CHAPTER 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Hajime no Ippo...

Onwards...

XOXOXO

Ippo paced in front of the school, hands wringing together nervously. He'd gone and invited Sendo over to his home, and now he was nervous as a bird. What had he been thinking? Sendo had dropped by just to speak to him, but somehow everything had gone all wrong. Ippo had no clue why, but he'd hated seeing the dejected look on the brunet's face. It didn't belong there.

"Makunouchi!"

Ippo whirled in place at the biting tone. "M-Miyata-kun?"

Miyata-kun stormed over to him, dark eyes livid. "You're waiting for that ape, aren't you?"

"Miyata-kun, please don't call Sendo names. It's not ni-"

"Screw nice! You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, and I don't like it! You don't know who he is!"

"Then why don't you tell me?"

Ippo didn't understand why Miyata-kun seemed to hate Sendo so much, but now that he was here, spitting mad, Ippo figured he could get the truth of the matter out in the open. He was tired of Miyata-kun badmouthing his friend. Miyata-kun ran a hand through his straight, jet-black hair and sighed.

"It's...complicated."

"That doesn't tell me anything, you know."

"Makunouchi, he's a predator. He preys on the weak and uses everyone to his benefit."

Ippo almost reeled. What on Earth?

"Miyata-kun, what are you talking about? Sendo isn't like that!"

"How the hell would you know? You've only been around him for what? Two days? Give me a break! There's a limit to being naïve. Now you're just being stupid."

Ippo thinned his lips as he stared at his friend. How could Miyata-kun say such mean things about Sendo? What had happened between them to make the dark-haired boy loathe Sendo to this degree?

"I am not stupid, Miyata-kun. Instead of insulting me, why don't you just tell me why you hate him so much. Then, maybe I'd understand."

Miyata-kun rolled his eyes and huffed out a breath. Finally, after what felt like hours of silence, the boy continued speaking.

"He just wants to sleep with you!" he hissed, taking a step closer to Ippo. "He messes with your mind until you think you like him, and then he strikes!"

Ippo frowned, totally confused. Sendo himself had told Ippo that he liked boys, but that didn't make him a predator, as Miyata-kun referred to him. It just meant that his tastes ran a little differently. And then a light bulb went on in Ippo's mind.

"How do you know that? And why does it make you so angry?"

Dread began gathering in the pit of Ippo's stomach as he watched Miyata-kun blush. What was really going on here? Miyata-kun didn't seem inclined to answer the questions, and it just made red flags spring up everywhere.

"H-have you...slept with him, Miyata-kun?" Ippo asked, voice quiet.

Still...Miyata-kun wouldn't answer.

What would Ippo do if Miyata-kun said yes? What felt like large, hard lumps of ice slid around in his stomach and made him nauseous. He didn't like what he was feeling. Not one bit.

"Miyata-kun...answer me, please."

"No."

Ippo arched a brow. "No, you won't answer me, or-"

"No, I didn't sleep with him."

Relief washed over Ippo...a little too soon.

"But he tried."

Ippo frowned and stared down at his shoes. Why did that bother him so much? So, Sendo had tried to sleep with Miyata-kun. It shouldn't have been a big deal because, really, Ippo didn't even like boys like that. But Sendo...

"Makunouchi, it was a long time ago. We were kids. I mean, we both didn't know what we were doing, but...we liked each other. I didn't think it was a big deal until he'd pulled me under the slide in middle school and kissed me."

Ippo nearly gagged on the spot. He turned away from his friend and looked anywhere but at Miyata-kun. He didn't want to hear anymore. He couldn't. He didn't understand why he was feeling the way he was, but it was there, nonetheless. As badly as he wanted to get away, a morbid curiosity filled him up and wouldn't leave him alone. Carefully, he licked his lips and cleared his throat.

"It sounds like...like you..." Ippo's voice trailed off as he tried to come up with a way to word what he wanted to ask. He was falling short of the mark every time he opened his mouth. What was it that he wanted to know? "Then, why do you hate him so much? You said you both liked each other. Why would him kissing you make you hate him?"

