Disclaimer: remind me to give you this when I start claiming something.

A/N: *ahem* Konnichiwa! ^^;; I'm kinda scared on how you guys REALLY want and demand the next chap of this fic and I'm thinking if I'm going to delay it any further, you guys are gonna kill me in your own little creative ways ~_~. Eto... so here it is. Survival instincts tell me that I have to prioritize this above all else... *shudders* Kowaii ne. ;_;

Arigatou for the ff:

Midd= Hi there ^_^ Almost didn't recognize ya! Well, thanks for reviewing and you got me when you said that it has been 6 months and all ~_~ It made me feel like- "Woah. That long?? 0_0' You actually reviewed twice just to remind me ^^;;;. Well.. in your former pen name anyway. Duomo! *hugs*

Xxkurenaixx= Ahh… anotherInuikai supporter ^^ Thanks for reviewing. Aww, don't curse poor Kaidoh, ne? ^_~

Ashen Skies= Thanks ^_^ Well, about Inui not being the type to kiss someone like what he did to Kaidoh… just look at it as a 'hidden side' *_*

TENIPRI= *laughs* Complaining about the lack of Momoryo? ^_^ Daijobu, they'll have their share. Arigatou ne.

Reitsu= *blush* I'm not too comfortable with too much praise. *covers face* rei-chan hidoii! _ I'm so embarrassed!

Erin Ellis= Cute fic? *_* E-eto… thanks ^^;;

Stained-glass=Thanks for summing your review up ^_^. It's still an added inspiration. Duomo!

Paranoid-kitty= Eh? *blinks* Not many Inuikai out there? Really? *_*

Fufu= 'Wuv you too… for reviewing ^_~. *glomps*

Cenz= Whooo~ a lime fanatic! 0_o And don't murder the girl talking to Oishi! Onegai! ~_~;;;

Abyss= Arigatou for the heartwarming review *bows*. ^_^ And I'm glad the last chap made you laugh 0_0.

Asvaloth=Waaaiii~! You hate me and love me!! ;_; Are? You don't celebrate Christmas? *blinks* Okay! ^_^ tell me a holiday for ya, its' date and maybe then I can dedicate a one shot OishiKiku for ya! *hugs*

Yami no Tenshi=Wha~ sugoii! *_* Your review was long and you sobbed a lot ;_; Was it so angsty!? Well, that's why I lessened it in this chap! *glomps* Well… you were laughing too… 0_0;;;

SIB=Thank youuuu!!! ^__^ Oh, the 'friend' part? yes, true true. ^^ My own work even got me confused at one point 0_o.

Nall= *blinks* Oh! That part! Well, Momo got hurt since Ryoma indirectly stated that he didn't see Momo more than a friend. ^_~ Try reading Ryoma's line again. AHHH! You're in love with my fic?? What about meeee?? *pouts* Nall no keichii. U_U

Hellen= Just as you wished. ^_^ Sorry 'bout that. *laughs*

Sakura-sleep= Thanks. ^^ I replied to ya in another fic I think.

Michelle= Duomo ^_^ I replied to ya also in another of my fics.

Anonymous reviewer who died from the lack of continuation -_-;;;= Arigatou demo don't die!

A Different Reunion

by Hirame

Chapter 4: Hear my Longing

"Aa... sou dana... itsuka hanashi mo shiranai..."

-Shindou Hikaru to Touya Akira(HnG)

Love makes us dignified fools...

-me

_____________________________________________________________________

           An hour passed.

           Frantic footsteps beat the concrete ground in a steady fast rhythm as the pale green-haired boy grew paler every second. Never had he experienced the rush of understanding in his currently throbbing mind since he had always been too ignorant and dense when it came to matters outside tennis. But now... he couldn't escape. Dense as he may be, something inside of him made him aware. Painfully aware. And at this moment, his aching head was in tuned with an aching heart, making him unbearably dizzy.

Nevertheless, he couldn't stop now.

He had a misunderstanding to clear...

And a sempai to find.

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           A bandana-wearing figure sat stiffly along the side of the familiar river canal. It was considerably a very bad choice to be in and did horribly with his current state of mind. This place held so many memories of 'him'. Well, of course memories of training but still more personal than during school practices...

