Categories > Anime/Manga > Prince of Tennis
Inui Sadaharu had always wanted a pet snake.
He had tried catching them, to no avail, and then tried to convince his parents to let him buy one from a pet store. The ethical and moral side to his scientific interest had not yet arisen. His parents, of course, were firmly against such a notion. Renji had been supportive, but disinterested.
He would doodle little rounded, diamond-backed snakes on the corners of his notebooks and people would ask what he found so interesting about them. How could he put into words the sheer attractiveness of such a lithe, powerful animal. The intelligence and reptilian instinct hidden behind those scales were what kept it alive despite being wholly in the middle of the food chain. It ate birds, it was eaten by birds. It could be trod underfoot or kill the owner of the foot with a bite. They weren't affectionate, but they would seek out warmth wherever they could find it. Loners, except when mating. Inui could fill notebooks of snake lore and not get tired of it.
However, as he got older the interest became a repressed allure, a second glance when passing the pet shop or an extra moment spent browsing through a scientific journal. He had other things to worry about: school, tennis, puberty.
It was all three of those that lead him into meeting the "Viper".
All the hallmarks of his nickname were there, of course, and the moment Inui met him he felt an affiliation there: the hissing breath, the quick temper, the long arms and the loner attitude. He couldn't get over it, and constantly caught himself staring at this boy much longer than any of the other members of the team. His collection of Kaidou Kaoru data grew exponentially against all his intentions.
This image that Inui held Kaidou in was maintained for years before he had to admit that it was at fault. The Viper was really a sweet, attentive and shy boy who wasn't so much a loner as socially awkward. He grew into his body like any other teenage boy and the breathing habits faded with time and maturity. In the end, Inui had to admit that Kaoru was more of a kitten than a snake. Somehow, he wasn't really dissapointed because he knew that the real snake was himself and he had always been looking for a warm mamillian body to cuddle up to.
They made a perfect pair.
He had tried catching them, to no avail, and then tried to convince his parents to let him buy one from a pet store. The ethical and moral side to his scientific interest had not yet arisen. His parents, of course, were firmly against such a notion. Renji had been supportive, but disinterested.
He would doodle little rounded, diamond-backed snakes on the corners of his notebooks and people would ask what he found so interesting about them. How could he put into words the sheer attractiveness of such a lithe, powerful animal. The intelligence and reptilian instinct hidden behind those scales were what kept it alive despite being wholly in the middle of the food chain. It ate birds, it was eaten by birds. It could be trod underfoot or kill the owner of the foot with a bite. They weren't affectionate, but they would seek out warmth wherever they could find it. Loners, except when mating. Inui could fill notebooks of snake lore and not get tired of it.
However, as he got older the interest became a repressed allure, a second glance when passing the pet shop or an extra moment spent browsing through a scientific journal. He had other things to worry about: school, tennis, puberty.
It was all three of those that lead him into meeting the "Viper".
All the hallmarks of his nickname were there, of course, and the moment Inui met him he felt an affiliation there: the hissing breath, the quick temper, the long arms and the loner attitude. He couldn't get over it, and constantly caught himself staring at this boy much longer than any of the other members of the team. His collection of Kaidou Kaoru data grew exponentially against all his intentions.
This image that Inui held Kaidou in was maintained for years before he had to admit that it was at fault. The Viper was really a sweet, attentive and shy boy who wasn't so much a loner as socially awkward. He grew into his body like any other teenage boy and the breathing habits faded with time and maturity. In the end, Inui had to admit that Kaoru was more of a kitten than a snake. Somehow, he wasn't really dissapointed because he knew that the real snake was himself and he had always been looking for a warm mamillian body to cuddle up to.
They made a perfect pair.
Sign up to rate and review this story