I DON'T OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS

"Meow…"

"Ugh! Karupin, I've told you many times to never lick my eyelids!" groaned the 12-year old Echizen Ryoma. He rubbed his eyes and slowly and slowly sat up on bed. He looked tiredly out of his window.

"Ready or not, Seigaku. Here. I. Come." He said. Karupin was crawling up to him from behind and was about to play with his hair when –

"MEOW!" Karupin shrieked. Ryoma looked at the amusing sight of his cat trying to reach for his hair while being held far away in his hands.

"Mada mada dane, Karupin," Ryoma said as he grinned and nuzzled the cat's nose with his own. He laid the cat on his lap and started stroking it.

"I have a feeling…that today's going to be a great day. Don't you think so, Karupin?" Ryoma asked. Karupin purred and licked Ryoma's free hand. Ryoma chuckled

"Yea…I just knew you'd do that," Ryoma said as he continued stroking the soft fur of Karupin.

"Otou-san! Okaa-san!" cried the four-year old Ryuzaki Sakuno. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she tried to break through the grasp of her grandmothers, Ryuzaki Sumire.

"Obaa-chan! Let go of me! I need to go stop otou-san and okaa-san!" screamed Sakuno. She shoved, she kicked, she squiggled…she did everything she could to break away. But the tennis coach was far too strong for her.

"Otou-san! Okaa-san! Come back!" Sakuno just kept shrieking and screaming. Moments later, the firefighters and ambulance arrived…but they were too late.

"Otou-san! Okaa-san!" Sakuno screamed as she ran towards her parents, who were 'sleeping' on the floor.

"Otou-san! Okaa-san! Ne, why are you guys sleeping? You promised to play tennis with me! You promised to buy ice-cream for me! But why? Why did you go back to the tennis court which was on fire to save TENNIS RACKETS? WHY?" Sakuno was out of control. She kept crying and crying and violently laid her head onto her mother's stomach and gripped her father's hand even more tightly. From the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar firefighter talking with her grandmother.

"I'm sorry Sumire-san. We did all we could…but we were a tad late…" the firefighter said. He was in distress. Sakuno's father had been a good friend of his and had helped him many times but now, he had filed to save his life.

"It's alright, Kohaku…you did all you could. I'm just not sure how Sakuno's going to take this…" Sumire replied softly. Kohaku slowly raised his hands and put a beautiful and unharmed tennis racket into her hand.

"We found this in Rima's hands…" Kohaku said. Sumire looked at the racket amazingly. She immediately recognized as a work of her son and daughter-in-law.

"Saito and Rima made it for Sakuno…see? Her name's painted here," Sumire pointed to the handle of the tennis racket.

"Then that makes the tennis racket the murderer," Sakuno said.

"Huh?" Sumire asked. She hadn't noticed her granddaughter had walked beside her.

"It's because of the tennis racket that otou-san and okaa-san are dead! I HATE TENNIS! IT CAUSED THE DEATH OF MY PARENTS!" Sakuno screamed. Then she took off towards the woods.

"Otou-san! Okaa-san? Why?" she continued screaming.

Sakuno's eyes shout open. She was breathing heavily and sweating. She sighed loudly and looked at the picture of her mom and dad.

"Just another 'flash-back-dream', huh?" she said as she off of bed to get ready and meet up with her grandma.

Japan's so much more peaceful than the States… Ryoma thought as he walked towards the train station.

"Hey you! Watch where you're going!" shouted a guy. A girl with very long brown hair put into braids, whom the guy was shouting at turned around. She walked back towards the guy with a smile on her face.

"I already said sorry, so what more do you want?" she asked with a somewhat threatening tone in her voice. People around them were all staring. She leaned against the wall behind her, still smiling. The guy snickered.

"Well, considering you being such a beauty…I'll give you a discount: suit my needs…" he said in a seductive voice. To his surprise, the girl just laughed. Then she leaned her face even closer to the guy's face.

"Why don't you say that loud enough so that the whole train station can hear you? You do realize I'm only in junior high. I could report you as a child molester," she stated, still smiling. The guy grinned while many people around them let out gasps.

"You like to play with fire a lot, Sakuno. But even you'll get burned when my shirt is taken off…" he said. Sakuno wasn't surprised that he knew her name.

"Is that ALL you've got to make me go on bed with you?" Sakuno asked. Again, the guy snickered.

"Nope," he said as took out his tennis racket and pointed it towards Sakuno.

