Ryota Echizen

Home Sweet Home

Ryota's POV

Making my way inside my house, I called out. "I'm home!". Going to the kitchen, I dropped my bag near the living room.

Opening the fridge, I grabbed a bottle of water and made my way outside towards the the temple where I heard the sound of a tennis ball being hit constantly.

"Come on! Why don't you get serious!"

"Baka Oyaji!"

Laughing silently to myself, I continued walking until I found myself hiding in the shadows of the temple as Oyaji and Onii-chan were in the middle of a serious match....Well, as serious as Oyaji could get.

Shaking my head, I stepped out of the shadows and sat on a near by bench, waiting for them to notice me. Oyaji was the first to notice me and he called out ot me while they continued to play.

"Ryota~ How was school, my baby boy~?" He called out while giving me a smile, completely pissing off Onii-chan since he wasn't even paying attention to the match, yet was still winning.

Smiling, I called out. "It was nice~ All my class mates were really nice and I made a new friend!" 'Better not mention the whole "Atobe-sama" and "Prince-san" ordeal. Who knows what will happen' I thought while shuddering on the inside.

Nodding, Nanjiroh finally seemed to decide to end the match by beating Ryoma quickly in a matter of minutes. Grinning like a fool, he walked over to Onii-chan who was laying on his back on the ground panting.

"Come now~ Don't you want to get better~?" He teased playfully while taping his racket against his shoulder.

Glaring up at him, Ryoma simply sat up and walked past Oyaji towards me. Sitting down on the ground in front of me, he leaned back and rested against my legs. Smiling down at him, I uncapped the water bottle and handed it to him. Waiting patiently for him to finish drinking, I took the towel on the bench and began to wipe away the excess sweat from his forehead.

Hearing footsteps coming towards us, I looked up to see Nanjiroh giving me a grin. "Why don't you play against your old man for a bit while this lazy bum," geturing to Ryoma by bumping his leg, causing Onii-chan to glare up at him, "rests?"

Shaking my head, I helped Ryoma up onto the bench and took my jacket off. Grabbing the fallen racket, I made my way onto the tennis court and waited for Oyaji to get into position.

WHACK!

We began playing an intense rally, no warm up necessary. Looking for his weak spots, I noticed that Oyaji was using his special technique to have the ball spin towards him without moving a muscle.
       

After playing for a good 15 minutes, I began to notice the sun was setting. Distracted, I didn't notice the tennis ball coming my when until Ryoma called out to me.

"Ryota!"

Looking up, I barely saw the ball coming towards my face until it hit my cheek. Taking a few steps back, I held a hand to my cheek and winced at the pain while the ball bounced away.

Footsteps were heard coming my way and soon Oyaji was inspecting the bruise now forming.

Wincing when he touched it gently, I just looked up and gave him a weak smile.

"My bad"

Shaking his head, Oyaji just grinned at me. "Be careful next time, ok Ryota?"

Smiling happily, I nodded and turned to Ryoma who had been watching me with a slight smile of his face.

"How will we ever play a game if you decide to just get hit with the ball all the time" He teased, causing me to grin and reach out to ruffle his hair.

"Whatever, Onii-chan. Just know that I can still kick your butt any day."

As we walked back to the house, I looked at my family and smiled.

'I'm glad this will stay the same'