Author's Note: Hi-ya!~ The final part of the birthday baaaash!
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters! Atobe Kana, Hitachiin Akira and Hanazono Nanami and the rest of the OCs are mine~
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"So, tell me. How has my little Kana been?" Nanami asked Akira. The two were seated comfortably on red armchairs, separated by a wooden coffee table and two glasses of iced tea, ignoring the dancing and the chatting among middle-aged businesspeople behind them. They had been talking for over an hour now, yet they weren't running out of topics. Nanami had liked Akira ever since they were introduced to each other; she knew they were going to be great friends.
"She is so friendly! You know, she agreed to help me fix up the girls' tennis team, which used to be this army of fangirls. And she always asks people to call her by her first name! Although that is a bit strange…" Akira trailed off. Nanami stared at the brown-haired girl.
"Yeah, Kana does that." The Londoner said as she sipped her iced tea.
"Even back in London?"
"Oh, in London and almost anywhere in the world, people refer to each other by their first names." Nanami laughed. "But yeah, she does that even with fellow Japanese people."
"Isn't that strange, though? Do you know why?" Akira asked.
Nanami contemplated for a second, but she knew she could trust this girl. She had already liked her, and she knew Kana did, too.
"All right, I'll tell you, since I think Kana trusts you." Nanami winked. "Kana hates being called 'Atobe-san' because that is what people use to call Keigo."
"Keigo? Who is.. Ah! Her older brother! Atobe Keigo, the captain of the Hyoutei Gakuen boys' tennis team!" Akira exclaimed.
Nanami nodded. "Uh-huh. Back when they were still living in Paris, Keigo and Kana were always compared. In magazines, newspapers and etc. They were always put side by side. It became hard for the two of them not to resent each other, with their play styles resembling each other so much; that's why they hate media. Keigo rose to the top faster than Kana, and whenever Kana won tournaments, reporters always compared her to her brother, despite winning with only her skills."
"Wait… Does that mean Kana enrolled in Rikkai to..?" Akira questioned.
"Kana wants to get away from Keigo, here in Japan. Since Keigo came here first, the name 'Atobe' now means 'Atobe Keigo'. That's why Kana asks everyone to call her by her first name. That way, when she finally gets recognition, people will think of her as 'Kana' first, before 'Atobe'.
Akira was silent. "It must be hard to become filthy rich, huh?"
Nanami shrugged. "I guess… We grew up this way, though. We're quite used to it."
Akira's eyes widened.
"I knew you were filthy rich too!"
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Kana was walking by the east hall when she bumped into Sanada.
"Oh, hey."
"Hello, Kana-san. Happy birthday." Sanada said, as he offered her two parchment scrolls. Kana stared at the gift. She opened the first scroll. Inside, Sanada had written the kanji for 'happiness'. The second had the kanji for 'truth'.
"For a year of happiness, but not just happiness. True happiness." Sanada explained.
Kana looked up at the vice-captain. "Wow, Sanada-kun. This is so touching…" she smiled widely and ran forward to hug him, but immediately stopped when she realized that Sanada would probably be uncomfortable.
Kana laughed sheepishly and just offered him a handshake, which the boy was grateful for.
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Yanagi Renji found Kana staring out one of the glass windows by the east hall. He came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. Probability that Kana will like the present: 83%.
Kana turned and smiled at him.
"Happy birthday, Kana-san." Yanagi offered her a large pink box with a white ribbon.
"You got me a gift, Yanagi-kun? Thank you!" Kana exclaimed as she opened the box.
Inside was a blue pillow. Kana looked at Yanagi, puzzled. "A pillow?"
"Yes. I noticed you often, if not always, sleep during lunchtime. Now, the position you sleep in can be quite uncomfortable, since your head is tilted 110 degrees. I searched for a comfortable pillow so that no pressure will be on your neck and you will have a nice nap." Yanagi explained. Kana looked up at him, her eyes big.
"Woah.. You noticed that..?" Kana trailed off as she studied the pillow in her hand. She rushed forward and gave him a hug. "You guys keep on giving me such nice gifts! I am so happy! Thank you, Yanagi-kun."
As usual, my data is flawless.
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Kana walked back to the lobby, where her father was now drinking wine with his buddies and her mother was chatting excitedly with her friends. And now my birthday party has become a gossiping session.
Suddenly, someone jumped on her from behind. "We were trying to find you, Kana-chan! You keep on running away~" Gakuto said.
"Get off me, Gakuto." Kana laughed. "It's not my fault you guys just fail in finding me."
