A/N: Hi! Thanks for opening this fanfic. This is the revised version of Future Life with the Echizen's, which I had deleted a couple of days ago. I'll be applying the changed that you guys had told me in this story. Tell me what you guys think about this, kay? So, on with the story!

Confidence - Prologue

Echizen Compound, Los Angeles

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Rei?" I heard Rome ask me.

My cousin Alex got inside my once poster-filled room just in time to hear what my best friend inquired. He sat down on my bed, swinging his feet all the while. "He's right, Rei. Are you positive that you can handle Japan?"

I gently pulled the zipper of my suitcase before standing up to meet their gazes. Rome was sitting on the floor, playing with a lone tennis ball. Alex was still sitting on my bed, but he stopped his swinging to hear my response.

"Guys, I've wanted to visit Japan for as long as I can remember. Now that Okaa-san had decided to set-up a branch of her spa line there, I can't just let it pass." I explained. But the expressions on the closest guys I know didn't seem to change.

I added, "Think about it. To be able to attend Seigaku—the school which made my parents into the players that they are now. I just know it'll be a great experience!"

Rome stood up, which made me look smaller compared to him. He was almost six foot one, while I was a mere five foot four. How do guys even become tall like that?

"Whatever, Rei. Just be sure to give me a nice match before you leave." He sent me one of those boyish smiles of his, which made me almost crumble inside. I guess he's planning some-sort of move that will send me crashing down.

I smirked at him before accepting his challenge. "You're on! You and Alex against me, one point to nothing; race you guys to the courts!" With that, I fled my room, leaving the boys behind my dust.

Our parents were having their own discussion in our dining area when we suddenly barged in to get to the kitchen door, which was an absolute shortcut to the tennis courts.

"Ha! You guys will never catch me!"

"No fair, Rei! You trained with the Track Team last summer!"

"C'mon Alex, we have to catch her!"

It took Uncle Kevin and Uncle Ryoga to stop us. We stopped on our tracks, bumping into each other from the impact. We all exclaimed our pain through a timed 'Ouch'.

Otou-san stepped in front of us and stared at me. "Care to explain what's going on, Reika Echizen?"

I smiled sheepishly before answering Otou-san one word, "Tennis."

With that, he patted me on the head and got out of the way. Remembering that we were on the race of the lifetime, I ran towards the backdoor with my pigtails trailing behind me.

I heard Alex and Rome groan before they also sped past their own dads.

When I reached the tennis courts however, my little brother was already occupying Court 1. That left us to use Court 2, which was what we came to know as, "Samurai Court".

The Samurai Court—it's the court that our dads use whenever they would play tennis. And because each one of them has individual rooms in their homes full of competition trophies, us kids believe that they are so great in the sport.

The pressure is actually greater on me, because Otou-san and Okaa-san are some kind of tennis prodigies back in Seigaku. At first, I didn't believe Aunt Julia, Rome's mother, that Okaa-san was a great tennis player. But since all of the Ryuzaki's were prodigies, I soon believed that she was an expert in her earlier years. Although Aunt Millicent, Alex's mother, said that my mother had to work real hard in her Junior High days before she was even able to master the art of Tennis.

Otou-san's side of the family isn't bad either; in fact, Oji-san was known as the "Samurai" during his days, while my own father was quoted as the "Samurai Junior". Just recently, one of the media had managed to get inside our compound to interview us. It was really awkward—Alex, Rome, Uncle Kevin, Uncle Ryoga, Otou-san, and I were playing tennis when a weird lady from the TV Station crawled her way towards us. She quoted that I should be called, "Echizen Heiress" because I came from the great line of great players.

However, there are also bad sides of publicity. I heard some reporters comment that our lineage should have had a boy first before me; to continue the male legacy of the family. For me though, it just makes it a lot more challenging with the fact that I am a girl, and yet they are beginning to compare me to other tennis players on my age. Okaa-san wanted me to make tennis a hobby, and not a competition at all, but during the time some woman on the park challenged her on a match, she agreed immediately. And boy, was that match fast. Okaa-san made her forfeit after the first five minutes of the game.

"Rome, she won again."

