Prologue

l

1 of 2

Naniwa's Biggest Idiot and Hyotei's Hopeless Romantic

'Thoughts' - italics

On the streets of Naniwa, two elementary school boys were running home side by side together. At first glance one could mistake them for brothers. Both had dark hair and similar faces, but there was one who had sharper eyes and hair that messily fanned out from behind his ears. That boy was running ahead of the other with a silly grin on his face yelling.

Despite being spring, it was definitely a hot day. The air that blew onto the skin of Kenya's arms as he ran felt refreshing.

"Yuushi, come on! Your mom said she'll make takoyaki when we get back to the house!"

"You want takoyaki already?" Yuushi mumbled incredulously,"It's so hot outside."

The boy who was straggling behind called out to his cousin who was recklessly bumping into the other children walking home together.

"Kenya, you're going to trip!"

And it was true. His cousin had a penchant for tripping when he gets carried away and runs too fast.

Despite his warnings, Kenya sped on past the people heading home from school and work. He turned a corner to Yuushi's residential area and ran hastily towards his house. There was a sight that made the speedster slow down and stop right at the entrance of Yuushi's home. Kazumi, Yuushi's mother was outside one of the houses next door and conversing with another man. Curiously, Kenya went next door and crouched behind the gate leading the other house.

"Ah right." Kenya heard the man speaking to Yuushi's mother,"This is my daughter, Hiyori."

"Hiyori?" Kazumi repeated in awe,"Uwah, she's a tall girl. How old is she?"

"Ten."

"I see, the same age as my son Yuushi."

"The same age as me?"

"Yuushi?!" Surprised by the sudden whisper behind him, he stood up and yelped. He turned around and pointed a finger down at his cousin who was crouched on the ground behind him,"When did you get here?!"

"Just now." Yuushi hissed at him,"You also left me behind, idiot."

"Ara, Kenya-kun?" Kazumi was now looking at him from over the fence that was a little over half his height and smiled, "When did you arrive?"

Being the center of attention now, Kenya scratched his head nervously,"Just now, auntie."

"Where is Yuushi? I have someone to introduce to you two."

His cousin rose from behind the fence and nodded his head at his mother.

"I'm here."

The two boys entered through the gate and Kazumi turned back to the man and resumed her conversation with him. The house was just as big as Yuushi's. Two stories with a huge traditional yard.

"This is my son, Yuushi." Kazumi placed a hand on her son's shoulder and placed the other on Kenya's,"And my nephew, Kenya. Kenya, Yuushi, this is Jun Katagiri."

Yuushi looked up at the man in front of his mother and studied him. He had many gray hairs on his head signifying age. His expression didn't change much either. Yuushi could only guess that he was a very serious man.

"He works at the hospital beside your father." Kazumi smiled down at his son,"His daughter Hiyori is also the same age as you. She'll be attending Doutonbori Daini too."

Kenya and Yuushi didn't notice, but there was a girl partly concealing herself behind the older man's body. She had black hair cropped very short to frame her face. The length only reached just above her shoulders. The top of her head was covered by a baseball cap and she wore a simple t-shirt and shorts. Her eyes could barely be seen through the long bangs that covered her face and appeared very dark.

'She dresses like a boy' was Yuushi's only thought. Looking at Kenya, he assumed his wide eyed expression meant he shared the same thoughts.

"Hiyori." Jun urged his daughter,"Say hello."

In that moment, Hiyori immediately turned rail and ran back into the house towards the stairway. She was quick to leave their presence and her speed kicked up a wind that made Yuushi's and Kenya's hairs fly back. Everyone was speechless.

"Whoa…" Kenya managed to say.

Amongst the silence, Kazumi laughed.

"Please forgive my daughter." Jun apologized curtly to the three of them and watched his daughter run up the stairs of the house,"She's a shy one."

"Well then, that's all right. I'm sure once she starts school that will change." Kazumi squeezed Yuushi's shoulder and smiled down at him,"We will be going as well. I promised these boys takoyaki tonight. It was nice meeting you, Katagiri-san."

"Likewise."

She bowed at Jun and headed back to the house to prepare for dinner. The two boys followed behind her and Yuushi closed the gate behind them politely.

"That house was empty for a long time right?" Kenya looked back next door, "That girl seemed kind of weird too."

