Disclaimer: Prince Of Tennis and its characters belong to Konomi Takeshi-sensei.

Stuck inside the classroom for hours, Yukari can't help but feel sleepy. In fact, she was already dozing off while the teacher is still there, giving a lecture about Mendel's law. Lo and behold, sleeping in class is never allowed; thus, when the teacher noticed what Yukari had been up to, he did not hold back himself from screaming at her.

"AZUME-SAN..!"

Yukari, who was wandering around dreamland, was hit back by harsh reality. Eyes wide open in a split second, she responded: "Y-yes, sensei?"

The teacher shook his head and sighed. "Azume-san, we all know what should not be done here in class, don't we?"

Yukari lowered her head and nodded. She was blushing profusely because she made another act in class that would be more or less embarrassing.

"I'm sorry, sensei," she spoke.

Everything would have ended up in detention if not for the magical bell ring that saved Yukari... for the ninth time. As she packed her things, she noticed that it started to the rain.

"Great," Azume thought. "I left my umbrella at home."

She went out of the classroom and walked her way towards the exit. No one would bother to speak to her, except for one.

"Yuuka-chan! Yuuka-chan!" A loud voice shrilled through the hallway, creating echoes of the high-pitched call.

Yukari turned her head and greeted her only friend at school, Mikan Tsugaki. "Tsugaki-chan, good afternoon."

"How are you, Yuuka-chan? From the look in your face, it seems like something bad happened today." Tsugaki looked at her friend, who was smiling sadly.

"Uh... no, it's nothing!" Yukari waved her right hand back and forth, telling her friend to not mind it. "Shall we go home, Tsugaki-chan?"

"Yeah! I can't wait to leave this inferno! Hahaha!"

At Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku Chuu, practice matches and other activities had been cancelled in the tennis club because of the unexpected downpour. "There is a 45.67 percent chance that it would rain today," Yanagi Renji, otherwise known as the data master, stated as the other regulars were gathered together inside the club room.

"Geez, it sucks! I was about to win against this ball of fat during the game!" Niou, Rikkaidai's trickster, snickered while pointing at Marui. "Can we just continue it?"

"We can't, Niou-kun. If we continue to play in the rain, we may catch some kind of sickness, resulting to us not being able to participate in the upcoming tournament." the mild-mannered Yagyuu Hiroshi reminded Niou.

"Yeah, Yagyuu's right." Marui nodded. "And DON'T CALL ME A BALL OF FAT!"

Niou smirked while Marui was pissed off, their little cat fights being a typical scenario among the regulars. Yukimura just smiled at them while Sanada was starting to get annoyed once again by the redhead and the trickster's bickering. He was the first one to pack his things and left the club room.

"Sanada!" Yukimura called out. "Are you going home?"

"Yes, Yukimura. I need to." With that, Sanada slammed the door shut and left the other regulars to themselves. "Fufu... it seems that Sanada is in a bad mood," Rikkaidai's captain thought to himself.

"One more set! What was it with this weather!?" Sanada gritted his teeth in frustration. He was infuriated because his much-awaited match with Yukimura was ended abruptly by the heavy rain. Yanagi's prediction was right, and it made him frown with ire.

Not contented with the tennis practice today, Sanada went to the tennis court near the train station. He doesn't mind if he's soaked, wet, or whatever - he just wanted to play tennis. More tennis.

When the train reached the second stop, Yukari had to bid goodbye to her friend. "I'm sorry, Tsugaki-chan. I guess I'll have to leave now."

Tsugaki looked at the train window, then back at her friend. "Are you sure, Yukari? It's raining cats and dogs. If you want, you can stay at my place until the rain stops. That way, you won't catch any-"

"Thank you, Tsugaki-chan," Yukari smiled at her friend. "As much as I'd like to, I would go with you, but I really need to go home or else okaa-san and otou-san will be mad at me."

"But-"

"I'll be fine." Azume insisted. "Don't worry."

Tsugaki couldn't disagree no more as she watched her friend leave the train, waving goodbye to her. "Take care, Tsugaki-chan! See you tomorrow."

"That Yuuka-chan," Tsugaki said in her mind as she smiled back at her friend, "I hope she'll be truly fine."

After the train was out of sight, Yukari left the train station. When she reached the exit, she was met by the harsh, cold wind. The rain was enraged and the lightning flashed here and there madly, as misty gray clouds loomed over her. Putting her bag over her head, Yukari ran towards her way home. She could feel the cold water splash on her bare skin, and her clothes touched by countless raindrops that fell from the sky.

