[FIC] Haku, T, Prince of Tennis/Naruto

[loving-kin.livejournal.com]

Title: Haku
Author: Masi (loving_kin)
Fandoms: Prince of Tennis/Naruto
Rating: T
Warnings: fighting, AU Haku 
Character(s) Shishido Ryo, Haku, Atobe
Summary: Haku is a transfer student at Hyotei, and love of long hair breeds friendship. 

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Many of the characters in this story are from The Prince of Tennis ((c) Takeshi Konomi, Shonen Jump, TV Tokyo, etc.), Haku and his parents are from Naruto ((c) Masashi Kishimoto, Jump Comics, Viz Media, etc.), and I do not own anything else that is already copyrighted either. 

Haku

Shishido Ryo met Haku on the first day of high school, in Geography class. It was a pretty ordinary morning, except that the professor had told the students that they could sit wherever they liked, but if this decreased student performance - said with dark eyes flashing behind large, out-of-style glasses - he was going to seat them in alphabetical order, following the tradition in other classrooms. Ryo was already leaning back in a seat by a window, which overlooked the high school tennis courts, and he had no wish of relinquishing it for the rest of the year. Not even to Gakuto, who was a few desks away, folding a paper airplane with writing in it, no doubt requesting the spot. When the teacher turned his back, Ryo quickly etched out the characters of his last name onto the desk, though it wasn’t really necessary -- students were pretty good at leaving him alone when he glared at them.

The professor had just started on a long explanation about the semester syllabus when the classroom door opened. He paused, shuffled his papers, then said, "I don’t tolerate lateness. Are you the new student? You’re excused for today. Only today."

Atobe leaned forward in his seat, propping an elbow on the desk. Ryo caught the arched eyebrow, the slight tightening of a corner of the mouth indicating contemplation, and he sat straighter to look over several heads at the new student. He hoped the kid would introduce himself or herself so that more class time would go to waste - always a plus.

He was a little confused at first, taking in the black hair held up in a bun with long bangs falling down the sides of a light-skinned, dainty face. The physique was very out of place, clashed really, with the navy blue Hyotei High School badge, trousers, and white boy’s shirt. What was a girl doing in a guy’s school uniform? Ryo wanted to know. The girl (guy?) would look much better in one of those skirts those chicks, staring curiously in clusters from the first two rows, were wearing.

The teacher was already turning back towards the board, apparently uninterested in introductions, but Atobe drawled out a "New student? Name and short background info, please."

The student looked their way while the teacher glared, then she (he?) closed large eyes in a way that reminded Ryo of Fuji Syuusuke and smiled. "Please call me Haku. I have transferred from Sakura Junior High. Nice to meet all of you."

It was a guy’s voice, but much more gentle than any of his friends’, Ryo decided. He watched as Haku began walking down the aisle between his and Atobe’s desks, amid soft whispering and slight snickering. He wondered why the guy hadn’t given a full name.

He wasn’t that surprised on seeing some of the guys trying to trip Haku, not after studying that uniform, which was definitely second-hand. Their eyes met as Haku passed. There was a fire in those light-colored, trying to smile, eyes.

Haku was more girly-looking than even Gakuto, who was the epitome of all girly looking guys in the high school division of Hyotei Gakuen Chuugakkou. And Gakuto had a tough, assertive voice which made bullies think twice before picking on him. He wasn’t like Haku, with the politeness and smiles.

Ryo hung back one day, after everyone except for Haku had filed out of the classroom, to say, "Oi. Don’t let people walk all over you. You shouldn’t get picked on just ‘cause you’re not like the others." That said, he was getting ready to go to lunch, when Haku spoke up.

"It doesn’t really bother me. But would you like to go to the roof with me, Shishido-kun?" Haku smiled, eyes closed, one hand resting on the strap of his shoulder bag. He had finally finished picking up his books and notebooks and tidying his desk after a recent act of immature bullying. "There’s quite a nice view from there."

