Title: Storm Warning

Fandom: Prince of Tennis

Rating: G

Summary: Tachibana An is wandering the streets in the middle of a violent rain storm, when who should she run into? KamioAn FLUFF.

Warnings: None

Spoilers: None

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Prince of Tennis, or the Prince of Tennis Universe, even though I wish I did.

Authors Notes: This is my first PoT fanfic. It's dedicated to my good friend Kira, because she was the one who pointed out to me that there just wasn't enough Kamio x An on the internet. So here is some!

For a few minutes, there was only silence. The type of silence that only exists in moments before a storm erupts and the wrath of nature breaks free. A silence so thick that it is nearly deafening. But then, the silence always ends and the next sound to be heard is the pattering of rain droplets, and the gentle rumbling of thunder. The neat and tidy alleyways that connected all the houses were rapidly becoming slick with water, puddles beginning to form from the amount of rain, which was growing stronger by the moment. The people who had listened to the weather forecast would know that the storm was only expected to increase in violence and grow steadily worse for the remainder of the evening. Most certainly, no one wanted to be out in the rain tonight.

Had Tachibana An heard about the storm, she might have chosen to stay inside her house rather than venture out. But she had not heard any forecast and dashed out of the house before she had even thought to take her umbrella with her. So now, here she was. Standing out in the middle of one of the worst storms of the season, clad in nothing but her light purple jacket and a pair of worn in jeans that she had had for god knows how long. Her short chin length, light brown hair was soaked with rainwater and her outfit was drenched and rapidly growing worse with each passing moment.

Absentmindedly, An reached out and pushed a lock of wet hair from her dark blue eyes. Looking around and taking in her surroundings for the first time in a little over 2 hours, An realized that her feet had led her to the street courts. Her blue eyes scanned the empty courts. Of course, no one would venture outside for a game of tennis today, not in this weather anyway. Not even the mighty captain of Seigaku, Tezuka, would make the Seigaku players practice on a day like today.

Planning to go over to the bleachers and sit down while she collected her thoughts, An climbed up the two remaining steps and shifted her tennis bag on her left shoulder when she heard hurried footsteps sound behind her.

"An-Chan!"

The loud voice cut clear through the sound of the rain and thunder. An turned around, her hair still plastered to her pale face. Dark royal blue eyes settled on the form of Kamio Akira, who too, was drenched with rainwater. His red hair flaying up at all angles as he raked a hand threw the wet strands trying to keep it somewhat neat in her presence. He was clad in his school uniform and had his tennis bag slung over his shoulder. His own blue eyes locked with hers from his place at the base of the stairs that led up onto the street courts.

"An-Chan," He repeated, "What on Earth are you doing out here? You could catch a cold out here!"

An looked at him, her royal blue eyes sizing up the older boy. Vaguely, she wondered what on Earth he was doing out in this abominable weather. No one in his or her right mind would be out in a storm like this. Not willingly anyway. Then again, sometimes she did wonder if Kamio was in his right frame of mind.

"... Has my... Has Oniichan sent you to look for me?" Her voice came out softer than she had intended.

Kamio's eyes widened slightly and he shook his head, soaking wet red locks becoming more and more tousled. He reached up and An saw him remove his earphones and tuck them safely into his pocket.

"He said that you had left the house and were out wandering around in this terrible weather," Kamio stated, starting to walk up the stairs separating them slowly. "But no, he did not ask me to come look for you."

"Would you like to have a game of tennis?"

The words were out of An's mouth before she had time to thoroughly think them through. As she had expected, Kamio's eyes widened and he blinked incredulously at her.

"An-Chan! It's cold! It's wet! You could catch your death of a cold out in this storm, and you're asking me if I'd like to play a game of tennis with you? Have you lost it? Think of your health!" "Come and have a game of tennis with me."

An gave him a small, unsteady smile and with that she turned on heel and quickly walked off into the courts, unzipping her carrying case and pulling out her racket. Behind her, she could hear Kamio muttering darkly to himself, much like Shinji would do. Never the less, in a few moments he had joined her and taken his place across the net, rivulets of water trickling down his face. An shook her head, pushing all her troublesome thoughts to the back of her mind and she attempted to focus solely on the game at hand.

Throwing the bright green ball aloft in the air, An sent the serve flying clean across the net. Despite the rain and the traction on the court not being up to it's usual par, Kamio moved into her serve perfectly, sending the ball right back to her, his motions graceful and fluid. Of course, An realized as she darted over to the ball and sent it back over the net. Kamio must have been listening to music while wandering in the storm. The boy was in his element, his "Rhythm" no doubt about it. And while An knew she had no chance of beating him, the game was currently occupying her mind enough so that she didn't need to think of the other events that were currently taking place.

An blinked and she turned her head slightly, spotting the damp tennis ball, prone, on the court next to her. Turning her head to give Kamio a small smile and congratulate him on his technique, Kamio opened his mouth and spoke first.

"Ne, An-Chan, whats wrong?" His voice gentle.

An picked up the ball and smiled. "This time, I'm going to get you, Kamio- Kun."

She threw the ball into the air and then, using all her strength, sent it sailing across the net, this time making Kamio run to return it. With a small grunt, the ball was sent back to her court and An sent it back towards Kamio barley having to strain herself at all. They continued in this fashion for a few minutes, until Kamio returned the ball with such force that An felt herself lunge to get the ball.

As she leaned into reach the ball with her racket, An felt the sole of her sneakers slip against the slick surface of the tennis court and she lost her footing. The next thing she knew, there was a burning hot pain on her chin and knee, her shoulder aching with dull pain. Footsteps told her that Kamio was drawing close to her and he knelt down next to her, as she pushed herself up and looked at him. Blue eyes met blue eyes and Kamio broke their gaze to look at the wound on her chin.

