Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ How it Started and Why It Will Last ❯ How it Started and Why It Will Last ( One-Shot )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

How it started and why it'll last

Summary: A look at how the Platinum pair came to be

Note: I'm actually thinking of making a Rikkai series as well…just like my Shishido Ryou series.. tell me what you guys and girls think.

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It was a bright sunny day when Masaharu Niou first saw Yagyuu Hiroshi. Yes, you heard me right. Saw Yagyuu Hiroshi; not meet.

Their meeting would take a few more months later.

But anyway... Niou had first seen Yagyuu during their sixth grade graduation. He had wondered who the other boy was and why he had never noticed him but merely shrugged it off. He thought that Yagyuu was just someone invisible in their batch…. A dead kid, as others would say.

He took no notice of him after that and thought that it would be the last time he'll see the boy anyway.

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During their first year orientation in junior high, it was then that Niou met Yagyuu. They were assigned as buddies during the tour of the junior high campus.

It was then that Niou decided that Yagyuu's a person he likes being with.

During that same week, Yagyuu and Niou talked about what clubs they would be joining. Niou enthusiastically answered that he would be joining the tennis club along with some of his friends in the same year. He went on for about an hour on how great tennis was and how he had come to like it.

When he asked Yagyuu what club he would be joining his enthusiasm was shot to hell.

Yagyuu was going to join the golf club.

Niou thought that he didn't like Yagyuu anymore.

So…

They lost contact and forgot about one another after that.

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It was during their mid terms that Niou remembered Yagyuu again.

He, Yukimura, Sanada, Marui, Jackal and Yanagi, who had become regulars, had been discussing about the ideal team that they would form the next year and Yukimura mentioned something about incorporating other sports to tennis.

Niou then told them about Yagyuu.

It was during the same day that Niou went to the school golf course, which he never thought exited in the first place.

It was then he saw Yagyuu, in full concentration as he looked at the golf ball then at the field simultaneously.

When he swung the club, Niou decided that he wanted to meet Yagyuu again.

So he did.

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“You are Yagyuu Hiroshi, correct?”

That was the first thing that Niou had told him when they had the chance to talk. Yagyuu merely nodded.

Niou grinned when he noticed that the other boy had recognized him as well.

Yagyuu was reluctant to take the offer of going into the tennis club with him at first but decided to give it a chance when Niou had told him about it; his definition, from the first time that they had talked about the sport, completely changing.

“The tennis court is very small compared to the large green golf course, but when you're in a match it feels incredibly big. It doesn't matter how much you run; you can't catch up to the ball.”

The following week, Yagyuu became a regular as well, completing the Rikkai Dai's ideal team.

It was then that Niou and Yagyuu decided that they could become friends.

By the end of that school year, they had been inseparable.

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They became doubles partners at the start of the second year, and it was then the others had noticed something peculiar about them.

Niou would spend most of his time in with Niou and vice versa…until one day Niou started to avoid Yagyuu whenever possible.

Yukimura was the one who had confronted Niou.

Niou was very reluctant to talk to Yukimura and it took a chair, some rope, five bottles of aspirin and a very irritated Sanada to finally get him to tell them what was wrong.

He had told them that he was afraid.

They had asked what he was afraid of.

And he said he was afraid that he might loose Yagyuu soon.

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Yagyuu had been given the opportunity to leave the country and study in America because of a scholarship grant.

Niou, even if he was quite proud of his friend, was afraid that this was the reason why the other boy would leave and forget him once again.

He didn't know why, he didn't even dwell on the why. All that mattered was he didn't want Yagyuu to leave because he didn't want to be forgotten again.

He had finally admitted to himself that Yagyuu was a friend that he couldn't let go of.

Yagyuu was the only one who took the time to know him and stayed….

Yagyuu never knew of this…

But somehow…

He turned the scholarship down and stayed.

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It was during that same year that Yagyuu begun to doubt their so-called friendship.

The doubt started when an additional member was added to Rikkai Dai's ideal team.

Kirihara Akaya.

Niou had started to play more pranks on the boy

Yagyuu didn't know why, but he felt betrayed.

The others had noticed this, again.

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Yanagi was the one who had confronted him and it took less to make Yagyuu talk than it did with Niou.

