Sakuno stood beside her grandmother as she bid farewell to her favorite sempai-tachi. The Seigaku regulars have the privilege to train at the most prestigious Tennis training camp in Japan. As a Seigaku student, Sakuno was proud that they were her upperclassmen. It was a sad that they would be away for the rest of the summer, it will feel somewhat lonely without them around. The first-year has grown attached to her senpai-tachi and since most of them are going off to High school, it was a shame that they could not spend a bit of their summer together.

A sad smile dropped on her lips as she looking down at her shoes.

"Sakuno-chan, buck up. If you give us that face we wouldn't want to go." A certain blue-eyed tensai spoke teasingly, snapping Sakuno's attention to him.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry sempai!"

Fuji chuckled. "I was just kidding Sakuno-chan."

Tezuka's mouth turn into a firm line, a bit agitated by the tensai's teasing on their coach's granddaughter. "We should be leaving soon."

Ryuzaki-sensei laughed and pat her mahogany-haired granddaughter's head. "Right you are Tezuka. Has anyone forgotten anything?" She looked at the line of regulars and received a bunch of no's from them.

"Wait. Is Ochibi going to come? Maybe he got an invitation too!"

"Ah. I'm sure he did…I don't think he would reach Japan in time though…let's give him a call," Ryuzaki-sensei said thoughtfully as she reached for her phone and dialed the boy's number. The group of regulars including the lone girl waited anxiously for an answer.

At the corner of Momoshiro's eye, he caught Sakuno's worried expression. The 2nd year grinned, deciding to poke fun at Sakuno and her cute little crush on their little brat later.

"Ah! Ryoma! Are you still in America…hm…I see…That is very disappointing…" The Coach droned on. From the conversation at hand, it looks like Ryoma won't be coming back anytime soon. "Obaa-chan?" Sakuno tugged on her grandmother's sleeve. The Couch sighed then hang up her phone before starring straight towards the regulars.

"Ryoma's flight got delayed due to damage on one of the wings. He's currently in Hawaii and it will take a few weeks for him to get here. Chances are, he'll give up and head back to New York."

Most of the Regular's eyes widen in surprise. That wasn't fair at all!

Momoshiro clenched and unclench his fists. Fucking technical errors, holding back their precious friend. Kaidou hissed angrily, glaring at the ground below his feet. Eiji looked like a kicked puppy, which made it seem worse since the redhead is always happy-go-lucky and always radiate sunshine and happiness. Oishi sympathized with his friends' feelings like the mother hen of the group that he is, saying reassuring things all the while. Kawamura helped Oishi with consoling although feeling bad about the situation himself he has to act mature. with Fuji and Tezuka are the only calm ones in the group and were handling the situation pretty well.

Sakuno chewed on her lower lip. She doesn't want the person she admired to miss out on such an amazing training program. "If only I can do something…" She thought aloud. All heads turned to the mahogany-haired girl. Sakuno who realized she spoke aloud quickly covered her mouth, blushing in bashfully in embarrassment.

Inui had a sudden brainstorm from the young Ryuzaki's words. His glasses glint with mischievousness.

"Perhaps you can Ryuzaki-san…It's a long-shot and we'll need everyone's help to cover it but…"

Everyone stared at Inui, disliking the devious smile forming on the data specialist's lips.

—

—

Gender Roulette

—

—

"…T-This is never going to work…" Sakuno sobbed. She had just gotten her hair chopped off and she is very, VERY upset. The length of her hair is cut somewhat the same height as Ryoma's, only a bit longer because they empathized with cutting off a girl's hair to which she took years to grow out. Ryuzaki-sensei packed the most boyish clothes in Sakuno's closet into a duffle bag - luckily, they lived only a block across from the school - while the regulars worked on Sakuno's look. They gave her a spare Regular jacket and a cap. She's the same height as Echizen and she looks just like him so long as she keeps the cap on and looked no one in the eye.

Although upset, she genuinely did want to help Ryoma. Maybe the cut won't be too bad, her head felt lighter and hair won't get in the way whenever she ran around. Sakuno sighed, trying to find a sliver lining.

The Regulars (and Sakuno) got on the charter bus once everything is ready. The regulars sat around Sakuno, reassuring her it would be all right. They practiced 'Ryoma-lines' and 'Ryoma-behavior' with her until she feels confident enough to fill the roll as Echizen Ryoma - well mostly until she stops stuttering and blushing whenever she rehearsed Ryoma-kun's cocky lines.

