re: the Image for this Topic

Or it could be a sign that the makers actually intend to reveal later on the show that Tezuka is Ryoma's father. You could say that the the look that Tezuka gives Ryoma in the image is one with which he means to say "follow in your fathers footsteps, son". It'd explain why Tezuka always looks so old , and where Ryoma got his tennis genes. Of course, you could combine your and my (? surely there must be others who thought of it before me) theory too, the fact that Nanjiroh and Ryoma are thought to be father and son doesn't keep people from slashing them either.