A note on names: When the first name and surname are together, the last name is introduced first, i.e. Echizen(surname) Ryoma(first name). When only one name is written, it will typically be the first name. If I make a mistake in this (as I am likely to do) please notify me and I will fix it.

A note on suffixes and how people address one another: Suffixes in Rikkaidai are important(or at least, I imagine them to be) so pay attention to how they address one another. If improperly addressed, it can blow up very quickly, which is why it's important to know where you rank. Most times when one person is talking to another and uses their name in speech, they address them by their last name, unless they are familiar with one another, or they are not abiding by 'social norms'.

Masui Akemi did not speak as she walked out the wooden door that led to the pathway out. When she stood right outside her house, key out and ready to lock the doors, she waited for three seconds. She opened the door again, just a smidge, and said, "I'm leaving." It was no surprise when nothing answered her. The walls of the house absorbed her voice. Even houses get lonely, sometimes. It was awfully quiet when the only consistent inhabitant was a petite girl who made no disturbances most days, other than the light sound of her breathing.

The house was a lonely existence. It had been made for a family of six, yet one by one, all of its inhabitants disappeared except for one. And she was too straight-laced to make a difference; not a thing in the house was out of place when she left the house every morning at six. When she came back in the afternoon, not a thing was touched. From that time up until the time she left again, only a few things were out of place, and even then, not for very long. Right after she cooked, she would clean up and put everything back into the cupboards. Every two days, Akemi vacuumed the house and dusted everything down. It wasn't like there was much to clean anyways. Even in her own room, the wood floor was spotless, her bed was always made unless she was in it, and the few school materials that were kept there were always put back right after she was finished. It was a house in wait; a house waiting to be used, to be loved and enjoyed.

Now the house was locked up, and Akemi did not spare another glance backwards as she pushed a button so the iron wrought gates that stood in front of her opened and closed. It was a little bit more than a house, after all; it was a small mansion. Smoothing the blue-green tie she wore on her neck, she started on her thirty minute walk to school.

Setting a brisk pace, she pointedly ignored the car that had been trailing her ever since she left the house. He was not very discreet at this sort of thing, and when she had a thought to spare, Akemi wondered if his father did not reprimand him for going on these excursions to follow her. At the five minute mark, she stopped in the same spot she had for the past two weeks. She did not need to look behind her to know the mercedes pulled up behind her; the purring of the engine and the sound of a window rolling down was sufficient. She turned anyways. "Atobe-san. It's good to see you again."

"Akemi," Atobe said, and if she were any lesser, she would have flinched. They had known each other for a while, but that was no excuse for him to call her without an honorific. But she knew her place, and even if her family was on good terms with his, it would make no sense to aner him. Today, he got down to business quickly. "When are you going to stop being foolish and come to Hyotei?"

"Atobe-san, I apologize, but I do believe that where I choose to go to school is my own choice. Both of my parents approved of my decision, and Rikkaidai has nearly the same facilities as Hyotei. There is no reason for me not to go." She gave a quick bow and began to walk again. The mercedes kept following her.

"There are plenty of reasons for you not to go to Hyotei. One of them being that it's an extra twenty minutes of walking that you wouldn't have to do. It is much further away from your second house." Atobe had one arm hanging outside of the car, and his every move oozed confidence. His blue-grey gaze settled on the girl he had known for years. His family introduced him to the Masui family when he was a child, but he did not get the priviledge of seeing their daughter until she was ten and he was twelve. She was introduced to him because her family had the impression she would attend Hyotei that year, entering in the same year he would.

At first, he was dubious; the girl was two years his younger, and she would still enter his grade. If she was a year younger, he would understand, as there were quite a few people whose birthdays made it possible to move up a year. Apparently, the reason why he had not met her before was because she had been studying abroad, and one of those schools had moved her up a year. Her parents would not have her repeat a year, as that would be one of the ultimate disgraces. Besides, if she was smart enough to get to a grade higher, she was smart enough to stay at that grade.

When she turned to him, her eyes showed him everything that he didn't understand. Atobe had always been good at reading people, but he could still not fathom her decisions and how her mind worked two years later. "Walking is a healthy habit, Atobe-san. One must keep in shape somehow. Now, if you'll excuse me." She bowed again as another black car came up to the curbside. "I will take my leave. It appears as though mother and father have sent for me."

