A/N: Please take note.

In this fanfiction, Ootori Choutarou is not a shy guy like in the anime. He is much cooler and more fun. Instead of having curly hair and round eye, his hair are spicky and his eyes are sharp.

The next day. Seiyou Academy. Fifth floor. Class 3-A.

Tap tap tap tap tap!

Door slide.

Kikumaru bounded into the classroom, barely containing his excitement.

"Ne, Fuji! Have you heard the news?" he burst out.

"Kikumaru, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your class by now?" Niou Masaharu asked.

"Who cares? I'm just curious about that new classmate of yours!" Kikumaru said.

"Hmm?" Fuji frowned. "New classmate?"

"Hm… A new classmate?" Ootori Choutarou said.

"What are you talking about, Kikumaru?" Marui Bunta asked, blowing his green apple bubble gum.

"We will have a transferred student in our English class, a freshman," Yagyuu Hiroshi explained.

"A freshman taking a third year class? And with us?" Oshitari Yuushi asked.

"Hmn hmn!" Kikumaru energetically nodded. "I was passing by the teachers' lounge when I overheard them talking."

"His name is Echizen Ryoma," Atobe Keigo said. "No fortune nor family fame. He is really nothing. Ne, Kabaji?"

"Usu!" Kabaji Munehiro answered.

"If I remember correctly, he is the winner of this year scholarship," Tezuka Kunimitsu said.

"But that's impressive," Yukimura Seichii said. "Not only did he win the scholarship when he's just a commoner, but he got transferred into one of our classes too. Don't you think so too, Sanada?"

Sanada Genichirou only grunted. Yukimura chuckled. The English teacher entered the class.

"Alright everyone. Take your seat," the teacher said. "Let me introduce you a new student. Echizen-kun, come in!" Ryoma stepped in the front of the class. "This is Echizen Ryoma, the winner of this year's Seiyou Academy scholarship. He's a freshman, but he will take English with us from now on," he introduced her. "Echizen, say something to the class."

"Echizen Ryoma. Yoroshiku." Ryoma mecanically stated. The teacher sweat dropped.

'Just as his homeroom told me. Not a very socialiable one,' he thought.

"Ah! You're the kid from yesterday!" Kikumaru exclaimed, pointing at Ryoma. Ryoma turned her head to see the red head boy. She arched an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" she asked. Kikumaru felt anime-mode on Fuji's desk.

'That boy…'

Yukimura chuckled.

"Ochibi-chan, you don't remember me? Fujiko and I met you yesterday," Kikumaru said.

"Huh?"

"Here, this is Fuji. Don't tell me you don't remember him too?" Kikumaru asked her. Ryoma eyed Fuji, her head tilted.

"Who's this guy?" Ryoma asked. Fuji opened his eyes.

'He really don't remember me…' That was strange. How can someone not remember him, especially after bumping into the tensai (1) of the academy. 'He's… unusual…'

"And who is Ochibi-chan?" Ryoma added. Kikumaru grinned. He really liked this boy. He found a new friend, with or without the other part's agreement.

"Hehehe! Ochibi-chan, I really like you!" he cheered and proceed to glomp Ryoma in a suffocating grip.

"Argh! Hmp-…! Let-…! Hmp-…! Me! Hmph-…! Go-! Hmph! Bre-…! Brea-…!" Ryoma desperately need to breath. She gathered all her strength and yelled.

"I NEED TO BREATH!"

"Oh? Aaaahhhhh! Sorry Chibi-chan!" Kikumaru finally let her go, seeing her blue face.

Fuji was surprised by Kikumaru's sudden liking the freshman. Sure, he knew that the cat boy was friendly to everyone, but this time was different. He didn't meet with that Echizen boy more than five minutes, counting yesterday too, but the boy was already being given a nickname. And he got Kikumaru to glomp him too, which was very very rare.

"Kikumaru, shouldn't you be in your class by now? You can talk with Echizen during break time," the teacher said.

"Hai," Kikumaru said in a bored tone. "So see you later, Ochibi-chan!" A last glomp before he left.

"Oupffffff!"

'Sugar high freak!' Ryoma thought.

Atobe eyed her up and down.

