And Kaidoh Runs. [TeniPuri; Kaidoh + Inui; Inui x Yanagi]
title: And Kaidoh Runs.
author: yumeyana
fandom: tennis no oujisama
characters: kaidoh kaoru, inui sadaharu and yanagi renji
rating/genre: drama, angst, ....and some humor?
summary: Running is Kaidoh's way to stay fit. Running is Kaidoh's secret training for tennis. And running is Kaidoh's only way escape from the sight in front of him.
[crossposted at tenipuri, potfics, and @ tenipuri_yaoi.]
Author’s Notes: I am on angst mood right now and I needed to a place to vent all my angst. It has been a while since I’ve last used Kaidoh and written for TeniPuri; I hope I still have them correctly. This is my post-Valentine’s Day special, one that comes from my heart.
Dedication: To all those who were alone on Valentine’s Day despite the company they were with, put on your running shoes and run with Kaidoh and myself.
Disclaimers: Tennis no Oujisama and all its characters belong to Konomi Takeshi-sensei. Only the plot belongs to me.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And Kaidoh Runs.
It is four in the morning and the sun is barely up. The streets are bare and the neighborhood is still fast asleep. The lights in every house in the block are all closed, their curtains drawn.
All but one.
Thirteen-year-old Kaidoh Kaoru is awake and preparing for his morning run. His blinds are already up, the lights in his room open. He ties his shoelaces and gives it a tight tug. He can’t have them tripping him alter on, can he?
He quietly walks down the stairs, conscious not to wake his parents and his brother. They need their sleep; his parents are tired and his brother needs his sleep to help him grow. He writes his mother a note that he will be running and will be back at five thirty. This routine is not new but he likes to remind his mother of his activities; he knows it makes her smiles.
He tugs his shoelaces one last time before he opens the door and breathes in the sweet morning breeze. After locking the front door, he marches down the front lawn for a few stretches. He needs to warm his muscles up to avoid cramps.
He finishes in five minutes flat.
Then, Kaidoh runs.
&
It is six in the morning and the gates of Seishun Gakuen Chu are still closed but not locked. He cringes a little at the squeaky sound of the gate as he opens it and reminds himself to tell the head of the maintenance to put some oil on it.
As he expects, Tezuka-buchou and Inui-sempai are already there inside the locker room. They are most probably discussing today’s menu before they both look up to acknowledge his presence-a nod from Tezuka-buchou and an ‘Ohayou, Kaidoh’ from Inui-sempai.
He bows at them slightly with a whisper of ‘Ohayou.’
Tezuka-buchou quickly averts his attention back to the training menu but Inui-sempai doesn’t. The data man stares at him as if assessing him. Kaidoh’s gaze doesn’t falter; he just stares back as if this is their usual morning ritual.
The buchou calls Inui-sempai’s attention, well aware that the manager’s thoughts were not with him. Inui-sempai apologizes with a short ‘sumimasen’ and abandons the staring game.
Kaidoh puts his bag in his locker and proceeds to changes his clothes. Inui-sempai’s attention is now fully back with Tezuka-buchou; the continuous muttering of the team’s data is enough proof. The youngest of the three puts on his bandanna and heads for the door. Neither of the two is distracted by their kouhai’s movements.
Kaidoh opens the door and runs towards the courts.
&
It is ten minutes after six when Oishi-fukubuchou, Kikumaru-sempai and Fuji-sempai arrive. The golden pair waves at him and the tensai smiles. Kaidoh stops for a while, jogging in place to keep his rhythm in check. Oishi-fukubuchou praises him for being so hardworking and determined; Kikumaru-sempai pouts. Kaoru-chan is overdoing it, he says, and tennis is supposed to be fun. Fuji-sempai chuckles at his best friend’s statement and pats Kikumaru-sempai’s back.
This is fun for Kaoru-chan, the tensai tells the neko-like sempai.
Kikumaru-sempai starts muttering something about hanging around Inui-sempai too much but gets distracted by the screech of Momoshiro’s bicycle. The acrobat’s attention is quickly diverted; he runs towards the youngest regular and squishes him with a tight hug. There are shouts and cries from Echizen about how all his sempai-tachi are perverts just like his oyaji.
Kawamura-sempai arrives. Oishi tries to prevent his partner from choking the small one. Momoshiro laughs and jokes about Echizen’s height just to get back at the perverted sempai comment. Fuji-sempai merely smiles.
Kaidoh runs.
&
It is five minutes before classes for the day starts and Kaidoh hurriedly folds his jersey before putting it in his locker. Finishing twenty laps before class is a task he hates, he thinks as he glares at Momoshiro. His fellow second year glares back at him but doesn’t say another word. After all, Tezuka-buchou’s threat about a hundred laps isn’t inviting.
