Disclaimer: I do not own POT…I do however own all my characters and story lines.

A/N: animelover4ever69: Thank you so much for the follow and the review. I hope to hear more from you!

Respect

"Is…is…is that really Ochibi?" Eiji whispered to Oishi as they all took in the sight before them. Just as Tezuka had realized…all 7 now stood dumbfounded realizing that the man they were looking at was not the same Echizen Ryoma they knew before.

"He's gorgeous…" Fuji mumbled wide-eyed to himself. His pulse quickened when the wind blew Ryoma's now lengthened hair causing the loose strands to dance and the braid to fall from his shoulder to his back. He really was a sight to see.

They hadn't seen him since he returned briefly for the U-17 camp at age 14. As a matter of fact, they hadn't heard from him either. Momo had grilled Tezuka and Fuji, the two who had the most contact with him before he left, but neither one of them gave an inch. It was as simple as one minute he was there, the next he was gone…without a word.

The group made their way over to their old teammates. Ryoma was engrossed in a small conversation with Kevin, while Tezuka just stood there…still trying to maintain his composure.

"…Iie…it's too soon to tell. His form needs work…" Kevin said as the old regulars approached them.

"Echi—" Momo began before being interrupted.

"OOO-CHHII-BIIIII!" Eiji yelled. He launched himself forward and grasped tightly to Ryoma's lithe body. Ryoma stumbled a little, bumping into to Tezuka. Waves of electicity lit his shoulder on fire from the contact and his eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't even noticed the other members of his old team until right then.

"Eiji-sempai," Ryoma said in surprise.

"Ochibi! Where have you been? We've missed you! And you left without a word! And didn't even write!" Eiji whined.

"Gomen…" Ryoma mumbled, pulling Eiji off him.

Everyone gave their greetings. Filling Ryoma in on what had been happening with all of them briefly. He was surprised to hear about the development between Oishi and Eiji, but he had figured it'd happen at some point.

Oishi was a physical therapist now, and Eiji was his assistant. Kaidoh was now a pet trainer and shop owner…the only part of that that made sense was that animals would probably not be as afraid of him as people. Kawamura was of course still running his father's shop. Momo ended up as the tennis coach in the Seigaku high school, and Fuji as a journalist/photographer.

"Well now…I do believe I have some tennis player's to showcase to you," Inui said to Ryoma as the conversations died down.

"Aa," Ryoma replied. He adjusted his hat and then followed Inui to the courts.

"Minna (everyone)…line up!" Inui yelled as they entered the courts. All the players gathered standing in rows of twelve that stretched across the courts. The regulars formed a straight parallel line at the very front. "This is Echizen Ryoma…he has been assigned as one of the trainers for this year's U-17 selection camp. He was once a part of this team, as well as a part of the camp. This is his 8th year as a professional. He will be observing you for the rest of practice. His focus will of course be on the regulars, however, he will be most likely be participating as a trainer in the future as well…so do not think he will not be looking for potential in all of you for the years to come. Now, I will be turning the regulars over to him and his partner Kevin Smith…who is also a professional from America. You are to follow their orders specifically."

"Tsk," one of the taller regulars frowned, "Inui-sensei…we don't even know this character. I personally don't want to be handed over to a guy that may not even be much of a player…pro or not."

Just before Inui was able to reprimand his rude player, Ryoma cut in, "Hnnn," he said with his tell-tale smirk, "you've got quite a mouth." Ryoma took his hat off, placing it on Kevin's head. He then dropped his bag and pulled out a bright red racket.

"One point," he said smugly. "If you can get one point, you win…you all join the U-17…and I leave." His challenging golden eyes pierced into the mouthy boys deep brown ones.

"Wagatta (I got it)," the young boy replied twirling his own racket in his hand, "I'm—" he was quickly cut off.

"I'll ask your name if I think it's necessary," Ryoma said, making his way to court A, "you serve."

"Jeez, and I thought he hadn't changed…" Momo said with a smile.

Kevin giggled from beside him, "He has…that kid is in trouble…" he said smiling and pulling Ryoma's hat up to reveal his gleaming blue eyes. "I'll Ref Ryo!" Tezuka and Fuji both mentally flinched at the nickname, their frowns barely evident.

Kevin ran up quickly and sat in the referee seat next to the court, "not like you'll need it…" he mumbled.

Everyone else gathered around the outer fence to watch. The regulars looked rather smug at first…but the older men just quietly focused. It had been a long time since Echizen Ryoma played a match in front of them, and Kevin's behavior told them that something was about to happen.

THUD…..THUD….THUD…

Ryoma closed his eyes and listened from across the court while the young boy got ready to serve. Without opening his eyes…he began to bounce on his toes…the white aura of the pinnacle of perfection started to radiate off him gently; surrounding his body in a bright, eloquent glow.

"What the hell is he thinking?!" Momo said to no one in particular. "It's just a middle school brat!"

"Saa…it looks as though he plans to show no mercy," Fuji replied quietly. The sight of Ryoma in this state had his entire body trembling.

