A/N: Yay back with chapter 2. This fanfiction was pretty well received, so I guess I'm updating sooner than planned ;) Anyways, someone has to spread the Hyotei!Ryoma love :) Enjoy~

Finally out of English, Ryoma strode down the hallway trying to find his next classroom.

Math…

Geometry… Algebra 2… Calculus… Wait. Ryoma frowned. Where was the Pre-calculus classroom?

Of course. His math class was the only one that apparently had to be moved halfway across the already ridiculously large Hyotei campus, since apparently the room they were supposed to be in was under construction. Of course. How could he not have predicted that.

Sitting down, he took out a pen and a notebook, prepared to just fake his note-taking and sleep again.

"Echizen-san. Please take note of these concepts."

"I am, sensei." Hopefully he wouldn't come check- Ok he was coming to check. Ryoma hastily scribbled a few formulas and prayed that it would be enough.

"…Those are unsatisfactory notes, Echizen-san. I understand you are a new student to Hyotei, but you should by now be well aware of the standards."

"Hai…"

"I expect better notes when I walk by at the end of class."

"Hai…"

"Make up all the notes you missed to."

"Hey, no fair, you erased the board!" Ryoma protested.

"That's your problem. Rack your brain, use your memory. I'm sure you were paying attention, right?" Without waiting for an answer, the teacher turned back around, walked to the front of the room, and continued with his lecture. Next to him, Ryoma saw a tall boy sitting stiffly in his seat, taking neat notes. His previous page of notes had already been ripped out and was sitting cleanly next to him. To ask, or not to ask…

"I hope you're taking good notes and paying attention, Echizen-san."

Definitely ask. "Pst. Hey. You," Ryoma whispered, glancing up to make sure the teacher hadn't heard anything.

"Usu."

"What? Anyways, nice to meet you I'm Echizen Ryoma now can I borrow your notes because the sensei is going to be mad if I don't have notes and the board was already erased a few minutes ago so yeah," He breathed in a long, whispering sentence.

"Usu."

"Really? Thanks."

"Usu."

Ryoma reached out and took the sheet of paper, quickly copying down all that the other boy had written. Glancing at the name near the top of the page, he noticed that the boy's name was Kabaji. He alternated between writing down what the teacher was saying now and what he needed to copy. After finishing, he slid the sheet of paper back under his neighbor's arm. "Thank you for letting me borrow your notes," he mumbled.

"Usu."

"Is that all you know how to say?"

"Usu."

"…" Ryoma sweatdropped.

"Echizen-san! Do not talk while I am talking!"

Crap, not again. This was definitely not a good day. "Hai, sensei…"

By the time math class was nearing its end, Ryoma was crumbling under the crushing homework load. "Who can do seven worksheets in one day in addition to all their other homework and still find time for extracurricular activities?" He complained under his breath, ignoring the painful cramps in his hand as he wrote frantically. The teacher spoke ridiculously fast, and his Japanese still wasn't perfected. Sometimes he missed words, so he just filled them in with random other words that sounded sort of similar to whatever the teacher had said.

"Alright. Those are the only concepts we will be reviewing today. Make sure you finish all of the worksheets for homework and bring them in tomorrow. I will post the answers outside of the classroom tomorrow morning so you guys can check them."

There was a chorus of 'hai's as the students all scooted their chairs back and prepared to leave the classroom.

"Oh, also! I forgot to assign your partners! You guys will be working together on a long term project regarding any deep mathematical study. Your options include discreet mathematics, systems, number theory, and a few others that I will post outside my classroom after lunch today. Because we don't have time for you guys to do the partner picking activity, you can just work with the person to your right. Make sure you don't know the person, because I will most definitely check!"

"Hai…" Ryoma mumbled as he slid his notebook with his very crappy notes back into the front pocket of his backpack. The teacher really was evil- telling him to write all those notes and then "running out of time" to check them…

The rest of his classes went rather uneventfully, before it was lunch. Stringing his backpack over his shoulders, Ryoma decided that he would just follow the crowd- after all, it was impossible to get lost trying to find the cafeteria, right?

