100. Singles Match Three: Kunimitsu Tezuka!

“What’s going on, Akazawa? Why have you been acting alone all this time?”

Tezuka folded his arms, his expression more serious and earnest than his usual poker face, and asked in a low voice.

“Sorry, Captain... I made a grave mistake due to a momentary lapse.”

Akazawa lowered his head. When the Kisarazu brothers secured their third game victory, he no longer believed his offense was insufficiently sharp; the opponents had completely seized control of the match’s rhythm.

“You two need to work closely together. Yanagisawa, you must cover Akazawa as much as possible. Their entire focus is on him right now.”

Tezuka closed his eyes briefly to steady his emotions and spoke calmly.

“Focus on me?”

Akazawa’s eyes widened.

“Just as I thought...”

Yanagisawa realized that his concerns were justified—the Kisarazu brothers really had concentrated all their attacks on Akazawa alone.

Crossing into the opposing court, Akazawa gritted his teeth. The Kisarazu brothers exploited the fact that all their focus was on him to launch fierce attacks, draining his stamina while zeroing in on him.

What was worse, during the last three games they lost, Akazawa hadn’t even noticed that the opponents were targeting him exclusively; he’d been under the illusion that he was controlling the pace. He had been so foolish!

“Akazawa, don’t worry. They’ve only won three games. We still have two more to win. Don’t forget you still have your secret move—that one counters strong dynamic vision and also works against poor vision residual shots.”

Yanagisawa, sensing the surge of pressure on Akazawa, quickly encouraged him.

“Yeah, if you hadn’t reminded me, I almost forgot. Then from now on, let your offense take the lead, Yanagisawa!”

Akazawa finally recalled that he hadn’t yet deployed his secret move. His expression regained confidence and determination as he pulled a tennis ball from his pocket.

“Heh, of course. I’m eager to go head-to-head with them, Darne!”

Yanagisawa grinned.

“Seems like you’ve realized something?”

Kisarazu Jun observed calmly.

Akazawa served, but the Kisarazu brothers continued to concentrate their attacks on him alone. Even if their tactic was discovered, it didn’t matter; in doubles, as long as one player is targeted persistently, that player will eventually make critical errors. Even if the partner comes to assist, they will likewise falter from prolonged pressure.

Though this strategy was somewhat underhanded, it was still within the rules. As long as no illegal means were used, no one would object.

But when Akazawa returned the ball for the second time, he struck a residual shot with the front edge of his racket. The Kisarazu brothers, caught completely off guard by the sudden disappearance of the ball from their sight, panicked. As their steps faltered, Akazawa scored a point.

“15-0!”

“What just happened... the ball suddenly vanished for a moment.”

Kisarazu Jun’s expression shifted slightly.

“Not sure...”

Kisarazu Ryo shook his head in confusion.

On the sidelines, Matsubara Narui smiled faintly. Interesting. He recalled that in the original story, Akazawa Jiro’s residual shot only affected those with strong dynamic vision. He hadn’t expected it to impact those with poor dynamic vision as well.

“5-3! Evergreen leads!”

With Yanagisawa as the main attacker and Akazawa as the striker, aided by the residual shot, they won another game.

“Well done, Akazawa. We’ve got this, Darne!”

Just as Yanagisawa reached out to high-five Akazawa, the latter’s expression suddenly stiffened, and he clutched his right leg.

“What’s wrong, Akazawa?!”

Yanagisawa, noticing Akazawa’s right leg twitching involuntarily, asked in disbelief, “Is it a cramp?”

“This is bad...”

Shishido Ryo, seeing Akazawa’s troubling condition on the court, grew anxious.

“Although Yanagisawa was the main attacker in that last game, Akazawa abruptly slowing down from intense activity caused insufficient muscle contraction, resulting in the cramp.”

Ken Sadaharu immediately diagnosed the twitching in Akazawa’s right calf.

“If that’s the case, the momentum might swing back to the Kisarazu brothers.”

Fuji opened his eyes slightly and whispered.

“Tch... reckless guy.”

Akutsu was displeased with Akazawa’s current state.

“Akazawa, are you alright?”

Tezuka stood and asked.

“It’s nothing, Captain. Just a cramp. I’m fine!”

Akazawa tried to stand and walk normally but collapsed to his knees as soon as he straightened up, groaning in pain. “Damn it...”

“Don’t push yourself, Akazawa. Without proper massage and treatment, cramps won’t—”

Before Yanagisawa could finish his loud advice, Akazawa snapped through the swelling, tearing pain in his leg, “Shut up, Yanagisawa...”

“Tsk, tsk, the opponents don’t look so good.”

Kisarazu Ryo adjusted his cap and murmured.

“At that level of cramp, even if he can play, he’s practically half-disabled.”

Kisarazu Jun added.

“Referee, we request to forfeit.”

Tezuka touched Akazawa’s calf, swollen and hard as stone, then stood and addressed the referee.

“Captain! I can still play!”

Akazawa reached out hastily, but his trembling calf forced him to sit back down with a wince. “Ah... it hurts...”

The referee stepped down from his chair and asked again, “Are you sure you want to forfeit?”

“I’m sure.”

Tezuka nodded firmly.

...

“Evergreen’s Akazawa is unable to continue; forfeiture granted. Rokukaku Junior High wins!”

“Sorry, Captain... I’ve let you all down.”

Lying on the stretcher, Akazawa Jiro looked at Tezuka with regret.

“No, I see all your efforts. Focus on your recovery.”

Tezuka’s usually stern face softened slightly as he nodded to the medical staff.

“Akazawa, I’m coming with you!”

Yanagisawa, worried about Akazawa’s condition, followed the medical team off the court.

“Well done, Jun, Ryo.”

Saeki praised the two as they wiped their sweat.

“If that guy Akazawa hadn’t cramped, we really wouldn’t have an effective way to counter his shots...”

Kisarazu Ryo took off his cap and fanned himself gently.

“They’re really strong...”

Ki Hiko expressed some surprise.

“Now it’s up to you, senior Kondo.”

Kuroba smiled at the burly Kondo Ishihara.

“Don’t worry, I’ll crush him.”

With that, Kondo pulled a lollipop from his jacket pocket and licked it.

“The third singles match will begin shortly. Both players, please enter the court.”

Watching Tezuka remove his long sleeves and pull his racket from his tennis bag, Shishido Ryo sighed, “I didn’t expect Rokukaku Junior High to be this strong...”

“Yeah, we’ve actually suffered two consecutive losses...”

Shibayama Kumakiri’s face clouded with frustration.

“Rokukaku and Evergreen are both rising dark horse schools.”

Inoue Mamoru said thoughtfully.

“But let’s enjoy the moment while it lasts. With the Captain on the court next, our losing streak will end.”

Matsubara Narui smiled.

“That’s right, Tezuka’s up for the third singles. He won’t lose.”

Shishido Ryo’s spirit lifted. Though he hadn’t seen Tezuka in official matches since joining Evergreen, his prowess was evident in school tournaments. Facing that burly Rokukaku opponent should pose no problem.