           Despite his appearance and expression during the reunion back at Seigaku campus, he genuinely appreciated it and felt happy while partaking in the event albeit gotten a bit bored with the excited people bugging them. It had been the 'first' time they *all* finally met up...

And 'he' had to ruin it...!!

           He grumbled subconsciously and sighed. Not really ruined, however... he *did* feel a bit... betrayed.

Yes, with the betrayal of Sadaharu Inui's feelings towards him a few hours ago, Kaido himself felt betrayed. He growled in frustration and punched to ground beside him; heated eyes filled with confusion, anger, and something else boring holes into the bruised earth. Dammit! He had no right to make him miserable! He had no right to confuse him! He had no right to destroy this night! He had no right...

He had not right to make everything that happened between them feel so right.

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           What had gone wrong?

An exhausted Oishi ran this question inside his head fort he nth time. In tennis, he usually made the calculations and analysis during a doubles game with his partner but now, he couldn't even think of a reason pertaining to Kikumaru's unusual behavior. Nor an action that he could take.

He looked up into the ebony sky with resignation as he sat heavily on the low-bricked wall that supported school maintained roses that went around the back of the campus.

Kikumaru's mood isn't as changing and flexible like his tennis reflexes. He had always been down-to-earth cheerful and optimistic. But what's with the sudden change a while ago? Oishi concluded that it must've been a really grave reason and the worse part of it is that he had a guaranteed inclination that he *was* the grave reason. He shook his head.

           It pained him. And he thought that tonight would be perfect since it held the biggest opportunity to tell the redhead of how he truly felt after years of getting somewhat 'ready'. But everything fell apart too soon it seems.

           He had given up chasing after the his Golden Pair partner sometime before when he lost sight of him around an alley and decided dejectedly to come back to Seigaku and mope silently, only hoping that the redhead would come back anytime tonight. He could wait. But it looked like there isn't any chance of that happening.

           Running a hand through the now spiked hair, he stood up and closed his eyes.

"Eiji... I'll find you. Till then, I'm sorry for whatever I did. Wait for me." With that, he ran back to where he last saw his pained object of affection.

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           Fuji scanned the bustling area for any signs of their former teammates. He felt a un-Fuji-like nervousness crawl up his spine though he did not show it. Somehow, the prospect of being alone with Tezuka seem... odd. The reason? Well, with all their former teammates "gone", he knew very well that something must've happened between the would-be-couples. Yes, he was concerned however the whole thing irked him. There they are who-knows-where, *at least* having troubles, problems or anything at all that *at least* can pave way to their realizations on how they feel about one another AND here he WAS! *NOTHING* happening at *all*!

           Sure he didn't wish for problems between him and Tezuka to surface but *any* interaction and reaction would be better than nothing at all. In simple terms, as much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't see the possibility of any kind of relationship between him and Tezuka. There was no connection in that "way" despite them understanding each other too well in other "ways" like tennis.

If only he knew what Tezuka felt and thought... when suddenly, the man entertaining his thoughts spoke up.

"Fuji" the other said, oddly soft and mysterious. He turned his head to the side.

"Nani?"

"..."

"?" Fuji noticed the faraway look in the other's eyes.

"How... long are you staying in Japan?"

Fuji froze inside. Of course. A flash of remorse swept through his blue eyes before he turned back to scanning the crowd and answering their former buchou.

"... Five days."

"...Sou ka..."

Silence.

           He hadn't thought of that. Biting back the urge to laugh out at their unfortunate predicament about their non-existent relationship, he slightly shook his head. It's true. It won't work between them anyway. *snort* Yeah right, one in America and one in Europe. Not to mention that if he himself managed to get his own swarming fan club then Tezuka would have earned himself double over the years.

Aside from that, there were so many questions to be answered. Is Tezuka even gay?? And how would anyone know if he already had someone back in Europe? 4 years of separation is not a short time. In fact, many things have happened to each and every one of them and he didn't expect Tezuka to talk about his life casually to anyone.

This may have been the biggest balancing consequence God had bestowed upon him as a born tensai with a happy life and loved by everyone. The existence of Tezuka Kunimitsu.

