Prince of Tennis: Ibu Shinji, 072: Fixed
Title: Like A Pair Of Angel’s Wings
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Ibu Shinji, Ibu Rumiko, Ibu Reiko
Prompt: 072: Fixed
Word Count: 963
Rating: PG
Summary: Shinji sees his sisters again for the first time since he was hurt.
Author's Notes: This takes place about two months after the “Broken” arc ends.
Main table can be found here and here.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Shinji was nervous.
Well, maybe “nervous” was too weak a word; “terrified” was more like it. Shinji knew he shouldn’t be so scared; he was just seeing his sisters. And teenage girls, while confusing and strange, really weren’t the stuff that terror was made of.
Except for the fact that their father had disowned Shinji and nearly beaten him to death. Except for the fact that his boyfriend’s friend had to subtly threaten his father to let this meeting happen. Except for the fact that Shinji knew his father had just gotten out of the hospital himself, and Shinji had a good idea of how that had happened-if we were to go by the grins on Kamio, Tachibana, and Ishida’s faces-even if he didn’t know the details.
Other than those minor things, it was just an older brother in college getting together with his sisters. Nothing to be afraid of. But Shinji was still afraid all the same.
Oishi had offered to go with Shinji, to be there as a support for Shinji leaned on, but he had refused. “I’ll need you after,” he had said to Oishi. “Right now, the girls have enough to deal with. They don’t have to worry about meeting their brother’s boyfriend in there, too.”
What Shinji didn’t say was that he didn’t want Oishi to see him cry if his sisters rejected him, too.
So Oishi waited at Tachibana’s apartment with his other friends, and Shinji sat on a swing in the part he had brought his sisters to countless times…and waited.
He saw Reiko first. Though all three of the Ibu siblings had inherited their mother’s good looks and build, Reiko had also inherited her father’s height, making her tall and willowy where as Shinji and Rumiko appeared more fragile and delicate. It also mean she was a good six centimeters taller than either of her older siblings, something that she rubbed in often. It also meant that she had a natural grace that stood her in good stead as a love of dance had developed.
Rumiko appeared behind Reiko, her nose, for once, not in a book. Of the three siblings, she was the quietest. She didn’t have her sister’s infallible social-ness, or her brother’s tendency to mutter and mumble her way through life. Instead, she was a girl of few words, but sharp eyes, and her words always carried the weight of her observations. Shinji sometimes if she was so quiet because she was the middle child, but she never seemed resentful, just…quiet.
He stood as the two girls stopped in front of him. “Rumi, Rei….”
Rumiko looked at him and frowned. “Shin-nii…what happened to your face?”
Shinji reached up and touched a fading bruise. “I…ummm….” Now that the moment arrived, he had no idea how to start. How does one tell their little sisters that their father had beat and banished their older brother?
“Is this why Papa’s been so upset?” Rumiko looked closely at her brother. “He’s been mad…and then Aki-nii, Tetsu-nii, and Kippei-nii came over….”
“They didn’t do anything in front of you, did they?” Shinji was suddenly furious.
Rumiko shook her head. “Papa went out with them, then called from the hospital, saying they had all been mugged. Shin-nii, what happened? Why can’t we talk about you anymore? Why is all your stuff gone?”
Shinji sighed and sank back onto the swing, staring at the ground. “Rumi…Rei…I had a talk with Papa a couple months ago. I…told him some things and…we decided that it would be best if I didn’t come home again.”
“But why?” Reiko looked at Shinji, looking like she was already on the verge of tears. “What happened that you can’t come home?”
Shinji looked carefully at his sisters. Fifteen and thirteen…they were old enough to know, Shinji decided. “I’m gay,” he said quietly. “I like guys, and I have a boyfriend. I came home to tell Mama and Papa…they weren’t happy with it.” One of Shinji’s arms unconsciously folded over his ribs. “I’m an adult now, so we decided it would be best if I just moved out completely.”
“He hit you, didn’t he?”
Shinji winced as Rumiko cut right to the heart of the matter. “He…did,” Shinji said slowly. “A couple times.”
Reiko tried to blink back tears. “How could he?”
“He got angry.” Shinji hated trying to excuse his father, but he also felt that the girls weren’t ready for all the details, not yet. “Mama and Papa…they don’t like gay people. It’s their choice, but I can’t live with it. So I’m not talking to them anymore. It doesn’t make him bad, just different. And it doesn’t change how much I love the two of you.”
Rumiko frowned. “Are we never going to see each other again? Is this goodbye?”
“Oh, no!” Shinji shook his head, trying not to cry himself. “We can still see and talk to each other. I just won’t ever go back there again.” He couldn’t call it “home” any longer. “If you…still want me in your lives, that is.” He wasn’t going to force them to accept him, even if it would break his heart.
Rumiko rolled her eyes. “Why wouldn’t we? You’re still Shinji-nii.”
“Really.” Reiko managed a laugh. “They haven’t realized that my jazz instructor is flaming? Shin-nii, it’s fine.”
Shinji smiled, sighing and sagging in relief. “I’m so glad….”
Rumiko sat on the swing next Shinji. “Do you have a boyfriend? Can we meet him? Can we threaten him about what we’ll do if he ever hurts you?”
Shinji laughed sincerely for the first time in two months. With his sisters’ acceptance, he was starting to feel a bit fixed from the shattered state he’d been in for too long.
