Disclaimer: Do not own anything.

~~ The Handsome Stranger Next Door ~~

~~ 24. February, Afternoon ~~

"Oh, finally awake. You are one deep sleeper, neighbor from next door." Ryoma pushed his hands against the shoulders, twirled and struggled to get off of the person's back. He felt the heat rising in his cheeks. Shit! Where was his cap? The person lost his balance, wavered forward and loosened the grip around him. The male, who had carried him so far, yelped like a cat and fell onto the hard stony ground with his face straight forward. Ryoma gasped by the hard impact rubbing his backside and glaring at the three.

One of the two followers steadied the cat-like teen and helped him onto his feet, while Ryoma also had fallen but landed on his butt and spine. Everything was blurry for a moment, spinning around. The new guys stared curiously at him, eying him from head to toe. Ryoma felt like under some kind of scanner, it was awkward. The youngest teen stood up – ignoring the outstretched hand from the tallest one - rubbed off the dirt of his uniform, snapped his bags from the teen's…

...Stop. Oh god, it was this Fuji guy from this morning. His hand stopped midway, his eyes focused on the brunette.

"Saa, I see you recognize me. We didn't mean to scare or offend you. You were sleeping at the roof and one of our team members noticed you during practice, the school was ready to get closed so we kindly carried you with us, instead of waking you up from your lesson-skipping-nap." Fuji said with his smiling face and approached the emerald-haired teen. Ryoma didn't step back, standing stubbornly at the same place like a stone and shooting the brunette a piercing glare. He had noticed the scolding tone when Fuji pointed out blankly that he had just skipped a lesson on his very first day. So what?

The brunette had nothing to do with him so he should back off like the other people around him!

Instead of glaring into shut eyes, Ryoma stared into clear blue oceans with an intensity which he had never seen before. Almost as strong as his own. He couldn't and wouldn't look away, he would never back away! He was a fighter and losing was one of his weak points he needed to admit. Nonetheless, it push him up all the more to do every thinkable to win a game or a silent and unspoken challenge like this one right now.

"Oi, oi… Fujiko, close your eyes, you're scary, nya!" The redhead, who had carried Ryoma, said and lifted his hands to calm them down. His normally smiling friend giggled and shut the unbelievable pure blue eyes. Ryoma found himself still staring, searching for another glint of these traumatic eyes. The challenge wasn't over yet. The heat returned slowly into his cheeks when he noted the amused gaze from Fuji. Maybe the challenge really was over...

His view landed on the hyperactive redhead who jumped up and down beside the still silent teen. The tallest of them had also lightly brown hair, shorter than Fuji's, and wore glasses. The stoic expression made him look older; nevertheless, he wore the same uniform as him, only with the symbol of a third year.

"So what is your name, nya? My name is Kikumaru Eiji, you can call me Eiji or Eijiko. Fujiko said you live in the same street, just at the opposite house of Fujiko and mine. So we're neighbors. So cool, nyyaaa…"

Oh god, was the guy a cat or why was he nya-ing?

More importantly... had he understood them right? They lived in the same street where he lived? Right opposite his home? Today was not his day and he had a feeling it would only get worse with those two crazy and strange guys being near him.

He got ripped out of his thoughts when a strong pair of arms surrounded his throat and pressed every oxygen out of him. The poor boy began to struggle, gasping for air and freedom. The young men noticed his change of color, from pale to lightly blue. Slender fingers grabbed the wrists around his throat and pulled at them a bit. Nothing changed.

"Eiji, you're suffocating him. He's already turning blue. Oishi wouldn't like to see such a sight." Fuji giggled with his index finger on his soft lips. It made him look quite feminine.

"…I don't suffocate him! I'm only cuddling with my cute little kouhai. He is cute, isn't he?..."

Did the guy just call him cute? He was cute? He was cute? Has he lost his mind?! No one, no male, would like to be called cute!