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Five days.

He's leaving.

And he hated himself for not even being brave enough to entertain the idea of telling the prodigy how he felt. Four years of running, denying and hiding. And he found it harder to escape with each passing second.

           Sure, he wasn't vocal. But he never realized that this developed attitude of his that he liked so much would be the cause of his downfall. Five days. It was too short. Too fast. For him anyway. An inaudible sigh escaped him.

"You?" a voice broke him from his thoughts. He tilted slightly to look at Fuji. "Surely you won't be staying here in Japan yet." A somewhat strained chuckled. He dismissed it and looked straight ahead once again. He couldn't face him.

"...Aa. But grandfather asked me to stay for about 2 weeks."

"I see..."

He stood up, surprising both Fuji and himself.

"Tezuka?"

"I... I have to go now. It's nearly midnight and I promised my folks to be home. Please tell Ryuzaki-sensei and the others that it was nice seeing them again."

"Oh..." Fuji slightly bit his lip, a desperate urge to stop the other and confess rising.

"And..." Tezuka eyed the other with slight hesitance.

"Yes...?"

"It's great seeing you again as well...."

"A-Aa...Maa... you too Tezuka. You too." Fuji used up the last of his reserves to put up his usual smiling face. The last time. For the one he loved.

Tezuka smiled very briefly before giving a polite nod and leaving.

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Kikumaru held himself on top of a children's slide in a somewhat nearby park. Humph. He wasn't stupid you know. And Oishi be damned if he thought of him hiding on the usual places he went to and knew very well.

Crying himself to oblivion, he hoped, nothing went through his mind except Oishi's perfectly hidden bitch of a girlfriend. Whoever she was. He smiled bitterly, and yet.... he knew that he had no right to get angry with his best friend, much less accuse him. After all, Oishi wasn't his. Oishi didn't feel for him.

But it was taking up his life just to feel happy for him. He loved the other one so much. And what hurts him most is the fact that Oishi didn't tell him. He was about to continue cursing himself, Oishi and the rest of the world when uneven footsteps ranging from hurriedly and slowly done interrupted him. His eyes widened. He didn't need to face the intruder to know who it is and once again, a frown marred his features.

"...How'd you find me?"

Only heavy ragged breaths were heard.

"Leave me alo-"

"I promised."

'What?' Kikumaru slightly looked to his side to see a very flushed Oishi, a few spikes falling to his forehead as sweat trickled down his face.

"I promised to myself that I'd find you. No matter what. Whenever and wherever. I'll find you."

"..." Kikumaru turned away sadly without speaking a word. "You didn't have to-"

"I had to, I would and always will."

"Why do you care anyway?"

Oishi was takenaback by the question spat out to him for the second time that night. "Eiji..."

"As I said, you don't have to you know." 'You have someone else to fill that position up now'

"Since when did I not care for you, Eiji? Tell me."

"..."

"Since now."

"Nani..?"

"..."

"I don't understand."

"Why didn't you tell me that you were already involved with someone...?"

"What? Involved with who?"

"Don't play with me!" Kikumaru held back choked sobs.

"Eiji! I am telling you now that I am not-" Then it clicked. Of course. Of course! The phone call! Green eyes widened in disbelief. "Is this about my conversation with Sayaka earlier?"

No response. So his hunch was true. But why would it affect Kikumaru so much? Unless....

Kikumaru hid his face in his arms, completely missing the wide smile gracing Oishi's own face.

"You have it all wrong, Eiji. I'll explain to you later... if only you tell me why... this is affecting you so much." With these words, Kikumaru's rage burned. How *dare* he even blackmail him! He *deserved* an explanation in the first place! Planning on giving Oishi a nice tongue lashing, he looked up with angry watery eyes only to let the rage turn down completely when he saw Oishi smiling sincerely at him from a distance. "I...I..." he mumbled as the redness of his face from crying doubled when he blushed.

"What?"