--The End--
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Ibu Shinji, Ibu Rumiko, Ibu Reiko
Prompt: 072: Fixed
Word Count: 963
Rating: PG
Summary: Shinji sees his sisters again for the first time since he was hurt.
Author's Notes: This takes place about two months after the “Broken” arc ends.
Main table can be found here and here.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Shinji was nervous.
Well, maybe “nervous” was too weak a word; “terrified” was more like it. Shinji knew he shouldn’t be so scared; he was just seeing his sisters. And teenage girls, while confusing and strange, really weren’t the stuff that terror was made of.
Except for the fact that their father had disowned Shinji and nearly beaten him to death. Except for the fact that his boyfriend’s friend had to subtly threaten his father to let this meeting happen. Except for the fact that Shinji knew his father had just gotten out of the hospital himself, and Shinji had a good idea of how that had happened-if we were to go by the grins on Kamio, Tachibana, and Ishida’s faces-even if he didn’t know the details.
Other than those minor things, it was just an older brother in college getting together with his sisters. Nothing to be afraid of. But Shinji was still afraid all the same.
Oishi had offered to go with Shinji, to be there as a support for Shinji leaned on, but he had refused. “I’ll need you after,” he had said to Oishi. “Right now, the girls have enough to deal with. They don’t have to worry about meeting their brother’s boyfriend in there, too.”
What Shinji didn’t say was that he didn’t want Oishi to see him cry if his sisters rejected him, too.
So Oishi waited at Tachibana’s apartment with his other friends, and Shinji sat on a swing in the part he had brought his sisters to countless times…and waited.
He saw Reiko first. Though all three of the Ibu siblings had inherited their mother’s good looks and build, Reiko had also inherited her father’s height, making her tall and willowy where as Shinji and Rumiko appeared more fragile and delicate. It also mean she was a good six centimeters taller than either of her older siblings, something that she rubbed in often. It also meant that she had a natural grace that stood her in good stead as a love of dance had developed.
Rumiko appeared behind Reiko, her nose, for once, not in a book. Of the three siblings, she was the quietest. She didn’t have her sister’s infallible social-ness, or her brother’s tendency to mutter and mumble her way through life. Instead, she was a girl of few words, but sharp eyes, and her words always carried the weight of her observations. Shinji sometimes if she was so quiet because she was the middle child, but she never seemed resentful, just…quiet.
He stood as the two girls stopped in front of him. “Rumi, Rei….”
Rumiko looked at him and frowned. “Shin-nii…what happened to your face?”
Shinji reached up and touched a fading bruise. “I…ummm….” Now that the moment arrived, he had no idea how to start. How does one tell their little sisters that their father had beat and banished their older brother?
“Is this why Papa’s been so upset?” Rumiko looked closely at her brother. “He’s been mad…and then Aki-nii, Tetsu-nii, and Kippei-nii came over….”
“They didn’t do anything in front of you, did they?” Shinji was suddenly furious.
Rumiko shook her head. “Papa went out with them, then called from the hospital, saying they had all been mugged. Shin-nii, what happened? Why can’t we talk about you anymore? Why is all your stuff gone?”
Shinji sighed and sank back onto the swing, staring at the ground. “Rumi…Rei…I had a talk with Papa a couple months ago. I…told him some things and…we decided that it would be best if I didn’t come home again.”
“But why?” Reiko looked at Shinji, looking like she was already on the verge of tears. “What happened that you can’t come home?”
Shinji looked carefully at his sisters. Fifteen and thirteen…they were old enough to know, Shinji decided. “I’m gay,” he said quietly. “I like guys, and I have a boyfriend. I came home to tell Mama and Papa…they weren’t happy with it.” One of Shinji’s arms unconsciously folded over his ribs. “I’m an adult now, so we decided it would be best if I just moved out completely.”
“He hit you, didn’t he?”
Shinji winced as Rumiko cut right to the heart of the matter. “He…did,” Shinji said slowly. “A couple times.”
Reiko tried to blink back tears. “How could he?”
“He got angry.” Shinji hated trying to excuse his father, but he also felt that the girls weren’t ready for all the details, not yet. “Mama and Papa…they don’t like gay people. It’s their choice, but I can’t live with it. So I’m not talking to them anymore. It doesn’t make him bad, just different. And it doesn’t change how much I love the two of you.”
Rumiko frowned. “Are we never going to see each other again? Is this goodbye?”
“Oh, no!” Shinji shook his head, trying not to cry himself. “We can still see and talk to each other. I just won’t ever go back there again.” He couldn’t call it “home” any longer. “If you…still want me in your lives, that is.” He wasn’t going to force them to accept him, even if it would break his heart.
Rumiko rolled her eyes. “Why wouldn’t we? You’re still Shinji-nii.”
“Really.” Reiko managed a laugh. “They haven’t realized that my jazz instructor is flaming? Shin-nii, it’s fine.”
Shinji smiled, sighing and sagging in relief. “I’m so glad….”
Rumiko sat on the swing next Shinji. “Do you have a boyfriend? Can we meet him? Can we threaten him about what we’ll do if he ever hurts you?”
Shinji laughed sincerely for the first time in two months. With his sisters’ acceptance, he was starting to feel a bit fixed from the shattered state he’d been in for too long.
--The End--