A New Life

A few months later, on December 28...

The air around the city was beginning to drop down to a few more degrees. It was expected. The winter season had already begun and many people were already enjoying their winter break. Christmas was just over three days ago and it was one of the most memorable events for a certain little princess named Shinomiya Kourin.

But she wasn't known to the people by that name anymore. By now, everyone knew her as Echizen Kourin, the little princess of the Echizen family and the Seigaku regulars. It had been official a few months ago and now, she became a legal member of the Echizen family.

Kourin couldn't help smiling as she remembered that. Until now, even though months had already passed, she still couldn't believe that Echizen Ryoma -- the cocky freshman super rookie of Seigaku Tennis Club -- officially became her older brother after all that ruckus and danger that both of them had faced because of the Dark Rose Agency. But as each day that passed in bliss, she was constantly reminded by the changes around her that everything was real. That she wasn't dreaming at all.

And now, she knew that it was for the best.

"Seriously, of all places that we have to go to for a celebration, does it have to be a theme park?"

Kourin rolled her eyes and sighed soon after. "Onii-chan, this is not just a theme park, okay? This is Tropical Land, which happened to be one of the most amazing and beautiful theme parks in the region. Don't be such a killjoy."

"Oh? So now I'm the killjoy?"

"It's the truth," Kourin said deadpanned. A few moments later, she linked her arms to Ryoma and started pulling him as they walked towards the main gate. "Besides, I haven't visited this place for a year. For now, we need to forget tennis at least for a while and have fun, okay?" Then she grinned.

For one moment, Ryoma had the urge to smack his adopted sister for being pushy. But then it immediately changed to an urge to smile fondly at the girl clinging to his arm right now. And he did...

"Like I have a choice. You're already clinging to me as if I'm some lost puppy," Ryoma said softly.

"Onii-chan, you're already old to be considered a puppy. Besides, you have feline eyes. That means you're considered a cat. And I should say you're a really cute wild cat. Like a baby tiger, if you ask me." And Kourin grinned impishly at him.

He didn't have any chance to retort on that when Kourin spotted one of the rides she liked to try and she began dragging him towards it. Well, he didn't mind her doing that. Besides, he wasn't exactly that worried that one or maybe all of his senpai would begin stalking him and Kourin on that particular day. He didn't want any of them to ruin their moment as siblings -- especially on that special day.

He suggested to Kourin that he would take her to her favorite place as a treat. Also, he did that to celebrate with her because she easily emerged as a champion at the winter charity tennis tournament two days ago. Kourin defeated several older and experienced contenders in that tournament. He couldn't help feeling proud since he knew that in a way, he contributed something to her training. But besides that, he knew that Kourin was already talented in tennis much more than he could ever think of.

And to think it was the sport that both of them loved.

During the whole time they stayed in Tropical Land, both Kourin and Ryoma enjoyed all the rides that the girl could think of riding. It was something that Ryoma had least expected, though, since he wasn't that fond of riding such childish rides.

But then, this was Kourin he was talking about. Slowly, he came to know what she was capable of -- especially in the field of making him smile effortlessly on her part.

It was past one in the afternoon when they finished enjoying half of the rides in Tropical Land. But Ryoma didn't feel bored, especially when he saw how Kourin genuinely enjoyed their time riding all the rides together.

They decided to take a break for a while after realizing that they had already skipped lunch. Right now, they were in the ice tower's observation deck. There weren't many people in the area, and that's exactly what they liked. With a few snacks on their hands, they enjoyed their time together while eating their food.

"Ne, Onii-chan, what do you think of my game during the tournament? But I don't want to hear 'mada mada dane' on this one," Kourin inquired after munching her food.

"What else do you want me to tell you?" Ryoma asked nonchalantly, still watching the view from their position.

"I'm sure you had a lot to ask about it... especially about two of the techniques I showed during the last 3 games."

The boy slightly froze at that and looked at Kourin the moment he recovered. Well, what do you know? His sister got him there. But then, for her to pinpoint at least that many facts were something that, in a way, he already expected from her.

"You can read me up to that point, huh?" he mumbled with a gentle smile as he looked at the view in front of them once more.

"Onii-chan, you're not exactly that hard to read compared to Tezuka-san in terms of facial expression. Besides, reading people's movements and hearing the tone of their voices were already something that they've helped me practice ever since. It's part of a detective's training and skills, you know."

Both of them chuckled.

"You're living up to your mother's name, huh?" Ryoma commented. But soon after, he noticed that Kourin's face slowly turned slightly sad. Of course, that sight caused him to panic even slightly. 'Great! I said something inappropriate...'

