Chapter 004:

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis/Tennis no Oujisama does not belong to me. Sadly.

Bold is English. Regular is Japanese.


I see a little silhouetto of a man,

Scaramouche! Scaramouche! Will you do the fandango?

Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening me!

Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo – Figaro.

MAGNIFICOOOOOO.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm with my cousin at a McDonald's." I picked at burger in front of me while watching Ryoma scarf down food like there was no tomorrow.

"You could've told us you were getting food," Miyuu whined.

"I told Giselle. Thought she would've mentioned it to you." I dunked my spoon into my McFlurry and began to lick the M&Ms and vanilla goodness off. "Do you want anything?"

"Nah, not in the mood for fast food. But thanks for the offer. I just called to ask you for help with Math."

"Why don't you ask Giselle?"

"Uh, it seems that she's still at the Archery range."

I nearly choked on the ice cream. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Is that a bad thing?"

"It usually means something's bothering her. Ah, I'll try to go to Seigaku and talk to her. Oh, by the way, how's school for you?"

"It's boring. As usual. Not much I can do. I'm in Class 8. Only person I know there is Momo-chan."

"Momo? Like… 'peach'?"

"Oh. Yeah. Like 'peach.'"

I laughed. I saw that Ryoma finished his food and was staring at me with an bored look on his face. He rested his face on his propped up hand. I stuck my tongue out at him and he smirked. "I gotta go. My cousin's finished eating. I'll call you when I'm heading home."

"Okay! Bye, Mommy!"

I ended the call.

"Who was that?"

"Miyuu-chan," I clicked on my text messages and sent a quick, 'Are you okay?' to Giselle. I knew she wasn't, but her reply would tell me whether or not I should go to Seigaku to get her. "She was telling me about some person named Momo."

"Ah, Momo-senpai? A junior?"

I blinked. "Do you know them?"

"I played him in tennis today. Apparently he's one of the regulars."

"Did you give him a handicap?"

"Of course." He sipped his grape Fanta. "But he has an injured ankle, so, it's not as disrespectful."

"You could've tried."

He just smirked. "Yeah. I could've."

I sweatdropped. Same old cocky Ryoma.

Is this the real life,

Is this just fantasy?

I read the text Giselle sent.

I half-smiled. "Ah. Sorry, Chibisuke. I gotta go."


"You should stop working so hard."

Giselle shook her head fervently as she pulled another arrow and missed the bulls eye by a few inches. "AGH! What is the matter with me?"

I grabbed the bow from her hand. "Stop it. Calm down. Breathe."

She paced around in frustration, mumbling to herself.

"What happened?"

"I don't know what's wrong with me."

"I don't know what's wrong with you either," I replied in exasperation. "You gotta talk to me."

She fell down to the grass and took a fistful of hair in each hand. "Jacob's just being such a…—"

"Wait, Jacob?"

Giselle has been a relationship for the past, well, almost year. This guy is halfway across the world, and I thought I convinced her that it wasn't going to work. Plus, this guy is a douchebag who doesn't know how to treat Giselle. He's an artist, and whenever he painted a picture of her, he said it's beautiful because of his painting skills, but it's really beautiful because the subject is beautiful. That's all there is to it.

He's cheated on her before. But she doesn't want to believe me. And when she confronted him about, all he did was say, "Does it matter? I'm allowed to do what I want, right? You care about me, right? Plus, why would you even accuse me of such a thing? I thought you trusted me more!"

Such. A. Douche.

"And I just started to tell him about one of my classmates who I became friends with and he just started going off on me."

"Uh… Is this classmate a boy or a girl…?"

"…A boy…"

I sighed. "You know how Jacob is. He doesn't like—" I cut off and stared at her with wide eyes. Ah, I see.

She gave me a weirded out look. "Uh… what…?"

"The problem isn't Jacob."

"What? Yes, it is!"

"You're shrieking."

She sucked in a deep breath. "Jacob's the issue."

I grinned. "No, it's not. Who's this guy?"

"No one."

"What's his name?"

"Nobody."

"Ah, so you're in love with Odysseus?"

"I'm not in love."

"Okay, well, you do find this guy slightly attractive. And considering how frustrated you are, he's probably nothing like you. But you can't help but be intrigued by how charismatic he is. He's probably totally adorable and immature. But that's because all your past relationships have been with serious guys, and those have never turned out well. He probably introduced himself to you and was excited to meet you. Which caught you off guard because you're used to being the quiet kid in the class who does all her work."