Ryo usually ate lunch with the other tennis starters who had graduated with him from the junior high division. They had gotten closer over the last tennis season. But. It couldn’t hurt to sit with Haku for one day. He was a little curious about this boy.

And there was another reason, a little embarrassing, he admitted to himself, as he followed the dark haired boy up the stairs to the school roof. He felt a sort of kinship to Haku already: the guy had long, silky hair, longer than Ryo’s before he had cut it off last year to regain his spot as a starter. He wanted to observe it from a closer angle and maybe ask what kind of shampoos were used on it.

There were already a few students on the roof, but Haku lead him to a corner overlooking the tennis and soccer practicing areas. Ryo observed the courts for a bit, wishing that the season would start already. He missed playing. This time, he was definitely trying for the vice-captaincy, since there was one in the high school division tennis team.

"You play any sports, Haku?" He asked, after opening his bento box, filled to the brim with food cooked that morning.

"No." Haku smiled, long, pale fingers moving slowly around the knot on top of his own covered bento box. "I was never really interested in sports. But I am in the Science and Health club."

"Sounds boring," Ryo said with a grin. "You ought to try out for the tennis team. It should be a lot of fun now that there are new freshmen here."

"You’re very talented in tennis, aren’t you, Shishido-kun? I heard you won in your doubles match in the national tournament last year. And Atobe-kun and Mukahi-kun are talented as well."

Ryo tried not to stare at Haku’s almost empty bento box, containing one piece of a smelly fish and a clump of hard rice. "Er, yeah. Well, Atobe is more than just ‘talented.’ He’s really good. You definitely have to see him play."

"You have a lot of friends, don’t you, Shishido-kun?" Haku fiddled with the fish, looking at him intently. "You must like school."

"Well, I’ve been going to Hyotei since kindergarten." Ryo shrugged. "Like most of the others. So we just grew up together, I guess."

"I’ve moved around a lot. It’s kind of hard to make friends that way." Haku attempted to eat the rice, but the hardness caused it to consistently fall out of the grasp of the chopsticks.

Offering his own lunch seemed a little rude, but Ryo wasn’t going to eat half of it, so, rubbing at the top of his cap, he held it out. "Here."

This eyebrows narrowed, and Ryo knew Haku was offended. Clearing his throat, Ryo muttered, "Hey, I’m not going to eat all of that, and your lunch doesn’t look all that." He wished he had Oshitari’s elegance in these kinds of situations or Atobe’s lack of embarrassment.

"I made it," Haku confessed, and suddenly, he was chuckling, covering his mouth with both hands.

Ryo smiled, feeling a little uneasy. He couldn’t see anything funny.

"I’m sorry, Shishido-kun," Haku said finally, wiping away tears from the corner of his eyes and suddenly looking very sad. "I’m not laughing at you. Just," he gestured helplessly at the lunch. "It does look pitiful, doesn’t it? But no one has ever said that before. Not in that nice way.

"But enough of that. All I seem to do is angst isn’t it? It’s your fault you know," Haku continued, a playful note creeping into his tone. "You have a friendly, inviting countenance. When you’re not scowling, that is. May I have some of that chicken, Ryo-kun?"

Atobe and Gakuto didn’t really understand Ryo’s friendship with Haku. "At least Otori plays tennis," the latter commented as he and Ryo walked home from school. "I don’t get how Haku puts up with your boorishness."

"I didn’t know you knew that word," Ryo shot back. A long argument followed which ended only after they parted at Gakuto’s door, each saying goodbye through the word "idiot."

"He’s not like us," was Atobe’s complaint, first said as he watched Haku enter the classroom one morning, uniform wet even though it wasn’t raining . "Notice how he didn’t mention a last name. He’s obviously poor. And he can’t stand up to bullying. Can’t or won’t?" And there was genuine puzzlement in his blue eyes.

