Ship: Riku & Tomoe Fandom: Prince of Stride Major Tags: tags omitted Other Tags: tags omitted Original Work:here by hibari1_chan Word Count: 506 words
Tomoe’s one of my favorites too! I loved what you wrote about his name so decided to roll with that and tell his side of the story.
***
Tomoe.
It was a name more often given to girls than boys; it was a name that meant blessing and it was a name that signified the shape of a sigil often used in spells.
It was a name with power behind it, a name that was used for the creation and channeling of power and it was a name that fit Tomoe as neatly as his marrow fit his bones.
Even as a child, he’d been aware of the magic coursing through him, the way that every time his name was spoken, his blood thrilled within his veins. It reverberated whenever his name was called, vibrating like a plucked string and sending a shiver through Tomoe.
It wasn’t until he was four that the shivering sensation found an outlet.
*
“Tomoe!” His mother called out, “It’s time for bed! Where’s your rabbit?”
“Don’t know,” Tomoe said poutily, tucked up inside the covers. He wanted his rabbit to cuddle now that he was a big boy and couldn’t cuddle his parents anymore! Riku had taken Tomoe’s place in their bedroom but Riku couldn’t take Tomoe’s lucky stuffed rabbit. The rabbit was his.
“Oh dear,” his mother said. She glanced around and then said, “I’ll go find him.”
Tomoe pouted even more. Why didn’t his mother just use magic? All the grown-ups said that magic was tiring and difficult and not for daily tasks but they also said everything got better with practice. Shouldn’t they use magic all the time then? They’d be practicing until they got good at it!
Under his breath, Tomoe muttered the words he’d heard his mother use so often when she couldn’t find something in the fridge and swapped out ‘lemon’ with ‘rabbit’.
A moment later, a fat, very surprised rabbit was seated on Tomoe’s chest and twitching its black little nose. Tomoe stared at the rabbit. The rabbit stared back.
Before it could bolt, Tomoe wrapped both his fat little arms around it and yelled, “MOTHER!”
*
“I don’t want to go to school in America,” Tomoe said but nobody listened.
“We’re so proud of you.” His mother kissed the top of his head and his father was standing aside, talking to the professor about what a wonderful opportunity this was and how he was sure they’d take good care of a prodigy like Tomoe.
Riku was sitting off to the side and scowling. He scowled a lot these days. He’d been stuffed into his best clothes to say goodbye to Tomoe and he looked as uncomfortable as a tomato in a baby potato’s skin.
Tomoe disentangled himself from his mother’s embrace and went over to Riku.
“Bye, Riku,” he said, not sure what Riku might want to hear from him.
“Bye,” Riku said and the bitterness in his voice was nearly enough to make Tomoe flinch.
Tomoe spent so much time buried in his spellbooks and the magical workings lab that he’d almost forgotten that Riku hated him.
FILL: Team Prince of Tennis, T
Fandom: Prince of Stride
Major Tags: tags omitted
Other Tags: tags omitted
Original Work: here by
Word Count: 506 words
Tomoe’s one of my favorites too! I loved what you wrote about his name so decided to roll with that and tell his side of the story.
***
Tomoe.
It was a name more often given to girls than boys; it was a name that meant blessing and it was a name that signified the shape of a sigil often used in spells.
It was a name with power behind it, a name that was used for the creation and channeling of power and it was a name that fit Tomoe as neatly as his marrow fit his bones.
Even as a child, he’d been aware of the magic coursing through him, the way that every time his name was spoken, his blood thrilled within his veins. It reverberated whenever his name was called, vibrating like a plucked string and sending a shiver through Tomoe.
It wasn’t until he was four that the shivering sensation found an outlet.
*
“Tomoe!” His mother called out, “It’s time for bed! Where’s your rabbit?”
“Don’t know,” Tomoe said poutily, tucked up inside the covers. He wanted his rabbit to cuddle now that he was a big boy and couldn’t cuddle his parents anymore! Riku had taken Tomoe’s place in their bedroom but Riku couldn’t take Tomoe’s lucky stuffed rabbit. The rabbit was his.
“Oh dear,” his mother said. She glanced around and then said, “I’ll go find him.”
Tomoe pouted even more. Why didn’t his mother just use magic? All the grown-ups said that magic was tiring and difficult and not for daily tasks but they also said everything got better with practice. Shouldn’t they use magic all the time then? They’d be practicing until they got good at it!
Under his breath, Tomoe muttered the words he’d heard his mother use so often when she couldn’t find something in the fridge and swapped out ‘lemon’ with ‘rabbit’.
A moment later, a fat, very surprised rabbit was seated on Tomoe’s chest and twitching its black little nose. Tomoe stared at the rabbit. The rabbit stared back.
Before it could bolt, Tomoe wrapped both his fat little arms around it and yelled, “MOTHER!”
*
“I don’t want to go to school in America,” Tomoe said but nobody listened.
“We’re so proud of you.” His mother kissed the top of his head and his father was standing aside, talking to the professor about what a wonderful opportunity this was and how he was sure they’d take good care of a prodigy like Tomoe.
Riku was sitting off to the side and scowling. He scowled a lot these days. He’d been stuffed into his best clothes to say goodbye to Tomoe and he looked as uncomfortable as a tomato in a baby potato’s skin.
Tomoe disentangled himself from his mother’s embrace and went over to Riku.
“Bye, Riku,” he said, not sure what Riku might want to hear from him.
“Bye,” Riku said and the bitterness in his voice was nearly enough to make Tomoe flinch.
Tomoe spent so much time buried in his spellbooks and the magical workings lab that he’d almost forgotten that Riku hated him.
Maybe America wouldn’t be so bad after all.