Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, just the OCs
A/N: This is my first fanfic, so yeah. I hope anybody who's reading likes it. Thanks for taking the time to look!
~xXx~
"Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon." –Paul Brandt
For Sakaki Tarou, there weren't a lot of things he did with hesitation. Due to being brought up in a rich and elegant (though not nearly close to the likes of the Atobe boy) family, he had been trained all his life to be polite and proper and formal. He hadn't hesitated once at being offered the job of a music teacher and tennis coach at Hyotei, and he'd never hesitated at cutting a player who'd lost.
In fact, there were only two instances he could remember where it had taken him more than five seconds to make up his mind. The first was when Shishido had made his return with the help of Choutarou and Atobe. The second was when the school board offered him the position to coach both male and female tennis teams.
As he stood in the doorway of the clubhouse, watching the black haired woman silently packing her belongings, Sakaki didn't know what to say or do. "Miura-san," he began, only to stop at her quick, sideways glance. Trying again, he said, "Miura-san, I'll take good care of your team," even though he knew it was the wrong thing to say.
Miura Fuyuko didn't reply as she snapped her briefcase shut. Her movements were quick and fluid, never stopping. He admired the way she carried on with her life despite just getting fired. Sakaki wondered if he could do that too, if the time should ever come. He hoped that it would be on his own accord and not by the school board.
At long last, she looked up with piercing green eyes, and that was wrong. Though interactions between the male and female teams were limited, Sakaki and Miura met together frequently to discuss tactics and problems with club members. She was always in a good mood, he remembered, always smiling. Until something happened last year, something he either didn't know or didn't remember.
"I appreciate your efforts, Sakaki-kun, but it doesn't matter," she said shortly, emptying a jar of pens into her bag. "My girls will be fine, with or without your help. Sorano-san and Shun-san are strong enough to handle everything themselves."
"A team needs a coach, and I was chosen for the job. I believe that it is my concern for the team that was formerly yours."
Miura locked eyes with him, gaze narrowing. Only then did Sakaki remember that she was young, only twenty-seven, and still had some sense of childish stubbornness in her. "Sakaki-kun, don't tell me what I already know. Worry about your own team for once." As a cutting blow, she added, "Must I remind you that in all the years your famous Atobe-san has been here, you've never won a major tournament even once?"
It was true, but that didn't mean the venom in her voice hadn't sunk in. He was fully aware of the fact that he'd never coached a winning team, just many successful ones. It was high time to win.
Something, however, was bothering him. Last year, Miura had led her team to the Kantou finals, only for them to be defeated by Rikkaidai. They'd gotten to the National semifinals before losing to Seigaku in a close match. Sakaki had only made it to the quarterfinals of both tournaments. So why, he wondered, was Miura getting fired when she had coached a team that had made it further than his? It made no sense.
As she opened the door to leave, he cleared his throat. "Miura-san…Fuyuko-san, are you sure your team will be alright?" It wasn't what he was trying to say, but they were the easiest words that could slip past his tongue.
She looked back at him once more with those green eyes, something distinctly cloudy about her emotions. "Tarou-kun, I assure you that they will be fine." And then she slipped out, not even bothering to shut the door.
Sakaki was puzzled by Miura Fuyuko. She didn't make any sense to him, but he couldn't worry about it any longer. After all, it was high time to win.
~xXx~
The encounter between the two adults had not gone unnoticed. Up on one of the third floor classrooms, a girl sat on the windowsill watching, eden eyes narrowed. She caught how Miura left the clubhouse with her shoulders slightly bent, the strange jut to her chin that was an attempt at dignity. Even from so far away, she also caught the way the woman had tears pooling up in her eyes, tears of regret and wishfulness.
The girl, who had been twirling a lock of hair around her finger, suddenly clenched her hand into a fist. Too late, Miura-sensei. It's too late, she thought with pity and empathy. It's far too late. She felt sorry for the former tennis coach too, but would never admit it, not even in her thoughts. She never apologized for anything, especially when she didn't have anything to do with it.
She glanced at the clock on the wall before smoothly sliding off the windowsill. It was four o' clock now, time for practice. The first practice with Sakaki and not Miura.
Oh well, she thought, maybe one of the science techies can build a time machine one day, and then Miura-sensei can knock some sense into the old man.
