For my friend, SighingWinter. I hope you like your prize. It was nice working on something else than TRG.
BTW. I CHANGED IT TO A MULTI-CHAPTER JUST CUZ I FELT LIKE THERE WAS A LOT OF POTENTIAL IN THIS STORY!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in this story! Not the Song Quote nor the Characters. Yoshimizu Kanna is SighingWinters. All Prince of Tennis characters are the HOT KNOMI-SENSEI's!
Promises to Fulfill
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Underneath the moon, underneath the stars
Here's a little heart for you
Up above the world, up above it all
Here's a hand to hold on to
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"Do you promise that we'll be together forever, Kei?"
A little girl at the mere age of nine held her companion's hand tighter in hers. She dared not look at his face for fear that she would find the harsh truth depicted in his silvery gaze; instead, her bright blue orbs directed themselves to the starry sky above.
The two children had run away from a party their parents had thrown, and ran to a large hill that protruded from their backyard – if you called a thousand acre garden a mere backyard. They felt suffocated by the thick atmosphere of the adults' presence and had to find an escape. They both knew that one day they too must mingle in the crowd like respectful adults, but they were, after all, just children. Even as children of a higher social status, their energy was infinite and unrefined. They were bound to become bored eventually when all that surrounded them was talks of business and gossip. They both were slightly saddened at the fact that they had left their other best friend, a gigantic boy younger than they, back in the fray to cause a distraction. All was forgotten when they climbed the last foot of the hill. They marveled in awe as the stars electrified the purple and blue haze that was the sky while the moon embraced them all to his domain. The little girl plopped her body on the lush grass to relax and gawk. The blades tickled her exposed skin, but she did not mind as long as her friend was there with her. The little boy saw that his friend was not likely to get up soon, so he too had lain upside down beside her. Their heads were close to each other and their hands were clasped loosely between them. They both let the comfortable silence lengthen their time together even if both children were no less than chatterboxes in everyday life. She broke the silence a moment later with the question. She sat abruptly a moment after; her eyes catching something in the skies. They were soon privy to a meteor shower. Both their eyes shut tightly as possible as they muttered wishes under their breaths. She wished nothing less than to let their days last forever and more. Underneath it all, she had hoped that this natural occurrence had distracted him from the question.
She looked above once again and reached out towards the sky as if she was going to catch one of the meteors," I wish I could catch all the stars in the sky and keep them in the palm of my hands."
The little boy resituated himself and sat down next to her to hold out his pinky finger, "Yakusoku?"
She stared at him in disbelief before her eyes illuminated, glowing brightly than ever before. Even more so than we she had discovered her parents had stayed overnight to spend time with her on Christmas Day as a family. She sported a true happy smile only reserved for him; one that seemed to resonate in the little boy's mind. She clasped her little finger tightly with his, "Mm. Yakusoku."
"I promise to be by your side forever and I promise that one day I could give you all the stars!" he shouted as he fell back down opened armed to their pillowing grass.
She laughed at his incredulousness then turned her attention once again towards the shower. "Okay, Promise. . . . . . "
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"Promise," muttered a girl quietly as her raven hair billowed around her. Yoshimizu Kanna had just awakened from her memories that consumed the better part of her day. Her eyes had widened in surprise as she realized just how much it did take.
Kanna was encased in the hues of the sunset as it slowly disappeared behind the horizon only to reappear in another part of the world. The chill of night was starting to caress her exposed skin cooling her slightly. But all too soon the placidity of the scene was disrupted as new faces approached the dazed statue. The first to advance to her location was the same boy from her memories. Traces of any childlike quality were now gone from his face. In its stead was a boyishly handsome young man that forever had a smirk plastered on his face. Even in the midst of their teenage years, no vexation marred his silky face. His powerful frame no longer seemed awkward on him for early years of tennis had given him a premature butch quality. Her memories of him from their childhood in the urban hive of London, England no longer were correspondent to the memories she had made of him here in Tokyo, Japan.
Their friendship had officially started itself during a business soiree that the boy's, Atobe Keigo's parents held when they were only five years of age. Their friendship had soared once they had accidentally met during the orientation at the posh boarding school they were attending. It had grown into taller heights when they had discovered that their parents had 'coincidentally' drafted them into tennis lessons. It was then on that the two children were inseparable. Each drove each other into levels of high intelligence and skill to the point that two dominated the school – whether it tennis or academics. They, of course, played mixed doubles together when the urge to beat other opponents was too great. They could not deny fact that they knew that their parents were only using their friendship as a spying game of sorts; however, both children dismissed such blasphemy. They were the anchors for each other when their school had discriminated them because they were Asian. They were also ties that held onto; the heritage they were not surrounded with.
