My Life in Seigaku
A.N: Phew! This took me a couple of days to write, and I'm blown away. It's almost ten thousand words WITHOUT my note. I want to thank everyone for reading my story, and I hope you all enjoy it. I also hope you guys will review and tell me if you liked it, or hated it! Please enjoy!~
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis
X X X
Yamada Meiko hums softly to herself while walking through the hallways of Seigaku; she's carrying a stack of books, heading towards the library. While she walks, the kids around her step out of the way of the younger and smaller girl to let her through. No one knows much about the said girl, the only thing they do know is that she's the library representative, along with Echizen Ryoma. The two quiet kids in their class; besides the Ryuzaki Sakuno girl.
"Yamada-san!" A male voice calls, running up to the freshmen and stopping in front of her, bending down in front of her to catch his breath, "I-I thought you said you'll help me with the English assignment. You said to meet you in the library, but you are late. And I, Horio, have two years of tennis experience, so I know you are late!" Horio yells, pointing a finger in her face accusingly.
"Horio-san," She says, her eyes narrowing in annoyance, "Please don't take this offensively, but I told you I'd help you study; I didn't give you a time." Horio laughs nervously while rubbing the back of his head, a soft blush spreading across his face, "You have tennis practice, don't you? I was going to pick you up after tennis; you shouldn't miss practices after all." Horio watches as the female shifts from one leg to another, making him realize how many books she's carrying.
"Isn't Echizen suppose to help you?" He asks curiously, watching her struggle with the weight, "How about I help you instead..?" Yamada sighs softly to herself and shakes her head.
"No; go to practice, Horio-san." She orders him before walking past him. Horio turns around with his eyes widen, watching the female leave him behind. Yamada Meiko is a very beautiful girl in the school with long light brown hair that reaches her waist, and unique purple eyes; she isn't very tall, but many girls in Japan aren't anyways. Her skin is also a soft pale color, making many people wonder if she ever goes outside.
"Y-Yamada-san!" He calls out, finally returning to his senses, only to notice her leave the hallway. He frowns lightly and rubs his forehead in frustration. "Dang it! Echizen gets to hang out with another cute girl; she ditched me!" He grumbles to himself before walking towards the front of the building, ignoring the people laughing at him. "Jerks," He whispers stubbornly, "Yamada-san will become my girlfriend, I swear."
X X X
Echizen Ryoma yawns softly to himself while sitting up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He accidentally went to sleep up on the roof today, and by the looks of the sun, he missed his afternoon classes. He sighs lightly in annoyance standing up and wiping off his pants. He picks up his empty bento, walk towards the stairs, and walks down them, trying to figure out what he's forgetting. He looks down the hallway and notices Sakuno and Tomoka running towards him, looking out of breath.
"R-Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno whispers out shyly, nervously playing with her fingers, "I-I was looking for you to see i-if you were okay. M-Momo-chan-senpai is worried since y-you didn't show up to practice. M-My grandma sent me out to look f-for you." Sakuno finishes, staring down into his eyes lovingly. She just knew that deep down, he was the one for her. She can only hope that she's not too late.
"Ryoma-sama!" Tomoka screams, clapping her hands happily, "I'm so glad we found you! We thought you were with Yamada-san again in the library, but we found her all alone." Tomoka smiles more, "Ryoma-sama is my prince, not hers." His eyes slowly widens in surprise, but not enough for someone to notice.
"Aa, I gotta go." He tells them before stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking away slowly. 'Crap, I knew I was forgetting something.' Ryoma thinks to himself, closing his eyes, 'She usually does most of it herself with me being in tennis; she's probably angry at me.' He ignores his fangirls scream his name and walks out the door, heading towards the library. 'Actually, I haven't ever seen her raise her voice, let alone yell.' Ryoma shakes his head quickly, making his thoughts stop. 'No more thinking about her; she's a distraction.' He scolds himself mentally, scowling at the thought.
Ryoma enters the library and notices her standing on a chair, trying to put up one of the books on the high shelf. He calmly walks over to her and gently grabs the chair, keeping it steady. Yamada raises her eyebrow slightly and glances down at him, shaking her head. She decides to ignore his presence and tries to place the book down, but misses. She scowls lightly, standing on her tippy toes and leaning over; thankfully this time she got it. She climbs down the chair and stands next to Ryoma, frowning lightly.
"You're late, Echizen-san." She tells him, crossing her arms over her chest, "I'm almost done already; just go to practice." She walks away from him and puts her hand in the air, as if she's telling him goodbye. She walks back over to the pile of books and runs her fingers down the spines, finding a book to put up.
Ryoma sighs and shakes his head, walking over to her. He grabs the last few books silently and walks away, finding the places quickly. After putting up the books he turns around and checks the area for her, only to see her reading over some paper. He watches as she frowns to herself and erase the paper, most likely fixing the mistakes.
"Echizen-san, I suggest that you go to your tennis practice instead of spying on me," She tells him lazily, staring into his cat-like golden eyes with her fierce purple ones, "And tell Horio-san he better meet me in the library if he really wants help." She finishes and looks back down at her paper, pulling out a high lighter.
"Aa," He answers immediately and walks out of the library. 'Heh, that's how he's getting better. He's getting help from Yamada-san. She didn't seem too happy today, I wonder if she had something planned?' He frowns lightly, 'Stop it. She's just a classmate and a library representative with me, nothing more. I barely even know her.' He walks into the changing room and undresses, changing into his own clothes, 'It is odd that I'm curious about her though. She has nothing to do with tennis; I highly doubt she actually plays. She'd probably fall flat on her face.' He smirks at the thought, 'Heh," He chuckles mentally, enjoying his daydream of her falling in front of him, 'I bet it's because she isn't shy around me; she's not a fangirl either. She treats me normally.'
He exits the changing room and taps his shoulder with his racquet; heading towards Tezuka. He stops right in front of Tezuka and watches Tezuka slowly shift his attention to him.
"You're late," Tezuka says, watching Ryoma tilt his head towards the library, "Library duties?" Tezuka asks, even though he already knew the answer. The baby of the team is often late since he became the representative, but lately he's been getting here earlier and earlier. "Twenty laps, then join the other regulars."
