Hi. My name is Sayaka Tezuka, Kunimitsu Tezuka's little sister. I was born on December 24, 1999. When this twisty adventure started I was twelve…Here goes.
Ugghhh…I thought. On a bus again with these freaky teenagers. The dude with the long hair's swinging his racket like a monkey. At least my best friend Sakuno Ryuzaki is here with me. Best friends…we've known each other for longer than we can (collectively) remember. But I've known only one person longer than that.
The long-hair boy, whose name was apparently Sasabe, started yelling as the train stopped again. There was a little clatter, and then a voice I'd been missing for nearly a half-year spoke. "Yo, dude, pipe down can't you?"
The first thought that entered my mind was Ryoma? Ryoma Echizen? It can't be! But my eyes proved me wrong. The same black-blue hair, glinting light brown hair…and his beloved Fila cap. The recognition seemed to light in his eyes as he stared at me. "Sayaka? Is that you?"
Ryoma plopped down in a seat. I sat down next to him. The long-haired boy was glaring daggers at us. So to fan the flames a bit I said quite loudly to Sakuno, "Hey Sakuno, do you want to sit next to me?"
Catching in on my grin, Sakuno replied. "Ooh yeah, I'd love to get away from these uncivilized hooligans."
But Sakuno was a bit too smart for her own good; the moment after she closed her mouth, the Kakinokizaka girl grabbed Sakuno's wrist. In an instant I bolted up from my seat, hands clenched into fists. I willed Sakuno to remember the self-defense moves Kunimitsu had taught us. Luckily Sakuno's memory was a lot better than her sense of direction, because in a second's time, the Kakinokizaka girl was staring at her empty hand in amazement and Sakuno was sitting safely between Ryoma and me. And yes, I was seated again because Ryoma had yanked the back of my jacket hard enough to make me sit down in surprise, but not hard enough to pull my jacket completely off and reveal the SEIGAKU emblazed in black on the front of my shirt.
The bus finally stopped after ten minutes of Ryoma and that long-hair dude bickering about how to hold a tennis racket, while I and Sakuno quietly chatted about homework from Seishun's notorious 7th grade math teacher. I told Sakuno about how Ryoma fails Japanese (nearly) and is 2nd in the class rankings for Science and English (I'm first !).
Sakuno's grandma, Sumire Ryuzaki, had promised to pick us up at the station but I just knew she'd be late by a very long time. So I ignored Ryoma's parting shouts at Sasabe and dragged him away to the North Gate of the Seiharudai Station, sprinting as if for my life. By the time we got there both of us were five minutes late. Ryoma and I were disqualified. Being the arrogant know-it-all he usually is, Ryoma threw his tennis bag on the ground and rested his head on it like a pillow. That's the kind of best friends Ryoma and I are. Just half an hour from when we meet after five months, we get into a yelling match. And Sakuno just has to arrive looking for me and Ryoma three minutes into the shouting.