Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Encounters of Another Kind - Part 1 ❯ Parting of Ways ( Chapter 5 )

Encounters of Another Kind

An An and Yuuta Story

By Andrea Readwolf <andrea_readwolf @hotmail.com>

Chapter: 5

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: An and Yuuta

Genre: AU, Humor, Romance, Seduction

Warnings: Underage characters in romantic and sexual situations of self-discovery. Characters may be seen as OOC, but they are written in character according to author's interpretation.

Spoilers: none to my knowledge

Summary: The parting of ways.

Disclaimer: Tennis no Ohjisama, characters and settings are the property of Konomi Takeshi.

Date Started: July 1, 2004

Status: complete

Revised: July 23, 2004

Word Count: 1838

~Parting of Ways~

Ann sighed back into the cold, hard, unyielding bench seat. Not a lot of people came to the street courts anymore. Winter still had too much control over the weather and spring just wasn't strong enough to chase the bitter freeze away. The cherry blossoms would start blooming soon, though...

Everything was getting ready to start anew. School was getting ready to resume again, and she and the others were all seniors now. Her brother had graduated and would be entering high school and making new friends and learning new things apart from the rest of them...

But for right now, she was just sitting here, awaiting her chance to play on the street courts. Shinji and Echizen had agreed to let the winner of their game play against her next---Akira and Momoshiro were too busy arguing over something petty in the next court over--and Yuuta...

Yuuta wasn't exactly providing the best of company either right now.

Ann sighed again and turned to her boyfriend.

She had known this was coming, although she had tried to ignore it, but...

Yuuta was always so kind and caring and *cute*; overall, fairly good boyfriend material.

But they weren't right for each other. She kept expecting him to realize it too, but then she was quite sure that he had no clue he really liked someone else in 'that' way.'

So... giving another glance towards the courts below and noting that Shinji and Echizen were no where near reaching a conclusion to their match, and nor were Akira and Momoshiro, Ann leaned over and pressed her lips to Yuuta's.

It took the other teen a moment to respond, surprised as always when Ann suddenly kissed him. There was nothing torrid or fiery... or... passionate at all in the way his lips pressed back against hers, and there was a cute, questioning look on his face when she pulled away.

"What was that for?" he wondered aloud.

Ann frowned, swallowing another sigh. "That *spark* isn't there when we kiss."

He blinked, his own lips turning down into a matching frown. "'Spark'?"

He watched her, but she couldn't continue to watch him... She didn't have to look to know he would be hurt at what seemed like a rejection.

"Is... is there someone else?" he finally asked.

Ann continued to watch Shinji and Echizen on the courts. They both looked so happy, so alive... so... passionate. Yuuta looked like that, too, sometimes. When he played tennis, or when they were talking...

"No," she sighed, turning to finally look at Yuuta again and offer a small, apologetic smile. "Not really. It's just--I think we make better friends than boyfriend/girlfriend, don't you?"

It was Yuuta's turn to look away, not at the people on the court, but at the court itself.

"Besides, what about you?" Ann brought him back from his thoughts after a moment. "Isn't there someone else you like more than me?"

Yuuta shrugged, still frowning. It was sad--Ann had gotten used to see that expression.

"No. Not really. You're the only girl I can ever really talk to," he started and then stopped to try again. "I mean, you're cool, 'cause you--really get tennis, and you don't think I'm crazy for being so wrapped up in "some game." And it's great, cause you play, too, and I have a lot of fun when we play together, and--"

"And there's nothing to stop us from still hanging out, silly," Ann laughed, bumping her shoulder against his. "That's what friends do. And that's what we are, right, Yuuta? Friends?"

"Yeah, I guess," the sandy-haired boy replied a bit mulishly.

Ann looked at him, her smile naturally curving into a more calculating expression. "Do you ever think of Mizuki like that?"

"Huh?"

Yeah, he was definitely still cute... "Well, would you consider him and you friends?" Ann asked with honest interest. She'd never really liked the other tennis player herself, but... "I mean, you talk about him a lot, and I know you've missed him since he and the other seniors started cramming for their entrance exams and finals, so I wondered... Do you ever think about just, I don't know, going to see a movie or just plain hanging out with him?"

Yuuta's answer was an immediate and definite, "No."

Ann frowned. "Why not?"

The boy next to her leaned back against the seat bench behind them, frowning. "Mizuki-senpai," he began thoughtfully, "Has a plan; he has set goals that he's determined to achieve. He doesn't have time to waste on--"

"Have you asked him?" Ann cut in.

Yuuta blinked, surprised at being interrupted. "What?"

Ann sighed. "You should call him up and invite him to come along with us this afternoon. I think he might enjoy a break, don't you?" Yuuta clearly didn't know what to think--or say--so Ann reached into her tennis bag for her cell phone.

"Here. You can use my phone--you *do* know his number, right? So what are you waiting for? Call him already!"

