Of One Mind: Momoshiro/Kaidoh, PG [Prince of Tennis]
Title: Of One Mind
Author: waxrose
Rating: PG
Length: ~2,800 words
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created by Konomi Takeshi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Notes: Momoshiro/Kaidoh-centric genfic for tohshimari - a very late birthday present! I'm sorry that this strayed from your prompt, uh...a lot? :D Many thanks to grasshopper and sharingank for looking this over. Contains what might be considered a spoiler for Genius 351 that I decided to build on. This is set in Momo and Kaidoh's third year, beginning at the finals of the Prefectural tournament.
Momo loved being captain. He loved how everyone's head turned to him when he spoke or gave an order. He loved how he could make anyone to do laps, for any reason, whenever he wanted. He loved how the freshmen idolized him and he really loved the way that whispers and stares had followed the new Seigaku regulars as they walked through the prefectural tournament grounds. Last year's champions. Undefeated. First seed and primed to demolish all and any challengers. The Prefectural Tournament, the Regionals and - finally - the Nationals.
Losing to Fudomine in the Prefectural finals, however, hadn't been part of the plan.
It wasn't, Momo reflected somewhat despairingly, as he shook Kamio's hand over the net and thanked him for a good match, how things were supposed to have gone.
"It was a good match, Momo." Oishi-senpai's smile was genuinely sympathetic and kind, but Momo could barely force himself to look at him. Most of the old regulars had come to watch Seigaku's match against Fudomine - a thought which made Momo feel slightly dizzy with guilt and embarrassment. For the first time, Momo was glad that there was an ocean between him and Tezuka's stern, stoic disappointment. He slumped down on the bench, wiping his forehead with a soft white towel and trying his best to not look directly at anyone.
"Fudomine is strong this year." Fuji remarked, "It looks like your road to the Nationals might be an uphill climb."
"They're not out of the running yet." Kikumaru declared, leaning against Oishi with his arms tucked snugly around the former vice-captain's neck, "But I can't believe you lost, Momo!"
"Shut up, Eiji-senpai." Momo grumbled and Echizen snorted derisively from where he was sprawled on the far end of the bench. He looked extremely pissed off - although it was hard to tell if he was angry about Momo losing his match or the fact that Momo had lost to Kamio before Ryoma had gotten his chance to play.
The other new Regulars didn't seem to be coping all that well. Kachirou had been sniffling since he and Arai had lost in Doubles 1 and was now wailing into Arai's jersey. Arai looked torn between disgust and concern and was patting his kouhai's head in a vaguely sympathetic manner. Ikeda and Hayashi were huddled together on one side of the bench, silent and clearly demoralized.. In the stands, Horio was yelling and snapping orders at the various weeping freshmen while Katsuo tried to calm him down. He seemed to be in shock that Seigaku was, in fact, capable of losing.
The Fudomine bench was surrounded by a riotous throng of supporters and well-wishers. Momo could see Tachibana ruffling Kamio's hair proudly and An-chan beaming and standing on tip-toe to kiss him on the cheek. Shinji looked somewhat disgruntled that he hadn't been able to play against Echizen, but his sulky muttering was drowned out by the cheers and joyful tears from the rest of Fudomine.
"Where's Kaidoh?" Momo finally asked, dragging his racket bag up onto the bench and checking the pockets, mainly to avoid his senpai's concerned and sympathetic gazes and his team's uncomfortable, dejected expressions.
"He left when Kamio took match point. He took his stuff, too - I don't know if he'll be back." Arai's eye twitched as Kachirou blew his nose messily on his jersey, "Kato-kun, that's disgusting - oh, don't cry - here, I have tissues..."
Fantastic. Momo had lost his game, Seigaku had lost its first important match of the season, half of his regulars were mad at him and the other half were crying like girls. And on top of all that, his vice-captain was missing.
It wasn't how things were supposed to have gone at all. Not at all.
*
Kaidoh wasn't too hard to find, actually. Momo simply followed the angry, ear-breaking reverberations of someone beating up a practice wall. He watched from the path for awhile - Kaidoh was wound up with fury and tension, pounding the ball against the wall with fast, clean hits.
Momo decided it was probably safer to simply watch for a while.
By the time he worked up the guts to get anywhere closer, Kaidoh's racket was safely zipped into his bag and Kaidoh himself was sitting slumped against the wall, breathing hard. Momo ambled over as casually as he could manage and leaned against the wall next to him, ignoring Kaidoh's warning hiss and tilting his head up, shading his eyes against the late afternoon sun.