"Okay," Ryoma mumbles and puts his tennis bag against the fence. He tugs his hat down lightly before jogging around the courts in a steady pace, letting his mind wander off again, this time about beating his father in tennis. He suddenly smirks, his pace picking up speed.
X X X
"Momo-chan!" Kikamaru Eiji shouts, bouncing over to one of the second year, "Why is Ochibi acting weird lately?" Momoshiro looks over at his senpai and shrugs, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"I don't know, Kikamaru-senpai. He smirks randomly now, and I hear rumors about one of his classmates grabbing his attention all the time." Momoshiro answers, shrugging and letting out a loud laugh, "I doubt it's true; that boy only knows about tennis. And I highly doubt the girl is good enough to catch his interest with that."
"Oi, senpai," Yamada calls, stopping by the fence with a frown on her face, "Just because your gender is different from ours don't mean anything. Even though I don't play tennis I feel insulted by just listening to that." She points at Momoshiro, "You're only a second year, correct? Don't you get mad when people look down at you because you're younger?" When he doesn't reply she turns on her heel, "I thought so; good day, senpai." She then walks away from them, walking past Horio, "Don't forget, Horio-san. I am leaving in a few, so you better have your questions planned out."
"S-She's scary, nya!" Kikamaru whispers loudly after she left the court, "Just who was she? And she talked to Horio-kun!" Momoshiro shrugs and watches Ryoma continue with his laps. "Inui!" Kikamaru shouts, waving his hands around frantically, "Tell me who that girl was!"
"She's a first year, that's all I know." Inui answers, looking up from his notebook, his glasses gleaming mysteriously, "I haven't seen her enough." He watches as Ryoma smirk while passing him, "Echizen! Come here." Ryoma nods once before running around the court for the last time and stopping in front of Inui, tugging on his shirt. "Do you know her?"
"Aa," He answers, not going into detail. Inui opens his mouth, about to question him more when Tezuka announces the end of practice. Ryoma runs into the changing room and changes quickly, trying to get out of their before Inui stops him. He knew Inui is mad since he knows more data than the data man himself. He smirks at the thought. He wasn't going to let Inui get the data easily. Ryoma silently exits the room and ignores his friends call him; he wants to go home and play a match with his father before the practice matches tomorrow with Rikkaidai.
"Ochibi is acting weird, Fujiko!" Kikamaru whines, latching himself onto the prodigy brunette with a pout, "Do you know what's going on, Fujiko?"
"Sadly I don't," Fuji answers calmly, his smile growing bigger, "Inui, do you know?" Inui shakes his head and pushes his glasses up with his finger.
"No, eighty-seven percent that it's a match against his father, ten percent that it's about his cat, and three percent about it being a girl problem," Inui informs them, nodding his head, "Although, I'm sure we can knock the girl problem down and move ten percent to thirteen percent."
X X X
"Sorry I'm late, Yamada-san, we had to put up the nets." Horio apologizes, sliding into a seat across from her and smiling, setting his book onto the table, "I don't understand what we did in class, can you explain it? In detail." He asks, watching her slowly open her eyes and stare at him blankly.
"Horio-san, first years always put up the nets; try a better excuse next time." She hums out softly, pulling the English book near her and scanning over his pitiful notes on the side, "Did you fall asleep?" She asks bluntly, noticing smudges all over the text-book.
"N-No!" Horio denies right away, a blush spreading across his cheeks, "I-I, my pencil fell!" Yamada stares at him and shakes her head, mumbling something about him being a horrible liar. "So, can you help me?"
"Reread the chapter, simple as that. We didn't learn any new vocab; the only new thing we have to do is write an essay - in English - and turn it in next month sometime." She tells him, "You need to stop falling asleep in class; lesson over." She stands up and grabs her bag, swinging it around her shoulder, "No tutoring tomorrow; I have something I have to do." She waves goodbye before exiting the library and pulling out her phone, noticing four missing calls. She closes her eyes and calls her sister back, counting the rings silently. On the fourth ring; her sister answers. "Hey, Aiko-chan, sorry I was tutoring a classmate."
"It's okay, nee-chan! I wanted to ask you to come watch a match of mine, but it finished. Don't feel bad though! I know how hard you work. Kaa-san told me how you stay after school everyday to tutor people - I wish I was like you - for the most part at least. I like playing tennis."
"I'm sorry, I promise to watch you play next time, okay?" Yamada says, a small, gentle smile forming on her face. Her family is important to her, and she wouldn't trade them for the world, "Listen, you like watching tennis matches too, right?"
"Of course I do, Meiko-nee-chan! It's really fun, especially with amazing players. I love watching the new techniques people create. It's really inspiring, you know!" Yamada laughs softly to herself, heading towards the store to pick up some candy for her sister. She misses a lot of things Aiko asks her to do, and she can't help but to feel guilty.
"I know I'm not a big tennis fan, but how about I pick you up afterschool and take you to see some regular matches? It isn't for a tournament; Seigaku and Rikkaidai are planning to have practice matches tomorrow. Would you like that?" She enters the candy store and nods at the owner before heading towards the chocolate section. She picks out a few candy bars and walks up to the front, paying for them. She quickly leaves the store and hums, listening to her sister's excited chatter.
"I can go see middle school matches? I would love too! Thank you, Meiko-nee-chan!" Aiko giggles happily.
"I'll see you in a few minutes, Aiko-chan," Yamada tells her sister before hanging up the phone.
X X X
"Hey, who is that cute girl with Yamada-san?" A student whispers quietly, asking his friend. "I've never seen Yamada-san smile, really. And here this random elementary student comes in, and she's smiling."
"I don't know, but the elementary student looks cute, maybe we can say hi to her?" His friend suggests, wiggling his eyebrows.
"No way! Yamada-san looks too protective over the other girl! I'm not going to be the one to face an angry Yamada." He shivers, "I hear her father is really scary, and he's in the police force!"
"You're kidding!" His friend whispers back, getting into the gossip.
