“Hmph.
Does Shibukawa really think that just because he’s been doing well in training, he’s actually ready for a real match?”
At one side of the court, a thin-faced boy with short, light-gray hair and glasses sneered inwardly.
His name was Honda Ryuichi.
He was fourteen years old and in the same year as Captain Uesugi.
His talent was fairly average, so he hadn’t been selected as a regular, but his physical ability was solid enough that he’d successfully passed the selection for the intensive training.
Despite being an ordinary club member, Honda was a third-year and had been eligible to participate in practice since last autumn.
When it came to match experience, he was confident he could completely crush his opponent.
And in fact, as soon as the match began, Honda took control, forcing Shibukawa into a desperate scramble and leaving him in an extremely awkward position.
What irritated Honda, however, was that despite being his junior and getting thoroughly suppressed by him, Shibukawa showed no respect toward his senior after losing points.
Instead, those eyes simply remained calm as they looked at him.
‘Then I’ll teach you how to respect your seniors!’
With that thought, Honda tossed the tennis ball into the air, rose onto his toes, and hammered it down with all his strength.
Bang!
With a crisp impact, the tennis ball shot across the court.
Watching its trajectory and speed, Honda smiled smugly.
That serve had been almost a full-power shot.
He could already picture the ball landing for a clean point and the panicked expression on his opponent’s face.
The other club members nearby shook their heads.
“Honda’s going too far.”
“Yeah.
If I remember right, this is Shibukawa’s first practice match.”
“Still, training and actually playing a match are two completely different things.
I just hope Shibukawa doesn’t let this match get to him.”
Everyone began discussing the match.
Without exception, none of them believed Shibukawa could possibly beat Honda.
After all, the gap between a beginner and a veteran with two years of tennis under his belt and nearly a year of match experience was simply too large.
Tap, tap!
However—
To everyone’s surprise, Shibukawa moved.
He broke into a run, rapidly closing in as though he’d known in advance exactly where the ball would land.
Then, under everyone’s astonished gazes, he raised his racket without the slightest hesitation and ripped a return.
Bang!
A crisp strike rang out.
The ball smacked down far to Honda’s backhand side.
Having just put everything into his serve, Honda couldn’t react in time and could only watch helplessly as the ball bounced away.
“Uh…
15-15!”
The referee at the side of the court froze for a moment before loudly announcing the score.
The previously noisy courts instantly fell silent.
“H-How is that possible?”
Honda muttered under his breath.
What he’d just witnessed was absurd.
A complete beginner had actually returned his serve.
And Honda hadn’t even been able to react?
‘A fluke!’
‘It had to be a fluke!!’
‘That bastard just got ridiculously lucky and somehow returned my serve!!!’
Once the initial shock passed, Honda immediately found an explanation for himself.
And the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.
How could some mere beginner possibly hit a return of that caliber?
Other than sheer luck, he couldn’t think of any other explanation.
However—
Shibukawa paid no attention whatsoever to everyone’s reactions.
Because, to his surprise, the return he’d just made had actually triggered a notification from the Proficiency System.
[Completed an Excellent Swing]
[Swing EXP +4]
[Current Swing Level: Lv.
5 (334/3000)]
‘EXP +4?’
Shibukawa remembered clearly that an evaluation at this level normally only awarded 2 EXP, but this time it had doubled.
‘So match experience gives twice as much EXP as regular training?’
‘Sure enough, compared to training, actual matches are a much faster way to improve!’
Shibukawa thought to himself.
“Damn that guy!”
On the other side, Honda had originally tried to read what Shibukawa was thinking from his expression, only to realize that Shibukawa wasn’t even looking at him.
He looked as though he couldn’t even be bothered to acknowledge him.
That immediately infuriated Honda.
“You just happened to return my serve.
What are you acting so smug for?”
He tossed the tennis ball into the air again, clearly preparing to attack.
Across the court, Shibukawa also noticed the change in his opponent’s demeanor.
But he wasn’t afraid.
On the contrary, he felt eager to give it a try.
Not only had the doubled EXP from actual match play fired up his fighting spirit, but the successful return just now had also strengthened his confidence in the strategy he’d come up with.
This kind of extremely basic strategy was perfectly suited to him.
Just like in the original series, when the protagonists Echizen and Momoshiro, who had never played doubles before, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the unremarkable Izumi and Fukawa from Gyokurin Middle School, then devised their “Hmph” and “Hah” doubles strategy based on their respective strengths.
For Shibukawa right now, the simple strategy of “watch, run, hit” was remarkably effective.
…
Bang!
Thwack!
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Thwack!
On the court, Shibukawa and Honda traded shots back and forth.
Over the next several rallies, Shibukawa wasn’t able to reproduce the same result as his earlier return winner, and he also lost some points.
But overall, he was fully keeping pace with Honda.
And as the number of times he made contact with the ball and the distance he covered increased, his familiarity with actual match play improved rapidly as well.
Gradually, Shibukawa began scoring more and more points, while Honda became increasingly tense, as though facing a formidable opponent.
“That kid has quite a talent for matches.”
Outside the court, Coach Banda, Captain Uesugi, Minami, and the others all nodded inwardly in agreement.
As far as they could remember, even Muromachi hadn’t been able to go back and forth with a veteran like Honda, who had two years of tennis experience, in his very first actual match.
And as time passed, Shibukawa was clearly gaining the upper hand.
‘What a shame.’
Uesugi sighed inwardly.
If Shibukawa had been a first-year newcomer, then with the talent he’d displayed, he would undoubtedly have become one of Yamabuki’s pillars in the future.
Even Muromachi wouldn’t have been able to compare.
But Uesugi had looked into his background.
Shibukawa was already a second-year this year, in the same year as Sengoku and the others.
Compared to the dazzling brilliance of players like them, Shibukawa’s displayed talent didn’t seem quite as remarkable.
And when Uesugi thought of schools like Rikkai, Hyotei, and Shitenhoji, with their monstrous top-level players, he felt even more helpless.
‘Not bad.
He may not compare to Akutsu, but he’s still an unexpected bonus.’
Unlike Uesugi, Banda was quite satisfied.
Although his top priority at the moment was still recruiting Akutsu into the tennis club, the sudden emergence of the boy before him was certainly another welcome development.
Moreover, judging by the talent Shibukawa had displayed in actual match play, if they trained him properly, there was no reason he couldn’t become another Kanto-level player for Yamabuki by the start of next year’s season.
…
Thwack!
Bang!
Thwack!
On the court, Honda was being run ragged from side to side by Shibukawa’s counterattacks.
His face was drenched in sweat, his expression panicked, without a trace of his earlier confidence remaining.
Shibukawa, by contrast, had accumulated valuable match experience through this match.
Thwack!
Finally—
Shibukawa tracked the ball and sent it quickly and accurately toward Honda’s backhand side.
Honda’s eyes suddenly widened.
Then, as he watched the ball bounce away, his face turned ashen.
As though all the strength had been drained from his body, he collapsed weakly onto the court.
“Game, set, and match.”
At the same time, the referee’s voice rang out from outside the court.
“Shibukawa Shin wins, 6-3!”