"We’re not all the same," was Ryo’s reply, and he was a little annoyed at Atobe’s policy of non-interference. Haku could do with some help; was it that hard for Atobe to tell the upper classmen off for bullying?

"You should try out for tennis," Ryo suggested to Haku during one lunchtime. "It’s a good way to make people like you. The tennis team’s famous and the starters get lots of chocolate on Valentine’s Day."

"I’m no good in sports. But thanks."

"C’mon, Haku, don’t you want people to acknowledge you?"

Haku’s fingers stilled around the cheese sandwich Ryo had brought him. Then he smiled. "Of course. But me…I’m spoiled now. You acknowledged me without my having to do something I don’t like, and I don’t want to try anymore."

During a week long school break, Haru proposed a trip to a lake where "the fishing’s excellent and we can rough it!" Ryo wasn’t all that fond of roughing it, but saying no hardly ever worked on his older brother. He managed to bring a friend along this time though.

Haku was a little hesitant in saying yes, and a bit wary as Haru drove them to the cabin and told the younger boys to settle in. But after they had taken the fishing gear out and were knee-deep in the fine, crystal-like water, he lost his edge of wariness and started to smile again. "This is fun!" He scooped up a small fish, letting it wriggle for a few seconds in his pale, water-wrinkled hands, before dropping it back into the lake.

"Use the rod," Ryo said, rolling his sleeves up to the top of his shoulders. "My lazy brother’s not doing any fishing so we have to catch our dinner ourselves."

Haku was good at catching fish, with a quick eye and reflexes. Between the two of them, ten large fish were caught and brought back to the campfire, where Haru was lounging, occasionally lighting a new cigarette from the fire. "Che," Ryo grunted, dumping the net in front of his brother. "Put those away. Didn’t Atobe tell you not to do that?"

Haru exhaled slowly. "Since when do I have to listen to Atobe?"

"You ought to be more considerate to your guests."

His brother ground out his cigarette and stuffed the half-empty pack into the pocket of his capris. "That’s my younger brother," he told Haku, smiling.

"He’s a good brother."

"You think so?" Haru tilted his head slightly, green eyes thoughtful. "You have any siblings?"

"No." Haku smiled, but the gesture was forced. "I live with adopted parents."

"Did your parents abandon you?"

"No." Haku glanced at Ryo, once. "Dead. I don’t remember them much except that they were very happy together until Father found out a secret of Mother’s. He didn’t like us much after that."

"I’m sorry," Haru said. "That’s sad to hear."

Ryo wondered, cleaning a fish in the fading light, why it was that his friends felt that they could tell his brother things that they didn’t tell him. It wasn’t like Haru was particularly sensitive or counselor-like. He was actually immature and took life too easy. But still had a nice job and a really nice educational background, darn him. Tensai.

"Is that why you don’t give a last name?" Haru pondered out loud.

"Yes."

Haru leaned over, poked Haku with a stick. "Hey, cheer up. Did I tell you about the time my brother peed on my grandmother’s new leather couch? The one that cost four thousand dollars?"

"Aniki!"

"Your brother told me that you used to have long hair," Haku said, leaning on the desk next to Ryo’s.

Ryo rolled his eyes as he stuffed textbooks, which he doubted he would open, into his bulging duffel bag. "Don’t listen to half the things he tells you. He tends to exaggerate. But yeah, that’s true."

"Are you planning to grow it back?"

Ryo stood up, ran a hand through his lengthening hair, recently layered. "Probably not now. Later, maybe. When I don’t play tennis."

Haku followed him out into the hall. "You’re not planning to go pro?"

"Nah. I like tennis, but pro’s for more serious types like Atobe."

"Which university are you planning to go to?"

Ryo checked his watch. He had to meet up with Atobe for a bit and then go off to the junior high division to check up on Chotaro. He hadn’t hung out with his best friend in awhile. This was not a good time for questions. "Too early to think about that. Later, Haku."