Seriously, when was the last time he said or mentioned even the tiniest detail that would remind Kourin of her deceased family? Now that he remembered it, he received a hard slap on the back of his head, courtesy of his pervert father. But he didn't react to that. It felt like he accepted that kind of punishment for saying something that would only cause his sister more sadness.

"Do you think so?"

Those words cut through Ryoma's musings as he looked at Kourin. To his surprise, he could see her smiling wistfully... as if she felt a sense of nostalgia.

Could it be...?

"But you know, Onii-chan, I still feel like I'm far from being someone as amazing as Mama. The same goes for becoming like Papa or Onii-sama."

Over the months since she became an Echizen, Ryoma was able to determine the distinction in how Kourin addressed the members of the family. He realized that she addressed her biological parents and brother more politely (on some occasions) than the way she addressed him and his parents. That way, Ryoma was able to distinguish who exactly she was referring to.

Kourin referred to Shinomiya Ryuuki as "Otou-sama" or "Papa" while to Echizen Nanjiroh as "Otou-san" or "Tou-san". As for her mothers (both biological and adopted), she referred to Shinomiya Rina as "Okaa-sama" or "Mama" oftentimes. She addressed Hitoshi as "Onii-sama" and Ryoma as "Onii-chan".

And right now, only the freshman rookie knew that fact.

"Finish eating your food already, Onii-chan. We still need to head there before two so that we could go to the next ride," Kourin suddenly said excitedly which somewhat surprised Ryoma.

"Head where?"

Kourin grinned as she faced her brother. "You'll see!"

-x-x-

Of course, Ryoma already expected Kourin to drag him to wherever she wanted the two of them to head out. But just like the usual, he just let her. Call him a brat who spoiled his sister but he could care less.

Kourin took him to another attraction-or to be specific, a location -- at the Tropical Land. With designed floorings and fountains surrounding the place, no wonder even Kourin would like it. It was a fountain plaza, after all. But then...

What exactly did she want him to see in this place, anyway?

"Barely made it..." Kourin muttered with a smile as she looked at her watch. "Only 30 seconds left. Watch the fountain spectacle from here, okay? I'll watch it from the center of the plaza."

Before he could even stop Kourin, she ran towards the center of the plaza where a sun-like figure served at its design. The design was inscribed in a circle and it was a slightly thick circle. He frowned a bit when he saw that. From his standing spot, he could see even the slightest gap between the circle that inscribed the innermost floor design to the next floor design.

At that point, Ryoma could already tell what Kourin wanted to show him. And he couldn't help but look at Kourin standing in the middle of the plaza waving at him with a smile. His eyes softened at the sight of that beautiful smile from his sister-despite the fact that Kourin was only his adopted sister. The fact that she became his sister after all that had happened between them was already enough for him to know one important realization that he had kept secret all this time.

Whatever happens, he doesn't want anyone to know that well-guarded secret.

As Ryoma began the countdown in his mind, he couldn't help looking around the plaza from his spot. He spotted several people familiar to him around the area. But the fact that some of those people don't look like they would go to places like Tropical Land had indeed surprised him. Who wouldn't be if he saw Sanada, Atobe, Kajimoto, and Chitose (it was a surprise he remembered those names, though) standing on their chosen spot while looking at the center of the fountain plaza?

"10... 9... 8..."

"7... 6... 5..."

"4... 3..."

"2... 1... 0!"

The moment Kourin shouted the last number of the countdown, the circle that inscribed the sun design she was standing at began throwing up water sparkling by the light of the sun. The trusted-up water became something like geysers that surrounded the five girls standing in the center.

That was when the little princess realized it.

That's right... She wasn't alone as she stood in that center.

So she turned around and soon noticed that her companions in that circle of water fountains were all girls. Surprisingly, two of those girls were about the same height as her.

But the first sound that came out of Kourin's mouth was a short burst of laugh when she realized that she might have embarrassed herself during the countdown.

"I guess I was too loud doing the countdown a while back, huh?" was what Kourin said after she stopped her laughter.

The other girls looked at each other for a short while before smiling and shaking their heads, as if disagreeing with what Kourin said.

The purple-haired girl with violet eyes spoke first. "That only proves you like this place a lot."

"I just like the sparkle of the waters," Kourin answered truthfully. "...especially when it's like this."

The girl with short brown hair showed a gentle smile as she looked at Kourin. "Do you go here often?"

"I just came here after a year. I lived in America two years ago before I was forced to move back here to Japan a year ago. In short, the last time I went to this place was just after I moved back here." But upon remembering something, Kourin slapped her forehead. "Forgive my manners. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Echizen Kourin. I know it's a little weird for me to say this at this place but... it's nice to meet you." And then she bowed for a short while before straightening herself again.

