Title: Variable Geometry (6/?)

Author name: Leo Dormiens

Author email: leodormiens2000@yahoo.com

Category: Drama

Warning: Non-explicit Shonen Ai

Rating: PG-13

Summary: A love triangle... No wait! It's a love square.

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Takeshi Konomi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author notes: Many, many thanks to Abinikai and Jennifer M for beta duty and being so friendly and kind.

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The park was quiet. Well, it was cold and late. People were rushing out of business buildings to take their train home and join their spouse and children at the dinner table. The place was deserted, apart from a few passers-by walking their dogs.

Inui strode down a dimly lit path, his steps light and soundless despite the training weights he wore on his ankles. He knew where to look, of course. Even someone as unpredictable as Kaidoh had his favorite spots.

True enough, there he was, behind an untidy hedge, doing more sit-ups than his training schedule required. Inui stared, and Kaidoh let him because his eyes were screwed shut in concentration. Inui's gaze traveled across Kaidoh's body, avidly taking in all details: Orange bandana, white shorts, black t-shirt, bare arms and legs, no socks. and in this weather, too.

"You shouldn't take off your tracksuit when you're training outside," he said as quietly as possible, but it still startled Kaidoh out of his withdrawn state.

The annoyed expression on Kaidoh's face softened when he saw Inui. "It's been awhile," he remarked in a slightly breathless voice that made Inui's skin tingle, then resumed his sit-ups.

Inui felt immensely, unreasonably happy that Kaidoh had noticed. Did you miss me? he wanted to ask, but they weren't a couple -- not yet at any rate -- so he wasn't supposed to say things like that. "I've been busy," he simply replied, but his voice didn't sound casual enough.

Kaidoh probably couldn't tell, though. He was back in the recesses of his mind from which he drew his iron will. Brows drawn together, small hissing sounds escaping his lips each time he pushed himself up. Inui took a few steps forward and crouched down so that he could block out all the small sounds in the park and focus on Kaidoh's breathing. How easy it was to imagine him sounding the same in a bed with a lover. Inui wondered if Kaidoh had ever been with anyone. Not likely, considering the boy would turn fifteen in a few months, but upon thinking it over, Inui acknowledged that he would have jumped him long ago if he had had the chance, so maybe someone else had.

Not a pleasant perspective. Jealousy was a futile and dangerous feeling, it was better to think about something else. Anything else. Kaidoh had stopped and was now looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"With a room like yours, packed with all sorts of training equipment, you have no reason to come here every evening," Inui said.

Kaidoh obviously wanted to ask how the hell Inui knew that, but like all the times before he let it slide. "I just like it here. It helps me relax."

Inui stood up in one fluid motion, then held his hand to help Kaidoh.

The contact felt much too short.

Calm down, Inui. Get your thoughts under control. Put the conversation on a safe track. "Did you go back to a normal training rate?"

"Define normal," said Kaidoh, dusting himself off.

"Well, for example, a rate that doesn't damage your health."

"I'm fine, senpai, if that's what you want to know."

A twig was stuck to the hair on Kaidoh's nape, below his bandana. While he reached out to dislodge it, Inui couldn't help running his fingers across the slightly damp skin, and his pulse quickened when Kaidoh didn't bolt away like he'd expected. Inui untied the bandana with a shaky hand, then put his arms around Kaidoh and buried his face in the glossy black hair, unable to form a coherent thought because, damn, he loved that smell.

Kaidoh scowled and sidestepped to put some distance between them. "Have you any idea how many times I've heard that line?"

Inui realized he'd spoken out loud and dumbly watched Kaidoh pick up his jacket from the nearby bench.

Give me names, screamed the mad scientist in him, mentally concocting a painful and infallible poison. His possessive streak was getting hard to ignore.

Kaidoh started running before he even finished zipping his jacket. "See you tomorrow at practice, Inui-senpai."

When the sound of footsteps had completely faded, Inui opened his notebook at a new page, wrote the date, then all his observations. Lately, he'd dedicated almost all his free time to Sakuno, so he had a lot to catch up regarding Kaidoh. It took a long time to record down all the little changes, but as they were mostly improvements, Inui didn't mind the extra work.

Then he sat on the bench, staring dreamily at the orange bandana still clutched in his hand and considered how good it had felt to touch Kaidoh -- even briefly, and how long he'd have to wait to do it again.

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The coins went inside the slot without trouble. The little lights showing what drinks were available slowly flashed, indicating that the vending machine was in perfect working order. So why was Ryoma still standing in front it, a finger raised in the air?

"Please make up your mind, Ryoma-kun," urged Katsuo. "I want to buy a drink too."

Ryoma continued to stare at the machine, not moving. "There's another vending machine just beside this one. You don't need to queue behind me."

Katsuo rolled his eyes. It was just like Ryoma to inform him of the obvious. "I noticed, thank you! But it doesn't sell the melon juice I want."

Another minute passed.

"It's ridiculous," said Horio. "What do you want to drink?"

"Ponta."

"Then take it, damn it! What's stopping you?"

"It's cold."

Even Kachiro was showing signs of impatience. "What about coffee?"

"Hate coffee."

