Chapter 001:

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis/Tennis no Oujisama does not belong to me. Sadly.

Bold is English. Regular is Japanese.

"Hopped off a plane at Tokyo, with a dream and a cardigan." I sung under my breath as I entered Baggage Claim. I looked over my shoulder to make sure that everyone was following. And of course, they weren't.

"OH MY GOSH! IT'S SO BRIGHT OUTSIDE!"

I sweatdropped. "Miyuu, c'mon."

She sighed. "Yes, Mommy."(A/N: Miyuu is based off one of my friends. And yes, this particular friend hasn't called me by my first name [Last name, on rare occasion] for, well, two years? She calls me 'Mommy.' =_=")

"Giselle?"

My friend's deep green orbs made contact with my bright red ones. She then shifted her gaze towards a small, light brunette figure who seemed to be running frantically in circles.

"Waiting for Kuni."

I yelled after her."Kuni, come on!"

She nearly jumped 10 feet in the air as she rushed towards us. "Sorry. I got lost."

I couldn't mask the grin that appeared on my face. We literally just went through security and she lost us. Of course, she did. It's Kuni. "Let's just get going."

"Hai!"

"Your uncle's picking us up, right?"

I scrunched my nose up in disgust. "Are you guys sure? I mean, we could definitely get someone else…"

"JUST CALL HIM." All three of them stared me down.

"Yeesh, I was just saying, calm down, calm down." I muttered as I pulled out my iPhone. (A/N: When in foreign countries, technically, your phone isn't supposed to work unless you have, like, a calling card. Or if you're going to pay for overseas fees. But… IT'S MY STORY, I DO WHAT I WANT.) I dialed the phone number that I called my cousin on only a few months ago.

And lo and behold, after three rings, my cousin is the one who answers.

"Moshi, moshi."

"OH HAY DUR."

"…Who is this…?"

"It's your favorite cousin," I laughed. I then realized that we were talking in English the whole time we got off the plane… Maybe that's why I heard the airport people insult us without holding back…

"…I still don't know who this."

I was ready to wring his throat. "Fool, it's Kaydence."

"Ah! Kayde-nee-chan!" His voice sounded much lighter. I knew he adored me. Maybe it's my charm, maybe my talents, maybe my wit… Or maybe it's because I buy him food whenever he wants. "You've arrived in Japan?"

"Yeah. My friends and I."

"You're going to Seishun Gakuen, ne?"

"Mmmhmm. But in order for that, we need to get to our place as soon as possible. So, if you could remind Oji-san that we need a ride…"

"Ah, hold on." I could hear his shuffling footsteps and suddenly there was a bell's ring that was reverberating in my ear. "Oi! Oyaji! Kayde-nee-chan needs a ride!"

The bell stopped, and there was a muffled voice of a middle-aged man.

"She said she already told you she needed a ride."

Then came the muffled reply.

"Just pick her up."

More muffled noises.

"I can't tell her you're not here. She can hear you on the phone."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Of course he wants to be difficult.

"JUST PICK HER UP!"

Now that, I could easily tell was Oba-chan. She threw something at Nanjiro-oji-san. I just knew it. Oba-chan is usually a very nice and calm woman, but when it comes to me, she likes to make sure I'm comfortable and at ease. She loves me. I mean, what can I do?

I'm freaking awesome.

Haha. No.

My cousin's voice returned back to the phone. "Alright, he's going."

"Are you going to accompany him on the ride?"

"Will you buy me food?"

"No."

"Then no."

"I'm rolling my eyes at you."

He chuckled. "Ah, that's the Kayde-nee-chan I know."

"I guess I'll see you at school, Chibisuke."

"Bye, Kayde-nee-chan."

"Bye, Ryoma-kun."

"Did you know that I actually have family that's going to our school?"

I stared at her. "I thought your extended family lived in Chiba?"

"They moved," Giselle smiled. She took in a deep breath. "Can you imagine we're back to our hometown?"

Giselle has been my friend since childhood. We grew up together in Tokyo, and moved to the states together. Our families are closely knit.

"Eh, you have family going to Seigaku too?" Miyuu's eyes widened.

"Wait, do you?"

Miyuu nodded fervently. "Yeah! One of my cousins!"

Giselle, Miyuu, and I then stared at Kuni, who was sipping a soda.

She looked back at us. "What?"

"Do you have a family member that goes to Seigaku?"

Kuni shrugged. "Do you really think my parents would let me leave their sights unless they had someone watching over me? Even when I have freedom, I don't. It's not exactly fun…"

Giselle and I exchanged glances.

Kuni's parents were the strictest out of all of us. But I knew that her parents loved me. So, when I talked to them, I thought that I had sealed the deal for her to go on this student program.

She nodded. "I'm sorry."

Miyuu busted out laughing.

Giselle and I snapped our heads towards her. What the heck is she doing?

"I...I can't believe… that you think… this is your fault…" She said between laughs and slammed her hand on Kuni's back. Kuni nearly choked on her soda. Of course, Miyuu paid no attention. "It's all thanks to you that we're with our family! You know what that means?"

I groaned.

All four of us then said the same thing at the same time.

