Hello anybody reading this! First of all, for the contest! There were some WONDERFUL guesses, but only three people got it right. The answer was "The park where Ikasu, Bunta and Akaya sorted out their feelings". Now, I know some of you are thinking that I mislead you by making you think it would be the park in the "Ayame arc", but it was the park on the wat to the Trivial Property, the only of which was the previously stated answer. Thank you to everyone who tried, and congratulations to those who got it right!
Immortal Tigress- Well, there are SOME people...
Bloody.Trickster- Your wish is my command. This time.
Sakimi1014- Update! Update!
FujiLovesMe- Thank you for the compliment.
MintIceCream- Thank you again for the name, I chose to use Jasony, which I have really come to love.
PinkFloweree- Thank you once again for the name.
Alone in the Snow- Thank you for your review!
Tacuma- I am glad that you enjoyed it. Please enjoy this one as well.
KiriharaAkaya- Yeah, it was a little rushed, as was this one. I'm sorry.
ShadowinRW- HEY! 'Happy' and 'Chappie' rhyme! Oh-my-Jell-o! You're so amazing! Thank you for the cinnamon roll by the way. I would tell you that it was yummy, but my keyboard ate it before I could get it, Something about revenge for not supplying proper dental care services.
RaiPhoenix015- Believe me, I know the wonders of a hot drink. When I am stressed or not feeling well, nothing helps me more than a cup of black tea, or chamomile with milk, if I'm REALLY stressed. Yukimura and Sanada currently have three children, by the way. Though they may have more before I'm done with them... (Poor Sanada... ')
Shemeno- Thank you very much.
Sayoko's-fire- I don't know if anybody really knows that it's Ayumu's birthday (at school, I mean). Still, Atsukjo's popular, so anyone with half a brain might realize that her birthday is also his birthday. -Shrugs.- Hard to tell though.
Sweet Obsidian Rain- Thank you once again for the name. -Bows.- As fort he names, yes, technically, it should be surname first style, but as I didn't do so in Trivial Pulse (the first chapter, in fact, has 'Kunimitsu Tezuka') I decided to use the same style here. It often annoys me to write it that way, but I would feel even stranger to change my ways now.
Disclaimer- I do not own Prince of Tennis, or it's characters, But I do own a few of the characters in this story (and if you're a true P.O.T. Fan, you'll know which ones they are without having to think about it).
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"How have you been sleeping, Ayumu?" Dr. Hatchett asked.
"Fine," Ayumu said, trying to keep from wiggling away from the antiseptic the elderly doctor was gently dabbing on his wounds.
"You haven't passed out since I last saw you?" Wizened eyes fixed on him in a way that just dared him to lie. Not that Ayumu had any such intentions.
"No," he answered, shaking his head.
"Well, that's good," Dr. Hatchett nodded. "Now, as for today's inflictions, the worst of it is this bruise here," he ran a finger feather-lightly over a large dark abrasion on his left leg, "which seems to be rather deep. Thankfully, however, the bone is unharmed. My advice would be to take it easy for a while. You can continue to practice, but try not to get yourself assigned any laps, don't play any actual matches, and if the team runs, make sure that you go slow, and that the captain is aware of your injury. Other than that, I'll bring a salve by your house tomorrow that will help you heal faster." The man's wrinkles lightened as he smiled. "Now, go enjoy the rest of your birthday."
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"Hey! Mr. Man!" Sora turned, confused, as he felt a small hand tug on the end of him shirt. "Don' look at me 'ike that." Dark blue eyes narrowed at his accusingly. "It's you fault 'Yumu's hurt, isn't it?"
"Wahh?" Sora's eyes widened at the young boy standing in front of him. Dark, messy hair nearly hid what seemed to be puppy ears, which were lowered flat against the boy's head, and Sora could see that he was ready to pounce. "No! I promise you, I didn't!"
"Don' be silly, Arata," a kinder young voice admonished, and Sora turned slightly to see a small, redhead girl, dark eyes regarding him somewhat blankly. "Do ya really think he would be here if he hurt 'Yumu?"
Arata blushed at this, but quickly regained his earlier demeanor. "Maybe, Chou, you never know."
Chou sighed and shook her head, and then sticks her hand out to Sora. He can't help but notice that her nails are like tiny claws, fitting for the cheetah ears on her head. "I'm Chou Ibu. He's Arata Oishi. You are?" Sora took the tiny hand (which seemed much too small to properly fit with his) and shook it gently.
"Sora Noboru," he answered. "Er... Pardon me, but... How old are you?"
The two Positives shared a glance. "Three."
Sora's jaw nearly dropped. "B-but you're so mature!"
Chou let out a small laugh. "We're half animal, Noboru-san, we... Grow faster than most children."
"So I see," Noboru said.
