Disclaimer: All SD characters don't belong to me

Chapter 1

August

Sendoh Akira yawned as he stared out in space, his fishing line was motionless. He looked up at the clear blue sky. At this time he should be preparing for the I H Basketball Tournament…

If Ryonan gets into the Tournament, that is.

But no, Ryonan got into the third place in the end. Now Uozumi and Ikegami Sempai had left and he was the new captain of the Ryonan Basketball Team.

Oh well… there's still next year.

But for now…

Sendoh looked at the fishing line, then the waters around it. Wasn't there anything for him to do right now? He wished Rukawa Kaede was here, then they could exchange basketball tips… they had become friends (well, sort of, at least Rukawa won't give him a killer glare now) after the short basketball match they had with each other before Rukawa left for the Tournament.

Then, days after the Tournament had started; Aida came with a message from Rukawa. A simple 'thank you'.

Why was Rukawa thanking him, Sendoh never knew.

Sendoh stared at the waters, wondering what he could do while waiting for a catch… he's bored, bored, bored… now that the fight between himself and Rukawa was over, he wished there was something interesting to do beside fishing and basketball…

Go to Maki's house and disturbed Maki?

Tempting, but no. Although he and Sendoh were now friends, Maki would murder him, especially now he had to divide his time between preparation for exams and basketball.

Rukawa?

Too busy with basketball.

Koshino?

Too busy with the new girlfriend that he had made.

Sendoh yawned again. Why couldn't a mermaid just pop out of the waters and accompany him to ease his boredom? Or someone who came and made his heart stopped beating?

Wait a minute.

Sendoh's eyes widened and he leaned forward, nearly lost his balance.

There was a girl beneath the waters a distance from his fishing line, swimming freely and elegantly like a… a… mermaid, but then disappeared.

Sendoh's jaws dropped. He was joking when he wished for a mermaid! He let go of his fishing rod and looked over the edge of the jetty, trying to see if the mermaid was near his fishing line.

Just as he was wondering where the enchanting girl had gone to, he heard a loud splashing sound, like someone emerging from the waters.

He turned and found a tall girl came out from the waters. She pushed her long wet hair back as she walked towards the shore. Beads of waters rolled off from her long, pale, firm legs while she stepped gently on the soft sand. Her body was beautifully curved, clad in a tight blue and yellow swimsuit. The text on it was covered by her hair, but as she pulled it aside to squeeze most of the water out with her delicate long fingers, Sendoh recognized the words: Ryonan. No. 7

Sendoh felt as if his heart had stopped for a second. He couldn't help staring at every bit of her moves. Every movement she made was smooth and elegant.

And Sendoh had fallen for her straightaway.

Sensing that someone was looking at her, the girl turned. She had big brown eyes.

She found Sendoh still staring at her in a daze. Curiously, she looked around and asked, "What are you staring at?"

Sendoh smiled. Today sure was his lucky day. He just needed to put his natural charm to practice and the girl would fall for it, just like any other girl he had come across.

"Iie. Just thought I see a pretty mermaid beneath the waters."

The girl raised her eyebrow. "… Mermaid?"

"A mermaid with the No.7 on her back." said Sendoh with a charming voice.

The girl put her hands on her hips. "Do you talk like that to girls all the time?"

Oops.

Normally girls would blush at his way of talking, but this one was different.

"Eto…"

"I'm not interested in listening these." said the girl, walking towards the locker rooms that had been reserved for beach comers.

"Oi, chotto matte!" called Sendoh, getting up and chasing after the girl. Okay, that didn't work. "I didn't mean to flirt, if that's what you are thinking. By the way, you are in the same school as me, right?"

The girl turned to look at him.

"Ryonan?"

"Hai."

"E. I'm in the Swimming Team."

Silence.

Boy, this girl didn't seem to talk much.

"Then you probably have heard of me, I'm from the basketball team."

The girl stared at Sendoh for a long while before she said, "Ara, it's you."

Clearly, she's not interested, not like other girls, who would scream when they knew who he was. Sendoh was beginning to like her more. This girl sure had style.