~xXx~
Tsukiko loved and hated captaincy.
It was nice to be looked up to as a leader, to have the eyes of the underclassmen and other third years watching her with reverence and obedience, but it was also nerve wrecking for the exact same reasons. Make one mistake, and she'd be torn apart by the club members like a pack of wolves tearing apart their prey, blood rushing out of her body and onto the ground beneath her.
"Isn't that going a little far, Tsukiko?"
She looked up with flushed cheeks in the realization that she'd said her last sentence out loud. The dark haired girl sitting in front of her looked composed and orderly, with her hair neatly tied up in a ponytail and uniform perfectly smooth. Tsukiko knew for sure that her tennis uniform was also tidy, but she still felt like a mess compared to the girl next to her.
With a sheepish smile, she said, "I'm sorry, Shun. I'm just a little nervous, you know?" she laughed far too convincingly.
Shun nodded sympathetically. "You'll be okay, Tsukiko-san. Just don't be nervous."
Don't be nervous? That was a joke. Despite having done hundreds—no, maybe even thousands—of performances in her lifetime of eighteen years, Tsukiko was so not ready to address two hundred expectant tennis club members. She didn't particuarly appear nervous, but her insides were twisting and turning, threatening to spill out. No, it was impossible not to be nervous.
The dark haired girl sighed, reaching a hand over to clasp her on the shoulder. Her eyes were the color of golden topaz. "You'll be okay," she repeated, a small, reassuring smile on her lips. "Miura-sensei wouldn't have appointed you as captain if she didn't believe you in."
"I'll head out now, just to make sure everything's in check. Two minutes before you have to make your announcements, got it?"
Tsukiko nodded, biting her bottom lip desperately.
Once Shun left, she let out a deep breath and willed herself to stare into the mirror in front of her. She was still the same person, still Sorano Tsukiko. Her dark red hair was up in bun resembling a rose, her blue-black eyes were strong. It's just like another performance, okay? You're not dancing today, but you dance to express words, and today you'll be speaking those words out loud. You can do it.
She reached up a hand and slipped the pin out of her bun, causing all her shiny hair to fall down her back in perfect waves. It was performance time, the lights were on, the stage was set, and she was ready for this.
~xXx~
In all honesty, Shun didn't really like Hyotei Academy that much. She'd only joined for two reasons: a) because the tennis club was good, and b) because her father had insisted upon it.
Shun had four siblings, two older and two younger. Himura Hiroki, her father, was on the Hyotei school board as the manager of it's sister schools. There were four other locations in America, France, England, and Australia. Hina, her older sister, had been sent to the location in Australia, Junichi, her older brother, had gone to America, and Mariko, her younger twin, went to France. That left Shun to go to any of the other two locations, and she chose to remain in Tokyo. Taiki, her youngest brother, who was still in primary school, would unquestionably be sent to England when the time came.
She didn't necessarily blame her father for sending his children off all around the world, but was a little rueful about the fact that he was using them for advertisement. Yeah, I'm attending this super rich school that did you know, has four other locations all around the world? My siblings all go to different ones, send all your relatives and friends there too!
Back when she'd been in elementary school, making decisions on middle schools, she'd wanted to go to Rikkaidai. It had the best tennis teams in the nation, and its status was of the elite. Hyotei, on the other hand, also had an excellent tennis team (though it had been quite a few decades since their last major win), but their status was even more elite, of the highest upper class. Hiroki would have never let his daughter go to a rival school when he was on the school board for a rich kid academy, so she'd always known it was out of the question to attend Rikkai.
And then that Atobe fucking Keigo had to enter the scene, and life at a rich kid academy just became worse.
Unlike the rest of the female population, Shun was not very impressed by Atobe Keigo. The boy was handsome, yes, he was intelligent, yes, and his family was ridiculously wealthy, yes, but what else did he have to offer? Shun certainly did not know, and all Atobe was to her was plain hell. She hated his antics and dramatic tendencies, hated the finger snaps and the way people of all ages fawned after him.