"Kenya, don't say things like that." Yuushi poked his head out in front of him as he walked alongside his mother to look at Kenya.

"She's also looks like a boy."

"You think so?" His aunt nodded her head,"Perhaps tomboy is more appropriate, Kenya-kun."

As soon as Kazumi stepped back into the house she noticed a familiar pair of shoes inside.

"Eiji?" She called out to her husband,"Are you here?"

A tall man emerged from the living room undoing his tie.

"Ah, Kazumi. I'm home."

"Welcome home." She removed her shoes and went over to Eiji. She moved his hands away and undid the tie for him,"I'll help you with that."

As she removed the tie, Yuushi greeted his father as he headed upstairs to his room,"I'm going to set up Kenya's futon for tonight."

Kenya followed behind his cousin and waved.

"Hiya, uncle!" He shot Yuushi's dad a toothy grin before speeding up the stairway after Yuushi.

"Oh, Kenya-kun!" Eiji was surprised to see his nephew inside the house,"You better slow down or you'll fall down the stairs!"

"Kenya-kun is also staying the night. It's Sunday tomorrow after all. They can go to school together on Monday." Kazumi informed Eiji,"I'll get started on dinner."

Kazumi hung her husband's tie by the door and went back to the kitchen to prepare tonight's meal. The husband and wife began talking about work and Jun's move next door.

"So you met Katagiri?"

The smell of the broiling salmon and cooking takoyaki came together and filled the whole house. Jun had left work early in the morning to finish the move and to have his daughter situated at the new house.

"His daughter... Hiyori." Kazumi added,"She was a very cute girl. She seemed really shy though. Hiyori will be in the same grade as Yuushi and Kenya-kun, so I hope they will be able to get along."

Kazumi opened the refrigerator and took out a can of beer for Eiji who was lounging on the living room sofa. Gratefully, he took it from his wife and opened it before taking a sip.

"Katagiri's daughter should get along fine with those two." Eiji told his wife,"Kenya is always joking around and smiling. Yuushi has his skills in tennis."

"Yuushi's tennis skill? What about it?" Kazumi was brushing the salmon with more marinade as she listened to her husband.

"Hiyori is also an aspiring tennis player. She's very good for her age. I'm sure she and Yuushi will get along because of that very reason."

"You think so?" Nodding her head, Kazumi removed the salmon from the broiling pan and asked herself,"Tennis, huh?"

Sunday morning, Kenya was standing over Yuushi's bed and poking his back over and over annoyingly.

"Yuushi, let's go running. Hey, Yuushi!"

The older of the two cousins was turned away from the other and his hair shifted over one of his eyes. Feeling tickled, Yuushi woke up and sluggishly slapped away Kenya.

"It's too early in the morning. What are you planning on doing?"

"Running!"

Yuushi's eyes adjusted to the light that was suddenly shining through the window and noticed Kenya was already in a t-shirt and a pair of running shorts. His running shoes were even laid out beside the door. The spontaneous nature of his cousin was both tiring and unbelievable.

Sighing, Yuushi swung his feet over the side of the bed and ruffled his hair.

"You've really woken me up now." He complained,"You can go run, I'm going to practice my tennis."

"Yuushi!" The boy was groaning now.

"Kenya, I'll run a few laps around the court with you if you promise me you'll play tennis with me afterwards."

The boy was easy to please, but he complained a lot.

"All right!"

Then Kenya was out of the room. Yuushi still didn't get his obsession with speed.

"Oi, Kenya! What about food! We have to eat first-"

A sports bar was thrown towards Yuushi's face, which he caught on time. Then a second one and a third.

"Where are you throwing?! You could've hit me!" He just about yelled inside the house. His mother was most likely doing errands and his father wouldn't be home until tonight as always.

"Then you weren't fast enough to catch it!" Kenya threw another bar at him and ran out of the house with one hanging out of his mouth.

"You'll choke!"

"It's all right! Naniwa's speed star already finished it!" He saluted Yuushi with another one of his stupid grins,"Onwards!"

Alas, Yuushi was left behind again and forced to catch up to Naniwa's self proclaimed speed star with his tennis bag on his back. He stared down at the wrapped bars in his hands and sighed. Grabbing a spare rubber band from the kitchen, he tied them together and slipped it into the part of the bag holding his racket.

"More like Naniwa's bird brain." He sighed inwardly and ran after that idiot.