"…and so small! I'll call him Ochibi!..."

Was he searching for a fight? He wasn't small, they were just bigger and older. And dare this Eiji to call him Ochibi once more and hell would freeze!

"…Ne, Ochibi, do you want to hang out for burgers? My treat this time!" The jumpy redhead hadn't noticed the popping veins on the younger teen's forehead, nor had he noted the angry glare at him from those piercing golden eyes. The embrace hadn't loosened entirely and Ryoma began to fear for his lungs.

"Kikumaru, stop choking him or you'll run 80 laps tomorrow morning!" It was the first time the stoic male with glasses had spoken. The voice was strong and unbreakable, showing power and respect. Fairness, he could see it in the teen's eyes. Something pierced inside the backside of his head and the mute turned around to view into icy blue orbs once more. Ryoma froze.

Was it only his imagination or had the intensity increased in those blue orbs? Was he challenging him anew?
The thrill tickled his skin in anticipation – like a lightning. Time and place froze with them, nothing mattered. The silent challenge between them intensified and a shiver flew across Ryoma's spine, before...

"SEISHOUNEN!" The four guys turned around and saw a waving Nanjiroh, dressed in a dark brown monk's cowl.

Every once in a while, Ryoma was happy to have a father like his old man. Nanjiroh could be very useful sometimes. Just like right now. Helping his son to get out of those strangers' grasps. The mute teen snapped, finally, his bag and cap out of the brunette's hands, walked past his father and into the house, not looking back. The old man blinked twice, stared at the three males and started to laugh out loud while holding his stomach and waving goodbye.

The three students stood at the same spot for several seconds. Suddenly, the tensai called Fuji began to chuckle in his melodically voice, putting a loosen strain of hair behind his ear with his tender fingers. "Hehe, what an interesting boy." The two friends beside him viewed with terrified or in the other brunette's case - cold views at him.

"Whatever you plan in your insane mind, stop it, Syusuke." The stoic male named Tezuka Kunimitsu spoke in a cold and slightly annoyed tone. His best friend was plotting something - something which would cause much trouble and emotionally stress. He saw it in the too wide smile and the way his friend still stared at the house which the young teen had entered only mere seconds ago. All pranks and ideas of his boyfriend ended in a pure chaos. Never did anything happen like planned. And always had it caused an emotionally turmoil for the victims.

"Yeah, Fujiko! You scared my Ochibi, nya. Poor Ochibi! Had just arrived here from the United States."

"Saa, Eijiko. Where do you know that?"

"Horio." What more was there to say? The noisy freshman with orange/red colored hair couldn't keep a secret by himself. So, automatically, everyone in the tennis club knew about the strange, new freshman with emerald-hair. By tomorrow, everybody in Seigaku would know about him. Rumors and gossips spread fast in Seigaku.

"Interesting."

"Mou! Fujiko, you still have your eyes open and this evil smirk in your face!" The three didn't pay attention to where they stood nor in front of who's house they stood. Just the cold voice and the steps behind them stopping mere feet away informed them about the stranger's arrival. They would usually do everything to avoid such contact, too bad memories were boiling up with each meeting.

"Do you have nothing better to do than standing in the way?"

~~ 24. February, Late Afternoon ~~

The old, wooden door slammed shut, leaving him in the dimmed room with only the twilight coming through his window. Ryoma slipped down onto the floor, leaned his head against the door and listened to his hammering heartbeat. He was shivering, not from the muggy weather but from the cold chill he had just received by seeing the tensai's self. Something had sparkled in fascination in those ocean-blue eyes. The boy felt like the prey, helpless and defenseless if he wouldn't turn around now.

It took him a few minutes to stand up. His hands, his legs - mostly all party of his body quivered in anticipation from the challenge.