He was so cute, sitting there looking all flustered as he accepted the phone she thrust at him. It was all she could do to restrain herself from taking the phone back from him and talking to Mizuki herself. Still, she was a good girl; she held her tongue as Yuuta stumbled out a greeting on the phone and stuttered through the process of asking if the other teen would like to join them at the movies that afternoon.

And he looked so stunned, shocked even, when he hung up the phone and handed it back to her, staring at her with wide-eyed surprise.

"He said he'd be delighted to," he told her and Ann almost laughed.

Almost--except at that exact moment, Akira's and Momoshiro's disagreement seemed to escalate to a new level and it looked like she would be needed to intervene for the two--since it was a pretty good bet that neither Shinji nor Echizen would be stopping their game for anything less than betrayal by their bodies.

~~~****~~~~

Mizuki had been surprised but honestly delighted to hear from his golden kouhai that morning. And yes, he had been perfectly honest when he said a break sounded like a good idea. A movie theater wasn't his preferred pasttime, but it was something different and it wasn't like money was an issue.

Besides, this outing would provide the perfect opportunity to observe the younger classman again. Yuuta, he knew, had done very well for himself during the transition period while last year's seniors prepared for high school and this year's seniors prepared for their new responsibility within the school sphere.

Yuuta had done exceedingly well his second year of junior high school, but now Mizuki would be joining the high school ranks... and it would be another year before the youngest Fuji-sibling would be returning to Mizuki's care. The prospect of a year's absence of influence away from Yuuta was a very dissatisfying thought.

He made careful note of the meeting time and made sure he was there ahead of time so he could observe the pair as they approached. He knew Yuuta was still dating that girl--Tachibana's little sister, if his memory was correct--but watching the two approached, Mizuki didn't think they looked very much like a romantic couple.

Yuuta looked good, he noticed immediately. He would be a formidable tennis player for sure by the time Mizuki was finished with him....

"Oh, my god," Ann exclaimed suddenly, pulling back from Yuuta's introductions with a look of sincere horror and regret on her face. "Yuuta, Mizuki-san, I'm so sorry! I forgot I promised my brother I'd pick something up from the store for him!"

"Oh..." Yuuta frowned. "Well, I guess we could see the movie later--"

"Oh, no," she protested. "You guys go ahead and see it, and I'll... well, I guess I'll see you around," she smiled at Yuuta and lifted a hand in parting. "Take care of yourself, Yuuta-kun. Mizuki-san. 'Bye-bye!"

And just like that, the girl disappeared.

Mizuki turned to look at his kouhei, wondering if maybe this was a common happening, but there was a familiar look of shocked confusion on the other boy's face and understanding dawned upon him. Twirling a strand of hair around his fingers, Mizuki mused.

"Never underestimate the deviousness of the fairer sex, Yuuta-kun," he said after a moment.

"Eh?" Yuuta turned to him with the puppy-dog-like need for understanding. "What do you mean, Mizuki-senpai?"

Mizuki just smiled and said, "I'll explain it to you later. Now, tell me," he continued, turning to lead the younger man into the movie Cineplex. "How has your game been advancing? Have you been practicing as I told you...?"

~~~****~~~

Epilogue:

Tachibana An leaned back against the benches overlooking the street tennis courts, watching as the cherry blossoms clumped together in huge, cotton candy-like clusters in the trees of the surrounding park.

"You're not hanging around that Fuji-boy anymore," a soft voice murmured from next to her. Shinji had been unnaturally quiet recently--since school had begun last week.

An smiled and tilted her head to the side to look at her friend. "We still hang out sometimes," she informed him.

Shinji reminded mute, and finally An laughed.

"Okay, so maybe we broke up," she admitted, and when the dark-haired teen beside her still remained quiet, she went on to explain, "Well, it was a little annoying when he would start talking about someone else, and really, it wasn't like there was much romance between us. It's kind of hard to have a romance when one person is unknowingly in love with someone else and too dense to even realize it."

She sighed, casually leaning against the taller boy. "I wonder if that's what it was like for brother and Fuji-san..."

That got a verbal response from Shinji, although he didn't try to shift An off him. "Your brother admired Fuji Syusuke because of his skill and control as well as his ability to completely destroy his opponent should he so choose. But he wasn't *in love* with him."

An couldn't help but grin up into the dark-haired boy's face. "So you noticed it, too?" she teased.

"Ah."

Still grinning, An tapped Shinji's nose with a finger. "Were you jealous, Shinji-kun?" she teased.

Shinji blinked, looking cross-eyed at An's finger, and then her face, before looking away from her completely. "I'm not in love with Kippei," the young man replied seriously, staring down at the courts.

An laughed. "Who *are* you in love with then?"

Shinji shifted, and then stood. "Since it looks like those two idiots are not going to stop arguing with each other any time soon, would you like to play a game of tennis with me, An?" he asked, already reaching for his racket.

An jumped eagerly to her feet, too, with an affirmative cry of, "Um!"

~The End of An An & Yuuta Story~