Everything is Possible in a Story

Ayumi Nazu/Author's Note: First entry of the 15 One-Shot Contest! Themes that are chosen by the opponent will be used as the title of each one-shot on my side. For those who have no idea what's going on with the '15 One-Shot Contest', please go to the 'We are Game' literature entry. This chapter will be in Ryoma Echizen's POV. (Note the slight color change.) Wish me luck~

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

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Theme #1:

“Oh my, what brotherly love!”

Written by: AyumiNazu

     Ayumi was getting ready for me to pick her up for a date. Ever since I recognized her as my girlfriend, she’s been smiling more often and getting more attached to me. Though it may be slightly annoying, it can’t be helped. At least she’s not noisy like those crazy fan girls I come across everyday during tennis practice, so it’s not so bad. To be honest, I came to like her company.

     It may seem sudden, but after hesitating about it for so long and then getting lectured by her brother about either letting go of Ayumi or holding on to the feelings I have, I choose to be with his beloved younger sister. Her brother, Kira, can act like her father sometimes.

     I also learned that Ayumi’s last name isn’t Nazu, but Nazue. Her father and mother is CEO of some famous company so is never home due to working overseas all the time. Since her parents didn’t give her any love or attention, Kira decided to make up for it. And now I’m here to share that same responsibility.

     Although I say that, it’s been almost a whole month since I invited her out. I rang the doorbell while wondering where we’d be going today. Though I was the one who invited her out, I had no ideas planned for today. When the door swung open, I felt disappointed in seeing the face of only my girlfriend’s brother.

     “Oh, it’s you,” I muttered under my breath and let out a sigh.

     Kira was studying aboard due to parental preferences and had just come back a while ago for his summer vacation. I heard that they wanted him to go to the best school in order to succeed his father’s business, but for Ayumi, they just dumped her in Japan and hope she’d learn independence with help of her aunt. At the moment, Kira’s being superbly protective with her sister because it’s been so long since he’d last seen her. It’s getting on my nerves for how close of a family relationship they have. My family, or at least my adopted brother, Ryoga, couldn’t care less for me, and I, not one bit about him.

     “What are you doing here?” he asked with utmost annoyance of my presence, he’s not really in good terms with me or at least trying to act like he’s not.

     From behind him, I can see Ayumi rushing down the stairs to meet me. She almost lost a slipper on her way down, causing me to discreetly laugh at her anxious expression.

     “I’m ready!” she shouted excitedly as she slipped past her brother and out the front door.

     “Hey, where are you going?” concerned Kira.

     “I’m going out with Ryoma-kun,” she smiled.

     “The let me come too!”

     A huge sweat drop appeared at the back of my head, what a nosy brother! I was sure he was asking to come along just to make fun of my situation, so I thought Ayumi would refuse, but she didn’t think that way.

     “Ok, come with us! It’s more fun with more people, right Ryoma-kun?” she asked with such an innocently stupid smile that I couldn’t say no.

     After a short while, I was on the date with my girlfriend and her brother… I couldn’t help but think that today was going to turn out really bad and I was right. Kira and I were dragged into a store full of giant stuffed animals by Ayumi.

     “That one’s so cute!!” she squealed, I was surprised to find that she was so fond of girly stuff like this too.

     “You like that one? I’ll get it for you,” said Kira as he patted her on the head with a gentle smile and asked the clerk to wrap it up.

     “Thank you so much, Kira onii-sama!” joy overcame her face as she cuddled the soft plush. It made me wonder as I saw her expression full of delight when she carried that giant fluffy bunny plush around, if it was every girl’s dream to have a giant stuffed animal like she does?

     Though she was full of bliss, I became pretty upset, if not jealous. If Ayumi had asked me, I would have definitely gotten it for her. But her brother beat me to it.

     Some other customers in the store were staring at Ayumi and Kira and exclaimed, “Oh my, what brotherly love!”

Their discussion got on my nerves as I tried to hear what they were talking about…

     “Hey don’t you think that guy over there is such a pleasant brother?”

     “Ya, I wish I had a brother like that! She’s such a lucky girl!”

