Before
by xxkoffeexx
Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.
Warning: This is pure speculation. Nothing more, nothing less.
Back then they were happy, playing tennis like that. She remembered those late afternoons vaguely, as hazy as the waning sun that would follow them as they walked home together. Whether it was sunny or cloudy, even rainy, if they had the time (and being so young they always had time) they would spend their afternoons and weekends at the tennis courts. For them, everyday was eat, sleep and tennis.
Back then she had two older brothers. They were wild, completely passionate for the sport and so carefree to the point of exasperating people around them. But they cared about her, and she wouldn't have them any other way.
They were unstoppable. Tachibana Kippei. Chitose Senri. Tachibana and Chitose. Kippei and Senri. The Wings of Kyushu, they were called.
Her (real) brother was like a typical older brother. He would pat her head, a gesture of encouragement and warmth, and she would instantly feel worlds better. When he grinned, she could see the untamed fire and power in his eyes until it was almost overwhelming, like his tennis style. But he was also thoughtful and gentle, and she had no doubt that he would accomplish many great things. It was because of his strength, his promise, that she had faith, and she would cheer him on for as long as she lived.
Chitose was different, but he was still important to her. After practice, he would ruffle her hair (much to her protest) and he'd smirk calmly, with a different sort of light in his eyes. His power was less explosive than the blond's, but it was there all the same, simmering underneath his skin, ready to surge out. Sometimes, though, that power would disappear and it seemed as though he'd been extinguished—only to ignite again and soar high above everyone else. In that sense he was a mystery, but she still believed in him.
Back then were the golden days, she reflected nostalgically. Back then, they were so happy.
Chitose Miyuki was not far behind, and An personally thought of her as a younger sister in her ever-growing metaphoric family. The two girls would brag about their brothers and agree that nobody could ever compare. Then they would play tennis until their brothers would eventually force them to stop. (It never failed to make her laugh—the tennis fanatics, forcing two girls to stop playing?) And then they would all go home together, laughing along with the setting sun.
They were happy, being like that. She wanted it to last forever.
She hated herself for not knowing better.
After her brother quit tennis, she cried. But she didn't cry because the best two in Kyushu were no longer together, or because Chitose may never play tennis again, or that they were moving away to another school, another city. Those were sad, but they didn't make her cry.
Her brother refused to feel sorry for himself and for Chitose, so he didn't cry. He wouldn't cry, so she cried for him.
After that she didn't see Chitose Senri for a long time, though she knew he and her brother still talked. Miyuki was still young and absorbed in tennis, so the separation didn't cut her as deeply.
It was gone, those happy days, and An learned that good things never lasted forever. No more late tennis practices, no more hanging out in the evenings, no more ruffling her hair and then grinning so boyishly that it made her smile from the heart. No more.
No more watching her brothers (brother) laugh. Kippei only said, "It's okay," and didn't show a single break in his calm front. But when they passed by a tennis court (the same one they used to play on all those afternoons) and she looked at her brother's face, she wanted to cry.
She wanted, ever so briefly, to blame Chitose for making her brother carry so much guilt.
It's over, she told herself.
And she stopped crying.
A memory from before, and it came to her after she accidentally tripped during tennis practice. As she laid there, her teammates crowding around her worriedly, it came back to her that something similar happened before. Once, when she'd tripped like this in the same exact manner, she'd seen a brotherly side of Chitose that she'd never seen before.
As soon as knees and palms hit the ground and a cry slipped involuntarily from her lips, he'd cleared the net and was helping her up before she knew what had happened. "Does it hurt?" he asked while brushing the dirt from her knees and hands calmly, like it was totally normal to touch girls (especially her) like that.
Of course, it wasn't normal, and she'd joked that she needed to go to the hospital, just so he wouldn't notice her moment of fluster.
That memory seemed so long ago when in reality it wasn't, and she was startled by her own forgetfulness. Maybe she was finally getting used to it, finally accepting the fact that those days were in the past and she was here in the now, away from him and all those memories.
She recalled the worry in his face when she'd fell, and suddenly, overwhelming guilt suffused her. He'd worried for her when she tripped. He came running to her, not caring how silly he looked jumping over that net. She forgot about him when he hurt his eye, even when she knew there was a possibility that he would never pick up the racket again. And it surprised her how much she hated herself at that very moment for how horrible she was.
Then she understood, a little, of how her brother felt back then and why he wouldn't let himself cry.
All of this and more came back to her when they saw Shitenhouji at the Nationals. She didn't have to search for long before he appeared, wearing the yellow and green outfit that marked him as their opponent.
At first, she worried how her brother would react, and she looked frantically for him. Had he seen him yet? Did they talk already? She didn't know why she was suddenly panicking, because they'd kept in contact with each other longer than she had and they probably knew this moment would come. But she still felt anxious. What if they—
She stopped when she realized that she was worried for Chitose as well. At this, her initial reaction was more relief than shock, because it meant that she still cared about him, that there was some hint of decency left in her. That maybe she wasn't such a horrible person after all.
Fudomine would be playing against Shitenhouji in the next round. She felt more nervous than her brother, so she took a moment to walk around and calm her nerves.
His voice reached her ears and it was so familiar that she halted in her tracks and turned her head. He was with his friends, all of them Shitenhouji members judging from their outfit, and they were relaxed and cheerful. She took a moment to look at him (more like stare, because she was still surprised) and noticed he looked exactly the same, yet completely different. Of course he changed, just as she herself changed over time, and it almost made her sad.
She took a step forward, automatically, but when he suddenly laughed and the familiarity of it made her heart jump, she stopped. Her lips smiled because it had been so long since she'd seen him, and she realized there was nothing more to say or do. Just seeing him laugh was enough.
She wondered if they would play against each other, Kippei and Chitose, but then decided it didn't really matter. It was okay, really, if they played each other, because they didn't care. In fact, and she could see it in their eyes, they wanted to be put against one another, just like the old times.
They were okay, she realized. The happy golden days of the past were wonderful, but the future was just as glorious, and she was happy at the prospect of looking forward.
They faced each other across the net, eyes burning with an intensity that was both challenging and anticipating. They were humming with power, their auras, and they wanted to give each other everything they had.
Tachibana Kippei. Chitose Senri.
And in her heart, she cheered for her brothers.
END
A/N: I admit, I was probably trying to pair An and Chitose together in some unconscious way or form, because I am a Romance writer and there will always be a hint of lovey-dovey in my writing. Maybe. That's where the 'brother' idea came from. Yes, I thought, maybe if I turn him into a brother, the relationship between An and him wouldn't be so… obvious. That goes for everything else in this tiny, tiny story.
And now I think, perhaps I tried a bit too hard.
Anyhow, thank you so much for taking precious time to read this! You don't know how thankful I am.