"Well...can't win them all, right?" It was probably a really bad idea to try and joke Kaidoh out of his sulk, but there was really no way to deal with a pissed-off Kaidoh that didn't potentially involve Momo getting his face smashed in, so he figured it was worth a try.
"You idiot," Kaidoh stood and tugged his bandana off his head, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Of course you can. What do you think Seigaku did last year? If we lost today, it's because you got sloppy."
"What?" Momo squawked. "How this all my fault? If you didn't notice, our doubles teams both lost."
"Oh yeah, because that was a huge shock." Kaidoh snapped back. "They've barely scraped more than a handful of wins in the tournament so far. We've been using our singles matches to pick up their slack - but you had to go and lose to that rhythm freak in Singles 2. In case you hadn't noticed, I won my match."
Momo grabbed Kaidoh's collar instinctively, shoving their faces close together.
"Are you saying that this happened because I'm a bad captain? Is it my fault that our doubles teams aren't good enough yet? They tried their hardest and all I saw you doing is standing on the sidelines and hissing whenever they lost a point, fukubuchou. When did you do anything to help them improve, huh?" Momo's head was pounding and he still felt sweaty and sore from his match, worked-up and nervous from a match that had come far too close and still not yet close enough.
"I would if you had actually let me!" Kaidoh shouted in his face, eyebrows snapped together angrily, "Every time I tried to give an order in the first days of practice, you would laugh and tell the freshmen that they didn't have to run those laps. You lost the training schedule I drew up. You went for burgers with Echizen on the day that I skipped extra training so we could decide the match order. You didn't want my help. You just wanted to hog all of the glory for yourself when we won." Kaidoh ended his tirade with a gasp, sucking in a lungful of air.
"Mamushi." Momo stared at him, fingers tightening on the collar of Kaidoh's jersey, "That's not tr-"
"The fuck it isn't," Kaidoh yanked himself away from Momo's grip, "You didn't make any effort at all to make this work from the beginning."
"I didn't know you wanted to work together." Momo grabbed his arm again, pulling them close again. He wasn't going to let Kaidoh walk away from this one. "You hate me."
Kaidoh slumped back against the wall, but he didn't fight Momo's grip. "Maybe I couldn't have done better," he said finally, looking up right into Momo's face, "Maybe we still would have lost, without Fuji-senpai and Tezuka-buchou and everyone. But I would still have thought of the team first." The words hit Momo like a punch to the gut. "I would have done what was best for the team, not just for myself."
There was a very heavy silence. Kaidoh shifted under Momo's grip, getting ready for any punch Momo chose to throw at him.
Eventually, Momo let go of Kaidoh's arm and stepped back, hands shoved in his pockets.
"Momoshiro." Kaidoh looked a little guilty, though it was hard to tell in the shadowed semi-darkness of the wall, "I didn't mean..."
"I'm not Tezuka-buchou," Momo said. His voice cracked a little on the words and he cleared his throat. "And I know that I can be an idiot sometimes. I know - but I am trying my best. I want us to go to the Nationals. Not just for myself. For all of us."
Kaidoh stayed silent, but Momo could see something like surprise flicker in his eyes, so he went on. "I thought you hated me because Ryuuzaki-sensei made me captain instead of you - I didn't know that you would want to work together with me."
"Only a moron would think like that," Kaidoh shifted, looking away from Momo. "I did - I mean, I do. This is our year to take Seigaku to the Nationals."
"So - can we start again or something?" The whole situation was kind of awkward, but Kaidoh hadn't punched Momo yet, so things might just work out. He held out a hand to Kaidoh. "Work together?"
Kaidoh nodded, clasping Momo's hand and gripping tightly, almost painfully. "Fudomine is strong this year, but it's not over yet for us. We might meet them again in the regionals and if we do, we'll be ready. It will be a little harder now, but we can do it. "
"Of course we can!" Momo grinned. Things would work out. Now all he had to do was buy Echizen burgers until he forgave Momo.
"We'll be under even more pressure now, but if we are careful and have a good strategy, we can make a comeback in the regionals." Kaidoh picked up his racket bag and slung it over one shoulder.
