Mata POT Ryosaku!! Yoroshiku ne!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own no nothing, really!

Chapter 12

Ryoma was rather looking forward to starting high school. Most of his senpai-tachi had also gone to the affiliated Seigaku High. It would be almost like old times. Well, almost.

Since he had gained quite a bit of height in the last few years, he imagined his senpai-tachi wouldn't be able to call him by that embarrassing nickname again. He had reached Momo-senpai's shoulders by the time the dunk-smasher graduated. And he also grew out of his slight chubbiness and was even more handsome; the increase in fangirls was proof enough. The girls still fell like dominoes in the presence of the tennis prince with the gold catlike eyes.

It was the first day of school, and there was an early assembly for all new students. He sneaked out as soon as attendance was taken. Assemblies were boring, and he didn't need an introduction to the school; he already knew where the tennis courts were.

And that was where he was headed for. The tennis club would be holding morning practice about this time, and he wanted to check out the strength of the team he would belong to for the next few years.

Kikumaru saw him coming from almost a hundred meters away, and his enthusiastic greeting, which immediately followed his discovery, reached even further than that.

"O-chiiii-biiii-chaaaaan!!! Over here Nya!!!" Kikumaru was doing his best imitation of a skinny chicken trying very hard to fly.

Okay, so he'll take back what he thought about them using that stupid nickname again. He could hope, couldn't he?

The morning was spent playing tennis with his senpai-tachi, and he figured it was the best kind of orientation he could have had.

They walked him to his classroom after practice, at Ooshi's insistence, because the 'Mama' of the tennis team was truly worried that his kouhai would lose his way around the new campus.

Kikumaru and Momoshiro just wanted more time to tease their favorite freshman.

Inui didn't want to miss any chance to collect ii data on the tennis prince, and he dragged Kaidoh along in spite of the latter's hissed protests.

Fuji tagged along for reasons unknown to anyone who wasn't a sadistic tensai.

Tezuka was overseas studying while building up his tennis career. Kawamura had truly given up on the sport to concentrate on learning his father's trade.

The student population was treated to the rare and welcome sight of seven dashingly handsome, or in some cases pretty, boys making their way down the corridor. The small group of tennis players drew quite a lot of attention on their "escort Ochibi" mission.

Ryoma was still trying to escape from twin headlocks when the group stopped at the door to his classroom. Kikumaru and Momoshiro were reluctant to let him off easy, and the two of them kept on with their antics, refusing to let Ryoma enter the class.

The door slid open to reveal 3 handsome youths on one side and a very pretty girl on the other. Momoshiro was immediately distracted and Ryoma grabbed the opportunity to escape from Kikumaru as well.

The girl was shorter than even Ryoma, but she was slim and long-limbed. Her slightly wavy brown hair fell almost to her hips, and was being blown about gently by the fans in the classroom. Her oval face was flawless, and her big round eyes were the center of attraction. They were brown, and speckled with gold.

It could have been because he thought of her so much. It could have been because her hair was still impractically long. He would have doubted his memory when he saw her eyes, except that he would be the first to admit that he had never actually looked at her eyes. Whichever, whatever, Ryoma recognized her almost instantly, and his heart leaped.

Had he been alone instead of being surrounded by nosy tennis players, he would have called her name and asked her where had she been for the last 2 years. But he wasn't and he swallowed the questions at the tip of his tongue.