Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Character Study - Sengoku/Akutsu ❯ Chapter 1

Sengoku Akutsu

April 2005

Word Count: 1531

 

 

Most people, when confronted with something dangerous, had the good sense to do a one-eighty and high-tail it out of there. But there were some, like him, who were challenge-junkies; and there were others who were just too naïve to understand better but in his thirteen years Sengoku had yet to met someone of that caliber. Sengoku considered himself one of the former--not that he would ever do anything that would get him seriously injured, but if the rush paid off, he didn't mind suffering a little bump or bruise.

 

Akutsu Jin had "dangerous" and "challenge" practically tattooed across his face.

 

From the very first day of junior high school, when he'd walked in on Akutsu beating the stuffing out of three senior "tough guys," there was just something about the other freshman that called to him, kept him coming back to check on him more often than he could leave the crazy kid alone.

 

Maybe he thought Akutsu needed a friend--and Sengoku was a friend to all and everyone. Or maybe it was the anger the other kid radiated, because Sengoku simply didn't understand anger himself. Sure, there had been plenty of times when he'd been upset or annoyed, but he couldn't ever recall a time when he was truly, honestly, angry. He just didn't think it was in him to be angry. Life was too short and too interesting to waste time and energy on being angry.

 

But this guy, this Akutsu Jin... he was always angry. It didn't matter what day or time or season or the reason, Akutsu was just always angry. Sengoku couldn't recall a time when the other kid wasn't angry. He was angry in the morning, angry during classes, angry during lunch, angry during club activities, angry on weekends. It just didn't make any sense to Sengoku. After all, how could one stand to be angry during lunch or tennis? It was absurd.

 

He felt sorry for Akutsu, and maybe that, more than anything, was what kept him on the other teen even after dirty looks and harsh words and cut lips and bruised ribs and an assortment of other little bumps and bruises, which had succeeded in alienating even most of the teachers at school. And, well, eventually, Akutsu seemed to get the hint that it didn't matter how hard he hit, the redhead would eventually be back again to-- pester him-- shower him with love and affection and friendship.

 

Dan didn't know how lucky he had it, meeting Akutsu during the crazy boy's third year rather than his first or second. Watching Dan follow Akutsu around like an adoring puppy was one of Sengoku's favorite pastimes--right up there with boxing and tennis. He credited the fact that he was one of the few people in the entire school (okay, in all of Tokyo) who could call Akutsu 'friend' and not get pounded into ground meat as the reason why he noticed Akutsu's oh-so-strange behavior towards their pet freshman.

 

Sengoku even caught the other senior smiling once--an honest to goodness, real, genuine, and even more surprising, non-demented smile!

 

He did go home with a split lip that day, but the satisfaction he'd gotten from gloating and teasing his would-be-demon friend was worth it in his opinion.

 

If he were to be completely honestly with himself--and Sengoku always tried to be--he was a little jealous of the sway Dan seemed to hold over Akutsu; but the freshman was just such an endearing soul, it was hard to be jealous or upset with him for very long.

 

"You'll miss him," Sengoku predicted one day during their last week of school when he literally ran into Akutsu laying under a tree near the tennis courts, listening to the new captain and vice captain run practice.

 

Dan had been a very good manager, really, with an excellent eye for observation and analysis. And he had the kind of face no one could stand to see filled with hurt or tears. Not even Yamabuki's resident Bad Boy, Sengoku thought, smirking broadly as he fell onto the grass near Akutsu. Sengoku was fairly sure Dan would make a good vice-captain for the team, although he sincerely doubted the younger boy's affirmative ability to actually lead a team by himself.

 

Akutsu ignored him in favor of another drag off his cancer stick.

 

"You don't think he'll have any problems next year," Sengoku went on conversationally. "I mean, without us around..."

 

Sengoku wasn't really worried, but he'd learned fairly quickly that Dan was a great subject to discus with the other senior.

 

"He'll be fine," Akutsu growled, flicking his cigarette butt aside with disgust.

 

"Going to see to that personally?" the redhead couldn't help but tempt fate.