I smirked. It looks like they had arrived right on schedule. I went towards the tennis rack located on the other side of the court to get rackets and neon balls. I tossed two rackets towards Alex and Rome's direction before I jogged towards my side of the court.

"So, what happens to the loser?" Rome asked.

I grinned. "Then they have to challenge Ryo to a match."

Alex and Rome paled at the idea. Even though my brother is still young, Otou-san had started to train him like mad. He could've also done the same thing to me but Obaa-san and Okaa-san wanted him to remember that I was still a girl and I shouldn't be too rough on training.

In fact, my brother has gone real well during the past couple of months that even Alex and Rome were afraid of him; he also wanted to attend Seigaku, but our parents reminded us that there was no Elementary in Seishun Gakuen.

"Oh it's on, Echizen."

As if on cue, Ryo appeared on the court, and climbed up the high chair that Oji-san usually occupies. He announced, "Onee-san versus Alex-nii-san and Rome-nii-san. Who'll win?" His announcement could be heard throughout our whole house, so it will be no wonder if our parents appear later on.

I tossed a ball in the air before applying enough power to it to create a twist serve. Otou-san had taught us his signature move when we were still young, so expect to see it whenever we have a match—it has somehow become a routine to start a match with the move.

Alex returned the ball with ease. I almost forgot that he was also an Echizen. Even if Uncle Ryoga was adopted.

There were a series of rallies before Rome decided to use Illusion on me. I stared on the ground to find the ball's shadow before hitting it with a cyclone smash. The total return—Otou-san told me the secret to defeat the Smith's Illusion: Look for its silhouette and then use the cyclone smash.

"1 game to love, Onee-san wins!"

Alex and Rome seemed to be deflated by being defeated by a girl. "And to think that you didn't even use any of your own moves on us." My cousin stated after falling down on the ground.

"But you've got to admit, she was sweating a great amount." Rome countered before copying Alex. I snorted at him.

"I wasn't sweating!"

Alex smirked at me. "Whatever you say, dear cousin."

I was about to launch myself at him when I was stopped by Ryo. My nine-year-old brother hugged me right there and then, resulting to weird stares from the three of us. After hugging me for what seemed like 20 minutes, he let go and bluntly stated, "Play a match with me."

"Seriously? But I'm tired." I whined.

It wasn't that I was afraid of my little brother—no. It was just that he was expecting too much from me. I can't satisfy him like what my parents give him. Okaa-san teaches us occasionally some of the moves that her Obaa-chan had taught her, and believe it or not, Ryo and I make our own moves from them.

Speaking of Okaa-san, she waltzed in with Otou-san and the others trailing behind them. "So, it looks like Rei-chan won again."

"She only won because she came here ahead of us, Auntie Sakuno." Alex stated like a five-year-old.

"What are you talking about Alexander? I think I had every right there is to be ahead of you guys—you're guys!"

"Tch. Let's settle this with tennis, then."

"Oh it's on."

Rome stepped in and stopped us before we put matters into court once again. "Hey, break it up."

Ryo suddenly went towards Rome. "Rome-nii-san, play a match with me."

Rome quickly averted his gaze from the persistent kid, muttering that he still needed to feed the grass. It took Ryo some time before he realized that grass doesn't need feeding. The little guy ran after my best friend after that.

Aunt Millicent suddenly spoke up, "Rei-chan, have you finished packing? We're about to go to the airport in an hour. You don't want to miss the plane now, do you?"

As if a lightning bolt struck me, I dashed towards my room to finish packing.

LA Airport, California

"Remember, cousin dearest, that Rome and I will beat you when you return, got it?" Alex patted my head before engulfing me into a bear hug. Even if the both of us fight a lot like cats and dogs, we are still family.

I turned to Uncle Ryoga and Aunt Millicent next.

"Now you be good, kiddo. Don't be like your dad." Uncle Ryoga reminded me before getting hit by Aunt Millicent's traditional fan.

"Be good, okay dear? Help out in the spa more often. Sakuno needs all the help that she could get." She told me. I nodded. Then she turned to Ryo and told him the same thing.

Aunt Julia then grabbed me. She was a photographer; so it must be a pain to be losing one of her models. "You do realize that I won't get that much of orders anymore, right?"

