Fanfic100 - Ends
Title: Manipulation 13: A Last Confrontation
Fandom: Prince of Tennis: Fudomine Chuugaku
Characters: Ohtori Choutarou, Atobe Keigo, Tachibana An
Prompt: 003 - Ends
Word Count: 805
Date finished: 10/09/2007
Rating: G
Summary: Choutarou confronts his parents.
Author's Notes: "Ohtori Choutarou / Tachibana An - Sleep". Originally, it was going to end here. Previous parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Konomi Takeshi, and whoever did the anime. At any rate, it's not me.
Choutarou stared at Atobe, stunned speechless. "They planned to get rid of An?" he asked after a moment.
Atobe nodded. "I am sorry to bring you this news."
Choutarou sighed, folding his arms and looking down at the floor. "I can't let them go through with it," he said.
"No," Atobe said.
Choutarou stared at the floor, mind spinning. That his parents would go…. Why was he surprised at this? What was he going to do?
"I think," he said slowly, "that I am going to have to confront them. I need all the information you can give me."
"Right over here," Atobe said, gesturing toward his desk, and Choutarou thought he heard a note of pride in the other man's voice.
"I just wanted you to know," Choutarou said.
An was silent on the other end for a while. "I think that's a very good thing to do," she said. "Call me when you're done, and let me know how it went."
"I will. I'll talk to you then."
"Good luck, Chouta."
"Thanks."
He hung up, a warmth filling his chest at the familiar nickname that she'd never used until now.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked on his father's study door, where he knew his parents were sitting together. A couple of minutes passed before his father called him in.
He stopped before them, hands clasped behind him. "What do you plan to do to An?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" his father asked.
"You told Hosokawa-san that you would take care of "the girl in the way". What are you going to do to An?"
"She cannot make you happy," his father insisted.
"She can't make you happy," Choutarou corrected him. "She doesn't have the connections, you can't hold her over her father's head, should they decide to take their business elsewhere after this deal, and even if that weren't the case, you can't use her connections for your own advancement."
"Your advancement," his father said.
"You're not worried about my advancement," Choutarou said. "You're afraid that you will lose face, should this marriage go through. What do you plan to do to An?"
"We hadn't decided on anything," his mother snapped. "It's insufferable, that you want to marry her when Takako is a perfectly good match and…."
"…Is not who I want," Choutarou interrupted. "You promised that if I found someone on my own, I could marry her. Was it a lie?"
"Of course not," his father said. "But to marry a girl like that, coarse and unrefined with no connections, can only bring you down in the world!"
"The point is," Choutarou said softly, "you are planning to do something to my fiancée."
His parents stared at him. "How do you know this?" his father asked after a moment.
"You sent a message that you would take care of "the girl in the way". And you have plans for the wedding, between myself and Takako. If anything happens to An, I know who to blame."
His father took a deep breath. "Very well. We will give up on what is so abhorrent to you."
His mother looked furious. "If we must," she said stiffly. "You've never noticed this girl until we started working on this merger."
"I never said anything about her," Choutarou corrected her. "I've been aware of her since Junior High. Her brother defeated Shishido-san, just before we became doubles partners." He shook his head. "That's not important. I have your word."
"Yes."
With a nod, Choutarou turned and left the room.
"I didn't tell them we weren't really getting married," he explained to An later that night. "But when we decide to call it off, I won't get pressured into an arranged marriage."
"Good," An said, "Were they angry?"
Choutarou sighed. "Furious. But I think they're used to that state by now. I don't think they've not been furious at me since we announced this engagement."
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "That can't be fun."
Hw shrugged, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "It doesn't bother me any more," he admitted.
"I'm not sure that's an improvement, but it's certainly understandable," An said. "I'm sorry it's come to that."
"Me, too," Choutarou said. "By the way, if I haven't said it before, thanks so much for helping me out."
"You're welcome." He could hear the smile in her voice. "I've rather enjoyed myself."
"An," he said softly. "Do you want to keep the ring?"
There was a long pause. "No," she said. "But thank you."
When they hung up, Choutarou lay quietly in the dark, thinking about what it would be like without her in his life.
It was a surprised to realize, as he dropped off to sleep, that thoughts of his life without her were decidedly bleak.
