Date-O! Date-O! Arc - Middle School Years - Prologue

Pairings : Dan x Echizen
Rating : PG
Warnings : Shounen-ai, fluff
Disclaimer : Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi
Spoilers : Anything to do with Dan from the Yamabuki Arc in the anime

Summary : Out of the blue one day, Echizen got waylaid by a persistent Dan Taiichi...and boy angst and blossoming shounen-ai ensue!

A/N : Just something really light and waffy, LOL. I thought the two ochibis look really sweet together! o


Echizen Ryoma took off his cap, grimacing as his hair tumbled out in wet, messy locks. As if the hair had a life of its own, those locks began plastering themselves to his cheeks and forehead in a most aggravating manner. He'd have worn his cap all the time except it made him look really stupid when he was in his navy-blue school uniform.

He stepped out from the school driveway, glad for the late evening. The air was cool against his face and lifted his hair in soothing caresses. Nice. Everywhere around him was soaked in a film of pink-gold by the setting rays. Momo-senpai had left earlier, flying off on his bicycle and hollering about some meat buns or something. Just as well. Echizen decided that silence was sweet and he was glad he could be free from the hustle and bustle of school and students as he walked home alone.

"Echizen-kun!"

Oh no...Like an automatic reflex, Echizen could feel his face darkening into a frown. He just had a strenuous practice, he was tired, he wanted silence and he wanted to be away from people. He didn't recognise that voice, although something about it did click with the bank of memories locked away in his mind. Well, just too bad, then. He wasn't in the mood to indulge.

"Echizen-kun! Echizen-kun!"

This time, that voice was much nearer and so noisy Echizen conceded defeat. Pausing in his tracks, he swivelled his head around. That voice was very high and had a weird buoyancy to it like the owner was either on a sugar-high or just impossibly enthusiastic. At first Echizen didn't see anybody, then a head suddenly popped up right in front of his face and he nearly yelled.

Nearly, so that meant he didn't.

Trying to calm his ruffled composure was another matter. Grimacing, Echizen stared at the offender, not even recognising him at first. He had thought it was a girl initially, but further observation of a gangly frame clad in a too-big jersey and shorts confirmed that it was a boy. But honestly, the face could have passed for a girl any time. Huge, kittenish eyes the colour of liquid-brown, a small nose and smaller mouth, and all of these elfin features framed by a head of tumbling, longish locks.

"Echizen-kun! I'm so glad I found you!" that little mouth split into a bright smile, and small hands curled into victorious fists.

"I don't know you," Echizen replied brusquely as he tried to side-step the boy, frowning when the latter instantly moved to block him.

"But I know you!" The voice continued to gush. "Echizen Ryoma! We've met before, remember? I'm from Yamabuki!"

Heeeh...Yamabuki. Echizen thought he might recall that school. Usually he didn't bother too much with names of fallen opponents, and schools too, for that matter, unless there was some good reason to. He stared blankly at the excited boy in his face. Okay...it was pretty obvious they were about the same age although Echizen was probably one-half times bigger than him. Then Echizen's eyes were drawn to the green band tied around the boy's forehead. Oh, now that looked familiar.

The boy gestured animatedly to himself. "Dan Taiichi!"

Dan. Taiichi.

Echizen had a sudden image of the boy with tears running down his cheeks, lips quivering as he stared after the disappearing figure of this huge, towering...

Akutsu Jin! Echizen's eyes widened as he remembered. Akutsu Jin, all snarls and twisting athleticism, ferocious eyes and flaring ash hair.

Echizen glanced back at the beaming boy again, feeling a little bewildered to connect the rather scary-looking Akutsu to this wisp of a freshman. Oh well. He shrugged. "What do you want?"

"Echizen-kun." The boy bowed deeply and respectfully. "I want to be you."

Echizen blinked stupidly. "Hah?"