All it took was a room where no one could just barge in, as well as Yukimura and Sanada who had managed to corner Yagyuu in that same room.

It was also the first time that Yagyuu broke down in front of anyone.

He had confided in them…

That he was afraid…

They had asked why and he answered…

He was afraid that he was loosing Niou.

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All that Niou ever did for those few weeks of instability, for Yagyuu, was stalk Akaya endlessly and prank the poor boy at anytime he saw that he can.

Unconsciously, Niou was starting to move away from Yagyuu.

Yagyuu didn't know why, he refused to look into it. All that mattered was he didn't want Niou to leave. He didn't want to be left in the dark once more and be forgotten.

He had finally admitted to himself that Niou was a friend that he couldn't let go of.

Niou was the only one who took the time to know him and stayed….

Niou never knew of this…

But somehow…

He stopped playing pranks on Kirihara and returned beside Yagyuu.

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During their third year, they had both moved into the dorms.

It was a pretty late decision on their part but they didn't regret it.

They were room mates.

And they had gotten used to the presence of the other to the point that during Yagyuu's or Niou's sudden trip home would make the other feel as if something was amiss.

It was also during their third year that they discovered that they knew each other well…

Well enough to switch places.

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Their switching fooled everyone; their teachers, their friends and even their parents.

It was a sign that they knew each other perfectly and trusted each other to the highest level.

With this knowledge they became less lonely when the other wasn't around

And they became best friends.

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It was during their first year of high school when Yagyuu had been given his own place by his parents, a small house not far from the Rikkai University.

It was also that same year when Niou decided to leave their house for good.

They decided that it would be only practical to live under the same roof, after all these events.

The team, on the other hand, thought that it might be the cause of a rift in their perfect friendship.

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During their second year Niou started to drown himself in alcohol, smoke pack after pack of cigarettes and take drugs, and Yagyuu grew worried at this act.

But his worried feeling was quickly replaced by annoyance.

“I had quite enough of this, Masaharu Niou” he said one winter night when Niou came home drunk.

That same night, Niou left the house with his things.

He disappeared for two days when Yagyuu decided to look for him.

He asked the team to help him as well.

Yagyuu was the one who had found him, asleep and shivering on a park bench.

“Why are you here?” Niou had asked.

Yagyuu didn't know what to answer since he, himself, didn't know why he went after the trickster.

“If you're here to shove my pitiful existence to my face than I'd rather have you leave me alone to die.”

It hurt Yagyuu to hear this from Niou. Again, he didn't know why.

“Come back home…” he whispered instead as he outstretched a hand, intending the other to take it but instead. Niou chuckled. “Why? So you can throw me out again?”

Yagyuu shook his head. “I just didn't like what you were doing, Masaharu…it was getting out of hand.”

“Why do you care?” Niou asked bitterly. “Why do you even bother yourself with someone as useless and spiteful as me?”

“That is because you were never a bother in the first place, Masaharu” Yagyuu said softly.

Niou felt his resolve to be left alone crumble and flare up into ashes.

“Come back home…” Yagyuu said again, and this time Niou took his hand.

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The next day, both men had decided to think about why they had acted that way in the first place.

Niou admitted to himself that it was because he was avoiding something. He was avoiding something so powerful that it destroyed him over time.

Yagyuu accepted that it was the fact that he had been trying to become distant with the other. He thought that if he did that he would be able to ignore the most beautiful thing that had ever happened to him in his entire life.

They finally admitted to themselves that they were in love.

Niou with Yagyuu and Yagyuu with Niou.

And now they decided to do something about it before it gets away with nearly breaking them apart once more.

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Niou quitted drinking and smoking. He had even gone under a rehabilitation program to get the drugs out of his system.

Yagyuu slowly closed the distance that had created a invisible barrier between them. He had become more vocal when Niou was around and made it a point that they were able to talk by the end of the day.

Niou began leaving small trinkets in Yagyuu's school locker when no one was looking. Every know and then the trinket would be accompanied by a letter.

It was Akaya, who had noticed Yagyuu's attitude towards this `secret admirer', but it was Yanagi and Yukimura who had figured out who the `secret admirer' was in the first place, but they didn't tell anyone.

Yagyuu became more determined to make his and Niou's doubles play more powerful, and soon they didn't need any signals to know each others moves.

