! It will be her bedtime in an hour. You both will help Satoko out a ton."

Inui moved back over to Chie who was very focused on telling Kaidoh about a movie she had been watching beforehand called the Aristocats that had lots of cats in it.

"Your mom said it was okay. Come on. We'll go play," Inui said.

"Yay! Kaoru you gotta come too!" Chie cheeped softly, "Maybe we can find kitties!"

Kaidoh awkwardly smiled and got up out of his seat and pushed his chair in giving a lot more space for them to maneuver around the others.

As they got to the exit Satoko told Chie, "Now, you listen to Uncle Kaidoh and Uncle Inui okay? You stay where they can see you!"

"Okay mommy! We're going to find kitties!"

Kawamura laughed, "I don't know if you'll find cats at this time of night."

"Maybe!" Chie squeaked.

Soon after, they exited the sushi shop. It was much quieter outside than inside and a little cooler even despite the summer weather. Chie insisted that Inui carry her but she also wanted to hold Kaidoh's hand, making the two have to walk in sync. Inui happily noted that they were still easily able to share the same pace. Even if it was just walking, it reminded him of when they used to run together at the river.

"I'm so high up!" Chie shrieked, "Hey Uncle Kaoru! One day, when I'm a princess, imma be this tall!"

Kaidoh laughed, "I dunno about that Chie-chan. Inui-senpai is a giant. He's taller than most people."

Inui grinned, "If you're as tall as me, you'll get to be one of the tallest princesses I know."

"What other princesses do you know?" the bun-haired child asked curiously.

Inui's glasses glinted evilly as he said it but he couldn't help it, it was too tempting to resist, "There is a very cute snake princess that likes to play with kittens sometimes when nobody is watching it."

Kaidoh had probably turned bright red for the thousandth time that night and Inui could not get enough of it. Perhaps he was more sadistic than Fuji… As if the Aozu and Inui Juice hadn't already proven that…

"Inui-senpai!" the smaller man warned. His nostrils flared as if he were annoyed at such a jab.

"But snakes are scary!" Chie cried.

"Not all snakes are scary. They can be quite gentle if you meet the right ones. They like clinging to things..like walls...and food..and other things that are important to them," Inui stated.

"Then I gotta meet the ones that like kitties…" said Chie.

The trio had arrived at the park that lit up by multiple types of lights. It was meant for children. It was late so there weren't any children currently playing in it but there was enough light for everyone to see just fine as long as Chie didn't wander off into the grass and stayed on the colored concrete; which meant, no looking for cats to the little girl's dismay. Kaidoh had decided to play it safe and kept her stationary in one area and sat her in a swing. It was something that would hopefully, cheer her up. Inui stood beside him leaning against the swing-set at his kouhai pushed the excited little girl who shrieked in glee at the contraption moved her back and forth.

Eventually, they'd have to truly have to talk about this but he didn't know when. Maybe it had been bad timing to begin where they had left off but he wasn't sure what else to do... He knew if they had prolonged the conversation Kaidoh would be cold towards him and if they did talk about it, he might get angry avoid him and not listen.

Inui was aware he messed up but he also knew that his life at that time had a million responsibilities and he just wanted to have a stable life. His health specialist job was quickly obtained outside of his stem program thanks to rubbing elbows with the right people. It was honestly a miracle and an opportunity he couldn't pass up. He had gone to do stem in order to better Kaidoh or work in tennis but had gotten offering something higher paying..

Kaidoh was right. He never forgot about Kaidoh but he had lost sight of the main goal because he had student debts to pay off from being in the science field as an international student. It wasn't cheap. Money trumped his promise. That was terrible…. He knew Kaidoh had every right to be mad at him but he wanted to make it right.

Kaidoh had changed as much as he did. He wanted to know why. Inui knew there was more to the story… If they could just catch up. If Inui could just get as close as they had accidentally become then maybe he could make some even better changes….but with Kaidoh being a part of it.

The thirty minutes had passed and Satoko's white maxi skirt glowed under the street lights as she called for Chie. This time Kaidoh carried her to her mother and handed her off.

"Thank you for playing with me," Chie said.

"We'll have to do it again one day," Inui commented.

He noticed Kaidoh gave him a look as if to say he shouldn't make promises he wouldn't keep.

"Thank you for taking care of her. Thankfully, we live down the other way from here, so it's a bath for this one and then bedtime!" Satoko said.