"Yup, Sendoh Akira."

"Okay, so what is it that you want, Sendoh Sempai?" asked the girl as she ran her fingers through her wet hair. So beautiful.

"Since that you have asked, then I supposed I have to come straight to point…" Sendoh took a deep breath and said, "I like you."

The girl's fingers stopped and she stared at Sendoh, who smiled.

"Eh?" she asked, thinking that the water had gone into her ears.

"I said, I like you. And I would like you to be my girlfriend." said Sendoh, slightly louder this time.

"Nani?!" she exclaimed, her brown eyes widened.

"You heard me."

"You said you were not flirting."

"I did."

"But you are flirting right now!"

"No, I'm serious. I see you swimming, I see your movements when you are out of the waters, you are different from the other girls I know and I like you. There, I have said it 3 times."

"You don't even know my name!"

"Not unless you tell me."

"You're crazy."

Sendoh remained smiling. "Can you go out with me now?"

"No."

The girl turned to leave.

"I won't give up easily, you know." said Sendoh, his hands in his pockets. "I will go after you until you fall for me as well."

The girl rolled her eyes and turned back.

Staring at Sendoh directly in the eyes, the girl said, "Sendoh Akira, you are the most arrogant person I have ever come across."

"Sumimasen, but confident is a much better word."

"You think all girls will kneel down and worshipped you as if you are Poseidon?"

Now that confused Sendoh a bit. His smile faded slightly at the name. "… Who?"

The girl bit her lip but then composed herself. "Never mind. I don't expect a basketball maniac like you will know."

"I can go and find out, if that's what you like."

The girl's mouth dropped and a disbelief look came across her pretty face. "You are really crazy."

"With love, perhaps." said Sendoh. "You are the first and only girl that attracts and interests me."

"That's it, I'm leaving." said the girl and she walked towards the locker rooms.

"Oi, you still have not told me your name yet!" called Sendoh.

"Go find out yourself! Lunatic." muttered the girl.

As soon as she had left, Sendoh smiled. So this girl refused to accept his feelings, interesting. That's a challenge for him… He had plenty of time, he would court her until she accepted him.

As for the name…

Sendoh made a dash to the phone booth nearby and dialed a number.

"Hello, is this Aida Residence… oh, hello, Aida-san… oh no, I'm looking for your brother… Yo, Hikoichi. I need you to do me a favour. Can you go and check up a certain member of the Ryonan Swimming Team, No. 7… That's her name? Interesting. Aida, do me another favour…"

Aida Hikoichi hung up the phone and scribbled into his notebook. "This is really big news! I have to announce it to the whole school, just like what Sendoh-Sempai wants!"

"What did Sendoh ask you to do?" asked Yayoi excitedly.

To her annoyance, Hikoichi just grinned and said, "Secret."

With that, he ran off to his bedroom. "I'm going to blow it up!"

The next day.

Ryonan High School.

The girl stepped into the school ground, breathing in the morning fresh air, a seashell clip held back part of her wavy hair nicely.

"Nanami!" said a voice.

The girl turned and immediately, her hand was grabbed by one of her girlfriends.

"Come and see, haiyaku!"

"Nani?" asked the girl Nanami in confusion.

"Big news! He actually did that, so daring…"

A huge crowd of people were standing in front of the school notice board, pointing and discussing about something.

"Ran, can you please tell me what…" started Nanami impatiently.

"Sumimasen, let us through…" said her friend Ran and she pointed at the thing on the notice board. "This!"

The people around them noticed Nanami and started to giggle and whisper among themselves.

Nanami looked at the thing and exclaimed, "Nani?!"

The notice on the board read:

"I, Sendoh Akira of Year 2 Class 3, Captain of the Basketball Team, hereby announce that I'm officially courting Nakagawa Nanami of Year 1 Class 5, member of the Swimming Team. I welcome anyone who challenges me in my way to victory. If I fail to make Mikagawa Nanami to accept me by the time my next birthday (February 14) comes, I will admit defeat and withdraw."

Below was Sendoh's personal signature.