Fic: Colour of Growth
Right, I promised futomimii fic and there is fic here.
Colour of Growth
Junior
Trouble in a tiny package of orange hair and bright eyes, that’s what they called him.
Even if he kept worried parents standing watch over him as he lay feverishly in his crib at night, kept grandparents hoping and praying that their grandchild would grow out of his sicknesses, on his good days he smiled and laughed. He was the most cheerful baby they’d ever seen, his parents said. It was all the more heart breaking when he wouldn’t stop coughing or sneezing.
His big sister, five years older than him, dimly remembered a time when her baby brother fell into such a high fever, it nearly drove her parents out of their minds with fear. She was whisked off to her grandparents while both father and mother rushed baby brother to the hospital. Her grandmother told her to pray for her otouto’s recovery as she was tucked in at night.
She did pray - prayed in her simple, unmistakable five year old words, that even if her baby brother was sometimes a pain that kept them up at night and made okaasan and otousan too tired to play, she liked his laugh and please don’t take him away so soon after she’d just gotten to like him.
It was then that she saw a star, one of the many in the night sky above her, twinkle brighter for a few seconds… like a wink.
Oneesan broke into a smile.
The next day, the baby’s fever subsided and slowly, he recovered. Curiously enough, from that day on, he never did fall that sick again. Instead, the little baby’s luck in life seemed to have done a complete 180 degree turn…
“Kiyosumi…!! You’re a real pain sometimes, you know that?!”
Sengoku merely grinned at his older sister and smoothly stepped aside, finally letting her out of the door. “Love you too, neechan!”
Youth
“Youth is all about blood, sweat and tears, m’boy. There’s no other substitute for it… and there’s no greater reward while it lasts.”
Sengoku smiled amiably, taking in some green tea and listening to Banjii talk. “But that still isn’t going to stop you from working the team doubly hard so they can win the championship trophy next year right?”
The coach chuckled pleasantly, eyes flicking for an instant to the Nationals’ second place trophy. Its silver surface gleamed slightly as it sat inside a cabinet with glass doors. “I must say, it was a bonus when all of you showed up like that.”
“What do you mean? We always turn up, us oldies,” commented Sengoku with a grin. Just because he was in high school now didn’t mean he couldn’t force everyone else to come and cheer their junior high team on with him.
“I mean a bonus for you: coming just in time to see Dan-kun fire up like that and blow the competition right out of the water.”
Sengoku leaned back on the couch, laughing. “I know. Just lucky, I guess!”
“How do you keep convincing Jin to keep coming anyway?”
“Actually, he does most of the convincing himself. He just needs someone to blame.” Sengoku’s white grin clearly showed that he was quite willing to play the role of scapegoat.
Banjii chuckled again, nodding in full understanding. “One more year before Dan-kun graduates…”
“Means there’s one more chance, Banjii. And Yamabuki’s always worked well under pressure. Sides’, you’ll still be here.”
“Oh I don’t know… I might like to take it easy on myself after Dan-kun’s year and retire.”
Sengoku’s grin stayed on his face. “Now, Banjii, don’t you think you owe it to yourself to stick around and absorb a little more of this youthful energy you’ve been surrounding yourself with for over twenty years?”
Banjii’s laughter echoed through the room. “...true, true. After all, with constant visits from you, I’m sure I may live to well over ninety.”
“Glad to be of service,” replied the tennis player as he beamed.
Midlife
He hummed a little Irish tune under his breath as he stood in the crowded train that was zooming through the city.
He had yet to visit that country. After coming out of high school, he had wanted to make a trip there but well, his parents had advised him not to waste any time entering university and things cropped up here and there… before you knew it, he had graduated as an architect and gotten a job at a small firm by the age of twenty two.
Some years passed on by and still, he remained in Japan, surrounded by concrete and steel and blueprints instead of green shamrocks. But he was cheerful about it. There was no sense in complaining when he was still young.
That had been when he was twenty five.