Haku smiled a little and waved the tips of his fingers. Halfway down the hall, Ryo looked back. Haku looked very small and alone in the space between the two large windows, still staring after Ryo. The guy needed more friends, definitely.

"I don’t see your shadow," Atobe commented, his eyes on Kabaji, who was blowing up the balloons Atobe was asked to attend to.

"Huh? That’s ‘cause of the light." Ryo was distracted, trying to untangle individual blue and white streamers from each other and from his arms.

His friend leaned forward in the leather chair. Atobe looked relaxed, resting his chin on the arm propped up on his crossed legs. He hadn’t done anything so far in terms of decorating for the upcoming school spirit party. "Is Haku shirking work? I’m talking about him, dense brick."

"Is that a question you should be really asking?" Ryo snapped, finally separating himself from of the last of the clingy streamers.

"Touché." Atobe’s blue eyes gleamed. "It’s not just today either. Is he too clingy?"

Ryo gave the streamers up as a bad job and sat down next to his friend. He wondered if he should swipe the lemonade next to Atobe and have a few sips. "Don’t talk about Haku like that. I’ve just been busy, that’s all."

"No wonder he goes around looking like a kicked, abandoned puppy."

"What did I just say?"

Atobe ran a hand through his hair. "I think you need to pay closer attention to him. The high school kids are pretty nasty."

"You think he needs a babysitter?"

"No." Thin fingers rose to his face, freezing in the "insight" pose. "He needs someone he finds worthy of defending since he doesn’t seem to care about himself."

"Y’know, you don’t make any sense at all." Ryo drained the rest of the lemonade.

This was really going too far, Ryo paused to think, right before he dashed over to Haku and shoved the taller boy to the ground, shoulders colliding painfully.

There was a second of anticipation before the fist dug into his left cheek, nearly dislodging his jaw. Ryo’s head snapped back, hitting the brick wall of the school building behind him, and he saw stars.

"Ryo-kun!" That was Haku, staring up at him from the ground.

"Shishido." The senior’s tone was cold, accusing, as Ryo slid downwards a little, knees bending. "What do you think you’re doing?"

"What…d’you think…you’re doing?"

His words had come out more slurred than he liked, but that was because there was blood in his mouth and his gums were aching painfully.

"Stay out of this," the senior said, tone full of warning.

"Don’t…don’t pick on Haku anymore!" He sounded pathetic, yup.

"Ryo-kun." That was the person of the hour, murmuring.

The senior cracked his knuckles. "We’re not done here yet. You should know better than to meddle in seniors’ affairs. Where are your manners?"

Ryo had managed to get to his feet. "Where are yours?" He glared past the boy to the others, four larger boys all in pressed, recently bought Hyotei uniforms. "I didn’t know it was polite to pick on people who are…different."

"He’s trash. And if you don’t get away, you’re going to get some of the same treatment." Another crack of the knuckles.

"You think you scare me - " Ryo began, only to be cut off.

"That’s enough," Haku said, standing in front of Ryo with an arm out. He sounded different, more masculine, and he was standing very straight. He was a couple of inches taller than Ryo, something that had been forgotten lately.

"You’re fighting back now?" The senior sneered.

"I saw no point until now." Haku paused, glanced once at Ryo. "But if you leave us alone and promise not to bother me anymore, we will leave."

This elicited a laugh out of the bullies. Ryo scowled, grabbed Haku’s outstretched arm. "What do you think you can do? Just leave it to me. Che, lame." He meant the situation, of course, but there was a flash of hurt in his friend’s dark eyes.

"Actually, I have a black belt in karate," Haku said, turning back to the senior. "It’s best for you if you leave now."

