The newcomer had both hands in his pockets, his tall frame as straight as a spear planted upright.
His short grayish-white hair swept upward, and his defiant eyes radiated a chilling indifference that made one’s heart tighten.
Jin Akutsu.
A second-year student in Yamabuki Junior High.
Despite being only thirteen, he had already become a fearsome figure whose very name struck fear into people both inside and outside the school.
The most famous incident had happened the previous spring, shortly after Akutsu entered Yamabuki Junior High.
His fierce, defiant stare had caught the attention of several third-year delinquents.
They stopped him on the spot and, in front of a crowd, decided to teach him a lesson.
At the same time, they intended to make an example of him for the other newcomers.
Instead, Akutsu took down the group of tall third-year delinquents in no time at all.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Unwilling to let the matter go, they came back with several friends to settle the score, only for community workers to intervene before things could go any further.
After that, Akutsu received a major disciplinary mark from the school for fighting and was also severely reprimanded by his parent.
And so, when the most dangerous person in all of Yamabuki appeared, the delinquents who had been planning to teach Shibukawa a lesson immediately began trembling.
They could barely even speak properly.
“Hand it over.”
With both hands still in his pockets, Akutsu slowly walked forward.
The muscles around the corners of his eyes were stretched wide, giving his beastlike gaze a vicious air as it swept casually over the delinquents.
“What?
Do I have to take it myself?”
Akutsu didn’t raise his voice, but the icy tone struck the group like a thunderclap, frightening them into trembling even harder.
“Here!
We’ll give it back right now!!”
The blond-haired leader hurriedly returned what they had just stolen, while the others apologized repeatedly.
“Get lost.”
Akutsu took the belongings and spoke flatly.
The group immediately responded as though they had just been granted a pardon.
Without wasting a single word, they turned tail and fled as fast as their legs could carry them.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Akutsu turned around and looked toward Shibukawa.
Hm?
Shibukawa’s heart sank.
He knew perfectly well just how terrifying this monster from the original series was, possessing physical talent almost unmatched by anyone else.
Worse still, Akutsu was fiercely defiant by nature, and his way of doing things was ruthless and vicious.
Against those delinquents from earlier, Shibukawa could have gone all in and focused entirely on one of them.
If he fought viciously enough to make the guy hurt, he probably could have intimidated the others through sheer ferocity.
But Akutsu was different.
Shibukawa had absolutely no confidence against someone like him.
If he provoked Akutsu, he would probably end up in a truly miserable state today.
But should he back down?
Shibukawa rejected the thought almost immediately.
For one thing, even if he did show weakness, Akutsu might not necessarily leave him alone.
More importantly, if Shibukawa wanted to accomplish anything at Yamabuki, Akutsu was someone he absolutely had to bring onto the team.
Once he showed weakness in front of him, it would be extremely difficult to restore his image afterward.
Bring it on!
No way in hell was he backing down!
With that thought, Shibukawa tightened his grip on his racket, his gaze growing even more resolute.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
…
However, to his surprise, Akutsu didn’t say a word even as the two of them passed each other.
Seeing that, Shibukawa didn’t hesitate either.
He quickly left the area.
“Interesting.”
After Shibukawa had left, Akutsu stood there with both hands in his pockets, staring in the direction where his figure had disappeared.
A hint of surprise surfaced in his eyes.
“That kid’s eyes…
There’s more to him than I thought.”
“But…”
After a brief pause, he shrugged, let out a whistle, and muttered to himself, “I’ve done what the old lady asked.
Things should finally stay quiet for a while.”
Although the boy’s reaction just now had surprised him somewhat, Akutsu didn’t give him much thought.
If that annoying old lady hadn’t kept asking him to do this, he wouldn’t even have shown up here.
Meanwhile, Shibukawa was still somewhat shaken after leaving.
“I’m still too weak.”
Feeling how frail his body was, he sighed inwardly.
If he had trained himself—not even to Sanada’s level, but merely to Momoshiro’s level in the original series—he wouldn’t have been put in such a humiliating position.
That only strengthened his determination to become stronger.
And having learned his lesson, Shibukawa remained cautious despite escaping the trouble.
He was worried that those guys from earlier might refuse to let it go and set up an ambush somewhere ahead.
In reality, Akutsu’s deterrent was simply too overwhelming.
Those guys had fled without so much as looking back and hadn’t dared linger for even a moment.
And so, Shibukawa made it safely back home without further incident, to an ordinary apartment in the working-class district of Kuwatachō.
The original Shibukawa’s family circumstances weren’t particularly complicated.
His father had died in a car accident when he was young, while his mother had used the compensation money from the accident to open a bakery.
After expenses, the income was barely enough to keep the two of them fed and clothed.
But Shibukawa, having come from another world, understood perfectly well just how difficult that was for a single mother.
Their apartment was less than sixty square meters.
All it had in the way of major furnishings was an old-fashioned sofa with upholstery faded from repeated washing and a small-screen plasma television that was around ten years old.
Aside from the old washing machine in the bathroom and the newer air conditioner in the original Shibukawa’s room, there were no other major appliances or pieces of furniture.
And according to the original Shibukawa’s memories, even that new air conditioner had only been bought because of him.
After entering junior high, he’d heard his classmates bragging about what they had at home the previous summer.
Envious, he’d lied and said, ‘It’s so hot that I can’t concentrate on studying,’ and his mother had bought him one without the slightest hesitation.
Yet when it came to buying herself even a single new piece of clothing, she would hesitate for ages.
“This damned motherly love…”
After setting down his schoolbag and tennis bag, Shibukawa saw the bento and note sitting on the table and couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
The original Shibukawa hadn’t understood.
But he did.
That seemingly simple bento was filled with the weight of a mother’s love.
If he had still felt somewhat lost after crossing into this world, then his goal had now become a little clearer.
He was going to play tennis!
And…
he was going to make a name for himself doing it!
…
After dinner, Shibukawa briefly went over his second-year coursework, then changed into some lightweight clothes and headed downstairs for a night run.
Now that he had such a cheat at his disposal, failing to make proper use of it would be an unforgivable waste.
Besides, his current body really was far too frail.
He was already starting behind everyone else, so if he didn’t use the time others spent resting to train even harder, how could he ever catch up to those geniuses?
Before long, Shibukawa finished warming up and began his night run along the streets around his apartment.
For him, running wouldn’t just improve his cardiovascular fitness.
It would also be a relatively gentle way to get his current body into shape.
Besides, Shibukawa had another purpose in mind for tonight’s run.
[Completed Basic Running ×1]
[Running EXP +1]
[Current Running Level: Lv0 (6/10)]
“There it is!”
After completing 100 meters of his night run while maintaining a six-minute-per-kilometer pace, a clear line of data appeared before Shibukawa’s eyes.
Just as he’d expected.
The Proficiency System had kicked in again.
And this time, it had allowed him to unlock his second skill after [Swing].