[Multi-Part Fic] Facets of Me: Chapter Seven - Garnet
Title: Facets of Me
Author: Zab Jade
Rating: R (for eventual sexual situations)
Summary: Shortly after starting his first year of high school, Kaidoh is given an assignment in creative writing to explore the aspects of his personality. As he writes about himself, he shares the stories of his life with Inui.
Facets of Me
Facet Seven: Garnet
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or the associated characters.
~*~
“Ten milliliters of citric acid,” Inui-senpai says, holding out his hand. I carefully measure the citric acid out into a test tube and give it to him.
We’re in his kitchen, and I’m currently wearing goggles, latex gloves, and a white lab coat. None of it’s actually necessary, but it’s fun to dress the part when I’m acting as his evil lab assistant. Kageko is on the counter, blissfully gnawing at the corner of a piece of raw sashimi grade salmon.
The kitten isn’t the only new addition to our occasional bouts of collaborative mad science. Yanagi is here as well, staring in horrified fascination at the ingredients set out on the counter.
“Seven-hundred milliliters of black vinegar.”
I keep a surreptitious watch on Yanagi as I measure out and prepare the ingredients Inui-senpai calls for. The former Rikkaidai player has no interest in Inui-senpai beyond friendship, but for the past two weeks he’s been trying to convince him that I’m an utterly inappropriate person to be in a relationship with.
The entire situation has been distressing for Inui-senpai, so I asked him to invite Yanagi over today. I also suggested that we make a batch of Inui Juice. I’m not sure if Inui-senpai’s gleeful sadism has rubbed off on me, or if it’s something that’s always been a part of me, lurking deep in the shadows of my psyche.
An apple, two teaspoons of salt, a banana, a can of beets, and one-hundred milliliters of clover honey go into the blender with the previous ingredients. I carefully cut away the corner of salmon Kageko has been nibbling at and hand the rest to Inui-senpai. Just looking at the resulting mixture makes me feel queasy, and I’m glad I won’t be drinking any of it.
Inui-senpai pours some into a cup and holds it out to Yanagi. “Would you like to try some?” He takes a small sip and smiles. “It’s quite good.”
Seeing Inui-senpai drink it with no ill effect gives Yanagi the courage to take the cup from him.
“Try to drink as much of it in one gulp as you can,” I suggest helpfully. “It works best that way.”
Yanagi gives me a dubious look, but follows my advice. He downs a little over half the juice before the cup falls to the ground. He claps his hands over his mouth as his face turns a hideous shade of green.
“The bathroom is that way,” I say blandly, pointing down the hall. He runs to the bathroom, and the apartment is suddenly filled with the sweet, sweet sound of violent retching.
Inui-senpai clicks his tongue in exasperation and cleans up the spilled juice before filling another cup.
“He’ll probably be in there for a while,” he comments, taking a sip with apparent enjoyment. Sometimes I seriously start to wonder if he’s really human.
I want to have a talk with Yanagi, but Inui-senpai is right. He’ll likely be in the bathroom for a while. I shrug and head for Inui-senpai’s room. I might as well work on this week’s installment of my creative writing assignment.
Garnets are dark red stones, and like most other red stones, they have many meanings. There are two properties that seem unique to the garnet though. Popularity and increased self-esteem.
It had apparently existed from the time I first joined the tennis club, but it wasn’t until shortly after we defeated Fudomine that I found out I had a fan club. It was small and mostly filled with other social misfits, but it was still a group of people who admired and looked up to me.
Some people, when they discover that they’re popular in some circles, change. They become smug and arrogant. They start thinking they’re better than everyone else. I changed as well, but not in that way. I started thinking that maybe I was just as good as everyone else.
I was still too shy to just approach anyone, even the other regulars, but I dropped a lot of my defenses around them. Not long after that, I started talking to Inui-senpai a bit more. And he started talking even more to me, once he realized that I truly did enjoy listening to him.
We weren’t really friends yet, but we saw and spoke to each other a lot. I think that’s why Inui-senpai came to me when he was looking for a doubles partner. For a doubles pair to really work, you have to trust your partner and be able to depend on him.
I refused his request at first, for two reasons. The first was because of my own stubbornness. I wanted to play singles. I wanted to win by myself, with nothing but my own hard work and determination.