     “Who’s that green-haired boy over there that’s following them?” she asked while trying not to make it obvious that she was pointing at me.

     “Maybe he’s the middle child that never gets what he wants, therefore has a horrible attitude!”

     The two strangers covered their mouth and started laughing. After I sent a deadly glare at them, they immediately shut up and left the store.

     Ayumi then came up to me and shoved her new bought plush in front of my face, “Ryoma-kun, feel how soft it is! It’s so comfortable to hold,” she was getting too carried away over a giant doll.

     “Sure,” I replied and turned away.

     “What’s with the long face? Can it be that you want one too?” Kira teased.

     He glomped me from behind like Eiji and Momo usually does and messed up my hair. What’s with this ‘being all so familiar’ attitude he’s giving me when Ayumi’s around? It’s creeping me out.

     “I don’t want one!” I shouted angrily out of both embarrassment and anger, my face began to flush red.

     I pushed him away and fixed my hair so that it wouldn’t look all cluttered like sheep’s wool.

     “You two get along very well,” smiled Ayumi, I was sure she was laughing at my disordered hair in her head.

     “No, we don’t.”

     “That’s mean, Echizen-kun,” smirked Kira.

     Certainly he thought I was being sarcastic when I said we didn’t get along, but to me, we really don’t. He’s a super caring brother that acts almost as protective as a father, and I’m her sister’s boyfriend, the one who’ll take her away from him someday if all goes well. His actions towards Ayumi would be what we call ‘brotherly love’. I personally believe he’s got too much of it.

     “Are you sure you don’t want one?” asked Kira once more.

     He’s either trying to tempt me into liking those kinds of things or just purposely embarrassing me in front of others. It’s the second reason, isn’t it? He’s got such a strange character that I can’t tell whether he’s playing friendly or just acting. Nevertheless, both Kira and Ayumi had hidden acting skills from what I know.

     The three of us walked in and out of stores until the evening. Every time Kira displayed his care for Ayumi, people around us would mistaken me as the unloved middle child and mention how much they would want a brother like him. A certain stranger even thought that we were a family of three, Kira being this really young and handsome father and Ayumi and I as siblings. It was a disgusting thought to even imagine a scene like that. Perhaps it’s because I’m not the slightest related to them and to see your sister as your girlfriend is revolting. This is all the fault of Kira who decided to tag along with Ayumi and my date. Because who would have thought that I would be going out with my girlfriend and her dear brother who decided to come along?

     However, as the sky began to show a gradient of red and orange, Kira said, “I guess that’s enough for today, I’m going to go now. Have fun with Echizen-kun, Ayumi!”

     He pushed Ayumi towards me and almost made us fall over.

     “Bye bye,” he waved and ran as though he was supposed to meet someone else at this time.

     I really didn’t expect him to leave us alone like that. Then again, Kira had his fun in messing up today’s date. I assume it was enough for him.

     Now that I have a chance to do so, I took hold of Ayumi’s hands and lead her to walk elsewhere. Her cheeks were tinted with different shades of pink due to the fact that it’s only the two of us now.

     “Ryoma-kun, where are we going?”

     “Anywhere that’s not crowded with all these people,” I answered and brought her to a park.

     It was quite and relaxing without her brother around, just Ayumi and I. At some point, she wrapped her arms around my own and hugged it as tightly as she did with her big plush doll.

     “Today was a lot of fun with my brother and you hanging out with me,” and then there was a short pause, “But… I think I still like being alone with you best,” her face was most pleasant to look at when it was blushing pink out of shyness.

     “Is that so?” I smiled and lightly kissed the top of her head.

     Don’t get me wrong, acting like I am now is quite embarrassing for me. But after having Kira around for almost the whole day, it made me want to cherish the time I get to spend with Ayumi alone. I may never know when Kira decides to tag along again.

     A few other people were hanging around the park as well. When Ayumi and I walked passed them, they commented, “That was such a sweet couple~”

     When I heard that, my lips curved into a shape of a smile, “Finally.”

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There you have it! To vote for the winner, please go to Ekani Polls! Make sure you read both entries of the first round before you start casting your votes! (I will post the link to Kiwi's first entry as the first comment of this blog.)