Tennis no Ojou-sama: A Prince of Tennis Fan Fiction

CHAPTER 1: A New Beginning

"Did you see her?" A man wearing a black suit and dark sunglasses asked.

"No. But she couldn't have gotten far." His accomplice answered.

In a corner of an alleyway, a child age six, with long, black hair and rust-colored eyes, peeked at them and smiled cheekily. She took her long hair, fixed it in a bun and tucked it inside a blue cap. She was dressed in denim shorts, a blue shirt over a white long-sleeved sweater, knee-high socks, and black sneakers. To those that who did not know better, she would look like a very mischievous boy.

She took off, hopping over several trash cans, and went deeper into the alley. Suddenly, she bumped into someone.

She was propelled backward. "Hey!" She yelled in English, taking into account that she was still in New York.

"Hey yourself!" A boy's voice yelled back.

She looked at him. He was sitting on his behind with his hands on both sides and a white cap lying some inches away from him, having fallen from his head of black hair. He was glaring with golden-bronze-colored eyes.

"Are you blind or something?" She shouted.

"That's my line!" The boy shouted back. She stood up and brushed her behind with both hands.

The boy also stood up and picked up his cap, which he cockily put back on his head. It had a blue square with a red R inside and was a size too big for him.

"This is my territory!" The boy shouted at her.

"Why? Is your name written on it?" She said while gesturing around her. The boy only glared at her.

"Let's have a game then. Winner takes it all, the loser will apologize." She challenged. She wanted his cap since her initial was also R.

"Deal." The boy said.

The two of them had a race, which ended with the both of them collapsing on the grass, exhausted. There was no winner. It was a tie.

"You're not... half bad..." She commented in between gasps of air, lying with her arms and legs spread out around her. The boy was panting. He was also stretched out in the same position as her. He smiled.

She sat up and the boy did the same.

"You're not half bad either..." The boy said. Then he went towards her and yanked the blue cap off of her head. Her long, dark hair spilled out and flowed down her back in glossy waves. "For a girl..." He continued.

"Hey!" She complained and snatched the cap from him. "How did you know? People always mistake me for a boy..." She told him.

"I just knew." He answered. He was quite annoyed that a girl tied him in a race.

"What is your name?" She asked.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked back.

"Just because..." The girl answered.

"Then I won't answer." He told her.

"Why?" She asked.

"Just because..." He replied.

"Suit yourself." She shrugged her shoulders.

The boy reached out a hand to her. "I can stand up by myself." She answered. The boy withdrew his hand and shrugged as if saying, "Fine, whatever."

"A pity..." She told him. "I wanted your cap." She said, looking at the white cap on his head.

"Even if I lost, I wouldn't give it to you." He said. "But it's impossible for me to lose to you anyway." He quickly added, realizing that saying such a line sounded as if there was a chance for her to beat him.