"No problem. Taka and you are blessed. She's very well behaved and kind. She'll definitely be a princess one day," assured Inui.

"It was nice meeting you Satoko-san," Kaidoh said.

"Likewise! Taka is almost finished making everyone's sushi. He didn't want to serve everyone separately, so you'll all be eating together," Satoko said.

"Thank you once again. I'll have to see you again before this trip is over," Inui stated.

"Please do! And Kaidoh-kun, Takashi told me that you live here locally. Please visit him more often. He gets lonely just being around me sometimes. Not only that but I'm sure this baby would like to see you again sometime soon too," requested Satoko.

"I'll try to come over more often then," Kaidoh reassured with a small smile.

The mother and child walked off the opposite direction of the shop with Chie waving in full force.

"She's cute…" Inui commented.

Kaidoh nodded in agreement but didn't say a word. He made a movement to go back towards the sushi shop even if it was ahead of Inui. It was something that would have been uncharacteristic back in their school days. It almost hurt... However, Inui decided that this was his chance to have a moment alone and grabbed his hand to hold him back.

The younger man instantly whirled around annoyedly, "Inui-senpai…?"

"Hear me out for a minute... Please?" Inui requested.

"Fine…"

"I want to truly apologize for not saying anything after I remained overseas. It was certainly a bad move on my part… I had received a pretty huge job offer from someone who would patronize the bar I worked at while in college. It had me grounded in Korea for much longer than I had anticipated and I knew that you had your own life to live as well. I didn't want to hold you back," explained Inui.

Kaidoh nodded again as if to say he understood.

"Kaidoh...please say something….anything…"

"There's not much to say to you anymore, Senpai. We have both moved on to our own paths. It's not like just tennis could be in our lives forever. We're not Buchou and Echizen," Kaidoh said.

Inui sighed, "Well, I did assume that you might have gone professional eventually alongside with them…"

Kaidoh wryly smirked, "I gave up on that dream years ago…"

"But why….?"

"Shit happens. Kind of like it did for you. In the end, I wasn't good enough," Kaidoh answered.

"What? Did the whole band thing and Yuri distract you from your own goals?" challenged Inui. He felt angry. Kaidoh's coldness frustrated him..the whole situation did…

Kaidoh instantly wrung his hand free, "What the hell does Yuri-senpai have to do with this? Did you forget that she was on the team with me along with Touya-senpai? That's brash of you to say Inui-senpai and is very unlike you…"

Inui was taken aback. Kaidoh seemed heated and he had never talked to Inui in such a way…

"I just presumed that your girlfriend may have-" he began.

Kaidoh blinked as if stunned before angrily replying, "Where did that come from? Seriously, Inui-senpai... She has nothing to do with any of this! Matter of fact, she didn't want me to quit tennis. She still plays with me every Saturday morning before we go to band practice. She refuses to let me slack off and unlike you, she sticks to her promises!"

Inui was stunned. The way Kaidoh passionately defended that woman made him feel dejected. Maybe it had been stupid of him to push on the subject. Maybe he should have stayed in Korea...but he tried to keep to his promise. Inui felt foolish.

"I'm going back!" Kaidoh announced before walking ahead of him.

Inui was left alone in the park shaken. He felt tears brim his eyes. It was official. He had lost Kaidoh to someone else. Kaidoh had more faith in Yuri Sutamori than he did him… He really did feel awful. He really should have come back to Japan sooner...


Fuji felt on edge and wondered if he was even going to be able to stomach food at all given his nervousness. Satoko had left them only for Kaidoh to very soon after reappear and without Inui to his surprise.

Kaidoh sat back down in his seat and decided to converse with Kawamura who had finally finished the first set of rolls for everyone… Oishi was speaking with Eiji happily and Ryoma and Momoshiro were rioting between each other as always. It truly felt like old times in a weird way…

Inui moments later, re-entered the restaurant. His face looked grim. That wasn't a good sign. Something had gone on between Kaidoh and Inui after their playdate with little Chie. Regardless of what had happened, Inui did return to his original seat and was not avoiding Kaidoh entirely.

It made Fuji ponder on some things… Maybe it was a good thing he had only conjured up only a few sleeping spaces…. He had actually run out of spare bedding. Eiji and Oishi got a set as did Ryoma and Momoshiro. Fuji on the other hand sure as hell wanted every chance possible to seduce Tezuka; meaning there wasn't a chance in hell that he was letting the stoic man have his own sleeping space. He had actually forgotten about Inui and Kaidoh all together and how that would have made things awkward between them... 'Technically, one of them could take the living room couch if it were bad enough,' Fuji mused...