Surprise and disbelief hovered the air after Kourin did such action. But she knew one thing from those girls, though. Not once had her instinct failed her. She knew the fact that they would become one of the biggest parts of her life as Echizen Kourin.

Or at least she could tell that much.

That's why she could easily introduce herself to them -- using her new identity, that is.

The one with shoulder-length brown hair appeared to have recovered first since she spoke first with a confident (but not cocky) kind of smile. From Kourin's perception, this girl was probably more energetic than she (Kourin) could be. But not the same hyper energy as that Kikumaru's.

"My name is Kajimoto Chizue, 10 years old, 4th grader at Kanagawa Dai-ni Elementary School. I came here with my brother for a get-together since he rarely spends his time at home because of his tennis practices."

"I'm from Kanagawa, too!" the purple-haired girl exclaimed in delight. "But I'm studying at Kanagawa Dai-ichi Elementary School, also a 4th grader like you. My name is Sanada Reiko, 10 years old as well. As for the reason I came here, I just want to annoy my cousin for a bit. My grandfather told him that he should accompany me here so now he's kind of acting as my chaperone."

Kourin frowned at the name. "Could it be that you're related to one of the Three Demons of Rikkaidai, Sanada Genichirou-san?"

Reiko sighed wistfully at that. "I guess my cousin's famous, huh?"

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to offend you like that," the princess immediately apologized quite frantically.

"Don't worry, it's okay." Reiko smiled as soon as she said that and then she faced the other two girls. "I believe it's time for your introductions if you don't mind."

The girl with tanned skin and black hair sporting a white cap spoke first. "Chitose Miyuki, 9 years old, a 4th grader. Originally, I came from Osaka. Right now, I'm with my brother. I think you already know who he is."

"I know him," the girl with maroon hair said with an excited smile. "He's with Shitenhouji that reached the semi-finals in the Nationals, right? I watched their game with Seigaku. If I remember, Chitose Senri-san played against Tezuka Kunimitsu-san in a doubles match. That match ended up as a Singles match, though since their doubles partners were forced not to play."

"Wow... You sure know a lot. I didn't get a chance to watch that, though," Kourin commented. "I was preoccupied with something during that time."

"You should've seen that game. It was amazing," Miyuki said and faced the maroon-haired girl. "What's your name, by the way?"

"I'm Atobe Ayuka. Just like all of you, I'm a 4th grader at the Grade School Division of Hyoutei Gakuen. Also a 10-year-old girl. Nice to meet you."

Kourin couldn't believe the turnout of this situation. She met people -- not to mention girls -- who were connected to the known tennis players in the country.

Okay... 'Country' was a little exaggerated as an adjective.

But that wasn't the issue for now.

What concerned her was the fact that those girls have the same surnames as those extraordinary tennis players. The same goes for her. Well, in her case, she had the surname Echizen on a legal basis and not by blood.

"You said that you're Echizen-chan, right? Could it be that...?"

Kourin nodded once as she faced Chizue. "I'm Echizen Ryoma's little sister. I just turned 10 three days ago, also a 4th grader like the rest of you. But I'm studying at Teitan Elementary." Though behind the smile she showed, she couldn't say one thing. 'Yes, I'm Echizen Ryoma's little sister. Legally speaking, that is.' Only a few people knew that fact, though.

And it was for the best to let it stay that way.

The fountain display continued for about 2 minutes before it finally subsided. Well, in her perception, meeting these girls was something she considered the best display ever. As soon as the fountain display subsided, Kourin and the rest of the girls immediately noticed that their brothers and cousins had their attention on one side of the fountain plaza.

Kourin saw Ryoma's worried face as she looked at him and then to that particular side of the plaza. Her eyes narrowed as she saw a man holding a knife to the neck of his hostage. What was worse, the hostage was a child-a young girl.

She also saw Inspector Megure and the other police trying to pacify the man and doing their best to convince him to let the child go.

"I doubt that man will let her go."

Kourin faced the girl who said that. It turned out to be Reiko. "What made you say that?"

"By the look on his face. He could disguise it with the look of someone desperate to escape but if you try to look at his expression, especially the malice in his eyes, then you'll see the truth." Reiko faced Kourin with a smirk. "I was trained to know people's true intention through their facial expressions."

"And you can do that even to the people with stoic faces?" Ayuka inquired jokingly.

"If you mean I use that to the likes of my stone-faced cousin, then yes. I do that all the time."

"We have to do something to stop that guy from escaping, then. But we can't simply do that while he was holding that child," Miyuki said in her worries.

