I think I've to put 'Shijin' on hold because the ideas for this story are mercilessly attacking me until I write them out.

This is your entire fault, New Prince of Tennis! Yes, I blame you!

Anyway, I think I better get this done and over with so I can sleep in peace until the next wave of ideas attack me again. DX

Ryouga's rival in love will be introduced in this chapter. I wonder if you guys guessed it right. Tehee…


Stage two: Is there such a thing as talking Bible?

Somewhere in Osaka, Saturday, 11am…

I blink at the temple-like gate of the Shitenhouji School…

Wow, I have no idea that this is a semi-finalist's school!

Don't get me wrong! I'm not looking down on them but it's just weird that the school gate reminds me of a temple…

"Aren't you going in, love? Buchou isn't going to like it if you just stand there and gawk, you know? The letter isn't going to deliver itself." My best friend's amused voice comes from behind me.

I huff. "I know, I know. Why did I bother coming with you again, Haru?" I ask Masaharu and drag myself after him.

"Because you've never been onto Shitenhouji's grounds before, no? Plus, you're in a company of the sexy, heartthrob trickster of Rikkai!" He winks playfully.

I give him a mock-stern look. "Saying such things instead of practicing… TARUNDORU!" I yell out Genichirou's catchphrase and burst out laughing along with my best friend.

Ah… It feels so good whenever I do that. Making fun of Gen-chan and the other Rikkai regulars, that is!

Hey, we've got all the rights to do that! Do you know how much we spent on buying all sort of medicine for headaches and migraines? Not to mention the money we spent on sleep-aids!

Anyway, back to the point… Seiichi asked me to deliver the letter to the Shitenhouji's coach, and I only accepted because I want takoyaki, dammit!

The only chance I can get good takoyaki is if I come to Osaka! Food is precious! I will do anything for food!

I look around the empty school ground interestedly. "Wow, this place is nice!" I smile brightly. "I should've come here instead of Hyoutei in Middle School…"

Masaharu walks beside me leisurely. "Are you saying that you'd rather we never met, babe? I'm hurt!" He snickers as I shoot him a good-natured glare.

"Now that you said it, no. I'm glad we met each other back then." I smile and link my arm with my best friend casually. "You guys were my support and you never judged me. I'm glad I'm out of that hellhole now."

As you know, my Middle School was Hyoutei… My father, Natsume Takumi, was in the process of forming a solid contract with the Atobe family. As the youngest child and since I was around the Atobe's son's age, I told Father I wanted to attend to the same school as the boy in hopes of trying to help my Father with that family. So I came back from England with Kyouya nii-san and enrolled in Hyoutei Gakuen.

Hyoutei Gakuen is known as a school for talented children. However, there was, and still is, also a side that I despised about that school… Sixty percent of the school was the children of rich, well-off families and they were the ones doing what pleased them.

At first, I was welcomed heartily by others because of the relationship between Father's shipping company and Atobe's security company. However, it didn't last very long as Atobe Keigo got to the top of Hyoutei and I made my intention about staying where I was clear to others… That, and also the fact that my cousin as the 'Big Three' of Rikkai Dai's male tennis team were revealed.

…But for Father, I turned blind eyes towards all the pettiness of the students and stayed. I have to admit I was naïve to think that they would leave me alone. They didn't. But hey, they couldn't do anything to me beyond spreading rumors and talking behind my back. Especially with my two (and only) friends in Hyoutei standing beside me, I pretended to be deaf to all the rumors.

Why do I dislike Atobe, then? I wasn't mad that Atobe didn't say anything when his fangirls harassed me. I was, and still am, mad at him because he let them do the same things to other girls in school!

But enough of that! I'm out of Hyoutei now, Father got his contract done with the Atobes and I've got great friends around me! I miss my two friends in Hyoutei, but it's not like we don't keep in touch so it's okay!

My friend's silver-blue eyes soften affectionately. "Yeah, me too." He grasps my hand gently and pulls me into a one-arm hug. "You are Rikkai's princess, and not even the fact that you were in Hyoutei would change that." He grins wolfishly.

