So, I know I shouldn't be starting a new story but... meh.

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis

Later that evening the regulars found themselves assembled in various positions around Ryoma's living room. They had all received a call from Coach Ryuzaki, requesting they gather so that she could discuss an important matter. None of the team knew what it was she wanted to talk about, not even Tezuka. Inui, however, had a few hypotheses–not that he was willing to share; they were all still sulking after all. Even Ryoma was a tad miffed–though not for the same reasons as the other regulars. He was annoyed at how easily his cousin had agreed to Ryuzaki's request of allowing their meeting to be held in his house. It wasn't some communal meeting ground after all. It was at that moment that the doorbell rang, signalling a guest. Considering the fact that, even though she was the one to call for the meeting, their coach had yet to arrive, it left no doubt in the green-haired boy's mind who their late night caller was. Being the only one sitting close to the living room doorway-and the only one not brooding- the tennis prodigy's eyes tracked his cousin's path to the front door, watching as she greeted their guest. A few moments later Ryuzaki-Sensei followed Nanako into the only room in the house that was infested with brooding middle schoolers.

The aged coach took one look around the room and frowned. The sight she that greeted her was an unpleasant one and she found herself witnessing the ruins of what was once a great tennis team. She huffed. "Is this what you're going to do? Sit around moping like some upset five year olds. These aren't the kind of attitudes I remember coaching. I thought you all had more spirit than that," her voice oozed disappointment and caused each of Ryoma's senpai-taichi to focus their attention on her.

"But Prince–" Momo-Senpai started.

"'But Prince' nothing. Who cares what that stuck up git said, his opinions don't mean squat."

"But he's the Prince. The prince of our sport. Of course his opinion matters, he's our idol!" Kikumaru protested.

"And that's why they say you shouldn't meet your idols," Ryoma input tonelessly.

"Just because you're soulless doesn't mean the rest of us are!" As soon as the words left his mouth a startled silence overtook the room. The slight widening of the freshman's eyes was the only indication he gave of his reaction. It went unnoticed by all the male members of the room.

"Eiji! Apologise this instant!" Oishi's reprimanding voice carried easily across the still silent room. The acrobatic tennis player merely responded by turning his head away. "Eiji!"

"No, it's… fine, It is the truth after all." Ryoma's apathetic visage was clamped firmly in place.

"See, even he acknowledges it," Kikumaru responded childishly as he folded his arms in a pout.

There was another moment of silence before Fuji spoke up, "Saa… Eiji did have a point. Prince is–was–all of our idols. It's kind of hard hard not to take his words to heart."

"But… Sensei also has a point… Why should it matter what he says? He's only a person. Granted he's a talented person and someone we all look up too, but… Taka-san countered timidly. Silence, for what seemed like the hundredth time, once again overcame the group. It was unsettling and filled with much contemplation.

It's a well-known fact that to truly understand something the conclusion must be met your own means, that concept could be applied to this situation. The Seigaku regulars had to come to the realisation themselves, the aged coach knew that, but she figured a final push along the right track wouldn't hurt. "What's more important to you? The hurtful words of some secrestive idol you've only just met, or the sincere comments of teammates that you've fought beside while striving for the same goal?" While she spoke, Ryuzaki-Sensei reached out her hand and laid it atop the young prodigy's head, sending her implied message out lound and clear.. Ryoma returned the gesture with a sharp glare. "Yes, Prince is your idol, and has been for a slong time, but he doesn't know anything about you. There is no need for his words to affect you as such, don't let him drag you down to his level. As it stands the only thing he has going for him is his talent and his charisma on the courts." She fell silent once more, resolved to allow them time to think.

"Hn." The occupants of the room turned their awareness to the captain, his sudden input having caught their attention. When he had entered the Echizen residence that night there had been a slight crack in his ever present stoicism. However, Ryuzaki's impromptu speech had acted as an adhesive, efficiently patching it up. This in turn influenced the other regulars, causing their own worries and doubts about the situation to slip away.