Beep. Oh, a public announcement. "Attention all Hyotei students. Club signups will begin around lunch time today, and in order to give you all adequate exploration time, classes will be delayed by an hour. In order to continue in club activites, you must maintain grades above a B in all classes. I repeat- grades above B in all classes. Furthermore, all club signups will close by 3 in the afternoon on Friday. All forms must be turned in before then. Thank you."

The intercom beeped again before falling silent.

Ryoma grinned. Club activities, huh? The tennis team better be ready.

Ok, this was definitely not what he expected.

A long line of people to join? Alright, he kind of saw that one coming.

The sign up papers blowing away in the wind? Check. At least he had picked one up before some clutz had knocked the entire stack over.

A horde of girls jumping, screaming, and just in general being absolutely obnoxious? Totally not check. Ryoma just couldn't understand why they were crowding around the tennis courts. It wasn't as if any of them were going to play, right? Hyotei didn't have a girl's tennis team.

He changed into the extra small Hyotei sports uniform he had been given. Blue and white- technically Seigaku colors as well.

Stepping onto the court, he began stretching slowly, not wanting to pull a muscle.

"Oi, brat, you're in the way. Move."

Before Ryoma could turn around, he heard: "Atobe, leave the poor kid alone, he's obviously just a first year. Come on, we need to start the tryouts for regular positions."

At this, Ryoma scowled. "And is there any reason that first years are in any way less qualified then older students?" He turned around.

"You!" Atobe exclaimed, looking furious. "How dare you show up on ore-sama's courts, you insolent-"

"Atobe." A navy-blue haired boy was shifting impatiently. "I believe we are making a scene."

Atobe took a deep breath to compose himself before calling out, "Welcome to the Hyotei tennis club. As today is the first day, we will be holding matches. As many of you may be aware, competition here is fierce- at Hyotei we only accept the best of the best. Over the first week, we will be conducting a series of practice matches to determine who deserves regular positions. Everyone, pick a partner now."

Ryoma heard all sorts of whispers around him; "Matches the first week?" and "Wow, this is serious!" He snorted. If they weren't serious, why did they even bother to join in the first place?

"This is great, I love doubles!" A boy next to him yelled in excitement.

Wait. Doubles?

Well, Atobe had said to pick a partner… Ryoma groaned. He despised doubles matches. Looking around, he saw that everyone already seemed to be partnering up with their best friends. Well then. There were also a group of boys wearing different Hyotei jackets that were just standing off to the side. Well, no other option.

"Hey." He decided to ask a pink haired boy. "Do you have a partner?"

The boy looked at him rather disdainfully. "Partner? Don't tell me you're offering." He smirked, turning to the dark haired guy with ovular glasses next to him. "Do you think Atobe would mind?"

"I doubt he would be too happy, but given the circumstances," he looked down at Ryoma. "I don't think he would care."

"Alright, let's be partners then." The boy's smirk widened. "Do you remember me?"

"…who are you?"

"He doesn't remember me!" the boy wailed. "How could he, Yuushi?"

"…"

"Yuushi, what should I-"

"Oh. You." Ryoma blinked.

"Ha, you remember now, right?" The boy looked triumphant.

"…No, I just thought your voice was kind of annoying."

"Why you little- "

"Mukahi. What are you doing? Taki does not have a partner. You know very well that regulars are not permitted to play until the later rounds." Oh no. It was the blonde man from earlier. The teacher. What was his name again? Sataki? Satami? ….Sashimi?

A snicker brought him out of his thoughts. "Sashimi? As in raw fish? Ahahahaha!"

"Shishido, silence. Apologies, Echizen. You seem to have forgotten my name from earlier this morning. I am Sataki, the coach of the Hyotei tennis team."

Oh crap.

"…Hn." Ryoma didn't really know how to respond, and there wasn't really any point in trying to cover up his blunder from before.

"Partner up with Taki over there and await further instructions from Atobe."

