Fanfic - The Prince of Tennis

Disclaimer: POT and characters belong to Konomi Takeshi.

Rating: T

Summary: Tachibana An's a girl with a fierce spirit. One day, she stands to defend a group of little children from a big bully, and gets the help from a pair of Rokkaku, the Veteran of Chiba: Harukaze Kurobane and Kisarazu Ryou.

Pairings: An/Kurobane; An/Kisarazu R.

Author's Note: Tachibana An-chan has a personality that I deal better with than Ryuzaki Sakuno's. She's strong, determined and passionate. I like characters with a bold personality, it's easir to translate their thoughts and actions, and it's funnier. But, An-chan also has a more complicated part to describe... because she doesn't open her heart easily is a romantic way. Well, let's hope that Kurobane or Kisarazu will be able to open her shell.

Into the Lion's den

That was all she needed. A break from all those trainings, all those classes, all those people... and a break from being a Tachibana and all the duties related.

Tachibana An looked out the train window, savoring the feeling of freedom. Here she was, enjoying her first solo trip, without seven meddlers to bug at every little thing that happened to her.

Of course she loved them all, those seven beetle-heads from Fudomine tennis team, including her onii-san. But she was tired, and she wanted to do some things on her own.

She hate that "damsel in distress" crap, and the way all the boys thought she needed protection 24/7. She couldn't have a decent conversation with anyone, except with her friend Sakuno, but obviously because she's a girl, and a very sweet one.

But she didn't have any male or female friends from her class. The boys were scared to talk to her, due to her brother's threats at any boy who came near her. And the girls thought she was a tease and a slut that played with the heart of all the boys from the tennis team.

And that was ridiculous.

She could never have a romantic relationship with any of them. They were like brothers to her.

The train stopped, and An got up. Here was her stop. The Chiba prefecture.

Okay, she wasn't that far from Tokyo now, but at least she knew there was no way she would bump into anyone familiar.

She planned to visit three tourist locations in Chiba: the Onjuku beach, the Kujukuri beach and Nokogiriyama.

The weather in Chiba was very pleasant, the summer was cooler here than in neighbouring Tokyo.

An decided to go to Kujukuri first, a sandy beach located on the east coast and a very popular swimming and surfing destination. She would take the railway tomorrow morning, so she went to look for a hotel to sleep for tonight. It was six o' clock and the sun was setting.

She was walking down a quiet street, when she heard a crashing noise coming from an alley. An peeked inside and saw five little children wide-eyed. A little girl with black hair and two braids was holding something to her chest. That girl reminded An of Sakuno-chan.

- That's my bike, you brats! - a tall, muscular and mean looking man appeared from behind them.

- B-But... - a little chubby boy tried to speak, but he was terrified.

- You took Kana-chan's kitty! - another boy, with a blue cap said. Oh, he was brave for such a small boy.

- That thing? It scratched my bike, that little trash. Now give it back to me, so I can kill it! - the big man said, and reached for the cat in the little girl's arms. She closed her eyes, scared.

- HEY! A big bull like you should leave this kids alone. - An said, stepping in. Oh, how she hated bullies! And she wouldn't let that one do any harm to those kids.

The man lifted his head and looked at her. He gave a feral grin and his small, dark eyes had a dangerous spark. An narrowed her large, blue-grey eyes at the man.

And both took a step forward, approaching one another.

:..:..:

- This place is really calm today, ne? - Davide said, looking around. Normally, this playground would be full of children, running around and playing.

- Nani? - Itsuki said.

- I said, this place is too quiet. Don't you think, Bane? - Davide asked his partner.

- Yeah... maybe the kids are playing someplace else, or they already went home... - Kurobane said. He didn't like that playground so empty, without any child. He had a soft-spot for kids, that was for sure, and the kids also liked him.

Suddenly, the sound of light footsteps echoed through the playground, and they saw a little figure running towards them. Kurobane smiled.

- Hey, Shinji-kun! - he said to the small boy wearing a blue cap. The boy had a terrified expression on his face, and the Rokkaku regulars gathered around him.

- Onii-chan! Onii-chan! - he managed to say between sobs. He clutched Kurobane's t-shirt tightly.

- Hey, what's the matter? - Aoi asked the boy. Shinji was trembling.

- The cat... and Kana-chan... and the big bad guy came... onee-chan's fighting him! - the little boy said, still crying.

Kurobane's eyes narrowed. He knew something was wrong.

- Where? - he just asked the boy.

- At the... candy-shop... alley! - the boy said, with tears in his green eyes. Kurobane nodded.

- Stay here with him. - he told Itsuki, and started to run. Aoi and Davide went with him.

:..:..:

- Huh! You're a feisty little thing, aren'cha? - the man said, laughing. He wore a yellow and red bandanna, covering his bald head. Oh, he was enjoying to play with that street cat girl. She dodged, and evaded most of his attacks, but the few he managed to hit, did a pretty bad damage to her small body.

An was panting now, almost exhausted. The guy was strong, she admitted. Fortunately, he was also slow and she managed to avoid many blows. The years of tennis practice left her more agile and tough than other girls, but she was getting tired now.

