A Prince of Tennis Story

Chapter 1: Love Dilemma

"In these times you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when you awake in the morning."- Carl Sandburg


"And so…even in death, they remained together…" she whispered to herself, gently closing shut the book she held within her hands.

The sunlight glinted off the glossy, gold print titles, "Romeo and Juliet", refracting off them.

Kumiko looked up from her copy of one of William Shakespeare's most famous titles, and out the glass balcony doors. Placing the book on her night table, she pushed the light doors open, and wind instantly caressed her face.

From the balcony of her spacious room, she could oversee the courtyard that lay in front of her home, the enormous marble fountain being the center of all the bustling activities of the courtyard.

Folding her arms over the cool railing, Kumiko placed her chin over them, sighing. Her eyes glazed over as she stared out into the blue sky, feeling envious of Romeo and Juliet themselves.

No! It's not that she wanted to die like them or something…But she wanted a love like they had. A kind of love that was powerful, and meaningful. But unfortunately, not everyone's lives are a perfect fairytale love story. Not even Romeo and Juliet's.

Absent-mindedly, her fingers played with the diamond ring perched on her finger. "Atobe….Keigo…" She murmured his name, the name of the man whom she was engaged to. Not by volition or choice. It was arranged.

Amongst rich families like hers, marriage was usually arranged, not for the happiness of the children, but for the progress of the family and business. And so, her father, she did not know how he did it, got her engaged to the heir of the prestigious Atobe family. Kumiko's family, the Ishimaru's, were nouveaux rich people.

They were pretty much new on this high-class end scene, whilst families like the Atobe or Ootori had been around for sometime now, growing richer with each passing generation. Which was why it was surprising when she heard that she got engaged to the son of one of the most wealthiest and famous family out there.

She…had met this Atobe Keigo person before. But…he wasn't exactly the type she'd go looking for. He was…rich and…well, snobby. He was overall, still, nice and gentlemanly, but as she suspected, there won't be love growing between them anytime soon. They hardly knew each other and their marriage was coming up shortly. It was going on too fast in Kumiko's opinion.

She didn't hate her father for picking out the man she would most likely spend the rest of her life with. Although she'd rather much be married to someone whom she loves whole heartedly, she knew her father was only doing what's best for his family. He worked hard to provide her mother and her all that they had now. She could have anything she wanted! And…she is going to be married to the Atobe Keigo. Apparently, he's one of the most wanted bachelors out there, according to the magazines she read.

So…she would not complain. She'd just be the good girl that she was taught up to be, and listen to her father.

At least, that's what she keeps telling herself. Then again, deep down, she knew that true love was literally impossible. Even if it was, what are the chances of it surviving?

"It didn't even survive in the books…" Kumiko murmured, staring down at her "Romeo and Juliet" book. Distinctly, she heard someone calling for her from outside in the hallway….Her mother.

Kumiko let out a tired breath, before trudging out of her room and to more gatherings of family 'friends' and congratulations. Yet, she did not see what was there to be congratulated about.

If anyone was wondering what all that hustle and bustle in the courtyard that was mentioned previously, it was because the whole household was running in preparation of the engagement party. Basically, a party just to show off more and find more potential business partners.

It was to be hosted by the Ishimaru family this time, to introduce the engagement between Kumiko and Atobe Keigo. Said girl is currently sitting in her room, dressed in her gown for the night, fiddling with her dress.

Cool night air caressed her cold skin as a night wind blew in through the open balcony doors. She was to be performing tonight with her band which her friend formed back during their middle school days. She was currently 17 going on 18, and Keigo was the same, although older by several months.

They had five members in total in their band. Her, the singer, and sometimes the keyboardist whilst the original keyboardist took over for singing. Then there was the keyboardist herself, her dear friend Aya Okuda. She was quite the hyper one, which is why she was a great keyboardist, as she deals out amazing and fast-paced keys to their music. Her voice was also amazingly powerful, making her the perfect singer for any of their heavier songs, while Kumiko covered the softer ones.

Then there was their bass guitarist and guitarist; Shishido Ryo and Kikumaru Eiji respectively. Both were from other rich families (in fact, literally Kumiko's entire social group consisted of rich teens) and they attended the same middle school together. Although Shishido wasn't that musically inclined, he had the talent and one of his best friends, Ootori Choutarou, enjoyed music which also influenced Shishido to do the bass. And Kumiko did not know, and did not bother to find out how Aya managed to convince Shishido to join their band.

