AN: no i'm not dead... but maybe i should be.
Chapter 7 : Meet
Marui and Jackal were really nice sempai, but as the two Rikkai players busied themselves with a conversation of their own, Shuuko was left on her own. Sitting on the sidelines watching the players, she felt lonely. She didn't want to be selfish, but she was starting to regret coming to the street courts with An that day. An was really happy that she got to see her boyfriend, but Shuuko was feeling like a third wheel sitting beside Kirihara's sempai. Even if Kamio and Ibu showed up, it wouldn't be the same for her without An.
Shuuko watched the game a little longer and then sighed, standing up and walking off and back to the other side of the street court where An left her bag. She pulled it out from under the bench and unzipped it, taking out a mesh sack of balls and one of the rackets. She wasn't very good and probably forgot everything that kid Atsushi from St Rudolph taught her, but she figured it would be a good way to pass time before someone, anyone, showed up.
She bounced the ball against the green surface of the court and then scooped it under her racket and began an attempt to bounce it on the sweet spot. It was harder than it looked and she retrieved the ball that ran away, and made another attempt but when it rolled away this time someone else picked it up.
Shuuko looked at the other person.
"Yuuta-kun!" she gasped.
"Hi, Takada-san. You remembered my name," the boy replied, looking a bit surprised.
Shuuko smiled, "How could I forget you guys?"
"Well, I'm sure you meet a lot of tennis players. I'm sure someone like me doesn't stand out too much."
Yuuta threw the ball back at Shuuko and she caught it in her hand.
"Thanks. And no, I don't know that many players outside of Fudomine." Shuuko looked behind Yuuta. "Are you alone?" She asked, noticing that no one had rounded the little clubhouse bend to join them on that side of the courts and yet Yuuta was carrying two bags.
"No, the others are just busy harassing the Rikkai players."
"Oh! I met some of them," Shuuko mused. "They're a weird bunch."
"Yeah," Yuuta agreed.
The conversation stopped at that, as Shuuko began to again try to bounce the ball on the racket's sweet spot. She moved around a bit, following the ball wherever it willed her to go. Yuuta watched for a moment, somewhat amused, before deciding to intervene.
"Takada-san," he called, breaking her concentration and making the ball roll onto the green court.
"Yes?" She asked, chasing after the ball for the umpteenth time that day.
"You're supposed to stand in one spot when you do that," Yuuta joked.
Shuuko became visibly flustered.
"I know that!" she protested. "I just can't seem to do it! The ball has a mind of it's own!"
"You'll get better," Yuuta assured her.
He walked over to the bench where An's things were and set his and what Shuuko assumed was Mizuki's bags down. Shuuko kept practicing with the ball as Yuuta unpacked on of his rackets.
"Say, I wonder what's keeping Kamio-kun and the others," Shuuko frowned.
"Oh? You came alone?" Yuuta asked as he began his stretches.
"No, I actually came with An-chan, but she saw some friends and went for a walk. This is her stuff," Shuuko replied. "We were going to have a full day with the boys but they're not showing."
"What did you have in mind?"
"I don't know. Maybe some tennis and then go eat something. Preferably at Kamio-kun's house!"
"Kamio-kun's mom can cook very well I guess?"
"Saying she cooks very well is an understatement! YUM!" Shuuko beamed. "She makes the best hand rolled sushi! If you never liked nattomaki you'll like it when you taste hers!"
"I like it, I guess…"
"Then you have to go there too-- not that I'm inviting you to Kamio-kun's house. That's rather rude of me."
"Maybe I can ask him about it sometime," Yuuta suggested, finishing up the last of his stretches and then grabbing his racket to stand on the other side of the court.
"Want me to hit towards you?" Shuuko asked.
"Sure. You think you can do that?"
Shuuko shrugged, "I can try!"
She situated herself on the baseline like she had seen the others do before.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Yeah."
Shuuko focused her eyes on Yuuta and went to throw the ball when Yuuta interrupted.
"Try just bouncing it and hitting it as it rises."
"Oh, ok."
She hit it and it skewed to the side, but he hit it back towards her effortlessly. She ran to where she thought the ball was headed, but it flew right over her head.
"Let it bounce," Yuuta stated.
Shuuko nodded served again, and Yuuta again hit it gently, allowing the ball to be right in the path of her racket. She swung, just like she had learned from Atsushi before, and the pressure of the ball against the strings thrilled her. With a soft peng the ball bounced off the racket and into the net.
"Well you hit it that time," Yuuta smiled.