If he continued much longer, she could not stand. But she had to! Otherwise, he would get the cat and the children. An shook her head. She had to concentrate here.

The man moved again, with an evil gleam in his eyes. An was cornered. He shook his muscular arms, trying to hit her head. She ducked his first jab, but the second hit in her stomach. She fell to the ground coughing.

- Ha! Pathetic! - he said, laughing histerically. - Just stay there, sweetie. I'll come back for you in a minute. - he said, and smiled slyly. - Now, now... first things first. Give me the cat, little piece of trash. - he said, and approached the group of kids. - I won't let any of you, little rats, escape me again... you have to pay for the scratch on my bike.

The kids hugged each other, trembling, terrified.

But, before the man could reach to them, An was standing up again. And she was protecting them with her body.

- Stay away... from them! - she said, panting. She had a cut in her lower lip, a black eye and several injuries. Her left arm hurt a lot, just like her stomach. That last blow was really strong.

But she would never let him hurt those children.

- Tche! I told you, candy-girl. - he had a mad expression on his face. - Stay. Down! - and threw a punch toward her. An never closed her eyes.

:..:..:

- What happened? - Saeki asked. He and Ryou were coming back from the library when they met Kurobane, Aoi and Davide, running like crazy. The only thing Kurobane said was "There's trouble!", so he and Ryou decided to follow the trio.

- We're not sure.. - Aoi replied. Kurobane was leading them to the candy-shop alley, anxious to find out what was happening. The little boy mentioned Kana-chan and her cat, and some big guy... Kurobane frowned. But who was this onee-chan?

Another block and they were almost there. A loud bang was heard, followed by the sound of something hitting the ground. A rough laughter was echoing, drowning out any other sounds.

"Stay away... from them!", a feminine voice came from the alley. When Kurobane and the others finally arrived, a big, bulky figure was blocking their view. Kurobane stepped in, approaching the man wearing a dark leather jacket and what he saw behind that man made his heart skip a beat.

A lioness.

That was what he thought, looking at that girl standing and protecting the kids with her body. Like a lioness protecting her cubs from an angry buffalo. He was silently admiring her light-brown hair, slim silhouette, long legs and those beautiful eyes, when someone shoved him to the side.

Long, black hair passed him by, and Kurobane stared at a red cap in front of him. Kisarazu Ryou ran toward the muscular man, who was ready to hit a powerful punch at someone. Ryou stretched his tennis racket, and the man's fist connected loudly with it.

- What the hell? - the man roared, turning his head to see who dared interrupt his fun. He narrowed his eyes to the sight of five young men glaring at him, and cracking their knuckles.

- You'd hit the girl and those kids? What kind of a coward does that? - Aoi said, angry. All five boys glared at the man, and closed in around him. Kurobane raised his left hand, and smirked.

- He's mine. - he said. The man spitted, nervous to be underestimated. To his surprise, the other boys stepped back, allowing Kurobane to deal with the man by himself.

Even thought the man was a head taller than Kurobane, and apparently stronger, he was down in fifteen seconds, after a powerful blow to his nose.

- Pfffiuu! I can't believe he's already out.. - Davide said, poking the unconscious man with his foot. - Ne, ne, Bane! Don't you think you kicked him too hard? - he asked his partner. Kurobane's kicks were famous, and Davide knew that most of the time, Bane kicked him with less strengh then he was capable of. And he was grateful for that.

- Nah... this coward deserves! - Bane said, shrugging. He then turned his head, trying to get a peek at that girl again. She was staring at them, dumbfounded. Kurobane was suddenly caught at the beauty in those eyes, and did nothing but stare back at her.

- Ah... thank you... - the girl said, approaching them. Kurobane noted that her eyes briefly met his, but then she shifted her gaze to Kisarazu. Before the boy could say something, pitched cries startled them, and the children launched themselves at An's legs.

:..:..:

- Onee-chan! Onee-chan! - the little girl named Kana sobbed. An knelt in fron of the kids, waving her hands.

- I'm fine, I'm fine! - she said, smilling. - See? Onee-chan's is fine... no harm done! So, please... don't cry, okay? Otherwise, I'm gonna be sad... - she said, and stroked the little girl's hair. Kana looked at her, big eyes shining with tears, and smiled back.

All the children nodded their heads. An got up, holding Kana's small hand.

- Now, that's better! - she said, winking at the kids, who smiled at her. Then, she noticed the boys looking at them, and she whispered at Kana's ear: - Do you know those guys?

The little girl nodded her head. - Un. They always play with us.. - she said.

- Excuse me.. - one of the boys approached An. He had silver hair, blue eyes and a gentle face. - We can take them home, if you want... - he said and looked at Kana-chan. The little girl smiled at him.

- He's Koji-niisan.. he's okay! - she told An, who seemed a little embarassed.

- Ah.. sure, thank you. - she said to the boy. - And you, take care, okay? - she told Kana-chan. - And you too! - she stroked the little cat's soft fur. An waved to all of the children, saying good-bye. Aoi and Saeki led them to their houses after meeting with Itsuki at the playground.

The minute they left the alley, and An couldn't see the children anymore, she closed her eyes and fainted.

Continue...