He swings his bag on one shoulder and hurries out of the locker room. Two minutes to get to the third floor of the building and his classroom is at the far side of the floor. He doesn’t like being late; he hates detention. And there is only one way to get to his classroom without being late.
Kaidoh starts to run.
&
It is five in the afternoon and the one hundred laps threat become real. But it is not Tezuka-buchou who punishes them, it is Oishi-fukubuchou. It surprises the whole team, even Inui-sempai stops scribbling in his notebook. They have managed to get their gentle fukubuchou really pissed off.
Was he uke last night, Momoshiro whispers to Kikumaru-sempai.
TWO HUNDRED LAPS MOMOSHIRO, Oishi-fukubuchou cries out, his face red.
A string of apologies are heard as Momoshiro hurries off to start his now two hundred laps. Kikumaru-sempai tries to calm his partner down; he glances at Tezuka-buchou and Fuji-sempai, silently asking them for help. But the bespectacled one merely shrugs and adjusts his glasses. The tensai just smiles.
It is Kawamura-sempai who helps him in trying to cool Oishi-fukubuchou down. Inui-sempai quickly scribbles in his notebook again, wasting no time in recording what has just transpired and is transpiring. Echizen snickers and earns a whap from a passing Momoshiro.
Everything is back to normal and Kaidoh runs his first lap.
&
It is already nearly six in the evening when Tezuka-buchou dismisses them. Momoshiro has yet to finish his laps but the spiky-haired’s apologetic look is enough to soften the fukubuchou. Oishi-fukubuchou tells Momoshiro not to repeat his last comment because the two hundred laps might become three hundred. The latter nods and promises never to mention it again.
And the two hundred laps become one hundred.
Kikumaru-sempai jumps and drags Echizen into a dance. There are protests but they fall on deaf ears as Momoshiro joins in twirling the small freshman. Fuji-sempai chuckles and nudges the buchou beside him - they have very energetic children, don’t they?
The dancing trio stops twirling; Echizen almost faints. Kawamura coughs, Oishi goes red and so does Kaidoh. Inui-sempai adjusts his glasses as if it will help him understand the language of the exchange.
Tezuka-buchou clears his throat and walks away.
There are different reactions from the group - mostly disappointment because Echizen has won the bet. Now, the acrobat and dunk-specialist will have to treat him for hamburger snacks for one week. Oishi-fukubuchou doesn’t even try to do damage control; he has had enough for today. Kawamura-sempai hasn’t though; he tries to calm Momoshiro and Kikumaru-sempai down.
Inui-sempai stops Kaidoh in his tracks - could he possibly have a word?
They walk towards the other side of the locker room where the noise coming from Kikumaru-sempai and Momoshiro is minimal. The data man hands Kaidoh his daily menu; he has observed that his kouhai has overdone himself again. Kaidoh needs to stop running so much and take a rest or else it will take a toll on his body.
Kaidoh almost smiles.
He is happy - Inui-sempai has just made him happy. Had he been Kikumaru-sempai, he would’ve thrown his arms around Inui-sempai and hugged him tight. But he is Kaidoh. And Kaidoh Kaoru does not jump and dance around.
He nods and tells Inui-sempai that he will do as he says.
&
Kaidoh.
Hai, sempai.
I won’t be able to train with you today. I have to attend to some business.
Kaidoh watches as Inui-sempai walks away without another word. The latter seems to be too busy and engrossed with whatever he is writing in notebook. The kouhai assumes that it has something to do with his business later.
He glances at the slip of paper in his hand.
&
He thinks that a little jog wouldn’t hurt.
Kaidoh zips up his jacket; the evening wind is getting colder and he can’t risk getting sick. The moon is out tonight and, he thinks, it makes the night sky even more beautiful. The stores around town have their lights dimmed and it is only then that Kaidoh remembers what day it is.
It is the day before Valentine’s Day.
He briefly cringes at the thought of what might happen tomorrow; the female population will most probably invade the tennis courts and Tezuka-buchou will have to lock the gate while they practice. Oishi-sempai will have a humongous headache and Fuji-sempai will have his hands full of chocolates and flowers.
It will be a very interesting sight indeed.
He turns the corner; the park is insight. There are a lot of couples and his cheeks are suddenly warm. One Spice Girls song comes to mind and he is sure that the girls have been singing the truth. Perhaps even from experience?
Before he completely shuns the sight, he notices two familiar figures near one of the few illuminated places in the park. It doesn’t take him more than a second to recognize who they are; the profile of one of them is already printed in his mind.
It is Inui-sempai and that data man from Rikkai.
The evening wind picks up in an alarming rate, causing the two under the lamp to move closer to each other. The sight before his drowns his sempai’s words earlier on, the new training menu completely forgotten.