The chauffeur opened the door the lamborghini that was undoubtedly one of her parents cars. Her parents hadn't sent for her, of course, she had been getting tired of making up reasons to walk to Rikkaidai when Atobe was there, and in the past week, she accepted rides from him twice. Both times had been an uncomfortable time, in which he stared at her, trying to open her up. If there was another car, he would not be able to drive her. It was a pity though, because she enjoyed her walks to and from school. It was a time of peace, and a time to get her thoughts straight. It only took ten minutes to get to school.

"Thank you, Izumi." She nodded to the chauffeur who held the door open for her. At this time in the morning, there were no students present, so she did not have to worry about anybody seeing her car. She tried to avoid flaunting her wealth as much as possible, seeing as the majority of it was not hers to begin with.

"No problem, miss," Izumi said respectfully, tipping his cap in her direction. He enjoyed driving her much more than he did her little sister or brother. She was quiet and didn't demand much, though he often worried about how quiet she was.

When the car drove off, she went straight to the student council room and immersed herself in blissful work.

#

Atobe Keigo's life was structured. It wasn't planned down to the minute; he was not an excessive planner, but, he did not do things that were unnecessary. Which is why he was questioning the fact that he had gone out of his way to ask one single girl to go to Hyotei. It shouldn't have mattered to him, whether or not she went to his school. He looked out the window of his car and grimaced at the sight of fangirls glomming on near his car. He turned his gaze back down to his phone and thought, perhaps it was important that Akemi went to his school. It would make his life much easier.

He drummed his fingers against his leg. It was annoying to deal with fangirls, but though the fangirls were bad, sometimes, when there was a person who worked up enough rage-or was foolish enough- to challenge him, he realized that it made his life much harder when there was not another equally important person of the opposite gender. Because if there wasn't, when girl neglected the male half of the population, things became rather messy for him.

Opening his phone and placing it to his ear, he had made a decision. "Niou? Do you know a girl named Masui Akemi?"

#

Sometimes, Akemi liked to believe that she went to Rikkaidai just because she did not want to endure going to a school like Hyotei, all based on money. If she had gone to Hyotei, she would have risen to the top within a day once they learned of her last name and the company associated with it. Well, companies, no longer just one.

She didn't go to Rikkaidai just for that. There would have been plenty of options that would have been easier and loser to the estate that her parents chose to live in. But she did not want to move, so she stayed in the house of her childhood instead, and the only alternative that was in a reasonable distance was Rikkaidai. Still, even that would have been a better reason than the one she chose. The reason she was going to Rikkaidai was to win. She had only gone to the school once before she entered it, but she knew from the moment she stepped foot over the premises that she belonged in Rikkaidai. It almost mirrored the high class world, what with all the intricacies and politics that went on with every word. And that was what she wanted- she wanted the thrill.

So, then, she supposed she could stand being sorted into class 3-A. Akemi didn't really want to be a part of the student council, but with her name and status, she had been sorted into the class without a second thought. There, she was thrown to the pack of wolves, on her very first day. The only thing that was a comfort was that here, her name was not Masui Akemi. Here, her name was Mitsuwa Akemi, and she was the one whose pride rested on that name. Not her parent's, not their money. Anything she did was solely hers, and she loved it.

"Please meet your new classmate, Mitsuwa Akemi." Even the teachers at Rikkaidai were involved in the subtle nuances of the school. They were very aware that class 3-A was where the vast majority of the student council members were, and the teacher briefly wondered why a transfer student got to hold a position there. It was not very often that they got transfers, after all.

She bowed and said, "It's nice to meet you all. I hope we get along."

The questions that came thereafter(for there was a ten minute time period that was allowed when a transfer student was admitted to get acquainted) were the simple ones, the ones that lulled their prey into a sense of false hospitality.

("What's you favorite color?" asked one. "Gold," she said, and it was a good reply, one that corresponded with the regular jerseys of their school.