The second reason was that I had a hard time believing anyone, much less someone skilled enough to hold his own against Tezuka-buchou for a while, would be willing to put their trust in me. I could, though, imagine him being willing to handicap himself by partnering with me in order to help me with my tennis skills. It didn’t really take me long to agree to it, though I asked him if he was sure about it first.
I let him down badly in our first match together. I perfected my Boomerang Snake, but we lost three games to six. Because of me. Endurance and tenacity are the only things I really have that make me anything special, and I didn’t have enough of either for us to win.
Inui-senpai wasn’t mad about it. He blamed himself, even though our loss was clearly due to my shortcomings. Despite that, he still wanted me to be his partner. I could tell from his expression as he told Ryuzaki-sensei that I no longer needed to play doubles because I had perfected the Boomerang Snake. He was willing to let me go back to playing singles if that was what I wanted, but he wanted me to stay his partner.
I told him I still wanted to be his partner, that I hadn’t paid him back yet in doubles. I used that as an excuse, but the truth was that I had liked playing with him. I had hated it with Momoshiro, but Inui-senpai trusted me, even after I screwed up.
It felt good, knowing that he trusted me. Not only to make decisions that would help us both, but to listen to him and make use of his data. That trust was another boost to my self-esteem. I had my own little fan club, and I had finally found another person who seemed to like me and wanted to be around me.
There were lots of idiots who would make snap judgments about me, but there were also people who liked me for who I really was.
While Inui-senpai reads, I go down the hall to the bathroom. Yanagi is leaning against the toilet, breathing heavily into the bowl. He doesn’t look quite as green as before.
“Just a bit of advice: Never drink anything Inui-senpai offers you, even if he drinks it first.”
Yanagi glares at me. I just smirk and go to the kitchen to get him a glass of water, then sit in the doorway after I give it to him.
“What, exactly, is your problem with me?” I ask bluntly. “Inui-senpai says you aren’t interested in him romantically, so what’s the point of trying to get him to dump me?”
Yanagi looks down his nose at me as he answers. “Sadaharu is quite intelligent. He should be with someone who can appreciate that fact and who is smart enough to stimulate him mentally. I would be a good choice, but I’m not interested in him that way. There are, however, many young women in his class who would be perfect. A few young men as well, if that really is his preference.”
“Uh-huh.” I look at him in mild disgust. I can’t stand people who act like they’re better than everyone else. “So you don’t want Inui-senpai as a boyfriend, but you think he should be with someone like you?”
“Yes. No offense, but you are hardly his intellectual equal.”
I snort and raise a brow. “And just what the hell does that have to do with anything? Inui-senpai likes sharing his knowledge with people. What would be the point if he spent most of his time around someone who knew all the same things? Inui-senpai is a kite, and a relationship with another kite would never work.”
Yanagi stares at me like I’ve lost my mind and scoots a few inches away.
“Inui-senpai is a brightly colored kite designed to soar through a sky of knowledge. But if you just release him, he’ll be at the mercy of the wind, lost in directionless solitude with no real connection to the world.”
I can feel my cheeks heat with embarrassment as I talk. Inui-senpai says I have a poetic soul, but I’m not comfortable revealing that to others, especially not someone like Yanagi. But I need him to understand, or he’s going to drive Inui-senpai insane.
“You could attach another kite to him, but that would be pointless. The new kite would be used to its own bright colors and wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate Inui-senpai’s. And it would be just as lost to the random whims of the wind.
“If you want to safely guide a kite through the air, you need a kite string. You don’t really need anything fancy, just plain brown twine. It tethers the kite to the ground and gently guides it while giving it the freedom to soar and explore without the fear of becoming lost.
“The kite string, being nothing but rough brown twine, can really appreciate just how special the kite is. And the kite can take the string into the air, sharing the joy of flight. They aren’t the same thing, but they complete each other, forming a whole that flies with confidence and grace.”
Yanagi opens his eyes all the way and stares at me with something that might be respect. “It… seems I have misjudged you. You have a reputation for having a nasty temper and being anti-social. Sadaharu kept trying to tell me that there was a lot more to you than that, but I didn’t want to believe him.”
“Why not?”
“Because… I’m jealous of you,” he reluctantly admits. “You aren’t just someone he loves. You took over my place as his best friend, and as long as he’s with you, I’ll never get it back. Do you know what it’s like to lose a friend who really seemed to understand and accept you?”