Kenya was out of sight, but he would be waiting at the tennis courts already doing his laps. He had a hard time staying still anyway. Being kids, it was important to stay close together, but their area was bustling with people on Sundays and relatively a safe place. The court in a well off neighborhood anyway. The Oshitaris in Naniwa come from a long line of doctors as early as the Bakumatsu era. They were rich enough to live in their current neighborhood.

It wasn't that far until he spotted Kenya at the court . The only surprise was that he approached the fenced area and was watching something in awe, which happens never. Yuushi came to a jog and walked up beside Kenya.

"Kenya, what are you-"

It became clear then.

There was someone on one of the courts practicing their serves by themselves. The two of them watched as her long hair flowed behind her every time she swung her arm down to hit the tennis ball with her racket. Each time, she would pick up another tennis ball from a small metal cage-

Hitting it again, and again like a trance.

The ball would land at the other end of the court flawlessly, but what was even more amazing was how it landed exactly onto the line wherever she hit.

"Wow." Kenya managed to sputter.

"She's way out of your league though, Kenya." Yuushi grinned and walked towards the gate of the court,"You can't even hit the ball with that much accuracy."

Smugly, he turned his head back to his cousin and pointed his thumb towards the girl again.

"I-I can too!" Kenya hesitated with his words,"By the way it's not like I'm into her or anything! She's just really quick on her feet!"

And Kenya loves anything fast.

Both him and Yuushi knew the truth. Kenya didn't practice tennis unless it was Yuushi who invited him to play with him, but in the end he would almost always end up as his ball boy. His speed could easily catch up Yuushi's returning hits, but often times he would hit the ball out or into another court. He was a better ball boy than a practice partner.

"I'm pretty quick with my feet, Yuushi. After all..." Kenya stepped forward and pointed a finger at Yuushi challengingly,"I'm Naniwa's-"

"Biggest Idiot."

"Eh?"

Yuushi walked into the court with his hands in his pockets. He stopped in front of Kenya from the other side of the fence and clarified for him one more time.

"Naniwa's Biggest Idiot."

"Hah?!" Kenya breathed out loud enough to grab the attention of the girl who was preparing another serve. The hand holding the tennis ball dropped back down to her side and she turned to the two cousins.

Her eyes were hard to see with those bangs of hers. It covered her forehead and parts of her eyes. It was a wonder how she see where she hit. She was tall for a girl. She had to be at least half a head shorter than the two boys.

'She has some long legs...' Yuushi noted,'An advantage when covering distance.'

They were covered by a pair of grey sweat pants. Her t-shirt was tucked in and in her left hand she held her racket tightly.

'Mizuno brand. And left handed.' The boy nodded his head to himself. As a right handed player, Yuushi was curious as to how one performs left handed in tennis. It was a rare sight to him.

"You." The girl pointed her racket at Yuushi,"How long have you been there?"

'Seems aggressive as well.'

"Yuushi..." Kenya's hands grasped the fence and Yuushi heard it shake to his cousin's weight,"Yuushi! She's talking to you!"

"Long enough." Yuushi responded to her question,"You're pretty good at serving."

"I was just trying to see if I can get the ball to land wherever I want it." She shrugged off the compliment,"My serving needs work."

"They say lefties are pretty good at serving." Yuushi went on,"Would you like to play a one point match with me?"

The girl tilted her head down and stared down at the tennis ball in her hand. Squeezing it tightly, she nodded her head.

"Sure."

She threw the ball back into the cage and asked,"Can you wait a bit? I'll clear the other side of the court."

There were indeed numerous amounts of balls piled up at the other side of the court. Many even rolled over to the neighboring courts. It was surely a task that would take a little more time for one person.

'Can't let the girl do all the work either.'

Yuushi put his bag down at the side of the fence where Kenya seated himself.

"Aren't you going to go running?" He blinked down at him,"I thought you didn't like staying in place."

"It's fine because I'm doing something."

"Like what?"

"Watching you."

"That's creepy, Kenya."

"You know what I mean!" He punched Yuushi's arm lightly,"Now go out there and- wow."

"Wow, what?"

Yuushi followed Kenya's amazed line of sight and saw the courts completely cleared of the girl's tennis balls. She walked back towards Yuushi and Kenya with the cage of tennis balls in hand.

