Akutsu and Shishido

“In truth, Tezuka is not someone who needs others to do things for him. Even if you’d dealt with Takeshi Takeuchi right away, the real reason Tezuka was disappointed with Seigaku wasn’t because he was injured.” Naruki Matsubara continued.

Yudai Yamato’s expression shifted subtly; he seemed to understand what the boy was getting at. “Are you saying…”

“Yes, exactly as you think.” Matsubara nodded with certainty, knowing Yamato was a clever man. “Takeshi Takeuchi was nothing more than a product of Seigaku’s system. What truly disillusioned Tezuka was the system itself.”

The boy paused, looking at him. “The reason you recognized Tezuka wasn’t just for his tennis skills, was it? His maturity is far beyond his peers.”

“Of course. That’s also why I wanted Tezuka to stay—I hoped he’d become Seigaku’s pillar. But at the time, he had truly made up his mind to leave.” Yamato watched Tezuka speak with the registration officer, his voice soft.

“If you want the player you value to remain, you need to cure Seigaku’s illness at its root, not just say a few words.” Matsubara suddenly thought of Sadaharu Inui. The reason he’d been able to draw Inui away so easily was because Inui had his own quiet dissatisfaction with Seigaku’s system. Unsure whether he should leave or stay, Inui had simply continued to drift along at Seigaku. And Matsubara’s appearance was the very catalyst that set the gears in motion.

“It’s not as though I can change the system just by saying so, but within the scope of my duty, I’ll do everything I can.” As he spoke, Yamato glanced at Oishi and the others. Matsubara followed his gaze, and, noticing that the three first-years were wearing Seigaku’s blue-and-white tracksuits, suddenly understood.

“Still, you’re actually a good club president—but not perfect.” Matsubara smiled.

“A good… president?” Yamato listened to the boy’s assessment and then gave a self-deprecating chuckle, adjusting his sunglasses. “What’s your name?”

“Naruki Matsubara.”

“Naruki Matsubara…” Yamato repeated the name in his heart, then patted the boy’s shoulder with a smile. “I look forward to facing you all on the court.”

······

“So that’s it. That’s why Inui left.” Oishi listened to Inui’s reasons for leaving Seigaku with a wry, knowing nod.

“What a shame. Of everyone who joined the tennis club, now only the three of us are left.” Kikumaru hugged his head, gazing at the sky and pouting.

“Even if we’re at different schools, we’re still good friends.” Inui didn’t seem all that sorrowful—perhaps the friendship he’d maintained with Renji Yanagi even after Yanagi left Rikkaidai had given him confidence in their bond.

At his words, the three exchanged glances and then smiled, nodding in agreement. Oishi stretched out the back of his hand. The other three, understanding, stacked their hands atop his in perfect unison.

Fuji, watching from the side, also walked over with a gentle smile and quietly placed his hand on theirs.

Seeing the five of them so cheerful together, Tezuka allowed the faintest hint of a smile to touch his lips from afar.

The regional qualifying tournament officially began. As Seigaku entered, Hozaki Middle School, dressed in gray-and-white tracksuits, also filed into the arena.

······

Mamoru Inoue and Saori Shiba, who were photographing the courts and surrounding scenery, couldn’t hide their surprise when they saw Seigaku’s lineup.

“Inoue-senpai… that boy leading the team in glasses—could that be…?” Saori lowered her camera and pointed ahead.

“Yes… it’s definitely him. Kunimitsu Tezuka!” Inoue nodded. “I thought that after quitting the Seigaku tennis club, he’d stop playing altogether. I never imagined he’d quietly show up at the regional qualifiers. And look—not only Tezuka, but even Shusuke Fuji, who left with him, is on that team.”

“What school is that uniform from, Inoue-senpai? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.” Saori asked.

“Luckily, I grabbed a team chart from the gate earlier. Let me see… The school Tezuka Kunimitsu is at is… Found it—Evergreen Academy!” Inoue pointed to a diagram.

“Evergreen Academy… is that a famous school?” Saori, though a newcomer, already knew many of the renowned tennis schools, thanks in part to Inoue’s guidance. She knew more than most rookie tennis magazine reporters. But Evergreen Academy—she’d truly never heard of.

