"Rivals" (Prince of Tennis, Aoi/Sakuno, #1)
Title: Rivals
Author whitelilies22
Pairing:Aoi/Sakuno
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Theme: #1 - Look over there
Disclaimer: I don’t own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. This fanwork is purely fictional.
***
“Who are you looking for, Kentarou?”
Saeki Kojirou, vice-captain of Rokkau Chuu, asked his young captain. The said boy looked over his shoulder, with his hand still covering his eyes, and grinned.
“Sakuno-chan!”
Saeki raised an eyebrow, “That girl you introduced to us last week?” Kentarou nodded and turned back around towards the bleachers, searching for his first year friend.
“I see. She’s coming to watch us practice?” Saeki questioned again, suppressing a smirk while doing so. It was nice that the younger boy was finally getting the female attention that he desired. His thoughts were interrupted by the kids on the playground behind them but Saeki didn’t pay them any heed.
“But she’s not here yet…she said that she’d be here at 11. I want her to see me play!” The last part was emitted loud enough for Kurobane Harukaze and Itsuki Marehiko to wonder over from their game.
“Why? Why is Kentarou looking up and down the bleachers that way? Is he looking for something?”
As usual, Itsuki’s questions made their way into their conversation. Saeki looked over to his doubles partner and grinned. “Kentarou is waiting for his friend to come.”
The other 3rd year blinked, “Friend? Does he go to the same school? Is he in the tennis club?”
“Ah- Yes, no, yes?” Saeki looked over to the youngest boy of the lot with a questioning look. Without looking back, Aoi nodded his head.
“So what’s your friend’s name?” Kurobane asked, searching for whomever it was his captain was looking for.
“Sakuno.” His tone was flat; it seemed as though he was getting annoyed at the fact that the girl wasn’t here. Bane, on the other hand, was just a little confused.
“Sakuno? Isn’t that a girl’s name?”
“Yup.”
“…I see.” The older tennis player smirked and looked over to Saeki, who also had a smirk in place.
“Aren’t you supposed to be practicing?” Aoi questioned a little harshly, taking Bane off guard.
“Hey, hey, calm down. We’re waiting for everyone else to come but I guess they’re off at the ice cream parlour again.”
Both Saeki and Bane suppressed the urge to laugh when their captain started stomping around like a child.
“Where is she?!”
***
“Okay, okay! Now you’re it!”
A boy with black hair pointed at a pigtailed girl. He had a bandage across his nose which made him look super adorable. Many other children from ranging ages stood at his side with joyful eyes.
Sakuno giggled and nodded, saluting the children in front of her. “Hai! I’ll do my best to tag you!”
The elementary school kids- the boys to be precise- stuck their tongue out at her before running towards the playground that Oji had made for them. There were so many kids and such a vast area of equipment that Sakuno lost hope for tagging the kids.
But she shook her head and reminded herself that they were just playing a simple game of close-your-eyes-and-try-to-catch-someone-on-the-playground.
“Hey, neechan! Hurry up and close your eyes will you? You’re not supposed to be looking!”
The kid with the bandage - was it Aki? - yelled down from the wooden jungle gym. Reflexively, the girl apologized before closing her eyes and spinning around three times at her spot on the gravel ground.
After accomplishing the task, Sakuno felt a little dizzy. Then the reason as to why she was here in the first place popped into her mind. Kentarou-kun had asked to her to come watch him practice.
And since they had become such good friends, she couldn’t refuse him. Plus, seeing other regulars practice would be fun right?
“Hurry up!” The boy called out once again.
“Ah! Coming!”
She felt her way forward instead of just rushing towards the voice. That was the number one way to hurt oneself…and she would know best.
***
Screams of “Neechan!” could be heard from behind the tennis regulars. The four jerked their head towards the playground before rushing towards it.
“Neechan fell!”
“Ahhh!”
“She’s dead!”
