Hello. Lauran speaking. As usual, I don't own any characters from "The Prince of Tennis" but I do own (half-ownership?) of the OC, Kirari. And now I'll leave you to your reading. Enjoy, review, message, do whatever you readers do. TTFN, Ta ta for now. P.S. I'm sorry if I've gone completely OOC on Eiji. -hangs head in shame-

A one-shot: Sharing is Caring

Kirari Fuji: brown hair, violet eyes

She is very quiet, seldom talks to others if it isn't needed, and loves photography as much as her older brother, Syusuke Fuji.

ONII-SAN MEANS BIG BROTHER. JUST SO YOU KNOW.

AND… BEGIN.


'Onii-san, do you think the teachers will like me?'

'Of course they will, Kirari.'

'But what about my classmates? What if they don't like me?'

'I'm sure they'll love you. And if not, you know that I'll always be there.'

At that, Syusuke Fuji, your older brother, gave a smile. A true smile, because you knew how to tell.

You sat on one of the bleachers in the courtyard of Segaku, where the Tennis Club usually practiced. You had arrived early at school, waiting for everyone else, but wanting to enjoy the nice weather by yourself before the noise settled in with the other people. It was June, nearing the end of the school year, and you were reminiscing about important events that had taken place this year, your first year at Segaku. A small smile made its way onto your face as you remembered something else.



'Everyone, this is my little sister, Kirari. Say hello to her,' Fuji introduced you to the members of his tennis team, his famous closed-eyed smile plastered on his face.

You instinctively looked down at the ground, focusing on several small pebbles, as each person said their hellos in turn. You expected the same from everyone at school: no one would pay attention to you after this introduction. You'd always remain in the background of things, just there because you might be useful. A tear slowly trickled down your cheek as you thought about this.

As usual, there was a silence as everyone else realized you weren't going to say anything.

'NYA!,' a voice exclaimed from in front. Your head jerked up, surprised at the sudden speech. A boy with red hair and a band-aid on his cheek was leaning down, and a curious look was on his face.

'Kirari's crying… Don't cry!' he told you, now very worried. 'You haven't been neglecting her or anything, have you, Fuji?!' he demanded, hugging you, who was in a state of shock.

'Onee-san would NEVER do that!' you replied, squirming in Eiji's grip.

You heard a few sharp intakes of breath. Eiji let go of you and stepped back.

'That was uncalled for. I'm sorry,' you apologized and lowered your head in shame. They probably disliked you already, and now, what is the first thing you say during an introduction? You felt tears welling up in your eyes. You had disgraced yourself in front of onii-san's friends, and if you said or did anything else, you might further shame yourself to the point of total humiliation.

In the middle of your train of unhappy thoughts, a soft voice called out, 'Kirari?' You were surprised to look up again to see Eiji, of all people, talking.

'Kirari?' he repeated. 'You have beautiful eyes. Don't try to hide them from us, okay?'

His voice quivered a few times and he blushed a bit at the comment about your eyes, causing you to blush as well. You could tell that he really was trying hard not to scare you again, but the tone of his voice sounded as if he was gently teasing you.

His blue eyes stared at your violet ones for a few moments until you broke the connection to look up and around at everyone else. You already knew what your onii-san's reaction would be. After all, you did live with him. He was standing there, smiling and nodding his head to agree with Eiji.

And you looked around at their reactions, expecting some amount of disgust or disapproval… but the more you looked, the more you realized… they didn't think badly of you. In fact, you saw the same thing in everyone's eyes. It… was something good. What you had longed for, not just from family, but from others as well.

This new discovery caused you to turn back to Eiji and hug him.

'Thank you,' you whispered, tears now flowing down your cheeks.

Because everyone, in fact, respected you. If you spoke up, they'd listen. It didn't matter how trivial the matter seemed. They wouldn't turn you away.

You sighed in relief after recalling your first meeting with the Tennis Club regulars. A breeze swept past you and you marveled at the beautiful weather. The bright blue skies, clouds drifting lazily along on the winds, and the sun warming the world… this felt like heaven.

You took out your camera and snapped a picture of a little bird that had landed on the tennis net.

But there was something missing, and you felt it. A confused look spread over your face as you searched your mind for the one thing missing from your heaven.

And a bright red glow appeared on your face as you finally figured it out.

Eiji.

Just the thought of him brought a smile to your face and sent a shiver throughout your body.

'When did I realize that I liked him?' you thought.

'Ah. I remember.'

It was a rainy spring morning, just one of those days that made you feel like staying inside and napping.

You sighed, annoyed that you had to walk to school in the rain. Onii-san had already left for school.

