Disclaimer: I do not own the Prince of Tennis!
A/N: This is my first ShishiTori fanfic and it's dedicated to Yamada Umeko-chan…!! I'd like to thank Mr. Phil Collins for the song, You'll Be In My Heart…
Warning!! Implied Shishitori pairing…OOC-ness…and grammatical errors…
The Perfect Gift
Shishido Ryou was walking down the gift aisle wearing a confused look on his face. He was looking for something to give to his doubles partner, Ohtori Choutarou, for the latter's birthday. But the problem is, he was never good with gifts.
Surely, he thought, there must be something in here. He looked at the pillows in front of him. They all look soft and fluffy, but I don't think Choutarou would like them. He continued walking onto the next aisle. He saw that a saleslady was approaching him, ready to help.
"May I help you, sir?" The saleslady asked him. At first he thought of making her go away, but then, he knew that if he did that, he will never find a gift for Choutarou.
"I'm looking for a birthday gift. Which one would you recommend to give for a soft-spoken and mild-mannered person?" The girl looked at him, and then gestured for him to follow. "This way sir," she said. "I'm sure she'll like one of these. I mean, girls are weak when it comes to cute plushies." She said those words while holding up a big teddy bear.
Shishido looked at the plushie the salesgirl was holding. He would never give Choutarou something like that. It looked so girly! "Uh, yeah, if you say so." He continued to look at the bear with antipathy, "You're getting me all wrong. The person that I'm referring to, he's my doubles partner in tennis, and he isn't fond of bears." Shishido tried not to blush while he said those. He didn't want to talk about Choutarou to these people, fearing that they might think he's gay.
The girl wasn't expecting that. She surveyed Shishido, head to foot. Looking satisfied, she turned around and faced the other bears. Don't tell me you're gonna give me another one of your precious bears, I'm telling you, I'm not paying for those, Shishido practically shouted those words inside his head. But then he realized that he sounded like an idiot. He looked at what the girl was doing.
After putting back the teddy bear, she faced Shishido and chuckled. "I'm sorry for the mistake sir. Please wait for me here; I'll just go get the person who might be able to help you." After giving Shishido a bow, she went to the counter and talked to someone on the register. He saw the person at the register look at him then nod at the salesgirl. Then the salesgirl went back to Shishido with a knowing smile on her face.
"As I have guessed, you have been looking for a gift at the wrong place sir. But my friend might be able to help you. He agreed to help you, free of charge." Shishido wasn't expecting that, but who cares, as long as I get out of here as soon as possible with a gift for Choutarou, the better.
It was Valentine's day, same day as Choutarou's birthday. Shishido was waiting for the latter to arrive at the street tennis court where they played during weekends. He was hitting a ball against the wall for sometime until after a few minutes, Choutarou finally arrived.
"Shishido-san. Omatase itashimahita. Kaa-san and Obaa-san didn't want me to leave yet. They said something about wanting me to spend some time off from tennis."
"Hn…It's fine." Shishido didn't really mind Choutarou's lateness. All he cared about is that Choutarou arrived safely. Now that he didn't have to worry about his doubles' partner's safety, he focused his mind on something more important – that is, to give Choutarou his present without the taller boy noticing or without him, Shishido, looking sappy. "You haven't changed into your tennis shoes."
Choutarou looked down at his leisure rubber shoes. True, he wasn't able to change into his tennis shoes since his family suddenly had the liking to keep "their baby" at home, and to keep him home, they decided to "hide" his tennis shoes. But of course, since it was their Choutarou, his family wouldn't be able to stand the guilt they felt after they saw the tall boy frantically look everywhere for his shoes, saying that he was running late for his meeting with his "Shishido-san" at the street tennis courts. They let him go, only on the condition that he, the "birthday boy" would tell them about his date with "Shishido-san". But of course, Choutarou didn't want to call it a date. It's just a meeting, and nothing else, he told himself.
"Oi, Choutarou!" Choutarou looked at his senpai, blinking cutely at the process. "You're spacing out. I said put on your tennis shoes so that we can start playing. The wall's no fun to play with, you know. I always lose whenever with it." Shishido said those words in an as-a-matter-of-fact kind of tone, but he couldn't help but blush as Choutarou blinked at him. Damn those puppy eyes, Shishido thought.