Giselle glared at me.

"Oh, I am so right." I laughed. "Do you sit by him?"

"Yeah."

I chuckled. "That's good."

"What? How is that good?"

"Calm down, woman. It just means that you'll probably open up more. He's going to make you. I hope you know that. And I hope you think twice before snapping at him because I know you're going to regret it."

"…Shut up."

"You know I'm right."

"Just. Shut. Up."

"I'm always right."

She picked herself off of the ground and stood toe-to-toe with me.

"Kaydence, you don't always have to be right, okay? Maybe you should just shove your knowledge down someone else's throat! You make mistakes! And you know it! I don't need your help, so why do you keep offering it to me? You should just get lost!"

She's losing herself.

"You know I can't get lost. I have an amazing sense of direction."

"WHY ARE YOU SO IRRITATING? YOU ALWAYS REPLY BACK WITH SUCH SARCASTIC AND DISMISSIVE AND SNIDE COMMENTS! CAN YOU EVER TAKE ANYTHING SERIOUSLY?"

I stared at her. "Is that really how you feel?"

"WOULD I SAY IT IF IT WASN'T? YOU KNOW, FOR BEING MY SO-CALLED BEST FRIEND FOR THESE PAST FEW YEARS, YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME!"

I shook my head. "Let's go home."

"NO! LET'S NOT! LET'S JUST YELL AT EACH OTHER UNTIL WE'RE BLUE IN THE FACE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I FEEL LIKE DOING!"

I tapped my foot against the floor and she threw the arrows that were still strapped to her back at me. I caught it with a small, 'oof.' "Are you done?"

She breathed heavily for a moment until the redness in her cheeks drained away and the frazzleness left her hair. She scratched the back of her neck. "Uh… yeah. Sorry. I didn't—"

"I know, let's just get home. Miyuu and Kuni are probably worried."


Class 1 is probably the most boring class for third years.

I can't stand these people. Any of them. All the girls are staring at Tezuka. And all the boys are just doing… nothing. Where's the rowdyness? Why is everyone so quiet? And yet they have the need to talk about you under their breaths? Like how you're the weird one that screams English when woken up?

I hate teenagers.

I slumped back in my seat and continued onto my doodles.

After the 23rd one, I decided to show off my artwork to Tezuka. "Ne, ne. Tezuka-san, look!" I half-whispered.

I saw the corner of his eye twitch. At last, I get a response.

They were all chibi versions of Tezuka.

"Please be serious."

Really. That's it?

"Okay, Mr. Majime," I mumbled under my breath.

These people seriously don't know how to take a joke.


Voices were floating all around me.

"I think she's still asleep." A girl stated, with a bit of fear in her voice. "Maybe we shouldn't wake her up in case she yells in English at us."

"I think she's drooling on her notebook." Another girl said with a tone of disgust. "Why doesn't she close her mouth?"

"Just leave her here." A boy scoffed.

"Hey, you guys can go." Another boy interjected.

The original three people shuffled out the room.

"Kayde-san…?"

I lifted my head slowly. "Hmm?" I stretched my limbs. "Is it lunch time?"

The boy who woke me up. Ah, he's the only one who smiled at me when I introduced myself to the class. Agh, and I can't remember his name to save the life of me. My one potential friend, and I got nothing.

"Oishi, Shuichiro." He smiled and bowed slightly. "We never really met."

"Ah," I nodded. "Kayde. Eh, Kayde-chan. San isn't really my style."

"Well, okay, Kayde-chan." He smiled.

"Ah, you have a nice smile," I commented.

He chuckled sheepishly. "Really?"

"Mmhmm. And a weird haircut. I mean, it's like… your hair looks like a cap. And then you have like, two random bangs that stick out. And your bangs aren't exactly banging."

Did I really just say that?

He smiled lightly. "Ah, well, if we're being honest here, your hair isn't exciting like mine. Black. Straight across bangs. Long hair. Boooring."

I busted out laughing. "Aw, man! You got me!"

He chuckled right along. "Are you busy this lunch time?"

What a strange question. "Uh… No?"

His face became slightly pink. "No, it's just, you're a new student and all, I just thought I could show you what our school's famous for."

"Ah, tennis?"

"Oh, you already know?"

