Hiya! Oceanwavekira back again! I should really be writing my other story but I kept thinking about this one too much, even after I got back into Bleach. Oh well.

This story is focused on Kirihara's journey from the time he entered Rikkai Dai to before Ryoma comes. Depending on how well it goes, it may even go past that and tell the story of Prince of Tennis from the Rikkai Dai team's perspective. Eh, I'll wait and see.

The reason I wrote this story, apart from not getting it out my head and writer's block, is that I love Kirihara Akaya and couldn't find a current ongoing story about him from when he began middle school. I think he needs a little more love, so it led to this. This first chapter is mostly from the OVA Another Story: The Trials of Rikkai -A Rebel who Challenges an Emperor. Anything else after this are any ideas I get.

So, I hope that you guys will read this and review on what's good, bad, or anything else you think about when reading it. I really appreciate your comments and will use them to become a better writer.

With enough said, enjoy!

Note as of April 11, 2010: As a reader pointed out, this chapter is pretty boring since it's practically a copy of the OVA. Please understand that I wanted to keep this story as close as possible to how Takaeshi Konomi wrote The Prince of Tennis. I didn't mean to offend anyone by writing it this chapter like this. It will be hopefully be more interesting and original in the future for you guys. I hope you guys will continue reading this despite that.

Before you begin...

Note: Please excuse any kind of grammar, spelling, and/or other errors. Spell check is not always perfect and I may not catch everything in it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters except my version of the plot and characters.

-o-o- Chapter 1 -o-o-

The Rebel

-o-o--o-o--o-o--o-o--o-

'Thoughts'

"Speaking"

A clear blue sky hung high above the clouds, beaming warmth down on the early spring morning. The ocean was clear and birds chirped in the air. People walked down streets, beginning another day. Cars drove up and down roads, their motors ringing in the air. Another prefect day in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Except for one boy that was still snoring in his room.

Footsteps could be heard from outside the door, stomping up from downstairs. As they got louder as they approached the door, the boy continued to sleep, lost in his aimless dreams of becoming number one. A deep intake of breath was taken.

"GET UP, YOU LAZY PILE OF BONES!!!"

"GAH!"

BAM!

Birds flew quickly away, startled by the loud screech the boy had made when he had fallen out of bed. His sheets tangled around his body, causing him to fall off and onto his cluttered floor. Comics, magazines, clothes, everything littered the floor. Things that should have been neatly put away were left scattered over or under anything that he had in his room.

More banging came from outside the door as the boy groaned. "Kirihara Akaya! If you do not get up this instant, you will not make it to school on time!" The boy grumbled something under his breath before cowering back when the voice shouted again. "What was that, mister?!"

"N-Nothing, okaa-san! Nothing!" Kirihara cried, trying to calm his angry mother. Pulling the sheets off his head, curly black hair sprung up in every direction as green eyes blinked warily, sleep erased from the startling wake-up call from his mother. Releasing a sigh of relief as he heard the footsteps head back downstairs, Kirihara stood up and stretched.

'Safe for now,' the boy thought, grinning at the disaster avoided. He started to move towards his closet when he froze, remembering what his mother had just told slashed yelled at him. School…school…

His eyes widened in shock as it finally sunk in.

"AH!!! I'M GONNA BE LATE FOR MY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!"

Barely grabbing a power bar to go, avoiding his mother's wrath, and remembering to put on his uniform, the seaweed haired boy shot out of his house. A tennis bag swung over his shoulder, Kirihara raced down the street, eager. Today was the day that he had been waiting for; a day he dreamed of for a long time.

Running past people and buildings, Kirihara kept a grin on his face the whole time he ran. He didn't bother to stop to observe the beautiful spring day it was. He didn't stop at the arcade he spent hours at. He didn't bother to stop when his shoelaces came undone. Until he tripped, then he stopped to tie them.

After about fifteen minutes of running with only one stop, Kirihara saw students dressed in the same black uniform with striped blue and white ties walking towards the same destination. Despite beginning to feel his legs become sore and his breath become heavier, Kirihara began sprinting past everyone.