Ryo knew they wouldn’t and proceeded to watch, as the bullies circled nearer to them in true school dramas’ fashion and attempted to provoke them further. When he saw the flash of a knife, he leant forward, trying to shout a warning, trying to protect Haku, but he was pushed roughly back by his friend and hit the wall for the second time that day. He watched, heart thudding painfully, as Haku did some kind of fast move and ended on both feet again, holding the senior’s right hand, which held the knife, to the back of the bully’s neck. A thick black, knife-like object slid out of Haku’s sleeve and clattered onto the ground next to Ryo’s feet.

"I did warn you." Haku was still polite, almost friendly. "You shouldn’t play with weapons, Tanaka-sempai. Now, please, if you could all leave now."

The bullies did. The other four had to escort Tanaka-sempai, who’s knees were shaking. Ryo picked up the black weapon. It felt heavy in his hands.

Haku’s hair, made darker by the pouring rain, was plastered to the sides of his face, dripping water down his back, making his head look smaller, vulnerable. Lifting the umbrella up, wincing at the blast of icy cold rain, he moved it so that it could cover Haku’s head. Ryo was rewarded with a surprised look.

Haku’s mouth had formed an "o" of wonder, as if he wasn’t expecting Ryo to materialize next to him at the bus stop. Ryo didn’t give him a chance to speak. "What do you think you’re doing, idiot, coming out today without an umbrella? Didn’t you see all those clouds?"

Eyes closing, Haku reached out to take hold of the umbrella. He really was too much of a girly-girl, Ryo decided, noticing the blush forming on pale cheeks and the lack of verbal response. When he insulted Atobe, the guy always either ignored him or made some kind of cutting reply. "Oi, let’s get some hot chocolate," Ryo said, relinquishing his hold on the cold handle and inching closer to shelter himself from the water assaulting his left side and back.

"Sounds good."

They didn’t talk much on their way to Ryo’s house, too busy trying to maneuver around the crowds of grumpy, hurried people with their vicious umbrellas. They made it home in one piece but with soaked ankles and feet. Dripping water onto the wooden floors, they walked into the kitchen, where Haru gave them a disgusted look, advised them to change out of their uniforms, and then wandered off, taking the last of Ryo’s favorite tea.

Haku insisted on making the chocolate and handed a cup to Ryo only after apologizing. "What for?" Ryo was alarmed. He was the one who needed to apologize, for underestimating Haku’s fighting prowess and expressing that in front of those bullies. He had hoped they could just move past all that without "I’m sorry"s, it had been a week already, but here was Haku, apologizing for no reason.

Haku fidgeted with his fingers, looking into his own cup of cocoa. "For bringing you into that trouble. You got hurt because of me. You must wonder why I didn’t stick up for myself before."

"I did." Ryo scratched his head. "But then I figured you’re more the passive type. You weren’t going to threaten them as long as they didn’t hurt you seriously, right?"

"How did you know that?"

Ryo smiled, warmed his hands on the cup. "Oh, I have another friend like that. He doesn’t get picked on much though, because he’s rich I guess. He doesn’t have awesome fighting skills like that though. Teach me sometime. And what was that knife you had?"

"It’s called a kunai." Haku held out his arm, gave it a slight shake, and the kunai slid out. "I used to get bullied constantly, so I carry this around with me. Anyway, may I meet your friend sometime?"

"Sure." Ryo watched the kunai disappear into Haku’s sleeve again. "Now drink that. It’s getting cold."

He watched Haku between sips of his drink. There was a slight trembling at the corner’s of his friend’s mouth during the first few sips, but the eyes were shining, and after awhile, Haku was smiling. Ryo knew things were alright again. "Hey, Atobe has an indoor tennis court. Let’s go hit a few balls back and forth after we’re done, okay?"

Haku nodded. "Fine, Ryo-kun."

"No, no, it’s just Ryo."

A sly smile. "Fine, Ryo-chan."

"Haku!"

"Alright, alright. Ryo."

Comments

[loving-kin.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I originally started writing about them because they were two of my favorite characters, and then I thought they could bond over their love for long hair. :)