"My cousin's in tennis. You should watch out for him. He's pretty good. But, eh, I really shouldn't say anything considering I don't know anything about tennis…" I shrugged. "But from what I heard, he's pretty good."

"Ah, he should join the tennis team."

"Trust me, he will."


"FREEDOM!"

"Eh, Kayde-chan! You left your bag!"

I did a 180 to see Oishi-kun with my stuff. I ran back towards him to get it, but before I could even reach out to get it, he says, "I'll give it back to you after you watch tennis practice."

"EH? Why?" I whined. "Tennis so boring!"

He sweatdropped. "Just come out and see. You could see your cousin."

I contemplated for a moment. All Miyuu and Kuni do when they get home is watch TV, eat, and sleep. Giselle is probably practicing her archery. Maybe it'll be nice to stay outdoors for a while.

I grinned.

"Lead the way, Oishi-kun!"


"Th-they're here! The regulars!"

"Why are we here?" Miyuu grumbled. "Track is so much more interesting than this. All it is, is a yellow ball back and forth."

"All track is, is running."

"Shut up, will you?"

Kuni giggled. "I think it's nice to be outside for a change."

"Yes, thank you, Kuni." I glared at Miyuu who put her nose up in the air.

Oishi-kun's voice broke through the noise. "You guys go ahead and use the open courts until the Captain arrives, we want you to get used to the feel of the place."

"Eh, why is his hair so weird?" Miyuu questioned.

I chuckled. "It's a lot more interesting that we got."

"Sweet! That court over there's open! Let's play!"

I pulled a disgusted look as I saw what looked like a freshman with the worst taste in shirts. "Why is he so loud?"

"He's in my class," Kuni sighed.

Miyuu patted her shoulder. "It's okay."

Beams of yellow caught my eye on the court. All of them were hitting it straight into the basket. No matter where the ball was thrown at them. "Dang…"

"What?"

I nearly jumped 10 feet in the air. I turned quickly towards the voice. "Freaking A, Giselle. I thought you would be at Archery practice."

"They cancelled." She placed her stuff down. "Plus, one of my classmates said I should come and visit here."

"Who?"

"Eiji-san."

"My cousin?"

I turned to stare at Miyuu. She blinked. "Kikumaru, Eiji?" She pointed out the red head that was sporting one of the regular jackets.

I shifted my gaze to see Giselle. She paid no mind.

Ah, so this is the boy.

"Your cousin is one of the regulars?"

"Ah, I guess?" She shrugged. "Not interested in tennis. Plus, I haven't really talked to him. He's lived in Japan. I've lived in the US."

I nodded slowly. "I see."

"Which one is your cousin, Kayde-nee-chan?"

I placed my arm around Kuni and pointed out Ryoma. "The short one right there. The one who's not even five foot." (A/N: Ryoma's 4'11".)

"…I'm not close to five foot either, Kayde-nee-chan."

"Eh, really?"

"She's only 4'10"." Miyuu stated.

"Dang, you're short."

"Don't remind me."

"What about you, Kayde-chan?" Giselle chortled. "You're shorter than me. You're, what, 5'2"?"

"5'3"…and a half." I mumbled.

"I'm the one that's 5'2"." Miyuu piped up.

"Ah, that's right."

"Damn. Too high." I looked back to see Oishi-kun lob a ball way over the other guy's head. Headed towards Ryoma's direction.

Ah. Of course.

Ryoma hit it straight on and into the basket.

Freaking show off.

"Wow, he's so good…" Kuni's voice trailed off.

A light bulb lit over my head. I grinned.

Miyuu poked my side. "Whatever you're planning, I'm in."

I smiled evilly. "Good."

Back on the courts, Ryoma had that typical smirk plastered on his face. "It was easier than it looked."

"So it was you! Playin' me for a fool! There's no room for seventh graders, man!" Some random dude decided to grab Ryoma by the shirt.

Is this boy asking for a beating or what?

"Calm down, Kayde-chan," Giselle put her hand on my shoulder. "These people got it. They can handle it."

I huffed.

"Fighting on the court?"

Suddenly, all heads turned to what looked like the man of the hour.

Oh dang.

"B-buchou!"

Mr. Majime. Captain of the tennis team?

"You know the rules. Ten laps each."

"W…wait… He…"

"TWENTY LAPS!"

"Y-yes sir!"

"Dang, why so serious?" Miyuu scoffed.