"I...I... because you didn't tell me about this girlfriend of yours when you always told me everything and... and... I love you, Oishi." And he cried deeper than before, burying himself in shame as he let his very secret flow out in this instant. "I have always loved you but you didn't see it. I know it's not your fault but I-"

But what came as a reply shocked the redhead into looking up again. Oishi was laughing while his eyes were shining with... happiness? Kikumaru would have taken this as an insult if he weren't so shocked when Oishi ran up and scooped him up into his arms and hugged him for all his worth.

"O-Oishi...?" He felt the other shake his head and chuckle more.

"You don't know how happy you've made me, Eiji."

"B-but-" Oishi broke the hug and looked at him that almost made him cry with joy. But this time, it as of happiness.

"You've misunderstood me. Sayaka isn't my girlfriend but aniki's (A/N: He has a bro here ^_^). You see, whenever they have a problem, Sayaka usually runs to me for help. It so happens that the biggest strain in their relationship was that it was long distance. There were times when Sayaka talked to me about breaking the relationship off but I knew it would tear them apart. It's not hard to see that they really love each other and would never stray but as you know, doubt isn't very easy to ignore..."

"So that's it..."

"Un. And a while ago, you must've heard her saying that she couldn't take it anymore since aniki might wander off with another woman but I convinced her to give him another chance and wait patiently since it's nearly time when brother's going to finish his business transaction in New York."

"Gomen ne... for jumping to conclusions. It must be hard for them... how long have they been apart?"

"His job required him to stay for nearly 2 years and a half."

"..."

"Doushta? Eiji?"

"I feel stupid."

"So do I. I'm sorry for not clearing things up."

"Iie... I never gave you the chance didn't I? I'm sorry. I should've known you wouldn't hide something like that to me."

"..."

"Oishi?"

"Actually..."

"SUICHIRO OISHI!! *twitch*"

"*chuckles* Just kidding. *kiss*" Kikumaru rose an eyebrow.

"Surely you can do better than that." he purred. Oishi shocked Kikumaru when the latter only slightly blushed but grinned seductively that made the redhead gulp.

"Such a naughty kitten aren't you? I'll show you the meaning of 'better' later."

"AAAAAHHH!!"

"Nani Eiji?" Oishi blinked innocently.

"You are not Oishi! 0_0"

"Baka, of course I am ^^;;"

"Oishi would *never* be able to say that! *blush*"

"I can to!"

"What happened to you??"

"Well... a grown-up me met a grown-up you and thought that it's about time we did something fitting for grown-ups ^_^"

"... @_@"

"Ah, Eiji... but you do like it, ne? *wink* Don't hide it from me. I know you." Immediately, Kikumaru's expression changed back to being sultry.

" Like it would be an understatement. *smirks* I'll show you how much I don't want to hide 'it' from you..."

"Put your mind in the gutter later, Eiji." he laughed. Kikumaru looked in awe. "That's it. You're *not* Oishi. Good grief, you even NOTICED the double meaning behind the remark I made!"

"Eiji!"

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"Kaidoh."

"What? Here to pull your stunt again? After all, there's no one here like the 'last time'." Indeed, that harsh remark pained even Kaidoh himself. He never thought that he'd be taking that tone when speaking to a sempai. Inui most of all.

"..."

"*sneer* Well, at least you have the decency to be ashamed." He stood up and dusted himself, "If you're not going to say anything else then I'll be leaving-"

"Do you want me to?"

"Nani?" He turned around, eyeing the man with confusion but before he could speak, Inui smiled sadly at him and looked at the notebook in his hand.

"This...this notebook... did you know that for more than four years I have tried everything..."

"?"

"Everything. Gathered every data I could. Talked to anyone who knew things that would help me. Experimented."

"No duh. And this has something to do with me because...?" Inui looked up to him and stared for a while before answering.

"It is a 100-page notebook full of you." Kaidoh's eyes widened.

"But you know what... for the first time in my life..." And with that Inui threw the 4-year-old notebook into the canal and watched it sink immediately, "... no data could help me. And the four years I've tried, waited and labored for seems to be proof of that."

"... Inui-sempai-"

"*smiles* My notebooks have been the source of my will, Kaidoh. Everytime I took data, it gave me a comfort to know that before I did anything, I knew at least the percentage of success. But I guess I was wrong. Treating you as if you were a tennis match, ne?"