The boy served. His form was unique, his serve was strong…for his age he was obviously skilled, but before the sound of the neon ball hitting Ryoma's racket finished resonating…the ball had been returned with pinpoint accuracy directly next to the young player's foot. And Ryoma hadn't even opened his eyes.

"15-love!" Kevin announced on cue.

"Try again…" Ryoma said.

He was flashing a bright smile. A smile that not a single one of his old teammates had ever seen and with the combination of that and his unshielded features as well as his glowing aura…he was stunning. Tezuka's eyes followed Ryoma's every move. His heart pounded in his chest and his breath caught in his throat. If he thought that Echizen was beautiful before…he was simply fooling himself. In this moment, Ryoma looked like some kind of mythical Greek God.

For 3 minutes…the young player tried his best to gain some ground, but it was no use. Ryoma never once let him return. The kid served, and every time before he could react…a point was scored.

The other Seigaku members were speechless; the smug looks completely blown off their faces. None of them knew what was going on…or what they seeing…but they knew it was incredible, and it lit a deep fire in each of them. "He's not even looking…" One of them whispered.

After 6 minutes, the game was over. Ryoma returned to his normal state and watched the boy across from him carefully. There was only a small amount of regret mixed in with the light of determination behind the boy's eyes. Ryoma smirked and made his way to the net.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Tachibana…Tachibana Sou," the brown haired, brown eyed boy replied from the baseline.

"The rest of you come here," Ryoma said a little louder without taking his eyes away from Tachibana.

Each of the young regulars slowly made their way on the court, standing in a line on the other side of the net.

"Where's your captain?" Ryoma asked sternly.

"That's me…I am Yamazaki Rei," Yamazaki answered, stepping forward.

"Do you have enough of a grip on your team to organize them in front of the side wall each with their racket and a ball…or do I need to do that for you as well," Ryoma asked the young player.

Rei cut his eyes in anger, but didn't dare reply out of line, "Hai."

"I'll be over in 5 minutes, I believe I have a group waiting to ask a few questions," Ryoma said before walking over to his old teammates.

As mad as the 14 year old was, he understood the reason behind Echizen's harshness. One of his members spoke rudely and out-of-line…and that falls back on the captain. He suppressed his frustration and led his team to the side wall.

"Echizen, was that really necessary? He was just a kid, you didn't really have to go all out," Oishi commented when Ryoma came over to them.

"Che," Ryoma gruffed, taking his hat back from Kevin and resting it on his head, "if that's what you all are thinking…then I have more important things to do." With that he walked off in the direction of the young team he was assessing.

"You got it wrong," Kevin said, his head dropping slightly, "Ryoma plays every opponent at his absolute best…he isn't the kid you knew…and he does it simply because—"

"He thinks every player deserves that respect…not matter the skill level…right?" Tezuka finished for him.

"Un!" Kevin answered, looking towards Tezuka and grinning. Then he bounded off in the direction Ryoma had disappeared to.

Tezuka's words sunk in with all of them. Each felt a little guilty for thinking that way…except for Fuji who had the same train of thought as Tezuka. Soon the group moved to observe what Ryoma was having the boys do now while Inui stayed behind to run practice with the other members.

Intro of the young Seigaku – the most important ones listed first...

Captain: Yamazaki Rei – 3rd year

Appearance: Shaggy light brown hair (kinda like Fuji's) and big, bright emerald green eyes. 5'6" and 130 pounds. Small frame.

Traits: He is a little cocky, but holds high respect for those that are in a position of authority. He is a strict but lively captain. He is intelligent, top 5 in grades, and speaks English well.

Vice-captain: Tojiro Chiaki – 3rd year

Appearance: shoulder length black hair, kept in a low pony-tail and sharp, navy blue eyes. 5'7" and 145 pounds. Muscular frame.

Traits: He is usually quiet. Extremely observant and creative. Enjoys writing poetry and playing piano as well as tennis. He is also very intelligent and always place in the top 3. Can speak French as well as English.

Member 1: Tachibana Sou – 2nd year

Appearance: Short brown hair and intense brown eyes, oval shaped. 5'8" and 152 pounds. He has a larger frame, but is still athletic built.

Traits: He is extremely arrogant. Sometimes he can be loud. He is the younger brother of Tachibana from Fudoumine…but for certain reasons is a part of Seigaku. He doesn't have notable talents besides tennis, but he is very loyal to his closer friends.

Member 2: Kuroda Arashi – 3rd year

Appearance: Long blonde hair, usually tied loosely and laid over his shoulder, but kept back high when playing tennis and lavender eyes (looks very feminine…but still manly…basically a pretty boy). 5'5" and 120 pounds.

Traits: He is the team's genius or "tensai". He has a strong personality…with a slightly sadistic side…(Fuji complex lol). He only really speaks out if he feels it's needed. He tends to stray away from people other than the regulars. Very good with children, plays the violin, and is number 1 in grades. Outwardly he is quiet and gentle…inside he has his own demons.

Others:

Saito Hiromi – 2nd year; Okabe Mizuki – 3rd year; Ueda Kira – 2nd year; Matsuoka Taijima – 2nd year; Yano Shizuro – 3rd year