Prince of Tennis: Ibu Shinji, 013: Yellow
Title: There is a Season
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Ibu Shinji, Kevin Smith
Prompt: 013: Yellow
Word Count: 866
Rating: G
Summary: The joys of autumn.
Author's Notes: There isn’t much dialogue that’s in Japanese in this one, but what there is, is underlined.
This follows Don’t Look Back.
Main table can be found here and here.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Shinji had been hearing about the beauty of fall from the moment he had arrived in New Jersey, but he had never believed it. The area he was in was just so…urban, that he found it hard to believe that the changing of the leaves could possibly be anything special. Leaves changed and fell in Japan, too, but he had never seen anything breathtakingly beautiful about it. Bittersweet, yes, but not beautiful.
He had watched Kevin track the foliage reports online with amusement, not sure what he was looking for, but sure there had to be something in it to get Kevin so twitchy about every gust of wind that raked through the trees. Shinji didn’t see the point of getting upset over that, to be honest. Wind was wind, and nothing Kevin did or said could stop it.
After about two weeks of this behavior, Shinji came back into the dorm from a class, dropping his books carelessly and peeling off his jacket. “It was so warm yesterday, and now it’s chilly…is fall always so confused here?”
Kevin bounced up from his desk chair, grabbed Shinji’s jacket, and tossed it back at him. “Come on…we’re going out.”
Shinji blinked, confused. “Kevin?”
“Don’t talk, just go.” Kevin dragged Shinji from the room, out of the building, into the parking lot, and practically shoved Shinji into his car. “We’re going for a ride.”
“Ummm…is this a ride I’m going to come back from? Because if you’re going to just dump my body somewhere, I would’ve at least liked the chance to tell ‘Chiro goodbye before you did that….”
Kevin burst out laughing. “No! You’ll come back in one piece. I just want to show you something.”
“Oh.” Shinji let his head rest back against the seat. “Mind if I don’t see what’s on the way? I was up all night studying for that last test.”
“Sure. It’s going to take a bit anyway.” Kevin was more focused on maneuvering through the New Brunswick traffic than anything Shinji was really saying. “I’ll poke you when we get there.”
Shinji nodded, but was already falling asleep.
*~*~*~*
“Shinji…come on, Shinji…wake up….”
Shinji blinked, not wanting to rouse yet. “Just a few more minutes, please,” he murmured, his half-awake brain not able to think in English.
He heard a laugh that was familiar, but not the one he had almost expected to hear. “You’ve been asleep for over an hour. Now come on. Up and out of the car.”
That’s right…Kevin dragged me off somewhere…. Groggily, Shinji dragged himself out of the car, stretching and yawning. “Do I get to know where, now?”
“Look around you.” Kevin paused, and Shinji could hear his smirk when he continued. “That means that you have to open your eyes.”
“Bite me,” Shinji muttered. He obeyed, though, opening his eyes…his mouth falling open a few seconds later as he gasped. “Kevin….”
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Kevin crossed his arms, looking very satisfied with himself. “I thought about waiting for the weekend, but we’re supposed to get rain tomorrow, so I don’t think it was worth waiting and chancing it.” He chuckled. “Do you believe me now, about fall?”
“Yeah….” Shinji could barely think enough to form words, too busy taking in the riot of colors. The reds and oranges that seemed to make the trees seem set aflame, the bright yellows that looked like gold, and even some purples shading into the mix. It was as if an artist had come to bring added dimension to an already perfect scene. “Where are we, anyway?”
Kevin was looking around himself as he answered. “Delaware Water Gap. Upstate, and worth the drive. In the spring they have whitewater rafting, and tubing in the summer, but in the fall it’s all about the foliage.” He tugged on Shinji’s sleeve. “Come on, there’s trails. Hope you don’t mind a walk.”
“I play tennis. Of course I don’t mind a walk.” Shinji smacked the back of Kevin’s head playfully. “Besides, it’s worth it to see more of this.”
The walk was a relatively silent one. Shinji and Kevin traded banter at times, but for the most part they were quiet, taking in all that the woods had to offer them. Occasionally, Shinji would pause to gather some of the leaves, resulting in a riotous bouquet of yellow, red, and orange by the time they got back to the car.
Kevin eyed the leaves skeptically. “What are you going to do with them?” he asked as they got back into the car.
“I’ll talk to Sienna.” Shinji named one of his fellow international students. “She’s an artist, and I’ve seen her preserving flowers. She should be able to help me do something with them.”
“Good idea.” Kevin buckled his seatbelt, then reached over to pull a stray yellow leaf from Shinji’s hair. “We’re not going home yet, though. I saw something on the way here.” He grinned. “I need to introduce you to two other parts of fall around here: hot spiced apple cider and pumpkin picking.”
Shinji had no idea what Kevin was talking about, but he didn’t intend to argue. “Lead the way. You haven’t led me wrong yet.”
