Love Lottery ~ Prologue

Soft, yet cold winds were blowing outside the Rikkai dai Fuzoku Chuu's premises, yet some students did not mind the chilly weather at all. Students were still busy with their after-class activities that the weather outside didn't seem to affect them at all.

The boys' tennis team was no exception to the huge body of students who were so preoccupied with their practice that they did not mind much about the current temperature outside. Most of the members of the team were already gone, but the regulars remained inside the campus and had gathered inside their clubroom.

The strong smell of ink filled the room as the captain, Yukimura Seiichi, finished writing the meeting's agenda for the day. He closed the marker and turned towards his teammates.

"Let's get going. I wrote here some of the things that each of you should try on our next practice, to see if we can integrate it to your current play style. Yanagi helped with these," Yukimura started. Yanagi Renji stood up and went to the front upon hearing his name. The two started explaining the things that were written on the board, and after a couple more minutes of discussion, the meeting was adjourned.

Some of the regular members started packing their things, while Yukimura and Sanada Genichirou had already went out of the clubroom and waited for the rest to finish cleaning up. Suddenly, 14-year old Kirihara Akaya approached Yanagi with a questioning look on his face.

"Oh yeah, Yanagi-senpai."

"What is it, Akaya?"

The sophomore pulled out a piece paper from his pocket and showed it to his senpai. "Ever heard of this?"

Yanagi took the paper and read what was written on it. The paper appeared to be a flyer prepared by Rikkai dai Fuzoku Chuu's student council, and similar sheets were already all over the campus.

"A matchmaking lottery?" Yanagi questioned.

"What is it all about?" Niou Masaharu immediately took the paper from Yanagi's hands and examined it. He exclaimed, "Oh, I heard about this already! Most of my classmates are joining."

"What for?" Redhead Marui Bunta chimed in, seeing the small commotion that the three were making because of a piece of paper.

Jackal Kuwahara unzipped his bag and turned to his locker to take out his things. "It's for Valentine's Day. The student council's sponsoring it. As far as I know there's going to be a sign-up booth next week, and then students who are interested in having a 'match' on Valentine's will have to fill up a questionnaire. Then the council will send the results to the company who manages the machine that sorts the compatibility rate between the students. It's the newest thing for teenagers these days."

"Oh, sounds neat. But the council? Eh, wonder what made those people think of this thing when they've been so uncreative for the past months? Oh yeah, Akaya, why are you asking Yanagi about this anyway?" A taunting smile was already plastered on Niou's face as he was waving the flyer in front of Akaya's face.

Akaya angrily took the paper from Niou's hands. "Does it really matter to you? I just... I just think that it's interesting, that's all."

"Of course. Wait, that gives me an idea. Why don't we all join in?" The silver-haired boy said, smirking.

"Don't pull me in your crazy plan, Niou." Marui said as he slung his bag on his back.

"Well, don't you think it's kinda nice to receive sweets from a girl on Valentine's Day?" Niou winked. Marui had a threatening look on his eyes, but it quickly wavered off.

"Oi, I only asked Yanagi-senpai if he had heard about this! I don't even have the slightest interest to join!" Akaya said defiantly.

"We don't have anything to do this Valentine's." Yagyuu Hiroshi commented as he stood up after tying his shoelaces.

Jackal looked at him with surprise. "Seriously, Yagyuu? I never thought you'd be interested in such things."

"It's the council's idea. I think it's bad not to support them. I don't even think that they're going to waste time for a silly project, so maybe it's worth the time." Yagyuu continued.

Yanagi and Jackal were quiet for a moment, thinking of what Yagyuu had just said. "I guess it wouldn't be too bad. I know all the students in this school, so it wouldn't be hard for me to get the right combination."

"Y-you're a cheater Yanagi!" Marui complained. The boys went silent when Yukimura and Sanada stepped inside the clubroom.

"You guys are taking so long. What's going on?" Yukimura asked. Kirihara was about to say something when he found Niou's hand over his face.

Yanagi just watched as the rest of the team gathered around Yukimura and Sanada. He smiled knowingly. This is going to be fairly interesting, he thought.

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A/N: From this prologue you can start reading the rest of the stories. There's no exact arrangement with regards to picking the stories, so have fun!

Yanagi Side | Kirihara Side | Marui Side | Yagyuu Side | Jackal Side | Niou Side | Yukimura Side | Sanada Side