Oishi's phone suddenly vibrated and Fuji caught a glimpse of the name on the screen. It was Tezuka…

Oishi's eyes met Fuji's for one minute before he answered, "Moshi, Moshi?"

Silence.

"Ah...I see. So you'll meet us at Fuji's after we are finished with dinner? Are you sure?"

More silence.

"You have had dinner right?" Oishi asked. It was such a typical response from the mother hen of Seigaku that Fuji couldn't help but smile through his nervousness.

Oishi waited for a reply.

"I understand. Alright, well, if you get there before us, let me know," said Oishi before hanging up, "Fuji, he's going to have dinner with his family but he is definitely coming over to your house to meet us."

"Eeeh?! Tezuka-buchou isn't going to eat with us?!" Eiji exclaimed. He sounded disappointed at the sudden news himself and Fuji wasn't sure if his friend was disappointed in general or disappointed for Fuji...

"It seems like he's not," Fuji replied with a discontented sigh. What was Tezuka trying to do? Why was he prolonging things?

"Damn Buchou… That doesn't even sound like something he'd do. Why do I feel hella blown off?" Momoshiro stated as he picked at one of his sushi.

"I'm sure Tezuka-buchou is just being smothered by his family. Mine do it all the time when I come back. It's why only texted them when I got to Fuji-senpai's and that's it. Otherwise, my manager would have known where to find me and my parents would have insisted picking me up from the airport," reassured Ryoma.

"Why even tell them at all then, kid?" Momoshiro asked confused.

"Because otherwise, me being gone for too long without telling anyone would have lead to a search warrant. I'm already in heaps of trouble for ghosting the press at my game and my staff. At this point, I'm probably going to have to forfeit some shit once I come out of hiding... My phone's voice mailbox is probably full and I probably have a ton of text messages. But at least this way I can see you all in peace. I don't even have my phone with me and on for that reason," Ryoma said.

Fuji had to admit. It was smart. Then again, Echizen was pretty perceptive. The tensai was sure that as the boy had grown older, the more he began to really hone in on that trait. He knew what would happen if he were to be careless. Especially with the burden of responsibility that came with now being very famous. That then made the tensai ponder for a minute on what he had just thought on. Ryoma Echizen was perceptive…. He wasn't a child anymore or naive like before. So, did that mean that he may know more than what he was letting on about everything..? Did he know what was going on with Tezuka? Did he know that Momoshiro was salivating over him more than his sushi?

Fuji wanted to ask but he knew better than to. This wasn't the time and even so, his own answers on Tezuka were only an hour or so away from being answered. He just needed to be patient. He was sure if it were important enough, Ryoma would have told him. Fuji knew they were in contact due to their profession. Surely he knew something...

"How the hell are you going to do anything without your phone?" Kaidoh asked pointedly.

Ryoma threw a sushi roll into his mouth before answering without a care in the world, "I'm pretty sure Momo-senpai won't let me out of his sight. I'll just use his phone if I need to."

Momoshiro looked taken aback and Fuji truly could have laughed out loud at the realization that just occurred. Yes, little Ryoma wasn't so little anymore and definitely knew more than what he was letting on. He wondered if Momoshiro would eventually realize it for himself… Matter of fact...Fuji had a rather evil idea...perhaps, they could make their dinner date between them all more interesting. He knew that he and Oishi needed to drive, so there was no way in hell he could fully participate-but it may help out Momoshiro and Inui if he played his cards right. He wasn't a genius for nothing. He was good at manipulating the stakes to be in his favor quite often.

"Mn Taka...what do you say to making this more fun? We're all adults here," Fuji suggested.

"What do you have in mind?" Kawamura asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A roulette penalty game. We can do it with both the sushi and maybe some alcohol?" explained Fuji.

Oishi looked perturbed, "Fuji, you know that you and I are driving right?"

"I can drive if you need me to Oishi," Eiji assured.

"Ah...true but you don't think we'd both-" Oishi began.

"Two hijacked sushi rolls with wasabi and two extremely suicided drinks. The rest are harmless rolls or are water. The losers of suicides have to drink more for all of us afterward," Fuji said, "Meaning there's less of a chance that both of you would get drunk..and me...well...I'm not too worried..."

