A/N - Muhahaha! Okay, I only include start notes when it's kinda important. Yeahs....
First time I've ever put a disclaimer because I saw everyone else do it so (shrug).
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis/Tennis no Ohjisama. I DO own the ... plot...and OC....but not many people care about that now do they?
----
Taiya walked around the school for a bit, before she watched in awe at all the tennis players playing in the courts.
"That freshman is pretty good too. Actually, he's awesome..." Taiya prodded Fuji on the shoulder. "Fuji-san, may I ask, who is that?"
"You mean Echizen?"
"Yes, that kid with the green hair."
"Hmm, that's Echizen Ryoma. A lot of people have taken an interest in him actually- he might be able to participate in the selection matches for the Regulars, even as a first year," Fuji informed. Taiya could feel herself gaping like an idiot. A freshman, a short one at that, was about to beat her?! Hell no!
"I must work hard...." she mumbled determinedly under her breath. Fuji cast her a sideways glance.
"Did you say something?"
"Ah! Iie (no)!"
"I see....well, which class are you in, Tai-san?"
"Oh my- 天啊(Heavens)! I forgot to go to the principal's office to get my schedule!" Taiya had already run off before Fuji could say something.
"He's strange...he's different from his sister," Fuji said to himself, before he smiled and went to his shoe locker. "Oh well."
----
Taiya ran desperately until she reached the front door of the Principals Office. She caught her breath before raising her hand and knocking a few times onto the hard wood of the mahogany door. Feeling an immediate pain, she waved her hand in front of her, silently cursing out.
"Come in."
Taiya entered a brightly lit room due to the curtains being open, letting the sunshine in. The principal sat at the desk, with his fingers laced together. He smiled up at Taiya before holding up a piece of paper - an application form, his eyes hidden by rectangular white glasses.
"So, I presume you are Sanzushi Taichi, our new transfer student," the Principal said warmly, handing her the sheet to quickly examine. It read (or so Taiya thought, having not read Japanese for a long time):
Full Name: Sanzushi Li Taichi 李星花 ----- ('Li' (李)is her mothers former last name before she got married.)
Age: 14
Birthday: July 27th
Blood Type: O
Academic Achievements:
Sacred Heart Middle School Academic Achievement Award - For High Achievement in Mathematics
Sacred Heart Middle School Principals Award - For High Achievement in Mathematics
Hong Kong Mathematics Competition - High Distinction
Other Achievements in School:
Sacred Heart Tennis Club's Under 13 Vice-captain
Sacred Heart Tennis Club's Under 14 Vice-captain.
Behaviour: Needs to socialize with other students more often. A studious student, and a solitary achiever.
Comments: Does excellently in the areas of Maths and Science. English is acceptable among her peers standards. Has participated in various Mathematics competitions and represented Sacred Heart school proudly in Tennis.
Taiya looked up from the sheet sheepishly, while the Principal continued to smile pleasantly. A forced smile and a singular sweat-drop sliding down the side of her face appeared.
'Better work...it was the computer-genius Rickii who changed everything for me...'
"Sanzushi Li Taichi, eh?" the Principal remarked as he read the Hiragana next to her imprinted Chinese name, a small smile on his face. She nodded.
"Hmm, what's this though? Hoshi Hana (星花)?"
Taiya froze. 'Craaap! Did mum add my Chinese name there?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT, MUM?! IT'S LIKE YOU WANT ME TO BE CAUGHT!!'
Taiya scratched the side of her chin, staring at the side rather nervously. "That is my Chinese name. You see, my father always expected a girl and wanted his first child to be called Hana (花) because he's a Japanese man and it's a popular and nice name for girls he had said. On the other hand, my mum wanted me to have the name Xing, meaning 'star', in Chinese and so they combined the two and...and only after they registered me with that name did they realize I was a boy."
A ringing silence filled the premises.
"And....so they gave me a Japanese name which has nothing to do with my Chinese name," she smiled, a large sweat-drop on the back of her head. The Principal too had a sweat-drop donned on his forehead.
"I....see. Very interesting."
"Isn't it?" said Taiya cheerily, glad that he didn't suspect anything.
"Well, here's your timetable through this semester, and here's your Homeroom class. During your homeroom for next semester, they will give you your new timetable as per normal." Taiya saw at the top of your timetable the numbers '3-6' before she nodded understandingly.
"I hope you have a great stay at Seishun Gakuen, Sanzushi Taichi-kun."
"Yes; arigatou gozaimasu (Thank you very much)."
----
Fuji spotted Taiya walking pass a few classrooms, seemingly checking the numbers on the doors. "Before was classroom 4 so...What the Hell?! How'd it end up as classrooms 6?!"
He decided to help ...him...out.
"Hello, Tai-san. Having trouble?" Fuji asked her. She turned around at the sound of his voice and gave a sigh of relief.
"Uh, yeah, do you know where the Homeroom 3-6 is?" she asked. Fuji gave a friendly smile.
"Sure; that's the same homeroom as my own. Let's go, before the bell rings."