The only person she disliked more than Atobe Keigo was her new coach, Sakaki Tarou. She couldn't stand the way he especially fawned over Atobe, though it was different from most people. Sakaki didn't make gushing comments like the women or slap him on the shoulders like the men, he simply gave him all the spotlight and left all his teammates in the dark. Shun's biggest policy was to give credit to those who helped and were on the team, and she was disgusted by the special treatment Atobe got. She liked Oshitari and Shishido so much better, people who worked hard to earned their victories and deserved their titles.
If she'd had a choice, Shun would have ditched school so she didn't have to listen to Atobe's painfully dramatic speech and block out all the fangirls' cheering. But since she'd been made vice captain, and Tsukiko was always a jumble of nerves before public speaking, she'd decided that it was better to stay. Though dear lord, she begged her ears to be spared from hearing another "Ore-sama" or finger snap.
Finally—finally—Atobe was done with his speech, and now it was time for Tsukiko to give hers. Shun, though not the closest of friends with her, squeezed her fingers once for good luck and gently shoved her towards the podium.
Shun didn't really pay attention to the speech, and that was mostly due to the head of dyed hair that came up to her. The girl's trademark smirk and sly expression had always put her on edge, and though Shun always retained a calm and composed look, she was sure that this mastermind knew it. "Akechi," she greeted coolly, moving over a little to give her some space. She was neither friends nor enemies with the girl, but disliked her anyway.
In return, Akechi Yuuka smirked even wider. "Himura," she said, because Yuuka was known to call everyone by their last names and without honorifics. Shun doubted she'd ever find out how the cryptic and sly mastermind could ever have friends, but she'd stopped wondering a long time ago. Yuuka had plenty of friends, but she didn't necessarily treat them all as such. Tsukiko and a girl called Erena were of the few that she was truly close to, and perhaps the only one that she would protect.
Yuuka's hair was both striking and artistic. It went from a dark purple at the roots to a light pink at the tips, transitioning in an ombre so smooth it looked natural. Well, it would have looked more natural had it not been pink and purple, but that didn't mean it looked bad. Truth be told, Shun thought the dyed hair suited Yuuka very well. It captured her cryptic and deathly intelligence perfectly.
Distantly, she could hear the red haired captain say, "Ranking tournaments will be held tomorrow to decide the top eight—seven regulars and one reserve. Remember that just because you made the team last year doesn't necessarily mean you'll make it this year, so don't let your guard down."
That was a joke, Shun thought. The four remaining from last year's team consisted of Tsukiko, Yuuka, their best friend Erena, and Shun herself. Having played the other three and actually testing their skills out herself, Shun knew for certain that none of them were going to lose their spots. She also already had an idea of who were going to take the next four spots anyway.
"…please welcome my vice captain, Himura Shun," Tsukiko was saying.
Shun blinked, momentarily shocked. Yuuka prodded her shoulder in a way that was not particularly gentle or good natured, but it wasn't like she expected much else from Yuuka. She got up and went up to the podium, next words already on the tip of her tongue.
"I'd like to thank you all for joining the tennis club, but there are some ground rules we need to cover," Shun said in a voice that was both smooth and authoritative. "We will announce the eight who have made it as regulars tomorrow, but that could change later in the year. Anyone is allowed to challenge a regular at any time, and if they win they automatically gain their position."
"Unlike the male team, however, if a regular loses a match, they will not be taken off the first string," this she said with a bit of disguised venom, poisonous and bitter venom directed to Sakaki Tarou. "We do believe in second chances, and maybe even a third or fourth. But if a regular continues to constantly represent Hyotei Academy in a way that is unacceptable, they will be taken off without hesitation."
Tsukiko nodded in agreement, taking the microphone back. "Good luck in the ranking tournaments tomorrow, and be prepared for whatever may happen," she finished.
As Shun and Tsukiko descended from the platform, they exchanged glances. The same message was in their eyes, swimming on the surface of blue-black and amethyst, equally urgent and equally determined.
For Miura-sensei.
~xXx~
Late that night, Atobe stood on the roof of his mansion, waiting. He checked his expensive watch for the eleventh time, then back at the sky, annoyance written all over his face. When is that girl going to get here?
He turned to Kabaji, who was staring up into the night stars with an impatient expression that made Atobe smile. The second year really had missed her, after all. So much that he broke his usual blank look because he wanted her to be here so badly.
"Excited, ne, Kabaji?"