Now the thirty two year old gazed out the windows towards the fleeting scenes of his home and thought of how time had flown by. He remembered a time when life had revolved around tennis and practice, when luck played a huge part in what he did and of course, when he was still footloose, fancy free and flirting. It hadn’t been too long ago, surely. Just… seventeen years, he calculated with a wry smile.
Okay, fine, maybe it had been a while.
The train came to a stop and he stepped out with the crowd, went past the machines and made his way home by car, mind still thinking about a myriad of subjects, most having something to do with life and aging.
“Tadaima…!”
A voice called from the back, slightly muffled. “Okaeri!”
He remembered his friends saying if he ever got over his compulsive flirting, he’d only marry Lady Luck.
They were right, thought Sengoku, but not just because she brings me luck. Grinning, he walked up to the dining table where several dishes were waiting. He’d just been about to pinch a piece of chicken when ’Lady Luck’ called out sharply again.
“Kiyosumi, don’t touch anything. We’ll be eating soon.”
“But, Sera-chan…!”
“And go get your son from his room please.”
He sighed with a smile. “Hai, hai…”
You were only as old as you felt, they said. Going by that standard, he was pretty sure he could qualify as a sixteen year old. With luck, maybe even fifteen. In that case, he figured there was plenty of time left for Ireland.
Right now, he was happy right where he was, whistling as he went to call his son for dinner.
Senior
“Jiichan, what’re you looking at?”
“My star, Kaneko-chan.”
“Your star? Do you own a star?”
“Oh, I don’t own it exactly. But I know it’s just mine. Kind of like my birthday is mine.”
“Hmmm… which one is it?”
“That one right there. D’you see?”
“…there’re a LOT of stars, jiichan…!”
“Just follow where I’m pointing… that one riiiiiight there. See it now?”
“…Ooh, I see it, I see it!”
“Good girl. I always knew no grandchild of mine would have dull eyes.”
“...ne jiichan, do I have a star?”
“Hmmm, I should think you do, Kaneko-chan. But it’s up to you to find it though.”
“Ohhh…”
“Don’t worry. With luck, it’ll show itself to you quickly. In the meantime… you can always share my star.”
“Really, jiichan?”
“Really!”
The little orange haired girl who sat in her grandfather’s lap grinned. “Do you know, I told my friends at school about the time you took me to the carnival and sat with me on the Ferris wheel and bought cotton candy? Everyone said I was lucky to have a jiichan like you.”
The old man chuckled. “Is that so? Do you think so?” The firm nod he got made him laugh again. “You DO know how to make an old man happy, Kaneko-chan.”
“But it’s true!”
He laughed again, nodded happily. “I never said it was otherwise. And as a reward for being truthful,” he dug into his pocket and brought out something. “I’m going to give this to you.”
Little Kaneko took it reverently in her hands and her eyes widened to see a silver necklace in her palms. What caught her eye most of all was the silver four leaf clover pendant.
“It’s pretty, jiichan…!”
“I actually bought it for your baasan when I went to Ireland with her.” He smiled fondly, recalling her face when she received it from him. “But she wants you to have it, as a present from both of us.”
Kaneko looked up and beamed, throwing her arms around her grandfather’s neck. “Thank you, Kiyo-jiichan! I’ll go show kaachan and tousan!”
Sengoku nodded, letting his granddaughter run back into the house. After watching her go, he looked up again to the night skies above him, reminiscing. After dinner was always a good time to think of the past, think of the present…
His family was the apple of his eye, had been for quite some time… would be until the end. And there were still a few old friends left from the old days. Of course they still played a round of tennis or two - Banjii would have been proud of them.
There had been times when luck hadn’t been enough, when hard work and determination came into play and when love had to hold him together.
Still, when it all came down to it, throughout his life, he’d been one lucky man.
And Sengoku Kiyosumi smiled, silently blessing the stars.
End.
A/N: Sengoku's wife is still alive, just to let y'all know. 8D And why yes, I DID blatantly steal her assignment title to write, why do you ask? 8DDDD;;;;
Hope this is okay, futomimii...!
