Liberi Fatali

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:26:11 GMT

Sooo.. all about me. I have been meaning to update here, but you know me. "I'll do it later" turns into three weeks. Well, maybe two.

In school news, I got an email notification saying I didn't get anything in the Open Scholarship Competition from Calgary, then today I got an email stating I had won the Queen Elizabeth Graduate Master's Scholarship for 7,200. Yay for money, though I find it amusing. Sadly they will take this money off the money the department is going to give me =)

Saw the Dragonball movie. You know, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Of course, I had less than 0 expectations for it... so yeah. It was funny anyway. And Chow Yung Fat played Roshi so damn awesomely lol My biggest question: Why the hell does Piccolo look so pimp?

They were so close to the actual dragonball mythology, and yet just far enough away that they totally screwed themselves for later movies. Not that there will be later movies considering this one did so bad cause it was well... bad.

So, stupid txting to the states costs me like 130 dollars, which I don't really have. And then books I have to/want to read before I start work in the fall cost me another 100+ with exchange rate. If I could actually get a job here I would think about it. Except, there are no jobs here, it's probably worse than everywhere else. Yay small town. Not.

So! Going to Calgary in like three weeks =D Otafest ftw. Me and lordmork are going to live it up. Wahahaha. Speaking of Mork, I hope you get better D:

Getting my haircut today! I will be sure to post pictures.

Weight loss news: not going so well actually. I lost 55lbs, then gained and lost the same 5lbs for three months (from 50-55) and then I finally got back to 55 then was an idiot, had an emotional breakdown and gained the 5lbs back in one week. And I would imagine I'll gain weight today when I go too. Sigh. I need to do better. My mom's goal for me is 30lbs this summer. Personally, I'll just be happy getting to 75.

Also, BC pollen ftl.

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:47:02 GMT

Yeah, landlords dryer died. How do I always seem to break appliances? This is the second one and I've only been living here 8 months....

Also, the wind splintered the gate post last night, which they'll probably blame on me, even though it's not my fault. ugh.

Update time!

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:52:31 GMT

I totally have an ES21 mood theme but I've been too lazy to go upload it somewhere lol

So my life is pretty much blegh. Stressed from school and from the thought of surviving three months at my parents. Also from the realization that my issues with intimacy are far more serious than I thought they were. Sigh. Yeah, alone forever because of one life event. It's so retarded.

Grad school update: I sent away my acceptance and they were really happy to hear from me. Dr. Jameson even emailed me (even though the reply wasn't to her) to say how happy she was and to say that she wanted to meet if I was gonna be in Calgary. It feels nice to be wanted XD

I am not even going to go into the absurd attachment I have to a boy in Florida I met playing WoW -_-'

I want to play more WoW.. probably after this semester is done. I have two papers a presentation and two finals yet. One of the papers is done, the other will hopefully be done tomorrow or sunday.. we'll see. Presentation next week end. Yeah.

Good news though! I am going to Otafest ^^ My mom agreed to let me use airmiles to fly to Calgary and lordmork offered, very nicely, to put me up for the weekend. So yay! Anime fun! I am super excited, since I don't get to go to Anime Evolution that is in the same province -_-; I am very looking forward to May now..

And after my frustrating weightloss of the last 3 months I had a break down and ate a bunch of crap yesterday. I don't really feel guilty and I don't regret it. I just need to move on.

I should get to my walk before those BLACK (not exaggerating here) clouds roll in and dump rain and snow on us.

Well now...

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:40:28 GMT

more animals

Haha that poor cat..

So I have been feeling crappy the last few days... my back for some inexplicable reason just like... died.. had to miss class yesterday cause I couldn't lift my backpack.. actually I spent most of the day in bed cause it was the only position that didn't hurt. Then yesterday started with the random bits of dizziness and nausea, which seems to be continuing today... headache included.. very lame.

Midterms tomorrow and Thursday. Tomorrow is English which I am going to do crap, but I just can't bring myself to study more.. mostly cause I don't know how I'm supposed to study for it short of reading over everything again which just isn't possible. -_- passage identification ftl. I just keep telling myself that it really doesn't matter int he long run and I should be able to pass.

Media, thankfully is looking to be in hand, so I'm less worried about it.

Now, just because I find it incredibly amusing:

I love Shin (the one in blue) lol it just seems so random for him to be dancing.. the others sort of make sense... (well maybe not Rui, the second one) but yeah.. it amuses me.. there is one for a bunch of series on youtube... I was very pleased to find it.

And some follow up...

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 20:45:35 GMT

Hehe

So, I talked to Dr. Jameson on Friday... Calgary's offer is $17,500 so I'm pretty much guaranteed the same amount as the SSHRC... my first year of grad school is funded! Yay!

Now I just have to decide when to go. Strategically/lazily/money-ily the smartest thing to do is just stay at my parents for May, June, maybe July.. and move for August 1st. That way I don't have to work or worry about paying summer bills and I can do a bunch of reading and writing. The problem with that is that I miss my friends and I want to see them as soon as possible. Also 2-3 months at my parents might drive me insane. I didn't handle 2 months last summer with them very well... but it would give Rob enough of a cushion that he would have more money than me going...

I don't know what to do ;_; I wanted to move in May... well mom can't move me in the end of April anyway, they are going to Cali, so it would have to be June... probably. Gah. What do you guys think? If anyone actually reads this... lol

Spent 3 hours taking notes on Weapons of Mass Deception yesterday. Really good film, even when you have to watch it twice to get all the info for a test. I think I'll do pretty good on media.. English is another matter. I know it really doesn't matter, but ugh I just can't stand to do badly lol It's a tick.

I need to clean.. the floors are icky >.< and I'll be leaving for a week at the end of the week.. I should get on that... but first! Coffee, breakfast and Jonathan!

YA-HA!

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:11:01 GMT

more animals

I figured it fit... given the ES21 trend..

So HUGE news!

I got a call from Dr. Elizabeth Jameson today! Which I missed because the phone was in my pocket... but..! She said the grad committee voted 'enthusiastically' to accept me into the program! Her words~ And that they are prepared to offer me a generous funding package, so they really hope that I choose to come there!

YA-HA!

I feel so ridiculously proud of myself. It's like... all my hard work paid off, yay for academic acknowledgement! Wah, wah! I am officially Calgary bound! Though when is still a question...

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:20:27 GMT

Because I know nothing about BC, I didn't know anything about Bill C-42... thank you Gordon Campbell for turning this province into a fascist state. Good work.

Taking lessons from Stephen Harper are you?

Man, this province makes Alberta look like a socialist system -_-

Don't you wish your captain was as hot as mine?

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 07:04:33 GMT

Seriously, I'd play Amefuto if Hiruma was my captain.

Only a small part of his regular arsenal. The guy is better armed than most countries. Ahhh so much love.

Because everyone should have a captain this made of win.

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 07:03:46 GMT

Seriously, I'd play Amefuto if Hiruma was my captain.

Boo

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:34:38 GMT

more animals

If only I could lay around all day.. oh wait, I slept until 11 and laid in bed till 12:30, that's right...

Of course then I had to get up.. and I made breakfast, and spent an hour and fifteen minutes doing the dishes. Now... I have to study! Midterms next wed and thurs -_- And the English ones include passage identification in which we get a passage, have to identify the story title, author, where the passage is from in the work and the significance of it to the story.

Yeah, we'ave read 8 short stories and 2 novels. Well, I'm still working on the second novel.

The 'Left Hand of Darkness' is ugh. I don't understand why Ursula Le Guin is lauded as being a fantastic writer. Oh sure, she's good mechanically, but her story telling sucks. It's like 3/4ers of the way through the book and it's JUST getting to the plot.. omg. You fail woman.

My mom says all her books are like that, boring.

So, now, to talk to Jonathan and work >.>

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:12:45 GMT

I'm at school on my lunch break thing...

Damn english class... me and the girl beside me were the only one that thought the story was awesome and the the ending with the aliens made perfect sense.. clearly these people suck.

Not sure really what to say.. SSHRC emailed me to tell me that they got my application. I am thinking about posting my resume to the Alberta government summer jobs for students thing.

ES21 is filled with a lot of cheating.. it seems to me that in the NFL you are not allowed to chop people to knock them down, or like twist their arm behind their back and dislocate their shoulders on purpose.. but hey, my knoweldge of football is sad.

That is all.

And so Kerrie wrote a poem pertaining to WoW...

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:09:10 GMT

Because I think my class needs an education about the inventory of a lvl 80 Hunter's bags

What do I do with Rubicord scales,
Or fur clothing scraps?
What does an Elder’s Moon stone do
Or a Coin of Ancestry?

How should I use this Sporeling snack,
Or this Diamond-cut refractor scope?
How ‘bout this mining pick
Or this heavy frostweave bandage?

I think I’ll drink this honeymint tea,
Or maybe this runic mana potion,
I think I'll eat this sweet potato bread,
Or maybe this sour goat cheese.

I need to sell these clothy boots,
And these useless Hoary crystals.
I need to trade the Vrykul bones,
And the stacks of frostweave cloth.

The Terrorshaft arrows will have to stay,
And with them my hearthstone
The hollow fang has got to go,
And with it the crystallized air.

The contents of my bags are sorted,
I have room for other things.
The rest of the relics, and the K3 equipment,
I should really do this more often.

Oh ye~ah, that's how I fail at poetry.

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:24:49 GMT

Because every time I see it I giggle...

Got a bunch done yesterday... now I just need to finished reading 'The Left Hand of Darkness', which I don't particularly like, as well as a couple of chapters in poetry... then start studying!

I need to write my list/chant poem. I am totally going to write a WoW poem, but I am not clever enough... so I'll probably just write a list poem using the stuff in the bags.. wait, I think I wrote this yesterday...

Read the most awesome short story yesterday. It was really disturbing, but it was really good! It was called the 'The Screwfly Solution' written in the late 70s by a woman. It's about how men in certain areas of the earth killing all the women under the guise of 'cleansing' the earth for God. And how the areas spread.. and yeah. It's really good, and the science behind it makes perfect sense lol Sometime science fiction is fun. I'm pretty sure it's a commentary on sexism ;)

Ahh feets are cold.

ES21 is so awesome. Read a few more volumes last night. There was an obligatory bath house scene with Kakei and Mizumatchi! omg lol and also there is a character more 'evil' than Hiruma... well he's a different kind of evil. Hiruma is a cruel, mean, selfish, extortionist with a weapons fetish, but he usually means fairly well. He is 'good' evil. Agon is just an asshole all around. I want to see the Devil Bats destroy him -_- Oh and they will. Wahaha. They've had their one, obligatory shounen manga loss. I can't remember if Seigaku had one, but I'm pretty sure they did... maybe. Could have just been Ryouma that lost. Oh well.

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:45:37 GMT

No fun macro today! I forgot until I had already loaded this page...

So yesterday I went on the epic journey to walmart.. which is blegh. But I figured I had better go while it was sunny since it's supposed to be rainy/snowy all week and that just sucks.

Went to mcdonalds, which was the start of a disaster day in regards to food (14 points over, go me). Though I only at like 13 points there.. still yeah. Anyway, I ordered a hamburger with shredded lettuce and tomato, small fries and a small diet coke. What I got: a hamburger with leaf lettuce and tomato, medium fries and a medium coke. I was not impressed. But being me, I didn't take it back, I just ate it -_-; Fail. It was cause the 15 year old behind the counter had one of her friends standing there and they were talking. I was like wtf management.

Bought a drink thermos so I can stop buying coffee at school. Buying coffee at school is bad for two reasons: 1 I often buy frap instead, which is no no. 2 the plain coffee at the cafeteria is better than the coffee at the coffee shop, thus I have to go to the cafe and... yeah culinary arts program.

Disaster.