"Hello, Senpai." That soft, breeze of a voice nearly made Sora shiver as he turned to see Ayumu, oceanic blue eyes looking directly at hi, and only at him.
"Hello, Ayumu," Sora smiled at him, making a faint blush run over his boyfriend's cheeks.
"Come with me?" Ayumu asked softly. It was all Sora could do to nod dumbly, heart racing as Ayumu took his hand and began to pull him away.
"Hey, he called 'Yumu by his first name," Arata frowned. "Wha's that supposed ta mean?"
Chou just shook her head with a slight smile, before taking his hand in hers and leading him toward the food table.
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Ayumu didn't know why he was taking Sora with him. There was no reason, really, and he hadn't planned on telling Sora about this, especially not so early in their relationship, but he couldn't just not do this when he had such an opportunity.
For a moment, he hesitated. He could just take Sora back up to the house, day it had been nothing, and then come back down here a bit later, by himself. He didn't want Sora to pity him, and he certainly didn't see any real reason to show him this, but... It also couldn't really hurt, could it?
"Ayumu..." The blue-eyed boy turned at the sound of his name, tumbling without thought over those beautiful lips. "You're nervous. Why?"
Ayumu was surprised that he would pick up on this. "I-I..." He looked away. "The place we're going..."
"You don't want me to go there now? You're having second thoughts about taking me there," He smiled kindly at the younger boy and lifted his chin gently so that their eyes met once more. "It's fine if you don't want me to go. I'll just go back up to the house, and wait for you to take care of whatever you need to. Please, do not feel that you have to take me anywhere with you, if you don't want to."
Ayumu's face flushed and he took Sora's hand once more, continuing on their way. They walked the short distance to a large sakura tree, and Ayumu came to a stop. The wind nearly blew away his voice as he whispered, "Hello, Daisuki."
He stood silently for a moment, simply gazing upon his brother's grave and waiting for the inevitable question: Whose grave is this?
Sora, however, didn't ask. He simply stood, a step behind Ayumu, and continued to hold the other boy's hand in silence. Ayumu was both thankful and impressed, and decided that even an unasked question deserved an answer. "He was my bother," Ayumu told him, raising his voice just slightly. "He died... When we were born."
Sora said nothing still, but squeezed his hand in a sign of comfort. To Ayumu, it seemed that it said. 'I do not pity you, but I am sorry for your pain'. He really felt like Sora understood, and let himself fall back into waiting arms.
It felt strange to let go, even for just a moment, to let go of his fears and relax, especially with someone else right there. It felt even stranger to feel that he was enjoying the human contact that Sora was giving him. There was no doubt in his mind now that Sora was the one, his mate. Not that he could ever tell him that. No, that wouldn't go over well at all. 'Hi, I know we just started dating, but I can only fall in love once, so why don't we just stay together forever? Not pressure or anything.' Ayumu doubted he could even say that much all at once, if he could even say it at all. Ever.
Besides, he shouldn't get over-excited. Sora hadn't ever said that he loved him, and this could end up being nothing more than a week-long fling. Still, at least he knew that it was more for him, and he could deal with everything else as it came. For now, he just wanted to stay in Sora's arms, and forget the rest of the world.
So he did.
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"What did you want to talk to me about, Munehiro?" Taka asked, taking in the slightly chilled night, running a hand through his hair as he did so.
"Baby," Kabaji said, taking both of Taka's hands in his own, and gently turning him away from the expansive grounds to look into his eyes instead. Taka suddenly saw that this was something serious.
"Yes?" Taka asked, soft brown eyes looking up at his husband expectantly.
"Taka, I think that it's time," Kabaji said. Taka didn't understand.
"I'm sorry... What?"
Kabaji took a deep breath. "How would you feel... About adopting a child? For our own."
Taka tackled Kabaji in a bone-crushing hug.
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A few hours later, Keigo Atobe decided to make an announcement, an extremely pregnant Jirou beside him.
"As all of you know, today is a special day, as it is two birthdays, and a Friday--"
"Us adults have decided that any kid over seven who wants to can stay here over night!" Jirou cut in.
"Ore-sama was getting to that," Atobe said, the glare he aimed at Jirou not nearly affective, due to the humor also in his eyes. The kids broke into chatter about it, both excitedly (the older children) and peeved (the younger children).
Ayumu turned to Sora, squeezing his hand slightly in silent question, asking 'can you stay?'
Sora recognized the gesture and answered, "I'll call home. Hold on." And then Sora's hand was out of his, and the older boy was headed out to the front porch.
The absence of Sora's hand seemed almost painful to Ayumu for some reason, and even if he couldn't read Sora's mind, he felt that the other might be hiding something from him. Against his nature, he followed out to the porch, stopping behind one of the stone pillars, and listening as Sora began to talk to whoever was on the other line.
"Hey." Ayumu frowned. Something in Sora's voice was off; he had never heard the other boy talk like that before. "Yeah. I know. I'm sorry."
