DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis

CHAPTER 01

The First Day

The voice of the stewardess through the intercom could be heard on the plane. She woke up from her deep slumber. It seemed she had arrived in her destination. She waited for the others to get off first. After there were less people, she stood up and got her tennis bag and luggage. She got off and walked towards the exit of Narita Airport.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes. The green-haired girl raised her hand to call a taxi and showed a piece of paper to the driver. She looked out the window and smiled. She had wanted to go to Japan since she was a child though she didn't think that she would be here because of the incident that took away her parents' lives. Her smile turned sad. She still remembered the talk she had with her older brother last week.

Her brother, Ryoga, thought that it would be best for her to continue her study in Japan. She didn't argue and easily agreed. He didn't come with her because he still had to fix the problem in the company he had inherited from their parents, the Golden String Corporation.

The taxi stopped right in front of a two story house. She paid and got out. The driver helped her took out the luggage before taking off. She got the key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. She opened it and looked around the house. The furniture had been set up by her brother before they moved in it seemed`.

"Not bad. It looks simple and wonderful, it won't be hard to clean it. Good thing Aniki didn't buy a large house. It would be a pain to clean it." Amused the 15 year old girl.

She went upstairs and found her room. She put her clothes in her closet and her other things in the right place.

"Ah, Karupin, gomen. I almost forgot to let you out." She said while opening the cage which had Karupin, her Himalayan cat, in it. The cat ran around the house, leaving the girl to tidy her room.

She's done after an hour. She looked at her watch, it was 2 pm. She changed her clothes and gave Karupin her food.

"Karupin, I'm going out for a while. I need to buy some groceries." She patted her head and went out.

"Now, where's the convenience store?"

She walked aimlessly for thirty minutes before giving up.

"Aarghhh, now, where am I?"

A blue-haired boy, who stood across the street where Ryoma was, stared at her. It wasn't because she screamed out of frustration, but due to the girl had actually got there five minutes ago. In short, she was walking around. In the end, the boy decided to approach the frustrated girl.

"Hmm, miss, are you lost?" asked the blue-eyed boy.

The girl looked up and stared at the boy. She sighed, "I think so. I'm still not familiar with this place, you see."

He smiled and asked, "I see, where do you want to go? I can help you find it."

"Really? I've been trying to find the convenience store. Do you know where it is?"

"Of course. Please follow me. It's a bit far from here."

"Thanks, err …."

"Seiichi. Yukimura Seiichi."

"Ah, thanks, Seiichi-san. I'm Echizen Ryoma."

"Nice to meet you, Echizen-san."

"Just Ryoma is fine." She looked at him and saw confusion in his eyes. "I'm raised in America, so I'm not used to people calling me by family's name, Yukimura-san." Well, even though she was raised in America she knew that it was rude to call someone you just met his/her first name in Japan.

"You can call me Seiichi with honorific, you know," Ryoma nodded, "So I assumed you just came from America?"

"Ah, yes I just moved this morning. So I need to buy some food if I want to survive for another week." She said, looking serious.

Seiichi chuckled and said, "We're here."

"You're right. Thanks, Seiichi-san."

"You're welcome. Then, I'll be going now." He smiled and started to walked, but was interrupted by a hand that caught his wrist. He stopped and looked at Ryoma, confused.

"Hmm…. Seiichi-san, can you accompany me?" blushed from embarrassment

Now, Seiichi's expression turned unreadable. Truthfully, he liked Ryoma a bit because she wasn't annoying like the girls at his school. However right now, he felt taken aback by Ryoma's act. Though they just met, she already tried to get close to him. Unfortunately for him, Ryoma didn't intend to do such a thing.

"Why?" he asked with a monotone voice.

"I, I don't know the way home." Her blush deepened to a very bright red.

Now, Seiichi was stunned. He felt bad due to what he thought of her earlier. Then he chuckled because he remembered her reason.

"Please don't laugh! It's a serious matter. What if I'm lost again?" she blushed again then glared at him.

"Ahahaaa….. Sorry, It's just very funny. Alright, I'll go with you." He stopped laughing and agreed. 'She's different.' He thought.

She smiled a small smile and looked him in the eyes, "Sorry to bother you."

"It's fine. I have nothing to do anyway."

They went into the store. Seiichi followed Ryoma while she was taking some meat, vegetables, fruits, snacks, and beverages including milk. She took many things that the trolley was full.

"Are you sure you want buy these all?"

"Hm."