"Y,yeah I did!" Shuuko laughed. "Just this time I have to get it across the net not into it!"
Yuuta pulled another ball from his pocket, and it was in this manner Shuuko forgot everything. She forgot to keep a look out for Kirihara and An, and she forgot that she was supposed to be meeting up with Kamio and Ibu in the first place. All she knew was tennis, and the boy smiling meekly at her on the opposite side of the court.
--
It was like An was floating in air. With her hand in Kirihara's and them walking, all alone down the cobblestone path of the park. They were getting further and further away from the tennis courts and An couldn't care less if they never went back. All that mattered was that Kirihara came all the way to see her and that she would cherish the rare occasion of them being all alone.
Neither said much as they walked on, each confined to their own thoughts. Each of their hands, hot and sweaty in the other's.
They were a fairly young couple, and whenever they were together there was always a group to supervise. When An went to Kanagawa to visit, Kirihara's sempai would come on every one of their dates. One time, An and Kirihara tried to sneak away from them but they were caught within minutes.
So now, this was completely foreign to the lovers. The silence was deafening.
"So…" Kirihara said, not one to hold his tongue for long periods of time.
An turned her head up to meet Kirihara's stare. Their eyes met and An felt an electric shock run through her body. Her hand, still clasped in Kirihara's, tightened its hold. His gaze was so intense as if he was going to say something really important and he held An's attention. She wanted to know anything he was to tell her.
"Yes?" she asked, hoping to help him get out what he needed to say.
"Wanna make out?"
"W,What!?" An exclaimed. "And here I thought you had something important to say."
"That's not important?" Kirihara asked, mischievously. "So what do you say?"
An rolled her eyes and let go of her boyfriend's hand and skipped a little ahead of him.
"Oh, come on. We're in the park," An reasoned.
"Fun," Kirihara grinned.
"Whatever. I'm thirsty. Let's go to the machines," An suggested.
"Ok, where are they?"
An looked around a moment and then pointed off the path towards a cluster of trees.
"A short cut in there," she said.
Kirihara raised his brows.
"I thought you said you didn't want to make out."
"I didn't say anything."
"So you DO wanna make out?"
"I said I'm thirsty and that there's a short cut through the trees. You're the one skewing my meanings," An replied with her hands on her hips, but her eyes reflecting some kind of mirth.
"Ok, fine… we'll take your 'short cut'," Kirihara grinned.
An didn't even think twice about his grin and ventured off the path and into the bushes. It wasn't as dense as Kirihara was thinking. It really was a shortcut, and up ahead they could see a neat little row of vending machines through the other side. There was also a water fountain and some benches.
"I guess it really was a short cut after all," Kirihara said, quickening his pace.
"Wait," An called, grabbing Kirihara's wrist.
"What?" Kirihara asked. "I thought you were thirsty."
"Yeah, but there's someone over there," An explained.
"So?" Kirihara turned to look back over at the area and sure enough there were two boys, likely their age, standing near the machines. "Ok, two dorky guys. What's the deal?"
An shook her head. She knew those weren't just two dorky guys. From the way they stood and the way their tennis backs hung on their shoulders she knew for sure who they were.
"It's Kamio-kun and Ibu-kun," An said.
"Huh? Oh those guys on your brother's team right? So?"
"Ugh, if they see us here together who knows what they'll think."
"That we saw each other in passing and decided to catch up?"
Kirihara pulled his wrist out of An's grasp and made his way to the soda machine.
"Where are you going?" An asked, hastily.
"You said you're thirsty. I'm going to get you a drink!"
"N,no!" An exclaimed, keeping her voice as soft as possible, but Kirihara was not one to be deterred. Kirihara was a demon after all, and a leopard doesn't change his spots… or however that phrase goes. No girl friend could keep the wild junior tame for long…
To be continued….
AN: SORRY. it's not even that good. but i just had to get SOMETHING posted. i just feel so terrible. i'm a full time student and i still work 2 jobs. but i don't wanna neglect my fics. so i want to update more. hopefully there won't be as long a wait next chapter! i already have it planned and stuff. it's just-- ugh so hard to get out. i'm so frustrated right now with this. and you know i honestly think writing fanfiction has decreased my standards and my potential.
so uhm... kamioAn? KiriharaAn? KamioIbu (jk... or am i?) lol xDDDDDD i'm still taking suggestions as far as An goes. feel free to tell
it's late. i need sleep. i'm angry with this. please read and review though! they REALLY help me
