I did promise updates at the beginning of February at the latest, so here's one!

Summary: After the loss of both his parents Ryoma goes to live with his child hood friend Atobe Keigo, whom he considers to be like a brother. After some persuasion from Atobe, Ryoma decides to enter at Ouran High School, where he meets none other than the prestigious Host Club.

Warning: Language

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS OR OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB.

Chapter 5

Contemplation?

Life hands us a lot of hard choices, and other people can help us more than we might realize. We often think we should make important decisions using just our own internal resources. What are the pros and cons? What does my gut tell me? But often we have friends and family who know us in ways we don't know ourselves.

-Sheena Iyengar

Ryoma trudged forward, ignoring the way the bitter winter air burned against his face. Despite it being Saturday morning, the snow covered streets were oddly vacant. This was hardly a surprise. After all, what sane person would leave the warmth of their home to go wandering the streets at eight in the morning?

The crunching sound of snow beneath his shoes echoed throughout the street as he continued to amble aimlessly. Not many people knew this, but whenever he found himself stressed, upset, or simply boding over a difficult decision, walking had always helped. It gave him a chance to clear his head and calmed him in ways that tennis could not even hope to achieve.

He drew his jacket tighter around his frame as a particularly cold breeze blew past him. He didn't know how long he had been outside for, but the cold was starting to get to him, and yet, he still hadn't thought of an answer to Keigo's question yet. With a sigh he thought back to the conversation he had shared with Atobe the previous day.

"Since you insist on going to anyplace, but Hyotei, I would advise you to think about a third option," His brother sounded annoyed, but considering the previous events that had transpired during Hyotei's tennis practice, that was to be expected.

"If you're talking about homeschooling you can forget about it," Ryoma spoke up, voice determined, maybe even a little defiant?

"No, I'm not talking about homeschooling," Atobe rolled his eyes. "Since I don't want you attending either Seigaku or Rikkiadai, and you refuse to attend Hyotei, where I'd be able to watch over you and make sure you stay out of trouble- I encourage you to consider one more school."

"Eh, and what would that be?" Ryoma was wondering why Atobe was being so vague.

"Ouran High School."

Ryoma had heard of the school, but then again, who hadn't? Ouran High was one of the most prestigious schools Japan had to offer, accepting only the richest of the rich and the smartest of the smart. However, Ryoma could care less about the schools occupant. At the moment, he only had one thing on his mind.

"Do they have a tennis team?" He questioned, even though he doubted Atobe would recommend him a school without one.

"It's complicated." Was the only response he received.

"Complicated?" Ryoma raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "How so?"

Atobe let out a sigh, leaning his head back against the seat. "Last year, for the first time since the school had opened, Ouran registered a tennis team for the National Tournament. Everyone was surprised considering that the school had never placed much importance on sports, but surprisingly enough the team blew through the prefectural tournament, easily securing a spot in Kantou Regionals, however for some reason the team completely withdrew and since then no one has heard a thing about them."

"Why'd they withdraw?" It was obvious by his tone of voice that Ryoma was skeptical.

"No one knows," Atobe murmured. "The team was good, although I never got a chance to see them play, it was said that they never lost a single point. The captain was also said to be a genius; he was cold and loved to play mind games with his opponents."

'Mind games, huh?' Ryoma thought with a frown. 'Maybe this school was worth checking out after all.'

"Watch out!"

Ryoma was interrupted from his thoughts as a shout of warning reverberated throughout the street. He looked up just in time to see a black bicycle mere feet away and heading straight for him. The rider was desperately clutching at the breaks. However, the ice covering the sidewalk made it near impossible for the bike to slow down.

It was only due to his quick reflexes that Ryoma barely managed to dodge out of the way of the incoming bike. Unfortunately, he had been so caught up in avoiding the collision, that he had failed to notice a large patch of ice, and seconds later was sent to tumbling to the ground.

A worried face suddenly appeared above him, violet eyes staring down at him with a concerned expression.

"You okay there?" The person asked, stretching out his hand to help Ryoma to his feet.

With a nod, Ryoma gladly accepted the hand, brushing off snow from his pants as he rose to his feet.

"Look I'm really sorry about that," The man sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, eyes scanning over Ryoma, making sure there was no sign of injury. However, a second later his eyes widened in recognition.

"Ah it's you!"

"It seems young master Ryoma has left the grounds."

Atobe nodded and with a flick of his wrist dismissed the butler. With a sigh, he took a seat in one of his armchairs across from the roaring fireplace.

Atobe knew he had given the fifteen year old a lot to think about, but frankly, he had had to do something. There was no way he was just going to let Ryoma apply to Rikkai or Seigaku. Ryoma didn't belong at either of those schools.

Don't get him wrong, Rikkai and Seigaku were both great schools. However, if Ryoma had chosen Seigaku, Atobe knew he would never reach his true potential. Tezuka was a great tennis player, but he was too lenient on his team, and therefore failed to unlock the true potential of his teammates. Whereas, Rikkai was the complete opposite. Rikkai Dai was a school built off competition, it was a dog eat dog world at that school, and only the toughest would survive there. Any sort of loss was unacceptable. Not to mention Atobe didn't quite agree with some of the disciplinary measures Sanada used.