Who is this Atobe, and why does he get so much power?

Nonetheless, Ryoma walked over slowly and waited next to Taki, giving the other boy a rather dismissive look.

"Alright, we will be playing singles matches the entire day. Find a court, play your match, and report the scores to me. The winner moves onto their next match, and the loser will watch any ongoing games. Do not think to cheat, as ore-sama will be walking around along with the rest of the current Hyotei regulars. Furthermore, losers may be asked to referee for future games. That is all. Go." He made a languid dismissive gesture with his pale hand, looking utterly uninterested.

Ryoma only had one thought running through his head: Thank god it's singles.

"Game, Echizen, three games to love!" The other first year student called out. "Taki to serve."

"Hey Atobe, that first year over there isn't bad! He's beating Taki," Gakuto pointed out, eyebrows slightly raised in surprise.

"Ahn?" Atobe turned his head to observe the current game. "Hmph. Ore-sama supposes he is almost half-decent."

"Admit it, Atobe, you're impressed," Shishido sniggered.

Ryoma, meanwhile, was not impressed. What was the boy's name again? Tako (A/N: means octopus in Japanese)? He'd heard rumors of this boy being the best player (asides from the regulars) last year, but so far, this octopus was not living up to his reputation. Ryoma himself hadn't even broken a sweat, and yet the other boy was already panting, barely able to catch his breath. "Che, mada mada dane," he smirked. He didn't even have to use the twist serve.

"He's not that great," Oishitari murmured. "Average serve, half-decent speed, minimal power… Overall just rather ordinary."

The unspoken weight of his words hung in the air; this boy was not good enough to be a regular.

Atobe scoffed. "Hyotei regular teams do not accept anyone ordinary. Ore-sama is looking for extraordinary."

"Game and match. Echizen, six games to love."

Ryoma yawned. So much for a good work out.

He walked casually up to the net and wordlessly stuck his hand out.

"G-good game," Taki stammered, still trying to catch his breath.

"… Mada mada dane."

And with that, Ryoma left a rather stunned boy behind him still clutching at the net to steady hiself.

The rest of his games were worse. Ryoma was thoroughly rather disappointed in Hyotei's tennis team- had they really made it to nationals last year? They were awful. Ok, not that bad- just… rather… average.

Stretching, he marched monotonously up to the table. "Six games to zero. Echizen Ryoma."

The other two boys nodded before typing it into the fancy digital screen behind them. So there were actually a few good uses for Hyotei's ridiculous resources.

"Hm, not bad. Perfect record so far, hasn't dropped a game." Oishitari mumbled a few more things to himself as he studied the screen. "Interesting, interesting, should be interesting this year…"

"Oishitari. Are you done? Regulars will be joining in for the final round today." Atobe walked up behind the tensai's shoulders. "Anyone interesting?"

"Hm. Skilled? Not particularly. Interesting, however? Certainly."

"So it seems." Atobe frowned as he watched the dark-haired boy practice a few racquet swings. There was something off about him that Atobe had yet to place. It was as if they were missing something right in front of their noses.

"Alright, who should he play?"

Atobe turned his attention back to Oishitari. "Hiyoshi or Mukahi, either one will be interesting."

Oishitari's glasses glinted in the afternoon sunlight. "Mukahi then. This will certainly be entertaining. He has an air of arrogance around him. It would be such a shame for it to be crushed."

Atobe elegantly arched an eyebrow. "How sadistic of you… been spending time around Fuji from Seigaku recently?"

"Not any more than I used to. Although we did have coffee one day after meeting in a book store."

"Your personal life aside, you seem to hold your doubles partner in quite a high regard."

"Of course. Mukahi will defeat him."

"Hm."

At that, Oishitari turned to Atobe. "You can't possibly think that he'll defeat Mukahi."

Atobe merely laughed and walked off to find shade, citing statistics pertaining to the relationship between increased sun exposure and decreased skin health.