X X X
"Meiko-nee-chan is really popular here," Aiko says smiling, her brown eyes shining brightly, "Everyone is talking about you." Yamada tilts her head down and pats Aiko's head softly, sending her a soft smile.
"I'm not popular, Aiko-chan, they are just curious about who the lovely elementary student is." She says, watching her sister pout and cross her arms over her chest. Yamada laughs softly, pulling her sister into a half hug and flicking her forehead, "Cheer up, you get to see your idol, don't you? You said you enjoyed watching Fuji-senpai during one of the tournaments, right?" Aiko nods smiling.
"Meiko-nee-chan is right, like always!" Aiko says, giggling and placing a small kiss on her sister's cheek, "Can we get closer to the game? People here are too tall..." Yamada nods and grabs her sister's hand lightly, guiding them through the crowd of girls, not hitting anyone. 'Nee-chan is amazing, I hope I can be as smart as her!' Aiko thinks, watching everyone stare at them with wide eyes. 'I wonder why, they act like Nee-chan is emotionless.'
"Look, Aiko-chan. Fuji-senpai is playing," Yamada tells her little sister, nodding her head towards the tennis courts, "Watch now, okay?" Aiko nods happily and smiles, her eyes growing in excitement. Yamada laughs quietly to herself and pulls out her silver Ipod and puts in her headphones. She turns on her music and lightly hums to herself, not paying attention to the game. She isn't really a fan of tennis; she only deals with it since Aiko likes it.
"Meiko-nee-chan?" Aiko calls, tugging on her shirt lightly. Yamada takes out her headphones and tilts her head to the side, listening to her sister. "The matches are over. Can I try to meet Fuji-senpai?"
"The matches finished already?" Yamada says, her eyes widening, surprised. She looks around and notices many of the fangirls running towards the entrance trying to ask them out. "I guess we can go try, but keep holding my hand; I don't want to lose you." Aiko nods and gently grabs her hand. Yamada leads them through the crowd before spotting Horio and his friends. "Horio-san!" She calls out, noticing them stopping.
"Yamada-san!" Horio greets, waving her over, "Whose the girl?" He asks, watching them stop in front of them.
"Hello Horio-senpai!" Aiko greets, bowing in front of them, "My name is Yamada Aiko, Meiko-nee-chan's younger sister! Please call me Aiko though, my sister is strict with the respect here, but I'm not." Horio laughs and rubs the back of his head.
"Hello Aiko-chan, my name is Horio, I have two years of tennis experience! I'm going to become a regular soon, and it won't be a dream!"
"Mada mada dane," Echizen says, walking up behind Yamada and stopping next to her, taking a drink of his Grape Ponta.
"I saw you, Senpai! You are a great player; the twist serve was amazing!" Aiko praises, clapping her hands excitedly, grinning. Echizen blinks, glancing over at Yamada and shaking his head in disbelief.
"Thanks," He says finishing his drink and throwing it into the trash can.
"Echizen-san?" Yamada asks, tilting her head to the side, "Can you take my little sister to meet Fuji-senpai? She's a real fan of him, and you're the only one who can possibly take her to him."
"Sure," Echizen replies, turning on his heel and walking away. "Come on," He mumbles. The two sisters say goodbye to Horio and follow him; Yamada doesn't want her sister to be alone, and Aiko wanting to meet her idol.
X X X
"Fuji-senpai, you are so cool! Your secret techniques are amazing!" Aiko says happily, smiling brightly, "Thank you for talking to me! I know there are many people who want to talk to you." Aiko rubs her arms lightly, feeling goosebumps form on her arms, "Just thank you, for everything." Fuji chuckles quietly.
"Thank you for being a fan, Yamada-san." Fuji thanks, watching Aiko frown lightly.
"No, no!" Aiko whines, crossing her arms over her chest, "Yamada-san is my older sister, and I'm Aiko. Please call me by that, Senpai."
"Of course, Aiko-chan," Fuji says chuckling more and gently ruffling her hair, "Are you good at tennis?" Aiko shakes her head shrugging lightly.
"I'm new at it, I do want to get better at it though." Aiko chimes happily.
Meanwhile Echizen and Yamada were walking towards the vending machine together; silence surrounding them. 'He's being oddly nice...' Yamada thinks, stopping in front of the vending machine. Echizen goes up to the machine and puts in his money, buying two Grape Ponta's.
"Here," He says, handing her one of the Ponta's. She nods her head, silently thanking him before opening up the can and taking a small sip.
"Thanks," She thanks, humming softly under her breath and walking back towards her little sister, "Thank you for introducing my sister to Fuji-senpai. She is a huge fan of him." He nods, gulping down half of his can.
X X X
"I heard Yamada-san and Echizen-sama tied in the last English test. They both made no mistakes! I know how Echizen-sama did it since he's amazing, but how did Yamada-san?" A classmate whispers, pouting lightly, "Echizen-sama is our prince, he should be the best at everything!"
"Y-Yamada-san isn't that bad, Emiko-chan," Sakuno whispers, shyly playing with her fingers, "She's always in the library studying and tutoring others..." Emiko shakes her head, a frown on her face.
"Yamada-san doesn't deserve to be with Echizen-sama! She isn't cute enough. Do you see what she wears? It's disgusting!" Emiko growls out, ignoring the fact that they all wear the same uniform.
"Naka-san," Yamada says coldly, walking into the classroom with a blank face on, "I don't appreciate you guys talking behind my back." She walks past the group of girls gossiping and sits down in her assign seat, closing her eyes. Ever since she became the other library representative, people have been paying attention to her more, trying to figure her out. 'This is ridiculous. All of this for a boy? And a cocky one at that.' She thinks, mentally rolling her eyes.
"S-Sorry Yamada-san!" Emiko stutters out, bowing in front of her classmate. She may not like her, but Yamada has this aura around her that usually scares people. "I swear, she reminds me of a male Kaidoh-senpai!" She whispers to her friends after sitting down. Yamada, who heard her, sighs softly and shakes her head, resisting the urge to face-palm herself. Her classmates are all idiots, in her own opinion.
