Disclaimer: I do NOT own the manga/anime "Prince of Tennis". All recognizable characters belong to the rightful owner.

Dedication: … to all Kikumaru Eiji fans out there. :)

Crystal Clear

Chapter 1: The mysterious voice

It was one of those times again when the Regulars of the Seigaku tennis club had to practice for an important match. From freshman to senior, from kohais to senpais – everyone was gathered on the court.

Everyone besides one energetic senior.

"Vice-captain Oishi." Momo approached him with Kaido waiting behind. "Weren't we supposed to practice doubles with the Senpais? I can't see Eiji-senpai around…" He looked around to play it safe.

"Eiji is undergoing a special training right now." Inui joined them and explained. "You're going to practice with the Oishi and Taka-san pair."

"Eh?" Momo and Kaido looked taken aback. Honestly, they didn't really want to play against Kawamura, knowing the strength of his new Hadokyuu.

"Still, Inui…" Oishi looked at him with a worried expression. "Making Eiji run around the whole town under those conditions…"

"It'll be fine, Oishi. I've calculated everything." A mysterious glint was apparent on his glasses. "I'll hand him back to you in one piece."

Oishi could only smile nervously at that. He caught a glimpse of Inui's new purple drink he prepared for Eiji; just in case that he didn't make it back on time. Somehow, he had a feeling that each of them wouldn't escape it this time.

The missing Eiji had been running for an hour already. Yet, both of his legs felt already like a lead weight. Or did that feeling come from the additional weights on his ankles?

"Damn you, Inuiiii…!" he cried out for dear life.

Even if he was complaining at the moment, Eiji knew that he would see the results of his training sooner or later. No matter how crazy his methods sounded at first, Inui would always come up with the perfectly distinct workout for each member. Therefore, he focused on increasing Eiji's stamina. The latter was supposed to run a set route until practice time was over.

If he didn't make it, there would be a punishment waiting for him.

"Ugh!" Eiji increased his pace when he remembered that new drink – the turbo-juice! Unfortunately, Inui knew too well that his drinks terrified him of all people the most. Thus, the so-called 'brain' of Seigaku also knew how to make Eiji obey.

He was sure that he already surpassed his own limits and ran as fast as he never did before. That was why he barely noticed the stray kitten on his way by the riverside. The little animal was too frightened to move out of the way or react to Eiji's shout.

"Move it!"

Since it didn't budge the slightest, all he could do was jump forward and catch the kitten. Due to his maximal speed, he didn't land on the spot and scrolled up a little further while holding the animal protectively. Finally, he came to a stop, lying on his back.

"Phew!" Eiji sighed and held the kitten up. "That was a close thing, nya!" he smiled.

He didn't expect it to show any gratitude but as the animal reached for him and clawed his face, Eiji let out a small cry and let loose. The little cat ran away in the blink of an eye, as Eiji didn't chase after it.

"Nyaa, I won't make it back in time now…"

He spread out his arms and watched the afternoon sky. Should he go back anyway and take that new drink? "Better now than later…" he murmured to himself. However, his extra heavy legs didn't want to obey him voluntarily after interrupting his jogging.

The clouds passed by one after the other and his eyelids became heavier. He didn't even realize falling asleep there.

When Eiji came to and woke up, his eyes tried to get used to the dull sunlight. He rubbed his eyes with one hand while he wanted to bend one knee. It was easier said than done though. Wondering about the strange feeling around his ankle, he raised his leg and saw the extra weight on it.

Then, it sunk in.

He got up with a swift movement and looked at his surroundings. How long did he sleep? A few minutes? Or even hours? More importantly, he needed to head back to the school now.

But he didn't.

Suddenly, a voice caught his attention and he turned towards its source. Only then, he noticed the other figure standing by the riverbank. The setting sun was still piercing his oversensitive eyes, so he could solely perceive the silhouette of the person.

"Oi…!" Eiji called out while blocking the sunrays with an arm.

The other person just became aware of his presence. In the next second, Eiji saw the person retreating quickly.

"Wait…" he called out and intended to follow. Too bad that his heavy legs made him trip and he landed on the ground again.

"Tough luck!" he cursed under his breath and looked up. Nevertheless, the person was nowhere to be seen. "Who… was she?"

Neither did he see her face, nor any other traits. Only her pleasant voice remained in his memory and one line of the song she sang by the riverside.

"I love you and that's all I really know."

A/N: I've been looking for (multi-chaptered and not yaoi) romance stories about my favorite character of PoT – Kikumaru-sama! I couldn't find that many, so I decided to try writing one myself.

The prologue might not be that interesting for now. However, I can only tell you that if you enjoy cute and innocent love stories, you will actually like this one.

Feel free to leave me a review…please?