"Yeah, good, good," Momo said eagerly. Kaidoh sounded a little bit like Inui-senpai, but as long as he didn't haul out any weird juices, that was fine with Momo. "Listen, mamus - Kaidoh. I'm...uh. You know." Apologizing to Kaidoh was definitely on Momo's top ten list of Things He Would Rather Die Than Suffer Through, right in between 'Take Inui Juice intravenously' and 'Sleepover with Fuji-senpai.' He felt bad, of course, but at the moment, he couldn't think how begging Kaidoh for forgiveness would make him feel any better.
Kaidoh rapped his knuckles against Momo's cheek, "Idiot. " His voice was gruff and sharp. "I'll hit you if you keep going on about it like that. Let's just go back to the team. We've got some hard work ahead."
*
"Keep your feet moving, Kachirou!" Momo shouted, smashing a ball in behind Arai, grimacing as the shorter freshman lunged and missed the ball, "You need to be able to predict your opponent's next shot."
"This is all wrong," Kaidoh watched Kachirou pick himself up off the ground, "He's too short to reach most of your shots in time. I know that Arai's net play is better, but Kachirou should really stick to the front for now and let Arai cover deeper shots."
"Oh - yeah, I was thinking that might be a good idea too." Momo ignored Kaidoh's derisive snort. He had gotten better at that lately, simply because there was no time to drag Kaidoh off to a quiet corner for a good fistfight anymore. Between regular practice, extra doubles practice with Arai and Kachirou, putting together training and match schedules and all of the million other not-entirely-exciting tasks that came with the job of being Seigaku's captain - not to mention Momo's own training - time was one thing Momo wished he had a lot more of.
Kaidoh had changed, too - or at least, he seemed to be making an effort, though Momo would bet three burgers and a strawberry milkshake that he would get a black eye for even suggesting that. He made less snide remarks, he did the paperwork quickly and neatly whenever Momo griped about it, and he had stopped hissing at the freshmen. Well, most of the time.
Extra doubles practice had been something they had both agreed on after Seigaku's loss at the Prefecturals. Doubles had never been Seigaku's strongest suit, but they couldn't afford to let that become a weakness in the upcoming Regional tournament. It took a lot of effort to build a good combination, hard work and time. Arai and Kachirou had the potential to be a great doubles team. They worked well together and their strengths complimented the other's well. But they weren't quite there yet.
Momo wasn't good at being patient, but he was learning.
How long had it been, since he had stood on the court with Kaidoh - playing together, falling into the now-familiar rhythms and formations that had taken so long for them to learn, to perfect? Their combination seemed to fall into sync in a moment after an eternity of fighting and struggling. It wasn't that Momo didn't trust Kaidoh (he did, really - well, maybe not with his life or his Playstation or anything else important) - it was more that he knew Kaidoh. And that awareness allowed them to act as a team. Be a team.
"Momoshiro!"
Momo blinked as the ball sped past his head. Across the net, Kachirou stood at the net with his wide in a wide, surprised 'o', as if he couldn't believe what he had just done. Arai whooped and rushed across the court, catching his partner in a headlock.
"They're not ready yet." Kaidoh appeared next to him. He looked about as tired as Momo felt. "They're getting better, but they're still not there. If you had been paying attention, you would have gotten that."
Momo rubbed the back of his head. "The Regionals won't be easy."
"That's not all." Kaidoh picked up the ball that Momo had missed and stuffed it in his pocket. "I talked to Inui-senpai yesterday. Tezuka-buchou will be on leave from his training program for a week or so during the Regionals. He'll probably come watch the finals."
"Shit." And, automatically: "Don't tell Echizen."
"You don't have to tell me that." Kaidoh looked. "We still have time. They'll get better."
"We did." Momo flexed his wrist, "30-15, now. Do you think they have a chance?"
Kaidoh tapped him on the shoulder with his racket as he headed back into position. "They can try."
*
"Game and match, won by Seigaku's Ikeda, 6 games to 4. Seigaku's victory, three wins, no losses. Line up!"
"Come on, mamushi," Momo whooped, rushing the court, where most of the regulars were already mobbing poor Ikeda, who looked slightly ill and disbelieving after dismantling Hyotei's Singles 3, "Our win, our win!"
"I heard, idiot," Kaidoh muttered, but he grabbed Momo's arm and squeezed briefly as they joined the rest of the regulars. "Someone had better prop up Ikeda before he faints."