I glare at him in annoyance. “Yeah, I do know what that’s like, but I don’t feel very sorry for you. It’s your own damn fault for not telling Inui-senpai that you were moving. And then for not calling or mailing him a letter. You could have kept in touch, but you chose not to. Your best friend wasn’t taken from you, you gave him up.”
Yanagi winces at the anger in my voice. “That’s not quite what happened. Sadaharu’s father died when he was a toddler, and his mother is gone all the time. And then my father got a better job, and I had to move away. I wanted to tell him, but I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to hurt him. And then I thought that a clean break would be easier for him to handle, so I didn’t call or write.”
I stare at him incredulously, then shake my head slowly in disbelief. “That’s why you did it? You know, for someone who’s supposed to be a genius, you’re a real dumbass.”
He flushes in embarrassment and possibly anger, but Inui-senpai comes down the hall before he can say anything.
“It would probably be best for you to return home and get some rest,” Inui-senpai says to Yanagi as he reaches down and pulls me to my feet. “They’re always good for the body, but some of my creations can be quite debilitating, especially when Kaidoh helps come up with the recipe.”
Yanagi nods and clambers to his feet, obviously still not feeling well. Inui-senpai is still holding my arm and drags me along into the living room as he follows his former best friend.
“Renji,” he says as Yanagi starts out the door. “You can come over Monday evening, if you’d like.”
Yanagi looks startled, then he nods, smiling slightly before he leaves. Inui-senpai sighs and spins me around before pulling me tightly against him. He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on the gray bandana I’m wearing.
“Senpai?”
“You aren’t plain brown twine, you know,” he murmurs, rubbing his cheek against the top of my head. I blush for the second time that afternoon. He heard all of that mushy kite drivel?
“You are my kite string, and I’d trust you to lead me anywhere. But I’d say you’re more like blue nylon cord,” he continues. Then he pushes me back just enough to let me see his evil grin. “Yes, definitely a blue nylon cord… with little pink ribbons tied around it.”
I snort and lightly punch his arm. “Dumbass,” I mutter. Inui-senpai just grins even wider and hugs me tight.
Author: Zab Jade
Rating: R (for eventual sexual situations)
Summary: Shortly after starting his first year of high school, Kaidoh is given an assignment in creative writing to explore the aspects of his personality. As he writes about himself, he shares the stories of his life with Inui.
Facets of Me
Facet Seven: Garnet
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or the associated characters.
~*~
“Ten milliliters of citric acid,” Inui-senpai says, holding out his hand. I carefully measure the citric acid out into a test tube and give it to him.
We’re in his kitchen, and I’m currently wearing goggles, latex gloves, and a white lab coat. None of it’s actually necessary, but it’s fun to dress the part when I’m acting as his evil lab assistant. Kageko is on the counter, blissfully gnawing at the corner of a piece of raw sashimi grade salmon.
The kitten isn’t the only new addition to our occasional bouts of collaborative mad science. Yanagi is here as well, staring in horrified fascination at the ingredients set out on the counter.
“Seven-hundred milliliters of black vinegar.”
I keep a surreptitious watch on Yanagi as I measure out and prepare the ingredients Inui-senpai calls for. The former Rikkaidai player has no interest in Inui-senpai beyond friendship, but for the past two weeks he’s been trying to convince him that I’m an utterly inappropriate person to be in a relationship with.
The entire situation has been distressing for Inui-senpai, so I asked him to invite Yanagi over today. I also suggested that we make a batch of Inui Juice. I’m not sure if Inui-senpai’s gleeful sadism has rubbed off on me, or if it’s something that’s always been a part of me, lurking deep in the shadows of my psyche.
An apple, two teaspoons of salt, a banana, a can of beets, and one-hundred milliliters of clover honey go into the blender with the previous ingredients. I carefully cut away the corner of salmon Kageko has been nibbling at and hand the rest to Inui-senpai. Just looking at the resulting mixture makes me feel queasy, and I’m glad I won’t be drinking any of it.
Inui-senpai pours some into a cup and holds it out to Yanagi. “Would you like to try some?” He takes a small sip and smiles. “It’s quite good.”
Seeing Inui-senpai drink it with no ill effect gives Yanagi the courage to take the cup from him.