"Tea then?"

Ryoma shrugged and raised his hand to select a can of hot milk tea, but flinched in mid-gesture when he heard Inui say "Take something with milk, Echizen. You're still far too small" as he walked past the first-years on his way to the locker room.

"Are you going home already, Inui-senpai?" asked Kachiro.

"No, I just need to drop a few things in my bag," Inui said, waving a notebook and a small oblong packet.

With more rage than was decent when dealing with a machine, Ryoma pushed the button for black unsweetened coffee and bent down to take the can.

Kachiro gave a nudge to Katsuo to get his attention. "Doesn't it remind you of something?" When his classmate only responded with a puzzled frown, Kachiro explained. "That small packet Inui-senpai was carrying. It was wrapped in Mitsukoshi gift paper."

Katsuo frowned even more, then understood. "The department store? That's where Sakuno was going when we met her the other day." He took time to ponder his deductions. "But maybe it's just a coincidence."

Kachiro offered a knowing smile. "It looked like a pen case."

"Well." answered Katsuo, grinning too.

"Did I miss something funny?" said Horio.

Once Katsuo had told him the whole story, he gave an amused snort. "Why did she give him a present? Valentine's Day was three weeks ago." Then he saw Ryoma's face and added quickly. "Not that it has anything to do with it, I'm sure."

Ryoma silently pulled his cap down his eyes and walked back toward the tennis courts.

"You're forgetting your drink, Echizen!" called Katsuo, pulling the untouched coffee can out of the machine, but Ryoma didn't even turn around.

"Oh, very clever!" said Kachiro, repeatedly hitting Horio on the head.

"Ouch, calm down! I didn't mean to say anything like that. It just slipped out."

"Oh no!" whined Katsuo. His friends turned to look at him. "The stupid machine is out of melon juice again!" he told them in a disgusted tone.

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"Karupin! Karupin, come back here!"

Nanjiroh Echizen opened his eyes and peered around the dirty magazine lying on his face, wondering what the hell was going on. His niece Nanako was running around the house, looking distressed and a little angry.

"Give it a rest, that damn cat always come back in time for its evening meal."

Nanako stopped in front of him but kept glancing around the room. "Probably, but if Ryoma-san comes back before Karupin, he will start to worry. You know how he is."

Nanjiroh sat up and folded his magazine, feeling like a predator on the prowl. "While we're talking about my secretive son, did you manage to squeeze anything out of him?"

"Not really," Nanako shook her head. "He doesn't want to talk to me about it. Not surprising come to think of it, I'm not the right person to discuss this kind of things."

"Have you tried asking his friends?"

"He never brings anyone here. I spoke a little with Momoshiro-san, his friend from the tennis club who sometimes come to pick him up, but to no avail."

"If Ryoma's girlfriend has gone as far as covering him in marks of ownership, things must be pretty serious between them. Maybe I should buy him some condoms and make sure he knows how to use them."

"Ojisan! Don't say things like that! Ryoma is only thirteen."

"What's the problem? At that age, I already had a tremendous sex life. My son should."

He didn't finish his sentence, because no one was there to hear it. Nanako had turned an interesting shade of crimson before retreating hastily to the kitchen. A shame she was family, Nanjiroh thought, he wouldn't mind working on her case. It just wasn't fitting to have someone that repressed in the household.

Ah, but at least Ryoma was now showing signs of interest for something other than tennis, one should be grateful for small favors. However, in order to transform his son into a miniature version of himself, Nanjiroh needed to learn more about the situation.

He considered calling Sumire Ryuzaki, but rapidly discarded the idea. The old cow probably didn't know anything and she would just take it as an opportunity to bother him with stupid requests. Ah, no getting out of it, he would have to take things in his own hands and do a little spying.

It was time to ring the temple bell. Nanjiroh stood up and stretched lazily. Having children sucked, he thought while hiding away his dirty magazine between the pages of an innocent-looking newspaper. You always had to keep an eye on them.

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It was in her rhythm that you could sense the most interesting improvement. Inui didn't have to take his eyes from his notebook to know that she was standing in the right position, that she held her racket properly. The steady noise of the ball repeatedly hitting the wall proved that Sakuno was doing well.

When Inui started giving the girl private lessons, she was unable to return two shots out of three and as a consequence her playing pace was completely off. She'd definitely come a long way.

"Am I doing okay, senpai?" Her voice revealed such need for approval that it was a bit painful to hear.

"Congratulations, you got used to your new racket pretty fast."

Sakuno gave a tiny, embarrassed smile. "I think I used this racket more in two weeks than the old one in almost a year.I'm practicing all the time."

She had changed, a lot more than he'd anticipated. It was incredible how taking Sakuno under his wing had transformed her attitude toward tennis, but such a result wasn't exactly what he had in mind. The initial idea had been simple if not easy: to inspire Sakuno with courage, give her the self- confidence she needed to declare her feelings to Echizen. Inui had spent enough time studying the way the two first-years acted around each other to be utterly convinced that Wonder Boy --in spite of his apparent indifference-- wouldn't reject Sakuno if she made the first move. A clear, unequivocal first move that would push Echizen to the wall and conveniently out of Inui's way.

