Disclaimer: I don't own Saki, sucks for me and you cause if I did the manga would be finished and the second season of the anime would be out!

Author's Note: What would happen if the Saki that arrived at Kiyosumi was… well… slightly different from the Saki in both the anime and manga. How would things turn out?

I love Saki, don't get me wrong. It's one of the few anime I keep on my computer instead of on my external hard-drive just so that I can watch in when ever I feel like it. I'm also bummed as all hell that I have to wait till April 2014 for the continuation of the anime to come it. It's actually pushed me to read the manga I'm so desperate. That being said I always wondered how different the whole story line would be if Saki was a different person from the one who arrived at Kiyosumi. If she'd reacted differently to things earlier on in her life or if events prior to her arrival had changed her.

Part of the reason I decided to write this story is because I'm experiencing writer's block all of my other stories. I'm hoping that writing something else will free up my mind just a bit. That means please don't expect instant updates. In fact this may not continue at all. It's all in the name of mental freedom.

Please excuse my lack of knowledge about mahjong. I can play, I just don't necessarily know the intricate details of the game. I even managed to score a Yakuman the other day. I took a picture for proof, got to have proof or nobody believes you. The point is don't crucify me if I get something wrong. I'll probably be focusing more on the people then the game anyway. If only for that reason.

Warning: This will contain yuri subtext, yuri overtones, yuri undertones, overt yuri and just yuri in general. If you've ever watched Saki you should know there is yuri involved. I'll probably have a bit more then that. If you don't like reading yuri / shoujo ai / femslash / lesbianism then I'm telling you now please RUN. Do not walk away from this fic… RUN! Mwahahaha! Oh the evil laughter always makes me feel better. But seriously if you don't like it don't read it. It's not what my story will revolve around - probably, though it could change - but it's there either way.

'Fishing' - Normal

'Fishing' - Thoughts, Emphasis, Flashbacks and Dreams (Use logic to differentiate!)

Chapter 1:

Saki stared at the computer for a few moments before a growl rumbled in her chest. That lasted only seconds before it then transformed into a cute pout as she stared a bit longer. She despaired of ever managing to defeat the famed Noddochi. Why such an evil person had to exist in the world of online mahjong was beyond her knowledge, but her skills were seriously pushing Saki to question her own competence. Saki may have questioned her abilities in several areas of her life, but mahjong had never been one of them. Well, not never just not recently.

When she'd first started playing online mahjong in an attempt to reconnect with the at least partial joy she experienced with her family in the past - most importantly her sister - she'd sucked so bad at it during her first attempt it had taken her another month to even gather up her courage and try again. It had felt like she was playing blind. The feeling, insight, knowledge and her sense of flow during the game she'd been experiencing her entire life had been striped away and she'd been forced to play like a one legged man in an ass kicking contest. It had actually had her a bit upset at her father for finally getting her a computer and inadvertently introducing her to this horror.

After getting over that she'd actually found it an interesting way to play. Like some kind of test of skill. So, through dogged determination her basic mahjong skill had began to improve. She doubted those skills would ever match up to the way she'd been able to play before, but even so she figured an improvement on the basics would surely improve her overall skills in the long run. Not that she'd ever had the chance to test it and she was still unable to manipulate her score into a plus minus zero when playing online. She didn't think she'd ever be able to without feeling and manipulating the flow.

Then she'd stumbled across Noddochi.

Feeling a chance to test her skills against such a legend, she'd played… and been subsequently been crushed. So she'd played again and again and again and she was sure it actually was helping her skill. She was playing better then ever in her online games, but she'd still never managed to beat the pink haired booby chick and her god damned penguin - though she doubted that the avatar was an accurate representation of the player.

She pouted at the screen once more, "I'd like to see you beat me in a real match Noddochi."

Saki was positive that if faced with Noddochi in real life she would be able to defeat the player. Unfortunately she doubted such a meeting would ever take place and her surety would remain forever untested.

Sighed despondently she exited the window and shut down her computer for the night. She needed her energy for school. Plus she loved sleep, she really and truly loved sleep like a long lost brother or sister. She doubted she'd be able to live without it. Well, no one could really live without it, but she was pretty sure she would be one of the few people to miss it if it was ever removed as a human necessity.