Kikumaru was a fun person. Kumiko liked him a hyper, cheerful, happy-go-lucky basically. One hell of a guitarist player and acrobat. Both his and Aya's talent at their instruments can make critics of rich families take back what they say about rich people: "The rich aren't gifted. They were just spoon-fed and everything is made to make them look better."

The world's perspective on the rich weren't always nice. Even if they really did try to do good, they are accused of doing it for their image. It's literally impossible to get out of the cycle. And if anything happens, the media just LOVES to epic-size everything. It made for an amazing front cover story.

But lastly, their last member was the drummer: Kawamura Takashi. It brought a smile to Kumiko's face just by thinking of him. He was such a sweet man. But once he gets a hold of his drum sticks, it's like he undergoes a transformation; and he changes completely! It always surprises Kumiko, and she would most likely never get used to how fast he changes from somber to fired-up.

Kumiko could faintly see her balcony railing being illuminated by the decorated lights of the courtyard down below, and the sounds of a party beginning reached her ears. The clock handle chimed at 9:00pm (it escaped her as to why rich families held their parties so late) and Kumiko got up to grab her heels from her bedside. Before leaving the room however, out of habit, she stepped out onto her balcony again. This was probably her favorite place to be in the entire mansion.

Down below, the shrubs and trees were all bedecked with gold and blue, and the fountain was alight with newly placed angel statues. Limousines were driving in from the steel gates, dropping off couples and the occasional family off at the front steps. Some chose to walk through the gates, and linger around by the walkway and admiring the decorations.

"Wow….dad went all out for this." Kumiko admired to herself.

Amongst the people ambling about, she spotted her mother, doing her job as a good wife and host, greeting the guests and chit-chatting. She watched as the family she was just talking to left for the front doors, and another approached. This family made Kumiko quirk an eyebrow.

It wasn't that they were weird or anything. But…the couple's son, it would seem, had a mock of bright red hair. This was thoroughly unusual. She had never seen a hair amongst the rich dyed as so before. Usually they'd prefer gold or honey.

Kumiko could tell that it was dyed, as the parents of the boy had dark black hair, and natural red hair (like Kikumaru) would not be so bright….and it was also slightly pink. A giggle left Kumiko's lips when a green bubble escaped the boy's mouth, causing her mother to pause for a moment to look.

It was unusual for the rich to feed on simple candies such as bubble gums as well.

Kumiko started, and her giggle stopped when lavender eyes met hers. The red haired boy from down below had caught her laughing at him, and was now staring at her. He wasn't glaring or anything, but his eyes were held in a nonchalant stare, and Kumiko could feel a small blush forming on her face as the seconds passed. "Uhh…"

Her heart jumped for a moment, and quickly, Kumiko went back in and closed the balcony doors. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. She must admit.

The boy was handsome. Gorgeous even.

But she wasn't the type who went for guys with looks, and she took pride in that. But it scared her that his one stare alone conjured such emotions within her. Kumiko shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

She was to be performing in half an hour or so, depending on the guests, and she did not need a distraction like this. Quietly to herself, she sang the song they'll be presenting tonight. She did not feel like messing up anything in their performance, not tonight. Tonight was important for her father, although the party was technically held for her. It would not be pleasant to find the morning newspaper with large words scrawled all over it: "Ishimaru heiress has an off-key singing!"

The song they'll perform wasn't new. It had been written quite sometime ago. Kumiko had wrote the lyrics and the other four composed the music together, with her vaguely giving ideas as to how it will sound. Compared to the others, Kumiko was terrible at instruments, which is why she usually sat on the sidelines when they composed.

However, tonight, rather than the keyboard, a grand piano was prepared (the older generations didn't really approve of synchronized music). It will be the first time they perform this song to the audience; their previous audience were their parents and siblings.

Kumiko's dress glittered an aquamarine-gold under the bright lights of the main hall. It was a simple one piece, but the intricacy of the colors it makes under lights makes up for the lack of details. She smiled at guests as she passed by, making her way to the room where the party will take place, or as her dad labeled it, the Aries Room. She didn't understand why Aries, but whatever suits him.

Kumiko stood at the entrance of the room awkwardly, feeling a stranger in her own house. She didn't like crowds like this, as the room was literally jammed pack, despite its size. A waiter came up to her and offered her his tray, which she took a glass of pink fizzy drink from before thanking him.

Suddenly, she heard her name being called by a very familiar voice.

"Ahh~There she is." Her father's voice drifted into her ears.

