Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. Duh.
Chapter 1: Meeting
Ryoma headed out the door in a hurry. Like almost every other day, he was late; unlike every other day, Momo-sempai was not waiting in front of his house with a grin. Ryoma belatedly remembered how Momoshiro-sempai had mentioned in passing that his bike broke down last weekend.
With a half-eaten onigiri in his hand and his backpack in the other, Ryoma dashed down the road in a rare flurry of panic. Though school wasn't the most important thing, Seishun Academy did have strict attendance rules: three days of being late to classes results in a suspension from sports; six would cause a parent to be called in; as for ten, the school handbook as it that "extreme actions will be taken," but no one has actually found out. Ryoma had already been late twice this school year and had no intention of missing tennis for a whole week because of something he could prevent.
In the distance, he noticed a moving truck in front of a neighboring house. Normally, it wouldn't be odd at all, but he'd learned that arrivals to this sleepy little town are few in the coming. That had been one of the reasons why his arrival had been such a big deal.
He slowed to a trot as the house loomed nearer. The house was the same as every other house on the block other than the white, mammoth moving truck and two bulky men who Ryoma assumed to be moving men in front. The moving man in the front appeared to be carrying a sky-high stack of chair while his partner looked to be carrying a full barrel of…tennis rackets? Ryoma frowned and edged closer to get a better look. Who in the world could use that many rackets? Just then, the warning bell of Seigaku rang; its large bell allowed the sound to reverberate through the neighborhoods surrounding the school, including this one. Ryoma flinched and ran as fast as he could toward the school, forgetting completely about the strange sight.
OOOOOOOO
After school, Ryoma stretched with a yawn on his way to the tennis courts.
Though it had been a really close call, Ryoma had managed to get in class before the teacher (who was right behind him) entered. Safe, as they would say in baseball, he thought, smirking.
Crossing the courtyard, his smirk vanished when he saw a petite girl and two hulking seniors standing together. Though he didn't like interfering with other people most of the time, he had a hard spot towards bullies, which was what this situation seemed like to him.
He had seen the two boys around before, harassing kouhai, especially the female ones. It was easy enough to identify them from their attire; Blond hair and black, sloppy uniforms, predatory grin. The girl though, he had never seen. Her features were defined and slightly too sharp; her eyes were same dark brown as most Japanese. Nothing special- but her hair, tied up into a tall ponytail, was what caught his attention. Her hair was a light shade of brown that glittered beautifully in the sunlight, like the way the waves caught the light on water. Bronze, he thought. She wore the school uniform, and held a bulging black sports bag. The girl had high red spots on her face and seemed to be talking earnestly. The two boys edged closer.
Not if I can help it! Ryoma strode purposely toward the group and was just about to speak up with a cliché like "Pick on someone your own size" when he heard what they were talking about.
"Wow, your hair's natural?" The boy with the obviously dyed blond hair said with a sort of awe.
"Yeah," the girl replied, "but let me tell you, dye from the Lussac brand works so well!"
"How would you know?" The dark haired one spoke up.
"Oh, my sister is obsessed with the thing!"
"Do you think hot or cold wash is better for dyed hair?"
"Oh, it depends… Hi, who are you?"
With a jolt, Ryoma realized the girl was talking to him. As he struggled to come up with a decent answer, the girl bounced over to him with a startling sort of speed. She looked at his tennis bag and gave him a wide grin. "Do you play tennis?" She asked with twinkling eyes.
He nodded, relieved that he wouldn't have to talk.
"Oh great! Can you please take me to the tennis courts? I have been looking for it for so long!"
He nodded again, but more decisively. Finally, he could control the situation!
"Bye!" She waved to the two boys, who waved back.
"So, who are you?"
A/N: My first story! Be kind! I know that OCs tend to be very Mary Sue, but I'll try my best. BTW, this will be a RyomaOC story, simply because I have issues with Sakuno. It's not that she's bad and that I hate her, but I think Ryoma's relationship with someone with a more open, quirky person would be more interesting. Thank you for reading! And please keep reading!