"I collected them all. Shall we start?" The girl threw the last tennis ball in her hand back into the cage,"Do you also mind if I leave my things with yours?"

"A-Ah... yeah, no problem. Just set them there with him." Yuushi pointed to Kenya.

"That was incredible. I turned my head away for one second and when I looked back you're all done!" Kenya complimented in complete awe,"It was so fast."

The wind picked up from the east; moving the bangs that covered her face to the other side of her head. The two cousins witnessed the biggest smile forming on her lips.

"Thank you."

Her eyes were the color of coffee and cream, a light brown that contrasted with her dark hair. They were practically shining under the light of the sun. When the wind died down, her bangs remained in the same position; keeping her face clear of the strands of hair that once covered her face.

"Who are you?" Yuushi managed to ask her first.

She extended a hand out to him.

"Hiyori Katagiri."

"Hey, Katagiri-san." Yuushi pointed his racket towards her in triumph,"That was a great game."

Hiyori stood at the other end of the court embarassed by her loss. This guy was strong and it pissed her off. More than anything she hated to lose, a trait she found unladylike and distasteful. The growing heat added to her negative thoughts.

The boy hardly broke a sweat during their match as well.

"Yeah, it was." She approached the net and shook hands with her victorious opponent.

'No! I'm so upset! This means I only have to train harder!' She looked down and gave a wry smile,'It was only a one point match, I'm sure I could've turned tables if we had a longer match.'

"It was my first time against someone specializing in serves and volleys and it wasn't disappointing." He complimented her skill further,"You were very quick to approach the net."

"I didn't ask for your name..." Hiyori realized; her face flushed up considerably due to the heat and sweat that dripped down the sides of her face. As upset as she was in her defeat, it was indeed a satisfying match. In the end her opponent recognized her strong points which she found was sweet and insightful.

"Your father introduced us to you." Yuushi looked down at her fatigued form,"You live next door to me now."

"Next door...?"

"You were quick on your feet when we met." He referred to the time she shyly sped back inside house.

"Oh. You're Oshitari. I'm sorry, I didn't like being put on the spot."

The boy sitting at the side of the fence waved and called out to them on the court. He lifted up two bottles of water for them to see.

"Hey! Come drink up!"

The ten year olds at the court approached the giddy boy and Yuushi took one of the bottles from his hands.

"This is Kenya." Yuushi introduced his cousin to her.

"Another Oshitari?" She pointed back and forth to the two of them,"Brothers?"

They shared the same hair color, but Yuushi had it much longer than Kenya's unruly hair.

"Nah, cousins." Kenya corrected,"Here, have this." He pushed the second water bottle in her hands,"I don't need it. You two got more of a workout than I ever did."

Thanking him, Hiyori accepted the offer and drank from the bottle; not stopping until she reached the bottom.

"Whoa, you're even fast at drinking." Kenya noted,"I can do that too, you know!"

"It's just a habit." She smiled at the compliment, but it wasn't something to proud of. Kenya was a funny to guy to her.

"I noticed you swung too early mutiple times during our match." Yuushi commented and sat down next to Kenya to rest.

"I... probably need a haircut." Hiyori admitted. The hair that covered her face would get in her line of sight at times and cover her eye on the ball.

Kenya and Yuushi looked at each other questioningly and thought back to the day prior when they first met Hiyori. Short hair and boyish clothes. The Hiyori before them was cute and much more fitting. They stared back at her and Kenya was waving his arms arms around in disapproval.

"No, no! Just clip your bangs to the side and it should be okay! You can even cut them a little." He made a cutting motions on his own bangs.

Yuushi opened his bag and removed the rubber band that held his sports bars together.

"Or tie your hair up." Yuushi thrusted the rubber band towards her,"I'm sure your neck will feel a lot cooler. It's getting really hot."

"Sure?" She noted the cousin's strange behavior, but still took it up and gathered her hair gently into a high ponytail. The length of the ponytail reached a little further down her shoulders

"It certainly made my neck feel cooler."

"It also got some strands out of your face." Kenya pointed out to her and twirled his own bangs,"Don't hide such pretty eyes."

Hiyori liked being praised, but anything about her appearance made her heart beat erratically like a drum. Could those two boys hear it?

"Don't be an idiot, Kenya. You got her embarassed."