Glad she'd already bathed and changed into her pyjamas earlier she had to do little more then climb into her soft warm bed and drift off to sleep with a slight smile on her face.

She stared sadly at the little alarm clock that was crushed beside her bed. That was the sixth one this month. It wasn't like she meant to crush them, they were just such rude little pieces of technology, waking her from her precious sleep. A cruel and evil invention that was surely created by a sadist that was clearly against mother nature's created rest. Be that as it may, she was now going to have to go through the pain of going into town to buy a new one. Well, she'd stop by on the way home.

Forcing herself into a relatively upright standing position. She stumbled sleepily as she usually did through her morning routine finishing it off with a quick breakfast before she made steps to break the news to her father.

"Otou-san," she began solemnly getting him to look up from his newspaper, "Another alarm clock bit the dust this morning."

"Ah Saki, you need to be more careful with those things," he sighed with a shake of his head.

She nodded her head in agreement, "Hai otou-san, that being said I'm going to need some money to replace it."

He grumbled under his breath as he dug around in his pocket and pulled out the appropriate amount of money. "Eventually you're going to need a part time job to pay for all those clocks I keep buying you."

"If you bought me phone it would solve the problem."

"Then you'd crush that too," he pointed out.

"I'm sure my subconscious knows better then that," she replied.

"Why does it keep letting you crush alarm clocks then?"

"It knows they're cheap," she replied with a grin snapping the money out his hand. "Arigatou, otou-san."

"Hai hai…" he sighed as he watched her gather her things to leave. "Don't be home late."

"Hai otou-san, see you later," she said over her shoulder as she headed for the door. Running out before he had the chance to reply.

"Bye," he muttered to the empty house. He shook his head with a small sigh before unfolding and returning to his newspaper. He wasn't sure he'd ever understand what went on in his child's mind. He could only hope it wasn't something along the lines of death, blood and world domination. Saki didn't seem the type though. She'd probably have a heart attack when she realised how many people she would have to talk in front of to give such a speech. Her shyness he was certain would at least prevent such things. Besides, she'd probably get lost before she made it to the location. Then she'd realise how much work it was and how much sleep she would miss and would promptly admit defeat.

Yes, it was the small things that made him certain they were safe from anything that could possibly go on in Saki's mind. Bless her shy, sleepy, easily lost soul.

Lord of the Rings was an awesome book. A bit slower compared to the currently more fast paced books, but a good read nonetheless. She was only halfway through the first book though so she couldn't really make an accurate judgement on it yet. From what she could gather so far though, the book was good. Plus it was a nice day. She was willing to be lenient.

The only problem with her nice quite solitude was despite how calming the spot she'd chosen to find, the tree above her kept dropping the petals from it's flowers onto her book. It was actually starting to irritate her. She would find herself holding her breath during a tense moment then a petal would suddenly fall on her page and just ruin the whole thing. If only she was some form of advanced alien that could just put her hand on book and absorb all the information in it. She was sure she had a dream like that once.

Grumbling in irritation she flopped back onto the bank. Letting the book cover her face as she took a moment to breathe.

The pink haired girl passing by found herself suppressing a giggle - something she would never in her right mind allow to pass - as she took in the visage of her disgruntled year mate. She managed to watch the whole little fit of irritation in all it's cuteness and the deeply hidden cute loving girl inside her wanted nothing more then to shout "Kawaii!". Only her amazing self-restraint and control managed to stop such a thing from happening. She had a reputation to maintain.

Blushing slightly she carried on past the girl catching only a brief glimpse of Suga Kyoutarou - her club member - heading towards the short haired girl before she turned her head and faced forward, continuing on her way towards the school.

Said boy approached his friend with caution, knowing how… violent she could be if woken up from a good sleep. He was just hoping her rest hadn't progressed to the sleeping stage yet. Squatting down close to the girl he tentatively poked her shoulder waiting for her response. He was eternally grateful she was surprised rather then angry at his interruption. That meant she hadn't fallen asleep.

"Kyou-chan!" she exclaimed, "Why must you be so cruel?"

