A/N: I have decided not to make this a crossover fiction between Negima and Prince of Tennis…I'm only taking in Asuna anyway.

"Asuna-nee-chan! Wake up! Today's the last day of summer break before school!" yelled a voice.

Echizen Asuna, tennis prodigy, groggily opened her green eye, then her blue one. The Queen of Tennis dragged herself out of bed. "Ryoma…can't you go bug Ryoga instead?"

"No need for that, sis, I'm already awake," drawled Ryoga.

Echizen Ryoma, the Prince of Tennis, barged into his sister's room, followed by an older version of Ryoma, a.k.a. Asuna's older-by-three-minutes brother. "Ryoma, Ryoga, get out now, both of you!" exploded Asuna.

The two boys scurried out of the room, mindful of their orange-haired sister's ire. Both skidded to a halt in front Ryoga's room.

"Aniki, why do you think Asuna's angry?"

"I don't know, chibisuke."

"Let's not pull any pranks on her."

"Good idea, you two. 'Cause if you do pull a prank on me, Ryoga, I'll steal your tennis racket and-" Asuna broke off.

"Nee-chan?"

"Ryoga…look out the window and tell me what you see. Is the lawn really red?" Asuna rubbed her eyes and stared in disbelief.

"Come on, chibisuke, make a run for it! And hide the paint cans!"

"Ryoga!"

Three pairs of feet and several exclamations and curses could be heard around the house as Asuna chased Ryoga and Ryoma around the house…that is, until her unfortunate foot made contact with the corner of Karupin's litterbox. Fortunately the litterbox did not overturn and Ryoga was saved from a screaming diabolic Asuna.

After the chaos had dissipated, Asuna went upstairs to get ready for taking Ryoma to a park near her house. Meanwhile, Ryoga and Ryoma were panting, out of steam from the lengthy chase around the house. Suddenly, footsteps were heard on the stairs, and a woman looking like a much older (and kinder) version of Asuna could be seen descending the stairs from the brothers' vantage point.

"Ohayou, kaa-san," chorused the brothers.

"Oh, you're up already? Interesting…why is the lawn…red? Ryoma, Ryoga, don't pull silly pranks like that. Was that the reason poor Asuna was chasing you all around the house? These days, it seems that only the women of the house have any sense remaining in them…"

Ryoma felt an imaginary sweat drop slide anime-style down the back of his head. Luckily for him, there was a thunderous pounding as Asuna dashed down the stairs, wearing her best maroon blouse-skirt set, and her hair tied in long ponytails with her ubiquitous 'bell' hairties.

"Sorry, Ryoma! I'm sorry I took so long. Come on, let's go to the park! Ryoga, you can come too if you want."

As Asuna pulled her bike off the bike rack, Ryoma whispered to his brother, "Ne, aniki, does Asuna really have mood swings?"

Asuna turned around. "I heard that, Ryoma. Your sense of humor needs renovation. Anyway, hop on."

Ryoga grabbed his helmet and jumped on his bike. "Let's go!"

Asuna, Ryoma, and Ryoga spent a splendid day together at the park. But while pedaling to a nearby burger shop to eat lunch, they met an all too familiar figure with spiky gelled black hair.

"Oi, Momo-chan!" Asuna waved to her gluttonous kouhai.

"Ohayou, Asuna-sempai! Are you on a family outing?" Momo grinned.

"You're lucky I'm not Mitsu-kun! 'Momoshiro! Ten laps!'" Asuna giggled, imagining the stern captain of the Seigaku tennis team on a family outing.

"Asuna-sempai, there's a tennis court around here! Want to play a match?"

"Ne, Momo, don't you know that court's doubles only? Maybe An-chan will be around and I could play doubles. But I think you and Ryoma can play doubles together."

Both Momo and Ryoma gulped.

"But nee-chan, I've never played doubles before!" Ryoma protested.

"After lunch, we'll go to the court. An-chan and I are going to play doubles, so watch and learn."

Indeed, Asuna kept her promise and the foursome left on their bikes. When they reached the courts, Asuna pulled out her phone, which was a rather light shade of maroon, and called the other half of the Double-A Pair.

"Hello? Kippei-kun? Oh, could you give the phone to An-chan please? Yes, thanks. An-chan, we're at the doubles court near your house. I was wondering…you'll come? OK, see you, An-chan! Bye!" Asuna hung up and pulled out a pair of headphones. Ryoma rolled his eyes. Adamantly ignoring her brother, Asuna switched on the instrumental version of one of her favorite songs and began to sing.

Halfway through the song the boys heard a female voice yelling "Asuna-sempai! Asuna-sempai!"

Asuna's head jerked up. "Oh, hi, An-chan. Let's play doubles."

Before Ryoma could react , his sister pulled the ever-present tennis bag off his shoulders and pulled out her (maroon) racket. Ryoma snatched the bag back from Asuna.

The Double-A Pair, now complete, walked towards the court. Needless to say, the pigtailed half was humming a tune.

A spiky-haired blond boy and a rather hostile-looking girl were slouching on a nearby bench. Not for long, Asuna thought with a sadistic grin.

"Oi! Fukawa! Izumi! Want a match?" called Asuna.

The two looked up in surprise to see the invincible pair walking out onto the courts. They grabbed their rackets and hurried to take the right side of the court.

Tachibana An, although not wholly superstitious, had her own sense of luck. In fact, she was wearing her lucky sneakers. Today, her luck seemed to be extremely high. She smiled to herself. "Let's beat them, Asuna-sempai…oops! Checklist! I forgot! Acrobatics, Snake, Boomerang, Beam, Moon Volley, Triple C, Smash, all down?"