I stayed up ridiculously late last night reading Eyeshield 21. The manga is better than the anime, though I missed the voices. I just have to say I love Kakei... His story is so ridiculous lol..

He goes to the US, being like 180cm tall in grade 7 right. He played football while in Japan and pwned people cause he was tall. But when he went to the US, he got pwned. So what does he do? He says "the hell with this!" and starts hanging out drinking, looking like a gangster. I feel the need to pose the page from the manga.

Yeah. He's about 13. Ahh I love shounen sports manga.

He of course goes on to reform his DRINKING habits and get back into football and pwn peoples faces off as a linebacker.

I need to make a list of things I have to do. Only reading homework this weekend, but there's lots of it. And I have to start studying for midterms, tues probably, since they are in a week and a half. And damn it, while Sci Fi might not be a problem, I have a feeling media studies will be. Just because OMFG JARGON and methodology history. Makes me cry.

I need to write the poem that's due the same day as my scifi midterm. I want to write it about WoW... I think I'm going to write a list poem, listing the contents of my hunter's bag. Though my DKs bag would be amusing too since it has the Frozen Axe of Death in it lol. Oh, but Sporling Snacks are so fun. Yeah, my class is so going to WTF... w00t for workshop?

Have I mentioned my love for ES21? Honestly, its the Prince of Tennis of football... like exactly the same in almost every way, except the characters themselves. And the sport. Same plot, right down the creating a national team (though their team has more players, thus can incorporate more from the 'enemy' teams). I love it. Hiruma and his swearing and weapons silos and balckmail.. ahh /tear.

Because apparently only Nevi loves me..

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:08:56 GMT

Get your own valentinr

It is cold, well my feet and hands are cold anyway.

I had a lame day. I gained weight, which is stupid because I lost some then gained a bunch back then lost most of that and then gained it back today. Ugh. Stupid, because I had a good week... even ~~Monday~~

Want to write ES21.. but really, only 1/3 the way through the anime and 41 chapters intot he manga ... damn my love for epic sports shounen...

Thinking about cutting my hair off.. not sure its such a good idea tho...

And because this is the theme of my life XD

more animals

Blah

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:56:02 GMT

I swear I'm going to post one a day =D I check that site like 10000 times a day... It makes me happy <3

Now school, which is so blah. Talking about media coverage of the Israeli war on Palestine and media silence. Yay. Or not. Gotta say, I'm not terribly thrilled. I'd rather just sit around and... not do that.

I want to start actually playing wow again, so I can farm rep XD But I need to find a new guild, since mine is pretty much dead. Sad.... but true. Guild leader quit and most of the core members are transfering servers..blah. I dunno...

Need to finished reading about 250 chapters of ES21 so I can get to the World Cup arc... yes for fanservice arc where all the pretty 'villains' from the other teams get put into one giant team ! Oh so very excited. I will admit do reading some of it yesterday >.>

Now I need to get dressed, because sitting around in my underwear is fun, but not practical.

Okay so, entries..

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 01:16:23 GMT

Here I go, trying... XD To get my 50 dollars a year worth lol

First of all:

Yes, so much awesome. And I agree.

So after my epic posting yesterday my Prince of Tennis claim over at 40_loves is finished... yay for writing 40 fics in one fandom! (well actually 39 fics and 1 picture) I am actually really proud of myself.

I got an A- on my first english essay, which is actually pretty good all considering I didn't really know wtf I was doing. But yeah, happy about that. I still fail at poetry, which in its way is nice to know since it means that the world isn't completely crazy.

My lame roommate got on me today about having dishes to eat off of and I was like wtf I left you two plates. Also, who the hell are you to lecture ME about dishes? or cleaning for that matter? Mr.I-clean-the-bathroom-two-weeks-after-I-was-asked.. ugh. Makes me crazy. Our floor is a disaster, but I don't have the energy to fight the losing battle with it -_-; Bathroom will need to be cleaned again... sigh.

Also, note to self: Internet boys do not solve real boy issues. They probably only make them worse. And yet, I travel down the road of disaster. I am so disfunctional =D

I swear to god if my roommate brings his sort-of girlfriend home again this weekend I will murder him in his sleep. She doesn't live here. Go away, small girl.

Yeah, I have no issues at all XD

I should watch more Eyeshield 21 so that I can bask in the glory that are Shin, Hiruma and Kakei. Because you know, Real Men are only two dimensional kekekeke

Ya-Ha!

Cause I'm a whore too...

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:17:40 GMT

Get your own valentinr

Yeah, I need to make it a point to update once a day or something.. I so fail at writing in here... I promise! at lunch I totally win =D

The last two, I swear to God.

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 03:47:48 GMT

Title: Unspeakable Horror
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Hirakoba Rin/Tachibana An
Claim: Prince of Tennis General Series
Prompt: #19 Swim
Word Count: 481
Rating: PG
Summery: Their bad luck was immense, and it was about to get worse. Future, AUish, sequel to A Non-Violent Battle

“Any moment now, unspeakable horror, trust me.”

Ayame gave her best friend a skeptical glance, shifting her legs on the beach in front of her so she could feet the waves lap at her toes. Sometimes An’s imagination got a little away from her. “An-chan, it’s Okinawa and we’re on vacation…” Shading her eyes with her hand she surveyed the relatively crowded beach. It was nice, even with all the people.

An, who treaded water twenty feet away, shook her wet tresses. “I’m telling you, that bad luck that’s been haunting us? It’s going to strike.”

Their train had broken down, a piece of luggage been misplaced by the hotel, their breakfast had been burnt and they had been scammed by a beach merchant. All within two days. An at least had a point about bad luck. “Then why are you in the water? You’re the one going on about horror-”

Just as the words left her mouth, Ayame witnessed her friend disappear under the gentle waves. Her heart pounded as she jumped to her feet. “An-chan? An-chan?”

An surfaced a few seconds later, sputtering curses. Once she regained her breath she screeched, floundering in the water as she stared at the emptiness beside her. A moment later another person surfaced, laughing.

His blond hair was plastered to his head, and water ran in rivers down the side of his face. His tanned skin told that he was a native of Okinawa, and his evil grin told that he was a troublemaker. His eyes, when they opened, were sapphire, and just as mischievous as his grin. “Still uncute I see. You look like a drowned cat.”

“You!” An cried, her eyes expanding with surprise and anger. “Hirakoba Rin!”

Hirakoba had the sense to swim towards the shore, but his constant laughter only grated on An’s nerves more. Ayame watched helplessly, clueless as to what was going on. The emerged from the wave in a sparkle of sunshine, An hot on his heels. “You remember my name,” he cooed, smoothing his shoulder length hair back on his head. “I knew you found me attractive.”

“I’d sooner find a fish attractive,” An replied walking past him as well as Ayame and towards their towels. “What the hell is your problem anyway?”

“You were the one that was waiting for unspeakable horror.”

“That didn’t mean you could drown me!”

Ayame quickly realized that she had dropped off the face of the planet as far as the two combatants were concerned. An and Hirakoba continued bickering all the way to where the two girls’ towels were stashed. An acted mad, but Ayame had known her long enough to see that her flush was less out of anger and more out of feminine awareness. She sighed, wondering if they’d notice if she took her towel and left found a shaved ice vendor.

Somehow, she doubted it.

Title: Kirihara and Jellybeans
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Marui Bunta/Tachibana An
Claim: Prince of Tennis General Series
Prompt: #11 Stars
Word Count: 479
Rating: PG
Summery: Marui should have know he couldn’t believe anything Niou said.

“You did what, with who, for how many jellybeans?” Marui cried, his gum falling out his mouth, landing soundlessly on the rubbery surface of the court beneath him.

An was torn between laughing and growling. She couldn’t believe that he believed the rumor. Honestly, shouldn’t he know Niou well enough by that point? “The consensus is: made out, with Kirihara, for approximately twenty five jellybeans.” Her voice was dry and her arms were crossed firmly over her chest. “I apparently come cheap.”

Marui sputtered, violet eyes blinking rapidly as his face twisted. “But… ugh, why?”

“You’ve heard the rumor, why don’t you tell me?”

Marui couldn’t think straight, let alone figure out what he had heard. He was seeing stars, stars that looks suspiciously like cackling demon!Akaya. Rage burned deep in his gut and the sudden urge to murder his teammate rose violently.

It took several minutes of practically hyperventilating for him to realize that An was glowering at him like he had done something wrong. Jackal, some feet away, was shaking his head, mournful. Marui frowned, wondering what his problem was. He too looked a bit accusatory.

Then he caught sight of Niou and Kirihara.

Shame overcame him next, and it was accompanied by an anger so different than the one that had rampaged only seconds before. He hated being made to look like a fool.

Niou and Kirihara were huddled together, snickering. They were looking at him and An, their shoulders shaking with glee. Marui’s face turned as red as his hair and his fists clenched until his knuckles were rigid and white. Those two were going to die.

“Ah, so you’ve realized.” An said, some life coming back to her voice. She tapped his chest to gain his attention, a smirk touching her lips. “A record time. Most guys would have gone on for a while longer believing such a stupid rumor. I’m impressed.”

“I’m going to kill them.”

An’s smirk grew. She stooped over and picked up his gum, wrapping it in a plastic wrapper that appeared from her pocket. “Oh don’t worry about that, I have it covered.”

The red head glanced at his two antagonizers again, only to find Kirihara on the ground, Sanada looming over him like a dark cloud of vengeance. Niou had stopped laughing and was looking slightly fearful at their captain who stood unobtrusively beside Sanada.

“They’ll learn not to make up malicious rumors about me,” An commented, smug. “Or at least not ones designed to break up my relationships.”

Her control was amazing, and the fact that she had somehow managed to get Sanada to punish someone for her was a feat in itself. Marui sighed, fishing another piece of gum out of his pocket. “Sorry…” he mumbled. “I’m still killing them.”

The dark blonde patted his cheek. “After practice. Now, you have to get back to work.”

40_loves progress table

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:34:18 GMT

01.	Smile - Tezuka Kunimitsu/Tachibana An	02.	Laugh Hirakoba Rin/Tachibana An	03.	Touch - Fuji Syusuke/Kamiya Ayame(OC)/Kirihara Akaya	04.	Cry - Kajimoto Takahisa/Kamiya Ayame (OC)
05.	Hug - Oishi Syuichirou/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	06.	Lovers - Mizuki Hajime/Tachibana An	07.	Sex Tezuka Kunimitsu/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	08.	Embrace - Yagyuu Hiroshi/Kamiya Ayame(OC)
09.	Sun - Kaidou Kaoru/Tachibana An	10.	Moon - Niou Masaharu/Tachibana An	11.	Stars - Marui Bunta/Tachibana An	12.	Wind - Inui Sadaharu/Tachibana An
13.	Summer - Akutsu Jin/Tachibana An (Pic)	14.	Winter - Atobe Keigo/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	15.	Spring - Yagyuu Hiroshi/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	16.	Autumn - Oshitari Yuushi/Tachibana An
17.	Fallen - Oishi Syuichirou/Kamiya Ayame (OC)/td>	18.	Comfort - Oishi Syuichirou/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	19.	Swim - Hirakoba Rin/Tachibana An (Sequel to #2)	20.	Acceptance - Oshitari Yuushi/Tachibana An
21.	Hope - Fuji Syusuke/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	22.	Bed - Fuji Syusuke/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	23.	Cook - Oishi Syuichirou/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	24.	Clean - Yukimura Seiichi/Kamiya Ayame (OC)
25.	Smoke - Momoshirou Takeshi/Echizen Ryoma	26.	Candles - Akutsu Jin/Tachibana An	27.	Skin - Sanada Genichirou/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	28.	Lips - Sanada Genichirou/Tachibana An
29.	Eyes - Yukimura Seiichi/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	30.	Hands - Fuji Syusuke/Kawamura Takashi	31.	Words - Mizuki Hajime/Tachibana An	32.	Actions - Oishi Syuichirou/Kamiya Ayame (OC)
33.	Silence - Yagyuu Hiroshi/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	34.	Deafening - Oishi Syuichirou/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	35.	Dance - Sanada Genichirou/Tachibana An	36.	Date - Mizuki Hajime/Tachibana An
37.	Kiss Atobe Keigo/Tachibana An	38.	Magical - Kikumaru Eiji/Tachibana An	39.	Flirt - Kaidou Kaoru/Kamiya Ayame (OC)	40.	Swoon - Inui Sadaharu/Kamiya Ayame (OC)

Forgot two >.>

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:26:58 GMT

Title: Score One for An-chan
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Tezuka Kunimitsu/Tachibana An
Claim: Prince of Tennis General Series
Prompt: # 1 Smile
Word Count: 955
Rating: G
Summery: She wasn’t in love with him, she just had a healthy interest.