"Echizen Ryoma doppelganger: 43.5% perfect. Acting skills, chances of fooling others 37%. Tennis skills, chances of fooling others are…0.1%."

Sakuno hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry… Horio-kun might have been a bit of a better option than me…" Grrr why wasn't he here when he could've been useful for a change?! Eiji grinned, rubbing his kouhai's back tenderly. "Don't mind! Don't mind! You've been training with the girl's team a lot, nya?"

Sakuno smiled at Eiji's efforts to cheer her up. "Yes… the captain says my stamina is almost as high as a Regular's a-and I might have a chance for a Regular spot next year if I practice my heart out during the summer," She spoke softly, gaining some confidence. Tezuka smiled slightly and pat the mahogany-haired girl's head affectionately. "Good job."

Fuji beamed, revealing his stunning blue eyes. "That's great Sakuno-chan. How old was your data on her Inui?"

"…I haven't updated it since the beginning of the school year." Inui coughed into his fist, receiving boo's from Eiji and Momo.

Kaidou shook his head in disapproval at Inui's assumption that Sakuno's skills would stay poor.

Kawamura laughed lightheartedly at Inui's mistake.

The only girl in the bus giggled. Just an hour ago, she was sad about her senpai-tachi leaving and now she can spend a few extra days with them. The only downside was her hair…she'll get over it though. Some things are more precious than hair, like her friendship between the Regulars.

"About dorm room arrangement… does anyone know if we can well…pick our roommates?" Momoshiro asked nervously. Most of the regulars took side-glances at Sakuno causing her cheeks to pinken.

"I'm sure we can swap rooms if we don't get to pick," Fuji spoke up. "And I volunteer to room with Saku-"

"I'll do it." Tezuka's eyes narrowed toward Fuji's direction. "Kikumaru and I will become Ryuzaki's roommates." Everyone silently agreed with Tezuka's arrangement with the roommate option. Tezuka is too much of a prude to do anything devious to Ryuzaki and Eiji is too much of a child to understand.

Meanwhile Inui jolted down ingenious plans in that notebook of his.

—

—

Once they were off the charter bus, Tezuka had stayed close to Sakuno the whole time as the Seigaku regulars walked down the path to the training camp location. The Regulars thought it would be best if someone stood in front of her to make less attention drawn towards the girl. A protective streak began to hit the Captain when he realized Sakuno will be trapped in a whole camp filled with men. He was beginning to regret his decision to go along with the plan. He thoughtlessly went with it with only Echizen's training in mind and not Sakuno's welfare.

"Whoa…this place looks amazing!" The Regulars gawked at the high tech looking camp. It looked like a resort gym! Absolutely magnificent!

Sakuno gawked at her surroundings in awe. She just realized that she will be training at the most advance and prestigious Tennis training camp in Japan! If her sempai-tachi on the girl's team knew about this, they would be so jealous!

"W-Wow…"

Fuji nudged at Sakuno's shoulder. "Ahem, Echizen. Be a bit more unimpressed." The tensai spoke barely above a whisper.

"Oh…right. Um, Hn." Sakuno shrugged in fake indifference. Eiji giggled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "That was really cute 'Ochibi'!" He winked, grinning widely. Sakuno would have smiled in return if she were herself.

"Hey it's Seigaku!"

"UWAH! Koshimae's here!"

Everyone including Tezuka tensed. The Regulars scramble to circle around the Echizen Ryoma doppelganger.

"Shitenhoji…"

Sakuno peeked out behind Tezuka-sempai. She remembered most of the Shitenhoji regulars from their match with Seigaku at the nationals.

"Huh? Where's Koshimae? I just saw him!" The redheaded first-year pouted and bounced around in a frantic. Oh! It's that person who ate her rice ball off the ground! Sakuno thought, a bit happy to see the boy again.

"Calm down Kin-chan. You have plenty of time to have a match with Echizen while we're here." The person wearing bandages on his arm pat his kouhai's head. The light-haired Shitenhoji Captain greeted the Seigaku regulars with a smile. "It's nice to see you again."