"Yamada-san," Echizen calls, walking into the classroom and taking a seat next to her, "Fuji-senpai said you and your little sister is inviting to train with him tomorrow."
"Oh," Yamada says quietly, rubbing her forehead gently, "I do recall Aiko-chan mentioning something about Fuji-senpai giving her his number. Where is it?"
"I'll tell you later," He replies, noticing the amount of girls glaring at Yamada. He smirks lightly after putting his head down and quickly falls asleep. Yamada rolls her eyes and looks down at her blank paper, wondering what she should write for the English essay.
X X X
"Meiko-nee-chan! I'm so excited. Fuji-senpai said he'll teach me tennis!" Aiko squeals, jumping up and down while holding onto her racquet tightly. "Are the other senpai's going to be there, too?" She asks, tilting her head to the side. Yamada, who is sitting on the bench, looks up at her sister and shrugs, sending her a small smile.
"I don't know, Aiko-chan. Fuji-senpai might bring the others. I don't have a clue, honestly." Yamada replies, taking out a book from her messenger bag and opening it up. "How about you start playing against the wall while we wait?" She suggests before reading. Aiko shakes her head and walks over to her sister, taking a seat next to her and smiles brightly, humming under her breath.
"They really are here, nya!" Kikamaru shouts, running towards the two girls and grinning, "Sorry we are late! We had to drag the others!" Echizen Ryoma, Fuji Syuuske, Kaidoh Kaoru, Momoshiro Takeshi, and Oishi Shuichiro walk onto the court, placing their bags down on the ground. "We tried to convince Buchou to come, but he refused." Kikamaru explains, frowning.
"Ah, it's okay Senpai!" Aiko beams, standing up and bowing in front of everyone, "Thank you all for coming! I hope I'm not being a bother; I will try my best though!" Fuji laughs softly and nods, taking his racket out.
"Then let's play a game, shall we?" He asks walking out onto the court, waiting for Aiko to join him. Aiko nods and grabs her own racket before running towards the court, nearly tripping over her own feet. "I'm going to let you serve first, okay?" She nods and walks over to her side, taking a deep breath. 'I can do this!' She thinks, throwing the ball in the air and serving it.
X X X
"Not going to play?" Echizen asks, taking the seat next to his classmate. His eyes wonder over to her sister and hums in approval, "She's not doing that bad; for a beginner." Yamada nods, looking up from her book.
"Aiko-chan has always been into sports more than studies." She comments lightly, "I was babysitting her one day, but I promised Ryuzaki-san that I'll go to the tournament with her; I had to take her with me." She nods towards her sister, "Ever since she saw Fuji-senpai she begged our parents to buy her a tennis racket and ball."
"Oh?" He asks curiously, sending her a smirk, "So she can beat you then."
"Well, I'm sure she could, I don't play tennis." She replies, rolling her eyes, "Honestly, is tennis the only thing that runs through your mind, Echizen-san?" She asks, throwing him a small smirk of her own, "Life doesn't revolve around it, you know."
"Mada mada dane."
X X X
"Momo-chan!" Kikamaru whispers loudly, waving the second year over, "Ochibi is getting friendly with the scary girl, nya! I can't believe cute little Aiko-chan is her younger sister!"
"It is surprising, Echizen seems like he enjoys her company. He does," Momoshiro mumbles, nodding his head, "He would pick a strange girl, he just would."
"I think it's too soon to say any of that, Momoshiro." Inui says, pushing up his glasses and watching the freshmen with interest. He smiles evilly and starts writing some data into his notebook, "Good data."
"W-When did he get here, Kikamaru-senpai?" Momoshiro asks, removing his hand from his heart and regaining his breath, "He always does that!" Kikamaru nods in agreement.
"Ochibi! How about you and your girlfriend play tennis together!" Kikamaru yells, waving his hands over his head happily, "I wanna watch Ochibi's girlfriend play some tennis!"
"Girlfriend?" Echizen asks, his left eye twitching. 'I already have to deal with my father enough with this girlfriend nonsense. Now my senpai's are getting at me?' He growls to himself, watching Yamada shake with anger? He couldn't tell.
"Kikamaru-senpai," She replies, standing up and sending him an innocent smile - too innocent - "Why would you think me and Echizen-san are dating? I barely know him."
"She's right, Kikamaru-senpai!" Aiko interrupts, hitting the ball back over towards Fuji's court, laughing, "She may not look like it, but she's a hopeless romantic, you know? She'll need a romantic guy as a boyfriend!" Everyone turns to Yamada, waiting for her to deny it.
"I'm not a hopeless romantic, Aiko," She grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest and sitting back down with a small pout on her lips, making some of them laugh.
"Hopeless romantic, eh?" Echizen asks smirking, "What a surprise." Yamada turns her head towards him, sending him a fierce glare.
"Shut up, Echizen," She growls out, pulling her book out and reading again, ignoring everyone around her. Today is not her day.
"Don't mind her, Echizen-senpai!" Aiko says, standing in front of him and wiping sweat off her forehead, "She's been coming home grumpy lately. I believe it's because one of her classmates hitting on her twenty-four seven, do you know who it is?"
"Horio, possibly." Fuji answers, placing his hand on her head and ruffling her head, "You're pretty good, Aiko-chan. Would you like to practice with me again?"
"Yes please!" Aiko responds, giggling and hugging him suddenly, making her blush lightly, "S-Sorry senpai! I just got so excited for my idol asking me to practice with him again..." Fuji laughs, nodding his head.
"Does anyone else feel that evil aura coming off of Yamada-san?" Kikamaru whispers, hiding behind Momoshiro, "It's kind of scary, nya!" Momoshiro nods, taking a few steps back.
"Echizen picked a scary one," Momoshiro mumbles, "He did."
"I'd appreciate if you don't hit on my sister, Fuji-senpai," Yamada growls out, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Fuji with all her might, making Echizen smirk next to her, amused.
"Of course, it's up to your older sister. I know how hard it is for us older children," Fuji says, opening his eyes and staring into Yamada's, daring her to challenge him.
