Word Count: 779

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS.

Author's Notes: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEI-CHAN (Keisuke Cloudberry)! Here's my gift for you. :) I hope you enjoy it.

Happiness

A blanket of dark clouds covered the sky as heavy rain poured over the city. A certain girl ran as fast as she could back to Fudomine.

"Mou… I'm getting wet!" she complained, trying to keep the umbrella over her head. As she ran, she took a quick glance at the nearby park. Everybody had gone home because of the rain. That's what she thought, at least, until she saw a figure lying on the benches.

She took some time to think. "What should I do?" she asked herself, feeling the compassionate person she is. "He's going to get sick if I leave him like that." She hesitated on what to do. But out of kindness, she decided to help the poor boy.

The soaked girl ran over to the benches. She placed her hand on his shoulder and took a closer look. That's when she realized, "He's not bothered by the rain at all?"

She tried shaking the boy's shoulder, but she got no luck. "Shoot. I'm drenched," she mumbled as water from the tree soaked her even more. "When is this guy ever going to wake up?"

She wiped her face with her already wet jacket, which in the end, she realized, didn't help at all. She blinked quite a few times so the water would escape her eyes. Then she noticed… "A Hyoutei uniform?"

"He looks somewhat familiar."

A raindrop fell and landed on the person's eyes. "Uhh… huh?" he yawned. Another droplet fell on him. This time, he sat up. "What's going on?" he asked as he scratched his eyes.

"Ah!" the girl exclaimed, "You're Akutagawa Jirou-kun!"

"And, who are you?" Jirou asked, tilting his head as he pointed at her.

She did a fake cough. "It's rude to point, you know."

"It's rude to stalk people," Jirou shot back.

"I wasn't stalking you," the girl defended.

Jirou pouted. "You could at least tell me who you are."

A smile formed on her lips. "Tachibana An."

Never did they find something in common (other than tennis, of course) until the time An bought Jirou ice cream. It was surely a coincidence—they had the same favorite flavor; Cookie Dough.

"Ne, An-chan, why do you like ice cream?" Jirou asked as he slowly licked his delicious treat. "Is it because it tastes good?"

An licked her own cone before answering. "That's one of the reasons. But really," she paused and played with the chocolate stick that was buried in the ice cream, "I don't really have a main reason for liking it. Yeah, it tastes good, but everyone thinks that."

Jirou mused.

"How 'bout you, Jirou-kun?" she asked, "Why do you like ice cream?"

He gave her a smile. "Because when I eat it, it gives me a happy feeling. It's like all of my worries get washed away."

An watched him as Jirou happily licked his cone. I never realized that ice cream would make me this happy when I'm with you,she laughed at the thought. Jirou caught her looking at him. "Is there something wrong, An-chan?"

An blushed. "Nah, it's nothing," was her reply.

Silence suddenly fell on them. But then, as always, Jirou would be the one to break it. "Say, want to go for a walk?" he suggested. "No rain, it's sunny, what do you think?"

An paused to think for a moment. She then turned to smile at him. "Let's go."

Jirou would always visit An after school hours. He would run all the way from Hyoutei to Fudomine. And An would patiently wait for him by the school gates.

Today was an especially special day.

"My treat today!" Jirou told her, "Anything you want!"

Her eyes twinkled. "Really?"

"It is your birthday, after all." Jirou grinned. "Come on, we'll go anywhere today! It's my birthday gift for you."

"Well… we could always go for ice cream. But," An paused.

"…But?"

"Let's go somewhere else today," she said, looking at him. Her eyes shined brightly.

Jirou looked confused. "The lighthouse?"

An grabbed his wrist. "Come on, let's go up!"

The view was spectacular. The ocean stretched from one end to the other, the sky was simply beautiful, blending shades of red and orange, and the sound of crashing waves was calming to the ears. The sunset was stunning.

Jirou's eyes widened as he looked around.

An hugged her knees together. "Doesn't it look cool from up here?"

"S-SUGOI!" Jirou cheerfully shouted. An smiled at him.

They sat at the edge of the lighthouse and watched the sunset together. As An rested her head on Jirou's shoulder, she said, "Let's come here again sometime. It makes me happy."