Synopsis: In a world where people are segregated by their elemental personalities, polar opposites are strictly forbidden from fraternization. But some souls are meant to be together—even if society tells them no. Even if their heads tell them no. Even if their lives hand in the balance. SanadaXOC.
Setting: AU.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters, but I sincerely thank Konomi Takeshi for creating each and every one of them.
A Tale of Earth and Wind
Chapter One: Unexpected Encounters
"Genichirou," Yukimura says, "Come on, it's not going to kill you to take a short cut for once in your life."
"It might." I cross my arms tightly across my chest, rooted to my spot just outside the "Wind Sector."
"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud. The Wind-born aren't so bad." My blank stare must be a giveaway that I don't believe him, because he tries again. "Without them we wouldn't have any technological advances—."
"The Earth-born do not fraternize with the Wind-born," I say tersely, a line I've heard, said, and written my entire life—a line that keeps peace and order in our society.
So it is without a curious glance into the city of glass and freedom and knowledge, that I swivel on one heal and head in the direction of the 'frozen bridge' that leads to the ten mile trek back home. Crossing through the "Water Sector" is permissible—it is safe. It takes me home every day. Home, the village of farmland and honor and stability.
Huffing, Yukimura falls into step beside me, adjusting the strap of his bag with one hand, the other pushing waves of hair from his face. His long-limbed grace never lets me forget that he is indeed a Water-born. "You Earth-born sure are stubborn."
Unaffected by his pathetic attempt to tease me, I nod curtly. "It's in our nature."
It is not, however, in my nature to be emotional or caught up in the idiosyncrasies of relationships; but for a Water-born, like Yukimura, it is everything. It doesn't bother me—not really—it's just baffling. It seems entirely inefficient to place so much energy on such trivial things, but then so does farming and hiking to Yukimura.
Rolling his eyes, my friend sighs and falls silent, knowing that the conversation has ended. He stops after several minutes of silence, with only the crunching of our boots over the gravel breaking it, at a small home with a blue door. The marking of "The Great Wave" painted in white over its flecked surface—a common characteristic between each house in the Water-sector.
"Well," he says, a smile sketching his mouth. "See you at school tomorrow, Mr. Stubborn-Fun-Killer."
"Hn." I don't deign to rise to his bait. Anger does not burn hot in my blood the way it does in the Fire-born.
Eyes alight with mischief, he adds, "Maybe we'll sneak into the Fire and Wind classes tomorrow—see what they're learning? Eh? You can't tell me you aren't at least a little curious."
Divided away from our opposites to prevent catastrophe in our society, we keep as segregated from each other as possible—separate living quarters, work spaces, and even classrooms. Relationships between two opposing elements have been known to be fatal, and are therefore forbidden, and being an Earth-born I am by nature a stickler for the "rules", so curiosity falls by the wayside in the face of societies strict regulations
Shaking my head firmly, I leave Yukimura smiling strangely—like he knows something I don't—on the rickety porch of his blue-doored house and make my way to the Earth sector. But, just as I begin crossing the 'frozen bridge', a voice screams, "Watch out."
And, I am sinking into the rapids of the river below, my lungs filling with water as I fight to stay afloat. Flailing my limbs around me, I search desperately for something solid to hold onto, but the water is so strong, pressing in from every side, making it impossible to maneuver or see. My legs ache with the exertion to keep me aloft; my lungs burn as I am forced below the surface of the brutal, pounding current.
"Hold on!" A voice ripples and warps around my water-clogged ears, two hands slip around my shoulders, yanking and pulling and securing me into straps—and then, I'm flying.
XXX
The wind whips my face, and I cling to the bars above me like a life line. Squelching my eyes closed, I feel something slide across my cheek, and realize it is the billowy sleeve of my savior. But just as I begin to utter my gratitude, I clench my jaw and swallow it.
"Wind-born…"
"You ok, Earth-born?"
A girl in a flowy white dress customary of the Wind-born peers down at me through the blustering wind, gray eyes analyzing me—assessing my body for any visible damage.
"Put. Me. Down. Now," I growl.
She smiles into the deafening wind. "Don't worry. You'll be in your Sector soon. We're passing over the Wind-Sector now."
Stealing a quick, forbidden glance at the city below me, I feel my face blanch and my stomach clench. Heights have always terrified me. I belong rooted to the earth, not soaring above it—still, there is something undeniably beautiful about our little world from this vantage point. So small; so insignificant.
"It's ok," the smirking girl says. "I won't tell your village that you like it up here. Your secrets safe with me, Earth-boy."
I pick up my gaping mouth, erasing the wonder from my eyes, replacing it with the disdain and spite of an Earth-born in the presence of their natural opposite: the Wind-born. She doesn't seem to notice, or care, as she spreads her arms like a pair of wings and shouts happily into the setting sky. The wings of her strange flying mechanism mirroring her arms; the wind swallowing her cries, I grimace at the display of reckless abandonment.
"Are you allowed to be flying this thing?" I shout over the wind, choking on a bug.
"Are you still complaining down there, Earth-boy?" She laughs wildly, teasing me with that infuriating grin. "Besides, shouldn't you be thanking your knight in shining armor?"
"I didn't need you to save me."
"You sure looked like you did," she says with a glint in her gray eyes.
"Well, I didn't," I reply, gripping the bars harder until my knuckles are bone-white against my skin.
"Ok, then—would you like me to drop you back into the river? See if the damsel in distress really doesn't need saving?"
