Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis
A/N: Hi there. I haz finished writing another chappie again =u= Proofread by my friend Kyle/Rolo. Have fun reading and thanks for the favorites/follows/reviews ouo
Chapter 6: School and Tennis Club
In Rikkaidai:
Ryoma stood in front of the principal's office. How did this happen? Well, the teacher sent her there. Apparently, the principal wanted to discuss something with her. She sighed. Had she gotten in trouble already?
She knocked twice and heard an "Enter" from inside the room. She entered the room and saw Nishigawa-kouchou sitting on his respective chair behind his desk.
"Ano... What do you want to discuss about?" Ryoma started.
"Ah. Echizen-san. You see, I actually wanted to talk about two things with you," He saw Ryoma staring at him and continued, "It would be about the test results and tennis club."
Ryoma raised a brow at this, "..Is there a problem about my test results?"
The principal grinned brightly at this, "Echizen-san, what do you say about taking classes with the other 3rd years?"
Inwardly, Ryoma was shocked but she didn't show it on her face, "I will manage..I guess, but why?"
"You got almost perfect scores in the exam and it would be a shame if you just stayed with the 1st years as you probably mastered their lessons already, the same for the 2nd years," Nishigawa-kouchou reasoned.
"...Thank you for this opportunity," Ryoma bowed.
Nishigawa-kouchou only smiled, "Moving on, about the tennis club..." A pause, "I understand that you and your father, Echizen Nanjirou, are tennis players and at pro level at that. I would like to place you in the boys' tennis club instead of the girls' tennis club. The girls don't really take it seriously as I observed and it is quite unorganized, which is I'm afraid to say. Would it be alright with you?"
Ryoma could only nod at the opportunity and Nishigawa-kouchou beamed at her response, "Great! I'll write a letter about your special application and if I remember correctly, the Tennis Association stated that it is no problem for a girl to participate in boys' tournament, which you did in America."
'The kouchou did some research..or he's a tennis fan too,' Ryoma mused in her head as she took the letter from the kouchou's hand.
"Is that all?" Ryoma politely asked.
Nishigawa-kouchou only nodded, "Aa, you may go now."
"Excuse me," Ryoma bowed and exited the room. Nishigawa-kouchou only turned his chair and stared outside the window, "Looks like this is going to be an interesting year, the Princess of Tennis joining our school's boys' tennis club... I wonder what their reactions would be?" He mused.
Ryoma sighed the moment she stepped on the tennis courts. After talking with the principal, she dropped by the registration office to get her uniform and school materials. After that, she just went back to the tennis courts. It would've been bad if Marui noticed that she wasn't there.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
The lone girl only stared at Kirihara who had shouted that. What was he even shouting for? Only if she knew.
She ignored the chaos and chose to sit down on the bench and wait for Marui. It looks like he didn't even notice her gone earlier. Ryoma looked at the nervous looking redhead as if he had done something. Raising a brow, she only wondered what had they talked about or was it even about her now.
"Marui-senpai! How could you not tell us?!" Ryoma was very intrigued now. She could guess what was it about based on the chaos happening.
"Marui, how unexpected. I wish you luck in the future," Yeap, she could guess and get it correct.
"Bunta." Ryoma called out to the redhead. Marui visibly relaxed as he scurried over to where Ryoma was.
"What happened?" Now Marui stood still as he tried to get the right words out of his mouth.
"Erm...Uh... Niou..dem-asked..me.." Marui poked around for the right words as Ryoma rose a brow, 'Demanded? I'm betting he got blackmailed'.
"Well?" Ryoma pressed on.
"IfyouwereonlymygirlfriendsoItoldhimthatyou'remyfiancéegomenasai!" Marui said the sentence too fast that it seemed like one word instead of 15 or 16 words. Amazingly, Ryoma could still understand it.
"It's ok. Besides, isn't it your idea to keep it a secret and not mine? I don't really mind it," Ryoma stared blankly at the redhead.
"I do mind. You know... Fangirls... I don't want them to be jealous.. and do things that shouldn't be done." Marui said seriously as he stared into Ryoma's golden eyes.