It had been a huge gamble for Momo and Kaidoh to play Doubles 1 in the crucial quarterfinals match of the Regional tournament against Hyotei, while Arai and Kachirou, who had seemed to be improving with each match, took Doubles 2. Losing either one of the doubles matches would have prolonged the game into more singles matches, against Seigaku's less seasoned regulars. However, with Echizen taking Singles 2 this time around, Kaidoh had pointed out, it still gave them a better chance against their opponents, who were strong in doubles this year. (Sometimes, Momo really wondered what Kaidoh and Inui-senpai talked about on their weekend runs.)
They hadn't really expected Ikeda to win his match. Still, Momo thought he could get definitely used to surprises like that. Even better, he had sweated and raced across the court with the secure knowledge that Kaidoh had his back. The surety and the unexpectedly smooth combination of their partnership was something that Momo hadn't even realized that he had missed. It had felt good to have it back, real good.
"Not bad, Momo-buchou," There was a sharp thwack across his head just as Momo was straightening out of his bow.
Eyes watering, Momo glared Echizen. "What the hell was that for? In case you didn't notice, we won."
"No, really?" Sarcasm didn't really suit Echizen now that he wasn't a cute freshman anymore, "But do you think you could let me play once in awhile, hmm?"
"100 laps for being an annnoying brat!" Momo shouted, but Echizen just waggled his fingers in a jaunty wave.
"More burgers, huh?" Kaidoh smirked, watching Echizen as he duck and wove through a throng of eager freshmen girls to where Tezuka was sitting in the stands, next to a broadly smiling Fuji. "Getting to the Nationals is going to be expensive this year."
"Shut up," Momo punched Kaidoh's shoulder. "We did it, mamushi."
"Of course we did. That was the point, moron." Kaidoh shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk towards the bench. "We're not through yet. Kirihara's Rikkaidai team is strong this year and even if they don't make it to the finals, Fudomine will be waiting there for us."
"Oy, pessimist." Momo stretched his arms lazily above his head. "We've just begun, just begun."
"Ah. We'll make it this year - to the Nationals." Kaidoh said, gruff and hesitant as he held out his fist. Momo bopped his own fist against Kaidoh's, chest tight with excitement and ears ringing with the cheers and shouts of the Seigaku regulars and supporters crowding around the bench just ahead.
"Nothing can stop us now." Momo grinned widely.
They walked forward together.
- fin
cross-posted to momo_kai
Author: waxrose
Rating: PG
Length: ~2,800 words
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created by Konomi Takeshi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Notes: Momoshiro/Kaidoh-centric genfic for tohshimari - a very late birthday present! I'm sorry that this strayed from your prompt, uh...a lot? :D Many thanks to grasshopper and sharingank for looking this over. Contains what might be considered a spoiler for Genius 351 that I decided to build on. This is set in Momo and Kaidoh's third year, beginning at the finals of the Prefectural tournament.
Momo loved being captain. He loved how everyone's head turned to him when he spoke or gave an order. He loved how he could make anyone to do laps, for any reason, whenever he wanted. He loved how the freshmen idolized him and he really loved the way that whispers and stares had followed the new Seigaku regulars as they walked through the prefectural tournament grounds. Last year's champions. Undefeated. First seed and primed to demolish all and any challengers. The Prefectural Tournament, the Regionals and - finally - the Nationals.
Losing to Fudomine in the Prefectural finals, however, hadn't been part of the plan.
It wasn't, Momo reflected somewhat despairingly, as he shook Kamio's hand over the net and thanked him for a good match, how things were supposed to have gone.
"It was a good match, Momo." Oishi-senpai's smile was genuinely sympathetic and kind, but Momo could barely force himself to look at him. Most of the old regulars had come to watch Seigaku's match against Fudomine - a thought which made Momo feel slightly dizzy with guilt and embarrassment. For the first time, Momo was glad that there was an ocean between him and Tezuka's stern, stoic disappointment. He slumped down on the bench, wiping his forehead with a soft white towel and trying his best to not look directly at anyone.
"Fudomine is strong this year." Fuji remarked, "It looks like your road to the Nationals might be an uphill climb."
"They're not out of the running yet." Kikumaru declared, leaning against Oishi with his arms tucked snugly around the former vice-captain's neck, "But I can't believe you lost, Momo!"
"Shut up, Eiji-senpai." Momo grumbled and Echizen snorted derisively from where he was sprawled on the far end of the bench. He looked extremely pissed off - although it was hard to tell if he was angry about Momo losing his match or the fact that Momo had lost to Kamio before Ryoma had gotten his chance to play.