"I AM NOT A DAMSEL—!"
"Temper, temper," she clicks her tongue, careening around the corner of a building, lowering us inch by inch toward the ground.
Many shades of green begin swirling past us as we sail through the forests of the Earth-sector. My feet touch dirt and grass and twigs and I feel my balance restore—my fear and excitement and shame leaving me. She unhooks my shoulders from their confines, her windblown hair masking much of her face.
"There," she says softly. "Home sweet home, princess."
Glaring viciously, I leash my temper, taking in a deep, calming breath of nature. "If the Earth-rangers find you here, they will detain you."
Pushing back a sheet of golden hair, she winks playfully. "They have to catch me first, Earth-boy."
And with that, she is back in the air, soaring on the wind with metal wings.
XXX
"I'm being serious, Yukimura!" Trudging through the bustle of student body pouring from the school, I avoid jostling elbows and swinging backpacks. "She flew me into the Earth-sector. I am so ashamed."
Yukimura presses the back of his hand to his mouth, chuckling and shaking his head. "Oh, Genichirou—the tales you weave."
Frustration lining my brow, I say, "When have you ever known me to make up stories, Yukimura?"
"It was a joke, Genichirou." He weaves his way effortlessly though the crowd, slipping between bodies like ripples of water with his lithe frame. My bulky stature has no chance of easily squeezing through, so I do what earth does best—I push through my obstacles mercilessly.
"Excuse me," I shout as politely as possible, making my way back to his side. "So, you believe me?"
"Of course." He shrugs. "I don't see what the big deal is, though. I mean, you're still alive—thanks to the Wind-born, I might add," he snickers, much to my horror.
"How would you feel if your life were indebted to a Fire-born?"
Biting his cheek momentarily, I watch him mull this over and he carefully says, "I'd accept it graciously."
Scoffing, I roll my eyes. "Please, Yukimura, you almost pummeled a Fire-born for looking at you the wrong way."
"Hey," he snaps, but quickly returns to his typical gentle disposition. "That boy insulted my people."
"Well, she insulted my dignity—."
"Dignity? Genichirou, you almost died! I hardly see how she insulted you by saving your ungrateful—!"
A familiar voice intervenes from behind us. "It's all right. I'm used to the rigid righteousness of these Earth-borns."
"You," I say, eyes widening.
Stepping closer, bare feet crunching over the gravel unpleasantly, making me cringe in pain for her, she smiles too-brightly, flashing her metal set of wings. "So, how 'bout it, Earth-boy? Wanna another ride back to your village?"
Pivoting on my heel brusquely, I ignore her offer. Yukimura, however, grabs my wrist tightly, a mischievous grin splaying the corners of his mouth as he pushes me toward the golden-haired girl. "He'd love one—umm—?"
Pausing with a raised brow, he waits for her to fill the blank with her name. She smiles cheekily. "Sora. The name is Sora. Now, hurry it up, princess. The wind is picking up!"
"I'm not flying."
XXX
I'm flying. Again. I feign indifference—disgust, even—but cannot help the curious glances stolen when Sora looks away or closes those liquid silver eyes.
"You like it up here, huh?" She catches me gawking at the city and its many colors and shapes and secrets.
I flush furiously. "Of course not. I am an Earth-born. My place is on the ground—."
"In the mud with the little piggy's—yeah, yeah, I know, I know." She laughs at my glare. I bristle, ready to claw that omnipresent smirk from her smug face.
"Why'd you force me up here anyway, Wind-born?"
"It's Sora," she corrects me in a sing-song-tone. "And, I didn't force you into anything—that was all you, Earth-boy."
"You threatened—." My ears turn red, face warm against the cool breeze bellowing around us at the obvious stretch of truth.
"Threatened? You call me telling the school about our little adventure the other day a threat? Jeez, you Earth-born are more delusional than I thought." She snorts, and I feel steam threatening to explode from my ears.
"Delusional?! You should talk, Wind-born! You're people are proverbial gypsies with no grasp on the reality around you!"
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I want to take them back, but it's too late. She deserves them anyway…right? Still, to lose my temper this way seems—unnatural. I, like the rest of my Earth-born, am calm, grounded, and serious. Aren't I?
If there was any negative reaction to my statement, she doesn't show it, settling for another wry smile. "So, you have some fire in you, huh, princess? You just grow more interesting by the second."
"What do you mean by that?—and quit calling me princess," I snap, anger still boiling hotly beneath my skin, coursing frantically through my veins.
We descend toward the stability of the earth, and I feel a strange sadness at leaving the sky. "Nothing, Earth-boy."
Deciding that maybe I don't know myself all that well, and that I'd rather not hear a stranger pick my tangled brain, I drop the issue, pressing the soles of my boots firmly into a plot of soft, red dirt. I swallow bits of lingering pride and resentment and grunt a "thank you."
"Isn't that a beautiful sound? Gratitude from an Earth-born. Just soak it in for a—."
Biting down on my tongue, I stride past her toward the path to my home, but her voice stops me, changing into a softer, gentler wind. "I'm sorry, Earth-born—I shouldn't tease you so much. Earth is not to be taken so lightly. It is to be reverently admired."
"Sanada," I say evenly. "My name is Sanada."
I can hear the small smile curving her lips. "Sanada."
She is gone. Riding the wind with metal wings and unadulterated laughter and envious freedom from the fixed earth below me.
XXX