"She's ten." Yamada grumbles back, staring into his eyes without fear, "You're fourteen."
"I won't do anything, I barely know her." Fuji replies, using her own words before closing his eyes and smiling brightly, "So, I'll pick you up tomorrow, Aiko-chan, and we'll practice on your tennis more." Aiko giggles nervously between her idol and sister, rubbing the back of her head.
"Y-Yes, Fuji-senpai." She whispers, turning to her sister, silently begging for her to allow her to go.
"You have one chance, Senpai." Yamada warns, standing up, "And if you mess it up I won't forgive you." She picks up her bags and walks off the court, "Say goodbye Aiko-chan. Mom is waiting for us."
"Bye everyone! Thank you for training me, Fuji-senpai!" Aiko runs after her sister, smiling happily and talking about her match with her idol.
X X X
A few weeks later, Echizen and Yamada stand inside their classroom staring at each other blankly. They were able to avoid each other for the beginning of the year, and now it's rare for them not to be together.
"We would get on cleaning duty together," Yamada says, sighing softly to herself and walking up to the board, picking up an eraser and erasing the board, trying to hurry up for today.
"Aa," Echizen replies, silently picking up the trash scattered around the room, "Leaving early?" She nods, standing on her tippy toes, reaching for the top of the board.
"Yeah, I need to finish our English essay, the one due on Friday." She answers, setting the eraser down and helping him with the floor, "I presume you are already done? I wouldn't be surprised to find out that you finished it the first day it came out." He nods before standing up, looking around the classroom. They were almost done; they only have to carry the trash bags to the garbage can outside.
They exit the classroom together and carrying one bag each, heading towards the can outside. At first, everyone found it odd to find Yamada and Echizen together, but finally got used to the fact that the two silent ones were drawn together. They were not dating, but there are many rumors about them going on dates together. After arriving in front of the green can, Echizen throws his away and holds his hand out for hers. She hands him the bag and he throws it away.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Echizen." She says, waving her hand and walking away, heading towards the gate. It's weird for her not to add the -san at the end of his name anymore, since she just started that earlier this week. 'How odd, for me and Echizen to talk to each other on a somewhat regular basis.' She thinks to herself, a small smile tugging on her lips. She hates to admit it, but the tennis regulars are becoming something she's used to, even though her and Fuji don't meet eye to eye.
X X X
Later that night Yamada sits alone in her room, tapping her pencil on her desk and staring at her paper blankly. She can't decide what to write. 'Ugh, he didn't even give us a subject to write it on.' She thinks to herself, running her hand through her wet hair, 'Maybe I can write about my time with the tennis regulars?' She smiles lightly, 'The tennis regulars and Aiko sound like a good subject. I just hope they enjoy it.' She leans over her desk and starts to write, her music blasting in the background.
"Nee-chan?" Aiko asks, poking her head through the opened door and smiling, looking at her sister. She's glad to see her sister actually going outside and hanging out with classmates instead of just tutoring them and going home. "Fuji-senpai invited me to go to the burger joint with the other regulars tomorrow; he told me to invite you too." Yamada turns to her sister, mentally cursing out her senpai, "He asked Ryoma-senpai to do it, but he didn't say he'll do it or not." Aiko walks into the room more and takes a seat next to her sister, smiling, "I want to thank you for taking me to the practice matches earlier this month. I would have never met my idol if I didn't."
"I'm just glad you're having fun, Aiko-chan," Yamada sighs out and stands up, sending her sister a smile, "Dinner is ready now, isn't it? That's why you came here?" Aiko nods and glancing down at the paper on her sister's desk, noticing all the regular's names.
"Meiko-nee-chan? Why is our names on the paper?" She asks innocently, tilting her head to the side. Her sister shrugs and drags her out of the room, not explaining why. "So mean..." Aiko pouts, shutting the door after her. "We can go with them tomorrow, can't we?" She asks hopefully.
"I suppose so, Aiko-chan." Yamada replies, smiling softly down at her sister and ruffling her hair. Aiko smiles brightly, pulling her sister into a tight hug.
X X X
"Sakuno-chan! Ryoma-sama is being stolen away from us!" Tomoka cries, running into the classroom and pulling her friend into a hug, "R-Ryoma-sama is hanging out with Yamada-san too much!" She growls out, "She isn't even in the fan club! Ryoma-sama is ours, and ours only! She has no right to steal him!" Sakuno sweat drops and laughs nervously, noticing Yamada standing outside the door. "Don't you agree with me? You want Ryoma-sama to date you, don't you? That's why we are always with the tennis club! Ryoma-sama will become mine or yours, I swear!"
"T-Tomo-chan!" Sakuno cries out, her face turning bright red. She knew everyone knew about her crush, well, mostly everyone. Her friend was going too far today though. Sakuno doesn't like admitting it, but Yamada terrifies her. That girl rarely shows any emotions unless her little sister is by her.
"Ah, Osakada," Yamada greets, walking into the room and calmly leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, "I have a feeling this is becoming a weekly event; me walking into gossip involving me." She sends Tomoka a sweet smile, "May I ask if he knows you claimed him as yours? I'm pretty sure Echizen doesn't like being a 'thing'. No one really owns him, he's his own person, don't you agree, Echizen?" Yamada asks tilting her head to the side while staring at him.
"Aa," He answers, walking into the classroom and narrowing his eyes at Sakuno and Tomoka. He sits down and watches Yamada calmly sit next to him, "Yamada," He calls, laying his head down, "Fuji-senpai invited you to the burger joint with us after school."
"Yes, Aiko-chan told me about it, Echizen." She replies, resting her head on her palm and staring at him, amused. "Are you helping me with the library duties today?" He nods, closing his eyes and falling asleep. 'Strange kid,' She thinks, shaking her head.
"Echizen? Yamada? When in the world did you two take off the -san part? You don't deserve him, Yamada-san! You'll regret trying to date him, too!" Tomoka screeches, her nose flaring in anger, "Ryoma-sama is mine or Sakuno's!"
"Oh, this is interesting," Fuji chuckles, poking his head through the door and looking around the room, trying to find his new friend. "Yamada-san! Did Aiko-chan or Echizen invite you already?"
