AN: This story is set in high school. I saw that there weren't many Zaizen Hikaru fics so i decided to write one. Enjoy^^

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He was never the perfect child, always being compared to his older brother, it was suffocating to be at home. His grades were near perfect but it was never good enough for them.

"That's a fantastic score Hikaru, but back when your brother was your age, he would get a 95 or above for his examinations! Why don't you get your brother to teach you?" his mother would say.

He wasn't like his older brother, popular, athletic and smart. Sure he was smart but he wasn't the golden child like his brother was. His brother would go and play soccer with his dad but Hikaru would rather stay home and compose or listen to music. Music was his passion though his parents thought it would just be a fade.

"Music would never get you anywhere my boy! Why don't you try a hand at sports or just continue studying?" his dad would yell when he said he wanted to be a musician.

He did however, tried a hand on tennis and liked it. The thrill of scoring a point and the impact of the tennis ball when it hits the racket exhilarated him. His dad was pleased and signed him up for tennis lessons. On some days though, he would skip the lessons and go to the music store. The owner there was nice enough to let him try the instruments. He self-taught himself how to play the piano and guitar and later on, he could even manage to read the musical notes.

His dad wanted him to be like his big brother. His big brother, who was ten years older, had a stable job as a businessman, who still played soccer with his dad and won various tournaments in his free time, who had even started the perfect family. People would regularly approached him and praise him for having such a perfect older brother.

He didn't want to be in his brother's shadow all the time. He didn't want to be the perfect child like his brother was. In middle school, he got piercings, three in his left ear and two in his right. He hung out with the bad crowd but still kept his grades at the top. His parents, needless to say, weren't too pleased with his attitude.

"Why? Why did he turn out like that? I can't think of a reason why he is so rebellious! I found a packet of cigarettes under his bed this morning! His grades may be okay but why couldn't he be more like his brother? Did we do something wrong dear?" he had overheard his mother cried out that night to his dad. It hurt, his heart had hurt.

By the time he was about to enter high school, his parents had stopped caring. His dad wouldn't look at him in the eyes any longer and only talked to him when needed. His mother would often stutter when she tried to ask him questions about his daily life. She tried to pretend like she cared but there is a difference between pretending to care and actually caring. They didn't bother to reach out their hands to him anymore.

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He stared at the high school he had chosen. He didn't know much about Shitenhouji High. He had chosen it purely because it was in the neighborhood, but when the principal made his speech, he instantly knew he had made a wrong choice. It was a comedy school where its motto is 'the person who laughs first wins'.

Nevertheless, his first few months in Shitenhouji High were spend in peace. For once his teachers didn't lecture him about his piercings since there was no rule where 'dyed hair and piercings are not allowed'. His classmates never bothered to talk to him because of his looks and he never bothered to talk to them. Every day, he would spend lunch break on the roof. He was mildly surprise to find a sky garden located there at first but the smell the plants gave out, soothes him. He ate at the back of the roof where no one could find him. Occasionally some of the older juvenile delinquent students would ask him to join their group but he didn't spare a second glance towards those kinds of people anymore. He did overhear some of the rumors about him. Bad rumors apparently. He didn't care and turned a deaf ear towards the rumors.

Just like that, the third semester was starting and his time as a freshman was almost ending. Just as he thought that he could have finished high school in peace, those weird people from the tennis club had approached him using all kinds of jokes. It turned out that they were trying to get him to join the tennis club. He didn't have a reason to say no and they must have been in need of people to join the tennis club if they were approaching him of all people.

"Umm you could have just asked me to watch you play tennis instead of this roundabout way."

"Ohhh that's true!"

After that incident, he concluded that they were all idiots.

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He found out that all of them were in their second year and unexpectedly, they were all regulars of the tennis club. Shiraishi Kuranosuke, was the buchou of the tennis club and seemed to be the only sane person in the club. Oshitari Kenya, the bleached haired guy was too cheerful for his taste and the two people who disgusted him most with their lovey-dovey acts were Konjiki Koharu and Hitouji Yuuji. Then there was another person who seemed to have faded into the background, Koishikawa Kenjirou.

He had to wait for the others to get changed into their tennis jerseys while he had to wait out under the hot sun. He did not like the idea of being soaked in sweat especially in his school uniform. After changing, they rallied against one another to show him how cool tennis is. He had to admit, all of them were pretty good.

"Here, do you want to try rallying us Zaizen?" Shiraishi had offered him his racket although it was a bit too big for him.

"Hikaru, call me Hikaru and okay."

"Here, I'll teach you how to hold the racket properly~" said Koharu.

"Um I already know how to senpai."

"Have you played tennis before?" said Shiraishi.

"Once or twice before…probably."

It had been a long time since he played a tennis match and felt his adrenaline rush through his body. He had missed the thrill of a tennis match and the exhilarating feeling with it. Before long, he noticed the sun setting down and opted to stop the match. Shiraishi must have noticed his expression as he called the match to a stop.

"You're a really good player for a newbie. Has it really been only once or twice since you played, because you have the potential to become a regular. Won't you join our team?"

It was the first time that someone had reached out his hand towards him.