“Be quiet Ici! Don’t say things like that!”
As the four males neared the circle of children who stood by the slide, one of them looked up at the sound of sneakers on gravel. She started to jump up and down while pointing at their direction, catching the attention of the others around her.
“Ah…mou…”
***
Sakuno rubbed her head as she propped herself up on the gravel. She closed her eyes and ignored the pebbles which were digging into her palm - her head needed the attention at the moment.
“AHH! SAKUNO-CHAN!”
But not that much attention. “Kentarou-kun?” She opened her eyes then pondered as to why she had said his name in a questioning tone. Who else did she know in Chiba that had such a loud voice?
“Sakuno-chan! Where are you hurt?!”
The said girl cringed while looking at the hand that had been placed on her uncovered shoulder. Her cinnamon eyes looked up at the owner and thanked the boy for worrying for her.
“But I’m alright. I just fell off the bars, how silly of me!”
She chuckled but saw that she wasn’t about to convince anyone - except for the children - that she wasn’t hurt. Someone was tugging at her tank strap and Sakuno looked up at the individual.
A little girl looked confused, “Are you going to play with us now?”
The pigtailed girl widened her eyes, stood up and nodded vigorously, “Okay! Let’s g - ah!”
She yelped and was pulled backwards by the back of her shirt. “Sakuno-chan’s going to watch me practice. Sorry minna!”
She felt Kentarou’s hand slid down to grasp hers. Red flame coloured pale cheeks. “A-ano-“
“No way Ken-chan!”
The boy, definitely named Aki, stepped up and took Sakuno’s other hand, pulling her towards him. “Neechan’s gonna play with us! The last time we saw her was a long time ago!”
“No, she’s going to watch me practice!”
“She’s gonna play with us!”
“Watch me practice!”
“Play with us!”
“Watch me practice!”
As the two boys argued, they each kept pulling one of Sakuno’s arms. The poor girl wasn’t able to word her pain since the two boys were fighting so loudly.
She heard deep chuckles from behind her but the girl didn’t bother to look around. After another painful heave, Sakuno was going to yell when she was pulled into the taller boy’s chest.
“Ha! I win! She’s going to watch me practice! Right Sakuno-chan?” Aoi Kentarou looked at her with a massive grin in place. She was only able to let out a weak groan before rubbing her arms.
“Ken-chan! Neechan can’t go with you! It’s not like she’s your girlfriend!” Aki jumped up and down with a scowl set on his bandaged face. Aoi gave him a haughty look.
“Oh yeah?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah!” Sakuno looked up at Aoi with a confused look which he noticed. The first year looked down at her with a somewhat transformed look. He had one a shy smile and bent down to her right ear.
“I’m sorry if this embarrasses you, Sakuno-chan…”
Still confused, Sakuno turned her head to her right and widened her eyes when her lips met his.
Once again the girl could feel her cheeks heat up. But this shouldn’t be a surprise for her anymore considering her friend had a habit of doing this. The first time was in the kitchen and the second time in the cemetery.
So, for the first time in three tries, Sakuno closed her eyes and kissed him back.
The initial thought that came to mind when Aoi Kentarou pulled away was that the moment was too short. They looked at each other for a while before hearing the disgusted sounds of the elementary kids around her.
“See? She’s my girlfriend! And she’s coming to watch me practice. Ja!”
With those words, the girl was pulled away by a talkative boy, followed by 4 other older males. Of all who were happily chuckling away. Behind them, Aki called out to Aoi,
"Ken-chan! We're going to be rivals now!" He stuck out his tongue and Aoi merely waved back before turning his attention to the girl beside him.
“Neh neh, Sakuno-chan, since I’ve kissed you so many times, why don’t we become ‘more’ than friends?”
The fact that her companion quoted the word ‘more’ had made her giggle. Afterwards, she caught what he meant and looked down at her shoes. Grinning shyly, the girl nodded.
