"The guy on the right is SO cute....!"

Kyoko let out a soft sigh as she watched their freshman representatives take the podium. Yuki turned her head in disbelief, doing a double-take after noticing a genuine blush on her friend's face. She'd known Kyoko all through high school, but somehow, her taste in men could still surprise her. That "guy on the right," Hideki Ryuuga, might have got a high score on the entrance exam, but he was the only one in the whole auditorium not wearing proper dress clothes. And this was beyond underdressed. He wore scruffy untied sneakers, jeans, and some ratty plain white shirt that looked like the first thing he could find on his bedroom floor that morning. What was he thinking, pulling a stunt like that at To-Oh University? Not to mention he shuffled along like a hunchback, and had dark baggy circles under his eyes so big you could probably even see them from the back row.

"Whaat? What's wrong with you, Kyoko?" Yuki whispered, "The guy on the left's way better looking."

It was pointless, but it had to be said. Granted, the guy on the left was maybe too good looking, now that Yuki thought about it... everything about him was spoiled-rotten preppie perfection. According to the rumors already buzzing around them, he'd actually scored 100% on every single subject of the entrance exams (in a tie with the freakshow). He just couldn't be real, this "Light Yagami"... and what kind of name was that, anyway? Yuki sighed - surely Kyoko was thinking the exact same thing right now, championing her latest undying crush in her head.

Almost no one was listening to the generic speeches they gave. Everyone was whispering among themselves, or at least listening in to the gossip about Light Yagami and Hideki Ryuuga - Hideki Ryuuga! That was the best part. Yuki would have to tease Kyoko about it mercilessly till she found a new crush. The poor guy had the exact same name as the latest idol at the top of the charts. Here she was, pining over the most unorthodox guy she'd ever seen in her life, but when you put it as "Kyoko's totally in love with Hideki Ryuuga," she sounded like any other pop-culture fangirl. Of course, Kyoko was a fangirl, but she at least tried to not be a brainless one.

The whispers quickly died down, replaced by hurried applause as the representatives walked back to their seats. Except Ryuuga wasn't sitting on the seat, he was perching on it somehow. What a weirdo! A fresh round of whispered theories made the rounds once the next speaker settled into his speech. Maybe this Ryuuga was really poor, and only got into To-Oh thanks to a full scholarship. That could make sense, since he got a 100% score just like Light. Some kind of crazy mad genius. The stories only got more elaborate as the welcoming ceremony rolled on.

Once it was over, Yuki and Kyoko walked outside and lingered with some friends, but Kyoko was predictably spaced out. Her eyes were wide with childish delight, magnified even more by her thick glasses. Yuki could almost see them turning into heart shapes as Kyoko stole glimpses of her new loverboy, Ryuuga the Misunderstood Hunchback. Strangely, he seemed to be hitting it off very well with Light the Angel of Cram School. Yuki had noticed them shaking hands and talking to each other right after the speeches, and now Ryuuga made a point to say goodbye to Light before... hopping into his posh chauffeured limo?

Maybe Kyoko had some decent taste after all..

A couple days later, Yuki met Kyoko after their morning classes so they could have lunch together. Neither one of them had brought a lunch, just like yesterday. Nothing new for Yuki, but Kyoko at least was the type to love her cutesy bento. It must be stressful for her, getting adjusted to this first week of college life. Either that or...

"So how come you skipped making lunch again? Up all night dreaming about Hideki Ryuuga?" Yuki teased. Kyoko just smiled like she was proud of the accusation.

"Hey, I wonder if he'd ever eat a bento I made for him?" she wondered.

"Who knows, he probably has private butlers cooking him stuff to eat in his limo."

Kyoko frowned and didn't reply. Maybe it was starting to sink in that, weirdo or not, Ryuuga was probably still out of their league. Yuki almost felt a bit guilty, but the feeling was soon replaced by pure hunger. She tucked her hands into the warm pockets of her hoodie and walked a bit faster towards the cafeteria.

"Yuki! Look over there!"

"Hm...?" Yuki grunted, turning her head. She'd been lost in thought about what kind of bread she wanted to get until Kyoko's perky voice demanded her attention.

"There! The tennis court!" Kyoko grabbed Yuki's arm and led her down the steps, brimming with excitement. "It's Ryuuga, look how good he is!"

Yuki looked through the chain link fence and sure enough, the two people having a game were Light Yagami and Hideki Ryuuga.

"Wow... they're both really good!" Yuki said, forgetting in the heat of the moment to tease Ryoko again somehow. She couldn't imagine baggy-eyed Ryuuga leaving the computer screen in his mom's basement long enough to try any sports, let alone be this good. How could he move like that? There were already a few other people standing around watching, and more passerby kept coming to join the crowd. It was like a professional match, everything moved so fast. Yuki watched the volley intently, ignoring her growling stomach. She couldn't look away until some upperclassman came stomping up behind her.

"Captain-!" the man shouted, panting as he came to a stop, "I thought I'd heard of Light Yagami before, so I looked him up. He was the junior high champion in 1999 and 2000! When he won in 2000, he announced he was quitting once he started high school, and he hasn't been in a single tournament since..." The upperclassman trailed off, catching his breath.

"So hey, what about Ryuuga, then?" Kyoko chirped, clasping her hands in front of her heart. "He's totally holding his own against this junior high champion. In fact, he's even better!"

"Kyoko..." Yuki groaned, cranking an eyebrow up at her in irritation.

"That's the thing, I can't find anything on the guy..." The upperclassman grumbled. Kyoko's face fell into a thoughtful pout, caught between disappointment and excitement over this element of mystery. Yuki tuned out the chatter from the tennis team boys and went back to just watching the game. It only got more and more intense. And now that he was out of that expensive suit, tensing those muscles and moving with vicious force, sweat sticking to his hair, messing up that perfectly styled cut, an absolutely wild look of inhuman determination on that once polite face...

...Yuki realized that Light Yagami was starting to look pretty damn hot.

"YEAH! GOT him!" Yuki shouted as Light made the winning shot.

"Set! Won by Light Yagami, six games to four!" snapped the referee. Yuki screamed an incoherent victory cry, at full stadium volume.

"Aww, poor Ryuuga, he almost had it..." Kyoko said softly. Yuki had almost forgotten she was still there. Her brain switched gears too fast and stalled out into sudden embarrassment.

"Agh- er... sorry... I got kind of carried away..." Yuki stammered, starting to blush as she looked at her friend.

"Yuki! You look beet red! Don't tell me-" Kyoko was grinning from ear to ear.

"Sorry! I'm sorry, Kyoko. Um, really, Ryuuga was really good too..."

"I knew it! You've got a crush on him too!" Kyoko broke down into hysterical laughter, turning Yuki even more red as some heads turned their way. "But I called him first, it's too late now!" she teased in a singsong voice.

"Um... that's not really it..."

But Kyoko just kept on giggling until Yuki caught the infectious laughter. They slung their arms over each other's shoulders as they doubled over and caught their breath, staggering back towards their original destination.

"...Seriously, though! It's not!"