"I can take care of myself and you know that."
"But it wouldn't hurt to be cautious."
"You're cautiousness is too much."
"But-"
Marui was interrupted by his growling stomach. The two only blinked twice before laughing out loud (giggle in Ryoma's case).
"Well, as much as you would love to continue this one-sided argument, your stomach begs to differ. Also, if you really want me to be safe, then why don't you ask your teammates to not tell? That should calm you down," Ryoma finally said after giggling.
"...Fine. But don't tell anyone else."
"Sure. I'm also starving anyways, let's go to that cake shop you mentioned earlier."
"Eh? Don't you have to get your test results?"
"Already got them."
"Eh?! When?!"
"When you guys were talking."
"Why didn't you say so?!"
"Because it would be rude to interrupt and I knew it was going to be a long talk."
"...Fine. Wait here for a minute or so. I'll tell them."
"Ok."
With that, Marui went back to the other regulars.
"Etto, can you guys please keep quiet about this? I don't want jealous fangirls to be attacking her every minute," Marui pleaded with the others as he bowed to show that he serious about this request.
The other regulars only stared blankly at him as they contemplated about this. Yes, the fangirls would really cause trouble and not even the teachers can prevent bullying at this matter. Also, it would hurt them to see Marui sad as Ryoma would get hurt. That and Ryoma is a good tennis player. The talent would be wasted if those fangirls got their way.
"Sure, I'll be quiet. What about the others?" The others also nodded as they agreed.
"Really? Thanks, minna! I owe you guys a big favor," Marui grinned then he sneaked in a glare towards Niou who just smirked in reply, "Well, I'll be going now. Jaa!" The regulars watched Marui walk towards Ryoma with a big grin and began to chat about cakes and other sweets.
The others were jealous of Marui to have a pretty and talented fiancée...
"Senpai is so lucky..." Kirihara sulked as he 'cried'.
"Don't worry, you'll find your own soon."
The wind just blew by and most of them sulked.
Yukimura just chuckled as he looked at the others, "Saa, this year is going to be interesting.."
Ryoma felt a chill over her spine as she listened to Marui's rambling about cakes and other sweets. Was it just chilly or someone was talking about her? Her mind automatically concluded it's caused by Yukimura.
"And you know, they have this limited menu full of Japanese sweets! Strawberry Daifuku is also there, I'm sure you'll love it!" Marui just grinned as he watched his companion's facade fade away.
"Really?! Let's hurry!" Ryoma cheered and grabbed Marui to run towards the shop she can see from afar.
Marui laughed as he saw that Ryoma hasn't really changed a bit over the years.
"Nani? Why are you laughing? Is it about me?" Ryoma pouted as she heard Marui laugh.
"Ahaha.. It's just that.. You never seem to change.."
"Mou!"
Marui pried her hand off his arm and stuck his tongue out, "Race you there!" He increased his speed and was in front of her.
"Oh no you don't!"
In the Echizen Household:
Dinner was... normal, to say at least. Bunta did bring his younger siblings for dinner over at the Echizens' and Rinko naturally greeted them, "Ara, konbanwa! These two must be the twins I've heard so much. Shizuka-chan was right! They're both cute~"
"Konbanwa! Echizen-san, thank you for the invitation!" The twins chorused as they blushed slightly from being called 'cute'.
"It's no big deal! And call me Rinko, no need for formalities~"
"Hai, Rinko-san!"
Bunta just smiled at the scene. It seemed like deja vu as the same thing happened when he first met Rinko. Ryoma noticed his smile and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"Ah, it's just that when I first met Rinko-san, the same thing happened."
"I'm guessing Okaa-san never really changed then."
"Un."
Bunta and Ryoma sat beside their respective families (Bunta, Ryohei, and Kohei on one side and the Echizens on the other side). Bunta and Ryoma frequently talked with each other as they ate. They were facing each other on their seats. Ryohei and Kohei mostly talked with Nanjirou and Rinko as they got to know each other.
It was normal until Ryohei and Kohei asked Ryoma.
"Ryoma-san, can you we call you Ryoma-nee?"
"I don't mind," Ryoma smiled gently at the twins.