"Yes." Even that monosyllabic response couldn't fool Atobe Keigo. He knew that Kabaji was excited beyond his wits, more than ready to see his best friend again after six years.
"I would believe so. You remained in contact with Airi even when we moved, correct?"
"Yes."
"Good. That girl's got her brains, but I do wonder how she would fare in a new environment."
Before Kabaji could say anything else, the sound of a helicopter whirring caught their attention. The two boys looked up to see the giant helicopter with an Atobe Corporationlogo on the side descending on the rooftop. Once it landed, the door opened and a girl stepped out, stretching her back as she did so.
Kabaji smiled softly, taking a step forward. "Airi…" he said, extending out an arm for the girl.
Her dark eyes lit up when she saw him, immediately surging forward and throwing her arms around his neck. "Munehiro!" she cried, squeezing his shoulders once before letting go and looking at him directly in the face. "You haven't changed much, have you?" She laughed, giving him another hug.
Atobe cleared his throat as politely as possible while retaining that Ore-sama is still here vibe. The girl looked up, and when she saw the gray haired boy she laughed and extended a hand. "Good to see you too, Keigo," she said.
"Airi, Airi, Airi," he tsked, swatting away the hand. "Must I remind you that here in Japan I am your elder and you must use honorifics? Also, shaking hands with close friends is far too formal, you should know better."
Airi rolled her eyes, throwing her arms around his shoulders as well. "Fine, Keigo-senpai," was her nonchalant response as she released him. "You haven't changed much either, always the mood ruiner."
"And you, Airi," he sighed back dramatically, "have not lost any of your childishness, judging from this—" he checked his watch "—minute and a half reunion. I would have expected a girl of sixteen to be different from her ten year old self, but apparently that is not the case with you."
She just rolled her eyes again, shoving her suitcase at him. Turning back to Kabaji, she said, "Has Keigo-senpai been like this ever since we've been separated? I didn't realize Atobes went through puberty the same way girls do."
Mildly offended, Atobe cut in. "If you're referring to menstruation, I can assure you that I am not yet in need of tampons." Because it was Airi, it was always better to play along with her strange antics, no matter how crude they were. "Thank you for the concern, though there are probably a few more years before it comes."
"And when you get your first one, Keigo-senpai, text me. I'll make sure to tell you which brands are the best," Airi nodded solemnly.
"That would be greatly appreciated. Remember to bring ice cream and chocolates as well."
"Will do."
The ridiculousness of the discussion was too much for Kabaji to handle, and soon enough he was doubled over laughing. Only Airi could induce that in him. It had been a while since Atobe had last heard him laugh like that. Airi glanced at him fondly, laughter in her night colored eyes. Even Atobe was chuckling, unable to believe that he'd just been making jokes about such a topic. "You must be tired after that, not to mention jet lagged. I've already signed you up for the tennis tryouts and talked to your teachers, so you won't have to get up until late tomorrow"
Airi nodded gratefully, tiredly running her fingers through her pale brown hair. Stifling a yawn, she said, "Thanks, Keigo-senpai," before sleepily following Michael the butler downstairs.
Atobe had to let out a few more laughs. Though he'd never tell her, he was eternally grateful for Airi's existence. Being Kabaji's best friend from London, she'd spent all of her childhood with the two boys and knew how to deal with them. Not only that, she'd also fallen in love with tennis with them, and he could remember all the countless afternoons they'd spent rallying with each other.
Turning to Kabaji, he said, "This season is going to be interesting, ne?"
"Yes."
He chuckled again. That monosyllabic response couldn't fool Atobe Keigo.
~xXx~
End
~xXx~
A/N: I was inspired to write about an OC team by authors like fyerigurl and Neon Genesis, and I'd like for anybody who's reading this to please keep in mind that I'm not trying to plagiarize or copy them, and if there are any aspects that are too similar just let me know.
I chose Hyotei because hell, when you have rich kids interacting with rich kids and tennis and the brilliant Atobe, what could possibly go wrong?
A hell of a lot. But that's for later.
If all goes well, I plan to write half the story from Rikkai as well because I originally planned to do a RikkaiOC team and still want to include them if I'm writing Hyotei.
Please leave a review if you liked this!
-Descending Rainfall (though who has time for formalities like that. Call me Cara!)