"E-eto… M-Miyuu-chan…"

I looked back to Kuni, who was gripping onto Giselle's shirt.

"Eh? What is it, Kuni-chan?"

"That's my cousin…"

If I could've done a spit-take, I would've. "How is that thing related to you? You're, like, the most adorable thing in the world."

"Yeah, and he's just… menacing…" Giselle sweatdropped.

"I can see it."

My eyes darted towards Miyuu, who was nodding her head. "Brunette. Brown eyes. Glasses. That's enough similarity in looks for me. And from what I can tell from his personality right now, he seems passionate about what he does. Just like little Kawaii Kuni-chan." She grinned.

Kuni smiled, still slightly cowering behind Giselle. "R-really…?"

"Hah! Heck no! He's freaking terrifying!"

The rest of us did an anime fall.

"Everybody start warming up! When you're finished, 8th and 9th get in the courts! 7th, get in position to pick up balls!" Mr. Majime ordered.

"Right!"


"Kayde-chan!"

I looked over my shoulder to see Oishi-kun with my bag.

"Finally!" I grinned widely as I grabbed it from his hand.

"Not so fast!" He grabbed right as I turned around to run. "I'd like to introduce you to the tennis regulars."

I mentally sighed and turned around again to see eight, well, giants in front of me. A vein throbbed in my forehead.

It's okay, Kaydence. You're not small. You just live in a big world.

"You already know our captain, Tezuka-buchou."

"Hi." I waved.

He nodded.

Can this guy get any more lame?

"This is Kikumaru, Eiji."

The bright-red head jumped towards me, a cat-like grin spread wide across his face. His blue eyes shining. "Hoi, hoi! What's your name?"

He really is the opposite of Giselle. "Ahah… Darcel, Kaydence…"

"Kady-chan! Kady-chan!" He took both of my hands and shook them fervently. "Such a cute name for a cute girl!"

"…Thank you…?"

Oishi just gave me an apologetic smile. Eiji leaped back into line with the rest of the regulars.

"This is Momoshiro, Takeshi."

"Yo!" The guy who Ryoma pummeled yesterday. Black, spiked up hair, purple eyes, and one of the bigger giants. How is this guy an eighth grader?

"Kaidou, Kaoru."

He just glared at me.

Well, rudeness runs in the team. His lips were pursed out slightly and his eyes were full of anger and seriousness.

"Nice to meet you…?" I half-smiled.

He grunted.

"Oi, Mamushi, be nice to the lady!" Momo gripped his shirt.

"Don't call me that!"

"NO FIGHTING!"

"Y-yes, buchou."

Oishi rubbed his temples lightly before continuing. "Inui, Sadaharu."

He was the tallest out of all of them. His black, slightly spiked hair might've helped with that. He simply pushed his glasses up, causing them to glint in the sunlight. He held a black notebook.

"Oh, are you a writer?"

He grinned. "Something like that."

Oishi sweatdropped. "Eheheh… Uh… This is Kawamura, Takashi."

This guy was tall too, and he looked a little bit shy. His sideburns, though. A little too weird for me. He had Elvis kind of hair. A light brunette with light brown eyes. Nothing too intriguing.

"And lastly, this is Fuji, Syusuke."

Light brown collar-length hair, a small smile plastered along his lips. It unnerved me a little. It was fake. But why did he smile? And secondly, why were his eyes closed?

He waved lightly. "Nice to meet you, Kaydence-san."

Aw. His voice. It's adorable. "Just call me, Kayde-chan, please. No senpai, san, just chan." I smiled widely. "Very nice to meet you."

He took my hand and shook it.

An immediate surge of electricity shot through my arm.

"Ah!" I jumped back. Fuji's expression became concern. "Ah, sorry. I think I got shocked." I laughed sheepishly, while scratching the back of my neck. "It's nothing to worry about, really."

The smile appeared back on his face.

"Well!" Oishi clapped his hands together. "These are the regulars of Seigaku. And please know that if you ever need anything, we'll be glad to help a new student. Be sure to tell your other friends as well!"

I nodded. Miyuu, Giselle, and Kuni left because they were tired and hungry. And thus, I waited for my bag. Alone. With no one to talk to. My friends are complete jerks.

"It's nice meeting you all."


A/N: AND THUS, KAYDENCE IS FINALLY INTRODUCED TO FUJI.

Finally.

Yeesh.

Review. kbai. ^_^