Running down the street pass everyone, he blocked out watching what the other student's reactions were. A boy with red hair stopped yawning and looked in surprise when Kirihara ran passed him. His dark skin friend next to him widened his eyes in response as well. Further ahead, a dark purpled hair guy with glasses looked up from the book he was reading, having heard Kirihara passed. Blue eyes belonging to someone with silver hair followed the boy as he ran ahead.

After running who knows how many miles, Kirihara finally saw the school gate of the school. Reading the characters, he read the name to himself in his head.

'Rikkai University-Affiliated Middle School.'

And he got to meet the sign up close and personal. Continuing his pace, Kirihara bent his knees and jumped up onto the school's stone gate. Landing on all fours, he chuckled as he thought about what was going to happen to him now. Standing up, he faced the large, popular, famous school he was about to enter.

"Starting today, I'm a Rikkai Middle School freshman, huh?" Kirihara said to himself, musing. He flashed back to when he saw the school's tennis team in a magazine, the team having won the National Tournament. Looking down a bit, he ignored the looks other students were giving him. If he had continued looking up, he may have seen the three sophomores already at the school stopping and glancing at him.

"At this school," he began. "I'll join the tennis club that's number one in the nation!" He closed his eyes, taking in the thought. Then, with uttermost confidence, he blurted out, "Then I'll become number one!"

"Hey!"

"Eh?!" Kirihara yelped, cringing from hearing someone yell at him. Glancing downwards, he finally noticed all the other students looking up towards him. Normally that wouldn't bother him, except that there was one of the teachers standing nearby him. And with a good chance of steam coming out of his ears, the boy gulped.

The teacher glared up at him. "What do you think you're doing up there?!" he shouted. "Get yourself down this instant!"

Gulping again, Kirihara grabbed the ledge and tried to climb down as quickly as possible. "S-Sorry!" he yelled back as a apology, wanting to escape as soon as possible.

Managing to jump down from the remainder of the wall, Kirihara smiled sheepishly at the furious teacher. Taking a step back, he waved a small goodbye. "Ah… Bye sensei! I… uh… gotta go!" and he took off as fast as he could. The teacher blinked for a second, having been startled by the speed Kirihara took off at. But then he remembered what he was going to do.

"YOUNG MAN!!! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANCE!!!"

Managing to escape the teacher, Kirihara raced towards his classroom after receiving his schedule. He was late and he knew it. His mom would kill him for being tardy again for not being in class on time; and it'll be worst today since it was his first day of school. Determined not to have to face that again, he picked up his speed and sprinted.

Banging the door wide open and scaring practically all of his fellow classmates, Kirihara ran in and slammed the door shut behind him just as the bell rang. Sighing in relief, the seaweed head sunk towards the floor, eager for some rest. However, lady fate didn't seem please with him today.

"Good morning, class!" his homeroom teacher shouted cheerfully, sliding the door wide open. Not having noticed her before, Kirihara yelled out before tumbling to the side from trying to get up to quickly. His classmates broke out in laughter, shock finally passing.

His teacher, Kinjo-sensei, looked down at him in worry. "Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Jumping to his feet, Kirihara shook his hands. "No, I'm a-ok!" the boy grinned, giving a thumbs up just to prove it. Kinjo-sensei smiled sweetly back at him before it vanished just as quickly. Shivers crept up the boy's spine and everyone else's.

"Good then. Now why are you out of your seat?" she ordered, voice like that of a drill sergeant. People not already in their own seats quickly rushed to one, using Kirihara as a distraction against the bi-polar teacher. She tapped he foot as she watched the green eyed boy glance around the room for an empty seat, sweating. "Well?"

"G-Gomen!" the dreaming to be number one tennis player yelped back, scrambling to a seat near the back of the room by the windows. He tripped over someone's bag and pretty much fell into his seat with a wave of frantic limps. Others around him giggled or chuckled at the scene he was causing before snapping their heads back up towards Kinjo-sensei. Her glasses casted off a glint of light as she stared with everyone at the same time, notebook in her hand.

Making sure she had the class' undivided attention, she smiled cheerfully before turning around and writing her name on the chalkboard. "Good morning everyone. My name is Kinjo Am---" anything said after Kirihara blocked out. He just wanted to get through the day and join the tennis team. After all, that was the reason he even came to this school. Getting killed by his teacher was not in the plan.