That was the beginning of it. The first of a series of practices that had nothing to do with Echizen's own progress in any way. If anything, Echizen would count it a blessing that his own skills didn't deteriorate in the process of these practices. They were a complete and total waste of his time and energy. And he couldn't even remember why on earth he agreed to them in the first place. Plus, he knew that these practices were not quite within team rules. They still had big matches to prepare for and Echizen himself was strained by increasingly vigorous training routines. By rights, he shouldn't be expending more energy on such useless activities. But...hell, he had agreed. And he blamed it on the incessant wheedling and pleading that the other freshman had subjected him to. Beside, Dan was willing to travel all the way just for these practies. Before Echizen knew it, one practice had stretched into two and three, and now they were at the fourth practice.

Well, damn.

A small hand curled into his sleeve and tugged, snapping him out of his reverie. Fighting the urge to flinch, Echizen carefully pulled away before turning to the boy who had been haunting him for the past two weeks.

"Can we rally now, Echizen-kun?"

It couldn't exactly be called rallying. It was more Echizen hitting the ball over and Dan trying his darndest to return at a reasonable speed and accuracy. Nodding shortly, Echizen took his place on his side of the court. He watched as Dan scampered to the opposite end. It was amazing how Dan could barely keep up even with the simplest of shots and still maintain that brimming enthusiasm.

The Akutsu thing must have affected him a lot. Previously, Echizen remembered everything now, Dan had been contented to be team manager, or errand boy, rather, and perpetually in the shadow of everyone else on the Yamabuki team. He was also a fluffy, flouncy and altogether too naïve kid.

Echizen stifled a sigh as Dan caught his staring from the other side of the court and waved before assuming his receiving stance again. Dan was still a fluffy, flouncy and altogether too naïve kid.

Raising his arm, Echizen served a normal, straight serve but with enough strength behind it to make it a fairly challenging shot to return. He watched again as Dan moved, a blur of white, green and brown as he met the ball. The kid had reasonably good speed for a beginner, Echizen decided, before hitting the return. This time, he placed the shot on the side-line to force the other boy into a wild dash to return it. Echizen's gaze grew critical as the returning cross-court shot was not as deep or angled enough to make him run for it. No good, no good. For the third ball, he put a spin on it, so it would rebound beyond Dan's reach.

Echizen straightened, knowing the shot wouldn't be returned this time.

Dan was totally out of position and his panicked scramble backwards was not enough to let him reach the ball properly.

Then, amber eyes widened, just imperceptibly so.

In a desperate leap, Dan's small body rose into the air, racquet arcing wildly. And the strings just - just managed to catch the ball, and send it back over the net.

Echizen didn't have to look to know that the ball would fly wide. He approached the net, then around it to where Dan was bent, hands braced on thighs as he drew in ragged breaths. Echizen stared down at Dan, then spoke without waiting for the boy to recover his breath. "Don't bend your wrist too much. You're not playing badminton. You'd hurt your wrist. You also need to run more, and work out more. You don't have enough power and speed. And..." He trailed off when he suddenly found himself the subject of a earnest, chocolate-brown gaze.

"And?" Dan said, still a little breathless, as he plonked himself onto the ground and smiled back at Echizen.

"And drink more milk," Echizen replied a tad gruffly. Milk was still a sensitive issue for him. Every bottle reminded him of his still-short and still-growing stature. While he knew that his height had never been too much of an issue when it came to skill level, it had hampered him before. And Dan was even smaller and shorter than he was. "Three bottles each day," Echizen added, trying not to smirk.

Dan's face scrunched up in an expression of childish distaste. "I hate milk."

Amen to that. "Drink it." Now Echizen felt fairly sure he was being sadistic about it.

"Especially strawberry," Dan continued, face getting even more scrunched up.

Echizen thought about it for a moment, before blanching in disgust.

"Gross!" They both said at the same time.

Dan grinned and for a moment, Echizen's normally expressionless expression relaxed into an almost-smile. However, Dan was quicker to sober.