Finishing it all off with his invisible swing, Sanada had finally decided to leave for home. He was soaked in the rain as if he had taken a bath. Gathering up all his things and wearing back his jersey, Sanada departed the place. "This is bad. If I ever catch a cold and had a flu, I would not be able to play in the tournament."

Sanada was pondering deeply about the scenes that would have possibly occurred if the unwanted consequences were met. He was too distracted by his thoughts that he did not notice a girl coming on her way, and it soon resulted to them colliding against each other.

That girl, who was not also looking where she's going, happened to be Yukari. Apparently, Sanada was not taken away too much by the impact of Yukari bumping into him, but the poor girl was not strong enough to maintain her balance and fell on her butt.

Cracking one eye open, Yukari glanced at the mystery man who knocked her out. In a moment, their eyes suddenly meet.

Looking at the face of the person under the cap, she could tell that he was a sight to behold. His eyes tinted with pure amber blended well with his stoic yet enthralling face. Yukari was gaping there like an idiot at the man that stood before him.

Looking at the face of the person in front of him, Sanada could tell she was clueless of who he is. Her crimson red eyes were gazing at his golden ones, but he doesn't want a staring contest in the middle of the rain so he averted his glance from her. Sanada mumbled something like, "Watch where you're going," and left the girl without any apology instead of lending a hand. Okay, he was half guilty for what happened, but he wasn't someone like Yagyuu! He felt a bit sorry for the girl, but she isn't someone whom he must give importance to.

Yukari was back to herself again as she picked up her bag and stood to her full height. She looked back at the young man who was going towards the other direction, his beautiful eyes emblazoned on her mind. She had never seen such a handsome man like him her entire life. Alas, she made a fool out of herself again, and in front of a stranger this time. She berated herself for getting too occupied by his looks and slapped her forehead. "This sucks."

"Okaa-san! I'm home!" Yukari shouted while knocking the door. Her mother opened the door and Yukari was shocked to see her mother in such a bright and cheerful mood amidst the gloomy and dull weather. It was pure contrast.

"Good afternoon, Yuuka-chan!" Her mother literally dragged her wet daughter to the living room. "We have some good news for you!"

Her mother greeting her happily in a high-pitched tone confused Yukari and utter surprise did befall on her. "Oh dear," Yukari thought, "Get ready for some weird surprises here."

She also saw her father who was equally ecstatic as her mother, which made Yukari more nervous. What's happening in their house!? Were her parents possessed!? Yukari made a mental note to herself to call a Shinto priest later this evening.

"Sit here, sit here!" Yukari's mother dropped her daughter on the futon and soon her parents were sitting in front of her. "Now, Yukari... we know this is very, very, surprising, but believe us, this is all for your future!"

"You haven't even started telling me what this is all about, otou-san," Yukari sweatdropped.

Yukari saw her mother cough and elbowed her father. He took a deep breath before letting out a happy squeal, "Yukari, you will soon be marrying someone from the Sanada clan!"

"W-what!?" Yukari's eyes widened like saucers. This couldn't be happening. "You're kidding, right?" she raised an eyebrow to her parents.

"No."

"I don't believe it!" Yukari slammed her fist angrily on the table.

"Why dear, why?" Her surprised mother asked her.

"Because... they are of nobility and there's not a single chance on Earth that they would choose a family like us!"

"Yukari, we may not be as noble as them, but at least our family had been loyal to them ever since."

"That's not enough reason to-"

"Yukari," Her mother cut her off, looking at her seriously in the eye. "This matters not not only for us but to them as well."

"Is that true, otou-san?" Yukari was flabbergasted.

"Yes, the head of the Sanada clan, Gennemon-sama, is eager to let the heir of his title, Genichirou-sama, be married to a responsible wife who will help their clan as Gennemon-sama's condition is getting worse; thus, he picked you, Yukari."

"B-but, why me?"

"As of now, we don't know the reason as to why Gennemon-sama chose you. That's why we're going to pay a visit to the Sanada residence tonight."

"Ah, I see..".

Marriage, clan, nobility.. many things are spinning around Yukari's head now. As the first daughter of the Azume clan, she has to follow orders, even though it's against her will. Everything seems to be clouded in mystery right now, but soon she will find out the truth behind all of this.

The rain didn't cease to fall that night.

-To Be Continued-

Chapter 2: Meeting her destined husband, knowing his rules, and seeing a familiar face- what will happen to Yukari!? Please stay tuned.