"IT'S A SIGN!"

Of course, Giselle, Kuni, and I said it in a more mocking tone.

That didn't stop Miyuu. She stood up on the bench we were sitting on. "It's a sign that we should learn to become closer with a families! Create bonds!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, that's actually pretty good."

"I was expecting something more along the lines of, 'It's a sign that we should dig eight holes and bury different family artifacts from our mothers' and fathers' side in order to create a stronger family tree,'" Giselle laughed.

I punched her arm.

She gripped it. "What?"

I nodded towards Miyuu, whose face was lit up with excitement. "Yes! GISELLE, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOU COULD READ THE SIGNS TOO!" Miyuu plopped back into her seat and grapped Giselle's hands. "Together, we could be the ultimate Sign-Reading Duo!"

"No, that's weird."

I laughed loudly.

Even if we're in a totally different country, nothing has changed.

"It's not my fault I ran over the bird! I mean, what was it doing in the middle of the road anyways?"

"THAT DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING!"

"Giselle," I waved her over, a sweatdrop formed at my head. "Don't argue with idiots. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience."

Nanjiro-oji-san glared at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I coughed. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

He stood his ground for another minute before getting into his truck and slamming the door. The roar of his engine drowned out his curses aimed at me. I simply smiled and waved. "Bye, Nanjiro-oji-san! I love you!"

His face dropped into an, 'are-you-kidding-me?' look.

"Drive safe!"

He just shook his head and waved once.

"He loves me."

"Obviously." Giselle snorted. "Let's just get all the stuff into the house."

I turned around.

"Definitely different from America."

Flat roof, which was different than what I was expecting. I was expecting a more triangular roof. It was wooden, a deeper shade of brown, had a small balcony in the front, and there was a stone wall and a metal gate. There were multiple plants growing along the wall. There was one huge tree that was blocking most of the exterior of the house itself.

It was beautiful.

"How'd we score a house like this?" I questioned. I pulled my luggage at my side, walking towards our accomodations.

"You know Kuni's parents."

I chuckled. Of course. They wanted everything right for their little princess. "Yeah. They're probably having heart attacks right now."

Giselle and I both paused.

We knocked on wood.

"Alright! Well, let's get to it." Giselle grinned.

I smiled back. "A new beginning."

She swung the door open.

"Agh! How long does it take to unpack?" Miyuu yelled at me. "You shouldn't take so long! We're all already done!"

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" I retorted as I knelt down to fold the rest of my clothes.
"HELP YOU!"

"I DON'T WANT YOUR HANDS ALL OVER MY STUFF!"

Miyuu groaned in exasperation. "C'mon, Kayde. I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry, you loser."

She leaped onto my back and bit into my shoulder.

Sigh. A day in the life of me.

"Miyuu, I'm already used to that. You should learn to stop biting people. It's rude." I replied, unfazed.

"But… These are my only defense weapons." She leaped over me to show them pearly whites to me. They were sharp. "See?"

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Miyuu. Why can't you just go out to eat yourself? It's only lunch time anyways. I can catch up later."

"We all know you're the only one with money."

I stood up and took my pile of neatly folded clothes with me. "That's not true, Giselle. Why don't you treat these girls to food?"

I placed my clothes within the drawers and faced them. Kuni's head popped into the doorway. "I wanna eat as a family."

She pouted and her dimple showed.

Ah frack.

"Fine," I waved them off.

Miyuu grinned widely and fist pumped. "YES! Kuni-chan's cuteness prevails!" She pinched Kuni's cheeks. Miyuu then ran out of the room.

"Freak," Kuni muttered as she rubbed the red away.

"YOU LOVE ME!"

Kuni's eyes widened. "Can she really hear this far?"

"WHAT?"

Kuni sweatdropped. "Ahah. Apparently not."

She walked out to the room right next to mine. She gets scared in the middle of the night sometimes, and I'm usually the one who's awake and she usually just curls up next to me and listens to me read to her.

Giselle laughed. "Ah, best friends, what can you do?"

Kuni and Miyuu have known each other since they were in diapers. The thing is, they're on completely different spectrums of society. Miyuu's family has struggled financially until they had moved to Texas where she met up with us. Luckily, her family stuck to their Japanese roots well. Her family owns a Japanese restaurant where we live. And she sleeps in the restaurant, the floor above, at least.

This is the first time that Miyuu's ever had a room to herself before.

Kuni's family, they're probably the closest things to billionaires that we know. They're strict on Kuni, but they do love her. Kuni just fails to see that sometimes. She's not spoiled. In fact, on the exterior, Kuni's family looks about as normal as anyone else. But that's until you find out that her family runs a company that is spread throughout America and Japan.

But Kuni and Miyuu have always gotten along. I mean, they fight. Like, all the time, too. But it's never anything serious. Miyuu always beat up anyone who tried to hurt Kuni. Miyuu is Kuni's protector. And that's how strong they've become as friends.

"They remind me of us."

Giselle's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Huh? How?"

Giselle smiled softly and just shook her head. "Nevermind."

I blinked. "Uh. Okay. So… how about dinner?"

"There's a café not too far from here."

"Sounds awesome."