Inui smiled from across the way before saying, "You really do secretly hate us all don't you?"

"You're one to talk Inui. I just thought we'd do this for old times sake," retorted Fuji.

Kaidoh groaned in dread, "I don't know what's worse. Wasabi, alcohol, or senpai's concoctions…."

Momoshiro grinned, "What are you a lightweight mamushi?"

"You really wanna tread with me on that, fuckface?" Kaidoh challenged.

Ryoma facepalmed over beside Eiji who laughed, "I bet you don't miss this part at all Ochibi!"

"Momo-senpai, if you get fucked up you're gonna be really heavy to carry back…"

"Who says I'll get drunk? What if it's YOU?" Momoshiro asked cheekily.

"You really think I haven't been around the block now have you?" muttered Ryoma.

Fuji was amused. It would be interesting to see who got landed with what and who could handle what. Especially if the drink was a high alcohol content. Fuji tried to calculate the stakes at hand and predict what might happen. Oishi was phased but Eiji wasn't but maybe that's because the cat-like man knew that they probably wouldn't both get the same penalty. Oishi was habitually a worrywart after all. Kaidoh may have drank a bit due to being at live houses all the time. Then again, he seemed more reserved than even his band members. Ryoma seemed fairly confident and Fuji wondered just how much of the world the younger guy had seen in his time in America. Momoshiro was overly cocky. He'd probably eat shit rather easily. Inui didn't seem a bit bothered. He had mentioned previously working at a bar. There was without a doubt that meant that even if Inui got landed with the drink, he'd be fine. Fuji loved wasabi and he knew he could drink. He had gone so many social events out of politeness and drowned his sorrows so many times that none of it worried him and even if it did hurt him, he needed to numb himself. He did not care.

Kawamura made the second batch of rolls out of view but the crew did get to see what was being thrown into a shot glass. He filled multiple things into what would have been a double or triple shot. Fuji trusted that his friend wouldn't poison them.

He sat each sushi roll onto the counter first and everyone chose one. Some people more hesitantly than others and Eiji and Momoshiro ended up doing a janken game to decide who got their choice of the last two. Nobody ate the rolls, waiting for the drinks to be the next poison of choice. All of them scarily clear. Even Fuji felt a little frightened but tried to convince himself that even if he got plastered, maybe it would give him liquid courage. Another janken game occurred between both Inui and Ryoma with Inui winning the first choice of the last two drinks.

"Shall we do the sushi first?" Kawamura suggested.

"Sounds like a proper choice considering what's next," answered Fuji.

Kawamura counted it down and on three, everyone swallowed. Fuji instantly felt the wasabi hit his tongue and knew he had gotten one of the penalty sushi rolls. In a sense, he was bummed out. This wouldn't be entertaining for anyone. He loved wasabi.

However, Eiji was dying in his seat even hitting the table as Oishi scrambled to give his friend water.

"Nyaaa this is AWFUL," cried Eiji.

"Thank.. god that wasn't me!" Momoshiro howled relief as he was laughing so hard he could barely even muster to say what he wanted.

"And water just makes it worse!" Eiji managed to choke out.

"It's not even that exciting. Fuji-senpai got the other roll," Ryoma pointed out.

Everyone instantly looked at Fuji for confirmation of this, "Spot on…"

"I'm not even mad at that. Fuji-senpai loves wasabi. At least someone enjoyed it," Kaidoh said, "Just as long as I wasn't fucking getting that shit, it's all good."

Fuji noticed Inui laughing at his kouhai's sudden relief, "We're not off the hook yet though. Round two. Shall we get over with?"

Another countdown occurred and perhaps to relief and disappointment...and even kind of expecting it, Fuji did not receive another penalty prize. Instead, he heard a bang from the complete other side of the table as Kaidoh finished the whole shot with a string of curses.

Momoshiro also had tears in his eyes, "Shit, that burnt."

"Oh no..." Ryoma groaned.

Kaidoh's head was laid down on the wooden table as if he were trying to process what he had just ingested.

"Kaidoh, are you going to be okay?" Inui asked.

Kaidoh didn't respond verbally but just put a hand up to say he was at least alive.

'Good,' Fuji thought. If Kaidoh couldn't handle this, that meant Inui could swoop in to save the day. Maybe it would force them to talk… Fuji, on the other hand, felt bad for Ryoma but wondered if Momoshiro would be talkative at all.