The tennis coach smiled at her team's show of unity. "Okay," she announced, gruff once again. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, time to move onto the reason I called you all here." She instantly had their attention. "Now, I know you all think Prince is an arrogant brat–that is what we just confirmed–but I still need you to bear with him for once more day. After tomorrow the two days are up and he'll be out of our hair for good. What this means is that there will be no more rough play, Momoshiro, Kaidou." Momo nodded his head reluctantly.

"Fshhhh."

"No more trying to get him to drink Inui Juice or Penal Tea or any other drinks you make him, Inui." Inue readjusted his glasses. "Kikumaru, no more hugs–or general acrobatic off his person."

"I wouldn't dream of it, nya."

"And Fuji… plan out whatever you want in your head just don't act on it," she pinned each of the involved members with a stern glare. "Now that's not to say that you should all just outright ignore him. You'll still need to be sociable and interact," they all looked ready to protest. "That is final. I don't want to have to listen to another complaint come out of that whiny brat's mouth. I'm not asking you to be overly nice to him, just don't give him reason to come crying to me." The pink clad tennis instructor released a breath at the lack of protests, unaware that she had slipped into her terrifying banshee mode. "Good. Now that we've got that sorted you can all go home."

With her dismissal, the regulars–sans Ryoma–all began to move. Tezuka and Fuji were the first to depart, civilly bidding the others a good night. They were soon followed by Momo and Kaidou–who had decided to catch up on the bickering they had foregone earlier that afternoon–and Inui and Kawamura–the last of whom offered a polite farewell. Soon all that was left in the living room was Ryuzaki and Nanako standing off to the side, and Kikumaru and Oishi standing before an indifferent Ryoma.

The acrobatics player took a deep breath and schooled his face into a determined expression. With fast and abrupt movements, Kikumaru fell into a 90 degree bow and kept his face to the floor. "Gomen, Ochibi! I didn't mean what I said earlier. I was just really annoyed with Prine, so please don't think that that's my opinion of you. You're too cuddly and cute to be soulless. Just like a teddy bear."

Not having expected the apology, the young Seigaku regular took a moment to respond. "… it's fine."

"No, it's not. What I said was really mean and not at all the kind of thing you say to a treasured friend." The older boy tilted his up so he could meet Ryoma's gaze steadily. "So I'm sorry. I'll take whatever punishment you want to give me."

Ryoma averted his gaze awkwardly, looking resolutely at a spot on the wall as a faint pink tinge rose in his cheeks. The energetic tennis player on the other hand, looked slightly disheartened at his Ochibi's lack of response, but he maintained his determination to make it up to the young prodigy. He straightened out of the bow and glanced at his partner behind him, finding Oishi's approving expression reassuring. However, with that moment of distraction, Kikumaru failed to catch Echizen's mumbled response.

"What was that, Ochibi?" he inquired curiously, turning back around to face his kouhai. Ryoma was still staring determinedly at the wall.

"I said I forgive you." There was a moment of awkward silence before Ryoma spoke again. "There's no need for a punishment. I forgive you."

After the proclamation no one spoke and Ryoma flickered his gaze towards his senpai. Once their eyes connected, the acrobatic counterpart of the 'Golden Pair' reacted. He launched himself towards the shorter boy, securing him in one of his infamous, bone-crushing hugs, and Ryoma let out a small 'oof' as their bodies collided.

"Nya! Thank you, Ochibi! It means a lot." Kikumaru grinned stupidly as he looked down at his kouhai, that sight that greeted him wasn't at all what he was expecting. Ryoma's previously faint blush had darkened, creating a far more noticeable tint. "Hoi, hoi. Oishi, look! Ochibi's blushing!" Ryoma schooled his expression into a noticeable glare as his energetic senpai let out loud barks of laughter, which was soon followed by light chuckles from Oishi.