Hot... since when was it so hot in this room? The emerald-haired teen went to the old window, opened it and breathed in the refreshing air. Nostalgia flooded him slowly. Ryoma would never admit it, but he missed his mother and his only friend - if he could call him that. The other teen in America, Kevin was his name, hadn't left him at first, stayed by his side whenever Ryoma had left the house. The teen was the same age as him, nonetheless, he acted like the older brother Ryoma never had. His beloved cousin would always turn red with jealousy as she wanted it to be her task to do. However, Kevin never left his side, played some matches with him and also slept over sometimes. They had begun to spend the time together, till neither of them wanted to be separated from the other for a too long time. Was it that what being friends meant?

He would have never thought about it being possible but he missed Kevin. A friend who understood him. Kevin was, or better said, had been the third point on his favorite-list, stood right under Karupin and tennis.

Man, how he missed everything from his old life. The mute teen wanted to go back home - already missing the good tasting food from his mother and cousin. His father was great in tennis and had trained him since he was four years old. Back then, they had lived together and had a private court in their big garden with orange trees behind their house. Ryoma had, and still did, liked it. Japan was different from America, like two entirely different worlds. His new school was a building with uncountable doors and rooms. He hadn't had the chance to take a look at the tennis club which let him pout. He would need to fetch it later.

A light chuckle startled him and his view went - like a magnet being pulled its opposite piece - to the window of his still unknown neighbor. The other window got opened by a male which wore a messy dark green uniform and a symbol of a second year. An upperclassman from the building where he had gotten lost at the beginning of his search for the stupid secretary office.

Ryoma's view rested on the face of the male. He had seen this face once before but couldn't remember. It was one of his very weak points - remembering boring people's face and names. But... did the beautiful and melodically sound come from such an idiotic looking guy?

He couldn't remember the name, he never had been good with remembering names of unworthy people. Damn it! Ryoma shifted his position and hid behind the wall, listening to another light chuckle. His ears rang by such a good sound. However, a noisy voice disturbed the goddess-like sound and Ryoma snapped his eyes open in annoyance. To his utter surprise and disbelief - the ugly voice didn't came out of the devil's mouth so the delightful voice must be his. Oh god...

A deep shudder of disgust shook him violently by the next thought. No, even with such a beautiful voice the guy couldn't cover up his not so great profile. It didn't fit at all and... was that disappointment he felt?

Eew! Better to change the direction of thoughts...

"Stop searching for the boy, Akaya. It's enough that you had teased him yesterday."

"But I haven't seen his face yet! How do you know it's a boy?"

"I doubt a father would call his daughter 'seishounen'. I heard the man call him that yesterday afternoon after you three had scared him away."

"... Oh. Senpai you're smart!"

"Thanks for the compliment."

"You just never listen to anybody else than buchou so you hadn't heard it." There were snickers and chuckles by that statement and also a loud groan and the sound of gritted teeth. Ryoma huffed and shook his head, sliding down onto the wall and sitting under the window sill, listening to the sound of different voices chatting. Maybe someone of them played tennis or would at least mention it in a conversation.

He was bored...

~~ 24. February, Night ~~

Ryoma had listened all the time carefully with open ears. It was dark outside and cold when the people from next door bid goodbye, finally. They hadn't mentioned tennis, not even once in the entire time.

He had sat in the same position for two whole hours. Thanks to that his legs were now numb and tickled if he put pressure on them. His cat had joined him midway by his secretly spying, soundly asleep and lightly snoring on his out-stretched legs. The young man stood up with a groan, feeling the tickling sensation rolling through his feet and legs. It felt funny and suppressed a snicker.

He closed the window while wavering to the bathroom, taking a hot shower to relax his sore and itching muscles. Ryoma declined his father's food for the risk of his stomach. Never would he eat something his dear old man had cooked again. His stomach was still feeling sick because of the last time he had eaten this so called food.

Ryoma entered his room again, sat on his desk which was next to the window and switched on the old lamp. Dimmed light flooded the small room and changed the cold into a warm atmosphere. His closed schoolbag got pulled up, books and paper fell onto the desk. His English homework nearly yawned at him as a sign for boredom.