"Yay~ Arigato, Ryoma-nee," Kohei cheered while Ryohei developed a mischievous glint in his eyes, which Bunta did not like. Not at all.
"Nee, can I ask for a niece in the future?" Ryohei smiled 'innocently' while Bunta and Nanjirou almost choked. Ryoma, Rinko, and Kohei were just amused.
"Sure," Ryoma shrugged so nonchalantly that Nanjirou almost spat fire and Bunta's face turned a deeper shade of red than before. Rinko and Kohei tried to stifle their chuckles. Keyword: tried.
"Ryohei! Don't ask things like that!" Bunta managed to scold Ryohei who 'innocently' asked, "Ask things like what?"
"You..."
Dinner was 'normal' indeed.
"Ha... For some reason, I'm tired like hell..." Bunta sighed as he stood in front of the Echizen household. Ryoma only smiled while Ryohei and Kohei laughed, earning a 'Don't laugh!' from their brother.
"You'll be more tired at Monday," Ryoma smiled knowingly as Bunta asked why. The girl just shrugged as she smiled.
"Come on, tell me..." Bunta whined and gave her his best puppy eyes. This only made the cat-like girl laugh.
"Hi-mi-tsu~" was the only reply he got.
"Mou...Well, it's late already. We better go home now. Jaa ne. Oyasumi, Ryo." Bunta grinned and patted the shorter girl on the head. Ryoma only pouted as the pat reminded her of her very unfortunate height.
"Oyasumi, Bunta." Ryoma smiled and pecked her fiancé on his cheek. Again. For the second time in the day.
Ryoma went inside too quickly to see Bunta's tomato red face and to hear the cheers of the twins.
Ryoma's Saturday and Sunday were mostly spent with Marui as he toured her around town.
Finally, Monday came.
"Ryoma, you look so cute in that school uniform!~" Rinko squealed as she took pictures of Ryoma in different angles.
"Okaa-san, this is going to be my weekday attire so you don't have to take so many pictures right now," Ryoma inwardly sighed. Her eyes hurt from the flashes and she's going to be late for school if this keeps up.
"Oi oi, Rinko. Give the brat a break. She's going to be late for school if you keep on doing that," Nanjirou said as he read his 'newspaper'. Ryoma suspiciously looked at him as he giggled over an 'article'.
"Okaa-san, Otou-san's reading that magazine again," Ryoma whispered to her mother and stood back five feet away.
Ryoma watched a squealing fangirl turn into a fire-breathing dragon within seconds.
"NANJIROU! HOW MANY TIMES DID I TELL YOU NOT TO READ THOSE MAGAZINES?!"
The teen just sighed as she grabbed her bag along with her bento, wore her shoes, and said "I'm going now," while going out the front door.
It's only Morning and if more things will happen, I don't know if I can live after today...
Ryoma continued her silent walk as she approached the school. She sensed something running behind her and is going to crash onto her if she didn't step aside, so she did. She watched as the 'something' groan painfully and whine at her, "Ryo! Why did you step aside?!"
The girl only sighed as she offered a hand to Marui Bunta, which he accepted.
"If you weren't going to purposely crash into me, I wouldn't step aside."
"Have you ever heard of a surprise hug?"
"Yes but I don't want to get one."
Marui only shook his head and grumbled something under his breath.
"Do you know what class are you in?"
"No. I'm going to drop by the principal office for my schedule.. They didn't tell me last week," Ryoma shrugged.
"Heeeh~"
"If you don't want to be late for morning practice, I suggest you go run now," Ryoma stared with her poker face as Marui panicked and grabbed her arm.
"And I want you to also hurry up so you could get that schedule and watch us practice!~"
Ryoma just ran with him until they reached the school and parted ways.
In Rikkaidai:
"Ano, I'm here to get my class schedule," Ryoma said to the secretary.
"Name?"
"Echizen Ryoma."
"Ah, that accelerated student. Here, you're in 3-B. Let Aoi-sensei see this and she'll understand. I hope you'll have a nice year here in Rikkaidai."
"Arigato guzaimasu," Ryoma got her schedule and bowed politely before exiting the room.