"Okay, boys, enough of that." Having forgotten that they had an audience, Ryuzaki-Sensei's sudden input startled them, causing the doubles partners to cease their laughter. "Shouldn't you two be heading home? I'm sure your parents wouldn't want you to be home any later than necessary."

"Ah, that's right!" Arigato, Sensei. Come one, Oishi, ikuzo! Ja ne, Ochibi!" Kikumaru was once again his hyperactive self as he dragged Oishi towards the door. Ryoma silently followed them out.

"See you tomorrow, Ryuzaki-Sensei, Echizen," Oishi bid them politely. "That you for letting us use your living room Meino-san."

"It was no problem," she assured him.

As they were walking out the door and down the gravel pathway, Ryoma caught a snippet of their conversation. His energetic senpai seemed to be trying to convince Oishi-senpai of something. "Ne, Oishi, we have to tell the others about what we saw tonight."

"You mean about Echizen?"

"Un! It's the first time I've ever seen Ochibi blush! I was so surprised."

Oishi chuckled. "Now, now, Eiji, take it easy. Though it certainly was interesting."

"Inui's going to be so sad that he missed it!"

With that final remark, they had moved out of Ryoma's hearing range and he scowled in annoyance. He had a feeling that he needed to teach his senpai about the concept of 'need to know' and just when people didn't need to know. He decided to thrash him in a game of tennis the next day.

"Ryoma, can you come here please?" Nanako's sweet voice brought him back to reality. Reschooling his apathetic expression, the green haired boy gently shut the door and returned to the living room. Ryoma glanced at his coach, eyeing her suspiciously, before settling his gaze on his cousin. "Ryoma, we need to talk with you about something important." He nodded, showing his willingness to listen.

"It's about Prince," Ryuzaki started. "Are you sure you don't want to do anything about it?" Ryoma nodded slowly, unsure where they were going with that line of questioning. The pink clad coach pursed her lips. "I think you'd be better off putting that brat in his place." The golden eyed boy just stared at her.

"Ryoma, I don't know whether or not you've noticed it yourself, but latterly you've begun to express your emotion again." With a start Ryoma realised that what his cousin said was true. He just felt so comfortable around the other tennis regulars that the walls he'd built up weren't as strong as they used to be. "You really care about them," Nanako continued, correctly interpreting his silence. "I think that's a really good thing. It means you've made some really good friends. You care about them and they for you as well. But you saw how that Prince character treated them, made them feel. Are you really going to let that go? Some stranger came into your life and disrupted the tranquillity you had just settled into. He belittled your friends–true friends–and made a mockery of the sport you and your father both adore. Yet you want to leave it be?

"I know that what you went through after losing Ojii-san and Obaa-san was horrible, but this is too much. Even though you've locked away your emotions to hide from the pain, this isn't like you at all. The Ryoma I know wouldn't allow some not-nosed brat to walk all over his friends without a fight. No, the Ryoma I know would stand up for his friends, even without making it into a spectacular show of support, and would turn the abuse back onto the abuser," she stopped abruptly, calming the fire roused from her unplanned lecture. "I'm not trying to be harsh but just think about what I said, okay?" With that she excused herself from the room.

The young boy maintained his emotionless façade as he slid his eyes towards the only other person left in the room. His coach had yet to speak but he knew she still had something to say. What other reason would she have to hang around? Ryoma certainly wasn't the most pleasant choice of company, after all. His theory was proven a moment later when the aged coach reached into her jumpsuit's jacket pocket and pulled out what looked to be a small book. She tossed the object at him and he caught it on reflex.

"Have a look at that. You might find it interesting." The pink loving coach disappeared from the room, leaving the adolescent to his thoughts.