"Yes, Fuji-senpai. They both did." She replies, turning her attention towards the older boy. "Why?"
"I was just curious." He answers, "I'll be heading towards class now, later." He waves, his smile still on his face, and walks away, mentally chuckling. Yamada is going to have to fend off quite a few fangirls today, and he can't help but to smile more. He does enjoy seeing her in pain.
"Yamada-san!" Tomoka screeches, throwing herself at the unexpecting girl. Yamada quickly stands up and side steps the angry girl, her eyes widening in surprise. Tomoka, who is now on the floor, groans quietly to herself and rubs the back of her head, pushing the desk off of her. She glares up at Yamada, growling, "Hey! Why the hell did you do that? I could have gotten hurt!" Yamada stares down at the girl with a frown. She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at Echizen, seeing him wake up. "I'm talking to you, stupid!" Tomoka yells out, standing up and trying to tackle Yamada to the ground, only to miss again by Yamada spinning out of the way.
"That's enough." Yamada orders coldly, making the loud room quiet, "If you try to attack me again, Osakada, I can promise you it won't turn out well." Tomoka, who is frozen, stares up at Yamada in shock. She has never heard Yamada speak in that tone. 'I think... I am the one to get to see the scary Yamada. I wonder what she can do if her father is a police!' Tomoka laughs nervously and stands up, quickly picking up Yamada's desk and setting everything on it.
"I-I'm sorry! Please don't tell your scary police father! I don't wanna go to jail!" Tomoka cries out, bowing in front of Yamada twenty times, "Please forgive me, please forgive me!" She chants over and over, tears falling out of her eyes. Echizen slowly looks over at Yamada, watching her face turn into her normal emotionless look.
Yamada walks past Tomoka and sits back down, ignoring the girl in front of her and pulling out her book, reading. She doesn't have the patience to deal with an angry obsessive fangirl. Tomoka, on the other hand, takes this as a bad sign and starts apologizing louder, drawing the attention of the other freshmen classes, making their room fuller. Yamada's grip on the book tightens, turning her knuckles white.
"Osakada-san," She grumbles out, staring into Tomoka's eyes, "You're fine; stop apologizing." Tomoka stops immediately and giggles nervously, stealing looks at her prince.
"Ryoma-sama, are you mad at me?" She asks weakly, her knees shaking in fear. She didn't think Yamada and Echizen were so close, but she knew - deep down - her prince was glaring at him with anger; not because she woke him up, but for attacking Yamada. Echizen merely looks away and stares at Yamada, his eyebrow raised curiously, silently asking if she's okay. Yamada nods in response before turning her attention to her book again.
X X X
By the time lunch came around, everyone in Seigaku heard about the vicious attack Tomoka did to Yamada; even the tennis regulars. When the rumor reached the teachers, Tomoka was given after school detention for a whole week for violence against another student. Many people came up to Yamada and asked if she was okay, only to be given a nod.
"Yamada, lunch?" Echizen asks standing up, his chair scraping against the floor. Yamada turns over to her seatmate and nods, standing up.
"Sure, Echizen." She answers picking up her bag and nodding for him to lead the way out. Echizen and Yamada slowly walk out of the classroom together, oblivious to all of the gossiping freshmen.
"I bet they will be together by the end of the month!" One of the male classmates yell, pulling out a stack of money.
"No way, I bet they will be together by the end of the week!" Another one bets, smirking.
"When the Essay's are due?" The first one asks, raising his eyebrow. The second one nods, "You're on!" Immediately after, other classmates start to shout out dates; thus the bet on when the two quiet kids begun.
X X X
"Meiko-nee-chan!" Aiko shouts, running through the hallways of Seigaku, heading towards her sister's classroom. She bursts the door open and giggles, tackling her sister to the ground. Yamada blinks and tilts her head, staring at her sister in surprise, "I was so excited; I came here as soon as school ended!" She giggles out, helping her sister up, "I hope the tennis practice goes by quickly, then we can go out to eat with everyone else!"
"Aa," Yamada replies, standing up and patting her sister's head, silently thankful that she wears shorts under her skirt.
"When I was coming in here, I heard rumors going around the school though..." Aiko starts, looking around the classroom, her smile gone, "Did someone really attack you, Nee-chan?"
"Indeed," Yamada answers truthfully, sending her sister a smirk, "Come on, they already dealt with one angry Yamada today, let's get going, okay?" She gently nudges her sister. Everyone thought she was bad when she was angry; compared to her little sister, she is nothing though.
"Nee-chan..." Aiko tries, watching her sister shake her head. Aiko sighs softly and nods, her smile coming back onto her face, "Then let's go, nya!" She grabs a hold of her sister and Echizen and runs out of the room, pushing them out the door. When she saw them stumble into each other she silently walked back into the room, glaring at everyone, "If this 'Tomoka-san' person is in the room listen up." She starts coldly, "You touch my sister again and I'll make you suffer in the worst way possible, okay?" She smiles brightly, "If she isn't in the room, someone better tell her." She skips out of the room, catching up with her sister and friend.
"S-She's scary..." One of the classmates whimper out weakly, turning towards Tomoka who is frozen in her seat, "And we thought her sister was bad..." Everyone nods weakly; declaring to never harm the older Yamada in any way.
X X X
Yamada closes her eyes and sinks down into her seat, embarrassed. She's with all of the regulars - yes, even Tezuka-senpai - at the burger joint with her sister too. Her friends and sister are shoving food into their mouths, making food fall all over the table. She groans, feeling her stomach quiver in disgust. She pushes her hamburger away from her and pulls her cup of coke closer. She lost her appetite from her other friends eating like pigs. 'Well, not all of them are. At least Tezuka-senpai and Oishi-senpai are eating politely; Fuji-senpai isn't being that bad either...' She thinks to herself, sipping on the straw.
"You going to eat that?" Echizen asks, pointing at her hamburger. She shakes her head, "Can I have it?"