“At least before Tezuka and Fuji joined, I’d have called it a third-rate school. But after today’s qualifiers… perhaps it’ll become famous overnight.” Inoue murmured in amazement.

“What is this?!” Before she could recover from seeing Tezuka and Fuji at a third-rate school, Inoue spotted two more familiar faces.

“Ryo Shishido from Hyotei Academy… and Renji Yanagi from Rikkaidai? How is this possible!” Inoue’s brow broke into a cold sweat. What was going on—Hyotei and Rikkaidai players in Evergreen Academy’s ranks?

“Wow, I have to say, Evergreen Academy’s starting lineup is quite handsome. But from the looks of it… they’re all just first-years, right?” Saori busied herself with her camera, and as she photographed Matsubara and the others, she seemed to notice something.

“What’s wrong, Inoue-senpai?” Saori asked softly, noticing Inoue’s shocked, almost ghostly expression, but received no answer.

The two teams lined up and, at the referee’s signal, shook hands.

A burly, rough-looking boy from Hozaki Middle eyed the youthful Matsubara as they shook hands, sounding puzzled. He sized up the fresh-faced boy, then glanced at the others, and scoffed. “So it’s just a bunch of first-year rookies.”

“Hmph. Disappointing.” Beside him, a stern-faced blond boy withdrew his hand and crossed his arms, eyeing the silver-haired, spiky-haired Akutsu diagonally across from him. “First-years, yet you’ve got such flashy hair.”

“What did you say, you lot?” Ryo Shishido, seeing them look down on their team, retorted hotly.

“You’re not much better—a guy with a girl’s high ponytail? What a sissy.” The blond replied coldly.

“Hey, brats, say that again if you dare.” Akutsu couldn’t tolerate the taunt. Grabbing both the burly boy and the blond by the collars, he snarled menacingly.

“Hey! You lot! Watch yourselves—this is a tennis court, not a lawless zone!” The referee, seeing a brawl about to break out, barked a warning.

“Stop, Akutsu! You too, Shishido!” Matsubara stepped in, grabbing Shishido’s shoulder and patting Akutsu. Across from them, a man with center-parted, slightly wavy hair and a mustache also intervened, “That’s enough, Shiba, Hayato.”

The burly boy and the blond obediently nodded and stepped back.

“Interesting kid—he managed to rein in those two hotheads with a single word, and yet the one in glasses is supposed to be the captain?” The mustached man glanced at Matsubara, who smiled lightly, then at the stern-faced Tezuka, musing to himself.

“Second doubles: Evergreen—Jin Akutsu and Ryo Shishido; Hozaki—Shiba and Hayato Matsui.

First doubles: Evergreen—Sadaharu Inui and Renji Yanagi; Hozaki—Toru Urushihara and Yoshio Mitoh.

Third singles: Evergreen—Naruki Matsubara; Hozaki—Ryuya Sakaki.

Second singles: Evergreen—Shusuke Fuji; Hozaki—Rikiya Nobi.

First singles: Evergreen—Kunimitsu Tezuka; Hozaki—Narumi Uzumaki.”

The referee, reading out the lineup, continued, “That’s the order. The first to win three out of five matches advances. Since neither Evergreen nor Hozaki is a seeded school, all five matches must be played to completion regardless of results. Single-set matches, winner takes all.”

Seated atop his ladder, the referee raised his hand. “Second doubles, please prepare!”

“Akutsu, Shishido, keep your emotions in check. Remember, we’re on the regional qualifying stage, not a place to run wild.” By the courtside, Tezuka’s voice was steady and commanding.

“Yes.” Akutsu and Shishido, in the midst of shedding their warm-ups, replied in unison.

“Well, the score we didn’t get to settle just now should be resolved soon enough.” Matsubara eyed the two from Hozaki, now removing their jackets—none other than Shiba and Hayato, with whom Akutsu and Shishido had just clashed.

“They’re our second doubles? Perfect, now they’ll see what we’re made of!” Shishido rotated his arms eagerly, while Akutsu gripped his racket behind his back, arms crossed.

“Second doubles to the court!” the referee called loudly.

“Hmph. Against their slapdash pair, we’ve got this in the bag, Hayato.” Shiba grinned confidently, seeing Akutsu and Shishido step forward.

“Evergreen doesn’t stand a chance. Tsk tsk.” Hayato echoed, feigning regret.