After all, it was only a matter of time before he would’ve actually asked her.
Author whitelilies22
Pairing:Aoi/Sakuno
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Theme: #1 - Look over there
Disclaimer: I don’t own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. This fanwork is purely fictional.
***
“Who are you looking for, Kentarou?”
Saeki Kojirou, vice-captain of Rokkau Chuu, asked his young captain. The said boy looked over his shoulder, with his hand still covering his eyes, and grinned.
“Sakuno-chan!”
Saeki raised an eyebrow, “That girl you introduced to us last week?” Kentarou nodded and turned back around towards the bleachers, searching for his first year friend.
“I see. She’s coming to watch us practice?” Saeki questioned again, suppressing a smirk while doing so. It was nice that the younger boy was finally getting the female attention that he desired. His thoughts were interrupted by the kids on the playground behind them but Saeki didn’t pay them any heed.
“But she’s not here yet…she said that she’d be here at 11. I want her to see me play!” The last part was emitted loud enough for Kurobane Harukaze and Itsuki Marehiko to wonder over from their game.
“Why? Why is Kentarou looking up and down the bleachers that way? Is he looking for something?”
As usual, Itsuki’s questions made their way into their conversation. Saeki looked over to his doubles partner and grinned. “Kentarou is waiting for his friend to come.”
The other 3rd year blinked, “Friend? Does he go to the same school? Is he in the tennis club?”
“Ah- Yes, no, yes?” Saeki looked over to the youngest boy of the lot with a questioning look. Without looking back, Aoi nodded his head.
“So what’s your friend’s name?” Kurobane asked, searching for whomever it was his captain was looking for.
“Sakuno.” His tone was flat; it seemed as though he was getting annoyed at the fact that the girl wasn’t here. Bane, on the other hand, was just a little confused.
“Sakuno? Isn’t that a girl’s name?”
“Yup.”
“…I see.” The older tennis player smirked and looked over to Saeki, who also had a smirk in place.
“Aren’t you supposed to be practicing?” Aoi questioned a little harshly, taking Bane off guard.
“Hey, hey, calm down. We’re waiting for everyone else to come but I guess they’re off at the ice cream parlour again.”
Both Saeki and Bane suppressed the urge to laugh when their captain started stomping around like a child.
“Where is she?!”
***
“Okay, okay! Now you’re it!”
A boy with black hair pointed at a pigtailed girl. He had a bandage across his nose which made him look super adorable. Many other children from ranging ages stood at his side with joyful eyes.
Sakuno giggled and nodded, saluting the children in front of her. “Hai! I’ll do my best to tag you!”
The elementary school kids- the boys to be precise- stuck their tongue out at her before running towards the playground that Oji had made for them. There were so many kids and such a vast area of equipment that Sakuno lost hope for tagging the kids.
But she shook her head and reminded herself that they were just playing a simple game of close-your-eyes-and-try-to-catch-someone-on-the-playground.
“Hey, neechan! Hurry up and close your eyes will you? You’re not supposed to be looking!”
The kid with the bandage - was it Aki? - yelled down from the wooden jungle gym. Reflexively, the girl apologized before closing her eyes and spinning around three times at her spot on the gravel ground.
After accomplishing the task, Sakuno felt a little dizzy. Then the reason as to why she was here in the first place popped into her mind. Kentarou-kun had asked to her to come watch him practice.
And since they had become such good friends, she couldn’t refuse him. Plus, seeing other regulars practice would be fun right?
“Hurry up!” The boy called out once again.
“Ah! Coming!”
She felt her way forward instead of just rushing towards the voice. That was the number one way to hurt oneself…and she would know best.
***
Screams of “Neechan!” could be heard from behind the tennis regulars. The four jerked their head towards the playground before rushing towards it.
“Neechan fell!”
“Ahhh!”
“She’s dead!”
“Be quiet Ici! Don’t say things like that!”