The matches began, and it was obvious that the disparity between regulars and non-regulars was simply too big. Shishido and Choutarou both won without dropping any games. Oishitari and Atobe didn't bother playing. Kabaji won with a score of 6-1. Jirou was so bored he fell asleep in the middle of the game and had to be taken off of the court- they still counted it as his victory considering he had already reached 5 games and his opponent was about to pass out. Hiyoshi didn't have any games either so he sat on the sidelines of an empty, unused court to meditate.

The only regular who was still busy was Mukahi. And he was very busy. Because the entirety of Hyotei may have underestimated a certain short first year named Echizen Ryoma.

The beginning of the game had gone normally enough, with Mukahi easily taking the first game- Ryoma had been watching things form the spin he put on his shots to the exact power of his jumps. After a careful analysis, he decided that the pink haired boy's flexibility was the main problem. He would have to seal it somehow.

In the start of the second game, it was Ryoma's serve. All the other games had already ended (although, to be fair, Ryoma's match had started late because Mukahi had to use the restroom), so everyone was watching them. He could clearly hear the whispers about him; "As predicted, Mukahi-senpai is gonna win again… The different between the regulars and non-regulars is just too great for us to overcome with only this amount of training… this is tough…"

Ryoma scowled darkly. If they thought this pink haired…. Animal in front of him was going to win easily without a fight, they were dead wrong. He smirked. No harm in giving them a little scare. He tossed the ball into the air, letting his instincts take over for awhile as he jumped, hitting a perfect twist serve.

Atobe's eyes immediately narrowed. "Twist serve, ahn? Ore-sama knew he was hiding something."

Oishitari's attention spiked as well. "Sharp angle, good power, ideal pinpoint of location… this is a difficult serve."

Unprepared, Mukahi's flexibility and reflexes barely managed to save him as the ball whisked straight through the spot his face was in mere seconds ago. He stared after its trail in wonder.

Ryoma smirked, and pointed his racquet at Mukahi. "If I win, I will be the one wearing that jacket you have on now."

Mukahi scowled. "How dare you? If I win, you will quit the tennis club," he snapped.

Ryoma's smirk widened. "Gladly."

Mukahi glared. "Good."

Ryoma's lips twitched into a cocky grin. "In fact, I'll finish this in less than half an hour."

"Likewise. Challenge accepted.

Everyone was whispering about how the math was "getting serious". Ryoma scored three more times with his twist serve, evening out the score. But it was obvious that Mukahi was not a regular for nothing- he was already getting used to the speed, and his jumps were automatically adapting to it.

"1 game all, Mukahi to serve!"

They rallied back and forth before Ryoma scored again off of a random, unexpected drop shot that landing right before the net.

"Hm. Impressive mental strength… to be able to pull of a drop volley at this point in the game…" Oishitari murmured to Atobe. "And could you not keep moving over? You already have this entire side of the tennis court to yourself, what more do you need? At least you aren't being disturbed by fan girls like the rest of us!" Just as those words fell from Oishitari's mouth, a girl's wide hair ribbon blew past and whipped the Hyotei tensai in the face. "Point given." He sighed.

And then suddenly, everyone was whispering and the scoreboard was already changing.

"Atobe, what just happened?"

"Ore-sama was planning his next business dinner."

"…"

"Oishitari-senpai, did you see that?"

"Choutarou? Where's Shishido? And no, I didn't see it. What happened?"

"That boy countered one of Mukahi senpai's special shots! He used some weird split step too."

"One-footed split step," Atobe injected.

"Huh, not bad. I was saving that for Nationals." Ryoma smirked at everyone else's shocked expression. They were in for an even larger surprise.

A/N: So another short-ish chapter, I know, but I wanted it to be updated before the twelfth… Do you guys prefer longer but less frequent chapters, or this length but more frequent? I will probably do a combination of both. R&R if you want :) Thanks to all you who reviewed, read, followed, or favorite! If you did any of those… you are a good person :D

The next chapter is super entertaining but it's not finished blergh. Anyways…

Ja ne

~Vieux