"..."

"I came here to apologize for what I did. It came to me that you wouldn't probably give me another chance. However, if I have to do some begging sometime in my life then I choose that time to be this moment."

           Kaidoh couldn't seem to take his eyes off the figure who as much confessed to him four years of unrequited love. It touched him, admittedly, to know that Inui right now presented himself for him to accept as who he is and to hear words that are not taken down and memorized the day before.

"So what do you say? Want to give us a chance?"

"I..."

"*grins* I'll promise you that even if no relationship was ever perfect, I'd make ours at least 90%-"

"Sempai! *blushes* I guess... I like you too, Inui."

"Ahh~ gomen. Old habits die hard. *smirks* I'm happy to know that you share the same feelings, Kaoru." Kaidoh blushed at the usage of his first name. And it was so intimate sounding. Inui laughed and gave a small peck on his cheek as he hissed at the bolder man however, with no malice or anger.

"We're out in public!"

"Koi, you yourself were the one who said that no one's here a while ago." Inui grinned. "After all, it's nearly midnight. What do you say? Shall we go and do some nightly training?"

Kaidoh blinked, confused. "Now??"

Inui barred his teeth like he had come up with another Inui Juice. Kaidoh shivered.

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           It was exactly midnight and Ryoma had practically run around the district looking for a spiky-haired someone. He had almost given up all hopes if not for the one he had been looking for, for nearly the past four hours had, thankfully, found him instead. His heart gave a painful jump. He vaguely noticed that the venue they were in was near to Nanjiroh's black jaguar that was conveniently parked... near Seigaku.

"Echizen." Ryoma himself was a bit surprised by the rare depressed tone Momoshiro used upon speaking his name. And when he turned around to meet the voice, he didn't expect to see the same depression linked with desperation written plainly for him to see.

"...! Momo-sempai. Where were you? " He didn't know the answer and if ever Momoshiro did tell him where he were, he could care less because his golden hued brown orbs were insistent on the various emotions playing within amethyst eyes. And from the looks of it, neither does Momoshiro as he shook his head.

"Gomen. I lost track of the time..." The green-haired boy stared at him, obviously not buying the excuse. Who in their right mind would lose track of time when one would surely notice the absence of people lurking around since they are all probably off sleeping? But nevertheless, he didn't reply.

"Were... you looking for me?"

"If I weren't then why am I still hanging around in this time of the night, in a dark alley, with my hair practically sticking to my face with sweat?" Momoshiro chuckled lightly before smiling at him. Of course, this still didn't hide that pained expression and almost demure condition. "Didn't know you cared." He joked when actually he wished it was true.

"Baka... of course I do." Ryoma's gaze turned slightly softer as he tried to figure out the things lurking inside the older man and within himself.

"Aah, warui warui. Let's just drive back, ne? It's been a long night." Momoshiro grinned, scratching his head as he walked past the still slightly smaller boy. Until a hand gripped his arm suddenly.

"Echizen..?"

"Why?"

"Why what?" Ryoma fumed inside and let the arm go.

"Why do you keep it? Why don't you tell me what's going on? Why did you disappear back there and... and why do you make me feel this way??" he blurted out in a hasty confusion as his own confessions sunk into his dizzy mind as well as into the shocked man infront of him. He clamped his mouth instantly. "N-nandemonai." Ryoma rushed past the still rooted Momoshiro and into where the Jaguar was parked. Dull violet eyes suddenly shone with light hope.

'Can it be...?'

TBC

________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Whew. Well, if you ask me, I think that this was as long as the other one ~_~. *yawn* I changed my draft and started with this today and luckily, I finished this within a weekend. Well, you might be thinking that 'what? Only TezuFuji and Momoryo aren't resolved?' Truthfully, I wasn't even supposed to resolve anything yet but if I did that then first, this would be just another very angsty chap like the last one and second, this fic would take so long to finish. Remember that I said this would be short? ^_^ If not, only a bit longer. I should say this fic has about 2 more chaps to go. *think think* Oh, and don't worry about just because the others are back together then it means that I won't write about them ^^ Of course not. They'd still be there in the later chaps. Toodles!

-Hirame-