"What? It's true though." Kenya made a satisfied noise,"Mm! And they remind me of Kopiko's cream coffee limited edition candy."

"Oh I know that flavor," Hiyori added, but didn't catch Kenya's comparison to her eyes,"It really is delicious."

"Right?" Kenya nodded his head approvingly,"We have some good taste, Yuushi."

Yuushi shook his head and dug his cellphone out from his tennis bag,"It's almost noon time. We should head home for lunch, Kenya. Mom should be home cooking right now."

"Oh! Lunch!" Kenya got up on his feet.

Hiyori packed up her own things and lifted her tennis bag over her shoulder.

"I'll get going too." She said as she walked past the two boys,"Thanks for today, you two."

"Yuushi." Kenya poked his cousin,"Yuushi!"

"What do you want, Kenya?"

Yuushi was busy tapping away on his phone.

"She's leaving. We should invite her to lunch at auntie's."

"That's why I'm messaging my mother."

"Eh?"

"We have to ask for permission first, idiot." Yuushi explained,"We can't go inviting people as we please."

"Done yet?"

"Yeah." Yuushi flipped his phone back down and stuffed into his pocket,"Then let's catch up. I can't even see her from here anymore."

"All right, I'll see you then."

Kenya went on ahead. It was his chance to get to know her without Yuushi embarassing him with his name calling. He saw her lone figure aead along their home street and ran even faster towards her.

Hearing his running steps, Hiyori turned around and finally noticed him behind her.

"Oshitari?" She called out to him,"What's wrong?"

"Katagiri, if you're free the rest of the afternoon, do you want to eat lunch at our place?"

"Sure, but is it all right?"

Her cheeks were still flushed from the recent match which Kenya found very cute. And those eyes that stared up at him were absolutely sparkling.

'Yeah, she's really cute...' Kenya had to admit and looked away for a brief second.

"Oshitari...?" Hiyori asked him one more time,"Is it all right?"

Snapping back to reality, he shook his head and flashed his signature goofy grin.

"For sure. Yuushi just contacted his mom. It should be all right."

He walked on and Hiyori followed beside him at her own pace. 'Cute, but super cool' was his impression of her. And sporty, something he really liked.

"Oh, your cousin is here."

Yuushi was trailed behind them slowly, still tapping away on his phone. Hiyori and Kenya waited for him to catch up. Upon approaching the two, the longer haired boy said,

"Mom just said 'yeah' to having Katagiri over for dinner."

"Just now?" Hiyori asked,"But didn't Oshitari.."

She tripped over her words a little.

"Oshitari...?" She repeated again,"Oshitari."

The two cousins looked down questoningly. Yuushi was the first to understand the problem.

"Both of our family names are Oshitari. It's all right to call us by our name."

Kenya mused aloud,"That's right huh... well, that's fine with me. Call me Kenya."

Yuushi introduced himself again to Hiyori,"Just Yuushi is all right."

"Hiyori is okay with me too." The girl nodded her head in approval,"I'm sure it'll be a lot easier."

When the three kids arrived at Yuushi's household, Kazumi welcomed them warmly. On the table were eight steaming takoyaki balls on a small plate waiting to be eaten as an appetizer. The start of the trio's friendship started when Yuushi and Kenya were fighting over the last piece of takoyaki.

"Yuushi, that's mine!"

"It's fine, you ate all the sports bars on the way home."

"Be fair!"

"I should be the hungry one, Kenya."

"Yuushi!"

"Kenya."

The two bantered from across the table on until they figured it was better to play first come first serve, but the girl beside Yuushi had the idea before them. The plate of takoyaki was cleared up and Hiyori was chewing complacently with a small smile. Swallowing the last spoils of war, she looked back at their disappointed faces.

"No speed, no life." She said as she licked some sauce at the corner of her lip.

Everything had started there.

A/N: I'm going to completely honest right now. I can't believe I uploaded this LOL.

This fic is a romance comedy drama. I will go from the Oshitari cousin's and my OCs' childhood to their junior high school life. I'll fix a few errors later. It was 3 am when I uploaded this. 'Till next time. ╮(´･ᴗ･` )╭

Edit 5/16/16 : I was writing chapter two and realized it would be a better fit to add it into the first chapter. The second part of the prologue will go into Yuushi's move to other elementary schools, then his eventual move to Tokyo and attending middle school at Hyotei Academy.