"Ah, sorry," the blonde replied with a grin. It was best to calm the beast just in case.

"There better be a good reason for waking me up like this," she mumbled. I was so close to getting in a good nap.

"Well, I think it's a good reason."

"Kyou-chan," she deadpanned.

He rubbed the back of his head, "I need your help in the cafeteria."

"You want me to go to the cafeteria."

He nodded.

"With you."

He nodded again.

"Where all those people are."

He nodded more slowly now.

"Iie."

"What!? But, Saki, I need your help!"

"I refuse."

"Well I refuse your refusal," he replied quite seriously.

"Doesn't matter, you can't do anything about it."

"I disagree."

"Oh really now? Well what are you-"

Her sentence was promptly cut off as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She was suddenly grateful she'd opted to get a longer skirt at the beginning of the year instead of the shorter ones most of the first years wore.

"Kyou-chan, put me down!" she demanded in a squeak.

"Not until I get my ladies lunch," he replied determinedly.

"Ladies lunch? Ladies lunch!? You're kidnapping me for a ladies lunch!?"

"It looks good."

She sighed and stopped struggling on his back, "Can I at least get my book?"

He paused a moment to consider it. "Alright fine."

Saki really did hate crowds.

It made her feel self-conscious as all hell. Now she had to deal with the crowds plus the incessant beeping going on with Kyoutarou's phone. It also had the misfortune of reminding her did not have phone. In total she was a tad on edge.

"Kyou-chan, please stop messing around with your phone," she begged after she'd seated herself down next to him.

"Jealous," he smirked through a mouthful of food.

"Shut up," she pouted glancing away quickly.

The beeping continued.

She sighed.

"What're you doing on there anyway?" she questioned.

He swallowed down the mouthful of food in his mouth before replying, "Mahjong. Though I've only just managed to remember all the yaku. It's actually pretty fun once your start remembering all that stuff."

Deciding not to give away her own feelings towards mahjong she just nodded slowly. For her mahjong had always been a bit of a love hate relationship. After the problems with her family in the past which had in a sense pushed her into the beginning of manipulating her score she only recently begun to remember the good times too. She still wasn't sure about playing with other people though. Despite her bravado the previous night it had been a long time since she'd actually played a match around a real mahjong table and not on the computer screen.

Her rediscovery of the fun side of mahjong aside she was still in some ways dubious about it. Mahjong had been the cause of a lot of arguments in the household when she was younger. She wasn't sure how playing in real life would cause her to react. Being alone with just the screen in front of her in weird way prevented the sense of realism playing in real life had.

"I suppose," she mumbled eventually in a delayed reply.

"You can play mahjong?" he questioned a hopeful tone creeping into his voice.

"I guess," she muttered distractedly.

"Oho, not very good are you?" he teased getting a pout from the short haired girl. He continued more to himself, "Well, I suppose you'd be better then nobody at all."

"Huh?"

"You need to come with me. We don't had enough players."

"Players? Wait… nani?"

"For the mahjong club," he added.

She didn't want to though, she didn't want to play. She didn't want to… she… she had the perfect excuse. "But I need to buy a new alarm clock, I don't have time."

"Crushed another did you," He sighed. "Can't you do that tomorrow?"

"If I don't do it now then I won't be able to wake up in the morning," she pointed out with a grin.

He shrugged, "Just use your pho… you don't have a phone."

"Exactly."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "It seems for now you have escaped my clutches, but I expect you to play tomorrow!"

Her shoulders slumped, "Hai."

It seems her excuse would only work on a temporary bases.

"Sayonara," he said with a wave heading off to the mahjong club room.

She nodded her head in reply though he couldn't see it. How was she supposed to get out of playing tomorrow though?

Swinging the back containing her new alarm clock lightly by her side she contemplated her situation. If Kyoutarou had his way then tomorrow she would be playing mahjong with the members of his club. Unless of course she could avoid him. Even that, however, was not a sure fire way out of the situation. Chances were that eventually he'd manage to corner her and drag her to the mahjong club. That itself was confusing. She was pretty sure that Kiyosumi didn't have a mahjong club or at least it didn't have one when she joined the school, it was one the reasons she chose the place other then the fact that she couldn't afford to go to a more private school.