I smiled at her sheepishly. Uncle Kevin just ruffled my hair.

I looked for Rome last. I found him sitting on one of the airport benches. "Dude, you okay?"

He looked up, his eyes mixed with different emotions. "Yeah, guess I'll be—in a couple of weeks."

I laughed. "Don't be such a drama king."

"Well, what did you expect? I won't get to see my best friend for a long time."

"You do know that I'll be gone just for a year, right?"

"The feeling of absence still remains."

With that, he stood up and hugged me. "I'm gonna miss you, pal."

"Right back at ya, buddy."

Alex just had to ruin the moment. "In my opinion, both of you are stage show wannabes." Rome and I glared at him.

"Reika." I heard Otou-san call me. It seems that they had already walked towards the entrance of immigration. I quickly bowed at them before rushing to meet up with my family.

"See you back in a year, Rei."

Tokyo Airport, Japan

First of all, this was not the welcome that I was expecting when we arrive in Japan. I expected it to be normal and quite calm actually. But Otou-san's fans clearly destroyed the perfect scenario.

"Kyaa! It's Ryoma-sama!"

While we were going down the plane, girls were going crazy that they even tried to climb up the stairs. When they were disposed of, I thought everything would fall into place. But no; it was Okaa-san's fan boys' turn. Otou-san, of course, let them know their place in life with just one glare. But you won't believe what one guy exclaimed.

"Sakuno-hime! Marry me!"

Normally, I'd laugh it off, but it looks like this guy was serious with his proposal. He had a tuxedo on, a bouquet of flowers, teddy bear and a diamond ring. Ryo and I were hysterically laughing our heads off, but Otou-san's reaction was a different story.

Otou-san pushed the guard away from the guy and stared down at Okaa-san's admirer. He had a menacingly glare while studying the person in front of him. Normally, he would just glare off any of Okaa-san's weird fans, but it looks like this person was either paid to do this, or was just plain stupid.

Can't he see that Okaa-san has children already?

Suddenly, before Otou-san had the chance to challenge the poor dude into court, several tall middle-aged men appeared from our line of vision. They all looked muscular, and by the looks of how Okaa-san reacted when she saw them, it looks like my parents know these people.

A redheaded guy lifted Otou-san like he was a pipsqueak. A pipsqueak!

"O'chibi! Calm down. We'll handle this, nya!"

Did that guy just meowed? Like a cat?

"Kaidoh, would you like to do the honors?" The one with purple eyes patted the man he was beside with. I was busy focusing myself on the man that had female features on when Ryo tapped me. I absentmindedly turned to him, still gazing at the man with closed eyes. "Onee-san…"

The tone of Ryo kind of alarmed me, so I faced the direction he was pointing at. My eyes widened like saucers when I saw the guy that the purple-eyed man was calling earlier.

It took all of our willpower to not scream right there and then. "Scary…"

All it took was a hiss from the snake-man before Okaa-san's admirer had run off in fear. And I couldn't blame him for that.

The meowing man smiled at the scene before he turned to Okaa-san. He grabbed her into a hug. "Saku-chan!"

Otou-san was still in his grasp, so my parents were squished like sardines in his arms. "Geez. You should take vacations a lot more often! Look at how you've grown!"

"Kikumaru-senpai, we're here to expand Sakuno's business. It's not technically a vacation."

Senpai?

The meowing man, addressed by Otou-san as "Kikumaru-senpai' scoffed.

The female-looking smiling man then turned to Ryo and me. He opened his eyes before ushering us to come forward. "You must be Reika and Ryo, right?"

We nodded. He closed his eyes once again before presenting us to an egg-shaped head man. "Oishi, look. They look like minuscule versions of Echizen and Sakuno-san."

"Oishi" turned to him and smiled after studying us. "You're right, Fuji."

Out of nowhere, a creepy mad scientist-looking person appeared, complete with a notebook and pen in his clutches. He started to circle around us, all the while scribbling madly on his notebook.

It looks like Kikumaru-san had noticed what the weird behavior of the mad scientist caused us, so he dragged him away from us. "Inui, stop that! You're scaring them."