'3-B... Isn't that Bunta's class? Hm~ Interesting'
Ryoma smirked and it was gone the second it appeared. She cursed at herself. She didn't want to show her emotions as much as possible.. after that incident happened. At least, when the redhead wasn't around her. She felt safe with him.
The girl continued her walked until she reached the tennis courts. She could see Marui doing his usual net play and actually have fun. The redhead told her that the club's motto was to always win. That isn't good in Ryoma's perspective as the players would feel more pressure and not have fun, which is the sport's objective.
"Ah, Ryo! You came~" Marui cheered as he glomped the stoic girl. The other members only looked in confusion while the fangirls were raging. Who was that girl?
"Bunta, they're staring," Ryoma whispered and Marui automatically detached himself from the girl. What's the point of keeping their engagement a secret if he's going to show it? Baka Bunta.
"Gomen gomen. So you got your schedule already?" Marui grinned sheepishly as he felt a dark aura from somewhere... more like some people. He sighed. Fangirls always annoyed him.
"Un. You should go back to practice now. Your fangirls are glaring at me while your fukubuchou is glaring at you," At that, Marui said, "Okaytakecareandstayhere" while running back to the courts as fast as possible.
"Tarundoru! Marui, 20 laps!" She heard a "Hai!" and sat down on the nearest bench. She read a book from her bag as it would be better to do something than nothing. She could hear some fangirls coming near her and inwardly sighed. She needed some aspirin. Badly.
"What?" She looked up from the book as she stared at the murderous fangirls in front of her. Oh, only if they knew. Marui would probably murder them if they lay a hand on her.
"You! How dare you show up and steal Bunta-sama from us?!" One girl screeched and Ryoma inwardly winced. Seriously? That's their problem? And what's with the Bunta-sama? The cat-eyed girl was betting everything that they didn't even ask permission to call him that and that was downright rude. Ryoma was already annoyed. She stared blankly (she still kept her poker face) at the brunette in front of her.
"Steal? I don't know what you mean."
"Ha? Don't mess with us! We all saw that Bunta-sama hugged you earlier! Did you bribe him or something? That's very lowly of you!"
Ryoma was very thankful for her patience as this was really annoying her, "Bribe him? Lowly of me? Maybe you should double check your words because that basically shouts 'Hypocrite' to yourselves."
"Wha- How dare you!" One girl raised her hand to slap Ryoma but a tennis ball suddenly hit her hand.
"Ouch! Who the hell hit that ba-"
"Get away from her."
The fangirls only showed horror on their faces as they saw their 'Bunta-sama' pointing a racket towards them. His eyes screamed bloody murder. Well, he did see red the moment they insulted her.
"Bu-but, Bunta-sama she can't just steal you away from us-" One of the girls tried to explain. Wrong thing to say as Marui growled, "Leave. I don't want to see you around her or here anymore."
"But-"
"I said leave."
"Excuse me, but can you please leave right now? You're disturbing practice," Yukimura forced the 'polite' words out of his mouth as he was angry too. Hey, even if they only met few days ago, he thought of Ryoma as a little kid at heart (looking at her arguments with Marui).
"Wha- ...Hai. Go-gomenasai." One of the girls managed to say as she shot one last glare to Ryoma and scurried out of the courts with the other fangirls.
Marui sighed as he walked over to Ryoma.
"Gomen.."
Ryoma only shook her head, "It's not even your fault."
"It is my fault if you look closely."
"It's their parents' problem for not raising them properly."
"Ryo.."
"Go back to practice now."
"Hai..."
Marui raised a brow at Ryoma's question, "Eh? You need to go to my class? Why?"
Ryoma hid a smirk, "I need to talk to Aoi-sensei."
The redhead was even more confused, "For what?"
"The secretary told me so."
"Ha..."
They were currently walking towards 3-B as Ryoma tagged along with Marui when practice ended.
"By the way, who were those fangirls earlier?"
Marui grimaced a little, "Ah.. The brunette would be Ashiwa Rui. I heard that she's the club president or something. From what I could see and hear, she's a spoiled kid. Her mom's the president of whatever company. The other girls are just her followers."
