Act 2: Flame In The Dark (Kaidou's crisis)
There was a momentary silence as Kaidou stared up with a look of utter discrepancy at the other man, apparently not too pleased with what he'd just heard. "...Damn..." He failed to stop the word from slipping between his lips, and Kaidou cursed himself for it. "What... Just *what* are you goddamn trying to-"
"What I'm tryin' to say is that I love you." Inui couldn't keep his voice from trembling a bit. "That is all."
Now, evidently, Kaidou took a step backwards into the water, but his facial expression still bore one of disbelief. "Don't play around with me, Inui." His tone was as hard as steel, his eyes narrowed dangerously into slits. He looked somewhat like a fierce wild cat hissing at its enemy. "You might not like what you're gonna get in return..."
"If I were, I would already be laughing aloud by now, wouldn't I...?" Inui took a step forward to close the distance between them again.
Kaidou seemed to notice this, for he growled out, "Damn you... Goddammit, Inui! Why the hell are you doing this to me?!"
"If you could just...give me a chance..." Inui's hand reached up as if to touch him, but Kaidou angrily slapped his hand away before curling his own into a fist.
"Get your filthy hands off me! I don't like it! I don't like *this*!" Kaidou said, referring to the situation he was in at the moment. For a minute, Inui felt like a complete stranger to him, despite the fact that they were in the same tennis team.
Something burned within Inui; the overwhelming desire to hold this man, kiss this man. He still had no idea why he fell for a particular male - a person of the same gender doesn't appeal to him before. Not until he met Kaoru Kaidou. Before he could restrain the urges, he flung himself upon the other man, sealing their mouths together. Kaidou gave a surprised yelp before falling backwards into the shallow water with Inui above him.
~ ~ ~
"Darn, it's cold!" Kikumaru complained, slipping a jacket over his own body and zipping it up.
"It has been colder before," Oishi told him, dryly. "Have you got your tennis racket ready?"
"Yeah." Kikumaru's voice sounded muffled, for he had tucked his face against his jacket.
"I say..." Oishi glanced up, suddenly. "Do you wanna come with me to the mini-market this evening? I need to get something to eat later."
"Sure. If you're willing to spare me some." Kikumaru grinned widely at his friend.
Oishi shot him a sidelong glance. "Fine."
"Yatta!"
Shaking his head, Oishi unlocked his locker and fumbled inside for an extra shirt.
~ ~ ~
"Haven't they returned *yet*?" Tezuka asked Kawamura in his usual low monotone as they walked out of the cafeteria.
Kawamura shrugged. "I thought they have."
Tezuka let out an irritated sigh and lifted a hand to his temples.
"Why don't we go and find them, Tezuka?" Momoshiro suggested. "They might still be near the bridge."
Echizen nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It's nearly the end of break-time. If we find them, we may have time for the next practice session."
Tezuka considered silently for a second, then said, "Momoshiro and Kawamura, you two go and search for them. They shouldn't be that far. Echizen and I will wait at the court."
"Got it." Momoshiro and Kawamura headed toward the bridge.
"...They'd be okay?" Echizen muttered quietly to Tezuka without facing him.
The captain merely watched the two go. ::They'd better be.::
~ ~ ~
"Tiring day, huh, Fuji-kun?" Satoru Abe, the cafeteria owner piped up when Fuji came to return his working outfit.
"Not too bad," Fuji smiled.
"That's good to hear. Good day!" Satoru waved to him after receiving the outfit.
"You too." Fuji nodded politely at him and strode off to find his friends.
~ ~ ~
Kaidou struggled to think coherently as his mind raced in a mass of tangled thoughts. The river water was undisputedly cold, and he could feel them seeping through the fabric of his tennis shirt, making his skin tighten instinctively. It was an undignified position they were in, no less. Kaidou knew he should shove Inui violently away but his whole body was unable to move freely in the freezing water.
The plain fact that Inui was kissing him with fevered passion was enough to drive Kaidou to the heights of repulsion. With all of his energy, he pushed Inui off him, breaking their lip contact as he did so. To Kaidou's greatest relief, Inui did not protest but just sat in the water without uttering a single word or looking up. Kaidou staggered to his feet, panting breathlessly - all the while clearly avoiding looking at the other man's direction.
Beads of crystal clear water dripped from his hair and soaked shirt into the river. " . . . Useless piece of crap . . . " he gritted out, unsure if he was talking to himself or Inui. At that very moment, he heard voices calling his and Inui's name, just before Momoshiro and Kawamura appeared in sight.
"K-Kaidou...!" came Momoshiro's startled voice as he approached them, noticing the status they were in.
"W-What happened?" Kawamura added, blinking at Kaidou and Inui. "Did you two get into a fight or somethin'?"
Kaidou really wanted to scream out then, telling all of them to leave him the hell alone. Especially Inui. Instead, he just pursed his lips and did not say a word as he climbed out of the water and to the river bank, ignoring the confused expressions Momoshiro and Kawamura flung at him. "Is Tezuka looking for me?" he spoke in an undertone without glancing at them.
"Oh...yeah, he was. ...But wait, Kaidou, tell us if anything's wrong?" Momoshiro put in, concerned.
Kaidou felt his eyes burn hotly and closed them for a fleeting moment. "...Nothing...happened..." he muttered, and made his way towards the training center.
"O-Oi...! Kaidou!" Kawamura called, helplessly.
Inui, who was already up and walking over to them, said, "Nothing's the matter. Don't worry."
"You sure?" Momoshiro replied, hesitantly. "Kaidou looked upset."
But the only answer Inui gave was a shake of his head.
* * *
Notes: Uh oh... Kaidou has a big problem... Hey, dun look at me. ^^; I never thought it'll turn out this way... Okay, okay, so it was my fault. Blame me. -__-;;