“Try to drink as much of it in one gulp as you can,” I suggest helpfully. “It works best that way.”
Yanagi gives me a dubious look, but follows my advice. He downs a little over half the juice before the cup falls to the ground. He claps his hands over his mouth as his face turns a hideous shade of green.
“The bathroom is that way,” I say blandly, pointing down the hall. He runs to the bathroom, and the apartment is suddenly filled with the sweet, sweet sound of violent retching.
Inui-senpai clicks his tongue in exasperation and cleans up the spilled juice before filling another cup.
“He’ll probably be in there for a while,” he comments, taking a sip with apparent enjoyment. Sometimes I seriously start to wonder if he’s really human.
I want to have a talk with Yanagi, but Inui-senpai is right. He’ll likely be in the bathroom for a while. I shrug and head for Inui-senpai’s room. I might as well work on this week’s installment of my creative writing assignment.
Garnets are dark red stones, and like most other red stones, they have many meanings. There are two properties that seem unique to the garnet though. Popularity and increased self-esteem.
It had apparently existed from the time I first joined the tennis club, but it wasn’t until shortly after we defeated Fudomine that I found out I had a fan club. It was small and mostly filled with other social misfits, but it was still a group of people who admired and looked up to me.
Some people, when they discover that they’re popular in some circles, change. They become smug and arrogant. They start thinking they’re better than everyone else. I changed as well, but not in that way. I started thinking that maybe I was just as good as everyone else.
I was still too shy to just approach anyone, even the other regulars, but I dropped a lot of my defenses around them. Not long after that, I started talking to Inui-senpai a bit more. And he started talking even more to me, once he realized that I truly did enjoy listening to him.
We weren’t really friends yet, but we saw and spoke to each other a lot. I think that’s why Inui-senpai came to me when he was looking for a doubles partner. For a doubles pair to really work, you have to trust your partner and be able to depend on him.
I refused his request at first, for two reasons. The first was because of my own stubbornness. I wanted to play singles. I wanted to win by myself, with nothing but my own hard work and determination.
The second reason was that I had a hard time believing anyone, much less someone skilled enough to hold his own against Tezuka-buchou for a while, would be willing to put their trust in me. I could, though, imagine him being willing to handicap himself by partnering with me in order to help me with my tennis skills. It didn’t really take me long to agree to it, though I asked him if he was sure about it first.
I let him down badly in our first match together. I perfected my Boomerang Snake, but we lost three games to six. Because of me. Endurance and tenacity are the only things I really have that make me anything special, and I didn’t have enough of either for us to win.
Inui-senpai wasn’t mad about it. He blamed himself, even though our loss was clearly due to my shortcomings. Despite that, he still wanted me to be his partner. I could tell from his expression as he told Ryuzaki-sensei that I no longer needed to play doubles because I had perfected the Boomerang Snake. He was willing to let me go back to playing singles if that was what I wanted, but he wanted me to stay his partner.
I told him I still wanted to be his partner, that I hadn’t paid him back yet in doubles. I used that as an excuse, but the truth was that I had liked playing with him. I had hated it with Momoshiro, but Inui-senpai trusted me, even after I screwed up.
It felt good, knowing that he trusted me. Not only to make decisions that would help us both, but to listen to him and make use of his data. That trust was another boost to my self-esteem. I had my own little fan club, and I had finally found another person who seemed to like me and wanted to be around me.
There were lots of idiots who would make snap judgments about me, but there were also people who liked me for who I really was.
While Inui-senpai reads, I go down the hall to the bathroom. Yanagi is leaning against the toilet, breathing heavily into the bowl. He doesn’t look quite as green as before.
“Just a bit of advice: Never drink anything Inui-senpai offers you, even if he drinks it first.”
Yanagi glares at me. I just smirk and go to the kitchen to get him a glass of water, then sit in the doorway after I give it to him.
“What, exactly, is your problem with me?” I ask bluntly. “Inui-senpai says you aren’t interested in him romantically, so what’s the point of trying to get him to dump me?”
Yanagi looks down his nose at me as he answers. “Sadaharu is quite intelligent. He should be with someone who can appreciate that fact and who is smart enough to stimulate him mentally. I would be a good choice, but I’m not interested in him that way. There are, however, many young women in his class who would be perfect. A few young men as well, if that really is his preference.”
