Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Prince of Tennis.
CHAPTER 1: A NORMAL DAY IN RIKKAI
"Kirihara! Wake up and answer this question!" the furious teacher demanded.
"Huh?! O-oh, ummm… 8?"
"GRRRR! Higashi-san, please answer this question."
"Yes, Kimura-sensei. I believe that the ultimate moral that the author of this story was trying to get across is that you should never be afraid of standing out or being different. Like in the story, the world would be a boring place if everyone was the same. You should embrace your differences and be proud of them," Yukari answered in perfect English.
"Thank you, Higashi-san. That was wonderful. Kirihara, just because you dislike English doesn't mean that gives you the permission to sleep during my class. You should learn from Higashi-san." Yukari sent a smug smile towards Kirihara and he rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Ugh, she's horrible!" Kirihara complained to his older teammates.
"I don't understand why you hate her so much. Everyone likes her," Jackal wondered.
"I understand why she hates you," Niou teased.
"She has a reason to dislike you, after what you did to her when you first met," Yagyuu said, pushing up his glasses. They all either snickered, shivered, or smiled as they remembered that faithful day. Do you want to know what happened? I bet you're dying with curiosity, aren't ya? But sorry, that's a story for another time. The Rikkai regulars were sitting on the rooftop, eating their lunch.
"Please don't harass her so much," Yukimura pleaded.
"But I hate her!"
"I'm not so fond of you either," a disgusted voice called out from behind. Yukari walked out with a sneer. Then she smiled, sweetly at the rest of them. "Hello, sempai." She bowed, politely.
"You don't have to be so formal," Marui told her with a frown.
"You are all my close friends, but you are also my upperclassman. I must give you a certain level of respect." Sanada nodded, approvingly at her words.
"Akaya, learn from Yukari," he said, repeating the teacher's words.
"Yeah, Akaya. Learn from me." Her eyes brightened as she caught sight of the familiar blue hair. "Seiichi!" she exclaimed and glomped him. "I missed you!"
"We saw each other this morning," Yukimura said, chuckling and patted her head, lovingly.
"You're way too attached to buchou (captain)," Kirihara scoffed. She glared before a smirk spread across her normally sweet face. A feeling of dread filled Kirihara's body.
"Hey, Genichirou. Kirihara got in trouble for sleeping during English class again."
"…! You!"
"Tarundoru! (You're getting soft!)Akaya, an extra 50 laps at practice!" Sanada screamed.
"EH?! Yes, fukubuchou (vice-captain)…" Niou and Marui snickered at his misery.
"PICK UP THE PACE, AKAYA!" Yukari yelled as he jogged by. Kirihara gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to flick her off with a certain finger, knowing that Sanada would give him more laps for 'not treating a lady with proper respect'. Whatever the heck that means. Yukari was having a practice match against Marui.
"Why do you train with us when you're the manager?" he asked, forgetting the reason.
"Because I'm technically a regular. I only play if something happens to one of our players or if the opponents are strong. I'm the secret weapon, remember? No one from last year really remembers me that much."
"Oh yeah, Yukimura said some stuff about that. Why do I have to play against you?"
"Because your stamina sucks. I'm not trying to be mean, but like Seiichi said, Rikkai has no weakness. We need to make sure that is true 100% and 24/7. Your cakes and sweets might fail you. Jackal may be there, but there are monstrous players in Nationals like Tezuka Kunimitsu and Atobe Keigo. I have no doubt that Seigaku and Hyotei will be extremely powerful this year. We can't be careless."
"ÁKAYA! TARUNDORU! YOU STILL HAVE 22 MORE LAPS!" a strict voice bellowed.
"I'M SORRY, SANADA-FUKUBUCHOUUUUU!" a distressed voice apologized.
"Pfttt. He sounds like he's about to cry and wet himself," Yukari snickered.
"No one would blame him. He wouldn't be the first one. He could just join the 'Terrified of Sanada Genichirou' club," Marui said. Yukari laughed.
"Ha-ha! Good one, Bunta."
"It wasn't a joke," he told her and pointed to a certain direction. She turned her head and sweat-dropped when she saw boys that quit the tennis club for unknown reasons cowering under the bleachers.
"…Wow. Just… wow…"
AFTER PRACTICE
"Bye!" Everyone went their separate ways except for three people. Kirihara, Yukimura, and Yukari all lived near each other, so they all walked in the same direction. Yukimura was sandwiched between the two. Yukari clung on to his left arm as they walked. The usual argument ensued.
"Seiichi likes me better!"
"Lies!"
"He's my childhood friend!"
"He's my captain!"
"He's my captain too, idiot!"
"….."
"HA! No more stupid comments? Then I win this argument."
"Yukimura-buchou likes me better! He trained me himself!"
"I taught him tennis!"
"Seiichi!" "Yukimura-buchou!" The two second years turned to their captain for his judgment. It was the same as usual.
"I like both of you equally."
"That's not a choice!" two enraged voices shrieked. He just smiled, angelically.
BEFORE BED
Yukari got ready to go to sleep when she got a text. She giggled, knowing who it was. She picked up her phone and typed in her passcode. She smiled, fondly seeing her back round picture. It was a picture of her with all of the Rikkai regulars in their uniforms. Her back round pictures were all of her and her friends and family. The same for the pictures in her room. She had many picture frames and collages filled with pictures of her with the Rikkai team, other opponents that she became friendly with, and her family. She looked at the text.
FROM: SEI-CHAN
TO: YUKARI
Good night, Yukari. Sweet dreams. Love you.
Yukimura texted her every night before bed. Yukari couldn't sleep until she got that text. Sometimes they were long and kind while other times like this one, they were short and sweet. Many people mistake her fondness and childish manners towards Yukimura for something romantic, but that wasn't true. If people read that text message, then they would probably think that they were in a relationship, but they weren't. She thinks of Yukimura as an older brother and he thinks of her as a little sister. Neither of them have siblings, so they never knew what it was like until they met each other. (A/N: I know Yukimura is supposed to have a little sister, but for the sake of this story, he's an only child.) She always thought of him as an older brother and her hero. He was someone that she admired, deeply. Yukimura was the person she went to for advice. She rarely kept things from him, unless it was something that may make him worry. She didn't want to bother him when he has already done so much. He saved her multiple times and pulled many strings to get her into the boys' tennis team.
TO: SEI-CHAN
FROM: YUKARI
Message: Good night, Sei-chan. Love you.
She was about to turn off the lights when her phone rang again. She had gotten another text. Yukari sighed, exasperatedly, but if you looked closely, there was a ghost of a smile. This person also sends her a text before bed every night and oddly, she couldn't sleep very well without a text from him either.
FROM: STUPID SEAWEED HEAD
TO: YUKARI
Message: I Hate U.
MYSTERY P.O.V
I smirked as I read her reply on my phone.
FROM: DEMON LADY
TO: AKAYA
Message: I Hate U More.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, how was it? If you liked it, REVIEW!