A girl woke up in her room.

She checked the time '6:07 am' and realized she woke up around an hour before her alarm.

She sighed, but she didn't try to shut her eyes again. This was a rare moment. Besides, she doesn't really feel like going back to sleep, not after the bad dream she had about her favorite cartoon character transforming into a monster.

Nope, no thanks.

The girl got up and did some stretching exercises for the sole reason of becoming taller. She's not tall but she's not that short either. It's just that she has been surrounded by basketball players for the past weeks – months, even – so she wants to be a little bit taller. That and she's also interested in fashion, like her mother, and thus, she envies models who just look good at anything because of their seemingly perfect proportions. Now, that last part is a secret she would never admit.

In the end, she believes that her efforts will soon be rewarded. She's just 12 years old anyway and today marks her first day as a middle schooler.

She took a set of her uniform, neatly hanged inside her large closet. A smile formed on her lips as she remembered the day she finally decided to go to Teikou Junior High, but that is a story for another time.

After proceeding with her morning routine and changing into her uniform, she took one last look of herself and fixed her white knee-high socks and her wavy white hair that fell on her shoulders.

A knock.

"Tsu-chan?" a woman said.

"Yes" The girl, named Tsumiko, opened the door, revealing a beautiful older woman, who shared the same white hair as Tsumiko, but longer.

"I see someone's excited" the older woman teased, as she examined the younger girl.

"Well, I just happened to wake up early. Good morning mom" Tsumiko replied.

"Come on now, breakfast is ready" Tsumiko's mom named Eri, gently smiled.

Tsumiko got her bag and followed her mom, a former professional ballerina, who walked with graceful steps and perfect posture.

At the dining room, Tsumiko greeted her father, who was drinking his coffee. She then greeted their three helpers, who were busy serving plates of food at the table, and their butler, who took the already folded newspaper laid down in front of her father. Her father's driver, along with their family driver, were probably outside.

"Good morning Tsumiko-chan. I'll be driving you today" a male with black hair, named Irosuzuka Hiroshi, grinned at his daughter. The said daughter, however, just slightly glared at him, knowing that her father won't really drive her to school and understanding the implication behind his words.

"Dad, we already talked about this, right? Now that I'm in middle school, I believe I can go to school and come back home without a chauffeur. And yes, I'll be staying at school because of practice but I promise to let you all know." Tsumiko said, gesturing to everyone in the room.

She is very well aware of her family's status. Her father is the current head of the Irosuzuka family's shipping company. However, she doesn't want people to treat her differently just because of her family's status. That's why she's very thankful that her parents both didn't want to have a very lavish lifestyle. They tried to keep everything low-key and private. Their house in Tokyo was relatively big – yes – but it was no mansion. Tsumiko and her older brother, Yuuta, were lucky enough to be raised in a humble and warm home.

Hiroshi sighed but gave Tsumiko a look and said, "Okay. But I just want to remind you that we also agreed that you will be dropped off and picked up by Tanaka at a certain place" As if on cue, their family driver, Tanaka, arrived at the dining room and gave a little bow.

"Yes dad, but only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays" Tsumiko firmly said.

"And if you're planning to go home late due to extended club activities" Eri added

Tsumiko simply sighed in defeat, while her parents gave each other a satisfied smile.

"Now that everything's settled, I just want to say I can't believe you're already acting so grown up Tsu-chan" Eri wiped some pseudo-tears, before her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh by the way, Hiro-kun, didn't you mention before that Seijuurou-kun will now be staying here, in Tokyo, and will be going to Teikou too?"

"Oh right! Masaomi did mention it before" Hiroshi replied excitedly. Meanwhile, Tsumiko is looking at her parents confusedly. As far as she knows, Masaomi is Akashi Masaomi, her father's close friend from business school. He is now the head of the Akashi group of companies.

'Seijuurou?' She did recall the name popping out in their conversations occasionally. 'Could he be-?'