There were so many thoughts and emotions running through him at the moment that he didn't know what to do with himself. His heart was thudding in his chest, and his stomach was in an uproar. His hands were shaking, so to hide it, he stuffed them in his pants pockets.

"He didn't really like me. He just wanted to add me to his list of victims."

Ippo frowned, exasperated and still very confused. He turned back to Miyata-kun. "What does that even mean? What victims?"

"I wasn't the only boy he kissed that year."

He gave up. Ippo threw his hands into the air and scoffed. "I just don't understand. I'm going home, Miyata-kun."

"Makunouchi, wait!"

Ippo ignored him. He had too much on his mind. He wanted to know if what Miyata-kun had said was true. And if it was...did that make Sendo the predator Miyata-kun made him out to be? Was he really that callous a person? Even worse, though, was the fact that Ippo was questioning Miyata-kun now. Did Miyata-kun still like Sendo? Was that why just the sight of the brunet had the dark-haired boy constantly seething with rage? Ippo just didn't know.

He rubbed a hand over his face as he trudged towards the shortcut he took home on a daily basis. He'd never been so confused in all of his life. He'd thought getting the story from Miyata-kun would relieve his curiosity; instead, it merely peaked it. He was halfway down the long alleyway, when someone else called out to him.

"Heyyyy! Makunouchi!"

Ippo paused and glanced over his shoulder. Sendo was jogging up to him, his brow creased in a scowl. The boy stopped beside him and tilted his head to the side.

"I thought ya wanted me ta come over?"

Ippo studied the brunet's handsome face. He took in every little detail: the sharp eyebrows, the piercing brown eyes, the wild brown hair. Sendo had a nice mouth. His lips were full, and his nose was straight. Even the scars on his face didn't take away from his attractiveness. Ippo swallowed and forced his eyes to the ground.

Attractiveness?

Sendo put a hand on Ippo's shoulder, and everything went warm and cold at the same time. Was Miyata-kun telling the truth about the brunet?

"Hey, Makunouchi." Sendo's voice was a deep tenor that raised the hairs on Ippo's arms. "You don' look too good. Ev'rythin' alright?"

"I..." Ippo said, but his voice came out as an uncertain whisper. Like he didn't trust it to get his point across. "I just..."

Sendo chuckled, the sound reverberating through Ippo like a basketball in an empty gym.

"That again? Tell me what's on yer mind."

Ippo finally dragged his eyes from the ground and settled them on the rough boy before him. Sendo's eyes were intense even though he was smiling. A rich, creamy brown. Ippo shook his head.

"I don't think we should be friends anymore."

He didn't even wait for the taller boy's response before he took off running towards his home.

XOXOXO

What the fuck just happened?

All semblance of amusement disappeared from Sendo's face as though someone had wiped a chalkboard clean.

Just...what the hell?

He couldn't even yell out, he was so stunned. He'd thought Makunouchi was just being his usual, timid self, but boy, had he been wrong, wrong, wrong. He didn't understand what could have made Makunouchi do a complete one-eighty in such a short amount of time. Whatever it was...

Wait, he thought. Didn't I see Miyata talking to him just a minute ago?

His upper lip curled back on its own as anger surged within him. That was it. He was going to beat the dirty hell out of that rich creep, come Hell or high water. Miyata had to have said something to spook Makunouchi into not wanting to be friends with him anymore. That had to be it. It was the only thing that made sense. How else could the shorter, dark-haired boy have gone from eager and friendly to withdrawn and distant?

He was so pissed, his heartbeat thumped behind his eyes. He stomped back in the direction of the school, where he'd last seen Miyata. That jerk's time was up. Sendo had tried being tolerant, just for Makunouchi's sake, but since the boy didn't even want to talk to him anymore, all of that went out of the fucking window. He crossed the street, and as soon as he passed the stone partition separating the sidewalk from the school grounds, he spotted Miyata. The snob had an unmistakable walk.

