113. Everyday Chapter: The Entertainment Reporter Sidetracked by Tennis

"The next point decides the winner!" Akutsu looked at the score on the electronic display and said to Shishido Ryo.

"Of course, just watch my lead!"

While dribbling, Shishido Ryo suddenly stopped as if to jump for a shot. All three opponents rushed forward to defend, but seizing the moment, he passed the ball directly between the legs of the center defender to Akutsu!

"Nice!"

Even Akutsu had to secretly applaud Shishido's play. After receiving the ball, he exploded into a sprint from a crouched starting position. Upon reaching the basket, facing the opposing center, Akutsu fearlessly rose up and slammed home a powerful dunk over his defender!

"Blocking foul! And one!" the referee blew his whistle and shouted.

"Damn it... he's only 170cm tall, and not only can he dunk, but he keeps drawing fouls. Are all the tennis club guys this freakish?" The opposing center pounded the basket support with his fist.

"Those two are just like the best combination in the basketball club..."

"Oh? From the tennis club? If they were in the basketball club, we would have a top-tier small forward and point guard," the basketball coach commented while watching the match from the sidelines.

"Indeed. This Akutsu has excellent low-post play and coordination skills. He could easily play shooting guard or small forward—a complete swingman. That Shishido has great vision and a knack for passing. Sometimes, having a good playmaker is far rarer than having a super scorer," the basketball club captain added, nodding in agreement before smiling bitterly. "However... I don't think there's any chance they'll join us."

"Match over, 79:62!"

Akutsu sank the free throw without a hitch, and the referee blew the whistle again.

"It's not just tennis; other sports require teamwork too..." Shibayama Kumakiri, having finished his soccer match, arrived at the gym and clicked his tongue while watching Shishido and Akutsu lead their team to victory.

"They really are amazing. If they weren't in the tennis club, joining the basketball club would have been a great choice."

Hearing a familiar laugh behind him, Shibayama quickly turned around. "Vice-Captain Fuji?"

"Aren't you going to watch the next match? If you don't hurry, the baseball game will be over." With that, Fuji walked away from the gym with his hands behind his back, smiling.

"Oh, right... I remember Akazawa and Yanagisawa signed up for baseball!" Shibayama hurriedly followed.

"Huh... is Akazawa up to bat now?" Standing on the sidelines with Fuji, he saw Yanagisawa hitting his glove with the baseball and gulped.

"A duel between the two of them should be quite interesting," Fuji said with a faint smile.

"I'm counting on you, Akazawa. You're the hope of this inning!"

"Yeah, of course."

Akazawa looked serious. Wearing a baseball cap, he gripped the bat and held it up in front of his face. "Even if the opponent is you, I won't let my guard down."

"Tch, I might not be a match for you in tennis, but baseball is my specialty!" Yanagisawa laughed smugly.

"Whatever, just bring it!" Akazawa's expression darkened.

"Akazawa is weak on inside pitches, but his insight isn't bad. If I mess with the ball, he'll likely notice. In that case... I'll aim for the outside corner!"

With a focused gaze, Yanagisawa Shinya made a dramatic face, shouted, lifted his right leg high, and leaned back. A moment later, he threw the baseball hidden behind his body—a flash of white light streaked through the air!

"Humph, I knew you'd try that!"

Akazawa swung the bat, using the tip to graze the ball. A crisp *thwack* echoed out. Shibayama, standing outside the field, immediately shouted, "He hit it!"

"And it's an outfield hit!" Fuji opened his blue eyes and said.

"What kind of pitch was that..." Many people were stunned as the baseball suddenly disappeared while soaring high into the air.

"Hmph, I won!" Akazawa dropped the bat and ran, revealing a bright white smile. The outfielders, unable to track the ball at all, failed to catch it.

"To think he could use a 'Phantom Ball' in a baseball game..." Yanagisawa Shinya's sausage-like lips hung open.

"What a scary guy..." Shibayama remarked.

"If it hadn't been for that Phantom Ball, the outfielders would have easily caught Akazawa's hit, and he would have been out," Fuji said with a gentle smile.

On the lawn not far from the school playground, Tezuka sat with his chin resting on the back of his hand, his elbows propped on his half-bent knees. He stared blankly at a book in his hand titled *Superpower Tennis*. After a long while, he took off his glasses, gently rubbed his tired eyes, and looked at the students engaged in various sports on the field. Feeling bored, he lay down and pulled the book over his face.

