Seiyou Academy. Class 1-A.

"Okay everyone, today we have a new student," the homeroom teacher said. "Please come in, Echizen-kun."

Stepped in the class a short freshman dressed in the Seiyou Academy boy uniform. He had black hair with emerald hints, brown, almost golden, orbs with delicate features. Ryoma walked in front of the class.

"This is Echizen Ryoma, who just came from America. Echizen, introduce yourself to the class."

"Echizen Ryoma. Yoroshiku (1)," Ryoma said.

The teacher sweat dropped.

'Well, isn't he antisocial,' he thought.

"Echizen, why don't you tell more about yo-…"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! So cuuuuuuuuuuuuute!" The girls of the class sqealed, surprising the boys in class. Even the teacher and Ryoma got caught by surprise.

"Ne, ne! Do you have a girlfriend?" a girl asked.

"Ah?"

"Can I be your girlfriend?" another one added.

"What?" Ryoma wondered.

"You guys, don't scare him like that!" a boy said.

"Yeah, he just arrives and you already hit on him," another boy said.

"Though I'm jealous of the attention you already got from the girls, Echizen-kun, I don't want to be in your place!" another one added. "Hahahahahahaha!" He laughed and his friends with him. Ryoma didn't say anything.

'That's right. I'm wearing a boy uniform, so they mistook me for a boy!' she reasoned, sighing.

"Okay, silence now!" the teacher commended. "Echizen-kun, take a seat so we can start."

Lunch break, Ryoma walked around and found the tennis club. Seiyou Academy tennis facilities weren't bad. Spacious ground, many courts, nice equipments.

'Not bad,' Ryoma thought. 'Not bad at all…'

Suddenly, someone bumped into her.

Crash!

"Humph! Outch! Itai (2)!" She felt on her behind. It was the second time of the day that she felt down - in the morning because of her brother rudeness, and now this. She wasn't very happy about it.

"Hey! Look where you're walking!" she yelled to whoever it was.

Instead of receiving an answer, a tall brunette with cerulean eyes looked down at her angrily. Ryoma stood up and stared right into his eyes.

Fuji Syuusuke, the top student of Seiyou Academy, was respected and feared by all students and teachers. No one have the right to say something against him. Yet, this boy dared to stand against him AND looked into his opened eyes. And he wasn't even flinching. The two of them started a glaring battle of domination. No one back down to no one.

"Hey you!" a girl snapped at RYoma. "Who are you, to be so impolite to Fuji-sama!"

"You're a first year right? Be more respectful to your senpai and say sorry for bumping into him!" another girl yelled at her.

"Huh? What? HE was the one who bumped into me! He should be the one apologizing!" Ryoma replied back.

"It was you who wasn't paying attention! Say you're sorry now!" another one yelled.

"Hmph! There is no way I'm going to say sorry for a mistake I didn't make!"

With that, Ryoma walked away.

"Are you alright, Fuji-sama?" a third one said, her voice dripping honey.

Fuji Syuusuke didn't answer. He kept silence for a moment.

"Fujiko, that's not usual for you to be like that to someone," his best friend, Kikumaru Eiji, said. "You were the one who bumped into him."

Fuji kept silence as he looked at the boy who just left.

'There's something about him…' Fuji was perplexed. When he bumped into that boy, he felt a… lump on the boy's chest. 'Bah! Not important!' And he walked away.

End of the day.

Ryoma walked again in the direction of the tennis court. Second and third year were practicing while first year students were picking balls.

'Now, where to register?' She looked around to find the teacher in charge of the tennis club.

From afar, a girl was pointing at Ryoma. She was the same one who snapped at her during lunch time.

"That's him, the boy who bumped into Fuji-sama and walked away without saying sorry," the girl, Mayuri, told Arai, a member of the boys' tennis club.

"What? He bumped into Fuji-sama and didn't say sorry?" Arai asked incredulously.

"How dare he?" Arai's companion, Genjou, was shocked.

"He's only a first year, right?"

"Whatever, just make him pay for that!" Mayuri said.

"Alright, got it!" Arai said as he grabbed a ball. He threw it and aimed at Ryoma's head.

"Ah! Hey! Look out!" someone yelled to Ryoma.

Alerted, Ryoma picked a random racket on the ground and caught the ball launched to her in a swift twist of her wrist.

Everyone one the court were impressed. They all stopped what they were doing to watch. Arai was among the best members of the tennis club and his serves were feared by almost all the members of the club. If there was an additional position for a regular in Seiyou tennis club, Arai would probably fill it. Yet, this unknown first year boy just simply caught his Bullet Serve like he was scooping soup with a spoon.

A boy with square glasses, Inui Sadaharu, who was observing while taking notes in his notebook, immediately turned his attention to Ryoma.

'That first year…'

"You saw it too, right Renji?" Inui asked his companion.

"Yes," Yanagi Renji nodded. "That freshman is skilled, very skilled."

"He already mastered the revolution spin ball. And he's only a first year," Inui said as he noted something down in his notebook.

"Huh? Who's ball is this?" Ryoma asked as she rolled the ball on the racket. She spotted Arai. "Oi! It was from you right? Are you from the tennis club? You must be really bad in tennis, for aiming a ball like that!"