Aww, don't you just love it when 'your boys' spoil you rotten even though you always give them a hell of a training?

…Yeah, I have to grudgingly agree with you there…

We blink as a rather obnoxious shriek sounds through the area. What the… "Hey, do you think that's from the Shitenhouji tennis club?" I ask Masaharu curiously and almost jump as the same noise rings through the area again.

PLEASE DON'T TELL ME IT'S A GHOST! I'D RATHER BE TORTURED BY SEIICHI THAN FACE A GHOST!

He grins at me. "Well, you're about to find out, babe. Let's go see what the hell that was. That way!" He leads me to where the noise is coming from.

Sure enough, the sight of tennis courts come into our view soon after we followed the direction of the noise. Ooh, I can't wait to meet the Shitenhouji team in person!

Heh, I've read about the Shitenhouji players, all right? Who do you think we have on our team? We have the 'Master', Yanagi Renji! That guy shoved the data down my throat the first day Seiichi announced that I would be the team's manager!

CRASH! BANG!

OUCH! What the hell! Owwww, I swear someone just ran me over with a bulldozer! Aww, my tummy hurts! My head too! Owwww….

And then the next thing I know is that I am blinking up dazedly to Masaharu's worried face. I give him a sluggish smile. "Masaharu? What happened?"

…Did I just slurred? What the bloody hell happened!

"I'm glad you're okay, babe." My best friend sighs in relief. "Can you stand? Are you dizzy, love?"

I shake my head slowly to test myself… Hmm… I don't feel too bad. I slowly push myself away from Masaharu's hold. "I think I can get up." I blink confusedly as a bandaged hand appears in my line of sight.

Ooh, I think I am still dazed! My imagination and my conscience must have conjured up this dashingly handsome, layered light brown hair male with gentle grey eyes!

The handsome boy offers me an apologetic grin. "I'm very sorry about that. Kin-chan can get too energetic sometimes." A smooth, Kansai-accented voice speaks politely. "Here, let me help you up."

Wait, if that's the case, then I'm not dreaming!

No, duh, you're not! And I didn't conjure this guy up! He's way too good-looking and too good to be true for me to conjure him up like that!

I smile back politely and accept his hand. "Thank you." I dust myself off after getting back up on my feet. I blink in surprise as I notice a red-hair boy standing in front of me with a sheepish smile on his face. "Can I help you?" I ask him slowly, not really trusting myself to talk yet.

The handsome brunette sighs and ushers the boy forward. "Kin-chan, apologize to her." He orders firmly.

"But Shiraishi, I'm hungry!" 'Kin-chan' whines childishly.

"Kin-chan," The handsome male whom I now recognized as Shiraishi Kuranosuke, the 'Bible' captain of Shitenhouji, smiles darkly. Slowly lifting his bandaged hand up to attention, he starts to unwrap the bandage. "Do you want to die from poison, Kin-chan?" He threatens the redhead.

…I think I've heard about this 'poisoned hand' farce from Renji… It's a wonder that the kid still believes in such a thing! This is twenty-first century, kiddo!

"NO! Anything but the poisoned hand!" Kin-chan protests loudly. Turning to me with a guilty expression on his face, the boy continues. "I'm sorry for running into you, nee-chan."

Aww, he reminds me of a lost little puppy! How cute!

Eww, that sounds so wrong in so many levels!

I can't help but smile back. "It's okay. But next time, be careful and watch where you're going, okay?" I ruffle his hair. He grins back at me happily.

Masaharu steps forward and gently pushes me behind him. "We are here to see your coach, Shiraishi." My best friend drawls disinterestedly.

…Oh no, you did NOT just pull the over-protective move on me, Niou Masaharu! I'm not defenseless! RAWR!

I sigh at the silver-blue hair trickster's obvious protectiveness. "Haru, be nice." I pinch his arm warningly. "We're not here to cause trouble!"