"Check for all."

"Ready? Let's go!"

In less than half an hour, the Fukawa-Izumi pair had collapsed in exhaustion. The Double-A Pair had barely even broken a sweat, and had won. "Come on, Ryoma, Ryoga, Momo. Let's go. Obviously the Momoshiro-Echizen pair is too full with burgers to do much except sit around."

The three siblings took leave of the group, and Momo graciously offered An a ride back home. Asuna smiled to herself. Now to force Ryoma to play doubles.

When the trio reached home, however, it became obvious that either something big was going to happen, or had happened. Just as they reached the entrance to the living room their mother's voice called out, "Asuna, we need to talk to you for a second."

The aforementioned girl gulped in nervously. "Yes, kaa-san. I'm coming." In an undertone, she said, "Ryoga, Ryoma, go upstairs and don't come out until I tell you to. Got it?"

The brothers nodded in unison and scurried up the stairs. Asuna wiped her clammy palms on her maroon skirt and entered the living room full of apprehension.

"I'm here, kaa-san. What's the matter? Is it about Ryoma or Ryoga?

"No, dear. Sit down and we'll tell you."

Asuna was not as afraid now. "Okay, kaa-san. What's the matter?" asked Asuna.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but tomorrow will be your last day at Seigaku. You're transferring to Rikkaidai for your ninth grade year."

"What?" yelled Asuna. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"I just decided that you need to go to a better school. The junior highs in Kanagawa have better education than at Seigaku. This isn't about tennis, Asuna. It's about your education," said her father in an attempt to soothe his daughter.

Asuna barely heard her father's words. Her vision blurred with tears, but she held them back as she fought to stay strong. Asuna bolted out of the room and up the stairs to her room. Once there she slammed the door and contemplated her situation, still blinking back tears.

She decided the best option was to tell Ryoga and Ryoma the news, then head back downstairs to tell her parents that she had accepted their proposal.

As she walked to the door, she heard a soft knock and saw two dark shapes at the door, one tall and the other much shorter. She opened the door and was greeted by a barrage of questions from Ryoma. "Are you all right, Asuna-nee-chan? What did kaa-san say?"

"Both of you. Get inside. And close the door. Now." Asuna, when worried, could be as laconic as Tezuka himself.

When the three were seated comfortably on a rug, Asuna explained the situation to her brothers, who were visibly saddened by the news. "But nee-chan, this is the only year of middle school that we all get to be in the same school! Why are you transferring now?"

"Something or the other about 'education' and 'eliteness'. What about tennis? What about my friends? What about me?" Asuna was, for the second time that day, on the verge of tears.

Ryoga put an arm around his sister's shoulders. "Don't cry, Asuna. Tennis isn't the only thing in life, you know."

"I know that, better than you do, Ryoga," shot back Asuna.

Ryoga dropped his arm in shock. "A-asuna?"

Seeing the expression on her brother's face, Asuna wished she could take back her words. "I'm sorry, Ryoga." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Ryoma crawled over to his sister and pushed something into her hands. "Here, nee-chan."

Asuna looked down and smiled. Her CD player. She pulled a box out from under her bed and placed it in front of her brothers. "Which song do you want me to sing?"

"Mirror Mirror!" exclaimed the boys in unison.

"OK, if you want." It's a sad song, after all.

Why don't I like the girl I see?

You were standing right in front of me

Why don't I think before I speak?

Too true, thought Asuna.

I should have listened to that voice inside of me

I must be stupid, must be crazy, must be out of my mind…

Asuna rocked back and forth in time to the music, and her brothers did the same as well. Meanwhile, her parents listened to their only daughter sing and exchanged glances. They knew from experience that Asuna dealt with hardships by singing. Rinko and Nanjiro decided to leave their children in peace. The three siblings stayed upstairs listening to the same song over and over again until Rinko called them down to dinner.

Asuna removed her headphones put the CD player and her box away. "Come on, Ryoga, Ryoma. Let's face this head-on."

The three siblings trooped down the stairs and to the dining room in silence. Rinko smiled to herself. If only I'd been as close to my siblings as these three are.

Asuna was the first to speak. "Kaa-san, Tou-san, I accept your proposal of transferring to Rikkaidai. I apologize for my outburst."

A moment of silence passed, and then Rinko and Nanjiro burst into laughter. "What's so funny?" asked Asuna. "Was this all a joke?"

"No, dear. It's not a joke. But don't treat it like a business matter," said Rinko between bursts of laughter.

Asuna scowled. The siblings exchanged looks, and walked in perfect unison to the table, where they sat down in stony silence. "Ittadakimasu," chorused the family. And dinner began.

After everyone was done eating, Ryoga and Asuna, as always, had plate duty. They cleaned their plates in silence for a while until Ryoga said, "Oi, Asuna. Why so sad?"

The orange-haired girl rolled her eyes but didn't respond. It was then that Ryoga pulled one of his timely pranks, and the silence was broken by an indignant "Hey!" as Ryoga dropped an ice cube on his sister's head, which proceeded to slide down her neck and drop to the floor.

Asuna and Ryoga finished up the dishes and forcibly evicted Ryoma from his precarious position atop a pile of books. Ryoga dragged his brother to his room and closed the door. A few moments later he emerged, and headed straight for his sister. "Goodnight, sis. School's tomorrow, set your alarm. I've set mine." Ryoga gave his sister a hug and walked back to the room he shared with Ryoma. Asuna sighed and closed the door behind her. Only one more day at Seigaku…with Ryoga and Ryoma. How will I cope with Rikkaidai, of all schools?