For now Kaidoh has to run.
Faster.
.owari
18Feb07
03:24p
author: yumeyana
fandom: tennis no oujisama
characters: kaidoh kaoru, inui sadaharu and yanagi renji
rating/genre: drama, angst, ....and some humor?
summary: Running is Kaidoh's way to stay fit. Running is Kaidoh's secret training for tennis. And running is Kaidoh's only way escape from the sight in front of him.
[crossposted at tenipuri, potfics, and @ tenipuri_yaoi.]
Author’s Notes: I am on angst mood right now and I needed to a place to vent all my angst. It has been a while since I’ve last used Kaidoh and written for TeniPuri; I hope I still have them correctly. This is my post-Valentine’s Day special, one that comes from my heart.
Dedication: To all those who were alone on Valentine’s Day despite the company they were with, put on your running shoes and run with Kaidoh and myself.
Disclaimers: Tennis no Oujisama and all its characters belong to Konomi Takeshi-sensei. Only the plot belongs to me.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And Kaidoh Runs.
It is four in the morning and the sun is barely up. The streets are bare and the neighborhood is still fast asleep. The lights in every house in the block are all closed, their curtains drawn.
All but one.
Thirteen-year-old Kaidoh Kaoru is awake and preparing for his morning run. His blinds are already up, the lights in his room open. He ties his shoelaces and gives it a tight tug. He can’t have them tripping him alter on, can he?
He quietly walks down the stairs, conscious not to wake his parents and his brother. They need their sleep; his parents are tired and his brother needs his sleep to help him grow. He writes his mother a note that he will be running and will be back at five thirty. This routine is not new but he likes to remind his mother of his activities; he knows it makes her smiles.
He tugs his shoelaces one last time before he opens the door and breathes in the sweet morning breeze. After locking the front door, he marches down the front lawn for a few stretches. He needs to warm his muscles up to avoid cramps.
He finishes in five minutes flat.
Then, Kaidoh runs.
&
It is six in the morning and the gates of Seishun Gakuen Chu are still closed but not locked. He cringes a little at the squeaky sound of the gate as he opens it and reminds himself to tell the head of the maintenance to put some oil on it.
As he expects, Tezuka-buchou and Inui-sempai are already there inside the locker room. They are most probably discussing today’s menu before they both look up to acknowledge his presence-a nod from Tezuka-buchou and an ‘Ohayou, Kaidoh’ from Inui-sempai.
He bows at them slightly with a whisper of ‘Ohayou.’
Tezuka-buchou quickly averts his attention back to the training menu but Inui-sempai doesn’t. The data man stares at him as if assessing him. Kaidoh’s gaze doesn’t falter; he just stares back as if this is their usual morning ritual.
The buchou calls Inui-sempai’s attention, well aware that the manager’s thoughts were not with him. Inui-sempai apologizes with a short ‘sumimasen’ and abandons the staring game.
Kaidoh puts his bag in his locker and proceeds to changes his clothes. Inui-sempai’s attention is now fully back with Tezuka-buchou; the continuous muttering of the team’s data is enough proof. The youngest of the three puts on his bandanna and heads for the door. Neither of the two is distracted by their kouhai’s movements.
Kaidoh opens the door and runs towards the courts.
&
It is ten minutes after six when Oishi-fukubuchou, Kikumaru-sempai and Fuji-sempai arrive. The golden pair waves at him and the tensai smiles. Kaidoh stops for a while, jogging in place to keep his rhythm in check. Oishi-fukubuchou praises him for being so hardworking and determined; Kikumaru-sempai pouts. Kaoru-chan is overdoing it, he says, and tennis is supposed to be fun. Fuji-sempai chuckles at his best friend’s statement and pats Kikumaru-sempai’s back.
This is fun for Kaoru-chan, the tensai tells the neko-like sempai.
Kikumaru-sempai starts muttering something about hanging around Inui-sempai too much but gets distracted by the screech of Momoshiro’s bicycle. The acrobat’s attention is quickly diverted; he runs towards the youngest regular and squishes him with a tight hug. There are shouts and cries from Echizen about how all his sempai-tachi are perverts just like his oyaji.
Kawamura-sempai arrives. Oishi tries to prevent his partner from choking the small one. Momoshiro laughs and jokes about Echizen’s height just to get back at the perverted sempai comment. Fuji-sempai merely smiles.
Kaidoh runs.
&
It is five minutes before classes for the day starts and Kaidoh hurriedly folds his jersey before putting it in his locker. Finishing twenty laps before class is a task he hates, he thinks as he glares at Momoshiro. His fellow second year glares back at him but doesn’t say another word. After all, Tezuka-buchou’s threat about a hundred laps isn’t inviting.