"Hmph! Ore-sama (2) thought you were something special, for being able to join our English class," Atobe said. "But Ore-sama can see that you're really nothing more but a simple commoner."

"And you, saru no taishou (3), you're a freaking spoiled brat!" Ryoma retorted.

Marui, Niou and Ootori snickered. Yukimura chuckled. Tezuka remained impassive. Yagyuu, Oshitari and Sanada got caught off. No one had ever dared to say those kind of words to Atobe Keigo, the 'King' of Seiyou. Yet, this boy from nowhere wasn't even scared to say what he wanted to say. More than that, his face wore a bored expression.

"Saru no taishou? What kind of inelegant naming is that? Take it back, brat! No one ever call Ore-sama such a dreadful name!"

"Yadda!" Ryoma crossed her arms and looked away.

"Argh! What makes you think that you can be admitted in this class? Your English must not be as good as the teachers think it is. Maybe you cheat in the examinations!" Atobe said with sudden inspiration. "Speak in English so Ore-sama can judge you by himself," he said in English.

"Monkey King!" Ryoma responded, in English.

"Hahahahahahahahaha!" Marui, Niou and Ootori laughed. Yukimura chuckled. Tezuka still remained impassive. Sanada, Yagyuu and Oshitari sweat dropped. It was not everyday that you met someone who dared to stand against Atobe Keigo and not even flinch.

"Atobe, that's enough! Let him be. It's just his first day here with you guys. Besides, I advise you to have him to tutor you. His accent is perfect while yours is still a little tainted with Japanese. You can also have him to tutor you for French! Your French accent is horrible!" the teacher said. Atobe flinched.

"Wuahahahahahahaha!" Niou, Marui and Ootori laughed louder. It was too comical. Ryoma pulled her tongue to Atobe.

"And Echizen-kun, please refrain yourself to behave in such a childish way. You may be only a freshman, but I expect you to behave like a student of this class should behave."

"Hai."

"Now, take a seat so I can start today lesson. Sit next to Yukimura. Yukimura, raise your hand."

A boy with wavy blue hair rose his hand.

"Here, sit down, Echizen-kun," Yukimura said in a gentle voice, showing her the seat next to him.

"Arigatou, senpai."

"Dou itashimashite (4)."

'He's nice,' Ryoma thought. 'But…' Ryoma looked at his delicate features, his fair skin, his long eyes lash. And there was also his soft voice.

"Hmm… Senpai…" Ryoma frowned as she examined more closely Yukimura. "…Are you… a girl?"

The teacher, Atobe, Sanada, Yagyuu, Oshitari fell anime-style, sweat dropping.

'That boy…' They don't know what to think about him. Even Fuji couldn't suppress a slight movement of surprise. Yukimura's eyes widened.

"Pfffffffff! Hahahahahahahahaha!" Marui, Niou and Ootori brawled. It was the first time they had met this boy, but they already liked him. Once he had recovered from his surprise, Yukimura smiled.

"What makes you think that I'm a girl?" he asked.

"Well, you look like a pretty girl, like the angel in my mother's favorite painting," Ryoma explained. " But you're wearing boy clothes… Ah! I know! You're a cross-dresser!"

"WHUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Marui, Niou and Ootori made it worse. Yukimura gracefully chuckled behind his hand.

"Huhuhuhu! Thank you for the compliment. You are very nice looking too. But I assure you that I'm a real boy and not a cross-dresser," he said, laughing in an elegant way behind his hand.

"Ah…"

'But it's still hard to believe,' Ryoma thought. Her thoughts were written clearly on her face. Everyone could read it.

"Yiiiiii hihihihihi! Hahahahahaha!" Marui, who was sat behind her, shuffled her hair. "I think that I really like you, Chibi-chan!"

Ryoma glared him. Who gave him the right to call her by that name?

"Okay, that's enough. Now open your book to the page 376 please," the teacher said.

"Hai," the class answered.

"Echizen, since you still don't have our textbook, read with Yukimura."

"Hai."

While Yukimura and Tezuka helped Ryoma to find her textbooks and showed her around the school, the rest of the 3-A where having their lunch in the green house. They green house was the usual place where they had lunch with their friends or spent their free time. Marui, Niou and Ootori told the others what had happened in their English class.