So it came as a surprise when Kanna had met him once again after a year and a half of not seeing him. She could not fathom how a personality could warp into one that she could not recognize. It didn't help that in that year and a half he had not once called her. E-mail. Skype. Facebook. Nothing. It was as if he had completely severed any connections he had with her; not caring how hurt she had felt when she had tried to call, and when she needed him the most. Indeed even after their time spent apart, she still recognized his distinct personality as the spoiled little rich boy. When she had known him, he was only slightly arrogant and only favored her as a female companion. His cockiness was dampened because of her presence.
He was, in fact, a shy little boy when he had first met her. What had happened?
Without her, his arrogance had soared into new levels. She was appalled that everywhere she visited at the school campus there were talks of squealing fangirls saying "Atobe-sama!" Then the principal with his talk of the generous donations he had brought to the school. She was privy to witness a match between Atobe and another tennis player, a boy with blue hair and glasses. All around the fans were screaming Atobe's name to where she couldn't even her own voice in the crowd. He could even stop the crowd by a snap of his fingers. It reminded her like a ringleader with his monkeys.
Speaking of monkeys, Atobe's right hand man, Kabaji Munehiro, lumbered behind him. He gave her a small smile in greeting before returning to his blank face. She was the only one who could incite other emotions than intense passion to fulfill Atobe's commands. Kanna was also the only one that could instigate a real conversation from him. No "usu" or "Hyotei is the winner!" from him. He had revealed to her in a private conversation that she reminded him of his older sister, and asked her to continue as a sister figure for him. She agreed whole heartedly; after all, acting as a big sister was her dream as a child since she was from a single child family. She was her confidant as he was her tie to the family.
The next person to approach was the same boy that played her best friend at her first appearance. His shoulder length blue hair whispered across her face with some catching on his Harry Potter-esque glasses. Oshitari Yuushi became her best friend at the end of their third year at Hyoutei. He had seen how Atobe had treated her and stroke up a friendship. It was not until Yuushi had been invited to Kanna's apartment and found her large collection of romance novels that they had become best friends. It was often an inside joke that they say the cheesiest pick up line that they can conjure from the top of their heads as a greeting. The other boys had at first reacted negatively to their friendship. They had actually believed that the two were in a real relationship. That time made an awkward situation as they had discovered that some team members had actually tried to follow them to a café thinking that they were on a date. The two best friends then further complicated the problem by going along with their outlandish ideas. The only negative of that situation that a Hyoutei student had gotten hold of information somehow, and spread it around the student body. The next day all Hyoutei Tennis Team fangirls had cornered the unassuming Kanna and threatened to have her whole family turned into paupers. Kanna had simply ignored the girls which resulted into more anger. The boys looked on in awe as she controlled the inquisition without a word to them. Later in the day, she had publicly announced on top of the roof top with a bullhorn that she was not in fact dating Oshitari Yuushi, and that they were to promptly leave her and her friends alone.
This action gave the team a newfound respect for the petite girl. She became their bodyguard of sorts always in her vicinity. Mukahi was the first of the rest of the group to become her friend. He had taken her to the amusement park after finding out that she had not seen the locales of Tokyo. Wakashi Hiyoshi, of course, was forced to come along although he was very distant to the pair; he soon warmed to her smiles and his senpai's audacity. The rest followed immediately after: Choutaro with shared musical talents, Shishido tagging along, and Taki placing her on a pedestal.
Their attitude around Kanna seemed as if they were childhood friends of hers. She had fully integrated herself in their lives in such a way that when she had briefly moved to Germany for a few short months that the equilibrium of the group was thrown off quilter. Not even the inept boastfulness of Atobe was enough to equalize the group once again. There was always a sense of emptiness within the group. It was, of course, fortunate that she had returned. Yet for some strange reason, she had returned with a new personality. No one to this day (which was already three months after her return) could figure out was in the world changed her. Today was one of those weird days.
In the middle of having fun with her friends, Kanna's phone had called out to her. Before the ring tone had even started the first words, she tapped the screen with enough force the boys' were sure could have blinded any of their eyes.
Kanna walked swiftly away from the sitting group and responded with a loud and strained, "Hey there girlfriend!"