"Nyaaaa. At least I didn't get both!" Eiji stated in relief.

"It would be highly doubtful that the same people would get the second penalty game," Inui pointed out.

"You are perceptive about everything aren't you Inui?" Fuji said amusedly.

"And you are far too cunning for your own good," retorted Inui.

Fuji then knew that Inui knew what was up. He wondered if the glasses-clad man was upset or thankful to such an evil tactic. He also wondered how far Inui would take it. Kaidoh looked like he was struggling with depth perception from the first shot as Kawamura coaxed the guy the other shots which he cringed as he took them down. Apparently, he didn't regularly drink like Fuji assumed he would… Momoshiro was, of course, the second victim. He was done by the third shot and had a couple more to go… Fuji even wondered if he'd manage to get the rest into his mouth as his coordination was incredibly sloppy.

"Momo-senpai can you even talk…?" Ryoma questioned.

"'m good...everything is" Momoshiro hiccuped, "all good. Just gimme a bit to figure my shit out…"

Fuji shook his head. Ryoma may need help getting him into the car and maybe even into the house…..

The crew only stayed a little longer before moving to depart; not wanting to keep Kawamura from his own family for too long.

They waited for their friend to clean and lock up the shop as they gathered outside. Takashi helped Ryoma with Momoshiro who was still very drunk and incapable of walking straight.

"I'll help you get him into the car. Which one did you guys take?" he offered.

"Eiji and Oishi-senpai's," said Ryoma.

Inui pulled Kaidoh into his arm and the boy instantly buried himself into the man's neck to both Inui and Fuji's surprise. He had to walk backwards to lead Kaidoh back to Fuji's car.

"Well at least they haven't hurled!" Takashi pointed out optimistically with a laugh.

"Now why...s'hecks would I pukes? I ain't no pussy sssenpai," Momoshiro slurred.

"Yeah, buddy… I'm sure you're not," the sushi shop owner said with a cackle.

Ryoma rolled his eyes as he muttered under his breath, "If you puke, I'll make you sleep in the bathroom..."

Oishi hurriedly grabbed Momoshiro from Takashi as Eiji unlocked and opened the door and attempted to cram the man inside of the backseats of their small four-seater car. Ryoma sighed accepting his fate that he most likely was about to be squished among other things.

"Good luck Echizen," Fuji called out cheekily.

Brown eyes glared at him from above the hood of the car before the white Fila cap disappeared into the other backseat of the bright red car. It then occurred to Fuji that he would need to unlock his own car for Inui to help Kaidoh in.

Fuji made movement past the pair to unlock the passenger door and open it.

"I'm assuming you all got it from here?" Takashi asked.

"As far as we know, yes," Inui answered as he gently moved Kaidoh into the front passenger seat and dipped to buckle the boy in.

"Thank you so much for tonight Takashi… I'm sure everyone had a lot of fun. Your family was lovely and it was nice catching up," Fuji answered as he moved to unlock the driver side.

"It was really fun. It reminded me of old times. Don't be a stranger okay? Message me and check in every now a then. You're not too far away from me here…" Takashi said with a grin.

"I'll be sure to do so. This was a good reminder. I'll definitely stop by again in the future," Fuji assured.

"You better or Chie might cry," warned Takashi.

Fuji's eyes darted to the car almost knowingly, "Oh I think she might be sadder if she didn't see Inui or Kaidoh again more so than me."

"They were naturals with her. I was impressed-like true uncles," Takashi commented in agreement.

"Or parents," Fuji remarked with a sly grin.

"Fuji," Inui warned as he shut the car door. He had clearly been listening in from the other side, "Chie was very well behaved. Next time Kaidoh and I will have to find her a cat to play with the next time."

"Oh? So there is a next time…" Fuji continued to tease.

"Fuji," Inui warned again, this time his glasses glinting dangerously as he said it.

Takashi shook his head in disbelievingly as Oishi and Eiji's car started up beside theirs. Oishi rolled down the window as he stated, "We'll meet you there alright?"

Fuji nodded in confirmation, "Will do!"

"All of you please get home safely!" Takashi exclaimed as he began to walk towards the outskirts of the dark parking lot.