Fudomine
Fandom: Prince of Tennis: Fudomine Chuugaku
Characters: Ohtori Choutarou, Atobe Keigo, Tachibana An
Prompt: 003 - Ends
Word Count: 805
Date finished: 10/09/2007
Rating: G
Summary: Choutarou confronts his parents.
Author's Notes: "Ohtori Choutarou / Tachibana An - Sleep". Originally, it was going to end here. Previous parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Konomi Takeshi, and whoever did the anime. At any rate, it's not me.
Choutarou stared at Atobe, stunned speechless. "They planned to get rid of An?" he asked after a moment.
Atobe nodded. "I am sorry to bring you this news."
Choutarou sighed, folding his arms and looking down at the floor. "I can't let them go through with it," he said.
"No," Atobe said.
Choutarou stared at the floor, mind spinning. That his parents would go…. Why was he surprised at this? What was he going to do?
"I think," he said slowly, "that I am going to have to confront them. I need all the information you can give me."
"Right over here," Atobe said, gesturing toward his desk, and Choutarou thought he heard a note of pride in the other man's voice.
"I just wanted you to know," Choutarou said.
An was silent on the other end for a while. "I think that's a very good thing to do," she said. "Call me when you're done, and let me know how it went."
"I will. I'll talk to you then."
"Good luck, Chouta."
"Thanks."
He hung up, a warmth filling his chest at the familiar nickname that she'd never used until now.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked on his father's study door, where he knew his parents were sitting together. A couple of minutes passed before his father called him in.
He stopped before them, hands clasped behind him. "What do you plan to do to An?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" his father asked.
"You told Hosokawa-san that you would take care of "the girl in the way". What are you going to do to An?"
"She cannot make you happy," his father insisted.
"She can't make you happy," Choutarou corrected him. "She doesn't have the connections, you can't hold her over her father's head, should they decide to take their business elsewhere after this deal, and even if that weren't the case, you can't use her connections for your own advancement."
"Your advancement," his father said.
"You're not worried about my advancement," Choutarou said. "You're afraid that you will lose face, should this marriage go through. What do you plan to do to An?"
"We hadn't decided on anything," his mother snapped. "It's insufferable, that you want to marry her when Takako is a perfectly good match and…."
"…Is not who I want," Choutarou interrupted. "You promised that if I found someone on my own, I could marry her. Was it a lie?"
"Of course not," his father said. "But to marry a girl like that, coarse and unrefined with no connections, can only bring you down in the world!"
"The point is," Choutarou said softly, "you are planning to do something to my fiancée."
His parents stared at him. "How do you know this?" his father asked after a moment.
"You sent a message that you would take care of "the girl in the way". And you have plans for the wedding, between myself and Takako. If anything happens to An, I know who to blame."
His father took a deep breath. "Very well. We will give up on what is so abhorrent to you."
His mother looked furious. "If we must," she said stiffly. "You've never noticed this girl until we started working on this merger."
"I never said anything about her," Choutarou corrected her. "I've been aware of her since Junior High. Her brother defeated Shishido-san, just before we became doubles partners." He shook his head. "That's not important. I have your word."
"Yes."
With a nod, Choutarou turned and left the room.
"I didn't tell them we weren't really getting married," he explained to An later that night. "But when we decide to call it off, I won't get pressured into an arranged marriage."
"Good," An said, "Were they angry?"
Choutarou sighed. "Furious. But I think they're used to that state by now. I don't think they've not been furious at me since we announced this engagement."
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "That can't be fun."
Hw shrugged, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "It doesn't bother me any more," he admitted.
"I'm not sure that's an improvement, but it's certainly understandable," An said. "I'm sorry it's come to that."
"Me, too," Choutarou said. "By the way, if I haven't said it before, thanks so much for helping me out."
"You're welcome." He could hear the smile in her voice. "I've rather enjoyed myself."
"An," he said softly. "Do you want to keep the ring?"
There was a long pause. "No," she said. "But thank you."
When they hung up, Choutarou lay quietly in the dark, thinking about what it would be like without her in his life.
It was a surprised to realize, as he dropped off to sleep, that thoughts of his life without her were decidedly bleak.
Fudomine