'There has to be something that will help me drop his guard down.' At that point, Kourin subconsciously took a step backward that almost immediately made her remember the shoes she was wearing. Now, it wasn't just Conan who was wearing super-powered rubber shoes. She remembered that she asked Professor Agasa to create the same functional shoes for her.

'Maybe that's possible!' And with that, she positioned the can of juice she was holding on the floor. Kourin made sure that it was placed in a position where she could hit the man with the can to distract him and let the police save the girl.

If what Reiko said was true about that man, then she could only do this feat once. That means, she also needed to be careful.

Once everything was set, Kourin turned on her super-powered tennis shoes. A few moments later, she found the perfect chance to strike. She did so as inconspicuous as she could. She kicked the juice can as hard as she could towards her intended target.

And just as she calculated, the juice can hit the man's head hard, eventually letting his hostage go before he could even have a chance to recover and regroup. The police took this as a chance to arrest the suspect and protect the girl.

"How did you do that? You can't possibly kick something that far with your supposed strength... Or maybe you're just more powerful than you look," Chizue said in a surprise at Kourin's deed.

But the latter just scratched the back of her head and smiled sheepishly.

"Let's just say I had some help to do something like that."

"Well, whatever it is that helped you, it's cool. And the way you aimed to that dumbass' head... BAM!" Miyuki exclaimed and then laughed. "You hit him well."

Kourin laughed at that remark and did a curtsy. "Why, thank you."

The five girls laughed altogether that Ryoma, Sanada, Atobe, Kajimoto, and Chitose eventually noticed and heard. Well, no question that they were surprised to see something like that. Not to mention, they were baffled as to how these five girls suddenly got along like this.

But to Ryoma, it doesn't matter. As long as he could see Kourin laugh like this, the reasons, for now, don't matter that much.

And it wasn't a surprise for him that their celebration continued with not just two, but ten people celebrating it. He doesn't want to see tennis-related people on that special day but then he guessed he couldn't help it. Besides, he managed to overlook that part as long as it wasn't his senpai-tachi who would ruin that day. All he cared about at that point was to see his sister happy and having fun. That part was obvious since he ignored every question that Atobe had thrown at him with regards to his sibling relationship with Kourin.

The day ended with the five girls having fun in that theme park.

And when the boys that accompanied them had analyzed the situation, they saw that the five girls would eventually form a bind so strong despite knowing that those girls would become rivals in the future.

As far as Ryoma knew, Kourin would be studying at Seigaku and she firmly stated that when his father asked her about it. She said once that Seigaku did a lot to change her life all the way.

Reiko would (begrudgingly) go to Rikkaidai once she graduated from elementary. 'Begrudgingly' in a sense that she doesn't like the rule of Rikkaidai wherever she put it. In other words, she doesn't like it there but she doesn't have much of a choice. It was her grandfather's order and her stone-faced cousin wouldn't take no for an answer.

Miyuki's choice of school was still undecided but there had been rumors that she would either choose Shishigaku or Shitenhouji. Either way, she still needed her brother's advice on that. But she had an idea that Chitose would let her choose Shitenhouji.

Ayuka would -- obviously -- go to Hyoutei but not follow in her cousin's footsteps. It was the only school that she had in mind that would help her find the strength that she was badly looking for. Surpassing Atobe Keigo was one of the few ways for her to do that.

And Chizue, since it was clear that she admired her brother more than anything else, would possibly go to Jyousei Shounan. There was a rumor that the coach of the Jyousei Shounan Boys' Tennis Team Aoi Hanamura had personally handpicked her to become a part of the Girls' Tennis Team.

Well, whatever choice that these girls make for their future, they only knew one thing.

The barrier that existed between rival schools would never affect the newfound friendship that they had on that one seemingly ordinary December 28.

Kourin and even Ryoma knew that more adventure would surely come their way in the next coming years. But at least, they were going to face those adventures... together as siblings.

He could only hope that those adventures won't end up deadly for both him and Kourin in the end. But for now, he doesn't want to think about that.

All he had to focus now was on how to become a good brother to his little sister. Okay, scratch the word 'little'. Kourin shouldn't be considered as little if height was the issue. Though he hated to admit it, Kourin was beginning to become as tall as he was (151 cm). Of course, there was still a discrepancy of maybe about 10-20 cm. And to think she was only a fourth-grader.

'How did that even happen? Was she endowed with so many height genes and I didn't?' But seriously, he should stop ranting like that. It just wasn't cool... at all!

"Let's do this again another time, ne, Onii-chan?"

"Uisu!" 'Any time... as long as it would make you smile like that...' And for Ryoma, it was a promise he had no intention of breaking at all...

...for the sake of his sister...

...Echizen Kourin...