Unexpected

Ego trip: Hey who would have thought this story of mine would make it to chapter 5. I sure didn't expect it to go so far. Thanks for reading and reviewing and supporting my first ever fanfic.

Disclaimer: Prince of tennis characters are not mine. I only have claim to Kazura and Misaki.

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Monday morning 6.10am

Ding-Dong . . .

"Good morning Sakuno-san. I'm here to pick up Kazura-san," said a fresh- faced Fuji, looking as if it was mid-morning instead of barely after 6am. Even though Kazura had told Sakuno that Fuji was coming to pick her up for Seigaku's ritual Monday morning practice, she was still embarrassed to be caught in her tennis print pyjamas. (They were a gift from Kazura from New York)

"Please come in Fuji-san, I don't think Kazura-kun is ready yet . . . " Sakuno trailed off to allow Fuji into the house. "That's ok I'm early," replied a calmly smiling Fuji. They both went into the living room where Fuji sat down while Sakuno fidgeted nervously, unsure of how to act in front of him. Sensing her nervousness, Fuji smiled reassuringly and said," please don't let me interrupt your morning routine." Before either could say another word, a loud thud and a muffled shriek could be heard coming from upstairs.

'Oh no Kazura-kun must have tripped over her boxes . . . again . . .' thought Sakuno with an inward grimace. Who would have thought that the outwardly cool and collected Kazura was such a klutz and screwball at heart.

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The sound of someone tripping and falling down the stairs filled the morning air and both Sakuno and Fuji watched the staircase with a sense of suspense. In the next moment, Kazura came hurtling down, barely keeping her balance and missed the last few steps. Almost miraculously, she managed to land on her feet and it took her a moment to regain her composure and soothe her rapid breathing.

"Woohoo! Made it safely! The Kazura has landed . . ." Kazura said while making victory signs. She turned towards the living room and walked straight into the wall. "OW! Pain . . ." she whimpered clutching her injured head.

"Kazura-kun! Are you all right?" Sakuno asked worriedly though with a hint of resigned amusement. Since Kazura had moved in 2 days ago, she had tripped over countless boxes, fell and rolled down the stairs countless times and the walls were beginning to bare the indentation of her, from having been walked into too many times.

"pain . . . it hurts . . ." grumbled Kazura. "This is why I hate Monday mornings. I'm convinced the world is out to get me," she continued grousing. It does indeed seem as if Mondays really don't agree with Kazura. She was wearing the Seishun Gakuen uniform, as it had never been worn before. The blouse was partially hanging out of from the waistband of her skirt, which made the skirt seem even shorter than it actually was. Her tie hung loosely from the collar and she was the picture of dishevelment except for her neatly pulled back hair that was tucked beneath her baseball cap bearing the New York Yankees logos.

A muffled giggle from Fuji reminded Sakuno of his existence and for the first time, Kazura noticed him sitting calmly in the living room. "People who can make it up at this ungodly hour on Mondays are obviously not human. Why was I not born a Martian?" she asked no one in particularly. "I'm actually from Venus," answered a smiling Fuji. "And he can do it smiling . . ." commented Kazura to Sakuno aiming a baleful look Fuji.

Stifling a giggle, Sakuno said," Fuji-san just arrived to pick you up." Remembering for the first time that she was up at this ungodly hour because the Seigaku team had Monday morning practices, Kazura visibly shook herself awake. "Oh shoot, am I late?" she asked.

"No I got here early," replied Fuji, amused by Kazura. With a sigh of relief, Kazura said, "Well, lets get going I don't want to be late for my first practice. I've got loads to check up on . . . there's Momoshiro's dunk smash . . . Eiji's acrobatic shots . . ."

"Shouldn't you have some breakfast first?" interrupted Fuji. "Oh I'm not used to eating breakfast, just have some fruits or something in the morning," replied Kazura absently, already putting on her shoes and getting ready to leave. "Here you go Kazura-kun have this on your way to school," said Sakuno, handing Kazura an apple and a can of iced coffee. "Thanks much Sakuno-kun , see you in school later . . . Bye . . ." Kazura shouted over her shoulder as she left dragging Fuji along.

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Monday morning 6.25am

In the male locker room . . .

As usual, only the regulars were present at Monday morning training. As they went about changing and chatting about the weekend, Inui cleared his throat to gain their attention . . .

"I've done a thorough check on Kazura and I'm sure you will all be impressed with what I have to report," said a self-satisfied Inui. There was nothing he liked as much as a good collection of information.

"Takezato Kazura, First year transfer student from New York. Born on 9th November, 3 minutes before twin brother Takezato Misaki. Both attended a prestigious private international school in Manhattan. Parents both working as diplomats from Japan at the UN headquarters. Misaki is touted as the new star of Asia together with Echizen though he has never played in major tournaments. Kazura is believed to have a high proficiency in tennis but has never accepted any challenge or taken part in any tournaments. However she acts as Misaki's coach and trainer. Level of skill is undetermined but seems more interested in watching tennis and coaching than playing," reported Inui.

"Echizen . . . That's you Ryoma! So you know the both of them? Why didn't you say so?" asked an exasperated Momoshiro.

"Because I didn't think it was important," replied Ryoma absently. Everyone in the locker room sweat dropped. To think that they had been speculating about Kazura for so long and all along Ryoma could have told them about her.

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Just than, Fuji walked in with his usual smile a little wider than usual. "Good morning. Why is everyone gathered around, shouldn't training be starting soon?"

With this reminder, everyone started moving a little faster so as not to be late. No one wanted to suffer Tezuka's wrath first thing on Monday morning. But they were all thinking about Kazura and Inui's report. 'High proficiency in tennis? Level of skill undetermined? What a mystery . . .'

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As the regulars began to warm up, Tezuka and Kazura stood by the side, conversing intently.

"Good morning Kazura-san. I hope you had a good weekend," Tezuka inquired politely. Unused to having someone other than Inui observing them, he was vaguely at a loss for how to deal with Kazura. Somewhere along the way, she had managed to tidy up her appearance and now looked much more presentable. She had come prepared with a notebook to take notes during the training session, as she did not want to miss anything.

"Good morning Tezuka-san. Please just call me Kazura," she said. Sensing his discomfort, she continued," Please continue as usual with your routines, just pretend that I'm invisible. I'll just watch from the side." She added a grin, hoping to get some sort of reaction from who Fuji had described as stoic and expressionless.

All Tezuka did was nod. But her easy going manner had eased some of his discomfort and he had to resist the urge to smile back at her infectious grin.

"Hello Inui-san, from now on, hope we can work well together," Kazura said, turning her infectious grin onto Inui. "Has an infectious smile difficult to resist . . . seems pleasant enough though . . . need more information . . ." Inui mumbled while scribbling in his notebook. Hearing this, Kazura couldn't help sweat dropping.

She turned her attention back to the team members who were beginning to pair off for practice matches. Watching them, she wrote in her notebook," Day One . . ."

End of chapter

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Question: Which part of Tezuka's left arm was injured? Just realised that I have no idea so hope anyone with the answer can let me know. Thanks much for reading this story. Is it getting too draggy? Too boring? Too long/short? Please let me know what you think. I also welcome story ideas so if there's something you would like to see happen, let me know and I might just fit it into the story. Thanks much.