Colour of Growth
Junior
Trouble in a tiny package of orange hair and bright eyes, that’s what they called him.
Even if he kept worried parents standing watch over him as he lay feverishly in his crib at night, kept grandparents hoping and praying that their grandchild would grow out of his sicknesses, on his good days he smiled and laughed. He was the most cheerful baby they’d ever seen, his parents said. It was all the more heart breaking when he wouldn’t stop coughing or sneezing.
His big sister, five years older than him, dimly remembered a time when her baby brother fell into such a high fever, it nearly drove her parents out of their minds with fear. She was whisked off to her grandparents while both father and mother rushed baby brother to the hospital. Her grandmother told her to pray for her otouto’s recovery as she was tucked in at night.
She did pray - prayed in her simple, unmistakable five year old words, that even if her baby brother was sometimes a pain that kept them up at night and made okaasan and otousan too tired to play, she liked his laugh and please don’t take him away so soon after she’d just gotten to like him.
It was then that she saw a star, one of the many in the night sky above her, twinkle brighter for a few seconds… like a wink.
Oneesan broke into a smile.
The next day, the baby’s fever subsided and slowly, he recovered. Curiously enough, from that day on, he never did fall that sick again. Instead, the little baby’s luck in life seemed to have done a complete 180 degree turn…
“Kiyosumi…!! You’re a real pain sometimes, you know that?!”
Sengoku merely grinned at his older sister and smoothly stepped aside, finally letting her out of the door. “Love you too, neechan!”
Youth
“Youth is all about blood, sweat and tears, m’boy. There’s no other substitute for it… and there’s no greater reward while it lasts.”
Sengoku smiled amiably, taking in some green tea and listening to Banjii talk. “But that still isn’t going to stop you from working the team doubly hard so they can win the championship trophy next year right?”
The coach chuckled pleasantly, eyes flicking for an instant to the Nationals’ second place trophy. Its silver surface gleamed slightly as it sat inside a cabinet with glass doors. “I must say, it was a bonus when all of you showed up like that.”
“What do you mean? We always turn up, us oldies,” commented Sengoku with a grin. Just because he was in high school now didn’t mean he couldn’t force everyone else to come and cheer their junior high team on with him.
“I mean a bonus for you: coming just in time to see Dan-kun fire up like that and blow the competition right out of the water.”
Sengoku leaned back on the couch, laughing. “I know. Just lucky, I guess!”
“How do you keep convincing Jin to keep coming anyway?”
“Actually, he does most of the convincing himself. He just needs someone to blame.” Sengoku’s white grin clearly showed that he was quite willing to play the role of scapegoat.
Banjii chuckled again, nodding in full understanding. “One more year before Dan-kun graduates…”
“Means there’s one more chance, Banjii. And Yamabuki’s always worked well under pressure. Sides’, you’ll still be here.”
“Oh I don’t know… I might like to take it easy on myself after Dan-kun’s year and retire.”
Sengoku’s grin stayed on his face. “Now, Banjii, don’t you think you owe it to yourself to stick around and absorb a little more of this youthful energy you’ve been surrounding yourself with for over twenty years?”
Banjii’s laughter echoed through the room. “...true, true. After all, with constant visits from you, I’m sure I may live to well over ninety.”
“Glad to be of service,” replied the tennis player as he beamed.
Midlife
He hummed a little Irish tune under his breath as he stood in the crowded train that was zooming through the city.
He had yet to visit that country. After coming out of high school, he had wanted to make a trip there but well, his parents had advised him not to waste any time entering university and things cropped up here and there… before you knew it, he had graduated as an architect and gotten a job at a small firm by the age of twenty two.
Some years passed on by and still, he remained in Japan, surrounded by concrete and steel and blueprints instead of green shamrocks. But he was cheerful about it. There was no sense in complaining when he was still young.
That had been when he was twenty five.
