Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. I only own the OC in the story and I honestly don't proud.

Warning: English not first language you might find many mistakes in grammer and speling.

A Grayish October

It all stared one morning in October. It was a rainy and cold day, but not rainy and cold enough to cancel a day of practice in a certain tennis club.

"All the regulars, stop from what you're doing and come over here." Tezuka shouted and when they all gathered around him he went on, "From tomorrow a new girl will join our club."

"A new girl?" Eiji opened a wide mouth. "But it's a boys' club, why can't she join the girls' club?"

"I spoke with the principal and he was sure she had the right skills for our club."

"In that case..." Fuji smiled, "I look forward to see what her abilities are. Don't you also, Tezuka?"

The Seigaku Captain frowned, and the other regulars looked concerned.

"Fuji, are you okay?" Oishi put his hand on the tensai's forehead to make sure he didn't have fever or suffering from a serious damage.

"Sure I am." Fuji answered cheerfully. "I only have a feeling that interesting things might occur with that girl's arrival."

"Hmm, interesting things," Inui noted to himself while scribbling things in his notebook.

"Do you really think she is good, Fujiko?" Kawamura asked worriedly. "The principle thinks she is, and now you. So Maybe she can take my place at the regulars."

"I didn't say she's good." Fuji laughed. "I don't know if she is, since I haven't seen her before."

"Nya, but you just said that interesting things will take place after her arrival."

"On that subject I'm sure." Fuji said, opening his eyes.

All the regulars sweatdropped.

"If she's good enough to join our club, she must be huge and ugly." Momoshiro decided.

"Maybe huge but she won't be able to rival your ugliness."

"Look who's talking!"

"Kaidoh, Momo, twenty laps around the courts before you start a fight."

"But captain, Kaidoh is the one who-"

"Momo, you can have forty."

"Hai"

Tezuka turned to the others, "As for you, return to practice."

"Hai!"

"And Fuji, stop scaring the team with unproven predictions."

"Saa, the life in this club are going to become extremely unusual. I keep having the feeling."

"Fuji, sixty laps."

"Mada mada dane, Fuji-senapi"

In the next day:

Echizen was walking to school and suddenly saw a girl, elder than him, who was wearing the uniform of his school. She seemed to him in troubles, since she tried to get rid of a limo that kept driving on the road beside her.

"Stop acting snob in front of ore-sama!" He heard a familiar voice. "I only want to give you a ride to your school."

"Please stop following me." The girl protested. "I do not allow to drive with someone I merely know."

"Don't speak nonsense." The Hyotei captain went out of his car. "Any other girl would beg for me to drive her in my limo."

"I don't, so please, leave me alone."

Atobe grabbed her arm. "Ore-sama won't take no as an answer."

"Let me go!" The girl tried helplessly to free herself from the grip.

Echizen stepped forward. "good day, monkey king, do I disturb you with my presence?"

Atobe smiled slyly. "No I was about to leave anyway." He went inside his limo. "By the way, If I am not wrong your team is about to play against mine in the next week. Shouldn't you be by now at your club, training?"

Echizen turned pale and stared at his watch to discover that Atobe was right. he was about to be late for practice.

The girl also seemed worried. "It's my first day in my new club. I can't be late!"

"Fine." Atobe grinned. "Ore-sama will give you both a ride, and will ask for a small favor in return."

In Atobe limo:

"Are you sure it's okay to take a ride with that guy? For a moment ago I was sure he wanted to rape me."

"It's fine." Echizen said. "The monkey-king dosen't care about girls so much, he only enjoy picking on them when he's bored."

"I see..." The girl said but still looked worried.

"So you should be the new girl in my club. You must have given a great impression on the principal if he had agreed to put you with us."

"I guess you're right." The girl smiled shyly. "Good thing to be his daughter."

"Eh? The principal is your father?"

The girl nodded, "I begged and begged, and in the end he agreed to let me join your club for a week, so he would be able to get some rest from me."

But she must be talented. Echizen thought. Fuji-senpai kept saying there is something special about her.

"By the way..." Echizen returned his attention to the girl. "I haven't asked-"

He was about to ask about her will to join the club but then Atobe's limo slowed down beside his school. "Get out, I don't have the all day for you."

The girl hurried up and left the car.

"And as for you." Atobe turned to Echizen who was left alone in the car. "Don't forget what you promised."

"Sure I won't. Otherwise you might send Kabaji to hunt me."

"Good," Atobe grinned. "Now get out of my car!" The limo drove of, making Echizen to lose his balance and to fell outside on the wet ground. When he got up he noticed that his clothes and body were covering mud. He cursed Atobe and went to his club, thinking how it would be possible to keep up his promise without making a certain tensai too mad at him.

TBC