Disclaimer: POT and characters belong to Konomi Takeshi.
Author's Note: First chapters are a bitch. But, they're necessary, being the ones containing the prelude of the story. Well, things happened, and An saw the boys, didn't talk to all of them, and even though Fudomine had a match with Rokkakku, she didn't recognize any of them... yet. Yeah, let's see what's gonna happen in chapter two... a much more pleasant chapter to write, in my humble opinion.
In the hospital
- I forgot my cellphone! Do you have yours? How am I supposed to call 911? Is she okay? She's not dead, is she? Ow, man! - Davide was pacing back and forth, desperate. He was fumbling through his backpack a minute ago, and when he did not find his cellphone, he started to freak out.
- David.. SHUT UP! - Ryou said, glaring at the boy. Davide stop his ramblings and looked at the shorter boy. - Kurobane already left, y'know? - he said, and walked away, following the path Bane went a few seconds ago.
- WHAT? Where did he go? - Davide asked, running to catch up with Ryou, who rolled his eyes.
When Kurobane saw An close her eyes, he antecipated her fainting. Before the girl's body could hit the concrete floor, he grabbed her by the waist, silently surprised to notice how light she was.
He told Ryou he would carry her to the hospital, since it was a few blocks down the main street. At that moment, Davide started his ramblings, and didn't notice Kurobane leaving the alley, carrying an unconscious An in his arms.
- Bah! I should be carrying her... I wouldn't mind that... - Davide said, smirking. Ryou, once more, looked back and glared at him. Sure, the girl was pretty, Ryou thought. But she was unconscious, for Pete's sake! It wasn't honorable to take advantage of an unconscious girl.
But if she was awake... Ryou mentally slapped himself. Saeki was right. He needed to get a girlfriend, and soon. Even his little brother Atsushi had dates!
He cursed his short height, compared to the other Rokkaku players. It always made him feel bad when they were around girls. Davide, being a loud-mouth and a tall bastard, attracted more attention than anyone else on the team. Of course, Saeki was quite popular with the ladies too.
Some girls approached him sometimes, but they referred to him as "cute" and "adorable". No seventeen years old MAN wanted to be call "cute"! "Handsome", "charming", and even "sexy" would be preferable than "cute". Puppies were cute, bunnies were cute, Kisarazu Ryou was definitely NOT cute.
Leaving aside these thoughts, Ryou and Davide reached the hospital in time to see Kurobane talking with a nurse. The woman was asking him a few questions about An, but he didn't know her name. Ryou delivered the girl's backpack to the nurse, saying that she might find some IDs inside.
The nurse thanked them, and left, flipping the pages of a small book, probably a phone book.
The three teenagers looked at each other, and went to the waiting room.
:..:..:
She could smell grass, sweat and... chocolate? With this unusual combination of aromas dancing around her, An woke up but didn't open her eyes, feeling strangely lightheaded. The soft rocking movement almost made her sleep again, but the smell was so intriguing that An preferred to stay awake and discover what smelled like that.
She thought it was funny, but she actually liked that smell. A lot. It made her feel calm and happy.
Something hard and warm was pressed against her body, and An nuzzled her nose, enjoying the scent that emanated from it. She used her fingertips to touch that warm thing, and despite its hardness, she felt a soft fabric, like a cotton sheet.
Was she in bed? No, it couldn't be. This thing was moving. An decided to open her eyes a bit, and she noticed a strong, masculine jaw right above her head. She realized she was being carried by someone.
"Onii-san", she thought for a moment. But, no. Her brother didn't smell like that. Kippei did not eat chocolate to the point of smelling like it. And her brother always smelled like their dog, Gokutora, from playing long hours with the boston terrier. She often tells him to never go out without showering first, specially if he was going out with Chitose and his sister, Miyuki.
So, if it wasn't her brother carrying her, who was this stranger? For a moment, she feared a kidnapping. But this stranger was carrying her with tenderness, like she was a princess or something.
Her heart started to race. Moments ago, she was touching this man, almost caressing him! Of course, she didn't know it was a man, but still... how embarassing! What should she do? Yell? Try to kick him and flee?
A sudden sharp pain on her left arm made her mind turn backwards, recalling the moments that afternoon. The children, the cat, the big guy and... An blushed. That guy. That startling familiar guy, with the red cap and long black hair.
When she saw his face, after he launched himself in front of that monster's fist, she felt like she knew him. She forced her mind to remember where she saw his face before, but couldn't. The memory was right there, but she couldn't grasp it.
Oh. Was he the one carrying her? Because if he was, she would definitely brush aside those thoughts of kicking and fleeing. An felt tired. The sound of his heartbeat made An close her eyes. He saved her life that afternoon, and maybe he was carrying her too. God know's where to. But she didn't mind, because it felt so right to be in his arms like this.
