Hyoutei

1

Matt stared down at the uniform in his hands. The emblem of Hyoutei Academy stuck out the most to him. He was now a student there. And in a few days, he would be attending. This had to be the fourth middle school he would be joining. He was expelled from the other two, and the other one was burned down. Hopefully, he would make it through this year before entering high school. Of course, it was hard being optimistic.

He came to a stop when he realized he had lost his way and ended up at a public tennis court place. Although it was winter, there were still people playing. At least, it wasn't snowing for them.

"Ano…" He asked a pair of resting players, "Can you point me in the right direction?"

One of them looked happy enough to oblige until he saw the blazer in his hand, recognizing the emblem. His gaze smoldered. "You're from Hyoutei, aren't you?"

A blink of the eyes and he nodded slowly. In the other male's eyes, he saw pure contempt. So what if he went to that private academy?

"Sorry, we don't help trash like you." He waved him off and ignored him.

Matt growled. Already, he wasn't accepted, and it wasn't his fault this time! "Want to start a fight?"

"Yamete!" A female ran over to them. She immediately scolded the two players, "He's only asking for directions!" Then she turned to Matt. At first, she was surprised by his silver hair, but other than that, he didn't seem overconfident like those of Hyoutei. "Sorry, I can help you."

"You shouldn't be helping him, An-chan." The other male spoke, glaring at Matt. "Anyone from Hyoutei is not welcome here."

Other tennis players who had overheard their conversation joined in as well. Many yelled at Matt to get the hell out of here and never return. Their words only angered the boy further. This sort of situation wasn't new to him, but it sure as hell pissed him off when he was being driven away for something he didn't even know about. He hadn't even been to school yet!

"Ahn? Bullying one of my own? Do the weak have no shame?" A smooth voice spoke above the angry crowd of players.

An's hands clenched tightly as the newcomer and his friend approached. It was clear that she knew who they were along with the rest of the players. Matt was watchful as well and could tell from the male's stride that he was arrogant and saw the others before him beneath him. It was safe to assume he was from Hyoutei as well. The tennis jersey was more than enough proof.

The male gazed upon the silver-haired boy, an amused smile on his lips. He had been informed of transfer students over the holidays. Most likely, the boy in front of him was one of them. For a boy, he was slender and not as tall as him. His silver eyes were round and large too. And despite the angry look, they gave him an innocent quality. If it wasn't for his messy hair, he would have mistaken him for a female.

Matt continued studying the purple-haired male. His hair was flicked out in a messy, yet uniform manner; most likely, it was supposed to be attractive. In a sense, it was like his own hairstyle, except he didn't intentionally style it. It was as it was. The amused smirk suggested a playful attitude, but also mocking. In conclusion, the male was another play boy.

He didn't forget the bulky male in the back. His eyes were blank though watchful. Probably just a lackey for the arrogant one…

"I'm not 'one of your own'. I'm from your academy. That's as far of an association as you'll get." He sighed, wondering why he bothered with corrections. "Can someone just tell me how the fuck do I get home?" He waved a paper around with his address written on it, clearly frustrated.

"What a crude tongue…" The male merely remarked. "You're as temperamental as a cat."

"…forget it." Matt turned away and made his way down the stairs. It seemed like no one would be helping him.

"Wait, neko-chan."

A hand grabbed his shoulder, and Matt was forced to look into the arrogant bastard's dark eyes.

"Allow me to call a limo for you."

"Nope," responded the silver-haired boy bluntly. "I'd rather walk. I don't care if you're being kind because we're from the same school, and I don't like owing favors to someone like you. My name isn't 'neko-chan' either." Again, he wondered why he bothered talking so much.

He shoved his hand off and went towards the nearest shop, his messy hair bouncing as he walked.

Chuckling, the smooth-voiced male watched as the lost kitty ran away. It seemed like he had found a new toy.

Once winter break passed on, Hyoutei Gakuen Academy resumed its term. The well-kept halls were filled with students at lunch, actively speaking to each other about their vacation. But their conversations came to an abrupt stop when they noticed the two transfer students walking past. The subject immediately shifted to their appearances. They were cute.

