Re: United

Kaoru had never been to a tennis match, so it was pretty exciting to see Yokohama's team warming up on the sidelines with Blackrose somewhere in the midst of them. Then, he caught sight of a darker-skinned girl swinging the racket as if she were making a spike. She patted another player on the back and threw her hands up in the air in cheer.

The three boys exchanged suspicious glances before cupping their hands over their mouths and shouting:

"AKIRA!"

The targeted girl perked up and spun back towards the voices. She glanced about the stadium until she saw Kaoru, Shouta, and Yasuhiko waving their warms. She stared in hesitation before waving back, her smile becoming more confident as the boy continued to cheer.

Although Kaoru didn't really know how to play tennis, when Yasuhiko announced that Yokohama had won, he joined his friends in celebration. Akira had made some impressive maneuvers and was extremely agile on the court. He was absolutely intrigued by her and he was happy they'd be moving forward in the tournament!

When the three ran down to greet her with a shower of hugs and kisses, the four calmed to a silence as they noticed a lonely brunet watching from a distance. He greeted them with a shy smile and upon realizing who the boy was, Akira rushed up to him to wrap him in a tight embrace. However, their arms weren't locked for long as she suddenly pulled away and complained of a fishy stench.

"...I took an early lunch break from the fish market." he admitted, "...It's good to see you."

"...Kite..." her eyes moistened with tears of joy, "I'm...I can't believe it's you!"

The two hugged once more, encouraging Yasuhiko and Shouta to follow suit while Kaoru stayed behind. Even though Akira invited him into the scene, Daisuke's specific dislike towards him prevented him from getting any closer.

"I have to go for a bit, but let's meet up somewhere! Here's my number! I'll be ready in a few hours!"

The boys walked her to the bus and bid her farewell for now. It was only until the Yokohama high school team was gone that Daisuke's usual bitterness returned. Yasuhiko wouldn't let him go so easily, though.

"Daisuke, we need to—"

"I need to get back to work. Later!" Kaoru just look away as they brushed shoulders, Shouta and Yasuhiko at a loss for words.

"...Daisuke..."

Eventually, the three left for Yasuhiko's house in silence. No words were exchanged even as they left the bus stop and were greeted at the front door by the teen's smiling mother. Kaoru couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his own mother smile so genuinely; she'd been miserable before the divorce and even more so afterwards.

"Welcome, welcome! Make yourselves right at home!" the three slipped off their shoes and Kaoru followed the regulars upstairs to Yasuhiko's room, where old console games, cards and stray cases were sprawled about the floor. The empty bags of chips signaled that he spent a lot of time in there, but who didn't these days?

"So what'd you guys want to do?" Yasuhiko asked as he rolled out his futon and invited his friends to sit with him, "I was thinking we could play a bit, but we may lose track of time." Kaoru smirked. Yeah, knowing how well they played together, they'd probably forget all about Akira. Unfortunately, without The World to entertain them, the three realized just how much online gaming had taken over their lives.

"What did you guys usually do before?" the freshman finally asked, completely at a loss. He didn't have many offline friends and he didn't care for shopping, so his social life had always been pretty bland.

"Well, Shouta, Daisuke, and I used to play soccer together. We haven't been out on the field in months, though."

"Y'know, I don't ever remember Daisuke needing a job. I hope everything's okay."

"It doesn't sound like it." Kaoru explained, remembering Akira's testimony, "Apparently it's some family problems, but I wish he wouldn't keep quiet. He told me himself not to bottle things up like that...to be more open about my feelings and realize that there are people who want to help."

"Haha! Just like Daisuke! He needs to learn to take his own advice, but if that's the case, we'd best stay out of it. You've never seen Daisuke angry." the boys shuddered, "He's...normally a pretty happy kid, but there was this one incident when I saw his eyes on fire!"

"It was the day after his father left. We didn't even know until we stopped seeing his American sports car in the driveway. He's a business man in California."

"Wow." Kaoru awed, "So...he doesn't like his dad?"

"He hates him, but I always found that word a bit harsh."

Although he didn't hate his parents, Kaoru could understand how he felt. His parents had divorced, too, and it hadn't been a fun experience. For a while, he'd resented his family, but Kite and Blackrose had changed his views.

So, with this in his mind, he didn't return home after parting from Akira and the rest of the gang. They'd spent a good while at the mall, playing old arcade games, window-shopping, sharing dango, and confusing Shouta. He was a handsome university student, yet no matter how much he studied, girls were something he'd probably never understand. Kaoru wasn't so good with those things either, but he was comfortable around Akira.

