Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis

Warning: I made Echizen OOC in this. And there's a lot of cursing.

Chapter 1: For A Friend

"Hey! Echizen! Wake Up!"

Ryoma Echizen's friend/rival, Kevin Smith threw a magazine at his sleeping form, hitting him square in the side of the face.

Ryoma sat up suddenly, cursing, "Ow! What the fuck! What!?"

Kevin Smith pointed out the window of the side of the plane, "Where almost in Japan."

Echizen looked out the widow seeing the Japanese landscape, the morning sun just rising.

"Have you decided what you are going to do there?" Smith asked, sitting back down at his seat. He and Ryoma were flying to Japan to play a few exhibition matches. Ryoma was a well known pro now and in his prime at the age of 20. He didn't know how he felt going back to Japan, but one thing was for sure he anticipated meeting his former captain in at least one of the matches. Kunimitsu Tezuka was a prominent pro in Germany and played in a few tournaments, but he and Ryoma never met in a match. In a tournament in Germany, Echizen found that Tezuka returned to Japan, other than that, he hadn't heard anything about him since. He wondered what had happened to him and the rest of his old Seigaku teammates.

Smith and Echizen found their hotel, and Echizen immediately called his father and Coach Ryuzaki to tell them the news that he had arrived in Japan. While talking with Coach Ryuzaki, Kevin Smith was looking over the roster naming a few names he recognized. "Ey! Echizen! Stop talking to your girlfriend and take a look of this." He threw the roster at the dark haired young man.

Silently, Echizen turned giving his roommate the middle finger, before finishing his conversation with his former coach.

"Seriously, Kevin. I was on the goddamn phone." Echizen sighed, bending over the pickup the discarded roster. "What's going on?"

"That Sanada guy's playing…"

Ryoma's expression changed to confusion, as he flipped the roster over, searching the names thoroughly.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Uh, no…" Ryoma murmured, "Is this the most recent roster?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Just wondering." The roster Echizen held in his hand did not contain the name he was hoping for. But he was sure that Tezuka would be playing in these games. He covered his mouth with his hand, wondering. He went over to the hotel nightstand and pulled the phonebook out, flipping through the pages.

"What are doing?"

Echizen didn't answer, he took his key and opened the hotel door, to leave.

"Hey, Echizen!" Smith called as Ryoma left without a word.

**

Echizen arrived at a café where he was to meet two of his old teammates. He recognized them both, almost as if they hadn't changed at all.

"Well, if it isn't little Echizen," he heard a soft voice call.

Fuji. Echizen would recognize his facial expression and voice anywhere. Across from the creepy little tensai was the kind-hearted Oishi. They both looked foreign to Ryoma as they were in professional clothing. Echizen sat down after bowing to his former sempais.

"My, look how you've grown," Fuji smiled. "It is great to see you back Echizen."

"Thanks. It is a pleasure to be back. Sorry to have called you on such short notice."

Oishi shrugged, "Ah, it's no big deal. I do hope we can get all of us together at some point to have a little reunion."

Fuji nodded, resting his head on his hand, "It's good you called anyway. We need your help with a little something. But we'll talk about that later. How are things?"

Ryoma leaned back, "It's going good. My tennis career so far is solid. My agent is a decent guy, though it turns out that he is Kevin Smith's agent as well. I did not see that coming."

Oishi laughed, "That must be hard."

Ryoma shrugged, "Actually, I guess you could call us friends now. But what about you guys? What has happened the old Seigaku team?"

"Oishi here is a physician, I'm a professional photographer. Momoshiro's a contractor, Inui's a statistician for the Japanese Baseball League, Taka-san works at the sushi restaurant, Kaidoh's a physical therapist, and Eiji's in the movie business doing stunts."

"It suits him," Ryoma said in a low tone covering a light chuckle. Again one name was left out. "What about Tezuka-buchou? Is he still playing tennis?"

Oishi's and Fuji's expression grew stern, "No, actually. He hasn't played tennis since he came back to Japan three years ago. That is why we want your help."

"What do you want me to do?"

Fuji, inhaled deeply, "We need your help in persuading Tezuka to return to tennis. He'll probably listen to you more than any of us."

Ryoma shook his head, "No, he listens to you guys. I guess though, I'm that extra push. I was disappointed when I did not find him in the roster. Do you know where I could reach him?"

Oishi pulled a pen out of his shirt pocket. "That was an easy persuasion," he muttered as he wrote the address down. "What are you going to do?"

Ryoma took the napkin, "I don't know. I'll find a way. Why did he quit?"

"Injury," Oishi nodded bluntly. "We think that Tezuka believed that his career was over with the injury. He's an accountant now, such a boring profession for someone as talented as he."

Fuji shook his head, "Tezuka without tennis is an odd thing to get used to."

Ryoma smirked, "Alright I think I can get him playing again." He stuffed the napkin in his shirt pocket. "Aside from this, what else is new?"

**

Echizen stood outside the large estate cracking his knuckles in anticipation and preparation. This better be worth the effort. Of course it was worth the effort. Anything to get a talented tennis player such as former captain Tezuka back on the court to spice the tennis world up.

The gates opened and the butler led Ryoma into the vast estate. He led him to the office of Keigo Atobe. Atobe's smirk was still there, "Well, little Echizen. Welcome back."

"Monkey King," Ryoma sneered back at the haughty billionaire. Atobe chuckled, "You are still as insolent as ever. Please sit. Can I offer you a drink?"

"No thanks. I have a favor to ask."

"What happened to just basking in each other's company?"

Ryoma rolled his eyes. This guy had not changed a bit. It was amusing actually, to listen to this guy talk. Yet Ryoma couldn't help but give him a little respect. Even behind all that talk, Atobe had the skill to back it up.

"Besides," Atobe sat back down behind his desk, "Why exactly would I do you a favor?"

Ryoma shrugged, "'Cause you're a fucking swell guy."

"Nice try. Seriously…"

Waving his hands in concession, Ryoma decided to cut to the chase, "This involves someone both of us respect a great deal. I need some aid in getting Tezuka back into tennis."

Atobe nearly choked on his own spit. He had recalled that Tezuka stopped playing, but thought it was nothing more than a decision made by his former rival. "Why do you want him back?"

"I know you would like to see him play again as much as I do. We just need a few bucks to get him back on his feet. Call it a temporary sponsorship."

Leaning back, Atobe reflected on the opportunities that could occur if Tezuka managed to make it big back in the tennis world. It would be a good investment. Sort of like owning a baseball team, which was something Atobe wanted to do. "A sponsorship, eh? Will Tezuka agree to this?"

"Well…" Ryoma drifted off a little, "I haven't even asked him about returning to tennis yet. His friends all have tried but…"

Ryoma was interrupted by laughter, "I don't see you getting him to return to the tennis world. If his friends can't, what makes you think you can?"

"His friends couldn't because they don't have the connections that could help him back into the game. I do. I know trainers, coaches, and access to training facilities and tournaments. I know what he'll need to get going again and into professional tennis before the year is up."

Atobe's eyes narrowed, drawing a finger over his pursed lips, calculating Ryoma's claim. He had no doubt that Tezuka had the skill to return pro in no time. The question was: would Tezuka be willing to go back? "Alright, Echizen. You get Tezuka to play again, I'll get you the check."

A/N: This is the start of my second Prince of Tennis story, but I'm not finished with What Was Left Behind. I just had to get this started so this story will probably be updated infrequently until I finish my first story. But feel free to review anyway.