Gakuto scoffed. "Well, here is my present! I thought hard for this, you know?" he offered Kana a white paper box.
Inside were 9 pieces of bread, all varying in shapes and flavours. Kana looked at Gakuto happily. "Aww, you know me best, Gakuto!" she hugged the redhead. Bread! My one true love!
Gakuto smiled smugly at his teammates. "I told you she would like it."
Oshitari walked to her next and presented her with a rectangular gift. "Happy birthday, Kana-chan…" he leaned forward and gazed at her eyes. Gods, I've known him for three years now, but his voice just keeps on getting sexier…
Kana focused on the gift, trying to push her thoughts away. She unwrapped the gift and saw a book. "It's one of my favorites." It was entitled "The Lover's Dictionary", by David Levithan.
"Sounds interesting! Thank you, Yuushi~" Kana smiled.
Gakuto laughed. "And you thought she'd blush at your gift, Yuushi! Where is your knowledge of women now, huh?"
Oshitari reddened. "Shut up, Mukahi."
Jirou came up to her next, with a clear plastic bag filled with gummies and sour tapes. "Happy birthday, Kana-chan! You're the only one here who completely understands my candy addiction so here~ I bought you every kind!" Aaaah, candies.. The second reason why I fail in diets..
Kana grinned. "Yeah, these idiots don't know what they're missing out on. Thank you, Jirou!" she said, as she opened the bag and ate a few.
Kabaji came forward and gave her a blue box. "Happy birthday, Kana-san.."
Kana opened the gift and saw a cross-stitch pattern on a piece of cloth. The colored threads formed the words "Kana" in cursive writing.
"Aww, thank you, Kabaji-kun." She thanked Keigo's 'bodyguard'.
"Kana-senpai.. Happy birthday." Came Hiyoshi's usual deep voice. Kana turned and saw Hiyoshi holding out a small gift bag. Inside was a blue grip tape.
"As usual, the future captain gives the most useful gift. Thank you, Wakashi." Kana thanked the second year. I think all the grip tapes I used in the past three years have been from this boy.. He's like my sponsor.
"Not good, Hiyoshi. That is so boring." Gakuto scolded, wagging his index finger at the copper-haired boy.
"Kana-senpai can use my gift in her matches. How can she use your bread in a match, Gakuto-senpai?"
Gakuto reddened. "Shut up." He said, as Jirou laughed out loud.
"Happy birthday, Kana-senpai!" Choutarou came up to her with a CD and a music book. Kana looked at it questioningly.
"Oh, I made you a violin piece! I recorded it here. Last year, I gave you a boring book and I didn't think it was a great gift so I've been working on it for the past year. It's entitled "A Time For Us". I really hope you'll like it, Senpai!" Choutarou explained. Oh my god, my baby made me a violin piece?!
Kana often called Choutarou her baby, because the 2nd year was just too precious and innocent, despite Gakuto's protests and Oshitari's teasing.
Kana stared at the boy, open-mouthed. "Wow, Choutarou… I can't believe you worked so hard for this…" she began tearing up.
"A-ah, Senpai! Don't cry! I really like playing with you, you on the piano and me on the violin, whenever you visit Japan so I thought you'd really like this present. Do not cry, Senpai!" Choutarou fumbled.
Kana laughed. "I'm sorry; it's just that everyone gives me so many nice presents.. Thank you, Choutarou!" she hugged the tall boy. "You said it was entitled "A Time For Us"?"
Choutarou nodded.
"What kind of title is that? It's super lame." Shishido said.
"I think it's cute!" Kana complimented the younger boy. As usual, the girl failed to notice Shishido's annoyed expression and Gakuto's, Oshitari's and Jirou's sly smiles.
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"Here you are." Yukimura said, as he approached Kana's figure. They were both standing in a balcony alongside the western hall.
"Why do you keep walking away from the party? It is yours, you know." The captain remarked.
"I'm trying to run away from my uncles, cousins and godfathers who will all ask me to dance and just bombard me with questions about my growth spurts." Kana explained, as she pouted in annoyance.
Yukimura chuckled. "Well, since you're here, happy birthday, Atobe-san." He greeted and gave Kana a pink plastic bag, filled with cookies.
Kana stared at the item, as she grabbed the bag. "Is this..?"
"This is my birthday gift. Because today is your birthday."
Kana looked up at him.
