Hehe, I bet some of you guys never expected to see a fic from me again, ne? Well, anyway, I'm here with my contribution to the Prince of Tennis fandom.^^ Yes, there will be shounen-ai/yaoi, not too soon, but soon enough.^^ And for all of you who are fans of the rival schools, don't worry, 'cause everybody's gonna be appearing at some point. Oh, and one more thing: I've noticed that some people criticize some authors' use of Japanese in fics. This is my style when writing anime fanfiction, so I would greatly appreciate it if it wasn't criticized. Thank you. And on a side note, I hate my method of transport to the other world, but I could think of no better. Gomen nasai!

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Chapter Pairings: None

Chapter Summary: After a bizarre "storm", the Seigaku regulars find themselves in another world with no easy way out. The only way home is to…save the world?! It's gonna take a lot more than tennis to get out of this one…

***************

Chapter 1: It All Begins

It started out as a normal day…

"Ano, Fuji-senpai?"

"Hai?"

"Are you…really okay?"

"Eh? Of course! Why?"

"No reason.", at times, Ryouma still found it hard to believe that Fuji was actually capable of stomaching Inui's juices. Today's mixture, with a name something like Special Platinum Soul Power Remix Inui Juice, had made Taka faint and Eiji throw up before he could reach the bathroom. And yet Fuji still happily gulped down the vile potion without hesitation upon losing his practice match against Oishi. Usually, the first year just told himself that Fuji wasn't human, and left it at that.

"How are you feeling, Eiji?", Oishi asked his friend as he sat down on the bench.

"Better. But I'd feel great if I hadn't had to drink that in the first place.", Eiji made a face, "I swear, one day, I'm going to tie Inui down and force his own drinks down his throat! Every single one he's ever tested on us!", Eiji's eyes burned with a (somewhat childish) determination.

"Every single one? I think he'd end up dead if you did that."

"The next match is between Momo and Kaidoh!", Eiji pointed to the court. Oishi sweatdropped.

"Not exactly a wise idea…"

"Well, you played against Fuji, I played Tezuka, Taka-san played Ryouma, and Inui's not playing, so they're the only two left."

"Even so…"

"Oi, Mamushi! Think you can last longer than two minutes?", Momo laughed.

"Phssht.", Kaidoh hissed.

"…You see?", Oishi sighed.

"Service, Momoshi--", Inui began, but was cut off by Kaidoh.

"Hold on a minute.", he said.

"Oi, oi, doushita no, Mamushi?", Momo smirked, "Chickening out already?"

"Chigau. Look at the ball.", Kaidoh pointed to the tennis ball near Momo's feet. It was spinning as if caught in one of Ryouma's Twist Serves, "It's not funny. Whoever's doing it, cut it out.", but one look at everyone's faces told him that they had just as little to do with it as he did. And then, without warning, not just the ball, but everything around them started spinning as a giant, tornado-like wind started up out of nowhere.

"Wha--What the hell?!", Momo yelled as he latched onto one of the poles of the tennis net to keep from being pulled into the tornado. Kaidoh grabbed onto the other pole, and Inui grabbed the wire mesh fence, but none of the others were near enough to anything that wasn't already blowing away. They got swept away immediately, "Inui-senpai! Mamushi! Don't let go!", the second year yelled over the roaring of the wind.

"You think I don't know that already?", Kaidoh yelled back. As if it were angry at the three still on the ground, the wind picked up speed and intensity. With a noise that made both second years cringe, the net poles were torn out of the ground, and the two, still clinging to them, followed the upward path of their companions. Inui, realizing that the wind probably wouldn't stop until he, too, was sucked up into it, shrugged and let go of the fence.

***************

"Senpai? Inui-senpai?"

"Eh?", Inui opened his eyes. Realizing that he was lying face down in the dirt, he stood up. The other eight regulars were standing around him, and they all seemed to be okay. The one who had been calling his name was Ryouma.

"So, everyone is accounted for and in good condition?", asked Tezuka.

"Yes, but what happened?", asked Taka, "I can't remember going unconscious, but somewhere in that storm, we all must have. I was the first to wake up, and I don't recognize where we are at all.", the others mumbled their agreement: no one knew where they were.

"It looks like a forest", said Fuji, "but not like any I've ever seen anywhere in Japan."

"There's nothing like this in America, either.", Ryouma added, "Actually, I don't think a forest like this could exist anywhere in the world.", and he was quite right. In this forest, along with some rather normal-looking trees, were trees with purple leaves. Every now and then, they would hear a noise that sounded something between an animal's growl and a bird's chirping (and they did not want to find out what was making the sound anytime soon). And they all got a shock when what at first appeared to be a bush jumped up and scuttled away on branch-like legs when Eiji brushed against it. Inui opened his notebook, which had somehow stayed with him through the storm, and started writing.

"What the hell are you writing?!", Eiji screamed, "How the hell can you write at a time like this?! We have a major crisis on our hands here!"

"I'm just writing an account of what just happened.", said Inui, closing the book, "It's good data."

"Won't do you any good if we can't get out of here.", Oishi pointed out.

"Hmmm…"

"Hey, who's out there?", a voice called out from somewhere in the forest.

"Someone's there!", Momo hugged Ryouma, "Echizen! We're saved!"

"Momo-senpai, itai!", Ryouma tried to wriggle out of Momo's grasp. There was a rustling of leaves, and soon a new person, a female, was standing in their midst. While none of them had really given much thought to girls, they couldn't deny that the one standing in front of them was the most beautiful one they had ever seen. Her hair was black, straight, and very long, longer than Sakuno's. Her eyes were a dark brown, and her flawless skin was the color of milk chocolate. For a top, she wore a piece of maroon cloth which had been cut so as to have one shoulder strap, and she wore a long skirt of the same fabric. She also wore sandals. She wore two gold bracelets around each wrist and two around each ankle. In one arm she held a basket filled with plants. She appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen.