Kicking a stone that she passed by dejectedly she wondered if her father would question her if she asked for a sudden transfer. She shook her head ruefully, that was not the answer to her problems.

Passing by one of the cafes she usually crossed on her way home she decided she could do with some tea to calm her nerves. Plus she had some left over change from the clock. She'd long ago learnt that there was no point in buying one of the higher end clocks if it was just going be be destroyed in about a week if it was lucky. Her father had yet to catch on though, so she'd managed to accumulate a bit of cash every time she bought one. Now she'd just use it for a good cup of tea instead.

Pushing open the door to the cafe she found herself immediately greeted by a short haired girl with glasses. After being seated and placing her order she took a moment to observer her surroundings.

It was a fairly decent looking establishment even if it was obviously not within the best the town had to offer. The walls were a pale pinky cream with small booths a darker shade of the same colour ran along the sides of the walls. One of which she was seated at with a small dark wood table in front of her that was currently proving its worth by providing her with a place to rest her head. Her eyes drifted along the wooden bar across the room before catching sight of something that almost had her jumping out of her skin.

Sitting calmly in a small enclosed booth at the end of the bar was a mahjong table currently with two men and the girl who'd previously greeted her, sitting around it.

The waitress she'd previously given her order to placed the tea in front of her with a smile before going off to serve whoever else needed her, though the place didn't look to busy to be honest. She returned the smile briefly before she automatically found her eyes turning back to the mahjong table. Even from this far away she could get a sense of what was going on. It was always that way. Being able to feel the game without really seeing it, which she knew most people would laugh at if she'd ever told them, but it didn't change the feeling. She'd actually wandered if she would be able to play blind at one point, though indentions on the tiles would allow her to feel - literally with her fingers - what she'd drawn.

Without her own consent she found her legs carrying her over to the table, her half finished tea left forgotten behind her. Standing there watching them play brought about a mix of feelings all underpinned with a hint of nostalgia. Such a whirlwind of emotion, at had been so long since she'd even been near a mahjong game that wasn't connected to the computer.

The two things were so different, the real life game literally allowing you to see more of course.

You could see people's faces and the way they reacted to the different moves you made. How many of what tile they had depending on where within there tiles they pulled their discard from. Those of course were what other people saw, for her there was even more to be seen and felt. It was the reason she'd been able to manipulate her score consistently to plus minus zero. Teru of course hadn't been pleased at her doing that, but at the time it had felt like she really didn't have much choice.

Her revere was broken when the girl at the table caught sight of her after the last hand.

"Ano… do you want to join?" she asked after placing her glasses back over her eyes from where they'd been resting on her head. Which was weird in itself, but Saki had become used to associating weird and mahjong players together awhile back.

"Uh… I ah… that is…" she trailed off uncertainly.

"Eh Mako-chan, trying to runaway from our weekly game? Scared we're going to beat you this time," the one furthest from her joked with a grin.

"Like you can even get close to me anymore oji-san," the now identified Mako teases.

"You just broke my heart," he dramatically poses in a state of death.

The thinner man across from him kicks the balding man's shoe, "Eh now stop teasing her. Poor Mako-chan's probably bored with just the two of us."

"Well, it's not like we knew Misaka-baka was going to cancel."

"Probably washing away his sorrows, you know what she can be like."

"Poor bastard probably needs it," he agreed.

They both shuddered simultaneously.

Making an impulse decision Saki interrupted before the conversation went any further, "I would like to play, if you don't mind… that is."

"Of course we don't mind little oujo-chan. Playing with four is always better then three."

"Yoroshiku," she replied with a shaky grin walking round the table to take a seat taking the West seat, if their earlier play was anything to go by. They were probably too lazy to draw for seats again. No longer distracted by the game like she had been previously Mako suddenly realised the girl was wearing a very familiar seifuku.

"You go to Kiyosumi don't you?" she asked in surprise.

"Hai," she murmured confusedly.

"Me too," she grinned. "Didn't know there was anyone outside the Mahjong Club that played. Most girls who do go to Kazekoshi."

