Loneliness
Nobody said no to Atobe Keigo, ever.
This was not arrogance; it was a mere fact. Even if someone had made the mistake of doing so, he would have ignored them – he simply did not take a no for an answer.
Which meant he was entirely unprepared when it inevitably happened.
Like Oshitari pointed out, for a former Seigaku student, Kaidou Kaoru fit in at Hyoutei surprisingly well. Atobe himself was hardly surprised – from Ohtori he knew the boy had actually attended Hyoutei during primary school. He was, naturally, somewhat apprehensive about admitting the boy into the team, somewhat unsure of his loyalties; however, Kaidou proved himself time and time again to be a very valuable asset to the team.
Atobe kept an eye on Kaidou, and in doing so, he discovered some things about the younger boy. For example, Kaidou was very proud, almost as much so as Atobe himself. He was also very stubborn – or persistent, whichever word one were to prefer – and would probably have died rather than given up. In a way, he reminded Atobe of himself.
With two such strong personalities, the clash was bound to happen sooner or later.
Most members of the team made sure to stay on Atobe's good side, as doing so meant one might have at least a remote possibility of playing in an official match. Kaidou cared little for pleasing him, as though certain his tennis skills would outweigh his personal failings. And the sad thing was, he was right.
Atobe had never been above holding grudges, nor did he scoff at an opportunity to pay back for past insults. However, there were two things he couldn't help but respect, and those were tennis skill and hard work. These two just happened to be two of Kaidou's most prominent character traits. Therefore, even if he did speak up his mind every now and then, come next tournament round, he'd again be a part of the regular line-up.
The others were starting to whisper about favouritism.
It was, of course, ridiculous. There was no way Atobe would hold any particular affection for a Seigaku player, not even one who was currently attending Hyoutei. Kaidou was simply better at tennis than most of the other team members, and it would have been ridiculous to weaken the team just because Kaidou's respect for his senpais did not keep him from snapping at them whenever he felt like it. Personal life and tennis were different things altogether.
There was also Kabaji to consider, of course. Kabaji, his most loyal friend, the one who would even move to another country just to stay close him. Kabaji, the one who always, always fulfilled his every wish and whim.
Kabaji, who was now dating someone.
Naturally, Atobe wanted Kabaji to be happy. The big guy certainly deserved it, for being the best friend there ever could be, for never talking back except for when it was for Atobe's own best. Therefore he wouldn't have even dreamt of doing anything about his friend's relationship – not after checking Kabaji's boyfriend's background, family connections, and general reputation, anyway. Of course he would have to make sure it would not end badly for Kabaji.
Sadly, though, Kabaji being happy with someone meant he had less time to spend with Atobe. And that meant Atobe was alone.
It was out of necessity, at first. More and more often the two found themselves being the only ones at the club house after everyone else had left, to a friend's house to see a girlfriend or a boyfriend to just hang out with others whatever they did. And once, out of a whim, Atobe asked Kaidou to play with him.
It soon became a ritual, one neither of them particularly wanted to break.
Playing tennis turned into talking, visiting the library, going to a concert even, neither ever acknowledging their common activities in the presence of anyone else. As Atobe was of course irresistible, and Kaidou wasn't that bad-looking either, it was almost inevitable that the slowly forming friendship between the two unattached boys would turn into something bordering on attraction. Atobe was fairly sure neither of them were very surprised when they kissed for the first time, however unplanned the action was.
He would still deny all accusations of favouritism, though. Atobe Keigo did not mix personal life and tennis, damn it.
Atobe-san turned into Atobe, slowly, and then Keigo-san in such a polite tone it almost amused Atobe. He assumed it'd never go further than that, no matter what, and it didn't particularly bother him. This was, after all, quite a proper form of address between two people in a relationship. He eventually came to respond with, Kaoru-san, whenever they were in private, anyway.
Some of the others said it couldn't last. Atobe took great pleasure in proving them wrong. Until, eventually, it turned out they were right.
It was his fault, he might have thought, if not for the fact Atobe was never at fault, as he never made a mistake. Nevertheless, although logically Kaidou had to be the one who had done something wrong, for the life of his he couldn't think of anything the dark-haired boy had done to lead them to this situation.
Gazes locked at one another, the two stood in the empty club room, nobody brave enough to linger behind when the uneasy tension between the second-year captain and his boyfriend was so obvious. Kaidou had just announced he was breaking up with Atobe. Atobe knew he should say something, demand an explanation perhaps, except Kaidou had given his reasons rather clearly, or maybe he should try to convince the younger boy otherwise except that Atobe Keigo did not beg. There were a thousand things he could have said, but he couldn't figure out which one of them to voice.
After a moment of tense silence, Kaidou sighed a bit, his shoulders falling as he realized it was useless to wait for a response.
"I'll see you at practice then… Atobe-san." And, with this, Kaidou turned around.
He probably should have apologized, Atobe assumed. That or at least said something, anything, to stop Kaidou from walking away. Instead, he stayed silent, watching the other's retreating back. The words simply would not come.
Then, suddenly, the words all came out at once, sentences stumbling over each other in their hurry to leave his mouth, apology confession explanation no no don't go I love you. However, it was too late; the only one to hear them was Atobe himself, suddenly all alone in the club room that had never seemed so empty.
Owari