"Who are you?", she asked, "I don't recognize your clothes. Do you come from far away?"

"Yes.", said Tezuka, looking completely undisturbed by what had just happened, as usual, "Very far away. Could you tell us where we are?"

"You're lost, then? This is the Kazanya forest, my village is to the east. Where are you headed?"

"We don't know. This place is new to us."

"Ah, you're really lost, then, aren't you? My name's Kyilla, and yours?" (A/N: pronounced kee-AY-lah)

"Tezuka."

"I've never heard a name like that! And your friends?"

"I'm Oishi.", said the vice-captain. He then proceeded to introduce the other seven.

"Your names don't come from any of the villages I know.", Kyilla said, sounding fascinated, "Just where do you come from?"

"I suppose you're not going to believe us", said Taka, "but we come from another world. At least, I'm pretty sure this isn't our world."

"It isn't.", said Ryouma simply. Kyilla gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Oh, to think that I have the honor of meeting ones from another world!", she breathed.

"Eh?", Eiji eyed her curiously.

"You don't know? Don't they have legends about other world travelers in your world?"

"No. In our world, no one thinks any other worlds exist."

"You really do come from a completely different world.", Kyilla said in awe, "Come with me to my village, it's just a short walk from here. I'm sure my mother can explain things much better than I can."

***************

Kyilla's village looked like what the Seigaku boys imagined an old African village would look like, with a few alterations. The houses looked more like houses than huts, for example. As they walked through the village, they were uncomfortably aware of the many people staring at them. Finally, they reached what appeared to be one of the bigger house.

"Please, step inside and have a seat.", Kyilla instructed them, "My mother should be back soon, she's just at the doctor's for a check-up.", she smiled, "She's pregnant, you know. I'm going to have a baby sister soon."

"How wonderful.", Fuji grinned. He and the others then entered the house. Once inside, out of habit, they began removing their shoes.

"What are you doing that for?", Kyilla asked curiously, "Your feet will get dirty."

"In our part of our world, it's the custom to remove your shoes when you enter someone's home.", Inui explained.

"Even your own home?"

"Even your own home."

"Well, I'm not one to disrupt customs, but if you want your feet to stay clean, you'll keep your shoes on.", with that, Kyilla stepped into what seemed to be a living room of sorts. The boys followed her, shoes on. Inside, the house was surprisingly modern. While the floor was dirt, there were couches, electric lights, and what appeared to be schoolbooks. And maybe he was hallucinating, but Kaidoh could have sworn he saw a refrigerator when he looked into an adjoining room. But then, from what Kyilla had said, they seemed to have advanced enough technology to be able to determine the gender of a baby still in the womb, so a fridge wouldn't have been that much of a surprise. After getting them comfortable in the living room, Kyilla left them to go outside and wait for her mother. There was a moment of silence, which was broken by Fuji.

"I wonder what their legend about people from other worlds says, exactly?", he wondered out loud.

"I bet we're gonna be human sacrifices.", Kaidoh muttered glumly, swinging an arm over the couch he was sitting on.

"I doubt it.", said Inui, "Judging by how Kyilla acted and what she said, and the way everyone else looked at us, I'd say there's a ninety-five percent chance that your assumption is incorrect."

"…Whatever."

"I'm excited!", Eiji exclaimed, eyes gleaming, "It's just like in a fantasy novel! We'll be sent off on a quest to save this world, and get magic swords and armor and big mecha and a little mascot of some sort! And save a princess and turn all the bad guys good!"

"Wasn't there an anime like that?", Oishi asked.

"Yes, there was! And I watched it from start to finish!", Eiji beamed. It appeared that sitting through a whole anime series was a big feat for him (knowing him, it probably is…). At that moment, Kyilla came back, with her mother behind her. It was very obvious that Kyilla got her looks from her mother. Besides the slight aging in her face and the pregnant belly, the only difference between the two was that the older woman had green eyes.

"My, my, you seem to have settled in nicely", she said, smiling, "I suppose my daughter has told you I can explain things to you?"

"Yes, if you don't mind.", replied Tezuka.

"Certainly not. My name is Marya, by the way.", Kyilla's mother sat herself down on the couch next to Kaidoh, and Kyilla plopped down on the floor between Taka and Ryouma, "Now, let's see here. Well, according to a legend, which goes back hundreds of years, when our world is in danger, people from another world will come to save it."

"Wai!", Eiji cheered softly. Oishi gently nudged him to tell him to stay quiet. No one else had noticed, though.

"As far as I've seen, nothing has happened in this part of the world…yet.", Mayra continued, "However, I have heard of disturbances in other parts of the world. I think it would be best for you to start out on your journey as soon as possible. Unfortunately, our little village of Duzzel is not the best place for the beginnings of quests."

"Then where do we start?", Taka asked.

"There is a village called Seirmiir, South of this village. Many great adventurers have come from there, I recommend you start there. Spend the night here. In the morning, my daughter will take you to that village."

End Chapter 1

***************

And so the great otherworldly adventure of the Seigaku regulars begins! Well, not quite yet, but you know what I mean! I know, it's kind of a weak beginning, but please, bear with me, it gets better soon! Please pardon the references to other anime and manga (Magic Knight Rayearth and Vampire Game). Questions, comments, and ideas appreciated!