Another said, "Where do you parents work?" It took her a moment before her reply came. "Both of them work at Masui Corporations. My mother is on the PR team while my father works in the finance section." Both of which, technically, were not lies, though they were a little bit twisted from the truth. Her parents ran the thing, and those were the two 'job positions' that they were most in line with.)

Then, the harsher questions came, said in sweet, rosy tones, but with thorns dipped in poison. "What's your spot on the student council?" This one was a girl with natural charisma, a certain kind of confidence and cockieness to her fluid motions. "I'm Ayasaka Chieko, Student Council President."

"I look forward to working with you. I am the treasurer of the Student Council." She gave the room a quick glance, looking for Nakamura Yumiko, finding her delicately perched on the edge of her seat next to a person who had magenta hair and wore glasses. She rose her hand, quicksilver and did not wait to be called on. "You mean that you're going to be on the treasury committee, correct?"

Akemi almost-almost- pitied the brown haired girl. Being on the student council was the only thing that made her recognizable to the student population. She did not sports her grades were only just good enough to stay on the student council as the president of the Treasury Committee. "No. I will be the President of the Treasury Committee." The other girl fumbled, ran her hands through her hair as a calming gesture. To be forced to drop from your position was a humiliation. Akemi, ho hadn't even been a student at Rikkaidai for an hour, knew this because she could see it in everybody else's eyes. Right now, Yumiko Nakamura was nothing more than prey for this classroom.

The Student Council President did not narrow her eyes, and after that episode, nobody asked her more questions. Chieko smiled and pointed to the seat beside her, the one that Yumiko had just fled from. "Sit here, so I can get to know you better." It went unspoken that Nakamura Yumiko would undoubtedly be transferred to a different class. Nobody went after Yumiko.

The teacher continued the lesson like there was nothing wrong, because to the class, nothing was. Akemi almost shivered and instead wondered why she transferred here of all places, the one that was eerily similar to the adult world, even more so than Hyotei. In the moment that Chieko smiled to her and passed her her phone number, Akemi knew exactly why. She had condemned herself to this fate because she needed to find her drive, she needed to find the will to do more than just survive in the delicate position in the adult world that she was. She needed to know how to win, how to crush somebody until they broke, because if she wouldn't, somebody would break her.

And in her heart, Akemi knew that what she had told herself earlier were lies. She didn't thrive off the thrill of breaking people; she did not thrive off of winning. But by her word, she would learn how to thrive in this kind of environment, no matter what it took. If it took throwing her current self away, she would do it.

She would be willing to tear herself apart and rebuild from the ground up, if that was what it took. So she did.

#

Read, reread, stamp. Read, reread, stamp. Read, reread, stamp. It was a monotonous thing to do, reading over the proposals of all of the sports teams and competition level teams with requests. All of them requested more funds, all of them requested more equipment. All of them had not won their last competition. Right now, the seal she had out was the one that rejected forms with an ugly red ink that instantly let them know they would not be receiving what they wanted. Within the short time she was at Rikkaidai, she had already earned herself dozens of harsh glares and threatening papers warning her to resign. Apparently the last treasurer, Yumiko, had approved every single one of them, thinking that it was little more than a popularity test. So now, Akemi was on the verge of screaming and tearing up every single last paper within grasp. But she didn't, because that would be childish, and above all, foolish.

Akemi had been sorting through the paperwork and making budget calculations for last hour and a half. Even though there was a treasury committee, they didn't do nearly as much work as she did. They did the initial screening process, but not a single one of them rejected any of the clubs. The door opened and behind it was Genichiro Sanada. "Sanada-san, good morning," she said without looking up from her paperwork. The first time she woke up early to stamp these papers, she looked him in the eyes and his had flickered to the large amount of paperwork that had red marks splayed across the desk.

"Likewise, Mitsuwa-san." Most were surprised that he did not call her Mitsuwa-chan, or simply Mitsuwa, but he held a certain degree of respect for her. After the first week, she had been sorted into the 'duchess' area of the school. If one likened the school to the hierarchal system of old Europe, the captains of winning teams and the student council president were kings and queens. Regulars of winning teams were princes, those on the student council were nobles, and anybody else was a peasant. Of course, that was a rather broad range, and there were certain cases where social class rules were not as likely to apply, or rather, the people were important enough to ignore them.