"Oh, you guys mean Akashi-oujisama's son? The one that Yuuta-nii played basketball with when we were younger?" Tsumiko said, recalling her brother talking about playing basketball with a younger kid named Seijuurou, one summer during elementary. She remembered that she was in Kyoto that time, spending time with her grandparents. Her father was also in Kyoto visiting his close friend, Akashi Masaomi, and attending to some business matters. On the other hand, her mother stayed with her brother in Tokyo, since her brother had basketball trainings to attend to.

"No one else but him! This might be the time you two finally meet. It's such a shame that we never really got you guys to meet. It seems like fate finally gave you guys a chance." Eri squealed, while Hiroshi laughed.

Tsumiko shook her head at the obvious implication of her mother's words and chuckled lightly. It's like everyone in her family, especially her mom, seems to be fond of this Akashi Seijuurou.

"Well then, I'll be going now." Tsumiko kissed both her parents, waved goodbye, and got inside the black BMW car.


The car finally stopped at a spot close to the school but not close enough to be seen from the Teikou school gates.

"Thank you, Tanaka-san. I'll be contacting you after I'm done" Tsumiko said before walking to the school gates.

She enjoyed the breeze of April and the sight of falling cherry blossoms of spring. Cherry blossoms had always been one of her favorite flowers. They always look refreshing and free. However, before she could even further philosophize, a flyer was abruptly placed in front of her face, as soon as she stepped into the school gates.

"Hey first year. Join the basketball club."

Recognizing the voice, she looked up from the flyer to look at him.

Dark eyes stared on equally dark eyes.

White and black hair fluttered with the gentle breeze.

"No thanks, Nijimura-senpai. Are you really handling flyers?" With her eyebrows slightly raised, she smiled and pointed at his hand that held only one flyer.

"Of course not. Those brats can handle that." the boy pointed at the basketball club's booth before pushing her slightly to walk in that direction.

"I just happened to see you absentmindedly staring at the cherry blossoms, while walking, just like a shoujo manga character and I just had to remind you that you'll be officially stuck with brats from the basketball club, starting today. My sympathies, manager-san" Nijimura Shuuzou, a second-year and the basketball team's captain, did a little bow, in his attempt to be polite. But that mocking and sarcastic tone, and that smirk on his face were just ruining his attempt.

"Yes, captain-san" Tsumiko tried to match his smirk, in hopes to stop the blush creeping to her face, after being caught lost in her own world.

'Why did it have to be him.' She thought. But at the same time, she was glad that he was the first person she saw as she stepped into the gates during her first day in middle school. God, she was definitely feeling like a shoujo manga character now. She was just feeling giddy, as if like she hadn't been with him for the past weeks.

The thing is that due to the head coach of the basketball team, along with the help of her older brother, who was the previous captain of Teikou basketball team, she started working as an unofficial manager of the Teikou basketball club after being accepted in Teikou during the break. Today marks her first day as the official manager of the team, and the start of her official training to be a coach. Due to her strategic mind, and observative nature, Teikou's head coach saw her talent and potential in being a coach and decided to let her be trained as a coach. However, since the team also needed an additional manager, the head coach decided that she'll be a temporary manager until other students apply for the position.

"Irosuzuka-chan!" "Irosuzuka-san!" "Manager-san" The basketball club members yelled and waved at Tsumiko, as she waved back.

"Do you already know your class, Irosuzuka?" one member asked. Dark eyes lit up in realization.

"Oh right. I haven't checked yet. I'll be going then. See you later!" Tsumiko then rushed to the board, not forgetting to look back at Nijimura, who only nodded at her. When she finally looked forward again, she bumped into someone.

"I apologize. I wasn't looking" Tsumiko bowed her head slightly then looked up but she didn't see anyone or anything.

"It's okay. I apologize too. I should also be more careful" a voice said.

Tsumiko blinked and she saw a faint color of baby blue. She blinked again and found that she was staring at blank baby blue eyes belonging to a boy with baby blue hair. He was holding a book. She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in- preparing to apologize again. However, before she could even say anything, the boy was nowhere to be found.

'Well that was weird' she thought before heading to the board.