The other new Regulars didn't seem to be coping all that well. Kachirou had been sniffling since he and Arai had lost in Doubles 1 and was now wailing into Arai's jersey. Arai looked torn between disgust and concern and was patting his kouhai's head in a vaguely sympathetic manner. Ikeda and Hayashi were huddled together on one side of the bench, silent and clearly demoralized.. In the stands, Horio was yelling and snapping orders at the various weeping freshmen while Katsuo tried to calm him down. He seemed to be in shock that Seigaku was, in fact, capable of losing.
The Fudomine bench was surrounded by a riotous throng of supporters and well-wishers. Momo could see Tachibana ruffling Kamio's hair proudly and An-chan beaming and standing on tip-toe to kiss him on the cheek. Shinji looked somewhat disgruntled that he hadn't been able to play against Echizen, but his sulky muttering was drowned out by the cheers and joyful tears from the rest of Fudomine.
"Where's Kaidoh?" Momo finally asked, dragging his racket bag up onto the bench and checking the pockets, mainly to avoid his senpai's concerned and sympathetic gazes and his team's uncomfortable, dejected expressions.
"He left when Kamio took match point. He took his stuff, too - I don't know if he'll be back." Arai's eye twitched as Kachirou blew his nose messily on his jersey, "Kato-kun, that's disgusting - oh, don't cry - here, I have tissues..."
Fantastic. Momo had lost his game, Seigaku had lost its first important match of the season, half of his regulars were mad at him and the other half were crying like girls. And on top of all that, his vice-captain was missing.
It wasn't how things were supposed to have gone at all. Not at all.
*
Kaidoh wasn't too hard to find, actually. Momo simply followed the angry, ear-breaking reverberations of someone beating up a practice wall. He watched from the path for awhile - Kaidoh was wound up with fury and tension, pounding the ball against the wall with fast, clean hits.
Momo decided it was probably safer to simply watch for a while.
By the time he worked up the guts to get anywhere closer, Kaidoh's racket was safely zipped into his bag and Kaidoh himself was sitting slumped against the wall, breathing hard. Momo ambled over as casually as he could manage and leaned against the wall next to him, ignoring Kaidoh's warning hiss and tilting his head up, shading his eyes against the late afternoon sun.
"Well...can't win them all, right?" It was probably a really bad idea to try and joke Kaidoh out of his sulk, but there was really no way to deal with a pissed-off Kaidoh that didn't potentially involve Momo getting his face smashed in, so he figured it was worth a try.
"You idiot," Kaidoh stood and tugged his bandana off his head, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Of course you can. What do you think Seigaku did last year? If we lost today, it's because you got sloppy."
"What?" Momo squawked. "How this all my fault? If you didn't notice, our doubles teams both lost."
"Oh yeah, because that was a huge shock." Kaidoh snapped back. "They've barely scraped more than a handful of wins in the tournament so far. We've been using our singles matches to pick up their slack - but you had to go and lose to that rhythm freak in Singles 2. In case you hadn't noticed, I won my match."
Momo grabbed Kaidoh's collar instinctively, shoving their faces close together.
"Are you saying that this happened because I'm a bad captain? Is it my fault that our doubles teams aren't good enough yet? They tried their hardest and all I saw you doing is standing on the sidelines and hissing whenever they lost a point, fukubuchou. When did you do anything to help them improve, huh?" Momo's head was pounding and he still felt sweaty and sore from his match, worked-up and nervous from a match that had come far too close and still not yet close enough.
"I would if you had actually let me!" Kaidoh shouted in his face, eyebrows snapped together angrily, "Every time I tried to give an order in the first days of practice, you would laugh and tell the freshmen that they didn't have to run those laps. You lost the training schedule I drew up. You went for burgers with Echizen on the day that I skipped extra training so we could decide the match order. You didn't want my help. You just wanted to hog all of the glory for yourself when we won." Kaidoh ended his tirade with a gasp, sucking in a lungful of air.
"Mamushi." Momo stared at him, fingers tightening on the collar of Kaidoh's jersey, "That's not tr-"
"The fuck it isn't," Kaidoh yanked himself away from Momo's grip, "You didn't make any effort at all to make this work from the beginning."
"I didn't know you wanted to work together." Momo grabbed his arm again, pulling them close again. He wasn't going to let Kaidoh walk away from this one. "You hate me."