"Do you have enough money to pay all these?"

Ryoma looked at the trolley and said, "Don't worry about it."

"But why can't you just go with your parents if you want to buy this many?" Seiichi asked curiously.

She stopped in her tracks and said, "I live alone."

"I see." He knew she avoided the question and didn't ask more. He could predict that it was a touchy subject. Furthermore, he just met her today. It wasn't polite. He was brought off of his thoughts by Ryoma's cell phone ringing.

Ryoma took out her cell phone out and answered the call. "Moshi moshi."

"Hm. I'm buying groceries now."

"Is that so?"

"Okay. Take some rest, so you can finish quickly."

"I'll be fine. Don't worry too much Aniki."

"Hn. Don't work too hard. Jaa."

Ryoma put her cell phone back to her jacket's pocket.

"Sorry for making you wait Seiichi-san."

"It's alright."

"Let's go." She said before walking to the cashier.

She paid and walked out of the store with Seiichi behind her. He carried two of the four plastic bags Ryoma had.

"So what's your address?" asked Seiichi.

"Hmm, here." She took out the same piece of paper that she showed the taxi driver earlier and gave it to Seiichi.

He read the words written on the paper and said, "It's near my house. Actually, it's right in front of my house. So you're the one moving there."

"Really? That's great." A small smile appeared on her face for the third time that day.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived and Seiichi offered to help her put the groceries on the counter since it was heavy. She thanked him and opened her door. Immediately, she was attacked by a white and brown blur. It was her cat.

"Ahh, Karupin, gomen. You must be really worried about me." She meowed and Ryoma scratched her ear. Realizing the guest, Karupin stared at him. "That's right, Karupin. This is our neighbor, Yukimura Seiichi-san. He lives across our house." As if understanding her owner, she meowed.

Seiichi smiled at the cat, "Nice to meet you, Karupin." Karupin meowed again and ran to another room.

"Over here, Seiichi-san." Ryoma led him to the kitchen. They put the groceries on the counter, "Thank you for your help, Seiichi-san."

"No problem. If you need any help, just ask me."

"Okay."

"Then, I'm going now."

"Okay."

Ryoma walked him to the gate and saw him crossing the street to his own house. She saw him turned around to smile at her again before entering. Ryoma walked into her house and saw Karupin. She picked her up and said, "Karupin, I'll live my new life here and have fun." She smiled to her cat and went to prepare dinner for herself.

"Tadaima." Said Seiichi and walked to the living room.

"Okaeri." Replied his family.

"Where have you been? You said you'd be home by 3, it's 5 now." His 14 year-old sister demanded.

"Gomen, Kana. I was helping a girl." He replied casually. Suddenly, there was an awkward silence.

"You're …." Started his father, Takumi.

"Helping …." Continued his mother, Hikari.

"A GIRL!" finished Kana.

'They overreact again.' Seiichi smiled sadistically, "Is there something wrong?"

Seeing his smile, they shook their heads. However, Kana was curious about the girl her brother helped. She had known for a long time that her brother hasn't taken an interest in girls for a long time, because his ex-girlfriend only got close to him because of his looks and popularity. Of course her brother knew that, but he couldn't stop himself but fell for her after a few weeks of being together. He thought that maybe she would like him for who he was. But he was wrong. He found her cheating with the basketball captain and broke up right there. He felt sad and disappointed at the time. So she thought that her brother wouldn't want a relationship for now.

Now, Kana knew her assumption was wrong. So she asked him, "Ne, Sei-nii, who is this girl?"

"She's our new neighbor. She was lost, so I helped her." Replied Seiichi.

"New neighbor?" asked his father.

"Yes, she lives across from us."

"Ahh, so she's the one. Yesterday, I saw some guys brought furniture in her house. What's her name, dear?" asked his mother.

"Echizen Ryoma. She said she lives alone." Seiichi replied to his mother with a frown on his face.

"Ehh? Live alone? How old is she?" asked his mother again.

"From her looks, I think 15 or 16."

"What? She lives alone in her house? What about her family?"

"Don't know." He shrugged, but actually he was curious too.

"Kana, go to her house sometimes. I'm sure she's lonely being alone in that house." Hikari told her daughter.

"Alright, I want to meet her too anyway."

"Go tomorrow then! There are three days before the holiday is over. After school starts, it will be hard for you to meet her. Seiichi, why don't you go with her?" asked her mother, smiling happily.

They sighed, "Fine."

Edited on May 04, 2013