Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Tattered Strips of Green ❯ Chapter 7

Tattered Strips of Green

 

Chapter Seven

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the associated characters.

 

~*~

 

Inui stared at the phone in his hand, Fuji's words echoing through his mind.

 

“It ends tonight.”

 

Tonight. The plan would come to its conclusion tonight. He needed to figure out what to do with Nabiki. He didn't want her to have any involvement with the end stage of the plan, and he couldn't deal with Hozumi again so soon. Kaidoh's little brother was usually willing to watch her, but Hazue was out of town with Shiba, taking pictures for Monthly Tennis.

 

Oishi was annoyed with him for getting Eiji involved, and Taka would be busy with the sushi restaurant. That left Inui with only one real option. He called Ann.

 

…

 

Kaidoh Nabiki and Momoshiro Keisuke stared at each other. They were in his backyard, which was mostly taken up with a small tennis court. She was not impressed with the spiky-haired redhead. He, on the other hand, found her absolutely fascinating.

 

“You look kind of like a snake,” he announced gleefully.

 

“Fsshuu~….” No, not impressed at all.

 

Keisuke jumped back slightly, startled both by the noise and the sudden change of her expression. “Scary, scary,” he chirped. She had gone from being utterly adorable to looking as frightening as possible for a five-year-old girl.

 

“Do you know how to play tennis?” he asked suddenly.

 

“A little bit,” she answered, her expressive little face switching to bewilderment.

 

“Hee, you're so cute,” he said, handing her a racket.

 

Her eyes went wide and her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. Keisuke promptly fell in love. That didn't stop him from deciding to make her mad, though. He liked seeing her change expressions so quickly and completely.

 

“You're such a cute little hebi-chan.” He started dancing around her, chanting happily while she glowered at him. “Hebi-chan, hebi-chan, hebi-chan!”

 

“Fsshuu~…!” There was only one logical, reasonable course of action, and Nabiki took it. She hit Keisuke with the racket.

 

…

 

Yukiko stared at her ringing phone with a mix of excitement and dread. Ryoma had been calling her at least once a day from the time they had met, often asking if she wanted to go various places with him.

 

I can't do this anymore, she thought in despair. Ryoma would be the best choice for the kind of life I want, but I love Syusuke. It hurt, thinking of living the rest of her life without Fuji. This time, she would tell Ryoma `no'. She would turn him down while things were still innocent between them.

 

She took a deep breath and picked up the phone. “Hello?” she said, just managing to keep her voice from shaking.

 

“Hello, Yukiko-san.” Relief filled her at the sound of Fuji's warm, cheerful voice, along with a surge of disappointment that she tried to ignore. “Would you like to go out to dinner with me?”

 

“Of course, Syusuke.”

 

“Excellent. I'll pick you up at six-thirty. I have something important to tell you. I love you, Yukiko-san. Goodbye.”

 

“I love you too. Goodbye.”

 

She smiled softly as she hung up. Something important to tell her? They were already engaged. Perhaps he had picked out the wedding day? Her smile turned into a silly, happy grin as she thought of that. It was already six o'clock. She hummed to herself as she got ready.

 

…

 

Inui's handwriting was usually neat and precise, each kanji character perfectly formed. Currently though, his hands were shaking so badly that it all came out as an indecipherable collection of jagged strokes.

 

He tore the page out of his notebook and balled it up before tossing it in the general direction of the trashcan. It fell to the ground, joining several other crumpled balls of paper. He took a deep breath and crossed his arms over the kitchen table, briefly pillowing his head on them.

 

You can do this, Sadaharu. You have to. It was a day for endings. A day for truths. Including the most difficult truth of all. He took another deep breath and sat up straight. He set pen to paper once more, concentrating on holding his arm steady. It trembled slightly, but his writing was coming out legible, if not up to his usual standards.

 

He had intended to place the note in plain sight before leaving in time to witness the end of the plan, but Kaidoh came home just as he finished folding it into a square. He could give Kaidoh the note before heading out the door. That would work, and he wouldn't have to see his reaction to reading it.

 

It was cowardly, but he didn't care. His course of action decided, he stood and went out into the living room. Kaidoh glanced at him for a moment before looking away.

 

Okay, just give him the note and leave, Inui thought. Except he suddenly didn't want to do it that way. Acting on instinct, he rushed forward and shoved Kaidoh against the back of the couch, forcing the other man to sit on it and grab Inui's shoulders to keep from falling over backwards.

 

“What are you-”

 

Inui silenced him with a deep, passionate kiss, thrusting his tongue into his mouth while simultaneously wedging his hips firmly between Kaidoh's thighs. Finally, he broke the kiss and held Kaidoh tightly against him.

 

“I love you, Kaoru,” Inui whispered hoarsely, using his given name for the first time since the break up. “I've always loved you. I always will.”

 

Then he shoved Kaidoh backwards and threw the folded note at him before bolting to the front door and leaving.

 

Kaidoh stared at the wall for several seconds in stunned silence while the note fluttered down to a soft landing on his chest. His knees were hooked over the back of the couch, and his head was hanging over the edge of the cushions, making everything seem upside down. It seemed strangely fitting, given the situation.

 

He picked up the note without looking and unfolded it, turning it upside down so he could read without having to lift his head.

 

Seven years ago, your mother called me. She was worried that if we stayed together, you would come to regret not having a wife or children. Despite what others may have thought at the time, I knew even then that you are attracted to people based on personality rather than gender.

I felt that I was in the way of your future, and decided to end things in the most hurtful way I could, so you wouldn't attempt to fix things. You were never an experiment. You were the center of my world. You were… everything.

I wanted what was best for you, and I didn't think it was me. So I made a decision that I later realized I had no right to make.

The plot against Hanatori-san is coming to its conclusion tonight, around seven-thirty. It will take place at the river. I won't be coming back unless you want me to.

Nabiki is currently with Momoshiro's wife. Ann will bring her home tomorrow, and will likely be picking up some of my things. Even with the truth behind them known, I don't think my actions can be forgiven.

 

Kaidoh dropped the note and continued staring at the upside down wall.

 

…The serpent wove back and forth, its scales sliding together as the thick coils shifted in agitation. With a low hiss, it turned on the one it was meant to protect and swallowed him whole…