Ryoma just stored this information for later use. It's better to have information in school after all.
"We're here," Marui announced as they stopped in front of a classroom.
He opened the door and saw that most people were there.
"Well.. Ah, I think that's Aoi-sensei over there," Marui pointed at a raven haired girl that had her hair in a high ponytail and wore glasses.
"Talk to her now. Homeroom will begin soon. You might be late for your own homeroom," Marui told her, "Jaa" and with that, he went inside the classroom.
Ryoma was thankful because she was really having a hard time to fight back a smirk. She approached Aoi-sensei and called, "Aoi-sensei?"
The teacher blinked in surprise, "Yes? How can I help you?"
"Etto, I was told to show this to you," Ryoma pulled out her class schedule and gave it to the confused teacher.
"Ah, you're Echizen Ryoma? I hope you'll have a nice year here in Rikkaidai. As for the class, they might be a bunch of brats but still they can be kind so don't mind if they're noisy for most of the time."
Ryoma gave a small smile, too small that the teacher missed it, "Hai. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."
"I'll introduce you to the class. Go in when I say so, okay?"
Ryoma only nodded and the teacher smiled then went inside the classroom.
"Class! Settle down!" The whole class stopped their little chats as they heard Aoi-sensei shout. Aoi-sensei looked around the class, and nodded approvingly to herself.
"We're going to have a new student," Murmurs broke out, "She's from America so please make her feel welcomed here, you may come in now."
Marui was bored until the "She's from America" part. His mind froze at that and so did his form. Niou noticed this and was now waiting for something interesting to happen.
'Don't tell me, Ryo is going to this class?'
'Don't be stupid, she's 12 for Kami-sama's sake.'
'But with her intelligence, it's as if she's older than me!'
'Ah...'
Marui heard his Logical self and Realistic self argue.
The argument could've continued until the door opened, and a very familiar girl stepped in and walked until she was beside the teacher.
"Minna, meet Echizen Ryoma."
The cat-eyed girl bowed a little and said, "Echizen Ryoma. Yoroshiku."
Marui didn't know what to do, strangle his boy classmates for giving his Ryoma the wolf's eye or shout "Why didn't you tell me?!" at her. Niou smirked behind his hand, 'This day is going to be interesting after all.'
Aoi-sensei only nodded at the young girl's introduction, "Do you mind answering a few questions?" Ryoma shook her head.
"So, who wants to ask her questions?"
Many hands rose up at that.
"Kenta-kun"
"Hai! Is it your first time here in Japan?"
"Yes."
"Shiomi-chan."
"Etto, Echizen-san, how old are you?" The timid girl asked. Most of the class were now interested.
"Twelve years old."
"WHAT?!"
Aoi-sensei chuckled at their flabbergasted expressions.
"You see, Echizen-san here is an accelerated student. She scored high scores on the placement test and skipped two grades. She might be younger but that doesn't mean she's not as smart as you brats!" The class protested at the "brats" part.
"No more questions? Oh, Kai-kun."
"Etto, Do you have a boyfriend?" At that question, 3 people had varied reactions. Marui was angry/devilish, angry at people who even wanted to be Ryoma's boyfriend. Devilish for... well, he wants to see their reactions if Ryoma tells them that she is in a relationship. Niou was getting his video cam ready, he had a feeling that something interesting will happen. Lastly, Ryoma blinked in surprise that someone actually had the guts to ask that.
"Hai. I have one."
"Eh?!" Most of the class was shocked. Heck, most of them didn't even have a boyfriend/girlfriend and a new transfer student that's two years younger than them tells them that they have one is just.. shocking.
"Is he in America or here in Japan?"
Ryoma decided to have some fun, she didn't care about those fangirls as they probably told their friends already and is spreading like a wildfire, "He's here in Japan. Actually, he's in this class."
Aoi-sensei and most of the class blinked at that.
"Eh? Who is he?"
Ryoma snuck in a discreet glance towards the redhead who sat in the back of the class. The redhead gave her a smirk and nodded a little.
"Marui Bunta."
