~(F/N) POV~

I watched from the sidelines as the large group scattered, proceeding to their practice. 'I should go…' However, Momo caught my hand just as I was about to make my escape. "Nu-huh~ You're not getting away that easily!" I glared at him, genuinely angry, and tried to yank my hand out of his grasp. Unfortunately, I was unable to and therefor was tugged along behind Momo as he proceeded to the courts. "Ne, mina! This is (F/N) (L/N)! She just transferred here!" A faint blush tainted my cheeks, as I glanced down, pushing my glasses up further on my nose. "Eh~ A new student? Nya! What year are you?" My eyes widened in slight shock as a red-haired male literally bounced towards me. "Eiji-sempai, she needs some space!" Momo pulled me back some, to which I sent him a thankful glance. "I am a second year student." I bowed. "Please take care of me." "Eh? Really?" Momo answered for me. "Hai! We're in the same class too!"

The attention I was getting from the so called Regulars was beginning to make me feel uncomfortable. "Momo…" "Hai?" He turned from his match, temporarily pausing it, and faced me. "Since there is nothing left for me to do, I will take my leave." "Awe!" It wasn't only Momo who wined. Apparently, my presence was already accepted by the team, and they were surprised that I wanted to go. "But…but…" Momo gave me the puppy-dog look, wavering my determination to leave only slightly. "Gomen. I have a lot to work on." I was only telling half of the truth. In fact, I already finished the assignments given today, but I really needed an excuse. "Matte!" I glanced up from my bag, honey-eyes meeting my (E/C) ones. "Momoshiro has informed me that you are talented. I wish to see this for myself." This man's stoic face met my own, both of us unreadable. "Hmnn…" "Alright…" I reluctantly walked over to my other bag, pulling out one of my rackets. "But I will only play for fun. There is no meaning to playing someone just because we have to." My remark surprised many of the players before me. Some, like Momo, smirked as they already anticipated such a response. Others were more hesitant. "Alright…" I inhaled deeply, slowly letting it out, before holding my racket to face them. "…who will be first?"

"Heh! I will!" A small smile found its way to my lips as Momo walked to the court across from me. "I want my revenge!" I chuckled lightly. "Alright. Rough or smooth?" "Rough." A cocky smirk illuminated his face, before instantly falling as my racket landed on smooth. "Che…" "You serve first Momo…" He turned his head back, surprised by my willingness to give him the first serve. I shrugged it off, taking my place at the baseline.

I wasn't normally one to show off or be really enthusiastic, but, somehow, being around this particular group brought out a side of myself that I hadn't even knew existed. "Ne, Momo…" "Hai?" "…is it alright if we only play one game?" He smirked. "Not confident?" I shook my head. "I do need to get home soon….." "Ah~ Alright! Let's make this quick then!" I smiled, nodding. 'Yes…let's…..'

"Best of one game! Momoshiro to serve!" I watched as Momo prepared for his serve. I could tell instantly that it was going to be heavy… "Here goes!" As I predicted, a heavy slice. "Gomen Momo…" I caught the ball as soon as it landed, adding extra spin on it. "W-What?" Apparently, our peers were astonished that I, a mere girl, could return a heavy slice, especially from Momo. "Point to (F/N), 15-0" "W-What was that?" "Come Momo…" He frowned, but hit his next serve.

"30-0" "40-0" "Game to (F/N)".

It wasn't even three minutes later, and I nodded my head, stretching out my hand. "That was a good game Momo!" "Yeah! But next time I will definitely win!" His confidence was…..refreshing. 'Loving the game whether you win or lose…..that is real tennis.'

Just as I was placing my racket away, another male approached me. "Ne! I wanna play you in a game too! Please?!" "I-I really need to…" I felt bad for Eiji-san, he looked almost crushed when I refused. "Oh, alright…" His frown turned into a wide grin as he hugged me. "Thank you!" I sighed, secretly smiling.

As we started our match, me giving him the first serve, I began to notice a certain way he moved as he sprung towards the net. "Ne, Eiji-sempai?" "Hai?" He asked as he returned the ball to me. "You aren't used to playing singles huh?" "Eh?!" He was too surprised to return my lob.

"15-0"

"Nye~ How did you know I play doubles usually?" His eyes were wide, and our current game forgotten to him. "U-Um…..the way you move….." "I see…..Interesting….." My face turned to where a new voice sounded, my eyes meeting a spiky-haired male. He opened a notebook, and began jotting down something. 'What a weird fellow…'

I managed to talk my way out of playing anyone else, though my 'skills' brought in many curious opponents. "I really need to get home now…" Sad eyes met mine as the team agreed. I began to walk away. "We'll see you tomorrow!" I smiled back and waved at Momo. 'I will see you tomorrow…'

I sighed, approaching my new home. It set along a cozy little street, aside from the temple residing in my neighbor's yard. 'I suppose I should introduce myself to them tomorrow…' At the current moment, I was just too exhausted. "I'm home." I announced to the emptiness, knowing full well that there was no one there to greet me.

~Next Day~

I woke up before my alarm went off, my usual punctuality showing. I showered, put on my uniform, and proceeded to the kitchen to make myself something quickly for breakfast. 'An omelet sounds good…' I quickly made my food, and sat down at the table.