"Arigatou desu," Dan said quickly, gratefully, even clasping his hands together at his chest. "For helping me so much with tennis. And spending all that time with me. Even my senpai didn't want to..." he faltered, trailing off with a distinct dimming of his smile.

Echizen shifted uncomfortably. Was this the part where he was supposed to probe so that Dan could unbottle his feelings or something? Echizen realised he had absolutely no idea. Rather jerkily, he sat down next to Dan. "So, your senpai..." he began, then froze up.

"Senpai are all preparing for their matches." Dan forged ahead, appearing not to notice Echizen's discomfort. Quite contrary, he seemed almost grateful that Echizen was prepared to listen to his griping. "I don't blame them, really! But they don't have a lot of time for me, you see. And with Akutsu-senpai gone...we only have Sengoku-senpai who can match up to the big teams...Sensei is so worried too, even if he keeps smiling about it."

"What about you?" That question shot out of Echizen's mouth before he could help it.

"Me? I'm not good enough...I can't help the team no matter how hard I try. You saw it just now, Echizen-kun...I'm so bad at tennis!" Dan gazed at him out of suddenly bright eyes. He shrugged, a gesture meant to look light-hearted, except it wrung drops of moisture from the corners of his eyes.

Amber eyes rounded in comical dismay as they followed the slow slide of those childish tears from equally rounded chocolate-brown eyes, over reddened cheeks. Echizen heard all the alarms go off in his mind. Dan was...Dan was CRYING! Echizen was terrible at consoling crying people!

"Not yet good enough," Echizen corrected, then grimaced when he realised that that probably wasn't the most appropriate words of consolation. He really was bad at this!

Dan tried to smile again, but his smile wobbled for a second before fading and his lips quivered. "Sorr...sorry, Echizen-kun..." he said shakily. "You must...must think...I'm a baby..."

"Yea - no. No!" Echizen watched helplessly as more tears spilled from Dan's eyes, dripping off his cheeks and chin in silvery streams. This was bad. Echizen's fingers were getting clammy and his chest was tightening like there were a thousand Momo-senpai sitting on it. The more coherent part of his mind willed Dan to pull himself together and stop crying because he was certainly in no shape to do it for him.

By now Dan had curled his arms around himself, looking very much like a fluff-haired ball. His head was tucked against his chest, face hidden to prevent Echizen from seeing his crying, but the shudders running through his slight body gave it all away.

Echizen considered for a rather evil moment to just leave Dan there. He was tempted to; his initial reaction towards any situation he'd rather not deal with was to walk away. But to do that to Dan, this little quivering mass of thin limbs and fragile emotions, seemed really, really mean. Echizen could already hear all his senpai's unified reproach:

You have a heart of stone, Echizen Ryoma!

"H...hey..." Echizen's hand hovered, before the boy nodded determinedly and laid it on one frail shoulder.

For the next five minutes, Echizen Ryoma's mind shut down as his assaulted senses fought to deal with a warm body launching into his chest, an equally warm face burying against his neck and small hands fisting into his jersey.

When he had somewhat reined in his initial response to scream, Echizen had to deal with the next onslaught of responses. The second was to throw off that body curled into him, and Echizen quickly thought of Karupin in his arms. That's right. This was Karupin in his chest, her paws in his jersey. If it was Karupin, then everything was okay. Then came the third response where Echizen's mind was simply recoiling in horror. The still-damp and very warm face against his neck could never be Karupin!

In spiking desperation, Echizen thought of breathing exercises. Breathe in. Breathe out. Don't breathe. Breathe in. Breathe out. Don't breathe. Several of these exercises lent him enough composure to finally uncurl his hands and lower them to his sides so he wouldn't give into the urge to pull Dan off himself. He was motionless after that, practically a living statue as he weathered the trembling and sniffling against his body.

"Sorry, Echizen-kun," Dan whispered.