He swings his bag on one shoulder and hurries out of the locker room. Two minutes to get to the third floor of the building and his classroom is at the far side of the floor. He doesn’t like being late; he hates detention. And there is only one way to get to his classroom without being late.
Kaidoh starts to run.
&
It is five in the afternoon and the one hundred laps threat become real. But it is not Tezuka-buchou who punishes them, it is Oishi-fukubuchou. It surprises the whole team, even Inui-sempai stops scribbling in his notebook. They have managed to get their gentle fukubuchou really pissed off.
Was he uke last night, Momoshiro whispers to Kikumaru-sempai.
TWO HUNDRED LAPS MOMOSHIRO, Oishi-fukubuchou cries out, his face red.
A string of apologies are heard as Momoshiro hurries off to start his now two hundred laps. Kikumaru-sempai tries to calm his partner down; he glances at Tezuka-buchou and Fuji-sempai, silently asking them for help. But the bespectacled one merely shrugs and adjusts his glasses. The tensai just smiles.
It is Kawamura-sempai who helps him in trying to cool Oishi-fukubuchou down. Inui-sempai quickly scribbles in his notebook again, wasting no time in recording what has just transpired and is transpiring. Echizen snickers and earns a whap from a passing Momoshiro.
Everything is back to normal and Kaidoh runs his first lap.
&
It is already nearly six in the evening when Tezuka-buchou dismisses them. Momoshiro has yet to finish his laps but the spiky-haired’s apologetic look is enough to soften the fukubuchou. Oishi-fukubuchou tells Momoshiro not to repeat his last comment because the two hundred laps might become three hundred. The latter nods and promises never to mention it again.
And the two hundred laps become one hundred.
Kikumaru-sempai jumps and drags Echizen into a dance. There are protests but they fall on deaf ears as Momoshiro joins in twirling the small freshman. Fuji-sempai chuckles and nudges the buchou beside him - they have very energetic children, don’t they?
The dancing trio stops twirling; Echizen almost faints. Kawamura coughs, Oishi goes red and so does Kaidoh. Inui-sempai adjusts his glasses as if it will help him understand the language of the exchange.
Tezuka-buchou clears his throat and walks away.
There are different reactions from the group - mostly disappointment because Echizen has won the bet. Now, the acrobat and dunk-specialist will have to treat him for hamburger snacks for one week. Oishi-fukubuchou doesn’t even try to do damage control; he has had enough for today. Kawamura-sempai hasn’t though; he tries to calm Momoshiro and Kikumaru-sempai down.
Inui-sempai stops Kaidoh in his tracks - could he possibly have a word?
They walk towards the other side of the locker room where the noise coming from Kikumaru-sempai and Momoshiro is minimal. The data man hands Kaidoh his daily menu; he has observed that his kouhai has overdone himself again. Kaidoh needs to stop running so much and take a rest or else it will take a toll on his body.
Kaidoh almost smiles.
He is happy - Inui-sempai has just made him happy. Had he been Kikumaru-sempai, he would’ve thrown his arms around Inui-sempai and hugged him tight. But he is Kaidoh. And Kaidoh Kaoru does not jump and dance around.
He nods and tells Inui-sempai that he will do as he says.
&
Kaidoh.
Hai, sempai.
I won’t be able to train with you today. I have to attend to some business.
Kaidoh watches as Inui-sempai walks away without another word. The latter seems to be too busy and engrossed with whatever he is writing in notebook. The kouhai assumes that it has something to do with his business later.
He glances at the slip of paper in his hand.
&
He thinks that a little jog wouldn’t hurt.
Kaidoh zips up his jacket; the evening wind is getting colder and he can’t risk getting sick. The moon is out tonight and, he thinks, it makes the night sky even more beautiful. The stores around town have their lights dimmed and it is only then that Kaidoh remembers what day it is.
It is the day before Valentine’s Day.
He briefly cringes at the thought of what might happen tomorrow; the female population will most probably invade the tennis courts and Tezuka-buchou will have to lock the gate while they practice. Oishi-sempai will have a humongous headache and Fuji-sempai will have his hands full of chocolates and flowers.
It will be a very interesting sight indeed.
He turns the corner; the park is insight. There are a lot of couples and his cheeks are suddenly warm. One Spice Girls song comes to mind and he is sure that the girls have been singing the truth. Perhaps even from experience?
Before he completely shuns the sight, he notices two familiar figures near one of the few illuminated places in the park. It doesn’t take him more than a second to recognize who they are; the profile of one of them is already printed in his mind.
It is Inui-sempai and that data man from Rikkai.
The evening wind picks up in an alarming rate, causing the two under the lamp to move closer to each other. The sight before his drowns his sempai’s words earlier on, the new training menu completely forgotten.
For now Kaidoh has to run.
Faster.
.owari
18Feb07
03:24p