"Don't you just love hot guys who play tennis? I could give you free lessons if you want…first of all, this is called the Western grip," he said as he took Sakuno's hand to wrap it around the handle and wrap his own around hers. Before Sakuno could even answer, another voice budged in.

"Whether she likes or dislike hot guys who play tennis, you certainly are a piece of tennis junk," the uninvited visitor said. The guy turned around to face a boy around Sakuno's age. His eyes narrowed. The visitor continued on as if he hadn't noticed the daggers he was receiving from the guy who was trying to court Sakuno.

"The way you're holding the racket right now is called the Eastern grip. The other way you hold the racket is called the Western grip. Don't be ashamed. Many people get mixed up." The guy's eyes narrowed even more as he started to lose his temper. Boy, was he pissed.

"Why you –"he started as he was about the walk towards the visitor but got stopped by Sakuno's dangerous voice and amazingly, strong grasp on his wrist.

"Considering that you know who my grandmother is, you better stop right now or you won't be able to participate in the tryouts," Sakuno said. The guy just stared at Sakuno and then let go of her hand at which Sakuno also released his wrist. Then he took his stuff and started to head towards the train.

"I'm not done with you Sakuno! You're going to be begging on your knees for me to jump into your bed someday," he said. His two companions followed him silently. Sakuno sighed. Then she looked at the uninvited visitor.

"Follow me," she said. The visitor hesitated for a moment but when he saw the Sakuno didn't even look back once, he simply obeyed. Sakuno called a taxi and motioned for the visitor to get in.

"How can I trust that you're not kidnapping me?" he asked. Sakuno just smiled.

"I thought that you'd just like a free ride to the Kaginogizaka Tennis Garden so you wouldn't be late, Echizen-kun. Is there anything wrong with that? If there is, then just consider this as a way of thanking you," she said sweetly. Ryoma was shocked with how this girl he had just met knew so much about him and out of this curiosity, he got into the taxi.

"Kaginogizaka Tennis Garden please," Sakuno said. Then she relaxed herself and looked out the window.

"Echizen Ryoma, 13 years old who was raised in America for 8 years came back to Japan to try out for the Seigaku Junior boys' tennis team. Did I get any detail wrong?" Sakuno asked. Ryoma shook his head. After a while, Ryoma broke the silence.

"Who are you?" he asked. Sakuno laughed.

"I forgot to introduce myself! How impolite of me…Ryuzaki Sakuno, granddaughter of Ryuzaki Sumire, who might just happen to be your future tennis coach," Sakuno answered. Again, Ryoma stared at her. After a while, the taxi stopped.

"We're here, Ryuzaki-san," said the taxi driver. Ryuzaki took out some money and handed it towards him.

"Arigatou, Kaito-san. Keep the change," she said as she got out of the taxi and Ryoma followed. They immediately got greeted by a harsh voice.

"Where have you been, Sakuno?" said the voice. It belonged to Ryuzaki Sumire.

"Eh? I see that you've been come along, Echizen…though I didn't expect you to come with my granddaughter. Anyway, Sakuno, let's go and watch some tennis!" Sumire said as she put an arm around Sakuno's shoulders. Sakuno sighed.

"Obaa-chan, you do know that I'm not going to watch them play right? I'm so happy that I brought a book to read," she said. Ryuzaki Sumire's smiling face immediately cracked.

"Then why did you come to watch?" Ryoma asked. Once again, Sakuno laughed.

"Why else? Because my grandmother asked me too. If she hadn't, I wouldn't even have bothered to come here," Sakuno answered, again with a smile on her face.

"Why wouldn't you? You're the granddaughter of a tennis coach – "Ryoma started but was cut off by Sakuno.

"I don't really think that it's any of your concern but anyway, I'll tell you why: I hate tennis. Any more questions? No? I'm going now…" she said, leaving Ryoma and Sumire to stare after her.

"Sakuno…" Sumire said with a tint of sadness in her voice. Then she exhaled loudly and turned to face Ryoma.

"You better get going, or else you'll be late," she said as she jogged after Sakuno. Ryoma stared after them and then he adjusted his cap.

"This is how I start off: an unexpected meeting with Ryuzakis" he muttered as he walked towards the court.

Karupin: Ryoma's cat

Kohaku: A good friend of Sakuno's parents.

Ryuzaki Sumire: Grandmother of Sakuno and tennis couch of the Seigaku Boys Tennis Team. She tries to do every thing she can to make Sakuno stop hating tennis. She soon realizes that only Ryoma can help her. She's very skilled in tennis even though she's quite old. Later on, she gives Sakuno the tennis racket that Sakuno's parent's made for her.