A/N: I know I've rewritten this chapter around 5 times, but I keep finding stuff wrong with it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis

A pair of electric blue eyes peered out from behind a curtain of dark black hair. Aiko Ryuzaki squinted into the pitch black night, trying to make sense of the blurred building passing by.

"How long is it until we get there?"

The taxi driver was taken back. The girl had not spoken for the whole taxi drive. Her voice was very lovely. Wind chimes, he thought. Like wind chimes.

"About a half hour," he said, "So. You came from New York. The Big Apple, huh."

"Yeah. I followed my best friend here. He moved from New York about three months ago."

"You followed him all the way here? Wow. You must be close."

"We are. My grandmother died two years back. My best friend lived next door and we were good friends, so his parents took me in."

"What happened to your own parents?"

"They're both busy."

"To busy to take care of their own daughter?" The cab driver had 3 daughters, and seemed very surprised anything could be more important than your own children.

Aiko looked away. She couldn't believe she was spilling all of her secrets to a stranger. It doesn't matter, she thought, I probably won't see the same taxi driver again, "My dad can't help it. Working takes his mind off...her."

The driver smiled slightly, "And her is.."

"You know, for a taxi driver you're unusually chatty," She said, effectively ending the conversation.

"So who are you living with now?" The driver tried asking.

"My great aunt. I don't have anyone else to live with." The girl would reveal no more.

They were both silent for the rest of the ride. The driver tried many times to bring up a conversation, but Aiko's answers were short and curt. As the taxi came to a stop, she gathered her belongings and took a deep breath.

Just as she stepped out of the taxi, the driver spoke again,"Have a nice day. Oh and a...What was the name of your best friend?"

Aiko smiled and leaned in towards the window. This was the one question she didn't feel embarassed to admit, "Echizen, Echizen Ryoma."

Aiko stepped towards the house looming in front of her. Home to her great aunt, Sumire Ryuzaki. She pressed the doorbell and waited, shifting her heavy bag from one hand to another. Suddenly,the door burst open and a woman in a track suit stepped out,"Ai-chan! How tall you've grown!"

Aiko smiled," Thank you...great aunt."

Ryuzaki-Sensei chuckled, "You can call me obaa chan. Speaking of that, you should meet Sakuno. You two haven't seen each other for such a long time." Ryuzaki steered Aiko into the house. The moment Aiko was in the door she breathed a sigh of relief. It was cold outside. Ryuzaki-Sensei ushered Aiko into the dining room. Sakuno was waiting.

"A..Aiko. Hello. My name is Sakuno. W..Welcome." Sakuno seemed very flustered.

"I'm sorry your dad couldn't come live with you." Ryuzaki-Sensei interuppted.

Aiko looked down at her hands. "It's fine. I know he's busy. I kind of hoped he wouldn't come. I mean, he would just have to leave as soon as he settled in." The room grew silent. Everyone knew Aiko's dad, as a buisnessman, was very busy. He couldn't possibly take her in.

"I can't wait to see Ryoma again. He used to live here. I remember," Aiko smiled.

There was a long silence. Sumire seemed surprised, but quickly recovered. Ryoma always managed to surprise her. Sakuno, however, was speechless. She tried many times to speak but her words came out as gurgles. Finally, she managed to say,"You knew Ryoma Echizen? That's...That's..."

Aiko laughed,"Knew? I lived with his family for a while after my grandmother died. I was his best friend!"

Sakuno shot straight up in her seat, "You were the best friend of Ryoma Echizen? Eh?!"

Aiko raised an eyebrow, "Is that really odd?"

"But he's so...so...well.." Sakuno turned beet red as she stuttered, trying not to say the one word that was leaking out of her mouth.

Aiko wrinkled her eyebrows,"Cold?"

Sakuno couldn't help but nod, "Was Ryoma-kun always like this?"

"No. He was always a bit inexpressive, I guess it's just these few years. So much has happened. Tennis has become so important. More importqnt." Aiko said her eyes misting over slightly. She seemed to have other things on her mind.

Sakuno bit her lip. She had never thought that Ryoma could actually have a best friend. He was always the cold, handsome boy who had no other life than tennis, "What happened to Ryoma? Wait...How did you meet? Are you you still his friend?"

Aiko smiled, slightly embarassed, "Well, I guess I was never really his 'best friend', I just followed him around until he started talking to me."

Sakuno nodded, her mind in a stand-still. She was still trying to process the idea, like trying to fit an oddly shaped key into a keyhole that didn't match it, "Oh. Was that before Auntie a-" She stopped suddenly, blushing scarlet all the way to the tip of her ears. She hadn't realized what she said. Aiko just stared at her, looking slightly annoyed and slightly confused.

Sakuno's grandmother jumped in and interrupted, "Now, Sakuno. Don't forget that Ai-chan just got here. She'll need some rest. She can answer your questions in the morning. Tomorrow's Saturday after all."

Sakuno nodded."All right," she said uncertainly. Aiko followed her great aunt into a small room next to Sakuno's. It had peeling wallpaper and a broken door.

Sumire Ryuzaki grinned apologetically,"I'm sorry for the condition of the room. We just cleared it out and it's been used as a storage for years."

"It's fine."Aiko said,"I'll try to fix it up." She walked over to the closet and attempted to open it. The door refused to budge.

"Um...Oba-" Aiko turned around. Her great aunt had left already. She sighed and took a few steps back. She took a running leap and jumped into the air performing a drop kick on the handle of the door. *Click* It was open. Aiko winced and rubbed her foot. The handle had been harder than she would have thought.

Over the course of 10 years, Aiko Ryuzaki had learned a series of martial arts, a few instruments, and drawing. Aiko strived to be special,to be perfect and stand out in her talented family. It often frightened the people around her. She had barely any friends. One kid, however, had enough courage to come close. A boy by the name of Ryoma Echizen.