Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Touched - Rikkaidai - SanadaKirihara ❯ Chapter 3

Title: Touched

A Prince of Tennis Fanfiction
By Andrea Readwolf [andrea_readwolf @hotmail.com]
Chapter: 3/?
Rating: NC-17
Pairings/Characters: Kirihara Akaya + Sanada Genichirou, Rikkaidai
Genre: Teen-Angst Drama, Teen Sexuality
Warnings: Hospitals, grumpy-vice-captains, deviously-plotting captains, mischievious koheis, easily-amused friends, massage oil, and teenaged libidos.
Spoilers: Rikkaidai Arc
Summary: Kirihara schemes to get some time alone with his vice-captain and worries he's bitten off more than he can chew.

Disclaimer: Tennis no Ohjisama, characters and settings are the property of Konomi Takeshi. Original characters and story idea are property of Andrea Readwolf.

Date Started: March 2005
Word Count: 1326

 

 

~~~"Touched"~~~

 

TUESDAY

 

"You okay, Kirihara?" Jackal frowned at him as they made their way towards the hospital.

 

No, he wanted to shout, he wasn't 'okay'. He was feeling very un-okay, in fact. For a multitude of reasons. His captain and his vice captain at the top of the list. In the immediate moment, it was feelings of guilt that were twisting Kirihara's stomach. Guilt that any day now Yukimura would be released from the hospital, and he, Kirihara, would miss these special visits.

 

"You know," Jackal continued when the younger teen failed to answer. "You don't always have to come with me on Tuesdays."

 

"None of us will have to come here anymore pretty soon," Kirihara snapped sulkily as they stepped into the elevator.

 

"Won't that be nice," Jackal replied with no hidden hint of wistfulness in his voice as the doors shut.

 

Yukimura was always pleasant when they arrive, but today there seemed to be something alive, energetic buzzing through their captain when they entered his room.

 

"The doctor thinks I should be released this weekend," he confessed without much prompting, "and I'm allowed to start light training again."

 

"That's really great," Jackal grinned broadly. "I know the others will be really excited, too," he added, already reaching into his bag for his mobile phone and checking visually with Yukimura to see if it was okay to call and tell them.

 

With a nod, the captain sent the other boy off to spread the happy news, leaving him alone with Kirihara.

 

"Akaya," he called, holding his hand out to Kirihara again, but this time the younger teen didn't reach out to take it as he approached the bed, and Yukimura smiled knowingly at him, still taking Kirihara's hand in his when the younger boy leaned up against the bed. "Yanagi tells me things have gotten interesting at tennis practice lately," he opened.

 

Kirihara had had a lot of time to think about Yukimura and Sanada since last Thursday. Sanada had stubbornly ignored him at school and practice, only deeming to talk to him when he was doing something wrong or what Sanada thought was inappropriate. He thought he'd managed to make some progress Friday after practice, but then Saturday's practice came and went, and Monday's practice, and now Tuesday's was over as well and Sanada had managed to avoid him thoroughly, completely disappearing after practice before Kirihara could catch up and follow him.

 

"You mean Sanada-fukubuchou's become a real bear," the second year complained childishly before he thought better of it. He straightened his slumping posture and inhaled a fortifying breath. "I suppose it's my fault. He spends all day ignoring me and the only time he speaks to me is to yell and say I'm doing something wrong. It's not just me, either. Niou and Marui are threatening to quit the club if they have to run many more punishment laps, and..."

 

He paused. Yukimura waited.

 

"It's starting to affect his game, too, and he knows it, which just makes him worse," Kirihara confessed, guilty again, this time for feeling like a tattler. "He won't play with me, but last week he dropped four straight games to Yanagi, and when he started losing to Yagyuu and Jackal, too, he just stopped playing all together. Today he worked all practice with the first and second years, and..."

 

Kirihara forced a weak smile onto his face. "Well, at least Kobuke seems to be improving. He actually managed to return a ball today."

 

Yukimura's lips twitch in amusement. "That is an improvement," he agreed.

 