He pulled up a chair opposite her and pulled out a roster from the disciplinary section of the paperwork. From the cup of pens on the desk, he took a vibrant red one and began to scan the list, making marks here or there. On his right side was the grade roster, one that showed the results of the recent tests teachers had given them. Genichiro sighed when he came across a name on the grade list and made a mark next to another name. Akemi did not ask him why he sighed, and he appreciated that.

It was a comfortable silence, a comfortable routine. When she entered his class, he had been wary of her, more so when she appeared in the Student Council Room even before he did. Nonetheless, she had a calming presence, and a rhythm to her work. It was much more peaceful than the hallways, the regular Student Council, any of the sports banquets, and definitely more peaceful than the tennis team.

Genichiro did not know from what time she got here, but judging by the papers she went through every day before he got there, she had to have been there for at least an hour or two. It was admirable, the quiet determination and tenacity she had. After only half an hour, he stood up, tucked the papers back in a folder, and bid her goodbye. She stayed there and continued to work. He thought that whatever club she did end up joining would be blessed with a hard worker.

The Student Council President walked in a few minutes after Genichiro left. "Good morning, Ayasaka-sama." The tone was neutral, but this time, she did look up from her work. Right after Genichiro had left, she piled up the papers in a neat stack and only kept about ten out to look at. She would have to leave soon to get to class anyways.

"Good morning to you as well, Akemi-chan." The student council president got to call all of the members by the suffixes of -chan or -kun, and typically, she got to call them by their first names too. The only exception was Genichiro, who stood on the same level as her because he was both a student council member and the vice-captain of their winning tennis team.

Akemi had her timing down to a science. She knew exactly when the President would come in and always finished right before she came in. She stood and filed her papers away. "So, Akemi-chan, have you decided what club you're going to join yet? If you haven't, you could always join the tennis club. I am in it as well, and could show you the ropes."

When the two of them strode down the hallways, people bowed to them in greeting. "It would be nice to try a few of the clubs before deciding on one. It's not good to limit oneself." She smiled in greeting to a few of the more notable people that they passed. "However, if it's possible, I would like to try the tennis club today, as long as there is an extra racquet that I can use." It was a rather noncommittal answer.

"Is that so?" The students in front of them opened the door for them. They were some of the few students in class 3-A that were not a part of the student council. Both of them greeted the student council members, letting them go in first. "It sounds lovely."

#

Akemi stood on the courts with her physical education uniform and a borrowed racquet in her hand. Despite the fact that Chieko had told her she would show her the ropes, she did not keep up her promise. She figured out how to work the ball machines herself, and set them to the lowest setting. Then, she began to hit. At most, her swings were half-hearted, but she wasn't entirely bad. There was no passion though, she knew even before she began to hit the balls back. She played tennis before, and though she might have been okay at it, the only joy she felt was after she won a match. She wanted something more.

A girl with a white skirt and a fitted yellow tank top with black accentuating her curves smiled at her. "Hello, are you the new third year? Mitsuwa-chan, right?" This girl was obviously a regular. Nobody else would have called her so familiarly.

"Yes, I am, may I inquire your name?" The ball machine continued to shoot balls at her, and it would be rather difficult for her to shut it off now that the other girl turned the speed up. Instead of responding with her name, the girl said, "You're accuracy is very good, but you're hitting it at such a low speed. Why don't we turn it up?"

Then, the girl with blonde hair and a dazzling smile turned both machines up to full speed. This was Rikkaidai. These were the wolves that would always win. They traveled in packs, but they were strong on their own as well. They were cunning, and they felt the need to show others their place. At least, Akemi thought grimly, it wasn't as bad as the boys machines. On her way over, she saw them with the newest, fastest ball machines that were on the market. She knew exactly how fast they went, because she was the one who approved them. Even now, at full speed, the machines that were spitting balls out at her couldn't have been more than three quarters the speed the boys machine had.

