Disclaimer: I don't own or claim to own Tennis no Oujisama.

A/N: Another InuKai. Don't ask what the hell I was thinking. I'm not even sure myself. Set before match with Rikkai Dai but after Tezuka leaves for Germany.

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The Food Crisis
By: aki fukashi

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Empty.

That one word described the cabinets and the refrigerator of Kaidoh's home.

Empty.

Meaning there was no food.

And a hungry Kaidoh was a very upset Kaidoh.

The viper weighed his options.

His parents wouldn't be back for hours. No way he'd wait that long.

He could always go to the food market. Yes! Brilliant! Kaidoh's hand dove into his pockets... only to find them empty. How troublesome. What a day to go broke.

His stomach grumbled in protest and the desperation for anything edible increased.

There was only one thing left to do, he concluded with a shudder.

Eat. At. Someone. Else's. House.

The thought of depending on someone else for a petty thing like filling one's stomach was as attracted to Kaidoh like doubles was to Echizen.

This sucked.

Speaking of the twerp, he was bound to have some extra food lying around his house. Sadly, an image of Karupin immediately popped into Kaidoh's mind. Cat food... that was not very appealing. He wasn't that hungry... right?

Kikumaru-senpai? Kaidoh shook his head. No, he didn't want to be tackled by a red-headed acrobat when he was too weak from hunger to defend himself.

Oishi-senpai? Nah. He'd probably get a scolding for not stocking up on food products -- especially vegetables and the like. Then there were also the possibility for questions like "Kaidoh, what did you do with your money?" and "Kaidoh, would you like me to keep track of your food/money supply?"

Certainly not.

There was always his rival, but Momoshiro's diet seemed composed of cheeseburgers, cheeseburgers, cheeseburgers, and the occasional fries. That, and they'd probably argue and be thrown out of the fast-food restaurant as a result.

Tezuka-buchou... was on the other side of the world in Germany.

Fuji-senpai was out of the question. If he could down one of Inui's special concoctions – health "juice" supposedly -- who knew what he normally ate.

And suddenly, Kaidoh knew exactly where to go.

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"Kaidoh?"

"Fshuuu."

Inui stared quizzically at the raven-haired boy standing on his doorstep.

"What brings you here?"

"...I'm hungry," Kaidoh mumbled without preamble.

Inui raised an eyebrow and felt the corners of his lips twitching.

"That new training menu takes a lot out of you, and you need to replenish your energy regularly with higher proportions. I thought I warned you to stock up."

He did?

Kaidoh looked down and shrugged, as Inui led him in.

"Did the others run out of food, too?"

"No. I came here first."

The sentence faintly registered in Inui's mind and he fought the urge to smile.

You came to me first.

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End

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