Prologue:

It was such a magnificent day at Seishun Gakuen High School. The sun shone ever so brightly, the Sakura trees bloomed in perfect time for spring… Oh! What better ways would one think of celebrating this immaculate day than under a shade with the best companions to enjoy it in deep sere---"

"NANAKO-CHAN!! NANAKO-CHAN!!!"

Serenity, I suppose, is something I can never obtain in this school.

"Nanako-chan! I've got great news for you!" Somehow, I expected that Hanagawa Yuki's exasperating voice would ruin the ambience sooner or later, not that I mind it or anything. "There's been a breakthrough at the men's tennis club! They say a freshman's sweeping the scoreboard with 6-0 games! I wanna see it Nanako-chan! Come with me please???"

Behold the life of a die hard tennis fan, and the life of a die hard tennis fan's friend. Yes, suffering is well opulently disposed, there's no running from the fate I daresay.

Yuki's gleaming sierra eyes showed excitement like those of an anxious Chihuahua. Her amusing straight pigtailed chocolate brown hair waved short and shiny as she began shaking my shoulders restlessly for a response.

"Onegai??? Let's watch them later during dismissal!!"

"Yuki," Ukimori Sanzen, one of my friends famous for being one of the few living inhabitants in the world to tame Yuki, uttered reprimanding while laying his back on the Sakura tree nearest to us in the midst of reading a questionably intricate book. "Be good and settle down."

"Hai," Yuki obeyed almost immediately with the look that says 'I'm forced because niichan said so'. How I try to do scold her like that everyday and she doesn't give me that look. I wonder what type of incantation Sanzen's used to bewitch Yuki into following his every word. She sat, behaved properly, to my left and asked apologetically: "Are you mad?"

Sanzen flipped a page of the book he was reading. I didn't think he had heard what Yuki said as his deep brown eyes- almost black from my view- continued to explore the book line per line. Carefully, I watched the scenario as Yuki nervously waited for an answer. She is DEFINITELY bewitched, no doubt about that.

"Were you saying something?" Sanzen asked, adjusting his thinly rimmed glasses as he noticed our gazes on him.

"Are you mad?" Yuki stared on the grass where his fair complexioned hands were.

"No, I'm not." Sanzen asked nonchalantly and continued to his reading. Somewhere behind the trees and bushes, I could've sworn someone— some girls, rather- screaming in fangirl tones- that, I'm used to, as well.

You see, Sanzen Ukimori, besides being a professional bookworm, is known in Seigaku for being a heartthrob. Well, true enough, he had that perfectly toned figure from I don't know where since all he's been doing is sleeping and studying nonstop; he also had those pouty lips, that morning hair that still seems lovable to most and the pointed nose just right for his sharp features; all complimented by his white as sheet complexion. Heck, I bet he'd look lovelier than me if he were a girl.

So how'd a mediocre like me become friends with someone like him? Simply because we've been childhood friends: Yuki, Sanzen and I. Yeah, that's how.

But enough about that as, again, Yuki pleaded for me to come with her to the tryouts.

I stopped for a moment to think and looked sadly at her. "I'm library representative today. I'm sorry, can't come with you."

"What?! Nande?!" a disappointed look was traced on poor Yuki's face. I felt deplorably bad at the girl. "Aw… But I really wanted you to come!"

"N-now…" I took a glance at Sanzen to find even the slightest hint of him being available that afternoon. Maybe, out of kindness… "How 'bout Sanzen? I'm sure he's not busy this afternoon, right Sanzen?"

He shot me that 'I hate you for making me do this' look, and then sighed. "Fine, fine, I'll go."

"Hontou ni?!" Yuki exclaimed loudly. And yet again, some sarcastically discreet fangirl s shouted another "AWW" accompanied by a "that's so nice of him!" phrase. "That's a promise!"

"Sheesh, what loud fangirls."

I felt bad about forcing Sanzen to come with Yuki. Not because I knew he wasn't really into lawn tennis, but because I've endangered him to his mad fan girls. And heck, I also wanted to see the freshman prodigy!

But first things first: I had to get this pile of books to the libraty. As expected, I heard voices of screaming girls back at the tennis court, which was fairly near to the library. I guess I better treat him to some ice cream later.

Pok… Pok…

Eh? Someone… No mistake about it. Someone's playing tennis. But where?

Pok... Pok…

I followed the noise and found out that a guy was playing tennis from behind the library. He looked like he was a little bit taller than me. But I'm just supposed to be a freshman if it weren't for my IQ… So I'm guessing that this guy's a freshman too.

He had light brown hair, all tousled up from that wall training, I suppose. And

he's a lefty just like me. Would you look at that? That's the best form I've seen from all the freshman that I've, so far, seen; and believe, being Yuki's friend, I've seen quite a lot.

W-woah… Could he be the freshman prodigy Yuki was telling me about?

I went behind the man and took a closer look. He didn't seem to notice me as he continued to hit the tennis ball back to that one spot on the wall.

"Amazing." I whispered to myself.

"Tezuka! Fifteen Minutes to game!" a random sophomore called.

"Hai!" He replied respectively and swung his racket so strong that the ball bounced back at an undeterminable speed…

Directly to my head.

That was how I met Tezuka Kunimitsu.