Nerves were not something Tachibana An was used to feeling. Oh sure, she got nervous sometimes, just like anyone else, but her nerves were never of the anxious kind. She didn’t get stressed over boys as a rule, it just seemed silly to her to bother. And yet, here she was, fiddling with her long shirt sleeves and staring at the ground, both hoping and dreading the inevitable confrontation ahead.

Three years was a long time, especially in teenage terms. She hadn’t actually liked him for the whole three years, but sometimes, just knowing was enough. She wasn’t quite sure what had caught her eye about him – maybe the same thing that caught every fangirl within fifty miles’ eye. He wasn’t her usual choice either. Serious, stoic, needing few words, he was just so utterly different.

She supposed that was what she liked about him. She wasn’t really any of those things – the complete opposite really. Maybe she was looking for some stability to match her mischievous nature. He was, if anything, made of stability.

Of course, she wasn’t entirely sure he was even going to show up. After all, he got little notes from girls all the time (it was actually rather annoying). What was she but just one more girl vying for the famous and talented Tezuka Kunimitsu’s attention?

But she wouldn’t let herself get caught up in things like that. If he didn’t show up, he didn’t show up, and there was no harm done. That kind rejection was at least fairly anonymous and afterwards she could pretend it never happened. Not that they conversed on a regular basis – just enough to make obvious pining awkward.

Besides, she wasn’t one to cry over some boy. Even if he was very attractive. No, there were other fish in the sea, and one day she’d find one that she actually liked enough to tell him.

The sound of quiet, steady, footsteps on the pavement caught An’s attention and she looked up with little hesitation. Her fidgeting hands remained fidgeting, but her gaze was determined, if a bit surprised.

She didn’t bother to stand as he made his way towards her. She knew that politeness dictated that he sit beside her on the bench, and he did just that as he reached her. Silence stretched between them as they sat in the late afternoon sun. An didn’t look at him, more out of the peacefulness of the moment than anything else. Thus, she couldn’t tell if he glanced at her, nor could she attempt to gage his mood – not that that was really possibly anyway.

Finally, as the minutes stretched on and she realized that he wasn’t going to be the first one to say anything (not surprising) she spoke, her tone serene and unworried. “You opened my letter.”

“Aa.”

Honestly, she was surprised. Her note would have been one of tens, it didn’t have her name on it, only his, and she wondered now, if he didn’t open all the letters given to him. It would be a noble and rather Tezuka thing to do. He was peculiar like that – ignore all the fangirls but then read each and every one of their notes.

Or maybe he had somehow recognized her writing, though this didn’t seem that likely. She doubted he had seen enough of her hand writing to distinguish it from all the other girls that professed their love for him.

Not that she loved him of course. No, she just had a healthy interest in him.

“So…” Starting was a bit awkward, especially since he wasn’t making it any easier by commenting on her written words. “You’re here… I’ll admit to being a little surprised.” She grinned then, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. “We both know you’re not exactly the type answer fangirls.”

Tezuka turned his head, catching her eye as he raised an eyebrow. “You’re not a fangirl.”

“Good point,” she replied with a chuckle. “And I would be insulted if you thought I was.”

His lips twitched then, catching An off guard enough so that she turned her full attention to him. It was a rare sight, his smile, and An wasn’t sure she had ever seen it before. It was a small, almost nonexistent smile, but it was there none the less.

Maybe that was why he came.

“Well then,” she continued after regaining her equilibrium. “What do you think?”

“I am going to Germany.”

An snorted. “So?” she asked, shooting him a look that clearly said “Poor Excuse!” “That’s at least a half a year away.”

His surprise showed and she couldn’t help but giggle at it. It was endearing, the way he blinked and tried to figure her out. It was an expression she’d never thought she’d see on his face.

“I’m not asking for a long term commitment,” she said, her grin widening. “You have your dreams and I have mine. I just thought it’d be fun if we went on a date. Tennis and school aren’t everything you know.”

He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes blank, though she knew he was thinking about it. “Aa,” he said finally.

“Is that a ‘Yes, An-chan, I will go on a date with you’ or a ‘Yes, An-chan, there is more to life than tennis and school.’?”

“Yes, An, I will go on a date with you.”

An blinked rapidly, hopping to her feet with a little shove off the bench. “Really?” She asked brightly, her eyes glittering with mirth.

His lips twitched again, this time in a more pronounced fashion and they settled on a smile. “Aa.”

She cackled in both delight and victory. Score one for An-chan!.

Title: Displeased
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Oshitari Yuushi/Tachibana An
Claim: Prince of Tennis General Series
Prompt: #20 Acceptance.
Word Count: 321
Rating: PG
Summery: Junior Senbatsu, An is displeased, Oshitari is speculative.

“I am most displeased.”

Oshitari arched a cynical eyebrow and adjusted his glasses. “And why should I care?”

Huffing, the honey haired girl sent a baleful glare at the tall Hyotei third year. “Because you’re my boyfriend, and boyfriends are supposed to care?”

“You pushed him down the stairs.”

An growled and began to tap her foot. “I did not. He fell avoiding a slap he richly deserved. Not that anyone believes that.”

“Hm,” the other eyebrow followed its mate as Oshitari crossed his arms over his chest. “They say you cried, a claim I found difficult to believe.”

“Why?” Still annoyed, An narrowed her eyes at him.

He returned the expression with a bland look. “Because Tachibana An does not cry over silly things like that. More likely, the tears were a diversion. A well played diversion.” His eyes glinted a little behind his glasses and he leaned forward over her. “Kamio always falls for your tears.”

An was a bit taken back and a tinge of guilt crept over her expression. She hadn’t meant to use them like that, but now that he mentioned it…

Damned if he wasn’t right.

She felt a bit bad for it, but they had been so angry… and she had led them on for the better part of a day. It hadn’t really been her fault. It was Kirihara’s own stupid fault he fell down the stairs!

“Kamio-kun is sensitive,” she replied finally, displeasure over-taking her guilt. “Don’t make fun of him.”

Oshitari half-snorted, half-hummed in a way that spoke of superiority. “Kamio is naïve an din love with you. You could tell him he is the worst tennis player in the world and he’d believe you if you did it with tears in your eyes.”

“Now you’re just being an ass,” An said, shoving at him.

He caught her hand and yanked her towards him, leaning further over her so that he could brush his lips over her cheek. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” he murmured into her temple. “The gathering for Tezuka is starting. You should go before someone notices you’re not there.”

Losing some of her heat, An smiled a bit and aimed a kiss at the side of his face, which instead landed on the corner of his mouth. “So should you. Think of what Atobe will do to you if you are late for his little song.”

“I tremble in fear.”

They separated and with one last glance went their own way – An to the left and Oshitari to the right.

33

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:06:03 GMT

Title: First Impressions III
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Kamiya Ayame (OC)/Yagyuu Hiroshi, Tachibana An/Sanada Genichirou, Yukimura Seiichi
Claim: Prince of Tennis General Series
Prompt: #33 Silence
Word Count: 4,486
Rating: PG
Summery: Ayame had a knack for making fairly negative first impressions. This one was just another in a long list.

It was a week and a half before Ayame worked up the courage to make the journey to the tennis courts. She had been discharged from the hospital the day after her attack, and once her father had ascertained that she wasn’t dying or in danger of dying, he had sent her right back to school two days after she got home.

But approaching boys that had saved your life, attractive, popular boys, at that, proved to be difficult for Ayame. An asked her every day if she had gone to thank them, and every day Ayame had had to confess that her courage was lacking as of late. An never once offered to go with her, and Ayame wasn’t sure how to feel about that. She might have worked herself up to it sooner if An had have offered to come with her right away, but then it was hard to say. Every time she thought about it her throat burned and her stomach began an acrobatic display that rivaled even Kikumaru Eiji.

Finally, however, it was An that pushed the whole thing forward. Exclaiming that Ayame was going to do it, even if An herself had to drag her to the tennis courts, the dark blond had proceeded to do just that. Ayame struggled for the first leg of the journey. An being there or not, she did not want to face those young men. She didn’t want to face the embarrassment that she knew would accompany it.

Yet she didn’t fight nearly as hard as she could have. Every day since her discharge, the innocent yellow daffodils stared at her accusingly from her nightstand, where she had kept them in her room at home, and in her dorm room. They told her she was a coward and that she could hardly consider herself a respectable human being if she couldn’t even thank people who had saved her life.

At the same time they warmed her heart. That they had taken time from their tennis schedule to come to the hospital and give them to her meant a great deal to Ayame, and she was truly honored for it. Part of her was disappointed that she hadn’t been awake for it. After all, it would have solved this whole problem. On the other hand, she couldn’t imagine what she would have said to them, or they to her.

By the second leg of the journey, Ayame had resigned herself to the confrontation about to happen. Her face already ablaze, she followed meekly behind An as the girl trudged forward in determination. Silently, Ayame wondered if anything fazed An. Of course, it wasn’t her that had made a fool of herself and had had to be rescued because of it.

The familiar sound of tennis balls hitting rackets and concrete hit them before the courts came into sight. Normally, it was a comforting sound, one that was reassuring and strengthening. Now, however, it only served to make her knees weak and her heart pound.

Why was it so difficult to face them – to face him? Yes, she had done something stupid and embarrassing and yes he had had to rescue her, but sometimes that happened. She didn’t remember feeling quite so embarrassed when Seigaku had come across her in a similar position. Fuji had even fished out her inhaler for her!

But he hadn’t held her as she struggled to breathe. He hadn’t spoken to her in a low, soothing yet commanding voice. He most certainly hadn’t put his hand on her chest and touched her in an intimate manner.

Perhaps that was why she was struggling so much with the whole thing. Even if he was saving her life, intimate contact was awkward – he wasn’t even her friend! But he was very attractive, she had always thought so. There was something infinitely unsettling about being touched by an attractive male. Especially when you knew that male would never see you as anything other than that girl he saved.

Good looking guys just didn’t pay attention to her in that way. She had been surrounded by them in Seigaku, and though they all loved her in their own ways, it wasn’t in the way she, and most girls her age craved.

An was always the one that garnered that sort of attention. An was beautiful, lively and smart and she drew male attention better than most idol singers. Especially if that male attention belonged to tennis players. Next to her best friend, Ayame was mousy and small. She had never made any attempt to appear more attractive (although, neither did An particularly), and she was always over looked. Her glasses hid her most attractive feature, her eyes, and even her cute, tiny pigtails hadn’t made any headway as far as boys were concerned.

New, stylish black-framed glasses and a more sophisticated hair-style (shoulder length, straight and side-parted) hadn’t done much to change the situation. No matter what An said, Ayame knew she would always be the mousy one – it was her lot in life. And that was fine. She was secure with just her intelligence, and she knew for a fact she wasn’t ugly. She just wished that even once, a cute, preferably tennis playing, guy would notice.