Kaidoh slumped back against the wall, but he didn't fight Momo's grip. "Maybe I couldn't have done better," he said finally, looking up right into Momo's face, "Maybe we still would have lost, without Fuji-senpai and Tezuka-buchou and everyone. But I would still have thought of the team first." The words hit Momo like a punch to the gut. "I would have done what was best for the team, not just for myself."
There was a very heavy silence. Kaidoh shifted under Momo's grip, getting ready for any punch Momo chose to throw at him.
Eventually, Momo let go of Kaidoh's arm and stepped back, hands shoved in his pockets.
"Momoshiro." Kaidoh looked a little guilty, though it was hard to tell in the shadowed semi-darkness of the wall, "I didn't mean..."
"I'm not Tezuka-buchou," Momo said. His voice cracked a little on the words and he cleared his throat. "And I know that I can be an idiot sometimes. I know - but I am trying my best. I want us to go to the Nationals. Not just for myself. For all of us."
Kaidoh stayed silent, but Momo could see something like surprise flicker in his eyes, so he went on. "I thought you hated me because Ryuuzaki-sensei made me captain instead of you - I didn't know that you would want to work together with me."
"Only a moron would think like that," Kaidoh shifted, looking away from Momo. "I did - I mean, I do. This is our year to take Seigaku to the Nationals."
"So - can we start again or something?" The whole situation was kind of awkward, but Kaidoh hadn't punched Momo yet, so things might just work out. He held out a hand to Kaidoh. "Work together?"
Kaidoh nodded, clasping Momo's hand and gripping tightly, almost painfully. "Fudomine is strong this year, but it's not over yet for us. We might meet them again in the regionals and if we do, we'll be ready. It will be a little harder now, but we can do it. "
"Of course we can!" Momo grinned. Things would work out. Now all he had to do was buy Echizen burgers until he forgave Momo.
"We'll be under even more pressure now, but if we are careful and have a good strategy, we can make a comeback in the regionals." Kaidoh picked up his racket bag and slung it over one shoulder.
"Yeah, good, good," Momo said eagerly. Kaidoh sounded a little bit like Inui-senpai, but as long as he didn't haul out any weird juices, that was fine with Momo. "Listen, mamus - Kaidoh. I'm...uh. You know." Apologizing to Kaidoh was definitely on Momo's top ten list of Things He Would Rather Die Than Suffer Through, right in between 'Take Inui Juice intravenously' and 'Sleepover with Fuji-senpai.' He felt bad, of course, but at the moment, he couldn't think how begging Kaidoh for forgiveness would make him feel any better.
Kaidoh rapped his knuckles against Momo's cheek, "Idiot. " His voice was gruff and sharp. "I'll hit you if you keep going on about it like that. Let's just go back to the team. We've got some hard work ahead."
*
"Keep your feet moving, Kachirou!" Momo shouted, smashing a ball in behind Arai, grimacing as the shorter freshman lunged and missed the ball, "You need to be able to predict your opponent's next shot."
"This is all wrong," Kaidoh watched Kachirou pick himself up off the ground, "He's too short to reach most of your shots in time. I know that Arai's net play is better, but Kachirou should really stick to the front for now and let Arai cover deeper shots."
"Oh - yeah, I was thinking that might be a good idea too." Momo ignored Kaidoh's derisive snort. He had gotten better at that lately, simply because there was no time to drag Kaidoh off to a quiet corner for a good fistfight anymore. Between regular practice, extra doubles practice with Arai and Kachirou, putting together training and match schedules and all of the million other not-entirely-exciting tasks that came with the job of being Seigaku's captain - not to mention Momo's own training - time was one thing Momo wished he had a lot more of.
Kaidoh had changed, too - or at least, he seemed to be making an effort, though Momo would bet three burgers and a strawberry milkshake that he would get a black eye for even suggesting that. He made less snide remarks, he did the paperwork quickly and neatly whenever Momo griped about it, and he had stopped hissing at the freshmen. Well, most of the time.
Extra doubles practice had been something they had both agreed on after Seigaku's loss at the Prefecturals. Doubles had never been Seigaku's strongest suit, but they couldn't afford to let that become a weakness in the upcoming Regional tournament. It took a lot of effort to build a good combination, hard work and time. Arai and Kachirou had the potential to be a great doubles team. They worked well together and their strengths complimented the other's well. But they weren't quite there yet.
Momo wasn't good at being patient, but he was learning.