It was strange and funny. He had asked himself all day long why the hell the school found it necessary for him to attend the English lessons. Did they think he would suddenly start to speak again if they forced him to sit there and listen to the teacher's words? He had lived in the States for his entire life. Writing and reading wasn't anywhere near his problems and speaking was out of questions, so why did he need to attend those boring and unnecessary lessons?

The boy snorted about his own thoughts and scribbled the answers hurriedly on the sheet of paper. He finished it in less than ten minutes, which his cat took as a chance and sneaked up onto his lap. The Himalayan cat purred loudly and enjoyable, stretched his body to give his master free room to pet and scratch the soft fur. Ryoma smiled and kissed his small pet on the forehead, taking it in his arms and cuddling with it.

Walking around in the room and stopping by the window, he was taken by surprise. In the light of the other room, a gorgeous young man, well build, was rubbing his bare chest dry with the towel around his neck.

Water drops streamed invitingly down his hair and chest, one after another. The male had dark-blue hair, which reached his shoulders, and slim hands. The older male looked quite feminine but still mystically. The beauty leaned down, showed Ryoma his self from the right side, and spoke in a tone and voice that sent shivers down his spine.

It was this voice. The one from earlier... the melodical voice from before. "C'mon Akaya. What is so hard about this simple question? English wouldn't be so hard if you would actually listen and pay attention in your lessons." The voice sounded scolding and disappointed, nonetheless, the gentleness was clearly audible, nearly visible. The person with the angelic voice cared for the other person who sat at the desk.

Only then did Ryoma actually notice the other person in the beautiful stranger's room. Nevertheless, his focus lay at the beauty completely. He couldn't look away. Dark blue hair fell over the shoulder, moved in the air and caressed the beauty's cheek as the older teen spoke and pointed at something which was out of reach for the emerald-haired teen's sight. As curious as his cat, he tiptoed to the window, quietly and slowly leaving the curtains ajar.

"I'm sorry, Mura-buchou! I really am! But I can't help. Whenever class starts, I get tired and sleepy! It's just sooo boring!" The beautiful stranger sighed deeply, inhaled the fresh air with his pale lips. The pure sight of it made Ryoma blush unconsciously.

"Kuro-sensei told me you wouldn't come to practice tomorrow as you need to stay late and study. You'll do as he told you and study English." Delicate fingers pushed the blue hair out of the face and stopped by the brink of the bluenette's nose.

"Mura-bu-" The other male wailed and looked terrified. Was he so bad in English? Or was the teacher so worse?

"Akaya." A warning. The voice sharpened, no room for any more arguments.

"Okay."

The sudden ache at his throat shoved him back to reality. Karupin jumped out of his grab and, with head and tail high in the air, out of the room. His cat had scratch his skin on his throat hard, leaving three long stripes. Was his cat mad at him? Why? He couldn't understand. Ryoma frowned and turned on his heels.., leaving the strangers alone by themselves. He would make himself ready and go to bed. He felt sleepy and strangely exhausted.

Just when he turned around and focused on his surroundings again did he wish not to have done so. There at his door..."I never knew you swing that way, Seishounen. Peeping at your neighbor..." His old man grinned perversely and chuckled like a teenage girl with his hand covering his mouth. Nonetheless, the laugher reached Ryoma's ears. It was useless to stop or suppress the furious blush reaching his face and ears. It was out of reaction that he picked up the biggest book on his desk and threw it in his father's face. "Hahahahah-OUCH!"

What was his father thinking?! He hadn't peeped at his neighbor. He had just... looked, simply watched his neighbor who would be living next to him for quite some time. What a stupid old man his father was... He wasn't peeping, he was just looking. Like he did right then, glancing out of the window to get one last glance of the beautiful stranger.

Sadly, both strangers from next door were gone and the window was closed.