Kumiko turned around to see her dad making his way towards her, with the Atobe parents by his side. Mrs. Atobe bursted into a smile as soon as she got close enough, and enveloped Kumiko in a hug. "You look absolutely gorgeous today." She smiled kindly.

Kumiko smiled back hesitantly, unused to the presence of this woman, her future mother-in-law. nodded at her, a small smile of his own on his face. Kumiko bowed her head slightly in politeness to him, although internally she winced. She had a feeling that the man didn't like her much…

"I cant wait till Keigo sees you!" Mrs. Atobe's voice brought Kumiko's attention back to the lady in front of her. "He'll be stunned speechless!" She gushed. Mr. Atobe and her father had long left the scene, after successfully getting rid of Mrs. Atobe it seems, and are now somewhere in the hall talking about business.

Humbly, as is expected of a girl of her standing(usually), Kumiko bowed her head robotically. "It's not really that great…"

"It? I meant you, honey! Not the dress." laughed heartily, waving down a waitress and getting a glass of wine for herself.

"Thank you." Kumiko's attention was no longer on the woman, although she liked her a lot. Because the red haired boy from before had just walked in with his parents.

Unconsciously, Kumiko's gaze followed the boy around the room as he walked with his parents who were appraising the various artifacts around the area. Unknowingly to her as well, she had started to bend slightly to the side to get a view of him and around Mrs. Atobe , who was starting to stare curiously at her.

"Kumiko-chan? What are you…?" She turned herself to look at what Kumiko was staring at. "Oh!"

Kumiko's sight of enticing red hair was replaced with the sight of crimson red instead, of Mrs. Atobe's dress. A strong perfumed aroma enveloped her noses and the girl started to feel dizzy from it. "You're so adorable Kumiko-chan, dear! I just knew you and Keigo would make a lovely pair!"

So she was most likely the culprit between their engagement occurring. "What do you mea….?" Kumiko drifted off as she understood why. She thought she was looking at Keigo, who was on the same side of the room as the red haired boy.

Keigo was dressed in a purple tux, which would be laughable on anyone else, but for some reason, it seemed to suit him and make him look more dashing, if that was even possible. A hand grabbed Kumiko's and suddenly, Kumiko found herself walking towards her spouse, Mrs. Atobe leading the way.

Keigo noticed them approaching, and he instantly ended his talk with….Oshitari Yuushi, Kumiko suspected, and made his way towards them. But of all the places for them to stop, they stopped right beside the mini-pillar which the red haired boy was standing with his parents, who were currently admiring the vase that was placed on top of the pillar.

Kumiko could feel his gaze shift to her as she stopped, but she forced herself to not look back and ignore it, focusing on Keigo instead. He was standing several feet away from her, yet Kumiko had now became hyper-sensitive about her surroundings and herself. But she related it to the fizzy drink she had earlier, and not his proximity, which wasn't really that close.

"I hope my mother isn't causing you any trouble, Kumiko." Atobe's smooth voice interjected into her jumbled thoughts. Kumiko blinked, and quickly waved her hands in disagreement. "No,no…she wasn't. She's pleasant to have around." The answer came from her lips, as if recited.

"Oh,don't be silly Keigo. I was just admiring how gorgeous she is tonight! Don't you agree?" And with this, Mrs. Atobe pushed Kumiko to the front of her, bumping her into Keigo who lightly held her elbows upon impact.

A blush rushed onto her cheeks from the contact as Keigo lightly chided his mother. "Mother-! Don't do that." Well, at least he wasn't being a snob tonight, Kumiko briefly thought to herself. Not that he was always a snob. But he had a tendency to be so when in front of the media, or 'paupers' as he called the less rich citizens. Keigo could be a great and kind man, and a straight out bastard, when he wants to be.

"It's alright, Keigo..-san." It was alien, calling him Keigo. She just had to include the –san at the back, as she didn't feel that close to him to call him just by his given name. Kumiko heard a small snort coming from the direction of the red haired boy, as she now dubs him, but she ignored it. "Your mother is just really excited about tonight." Kumiko smiled up at Keigo, her answer totally ripped off from "What To Say During A Rich Meeting."

"Well, I'll leave you two love birds alone~" The mother of the boy chuckled into her gloved hands, waving goodbye before going off to another lady who instantly engaged her in more heated gossip.

Kumiko watch her go before turning around to face Keigo in an awkward manner. Now that her future mother-in-law had finally left her, she didn't know what to do. "Umm…" She tried to think of something to say, anything.