"Mou... An-Chan," He murmured, "Whats wrong?"

An blinked, and was then both surprised and horrified to feel warmth on her cheeks. Rainwater coated her face, but rain was cold. So then... the warmth... could only be...

"Tears? An-Chan, are you crying?" Kamio's eyes widened slightly.

"No!" An sputtered, her royal blue gaze darkening even as the tears spilled over her dark eyelashes. "I am not crying. Crying is something little girls do!"

"An-Chan, you are a girl."

"I am not a little girl, Kamio-Kun!" An snapped angrily.

She reached up and fiercely raked the back of her hand across her eyes, humiliated that she was crying in front of a boy she respected and liked. Crying, the one thing she disliked doing more than anything. And to have Kamio see her, in her moment of weakness. He would surely tell Kippei that she had been out here crying, and then Kippei would continue to be unreasonably overprotective of her. She looked up at Kamio, expecting him to launch into some kind of elaborate speech, but it never came. Instead, Kamio slowly, almost hesitantly reached out and brushed away a tear that was trailing it's way down her cheek mixing in with the rainwater. "An-Chan...please, tell me whats wrong?"

"My..." An stated slowly, her mouth opening but no words coming out. "My parents... are getting a divorce." her voice cracked slightly as she stumbled over the words.

Kamio blinked, his face darkening with worry. "Do you know why?"

"No. I think father might have been having an affair, but mother won't tell me why. I only know that their getting a divorce and my father is moving to Sendai." An sniffled slightly, tears spilling over once again. To her credit, she didn't let out a single sob. But she couldn't stop those damned tears!

"Let's get you home, An-Chan." Kamio rose from his position on the ground, and reaching out a hand to help An up. "I don't want you to catch a cold on account of you behind outside in this storm."

An took a deep breath and accepted Kamio's warm hand and pulled herself up. He smiled softly at her and bent down, picking up her dropped racket and handed them to her. Without a word she placed the racket back into her bag and zipped it up while Kamio did the same. Slinging his bag back over his shoulder, Kamio paused, waiting for An to be ready to join him. An blinked and smiled softly, looking up at the sky.

"It's starting to clear up."

"Yeah, still, you really should go home and take a warm bath." Kamio nodded his blue eyes still concerned about her. "It wouldn't do for you to be sick with a cold."

An nodded and they set off, carefully walking down the steps in an easy silence. On other days they would talk and possibly have some kind of friendly banter going up, but today they walked in a relaxed silence. An cast a shy glance over at the Rhythm Master of Fudomine. With the rain starting to lessen up, his hair wasn't quite as saturated as it had been previously been, nor was his school uniform. She wondered if his sneakers were as drenched and ruined as hers were. It was as if he could feel her gaze upon him, for her turned around at that moment and blinked.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No." She blushed faintly, mortified that she had caught him staring at her. "I just... I was thinking, how I'm going to deal with all of this."

"You'll cope." Kamio shrugged. "I can't give anymore advice than that. You'll get through it somehow, An-Chan. You and Tachibana-San are two of the strongest people I know."

An felt her cheeks grow warm and she turned away, staring intently at the wet concrete. What was with her emotions today? She had gone from being completely miserable, to numb, to anger and then to confusion and now to this. Whatever this was. She wasn't entirely sure what emotion she was feeling now.

"Arigatou, Kamio-Kun." She smiled softly at him, "For looking for me."

"Anytime An-Chan. Just next time you decide to run off, do it in better weather." He smiled back at her.

An giggled softly, coming to a stop, recognizing her house. She turned to face Kamio who kept smiling softly at her.

"Ne, Kamio-Kun? Why exactly did you come looking for me?" For the second time that day, An felt the words escape her lips before she could stop and think the question through.

"Because I was worried for you, An-Chan." Kamio replied, looking directly at her. "Because I didn't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Ahh, sou ka." An smiled. "Because we're friends."

Kamio's eyes widened slightly, and it was his turn to look down at the ground, his own cheeks flushing slightly. An blinked, wondering what she could have said or done to make Kamio react this way. She'd seen him embarrassed before, yes, but blushing? She didn't know Kamio did blush! Suddenly Kamio's eyes locked with hers and he took a deep, shuddering breath.

"An-Chan... I like you more than a friend." He stated calmly. "I have for a long time now."

An felt her mouth drop open slightly, her own eyes widening, cheeks blazing with bright pink. Kamio sighed softly, a soft smile playing over his features. An blinked. How could he be so calm at a time like this? He had just confessed to her! She wasn't even sure how to respond. Was she happy about it, she wasn't sure. But she most definitely wasn't disgusted, nor displeased by the omission.

While all these thoughts were racing threw her mind, she barely registered the fact that Kamio had stepped closer to her and was leaning in slowly. An was sure her heart was going to burst out of her chest, or at least Kamio would be able to hear it pounding inside her ribcage. If the Rhythm Master had indeed heard the sound of her heart beat, he paid it no mind. The next thing An knew, was that she felt a pair of feather soft lips pressed against her left cheek. Kamio's free hand rested on her right shoulder gently, and An blinked again as Kamio withdrew his lips from her skin. Her face blazing red, he smiled softly at her.

"See you in school, An-Chan." His voice was deeper than normal, and he his smile contained the smallest hint of nervousness. "Sayonara."

An watched as he turned on his heel and left, walking away from her and off into the distance. Without realizing it, her hand had come up to touch her cheek where Kamio's lips had been pressed only moments ago. Letting out a shaky breath, An smiled softly in the direction that Kamio had departed in, mere moments ago.

"Ja ne, Kamio-Kun..." She smiled softly, before she turned and headed up the walkway to her house. Walking through the door, she kicked off her wet sneakers and then slowly closed the front door on the dying storm outside.