Before Ayame knew it, they were standing in the bleachers surrounding the tennis courts, watching the tennis club run various drills. They were in the middle of practice, and Ayame did not want to interrupt them, and so she tugged An to a seated position. Unhappy with the idea, An nevertheless sat beside her friend. Rightfully suspicious, she had a feeling that it was all an excuse, but she couldn’t object because at least Ayame hadn’t tried to flee.

Ayame had been sorely tempted to.

They sat and watched the practice, unnoticed for the most part, which was fine for Ayame. Having them stop practice on their account would have been humiliation she couldn’t stand. At least this way she could gradually get used to the idea of facing them – him – down.

Her eyes found her rescuer amidst the other players of the club. His movements were graceful and flowing, but powerful as he rallied with a boy she thought was Yanagi Renji. The sun glinted off his glasses, obscuring his eyes, but she could see the determination set in his face, as well as the calculation and the thought put behind each and every move he made. His movement wasn’t flawless, there were a couple of points she could see that with minor correcting, would increase his speed and power, but it was close and spoke of a quiet talent that others sometimes overlooked.

Ayame watched him for a long time, engrossed in the beauty of motion and play that he embodied. Eventually, however, An’s not-so-subtle clearing of her throat forced Ayame to tear her eyes away from him. Her gaze roamed over the club, surveying each for a hint of recognition. All the regular members of the former middle school team were there, and all were practicing in top form. They’re going to be difficult to beat, Ayame thought absently, her gaze finally settling on the lithe, almost feminine form of the second year captain.

He was flying, or so it seemed. The last time she watched him play had been the same, and the same sense of awe ran over her. His play was flawless, each movement necessary. It was impressive. The way he stutter-stepped on occasion, and the fact that he was neither sweating, nor breathing heavily told her that he was holding back on his opponent, which was probably just as well, since the opponent in question seemed to be a miscellaneous club member. Ayame felt a trifle bad for the boy – there was nothing like playing a player of Yukimura’s quality to make you feel worthless and inept.

Beside Ayame, An was shifting impatiently. It wasn’t that she wanted to get the whole thing over with, rather it was more that she knew the longer the time passed, the higher the chance her friend would chicken out and try to disappear. Thus, when Sanada stopped practicing and strode over to the benches where water bottles and towels were stacked – which were, conveniently, not fifteen feet from where they were seated – An called out, waving slightly as she did so. “Sanada-kun!”

Sanada looked up, towel halfway to his face. He showed no reaction, even as the dark red-blond dragged her friend down the bleachers toward them. Almost mechanically, he took his hat off and swiped the towel over his forehead and face, watching the girls’ progress as he did so. “What do you want?” He said as soon as they were within earshot.

An ignored the way he looked at them, eyes cold and unrecognizing. She knew he was aware of who they were, and he probably had a pretty good idea what they wanted. “We came by to thank you,” she smiled prettily at the tall vice-captain. “For your help the other day. Didn’t we Ame-chan?”

Ayame stumbled forward on An’s tug, embarrassment stinging the back of her throat. Straightening herself, Ayame bowed stiffly, her arm still in the vice grip of her friend’s hand. “Th-thank you, Sanada-san.”

Sanada refrained from mentioning that the other day had been almost two weeks before. An’s smile was enough to have him grunting a response and giving them a nod of recognition. His hazel gaze lingered on the strawberry blond briefly before moving away to look at the sun.

At An’s rough yank, Ayame squeezed her eyes shut and composed herself again. “A-and, thank y-you, for the flowers.” The words felt as if they were pressed out of her, and they almost lodged in her throat. He’s so intimidating! How can An just stand there and smile, as if he isn’t glaring at us?

“That was Yagyuu and Yukimura,” Sanada said firmly, looking back at them slowly.

Of course it was. Ayame highly doubted that Sanada would have even thought of it. She probably ceased existing the moment the stretcher carted her away. “Ah well, tha-thank you all the same.”

An noticed Ayame’s nervous stammer was getting a bit better, and decided it was time for the final push. Boys, the kind she wanted, would never notice her if she wasn’t at least a little more assertive. “Why don’t you go thank them Ame-chan? Practice seems to be on break, so they probably have some time.”

Ayame made a squeaky sort of noise in the back of her throat. “Wh-what about you?”

The other girl’s smile was mischievous as she turned away from Ayame to Sanada once more. “Sanada-kun and I are going to have a chat.”

Ayame could see what he thought of that idea, but he didn’t actually voice his feelings, nor did he turn and walk away like she expected him to. That left her with nothing to do but do as An suggested. Sighing, Ayame clamored over the wall separating the bleacher from the courts with only a glance at Sanada for permission. He wasn’t even paying attention to her – his attention was focused on An who was now chattering at him like they were childhood friends.

A quick survey around her told her that Yukimura was closer to her, and that Yagyuu had not finished playing his set. Squaring her shoulders and taking a big breath in, Ayame paced furtively towards the Rikkai captain, just as he was seating himself on one of the benches that lined the courts.

Yukimura saw her coming and smiled in welcome. He didn’t get up, instead shifting over and motioning for her to sit down beside him. Flustered, Ayame obeyed, but only because she wasn’t sure what else she was supposed to do. She had only planned on quickly bowing and thanking him for the thoughtful gift, before moving on. Her goal was to get it all over with as soon as possible so that she could return to her dorm and sulk off the embarrassment.

“You’re looking well,” Yukimura said conversationally when she didn’t speak right away.

“Th-thank you,” Ayame replied, grasping the edge of her skirt rightly. “And thank you… for the flowers I mean. They are very pretty, and I… I really appreciated them.”

It had sounded much more refined in her head. She had gone over and over what she was going to say to them in the week and a half since the incident. All of those ways had seemed so much more… mature? Sophisticated? All around better? Now she sounded like the stuttering, nervous schoolgirl she was.

His gaze was kind and his smile warm, not at all like the tennis captain she had seen leading his team in the nationals years before. He wore ease like a glove now, relaxed and comfortable in her presence, even as she was a wreck. “You’re welcome,” he said softly, leaning forward and resting his weight against his knees. “I’m glad they made you feel better.”

They had and they hadn’t. On one hand, the thought was sweet, and it did mean a lot to her that they had given them to her. On the other hand, the pretty flowers had been the source of much woe in the past week and a half. A reminder of her embarrassment.

“Although I admit to having come up with the idea, it was Yagyuu that picked them out.”

“Eh?” Ayame blinked at him, suddenly even more flustered.

Yukimura’s smile became knowing, irking her right along with the twinkle in his eyes. “Why don’t you wait here? I’m sure he would appreciate your thanks as much as I did.”

There was mischief in the captain’s tone, but Ayame had no chance to get a word in edgewise. As soon as he spoke he was standing and gone, striding across the court, hands tucked in his pockets, looking completely at ease with himself and his surroundings. Ayame watched under her bangs as he walked up to Yagyuu and spoke quietly to him, saying more than was necessary to let him know she wanted to thank him. Yagyuu turned his gaze from his captain to her after a few moments and nodded briefly, before starting towards her.

His pace was casual, and to Ayame it seemed to drag on forever. If he was moving slow for effect, it was working, because it was having an undue effect on her. The more seconds that passed, the warmer she became, and the more she wanted to wring her hands. Seeing him brought back the painful memories of the attack, except that the pain was gone and all she could feel was his solid frame behind her, his hand on her chest and his voice in her ear.

Inside she was all girl – a giggling mush of femininity that would probably melt at his feet before talking to him. Outside, however, she was stiff and frozen. Her teeth caught her bottom lip and began to gnaw, her hands further clenching her uniform skirt. She had to remind herself to breathe.

“Kamiya-san.”

That voice should be outlawed. It did strange things to her stomach and made her spine quiver. She was probably not the first girl that it had had that effect on. She wished she didn’t find him so attractive – it would have made the whole process so much easier.

“Ya-yagyuu-san…”

Shooting to her feet, Ayame, bowed abruptly, bending almost in half before he could even completely reach the bench. “Th-thank you!” She blurted, remaining bent over. “F-for everything! The flowers.. an-and saving my life.”

The gratitude was wholly inadequate for what he had done for her, but she couldn’t completely put her emotions into words. Just saying ‘thank you’ to someone who had saved you from dying seemed childish and trite. It wasn’t enough, but Ayame didn’t know how to make it enough. Even if she served him like a slave for the rest of her life it would never be enough.

A hand on her shoulder stilled her inner chastisement. Yagyuu pulled her back up to her full height, all but forcing her to look at him. He wasn’t smiling, and she couldn’t see his eyes, but there was a certain softness to the set of his face that she couldn’t remember being there before. Though it certainly was possible. The last time she had been this close to him she had been suffocating in a stairwell.

Yagyuu let his hand remain on the smaller girl’s shoulder as it looked like she needed some gesture of comfort. Yukimura had said she was nervous, but to Yagyuu it looked more like she was a wreck waiting to fall apart. Her color was better than it had been the last time he saw her, and there was no trace of blue in her lips. Her glasses weren’t even half as concealing as his were, and so he saw straight through her eyes and to the admiration and attraction that lay there.

She was not the first girl to find him attractive. Like the other members of the tennis team, it was routine for him to find love letters in his shoebox. He ignored most of them, turned down others that were more direct. He wasn’t like Yukimura who took the time to write each one personally. And when faced with a girl that liked him, he dismissed them in a gentlemanly way and put them out of his mind.

But she wasn’t actively telling him her feelings. That the emotions were in her eyes, behind the nerves and the embarrassment, were not her fault. He was practical enough to realize that, and so he said nothing on the subject. If she worked up the nerve to say anything, he would do something about it then.

For now, she was just thanking him, and that was fine. Nodding his head he accepted her gratitude. “You are welcome Kamiya-san.” He didn’t add that he had done what was necessary and that was all. She was fragile enough, and he didn’t particularly like hurting girls’ feelings. It had likely taken all she had even to approach him.

Nor did he mention that her parents had already given him all the gratitude he would ever need. They had come to him personally, fussed over him, and contacted his parents – unnecessary in his opinion – and they had given a sizable donation to the tennis club. In his opinion the matter was finished.

“Ano, may I suggest something?” Ayame wasn’t sure what she was doing, but she couldn’t take the weird silence any longer. He had remained cool and distant – unsurprising, but slightly hurtful – and the silence was only making the sting worse.

“Go ahead.”

Shuffling, Ayame turned her eyes to the ground. “Your backstroke is a bit off time, if you tried lengthening your stride a couple of inches it would speed it up as well as take some strain off your arm.” She was uncomfortable and felt guilty for bringing up his flaws when she was supposed to be thanking him, but since she had started, there was no point in stopping now. “Also, you would get even more power from your Laser Beam if you angled your racket five degrees forward.”

Yagyuu turned her suggestions over in his head. Mentally replaying the match he had just had with Yanagi, he thought about it. In seconds he realized that she was right. His backstroke had been off time, though he hadn’t noticed it. Likewise with his Laser Beam. It was strong as it was, but it would probably be even stronger with her suggestion. Why hadn’t he thought of it before?

Looking upon the smaller female with new appreciation, Yagyuu studied her. She had changed since middle school, grown into her femininity. Her hair and glasses suited her, as did the Rikkaidai uniform. Her legs were long, though she wasn’t particularly tall, and her body well shaped. She was still mousy, and he probably wouldn’t have noticed her at all if she hadn’t been dying in the stairwell, but now that he looked at her, he could see more than he did at first glance.

That she had overcome her nerves enough to point out errors in his play said a great deal about her as well. That she had thought to add suggestions to the pointed out errors said even more. She clearly knew tennis, although she obviously couldn’t play it. She also clearly possess superior observation skills – she had noticed errors where others, including himself and Yanagi, hadn’t.

