Author: potetofurai
Fandom: PoT
Pairing: None
Words: 351 (roughly)
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Don't own PoT
Summary: Nanjiroh gives Ryoma some advice. It's a sweet fic.
A/N: written for Tenipuri 500 "Sky" challenge.
Echizen Nanjiroh was one of the world's best tennis players. He was becoming a legend very quickly. Nanjiroh was always unpredictable; no one ever knew what he was going to do next. He shocked the entire world when he announced he was quitting professional tennis. He never said why, he just retired. Confusion spread among his fans, rumors started and each was unlikely as the next. The real reason was because of his first son, Ryoma. Nanjiroh had always wanted a son. He wanted to teach his newborn everything, so he retired from tennis.
Nanjiroh started to teach Ryoma tennis before he could barely even stand. Ryoma seemed to have gotten his father's talent, which Nanjiroh was very happy about. The years went by and Ryoma got better and better at tennis.
When Ryoma was six his took his first step towards becoming an amazing tennis player. Ryoma scored his first point against his father. Ryoma was so proud of himself. Father and son finished their game, with Nanjiroh winning and Ryoma scoring one point.
"Great job today Ryoma." Nanjiroh barely ever congratulated his son, that was his wife's job. But Nanjiroh felt that this time he should congratulate Ryoma. After all, it was very difficult to score a point on Echizen Nanjiroh.
A smile came to Ryoma's face; suddenly the young boy was pulled up onto his father's shoulders.
"Oiyji…" Ryoma wined.
"It's a long walk back home, and you scored your first point today. You deserve a ride." Nanjiroh answered. Ryoma was such a rebelious little boy, way too smart for his own good.
They reached the house, and Nanjiroh put Ryoma down. He kneeled down next to his son.
"Look Ryoma." The former Pro pointed to the sky. "You have no limit to your ability Ryoma. Don't stop at the sky, reach even higher. Never give up Ryoma." Nanjiroh stood up, straeched and left his son to his thoughts.
Ryoma looked up at the cloudless, blue sky. "Higher than the sky…"