Sorry I haven't been updating my other story at all. I hit a humongous writers block. . Heh…yeah. ;; So! Here's a one-shot-ish thing, that I MIGHT turn into a chapter story. (If people want me to) Ehm…yeah, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Prince of Tennis'. . And I never will, so quit asking me!

"Maji maji, sugee! Marui-kun kakkoii!" (1)

The usual cheer was made. The words Marui Bunta, the self-proclaimed genius and volley specialist of Rikkaidai Fuzoku, knew so well. Considering he's been listening to those words, almost every time he played a match outside of his school, it was only normal for him to acknowledge them…right?

Though he knew the words, and voice, he didn't exactly know the who said them. Every time he looked around to try and find out who it was, he'd fail miserably since the cheer would already be silenced. Although he was curious, he wasn't curious enough question anyone else about it. Too lazy? No. Embarrassed? Maybe.

After the match, which ended 6-0 with him and his doubles partner winning, he decided to go to the vending machine to get himself a drink. Walking up to the two machines that were lined up back-to-back, he inserted a few coins and got himself an orange soda.

"Ne, Atobe…do you have 10 yen I can borrow?" a voice asked, on the other side of the two machines.

The red-haired Rikkai-regular eyes widened slightly when hearing the very familiar voice. Ah yes, it was voice of the anonymous fan of his, that he was dying to know who. But darn this stupid vending machine! If only it wasn't lined up like it is, taking a glance at what the other boy looked like would be a piece of cake!

He didn't want to just walk over to the other side, because he had no business there. What was he suppose to do afterward? Just turn around and walk back, since there was just a bunch of trees behind that which made it impossible for him to walk along any further, and make it look like he walked to the other side to take a nice stroll? No. He couldn't make a fool of himself like that. Especially when the other boy there was Atobe, Hyoutei's narcissistic captain.

'Wait…Hyoutei? Oh, so the anonymous kid's from Hyoutei…interesting. How weird, why would a Hyoutei student be so praising toward a rival school's student?' Marui pondered over that for a while, before his thoughts were interrupted.

"Eh…there aren't any more Pokari(2) in this machine! Atobe, I'm gonna check the other side's machine, so you can go back to the others," the 'anonymous' boy stated, before the Hyoutei-buchou walked back to where the rest of the regulars were.

Thank the lord! Finally, all the…weeks? Months? Yeah, probably months. Anyway…finally! All the months of curiosity that have been piling up, can now finally be gone!

The redhead waited anxiously for the other to make his appearance. Looking over one side of the machine, he didn't notice the awaited boy's presence that actually came from the other side.

"Um…excuse me?" Someone tapped his shoulder.

"What! I'm busy, now g--" Marui blinked, as he realized the voice. He turned around, to be greeted with a surprised look on the other boy's face.

"Ah! Marui-kun!" The boy pointed a finger at him, rather close to his nose.

Being rather startled, he eyed the finger laid before him, not registering what the real point was. After a while, he averted his gaze from the finger, to the actual boy himself. Hyoutei uniform, big eyes, and bright blonde hair. You know? He would've probably really stood out in the crowd…it made him wonder why he hadn't taken notice before. "Ah…yeah?" he replied, hiding his surprised expression.

The blonde boy grinned, seeming delighted to finally meet his 'hero' face to face. "Marui-kun! Your play style and myougis(3) are awesome! I'm a HUGE fan! " he said excitedly out of the blue, replaying the earlier scenes of Marui's match in his mind.

"I know," the Rikkai regular responded.

"Eh! You do! How come!" the surprised look reappeared on the boy's face, as he asked.

"You know, it's kind of hard NOT to acknowledge you cheering me, when you yell 'Sugoi! Sugoi!' every time I do something, during every single match," he said as a matter-of-factly.

"Sugoi!" The Hyoutei boy smiled.

Marui raised an eyebrow, "…What now?"

"You noticed me!"

He sighed, "I know I noticed you. Must I go over this again? I said, it's kind of hard n---"

"No, no! That's not it!"

Confusion fell over his mind, "Then what?"

The smile widened on the blond's face, "You noticed me, as in, you noticed that it was me who was cheering, when I didn't even say it!"