"No worries Kawamura-kun, we'll be safe, as should you," Fuji stated as he unlocked the driver's side door.. Inui ducked into the back seat from the driver's side before Fuji slid into the driver's side after him. He glanced beside him in the neighboring front seat as he turned the key into the ignition and heard shuffling sounds behind him as Inui managed to buckle himself in.

"Ah...he's passed out," Fuji murmured. Kaidoh was slumped over forward, properly buckled in but seemingly very much so out…

"Indeed," Inui replied as the sound of a buckle clicked.

"How are you holding up? I'm positive you're pretty cramped back there. You always were the tallest out of all of us," Fuji remarked.

"I'll manage," Inui said, "I would rather be cramped than try to somehow haul Kaidoh out from here. He was sober and already tripped once before."

"True. It might not be as soft of a landing if there was a round two. When we arrive back, you can take him to your guy's room," Fuji said.

"It's a shame in a sense. Momoshiro and Kaidoh will be too out of it to greet Tezuka according to my calculations," mentioned Inui.

"Well, here's to hoping that Tezuka will still be around in the morning if both of them aren't too out of it," Fuji commented as they pulled the car out of the parking lot and onto the street.

"Out of all things to plot Fuji," Inui said.

"You can thank me later… I'm sure it will get the both of you talking since you'll be the one to come to his rescue," the fawn-haired man said with a noh-like smile.

"And what if it hadn't been Momoshiro and Kaidoh who had gotten the shots?" inquired Inui.

"Then I suppose Tezuka might have had to come to my rescue then wouldn't he?" Fuji replied.

"If it had been Ryoma or me…?" Inui posed in theory.

"If it had been Eiji or Oishi then we would have figured it out but I wasn't anticipating that. If it had been you or Ryoma well...then that would have made things rather interesting now, wouldn't it? I doubt your kouhai is as cold as you think he might have been. I think it would have worried him enough to cast aside whatever grudges he is holding towards you. However, given your history with bars and concocting strange ingredients, I'm sure your alcohol tolerance is impeccable. If Ryoma had gotten drunk it just meant that Momoshiro could have mulled over his feelings longer now wouldn't he?"

Fuji had anticipated a different result of course... He was actually rather lucky the result he had anticipated actually occurred exactly the way he wanted it. There was truly a chance it could have been him but the tensai did not mind that outcome either. It would have numbed his anxieties and perhaps would have given him liquid courage that he would have not had otherwise. Perhaps Tezuka would have finally let his guard down around him…

"It seems like you have been the one mulling over your feelings the most Fuji," Inui said.

"Perhaps…" Fuji admitted.

"Are you as anxious as I am predicting that you are?" Inui further inquired.

"I am… It has been a very long time. What if he doesn't want to see me.?"

"I am sure Tezuka would have not bothered with the travel arrangements if he did not want to see you. He is at your house after all. He could have just met up with us at dinner and left to have fulfilled his promise. He is going to be at your residence instead," pointed out Inui.

The data specialist had a point. Tezuka had planned a rather late-night visit. This meant that he was going to spend the night maybe… It made Fuji optimistic.

"You really do seem to be able to find all of the details that all of us miss. That's what is so amazing about you Inui. Truly. You haven't changed a bit…" Fuji said.

He almost could feel Inui's shyness at the flattery in the seat behind him and predicted that Inui nervously pushed his spectacles further up the bridge of his nose out of habit.

"And you are as cunning as always Fuji. I'm sure that's why Tezuka has been hesitant. You have always been bolder than he has been when it comes to things beyond tennis. I'm sure he's had an extremely hard time resisting coming back to you. Especially if what Atobe and Jiroh had mentioned to you about him and your Instagram is true," Inui answered.

"Jiroh and Atobe's insistence on us meeting again still puzzles me," mentioned Fuji. He turned the wheel onto the backroads that lead beyond the local suburbs outside of the downtown area and back to his somewhat isolated neighborhood.

"Atobe has always been quite taken with Tezuka. Even in our middle school days. He wants his rival to be happy…and Jiroh wants his lover happy," assumed Inui.