Oh crap, Saki thought with a wince, Now I'm really screwed.

"You in the club?" she asked as the began stacking there tiles.

"Hai, it's lot's of fun. You should come by sometime."

Saki grinned weakly before shaking her head and getting back to matters, "So we playing a pretty standard game?"

"Four east hands, four south hands. Nothing else really different from the standard rules," Mako replied. Not really sure how much this girl actually new about mahjong or even the terminology used in the game.

She nodded her head in agreement and looked down at the hand she'd drawn. There was a small grin that wanted to work it's way onto her face. It was pure luck she even managed to keep a straight face. She forgot how nice it was for the tiles to work in her favour. She hadn't even had to draw a tile and she was already in tempai. She could only wish for such a thing when playing online. Though even for her this wasn't exactly common. The question now was, how did she want to play?

She could sense if she called riichi she would then draw her winning tile. That however, wasn't the question. The question was did she want to play to win or play a plus minus zero game. The girl next to her felt like fairly good player or at least quite a ways ahead in skill compared to the gentlemen she was playing.

It was her turn. She was going to play to win. It had been so long she just had to. Keeping her expression blank and her voice clam she moved as if to discard her north tile. She found that scared people more then seeming excited about it. If you were calm it seemed like an everyday occurrence. With a flick of her wrist she spun the tile to declare a double riichi or at least in this instant it did, given it was her first turn.

"Riichi," she declared softly placing her riichi stick at the centre of the table.

Taking her next tile she didn't even need to glance at it to know it was a her winning tile. Placing it face up she exposed her hand. It was a good one too. Well, not a monster hand, but good by most people's standards.

"Double riichi, ippatsu tsumo. 2000/3900."

Yeah, she was going to kick there asses. If only because that explanation about what kind of mahjong rules they'd be following was on the patronising side, she could have just said it would be standard.

Once the girl had left and the old men had excused themselves Mako ran for the phone. Typing in the numbers frantically she barely kept from hyperventilating when she missed several of them and had to start over again. Finally managing to type the number in correctly she stood there tapping her foot impatiently as the phone rang.

She'd almost put the phone down and decided to run there when the phone was finally answered.

"Mako?" came a questioning voice from the other side of the line.

"Buchou," she gasped.

"Ah… what?"

"I found our fifth player!"

Arriving at school the next day Saki couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed in herself and largely guilty. The way she'd played yesterday had been really rude and it wasn't something she normally did. She'd known that playing at that level was too much, but she done it anyway. Getting a bit caught up in the moment.

While she had held back to a certain degree - something she always did when knowingly facing players weaker then herself - it hadn't been nearly enough for the level of the players she'd been playing. It was one of the reasons she'd developed the plus minus zero technique in the first place. She felt bad when she won too much in that way because it never felt fair to her. It was like she was playing with completely extra sense in comparison to everyone else. Not for everyone of course. She knew there were other players like her that could feel that game that way, but they weren't exactly common and even then not all of them could feel as much or control it in such a way. And you know what they say, in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.

Sighed despondently she stretched her arms above her head, hoping to shake the last of her sleep. She winced when the stretch pulled on the place she'd bruised her back last night falling out the bath. Clumsiness really was a curse. Rubbing the spot to ease the worst of the pain she headed towards the library to try and find the sequel to the Fellowship of the Ring. It was there she was intercepted by Mako, Kyoutarou and Takei Hisa - the student council president.

"Student Congress President," she corrected Saki with a shake of her finger after she'd exclaimed 'Student Council President' in surprise.

"Aren't you picky?" Mako sighed from behind her.

"Let's see here," the red head muttered as she leant over the counter to get a look at the computer.

"Stop snooping around," Mako sighed once again, not expecting to actually be listened to, but deciding that common sense needed to be pointed out.

Which was true enough as Hisa read the screen quickly, "Ah? I have that book, in fact I have every volume. Want to borrow the-"

Her well thought out exchange was interrupted by the library doors flying open, Kyoutarou hurling himself through in his rushed attempt to get to Saki before the girl found another way to skip out. Lucky for him her alarm clock had remained in tact that morning and such an excuse had been blown out the window, though she had been tempted to break it anyway.