There were a lot of people in front of the board and Tsumiko, not being that tall, couldn't see much. This is why she needed to do her stretching exercises.

"Dai-chan! What do you see? What's our class? Are we in the same class?" Next to Tsumiko was a pink-haired girl tugging at her friend. She was pretty, and a bit taller than her.

"Shut up Satsuki. I'm really trying here. Ughh" a tanned boy with dark blue hair groaned, while looking at the board.

'He's actually tall'. Tsumiko observed, as the boy effortlessly looked past the heads of other students ahead of them.

"Ah. Oh wait… I'm class 1-C and… ughh…you are also in class 1-C." The boy finally said.

"Yay! We're in the same class" the girl squealed and wrapped her arms around the boy's left arm. With this, Tsumiko had an idea.

"Um..excuse me? Pardon me for asking this but is it okay if I ask your friend to also look for my name. I can't really see anything from here." Tsumiko asked the pink-haired girl, who still clung to the boy. Fortunately, the girl seemed happy enough to help.

"Sure, what's your name?"

"Thank you. Irosuzuka Tsumiko."

The pink-haired girl then whispered something to the boy. Initially, the boy seemed to have a hesitant expression, but after some whispers later, the boy's expression changed to a better-looking one then he started searching the board. A few moments later, he looked at Tsumiko.

"Uh, you are in Class 1-A"

"Thank you very much!" She bowed to the two of them. However, before she could even ask their names, an announcement was heard all over, telling all first years to head to the gymnasium for the opening program. The boy then dragged the girl towards the gymnasium, without even saying goodbye, much to the protests of the girl. He was saying something about 'getting this over with' and that 'he can't wait till try-outs '. Tsumiko sighed and decided to walk towards the gymnasium as well.

On her way to the gymnasium, she was bumped by someone from the back. The impact caused her to trip and fall to the ground.

"Ahh I'm sorry." A blonde boy with a pretty face looked back at her for a second before running off towards the gymnasium again.

'Sorry? His words don't match his actions.' Tsumiko got up and decided to go after the rude boy. However, before she could even shout a 'Hey' and call the said boy's attention, she was again bumped by someone – no not just someone – by a horde of screaming girls chasing the boy. Oh wow, what luck she has.

"Hey wait for us!" "He's so hot!" "We didn't even get his name" the girls exclaimed.

'How could someone be so popular in the first day of school? Whatever.' Tsumiko wondered as she glared at the girls, while trying to get up. She then felt someone trying to help her up.

"Hey. You okay?" A boy, with hair that was slightly darker than her own, gently said, but she didn't miss the arrogant look on his face.

"Yes. Thank you." Tsumiko dusted off the dirt on her uniform and fixed her hair and gave the ash-haired boy a small smile.

'This guy looks arrogant but he might actually be a gen-' However, before she could even finish the kind thought, the boy spoke.

"Wow what a shitty day for you. You just had to be bumped, not once, but twice huh? Well, I can't really blame them y'know since you're just tiny. Damn, I thought you were a babe, so I helped you. What a shitty day indeed" The boy rolled his eyes then walked somewhere that's not the gymnasium. She even noticed some girls' gazes of adoration following him.

That was it.

The girl was officially pissed and it hasn't been half a day yet. She was always being interrupted before she could do anything and even before she could finish her own thoughts. Also, the fact that the boy looked at her chest while saying the word 'tiny' was something she is still trying to absorb. She's just 12, for pete's sake, though, the memory of the pink-haired girl wasn't helping her case.

Maybe she's just a late bloomer – yes, a late bloomer – that's exactly it.

Since she was really pissed, she just wanted the opening ceremony to end. To calm herself, she decided to think about the basketball team, and of course, that includes Nijimura. Her mind was fleeting on what training regimen should be the best for the week. She was also excited meeting the people who signed up, hoping that there will be promising newbies. Oh, how much she looks forward to the try-outs, just like that tan boy. She was too deep in her thoughts that she didn't realize that the top of their batch was already giving his speech. Heck – she didn't even see the person's face nor hear the person's name.