Looking at Sakuno, there was nothing to suggest that a heated declaration was imminent, but the 'Distract Ryoma' mission was a complete success nonetheless. The way Echizen constantly studied the girl had become so pathetically blatant that his teammates had stopped betting on the identity of Ryoma's mysterious girlfriend, concluding that it had to be Sakuno after all.

As for Kaidoh. Ah, well. Kaidoh also seemed to have something else on his mind. Scratching the surface, Inui had discovered the raging competition for the next Seigaku captain, and it certainly explained a lot.He couldn't decide if he wanted his favorite to win. Kaidoh had been under a lot of pressure recently, and the heavy responsibilities of leading the team could only make it worse. On the other hand, losing to Momoshiro would probably kill him.

The whole team knew, it seemed. Fuji was the first to guess, but the others weren't stupid, nor was Ryuzaki-sensei particularly subtle. The odd thing was the lack of gossip on the subject ---maybe out of consideration for Tezuka, who couldn't hide how sad he was to leave the club. It would be interesting to research why the topic of the selection of a new leader was taboo among tactless teenagers who usually couldn't respect any boundaries.

Sakuno brought him out of his musing. "Inui senpai, I finished warming-up. What shall I do now?"

"Keep hitting the ball against the wall for a while. I hope you don't find it too boring."

"Oh no, I know it's a very good way to practice. Good players do it all the time."

While she picked up her pace again, facing the wall, Inui took a small video camera out of his sport bag and trained it on her. She must have heard him switch it on, because she suddenly turned and let out a frightened gasp. So much for doing it without her knowledge. "Don't worry, we're the only two people who will see this tape. Besides, I intended to give it to you along with the special training program I composed for next month, to help you continue on your own."

Sakuno watched her tennis ball slowly roll on the ground, her eyes huge and devastated. "You. you mean, you won't give me lessons anymore?"

"In a few days start the final exams, and shortly after that it's the spring break. Then I'll move on to Senior High. There will be no time for us to meet like this." In the stony silence, he added, "You don't really need me, you're on the right track."

"I want to make it, to become a member of the team."

"Your grandmother is a tennis coach."

"And she's the best, but her being a member of my family makes it impossible for me to ask her for help."

Inui had no problem seeing her point. "Why don't you turn to--" He wanted to say Echizen, but he'd promised himself he wouldn't be too blunt. "-- someone your age? You'd probably get on very well."

Sakuno shook her head. "Inui-senpai, you're the only one who believes in me." He tried to deny it but she didn't let him speak. "I know I have a long way to go, I have no natural abilities for sport. At first, I joined the tennis club because its atmosphere filled me with wonder. It didn't matter if I wasn't good enough. I even thought about quitting to become a 'club manager'. This way I could still be near the people I admire, but without making a fool of myself everyday with a racket in my hand. That's when you came to me. I don't know why you did it but I'll be forever grateful, because I'm not afraid of making mistakes anymore."

The turn of the conversation was making Inui uncomfortable. He hoped it didn't show on his face. Not that she would notice, her eyes were still on the ball. "Of course I believe in you. Being timid doesn't mean you can't achieve great things. But the truth is, many other people have esteem for you, even if they never tell you."

Sakuno smiled, and looked at him at last. "It doesn't matter. Your support is the only thing I need to go on."

Inui was speechless, and in the following silence, he observed Sakuno's cheeks go red as she realized what she'd just said.

"I, huh.it's not what I meant. Well, yes it was, but.Oh no, I."

Inui wanted to help her out of that mess, but he had no idea what to say. He felt relieved when she stopped trying to explain and fled at full speed.

Once alone, Inui's first thought was: I forgot to switch off the camera. His second was: A lot of people are running away from me lately.

Bloody hell. Another thing he hadn't seen coming. And yet he was a born strategist. A very young one, true, but it wasn't a reason for all his Machiavellian plans to backfire, damn it! He opened his notebook and wrote: S developing emotional dependence.

Now Inui understood Echizen's recent hostility.

He took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He had to keep in mind that human beings weren't as easy to use as pawns in a game of chess. They never reacted exactly like you wanted them to. It was said to be the spice of life, but Inui hated things he couldn't quantify and control.

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End of Chapter Six

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Notes:

1- [ "Have you any idea how many times I've heard that line?" ] Since the kanji used to write Kaidoh's first name means 'Fragrance', I assumed the people wanting to tease him (or to hit on him) couldn't resist the pun. From Inui, of course, it was purely unintentional.

2- There's a lot of different ways to write Inui. I like him calculating and obsessive, but not as ahead of the game as he'd like to be. And you?

3- Yes, I'm aware that every scene in this chapter ends up with someone beating a retreat after something unsettling had been said. Just thought it would be funny to use a repetitive pattern. And to increase the impression that the characters are running in circles, I kept the indications of time and space to a minimum. But I promise, I'll try to amuse myself in a less irritating way next time. Lol

4- A great number of people told me they had difficulties following my plot, so on the other hand I made an effort to be more explicit (that's partly why it took me so much time to update). Is it working? My betas said 'yes', now I would like your opinion.

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