Sendo stormed right up to the boy and shoved him hard from behind. Miyata lurched forward, tripped, then whirled around, fight in his eyes. That was exactly what Sendo wanted to see.

"You fucking dick!" he enunciated, abnormally sharp canines bared. "I should kill you right now."

At first, Miyata had just seemed angry and surprised, but once he recognized Sendo, his features settled into something smug and altogether infuriating.

"Aww," the dark-haired boy crooned as he straightened his uniform. "The little baby's upset. You know, this is so typical Sendo. Can't get your way, so you gotta beat up everyone in sight."

Sendo was seeing red. He really wanted to murder Miyata. His hands were balled into tight fists at his sides as he tried to calm down. If he fought Miyata in this condition, there would be nothing left as evidence but a bloody smear on the pavement.

"What did you say to him?" he growled.

Miyata shook his head and pushed his hair off of his forehead. "I told him the truth; that you're nothing but a manipulative asshole."

He couldn't breathe. Every last one of his instincts was screaming for him to rip into Miyata and tear his ass to shreds.

"What? Gonna hit me again?"

Sendo twitched. "Hell, yes."

Miyata gave an elegant snort. "Gorilla. Just like I said. Do you think I forgot the way you treated me?"

Sendo's scowl slackened into a shocked expression. What?

"What the fuck're you talkin' about, Miyata?"

"You knew!" Miyata hissed. "You knew I liked the Gregory boy, but you just had to kiss him anyway!"

Sendo stared in disbelief for a few beats before he tilted his head back and cackled. The cackle turned into an outright roaring. Miyata, meanwhile, looked like someone had stuck a lemon in his mouth.

"What's so funny?" he snapped.

When Sendo could calm down, he glared at Miyata. "You fuckin' dumbass. Ya do realize that was jus' a stupid dare, right? I ain't like that guy! But I don' back down from a challenge, either."

"Stop lying!"

"No, no. Now that's def'nit'ly somethin' I don' do, Miyata. You know that."

"I don't believe you! You did it right in front of me like you were trying to spite me!"

Sendo shook his head. He seriously couldn't believe Miyata had gone and ruined his chances with Makunouchi over something so damned stupid. A fucking misunderstanding.

"I had ta do it in front'a ev'rybody, idiot!"

The following silence was almost comical. They stared like they'd never seen one another before. Sendo still wanted to kill Miyata. His blood was boiling, and his heart was still racing. All of this...all of this...and for what? Because Miyata held a stupid grudge?

"Why did you kiss me, then?" Miyata asked out of the blue.

Sendo blinked. "I was a kid. I thought ya were cute. No big deal."

"And that was it?"

"Yeah."

"And you weren't trying to sabotage my chances with Arnie?"

"No, jackass."

Miyata frowned and thinned his lips. Sendo didn't give a shit about the guy's sudden attack of guilt, which is what it had to be, if the look on Miyata's face was any indication. Sendo just wanted to beat the shit out of him.

"Yo! I thought ya had a date!"

Sendo's eyes went round as he turned to the new voice. "What the hell're you doin' here, Old Man?"

Randy grinned as he sauntered over. The glint in his eye told Sendo that Randy was more than aware of the dangerous atmosphere, but the smile on his face said that he didn't give a rat's ass about it either.

"I came lookin' fer mah new friend," he drawled.

Sendo frowned as he looked back and forth between his best friend and his worst nightmare. Hold on a second. Randy seemed a little too serious about what he'd just said.

"Friend?" Sendo parroted.

Randy glanced at him before giving Miyata his full attention. "Yeah. You heard me. Know I didn' stutter."

"Shut up. I jus' asked a question."

"An' so did I. Why aren't ya on yer way ta yer date's house? What'd you do?"

Sendo bristled and drew himself up to his full height. "I didn' do nothin'! Thanks ta the little prick yer callin' yer friend, Makunouchi don' wanna talk ta me anymore."