After the opening ceremony, the first-year students went to their respective classrooms. The white-haired first year decided to go to the restroom first to properly fix herself since she fell to the ground twice this morning. Luckily, she didn't injure herself. Despite this, she still swore to get back at the blondie – in the most elegant way, of course.

No. Actually, screw that.

Her fall to the ground was not elegant so it should be fair that she won't treat him elegantly too, yes? She's being childish, she knows, but hey, she's just 12.

Now this thought triggered a memory of a certain ash-haired guy. She'll need to do something about both blondie and ashy.

Petty? Yes.

Did she care? Not anymore.

As she exited the restroom, someone exited the boy's restroom at the same time. She was now face-to-face, no wait, she was now face-to-chest or was it face-to-abdomen, with a very tall person. The tall person seemed to notice that Tsumiko was frozen on her spot.

"Hmm. Why are you just standing there?" he lazily asked. Tsumiko takes this as a chance to look up at the guy, who has long purple hair.

'How could a 12-year-old be this tall?'

He was probably a first year like her since this floor only held the first-year classrooms.

"You're so small." He said, while literally looking down on her. However, before she could even childishly say 'You're just tall', the boy already walked away.

'Why am I always being interrupted today? Besides, I'm not that short and I'm just 12' she thought, however, right now, her thought really didn't sound convincing –even to herself – because of the existence of that 12-year-old giant.

Finally, she reached her classroom, 1-A. She looked around and saw some empty seats left. Some of the students were already huddled in groups and chatting, while some were just quietly seated. She saw very few familiar faces from her elementary school huddled in a group. They then smiled at her. She smiled back, however, she noticed that most of the seats around them were already taken. Luckily, she saw a green-haired boy with glasses seating few seats away from the group. He appeared to be quiet, so she decided to take the empty seat next to his.

The boy noticed her, but he didn't show it.

"Hello, I'm Irosuzuka Tsumiko" she said in a low voice, hoping that he would be able to hear her and to not hear her at the same time, because as much as she wants to be friendly, she also didn't want to bother anyone if they were busy. In this case, the boy seemed to not be looking anywhere but the large book on his desk, so Tsumiko wasn't sure if he was busy or not.

The boy didn't answer. However, before Tsumiko could convince herself that the boy probably didn't intentionally ignore her and that he probably just didn't hear her, the boy answered.

"Midorima Shintarou"

Tsumiko didn't really care that she was interrupted again because right now, she felt happy. She turned towards her neighbor, only to see him looking at her too.

Finally getting a better view of her seatmate, she stared beneath his glasses as she mused, 'His lashes are long'

"What?" He now glared at her.

A bit flustered, she quickly made an excuse and said "Pardon. Um, I was just curious about um.. the book on your desk." Her gaze fell on the book and her eyes immediately lit up in realization "Wait is that a phone book?" She asked while staring at the said phone book.

"Cancers are ranked fourth today. Oha-asa said that this phone book is my lucky item for today." He said without even flinching. He then paused for a while before asking, "What is your zodiac sign?"

Too bewildered by the information the boy shared and by the odd way the boy spoke, she automatically responded "Oh. I'm a Pisces." Midorima flinched a little at that, and Tsumiko didn't fail to notice this.

"What did Oha-asa say about Pisces?" As she recalled the foreign word 'Oha-asa', Tsumiko asked, wanting to extend the conversation. Well, to be honest, she's also curious about her luck for today because so far, she wasn't really feeling lucky.

"Pisces is ranked first today. Your lucky item is a tennis ball" He answered, while pushing his glasses up.

'First? Really? Maybe I could've used the tennis ball by throwing it at blondie and his fans' Tsumiko wildly thought.

She then thanked Midorima for the information and Midorima simply replied with a nod and looked away, making Tsumiko conclude that their conversation was over. With that, she looked forward and saw red.

'Aka'

A certain memory flashed in her mind. It was when she was younger. It was at someone's wake. Was it two years ago?

