Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Encounters of Another Kind - Part 2 ❯ Date #4 ( Chapter 4 )

Encounters of Another Kind Part 2

An Ann and Hiyoshi Story

By Andrea Readwolf <andrea_readwolf @hotmail.com>

Chapter: 4

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: Tachibana An and Wakashi Hiyoshi

Genre: AU, Humor, Romance, Seduction

Warnings: Underage characters situations of self-discovery. Characters are written in character according to author's interpretation.

Spoilers: none to my knowledge

Summary: Another chance encounter between two very antagonistic personalities has Ann thinking of possibilities.

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

Date Started: October 10, 2004

Status: complete

Revised: October 12, 2004

Word Count: 1582

4th Encounter--

Wakashi was alerted by the different tone in the normal buzz that surrounded tennis practice, and he had a pretty good idea what--or who, rather--was the case.

He sent a ball flying over the net and called out for another third year to continue to play with the second year hopeful. With nearly two hundred members, it was important to keep an eye on the Regular wanna-bees for when the next Regular was dropped. It was equally as imported to be able to discern who had the talent but lacked proper training from those who had the training but lacked the talent.

Captaining the seeded Hyotei Tennis team was *not* as easy as Atobe had made it seem, but Wakashi hadn't honestly expected it to be.

He wasn't admired or worshiped like Atobe had been, and quite honestly, Wakashi was more than happy with that fact. His team respected him. His orders were followed without question or complaint. That was what was important to Hiyoshi Wakashi.

He walked off the court and reached for the towel and water bottle a freshman held out to him. The buzz was still chattering away, but he wanted to make sure of how the rest of the practice matches were developing before he investigated that source of trouble. He could feel eyes on him, but he did his best to ignore them as he scanned over courts B, D, and D. Over on E and F Kabaji was working a group of freshman through their paces. Everything was running smoothly.

Satisfied that his domain was running in proper, well-maintained order, Wakashi turned to look up at the two interlopers.

Well, he couldn't quite think of Otori as an interloper to the tennis courts, even if the other teen had chosen to resign from the tennis club during his third year. Ann, however, stood out like a pink tennis ball in her Fudomine School uniform. The two looked good together, Wakashi thought, sitting side by side and talking amicably.

And then he felt annoyed.

What was Ann doing talking to Otori so friendly and animatedly? In fact, what was she doing at Hyotei Chugaku in the first place?

He climbed up the seats to where they were sitting, and Ann called out a cherry greeting.

"Chotaroh-kun was just telling me about the concert the Hyotei Music Club will be hosting next Friday night," she added. "Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"If you like music," he replied, looking from Otori to Ann and back again. 'Chotaroh-kun' he wanted to ask, but didn't.

Otori stood. "Well, you're both invited if you want to come. I'll save you tickets, okay?"

"That would be great! Thanks, Chotaroh-kun. Oh, and where can I bus some more tickets, in case I have some other friends who want to come, too?"

'Other friends?' Wakashi wanted to ask her who, but he held his tongue.

"Just let me know how many," Otori replied, grinning. "And I can get them for you, no problem."

"Thank you! Chotaroh-kun's so sweet!"

For a moment Wakashi thought Ann was going to glomp his roommate, or worse, kiss him in front of the entire tennis club. Or maybe Otori would burst into flames first. But, instead, she turned to him and smiled as she bumped her shoulder into his arm.

"Ah, well, um, I guess I'll leave you two now," Otori was blushing and stumbling over his tongue. "And, um, I'll see you later, Wakashi-kun."

He nodded in acknowledgement, and watched as Otori hopped down the steps, two at a time, responding to and calling out various greetings to old teammates as he went.

And then he turned his attention back to Ann, who was watching him with *that* look in her eyes. He couldn't quite figure out what *that* look was, yet, but he knew it usually meant trouble for him, and he'd learned to recognize it when he saw it.

"Ne, Wakashi-kun," she stared, and the suspicious sinking feeling in his stomach intensified. "Let's go on a date!"

Yep. Definitely doomed.

"I'm at tennis practice now," he pointed out.

"Ah, but practice will end soon, right?" she asked, leaning closer to him and he could smell the clean simple scent of her shampoo. "I can wait a couple of minutes for you to finish up."

