Title: Good for Leaving
Fandom: Prince of Tennis: Fudomine Chuugaku
Characters: Tachibana An and Kippei, and the rest of the Fudomine Regulars
Prompt: 064 - Fall
Word Count: 344
Date finished: 344
Rating: G
Summary: An leaves the house upset.
Author's Notes: Everything is about leaving. I need to get happier.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Konomi Takeshi, and whoever did the anime. At any rate, it's not me.

An slammed out of her front door, feeling as if the universe picked on her. When she reached the street, she broke into a run, not even caring where she went, just going away for now.

No surprise her feet led her to the street courts, unused today because of the chill. She stood there, staring at the wall where she'd seen her brother's team so often, waiting for their turn to play.

Finally, she turned to go back down the steps and stopped short.

"Mom's worried," Kippei said.

An shrugged. "I don't care," she said rebelliously, because she really did care - she just didn't want to.

He walked toward her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Yes, you do," he said gently. "I know you're unhappy about this."

"Why now?" she asked. "Why, when everything is good?"

Kippei hugged her closer. "I don't know," he murmured, and she heard the same pain in his voice that she felt. Strangely enough, it made her feel better.

"At least it wasn't last summer," she murmured.

He chuckled. "Yes," he said softly. "At least it wasn't then."

They began walking toward the stairs. "Fall is good for leaving," she mused, nearly under her breath.

"Only winter is better," he agreed.

At the bottom of the stairs stood her brother's team, worried looks easing into relief. "You found her," Akira said.

"What did you do, call all of them?" she asked, looking up at Kippei.

"Of course. There are only seven of us, but we can coordinate a search pretty easily," he told her.

"I want to know why you ran off like that," Kyosuke said, arms folded in his "I'm trying to be tough because I'm worried" pose, and it almost made her cry. Instead of answering, she turned and pressed her face into Kippei's chest, not wanting to face them.

Kippei sighed. "Father's being transferred back to Kyuushu," he said.

And for the last time, An felt the comfort of her friends around her as the all crowded around for solace.

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