Tennis no Oujisama © Konomi Takeshi, Jump, Shueisha
Summery: Kirihara goes to a tennis court, he always goes to meet someone there. Just for a match, just for a match he thinks...
Not Forgiven
One-shot
You won't forgive me,
Knowing that hurts,
I hate knowing this...
The wind blew gently, whispering as it passed through the air, cooling the young tennis player down as he drank from his water bottle. His eyes remained open however, staring ahead of him while his ears listened intently. His lips turned up slightly before he placed the water bottle down with a satisfied sigh and grabbed the towel off the bench, wiping off the excess sweat before turning. As he turned, he met his visitors gaze and smirked while they looked at him shortly before looking away and walking towards the bench as well. He shrugged off her cold shoulder easily, knowing full well that she was irked about something that had happened earlier that day and it had nothing to do with him.
When he sat on the bench, she had already started doing her warm-ups, a light jog about the tennis court. He watched her, slightly entranced as she kept her steady pace, eyes focused on finishing. When she caught his eye on the second lap, he was the one to turn away this time pretending to lower and fix his already done shoelaces. Getting back up he stretched, yawning before placing his hands behind his head and looking up at the clear blue skies, his lips twitching upwards. It had started a while go, them meeting. She had approached him in Rikkaidai , shortly after the Junior Assembly and asked to play a match with him.
After only playing her for a few moments at a private court, he readily admitted, she didn't play as well as he thought she would. Being the younger sister of one of the best player in Kyushu, he thought her skill could match his for at least the first match. However, what made him want to play her again, was how stubborn she got as she kept on playing. Her concentration would grow and so wouldn't her desperation; her shots becoming more accurate and her speed gaining. It was odd and rare to find a player that would use up everything at the last moment, desperate to win.
"Ready?" her voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he shrugged, stifling a yawn as he grabbed his racket.
"You gonna beat me, Tachibana?" he asked, smirking at her as he went to the other side of the court.
She smirked back, letting the ball bounce out of her hand and hit the court before it bounced back. "You think I won't, Kirihara?" she responded, a question with a question. His tongue traced his lips as he let that question go unanswered, watching as she served.
He didn't know one person that played tennis that knew of this place but him and her. He had only found this court, buried behind trees, when he had gotten lost after sleeping on the bus again. The bus had stopped somewhere between Fudoumine and St. Rudolph, the bus driver taking a lunch break had woken him up and told him he had to get off. Slightly annoyed he had fallen asleep again, he wondered about, walking into the sparse forest before ending up at the court, finding Tachibana An practicing her serves.
He didn't expect to see her again after that, seeing as she never saw him watching her that day. However, she had come to him the very next week, requesting a match and, amused, he accepted.
"Three games to two," he said, brushing a curly lock out of his face, "Am I going to hard on you, An?"
He could see her frown, her eyes closing in frustration and he grinned. He liked making her this way, pushing her enough so that she'd finally play, desperate to win like she had the first time. She didn't answer him, instead, she merely returned to the receiving position before he served.
He watched her return the ball.
It sailed, heading towards the opposite corner.
Easily, he ran and hit it back.
It lobbed and she smashed it.
Her point.
"Heh," he looked up at her, pulling another ball from his pocket.
"Should I go easier on you?" she asked, feigning innocence. Although the grin she wore on her face soon after ruined that effect and he merely smirked back in return before serving into her side.
She returned it.
He moved forward.
The ball sped to his right.
He hit it was ease.
It sped back to her, heading towards her feet.
She stepped back and backhanded it.
He stepped back as well, thinking it was going to shot out towards the baseline.
However, it hit the net.
The ball stopped dead before it fell over to his side and dropped.
He blinked, shocked.
"30-0," she said, her grin seeming to have grown.
"Heh, cocky little brat," he merely answered, starting with his serve.
She returned it, easily. "Aren't we the same age?" she asked, backing up as he lobbed it once again.
As she smashed it, he moved forward and gave a swift return that passed her shoulder, just grazing her neck, and into a corner of the court. "Who cares?" he asked, placing his racket onto his shoulder, "I'm far better anyway."
Suddenly, she walked up to him and swung her racket, he dodged it, eyeing her suspiciously. She hadn't moved to hit him since the Junior Assembly and he hadn't done anything for her to do it again. Eyes narrowed, he eyed her as she refused to look at him. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed her hands were shaking as they were clutching onto the net while her eyes began to water. "Don't do that," she whispered harshly, "you—you scared me!"
For a while he simply stared at her before leaning forward and pulling her towards him, an awkward hug between them seeing as the net was still placing a boundary between the two. "Sorry," he muttered, wishing she'd stop shaking. "I didn't mean to scare you."
There was a muffled laughter and he loosened his grip on her, letting her pull away. "I know," she said, smiling even though tears still came down her face, "for a second I thought that—that you..." she trailed off, looking away from him.
He shrugged, fully knowing what she thought. "Whatever," he said, turning the handle of his racket in his hand.
"It's nearly been a year and I can't forgive you," she whispered, her hand clutching onto her own handle, "I don't know why though."
"Heh, I think I knew that," he answered back, not looking at her as well. "Maybe thats why I went and played with you when you asked, who knows? Who the hell cares?"
"I'm sorry," she whispered, turning to the bench.
His eyes followed her and after a while, his body did as well. "I don't care," he answered, sitting onto the bench, his racket resting by his side now as he grasped his water bottle. He drank from it, oddly angered and bothered.
Just walk away! Go away from her!
He pushed the voice away, draining the last of the water bottle before crushing it in his hand and throwing it into the nearby trashcan.
She'll crush you! Get her before she can get you!
He grunted, closing his eyes as he willed the voice away before jumping slightly, a hand falling onto his shoulder. He looked up to find her staring at him, her eyes holding a trace of worry that he wasn't use to. He raised his hand, meaning to shrug off her hand but freezing when their fingers touched. He stared at her, his finger tips just grazing her hand before she pulled back quickly, as if he burned.
"I should go," he said, standing up. As if on perfect time, her phone rang a moment later, her brother's name flashing on the screen. "Heh, see ya," he said, grabbing his stuff and doing everything he could from dashing out of there.
He didn't want to return there, he thought, his hands still had the feel of her hands and his body could still feel the warmth that she had given him when he hugged her...
Why the hell did he hug her?
He swore under his breath, leaving the place with a run, the dried leaves and twigs cracking under his feet as he did.
End
Author's Note: I'm planning on a sequel. Although, it's not sure. I'm pretty moody as I write this, that's why I'm writing right now because my parents won't talk to me when I'm like this. Anyway, I hope you liked this. I always thought Kirihara/Tachibana, would be cute together so I wrote it. Even though when I first had wrote this it was suppose to be, Sakuno/Ryoma. Hehe, how things change.