It was Jackal, who had first acknowledged this, but it was Sanada and Marui who saw the real reason behind it first, but they kept their silence.

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Soon, Yagyuu discovered who was leaving the letters and trinkets in his locker.

It was the same day that Niou discovered the reason why Yagyuu went out of his way to improve their already perfect doubles play.

Niou had asked Yukimura to deliver the final note to Yagyuu and the captain complied.

They were to meet at the school rooftop after classes.

Yukimura had allowed them to skip afternoon training for the sake that they resolve this running around once and for all.

The team was also tired of seeing them circling each other and being cautious about what they say to one another.

At exactly four thirty pm they met at the rooftop.

Yagyuu was ready to gently let down whoever the admirer was during the same time that Niou was ready to lock the door behind the gentleman.

They stared at each other for a few moments before they ended up laughing at one another, seeing how the other looked so uncharacteristically tense.

Niou, more of an undignified all out laugh while Yagyuu, a more conservative chuckle.

When they stopped and wiped the tears off their eyes they looked at each other again.

This time Yagyuu smiled as Niou stepped forward.

Niou took Yagyuu's hand and smiled as well.

“I love you, Hiroshi.” Niou said as he embraced his friend.

“I know….” Yagyuu answered.

“Come on, I know you love me too.” Niou teased, earning himself a light punch on the shoulder.

Yagyuu grinned at him. “If you knew that already what took you so long?” he asked “What took us so long?” Yagyuu asked more softly.

Niou hugged him again. “We we're idiots….”

“Yes we were…” Yagyuu agreed.

Niou put some distance between them and kissed Yagyuu.

They then heard cheers and they broke apart.

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The tennis club was on the second floor of the gym building, a very good spot to see the scene just above the school building.

Akaya was whistling at them while Marui was shouting “Finally!!!”

Jackal was laughing at them. “Took you long enough!!” he said

Yanagi and Sanada were beaming at them while Yukimura clapped.

After that, more than half of the school knew that Yagyuu was Niou's and Niou was Yagyuu's.

The others, however, took one more school year to figure it out.

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It was during the school dance of their senior year that people knew about the two.

The teachers didn't complain or say anything when they saw Niou and Yagyuu holding hands or dancing. On the contrary, they were relieved that the two finally had it out in the open. They too, were tired of watching the two circling one another.

Unfortunately, some people just didn't get the idea.

As Niou was dancing with Yagyuu some girls and even guys would ask to cut in and dance with Yagyuu.

Yagyuu, being the gentleman that he is, accepted their offers leaving Niou to go back to the table he shared with the rest of the regulars, who apparently had been dating one another for the past few years, as Niou discovered that same night.

Needless to say, Niou was getting fed up by this.

Yagyuu noticed this and refused a girl, who had asked to dance with him for the next song, politely.

Before the DJ got a chance to play the next song, Yagyuu went up on stage and took a microphone.

“To my fellow students.” He had started. “I am really flattered that most of you would like to dance with me tonight and I would want to fulfill these request” he said earning a few hopeful sounds form the crowd.

Niou glared at his plate.

“However…” Yagyuu continued with a smile to his furious boyfriend.

“I would also wish that everyone would respect my decision…” Niou looked up at Yagyuu in disbelief. “That I spend the rest of the night with the one I love, Niou Masaharu.” With that he placed the microphone back on its stand, bowed to the crowd and went down the stage.

The venue went silent as the spotlight followed Yagyuu until he reached the table where Niou was. “Masaharu…” he said. “Shall we dance?” he asked.

Slow music started to play as the crowd cheered for Niou to take Yagyuu's now outstretched hand.

Niou grinned. “I'd love too Hiroshi.” He said as he took the gentleman's hand.

That night, the whole school knew that Niou was Yagyuu's and Yagyuu was Niou's

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As expected, no one asked to dance with neither Niou nor Yagyuu for the rest of the night, and the two were immensely grateful for that.

The other regulars had teased them about it when they had settled down to eat but they both laughed it off.

The rest of the night was spent with one another and with sheer joy.

That night, they had also made love for the first time.

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Upon graduation and into Rikkai University their group of friends grew larger as some people from other schools enrolled in Rikkai since their school wasn't a university.