Pretending to pay attention in math, doodling in science, eating alone in lunch, getting drowsy in history, and finally falling asleep in English, Kirihara thought that the day would never end. Too bad that the teacher he had for English caught him sleeping. And when he ended up trying to escape, he was faced with the horrible job he done on his English assignment. It wasn't his fault, though! He just didn't get English and didn't see the point of it. Nonetheless, the boy was unable to leave as soon as he wanted.

Grumbling, the boy began rewriting the words in English on a piece of paper multiple times as instructed by his teacher. For each of the words he got wrong, which was all thirty words, he had to rewrite it twenty-five times before he was allowed to go. And he still had the additional homework his teacher piled up on him for sleeping through his boring lesson. His English teacher was now one of those on his most hatred list. He sneezed about twenty minutes later since school got out and grumbled again.

Finally, after a hour later, Kirihara was finished. Slamming his work down on to the teacher's desk, the seaweed haired kid grabbed his bag and stormed out of the room. The halls were deserted, everyone having gone home already or at a club. Early rays of the setting sun were coming through the windows, making the halls glow. It only brought displeasure to the tennis loving boy.

Flying out the front door, Kirihara raced down the courtyard. Sweat began forming on his forehead, worried about making the registration on time. Despite being the number one school in Japan, the school only accepted new applicants on the first day of school unless otherwise. If he didn't make it in time, everything that he had been working for would be crushed before he even stepped onto the tennis court.

"Damn it!" Kirihara yelled. "Now I'm super late!" Today was just not his day.

Slowing to a halt at a cross yards, Kirihara breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath. He had just ran down two flights of stairs and halfway across the campus. Yet with all that hard work he still was unable to find the tennis courts. He mentally cursed himself for not paying more attention when his sister was showing him the school's layout the other day.

Pushing that negative thought away, the seaweed haired brat glanced around, trying again to figure out where the tennis club room was. He had stopped in the middle of the school's courtyard, short of the fountain. Mentally cursing again, Kirihara looked around, trying to find someone, if anyone, that could help him get to the courts.

Something at the edges of his eyes caught his attention. Looking ahead, he spotted a guy with silver hair that looked vaguely familiar to him. He was dressed in shorts and yellow jersey with a black stripe across the chest. His hands were stuffed in his pockets as he walked aimlessly around.

A grin spread across his face while he raced over to the guy. He knew that all of Rikkai Dai's tennis players wore that same uniform. And if this guy was on the team, then he must certainly know where the tennis club room was. Too bad he didn't know who this guy was.

It was only afterward running across the campus and finding himself in the student council room did the boy realized that he had been tricked. Scowling, Kirihara took off again to find the courts. The next time he saw that guy, he was going to get his revenge on him. No one messed with a Kirihara and got away with it.

Running for another ten minutes, Kirihara finally managed to find the tennis courts. Too bad everyone else was already in uniform and warming up. Some of the seniors were even playing matches too. But he wasn't too worried about that right now; he wanted revenge.

Glancing around the courts full of people, the seaweed glared at nothing when he could not spot the silver haired trickster. "Dang it! Where is that guy?" A hand suddenly appeared, tapping his shoulder. Turning to the side, Kirihara got a surprise when the same hand poked his cheek.

Jumping backwards, Kirihara glared at a the redhead who poked him and Brazilian guy next to him. "What're you doing?!"

The redhead held up a piece of paper at him. "This is what you're lookin' for, isn't it?" Kirihara glanced at the piece of paper, which read 'Club Entry Form'. The boy smiled, all intentions for revenge gone. He looked like a kid who had just received the best Christmas present ever.

"That's right! This is it!" he cried happily, taking the piece of paper from him. Stuffing the form into his pocket, Kirihara introduced himself. "I'm the freshman --- Kirihara Akaya! Rikkai University Middle Tennis Club's Supper Rookie!" He even held his arm upwards, doing a pose. "The Kirihara of whom you have hear so much... is me!"

The Brazilian scoffed, trying to mask his laughter. His friend instead chuckled at the freshman's bold declaration and introduction. Kirihara, however, looked on in confusion on why the two weren't acting amazed to see him.

