Loyalty
Pairing: Inui/Shinji
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Theme: # 7. superstar
Disclaimer on part 1
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Thank you for your understanding and sympathy. Life has calmed down, so I can finish posting now.
It was a beautiful day. The air was crisp and unusually clear for the Tokyo environs, the sun was shining, the birds were singing…and Inui was a nervous wreck.
Not for himself. He rarely, if ever got nervous for himself. No, this was different. It was the day of the junior high city tournament…and Inui had no idea as to where he should be. With both Fudomine and Seigaku there….
Inui had an attachment to Seigaku. He had played for and with them for three years. He still had friends and teammates there, people who he knew would be fighting their hardest to win their way to the top. By rights, Inui should be there, with the rest of the graduated Regulars, cheering their friends on to victory.
But…Shinji was also playing that day. Shinji who was on Fudomine's team, the team that everyone expected to rise up and go against Seigaku in the day's finals. Inui had no doubts about that happening; both teams were good enough to go to the end and do well. But…where was his place? Rooting for his friends, or rooting for his boyfriend?
Such was Inui's dilemma.
At first it wasn't too bad. The matches were staggered enough that Inui was able to watch one, then the other, with very little conflict. Times between matches, he spent with his former teammates, as both Kaidoh and Kamio were the type of captains that discouraged "outsiders" hanging around their teams during tournament matches. And after having to listen to Fuji and Eiji both complain about being considered outsiders by Kaidoh, Inui was more than happy to slip away and watch Shinji play.
In all, it was shaping up to be an enjoyable day.
But now Inui was staring at the match board. He had seen it coming, predicted the chances of it happening, but hadn't let himself deal with the reality of the situation until that moment.
The final match-up: Seigaku vs. Fudomine.
Where do I belong? Inui knew that it was Kaidoh's first big tournament as team captain, and Kaidoh had even expressed to Inui, in his own subdued way, that he was grateful for Inui's support of him. Knowing that, how could Inui not be cheering Kaidoh to victory?
But…there was Shinji. His boyfriend, the person he cared about, was worried about—Inui was still concerned that the ankle that Shinji had hurt would choose the worst possible moment to go out—would be playing, giving his all…and the thought of not being behind Shinji was hurting him more than he could say.
"Where do I belong?" he muttered to himself, continuing to stare at the board. He might've stayed there for the entire match, thus ignoring the whole problem, had he not found himself surrounded by his former teammates.
"Inui." Fuji's smile chilled Inui a little as Fuji spoke. "The match is going to start in a few minutes. We saved you a seat." His eyes opened a little as he continued. "You know that Kaidoh-kun would not want you to miss it."
That statement was greeted by a chorus of agreements, and Inui found himself surrounded by his friends and being herded off to the Seigaku section of the bleachers. Well, that's it, I guess, Inui thought as he took a seat. Maybe I can still make this work. I can slip away and cheer for Shinji when he plays. The rest of the time I'll be right here, wishing Kaidoh luck. That squared away in his mind, Inui sat back, notebook at the ready, and contrived to enjoy himself and gather some new data.
Second doubles, Inui calculated, would go to Fudomine. Fudomine's Uchimura and Mori were a sold doubles pair, with experience playing at the National level. The pair that Seigaku had up against them, Kaichiro and Katsuo, while fairly solid—a surprise to Inui, who had honestly thought of them as simply part of Echizen's entourage—just did not have the skill and experience to stand up to Fudomine's pair. Still, they did take two games, and Inui had several pages of data at the end of the match that he was going to present to Kaidoh in order to help his up and coming doubles pair blossom even more.
First doubles was a more intriguing match for Inui to watch. Arai—who had finally gotten his Regular's spot—and Momoshiro made a solid combination, and Momoshiro's skill was enough to make up for the holes in Arai's game. Faced against Fudomine's Ishida and Sakurai, Inui wasn't too sure on the surface which pair would end up victorious. Calculating quickly, Inui came up with a 65 percent probability that Seigaku would take the game. And, true to Inui's data, they did, though the margin of the win was much narrower than that of Fudomine's second doubles win.
Third singles was interesting to Inui in that both players were underclassmen that had never played in tournament situations before. Inui didn't even recognize the Seigaku player, and that disturbed him, for he thought that he had known every player on the team at least by sight. The match was solid, if lackluster, and resulted in another win for Seigaku.
Next to Inui, Eiji was practically vibrating with excitement. "One more win, and Seigaku moves on!"
"So does Fudomine," Oishi pointed out, glancing over at Inui. "Both teams will progress to the Regionals."
"Yeah, but we all know that coming in first or second makes a big difference. Mentally, anyway."
"Eiji does have a point." Fuji smiled. "When you come in first, you're more on top of your game, you have the psychological advantage riding in with you."
"Guys, stop," Kawamura pleaded, seeing how tense Inui had gotten. "Second singles is about to begin."
Everyone faced forward as Kaidoh stepped out onto the court. "I guess he's saving Echizen for first." Oishi nodded in approval. As one, they all looked to see who Kaidoh's opponent would be, and Inui's heart sunk.
It was Shinji.
Why? Inui asked himself, ignoring Eiji's and Oishi's concerned looks and Fuji's amused one. This cannot be possible…but it happened anyway. If I get up now, I'll be questioned as to why I'm not supporting Kaidoh, but if I stay…maybe he won't notice I'm not there.