Ryoma soon came to the conclusion that he'd never understand women. After giving the object in his hand a long, contemplating look, he pushed himself out of the armchair he was perched in and made his way towards his room. Without bothering to change his clothes, the green haired boy flung himself onto his bed. He tracked his eyes over the ceiling as he pondered Nanako's earlier words. What she had said about his wall had hit the nail right on the head. Initially, they had been so strong that not even she–his closest living relation–could to get past them. Yet, somehow, an ordinary bunch of teenagers had managed to not only breech the walls, but they had also begun to break them down, bit by bit. The stronghold he had put in place to protect himself was slowly being dismantled and he wasn't too sure how he felt about that, which was exactly the problem. On one hand, he had a welcoming group of people willing to be his friends–and true friends at that. They weren't like all the superficial people he'd met when he was younger. On the other hand, he needn't bother with all that emotional crap, it only caused more trouble than it was worth in the end. However, Nanako's point still stood; the wall had long since been scaled, they were already inside, which meant that he was part way along the first path by now. Nevertheless, the situation was still salvageable should he decide to go the other way. But was that truly what he wanted? Did he really want to take a step backwards and return to previous, completely apathetic personality? Now that he remembered what his emotions felt like he didn't think he could go back, even if he desired it.

Ryoma released an irritated huff, deciding to drop that line of thought. As he rolled onto his side he caught sight of the book Ryuzaki-Sensei had given him. Seeing it to be a valid enough distraction he pulled it closer and flipped it open. The sight that greeted him wasn't what he was expecting. There was a picturestaring up at him, a picture of two very familiar people; his Oyaji and Ryuzaki-Sensei. They were much younger than he was used to but he would recognise them anywhere. He turned the page again, this time it was an action photo of his father playing tennis. Another page, another picture of his father. He kept flipping, lingering on each picture long enough only to take it in before moving onto the next. When he was halfway through what he now knew was a photo album, he came across a photo that caused him to freeze. The image that captured his attention was obviously taken secretly, as neither of the subjects were looking at the camera. It was a picture of when he was younger, from a memory he recalled vividly; the day his Oyaji first taught him tennis. It was one of his most treasured memories. He flipped through the remaining images faster than before, almost fervently. They were all of him, all of them capturing truly happy moments; his first official match, his first championship title, him holding a trophy, him versing tough opponents, matches against his father, him smiling… Finally, he came upon the last page and with a shaky hand he flipped it over, emotional turmoil instantly hitting him with all the force of an oncoming train. Staring up at him were three cheerful, smiling faces, all of which were exceptionally proud. It was the last photo that he had taken with his parents, right before the accident. His Oyaji had insisted on a photo to commemorate his 17th championship victory and knowing how stubborn the man could be, he and his Okaa-san had easily agreed. In the photo, Ryoma was still glistening with sweat from all the effort he'd exerted but he didn't look the slightest bit phased by it. Even his parents didn't mind his condition as they had proudly slung their arms around him. That was the last time he'd truly smiled, the last time he had felt that sheer amount of exuberance and happiness, since that fateful day. Suddenly, a spot of something wet appeared on the photo. It was soon followed by another spot, then another.

"What…?" Ryoma brought a hand up to his face as even more droplets fell. As he retracted his wet fingers from his cheek he finally realised what the moisture was: tears. With that realisation the floodgates opened and for the first time since his parent's death, Ryoma cried.

EDIT (09-06-14): THIS IS NOT THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY

What I just posted is near the END of what this story would become. I've been getting a lot of reviews about how confusing this is and that it's an intriguing 'prologue'. If you'd read the original author's note that would have been obvious. Anyway, this [part of the] chapter is actually what would be the second last addition to the story. This is where my idea originated (which is why it's written) and all I wanted to know was whether or not anyone would be interested in reading it from the beginning. I've got a positive response on that front so I'll be removing this chapter soon and replacing it with the first chapter (once I've finished it). Thank you for taking the time to read this. The original author's note is below if you wanted to see what it said...

Right, so, would anyone actually be interested in reading this story? If no one's interested then I won't bother writing it. Of course this chapter (well part of a chapter) that I uploaded isn't actually anywhere near the beginning of the story that I've got planned (it's more towards the end) but this is what resulted from my muse. Anyway, if you're interested could you drop me a review or a message just saying you'd want to read it? Thanks.