A third-year with crimson hair and another third-year with silver hair advanced down the hallway. They hardly paid much mind to the people's gazes for it was a normal experience for the both of them.

The boy with silver hair took more interest in the clean hall. "…looks just like new, although the school's been around for awhile. Seems like there's a big benefactor in all of this."

The boy beside him chuckled. "Keigo Atobe… he's a third-year like us and the 'big benefactor' you're referring to, Matt. He's quite popular."

"Didn't you two know each other back in England, Tenka? From how you described him before, he's a big of an ass as you are." He spoke frankly while putting his hands behind his head. Some girls they passed by kept referring to Atobe as some other title while making comparisons to Tenka. "He's called king around here too."

"Ever since he got defeated in tennis once, he's done nothing but aim for the top. I guess even now, he still intends to rise up as king." Tenka somehow found it refreshing despite how boastful the quest was. Although they were only kids when they met, it seemed admirable that Atobe didn't give up. Even at his age, he had met too many people who gave up too early or for the stupidest reasons.

Matt noticed the nostalgic look in his friend's red-violet eyes. It had to be nice reuniting with someone from childhood. Unlike Tenka, he didn't have friends from the past. He had some, but they quickly forgot about him and for good reason too. He wasn't someone people wanted around.

Shaking himself out of his daze, he continued to gaze outside. The academy's courtyard was somewhat crowded with people eating their lunch. But there were a few stone benches, and those were what he cared about. Empty and wide enough for him to lie down, one would be good for a quick nap.

"Yeah, yeah, ignore what I just said while thinking about sleep." The redhead sounded offended while pointing out what was on the boy's mind. If he wasn't in a good mood, he'd scold him more. "Just go ahead. I'll catch up with you later. I'm going to find Atobe."

A smile flashed on his face at the chance given to him. It annoyed him when Tenka acted pouty whenever he was ignored, but he wasn't making a fuss for once. "See you in after school."

He dashed ahead for the nearest exit, clumsily dodging people and ducking under arms. When he was blocked or got impatient, he'd perform a front flip, nearly losing his footing. The boy really was too eager to sleep. It caused such a spectacle, much to Tenka's displeasure. As clumsy as he was, he somehow didn't knock anyone over. And the boy wasn't a show-off, but he knew how to appear as one. Sometimes, he wondered if he intentionally appeared clumsy so no one would notice his actual athleticism. He didn't see the purpose in hiding it.

Up on the roof, a third-year cried out excitedly, "Did you see that?! He jumped over those guys and fell asleep on the bench!" His finger was pointing at the now dozing silver-haired boy, and he smiled. "He likes to sleep as much as I do! Eh? What's wrong, Mukahi?"

The acrobat appeared disinterested in the boy, tossing his head to the side. "So what? He's just showing off. He has no idea that there's someone better than him at acrobatics. And stop pointing, Jirou!"

A chuckle came from the blue-haired doubles partner. "Should we test it out then, Mukahi?"

"No need. He's nothing special, Yuushi."

Hiyoshi simply stayed silent and watched his senpai converse. He too saw the display Matt performed but didn't feel like joining in. People-watching was much more entertaining.

Jirou frowned and wondered what got him on the defensive. Then his attention immediately went on Choutarou. "Ootari-kun, look, look! He has silver hair like you!"

The second-year was at a loss for words. He didn't understand what exactly was excitable about having similar hair color. Then again, he rarely understood what got Jirou excited for anything. Still, he respected his senpai's words and nodded his head, a polite smile crossing his face. "It is a lot like mine."

"Would be lame to find out his hair is dyed." Ryou Shishido commented. He hadn't seen the boy, but he figured it was dyed. Not many people had real hair like Choutarou's.

"Calm down, Jirou." The commanding voice of Keigo Atobe ordered. His attempt at eating his lunch peacefully never succeeded with Jirou up and about. "For someone who wants to sleep, he seems reckless. Isn't that right, Kabaji?"