The person with the buzz cut and glasses winked at Kaidou, making him shudder in disgust. "Yes~. Very nice! Though Yuuji and Zaizen-chan aren't here."

The Shitenhoji Regulars and Seigaku Regulars exchange greetings outside the gates of the camp. Feeling a bit confident, Sakuno decided there was enough hiding - she wants to see if her Echizen Ryoma 101 training were worth it! She squeezed out between Fuji-sempai and Tezuka-sempai.

"Koshimae?"

"Yo." Sakuno adjusts her cap downward, hiding her eyes. The Regulars, specifically Eiji, Kaidou, and Momo have panicked looks on their faces.

"Ne, sempai, can we go inside now…? It's stupid just standing outside the gates." Bullets of sweat form on Sakuno's forehead. Her heartbeat ran a mile a minute and she felt as though her heart would pop out of her chest! She's more of a nervous wreck than her sempai-tachi, she's sure!

Wow, Sakuno's acting was almost believable. She even mange to deepen her voice enough on the spot!

"Y-Yeah! Let's go in 'Echizen'!" Momoshiro grabbed the girl's wrist and tugs her inside. He didn't like to manhandle girls, especially Ryuzaki-chan but he had to treat her the same way as Echizen for this plan to work.

Kintarou blinked. "Hey wait Koshimae let's have a match right now!" The redhead reached his hand out. 'Echizen' waves his hand nonchalantly as a response then disappear in the circle of his friends.

Chitose tilted his head. "Something…is strange about Echizen."

Kin-chan grinned widely. "Really? He seems perfectly normal to me!"

—

—

A fancy bus with 'Hyotei' written on all sides of the vehicle honked behind the Seigaku regulars. With quick reflexes, they jumped out of the way of the pathway, Tezuka being the closest to Sakuno pulled her away just in time.

"Ah-!" 'Echizen' squeaked in the most unmanly way. Her eyes caught a glimpse of icy blue eyes peering down at the Seigaku team from the bus window with the smuggest expression. Atobe Keigo? Sakuno knit her brows. She remembered speaking with him a few times so she must stay clear of that person in case he would recognize her.

"Damn Hyotei scum almost ran Saku-urk…Ochibi over!" Eiji exclaimed angrily.

"Hmn…" Tezuka frowned. "Let's keep going everyone. 'Echizen' isn't hurt. This just goes to show we won't expect many surprises to come so don't let your guard down."

Sakuno's face fell. Why did the Captain have to say that? Now the mahogany-haired girl felt as though she won't survive before Ryoma-kun comes…

"Wait right there!" Two High schoolers stopped the Seigaku team. Sakuno blinked and stared at the older men curiously. They seem friendly… However, as Tomo-chan said before, she sometimes have a bad judge of character and her naivety makes her think everyone has a good in him or her, which is true! Certain people just don't like to show it.

They smiled. Sakuno somehow senses a hidden meaning behind those smiles, something more devious in them that made Sakuno nervous.

They led the Seigaku regulars to the courts meters away. "In order for you guys to pass through here, you have to knock this can down~." One of the High schoolers set ten empty tennis ball cans down on one side of the court.

"Each person gets ten tries…" They explained, continuing, "After all, if you can't do this sort of thing then you don't belong here."

The Regulars have no problem with the task at hand. They look slightly pale however for the black sheep in their team.

"So try it out brats!"

Everyone got out their tennis rackets. The obvious ones who are worried glanced at Sakuno, hoping they could stall for her. Sakuno took out her racket as well and looked down. Her sempai-tachi probably doesn't think she can do it, that she would need a miracle. Unbeknownst to them; she actually trained this sort of thing in the Girl's tennis club. To control where you want the ball to hit is one of the most important virtue in playing tennis. When she mastered control, her captain started to blindfold her eyes, to which she hasn't mastered quite yet. She isn't that good! Just average.

The Regulars of course blew the test away with amazing results. When it was Tezuka-sempai's turn, Sakuno gets in front of him with her racket and a tennis ball in hand. The Seigaku Regulars, even Tezuka looked alarmed.

"Sakuno…I'll knock out the rest of the cans with one ball, it'll be fine," Tezuka whispered audible enough for only Sakuno to hear.

Sakuno shook her head. "Hn. It's fine buchou."

