“I can’t believe Shibukawa ended up in the same group as Muromachi.”
“Yeah.
And with Vice-Captain Minami there too, Group D is going to be interesting this time.”
After the group assignments were announced, the club members began discussing them among themselves.
As far as they were concerned, Minami, as vice-captain, was obviously the strongest of the three.
With two qualifying spots available in each group, one would undoubtedly go to Kentaro Minami, leaving Shibukawa and Muromachi to fight over the other.
Muromachi was exceptionally talented, standing head and shoulders above the rest of this year’s Yamabuki newcomers.
During the recent intensive training assessment, he had even managed to make contact with Sengoku’s Kohō, leaving everyone amazed by his reflexes.
But Shibukawa was no ordinary player either.
Ever since summer break began, he had seemed like a completely different person.
Not only had he started training relentlessly, but he had also become noticeably more composed.
He had likewise passed the recent intensive selection, and had even gone one step further than Muromachi during the assessment, successfully returning Sengoku’s Kohō.
From an inconspicuous nobody who had barely registered on anyone’s radar, he had now become the strongest non-regular among Yamabuki’s second-years.
The more everyone imagined the two facing each other, the more eager they became to see the match.
However…
Despite the tension in the air when Shibukawa and Muromachi had exchanged looks earlier, neither of them challenged the other in private.
For one thing, Yamabuki had strict rules, and Captain Uesugi Kenichi was the sort of person who tolerated absolutely no misconduct.
For another, the tournament was just around the corner, and the two of them weren’t each other’s only opponents.
Without ever discussing it, both returned to their usual training routines once practice resumed.
…
The next day.
It was the second day of the new semester.
As soon as afternoon club activities began, the Yamabuki tennis club came alive.
Following the draw within their assigned groups, everyone began the two-day intraschool ranking tournament.
“Well?
Anyone caught your eye?”
Standing outside the crowd with his hands clasped behind his back, Banda smiled as he looked at the brown-haired boy beside him.
Uesugi thought for a moment before nodding.
“A few.
Nishikiori in Group B and Kita in Group C both look promising.
As for Group A, Honda’s been performing pretty well lately too.”
As captain, Uesugi had to keep a close eye on the condition of the other players in addition to handling his own training.
Since he would graduate before next spring, it was especially important for him to identify Yamabuki’s next generation of talent.
“Mm.”
Banda nodded.
He didn’t ask about Group D, and Uesugi offered no explanation.
Yet both tacitly acknowledged the fact that Kentaro Minami was the only current regular in Group D.
By convention, the eight current regulars would be shuffled and distributed evenly among the four groups for the ranking tournament. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
In other words, each group should have at least two regulars.
In reality, however, Group D had only one: Vice-Captain Kentaro Minami.
And that was clearly the result of Uesugi’s personal intervention.
As captain, his authority within the team was second only to Banda’s.
The roster for the intraschool ranking tournament was drawn up by him, with Banda giving the final approval.
Uesugi’s objective was simple: eliminate some of the current third-year regulars ahead of time and leave those opportunities to the current first- and second-years, allowing them to adjust to being regulars in advance.
And among all the non-regulars, Shibukawa and Muromachi were unquestionably the two with the best chances of qualifying.
Judging by Banda’s reaction, he clearly approved of the approach as well.
The difference was that Uesugi wasn’t particularly concerned about it.
What he cared about more was figuring out how to get Sengoku back on track—and make him waste less time chasing girls.
Banda, meanwhile, had begun focusing more of his attention on Shibukawa after several unsuccessful attempts to recruit Akutsu.
Yet the longer the experienced advisor observed him, the more astonished he became.
The boy was improving far too quickly.
Judging solely by Shibukawa’s training volume, it had doubled in just the past half month.
And compared to his condition a month ago, his physical capabilities had likely improved severalfold.
By now, Banda could no longer gauge the boy at all based on training alone.
Only actual matches—genuine, high-intensity competition against other players—could reveal Shibukawa’s true strength.
Especially against a regular like Minami.
Yes.
In Banda’s view, even Muromachi might not be enough to force Shibukawa to go all out.
…
Before long, the matches in each group began.
All four of Yamabuki’s courts were in use simultaneously.
A large crowd gathered around Group A because of Sengoku’s popularity.
And he didn’t disappoint them, finishing off an opponent one year his senior in under ten minutes.
Bang!
The tennis ball slammed powerfully into the court, landing beside the boy with dark brown hair.
He looked at where the ball had landed and let out a helpless sigh.
“Game, set, and match.”
“Sengoku wins, 6-0!”
At the same time, Higashikata in Group B, Uesugi in Group C, and the others also defeated their opponents with ease.
In Group D’s first two matches, Minami put on an excellent performance, with his final match-winning drop shot in particular drawing waves of cheers.
Then Muromachi took the court.
Facing a third-year opponent, he went on the offensive rather than playing defensively, using a fast-paced style to leave his opponent scrambling.
In the end, he finished off his opponent in under twenty minutes.
“This guy…”
The defeated third-year’s expression was ugly.
Being beaten 0-6 by Muromachi was simply too humiliating.
“What?”
Across the court, Muromachi raised his head after winning and looked over arrogantly.
“What is it, senpai?
You want another match?”
“I…”
Pinned down by Muromachi’s aggressive presence, the third-year immediately lost his nerve.
The retort already on the tip of his tongue simply wouldn’t come out.
In the end, he could only leave in embarrassment.
“He’s way too strong!”
“Who’d believe Muromachi is only a first-year?
He’s definitely making it through this ranking tournament!”
Hearing the surrounding chatter, Muromachi’s grin widened even further.
However, the moment he saw the black-haired boy entering the court, his gaze turned cold again.
Shibukawa Shin.
The player who had suddenly risen through the ranks and now posed the greatest threat to his chances of becoming a regular.
At first, Muromachi hadn’t paid much attention to him.
It was only after Shibukawa passed the intensive training selection that he began to see him differently.
Even then, Muromachi had still been more focused on his own training.
That changed during the assessment involving Sengoku’s Kohō.
Shibukawa’s performance had left Muromachi deeply shocked.
From that point on, he had regarded Shibukawa as his greatest rival.
And Shibukawa’s performance did not disappoint.
Facing a third-year who was clearly much taller than him, Shibukawa played with confidence and authority.
He started out steadily, probing his opponent and getting a feel for his playing style.
Then he suddenly struck, sending several consecutive shots into weak points in the third-year’s defense.
Stung by losing point after point, the third-year launched into a frenzied offensive.
But that only created even more holes in his defense.
Once Shibukawa stabilized the situation, he easily tore through his opponent’s defensive line.
In less than twenty minutes, he fired off a match-winning drive.
Bang!
“Game, set, and match.”
“Shibukawa wins, 6-0.”