Kirihara sighed and slumped a little again, unconsciously. "This is my fault, but I don't know how to fix it."

 

Yukimura's hand squeezed Kirihara's reassuringly. "It's not your fault, Akaya. Sanada is a very dear friend, but he is an idiot sometimes." He reached up and began running his fingers through Kirihara's curls.

 

"Buchou?" Kirihara asked, unsure.

 

But Yukimura wasn't looking at him, and Kirihara turned around to see Jackal standing hesitantly in the doorway.

 

"How bad is it, really?" Yukimura asked the other teen.

 

Jackal sighed, knowing it was too late to beat a hasty retreat, and closed the door behind him. "It's manageable," he answered with a dishearted shrug. "Niou and Marui are just giving Sanada a grace period, but I'd say sometime within the next week."

 

Kirihara looked between his sempai, confused. But Yukimura just nodded, expression torn somewhere between amusement and sadness. "I'm a little surprised they've practiced this much restraint."

 

"What can we say?" Jackal replied. "We all think Sanada needs to get laid sometime before we graduate. Besides," he added, reaching out to mess up Kirihara's hair. "We all like the kid."

 

"Hey!" the second year complained loudly wrenching away from the bed and several feet away to try and even out his style again. "Don't do that! I hate it when you do that!"

 

And then what the other teen had said sunk in and he blinked owlishly at the other two. "Wait a minute--you know--I mean... well, fuck." He sunk into one of the guest chairs.

 

"And he's been playing poorly," Yukimura questioned.

 

Jackal grimaced before answering, "I've seen him play better before when he had pneumonia that one time..."

 

"That is bad," the captain responded with a puzzled, frowning look. "Just what have you done to him, Akaya?"

 

"He's constantly staring," Jackal said, grinning slowly and then widely when Kirihara sputtered to protest. "He doesn't even realize he's doing it half the time, I don't think."

 

Kirihara felt a little hurt and very embarrassed that his teammates knew about what amounted to his very obvious feelings for Sanada. Self-conscious didn't even begin to describe it, and he didn't understand why, if they knew, why weren't Niou and Marui teasing and picking on him ceaselessly?

 

"Akaya," Yukimura's voice cut in softly. "You understand this can't continue."

 

Kirihara stared at his captain, even more hurt and confused than moments before.

 

"I'll be returning to school by next week, but--" Yukimura looked down at his hands fisting in the hospital sheet. "It might be a while still before I can play."

 

He looked back up at Kirihara and Jackal, and his eyes were hard with determination. "For the team, every one of our players needs to be in top form. You have until next week, Akaya, and then I'm going to have to ask you to step back in this matter, at least until after Nationals."

 

"But, Buchou!" Kirihara shouted. "That won't be for another two-three months!"

 

He'd finally admitted he liked Sanada--and at Yukimura's urging he'd gone after the other boy, and now Yukimura was telling him he couldn't? He had to stop?

 

"I won't allow distractions to our games, Akaya," Yukimura replied, and Kirihara flinched and he struggled to contain his emotions, fists shaking ominously at his sides as his teeth bit into his lower lip.

 

A hand touched his and Kirihara's head snapped up to glare at his captain. "Find a way, Akaya," Yukimura told him. "You have a week; I can't offer you more than that."

 

It wasn't fair! The others were allowed to fool around and have relationships with other people, so why couldn't he?

 

Because the others didn't let their relationships effect their games, he realized startlingly. A week. It seemed like such a short time to break though a stonewall--but if he could...

 

Jackal stepped forward then, and he and Yukimura chatted about classes and other uninteresting non-tennis related topics while Kirihara melted into the background to think. And then Yanagi showed up with Yukimura's class work, and Kirihara grinned.

 

If he only had a week, it would be best to use all the resources available to him, and Jackal had said that their teammates were on Kirihara's side, so to speak, which meant...

 

"See you tomorrow, Akaya," Yanagi said as the second year followed Jackal out of the hospital room.

 

"Count on it."

 

TBC