She took a deep breath then shut her eyes. Each of the regulars have done a remarkable move to knock the can so if she want her cover as Echizen Ryoma to stay, she'll have to master the blindfold control test.

"Oishiii…she closed her eyes…!"

"What is Ryuzaki-chan thinking…?"

"Guys let's believe in Sakuno-chan."

Sakuno could hear the worried whispers behind her. The mahogany-haired girl in disguise tosses the yellowish-green tennis ball into the air then leaped up with only her feet inches above the ground. The ball collide with the top of the racket and Sakuno's eyes quickly snap back open, the ball bounced off the racket and connected into the can, sending it flying towards one of the cans, knocking it flat off it's balance.

She gives herself an 'Echizen' smirk. "Mada mada dane." The Regulars weren't expecting Sakuno to have developed her tennis skills this much. Although controlling with your eyes closed is a cakewalk for anyone of them, Sakuno had hounded her skills in the unexpected way. Maybe after a few days of this camp, she'll be strong enough to become a Regular for the girl's team next year for sure!

Tezuka passed by her, patting her head as he walks by as if it were a pat of acknowledgement.

"My turn…"

The Captain easily knocked the rest of the cans down with only one ball. The High schoolers felt humiliated for underestimating the Middle schoolers.

The rest of the Regulars (and Sakuno) walked to the open courts where everyone else was assembling. In all her life, Sakuno has never seen so many tennis players gathered in one place before! It was a bit overwhelming.

Sakuno fidget as she glanced around, spotting a few familiar faces throughout the crowd. Hyotei, Rikkai Dai, Shitenhoji, and many more middle schools she has seen matches against Seigaku. The team received a few stares and glances. Sakuno couldn't help being paranoid and think they're already onto her! Even with the reassurance from her sempai-tachi, she feels a bit too self-conscious to believe she looks anything like Ryoma-kun.

A Rikkai Regular walks by her, his light azure eyes briefly met with her warm honey brown doe orbs, narrowing slightly before moving on. That was Niou Masaharu-san, she thought. The only thing she remembered about him is that he was a cunning bastard (as Ryoma-kun would put it). The large jersey droop off her a little, as she began to get lost in thought. She heard a loud announcement but tuned it out.

The sound of the engine of a plane flew above her, dropping tennis balls all over the open courts. The ball landed on her head, snapping her out of cloud nine. "Huh…?" She bent down and picked the one that hit her over the head. "Did someone lose this?" She looked around.

"300 members seem to be a bit too big!"

Balls dropped from the sky like rain falling from the heaven!

Sakuno gasped and covered her head.

"Drop 250 balls and those who cannot obtain one must return home immediately!"

The High schoolers scrambled to get the balls as if it were a feeding frenzy. Sakuno quickly held the tennis ball close to her, feeling lucky that she won't have to join in on the madness of getting a ball.

The mahogany-haired girl glance around to see who has already gotten a ball, from what she saw, all of them were middle schoolers. A few arrogant ones took more than one ball… the nerve of them! Have they no sympathy towards the others? Sakuno frowned. From what she can see, Atobe-san has the most balls gathered. Is that his way of showing off his superiority?

Before she knew it, the High schoolers without any of the fallen tennis balls started to make a ruckus. Sakuno hid behind one of her senpai-tachi, who just happened to be Kaidou-sempai, surprisingly. She knew it wasn't 'in-character' to act this was since she's currently Echizen Ryoma but…these men were large and scary! Their hollering made her think they would hit someone.

A redhead on the Hyotei team caught the High schoolers attention. "The couch did say that if you don't have a ball, you have to leave right?"

"You're too loud Gakuto…"

A raven-haired Rikkai regular - Kirihara Akaya, Sakuno believed was his name - sneered, "HAHAHA! That's too bad! Why don't you go home already?!"

The announcement through the MC broke through the bickering High schoolers without tennis balls.

"Those, who didn't get a ball; please leave immediately."

Sakuno gulped as the High schoolers began to challenge the middle schoolers to a match. She knew Echizen Ryoma would rise up to the challenge even if no one picked him.

"How about the small fry wearing the cap over there?" The snide High schooler pointed toward her. Color immediately drained from her face. She felt anxiousness, nauseated, and sick to her stomach! Regret drenched her. Of course, she couldn't go without playing tennis for the next few days! Moreover, if she did, people would obviously know she isn't Echizen Ryoma!