It was hard to remember that this girl had managed the Seigaku team that had beat them two years ago. His memory of her was hazy, and he had a superb memory. She sort of blended in with the background, not standing out at all, but remaining quiet and supporting behind her team. He remembered Tachibana An better than he did Kamiya Ayame, and he had never met either directly.

But now, talking to her, he could see why she had been Seigaku’s manager, and why they had won Nationals. If her insights had been half as good as she had just demonstrated, then Seigaku had found a rarity for a manager.

Yukimura would be interested in her. He probably already was, otherwise he wouldn’t have emphasized her nervousness. It was possible that she could be of some use to their team this year. Of course, her intelligence and knowledge would have to be further tested.

“Yukimura was playing just now, what did you notice about his play?” He found himself asking, as if testing her right then was too tempting.

Ayame blinked in surprised then frowned in thought. “Well… his play was perfect for the most part. He stutter stepped, but I think that was because he was physically slowing himself down to go easy on his opponent. It put some strain on him, but he doesn’t appear to be ill effected.” She then thought for a couple more seconds. “He’s even better now than he was two years ago. Although, I think if he’s not careful he could become complacent… again.”

Interesting. Yagyuu noticed right away that she lost her stutter when she started talking about tennis. An aura of confidence surrounded her and he caught a glimpse of what she would be like if she wasn’t nervous and embarrassed.

It was so easy to talk about tennis, Ayame didn’t even realize that she was speaking at length, or that he was studying her in a new, less cold manner. “Yanagi-san was also almost perfect. His tennis is a lot like Inui-kun’s but there are a lot of differences. His movements are almost too calculated though, and I think he would benefit from a little spontaneity. Although, I wish I could do something like the kamaitachi.” She sighed at the end in a morose fashion. “No sense wishing for the impossible, I guess.”

The way in which she blossomed was fascinating. When she forgot where she was and focused on tennis, something she evidently loved very much, she became a different girl. This girl was nothing like the one that shuffled awkwardly and bowed too deeply. The change baffled Yagyuu.

Yes, Yukimura would be interested in this one, for her skills if nothing else. It was likely also, that she would prove useful in the coming months. His decision not to dismiss her was now affirmed as a good one. He felt more interest towards this strange, mousy female than any of the other long-legged, big chested girls that had left him notes or made eyes at him. Maybe it was knowing that she was intelligent and that she understood a passion for tennis.

She wasn’t hard to look at, a little plain maybe, and easily over looked, but not ugly. Perhaps her attraction to him could be useful in some way.

Ayame realized then that she had been monopolizing his time and all but blabbering at him. Blushing, she laughed lightly and tugged at the ends of her hair. “I’m sorry! I’ve taken too much of your time. Thank you again, Yagyuu-san.” She bowed, feeling accomplished and not half as nervous as she had when he first approached. “Good bye!”

She shuffled away without looking back, waving a bit at Yukimura as she passed and smiling wider than she had when she had been speaking to him. An was still where Ayame had left her, only now it seemed like Sanada was an active participant in the conversation. His deep, stoic voice calmly refuted whatever argument An was making, and there was a hint of a smile in his normally cold eyes. An was caught up in the conversation, her eyes sparkling with interest and excitement, her face flushed with enjoyment.

Ayame was loath to interrupt what could be the start of a friendship, but there was no sense in them hanging around and getting in the way of the rest of the practice. Yukimura had probably given them more time than he had intended anyway. “An-chan, are you ready to go now?”

Visibly disappointed, An turned to her best friend and nodded, sighing as she waved at Sanada. “It was nice talking to you Sanada-kun,” she said brightly with a cheeky wink. “Thank you for keeping me occupied.”

Sanada only nodded, but he didn’t move, not even when the two girls started up the bleacher stairs.

Ayame was unaware of their audience until a voice called out. “Kamiya-san!” Yukimura called from his position in the middle of the court. Ayame turned, surprised, and found Yagyuu standing beside the captain, Yanagi on the other side, and the other regulars scattered nearby.

“Yes?” She answered hesitantly, acutely aware of all the attention.

“I was wondering if you would be willing to come by tomorrow during practice? Yagyuu mentioned that you have some suggestions on how to improve our play.”

He did? Looking at Yagyuu now, she couldn’t see anything that would suggest that. But her heart fluttered at the thought that he had been listening to her inane tennis drabbles. She wasn’t sure she could be much help to Rikkaidai, but her love of tennis had her excepting the offer before she could even think it over completely. “Sure… I guess.”

Yukimura smiled and lifted a hand in farewell. “Then we will see you tomorrow. Good day, Kamiya-san, Tachibana-san.”

An giggled, eyes flashing. “It appears you already have a new job,” she drawled as they left the tennis courts. “All the better for me – it give me a more valid excuse to hang around and get Sanada-kun to talk to me.”

Ever candid, An had no problem disclosing how much she liked Sanada, and how he was now firmly in her plans for the future. Ayame laughed at her friend while her own thoughts drifted to the purple haired megane.

15

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:05:11 GMT

Title: First Impressions II
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Kamiya Ayame (OC)/Yagyuu Hiroshi, Tachibana An, Fuji Syusuke, Kikumaru Eiji, Tezuka Kunimitsu, Oishi Syuichirou, Kamiya Junko (OC)
Claim: Prince of Tennis General Series
Prompt: #15 Spring
Word Count: 2,561
Rating: G
Summery: Ayame had a knack for making fairly negative first impressions. This one was just another in a long list.

Ayame woke in the hospital sometime later, alone and feeling like she had been run over by a truck. Everything hurt, including her head, and she felt extremely dizzy and rather nauseous. Within moments however, she was no longer alone as a nurse came in, followed by a doctor and they were quick to start asking her questions about how she felt, what she remembered, and what had happened.

She told them everything she knew and was informed that it had only been three hours since she was brought in. They told her that she had been nebulized several times while she was unconscious and that they had cleared her lungs and settled the asthma. She was, of course, lectured at length after that, about always making sure she had her inhaler, and that she should be aware of her condition enough never to run up stairs. Ayame had never felt more sheepish in her entire life.

After that she was levered out of the bed and helped into a wheelchair so that they could cart her off to have tests done. To make sure she didn’t have any lasting damage due to the limited oxygen she had received for several minutes. By the time they returned her to her room, and gave her some mild medication for her headache, she was so worn out she fell asleep again.

When she next woke, it was to the sound of voices, a group of them. She recognized one instantly as her mother, and another as An. The others were male and familiar, and as soon as she opened her eyes she realized why.

Her Seigaku friends, some of them anyway, had traveled the thirty or so kilometers from Tokyo to come see her. Fuji was of course there, and Eiji, as well as Oishi and Tezuka. Ayame actually blinked at the sight of the tall, bespeckled young man sitting comfortably in one of the several chairs that were crowded around her bed. She never thought he would come, if any of them would. Fuji was not a surprise, neither was Eiji, since she was rather close with both, and she and Oishi had become good friends during Tezuka’s absence. But Tezuka… she considered him a respected senpai, possibly even a friend (he was, after all, the captain of her beloved tennis team), but she would never have expected him to come all the way to Kanagawa to see her.

“Not a very auspicious first day, hm Ame-chan?” An teased, the first to notice Ayame’s awakened state.

Ayame blushed and pushed herself into a seated position, wishing that there weren’t several pairs of eyes staring at her. She accepted her glasses from her mother, who made a show of fussing over her – smoothing out her hair, straightening her hospital pyjamas and just generally making sure she was comfortable. “How are you feeling?” Kamiya Junko asked, settling back in her chair.

Ayame was distinctly aware of everyone’s attention, as well as the fact that she hadn’t properly greeted them. Her blush burned brighter as she smiled as best she could at her four Seigaku friends. “I’m okay, feeling better than I was earlier. Thank you all for coming.” She bowed as much as she could in her seated position.

The four boys smiled back, even Tezuka, although his smile was so tiny that it was almost imperceptible. Syusuke, who was seated closest to her, directly to the left at about her level, leaned over and squeezed her hand. “We’re just happy you are okay. We know how dangerous it can be for you.”

His words brought back bittersweet memories of running from the tennis club only to collapse in an attack. That had been her first real meeting with them, and she was starting to think that it was something of a trend. I really hope it doesn’t continue this way… I can just see it: the first day of college and once more I do something stupid and almost die. Fortunately, the time at Seishun Gakuen had ended far better, since she had had her inhaler on her.

“Ma, ma, Ame-chan!” Eiji wriggled closer, practically pushing Syusuke out of the way so that he could hold her hand. “When An-chan texted us earlier we were so worried! All she said was that you had a severe asthma attack and had to be rushed to the hospital!” Even now, his eyes were wide with worry and the dark blue orbs flashed their way over her, as if to check if she were truly all right.

“Well to be fair to me, I hadn’t expected you all to come rushing out here as soon as school was finished.” An piped up dryly from her position next to Junko. “You didn’t even give me a chance to update you.”

Junko smiled maternally at her daughter’s interaction with her friends, squeezing the hand she was holding in a reassuring manner. “Why don’t I go get you something to drink hm? Would any of you like anything?”

The four boys declined politely, while An, who viewed the woman as almost a second mother, had no problem requesting some juice. As soon as Junko left, An sat in her vacated chair, looking relieved. Oishi stepped up closer to the edge of bed from where he had been leaning against the wall and smiled gently down at Ayame. “The others send their best wishes. We’re sorry we didn’t bring you any flowers, but Eiji threw together a card and made everyone sign it.”

Following his gesture, Ayame caught sight of the extremely large card sitting next to a pot of flowers on the table beside her bed. Her eyes paused on the flowers, but she picked up the card without any hesitation, since she was curious and touched, and also because her friends were watching her.

It was an over sized, orange and white construction, made of what look liked supplies stolen from school. A giant “Get Well Soon Ame-chan!” was scrawled over the front in blue ink and sparkles and it made her giggle. She could just picture Eiji putting it together when he was probably supposed to be doing something else. When she opened it, she found an utter cacophony of little notes and signatures, many of which were from people she was unfamiliar with.

Inui had written in precise, neat script, a short recipe for some kind of drink that would make her feel better (and it was an actual drink, not one of the funny ones he liked to inflict on his teammates). Kawamura’s signature was bold and sprawling, but his message was sweet. Momoshirou’s practically yelled on the page. She could almost hear the worried, but ‘tough’ hissing from Kaidou’s simple “Pay more attention.” message. Then there was Eiji’s long and convoluted message that took up almost a quarter of one of the pages and had her giggling again and made her feel a hundred times better. Fuji’s was full of support caring, and Oishi’s was a bit scolding, but still every bit as supportive as the rest. Tezuka didn’t write anything but his name, but the fact that he had come all the way with the other three told her all she needed to know about what he felt.

“Thank you all, so much. And tell the others I said thank you for everything,” she said after she was done reading everything. She had to blink the blurring tears from her eyes so she could smile at the four boys in true gratitude. She hoped that they understood just how much their support meant to her, especially since she had made a terrible fool of herself at her new school.

She gave Eiji’s hand a gentle squeeze and it lit up his face like a Christmas tree bulb. “The others wanted to come too,” Eiji confessed, brow furrowing. “But Yamato-taichou would only let us come… and only after Tezuka pleaded our case.”

Ayame had trouble picturing Tezuka pleading for anything, but as she allowed her gaze to meet his, she saw a rare glimpse of emotion, one he had undoubtedly meant for her to see. Her smile softened and she bowed slightly, happy when he returned it with a nod of his head.

“Kaidou was especially upset that he couldn’t come.” Syusuke said softly, his eyes closed and expression a bit mischievous.

Ayame made a face at him, understanding fully the teasing quality of his tone. Everyone in the room laughed, except Kunimitsu, as per his nature. An’s giggle was especially evil sounding, since she had been teasing Ayame about her friendship with Kaidou Kaoru for the better part of a year – since he had become the Seigaku junior tennis team’s captain in their third year and the role had brought them into closer contact, allowing them to develop a closer bond.