Randy's dark eyes went even darker as a frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. He stepped closer to Miyata, making Miyata scowl up at him. He looked like he wanted to back up and put as much space as possible between himself and Randy. Randy didn't give him the chance. Sendo smirked as he watched his friend intimidate the hell out of Miyata.

"Now why'd you go an' do a thing like that?" Randy said quietly as he stood over the rich Preppy. Sendo didn't even feel an ounce of remorse. "I thought we had an agreement?"

Sendo frowned at that. He opened his mouth to ask Randy what he meant by that, but Randy gave him an irritated look over his shoulder.

"Don'cha got somewhere ta be, Sendo?"

He wanted to argue, but Randy had a point. Knowing that he could counter anything Miyata had said to Makunouchi because it was a blatant lie, he nodded and took off in the opposite direction. Before he was completely out of earshot, he called over his own shoulder, "Thanks, Old Man! I owe ya one!"

"More like fifty, but who's countin'?" Randy shouted back.

Sendo grinned and ran off in the direction of Makunouchi's house. The location was easy to remember, so it wouldn't be long before he could persuade the kid not to cut him off.

XOXOXO

He was so distracted. He was in his room, his futon pulled to the corner nearest the window, and his back against the wall. His knees were up against his chest, his arms around his legs. His blinds were closed tight. He couldn't get it together. His mind felt like a spinning top. He honestly hadn't meant to tell Sendo that he didn't want to be his friend anymore; it'd just jumped out of his mouth before he could stop it. Now, he was huddled in his room like a refugee, afraid to face the light of day.

A knock sounded at his door. He shot a nervous glance towards it, but otherwise said nothing.

"Ippo!" his mother called. "Ippo, are you OK?"

He didn't want to move; didn't want to speak or anything.

His door slid aside, and the light from the hallway spilled onto the floor in his room. His mother's head poked past the frame as she peered in at him.

"Ippo, why are you in the dark? Are you sure everything is alright?"

He nodded stiffly without raising his head or looking in her direction. "I'm not feeling well."

"Oh, no. Do you need anything? You should stay here and lie down. Don't worry about the evening run; I can take care of it."

He barely heard her. He supposed when she realized that he wasn't going to say anything, she quietly closed the door, pitching the room into darkness once more.

What was he going to do? He'd never felt so guilty in his life. He didn't have a mean bone in his body, but earlier, he'd said such a cruel thing to Sendo, who was only trying to be his friend. And now, his mother needed his help with the fishing boats, but he couldn't even function. His brain was fried; or better yet, mush. He couldn't concentrate on anything except how he wanted to tell Sendo that he'd changed his mind about not being friends with him. So what if he'd kissed Miyata-kun? So what if he liked boys? None of that mattered. What did was how much effort the brunet put forth to prove to Ippo that he wasn't just a delinquent.

"Ack!" he noised as he covered his face with his hands. "What am I going to do?"

He would look like such a fool if he went back to Sendo and told him he'd changed his mind. The brunet probably hated his guts right now. The thought alone made his stomach drop before clenching unmercifully. He didn't want Sendo's wrath pointed at him. He really didn't, but he also didn't know how to go about fixing the mess he'd gotten himself into.

And then, there was the fact that he just couldn't get Sendo's features out of his head. He kept seeing them: the brown eyes that were so vivid, the wild, sable brown hair that seemed impossible to tame... And of course there was Sendo's solid and brawny build. He was taller than Ippo, his shoulders a little broader.

Ippo blushed.

"What am I thinking?" he whispered, utterly shocked and confused. "S-Sendo is a boy."

Not so. He's very much a young man.

Ippo's heart started pounding and his hands shook so badly, he had to sit on them to keep them still. He didn't understand what was going on with him. He wanted to, but he didn't have anyone he could talk to about his dilemma. Miyata-kun was out of the question, Volg didn't seem to like Sendo very much either, and Ippo was sure that Umezawa-san and Kobashi-san wouldn't have the slightest idea how to give him proper advice.

What a predicament.

He was still wallowing in his guilt and confusion when loud, harsh knocking scared him out of his emotional cave.

