Frequencies
Pairing: Inui/Shinji
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Theme: #17—kHz
Disclaimer: All disclaimers are in chapter 1.
Rating: PG
Inui sat at his desk, inputting the day's data into his computer, and wondering how two people could be so similar, and yet be on two completely different wavelengths.
He stared consideringly at the information he had collected on Ibu Shinji that afternoon. Inui thought that, really, they were a lot alike in many respects. Their love for tennis, their grades—it hadn't been hard for Inui to discover that Ibu was at the top of his class, with an intellect to rival Fuji's or his own—and the fact that, to all appearances, their minds never stopped.
Beyond that, though, they were like the difference between kilohertz and megahertz.
Inui's mind was ordered, logical, factual. He made observations, drew connections, hypothesized, and then tested his theory. His data was a reflection of an ordered and structured personality. He was the epitome of a scientist, everything flowing from one ordered conclusion to another.
Ibu, on the other hand, was chaos personified. If his thoughts had any logical connection, it was by pure chance more often than not. His mind jumped from one topic to another as easily as someone would switch dials on a radio, and one never knew which "station" Ibu would land on next. If Inui was a logical scientist, Ibu was an absent-minded professor.
Kilohertz and megahertz.
Everything screamed that Ibu would be bad for Inui. Their personality differences represented a wide gulf that would be hard, if not impossible, to bridge. Inui knew that…so why was he considering trying it anyway? Why did he find Ibu so compelling?
Kilohertz and megahertz.
Maybe, Inui reflected as he shut down his computer and prepared for bed, it was b because /b they were different. Maybe he was so intrigued b because /b Ibu was a fresh perspective, a way of working with and viewing the world that he had never bothered to explore. Maybe Inui knew, somewhere in him, that he'd be bored by someone too similar to him.
Maybe kilohertz was always striving to reach megahertz.
As Inui closed his eyes, he replayed that kiss in his mind. He re-experienced the feel of Ibu's lips against his own, the way the other boy had tasted just slightly of oranges, the way Ibu's face had reflected surprise, but not disgust or anger.
Inui realized that he wanted to do that again, kiss Ibu. Preferably, with Ibu responding favorably and kissing him back. He wanted to see Ibu again, talk to him and just…know him better. For reasons that, for once, had nothing to do with data.
Kilohertz and megahertz. They really weren't all that different after all. Maybe they could coexist.
And so maybe could he and Ibu.
--The End--