"Here. Eat this."

Kaidoh stared, almost awed, at the plate of food placed in front of him. Momo had taken him from the bar over to his small apartment, where he had literally shoved Kaidoh into a seat and said in a stern voice to stay there. Kaidoh really saw no other option but to agree. And he found himself now in his current position, still in the same chair and a full plate of food on the table in front of him.

He could feel his stomach churning, aching as the alluring scent of the ramen reached his nostrils, making his mouth water slightly. But it was quickly overpowered but a sudden nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach and at the back of his throat, and he gently pushed the plate of food away, keeping the scent away from his nose.

But Momo wouldn't have it. He saw immediately what Kaidoh was trying to do and pushed the plate back, lowering his head and stating in that same stern voice he had used before.

"Eat."

Silence. Two eyes staring at the other's. And Kaidoh, seeing no point in arguing, sighed in defeat and grabbed the fork provided for him, and, hesitantly, began to eat.

He had to admit, Momoshiro was a skilled cook. The ramen left no faults, no reasons for it to be rejected as he had. It tasted as good as it smelled, and he realized after only taking one bite how hungry he really was. Soon he found himself eating eagerly, yet reasonably paced; he didn't want to look like a slob.

Momo, clearly satisfied, leaned back from the table.

"Well, now that we got you eating," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Let's get you talking."

Kaidoh glanced up, swallowing his bite of ramen. "I thought we agreed I won that game," he said, pointing the fork accusingly at Momo. The latter shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm a sore loser."

Kaidoh scoffed, shaking his head as he returned to his food.

Momo was quiet for a good moment before he finally sighed. "Alright then. How about I tell you a few things about my past? Would you want to tell me anything about you afterwards?"

Kaidoh furrowed his brows and looked up. This time, Momo was completely serious, no trace of his usual amusement in his features. He looked so sincere that Kaidoh found himself growing smaller in a way, taken less seriously. Then he remembered Momo's question and answered, "Depends on whether I feel like it."

Momo pursed his lips, but seemed to think that answer was better than nothing and nodded. "Alright." He sat down in the chair on the right of Kaidoh, folding his hands together and deep in thought. "Well, my past... Where can I start?"

"Well... how about the beginning?" Kaidoh said.

Momo tilted his head to the side. "Hm. And here I was thinking I was gonna start from the end and work my way up."

Kaidoh rolled his eyes, but was somewhat relieved to hear the joking tone back in the other's voice; Momo just didn't seem like Momo without it.

"... Okay. Well," Momo said, finally having decided what to say. "I had a girlfriend. Last year. Her name was Tachibana An. She was a year younger than I was, so when I graduated from high school, we were a little worried about carrying a long term relationship while I went off to college. She convinced me that she would be fine and to go and get an education. I believed her."

Kaidoh frowned, not quite getting the worst part of the story. "And so? You have a girlfriend and she said she would stay loyal to you. What's so bad about that?"

Momo paused for a moment, then stood and walked to his refrigerator. He reemerged carrying a Ponta. He didn't return to the table but instead chose to lean on the counter facing Kaidoh. Opening the Ponta, he took a sip before continuing. "About two months after I left, An called me. She was pregnant."

Kaidoh's brows shot up. "Really? Wow, I mean - "

"It wasn't mine."

That made Kaidoh stop in his tracks. Momo's voice was bitter, almost angry. And yet he remained carrying a calm face, drinking his Ponta indifferently.

"W-Well, I mean, how did you know?"

Momo glanced up, shrugged, and said, "We hadn't... you know."

"Oh."

"So you're asking what was so bad about my story? An was not only unfaithful, but she lied to me. She said that the baby was mine, hoping to get away with it. And when I argued with her that it wasn't, she broke up with me and went with whoever the baby belonged to. I haven't seen her since, and she never called me again."

Momo placed the now empty can of Ponta on the counter. Kaidoh cringed slightly at the loud clang it made as Momo placed it down with more force then necessary. Silence elapsed once more between the two boys as Kaidoh waited for the worst of the storm to pass. When he guessed it was safe and that Momo had calmed down some, Kaidoh spoke.

"Completely different scenerios."

Momo turned to him. "What?"

Kaidoh gestured to himself, then to Momo. "Our pasts. They're two completely different scenerios."

Momo sat down again at the table. "How so?"

Kaidoh didn't know what he was doing. Momo was one of the last people that he had planned on telling a about this, but somehow he just knew that he could trust Momo. Just a feeling of secureness. He could only hope this was a good thing.

He continued. "I was in a relationship once. It was... great. But the feelings weren't mutual. It seemed that every week, there was someone different. Someone better than me. And when I tried to talk about it, I would get an apology and a promise that it would never happen again. And I believed it every time."

Kaidoh could feel the reserved emotions welling inside him, but he successfully kept them inside and awau from his voice and expression. "So finally, I had enough. I left. And now you know what I've been doing since then."

Momo was frowning lightly. "No offense, Kaidoh. But it sounds like you were the girl in that relationship."

The joking manner again. Kaidoh smirked a little and glanced up. "That's because, in a way, I kinda was."

Momo frowned deeper. "Wait, what do you..."

Kaidoh raised his eyebrows.

Realization dawned on Momo's face. "... Oh..."

Kaidoh looked down in the empty ramen bowl, fiddling nervously with the fork. "That's why I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want to get judged."

"No, no, I'm not judging you," Momo said. "I was just surprised. I mean, it just doesn't seem like you."

Kaidoh laughed softly. "Believe me, before then, I didn't think it would ever seem like me either."

Momo smiled a little. A uncomfortable eerieness hovered above them in the room, tense and nervous. Momo cleared his throat, at once breaking it, and spoke. "So... What was his name?"

"Inui Sadaharu."

"Inui... Inui... Haven't heard of him," Momo said.

"We were doubles partners in tennis during middle school and high school," Kaidoh said. "We were always talking about how we would make it far and how we would compete for the number one doubles pair in Japan with Eiji and Oishi. They were somewhat our rivals in tennis, but they were our closest friends."

"That's what you wanted to be after school," Momo said. Kaidoh nodded.

And then Momo was satisfied. He finally knew. He finally knew what was troubling Kaidoh. The next thing was how to help him, because Kaidoh didn't seem to be able to stand on his own two feet stably. He could try and help him.

XXX

"Bathroom's free!" Momo called as he stepped out of them small, white restroom. Kaidoh appeared around the corner of the hallway and stepped around Momo, entering the room. Kaidoh had agreed to spend the night at Momo's apartment, not really willing to have Momo drive him all the way back to the bar to get his own car. Besides, they were both heading their tomorrow anyway.

Stepping into the bathroom, Kaidoh was unclear of what he was doing and removed his sweatshirt, revealing him in a shirt. Momo, who hadn't left yet, caught sight of something. When he realized what he was seeing he immediately exclaimed, "Kaidoh, what is that?"

Kaidoh jumped as he realized what he had done. Upon taking off the sweater, he had exposed his bare arms. The thin, long, fading cuts were visible in the light of the bathroom, three on each arm, all going vertically and ending at the inside of his elbow. Crazy with embarrassment and shame, he looked up, a look of pleading on his face as he turned to Momo.

"I tried."

And Momo could only stare at him, an unreadable expression on his face.

Finally, an update! Wow, I really need to catch up on these fics. High school is a boring hell, though. But the homework keeps me busy. I'm going to try and update as soon as possible. Thanks guys for being so patient! =D

Review please!