How long had it been, since he had stood on the court with Kaidoh - playing together, falling into the now-familiar rhythms and formations that had taken so long for them to learn, to perfect? Their combination seemed to fall into sync in a moment after an eternity of fighting and struggling. It wasn't that Momo didn't trust Kaidoh (he did, really - well, maybe not with his life or his Playstation or anything else important) - it was more that he knew Kaidoh. And that awareness allowed them to act as a team. Be a team.
"Momoshiro!"
Momo blinked as the ball sped past his head. Across the net, Kachirou stood at the net with his wide in a wide, surprised 'o', as if he couldn't believe what he had just done. Arai whooped and rushed across the court, catching his partner in a headlock.
"They're not ready yet." Kaidoh appeared next to him. He looked about as tired as Momo felt. "They're getting better, but they're still not there. If you had been paying attention, you would have gotten that."
Momo rubbed the back of his head. "The Regionals won't be easy."
"That's not all." Kaidoh picked up the ball that Momo had missed and stuffed it in his pocket. "I talked to Inui-senpai yesterday. Tezuka-buchou will be on leave from his training program for a week or so during the Regionals. He'll probably come watch the finals."
"Shit." And, automatically: "Don't tell Echizen."
"You don't have to tell me that." Kaidoh looked. "We still have time. They'll get better."
"We did." Momo flexed his wrist, "30-15, now. Do you think they have a chance?"
Kaidoh tapped him on the shoulder with his racket as he headed back into position. "They can try."
*
"Game and match, won by Seigaku's Ikeda, 6 games to 4. Seigaku's victory, three wins, no losses. Line up!"
"Come on, mamushi," Momo whooped, rushing the court, where most of the regulars were already mobbing poor Ikeda, who looked slightly ill and disbelieving after dismantling Hyotei's Singles 3, "Our win, our win!"
"I heard, idiot," Kaidoh muttered, but he grabbed Momo's arm and squeezed briefly as they joined the rest of the regulars. "Someone had better prop up Ikeda before he faints."
It had been a huge gamble for Momo and Kaidoh to play Doubles 1 in the crucial quarterfinals match of the Regional tournament against Hyotei, while Arai and Kachirou, who had seemed to be improving with each match, took Doubles 2. Losing either one of the doubles matches would have prolonged the game into more singles matches, against Seigaku's less seasoned regulars. However, with Echizen taking Singles 2 this time around, Kaidoh had pointed out, it still gave them a better chance against their opponents, who were strong in doubles this year. (Sometimes, Momo really wondered what Kaidoh and Inui-senpai talked about on their weekend runs.)
They hadn't really expected Ikeda to win his match. Still, Momo thought he could get definitely used to surprises like that. Even better, he had sweated and raced across the court with the secure knowledge that Kaidoh had his back. The surety and the unexpectedly smooth combination of their partnership was something that Momo hadn't even realized that he had missed. It had felt good to have it back, real good.
"Not bad, Momo-buchou," There was a sharp thwack across his head just as Momo was straightening out of his bow.
Eyes watering, Momo glared Echizen. "What the hell was that for? In case you didn't notice, we won."
"No, really?" Sarcasm didn't really suit Echizen now that he wasn't a cute freshman anymore, "But do you think you could let me play once in awhile, hmm?"
"100 laps for being an annnoying brat!" Momo shouted, but Echizen just waggled his fingers in a jaunty wave.
"More burgers, huh?" Kaidoh smirked, watching Echizen as he duck and wove through a throng of eager freshmen girls to where Tezuka was sitting in the stands, next to a broadly smiling Fuji. "Getting to the Nationals is going to be expensive this year."
"Shut up," Momo punched Kaidoh's shoulder. "We did it, mamushi."
"Of course we did. That was the point, moron." Kaidoh shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk towards the bench. "We're not through yet. Kirihara's Rikkaidai team is strong this year and even if they don't make it to the finals, Fudomine will be waiting there for us."
"Oy, pessimist." Momo stretched his arms lazily above his head. "We've just begun, just begun."
"Ah. We'll make it this year - to the Nationals." Kaidoh said, gruff and hesitant as he held out his fist. Momo bopped his own fist against Kaidoh's, chest tight with excitement and ears ringing with the cheers and shouts of the Seigaku regulars and supporters crowding around the bench just ahead.
"Nothing can stop us now." Momo grinned widely.
They walked forward together.
- fin
cross-posted to momo_kai