'He said that he wanted to take a picture of that strange tree he saw the other day,' you thought as you finished off the rest of your peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

(If you don't like those, choose whatever you feel like eating. And don't give me that nonsense about how you don't eat breakfast at all. In my story, you do. So there. :P)

After cleaning up after yourself, you got your book bag, put on your coat and said goodbye to your okaa-san (mother). You were probably going to arrive at school drenched.

So you ran out the door, feet splashing in puddles of various sizes.

At one point, you stopped under a big tree with lots of leaves and branches. It kept most of the rain from pouring onto you. You stood there shivering, wishing for someone to pass by and offer you the blessing that was called an umbrella.

And miraculously enough, a voice called out your name within the next ten seconds. You peeked out of the not-so-helpful wetness of your coat and saw Eiji.

'Nya! Kirari!' he shouted. 'Come over here. I have an umbrella. We can share!'

You stared at him as if he was your guardian angel and he had descended from a cloud to help you in your misery.

"Eiji! Good morning!" you called out. He was one of the only people you would be this social with. He brought out the more talkative side of you.

You ran to his side… Or at least, tried, to run. As soon as you reached Eiji, you slipped on a random puddle, thanks to the wet sneakers you had on.

A strong arm made its way around your waist, preventing you from falling to the ground. You could feel Eiji's warm breath on your neck. You shivered, feeling very awkward at this closeness.

Eiji must have sensed your awkwardness, and set you on your feet.

'Are you okay?' he asked, looking at you and your now tomato-red cheeks.

You nodded, feeling very grateful for his assistance. And, as if countering your reply, you let out a sneeze. Eiji ruffled your hair.

'Hoi hoi! You should warm yourself quick! You don't wanna catch a cold, do you? Let's walk to school together!' he suggested.

You smiled and answered, 'Okay!' before the two of you bounced off (not literally) to school…

Together.

You had a gigantic smile on your face, and you really savored the warmth the sun was sending down. Today was the perfect day for a picnic. Maybe you'd ask Onii-san to invite his friends. And Eiji. Definitely Eiji.

Just then, a loud "Nya! Kirari!" sounded across the courtyard, and you were thrust back into the present. Speak of the devil.

"Hello, Eiji," you greeted him, as he bounded over to you and glomped you, and the both of you landed in an awkward position on the seat of the bleachers. His head was on your shoulder, and your legs were hanging off the edge of the seat, and his arms still around you. Your right arm was wrapped around Eiji in a sort of hug, but your left arm was flung back and it landed behind your head.

You immediately blushed and just let him figure out that he needed to get up. Eventually, he realized what a strange sight you two would be if anyone passed by.

He sat next to you, smiling a very wide smile, causing you to smile as well. His smile was absolutely contagious. You might even be able to compare it to sunshine!

"The weather is beautiful today," you told him. He nodded and answered, "Nya! It sure is!"

And then he added four extra words that made your heart skip a beat.

"And so are you."

You immediately blushed and bit your lip. You knew he liked teasing people, but was he kidding this time? You decided to ask him.

"Eiji?" you whispered. "Did you really mean that?"

"Yes. You are very pretty today, Kirari!" he smiled.

You nodded quietly before saying, "Thank you. And that's why you're my best friend, Eiji."

He got a tint of pink on his face and went silent for a moment. THAT was something you didn't see just any other day. It must've been something quite serious for him to completely go silent.

You became worried and asked him, "Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry!"

"Oh, no no. You didn't do anything…" he trailed off.

You two sat in silence for a moment or two before Eiji asked you something.

"Kirari, what do you feel about me?"

"What do you mean by that?!" you responded, a little too quickly.

"I – I can't really explain it. Could I show you?" he pleaded.

As soon as you nodded, his head had zoomed up close, and he was breathing on your face. It smelled like peppermint. He leaned his forehead against yours. You got the general idea of what was going to happen next.

He stopped at that. "I think you know what's going on."

You blushed a deep shade of red and whispered, "Yes."

"May I?"

Nod nod.

"Okay."

And with that last spoken word, he kissed you gently for a couple of seconds. It really did sound cheesy, but you thought that it felt feathery. It really did feel like that… to you, at least.

As you two smiled and blushed all you wanted, Eiji linked his hands with yours. He was very happy, and led you off the bleachers.

In the middle of the tennis court, he picked you up and swung you around in circles. Even though you knew you'd collapse of dizziness later, you didn't care. He loved you too.

Meanwhile…

Click!

Click!

Click!

"I think that'll be sufficient," Syusuke Fuji whispered to himself from inside the school, his camera being turned off and put away safely. He turned away from the window and walked away, mumbling about how he needed to find himself a girlfriend instead of setting up his best friend and his beloved little sister.