Furthermore, since Ryoma blatantly refused to even consider Hyotei, that left him with one school; Ouran High.

And as much as Atobe wished he could make the choice for his brother, he knew that in the end, the decision was for Ryoma to make.

Now all he could do was sit back, and hope that his brother made the right one.

"Do I know you?"

Momoshiro mentally face palmed at the youngers obliviousness. Was the kid actually being serious? Did he seriously not remember the match they had played only a couple days ago? Or was this some kind of joke the younger was playing?

"Remember, you sort of barged into our tennis practice a few days ago and we played a match?" Momo glanced at the kid who seemed to be trying to recall the match in question. A second later, when the kid's eyes widened slightly, Momo knew he had finally remembered.

"Ah, it's you," The kid murmured, before turning around, as if to leave.

"Wait!" Momo exclaimed, taking a couple steps towards the kid. He didn't know why exactly he had stopped the younger from leaving. Maybe it had been the fact that the cocky aura that had practically oozed off the kid the last time they had met was now extinguished. Instead, something seemed to be troubling the kid; at least if the conflicted and hesitant look in the younger's eyes was any indicator. "Echizen, right?"

The kid turned around and hesitantly nodded, clearly wondering what the hell he wanted.

"Let's go grab a bite to eat?" Momo suggested. "After all, I never did get a chance to treat you to burgers."

Ryoma didn't know why he was following this guy to God knows where, but figured it couldn't hurt. After all, the guy was offering him a free meal, and if there's one thing Ryoma couldn't refuse, it was free food.

He was not disappointed when a few minutes later a large café came into view.

"I hope you don't mind, but I figured it was a little early for burgers. " Momo explained, opening the door and stepping inside after Ryoma.

After taking a seat at a booth in the corner, and giving the waitress their order, Ryoma leant his head back against the seat, glad to be out of the cold. Glancing at the tennis player across from him, Ryoma couldn't help but smirk at how uncomfortable the man looked.

"So," Momo spoke up in a desperate attempt to somehow alleviate the awkward silence. "Why did you decide to crash our tennis practice the other day?"

Ryoma shrugged. "My father went to Seigaku, so I wanted to see how strong your tennis team was before I considered enrolling there."

"Ah, so you're scouting schools?" Suddenly the Youngers surprise visit now made a lot more sense.

"I guess you could say that." Ryoma replied.

"So have you decided?" Frankly, Momo could see Echizen getting along with the rest of Seigaku quite easily.

Ryoma shook his head, and once again Momo could see the same conflicted look in the kid's eyes that he had saw earlier. "Not yet."

Momo finally understood what was troubling the kid. Term started in just a few days, and obviously he would need to make the decision soon. "Well whichever school you decide, just make sure you're the one that will be happy with the decision."

Ryoma nodded, before once again turning his gaze to stare aimlessly out the window. Momo's advice had got him thinking though; why exactly did he want to attend each of these schools?

Seigaku had been the school his father had attended and from what he had seen the previous day, their tennis team had potential. The question is how much potential did they truly have? If he was just going by raw skill, both Hyotei and Rikkai greatly outweighed Seigaku. Atobe was currently attending Hyotei, and even though he and Atobe didn't always see eye to eye, Atobe was, without a doubt, an extraordinary tennis player. Not to mention a remarkable leader who would no doubt lead his team to the top.

Then there was Rikkai Dai. Ryoma hadn't expected to meet a team like them, or at least not one as powerful as them, because if there was one thing Rikkai was, it was powerful. Normally Ryoma would have felt bitter at such a humiliating loss. After all, as much as he hated to admit it, he had been crushed. However, for some reason, the loss had filled him with a sense of adrenaline. Ryoma knew that if he chose to go to Rikkai, he would have no problem reaching the Nationals. But was that what he wanted? A free ride? An easy win?

Ryoma was broken from his thoughts as two plates of food were set down on the table infront of them. He could see Momo's eyes practically light up in joy as he dug into his food, with Ryoma soon following. It wasn't long before both of them finished their meal and made their way out the door.

"Hey, I'm sure whatever you decide to go with, everything will work out," Momo flashed Ryoma a smile, before hopping on his bike. "See you around."

Ryoma nodded, waiting until the bike disappeared around the corner before making his way back home. Surprisingly enough, the morning hadn't been as much of a waste of time as he had initially thought it would be. In fact, if he didn't know any better, he would say his mind had finally been made up. Well, it was now official, he had finally chosen the school he would attend and now all he had to do was get home and tell Atobe the good news.

A/N

Well here's the start of hopefully a long list of updates to come! I hope you enjoyed it.

I am also pleased to inform my readers that I have made a chatroom for anyone interested. This chatroom does not require you to make an account or anything, and will give you the chance to ask me questions, to chat with me, and for myself to even ask my readers any questions. All you have to do is click the link below. Keep in mind though, that I can't be online every second of the day, however, during the next week you'll catch me on a lot.

Just pm me for the link because you can't copy text here.

Please review and tell me what you though. Also, the pairing poll is still open on my profile page.