DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS CHAPTER.
PAIRINGS: so far? none, this chapter is to set the mood etc. and suggestions of Shiraishi x Chitose. I'll be focusing on ShiraishixChitose mainly, though there would be hints of other pairings.
Please review if you have the time.
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'Kin-chan, wake up!' Shiraishi stormed the average sized house, opening doors and shouting everyone's names. 'Kenyan, do you know what time it is?'
It was a Saturday morning, or rather, noon, and like every other Saturday mornings ever since their graduation from high school, with the exception of Kin-chan who is two years younger than Shiraishi, Shitenhoji's once-regulars find themselves in Osamu's house, having a very long lie and squeezed. Osamu's house is not large and as a result, the sofa, and couch were occupied, as were the bed and floor.
Shiraishi loves the way Shitenhoji stuck together even after their graduation. Osamu had insisted on getting together every Friday night and they were thankful for offer as they all enjoyed each other's company. Of course there would be the chaos to clean up the next day, the neighbours that dreaded Friday nights, and the odd call or two to the fire brigade every once in a while. But it wouldn't be Shitenhoji without all this. To them, it was because they are a family, they engulfed themselves with fun stuff that they do. Their family was perfect, had Chitose joined in.
Shiraishi had once more successfully woken everyone up, hurried them to the breakfast table, where they were practically sitting on each other's laps due to the lack of space, eating the breakfast that was prepared in a rush by Osamu while 'enjoying' the warai pair's gags. Then they separated. Other than Friday nights, they still see each other often enough that it felt like the days when they clawed their way up to the Nationals.
Five years on, Shitenhoji, was still Shitenhoji.
Shiraishi stood on the bus, every now and then returning seductive eye contacts that sent the ladies screaming, mostly he was just looking out of the window, at the familiar shops and busy pedestrians. Kin-chan was attending his last year of high school, Shiraishi let a nostalgic smile form as he remembered the fuss Kin-chan caused when they graduated, once in Junior high and again in Senior high, and the days the regulars busied themselves cramming lessons onto Kin-chan so he could pass his entrance exam. Osamu was still coaching at Shitenhoji Chuu, but somewhat less enthusiastically. Kenya, being a part of the Oshitari family, didn't necessarily have to work but he did – he had tried more jobs than the rest had bothered to count, he was: an accountant, a waiter, a mailman…he even tried peculiar jobs like wardening a sheltered housing. Now he is just running marathons for the fun of it, which the rest of Shitenhoji thought was ideal for the Speed Star of Naniwa. The warai pair had tried and is still trying to make it as a comedy duo, so far, failing miserably. Shiraishi wasn't sure why they failed the 500-something auditions—their jokes were always funny to Shitenhoji. Zaizen and Koshikawa were attending university, which Shiraishi had chosen not to do. Not because he found the studying hard but it was because he found it boring. Shiraishi devoted his time to participating in tennis tournaments. Sometimes he goes to help Osamu at Shitenhoji, despite their efforts, Shitenhoji never made it past the Nationals round one.
Shiraishi had always questioned himself, what path did Chitose walk on? Chitose had kept contact with them for a while, before suddenly moving overseas. If there was a person who was the most…apart to Shitenhoji, it would be Chitose. Even in his thoughts, he could not bring himself to use words like 'isolated' or 'alien' when describing Chitose's relationship with the team. Chitose Senri always had a laid back attitude, a hard-to-grasp personality and always acted on whims. Like how he quit the tennis club. Like how he stopped contacting them. Shiraishi did not want to think that Chitose severed the contact on purpose.
Shiraishi may appear as an over-exaggerating idiot to most married people and the ideal man for the single girls, but those who knew him would know, beneath that surface, he was the caring captain. He was not strict like Tezuka, did not slap people like Sanada did, he was a captain in his own, unique way. And as for what his team thought, he was the perfect captain. Shiraishi blamed himself for not staying in contact with Chitose.
Shiraishi stepped off the bus and walked the short way home. He was living with Kenya after moving out of his parents' house. The two of them rented a house where Kin-chan would often stay. Shiraishi reached into his pocket for his keys as he approached the door, Kenya had said that he had training to attend to before he departed from Osamu's. Shiraishi picked up the scattered letters the postman stuffed into their letterbox and headed to the kitchen to put the kettle on.
He settled down comfortably on the leather sofa (courtesy of Kenya) and looked through the letters. Some of them were for Kenya, he put them aside. Then he read his, most of which were bills. At the bottom of the pile was an envelope that caught his eye.
The white, pristine envelope was square shaped and of an irregular size, and titled to both occupants of the house. It was not the appearance that drew his attention, it was not the fact that it was for both Kenya and Shiraishi either. It was the handwriting.
Chitose.
His heart, for reasons unknown to him at the time, picked up the pace.
Shiraishi didn't care it was for Kenya as well, he gentally sliced the envelope open with the pen knife held in his slightly quivering hands. It was not like him, to panic, even if it was a slight panic, but somehow he was. He glanced at the contents. Then he stared at it while the words sank in, slowly, letter by letter.
It was an invitation
To a wedding.
To Chitose's wedding.
...
That was pretty short, I think. Again please review, I am still new to writing XP, any comments would help greatly.