Haru rubs the spot where I pinched with a pout. "But that kid ran into you…"

"He apologized, dammit!" I huff at my best friend. Turning to Shiraishi and Kin-chan, I smile brightly. "I'm Natsume Kohaku from Rikkai. Is Watanabe-kantoku here?" I ask courteously.

"Yeah, he's at the courts. I'll take you there." The handsome brunette extends his hand towards me. "I'm Shiraishi Kuranosuke, the Shitenhouji's captain. This is Tooyama Kintarou. It's nice to finally meet you in person after all the things I heard about you." He gives me a friendly smile.

The pleasure is all ours, handsome! You're such a refreshing change from the Rikkai boys!

I squish my conscience and kick her to the back of my head as I shake Shiraishi-san's hand. His hand is really warm… "I hope you heard the good things, Shiraishi-san." I grin.

He chuckles amusedly and releases my hand. "Please, just Shiraishi would be fine, Natsume-chan." He grins boyishly.

YES! Thank you for sending me to Shitenhouji today, Seiichi! I LOVE YOU! You can send me back here anytime if I can talk to the sane, handsome Shiraishi Kuranosuke!

I smile back. "Please, Kohaku will be fine, Shiraishi-kun." I roll my eyes as Masaharu none-too-subtly clears his throat from beside me. "Please lead the way, Shiraishi-kun."

Shiraishi leads us to the courts nearby, dragging the protesting Kin-chan after him. "Osamu-chan! Rikkai Dai's manager is here to see you!" The Shitenhouji's captain shouts over the ruckus his teammates are making…

…Now, why is this scene oh-so-familiar? All the tennis Regulars running around and wreaking havoc, that is.

I squeak as a funny looking guy with glasses pops up in front of me and grabs my hand. "Ooh, you're such a cutie! It's so rare that our captain would bring a girl to the court!" He produces a handkerchief and dabs his eyes with it dramatically. "Ah, Shiraishi has finally grown up! Mama is so proud!"

I take it back. I think I'd rather deal with the Rikkai Regulars than these guys! At least the Rikkai boys don't do anything weird like this!

"Ooh, she's really pretty. Totally the type that buchou would go for." Another guy with a bandana pops up from behind me. Is he sniffing my hair? "Hmm, she smells like kiwi!"

Um… Buddy, there's something called private space! You're invading my private space! Back off before I hand your arse back to you on a silver plate! CHA!

Shiraishi slaps his forehead at his teammate's audacity. "Koharu, Yuuji, don't freak her out like that!" He reprimands them. Turning to me with an apologetic smile, he continues embarrassedly. "Sorry about them. They tend to get excited when we have visitors."

The bandana guy whom I recognize as Hitouji Yuuji pouts childishly. "But Shiraishi, look at her! She's such a beauty! Chitose's girlfriend is pretty but Natsume-chin is much prettier!" He moves to grab me.

Ah crap, I really hope I didn't have to smack one of their players. But self-defense is a good excuse, right?

Masaharu snaps out of his stupor and pulls me away from the two. "Oi, back off! She's Rikkai's princess!" My best friend looms over me protectively with a fierce glare on his face. Thank you, Haru! This is the time I appreciate your protectiveness!

"Uwa, he's so scary! Let's go, Yuu-kun!" The weird guy with glasses, Konjiki Koharu, screams with his shrilly voice and runs away with the bandana guy in tow.

A good-looking boy with black hair, emerald green eyes and ear-piercings (whom I knew from his basic data from Renji as Zaizen Hikaru) deadpans at the sight of his two senpais chasing each other. "My senpais are idiots." He mutters dryly before walking away.

I deadpan and give my best friend a look. "Masaharu, please tell me you guys will never become like them." I say dryly.

…If the Rikkai boys ever behave like this, I'll move away from this country! I'll move to Alaska or something where I won't have to interact with any crazy people! I MEAN IT!

Haru gives me a disbelieving look. "Babe, do you really think we will be like that?" He asks me with a pout on his face.

I laugh at the look on my best friend's face. "I don't, but it never hurt to make sure, right?"