“Although it appears that Kaidou might have some competition for Ame-chan’s affection na, An-chan?”

An met Syusuke’s smile with one of her own and she winked at him wickedly. “He might just, I think.”

“We’re not like that!” Ayame cried, flushing. And though she desperately wanted to see who the flowers were from, she didn’t want to take the chance and be teased even more. On some level, she was sure that Fuji was punishing her for not being more careful, since that was his way. He didn’t scold or reprimand generally, but he did punish or sanction when he felt it necessary. Nothing like a little healthy embarrassment to discipline the lack of attention to her own welfare.

But Kunimitsu was well aware of what was going on, and quickly put a stop to it. “Fuji.” He said firmly, eyes glancing toward the honey blond boy.

“Aa, aa.”

“Mou! Who are the flowers from?” Eiji broke in, genuinely interested as he tried to bounce over Syusuke to get at the little card.

Syusuke batted his hand away, and instead retrieved the card and handed it to Ayame without opening the tiny envelope. Ayame allowed her curiosity to over come her then, and looked over the flowers with interest. They were daffodils, bright yellow and cheery looking in their simple clay pot. There four of them in total, and they looked extremely new and young.

Touched by their prettiness, and the fact that they would continue to grow (they would make a fine addition to their sparsely decorated dorm room!) Ayame turned to the card in her hand and opened it silently.

The message was simple and to the point:

“Get well soon.

Sincerely,

Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku senior tennis team”

The writing was almost absurdly neat and straight and almost clinical. It was almost extremely small, as if someone had been used to writing on small cards. But the thought that Rikkai tennis players had sent her flowers after doing so much for her (like saving her life!), caused a squiggle of something in her stomach.

“Ah! It’s from the Rikkaidai tennis team!”

An’s announcement caused a stir among the boys, Eiji in particular, who exclaimed with wide eyes his surprise that Ayame had already made friends with the new tennis team. Ayame was quick to refute that she hadn’t even talked to them, and so couldn’t understand why they had sent her flowers.

“Oh yes, a group of boys brought those by while you were sleeping a few hours ago,” Junko informed them all cheerfully, returning from her errand bearing two cans of juice and what looked like coffee. “They were very nice, if a bit quiet.”

Ayame flushed at the giggles that erupted from An and Eiji, and the chuckles from Syusuke. At that moment, she was never more thankful for Tezuka’s silent and stoic nature or Oishi’s grace. At least two of her friends weren’t mean.

“Did you ask for their names, Junko-san?” An asked brightly, opening her juice and sipping.

The older woman waved the sixteen year old down when she went to vacate the chair, and smiled at the group of teenagers, all of whom seemed incredibly interested – even her red-faced daughter, who was trying very hard to hide it. “There were three of them, and only one introduced himself. I believe his name was Yukimura Seiichi. He was very polite.”

There were various exchanges of surprise among the Seigaku boys, and Eiji actually bounced in his chair. “Na! Yukimura! What did the other two look like?”

Ayame thought they were all too interested and threw a narrowed glance at her male friends. It was far too embarrassing for her liking. But if Junko noticed her daughter’s unease, she didn’t say anything, instead she plowed on, describing the other two as if it didn’t affect anyone either way. “Well, they were both tall, and obviously athletic, which makes sense now that I know they are tennis players. One had black hair and a very severe face, the other wore glasses and had sort of purple hair. They were all very handsome.” Junko giggled at the end, shooting Ayame a rather pleased, and girly look.

“Okaa-san!” Ayame cried in mortification, slumping lowering in her bed. It was made even worse by the fact that everyone in the room, minus her mother, knew exactly who she had just described.

“Sanada and Yagyuu,” Oishi supplied.

Junko nodded, holding her coffee close to her chest. “You know them? I was hoping to ask them if they knew the boys that saved Ayame’s life, since I haven’t had the chance to ask the headmaster yet, but they were in and out too fast.”

An opened her mouth, and Ayame knew in that moment that she was going to have to go into seclusion. Why they thought it all great fun to embarrass her further, she’d never know. She sighed. It was bound to come out eventually… It’s probably all over school by now.

“That Kirihara didn’t come!” An exclaimed, looking unsurprised but annoyed. “You should have just asked me, Junko-san. Those boys were the ones that helped Ame-chan, well not Yukimura, the third was actually a stupid boy named Kirihara, but he’s completely thoughtless.”

“You’re very mean, An-chan.”

Junko blinked, even as the Seigaku four looked extremely surprised. “Sanada, Yagyuu and Kirihara? They told me that one of the boys held Ayame and physically helped her calm down and steady her breathing.”

An nodded, her smile losing its mischievous quality as it became more relieved than anything. “That was Yagyuu.” She then turned her eyes to the cowering Ayame. “You should seek him out and thank him personally, Ame-chan. He probably saved your life.”

Ayame nodded, sheepish and embarrassed. The amount of detail included in her mother’s and An’s accounts was unneeded in her opinion. But she knew that they were right. She did owe those young men her life and she would have to do something about it.

“Well I’m just glad that Ame-chan is all right!” Eiji nodded, noticing Ayame’s state of embarrassment and feeling bad for her. “Ame-chan has to be well to cheer for us this season!”

They all shared a laugh and Ayame agreed (it was not a difficult agreement to make) that she would come to every one of their games, and that she would even give them helpful hints on how to improve their game, despite the fact that they went to a rival school.

Last three... 8

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:04:10 GMT

Title: First Impressions I
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Kamiya Ayame (OC)/Yagyuu Hiroshi, Tachibana An, Sanada Genichirou
Claim: Prince of Tennis General Series
Prompt: #8 Embrace
Word Count: 3,424
Rating: PG
Summery: Ayame had a knack for making fairly negative first impressions. This one was just another in a long list.

“I still don’t know how you talked me into this…”

Ayame glanced at her best friend, making a face at the honey blond girl. As the scrunching of her face had caused her glasses to slip down her nose, she had to reach up and fix them, which completely ruined the effect of her expression. “I hardly talked you into it… I told you about the offer, and about my father’s decision, and you practically demanded to take the entrance exams.”

The two girls, already running behind, pushed their way through the flock of students. An, annoyed at it all, wasn’t afraid to actually push if someone got too close. Or even if they had the audacity to look at her in a snobby manner. Or a manner that could be conceived as snobby. It didn’t really matter. “Yeah, well, they have a good tennis program.” Was all An would concede, looking quickly down at her wrist to catch the time. “And I wasn’t about to let you come to this nest of demons by yourself Ame-chan. They’d eat you alive.”

“I’m not helpless you know…”

An waved her off impatiently and snatched her wrist up. “We’re on the third floor, and your dawdling has set us behind. We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry up.”

The dark auburn haired girl sighed, fighting only minimally against the increased pace of her best friend. “I’m sorry An-chan, but I am going as fast as I can.”

An looked contrite for a moment, but only slowed down fractionally. “Your asthma has gotten so much better in the last year, and it’s only a little ways, you should be okay if we go at this pace? I really don’t want to be late.”

“And I do?” Ayame shot back, adjusting her grip on her bag as they cross the threshold of the doors into the busy building. “Being late is not something I enjoy.”

The rest of their conversation was lost in the din of student voices, and Ayame was forced to concentrate on traveling, since she was relatively unused to such a quick pace. They made their way through the busy halls, Ayame following An as she navigated almost expertly. Ayame wondered idly if An hadn’t been to the school before. She probably has… scouting or something.

The halls seemed darker than Seigaku somehow, and the realization sent a small ping of remorse through her. Though she had only spent two years at the middle school, she had felt a deep connection with it and with the tennis team there, most of whom went on to the high school affiliate. By rights, she should have joined them. Most of her friends were there, and she probably could have managed the tennis team there too. But life sometimes had a way of getting in the way.

She had had several offers from several high schools, and had taken the entrance exams for more than one. However, once the offer from Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku came in, none existed for her father but it. He didn’t even mind that it would take her away from home (something he had never allowed before, due to her health). In the end, she couldn’t say no to him, and had had to bid goodbye to her Seigaku friends.

Not that she wouldn’t still see them, because she would. And she was still in contact with several of them, and that would be enough for her. Not to mention that she still had An, who had worked so hard to pass the entrance exams and to convince her parents and her brother that Rikkai was the best place for her, and to pay for her to go there.

“Ah! The bell! We’re really going to be late!”

Ayame hadn’t even heard the bell ring, but judging from the fact that the hall around them was clearing fast and everyone else seemed to pick up their pace, An’s pronouncement was true. They had reached the stairs by then, and Ayame, finally feeling the pinch of being late on their first day of high school, removed her arm from An’s grip and sped past her. “Come on An-chan! I don’t want to be late either!”

An gaped and almost instantly harrowing worry crawled over her face. “Ame-chan, slow down. The teacher will understand if we’re a little late, it’s our first day and Rikkai is big. You can’t climb stairs that fast.”

Ayame ignored her and quickly reached the first landing, her hand sliding along the railing as she turned the corner to continue up. The bell had rung, and their class was on the third floor. They weren’t going to make it…

“Ame-chan!”

An’s voice was insistant as it called out from behind her, but still Ayame ignored her. She could make it. Her breathing problems had gotten better after all, and she was in better shape. And if she did have some problems she had her inhaler. It wouldn’t be a problem. A little sacrifice was necessary to keep a perfect record.

However, by the middle of the second flight of stairs, Ayame could already feel the sharp pull of asthma in her lungs. The oppressive weight came next, and the tight burning sensation that quickly over came her tired legs (stairs were not the friend of someone who had not done much exercise most of their life). She stumbled as she reached the second landing, catching herself with the rail.

“Ayame!”

She forced herself to continue, her vision path narrowed to the next landing. One flight at a time. I can make it. This will be my first test.

Why did it feel as if this stairwell never ended? She honestly didn’t think it should take so long to reach the third floor. It wasn’t that long. Each set of stairs had about fifteen to twenty steps, and they were relatively shallow in that they did not incline a great deal. There were six sets in total, and though she had only finished two and a half, she felt as if she had been running for miles and miles.

The burning quickly became searing and she stumbled again, this time in the middle of the flight of stairs, and thus landing hard on her knees on the step. Clutching at her chest she fell forward, desperately choking for breath that just wouldn’t come. Inhaler, my inhaler…She groped her small skirt pocket, trying to find the small blue cylinder that would free her of the clenching in her lungs. When she failed to find it, she began to become more concerned. It must be in my bag… but why would I put it there?

It was a terrible pain, the pain of her asthma. It had been a haunting specter her entire life, thwarting every attempt at normalcy she had ever tried to make. It kept her from the sport she loved, from doing anything with spunk and speed as she might of liked to. There once was a time when she couldn’t walk two blocks without having to take her inhaler.

But those times were behind her, and she was supposed to be better. Hadn’t the doctor said she was better? Didn’t he say she could start incorporating some physical activity into her daily life? Of course, it was doubtful that he had meant for her to run up two and a half flights of stairs.

“Ame-chan!” An cried, catching Ayame’s back so that she didn’t fall back down the stairs. “Where’s your inhaler?”

It was difficult for An to watch her best friend have an asthma attack, particularly when she knew that if she had only been a little firmer, it wouldn’t have happened. Generally, Ayame capitulated in the face of An’s stubbornness, especially if she knew deep down she was right. But An hadn’t even really tried this time, perhaps because she saw the usefulness in Ayame’s quick movement.

She should have looked past that.

The wheeze echoed over the decreasing footsteps of other students, most of whom continued on their way, apparently not hearing what sounded like a fog horn to An’s ears. They probably thought that she had just tripped and thus it was nothing to concern themselves with. But that seemed so wrong to An, she couldn’t help the anxious thought, why isn’t anyone helping?