Now the thirty two year old gazed out the windows towards the fleeting scenes of his home and thought of how time had flown by. He remembered a time when life had revolved around tennis and practice, when luck played a huge part in what he did and of course, when he was still footloose, fancy free and flirting. It hadn’t been too long ago, surely. Just… seventeen years, he calculated with a wry smile.
Okay, fine, maybe it had been a while.
The train came to a stop and he stepped out with the crowd, went past the machines and made his way home by car, mind still thinking about a myriad of subjects, most having something to do with life and aging.
“Tadaima…!”
A voice called from the back, slightly muffled. “Okaeri!”
He remembered his friends saying if he ever got over his compulsive flirting, he’d only marry Lady Luck.
They were right, thought Sengoku, but not just because she brings me luck. Grinning, he walked up to the dining table where several dishes were waiting. He’d just been about to pinch a piece of chicken when ’Lady Luck’ called out sharply again.
“Kiyosumi, don’t touch anything. We’ll be eating soon.”
“But, Sera-chan…!”
“And go get your son from his room please.”
He sighed with a smile. “Hai, hai…”
You were only as old as you felt, they said. Going by that standard, he was pretty sure he could qualify as a sixteen year old. With luck, maybe even fifteen. In that case, he figured there was plenty of time left for Ireland.
Right now, he was happy right where he was, whistling as he went to call his son for dinner.
Senior
“Jiichan, what’re you looking at?”
“My star, Kaneko-chan.”
“Your star? Do you own a star?”
“Oh, I don’t own it exactly. But I know it’s just mine. Kind of like my birthday is mine.”
“Hmmm… which one is it?”
“That one right there. D’you see?”
“…there’re a LOT of stars, jiichan…!”
“Just follow where I’m pointing… that one riiiiiight there. See it now?”
“…Ooh, I see it, I see it!”
“Good girl. I always knew no grandchild of mine would have dull eyes.”
“...ne jiichan, do I have a star?”
“Hmmm, I should think you do, Kaneko-chan. But it’s up to you to find it though.”
“Ohhh…”
“Don’t worry. With luck, it’ll show itself to you quickly. In the meantime… you can always share my star.”
“Really, jiichan?”
“Really!”
The little orange haired girl who sat in her grandfather’s lap grinned. “Do you know, I told my friends at school about the time you took me to the carnival and sat with me on the Ferris wheel and bought cotton candy? Everyone said I was lucky to have a jiichan like you.”
The old man chuckled. “Is that so? Do you think so?” The firm nod he got made him laugh again. “You DO know how to make an old man happy, Kaneko-chan.”
“But it’s true!”
He laughed again, nodded happily. “I never said it was otherwise. And as a reward for being truthful,” he dug into his pocket and brought out something. “I’m going to give this to you.”
Little Kaneko took it reverently in her hands and her eyes widened to see a silver necklace in her palms. What caught her eye most of all was the silver four leaf clover pendant.
“It’s pretty, jiichan…!”
“I actually bought it for your baasan when I went to Ireland with her.” He smiled fondly, recalling her face when she received it from him. “But she wants you to have it, as a present from both of us.”
Kaneko looked up and beamed, throwing her arms around her grandfather’s neck. “Thank you, Kiyo-jiichan! I’ll go show kaachan and tousan!”
Sengoku nodded, letting his granddaughter run back into the house. After watching her go, he looked up again to the night skies above him, reminiscing. After dinner was always a good time to think of the past, think of the present…
His family was the apple of his eye, had been for quite some time… would be until the end. And there were still a few old friends left from the old days. Of course they still played a round of tennis or two - Banjii would have been proud of them.
There had been times when luck hadn’t been enough, when hard work and determination came into play and when love had to hold him together.
Still, when it all came down to it, throughout his life, he’d been one lucky man.
And Sengoku Kiyosumi smiled, silently blessing the stars.
End.
A/N: Sengoku's wife is still alive, just to let y'all know. 8D And why yes, I DID blatantly steal her assignment title to write, why do you ask? 8DDDD;;;;
Hope this is okay, futomimii...!