After their game, the so-called Silver Pair rested on a bench near the court they were playing at. When Choutarou went to the changing rooms, Shishido took the opportunity to quickly sneak his gift inside Choutarou's bag. Feeling satisfied with what he has done, Shishido let out a small smile, as he waited for Choutarou to finish changing into clean clothes.
Upon arriving at his own house, Choutarou said a quick "tadaima" and went straight into his room, so as to avoid interrogation from his own family members. After plopping himself onto his bed, he thought about that afternoon's match. He felt sad that his senpai didn't remember that it was his birthday or Valentine's Day. Sighing to himself, he sat up on his bed and started emptying his tennis bag. Not so long after pulling out some dirty clothes and towels, he noticed something that he didn't remember putting inside his bag that morning.
He picked it out, and upon closer inspection, saw that it was a small package, wrapped in an off-white colored paper. He turned the package over and read the label. It was for him from no one in particular. He shook the package, hoping that it might give I a clue as to what the package was containing, but alas! The effort was put in vain. He decided to give up the "shaking" and proceed to the "opening" part.
When he finally opened the package, a small note fell from inside it. Wanting to satisfy his curiosity, Choutarou put the package down on his table and read the note first. A smile crept upon his beautiful face after reading the short note that went like this:
Choutarou,
Well, I'm sorry for not greeting you personally. You might think that I'm an asshole for not doing so, but there's nothing you can do about it. And besides, I have this small gift to give to you, as a peace offering and a birthday present at the same time. That's all. Happy Birthday!
Shishido Ryou
P.S. I put a lot of effort on this gift, so you better appreciate it.
Choutarou gazed at the package that was on his table. It was from Shishido-san. He felt stupid for being disappointed at his senpai a while ago. But then, his senpai didn't know that, and he wouldn't. He got the package from his table, and upon seeing it, he was surprised.
It was a CD. His Shishido-san got him a CD. He wondered what might be inside it, so he turned on his computer and put the CD onto the drive. Not aware of the surprises in store for him, he clicked the play button on his media player.
As the musical accompaniments started playing, pictures and videos of the two of them started appearing on the screen. It showed some of the events that were memorable to the Silver Pair. Choutarou as deeply touched by the video, especially during the last part where there was a caption, accompanied by the song "You'll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins from Shishido, saying something like:
Choutarou, you don't know how grateful and honored I am to have been your senpai and doubles' partner, even if it's just for one year. I'm sure that I've caused you a lot of pain and trouble being a selfish jerk that I have been this past year. I hope you'd forgive me for all the wrong that I have done to you. I also hope that, even though that this will be the first and last birthday that I will be spending with you as a senpai in junior high, always remember this song…
Come stop your crying
It will be alright
Just take my hand
Hold it tight
I will protect you
From all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry
For one so small
You seem so strong
My arms will hold you,
Keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken
I will be here
Don't you cry
'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be in my heart, always
Why can't they understand
the way we feel
They just don't trust
what they can't explain
I know we're different but,
deep inside us
We're not that different at all
And you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
Don't listen to them
'Cause what do they know
We need each other,
to have, to hold
They'll see in time
I know
When destiny calls you
You must be strong
I may not be with you
But you've got to hold on
They'll see in time
I know
We'll show them together
'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on,
Now and forever more
Oh, you'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be in my heart, always
Always
Yes Choutarou, always remember that song. When you're lonely and need someone to lean on, my arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm. You'll always be in my heart. Best friends forever.
Choutarou couldn't help but cry. True, it was his first and last birthday that his "Shishido-san" will be able to celebrate with him. But who cares? His senpai will always be with him, and he's taking his word for it.
Who knew Shishido can be so emotional? Choutarou does, only he will know.
A/N: So…there goes my first try at a oneshot fic…and a ShishiTori fic too!! Anyway, please be kind and do review..
PS…I'm sorry for all the grammatical errors that you had encountered while you read this fic…I was working on a Biology lab report while doing a Physics homework and reading the "Book of Job" for my English class as I was writing this fic…so please be considerate.. arigato!!