"I suppose so, Echizen." She tells him, passing the food to him and looking away, not wanting to watch her friend be even more disgusting. She turns and watches Fuji smile at her, making her eyebrow twitch. "No," She tells him sternly, looking away with a small pout forming on her lips.
"Nee-chan! Why did you give up your food?" Aiko asks looking up at her sister with crumbs all over her face. Yamada sighs and shakes her head, leaning across the table and wiping the crumbs off of her sister's face, smiling lightly.
"You guys eat like pigs, Aiko-chan." Yamada says bluntly, flicking her sister's forehead, "I'm not hungry either." She says lightly before sitting back down and stretching her arms over her head, resting her head on her classmates shoulder, yawning. Echizen blinks lightly and looks over at her, not knowing what to do.
"Yamada...?" He mumbles, noticing everyone else at the table staring at them. "Are you okay..?" She nods lightly and sits up, rubbing her eyes.
"Sorry," She says sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head, "I'm kind of tired; I didn't get enough sleep last night." She pokes Echizen's side, "Please let me through, Echizen." He nods and stands up. She climbs out of the booth and look at Fuji, "Fuji-senpai. I think Aiko is having too much fun for me to make her leave." She nods towards him, "I expect you to take her home; if not, I'll take her now."
"I can take her home, Echizen, how about you take Yamada home though? She doesn't look to well." Fuji answers, looking worrying up at his friend. He notices Yamada tensing, making her open up his eyes, "Meiko," He says, watching her eyes widen from surprise, "Something happened when you ran off earlier to return to the classroom,"
"No," She denies, growling lightly under her breath, "When did you get permission to call me by my first name, senpai?" She asks, staring at him in his eyes. "Please, refresh my memory if I did."
"Nee-chan," Aiko says quietly, staring into her eyes with a small pout, "What happened?" Yamada stares into her sister's eyes and sighs, looking away.
"I ran into a little problem, that's all. I'll be fine." She grumbles, turning on her heel to walk away, only to have Echizen grab her wrist and pull her closer to him, "E-Echizen!" She stutters out, looking up at her friend in surprise.
"What happened?" He demands, his grip tightening around her wrist, "Tell me." She frowns lightly and stares into his eyes, shaking her head.
"It was your fangirls, okay?" She says, pulling her wrist out of his grip and walking out the door, "Let's go, Aiko." Aiko nods silently and says goodbye to everyone before running out, catching up with her sister."
"What did they do?" Fuji questions everyone, trying to get any information available.
X X X
The next morning Yamada stands in front of her mirror, brushing her long hair and pulling it up into a high pony tail. She looks down at her outfit and smiles, nodding in approval. She decided to go out for a run this morning before heading towards school; wanting to avoid the tennis regulars as long as possible. She walks out of her room after grabbing her bag, and making sure her school uniform was in the bag. She exits her house and swings her bag around her shoulder before breaking out into a run, listening to her music through her headphones.
X X X
Echizen walks into the classroom and takes a seat next to Yamada quietly, trying to keep his eyes off of her. 'Damn her, why does she have to wear her hair up in a pony tail! And look good with it up?' He asks himself, putting his arms on his desk and resting his head on them, stealing looks at her. He scowls lightly and looks away. 'Distraction! Stop it.'
Yamada glances down at her friend and raises her eyebrow curiously, noticing the glances he snuck in before shrugging and turning up her music, ignoring the girls surrounding her. She is not in the mood for another meeting with them. And she'll avoid it at all costs.
X X X
"Yamada?" Echizen calls, looking over at his friend, "Lunch time?" She nods and picks up her bags before standing up and walking towards the door, turning around and waiting for him. He smirks lightly and grabs his own bag before walking out after her and heading towards the roof.
"Echizen?" Yamada quietly asks after arriving at the roof, and leaning against the fence, staring at him, "I'm sorry about how I acted yesterday. Some of the girls in our class made me angry."
"Mind telling me why?" He asks.
"Well, they..." She frowns lightly, "They decided it'll be funny to team up on me, and they did throw quite a few punches. My arm got hit by this one strong girl and she made me angry. I didn't hit any of them back, but they made me furious since they were your fangirls."
"Aa," He answers, "Yamada? Can I call you Meiko?" He asks suddenly, making her choke on her food.
"W-What?" She asks, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She looks up at him and slowly nods, watching him wait for her answer, "I-I suppose you can. Do I call you Ryoma then?"
"Of course, Meiko." He answers sending her a smirk and laying down, resting his head on her lap, "Sleeping, wake me up when the bell rings." He covers his eyes with his arm and smirks, feeling her stroke his hair gently.
X X X
"Meiko," Echizen grumbles, staring at his friend with an amused smirk, "You don't hold the racquet like that, idiot." She puffs her cheeks out in annoyance and turns her head away, her pony tail hitting him in his face, giggling when she heard him complain about it.
"Well, excuse me Ryoma, it's not my fault this is the first time I'm holding a racket." She replies with a smirk, "The great Prince of Tennis must be getting quite annoyed though, eh?" He rolls his eyes and walks up behind her, placing his hand over her's and readjusting her grip.
"This is how you do it, Meiko," He gently squeezes her hand and smirks when she elbowed his stomach, "And you swing like this." He helps her swing from behind. "Now try it yourself." Yamada rolls her eyes and swings the racket a few times, sending him a smirk.
"Oh, Ryoma, you are just wanting me to be killed by your fangirls, don't you?" She asks, swinging the racket more since he'll complain if she stops, "You helped Ryuzaki-san and Osakada-san before, didn't you? They are probably jealous." She laughs quietly at the death glare she got from him. "Can we stop now?" He shakes his head.
"Hit the ball ten times in a row, then you can." He tells her, walking to the other side of the court and pulling out his racket. She pouts lightly.
"Will you hit it nicely?" She asks, "No twist serve, Drive B, and whatever crazy moves you made up?" She nervously looks up and notices him nod. "You serve." She tells him getting down into her position and sighing softly, determined to get some food in her stomach soon.
X X X
"Thanks for buying me food, Ryoma." Yamada says, smiling gently and sitting down at the table. She glances over at her friend who is walking over with the tray and slides into the booth, staying in the middle.