"What in the world?" he mumbled as he stared at his bedroom door. "Mom didn't forget anything, did she?"

He glanced at the clock on his desk and shook his head. Couldn't be. His mom should be on the boat by now. Then, who could be knocking on his front door like they were trying to break it down? He finally extracted himself from his pitiful position in the corner of his dark room and went to answer the door. The banging resumed as he neared, almost scaring him to death.

"One second!" he yelled, hoping his voice would make the person on the other side of the door quit making such a racket.

It worked. For two seconds. Then, it started back up.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!"

Ippo snatched open the door, prepared to at least glare at whoever was dying to get inside of his home, when the sight of Sendo floored him and left him totally speechless. Sendo's brown eyes were on fire, narrowed and hard. They glinted like brown marbles in the sun, and it made Ippo incredibly anxious.

"So, what? Ya not gonna explain why ya jus' suddenly don' wanna be friends wit' me no more?" the taller boy snapped.

Ippo still couldn't say anything. Even though Sendo looked terrifying, all Ippo could think was how good he looked as well. His brown hair was falling into his eyes, wild, just like the teen himself. His body seemed to take up the entire doorway, but of course that was only Ippo's imagination. What was wrong with him?

"U-um...um..."

"Fuckin' cat got yer tongue again?" Sendo growled, and Ippo unconsciously closed his eyes, relishing the sound.

He was so embarrassed by his behavior that he almost shut the door in Sendo's face. Why did this teen's presence make him so antsy? Why did all thought seem to leave him whenever Sendo was around? It was really frustrating.

"Well, look, Makunouchi," Sendo started, hands gripping both sides of the door frame. "I ain't gonna jus' let ya get away wit' sayin' somethin' like that an' runnin' off. I got a right ta have my say too. An' I got a right ta know why ya changed yer mind all of a sudden."

Ippo nodded slowly. He was absolutely right. Ippo at least owed him an explanation. Problem was: he had no clue how to do that. He wanted to apologize. He wanted Sendo to give him that sideways smirk that he always wore whenever he seemed to speak to him.

"I-I'm sorry, Sendo. I didn't mean to say that. It's just that...M-Miyata-kun told me...he said that you...that you kissed him and that you kissed a lot of other guys and that you were a predator and-"

"Whoa, whoa! Jesus Christ, Makunouchi, breathe," Sendo interrupted, his hands coming forward to grasp each of Ippo's shoulders. Ippo stared into the other boy's brown eyes and took deep, even breaths. "Yeah, that's better. Now, tell me what happened."

"Miyata-kun told me that you two kissed as kids, and then, he told me you went behind his back and kissed a lot of other boys. He thought you guys liked each other, but when you kissed other boys, he realized that you didn't. I-I, I just didn't want..."

Sendo held up a hand, anger racing across his face like a streak of lightning. "First off, Miyata didn' give ya the whole truth. Yeah, I kissed him. But we were kids back then. I didn' know how ta control myself. Plus, Miyata wasn' exac'ly all warm an' fuzzy, ya know? Then, I got a dare ta kiss this other guy. I don' back down from challenges, Makunouchi. That's one thing yer gonna learn about me. So, I did the dare. I didn' know Miyata was crushin' on the guy I hadda kiss. He held a grudge fer that, an' that's why every time I came aroun', he made me out ta be the bad guy."

Ippo was rooted to the spot, unable to close his mouth. He was so surprised. Miyata-kun had never lied to him before. Why would he start now? All because he didn't like Sendo? But Sendo had said that he didn't know that Miyata-kun had had a crush on the guy Sendo had kissed. Maybe that meant that Miyata-kun, in turn, hadn't known about the dare.

"So, it was all a big mix-up?" Ippo asked, voice timid.

"Yeah. That's 'zactly what it was. So...there ain't no reason fer you not ta be friends wit' me."

For the first time since earlier that day, Ippo smiled, relieved. He really wanted to be friends with Sendo. Never mind what he felt whenever he was around the older boy; he just wanted more of it.

Thanks for reading!