"Eh? Is it possible you haven't heard of me?" he questioned, scratching his head. "That's weird. I'm a pretty well known guy in the Junior leagues."

Being the voice of reason, the Brazilian said, "We can go through that after you hand in your registration. Go get changed quickly, then you can join the others in swing practice." Kirihara stared at him in shock.

"Swing practice? You're kidding!" his eyebrows furrowed, sending the two a challenging look as he pointed towards the courts behind him. "Don't you think I can get right to having a match with the strongest guys?" His two senpais looked at him.

"See," Kirihara continued. "I want to make it to number one, ASAP." But before he could say anything else, another voice suddenly spoke out.

"Who are you?" Turning around, the three saw three other tennis players coming up towards them. Taking a close look at each one of them, the freshman's eyes widen when he figured out who they were. They were the current regulars of the Rikkai Dai tennis team. A smirk caught on his lips as a plan began to form in his head. He'll take on them and beat them, making him number one in the nation.

Ordering a challenge, Kirihara went off against each of them. And to the boy's utter disappointment the six players he went up against were nothing like he expected. Against all of them, he had won every single match. The boy wasn't even sweating by the time he was done.

Addressing the players he just beaten and the others gathered around the sides, he asked, "What's this? Getting to number one was easier than I thought." No one answered, still in shock with this boy's fearsome play of tennis. All of them were frozen, unable to speak a word.

"What on earth is all this fuss?" a new voiced called out. Turning around, people cleared the way for the speaker of the voice and the two people with him. The one who had spoken was a boy with navy-blue hair and purple eyes, a green headband in his hair. To his left was a guy with black-blue hair and light brown eyes, a stoic expression glued to his face. The last was a guy chestnut short brown hair and eyes practically closed.

"Yukimura!" the regular Kirihara had just beaten shouted. "Sanada! Yanagi!" Yukimura stopped short of him, a soft smile on his feminine face.

"It would seem you've been taken, sempai." he and the other two looked over the net at Kirihara.

"You!" Sanada barked. "New boy. What are you trying to pull?"

Kirihara waved his racket at them. "What'm I trying to pull? Can't you tell by lookin'?" He held his arms outwards, gesturing around the whole court. "I made myself number one in this club!"

"What's that?" Sanada questioned. Kirihara scratched his face.

"But I guess that nation's best ain't so much after all!" he replied, mocking the school at the same time. "I kinda thought you'd be a little stronger." Sanada's face darkened as his kouhai spoke.

"You brat!" Yanagi's head picked up and Yukimura looked directly at the boy, his fragile features suddenly filled with hidden malice.

"I think we might need to teach this one a little lesson."

Kirihara smirked. Three second-years? That was nothing.

How wrong he was.

Kirihara collapsed to his knees, eyes wide. Sweat dripped off of him, his breath rigid and in short gasps. He had just been beaten badly by three people in the same day. Never had something this bad ever happened to him all at once. And they were only one year his senior. He closed his eyes as Yukimura dismissed him, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill.

Refusing the help from the redhead and his friend from earlier who were kind to him, Kirihara raced off the courts. Never had he been so humiliated in his life, especially in tennis. His confidence had been shattered and everything he dreamed of destroyed. And all by those three demons.

For the next two days Kirihara avoided the tennis courts and his family's questions on his sudden depression. Taking refuge in his second favorite place, the arcade, Kirihara played the various different games there, trying to distract himself. It didn't work.

"Kuso!" the boy shouted, hitting the game he had just lost at. "I lost the video game, too?!" Glancing at the top scores, the freshman scowled at the name of the top player. "Who is this fem-freak anyway?" Footsteps reached his ears, and as he looked up he saw a familiar face. Or faces.

The redhead from before grinned at Kirihara while pointing to himself. "That'd be me!" Kirihara glared at him and his friend before turning away in his seat.

"I might be first class, but no way I'm joining the tennis club!" he shouted, crossing his arms. He was still being a sore loser about what happened two days ago. The boy didn't see it that way, though. He saw it as... well... he didn't know what. But he denied it was being a poor sportsman.