A sandy hair male approaches us. Ooh, this guy's handsome too! But somehow, he reminds me of someone I've known before… "Oi, Shiraishi, why're Niou and his girlfriend here?" The heavily accented voice asks the Shitenhouji captain.

You know, he kinda reminds me of a certain Hyoutei's genius… They have the same eyes and the shape of the face is only a bit different…

I step forward and stop in front of the newcomer. "I'm not Masaharu's girlfriend." I smile and tilt my head a little to the side. "Are you by any chance related to Oshitari Yuushi?" I ask curiously.

His grey eyes widen in surprise. "Are you the Natsume Kohaku that Yuushi keeps talking about?" I perk up at my good friend from Hyoutei's name. "Yeah, I'm Oshitari Kenya, that guy's cousin!" He laughs heartily. "He just couldn't stop talking about you back then! You should call him sometime, you know. He really misses you."

Oshitari Yuushi is one of my only two friends in Hyoutei. He's famous in Hyoutei as the tennis team's genius and also a womanizer… But if you can withstand his pervert comments, he's a genuine friend that will help in times of need!

But I think I have a bad feeling about this… What did that pervert tell his cousin about me now?

"Oshitari-san," I smile calmly. "What did Yuushi tell you about me?"

Oshitari scratches his cheek thoughtfully. "Well, he said that you were the only girl in school who didn't throw herself at Atobe and he enjoyed hanging out with you. Oh yeah!" He snaps his fingers as if he remembers something. "He said you had the sexiest legs he'd ever seen in Hyoutei too!" He laughs loudly.

I feel my left eye twitching furiously. Trust that damn pervert to tell his cousin that! "Did he now?" I smile, my eye still twitching. "Masaharu, darling." I call my best friend sweetly.

"Yes, babe?" Haru smirks mischievously.

"Remind me to kill a certain Kansai genius of Hyoutei, would you?"

"With pleasure, Ko-hime." The silver-blue hair trickster executes a dramatic bow. "Your wish is my command, princess." He smirks wider at the Shitenhouji's members' faces.

…Oshitari Yuushi, you are so dead when I get my hands on you! Good friend or not! RAWR!


Hyoutei Gakuen's tennis court…

ACHOO! ACHOO!

Shishido Ryoh eyes his practice partner with a raised eyebrow. "Getting sick, Oshitari?" He asks dryly.

Oshitari Yuushi wipes his face with his towel. "I don't think so. I think someone is talking about me…" He drawls in his usual Kansai accented voice and shivers unknowingly.

The dash specialist snorts. "Yeah, more like someone is planning to kill you. What did you do now? Talk about someone behind their back?"

"Huh… Maybe Kohaku-hime is thinking about me."

"Yeah, more like she's thinking about how to kill you. Didn't you tell your cousin something about her legs?" Shishido says bluntly.

"…Dammit."


Back to Shitenhouji…

I hand the letter from Seiichi to coach Watanabe. "Please respond within next week," I say politely.

The coach laughs boisterously. "Yeah, please tell Yukimura-kun to expect the reply from me next week's Monday!"

YES! My job here's done! Time for me to go get me some delicious takoyaki! HELL YEAH!

"Then we'll be taking our leave." I bow politely. "Until next time, Watanabe-kantoku, Shiraishi-kun!" FOOD!

However, Masaharu grabs my arm to stop me. "Whoa, not so fast, babe!" He laughs at my pout. Turning to Watanabe-kantoku, the trickster of Rikkai grins wolfishly. "Since Ko-hime has never really been here before, how about a match with me so she can see your style, Shiraishi?" He challenges the Shitenhouji's captain with a smirk.

ARGH! What's with this guy and causing troubles for me! LET'S SMACK SOME SENSE INTO HIM!

I grin a Seiichi-worthy smile. "Niou Masaharu, I'm hungry as hell and you care more about playing tennis than me starving?" I ask sweetly while cracking my knuckles all the while. "So, what's your answer, honey?"

DAMN RIGHT! YOUR ANSWER BETTER BE GOOD, NIOU!