Now this time, it was Marui's turn to have a surprised look on his face, but he soon brushed it off. "Hn…whatever. What's your name, anyway?" He quickly changed the subject, not wanting to even try explaining why he knew. What was he suppose to say? 'I noticed your voice?' No way, he'd never spout something cheesy like that.

"Akutagawa Jiroh, Hyoutei Gakuen Tennis Club, third year regular!" The boy answered, not noticing the change of subject.

"Hyoutei, eh? And you're a regular too? …Cool," he mumbled, taking a seat on the near by bench.

Still smiling, Jiroh took the seat next to the redhead, "Yup! My play styles the same as yours, too! Serve and volley!"

As that was said, something hit him. Hyoutei? Akutagawa? Serve and Volley? Ah yes, Yanagi said something about him before… "Oh…now I remember…"

The Hyoutei boy blinked, "Huh? Remember what?"

Marui looked at the boy, "You're that…" he paused, taking a sip from his orange soda.

Waiting for the continuation of Marui's sentence, Jiroh sat there anxiously. 'So he HAS heard of me! I wonder what?'

Putting the can of soda back down to his lap, he continued, "…You're that…narcoleptic kid." Yes, according to Yanagi's data, a Hyoutei regular by the name Akutagawa Jiroh was often found sleeping, so it was hard to take any information on him. At the most, of anything he could find out, was that he had the same play style as Marui, Rikkai's own volley-specialist.

Jiroh could've face-vaulted right there and then, but fortunately for him, he had a good grip of the bench. Sure, a lot of people knew him for sleeping a lot, so it wasn't too unusual for someone to point that out. BUT, that was the last thing he wanted his tennis hero say. Especially when that seemed to be only thing he knew. How cruel this world was…his first impression he was giving to Marui, was a lazy-ass that could sleep all day if he wanted.

"Uh…you okay?" Marui waved a hand in front of Jiroh's deep-in-thought face.

The blonde was snapped back out of his thoughts, as he laughed uneasily and nodded. "Ah…yeah! Heh, guess I got stuck in thought."

Raising an eyebrow again, Marui responded, "Alright then…" This…Jiroh, sure was an odd one. First, he'd be babbling about how he was such a big fan, and now, he's dead quiet as he's in thought. Was he feeling sleepy again? Yanagi's data never seems to lie…

"Marui-kun?"

The redhead turned his head to face the other boy, "…Yeah?"

"Eh…we're kinda going back to the old topic but…how did you know it was me? Kinda curious, ya know?"

Marui sighed. Was it something to be that curious about? "Does it matter?"

"Not really…I just want to know. We've never really spoken to each other before, and if anything, I'm the only one that ever said anything," the Hyoutei boy said, referring to the cheering. 'Wait…I'm the only one that ever said anything, so…' Finally, it hits. "Oh! You recognized my voice, didn't you? When I was talking to Atobe back there!" he said, pointing back to the vending machines.

The Rikkai regular seemed at loss of words. Sure, it was true, but was he ever going to admit it? No. No way. "What are you talking about? Why on earth would I listen to you and your captain's conversation?" He got up, throwing the empty can away, and walked over to the vending machine again to get another drink.

Jiroh's face fell slightly. He would've been lucky if it were true, but by what the other boy says, it wasn't. "Eh…good point, heh!" he replied, his gaze still to the ground. 'Heh…maybe I was a bit too over my head…wait, if that isn't it, I wonder h---OMFG COLD!' his eyes widened, as he suddenly felt an ice-cold sensation on his cheeks. He looked up, to see Marui there in front of him, holding a cold can to his cheek.

Completely contradicting himself? Yes. On purpose? Maybe.

"You wanted Pokari, right?"

Glossary

1. A type of words of praise that Jiroh often says. Something along the lines of "Seriously awesome! Marui-kun's so cool!"

2. Pokari, or Pokari-Sweat, is a common sports drink in Japan.

3. A secret or hidden ability, move, power, etc. (In Marui's case, it's a tennis-ability)

Again, as I said before, I'll continue this if people want me to. Or, I'll just keep it as a oneshot.