Disclaimers: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi. This is for entertainment purposes only. No money being made.

Author: aomurasakiai
Title: Always Understood
Warnings: Hint of Shounen Ai, Fluff/WAFF/Sap
Pairings: Hint of InuKai
Spoilers: Tiny bit of episode 9
Rating: G
Special Thanks: aaincognito for the beta.
Note: This is a direct sequel to the fic "The Little Things". For scandalouschib again for constantly poking me to write, reading as I finish parts of my fics, and for sending me Dekaranger episode 11 (the ever important episode with Gomoto Naoya making an appearance)!

A month passed and White Day arrived with no incident … or at least with significantly less chaos than Valentine's Day. The male portion of the student body at Seishun Gakuen wasn't as enthusiastic as the female in giving presents. Some, however, had no choice since they had girlfriends who had already threatened them within an inch of their life; they had no choice but to purchase White Day presents for the rather pushy schoolgirls. Much screaming and squealing came from those girls and their friends as they shared their cute gifts with each other.

Kaidoh had his head cradled in his hands, feeling another headache coming on. The girls in his class were especially loud and their shrieks seemed to bounce off the walls back to him. Glancing up at the clock, he sighed. In another give minutes, the sensei would arrive and silence would fill the room once again.

Reaching for his school bag, Kaidoh opened it and checked to make sure he remembered to bring the gift like he had planned to. However, whether or not he would have the nerve to give it to a certain senpai was a different story.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the building where the third-year classrooms were situated, one bespectacled teen was busy scribbling in his notebook. All that morning, Inui had been gathering data on how the other regulars were faring in returning presents to the girls who had given them something a month prior. So far… it didn't look good.

"Taking into account the fact that the others are 13 to 14 years of age and currently unemployed…" Inui mumbled to himself as he continued writing. He was somewhat grateful that he wasn't as popular as the others; he wouldn't want to spend all of his savings on White Day gifts either. Finishing up on his data collection, the third-year closed his green notebook and sat back in his seat.

'There is an 82 percent probability that he won't return the gift,' Inui thought. Pushing up his rectangular glasses, he sighed.

'Can't be helped.'

----

Kaidoh walked onto the tennis courts earlier than usual that afternoon, in an attempt to avoid Inui… at least until he had to deal with handing the gift to the other. But, of course, if he could avoid the confrontation all together, it would be best. The second-year didn't spot his senpai around so he breathed a small sigh of relief. Picking up one of the tennis balls on the ground, he set off to practice by himself.

Practice that day proceeded and ended normally. Various times, Kaidoh had caught sight of Inui but he had always been with another person, commenting about their form or something similar out of his notebook. The second-year kept his eye on the other to make sure the bespectacled teen was preoccupied before slipping away to the clubhouse. Before he reached the door, it opened and Momoshiro came out, almost crashing into him.

"Watch where you're going, Mamushi!" the other second-year shouted.

"Speak for yourself, kono yarou!" Kaidoh hissed back before brushing past him and heading into the room. Closing the door behind him, he glanced around and saw no one else. Sighing in relief, the bandana-clad teen quickly changed out of his Regular jersey into his training clothes before reaching for his school bag and digging for the wrapped gift that was buried inside. He was about to pull it out when the door to the clubhouse opened again and Oishi-senpai, along with Kikumaru-senpai, Fuji-senpai, and Kawamura-senpai walked in. The second-year dropped it back into his bag and zipped it up before the others could see.

"Ah, Kaidoh. Leaving so soon?" Oishi asked.

"Aa, Oishi-senpai," he responded, bowing respectfully.

"Training as always, I see," Seigaku's fukubuchou said, smiling almost in a motherly way. "Well, don't overwork yourself and thank you for today."

"Usu." The others exchanged good-byes with him before turning to chat amongst themselves again. Kaidoh lifted his school bag, feeling Inui-senpai's gift weighing down on his shoulder. But he couldn't do anything about that now; there was no way he could slip it into Inui-senpai's storage compartment with the others standing right there, and giving it to him the next day didn't seem right. Having no other choice, the second-year left the school grounds.

Kaidoh jogged lightly to the park where he usually trained and dropped his bag onto the grass before laying down beside it. Crossing his arms behind his head, he looked up at the clear sky through the trees' branches.

"Fffshuuu…" he hissed softly. He couldn't do it after all. Something as simple as returning a present on White Day, even though it was to a senpai, he wasn't able to carry it out. But, Kaidoh supposed, there was another reason that he hadn't been able to give the present to Inui.

The small bag of candy that Inui-senpai had given him a month before wasn't supposed to mean anything… but it did. And it bothered the hell out of Kaidoh for a month before he could find something that was remotely equal to the gift his senpai had given him: the knowledge that someone did think about him on a day like St. Valentine's Day. But now, unfortunately, he couldn't even pay the other back. The second-year was well aware that Inui never received anything either and his only chance of rectifying that…

"Kaidoh?" His eyes snapped open to see his senpai standing over him.

"Inui-senpai," Kaidoh greeted the other as he sat up, embarrassment appearing on his face.

"Overworked yourself?" the other asked, smiling faintly.

"Iya," he answered, standing up to regain some form of dignity.

"I'd be surprised if you had," Inui told him, pushing up his glasses. "You're usually so careful, despite what others think of your training menu."

"Arigato, Inui-senpai," Kaidoh said as a warm feeling flowed through his body.

"Hmm? For what?" the third-year asked, confused. Kaidoh stared at the other as thoughts fleeted across his mind. 'For your gift last month… for always knowing what to say… for never patronizing me… for treating me unlike anyone has in my life… for looking past everything to see… me.'

"For everything," he finally answered. Inui cocked his head slightly, still confused. Kaidoh bent down and reached inside his bag, pulling out the wrapped gift. The other blinked in surprise and sighed, almost exasperatedly.

"Ah, Kaidoh, you always managed to invalidate my predictions," was all he said before reaching out to take the gift. Unwrapping it carefully, the bespectacled teen smiled as he gently placed his hand on the two bandanas. A yellow one, from when he'd first met his kouhai back when the other was a first-year, and an orange one, from the beginning of the other's second year… the one Kaidoh wore to defeat him in their ranking match.

"These… bring back memories," Inui murmured, still smiling. He looked up to see Kaidoh slinging his bag over his shoulder and turning around.

"Senpai," Kaidoh said without glancing back. "When you graduate, this…" He gestured the green bandana around his head. "…will be added to your collection." With that, he walked away, knowing that the other couldn't see the small smile on his lips. But he knew that Inui-senpai understood his actions.

His senpai always understood.

Owari