"Um..." he assumed the woman who answered was Ms. Izumi, and the sleepy voice in the background probably belonged to Daisuke.

On more than a few occasions, Kaoru had actually followed the boy home. He knew it was creepy and he hadn't meant any harm, he was just so secretive about everything! He only wanted a bit of insight into what he was going through.

"...I'm sorry Ma'am. I need to talk to Daisuke."

"Who needs to talk to Daisuke?" the voice was clearer now and the teen was soon confronted by the sluggish brunet, "...How the fuck did you find me?"

"...Daisuke—" luckily his mother allowed his entrance, despite her son's obvious disapproval of his arrival, "W-Wait Daisuke, I didn't come here to cause trouble!"

"Too late, creep!" Kaoru's eyes moistened with well-deserved tears. He knew he didn't have the right to barge in like this, but somehow it just felt right at the time. Now he was just embarrassed.

"...I'm sorry Ms. Izumi. I just wanted to talk to him, but..." he lowly bowed, making sure his head was well beneath her waistline, "I'm sorry for bothering you."

"N-No! Please raise your head! Thank you for being concerned about my Daisuke." she gently smoothed her hands over his shoulders, "Have you eaten, yet?"

"...Yes..." he lied, trying to soften the growls of his stomach, "I'll just leave."

"Let him leave, mom."

"DAISUKE! That's no way to talk to your friends!" but the teen just disregarded the woman and shot towards the taller boy.

"Just get out of here, man! What, did Yasuhiko send you?! Can't you people just butt out?! It's none of your—"

"Mina? Daisuke?"

Suddenly, Kaoru understood what Yasuhiko meant. He thought he'd seen Daisuke angry, but no. The look on his face now didn't compare to those glares before. As an older man appeared from behind the wall in a bathrobe, the former hero clenched his fists so tightly he swore he saw blood leaking from them! His face paled and his bottom lip was tucked below in desperate attempt to keep in the nasty slurs he was so desperate to shout.

"...Ichinose." Daisuke suddenly called, using a suspiciously calm tone, "...Let's go."

"...W-What?"

He was wearing a tank top and boxers, but he was in such a hurry to leave that he neglected to even consider the night air! He planted his feet into his sneakers and took Kaoru's wrist to lead him down the driveway.

Ms. Izumi watched them leave and eventually returned inside, realizing her son may not be back tonight—wait...

"..Um...Daisuke?"

"Just shut up, Ichinose. Just shut up." tears choked his throat, "...I'm tired."

"You can...sleep over at my house."

Daisuke actually seemed to be relieved by this, but kept his head down. Kaoru just smirked at his stubbornness and draped his sweatshirt over him. He didn't accept it at first, but eventually slipped his arms through the sleeves and shoved his hands in the pockets. He uttered something and although Kaoru couldn't hear him, he figured it was 'Thank you.'

The house felt empty when they finally reached the front door. His mother was probably in bed. She didn't do much of anything anymore except for work and sleep, her knitting projects put on hold indefinitely.

"So this is the Ichinose residence..." Daisuke uttered as he followed the teen through the door. Kaoru led him to his room, which had been graced by one of his mother's cleaning spell; his sheets had been neatly folded against the wall and his computer desk and bookshelf had been thoroughly dusted, even the edges of his books absent of their age. He let the boy get comfortable while he got ready for bed, and when he returned, he found Daisuke flipping through one of his manga.

"...you...did say you liked that series, didn't you?" Daisuke glanced away from the manga to meet Kaoru's shy smile.

"...you remembered that?..." he asked, genuinely surprised by how well he'd paid attention to the small details of their virtual encounters.

"Of course! I also remember that your favorite food is beef stew and that-"

"All right Ichinose, I get it." although the book hid Daisuke's face at this point, Kaoru sensed the smile shining behind it as memories of their friendship resurfaced.

"You can borrow it if you want. I've read it plenty of times, already." the teen offered, and Daisuke seemed to consider this before shaking his head in ultimate rejection.

"Nah, it's all right. I don't have time for leisurely things anymore."

The teen then set aside the manga and curled up into the covers before dozing off. The young host smiled gently as he viewed his old friend. He looked so different from how he'd imagined him, but then again, he'd always imagined him as the red clothed character. It was strange to see the former hero in such an ordinary form, yet there was still something so extraordinary about him. It was his red knight!