I smile in satisfaction as Masaharu gulps visibly. "I mean, wouldn't you like to try and have a rally with the Shitenhouji captain, love?" He makes a surrender gesture with his hands as I step forward threateningly. "You know Shiraishi is a good player so why not rally or a quick game with him a little bit? It'd be a nice change, no?" Silver-blue eyes turn to look at Shiraishi. "Don't you agree, Shiraishi?"

Hmm… You actually may be right, Haru. Because you guys are always mean to me when I play even though you guys know I'm not good at tennis! Yeah, you guys taught me your signature moves but I'm just NOT THAT GOOD!

I consider the options… Hmm… The takoyaki can wait. Who knows when I'll have the chance to play a rally against someone this good in the future?

…That and plus Renji would kill me if he find out that I let a chance to gather data like this slipped away…

I sigh in defeat. "Yeah, you're right." I turn to look at the handsome brunette and smile. "Would you mind a quick game against me, Shiraishi-kun? I have to warn you though, I'm not that good."

The Shitenhouji captain grins challengingly in response. "With a pretty girl like you? Of course not, Kohaku-kun. It'll be my pleasure." He smiles wider as I blush slightly. "Or would you prefer I call you Ko-chan?"

You can call us Ko-chan! But I'd love it even more if you call us 'darling'!

I promptly squish my inner conscience and return Shiraishi's challenging smile. "Only if you let me call you Kura." He grins back charmingly at that.

Masaharu snorts from beside me. "Can you two stop flirting and just get on the court already?" He snickers and ducks to avoid my flying fist. "What? You really were flirting with him!"

ARGH! Stop teasing me already! It's your entire fault because you always chased the other guys at Rikkai away when they tried talking to me!

I borrow a racquet from Kuranosuke and put myself in the other side of the court. Bouncing the ball up and down, I inhale deeply. "Here I come!" I toss the ball up into the air and perform Genichirou's famous invisible serve, which of course isn't as good as the original because the Shitenhouji captain returns it with ease!

Shiraishi Kuranosuke, huh… He's good, all right. He's a bloody good player and a graceful one at that!

I mean, when Seiichi plays, it's graceful, smooth and elegant. My cousin may not seem like he's putting too much effort into it, but he always win. He wins so easily and his superiority is so obvious it's almost unexciting to watch.

But with Shiraishi Kuranosuke, it's different. He may play what they called 'a perfect tennis', but it's not the same. I don't know how to say it but I can see that the Shitenhouji captain is trying to let his opponent enjoy the game whereas Seiichi is just there for total domination…

…Not to mention his personality and profile are still considered a mystery… This guy plays a 'perfect' tennis and there isn't much data about him, for heaven's sake!

I use everything I learned from the Rikkai Regulars, but it isn't enough to stop Kuranosuke from getting the game in the end. I mean, what do you expect? I'm not a bloody tennis player like these guys!

"You are actually pretty good, Ko-chan. Wanna consider transferring to Shitenhouji to be our manager?" Kuranosuke asks me with a big, teasing smile after winning the quick game.

As much as I'd love to say yes, I value our life more! Seiichi will kill us if we do! Sorry, sexy!

I shake his hand and smile. "I'd stay with Rikkai, Kuranosuke. I know I'm not that good but thanks for the game." I give him back his racquet. "Well, it's best I get going then!"

"Hey, uh," I blink as I notice he looks a little fluster. "Can I have your phone number? I mean, in case I can't contact Yukimura-kun or something…" Ooh, is he blushing? "Oh God, I mean I really want to play a game with you again…"

Ahaha, he's really refreshing compared to some other players I know!

I smile brightly. "I wouldn't mind giving you my number, Kuranosuke." I chuckle at his relieved face. "Just text me and say that it's you so I'll know, ne?" I hand him a card with my name, email and phone number on it.

He grins another handsome grin. "Yeah, I will." He shoots Masaharu an amused look as the trickster of Rikkai Dai approaches me and hovers behind me protectively. "I believe I'll see you two in a week's time at Atobe's villa in Chiba for last year's semi-finalists get-together training."