 

Akutsu shout him a glare. Sengoku grinned.

 

"I don't see why you don't just admit that you like him," he went on flippantly. "Dan's a good, likable kid. Everyone likes him."

 

"You said he'll have a hard time," Akutsu reminded him angrily, and Sengoku shrugged the unsaid accusation aside.

 

"Not with anyone; I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to try and start something with him, do you?" But he didn't wait for Akutsu to reply. "No, if Dan-kun has any difficulties next year, it'll probably all be because of you."

 

The glare he got in response to that was particularly deadly. Sengoku freely interpreted it as, 'Why, whatever do you mean? I would never intentionally cause our dear, darling little koihei any undue stress or trauma in any way.'

 

"He's going to miss you, you know," he continued aloud, adding sing-songingly, "He's attached."

 

Akutsu snorted disgustedly and Sengoku understood it meant, 'I'm going to miss him, too. He's too adorably cute for his own good, and he's probably going to get himself into trouble if I'm not around to watch over him and make sure no one's picking on him.'

 

The Akutsu in Sengoku's head was a lot more open and friendly a person. It was a shame he'd never actually met the Akutsu in his head, but it was nice to pretend.

 

"I'm going to miss Dan-kun, too," he replied to the Akutsu-in-his-head. "The next time we see him, he'll probably be all grown up and won't look a bit like our dear, sweet, innocent little Dan-kun. It saddens my heart to think that--"

 

"Shut up."

 

Sengoku sighed and relaxed into the silence. Sometimes it was good to just rest.

 

He could hear the sounds of tennis practice winding down, the familiar sounds of balls thwumping and the underclassmen shouting. He was going to miss this. It wouldn't be the same next year with most of his friends going to different high schools. He'd make new friends, of course, and he'd join his school's tennis team most likely, but it wouldn't be the same. It never was.

 

"You're the one who's going to miss him."

 

Sengoku looked up and over to Akutsu, surprised that the other teen had actually said something without being provoked.

 

"I'm going to miss all of this," he corrected softly. "Playing tennis and teasing the Jimmies, and... just... all of it."

 

"Akutsu-sempai! Sengoku-sempai!" Dan cried out, coming from the practice courts and spotting the pair almost immediately. "What are you doing here, sempai?" he asked energetically as he ran up to them and almost tripped over the pair in his haste to stop. "I thought you would have gone home right after last period, but you're still here. Are you waiting for someone? If you'd like, I--"

 

"Dan-kun" Sengoku chimed in, cutting the other boy off as quickly as possible. "Would you like to grab a bit to eat with us?"

 

"Eh?"

 

Following Akutsu's example, Sengoku climbed to his feet and brushed himself off. "We're thinking about getting some food," he explained, although they had been thinking no such thing, but Akutsu was hungry. Sengoku knew this by the simple fact that Sengoku was hungry, and thus, logically, Akutsu must be hungry, too. And if he wasn't, then he'd have said he wasn't hungry. See? Simple. "Wanna come?"

 

Besides, Akutsu was too busy glaring at certain bodies who were attempting to exit the tennis courts without drawing Akutsu's attention to comment on whether he was hungry or not.

 

"Are you sure it's okay? If you'd rather be alone--"

 

"Nah," Sengoku stepped in again. "Wouldn't have invited you along if we didn't want to, right? Besides, we've been waiting her for you--"

 

"I'm so sorry, sempai! I didn't know you were waiting! I--"

 

"Hurry up already," Akutsu growled, shooting a look down at Dan before looking back at the other members of the tennis club. "How long do you expect us to wait?"

 

"Yes, sempai! Sorry, sempai! Right away, sempai!" the boy rattled off quick-fire before darting off in direction of the locker rooms.

 

Sengoku's grin broadened and he leaned in dangerously closer to Atuska's person.

 

"You're going to miss him," he taunted breezily.

 

Akutsu pulled out a new cigarette and muttered, "Shut up." And then, as an afterthought, he added, "and you're buying."

 

Sengoku sighed dramatically. "Don't I always?"

 

~owari~