"Arn~?" Came Atobe's trademark remark. Kumiko looked up at him, then faced away again. "Nothing…" She mumbled.

Not taking note of her discomfort, Atobe whipped a lock of his to the side. "Sometimes, I wish she didn't act like those girls back in school." Atobe remarked haughtily, crossing his arms as he watched his mother.

Kumiko stared at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

Atobe smirked and jutted up his chin, and Kumiko groaned internally, recognizing the signs of his snobby-self emerging. Despite not knowing him well, an hour with Atobe Keigo is more than enough for anyone to figure out his character. There might be more to him, Kumiko tried to comfort herself, but the instant impression he places upon people is that of a well brought-up, snobby but quick-witted jerk. "Ore-sama had a whole fanclub back in both middle school and high school, consisting of basically all the female population….and the occasional male." He added with a dark note at the end.

"I see…" Kumiko knew of his popularity alright. But she wasn't really interested in how great he is.

"You're really lucky to be engaged to someone like me." Atobe told her, grey eyes glinting with all the pompousness in the world. "Many girls would kill to be in your position."

If Kumiko could sweatdrop like those characters she saw on anime shows, she would. But unfortunately, in the real world, she cant do that. "I-I guess I am…" She replied reluctantly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

A badly covered up laugh brought her attention to her right, where she met eyes with lavender. The boy shrugged at her, casually blowing another green bubble from his mouth. Then he smirked after popping it.

The whole time he was doing all those, Kumiko merely raised an eyebrow at him, although deep within, her heart was beating a tad bit faster yet again. The blush however, did not come, for she fought hard to keep it back down.

A hand on her shoulder made her look back, breaking the contact she had with the mystery boy. She came face to face with Shishido Ryo, who held a slight look of irritation across his features. "Where the hell were you?! You were supposed to meet up with us 10 minutes ago!" He scolded her, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently against the marble floors, awaiting her answer.

"I was…" She started but got cut off.

"Arn~? Oi, Shishido. Don't talk to my fiancée like that." Atobe cut in, raising a perfect eyebrow at the irritated man before him. Silently, Kumiko thanked Atobe for his defense, but she doubted he did it for her sake….it was most likely to defend his ego because she is his fiancée. And anything to do with him is worth the whole world, in his eyes anyway.

"Atobe!" Shishido groaned but didn't do anything disrespectful. Shishido held a great wealth of respect for Atobe (for reasons that escapes her since she never asked), but he is still the same "bad boy" no matter how you look at it. "I don't have time for you right now." Shishido grumbled, grabbing Kumiko's elbow and started dragging her away.

Behind her, Atobe scoffed, rolling his eyes at Shishido. He smirked at their retreating backs, not feeling insulted or offended, as it was common of Shishido to be grumpy nearly 95% of the time.

Kumiko was taken to the side of the Aries Room, nearby the stage where they will perform. It was just a short briefing before their performance, going through everything they have to do and what not. They went through this many time, and this will hopefully be the last.

Aya grabbed a hold of Kumiko's hand, shaking it around with excitement. "I cant wait! I really wanna see what they think of our songs! This will be the first time we actually perform to a crowd that matters~!" She squealed, her bouncy black hair whipping about.

"Nya~That's right!" Eiji jumped the two of them from behind. "We'll blow them away, that's for sure!!"

It wasn't long later that Kawamura was handed his drum sticks and he dashed up onto the stage, causing a loud ruckus doing so; surprising most of the guests and causing whispers of "burly gangster" and "uncivilized barbarian" to start up.

Kumiko walked to the center of the stage, face red in embarrassment at the attention Kawamura caused. But she didn't blame the 18 year old boy. It was just who he is and she accepts him for that. A glance at Aya and Eiji shows that they thought so too, although it was hard to tell what Shishido was thinking, muttering about as he strapped on his guitar.

Kumiko adjusted the mike stand to her height and preference, tapping against it several times to test the sound. At the bottom right of the stage, Aya gave Kumiko a thumbs up, as she prepared herself on the grand piano. Behind, she could hear Eiji tuning his guitar and Kawamura tapping lightly against his cymbals.

Kumiko faced the crowd after receiving a nod of confirmation from Shishido.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of my father, mother, and the Atobe family, I would like to thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this party." Kumiko began, reciting the speech she wrote in a smooth and proper voice. She didn't really care honestly if people attended or not. She was just doing what was expected of her in this new high-end society. And it was expected of all ladies to be…well, ladies.