"M-Mada mada da-" Sakuno stopped mid-sentence as her cap was pulled from her head and a jersey drops atop of her. "You mean me?" That was Fuji-sempai's voice. They were true to their words when they said they would cover for her. Sakuno felt warmth inside her, happy that she could depend on such wonderful friends.

"Tch, Fuji-sempai." Sakuno quickly revert back to her 'Echizen' role. "Do whatever you like." The girl shrugged, walking out of the courts to let Fuji fight the battle, which she would definitely lose. She needed to go take a breather somewhere, where there isn't a crowd of people.

The only girl in the training camp moved a few meters away from the courts and sat underneath the shade of a tree. She was close enough Split Infinitive (consider revising) the amazing matches but far enough for people to not challenge her to a game. Ryoma-kun, please hurry… Sakuno wishfully thought.

"Koshimae! What are you doing? The matches are all the way over there!"

…shit.

Sakuno hid her face beneath the jersey Fuji-sempai left behind. "Hn…"

The redheaded first year crouches down beside her. "Ehh? Are you taking a nap Koshimae?"

That was actually a good idea! Sakuno proceeded in pretending to sleep.

"Koshimaeeeee… let's have a game!"

Sakuno doesn't respond. Ignore it and it will go away.

Kintarou peals the jersey off Sakuno's head then gaped. KOSHIMAE ISN'T KOSHIMAE!

"O-Onigiri-chan?!"

"SSSHHHH!" Sakuno clamped a hand over Kintarou's mouth. "Kintarou-kun please don't tell anyone…please…" She begged, staring into his eyes. "I'll explain later! Just don't tell anyone…"

The Shitenhoji first year blushed then quickly nodded. Sakuno sighed in relief, muttering a thank you. She explained to the Shitenhoji Regular about Ryoma-kun's predicament and how she only wanted help the boy she admired. The Seigaku regulars were in on it too, she told him.

"Whoa, now that you mentioned it your hair is shorter! You still look really cute Onigiri-chan!"

Sakuno giggled. "Thank you Kintarou-kun. I'll only be here for a few days, two weeks at most."

"I want you to stay all summer though!"

"I'll be dead by then!"

The girl slowly stood up. "Well let's go back to watching the matches up close, shall we Kintarou-kun?" The boy nodded enthusiastically. "If you need me, just ask for my help with anything Onigiri-chan!"

"Well…please continue addressing me the same way you call Ryoma-kun."

'Ryoma' and Kintarou talked about various things while they paced back over to the open courts.

"Eh?! Matches are over already? I wanted to play too!" Kintarou whined. They're over already? That means Fuji-sempai's match must be as well.

"Oh! I need my cap back from Fuji-sempai! I'll be right back Kintarou-kun!" Sakuno ran without any idea where her school's regulars were. Without paying attention to her surroundings, her foot immediately got caught in between the bleachers and she lost her footing, tumbling onto the open courts where everybody witnessed 'Echizen Ryoma's' impressive display of clumsiness.

Laughter roared. "ECHIZEN YOU ALRIGHT?" There was one snide comment after the other, thinking they were insulting their rival when in reality they were just picking on a pathetically klutzy little girl. Sakuno felt tears form from the corner of her eyes while slowly lifting herself up.

"Are you alright?" Someone offered her a hand. She slowly took it and help the person lift her back up on her feet. Sakuno look to see who was so kind as to help her. She saw curly blond hair, glasses, and a boyish face come to her blurred vision.

"What's your name? You're awfully petite for a guy." The blond male smiled.

Sakuno stiffened, looking down as she answered. "Ryu-Er… Echizen Ryoma…"

"Echizen, hm? I'm Irie Kanata from court 3. Be more careful~."

A cold stare cast over her but it quickly disappeared. Sakuno look onward at the taller High schooler with dark hair. "That's Tokugawa; don't mind him he's a bit cold." Irie let go of Sakuno's hand. "I'll see you around~!"

'Echizen' nodded dumbly.

"Hoiii…'ochibi' are you okay? You took a nasty fall earlier."

"I'm fine Kikumaru-sempai. I fall all the time." That only worried them more.

"'Echizen', here." Fuji pulled the cap back on her head. The disguise wouldn't be perfect without it.

