Title: Cuz'
Summary: Miko Saura transfers to Seishun to be closer to her cousin, who's on the Seigaku tennis team. As she becomes friends with the starters, her past comes out, bit by bit. Can she deal with it?
Rating: T, because of swearing, mature themes and just to be safe.
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

-Chapter 1-

"Im tellin' ya man it was drug overdose." Renoki was looking up from his Jump magazine at his friend.

"What are you talking about? You stupid or something?" Waani groaned irrately.

The two teenagers glared daggers at each other. Two weeks on a California beach was supposed to be a nice, relaxing vacation. Instead, they had lost their luggage, been dogged by bad weather and were forced to come home early for school. Now on the plane, all their bent up energy was being released into their little fights. The current topic: a rockstar's cause of death.

"What was it then?" Renoki demanded.
Waani crossed his arms. "I don't remember."
Renoki burst out laughing.
"But I know it was some sorta accident." Waani insisted, frustrated at being mocked.
"Right. An accidental drug overdose."

It looked like Waani was going to shove Renoki's magazine down his throat when a voice piped up: "Are you talking about John Bonham?"

Two boys with murderous glares rounded on the speaker who sat next to Renoki.

It was a girl with shoulder-length black hair, with one earbud connected to an MP-3.

"Vomit." said the girl matter-of-factly.

"Aaahhh!" said Renoki, lurching away from her, his magazine held in front of him, shielding his precious face.

5 minutes later, when his friend was still in the exact same position while the girl looked puzzled, Waani sighed and pushed the magazine down, whispering to his friend: "Moron. She's not gonna puke."

"Easy for you to say!" Renoki retorted, but relunctantly moved back into his seat.

"Um... John Bonham... died... in a pool of his own vomit." The girl restarted uncertainly.

"How would you know?" Waani asked her.

She smiled comfortably, "My friend is a big fan of rock music."

Renoki nodded knowledgably: "It's true. He died in a pool of vomit. How undignified."

"Hey!! Weren't you just saying how he definately overdosed?! WTH! Make up your mind!" Waani exploded, pulling his hair in frustration.

"I'm Miko Saura." The girl happily introduced herself to Renoki.

"Ohayou Saura-san. I'm Namimura Renoki. Ignore this guy," he pointed to Waani, who was having a mini-fit on the plane, "He's not important."

"Quiet, you!" Waani yelled.

And so went the rest of the trip, with the stewardesses occassionally having to tell them to settle down during the more heated arguments. But at least no one died.

The green minivan pulled up to the school gates, narrowly missing a sign that said NO PARKING.

"So this is what happens when I put my life in your hands, Waani!" Renoki dramatized as he pulled himself out of the glove box.

"That'll teach you for hitting the driver while he's driving." Waani answered.

"You deserved--" Renoki began, when a groan was heard from the back seat.

"Miko-chan! You alright?"

With great effort, Miko digged her way out of the great mess that was Waani's backseat, which fell onto her at the last sharp turn. She grinned happily. "Yep! Except for...aha! My hat!"
She then put on her hat.

To be honest, Miko's clothes were... weird. A black hoodie, dark jeans, a black hat, sunglasses and leather biker gloves. Her clothes on the plane were much cuter. But near the end she had gone into the bathroom and come back... like this. Apparently, it was all part of her 'master plan' to spy on her cousin.

"Cousingly love- so beautiful!" Renoki thought to himself.

"Are you crying?" Waani asked him, sweatdropping.

Renoki gasped and turned away, "N-no!"

Waani and Miko laughed 'til they cried.

"Well, thanks for the ride!" Miko picked up her racquet bag and shoved a pile of Shonen magazines aside so she could get out.
Renoki went around the side of the van and opened the door for her.

"You sure you're gonna be alright on your own?" Waani eyed his new young friend.

"Yeah, I'm used to it!" She replied perkily.

"See ya later then." Renoki turned his back to her rather coldly.

"Bye-bye!" Miko called as she walked away, onto the Seishun Gakuen school grounds, waving.

Waani waved back. "You're so pathetic." He told Renoki as he climbed back into the vehicle.

"Shut up and drive!" Renoki ordered, as he wiped the fresh tears of "Such strong youth- so beautiful!" from his face.

"As you wish," Waani muttered, pulling out of the NO PARKING zone a little more gently than he had come in.

"So this is my cousin's tennis team." I observed a few of Seigaku's exercizes and practice matches in avid fascination.

"They...suck!" I concluded in horror.

In all fairness, it was mostly 7th and 8th graders, and the regulars weren't there.

"But they still suck." I refused to let it go.

"Where are the Regulars?" I asked a sevie who was randomly passing by.

He took one look at me and ran away crying about "Yakuza Bikers".

"I guess my japanese is still a bit rusty." I shrugged it off.

Then, I saw it.
The Clubroom.

A scene from one of my friends' prized action movies flashed in my mind. It's the one with that British secret agent who sneaks into the bad guy's secret lair and surprises him like "Yeoza!"

Completly disregarding the fact that I'm here to 'spy' on my cousin, and not jump out at him from behind a shelf, I decide to sneak into the clubroom.

I'm not exactly the sneakiest of the sneaky. I'm crawling on my hands and knees, like that guy from Impossible Mission, getting my 'borrowed' jeans dirty.
Luckily everyone's busy with something happening on the courts.

I creak open the door and expect a scary futuristic alien monster to jump out at me.

I am knocked backwards.
Not by an alien, but by stinky boy sweat.

"Empty." I close the door behind me.
"Now the futuristic alien monster's gonna get me." I apply my knowledge from horror movies.

...

"Stupid futuristic alien monsters! Where are you?!" I huff out angrily.

...

"Fine then! I'll just lay down on this bench and fall asleep- when I'll become my most vulnerable!" I tempt the monster by laying down.

"This actually kinda comfy. And that was such a long plane ride..." I figure, why not? A little nap won't hurt anyone.

"Goodnight alien monsters." I whisper.

Author's note
I hope this is better than the original version. Wadiya think? Please review.