And that included caring for the guests. She didn't want this engagement, or this party thrown in her honor and that of Keigo. She appreciated this rich life her father gave her, but she would rather not have it if it meant this. All her life, she had dreamt that she would find love, true love; with someone that will care for her from the bottom of his heart, someone whom she's willing to make sacrifices for….

Someone that she can actually love without question.

Her love for her parents were questionable. Did she love them because they gave birth to her and provided her with the things she wanted? Did she love them because they wanted the best for her, although it wasn't necessarily what she wants?

Her microscopic love for Keigo was questionable. Did she love him because despite his snobby self, there was a gentleman in there who emerges in the rarest of moments? Did she love him because her mind was telling her to as he was her fiancé?

Did she even love him in the first place? She didn't think so.

"This is a song we wrote some time back, and we hope that you will enjoy it."

Oh, how she wished that love will actually blossom between her and Keigo, because right now, as she stands here on the stage, seeing his face in the crowd, it seemed that she wasn't getting out of the engagement anytime soon; especially not after tonight, the night where their engagement is officially recognized.

As the soft melody of the grand piano enters the air, everything flies from Kumiko's mind. The engagement, Keigo, her father, ….everything. The only thing surfacing right now was from her heart, the song that she wrote in hopes that one day, it will be sung back to her. Ironic, wasn't it? She wrote the song that she wants that special someone to sing to her, and not the other way round.

But this song….

"You've been searching the world to find true love"

This song was about her.

"Looking in all the wrong places"

This song was the fruit of her constant wishes and dreams…

"When all of the time you've been blind to love,"

"As plain as the nose on your faces"

Her fears and her nightmares.

"It's here~ It's now~" Aya's soft voice echoed with Kumiko's, like the trees echoing the wind.

"Open your eyes and see it~" Kumiko's eyes remained close, letting the beautiful melody that her friends conjured consume her.

"Right here~ Right Now~ Open your eyes to love…" She lifted her lids, brown eyes glowing under the chandelier lights as she sang.

"You've been down on yourself thinking something's wrong," Her body moved in a slow rhythm to the tune, hand rising to place itself over her heart.

"Wondering why love has never found you~" Why is it that she can't find love?

"Don't you know it's been right here all along, if only you look around you~" She took small steps along the side of the stage, stopping nearby Eiji who held a small smile on his face as he played, before walking back to the centre.

Her body moved on its own accord as she sang the chorus once again, this time Shishido's low voice joining with Aya's to echo hers. Her mind was filled with the notes and lyrics of the songs, the feelings she felt before and while writing the song, the emotions she had when they were completing the song. Everything about the song was there in her mind right now. But the one emotion that stood out amongst all of hers was that of sadness.

"Love has been right by your side but oh so close that you couldn't see~" She wished that was the case for her when the words flitted out of her mouth.

"If love could speak, it would shout to the sky~" Kumiko's hold tightened on her mike subconsciously, her feelings and mood changing with the song. "I've always been here~ I always will be~"

She looked to the crowd again as the last stanza came. "I'm here~ I'm now~ Open your eyes and see…" Among the sea of faces, she spotted bright lavender eyes…and familiar, yet not so familiar, red hair. "Right here~ Right now~"

She looked to her father, at the front of the crowd. "Open your eyes to love~"

Before meeting the eyes of Keigo, next to her mother. "Open your mind to love~"

Her gaze drifted back to lavender eyes. "Open your heart…to love…~"

The song used is "Open Your Eyes (To Love)" by LMNT =] It's a beautiful song, go check it out xD.

I hope you guys will enjoy this mini-series which just popped into my head .

This story is cliché(IMO), its saccharine and sickeningly sweet (IMO) but I hope you guys will enjoy it with me =( If you haven't figured out, I'm a sucker for romantics xD Though I must point out first, I don't like Romeo and Juliet….at all! D: I just needed to use it for the story haha since I didnt want to use Twilight or anything. I hate Twilight more than I hate Romeo and Juliet =/

So, I'm sure I'll get lots of bad reviews for such a stupid theme and story haha but I'm praying that some of you will enjoy this with me, and support me as I go on with this short series =]

Reviews will be much appreciated, flames will not be appreciated and will make me sad but I will not discard them either. Since I AM getting flamed for a reason....(bad story probably), and I'll take flames as seriously as reviews and critics, since in the end, flames are telling me something---to improve. And I wish to improve on my story writing, and try not to ruin my stories- especially Fine Line and this story- and not repeat what I did to Thunderstruck To The Core...- I completely screwed that story over. I'll have to rewrite it.