“Uh-huh.” I look at him in mild disgust. I can’t stand people who act like they’re better than everyone else. “So you don’t want Inui-senpai as a boyfriend, but you think he should be with someone like you?”
“Yes. No offense, but you are hardly his intellectual equal.”
I snort and raise a brow. “And just what the hell does that have to do with anything? Inui-senpai likes sharing his knowledge with people. What would be the point if he spent most of his time around someone who knew all the same things? Inui-senpai is a kite, and a relationship with another kite would never work.”
Yanagi stares at me like I’ve lost my mind and scoots a few inches away.
“Inui-senpai is a brightly colored kite designed to soar through a sky of knowledge. But if you just release him, he’ll be at the mercy of the wind, lost in directionless solitude with no real connection to the world.”
I can feel my cheeks heat with embarrassment as I talk. Inui-senpai says I have a poetic soul, but I’m not comfortable revealing that to others, especially not someone like Yanagi. But I need him to understand, or he’s going to drive Inui-senpai insane.
“You could attach another kite to him, but that would be pointless. The new kite would be used to its own bright colors and wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate Inui-senpai’s. And it would be just as lost to the random whims of the wind.
“If you want to safely guide a kite through the air, you need a kite string. You don’t really need anything fancy, just plain brown twine. It tethers the kite to the ground and gently guides it while giving it the freedom to soar and explore without the fear of becoming lost.
“The kite string, being nothing but rough brown twine, can really appreciate just how special the kite is. And the kite can take the string into the air, sharing the joy of flight. They aren’t the same thing, but they complete each other, forming a whole that flies with confidence and grace.”
Yanagi opens his eyes all the way and stares at me with something that might be respect. “It… seems I have misjudged you. You have a reputation for having a nasty temper and being anti-social. Sadaharu kept trying to tell me that there was a lot more to you than that, but I didn’t want to believe him.”
“Why not?”
“Because… I’m jealous of you,” he reluctantly admits. “You aren’t just someone he loves. You took over my place as his best friend, and as long as he’s with you, I’ll never get it back. Do you know what it’s like to lose a friend who really seemed to understand and accept you?”
I glare at him in annoyance. “Yeah, I do know what that’s like, but I don’t feel very sorry for you. It’s your own damn fault for not telling Inui-senpai that you were moving. And then for not calling or mailing him a letter. You could have kept in touch, but you chose not to. Your best friend wasn’t taken from you, you gave him up.”
Yanagi winces at the anger in my voice. “That’s not quite what happened. Sadaharu’s father died when he was a toddler, and his mother is gone all the time. And then my father got a better job, and I had to move away. I wanted to tell him, but I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to hurt him. And then I thought that a clean break would be easier for him to handle, so I didn’t call or write.”
I stare at him incredulously, then shake my head slowly in disbelief. “That’s why you did it? You know, for someone who’s supposed to be a genius, you’re a real dumbass.”
He flushes in embarrassment and possibly anger, but Inui-senpai comes down the hall before he can say anything.
“It would probably be best for you to return home and get some rest,” Inui-senpai says to Yanagi as he reaches down and pulls me to my feet. “They’re always good for the body, but some of my creations can be quite debilitating, especially when Kaidoh helps come up with the recipe.”
Yanagi nods and clambers to his feet, obviously still not feeling well. Inui-senpai is still holding my arm and drags me along into the living room as he follows his former best friend.
“Renji,” he says as Yanagi starts out the door. “You can come over Monday evening, if you’d like.”
Yanagi looks startled, then he nods, smiling slightly before he leaves. Inui-senpai sighs and spins me around before pulling me tightly against him. He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on the gray bandana I’m wearing.
“Senpai?”
“You aren’t plain brown twine, you know,” he murmurs, rubbing his cheek against the top of my head. I blush for the second time that afternoon. He heard all of that mushy kite drivel?
“You are my kite string, and I’d trust you to lead me anywhere. But I’d say you’re more like blue nylon cord,” he continues. Then he pushes me back just enough to let me see his evil grin. “Yes, definitely a blue nylon cord… with little pink ribbons tied around it.”
I snort and lightly punch his arm. “Dumbass,” I mutter. Inui-senpai just grins even wider and hugs me tight.