104. Surprised or not, was it unexpected?

“Next up is the second singles match between Evergreen Academy and Hexagon Middle School.”

A resonant female voice echoed through the standing loudspeakers outside the court.

“Finally, it’s Matsubara’s turn to play!”

“Why are you so happy just because I’m up next...”

Matsubara Mei’s mouth twitched slightly upon seeing Shishido Ryo’s excitement surpassing even his own.

“Matsubara, this one’s on you. Let’s wrap up the match quickly!”

Shibayama Kumakiri extended his fist in encouragement.

“Ending the match now? That’s impossible.”

The boy sighed, knowing full well that Evergreen’s decisive match hinged on their number one singles player, Fuji Shuunosuke.

Carrying his racket, Matsubara Mei strolled onto the court with one hand casually in his pocket.

“What did he mean by that remark...?”

Shishido Ryo seemed puzzled.

“Hmph, probably that even if he wins, it’d only be two wins and still one short,” Akutsu muttered, overhearing and interpreting the comment differently.

“Matsubara’s quite mischievous.”

Fuji smiled faintly.

“But who will the opponents send out? Given their numbers, only Sudo Satoshi and the club captain, Saeki Kojirou, remain.”

Inui Sadaharu glanced toward Hexagon Middle School and murmured.

“Looks like an easy opponent.”

Yanagi Renji noticed Sudo Satoshi beginning to strip off his jacket and remarked.

“We don’t have any info on this Sudo Satoshi. Not sure if he’s one of those guys who looks weak but hides unknown power...”

Inui looked down at the blank space beneath Sudo’s name in his notebook and said evenly, “It’s empty.”

“One game starts! Evergreen’s Matsubara to serve!”

*Tap!*
*Tap!*
*Tap!*

“Um... are you ready, dear?”

Holding a tennis ball, Matsubara Mei politely addressed Sudo Satoshi, whose hair was dyed blond and cropped short.

“...”

Sudo was speechless. Should he politely respond with “I’m ready” at this moment?

But honestly, what was there to prepare for? Did he need to say, “I’m ready, please be gentle when you crush me”?

Lost in thought, Sudo suddenly looked up in alarm. His eyes nearly popped out as a dazzling streak of light, as fast as lightning, brushed past his face. The ball slammed into the ground, bounced off, and left a small circular hole about an inch wide where it landed.

“15-0!”

Sudo’s mind went blank as he stared at the hole in deep contemplation. Inside, he was shaken by the stunning sight he had just witnessed.

“What kind of serve was that...”

“To make the ground look like that with just a serve...”

Sudo grew serious. This seemingly innocent, shy-speaking boy was no pushover. He immediately heightened his alertness to full.

“I saw you zoning out just now, so shall we start now?”

Matsubara Mei touched his nose and smiled.

“...”

Sudo was even more speechless.

*Smack!*

Another no-spin serve. Unable to react in time, Sudo lost the point again.

“30-0!”

“Wake up! This is the Kanto tournament!”

Matsubara’s lips curled upward.

This time, he didn’t repeat the no-spin serve. Instead, he applied excessive traction, causing the ball to shoot rapidly onto the opponent’s court, spin violently, and then bounce back!

*Smack.*

Matsubara caught the ball effortlessly as it rebounded.

“No way... what kind of serve is that? It spins on the ground like that and then bounces back...”

“Does that even count as a point...”

“40-0!”

“What an extraordinary short guy... but I’m definitely going to return that one!”

Sudo’s mindset was rattled by Matsubara’s serves, but he quickly composed himself. After all, Matsubara’s serves were just fast and strongly spinning on the ground; all he needed was to anticipate and intercept early!

“I absolutely won’t let you win this match. Though the outcome means little to us, it’s crucial for Evergreen, because you guys... cannot afford to lose anymore!”

As Sudo’s attention wavered again, Matsubara applied skewed traction to the ball—this meant the force was focused on one point or surface, not uniformly applied. A serve that bounces back is flashy, but one that the opponent cannot return is far more thrilling.

*Whizz!*

This serve was slower than the last. Sudo smiled confidently, sure he could return this one!

“The ball’s trajectory is too low!”

As Matsubara’s serve neared the ground, Sudo realized the ball’s path was much lower than before. Without running forward, intercepting early was impossible!

“Damn it!”

Sudo sprinted desperately but still failed to reach the ball before it bounced. He watched wide-eyed as it spun fiercely on the ground.

“It’s going to bounce back!”

Just as Sudo shifted to a forehand position, Matsubara’s lips curved upward. The violently spinning ball suddenly bounced up directly toward him!

“What?!”

Sudo was startled and instinctively dodged. His racket wasn’t even steady, and the ball flew up at face level.

*Clatter, clatter!*

“1-0! Change sides!”

The racket hit the ground as Sudo’s dodging looked comical. The Hexagon students outside the court were stunned. What was going on with that short guy? Was he performing magic? How many different kinds of serves had he shown now?

While the Hexagon crowd was dumbfounded, the Evergreen team wore proud expressions, clearly accustomed to Matsubara’s surprises.

Still, many couldn’t help but click their tongues in admiration of the boy’s skill—the lightning-fast no-spin serves, the spins that bounced back, and now this fiercely spinning serve that shot straight at the face. Incredible!

“An outside-spin serve.”

Fuji smiled slightly.

“It’s even more aggressive than senior Otaki’s side-spin serve from Seigaku. Without intercepting early or predicting the ball’s height and angle to choose the right return stance, it’s hard to counter.”

Inui quickly jotted down notes on Matsubara Mei in his notebook.

“Most people can’t face an attack coming straight at their face. Instinctively, the first reaction is to dodge, even if internally they know it’s unlikely to cause injury. The brain issues commands first.”

Yanagi Renji added.

“Impressive, Matsubara!”

“Taking the first game so quickly!”

Outside the court, a chorus of praise rang out without reservation.

“Your stance tells me you expected me to hit that spinning return ball again, but... I didn’t. Surprised and delighted?”

Matsubara beamed with pride.