The wheeze might not have been so bad if Ayame hadn’t started making the worst noise An had ever heard. It was something akin to a death rattle, a choking sound caused by her attempt to force air into her closed lungs. It sent shivers down An’s spine, and without waiting for an answer (which she was highly unlike to get anyway), An snatched up Ayame’s bag and began to tear through it.

Unfortunately, it seemed, no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find the little blue cylinder. An could only assume that the first thing Ayame did was check her pocket, which meant that the inhaler was not anywhere in the vicinity and likely had been left in their dorm room. How could this happen, she’s usually so careful.

By that time, Ayame’s terrible noises were starting to gain attention by the few passers by. An barely noticed them, since they couldn’t be bothered to ask what was wrong, they only paused, stared and occasionally whispered to their companions. Cerulean blue eyes scanned frantically around, looking both up the stairwell and down, wondering if she should leave her friend and get the nurse (and someone to call an ambulance) or stop someone and ask them to do it.

These thoughts flew through her head in a blur, unlike the last two minutes that had stretched for eternity. It was only when she had decided to stop someone and make them fetch the nurse that she saw a very familiar mop of curly black hair coming up the stairwell below them. That bastard! “Kirihara!”

She paid no attention to the fact that he was traveling with two other boys, or that her call had caught the attention of all three. As soon as the green-blue eyes belonging to one Kirihara Akaya landed on the frantic An, who had leaned over the railing to peer down at him, he stiffened, hostility flashing over his face. “You! How did you even get into this school?”

Scowling, An almost snarled at him. “Just shut up! Go get the nurse! Ame-chan is dying!”

The words startled the malice right off his face and he blinked up at her. It was then that he heard the high-pitched squeal of blocked lungs and his gaze fell to the bottom half of the girl that could be seen from his position. Akaya briefly remembered that one of her friends had some sort of lung disease. That manager from Seigaku. Why would she be at Rikkai?

“Kirihara, go get the nurse and call an ambulance.”

The order came in a hard, deep tone from the tall boy to his left. The dark haired tennis prodigy was already moving, their other companion slightly ahead of him as Akaya’s brain kicked into action and he turned to run back the way he came.

An saw the two boys coming, skipping steps as they dashed up towards her position. Sanada, An realized quite abruptly, recognizing the stern angles of the boy’s face. And the other… She searched her brain to remember the names of the boys that had belonged to Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku’s junior high tennis team a year and a half before, but she just couldn’t recall the name of the good-looking boy with glasses that obscured his eyes.

They reached her in seconds, and immediately took control of the situation before An could even get a word in edge wise. Genichirou took An by the shoulders and moved her out of the way, while Hiroshi stepped past them and kneeled beside Ayame. “What is her condition?” He asked calmly, reaching out to take the jerking shoulders of the auburn haired girl.

“She has severe asthma,” An answered, not bothering to remove herself from Genichirou’s hold. “We were going to be late and so she started to run, but any kind of strenuous exercise sends her into an attack. I think she forgot her inhaler in the dorm.”

Hiroshi nodded, all the possibilities for aid turning over in his head. He was not overly familiar with asthma treatments or what to do in the situation, but he could venture a guess. The girl’s friend should know, but she was clearly panicking.

“Yagyuu, turn her over and sit her up.” Came the order from Genichirou.

Hiroshi was already on his way there, a plan of action forming in his mind. His grip slipped a bit when Ayame began coughing violently, but he adjusted it and turned her around. She was somewhere between stiff as a board and limp as a rag doll in that she didn’t fight him, but her body was rigid with pain and fear.

As her face came into view, they could see the beginning of a blue tinge to her lips, and the wheeze sound became louder, now that it was directly facing them. Almost immediately, Ayame collapsed against Hiroshi, rolling so that she was supported against his chest by one of his arms around her shoulders.

Ayame was barely aware that she was being held. The all-encompassing terror had completely taken her over and her vision was starting to blacken at the edges. She didn’t know who it was that was trying to help her, but a part of her hoped and prayed that he would make the pain stop.

“How long has she been like this?” Genichirou asked An, still not removing his hands from her shoulders.

An blinked away the tears that were gathering in her eyes, tears that mirrored the ones sliding down Ayame’s cheeks. “A couple of minutes. If they don’t hurry, this could kill her.”

“Aa. Do not panic. Your panic will only make hers worse.”

An was suddenly glad that Sanada Genichirou was there. There was something oddly reassuring about his presence, something she had never noticed before since she hadn’t spent any time with him in the two or so years she had known of his existence. The panic didn’t seem so fierce when he was standing behind her, his body barely brushing hers as his hands did not stray from her shoulders.

Genichirou met Hiroshi’s eyes briefly and nodded, gently maneuvering An on to a step a few below where Hiroshi was positioning Ayame. He remained with her, comforting her in a stoic and less than obvious way, remaining steady and calm in the face of her tears and anxiety.

Ayame could feel herself being moved and was aware of it on some level. She knew that whoever was holding her set her up into a sitting position, using his own body as a backrest, sitting one step above her. The back of her head fell against his collarbone and she could feel, in a detached sort of way, his breath shift her hair around her temple.

“You need to relax. Relaxing will loosen some of your air ways.”

His voice was deep and calm and reassuring and it cut through the haze of fear that clouded her mind and jarred her body like the racking coughs and the gasps for air. She wanted to badly to ask who he was, to turn her head and see with clear eyes just who the man was that would hold her even though he was a complete stranger.

“Concentrate on breathing. Don’t gasp. Think of the air as a clean follow through that an opponent is unable to return.”

Tennis. He was talking about tennis. The air was the ball and the opponent the blockage in her lungs. The analogy stung her awareness, and brought her just a little bit closer to full consciousness. “L-like…. Te-te-tennis?” She gasped, understanding implicitly what he was saying.

“Yes, like tennis. Breathe in… and breathe out. Follow my breathing if you must.”

She tried to do what he told her to do, concentrating on the sound of his voice and the feeling of his chest moving up and down as he breathed, rather than on the constricting pain in her chest. It was difficult going, and slow at first. It seemed like it took forever to get the rhythm of his breathing right, and then she only got it right because he placed a light hand on her upper chest and guided her.

An watched in amazement as the handsome, purple haired boy touched her friend in what would have been a completely inappropriate way if it wasn’t a life and death situation. She saw the value in his providing an example, but was slightly annoyed that he thought of it and she hadn’t before Ayame’s lips got that horrible blue tinge to them.

The nurse arrived a few minutes later, a rush of school staff and Akaya with her. Genichirou and An were moved out of the way, and Genichirou finally relinquished his hold on the dark blond, though he remained standing at her side. The nurse kneeled before Ayame, checking her pulse, having her open her eyes and generally fussing over the pair.

No one commented on their compromising position, and no one demanded that they separate. Rather, the nurse, as well as the headmaster, complimented Hiroshi on his effective handling of the situation and his steps to improve the status of the patient. According to the nurse, his actions may have well saved her life.

“Name and year?”

Hiroshi looked up at the head master as he continued to guide Ayame through her breathing. Though she was breathing better, the rattling wheeze beneath his hand was still disconcerting, and he knew she needed to be taken to the hospital immediately. “Yagyuu Hiroshi. Class 2-A. The ambulance is coming?”

The nurse clicked her tongue, replying that of course it was and that it would be there momentarily. She commanded him to continue what he was doing, since it seemed that his presence and his actions had calmed Ayame down enough for her to be docile. She then began to talk to Ayame, telling her to stay awake and to listen to Yagyuu-kun’s breathing and follow his lead.

Yagyuu-kun? Ayame’s eyelids drooped, but she remained awake, completely dependent on the boy behind her for support. Tennis… he plays tennis! He was on the team we beat at Nationals a year and a half ago.

Her eyes saw better now that the pain had receded somewhat and she could see An’s worried face somewhere behind all the school officials that were crowded into the stair well. Beside her, she could see the looming figure of Sanada Genichirou, his face set in its customary, disciplined frown. Just beyond them, at the very edge of her vision, was Kirihara Akaya, looking mildly interested in everything that was going on. What is this, a tennis reunion? On some level she found it highly ironic that the ones that came to her aid were none other than boys she was acquainted with as former ‘enemies.’

Some minutes and much discussion later, a loud clattering was heard in the stairwell below them, and the headmaster began to clear the way for the emergency crew and the stretcher they carried. Ayame couldn’t quite understand why they hadn’t moved her to a location that would be easier for the emergency crew to work, but she wasn’t exactly in the position to question anyone’s wisdom. The whole thing was her fault, after all.

Unfortunately, the moment she was removed from Hiroshi’s arms and laid out on the stretcher, the attack intensified once more as she had both lost her rhythm and she was forced to lay down. Even the oxygen mask they placed over her mouth did little to help the fiery tightness that build up in her chest and stung her eyes.

The stretcher was lifted and she began to move, heavily tilted at a downward angle. Ayame wanted to reach out. She wanted to lift her hand and grasp the hand that had just been on her chest, helping her, and possibly saving her life. But she had no strength and they were moving too fast, eager to get her out of the school and into the waiting emergency vehicle.

She couldn’t even see him as she was rushed away. She couldn’t see anything. Within seconds, everything was black.

39, 40

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:02:04 GMT

Title: That Smile
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Kaidou Kaoru/Kamiya Ayame (OC)
Claim: Prince of Tennis General Series
Prompt: #39 Flirt
Word Count: 1,829
Rating: G
Summery: One day in late July, Kaidou Kaoru became aware of girls.

Kaidou Kaoru was not the type of man who noticed things outside his small, enclosed bubble. Tennis, school and his family were about the only things that registered most of the time. But all that changed one random day in late July when Kaidou Kaoru first became aware of a girl.

This particular girl had been around for over a year. She had journeyed with them all the way from the regional tournament to the kantou finals and eventually to the national championships. Her presence in his life was nothing new.

But that day it was like everything that she was came into sharp focus. She had let her hair grow a little longer, but that was the only physical change in her. He didn’t understand what was so special about that day. Yet it was that day he began to notice so many things about her that he hadn’t before.

Like how unassuming she was, or how truly smart. In his new insight, he believed that they had taken her for granted in the last year, drawing on her quiet strength to augment their own on and off the court. He noticed how her hair was glossy, and how it looked soft. How her eyes sparkled when she laughed, and how even when she was upset with someone the concern and warmth still radiated from her inner core.

This new appreciation for the girl that was Kamiya Ayame, however, had had its drawbacks. Along with perceiving her on a more than associated-with-tennis level, be became aware of the relationship between them and what it was lacking. She had a smile that could start a forest fire, and yet she never turned it on him. She smiled at him of course, fairly often, but it wasn’t quite the smile he was suddenly sure he wanted.

There were different degrees of smile, another thing he picked up in his new awareness. A smile for sympathy, one for amusement, one for hiding tears. His favorite, and the one lacking between them, was the soft, feminine smile she gave very rarely, and only to special people. He was the captain of the tennis team, and he should be receiving that smile. Of course, he couldn’t remember if she had graced Tezuka with it either, and wondered it perhaps that was why she never smiled at him like that – because he was the captain.

But he had seen her give it to others. Fuji Syusuke was probably the most frequent recipient of this smile, that he knew of anyway. A hollow feeling in his gut had him asking Inui, as casually as possible, if there was something going on between Fuji and her. His internal relief was palpable (though he would never admit it) when the elder boy had replied that he didn’t think so.

But Fuji wasn’t the only one to receive it. He had even seen her give it to several males from opposing teams, which was even worse than her giving it to Fuji, or Eiji, or Oishi. Once he had seen her smile that way at the red head from Rikkai when several now-high school members had shown up in Tokyo at the tennis park they all frequented regularly. That had been a dark day, and he had almost given away his awareness of her in a demonstration of what could be called ‘jealousy’. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice him storming off.