"What's that?" Mr. fem-freak teased, ruffling Kirihara's already messy hair. "Still can't deal with the fact that you lost?" The boy tossed the boy's hand off his head.

"Even though those guys are just second-years, what the heck are they?" the freshman demanded, deciding this once to let the guy slide for ruffling his hair. He was too interested in knowing who those three guys were.

And that was how Kirihara met the second years Marui Bunta and Kuwahara Jackal officially. Taking him to a ramen shop, Jackal the one forced to pay for the meal, they told the freshman all about the three nicknamed the Three Demons throughout the tennis circuit. From how they led the Rikkai Dai tennis team to national victory to being considered some of the best in the country, the boy was told exactly who he played.

However, it reawaken Kirihara's drive for tennis rather than weaken it. He may know close to nothing about them but he still considered them middle schoolers just like him. Declaring he was going to beat all three of them, Kirihara ran out of the ramen shop, leaving behind two startled second-years. Never had they thought that a freshman who had just been humiliated in front of the whole tennis court three times still have the determination to bring the toughest players in the circuit down. Even if he wanted to, he had to work hard just to even stand a chance against them. That alone would take weeks, if not months or even years, to accomplish.

That's why no one could believe it that after two and a half weeks from defeat a seaweed haired brat challenged the widely known Emperor to a rematch.

Everyone on the tennis court was dead silence, the bell ringing three o'clock in the background. The sky was clear and blue, the wind quiet. No dared to utter a word. All eyes instead focused on the two lone figures who stood on the court. A determined freshman on one side, a stoic emperor on the other.

Both sides looked at each other. Kirihara's eyes narrowed, his grip tightened around the yellow ball. "Here I go." And up it went.

Eyes switched from side to side rapidly, trying to keep up with the blur of yellow. No one could believe it as Kirihara was able to return Wind of Furrin Kazan and manage to keep Sanada in a rally. A freshman! However, he was blown backwards when hit with the next move, Forest. Turning his back to the boy, Sanada proceeded to walk off the courts, believing the match was over.

"Don't you run off," Kirihara suddenly called, stopping the Emperor in his tracks. Picking himself up, the boy turned around. Blood red eyes smirked menacingly at Sanada. Students gasped and began muttering about the sudden change. Just who the hell was this kid?

"What's with his eyes?" Marui asked, freaked out by the kid. Never he, nor anyone else for that matter, had ever seen such eyes from a thirteen year old.

Sanada returned to the baseline, continuing the match. It was Kirihara's serve. His expression widen a little when he saw the way Kirihara was holding the ball. Rather than hold the ball with his fingers, they were turned inwards. Only his knuckles held the ball.

Kirihara served, the speed violently increased from before. Sanada rushed toward the net, anticipating nothing new. The ball crashed into onto the ground, leaving it a second later. Heading right towards Sanada's face.

WHAM!

Once again, the crowd was shocked into silence. Weaker players trembled in fear at the sight before them. Some of the stronger one gulped, their throat robbed of their voices. The regulars stood frozen, not believing what had happened either. Only Kirihara wasn't affected at what had happened, eyes glinting with glee.

The ball dropped, bouncing to a stop. It had stopped in the center of Sanada's racquet, the sheer force of it breaking or bending the strings. The racquet was positioned in front of the Emperor, inches away from his face. Just seconds later it would have hit its intended target.

Kirihara licked his lips, enjoying the moment. "I'm gonna waste you." Sanada's face darkened.

The match continued, balls flying over the net at a new pace. Mutters began once again, awed and shocked at the turn of events. Kirihara had control of the ball, making Sanada run everywhere on the court. Even when he invoked Mountain it had little to no effect at helping him at all. It seemed as if Kirihara was going to win.

It died soon. Once Sanada stopped holding back and used Fire, the tides were turned again. Again and again Sanada attacked with Fire, returning the ball either a smash, forehand, or backhand with unimaginable power. Each time Kirihara was sent flying backwards, nothing he knew able to counter the move.

After the fourth time Fire was used, Kirihara didn't return to his feet immediately. He laid on the ground, unmoving as Sanada stood like the mighty emperor he was. "What's wrong? Are you finished now?"

