On the other side, after wandering around the school with Tezuka Koku for a while, Echizen Ryoma found there wasn’t much to see. Just as they were about to head back, they ran into the Horio trio not far from the Tennis Club.
Remembering how chatty the trio could be, Echizen Ryoma quickly grabbed Koku, ready to leave. But before they could get far, they were spotted by Katou Katsurou.
Katou Katsurou: “Echizen, Tezuka, are you here to check out the Tennis Club’s training too?”
“Are you curious about the Tennis Club’s daily training menu?”
Katou Katsurou assumed that Echizen Ryoma and Tezuka Koku were just as curious about the regulars of the Tennis Club as they were, so he cheerfully invited them to join, “We’ve already finished our reconnaissance. Do you want to share the information?”
Echizen Ryoma: “No, no, we’re just passing by.”
He had no interest in how the regulars of the Tennis Club trained. Influenced by his dad, he already knew that everyone’s physical condition and tennis talent were different, requiring different training. So Echizen Ryoma didn’t think watching others train would help his own skills, and he decisively declined Katou Katsurou’s offer.
“We have something to do, so we’ll be going.”
“Oh, okay!”
Katou Katsurou, not realizing that Echizen Ryoma just wanted an excuse to get away from them, genuinely thought that Ryoma and Koku had something to do. Watching them walk away hand in hand, he sighed, “Echizen and Tezuka have such a good relationship!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Mizuno Katsuo and Horio Satoshi nodded in agreement. After all, in Japan, it’s rare for boys to be close enough to hold hands.
But considering Ryoma came from abroad, Horio and the others thought this behavior seemed normal.
So when they saw Tezuka Koku and Echizen Ryoma appear at the Tennis Club’s entrance during the afternoon recruitment, the Horio trio wasn’t surprised.
Instead, they proactively greeted them, “Echizen, Tezuka, are you joining the Tennis Club too?”
“Yeah!” Tezuka Koku recognized the three as his classmates and responded, “I remember you, you’re Horio with two years of tennis experience!”
“You’re really amazing, Koku can’t even play tennis…” Remembering how his older brother and Echizen always carried tennis bags, Koku felt a bit envious. Due to his health, he rarely got to engage in intense sports like tennis, let alone play it.
So when he heard Horio mention his two years of tennis experience, he genuinely thought Horio was quite skilled.
“Huh? Tezuka can’t play tennis?” Horio Satoshi was a bit surprised to hear this from Tezuka Koku, as he always assumed Tezuka was also skilled at tennis. After all, his brother is Tezuka Kunimitsu, the legendary captain of the Tennis Club. With such a talented brother, Tezuka’s skills shouldn’t be lacking, right?
But did Tezuka just imply he can’t play tennis at all? Is he a complete beginner?
“Yeah, Koku can’t play at all.” Although he didn’t understand why his classmates looked so shocked at his answer, Koku still spoke the truth.
He really couldn’t play tennis, and he hadn’t tried many other sports either.
He truly envied those healthy classmates who could play however they wanted!
“It’s okay, I’ll teach you.” Echizen Ryoma knew Koku hadn’t engaged in sports due to his health, so while others were too shocked to speak, he comforted Koku, “It’s okay if you can’t play, everyone starts from not knowing.”
“Koku will be fine too!”
“Really?” Hearing Ryoma’s words, Koku gained some confidence. Although he was still worried about his health keeping up, he chose to trust Ryoma, “I’ll learn seriously.”
“Yeah.” Echizen Ryoma thought to himself, he’d teach Koku well first. If Koku really couldn’t learn, he’d get the old man to help. After all, the old man’s reputation was well-known!
Though he didn’t want to admit it, the old man was much better than him. With his help, Koku would definitely learn tennis!
Meanwhile, seeing his brother and classmates at the Tennis Club, Tezuka Kunimitsu initially wanted to greet them. But seeing his brother interacting well with his classmates, he decided to hold back.
As the captain, it wasn’t appropriate to suddenly approach them. It was better not to let everyone know about his relationship with Koku for now.
“What’s up, Tezuka? Why are you just standing here?” Noticing Tezuka Kunimitsu’s distracted gaze towards Koku, Fuji Shuusuke was puzzled. Given Tezuka’s personality, shouldn’t he have approached Koku? Why was he acting so strange today, standing still?
“Koku is over there, aren’t you going to bring him over to say hi to everyone?”
“Fuji, wouldn’t it be better for Koku to keep a low profile in the Tennis Club?” Remembering Fuji Yuuta’s experiences in the club, Tezuka Kunimitsu hesitated. Fuji didn’t hold a position in the club, yet the members had high expectations for his brother. If they knew about his relationship with Koku, what would happen to Koku?
He might get hurt by the members’ attitudes!
Understanding Tezuka Kunimitsu’s concerns, Fuji Shuusuke hesitated too. As someone with a brother, he understood Tezuka’s dilemma well, so he seriously replied, “Tezuka, Koku isn’t Yuuta.”
“I think he might prefer being known as your brother rather than for his tennis skills.” Maybe Tezuka hadn’t noticed, but as an observer, Fuji could see clearly that Koku wanted to join the Tennis Club because he admired Kunimitsu.
That admiration was evident every time Koku mentioned Tezuka in their conversations, with a fondness in his eyes. Only Tezuka thought Koku wanted to learn tennis to join the club.
Tezuka was really lucky to have such a brother who admired him! Although Yuuta was also well-behaved, Fuji preferred a brother like Koku who saw his older brother as a role model!
Fuji’s words reminded Tezuka Kunimitsu. Indeed, he couldn’t measure Koku by Yuuta’s standards; their personalities were completely different. Koku wanted to join the Tennis Club to learn tennis, and he just wanted to protect him and make him happy.
If he was worried about others’ opinions, he should teach Koku well, so he could become strong and not fear others’ gossip!
“Fuji, you’re right.” Instead of worrying about others’ opinions, it was better to communicate with Koku and see what he wanted.
“Tezuka, the new students are almost all here. You can start the recruitment speech.”
Outside the lounge, Oishi had arranged the new students and came to call Tezuka Kunimitsu, as the next part of the recruitment event was the captain’s speech.
Tezuka Kunimitsu knew it was time for him to appear, so he responded, indicating he would go out soon. He didn’t forget to say goodbye to Fuji, “I’ll head out first, Fuji.”
“Yeah, yeah, go ahead!” Fuji waved, smiling, “After your speech, I’ll help you keep Koku around.”
“Although everyone met yesterday, they might still be unfamiliar with Koku. Today we can have a gathering to formally introduce him to the club members!”
“After all, only we know Koku, but he doesn’t know us yet, right?”