The boys looked at each other quizzically. There was in no way possible that Kanna would scream out to the world that she was talking to a girl friend. Besides, they knew her way too well to know that she did not, in any way possible, have a friend that is a girl. Their reason for following her a moment later was clearly justified. The boys had followed her into an isolated area near the old storage buildings. She was sitting down at a bench with a large smile on her face and animatedly conversing with an unknown (to them) caller. They crept closer to hear the conversation.
"OH! Why are you so incorrigible?" she mockingly exasperated, "Yes, yes. I will come over. Is you cooking dinner tonight?"
At the last question, the boys' eyes widened. What was their Kanna getting herself into?
"Yeah. Okay, how bout Saturday then? Love you too, babe! Bye" Kanna bid her farewell with a wistful but content smile on her face.
The boys, noticing their time ran out for eavesdropping, ran quietly as they could back to their spot on the hill. The boys' minds were reeling. How could they have noticed this before? It had explained everything! From her strange behavior to her strange habits. Unfortunately, it explained the true reason why she no longer hung out with them for prolonged periods of time. She was favoring her lover!
"What the hell?" Mukahi was the first to exclaim his confusion, "Why didn't she ever tell us?"
Wakashi watched as his senpai jumped up in the air for emphasis. He then scoffed and gave his stare as if he knew exactly the reason she had never gave them privy to the information. He turned his gaze towards the other boys, and rolled his eyes as he saw the expression on each of their faces.
Ootori, looking so heartbroken, shifted his eyes upward and sighed, "I had a hunch that this was going to happen. I didn't want to believe it at first. . ."
His loud mutterings intrigued the others. They immediately jumped on their kouhai and interrogated the poor boy, wanting to know his theories. As they focused their efforts on one person, they had not noticed two voices not joining their inquiry.
Oshitari Yuushi was shocked beyond words. His own best friend not telling him of her relationship status was absolute betrayal. Not that he was complaining. No, that wasn't right. He was complaining. His heart felt as though it was torn centimeter by centimeter, and along the way it was re-stitched and torn again. All of it was without mercy. He knew why he felt this way, but it was just too late to say anything. He was – is – in love with his best friend. Yuushi couldn't figure out when he had first started falling in love with his best friend. He did know when he had first realized he loved her. It was one of those simple times when he had been spending time with her. It had seemed as if a veil was ripped from his eyes; he had seen Kanna as a woman. A beautiful, independent woman who was hopelessly already in-love with a certain Atobe; at least, he thought it was Atobe.
The other shocked beyond comprehension was Atobe Keigo himself. Now Atobe did not know why he was in shock in the beginning. He didn't own her life. Kanna was her own independent woman. He should know that very well after the many times she had taken the blame from their messy adventures as children. He knew how she coped when he no longer stayed by her side. He knew how much it hurt her that he no longer treated her as his best friend. Most of all, he knew that she grew in maturity after that. Now that they had some semblance of a friendship, she was only a friend to him! He didn't have any feelings for her. Atobe clutched an aching part of his chest: Did he?
Meanwhile, Kanna was prancing back to her boys in an ecstatic mood: she planned on having her first year anniversary at a fancy restaurant! The fancy part was not anything new to her, but at least this time it was with a person that she loved instead of people in stuffy suits and slutty dresses. He also promised a special night with her. Oh, yes. She was very ecstatic. With an incredibly noticeable bounce on her step, she plopped down next to her best friend, Oshitari. With her happiness humming and wanting to burst into a radiant smile, she was oblivious to the silence clouding over her own group.
The boys glanced at each other while discreetly until Mukahi nudged Ootori on the rib. Ootori gazed at hi sempai pleadingly before sighing as he received a shake of 'no.'
He prepared his question by clearing his throat, "Kanna-nee-sempai, are you doing anything this weekend?"
Shishido turned abruptly towards the side and slapped his forehead which was unnoticed by the happy girl. Kanna shook her head in a negative, "No, I'm sorry Cho-kun. I have something to do this weekend."
Mukahi feigned interest and chose this time to speak up, "Oh? What is it?"
Kanna smirked mysteriously and llifted one finger up to her lips, "Hmm. It's a secret!"
This worried her boys the most.
I'm sorry Mor! That I should have given this to you sooner, but I couldn't decide whether or not I should be able to make this into a multi-chapter!
To those who aren't Mor, I hope you liked this new story I'm creating.
To those who were my contest winners! You still have not collected your compensation prize!
Till the next chapter,
Kat