Echizen jumped. He couldn't help it! Those words were spoken right against his neck, raising goosebumps where Dan's breaths had gusted over his skin. "N...no..." Echizen's voice shook a little but was otherwise steady and he was unnaturally glad for it. "No problem."

Taking it as a sign of acquiescence, Dan snuggled his face deeper into the crook of Echizen's neck. His fists relaxed from Echizen's jersey, arms rising to curl around Echizen's shoulders. For a moment after that new development in position, it was hard to tell which boy was the more distressed.

"'Kaa-san used to hug me like this," Dan said quietly. His sobbing had eased somewhat and what were left behind were the soft hitches of breaths that couldn't quite ease. "Do you think she's ashamed of my tennis?"

That last question...asked in a painfully wretched tone. Echizen tried to wrap his fogged mind around it so he could formulate some good answer. The mother, huh. He had the idea that most parents were proud of whatever their kids did, even bad things. His own parents were kinda okay. A sudden image of Oyaji and his ecchi magazines. Maybe not entirely okay.

"Your tennis isn't bad," Echizen said carefully, awkwardly leaning back to brace his hands on the ground. It was tiring to carry his own and another boy's weight.

"Do you mean it?"

Echizen thought that one over more carefully. "Yeah." It was true. He had seen much worse. Besides...if he had to admit it, Dan had potential that was more than the average kid. "You just have to..." Echizen was suddenly reminded again how he sucked at dispensing comfort. "Believe in yourself." That was lame, but it didn't sound half-bad now that he had said it.

The head at his neck shifted, and Echizen found himself with a faceful of soft, fluffy bangs, before they lifted and he was looking into a tear-stained face inexplicably brightened by a guilelessly radiant smile and shining eyes.

"You really are the best, Echizen-kun!"


"Here's a letter for you, Ryoma."

Letter?

Bleary-eyed, Echizen took the small white envelope and stared blankly at it. He hardly ever got letters. Who needed letters when there were things like mobile phones now? For a while, he contemplated throwing it away. He didn't recognise the handwriting and his mind was already recalling all the crazy instances of female schoolmates presenting gaily-decorated bento and cutesey gifts and pink letters to him. Gah. He stared down at the letter again. It was pristine white...and on that note, it didn't scare him like a pink envelope would.

Besides, his curiosity was piqued now. Shoving a spoonful of egg into his mouth, he quickly opened the flap, tearing it a little in the process. A piece of paper fell out, also pristine white in colour. Echizen was fully relieved now, convinced that this wasn't the work of an obsessed fellow schoolmate. The folded paper was pulled open and laid out flat on the table as Echizen read it between mouthfuls.

Dear Echizen-kun,
I wanted to say this the other day but I couldn't do it

Echizen frowned in puzzlement. Say what?

I guess I was too nervous. Come to think of it, I really was too nervous! I've thought for days how to say it, but I'm still nervous.

A rather blah look was already settling over Echizen's boyish features. What the hell was going on with the letter anyway?! If anything, the tone of the words was starting to get Echizen nervous too.

I'm so sorry for jumping onto you like that the other day. It's so embarrassing! Forgive me.

Oh! Echizen wanted to laugh at himself for getting nervous. It's just Dan Taiichi! He swallowed another mouthful, washing it down with a gulp of milk. He had to finish reading fast, or he'd be late for school. Again.

I thought and thought and thought about it, and I think I have to say it.

Say what?! Echizen rolled his eyes, already standing up and reaching for his school-bag.

I have a crush on you!

The bag slipped from Echizen's hands.

"Ryoma?" A gentle feminine voice was saying. "What's wrong? Don't you have school?"

I'd be waiting for you at the street tennis courts next Wednesday! Please come!

"Ryoma?"

Echizen's head snapped up, amber eyes drawn impossibly wide. His mouth opened, closed, then opened again, working out words that couldn't unstuck from his throat. So, he did the next most natural thing under such trying circumstances.

He snatched up the letter and fled to his bedroom, slamming the door with a deafening crash behind him.


fin
June 2004