"Usu." The tallest male nodded obediently.

"But buchou, he looks like one of the transfer students! I heard about him from some girls. No one recognized him when he came in during lunch."

"Again, nothing special." Mukahi said, once again on the defensive. It seemed likely that he was jealous of the new kid's skills and the fact that someone could easily perform flips consecutively.

Deciding he should humor his fellow team, Atobe took a look at the boy down below. Immediately, he recognized his silver hair. It was the boy from last week. He hadn't expected to find him so soon. Even from the roof, his toy still appeared to be a lost kitten.

"Perhaps we should welcome him to Hyoutei."

"Wh-What?!" The acrobat exclaimed. Just what was so interesting about the kid?

"Just when I was getting comfortable… how lame…" Shishido sighed and got on his feet. Why they always had to be dragged around by Atobe, he didn't know.

Together, the regulars of the Hyoutei tennis team approached the sleeping Matthew. At first, they weren't sure how they should wake him up, but before they could come to a decision, a playful voice spoke behind them.

"Ahh, I wouldn't do that. You don't want to find out the hard way why either."

Atobe, recognizing the voice, turned and smiled. "Good to see you again, Tenka."

The redhead smile right back. "Nice seeing you too, Atobe. What's it like being king around here?"

"Ahn, I'm surprised you asked. As I recall, you were never interested in being one."

The other regulars shared confused looks with each other. Who was this? They didn't recognize Tenka, so they assumed he was the other transfer student. But it seemed like Atobe and Tenka knew each other before.

"Nah, nah, I'm only being curious." Tenka walked around them and stopped in front of Matt, his back to the sleeping boy. "Anyway, you really shouldn't try waking him up. He's a bit… cranky when you don't wake him up right."

"Mind showing us then?" Oshitari inquired, studying Tenka carefully. Something about his light-hearted tone made him uneasy.

A smirk curled on his lips and he chuckled. "Actually, I don't know it either. But I can wake him up so you could meet him. I suggest you all step back though. It'd be a sad sight seeing your pretty face damaged." He gave the blue-haired male a wink before turning towards Matt.

He was right about feeling uneasy. Somehow, Tenka and Atobe shared certain qualities, but still differed as well. No wonder they were friends before.

Once everyone stepped back a few feet, Tenka raised his hand and brought it down on Matt's face. But the slap never followed through for Matt had grabbed his wrist and stopped it. In an instant, Matt pulled Tenka over him, but Tenka was expecting it. He landed on his hands and flipped back onto his feet, the smile still on his face.

"See? He almost succeeded in throwing me."

Matt groaned and sat up, rubbing his tired eyes. "Oh, shut up, Tenka. You already knew I would throw you. A simple shake of my shoulder would have sufficed."

"What the hell…?" Shishido muttered under his breath and couldn't believe what he saw. Matt was scrawny, seriously. He was about the same height as Mukahi and he still managed to throw someone bigger than him single-handedly?

Choutarou gulped and fidgeted with his hair nervously. A mental note was made: don't try waking Matt up.

"Hm…" Atobe didn't make any remark and remained silently, his brilliant eyes on the silver-haired boy. The boy was becoming more and more interesting to look at.

Walking up to the boy until their eyes met, he asked, "Did you have a nice nap, neko-chan?"

Author's Note: Just some points about my writing. I have a habit of putting foreign words in italics. Also, I used to write in first-person, and now switching to, what I think is third-person omniscient point of view. I'm a little rusty on this, so if there's confusion, I apologize for the sudden jumps from character to character. It's not much easier trying to write when all of the characters are male. So my writing might seem a bit repetitive. There are so many ways you can refer to a single male… yes, that was sarcasm.

I forgot to mention in the prologue that the Prince of Tennis characters' appearances are how they are in the anime as opposed to the manga. In a sense, I'm mixing both the manga and the anime, so hopefully, there won't be too much confusion.

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Stay tuned for more!