—

—

The coaches of U-17 training camp are giving the Middle schoolers a grand tour of the facilities of the camp. The food were gourmet, dorms were huge, and absolutely everything about the camp was beyond anyone's expectation (with the exception of Atobe. The rich bastard probably live this life style everyday). Even Sakuno went gaga over the new shiny equipment she has no idea what they do. However, she's more interested about what's in the kitchen. If they went out of their way to get such high tech stuff for tennis players, just think of the kitchen utensils! She would like to meet the Chef behind such wonderful foods.

The tour was still going on as Sakuno wandered into the kitchen, thoughtlessly separating from her sempai-tachi. They were too distracted to notice the girl went missing.

"Whoa…" There were probably over twenty chefs in the huge kitchen, prepping for dinner.

"Hey what are you doing in here?" A man, which Sakuno deemed to be the Head Chef, made his way over to the fake U-17 player.

Sakuno blushed, embarrassed. "I-I just wanted to tell you I really enjoyed lunch. Are any recipes available for you to give?" The chef stared at her as if she grew two heads. In all his line as an Exclusive Chef of the U-17 training camp, there wasn't ever a tennis player who came down to the kitchen and asked for recipes. "I'm afraid all of our recipes are top secret, young man." The chef patted Sakuno's head, smiling. "But if you'd like, I won't stop you from coming here once in a while to help us prep."

Sakuno's eyes lit up. Finally, she has someplace where she can be herself and not a carbon copy of Ryoma-kun.

"Th-Thank you! I'll try to make it for Breakfast if that is okay?"

The chef pondered for a moment. This boy has more passion for cooking than tennis just by looking into his eyes. "That's fine. Make sure to come down here early." Sakuno nodded excitedly.

"By the way, what is your name?"

"It's um… Echizen Ryoma, desu." She bowed her head, feeling a bit bad for lying to such a respectable chef however she doesn't want her cover blown. The chef nodded in acknowledgement. "Well you should get back to your friends Ryoma. We're still quite busy here."

As the Chef requested Sakuno head out of the kitchen and into the dining hall. There were people surprisingly still in here, gobbling down the rest of the leftovers. Sakuno recognized the yellow jersey immediately, Rikkai Dai Regulars. The strawberry redhead was stuffing his face silly with sweets while Kirihara Akaya complained to him that they should go find the rest of their teams. The redhead paid no mind to his kouhai.

"Sempaiiii… I can just leave you here you know!"

"Go ahead." The redhead sliced himself a piece of cheesecake.

Sakuno lowered her cap and sneaks to the door.

"Hey that Seigaku jersey…Oi Echizen! Don't walk pass us like you don't know who we are you bastard!" Sakuno froze. That was Kirihara-san talking to her. "Hn. I have to find my sempai-tachi. I don't have free time to laze around like Rikkai-tachi."

Kirihara fumed. "Why you brat!" The Rikkai ace jumps over the table and grabs a fistful of Sakuno's jacket, glaring down at her with furious forest-green eyes. The assaulted girl's eyes widen, forgetting that Kirihara had a violent streak. "How about you take that back or I give you a knuckle sandwich!"

"I-Itai…" Sakuno whimpered.

The redheaded regular stood up. "Hey that's enough Akaya!" The senior scolded his junior.

Kirihara smirked mockingly. "Hah. You're not so tough- eh?" A blush rise up to the Rikkai regular's cheeks and his heart quicken in pace. Panicking, he roughly shoved 'Echizen' away. "Tch…" What the heck was wrong with him? His body never reacted this way towards a tennis rival before. He felt…weird.

Sakuno chewed on her lower lip, thankful that the other Rikkai Regular told Kirihara-san to knock it off.

"I'll be off now." 'Echizen' adjusted his cap then quickly turn away so she can get the hell out of here! An arm goes around Sakuno's shoulder, stopping her off her tracks. "Hold on, since you're looking for your teammates and we're looking for ours, lets find them together, ne?" The redhead suggested with a friendly smile. Kirihara stiffened up and turn his head to the side. "Tch, whatever Marui-sempai."

Sakuno inwardly grimaced. "Whatever."

"Alright then! I think we should try to find them at the dormitory. They must be settling in or something."

"That's actually a pretty good idea sempai."

"Hm~ Praise me more. Tell me I'm a genius."