The most notable of those additions were:

Fuji Syuusuke and Kunimitsu Tezuka of Seigaku,

Tachibana Kippei of Fudomine and

Saeki Koujiro of Rokkaku.

They had expected some Hyoutei players but soon discovered that they all took scholarships abroad including Shishido Ryou who accepted the offer with the promise from his father, Sakaki Tarou, that Ootori Choutaro would follow a year later.

These additions made Rikkai Dai invincible.

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During their final year of study, Niou made a decision that would change his and Yagyuu's life forever.

For this to happen, however, he would need the help of some people in a few fields.

He had asked Fuji Syuusuke, a major in photo journalism and Saeki Koujiro, tourism major, to help him find a good location and take some pictures of it that would be good for a romantic atmosphere.

He had asked Jackal, major in foreign studies and Marui, a major in interior design, for getting some information about Yagyuu's interest and how to incorporate them with the plan.

He had asked Sanada and Tezuka, both majors in political science to persuade Yagyuu that nothing was going on and help Niou get in touch with his and Yagyuu's parents, whose approval played a major role in the plan, while Yanagi, the one who was taking up accounting, to hold on to the budget.

Yukimura and Tachibana, majors in Business management, had been given the task to help Niou finish everything else.

Then there was Akaya, whose course of International studies had absolutely nothing to do with what he had been assigned to do, was asked to keep Yagyuu company and make sure he doesn't find out what was going on.

The hardest task was for Niou, who had to keep everything from the chemistry major a secret.

Yagyuu had asked Niou's block mates in their course of Computer Engineering, if they had an idea what was going on but they answered no.

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The night of their graduation Yagyuu went home, after saying his goodbyes and thanks to his and Niou's parents, who were strangely happier than they should be, and discovered that Niou wasn't there. He sighed as he went up to the bedroom to change into some house clothes.

A lot has been going on his mind for some time and one of those things was the fact that the following year, instead of finding work, he would pursue a degree in medicine.

Upon reaching his bedroom he saw an innocent white envelope on his bed. Undoing his tie he opened it.

Inside lay beautiful pictures of a cottage and behind the picture were instructions.

“Masaharu…” he said with a smile.

Following the instructions to take a bath and to change into the clothes, a formal tux, prepared for him, Yagyuu was beginning to get curious of what the preparations were for since they already had their graduation dinner with their family the night before, which was very suspicious in a way..

When he was to follow to the final instruction to go outside and get into the vehicle waiting for him, his eyes grew wide.

In front of their house was a sleek black limousine. The driver held out a door for him as he got inside.

When they arrived at the venue, the cottage that Yagyuu had seen in the picture in the envelope, he couldn't help but smile.

It was the perfect place for a romantic get away.

`But why would Masaharu want to go here? He isn't the romantic type….' He thought.

With a shrug he went inside causing his smile to widen a bit more.

Niou was standing in the middle of the room covered in rose petals. Behind him was a table for two, with champagne beside it.

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After dinner Yagyuu asked why Niou did all this.

Niou grinned at him and stood up.

Yagyuu looked at him with curious eyes, his expression turned from that into shock as Niou kneeled down in front of him and pulled out a small blue box from his pocket.

“Masaharu….”he said.

Niou smiled as he opened the box. “I think it's time, don't you think? After four years of being together and having gone through hell and back with and because of one another…I finally made a decision that you are the one I want to spend the rest of my damned life with. What say you, Hiroshi?”

It wasn't the most romantic way of proposing, and it wasn't even the proper way to propose in Yagyuu's opinion, but it made his heart melt all the same and that made the difference.

“The let's go through all of hell and back together again if needed be for the rest of our lives…” he answered.

Niou smirked at the answer and placed the ring on Yagyuu's left ring finger and kissed the gentleman.

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In a span of eight years they had found each other, left each other, lost each other and found each other once more.

They went through their personal hell and survived.

They hurt and forgave, lost and loved, found and treasured.

That is how it all started for them

And that is why it will last.

~Owari~

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Bloody Samurai: That would have to be the best fic that I have written…

Man…I feel proud of myself!

Please review and tell me what you think, even if it's just one word!!

Platinum Pair needs more love!!

Happy new year Everyone!!!