DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS!
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Chapter 13
"Hands"
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Pok.
Pok.
Pok.
Pok.
"Shit. I missed again."
Street tennis wasn't exactly his most favorite pastime (with eating I guess as his most favorite, annoying Mamushi comes as second, and tennis as third while street tennis is pretty much his fourth…), but whenever Momoshiro doesn't want to think of something that's bothering him, he goes out to play.
Pok.
He hit the ball back.
Pok.
Pok.
And hit again.
WHOOSH
The ball went past him.
A certain brown-haired girl with pink barrettes threw her racket over her right shoulder and went near the net.
"Momoshiro-kun, you're not paying attention to the ball!" Ann frowned. The last time he was doing this kind of playing… when he was dropped off from the regulars' line up.
"You won?" Momoshiro down at the second year from Seigaku, "…"
Ann sighed.
What the heck is wrong with him again?
Momoshiro swung his racket to his shoulder and went to the bench right beside the tennis court. There, he threw his upper uniform to his vacant shoulder, warning that he would be leaving soon.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" she shouted as he turned his back on her.
"Home." He muttered, sighing. He suddenly felt someone hauling his left cheek, "Ow! Ow! Stop it!"
Ann tugged his cheek lower, "Not until you say that you won't leave right now, OK?"
"OW! OK! OK!" he shouted unwillingly, since he knew that if he didn't Ann would just pinch his cheeks harder.
Ann smiled, "Perfect." Ann started to pack her things, and swung her bag, unwittingly hitting Momoshiro at the sides.
"Oops." She peeked out a little of her tongue, "Sorry, Momoshiro-kun."
Momoshiro held the part where he was hit and mumbled, "Ow. Ow. Ow… first my cheek and now… ow…"
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Momoshiro and Ann walked together in the streets of Kantou, though the guy had no idea where they were going. A smile crept on Ann's rosy lips (as noted by Momoshiro) as they approached a small fast food chain.
"Eh?" Momoshiro raised a brow as he looked at the mascot at the corner of the door.
An ant.
What the heck?! Are we going to where kids are?
Momoshiro heard Ann mutter, "Perfect."
Perfect?! What?! Since when a place like this is perfect?! Perfect for kids… but… middle school students?
Momoshiro felt his hand being held tightly and being dragged by this second year from Fudoumine, "Oi, Momoshiro, c'mon, let's order our food already!"
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It wasn't exactly their taste, but the food was tasty anyway. Ann watched the boy wolf hungrily at the food served to them. There must be something wrong with him again, there was no other reason he'd let her win so easily.
"Mfmfhf mff fmfmf…"
Ann quirked a brow.
What?
Momoshiro swallowed everything in his mouth, but started to choke. He tried to grab a plastic cup of soft drinks, but only managed to spill the contents of the cup. It was Ann who gave him the drink properly.
"You can be an idiot, you know." Ann shook her head.
Momoshiro rested his chin on his right hand and stared at the already blackened sky. It wasn't supposed to be like this, but he just can't help but be preoccupied by the incident in Daigaku.
Ann sighed as she watched her friend get lost in thoughts, it wasn't always that she could see him be fixated with anything other than tennis.
"You know, you could tell me about what's been bothering you."
Momoshiro sighed, "You don't have anything to do with it, I don't want you to be involved in something you shouldn't…"
He felt another surge of pain on his cheek as Ann pulled the corner of his face, "You're really an idiot."
"Huh?"
"I doesn't matter if I'm not involved in it or what, that's why we're friends, right?"
Momoshiro sighed again, Ann sure was pushy that afternoon. But what can he do? It was Ann who had started talking, she was right.
There was no reason why he shouldn't tell her anything.
It had already started raining heavily, but Momoshiro hadn't stopped talking yet and Ann gazed at the sky, wondering how things could happen in such pace.
It was maybe because Ryoma was being a jerk; then again, he's been a jerk sometimes. Well, not that much of a jerk. But cocky, yeah maybe that.
Or it could be because it was girls that Ryoma had pissed off. Or it could be because Sakuno had slapped Ryoma's face. Or it could be because of the suddenness of things that was troubling him.
It was just a week ago since they met those girls, then they were forced to work with them, and just when they thought everything was going smoothly.
Ann felt a whoosh of air escape her as she rubbed her temples. It spelled trouble. But she then thought that it really shouldn't bother Seigaku so much because… hhmm… because they really weren't connected whatsoever in the first place…
Then again…
Ann sighed. Again. It was getting confusing already.
Momoshiro watched the seemingly irate girl out of the corner of his violet eyes, who seemed to be unwillingly sucked (mentally though) into the mess that those girls from Daigaku made. He watched as she curled her lips, forming a frown that Momoshiro thought was a bit cute; actually, even if she smiled or frowned, he would still think that she looked cute.
He then remembered how many times Ann had helped him, despite the fact that she was a Fudoumine and he was a Seigaku.