Her eyes were attracted to the color red, which was similar to what she's seeing now. As far as she remembered, that red happened to be a red-haired boy around her age. In that memory, she could only see the back of his head, but she knew that he was sad. She recalled that from what she was told, the boy had just lost his mother, so of course, she didn't need to see his face to know that he's sad-very sad.

'Aka..shi' she recalled. However, before she could even realize that she actually said that out-loud, that said 'Akashi' already turned to look at her.

Dark eyes met red eyes.

"Yes?" the boy asked with a polite smile.

Oh my God.

Tsumiko just didn't know how to respond. She was just caught staring and this guy probably thinks she's some stalker because it appeared that she happens to know his name.

'No way his name is Akashi. But it could really be him' Tsumiko's thoughts were now racing. So much for Pisces being in first place. How unlucky can she even be today?

She even called him informally, if he really was Akashi. Right now, she probably looked like a startled shoujo manga character, just like what Nijimura said. Nope, thinking about Nijimura didn't really help, since she felt the blush spreading even more quickly.

When Akashi heard his name from a girl that he didn't remember meeting before, Akashi was a bit surprised-yes, but unlike the startled girl, he was more composed to think. Alas, he was definitely clever enough to hypothesize who this girl was.

"Irosuzuka-san?" he asked, but he already knew he was right.

He recalled the head of the Irosuzuka group telling him during a party last year, that his daughter will be attending Teikou. His own father even mentioned that fact, one time. He remembered that, of course, since it was one of the rare moments his father talked about things other than his studies and bringing honor to the Akashi's name.

White.

It was the white wavy tresses that gave her identity away.

The moment he voiced her name, Tsumiko gave up. She couldn't fight the blush anymore. Somehow, the red tint that dominated her face matched her white locks. She refused to look at him, as she slowly nodded.

"Aka" Akashi mimicked.

She wasn't sure if she heard right, so she met his red gaze to confirm her suspicions and well, yes, she heard right, and she knew.

He was teasing her.

He was looking at her innocently, but she knows that he knows that she knows that he was referring to her stupid red face.

"Baka"

Ah.

It was about time.

She finally released her 12-year-old self.

With this, the boy chuckled lightly, and the girl couldn't help but laugh a little as well at her own childish remark – which, by the way, was perfectly normal for their age.

"Nice to meet you too Irosuzuka-san. Akashi Seijuurou" he extended his hand – something that children their age wouldn't normally do.

Shaking hands with the boy, she politely replied, "Irosuzuka Tsumiko. We finally met, Akashi-san." The two shared a knowing smile, both thinking how weird it was that they've never met each other, when each of them had already met the other's family at some point.

Their thoughts were interrupted when the bell rang, signaling that class was about to start. Akashi gave her one small smile before turning to the front, where their homeroom teacher stood. A certain green-haired boy also turned his attention to the teacher, hoping that the two classmates on his left hadn't noticed him.

No, he wasn't eavesdropping. They just happened to be noisy.

Yes – noisy.

It wasn't like he was interested in them, not even after realizing that he had seen the names 'Irosuzuka' and 'Akashi' somewhere before.

Nope. He was just curious.

After all, Cancers and Pisces have actually good compatibility so it's only natural if he's curious. Now that he thinks about it, Oha-asa did say something about Pisces having a fated encounter. Oh well, it's not like he cares or anything.

At his left, a certain white-haired girl also had her mind occupied.

'What a shitty day indeed' Tsumiko echoed the same words of the ash-haired boy, while recalling all the weird encounters she had today.

For some reason, she was reminded of flowers as she smiled to herself, 'But it is a colorful day'

She looked forward to club activities.


Now, nobody was really sure if this happened. Nobody had proof about it, but, at that certain moment of that day, some people unknowingly entered a door. Legends have it that all of those people heard a door being shut behind them.

Above a garden of flowers, a rainbow was formed.


A/N:

Here's the first chapter!

Such a colorful day for Tsumiko, isn't it? (That luck tho... lol)

How was it? Reviews are appreciated.

Thanks~