"Oh yeah, just Tai's fine. No need for formalities."
"Mm."
----
Class was noisy, which was strangely startling to Taiya (who has experienced being in dead-silent, perfect classes). She seated herself at a table near Fuji's own (she felt the need to have some sort of company), ignoring the questioning stares of other students who had taken notice of her.
"Attention class, we have a new student with us today. Sanzushi-san, please stand up and introduce yourself."
Though slightly annoyed at the fact she had to get up from her seat again, she stood up, straightening her jacket before introducing herself in her best (yet timid) male voice.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm Sanzushi Taichi and will be attending the same classes with you all from now on. Nice to meet you all." She gave a small bow before she sat down, feeling oddly hot with all the stares she was receiving.
The classroom seemed to be looking at her weirdly. 'What, did I say something wrong? I practiced that speech all last night! Sorry that I can't remember how to introduce myself properly...'
"That new guy's cute."
'....ah?'
"I saw him walking with Fuji-san to homeroom; maybe they're friends."
"Just like Fuji-sama to have such cute friends!"
'...Fuji-sama...? o.o Oh dear...'
Fuji watched Taiya sit on her/his desk, reading before he nodded to himself. 'Yep, Taiya-san looks EXACTLY like him. Maybe they were twins...hmmm...I wonder if he's scared of spiders...I just won a rubber one the other day...'
Fuji smiled and slipped past the crowd to Taiya's desk. "I'll show you around; we're neighbours after all."
"Ah, thank you."
Fuji and Taiya walked only a few steps before a bubbly red-head popped up and gave a large grin.
"Ah, this is-"
"Kikumaru Eiji!" The boy introduced himself with a bright smile, which matched his equally bright blue eyes. "I'm also in your class, but we never got to talk, Tai-chan!"
'Tai...chan? Pet names already?'
"And this is Kunimitsu Tezuka. He is the captain of the Seigaku Regulars."
Taiya could have jaw-dropped there.
The short green-haired boy from earlier was arguing with another taller senpai about something which they were not sure of.
"That's Echizen Ryoma, and Momoshiro Takeshi," Fuji concluded after Momoshiro and Ryoma finished arguing, turning the opposite way from each other with a 'hmph'. "That's Inui Sadaharu. That's Oishi Shouichirou, the vice-captain of the team and also Eiji's doubles partner," Fuji explained while Taiya nodded.
'Ah, so they're the...what-Pair was it....um.....Metal Pair? No wait....Steel! No...something even more flashy....' Taiya thought as she took in Fuji's information with small nods, not really paying attention. 'Chocolate Pair! No, that just sounds wrong....mmm, chocolate.....'
"That's Kaidou Kaoru, also known as the Viper and that's Kawamura Takashi. And that's about it, I think. Did you get all that, Tai-san?" Fuji asked.
'HECK NO!! I JUST CAME HERE AND YOU EXPECT ME TO-
"Of course I did, what kind of idiot can't?" Taiya forced an airy laugh. Tezuka pulled out a literature book and started to read.
"If you'll excuse me," was all he said before heading to his locker.
"So, all of you are on the tennis team? Even you, Fuji-san?" asked Taiya, breaking her gaze from Tezuka's back. Fuji and Oishi nodded. 'Whoa, what a big coincidence -.-. But this'll make my job easier.' "Then do you know where you sign up for the ranking matches?" Eiji pointed somewhere.
"Just over there near the courts. Are you going to sign up? You interested in Tennis too?"
"Ehhhhhhhh.... I guess you can say that," said Taiya, almost as though in surprise; she liked tennis, yes? Or was she just playing to prove something? "I used to play a lot in China, so I thought I'd try out...and by the way, excuse my poor Japanese but I'm not quite used to speaking it again since living in China," Taiya said sheepishly, hiding her embarrassment by pulling down her beanie. "You see, Chinese is my first language."
"Saa, that's okay, you'll get accustomed to it again eventually," said Fuji with an assuring smile.
Taiya went off to sign up for the Ranking Matches, while Fuji and the others watched her go.
"Do you think he'd be any good?" Eiji remarked.
"Who knows."
----
A week or so later....
"Sanzushi Taichi Vs. Kimihara Hanu."
Taiya won all her games 6-0, surprising even herself.
"Well...I guess going to Nationals last year was a good thing afterall," she commented breezily, happy with her progress so far. The games went with the top 2 on each block become the Regulars, excluding the matches on B block, in which the top three players are chosen.
Taiya finally had to face her Regular opponent; Kawamura Takashi. Taiya shook his hand with a firm grip, only to have her hand slightly throbbing afterwards. 'Gah, strong...!'
"I'm honoured to be able to play a Regular so early..." said Taiya with a slight dip of her head.
"No, i-it's nothing. Let's do our best," said Kawamura with a slight blush; Taiya was surprised such a strong guy was nervous with her, who was half his size.
Fuji came up from nowhere and handed Kawamura a racquet. "You forgot this."