His internal clock said that practice would indeed be over in another ten minutes, although his body was hungry for more. Normally, he would have stayed behind for another hour, or maybe he would have retired to the work out room. Still--Ann had come all this way, from Fudomine, even if no one had asked her to.

"Fine," he replied, knowing there was little hope for it.

And Ann's smiled brightened.

Yep. Definitely doomed.

~~~****~~~

Ann almost laughed at Hiyoshi's expression when he joined her nearly a half hour later after immerging from the Hyotei Regular's Club House, washed and dressed back in Hyotei's school uniform.

He had asked her where they were going.

She had told him it was a secret.

Hiyoshi had not looked amused, but Ann was of the opinion that he was way too serious for his age--much like Akira sometimes. But where Akira-kun had his music and Shinji and Ann there to make him loosen up and distress, Hiyoshi seemed to have no one.

Ann knew from simple observation that Hiyoshi wasn't really liked by his team, and she saw how he never went out of his way to promote any friendships with others. She thought maybe that was how things were done in Hyotei--at least, from what she could remember from last year's team, she couldn't say Hyotei experienced the same type of camaraderie as, say, Fudomine or Seigaku. But she thought Hiyoshi must be at least a little lonely without a friend, too.

Otori was very nice, and he was Hiyoshi's roommate, too, but somehow, even though he was always very friendly with her and Hiyoshi, the two boys didn't seem to be real friends.

Hiyoshi continued to grumble like a bear with a sore paw when she still refused to tell him where they were going, but he quieted down a bit when she slid her hand into his and squeezed.

"C'mon, we're here," she announced, tugging him into one of the many buildings and up a flight of stairs to the second floor.

Even before they reached the entrance the noise from the various machines attacked their eardrums, and Hiyoshi dragged.

"An arcade?" he asked, not bothering to hide the lack of enthusiasm in his voice.

She laughed at him and tugged him up the last remaining steps to the second floor arcade. "C'mon, Wakashi-kun. Don't be such a sourpuss, hmm? It won't hurt you to try and have a little fun, ne?"

"Please tell me you're not serious."

"Of course I am. C'mon, let's get some pictures, and then we can check out the different games, okay?"

His expression clearly said it was not okay, but she continued to tug him along after her.

She could tell the exact moment when he forgot to be annoyed and aggrieved by the idea of being in an arcade. They were playing Fantasy Quest, and he growled when his character died pathetically for the third time in under that many minutes. And suddenly he was zeroing in all that determination and focus Ann had seem him employ many times on the tennis courts--that stance that meant he would not be easy to defeat, and to underestimate him would be a mistake--and she giggled a little when he let out a hissed yes after finishing the first level.

This had been a good idea, she thought, smiling and turning back to her own game.

An hour later, when they had both wasted more than a week's allowance and were idly strolling back towards Ann's house, she snacked his cell phone from his pocket and stuck one of the little pink photo heart stickers onto the shiny silver case.

"There," she pronounced. "So you'll always have a reminder," she told him, handing the phone back to him.

He stared at the utterly feminine pink heart picture. He looked horrible--he never looked right in pictures and hated them on principle--but Ann looked.... like Ann.

And he decided he would leave the stupid sticker there. After all, it really wasn't worth the time and effort to try and get the silly thing off.

"Fudomine's playing Hyotei this weekend."

He looked over at her; somewhat surprised she'd brought the impending match up.

"I know." It was his job to know who was playing who--especially when it involved his own team, after all. "Will you be at the matches this weekend?"

"Of course," she replied.

"Will you be upset with me when we win?" he wondered.

Ann shot him a look. "Will you be upset with me when you lose?" she asked.

Hiyoshi frowned. "Hyotei does not lose."

"Try telling that to Seigaku and see if they believe you," she retorted.

Hiyoshi's insistent. "We will not lose."

"Fudomine is the stronger team this year."

"They are nothing without Tachibana Kippei."

An shook her head. "Akira-kun and Shinji-kun lead Fudomine's tennis team this year. They are stronger this year *because* they stand on their own, without my brother's support."

"They will fall before Hyotei's skill."

"You'll eat those words."

"We'll just see about that."

"Yes, we will, won't we?"

~~~****~~~