As the four males neared the circle of children who stood by the slide, one of them looked up at the sound of sneakers on gravel. She started to jump up and down while pointing at their direction, catching the attention of the others around her.
“Ah…mou…”
***
Sakuno rubbed her head as she propped herself up on the gravel. She closed her eyes and ignored the pebbles which were digging into her palm - her head needed the attention at the moment.
“AHH! SAKUNO-CHAN!”
But not that much attention. “Kentarou-kun?” She opened her eyes then pondered as to why she had said his name in a questioning tone. Who else did she know in Chiba that had such a loud voice?
“Sakuno-chan! Where are you hurt?!”
The said girl cringed while looking at the hand that had been placed on her uncovered shoulder. Her cinnamon eyes looked up at the owner and thanked the boy for worrying for her.
“But I’m alright. I just fell off the bars, how silly of me!”
She chuckled but saw that she wasn’t about to convince anyone - except for the children - that she wasn’t hurt. Someone was tugging at her tank strap and Sakuno looked up at the individual.
A little girl looked confused, “Are you going to play with us now?”
The pigtailed girl widened her eyes, stood up and nodded vigorously, “Okay! Let’s g - ah!”
She yelped and was pulled backwards by the back of her shirt. “Sakuno-chan’s going to watch me practice. Sorry minna!”
She felt Kentarou’s hand slid down to grasp hers. Red flame coloured pale cheeks. “A-ano-“
“No way Ken-chan!”
The boy, definitely named Aki, stepped up and took Sakuno’s other hand, pulling her towards him. “Neechan’s gonna play with us! The last time we saw her was a long time ago!”
“No, she’s going to watch me practice!”
“She’s gonna play with us!”
“Watch me practice!”
“Play with us!”
“Watch me practice!”
As the two boys argued, they each kept pulling one of Sakuno’s arms. The poor girl wasn’t able to word her pain since the two boys were fighting so loudly.
She heard deep chuckles from behind her but the girl didn’t bother to look around. After another painful heave, Sakuno was going to yell when she was pulled into the taller boy’s chest.
“Ha! I win! She’s going to watch me practice! Right Sakuno-chan?” Aoi Kentarou looked at her with a massive grin in place. She was only able to let out a weak groan before rubbing her arms.
“Ken-chan! Neechan can’t go with you! It’s not like she’s your girlfriend!” Aki jumped up and down with a scowl set on his bandaged face. Aoi gave him a haughty look.
“Oh yeah?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah!” Sakuno looked up at Aoi with a confused look which he noticed. The first year looked down at her with a somewhat transformed look. He had one a shy smile and bent down to her right ear.
“I’m sorry if this embarrasses you, Sakuno-chan…”
Still confused, Sakuno turned her head to her right and widened her eyes when her lips met his.
Once again the girl could feel her cheeks heat up. But this shouldn’t be a surprise for her anymore considering her friend had a habit of doing this. The first time was in the kitchen and the second time in the cemetery.
So, for the first time in three tries, Sakuno closed her eyes and kissed him back.
The initial thought that came to mind when Aoi Kentarou pulled away was that the moment was too short. They looked at each other for a while before hearing the disgusted sounds of the elementary kids around her.
“See? She’s my girlfriend! And she’s coming to watch me practice. Ja!”
With those words, the girl was pulled away by a talkative boy, followed by 4 other older males. Of all who were happily chuckling away. Behind them, Aki called out to Aoi,
"Ken-chan! We're going to be rivals now!" He stuck out his tongue and Aoi merely waved back before turning his attention to the girl beside him.
“Neh neh, Sakuno-chan, since I’ve kissed you so many times, why don’t we become ‘more’ than friends?”
The fact that her companion quoted the word ‘more’ had made her giggle. Afterwards, she caught what he meant and looked down at her shoes. Grinning shyly, the girl nodded.
After all, it was only a matter of time before he would’ve actually asked her.