"Yihihihihihihihihi!"

"Hahahahahahahahaha!" Kikumaru and Kirihara laughed on the top of their lunges, so hard that they were crying. Atobe groaned. Sanada, Yagyuu, Oshitari, Yanagi and Inui were impassive.

"He took Yukimura for a girl?" Shishido asked, eyes wide in surprise.

"Uso (5)!" Gakuto said, shocked.

"Yes! He did! Hahahahahahaha!" Niou laughed.

"Hahahahaha! Hey! I want to meet that boy!" Kirihara said.

"You will meet him soon," Marui said.

"Yukimura is supposed to bring him here after he and Tezuka finish showing him around," Ootori said.

"By the way, Yanagi, Inui, where were you?" Atobe asked. "You missed the whole English class today."

"We had a meeting with Sakaki-sensei and Ryuzaki-sensei, for the next tournament," Inui said.

"Yesterday, we saw a freshman playing against Arai. And he won," Yanagi said.

"A freshman?" Niou said.

"He is not a normal freshman. He is skilled, very skilled," Inui said.

"And he won against Arai?" Marui added.

"He can be good support for the team then," Ootori said.

"But since he's a freshman, it's not possible," Yagyuu said.

"Freshmen cannot participate in the ranking tournament until summer," Oshitari said.

"And you must be selected in the ranking tournament so you can be a regular," Sanada added.

"That's why we had a discussion with Sakaki-sensei and Ryuzaki-sensei," Inui said.

"A talented kid like him cannot be ignored," Yanagi said. "Sakaki-sensei was reluctant at first, but he agreed to let this freshman played in the next ranking tournament. He said he will judge the freshman's skill by himself."

"Now, we have to find out who is that freshman," Inui said.

"What? You mean that you don't even know his name?" Oshitari asked.

"Yesterday, we didn't have time to ask him as he had already left the court," Yanagi said.

"Physically, he's short. Black hair with emerald hints. But it's his eyes which will make it easier for us to find him. His eyes are an unusual color. They are almost golden," Inui said.

"Golden!" Marui and Niou exclaimed, not believing what they heard.

"Masaka (6)…" Ootori trailed.

"That description perfectly matches with Echizen's," Yagyuu said.

"Echizen? You mean the new student in our English class?" Yanagi said.

"Yes," Marui and Niou nodded.

"Could it be him?" Inui asked to Yanagi.

"You will have your answer now. Here he is coming with Yukimura and Tezuka," Oshitari said, pointing to the door of the green house.

They could see Tezuka, Yukimura and Echizen coming. Ryoma was trying to escape from Yukimura firm grip on her arm. Despite Yukimura's fragile appearance, he sure had solid muscles. The picture he and Ryoma formed was like a mother pulling her stubborn child into the dentist office. Tezuka stood for the impassive father figure, who won't interfer bewteen the mother and the child. He knew very well there was no point stopping Yukimura once Yukimura had decide something.

"Can't you just leave me alone, senpai?" Ryoma struggled to get free. "I have only one class with you. Why should I also eat with you?"

"Maa maa, Echizen-kun. Since you just transferred, you probably still don't have friends around. I'm just helping you making some. Besides, I promised them to bring you back after showing you around," Yukimura calmly said, smiling.

"You might have promised something, but I didn't promise anything! Now, let me go, senpai!" Ryoma said. Yukimura chuckled.

"Now now Echizen-kun, stop resisting. We are already here."

"Huh? What?" In fact, they were standing in front of the green house door. Tezuka already went inside. "Ahhhhhhh!" Yukimura pushed her through the door before stepped in and closed it, blocking the unique escape way. "Senpai, step aside!" Ryoma ordered. Yukimura only chuckled and took her arm again.

"Here. Come with me," Yukimura said as he guide her inside the green house to where the others were sitting.

"Ah! It's him!" Yanagi and Inui pointed to Ryoma. She turned her head to them.

"Huh? What about me?" Ryoma asked.

"Yanagi, you mean he's the freshman you were talking about?" Yagyuu asked. Yanagi nodded.