--The End--
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Ibu Shinji, Kevin Smith
Prompt: 013: Yellow
Word Count: 866
Rating: G
Summary: The joys of autumn.
Author's Notes: There isn’t much dialogue that’s in Japanese in this one, but what there is, is underlined.
This follows Don’t Look Back.
Main table can be found here and here.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Shinji had been hearing about the beauty of fall from the moment he had arrived in New Jersey, but he had never believed it. The area he was in was just so…urban, that he found it hard to believe that the changing of the leaves could possibly be anything special. Leaves changed and fell in Japan, too, but he had never seen anything breathtakingly beautiful about it. Bittersweet, yes, but not beautiful.
He had watched Kevin track the foliage reports online with amusement, not sure what he was looking for, but sure there had to be something in it to get Kevin so twitchy about every gust of wind that raked through the trees. Shinji didn’t see the point of getting upset over that, to be honest. Wind was wind, and nothing Kevin did or said could stop it.
After about two weeks of this behavior, Shinji came back into the dorm from a class, dropping his books carelessly and peeling off his jacket. “It was so warm yesterday, and now it’s chilly…is fall always so confused here?”
Kevin bounced up from his desk chair, grabbed Shinji’s jacket, and tossed it back at him. “Come on…we’re going out.”
Shinji blinked, confused. “Kevin?”
“Don’t talk, just go.” Kevin dragged Shinji from the room, out of the building, into the parking lot, and practically shoved Shinji into his car. “We’re going for a ride.”
“Ummm…is this a ride I’m going to come back from? Because if you’re going to just dump my body somewhere, I would’ve at least liked the chance to tell ‘Chiro goodbye before you did that….”
Kevin burst out laughing. “No! You’ll come back in one piece. I just want to show you something.”
“Oh.” Shinji let his head rest back against the seat. “Mind if I don’t see what’s on the way? I was up all night studying for that last test.”
“Sure. It’s going to take a bit anyway.” Kevin was more focused on maneuvering through the New Brunswick traffic than anything Shinji was really saying. “I’ll poke you when we get there.”
Shinji nodded, but was already falling asleep.
*~*~*~*
“Shinji…come on, Shinji…wake up….”
Shinji blinked, not wanting to rouse yet. “Just a few more minutes, please,” he murmured, his half-awake brain not able to think in English.
He heard a laugh that was familiar, but not the one he had almost expected to hear. “You’ve been asleep for over an hour. Now come on. Up and out of the car.”
That’s right…Kevin dragged me off somewhere…. Groggily, Shinji dragged himself out of the car, stretching and yawning. “Do I get to know where, now?”
“Look around you.” Kevin paused, and Shinji could hear his smirk when he continued. “That means that you have to open your eyes.”
“Bite me,” Shinji muttered. He obeyed, though, opening his eyes…his mouth falling open a few seconds later as he gasped. “Kevin….”
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Kevin crossed his arms, looking very satisfied with himself. “I thought about waiting for the weekend, but we’re supposed to get rain tomorrow, so I don’t think it was worth waiting and chancing it.” He chuckled. “Do you believe me now, about fall?”
“Yeah….” Shinji could barely think enough to form words, too busy taking in the riot of colors. The reds and oranges that seemed to make the trees seem set aflame, the bright yellows that looked like gold, and even some purples shading into the mix. It was as if an artist had come to bring added dimension to an already perfect scene. “Where are we, anyway?”
Kevin was looking around himself as he answered. “Delaware Water Gap. Upstate, and worth the drive. In the spring they have whitewater rafting, and tubing in the summer, but in the fall it’s all about the foliage.” He tugged on Shinji’s sleeve. “Come on, there’s trails. Hope you don’t mind a walk.”
“I play tennis. Of course I don’t mind a walk.” Shinji smacked the back of Kevin’s head playfully. “Besides, it’s worth it to see more of this.”
The walk was a relatively silent one. Shinji and Kevin traded banter at times, but for the most part they were quiet, taking in all that the woods had to offer them. Occasionally, Shinji would pause to gather some of the leaves, resulting in a riotous bouquet of yellow, red, and orange by the time they got back to the car.
Kevin eyed the leaves skeptically. “What are you going to do with them?” he asked as they got back into the car.
“I’ll talk to Sienna.” Shinji named one of his fellow international students. “She’s an artist, and I’ve seen her preserving flowers. She should be able to help me do something with them.”
“Good idea.” Kevin buckled his seatbelt, then reached over to pull a stray yellow leaf from Shinji’s hair. “We’re not going home yet, though. I saw something on the way here.” He grinned. “I need to introduce you to two other parts of fall around here: hot spiced apple cider and pumpkin picking.”
Shinji had no idea what Kevin was talking about, but he didn’t intend to argue. “Lead the way. You haven’t led me wrong yet.”
--The End--