"What? How dare you? You should be more respectful to your senpai (3)!" Arai said while stomping into Ryoma's direction, grabbing her by her collar.

"It's not because you were born a year earlier that you can act like that to a kouhai (4)," Ryoma replied. "Beside, you don't seem to be so good. You can't even correctly aim a ball inside the court. Mada mada dane!"

"Yaro (5)… Let see who's really good in tennis here. It's a challenge. I'm going to crush you right now!"

"Arai, stop. He's only a first year!" a guy named Yamimoto told him.

"Yeah… That's right… I'll let it go…" Arai slyly said. "If you play against me, you can get seriously hurt. You could scratch yourself, pretty boy." They laughed at her.

Ryoma eyed him menacingly.

'He shouldn't have call me that!'

"Alright. Let's do it!" Ryoma replied.

She wasn't stupid. She knew very well that the ball he hit was aiming at her head. If she got hit, she could seriously be injured. She wasn't going to let him get away like that. With the permission of the owner of the racket she picked up, she stepped in the court.

"Hey, shouldn't you change into more comfortable clothes?" a first year boy asked her. Ryoma looked down at her uniform.

"It's alright," Ryoma answered.

In the court.

Ryoma face Arai from the receiver position.

'That boy! How dare he insult me like that! I'm going to make him pay for it!' Arai thougt.

Arai served. This time, his ball was stronger and faster. Ryoma could see that.

'His service may be good, but it still weak and slow compared to oyajii's and aniki's.'

Ryoma caught the ball and returned it.

"What? Who's that boy?"

"To be able to return Arai's serve so easily like that…"

"Sugoi (6)…"

The crowed was getting excited over the rally between them. They completely forgot about their practice to watch. After a short moment, Ryoma was bored even though her opponent played aggressively against her.

'So weak. I'm bored,' she thought.

On the other hand, Arai was feeling pressure. That first year was good, very good.

'Damn it! I'm not going to let him win like that.'

Arai looked at Ryoma, examining her.

'There's still something I can do.'

Arai served far behind. As Ryoma stepped back to catch the ball, Arai ran to the net and smashed. He scored.

"Hehehe!" he grinned sheepishly.

Ryoma look at the ball, then at him, not impressed at all. Arai served again, planning to repeat the same thing. This time, Ryoma lobbed high behind him, right on the line behind him.

"Out!" Arai said as he erased to spot where the ball it with his foot. "Too bad, pretty boy." It was a self-judgment.

'Sore loser!' Ryoma thought, pissed off.

Ryome served and ran. Arai returned the ball. Ryoma used her Split Step and caught the ball. She lobbed it hight above the sky.

"Too bad, it's going to be out again, pretty boy," Arai brawled, laughing at the same time.

But to everyone surprise, the ball Ryoma hit didn't bounce. Instead, it landed just inside the court, spinned on itself before stopping. Everyone could clearly see that the ball was in.

"Ne, it's in, right?" Ryoma smirked.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

Enraged, Arai threw his racket on Ryoma's head.

"Ah! Abunai (7)!" someone in the crowd yelled.

"Ah!" Ryoma clutched at her head, a blood trailed down her face. The spectators were worried for her.

'Yaro… I'm going to make you pay!' Ryoma swored.

Grabbing firmly her racket in her right hand, she served. The ball landed right in front of Arai, spinned before bouncing toward the right side of his face, hitting him.

"15-love," Ryoma self-called.

From outside the court.

"Renji," Inui said.

"Twist Serve…" Inui's companion mumbled. "And a perfect one."

Ryoma served again, and hit.

"30-love."

"Hey… Is that the Twist Serve?" someone commented.

"Ehhhh!" They looked more closely.

Ryoma hit.

"You're right! Is the Twist Serve! And a very acurate one! He's only a freshman and can already do such a serve. Who is he?"

The ball hit Arai in the stomach.

"40-love." Serve, hit.

"1-love."

It was cleared. The matched outcome was already decided. The rally continued on: serve, hit, run, return, slide, hit, jump, serve…

Arai's ball crossed the net. Ryoma ran and Smash! It was her win. Arai became enraged. He stomped to Ryoma and grabbed her by her collar.

"You…" he snarled.

"What's happening in the court?" an authoritative voice asked.

"Buchou (8)! Cheers!" The people on the court greeted a tall boy with chestnut hair and oval spectacles, bowing deeply in respect.

'Buchou? So this is the captain…' Ryoma looked at him. Even his posture commanded respect.

"Both of you, 10 laps for disturbing practices."

"Wait! It's…" Arai tried to explain.

"20 laps!"

Ryoma already started her laps. Somehow, something about this captain made it impossible for her to disobey him.

(1) yoroshiku: litteraly "Please take care of me from now on", a polite formule to say when you meet someone for the first time.

(2) itai: it hurts;

(3) senpai: upperclassman;

(4) kouhai: underclassman;

(5) yaro: bastard;

(6) sugoi: incredible;

(7)abunai: watch out, be careful, it's dangerous;

(8) buchou: captain.