Otou-san and Okaa-san turned to look at us when they heard the redhead's observation. Okaa-san smiled at us before ushering us to come beside her. Ryo and I were too happy to comply.

Ryo suddenly spoke up, "Okaa-san, why is there a weird mad scientist? And why does that man like to smile so much? And why is that red-haired man meowing? And why is that man's hair looked like he hadn't brushed it for ages? Why-"

I quickly placed my hands on his mouth, feeling embarrassed for his behavior. The adults only laughed at us. "We'll explain on the way. Right now, the others are probably waiting for us in the sushi place."

Kawamura Sushi

"So this was Otou-san when he was younger?" Uncle Takeshi and Uncle Eiji laughed with me hysterically.

I didn't bother to hide the gleefulness in my voice. Even if we had just met with the old Seigaku Regulars just a while ago, it didn't take long before we had been considered as a part of the 'family'.

My parents were friends with the tennis club, I concluded, since everything about the people with us inside the restaurant was overflowing with tennis.

I've learned that Uncle Kunimitsu, the team's captain back on their days, was residing in Germany with his family, where his daughter was already entering University. Uncle Fuji's case was the same thing: he had twin girls, and both of them were overseas too. Uncle Taka's only girl was apparently also studying in another part of Japan, in Chiba, where she was expanding the restaurant chain. Uncle Takeshi's kid was in Kyoto, seemingly interested with the farm, so she stayed there instead of taking college.

Ryo had started to chat with Uncle Taka, the current owner of the sushi place we were in. The little fellow seems to be very elated to be sharing some words with the Chef.

Uncle Shuichiro suddenly approached me. "Reika-san, you're 14, right?"

I nodded. Then he asked me once again, "You're on your last year of Junior High, then?"

Okaa-san answered for me. "Yes she is, Oishi-senpai. Why?"

"Figures. You should wait a little more. The kids would arrive any time soon."

I didn't know if he was telepathic or what because right after he told me that, there was a knock on the door, and a bunch of jersey-clad teens made their entrance.

It didn't take me long before I realized that these people in front of me where the children of my parents' old senpai-tachi.

Uncle Shuichiro quickly made his way to a calm looking black headed girl, pointing to me before smiling.

The girl got the attention of the others before they all went to me. "Hey. You must be Reika. We heard so much about you."

I shyly took the girl's hand to shake it. "My name's Candice, by the way. Feel free to call me Andi."

After a few exchange of words, a petite girl who looked like Uncle Eiji named Rin proposed that we seat outside, where there was a garden. I greatly agreed.

We were eating quite happily, when I took notice of everybody's gear. Their uniforms, rackets and not to mention their tennis balls all had a logo. I muttered under my breath, "T…S?"

Shiru, Uncle Inui's (the mad scientist) daughter caught on what I was muttering and answered my unheard question. "We all go to Tayuki Shima Gakuen."

My eyes widened. "Eh? You don't go to Seishun?"

Everybody stopped eating and stared at me. Andi quickly explained, "Reika, Seigaku is too much for us to handle."

"What do you…mean?"

"To keep it simple, Seigaku stinks."

As if something died within me, I was out of words. Rin, who noticed my reaction, expanded the sentence once more. "Our parents may have graduated from that place…but now it's a wreck. The tennis club doesn't even exist anymore."

"Have you tried reviving it?" I asked, still a bit baffled by the turn of events.

This time, Uncle Kaidoh's (the snake-man) son Keito spoke up. "We tried…but nobody seems to be interested in the sport anymore."

I sat there pondering. All this time, I wanted to attend the greatest school there is of tennis to experience the training that my parents had when they were at my age. Though it seems that the love for the sport had died when they disappeared.

"You could enter Tayuki Shima, you know. It's considered as the greatest in Japan now, after the legendary Seigaku."

"I've made up my mind—I'll attend Seishun."

The people eating seem to be taken aback at my declaration. "Weren't you listening? Seigaku doesn't exist anymore." Shiru stated.

"I'll revive it. Then we can meet up in a tournament or something later on." I confirmed, smirking. The Regulars of Tayuki Shima mimicked my actions.

"You're on, Echizen."