"Hey! (F/N)-chan!" I turned, a small smile playing at my lips, as Momo ran up to me. "Hey Momo, what's up?" He scratched the back of his head, his cheeks flushing slightly, and nodded towards the courts. "We have morning practice. Why are you here so early?" I pulled up a piece of paper. "I wanted to check over my work, and I figured I could ask a professor if I was confused." "What's that?" He gently took the paper from me, before his eyes widened. "Crap! This was our homework wasn't it?!" I chuckled, nodding. "I take it you didn't do it." He looked panicked, but tried to brush it off only to fail. "If you finish practice earlier, I don't mind helping you with it." He clasped my hands in his, his eyes brightening up. "Please!" I smiled, and nodded. "Alright, then I will see you in class."

I went to walk away, but Momo gently grabbed my arm again. "Do you…think you can stay for our practice? I mean…..it was nice having you there yesterday and….not just me but the whole team…it was awesome to see you play tennis…." 'I see…' "I think I can do that today…" "Really?!" "Hai." "Awesome! I'll go and tell them!" He sprinted away with a quick good-bye, and disappeared into the back. 'I guess it won't be another boring day…' A light smile grew on my face, thinking of how I would not be alone…

~End of classes~

Momo made it just in time for me to be able to help him with the majority of our previous homework, and was able to understand enough to take the surprise quiz we had at the beginning of our class. "A RI GA TOU GO ZA I MA SU!" I chuckled some at how he emphasized all of the sentence. "It was no problem Momo, I'm just glad that we were able to understand the material." He nodded. "Yeah! And it was all thanks to you!" A small blush began to tint my cheeks.

"Let's go!" I didn't have much of a chance to respond, let alone collect my things, before Momo began ushering me to the courts for practice. "Momo, you know you could just go before me, and I'll meet you there when I'm done." I was holding many sheets of notes and work, almost dropping some of them. Momo stopped, not turning to meet my face. "I….I thought it would be….nice if we arrived together….and stuff…." His words confused me slightly. "Momo?" He let go of my hand, apologized for forcing me out in such a hurry, and proceeded to the end of the hallway. I sighed, feeling somewhat guilty for being somewhat rude. 'Gomen…..'

The sound of a ball brushing against a hard-top court surrounded me. "So, you decided to come today as well…" I glanced to my right, seeing the same honey-eyed male from yesterday. "Hai. Momo asked me to come today as well…" 'That, and I wanted to…' "I see…" The male carefully observed the team, his eyes analytical and caring. "Tezuka-buchou!" My eyes widened slightly when I realized they were calling the man next to me. "Hai." He walked away, leaving me in bewilderment. 'He's the captain?' I guess it was obvious, given his aura and the way he carried himself but…

"Nya~ (F/N)! Let's have our match today!" I looked up from my notebook, surprised that the other members had noticed my small figure sitting on the sidelines. "Eh?" The Regular team members gathered around me, asking about when they could have a match, and the sudden attention was just too much. 'This is so embarrassing…' I tried not to show how uncomfortable and shy I was, but I ultimately failed. "Boys! Get back to practice!" "HAI!" As the guys scattered back to their practice, an older woman approached me. "Oh, you're the girl from yesterday correct?" I stood, before bowing slightly. "Hai. I am (F/N) (L/N). Please forgive me for interrupting the practice, which was not my intention." The woman chuckled. "I am the coach for the Seigaku tennis team. Please call me Coach Ryuzaki." "Hai."

"Why not join in on practice?" "Eh?" I was surprised by her proposition. We spoke lightly as the members continued to practice, mostly about tennis and what I thought about the team. "They are all good players…" I downcast my eyes. "But?" I sighed. "But I don't think they are well balanced. It is quite obvious which ones are the main players, based on experience and playing style, and…" She ushered me to continue. "…and the way they carry out their 'special shots' are…excessive…they waste more energy than they need too…" "Ho~ Really? Do you think you can show them the 'right' way then?" My eyes widened, and I turned to Coach Ryuzaki. "W-What do you…?" "I would like you to help our boys. It's obvious from what I watched yesterday that you have talent, and even if just to have a practice match with them, I think would be good experience." "I-I don't really…." She sent me a look, one that I knew all too well… "I won't push you to make a choice yet, but I would like you to consider it. I'm sure the boys wouldn't mind. Also…" She stepped a bit closer to me, whispering the rest of her sentence. "…I think it would be a good way for you to move on Ms. (L/N)…" I gasped. "Y-You know…?" She nodded, face showing a serious expression. "I-I see…"

"Ne~ (F/N)-chan? Are you alright?" I turned to Momo, noticing a concerned glint in his eyes, and nodded. "Hai. Just tired." It was hard to go to sleep after my conversation with Coach Ryuzaki. "Don't push yourself too hard! I know you have a title to keep! But they're just grades!" I turned away, looking out the window. "Hai…" 'I wish it was that simple…'

"They won't be coming back…not now…" A whisper sounded, barely audible to my ears. I felt the weight of the world then, the fact that I did not make it to their side not helping one bit. I knew. I knew that something would happen. I knew the anger I would be facing upon my return. But…I never knew THIS would be how things ended…"

A.N: Hey guys! I hope you like how the story is going thus far! Please leave comments/reviews because I DO read them and I DO take them into consideration (if they involve critiques)! Pretty please?

P.S: How about 3 Reviews of next chapter?

P.S.S: Thanks for reading!