With his heart beating furiously to the point An could feel it pumping, she fell asleep again.
:..:..:
Kurobane stretched his long legs, yawning silently. How long would they have to wait until someone could tell them anything about that girl's health? She had some nasty injuries, like a black eye and scraps all over her body... Kurobane frowned. He should have kicked that guy a lot more.
He turned his head to look at his silent companions. Wich was strange, because Davide was one of them. The usual talkative boy was pretty quiet for the past ten minutes. Maybe his voice faded, since he bombed Kurobane with questions from the moment he arrived with Kisarazu, until Bane aswered all his questions with a patience that was certainly unusual for him too.
Davide had his head tilted back, an arm over his eyes and mouth slightly open. Kurobane sighed. Of course he was quiet. He was sleeping! Deciding that a kick would just wake the noisy boy, Bane turned to look at his other companion.
Kisarazu was staring at the wall, with a serious expression on his face. Kurobane then remembered the boy's earlier actions, and felt a little embarassed. While he just stared at that girl, Kisarazu acted fast and stopped that guy's punch. If he wasn't there, she would probably have a bad concussion to her head right now or something even worst.
That was when Kurobane remembered something:
- Hey... what about your racket? - he asked Kisarazu, who blinked a couple of times and looked at Bane.
- Broken... - he shrugged. - The impact was pretty strong... but I think I just need to fix the strings. The handle wasn't damaged.
- Ojii's rackets are great... any other racket would be at pieces after that blow... - Kurobane said. Ryou nodded his head.
- Yeah... but ojii's gonna bite my head off later... it took him eight months to do this racket, y'know? - Ryou frowned, thinking about how the old man would punish him for breaking that valueable handmade racket. Kurobane supressed a laughter and tapped the other boy's shoulder.
- I'm sure he'll understand... me and the guys'll cover you, don't worry! - Bane tried to cheer him. - You did it for a good cause.
- Thanks.. - Ryou grinned. - That sounds like I'm a hero or something. - Kurobane snorted, and this time he really laughed.
- Excuse me. - a nurse approached them. She looked a little annoyed, and the boys fell silent immediately. - That girl you've rescued.. she's awake now. Would like to see her? - she asked. Kurobane and Kisarazu looked at each other, and nodded their heads. The nurse made a gesture, indicating that they should follow her.
:..:..:
An touched her left arm carefully, silently thanking Kami-sama that it wasn't broken. The doctor told her that she had injuries all over her body, but they weren't severe, so she would be fine in a couple of days. She was a lucky girl, the nurse said, smilling.
- We called your family. They'll be here soon. - she said, and left. An sighed, thinking about the scandal her parents and big brother would do when they heard about her condition. It would ruin her trip, that was for sure.
- Maybe I can escape before they arrive.. - she thought out loud.
- I wouldn't bet my money on that if I were you.. - a deep voice said. An closed her eyes, sulking for a moment, before turning her head to look at the person standing on the door.
- Hey, onii-san.. - she said, greeting her older brother. The nurse said "soon", but she didn't think it was so soon. Tachibana Kippei had a serious expression on his face, wich meant he was very, very worried.
- An... what happened? - he asked her. - The nurse said you got hurt, but no details.
- Ow.. I.. got into a fight.. - she said, avoiding his eyes. Tachibana sighed, passing a hand through his dark hair.
- Again? - he said, approaching the bed. - What was this time? An old lady being mugged? Kids tying cans to the tail of a dog?
- No! - An rolled her eyes. - A guy trying to kill a little girl's cat. - she answered.
- Couldn't you just call for help? Or the police? Did you really have to get into a fight with a guy? I presume he was big and bulky, right? - Tachibana said, crossing his arms.
- There wasn't time for calling anyone... there wasn't anyone on the street, and the police would take some time to arrive.. I just acted, I couldn't let that guy hurt the cat, or those kids... - she said, pouting. Tachibana sighed once more and patted her head.
- Of course you couldn't. - he said. An looked up at him, and the siblings smiled at each other. - Did you beat him by yourself? - An shook her head.
- Some boys helped me.. - An said. - I don't know their names, but the children knew them. - she looked thoughtful for a moment. - Thinking about it, one of them looked very familiar to me...
An remembered that guy, her saviour. She tried not to blush when she remembered the feeling of being carried by him, like a princess... or a bride. A soft knock on the door distracted her from those thoughts.
- Come in. - she said. Two boys entered her room, and An noticed how flustered they looked. But the boyd didn't look or talk to her; they adressed her brother.
- Tachibana-san? - they both asked. Tachibana Kippei raised one eyebrow, surprised, and approached the boys. In seconds, they were all shaking hands and talking like old acquaintances. An just couldn't beilieve her luck.
Continue...