Why did she never smile at him like that? How was he less deserving than any of his former teammates? They worked together closely now, him being the captain, she being the manager, and yet he still hadn’t managed to earn one of those smiles.

It was frustrating, and he wished he could go back to his former existence, where girls’ smiles never entered his mind. Where girls didn’t enter his mind, unless as an annoying distraction. But no matter how hard he tried, there was no going back.

The worst day thus far, however, was not one in which she displayed that smile. In fact, she had been an innocent bystander in the whole affair. The tennis park was unusually crowded that day, and he had been contemplating just going off and doing some self training since he had never been a fan of crowds. He was just about to do that when he noticed that several boys had surrounded her. They weren’t doing anything overtly threatening, simply talking to her, but the way she laughed made the heavy feeling in his gut return.

Ears burning, he stepped closer in attempt to overhear what they were saying. He really wanted to interrupt them, but could not find an adequate excuse – one that wouldn’t embarrass him or make him look like any less of a captain than he was.

Now close enough to hear the conversation, he realized that the boys were flirting with her. A cold shock poured over him, similar to the feeling of one of Inui’s drinks being poured down his throat. Males did not pay attention to her as a rule (it was one of the things he had noticed about her in his new awareness) and so the idea that there were some doing so now seemed wrong. Irritation bubbled up in the back of his throat and he had to forcefully calm himself.

What did he care if some idiots talked to her? It wasn’t as if he had any claim or reason to care. But no matter how much he told himself he didn’t care, the more he did care and the more he realized she wasn’t giving those boys that smile. It was the only thing that kept him from blowing up like a volcano, with his irrational and unwanted anger as the lava.

She had eventually sent the boys on their way, but it was a long, pointless conversation that Kaidou didn’t understand on many levels.

The new awareness continued to haunt him, afflicting him with a strange disease that while not damaging him physically, occupied him mentally until he believed he was going insane. Only Momoshirou noticed, and only because he was so used to picking apart Kaidou’s every move that he knew every nuance of his behavior. Surprisingly, however, Momo said nothing on the subject, but he did snicker maliciously behind a hand and send annoying looks Kaidou’s way. A good fight cured that problem.

It was only after all the tennis tournaments were done for the year (Seigaku had lost in the kantou finals, and then in the second round of nationals) that things began to change in his life. Preparation for high school entrance exams began and he started to see less and less of the girl he was acutely aware of. She still came to tennis practice, and he saw her every day in class, but outside of school and the club, he barely saw her. It wasn’t like it used to be, where they would always end up together somehow, in a group, and he could keep track of her and the smiles she gave out. But the awareness didn’t get better – it didn’t go away. Instead it only got worse and he suffered instead from her lack of appearance.

He was confused, and when Kaidou Kaoru was confused, he lashed out. Tennis practice became tougher and everyone in the club suffered from their captain’s preoccupied misery. It was only then that people began to notice their captain’s state of mind, and then it hadn’t been anyone in the club – it had been visiting former members.

The former seniors of the Seigaku club pounced on him the instant they realized something was wrong. Kikumaru hung off of him and wheedled in an annoying voice, while Inui started a rapid fire question game. Fuji studied the situation and Tezuka remained impassive. Surprisingly it was Oishi who figured it out first, his kind eyes softening as the girl that occupied Kaidou’s thoughts made her appearance.

He had enough tact to wait until she was occupied with Fuji, whom by them realized, by sharing a look with Oishi, what the problem was, and had drawn her away. But when they were a distance away Oishi said calmly, “Kaidou is lovesick.”

This had brought a whole new reign of misery upon him as Kikumaru giggled with joy and amusement and Inui scribbled madly in his notebook. Kaidou tried to refute it, but none of them would believe. Probably because he didn’t believe it himself. He hadn’t recognized what the new awareness meant, but Oishi’s declaration had brought the problem into further focus in his mind. He was lovesick, suffering for want of Kamiya Ayame.

The realization didn’t make practice any easier for the club members. Instead, in his humiliation and irritation, he ordered them all to run fifty laps. Taking his frustration out on the club was perhaps not the best way to deal with his emotions, but it felt good to have the power to order that stupid Momoshirou to run.

Tezuka made the high school members run too, except Fuji, who wasn’t in on the harassment, and it left the two captains standing side by side alone. Neither were conversationalists and so the silence was comfortable – not that Kaidou would have noticed anyway.

However, the peace was broken when a light step alerted the two young men to Fuji and Ayame’s arrival. Ayame nodded at Tezuka, but her gaze was on Kaidou. “Ne, Kaidou-kun?”

Kaidou let her voice wash over him for a moment before he turned his dark eyes to her. Upon looking at her he felt a fist slam into his gut, sucking the air out of his lungs in an instant.

On her face was that smile, the one he had infuriatingly wanted to see directed at him. It was direct at him this time, however, and it stunned him far more than it should have. It was even softer than it normally was, taking on a different quality that accented the emotion in her eyes. “It would be okay to go a little easier on the club members wouldn’t it?”

It was her way of saying he was being too hard and reminding him that he had been taking his emotions out on others. He didn’t care that she was chastising him in a subtle and efficient manner. In that moment he would have given her anything she asked for, just so long as she would smile at him like that again.

Coughing, Kaidou looked away. “Aa.” He rumbled, ignoring the blush the warmed his face, ears and neck.

From then on he began to see that smile more and more often. He didn’t know if it was because Fuji had said something to her, or if she had finally noticed his crazy and out of character behavior all on her own. Gradually that smile took on a different quality and it became a smile reserved solely for him.

.

Title: It Was Just a Surprise
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Inui Sadaharu/Kamiya Ayame (OC), Kikumaru Eiji
Claim: Prince of Tennis General Series
Prompt: #40 Swoon
Word Count: 1257
Rating: G
Summery: She felt horrible. He had only been trying to be nice.

It was odd how he never forced his drinks on her – he never even suggested it. It may have been because of her health issues, which the whole team was absurdly aware of and thus really careful to observe. But then, she had seen him make his teammates drink the vile concoctions with the reasoning that they were ‘healthy’ for them.

And then there was the fact that whenever someone did forget that she was severely asthmatic and caused an attack, or even a potential attack, or if someone said something inappropriate to her, or something that hurt her feelings, they found themselves faced with days of Penal Tea. And not just normal Penal Tea, a special kind, reserved for those who had especially pissed him off in some way.

When this practice carried on for several months, and actually got worse during Nationals, Ayame began to wonder if there wasn’t something going on.

Then the hovering began. It was nothing too abnormal at first. Inui would lean over her shoulder, sometimes correcting her notes, sometimes only commenting. That wasn’t unusual, he had been doing it since the beginning. But then he began to linger, and sometimes one of his hands would hover over her other shoulder, effectively wrapping one of his arms around her.

She probably wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn’t started calling her ‘Ame-chan’ like much of the rest of the team. It had always been ‘Kamiya’, and then for a short while it had been ‘Ayame’. When the otherwise formal Inui Sadaharu started calling her by a nickname, she knew something was up.

The truth was, she liked Inui. He was smart and funny, and he cared about his teammates. Her job as manager had put her into close contact with him, allowing her like of him to grow so that every time he leaned over her shoulder, or called her ‘Ame-chan’ in that voice of his, she flushed and struggled not to stammer.

Thus, when the day came that he pushed a small sports bottle into her hands and encouraged her to drink it, Ayame was very surprised. She had become so complacent that it had never even occurred to her that he would ever make her drink his healthy sports drinks.

Panic set in quickly after, since she liked him too much to out and out refuse him like everyone else did. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and since he got so much rejection already… she could understand wanting to create healthy things for tennis players! She wanted to be a doctor, with a sports medicine specialty. It was just really too bad he so often did the opposite of what he was trying to do…

She wasn’t sure he noticed that her breathing became erratic and that her face flushed. She knew she was being completely silly – it was just juice. So what if it was horrible tasting (by reputation!)? She could handle something like that… couldn’t she?

Yet before she could even lift the spout to her mouth, Ayame’s eyes rolled back in her head and she fell into a blissful state of momentary unconsciousness.

“Ame-chan?! Inui! What were you thinking giving her that!”

“She didn’t even drink it…”

“She was probably so scared she had an asthma attack and suffocated!”

There was a short silence, incredulous and a bit panicked, and then, “It was just fruit juice…”

“Eh???”

Her faint lasted only seconds – long enough to begin to fall and long enough to be caught in the strong arms of her would be benefactor. Thus, she was awake for the demands and the accusations, as well as the admission that it hadn’t been Inui Juice or Penal Tea in the bottle, only sweet fruit juice.

Ayame’s face burned with mortification and guilt sat heavy in her stomach, burning the back of her throat. What a silly thing to faint over, particularly when he was only trying to be nice. Now she felt really bad.

“Ame-chan! Ame-chan! Are you okay?”

Kikumaru obviously realized that she was awake, though it didn’t seem to occur to him that she hadn’t moved from Inui’s embrace. Sighing a bit, Ayame cracked her eyes open, trying to ignore the insidious burning of her cheeks. “A-aa,” she replied with a slight squeak, avoiding looking at anyone that might be around. Instead, she clutched at the bottle in her hands and stared at the pavement beneath her feet.

“Kamiya-san?”

A wince lanced over her face at Inui’s deep and formal address and her guilt tripled. “I’m sorry Inui-kun!” She cried suddenly, surprising both attending boys. “I didn’t mean to insult you! It’s just sometimes when I get surprised-” she paused and snuck a peek upwards to gauge his expression.

It was promising. He wasn’t scowling, or frowning, he looked as normal as he ever did. The sun reflected off his glasses, obscuring his eyes from view, but she got the distinct impression that there was something soft about them. Grimacing, she met his gaze. “Was it really just fruit juice?”

“Aa. Strawberry and passion fruit.”

Her blush grew brighter and her expression more sullen. “My favorite.”

“Aa.”

Kikumaru seemed to take the hint that it was time for him to make his exit. He did so giggling maniacally behind a hand, his eyes flashing a sort of “I have a GIANT secret to tell!”

Ayame was careful not to move, mostly so that he wouldn’t realize that he was still supporting her, one of his arms around her shoulders while the other was snagged securely around her waist. While it caused the pink to brighten, she was just as happy to remain in that position. It meant he wasn’t completely disgusted with her.

“I really am sorry,” she said softly after a few moments of awkward silence in the wake of Kikumaru’s giggling. “And it really did surprise me. I’m-thank you…” Clenching her eyes shut, she took a big breath and blurted: “Please don’t be mad at me!”

A deep-throated chuckle forced her eyes open again, rumbling through her as it did him. “Ame-chan is cute when she’s guilty,” he said his dark and teasing manner. His teeth flashed a grin that said that he was up to no good as he shifted her so that she was standing on her own feet again. He did not let her go however, instead pulling her closer to him so that the bottle and her hands were trapped between them. “I will forgive you if you pay the price.”

Blinking, she looked up at him, starting to catch his meaning. She had not been best friends with on Tachibana An since grade school and not understand the devious nature of such words when combined with such a smile. Still, the giddy anticipation that squiggled in her gut had her playing his game. She blinked at him innocently and replied, “What kind of price?”

He leaned down, his face only inches from hers. “A kiss.”

Ayame couldn’t help the giggle as she stood on her tip-toes and pressed her mouth against his briefly. She was pleased to see red spread across his cheeks like wildfire as well as his briefly surprised expression, as if he hadn’t expected her to actually kiss him. “Since it will sooth your wounded pride,” she said smartly, smiling gently at him.

Inui hugged her then, bottle of juice, and their ever-growing audience forgotten. He didn’t even hear the mocking teases from rival teams, or the good-natured cackling from his own.