Guess being in different schools doesn't mean a lot… especially to them.
"Momoshiro-kun…" she had finally spoken.
Momoshiro averted his gaze to her, "What is it?"
"I think you should stop it." She sighed.
"What?!" he didn't notice the rise in his voice, "But Tachibana's little sister-"
"Hmph! I have a cute name, Momoshiro-kun!" Ann pouted, "Anyway, you really don't have to do that, right? I guess, just because your coach said that you should, that doesn't mean you have to. Not to mention that you still have another tournament to finish, that should be your aim, not some kind… of rubbish."
"You have a point," Momoshiro turned his attention to the now empty plastic cup, "But… we sort of have to finish this one."
"What?"
"I mean, we started doing this, then we have to finish it kind of thing. Besides, even Mamushi doesn't complain that much." He shrugged.
Ann frowned, "Then you don't have to tell me about it. It seems like you're determined enough to finish whatever that is."
"Oi, don't be like that, An. It's not like I'll no longer go and see you if I go and help those girls." Momoshiro said without even thinking.
The statement itself made An blush, plus the look on Momoshiro's face like he said it without thinking twice made her blush go like, 1000 percent redder than usual.
"M-Momo…"
"Oh, shit." Momoshiro suddenly said, snapping the daydreaming Ann back to reality, "Do you have an umbrella with you?"
"Eh?" Ann gave a surprised look at Momoshiro, who pointed outside. An immediately searched her bag and found none, "Oh no!"
Momoshiro asked, "I have one here, where is your house?"
"My house?! We can just wait until the rain stops, you know!"
"Ack, Tachibana will kill me if you'll not go back to your house early." Momoshiro said as he grabbed for his bag, swinging them to his shoulder. He seized Ann's stuff too, "C'mon."
"Momo!" Ann didn't realize that she looked so flustered when Momoshiro snatched her hands and yanked her along with him.
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They were already just some steps away from the Tachibana residence, all the while both of them were silent, and it seemed like the tip-tapping of the rain could only be heard as they walked together under the small shelter of the black umbrella that Momoshiro had brought.
Ann was about to say something when Momoshiro grunted, they were already at Ann's house.
"Well… I guess this is goodbye for today." Said Momoshiro, as they still stayed outside the house.
Ann felt a surge of blood on her cheeks. It wasn't always like this. Or it could be because of her teenage (since she's thirteen) hormones that seemed to have a very wrong timing, "Uh…"
And Momoshiro being the simple-minded guy that he is, teased her, "Oi, oi, An. You're blushing! Is it because of me?"
"As if, Momoshiro!" she turned away her face haughtily, earning a laugh from the porcupine-haired boy. A smile played on her lips and after some seconds, their laughter could be heard, under the trickle of rain, under the light post, under the dark clouds.
With a smile, they bade each other their byes for now.
Ann happily greeted her brother, who was having dinner with the rest of Fudoumine as they planned to do that night. Kippei noticed the unusual outburst of happiness from her sister, but it seemed like he wasn't the one who had noticed.
"Hmmm…" Shinji started mumbling loudly, completely unaware that it was heard by everyone in that room, "Why is Ann so happy? Could it be because she's got a boyfriend? No, that's impossible… but then again, it could be because of her quiz or something. But what if that Momoshiro from Seigaku had caused her to be so happy-" Kamio's ears pricked, "-that sneaky bastard… trying to one-up Fudoumine… but I thought he was getting along so well with that bastard Echizen… hmmm…"
Kippei coughed, causing Shinji to snap from his "reverie".
"Ah, sunmason." Shinji apologized.
In Ann's room…
Ann plopped on her bed, with her arms outstretched; her smile never left her reddened face, and still felt a little giddy. She turned to her side and stared lovingly at her hand which was held earlier by Momoshiro; she smiled and blushed.
Maybe I shouldn't wash this hand… it still smells like Momo…
Ann giggled and her giggles turned into a meaningful laughter that only she understood.
Maybe she'll ask Sakuno how to make those obentos.
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Momoshiro looked back at the Tachibana residence for the nth time. He still can't forget the look on Ann's face when he grabbed her hand, and said goodbye to her as he gripped her hand tighter.
He couldn't help but smile. He couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat.
Even though the rain seemed to drown the world, he could see the moonlight from behind the thick clouds, the silver lining of hope… hope of what?
Momoshiro shook his head. What if Ann doesn't like him the way he liked her? He gazed at his large palms and remembered how warm and soft Ann's hand were… Momoshiro shook his head once again.
He really needs to play street tennis again, if it wasn't for the darned rain!
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A/N: Another feeble attempt to write fluff!PoT… I don't have exactly a good grasp on the characters, so… IDEAS ARE VERY MUCH WELCOME. Especially since I'm a person who easily gets the "author's block", a very annoying disease of fanfiction/fiction/story writers…
Does JKR ever have author's block? How about CS Lewis? Or Stephen King?
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