Author: potetofurai
Fandom: The Prince of Tennis
Pairings: None
Rating: G
Words: 561Disclaimer: Don't own POT
Summary: Kaidoh remembers an old friend
A/N: Hope you like it!
I used to have a cat. He was a lot like Echizen's actually. My cat was my best friend, my only friend for a while. During elementary school, my classmates thought I was a suck up to adults. They thought that I helped my teachers and sempai's because I wanted something in return. I was just brought up that way. Manners are an important thing to my family. My cat was my lonely friend throughout elementary school.
I remember when I first got him. I was five, and he was brand new. Our neighbor had a cat that I used to play with all of the time. My neighbor's cat gave birth to five cats. My parents agreed to let me have one.
He was the greatest cat in the world. He would play with me when none of the other kids would. He would be there when I was upset. It's nice to know that there is someone who would listen to you when no one else would.
I started to play tennis when I was nine. My cat would help me there too. When I practiced he would be there silently encouraging me to do better. He would even retrieve stray balls for me. He was so much fun.
When I started junior high school at Seigaku things started to look good for me. Most people were scared of me. I developed a rather cold exterior during elementary school, it was a kind of defense mechanism I guess. My teammates were nice to me. My sempai's were nice too. There was one sempai that scared me somewhat, Inui Sadaharu. I ended up being a guinea pig for his new "sport drink." Inui-sempai is very scary. Most people of the team were ok. There is a very loud boy in my class, unfortunately he was also on the tennis team. Who calls himself "peach" anyway?
My life was going very well. I even had a shot at becoming a regular. All the while my cat stood by my side. Always there for me.
One spring day after tennis practice I cam home in a very good mood. The ranking matches were approaching and I learned a new shot. Something I like to call the "snake shot." The minute I walked in the door I knew something was wrong. My mother and father were sitting at the table with sad looks on their faces. My brother was there too.
I asked them what was wrong. My mother didn't even look at me. My father started at me, a sympathetic look was on his face, and shook his head. My heart skipped. I dropped my belongings in the kitchen and ran throughout the house. I called his name but he didn't come. I ran into the yard and called again. My best friend was no where to be found.
Earlier that day, my cat had escaped into the street. A car came speeding towards him. There was no escaping the fate that awaited my friend.
It took me weeks to recover and I became more distant towards my friends. I guess that's why when I found Echizen's cat I softened. He reminded me of a friend that I had lost.
My cat helped me through though times and was there when I needed someone. I'll never forget my cat, my best friend.