79. The Counterattack Begins

“Bang!”

Ayame Higashi served, her target once again set on Ajutsu, who stood at the backcourt. Ajutsu’s eyes widened abruptly as he shot forward, sliding on one foot in a low dive. He barely managed to return the ball, only to find that Kentaro Minami had somehow already approached the net. With a light jump, Minami smashed the ball down.

“15-0!”

Surprise registered simultaneously on the faces of Ajutsu and Ryo Shishido. The latter, mouth slightly agape, stared at Minami and asked, “When did you get to the net...?”

“We exchanged secret signals when the opponents weren’t paying attention, aiming once more at Ajutsu. Then, taking advantage of Shishido’s lapse, they sent the ball to his side,” Sadaharu Inui analyzed.

“Such perfect and synchronized teamwork. The doubles team from Yamabuki really isn’t easy to deal with,” Renji Yanagi praised.

“Hey, that should’ve been your ball. Don’t just wander around out there,” Ajutsu scolded Shishido for missing his mark.

“These two guys...” Without directly responding, Shishido glanced at the grinning faces of Minami and Higashi, feeling intensely irritated.

Under the cover of Yamabuki’s coded tactics, Shishido and Ajutsu were being played like puppets. Even after realizing the strategy was to target Ajutsu, Shishido—stationed at the net—couldn’t fully unleash his own skills and instead was led around by the nose.

“2-0! Yamabuki leads! Ajutsu serving!”

“Without realizing it, they’ve already taken two games,” Kiyosumi Sengoku remarked from off the court.

“Minami and Higashi’s hand-signal communication is the most basic coded tactic—nothing intricate, but no obvious flaws either. This unadorned strategy can strike decisively at crucial moments. As the top doubles pair of Yamabuki, the Potato Bear Duo, no one can surpass them,” said Takashi Ryuishi, a third-year, arms folded.

“Go, Potato Bears!” Inaoji Niwatome cheered.

“Hey, don’t call us by that weird nickname!” Minami and Higashi whirled around in perfect unison, faces flushed red.

“Uh... that was Sengoku’s idea...” Niwatome blinked, pointing at himself with an air of innocence.

“Using the simplest tactics to break through one person’s defense—when that happens in doubles, the team falls apart. That’s the power of strategy,” Kan’ya Bantani said with a slight smile as he looked toward the court. “Tezuka, it seems this doubles match will be ours.”

Tezuka merely glanced at Bantani without replying.

“That old man, still so shameless...” Mei Matsubara muttered under her breath outside the court, hearing Bantani provoke Tezuka yet again.

The match went on. Under Minami’s coded hand signals, the brilliant skills of Higashi repeatedly shattered any rapport between Shishido and Ajutsu. Sometimes they both went for the ball, sometimes neither did. Though they no longer argued fiercely over style differences, anyone would be fuming after losing point after point.

“3-0! Yamabuki leads! Change sides!”

“These coded tactics are impressive. Even with all this energy, I don’t know where to put it,” Shishido admitted, feeling discouraged.

“Don’t let them lead us around. Let’s use that move. When it comes to coded tactics, ours are superior,” Ajutsu said coldly.

“Hm?” Shishido paused, then broke into a smile. “You’re right. All this running around made me forget.”

“You can still laugh at a time like this?” Minami, ready to serve, caught the smirk at Shishido’s lips, then swung his racket with force.

Whoosh!

The ball shot straight for Ajutsu, who returned it. Shishido charged right to the net!

“Trying to approach the net? I won’t give you the chance for a volley!” Higashi, having noticed Shishido’s tendency to rush the net in their previous exchanges, decided he must be a net-play specialist. He immediately sent the ball back to Ajutsu in the rear court.

With a crouched posture, Ajutsu sprang up, twisting midair to fire a sharp cross-court shot toward the baseline beside Minami!

“Excellent! That’s a tough diagonal,” Saori Shiba exclaimed with joy.

“As expected from someone with outstanding physical gifts. Even from that odd position, he can deliver a precise, tricky cross-court shot. Most opponents couldn’t return that. But for Minami... this is exactly the opportunity he’s been waiting for,” Bantani smiled.

“What?!” Everyone watched in amazement as Minami, from the diagonal, sent the ball straight down the line. Mamoru Inoue’s mouth dropped open. “He actually managed a perfectly straight shot from that stance!”

Still in the air, Ajutsu was taken aback to see Minami’s return wasn’t a cross-court but a line drive. Suddenly, Shishido came racing from nowhere, flipping his racket in an instant!

Smack!

Shishido’s return swept across the court with the speed and precision of a gale, bouncing off the far baseline and out. He’d run so fast, he couldn’t stop himself and tumbled to the ground.

“15-0!”

Minami and Higashi were dumbfounded by the play.

“Hmph, finally got it through.”

Shishido wiped his mouth, satisfied with his shot. As he prepared to get up, a hand reached out to him.

“Huh?”

“Ajutsu...” Seeing the typically cold Ajutsu offer his hand, Shishido murmured.

“Thanks.”

His surprise turned to a smile as Shishido grabbed Ajutsu’s hand and stood. Ajutsu tucked his racket under his arm and turned away. “Don’t get the wrong idea. Watching you make a fool of yourself just made me feel embarrassed too.”

“Well, I guess it’s about time for our counterattack,” Shishido grinned.

“Yeah, let’s take them all out,” Ajutsu replied coolly, half his face visible.

“They used the high-jump feint to draw our attacks to him, giving his partner a chance to strike a fatal blow,” Minami said, frowning at Higashi. “Sorry, Higashi. My cross-court shots just aren’t as good as yours.”

“No, it was perfect. In that position, your line shot was sharper than mine could be,” Higashi shook his head, unconcerned. Then he gazed at Ajutsu and Shishido, “We’ll have to work even harder.”

“Haah!” With Minami serving once more, Ajutsu slid back and smashed a return. As Higashi prepared to attack the backcourt, Shishido charged the net!

“Another volley attempt? I won’t let you succeed!” Higashi quickly changed his stance, sending the ball to Shishido’s right.

“You fell for it.” Shishido smiled at Higashi, halting his run. Suddenly, Ajutsu appeared precisely where Higashi had aimed. His legs split wide, his waist twisted.

In that moment, every muscle and bone in Ajutsu’s body seemed both supple and resilient. The movement unfolded in perfect synchronicity, filling the air with an indescribable explosive power. He swung his right arm.

“Haah!”

The tennis ball turned into a streak of yellow-green light, piercing through Minami and Higashi’s defenses. Their rackets flew out of their hands, spinning in the air, while the ball struck the white baseline and crashed into the wire fence!

“30-0!”