"Saki!" he exclaimed, "You have a promise to fulfil!"

"Suga-kun," Hisa said, interrupting his grand entrance, "Do you mind waiting a moment?"

"Whatever it is Student Council President-"

"Student Congress President," she reminded.

He deflated a moment before gathering up his energy and continuing, "Fine then Student Congress President! Whatever it is, it has to wait! I'm here to get this girl and drag her to the Mahjong Club before she finds a way to escape once again!" there was a brief pause as he turned to the short haired girl. "Ah… Saki, you didn't break your alarm clock this morning did you?"

She sadly shook her head. The one time she wished she had.

"Then you have no excuses or escape! You are coming with me!"

"Hai," she sighed despondently.

Hisa chose this moment to interrupt, "Wait, so you made this girl promise yesterday. That she would come play today."

"Hai, I wanted to get her to play yesterday, but she broke her alarm clock and had to buy a new one."

"Kyou-chan! You didn't need to tell them that part," she pouted.

Mako grinned, "Well, at least it explains how you ended up playing mahjong in my family cafe yesterday."

"Nani? You played mahjong yesterday anyway!" Kyoutarou exclaimed with fake tears. "How could you!?"

Saki just started at them all in a bit of shock. She had no idea how the conversation had escalated to this point. She turned to the red head on her left, "Ano, can I still borrow the book?"

She shrugged, "Sure, as long as you play."

The girl hung head for a moment before giving in with a nod, "Hai, I promised Kyou-chan anyway. At least I'm getting something out of it now."

"Hey!" yelled the blonde haired boy. "Playing me is a joy and a privilege."

"Hai hai, whatever gets you through the day," Mako teased, adding in her own two cents.

"Why are you playing so badly!" exclaimed Mako in shock, "You played scarily good yesterday!"

"I don't even like Mahjong," Saki mumbled.

"Nani?"

She shrugged and added, "It's not like plus minus zero is a bad score."

"It is compared to yesterday," she replied.

"Well, maybe yesterday was luck. You know that can happen sometimes," she retorted.

"We played five games," Mako deadpanned, "and the only reason we managed to play five games was because they ended so quickly when you managed to make one of us go bust. Sometimes before we even reached the South Round."

"Really?" commented Hisa, "You never specified how good she was. Only mentioning that you had someone who could play for us."

"I wanted to surprise you," the glasses wearing girl returned.

"Sorry," the red eyed girl sighed. "I just felt kind of bad about the way I played yesterday. It was bad sportsmanship. So, I thought I'd play the plus minus zero game I used to play with my family in the past."

"Plus minus zero? You got that score specifically?" questioned Hisa.

"Hai," she replied with a grin.

"Coincidence," Nodoka stated with absolute surety. "It's impossible to manipulate your score to that degree. Managing it once doesn't mean anything."

Saki turned to face the pink haired girl trying desperately not to get distracted by the breasts on display. That girl had a scarily large pair of knockers. They'd been a major dis-distra - whoa - she almost lost her train of thought there just thinking about them. She mentally focused herself. They were a serious distraction throughout the previous game, they were a serious distraction now in fact. Shaking such thoughts from her head she gave the girl a grin and with confidence she didn't normally have replied, "Oh, yeah. Want to make a bet on that? I think I could score plus minus zero all day long."

Before Nodoka could reply the president interrupted, "While that would be interesting. I think it would be better explored at a later time. For now I want to see what Mako saw."

"You want me to play like I did then?"

The red head nodded, "Suga-kun out, Mako in. She'll at least be able to tell if you're playing seriously or not."

Saki sighed. This whole thing was ending up a lot more serious then she thought it would. If only she hadn't walked into that cafe. Then she could have gotten away with a few plus minus zero games and walked away scott free. Now she had to deal with all of this.

Author's Note:

Not a lot of detail on the mahjong. There'll probably be a bit more in the next chapter, but this will never be intensely focused on that aspect though I actually like watching that part more then anything else in the anime. Until next time hope you enjoyed.

Please review!

There aren't a lot of Saki readers, but those of you who are need to review in order to keep the even fewer writers going!