Title: Good Friends
Fandom: Prince of Tennis: Fudomine Chuugaku
Characters: Kamio Akira, Tachibana An, Fuji Syusuke, and Kikumaru Eiji
Prompt: 021 - Friends
Word Count: 697
Date finished: 07/19/2007
Rating: G
Summary: Kamio got the job; now... the girl?
Author's Notes: My friend Natalie (lj user skyangel2009) really wanted the sequel to Dressing Right, and although I thought it was a good ending, well - here it is. And I actually think it makes for a better ending. So, Natalie? You were right.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Konomi Takeshi, and whoever did the anime. At any rate, it's not me.

The position was exactly what Kamio Akira had hoped it would be. Opportunity he'd at least had a chance to take, thanks to a friend he hadn't known he'd had. Or ever expected to run into again.

"Wow…. Akira?"

He turned, startled at hearing someone use his given name. He was on his way out of the building, and there was no one at this office he knew (or liked) well enough to let use his name.

But he knew exactly who had said his name as soon as he saw her. "An-chan," he said with a smile. "I didn't know you worked here."

"I don't," she said. "I'm just waiting…." She hesitated, then obviously came to a decision. "Akira, are you busy tonight?"

He smiled at her, wondering what he was missing, and then decided he didn't need to know. "No."

"Would like to go to dinner with me?" She hesitated. "Actually," she said, "I'm waiting for my boyfriend. Like I have been almost every evening. Can you wait fifteen minutes? If he doesn't come down by then, I'm done waiting."

"Sure," Akira said, and joined her in the small group of chairs she had already occupied. "What are you doing these days?"

"I'm teaching," she said, and her whole face lit up. Akira's heart skipped a beat. "Third grade. It's one of the school that feeds into Fudomine, in fact. Some of the older teachers still remember you… well, some less than fondly."

Akira grinned, ignoring how her smile had affected him. "What are their names, because I bet I have the same less-than-fond memories."

"Yagasawa-sensei, on the other hand, seemed to have really liked you."

Akira perked up. "She's still there? Would you tell her hi for me? She was the first who actually tried to understand me. She's the reason I can even read."

An blinked. "Read?"

Akira smiled. "I'm dyslexic," he said.

"I didn't know that," An said.

"By the time I met you, I'd gotten the help I needed." He smiled. "How long have you been back in Tokyo?"

"I graduated from Todai, so since High School graduation. I tried to look you up when I moved here, but I had no luck."

Akira ignored - again - the way his heart leaped with hope. "I wasn't here. I studied in Osaka. I actually interned with a branch of this company, and my boss there suggested I apply here when I graduated, since he knew I was coming back."

An glanced at her watch and sighed. "How about you finish the story over dinner? I'm tired of waiting."

"You sure?" Akira asked.

"Yes." She pulled her phone from her purse and dialed; she identified herself to whoever answered and then listened, her expression twisting in frustration. "Look. Just tell him I went to dinner with a friend, and he can talk to me tomorrow." She hung up without waiting for an answer, turned the phone off, and tucked it back into her purse. "Okay," she said, smiling at Akira. "Let's go."

He stood up and offered his arm; she stood and took it, and they left the building.

Kikumaru Eiji grabbed the mail on his way in from work, and the plain beige envelope immediately caught his eye. It was addressed to both him and Fuji, so he hoped his roommate was home already. He usually was, but it wasn't a given.

"Did you get the mail?" Fuji called in response when Eiji announced his arrival.

"Yep! We got something!" He waved the envelope at Fuji as he walked into the room, and carefully opened it.

"What is it?" Fuji asked.

Eiji grinned delightedly at the paper he pulled from the envelope. "It's a wedding invitation. For Kamio Akira and Tachibana An."

Fuji straightened, his smile real. "Really?"

"Yeah." Eiji laughed. "He even added a note for us. 'Thanks again for the suit. Without it, I wouldn't have gotten this job, and I wouldn't have found An again. I owe you a lot'."

Fuji reached out a hand, and Eiji handed him the card. "I'm happy for him," the tensai said, once he'd read it.

"Yeah," Eiji agreed. "So am I."

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