"Ehhh… So you're that famous rumored freshman?" Marui said.

"What? What are you talking about, senpai?"

Kirihara rudely pushed Marui aside and stepped in front of Ryoma. He grabbed her hand and shook it enthusiastically.

"You're Echizen Ryoma, right? Kirihara Akaya. 2nd year. Yoroshiku!" Kirihara said.

"Errr… Yoroshiku…"

"Hey! Are you really good in tennis as Inui and Yanagi said? Let's have a match!"

Up to now, the title of the youngest genius in tennis belonged to Kirihara. He wasn't going to let it to anyone without saying a word.

"Huh? What?" Ryoma frowned. She was dumbfounded.

"Come on, let's have a match now!" And Kirihara pulled her with him to the tennis court.

"Hey you! Wait! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" But Kirihara kept running and pulling her with him. "Let me goooooooooooo! "

'What's wrong with these people? Or they fed on sugar daily?'

"Tadaima…" Ryoma trailed as she entered her house.

"Okaeri, Ryoma," her mother greeted her. Nanjirou grunted.

"Kaeri, Chibisuke!"

"Okaeri, Ryoma-chan. How was it at school today?" Nanako asked her.

"Weird," Ryoma said and she collapsed on the table, next to Ryoga.

"Hmn? What happened?" Ryoga asked.

"Like yesterday, there was still a parade of Benz and Rolls Royce cars in the front of the school. Then, I got transferred in a third year English class and I met a bunch of strange people. It was like they were fed on sugar on daily base. They wouldn't leave me alone for one second, even during the break time. A sugar freak with pink hair by the name of Marui Bunta kept shuffling my hair. A human-cat senpai, Kikumaru Eiji, kept glomping me. And a strange spider hair boy, Kirihara Akaya, had me played a game with him. And for a reason I don't understand, I already got registered into the tennis club before I realized what happened. Ahhhhh…" A black cloud floated on her head.

"A sugar freak, a human-cat and a spider head boy?" Nanako repeated.

"Yeah! All strange people!" Ryoma said. "Ah! That's right, kaa-san! There was also a senpai who look like the angel in your favorite painting. He is a very pretty girl and his name is Yukimura Seiichi," Ryoma added.

"He is a pretty girl?" Rinko repeated, blinking, dumbfounded. She wasn't sure she heard the right thing.

"Oi, bishoujo! A he cannot be a pretty girl," Nanjirou said, not understanding what Ryoma said. "Are you sure that that spider hair boy didn't smack your head with the ball and made you end up mixing up his gender?"

"But he's really a pretty girl!" Ryoma insisted. And Nanjirou and she start a quarrel over the pretty-girl boy. Ryoga hadn't said anything yet.

"You can see now, Ryoga," Rinko said. "She will be alright."

Ryoga looked at her. Ryoma and Nanjirou was engaged in a heat battle over the pretty-girl boy story. Ryoga smiled. His mother was right. Ryoma don't easily remember people's names the first time she met them. And sometime she will never remember. But just after the first day meeting those senpais, she already had their names in her head. Which meant, they must not be bad people as he thought they would be.

'It looks like she met good people,' Ryoga thought. 'I'm relieved now.'

"Hai, kaa-san," Ryoga said, smiling. Rinko smiled too. They looked over at Ryoma. Ryoma was still arguing with Nanjirou. Ryoga ruffled her hair.

"Maa maa, Chibisuke! If your senpais didn't leave your side one moment that means that you're well accepted. You should be happy. Though it's incredible, for an antisocial like you! Hehehe!" Ryoga grinned stupidly.

"Argh! Stop it, aniki!"

But Ryoga kept teasing her.

That night, alone in his room, Ryoga looked up at the sky.

'Thank you, kami-sama, for looking over her.'

(1) tensai: genius;

(2) saru no taishou: "saru" is monkey, "taishou" is chief, so it becomes the king of the monkeys;

(3) ore-sama: "Ore" is "me", for boy only. The suffix "-sama" is used for highly regarded people. "Ore-sama" would be "the great me".

(4) dou itashimashite: you're welcome;

(5) uso: it can't be true, it's a lie;

(6) masaka: don't tell me…