As the Rikkai Regulars lead the way to the dorms, Kirihara kept taking side-glances at 'Echizen'. He couldn't tell what it was but there was something different about Echizen, almost like he was a different person… Well, he and Echizen don't hang out and have only seen each other during matches between their schools so it was probably just his imagination. Kirihara nodded to himself in confirmation. Yeah, there wasn't anything weird about Echizen and certainly not anything weird about how he felt toward the Seigaku brat.

"Marui! Kirihara!"

Three heads turned to a scowling Sanada.

"Where were you two? Straying from the group on the first day I-"

Sakuno never liked whenever people get told off so she quickly cut in. "It was my fault. Excuse them Sanada-san." It wasn't like Sanada could punish her so she took the blame in Kirihara and Marui's place.

"…-san?"

It was apparently more surprising to see Echizen show respect rather than covering for others.

The fake U-17 player kept her head ducked down. "Hn." She chose to ignore her mistake. "Have you seen my sempai-tachi, Sanada?"

"…Oh right. They were looking for you Echizen," Sanada stated, eyeing the cap-wearing boy oddly. "They're right down the hall."

'Echizen' said a quick thank you as she passed the Rikkai Regulars.

Sanada stared at Echizen Ryoma's retreating back suspiciously while Kirihara looked onward with mild longing then panicked when he realized his face was getting red again. Marui doesn't pay any mind to Echizen's strange behavior and just blows a bubble gum.

"I'm still a bit hungry."

—

—

Tooyama Kintarou was bouncing excitedly. When asked why he was more hyper than usual, Kintarou told his teammates that it was a secret! To be honest, Kintarou never kept secrets before. No one trusted him enough since he was such a blabbermouth. Nevertheless, his all time crush, the beautiful onigiri-chan relied on him to keep her secret. It was such a selfless deed she's doing for Koshimae! Kintarou sighed dreamily, letting his mind wander to the recently short-haired mahogany colored girl.

"Have you seen her anywhere Kikumaru? Search the corridors again!"

Kintarou's thought bubble popped from the familiar voice of the Seigaku team Captain.

"Hoi… Sakuno-chan must be so lost and frightened!" The Seigaku Acrobatic sobbed in a whine. "Oishiiii!"

"Let's not give up just yet. She's only been missing for less than an hour Eiji…" The mother hen of Seigaku tries to reassure his friend.

"Onigiri-chan is missing?" Kintarou stared at the Regulars with a wide expression.

"Sempai-tachi, Kintarou-kun!"

On cue, Sakuno came running towards them. Relief came to the Regulars. Thank God she's safe! The faculties are huge and what surrounds the camp was a forest that reaches onward for miles and miles. Imagine if someone with as horrible sense in direction as Ryuzaki Sakuno getting lost in such a place!

"Sakuno-chawn!" Eiji attached himself to the girl and sobbed into her shoulder. "A-Ah…sempai…" Sakuno patted her sempai's back. Tezuka although happy that she's safe and sound, has a frown fixed on his face. He'll have to scold the girl later!

Kintarou took this chance to join in on the hug with a huge grin on his face.

Oishi seemed to be the only one who noticed that Kintarou already knew that Ryuzaki-san isn't Echizen… "Um…does Tooyama know…?"

"Ah! Y-Yes…he found out but he won't tell anyone," Sakuno explained, staggering a little from the two redheads' weight. "Ne, Kintarou-kun?"

"Yup! I think it's cool!"

Tezuka felt a migraine coming on. "I'll be in my room. You're stay with us just as we planned, by the way Ryuzaki-san."

—

—

Eiji lead one of his favorite kouhais to the room they would be sharing with Tezuka after a well-deserved rest. Everyone was a bit exhausted from the ride over to the camp, especially Sakuno.

She just wanted to take a hot bath then lay sprawled in bed. However, that isn't exactly an option when she has two male roommates.

Will she be able to survive a few days of this harsh training camp? Sakuno will have to put all of her mind and effort into it to make it out alive.

—

note: i thought this story would be original so i just had to write it! the pairings in this story isn't definite just yet.

to anonymous reviewer (johanna): sdfghjki; well this is embarrassing! i forgot Kawamura... he's such a character that blends into the background so he never crossed my mind. :( I'll rewrite this chapter and add him in another time.