"You're right. Jiroh is pretty selfless that way when it comes to Atobe…"

Inui did have a point. Atobe had always been allured with Tezuka. Perhaps even in an unhealthy way at first. Fuji had always wondered if the ice king had at one point at a crush on Tezuka. Fuji suspected quite a couple of people had also liked their buchou as much as Fuji did. At one point, Ryoma had even felt like a threat. Fuji had even gone as far to challenge Ryoma in tennis in hopes of reminding the smaller boy of where he stood compared to him. He had wanted to beat Ryoma in order to also remind Tezuka that he was holding back with him. Fuji was just as much of a rival as Echizen was and the match was as loud as it was silent in telling their buchou that Fuji was not to be dismissed. That Tezuka better not look away from him for some kid…

Fuji had never felt as threatened as he had then. However, Ryoma later on in high school had told Fuji after winning regionals that he had no desire to take Tezuka from him. Ever. Tezuka was merely his senpai and a really good opponent to go against. He didn't know why buchou doted after him but wished it would stop given that he wasn't twelve anymore and that it had set Fuji off. However, it had also been what pushed Fuji to confess to Tezuka given this. Fuji had grown tired of feeling insecure for no reason. He hated feeling like Atobe and Ryoma had been threats… So he had told himself that he needed to confess to Tezuka before graduation. Tezuka would move on from Seigaku and meet new people. Those people could potentially be new threats for Fuji. They would be people to feel anxious over…

Fuji hated feeling such things. It felt insecure and childish. He almost felt embarrassed that he acted out towards Ryoma over it. Even the little freshman seemed more mature than him during those instances. He had been grateful that Ryoma had understood and gave him his support and reassurance, even telling Fuji that he was deserving of Tezuka, that he was always beside him and deserved a place in his heart more than anyone else. Ryoma said he had noticed but hadn't said anything because he hadn't been fully sure. Ryoma's perceptiveness had been a trait since he was a teenager and Fuji once again felt foolish that he hadn't noticed earlier at the sushi restaurant or even when he and Momoshiro had first arrived. Ryoma had teased Momoshiro long before by taking the bed as if challenging the power player to make a move. Ryoma knew…

Fuji had to fight laughing aloud in amusement. This is why Tezuka had doted after Ryoma. He was a unique person and that's possibly what made him successful at what he did. Much like Inui, he noticed things others did not. However, unlike Inui, Ryoma did not try to fight against the things he noticed. Instead, he went with the flow of things, allowing whatever to happen as if he had faith that it would be fine to begin with even if it meant him not willing or possibly getting hurt… Ryoma was probably taking the same approach with Momoshiro. He would go with the flow, regardless of where it might lead. He wasn't opposed to his friend's feelings for him. He was allowing it to play out to see where it would go in order to assess what he also might feel.

It was rather genius if Fuji could say so himself. At that moment, the fawn hair man decided from one genius to another, to learn from his kouhai. There was nothing he could do about the situation at hand. He knew what his feelings were. The ball literally was in Tezuka's court and Fuji could not pass the net. He could only wait to see if the ball would fly over again across the net. Fuji needed to go with the flow rather than be anxiously overthinking multitudes of possibilities similar to the man in the backseat of his car would. That was Inui's downfall that he would have to overcome with Kaidoh. However, Fuji now that he was self-aware, knew that he could prevent this from being his downfall if he would just let go and let things take its course. He could deal with what even happened later… Or so he thought… Fuji rounded the last turn feeling butterflies in his stomach knowing that soon, he'd be turning right into his answer whatever that may be… He had waited this long for Tezuka, so what was waiting just a little longer..?

(A/N: Hello, hello! It has truly been a while! I've been slowly working on this chapter as time as passed by. I've been in my senior year of university working on an English degree and a TESOL certificate in hopes of yeeting across the ocean to Japan if the border ever ends up opening. So I've been pretty occupied by planning all of that as well as other endeavors. Outside of fandom-related things, I'm also a Japanese fashion content creator online and I work on uploading YouTube videos weekly and all. I also have a Sailor Moon fic that I'm sure my readers in that fandom want to strangle me over as I update over here instead of updating that fic. Hahah.. So I am a woman of many faces you could say! Anyway, a lot of stuff ended up writing itself in. Little Satoko and Chie weren't anticipated but I thought to would be a really cute bonding moment for our hardened Emerald Pair. I really needed something to soften those two up. Haha.. I really love how I've characterized Ryoma and I'm SO excited to write the things I have planned out for him and his senpai. Ryoma's so grown up and cool in this. proud mom mode So I guess next up we have...Fuji dealing with some stuff at long last. Man, ya'll ain't ready, so I hope somehow maybe this next update doesn't take as long as the last but I hope the extra-long chapter has made up for my absence. Thank you guys as always for being patient with me. I'll see ya'll next chapter!)