Ayumu could hear a woman's voice, but he couldn't understand what she was saying.
"Yes, I know, I know," Sora said, sounding a bit exasperated. "That's why I'm calling, I wanted to stay at a friend's tonight. It's his birthday." The woman again. "I'm sorry, Mother, but--"
That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say.
"You are NOT my son you brat of a child! I don't care what you do! I want MY Sora back!!" The woman's voice so loud now that he could not only understand her, but it was hurting his ears. He couldn't understand, though. I heard her, but what she said made no sense. Sora had called her 'mother', but she had said... That he wasn't her son? No, that simply didn't make sense to him.
"Ayumu...!" Ayumu turned to see a startled looking Sora looking at him. Sora's startled face relaxed and he blushed slightly. "You... Probably heard that, huh?"
Ayumu couldn't help but nod. How stupid he had been! Some tensai he was, didn't even notice that Sora had finished his conversation...
"I'm sorry about that, you shouldn't have had to hear her go on like that," Sora gave him a sympathetic smile.
"N-no, I..." Ayumu stammered. "Why was she...?"
"... A little over a year ago, I was in an accident," Sora said after a short pause. "I really wasn't injured that badly, but I did hit my head rather hard, and I lost my memory because of it. I don't remember anything before the accident, and I guess it affected my personality somehow, because... Even thought she's my mother, she doesn't seem to recognize me as her son. I think... Perhaps the accident was too much for her. Anyway, I ended up changing schools, and here I am now."
Ayumu was stunned for a moment and then, moving on instinct, he moved forward and threw his arms around his boyfriend, wrapping his wings around them as well in an act of comfort. He felt like crying, but no tears fell from his eyes.
Sora seemed to freeze for a moment, then his arms wrapped around Ayumu in return, and he buried his face in the young boy's hair. Ayumu could feel his loving smile.
"Thank you, Ayumu. Thank you."
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Konbanwa Minna-san! Well, it's evening here anyway, as I write this, but whatever. So, more of the kids will be in the next chapter, but I thought I'd help all of you prepare for that by posting a list of who has kids and what their names are. I hope that you find it helpful. Thanks again to those who won the contest and supplied such wonderful names. Thank you as well to everyone who attempted.
" "'s are the meanings fort he Kanji in their names, or just teh general name meaning, if not in Japanese.
Fuji-Tezuka-
Ayumu- 12- M- "Dream" and "Walk"
Atsuko- 12- F- "Warm" and "Child"
Gakuto-Yuushi-
Narumi- 2- F- "Seed" and "Beautiful"
Jirou-Atobe-
Ren- 11- M- "Lotus"
Ryuu- 11- M- "Dragon"
Suzu- 4- F- "Bell"
(On the way)
Sanada-Yukimura-
Miki- 10- F- "Beautiful" and "Chronicle"
Kohaku- 5- M- "Amber"
Sachiko- 3- F- "Happiness" and "Child"
Eiji-Oishi (It's only fitting that they have a huge family, right?)-
Jasony- 11- M- (Name courtesy of: MintIceCream, if it has a meaning, I do not know it)
Kaito- 9- M- "Sea" and "Soar"
Cindy- 7- F- (Name courtesy of: PinkFloweree)- "Cindy, I do not know, but 'Cythia' is "The Latinized form of Greek Κυνθια (Kynthia) which means "woman from Kynthos". This was an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, given because Kynthos was the mountain on Delos on which she and her twin brother Apollo were born."
Chiyo- 6- F- "Thousand" and "World"
Arata - 3- M- "Fresh, New"
Isamu - six months- M- "Courage, Bravery"
Kaoru-Inui-
(None so far)
Ryoma-Momo-
(None so far)
Shishido-Choutarou-
Yasuo- 8- M- (Name courtesy of: Sweet Obsidian Rain)- "Peaceful One"
Hibiki- 4- M- "Echo"
Akira-Shinji-
Chou- 6- F- "Butterfly"
Kanon- 3- F- "Flower" and "Sound"
Akutsu-Dan-
(None so far)
Niou-Yagyuu-
Kazuki- 7- M- "One" and "Hope"
Hotaru- 5- F- "Firefly"
Ikasu-Akaya-Bunta-
Bade- 9- M (Ikasu)- I do not know the country of origin from the name, but it means "Full Moon". If anyone knows, please tell me, I'm very curious.
Ryan- 9- M (Akaya)- Gaelic in origin, it means "Little King"
Chiyuki- 18 months- F (Akaya)- "Thousand" and "Snow"
Just a note! I wanted to remind everyone that all of these kids are extremely intelligent for their ages due to their animal DNA causing them to mature(? Can I really say that after Arata's little act up there?) faster than a normal child. So, to get their "Age", take their actual age and add about four to five years, mm'kay? Thanks.
See you next chapter!