"By the way, Fuji, where did Tezuka go?" Shibayama asked while walking.

"Yeah, didn't the Captain sign up for any electives?" Akazawa added.

"Tezuka... doesn't really like participating in mundane activities," Fuji couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Huh? Mundane..." Akazawa was taken aback.

"Activities?" Yanagisawa echoed.

"But I remember electives are for credits. If the Captain doesn't participate, he won't get those two credits," Shishido Ryo asked while tying his hair back with a rubber band.

"Electives aren't compulsory, after all. Although elective credits can be counted as extra additions to the required credits, it's just a drop in the bucket. For Tezuka, who has no subjects that give him a headache and is particularly skilled in world history, he doesn't lack those two credits," Fuji said, looking at Shishido with a faint smile.

"A top student really is incredible..." Akutsu muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, in the table tennis hall, Yanagi Renji and Inui Sadaharu stood on opposite sides of the table.

"The probability of this ball being a chop is 95.2%!" Inui's glasses glinted as his mind rapidly calculated a stream of data.

"Hah!"

With a downward motion of his arm, Inui delivered a quick smash to easily take a point from Yanagi!

"11-9! Inui Sadaharu wins!"

A smile tugged at the corner of Inui's mouth as he began to analyze: "With your personality, the probability of using a chop on that ball was much higher than a forehand. Plus, you use a shakehand grip, and given the influence of a shorter handle, backhand chops allow for more leverage, so the probability of using that posture increases exponentially. In the nine points you won earlier, seven were finished with forehand or backhand chops—five backhand and two forehand. Based on the probability deviation calculation, that last ball had to be a backhand chop."

"So amazing..." Shibayama sighed.

"As expected of Inui's data tennis style. However, Yanagi still seems to be hiding something. I get the feeling... he hasn't gone all out," Fuji smiled.

"To think they can apply data tennis material even to table tennis..." Akazawa was deeply surprised.

"They're too scary..." Yanagisawa shook his head.

The table tennis match ended with Inui winning both games. The group followed Fuji to the badminton court, where they saw Matsuno Meio looking ready to start a match.

"Oh? Matsuno's match is about to start. His opponent looks like a third-year student—he's so much taller than him!" Shishido measured the height difference between the two with his fingers and thumb, noting the significant gap.

"I thought that kid would choose table tennis, which is closer to tennis. The rules for badminton are completely different, right?" Akutsu observed.

"Yesterday, Matsuno said he's actually quite good at badminton. It seems... his father took him to Hawaii to play when he was little," Shishido recalled, struggling to remember.

"Took him to..." Akazawa and Yanagisawa said in unison.

"Hawaii..." Inui and Yanagi echoed simultaneously.

"To play?" Fuji and Akutsu reacted with different expressions.

"Yeah, looking at him, it seems like he's quite good at it. This might be an interesting match," Shishido said with a smile.

"Ah, that guy..." Inui pushed up his glasses as he looked at the man facing Matsuno Meio.

"What is it, Inui? Do you know him?" Shishido looked over.

"Hmm... I should have his data." Saying this, Inui pulled a notebook from behind his back and flipped through it rapidly.

"Found him. Nobi Taylor, third-year, loves egg pudding. He's a transfer student who used to be in the basketball club at his previous school. Although he wasn't a starter, his performance was better than the starters. It's said that even before transferring, he used his incredible individual skill to win one-on-one duels against the basketball team's starters. He went abroad to learn basketball techniques at the age of four. Overall, he's a talented basketball player, but I don't know why he's participating in the badminton elective," Inui closed the notebook.

"He even knows this kind of information..." Cold sweat slid down Akazawa's face.

"Inui's range for collecting data is way too broad..." Shishido was equally surprised.

"He even knows what he likes to eat... it feels so freakish..." Yanagisawa covered his cheeks.

"You should just join the Gossip Club," Akutsu said, slightly annoyed.

"Inui looks like an entertainment reporter wasted on tennis," Fuji said with a soft laugh, then added, "But then again, this Nobi Taylor's background in the basketball club is quite similar to Matsuno's experience when he first joined our tennis club."

"Eh?" The others turned to look at Fuji.

"In any case, neither of them are players whose main expertise is badminton. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of game they put on," Yanagi said, his gaze fixed on the court, his tone calm.