As he thought that, Inui saw Shinji look out over the bleachers, clearly searching for someone. When he didn't see whoever it was he was looking for on Fudomine's side, he looked concerned and a little confused. Then Shinji's eyes found Seigaku's bleachers.
Inui knew who Shinji was looking for, and it was confirmed when Shinji's eyes landed on Inui. The confusion on Shinji's face faded away into hurt and resignation as he deliberately turned away from Inui and went to the net to shake hands with Kaidoh.
Fuji leaned forward to whisper into Inui's ear, "Well, this is certain to be an…interesting match."
Inui didn't pay too much attention to Fuji. He was too busy feeling his heart break a little. Please, Shinji…understand. I support you, no matter where I am….
Shinji sighed as he spotted Inui snug in the middle of Seigaku's bleachers, surrounded by his friends. He's there…I hoped he'd…but I shouldn't be surprised. They're probably much more important to Sadaharu than I am. Sighing again, Shinji looked away and approached the net. He was going to be a good sport, at least.
As they shook hands, Kaidoh looked at Shinji almost sympathetically. "I really thought he'd be over with you, Ibu."
Shinji shook his head. "No, he's with who he thinks is most important. Let's have a good match." Shinji was about to turn away when Kaidoh's hand on his arm stopped him.
"I don't think so, Ibu. You didn't see Inui-sempai the day you got hurt. He was only thinking about you, even though his sense of duty had him stay as long as he did. I'm sure that's the case now." Kaidoh hissed, then continued. "As much as I, or any of us, might wish otherwise, you are Inui-sempai's most important person, and I'm sure that you're the only one he sees."
Shinji stared at Kaidoh for a second. "You think…? Thank you. But I think he also cares about you, too. So, let's give Sadaharu a good game so that, no matter who wins, he can be proud of us both."
Kaidoh started to smile, then blushed, hissed, and fled to take his place in the service box.
The game went by in a blur for Shinji.
He had trained enough with Kamio that his speed was good enough to catch the vast majority of Kaidoh's snake shots. And Kaidoh remembered well Shinji's Spot—the game with Echizen the year before had made an impression on him—so he was being very careful to not allow Shinji to control the ball's spin. Shinji's kick serve was proving to be a bit more of a problem, but anyone who played regularly with Echizen got used to serves aiming for the face rather quickly, and once Kaidoh got a good feel for the speed of Shinji's serves, he was able to deal with them, too.
With their best shots as good as sealed, the game became one of skill and stamina. First Kaido would take a game, then Shinji, and so on. Every time it looked like one would pull ahead, the other would catch up, and before Shinji knew it, they were facing each other in tiebreak.
Taking a drink from his water bottle before tiebreak started, Shinji tried to control his breathing some. If this draws out any more, I'm done. Kaidoh's got the edge in stamina, and we both know it. I'm nearing the edge, and Kaidoh's got more to spare. I can't let it get that far. I just wish I knew…. Unconsciously, Shinji's eyes wandered over the crowds to Inui…and then he froze.
Inui was looking at Shinji, directly at him as if his eyes hadn't looked anywhere but at Shinji. Shinji could almost feel Inui right there with him, supporting him and urging him forward, telling Shinji to not give up.
Right, then. I'm going to do this, Sadaharu. Filled with a new resolve, Shinji went back out on the court, determined to earn the victory.
Shinji wasn't even aware of what had happened. One minute, he was walking back out onto the court, and the next, he was hearing the referee announcing "Game and match to Ibu of Fudomine!"
He blinked. "I…won?"
Kaidoh snorted, already at the net. "Yeah, you won. Now get over and shake hands so Echizen can win his game and stop complaining."
Shinji tried not to laugh at that as he shook Kaidoh's hand and left the court. He exchanged some words with Kamio, but didn't really process them, pausing only to put his racquet back in his bag, then he wandered away from his team, completely ignoring the match starting behind him.
He leaned back against a tree, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. He hadn't even opened his eyes, when someone was on him, kissing him like the world was about to end. Shinji's first instinct was to fight, but then he recognized the taste, smell, and presence of Inui, and fell into the kiss, his hands roaming over Inui's back eagerly.
Finally, Inui had to pull back for breath, but he didn't let go of Shinji. "You," he panted, "were amazing, Shinji."
"Was I?" Shinji blushed a little. "I don't even remember it…I saw you sitting over there, and I thought that you didn't care, or that you wanted me to lose or something, but Kaidoh said you didn't, so—"
"Kaidoh was right," Inui interjected. "I may have been sitting with them, I may have been part of Seigaku once, but once you walked out onto that court, all I could see was you. You were my star. Even though you were playing Kaidoh, I only wanted you to win."
Shinji smiled. "I did it for you, Sadaharu. I wanted to show you that I could."
"And you did." Inui kissed him again, Shinji kissing back and encouraging the kiss deeper. Inui pressed Shinji against the tree a little more and lifted him some, so that they were at an equal height. Inui's hands went to Shinji's hips, but before Inui could do any more, the sound of cheering broke through their haze.
Inui lowered a now-panting Shinji back to the ground gently, then ran his fingers through Shinji's hair. "It sounds like it's over."
"It does…I wonder if Akira actually won?"
Inui chuckled softly. "There was only a 32 percent chance of that happening, but if Kamio winning makes you feel better, I hope he did. Anyway…you should go back for the closing ceremony now."
"I know." Shinji smiled and kissed him quickly again. "Wait for me?"
"Always." Inui smiled as Shinji ran off after another kiss, watching him go. "Shinji…I guess I did the right thing after all."
--The End--