"Ah, thank you, Fuji! Anyway, Sanzushi-san, I hope we can play a fair- OHH YEAH! BURNING! FEEL THE BURN! SO YOU'RE SANZUSHI TAICHI WHO CHALLENGES ME!!!!!"
"What in the-!"
"He gets that way, don't worry about it, Tai-san," Fuji explained.
'THEN WHY DID YOU GIVE HIM THE FREAKIN' RACQUET WHEN HE'S LIKE AN ARMS LENGTH AWAY FROM ME?!' screamed Taiya inwardly, her back pressed against the fence with sweat running down the back of her head. It just goes to show that Taiya was like every other person who met Kawamura; shocked at his sudden Mood Swing.
Taiya regained her composture and coughed into her hand. 'Extremely bipolar.'
"Sanzushi Taichi VS. Kawamura Takashi. Kawamura to serve."
Kawamura hit a frightening serve, mainly because of all his 'burning' yells, and Taiya backhanded it over the net. He too returned it easily over the net.
Suddenly she was overwhelmed with a strong weight on her racquet, pulling her arm back before her eyes narrowed down in simple delight.
'He's got a strong hit...and he's scary. He's got a lot of power...that's gotta go against me soon. His serve was incredible...'
People crowded around to watch Taiya and Kawamura's match.
"That's that new transfer student isn't it?"
"I feel sorry for him, going up against Kawamura-senpai already."
"He'll get crushed easy."
...
Taiya's eye twitched violently though she inwardly thanked them (only a little bit) as her sudden-spiked irritation gave her energy to return the ball with a shapr forehand, earning her a point.
The Regulars, who weren't on the court playing, watched Taiya in her fierce match against the 'BURNING' man. They witnessed her performing a elegant overarm smash right in front of the net.
"His timing isn't bad....but not as good as mine!" grinned Eiji, placing his hands behind his head.
"He's good," commented Fuji shortly before he continued observing other matches.
Soon, the games were 3-3 all.
Kawamura's Burning Serves were causing difficulty for Taiya, who used a lot of her built-up arm muscle to return it. There was too much great of a difference between a boy and a girl.
'But I'm not just any girl...'
Taiya quickly sped up the pace of her steps before scoring another point, much to some onviewers astonishment.
'I'm Sanzushi Taiya, dressing up as a boy.'
The girl groaned as her racquet was once again knocked out of her hands, leaving her right hand trembling slightly. 'Again...麻烦！(troublesome).'
'Let's play!'
----
"He's quick," commented a rather relaxed Momoshiro. "Just finished my game- what's the score?"
"5-4...surprisingly, it's Tai-chan's lead," said Eiji, a small frown on his face. "This seems so odd, ne?"
"C'MON, BABY!! GIVE ME YOUR BEST SHOT!!"
Taiya could only sweatdrop. 'Lucky bastard, has so much energy. Oh well....'
Her muscles screamed for a break, and it was then Taiya cursed herself for coming so unprepared. 'I might have just got a bit full of myself. I really underestimate some things in Japan. Oh well, every Asian admires their own race most. Wait, but I'm half...'
Kawamura served another ball to her left, unguarded side of the court in order to make Taiya run but to everyones surprise, Taiya displayed a rather different defensive action.
She took one step before she had thrown her racquet to her left hand and hit a forehand return back. Staggering slightly, she fell onto the green courts, panting and tired and also seemingly amazed at her own reaction.
"Nitouryuu ('two-hand style', or ambidextrous)..." a rather bored Ryoma muttered, pushing his cap forwards to shield his eyes. Fuji smiled slightly.
"Well isn't this interesting."
"Eh, someone other that chibi-chan is nitouryuu? Cool, cool," Kikumaru chipped in.
"15-0, Sanzushi lead."
'That was risky against a power player like him.' Taiya concentrated, eyes set and hard. 'Concentrate...I should be able to predict his next move if I can set out his movements and habits right. But I've never been too good at that. He's got power- lots of it..and stamina too. Most of the players I've played would have been worn out by now.'
'I can't do anything against his power; it's too great. My wrist feels like it'll break if I continuously return his shots. I can only rely on my legs now; I'm not small for nothing/ So speed and techniques. That's all I can rely on now. But how lucky was I to be able to use my left hand! Brother really meant it when he said it'd help.'
After a minute or so of intense rallying, Taiya flicked her wrist and backhanded it, adding a backwards slice to the top of the ball.
Kawamura made his loud 'war cries' but when his racquet made contact with the ball...
Taiya watched as the ball crawled up and off his racquet before landing behind him with little bounces. This caught a few peoples attention, especially the Regular on viewers.
"30-0."
'The Crawl movement...right, brother?'
"I hate being underedstimated because of my size." She gave a very innocent smile as her eyes opened revealing the light violet eyes beneath, holding her racquet frame lightly. "Let's go."
----
A/N - Old Author Note deleted. The new note is; I really hope I checked this over enough.
----
(Checked over a tad on 27 December, 2007)