"No problem," He answers her, sitting down across of her and placing the food on the table. He picks up one of the hamburgers and slowly unwraps it, eating immediately. She rolls her eyes and smirks, picking up her own hamburger and eating. After all of the food was gone, they stared at each other, not noticing the other members spying on them outside the window.
"Oh, Ryoma," Yamada says suddenly, her eyes slowly widening with recognition, "Isn't this technically a date? You asked me to come with you, bought the food, and told me you'll walk me home..." He shrugs lightly, sending her an amused smirk.
"I suppose it is, Meiko," He says, her name coming out of his mouth teasingly, "Let's go now, it's getting dark." She nods and stands up with him, exiting the hamburger joint. During the walk home, they - somewhere in between the walk to her house and the burger joint - started to hold each other's hands.
"Thanks for walking me home, Ryoma," Yamada says softly, rubbing the back of her head shyly and blushing, "W-What does this put us at...?" She asks, gently releasing his hand.
"Heh," He says, tilting his head to the side with a smirk, "I guess we can be together, if you want." She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest, laughing softly.
"Way to ruin the moment, idiot!" She scolds him, "You're suppose to be asking me out, not saying 'I guess' jerk." She rolls her eyes.
"Fine," He says bluntly, grabbing her hand lightly and staring into her eyes, "Meiko, will you be my girlfriend?" She blinks and nods, sending him a smile.
"You still make it sound so uncute, Ryoma." She tells him, laughing when he scowled at her. "But, you know I will." She places a small kiss onto his cheek and walks into her house, waving goodbye to her new boyfriend.
X X X
"You're late, brat. Did you go on a date?" Nanjiroh asks teasingly, watching his son take off his shoes.
"Aa," Echizen answers, walking up the stairs and ignores his dad's calls. He smirks after shutting his door, listening to his father shout out to his mother.
X X X
"Good morning, Ryoma," Yamada greets, walking into her classroom and taking a seat next to her boyfriend, smiling lightly, "Today's the day we turn in the essay, right?"
"Morning, Meiko." He greets back, opening his eyes and lazily staring at his girlfriend, "Yes it is." She nods in takes out her essay, smiling softly and reading the last line, something she added when she went home last night.
"Ochibi!" Kikamaru shouts, running into the room and running up to him with the other regulars following behind - rather it be them running themselves or being forced to come - "Is it true? Is it true!" He asks, jumping up and down.
"Is what true?" Echizen asks, blinking at everyone in the room.
"That you date Yamada-san of course!" Momoshiro shouts, pointing his finger at the girl in question. She immediately blushes brightly and hides her face, grumbling something under her breath.
"Mada mada dane," He says smirking.
X X X
Life in Seigaku
My life at Seigaku has to be one of the most interesting things that happened recently. The first half of the year, I was ignored, and known as the quiet library representative girl. No one knew anything about my life really - except about my father being a police officer - and many presumed that I was just an emotionless girl.
It all changed when Horio started to ask me to tutor him in English; although in the end I found out he had a huge crush on me and just wanted to date me. He started to bother me with help everyday, even when we didn't learn anything. Honestly, I blame him for everything that changed in my life. Sure, Ryoma is the other library representative, but we rarely ever talked to each other, and when we did it was usually us correcting each other's mistakes.
Then I met some of the other regulars, like Momoshiro-senpai, who I ended up scaring, according to Kikamaru-senpai. They were sexist to the female gender, and I didn't appreciate it, so I stood up for what I believed in. I then told Horio he better hurry if he wanted me to give him a lesson.
After I told him about this essay I left and called my little sister, Aiko. I invited her to watch some of the tennis practices that Seigaku had against Rikkaidai. She of course agreed since her idol is Fuji-senpai. Surprisingly enough, they got along well and Fuji-senpai agreed to train her. Which resulted in me knowing the tennis regulars more.
Within the past few weeks, I've had to deal with obsessed fangirls, being attacked by one of my classmates, and me slowly gaining a crush on a certain cocky freshmen. I spent hours with everyone, and slowly started to reveal myself to them. Which is how they found out about my overprotectiveness over my sister. I didn't get along with Fuji-senpai right away, in fact, I doubt I ever will. He's too close to my little sister.
Another thing that entered my life is tennis; after weeks of dealing with Ryoma trying to get me to play it, I finally decided to agree. This, however, turned into something huge and amazing in my life. He decided to insult me the whole time, and demanded that I last ten balls before I was able to leave. Surprisingly enough, after hours of work, I made it. He took me out to dinner and bought it, which we both decided that we went on a date. He walked me home, and I asked him where that left us. He decided to be his cocky self and ruin the cute moment. Although, in the end, we both decided that we became boyfriend and girlfriend. And that's where I leave it off. I don't know what the rest of my life will turn into, but I know one thing; with Ryoma by my side, nothing will be the same again.
The teacher laughs loudly to himself, wiping a tear away from his eyes. He knew one thing, his classroom will never be the same with Yamada dating Echizen. 'She did an amazing job on her essay. I can't wait to read Echizen's.'
X X X
"What was your paper about?" Echizen asks curiously, walking over to Yamada and wiping the sweat off his face with his towel. She smiles innocently up at him and sticks her tongue out at him.
"Not gonna tell you, that's what!" She replies, standing up and laughing. He rolls his eyes and grabs her wrist before she could run away and gently pulls her over to him. He rests his head on her forehead and smirks.
"Now?"
"No," She replies back, grinning. He rolls his eyes and presses his lips against her's gently, closing his eyes after her. A soft blush spreads across her cheeks while she kisses him back. And sadly, the two were oblivious the the playful shouts and wolf whistles the other regulars were shouting.
X X X
There we go! I would love to hear your comments about my characters and how I wrote, so please tell me what you think. I also hope you enjoy my story! I don't have anything else to say really, except this is my second Prince of Tennis story, so I'm really just experimenting at this moment. Thanks! Also, if any of you read my other story "Her Tutor" please feel free to leave me a review about who you like better! Reiko, or Meiko?
Kimi-the-writer