"No..." Kirihara answered, picking up his racquet. Teeth clenched, he faced Sanada again and got into his stance again. "Nowhere close!"

Even when thrown with something he had no hope of countering, Kirihara was nowhere close to giving up. After tasting defeat once, he was not going to go back there. Just like he was raised, he was going to keep fighting no matter what. He was going to become number one no matter what!

"That's enough," Yukimura suddenly interrupted, stopping the match. Kirihara looked up in surprise as the current fukubuchou of the Rikkai Dai tennis team stepped onto the court. "This is your loss, Kirihara-kun." The boy stared in shock.

"My..." Yukimura nodded.

"That's right. This is your loss." he finished. "With the strength you have now, no matter how often you try, the result will be the same." Kirihara looked down, fists clenched angrily.

"But you can become stronger," Yanagi added, surprising him. His eyes widened as he glanced at the Three Demons of Rikkai Dai, trying to see for himself if what they said were true.

Sanada picked up next. "Join the tennis club. Set your eye on even greater heights. We will play you at any time." Finished, he, Yukimura, and Yanagi walked off the courts. Others began following their lead, muttering among themselves as they left to change.

Kirihara was the only one that remained, frozen in spot. Join the tennis team? He hadn't had the intention of doing so ever since he had lost those two and a half weeks ago. In fact, he didn't even know if wanted to then. He was so focused on beating the Three Demons he didn't plan on what he would do if he won, or lose. Now that he did, what was he supposed to do now? Join them?

The answer came surprisingly easy to him once everyone was already long gone from the courts. Finalizing with that thought, Kirihara raced up the hill towards the lone figure walking away from the courts. Chasing after them, he called,

"I'm going to join the tennis club!" the freshman declared, stopping Sanada in his tracks. "But it's not 'cause I lost, got it? It's so some day I can beat you and become number one!" Silence overcame the two, the early rays of the sunset in the background.

Finally, Sanada spoke. "Is that so?" Kirihara grinned, rubbing his nose. He had made a promise and he wasn't going back on it at all. He looked back up when the Emperor spoke again. "In that case, start with the basics. 100 laps around the grounds, right now." The grin slipped from Kirihara's face.

"100 laps right now?!" he yelped, not prepared for the sudden order.

"Get going!" Sanada confirmed, forcing the boy to sprint past him towards the track. He was going to do everything to become number one, even if that meant killing himself in the process. Second thoughts entered his head, maybe he should have thought it through first.

Once Kirihara was out of site, Sanada chuckled. Raising a hand, he gripped his hair, and pulled. The black-blue hair came off easily, revealing the silver hair hidden underneath. 'Sanada', or otherwise known as the trickster of the school, Niou Masaharu, smirked.

"Puri~!"

Kirihara gasped as he slowly ran around the track, legs sore from already running five laps and his match from Sanada. Unaware to the freshman, his senpais were watching from above. Their eyes followed the seaweed haired rebel as he continued his 'training'.

Jackal sighed. "Guess that kid got tricked by Niou again." Marui laughed.

"He really is a neat kid."

Yukimura smiled as he watched the boy. Turning to Sanada and Yanagi, who were right next to him, he said, "I'd say things are starting to get fun." Sanada's face remained impassive at his friend's comment.

"Honestly!" the emperor exasperated. "He's too careless!"

Below, Kirihara kept running, believing he was on his way to becoming number one. And that was the beginning of Kirihara's journey.

Four months left until Nationals.

What'cha guys think? I'm hoping it didn't turn out like utter crap. This is the first story that I'm focusing on cannon characters as the main characters of the story. There will be OC's later on, but mostly likely players that fill the regular spots of some of the teams since some of them aren't regulars until Ryoma comes to Japan. I hope you don't hate OC's too much, though.

First couple of chapters will probably be based mostly on Kirihara before I move on to the rest of the team, hopefully. This is going to be a team/family fanfiction with possible couples in the FAR future. But more focused on the team part.

Before I leave, I want to ask you after reading this if I should have a beta or not. I don't play tennis personally so I don't know if the tennis scene from this chapter and future ones will be accurate. Your comments on that are really needed and appreciated.

And again, I hope you enjoyed it!

Sayonara!

*~Kira~*