Right now, Akemi was grateful that she had taken an interest in a lot of different sports when she was younger, or else she surely would not have been able to hit the balls back. No longer did they end up rolling into a neat pile, but rather, they were hit everywhere and anywhere, lucky that she was able to keep the balls from hitting herself. "Not bad, Mitsuwa-chan," the girl called, finally shutting the machines off. "I clearly underestimated you. My name is Sakuya Watanabe, and I am the vice-captain of the girl's tennis team. Are you joining?"

Akemi wiped her sweat off with the back of her hand. "I'm not sure yet, Watanabe-san-"

"Please, call me Watanabe-chan,"

"Watanabe-chan," she corrected herself. "I'm still looking around."

"Well, if you don't find anywhere else, we'll be glad to have you." It was almost-almost an offense that she did not accept her invitation. Almost, but not quite. If she hadn't bowed to her right after she made the statement, it would have been an offense, but she did, so for now, everything was okay. "You're a good player." She eyes the girl standing opposite of her. "Have you met the boys team yet?"

"No, I have not." She's heard of them though,she knew everything about them on her first day. She didn't really want to meet them either, but she did not raise a protest when Sakuya dragged her off to the boys courts. When she asked why, she was met with the response of, "Once you see them, you'll never want to leave. After all, it's only the girl's tennis team that is allowed to practice with them sometimes."

The non regular practice did not seem to be any more harrowing for the boys than it was the girls. She nodded politely to those that recognized her, but didn't respond to any questions they asked. Right now, Akemi was still in the process of making her new self, and she didn't want rumors of a reputation getting out before she changed herself. Sakuya tugged on her arm a little bit more, getting impatient. Akemi thought it was rather curious that the girl's tennis team was so lax and allowed the vice-captain to show new members to the boys team, but that really wasn't any of her concern; it was the captain's concern, and if she couldn't control her team, that was her fault.

"Sanada-kun," the girl called out, waving both hands in the air as she approached. "Have you missed me? I'm here with a potential recruit, and she looked really good out on the courts." That was an exaggeration, Akemi was sure, because if she was good, then the girl's tennis club was lower than she expected. She would cut their funds, but since the Student Council President was in the tennis club, she probably would not allow it. In recent years, they had not advanced farther than prefectures, and it was a mockery to Rikkaidai, because the girls were so far below the boys team.

Again, Sakuya called "Sanada-kun," and Akemi almost flinched. That suffix and the President of the Disciplinary Committee did not seem to go together at all, in any sense. The majority of the time, Akemi interacted with Genichiro when one or the other was sitting, sometimes both. She had not realized how much taller he was than her, and had not talked to him enough to realize that tennis was his passion. His eyes burned as he looked at the other members training, but she could not tell if he wanted to kill those doing poorly, or step out into the courts himself and play. It was a combination of the two, she guessed.

Only when the two of them were right next to the vice-captain of the tennis team that Genichiro finally acknowledged their presence. "Watanabe, I thought I told you not to bring any more of your players over here to gape at us. You have your own team to worry about, and I have mine." He didn't even glance her way.

"But Sanada-kun," she argued like a child, "This is one of your classmates, a student council member!" Finally, finally he turned his burning gaze over to her, spirit not the slightest bit dampened. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before either of them responded.

"Mitsuwa-san." Genichiro nearly grunted his greeting, though he did not seem that adverse to her presence. "I didn't know you played."

She still said nothing in return, and though Genichiro was accustomed to the girl taking a while to respond, there was something in her posture and eyes that changed now, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. As for Akemi, she knew what she wanted now. She wanted her eyes to burn like Genichiro's, with so much passion for what she did, that even when she was watching somebody could feel it in their bones-that she loved what she was doing. That was what she wanted.

And what somebody from the Masui family wanted, they got.

I think Rikkaidai is really interesting to write about. TBH I probably should finish my other fics, but I couldn't resist posting this. Happy new year and holidays(though its a bit late).

It would be wonderful if people reviewed and told me how they like Akemi and her interactions. I feel like sometimes she's not main-character worthy, but she's a pretty strong person in the end. Also, if Sanad seems a little bit OC, I just couldn't figure out how to write him. Many people write him either as a)stoic, talks very little or b)always pissed. I don't think my writing style goes well with writing that, so I sort of just made him fit with what I wanted to achieve.

As always, I love reviews, favorites, and followers!