Wait, what did he just say? WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! Holy bloody Kami in sweet heavens oh my God! Please tell me I just misheard that!

I turn around and give Masaharu a flabbergast look. "Masaharu, did you know about this?" I ask my best friend. "You knew all along?"

Haru smiles sheepishly. "Well, buchou actually told us not to tell you about it… But yeah, we're going for a special training along with Seigaku, Hyoutei, Shitenhouji and a couple of other university students. Oh, did I tell you Echizen-senpai, Tokugawa-senpai and Muuri-senpai are going too?" He smirks amusedly as I gape.

That's it. LET'S KILL HIM! RAWR!

I smile darkly, crack my knuckles and advance the trickster of Rikkai slowly. "Niou Masaharu, dear, let me show you how much I appreciated you telling me all of this." I smile wider as he pales visibly. "Please excuse us, Kuranosuke. I believe me and the other Rikkai boys have a lot to settle." I drag Masaharu off by the arm despite his verbal protests.

Just you wait until I get my hands on you, Yukimura Seiichi, Sanada Genichirou, Yanagi Renji, Yagyuu Hiroshi, Jackal Kuwahara and Marui Bunta! I'm leaving Aka-chan out of this because I'm sure he doesn't know either!

YOSH! Natsume Kohaku is coming to get you, devil reincarnation of a cousin! Wait until I defeat you with my awesome puppy power! RAWR!


Rikkai Dai High School's tennis court…

The Regulars shiver in unison. Sanada frowns deeper as the cold feeling doesn't go away. "Did you feel that too, Yukimura?" He asks the slightly frowning beautiful buchou of Rikkai.

Yukimura sighs before smiling amusedly. "Well, if my intuition is right, I'd say that it seems like Ko-hime has found out about the camp next week…" He continues to smile.

Yanagi deadpans. "The possibility that this Monday's training is going to be hell for all of us but Akaya is 94%. Maybe I should call an emergency unit at the hospital on a standby just in case." The data master walks off, muttering to himself all the while.

The beautiful buchou of Rikkai Dai laughs lightheartedly. "I guess that Ko-hime's fury would be good for us, after all. It'll improve our strength, stamina and our mentality, yes?" Yukimura chuckles and walks off to oversee Marui and Jackal's practice.

Sanada heaves a sigh. I really need that aspirin… Where did Kohaku say she put it in the locker room again? He muses as he walks towards the locker room.

I guess I'll need to bring the sleep-aids and the aspirins for the next week… The stoic fukubuchou opens the door with another sigh. Maybe I should ask Kohaku to bring some kind of aromatherapy candles so I can relax. Next week is going to be hell on Earth, that's for sure…


Second chapter is done! YIPPEE!

Believe me when I say that when I have the inspirations and everything, I can just keep writing. I was halfway through with this chapter and the plot for the next chapter just popped up into my head!

Shiraishi is REALLY hard to write. Why do I say that? Well, in the game, his personality is considered really dorky and sweet. But I don't want to make him too sweet! I want to try and put a bite into this guy's personality and have him duke it out with Ryouga… AND IT'S SO BLOODY DAMN HARD!

Rest assured I'd keep Shiraishi to his dorky self! BWAHAHA

That aside, RANDOM TALK TIME!

Okay, I was at a Japanese restaurant in LA and I guess it's the restaurant's rule to have their waiters/waitress wear their nametags… There were a couple of waiters running around at the time because it was noon so I didn't really pay much attention when the different waiter walked around or checked on our table…

But towards the end when a waiter came by to clear our plates away, I was so surprised! It was a tall Japanese guy (and a pretty cute one at that!). And (drum rolls please) DUM! DUM! DUMMMMMM!

HIS NAMETAG READ 'YUUSHI'!

Hehe, it kind of made my day, actually! It gave me whole bunch of ideas too. Weird, isn't it?

Anyway, please review! I'll see you in the next chapter!

Cers