"Ryo." Marui waved his hand and grinned at her as proof that he is her boyfriend.
Silence for 3...2...1-
"NANI?!"
The whole class went into frenzy.
"Wha- Marui-kun had a girlfriend?!"
"Oh my god, this is big news!"
"Uso! We can never beat his boyfriend.."
Various reactions were made and Niou had a fun time recording them. Marui saw the trickster and sent him a 'I-also-want-a-copy' glance and he got a nod in reply.
"Settle down now! Echizen-san you may take the seat beside Marui-kun."
Ryoma nodded and walked until she reached the seat beside Marui. The redhead grinned and waved at her, which she just smiled at. Most of the guys blushed when they saw her smile, 'She's so cute...' then they turned gloomy, 'but her boyfriend is Marui Bunta so nevermind..'
"Moving on, the annual school competition will be open for registry. This time, it's music. Also, the special rule states that you will need a partner to join in. Since this is your last year here, I highly encourage you to join in the competition. The deadline is on Friday next week and the competition itself is on Friday next next week. Don't worry, this is mostly for fun anyways~" Most of the class sweatdropped at the last part.
"Well, that's that for homeroom. Go to your next class now." And with that, Aoi-sensei went out of the room.
Students either poured out of the room or stayed to chat for a while with their friends.
"Ne, Ryo. You didn't tell me that you're accelerated earlier!" Marui was crying crocodile tears to Ryoma as he whined.
"You didn't ask."
"But~... Can I see your schedule?"
"Sure."
"Hm~ Let's see~ WHA- It's a copy of my schedule..."
"So we're going to be together for most of the classes?"
"Yeap~ Join the tennis club too~"
"Hai hai.."
Niou shook his head in amusement before heading to the music room. Of course, his video cam was perfectly safe inside his bag. Puri~
After a day full of shocked people and angry fangirls, Ryoma sighed for the first time in the day. Marui saw this and grinned apologetically.
"Ha... Bunta, who do I submit the club form for the tennis club?"
Marui blinked at that. After a few seconds, his brain finally responded, "Ah. It's either Yanagi, Sanada, or 'Mura"
"Hmm. Well, it's time for afternoon practice now right? Let's go to the courts."
"Sure~" Marui had an idea on what Ryoma was going to do and he would have to ask Niou for a copy of his video.
They arrived at the courts and Marui headed towards the clubroom to change his clothes. Ryoma just looked at Yukimura who was watching the match between Sanada and Kirihara.
"Yukimura-san." Ryoma greeted.
"Ah, Echizen-san. How can I help you?" Yukimura greeted back with a smile.
"Etto, I'm here to submit this club form. Also, Nishigawa-kouchou asked me to give this letter to you." Ryoma handed him her club form and the letter from the principal.
Yukimura raised a brow when he heard that the principal sent a letter to him. He got the letter and opened it to read. After a while, he only smiled in amusement. Looks like this year is going to be interesting after all~
"Saa, the principal wrote about very interesting things about you Echizen-san," Yukimura told her after reading. Ryoma could only think of 'How did the principal write about me in the letter?' while staring blankly at Yukimura.
Yukimura chuckled and said, "Welcome to the tennis club, Echizen-san."
"Hahahahaha.. Seriously, you should've seen their reactions when 'Mura told them that you're a new member! Too bad 'Mura sent you for a practice match against Bakaya.. Then again, their reactions when they saw Bakaya lose against you is also funny... Hahahahaha," Marui laughed out loud as he walked Ryoma home.
"You're laughing too much... Though I have to agree that it was quite hilarious."
Marui grinned until he remembered something, "Oh yea, Ryo. Wanna enter the music competition? With me, of course."
"Sure, why not. I'm playing the violin. You?"
"Do you even have to ask? Piano~ Rinko-san and Okaa-san said that we were quite the musical pair before. Wanna practice during the weekend? Then we can register around Monday."
Ryoma smiled and looked upwards to see the orange sky, "Musical pair, huh?"
A/N: School might be fun but then it's still hell for most of the time T-T. Also, please check the poll I posted on my profile :3. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chappie. Jaa o/