"And look, the plastic's pink, because pink is the color of girls, right? Like in a baby girl's room, the wallpaper is pink. And even the ribbons are pink, to accentuate the femininity. Although blue was originally for the females a few decades back... But I thought you'd get angry if I gave you a blue bag so I stuck with modern time color choices and that is pink." Yukimura pointed at the bag, stifling a laugh.
Kana squinted her eyes. "Are you mocking me?"
"I give you a gift and you ask me that? I am insulted, Atobe-san!" Yukimura chuckled.
Kana squinted her eyes some more.. before laughing out loud. "That speech was just… ridiculous, Child of God."
"Uh-huh, and where did that speech come from?" he teased, noting how Kana's expression turned sheepish.
Kana reddened. "Shut up." She opened the bag and took out a cookie.
"And oh yeah, I baked those cookies myself so be thankful!" Yukimura added.
Kana laughed again. "Thank you, Yukimura-kun."
Yukimura stood beside her, as they both looked out the balcony, the gardens in plain view.
"You seem happy tonight." He said. Kana looked at him strangely.
"What do you mean?"
"Your eyes shine brighter. Your smile's wider." Yukimura noted, as he softly pointed at the edge of Kana's lips with his finger before his mind registered what his body was doing.
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Why is he touching my face?!
Kana looked away. "In some ways, I really am happy."
"Some ways only?"
"Yeah, it is my birthday. And the food is really delicious." Kana replied, as Yukimura gave a chuckle.
"But you're not completely happy?"
"I think so."
"And why is that? You looked, for the first time, truly happy when you were giving your mini speech at the staircase."
"You have a lot of questions, mister." Kana said.
"Well, you called me gay." Yukimura retorted. Damn him!
Kana sighed. "Keigo and I grew up with a lot of rules and the first rule? Always, always, ALWAYS be nice to the business partners. Even if Keigo and I had just fought over toys or stuff, we'd have to put on a pleasing mask and hide the fact that we hate each other, for the time being. Even if we're both tired from tennis matches, we always have to suck up to the partners and compliment their clearly-not-good-looking sons and their clearly-not-doing-well businesses. Even if we hate being dragged around to lunches and dinners, we have to act elegant and be elegant."
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Yukimura thought for a while, after Kana had answered his question.
That must be why she is a bit bipolar. She grew up learning how to change personalities within seconds..
Yukimura stared at her.
"You're sort of like me, I guess. Putting on a different face is part of my play style. That way, opponents cannot—" he said.
"Determine what you're thinking and figure out your next moves. Yeah, I know all about your tennis."
Yukimura's eyes widened for a second. She knows? Oh, yes, her mother did say something..
"Your mother said something about you investigating Tezuka. And how you were investigating us. What is that?"
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Kana smirked at the boy beside her.
"They say, if you want answers, you've got to work for them. And I agree."
Yukimura stared at her. "Are you trying to order me around?"
Kana grinned. "Why? Can I command the Child of God to do some—"
"There you are! I've been looking for you!"
Kana turned around and saw her mother. "Why, Mother?"
"Come. You have to meet the son of the Suzuki Corporation."
"But, Mother, I've met him already, and he's as boring as a rock!" Kana glanced at Yukimura, who smiled. Aha, that annoying smile again. Geez!
"Nonsense, now come!"
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Atobe Mizuki met up with her husband, Hideaki, with Kana in tow. She ignored her daughter's annoyed looks.
"There you are, my darling!" Hideaki said.
The three walked up to the owner of the Suzuki Corporation.
"Ah! It is nice to finally meet you, Kana dear." Suzuki Masahiro said, as he hugged Kana gently.
"No, Suzuki-san, it is my pleasure to meet the CEO of the great Suzuki Corporation. I've heard business is rising these days." Kana said fluidly, while smiling. Mizuki smiled. Ah, I've raised my children well.
"It is, Kana! And of course, with the help of Hideaki over here. Ah, Hideaki, with such admirable children, you can retire in peace, I say!" Masahiro exclaimed, laughing goodheartedly, as Hideaki laughed along with him.
"Now, Kana, I would like you to meet my son this Monday. What do you say?"
Kana smiled. "Ah, Ryousuke-kun? I've already met him, Suzuki-san."
"Oh, no. I was talking about my second son, Sanjirou!"
Atobe Mizuki smiled. "Yes, well, it's best if the two got to know each other before getting engaged, right?"
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Author's Note: That's right! Kana is getting engaged to the second son of the Suzuki Corporation, the Atobes' #1 business partner, Suzuki Sanjirou~
And Kana's tennis is similar to Keigo's! They both share the same eyes, after all.
What do you guys think? Review please~