Inside the Unscientific Hexagon

With both hands on his racket, Sadaharu Inui struck the ball. Just as everyone assumed Kurobane would never reach it, Shinya Yanagisawa, standing off the court, was shocked to see a racket thrust out from somewhere at the last instant.

"With a racket that long, maybe he can still get to it!"

"No. A longer racket makes it harder to return heavy shots, because of leverage. And Inui's core strength is by no means weak. If Kurobane tries to take that heavy two-handed shot head-on, the racket will end up in only one of two ways."

As he said this, Syusuke Fuji opened his jewel-bright blue eyes and enunciated each word.

"It will either break, or be knocked away."

"What?!"

Fuji was instantly slapped in the face by reality. He could hardly believe that after a brief burst of force, Kurobane had actually sent Inui's two-handed heavy shot back!

"Hey, hey, that doesn't even make sense. A longer racket means a longer lever arm, so returning a ball that heavy should be difficult, shouldn't it?"

Ryo Shishido said as well.

Thud.

Inui caught Kurobane's return, but after a brief stalemate his racket was sent flying from his hand.

"Thirty-love!"

"What a terrifying tennis player, Rokkaku..." Mamoru Inoue marveled at the strength Kurobane Harukaze had displayed, while Saori Shiba stared blankly and said, "Inoue-senpai... Seishun Academy's doubles... won't lose, will they..."

"In that tennis series, they never really cared about scientific theory. That was only the appearance of things," Matsubara Manei replied inwardly to Ryo Shishido and Syusuke Fuji.

That said, even though the ball Kurobane had returned defied common sense, it could still be explained. Seishun Academy had no power-type players, while the opponents happened to be entirely power-based. Even if Inui Sadaharu and Renji Yanagi could predict the ball's path, actually returning it was far from easy.

"As expected of Kurobane. His explosive tennis is getting stronger and stronger."

Kondo Ishihara, a third-year regular from Rokkaku, folded his arms with great satisfaction.

"It also helped that Kondo-senpai taught him. That's why Kurobane has been able to improve so quickly," Saeki said with a smile.

Kurobane served again. Even while moving quickly, Inui still chose to receive with both hands. But just as the tennis ball bore down on Kurobane once more, the latter returned it with effortless ease. Beside him, Renji Yanagi's face went pale with sweat.

"This guy's power... could it be?"

"Has Inui's power... been absorbed by that long racket?"

Yanagi opened his eyes. He found it hard to cling to a theory that sounded so absurd, yet without such an explanation, there was no way to understand how Kurobane Harukaze was dealing with those heavy two-handed shots.

"That should be a medium-speed topspin shot..."

"Inui! Leave it to me!"

Yanagi rushed in front of Inui. The latter's running steps came to an abrupt halt, and he saw Yanagi take up the very stance he had seen before.

"An ultra-high-speed slice?!"

The image flashed instantly through Inui's mind. Then the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. If it was that shot, perhaps it could deal with Kurobane's tennis.

"Exactly. That guy can swing a long racket as naturally as if it were part of his arm. His strength alone is far beyond ordinary people. If we only use a standard return, we will never be able to handle him."

That was precisely why Yanagi had chosen the ultra-high-speed slice.

Snap.

The tennis ball tore through the air toward Kurobane. Using the power of his waist, Kurobane twisted slightly backward in midair, and when his right arm drew the racket through, it met Yanagi's ultra-high-speed slice at the perfect point.

Thud.

The ball struck the baseline behind Yanagi's left side like a heavy explosive shell. At the same time, Kurobane drew his right leg up lightly toward his chest, while his left leg remained as still as a stake, steady as a mountain. Seeing that pose, everyone from Seishun Academy standing off the court was stunned.

"Forty-love!"

"He actually swung in midair..."

Even Akutsu, who had barely shown any reaction until now, could not help but speak.

"And his timing and angle were both flawless."

Fuji still had his eyes open as he murmured.

"He poured his whole body's force into that long racket. With that kind of power and speed, even if two people had calculated the ball path in advance, there was no way they could have returned it."

Matsubara Manei frowned slightly.

"That move... did you teach it to him?"

The long-haired boy in a white cap, Ryo Kisarazu, could not help asking Jun Kisarazu after seeing Kurobane use the same beautiful midair direction-changing volley his younger brother had once shown.

"No... I never taught him that. Maybe Kurobane, the vice-captain, saw me use it by chance and learned it himself?"

Jun Kisarazu was even more astonished than his brother, and he shook his head.

"Strength, speed, and agility... all of them are formidable."

Inui wiped the sweat from his brow.

Thud.

"Game, Rokkaku! One-zero! Change ends!"

After losing another point to Kurobane, Inui and Yanagi both showed a rare trace of panic.

Sitting at the sideline, Tezuka calmly watched the two as they approached and said, "Inui, Yanagi, don't focus too much on their power. You need to make full use of the advantages of your data tennis."

"Understood."

The two looked at Tezuka and nodded in unison.

"Tree, it's your turn now. Their data tennis may be strong, but it still depends on our balls staying within the range of reasonable calculation."

Kurobane took a sip of water and smiled at Kihiko Itsuki beside him.

Whoosh.

White vapor burst from both of Itsuki's nostrils like a little steam locomotive. "Don't worry, Kurobane. I know what to do."

After the change of ends, it was Inui serving. Looking at Itsuki on the other side, he suddenly thought of something.

"Since a moment ago, he hasn't made a single move..."

"Let me take you on!"

Inui heard Tezuka's words echo once more in his mind. That was right. They could not keep being led around by the nose.

Seeing Inui's swing, Shishido said excitedly, "It's Inui's ultra-high-speed serve!"

"A very fast ball, but... I won't let you get away with it!"

Whoosh.

White smoke burst from Itsuki's nostrils. He gathered all his strength and drove the ultra-high-speed serve back. Just as Inui began to move, the tennis ball struck the doubles sideline and bounced out.

"Fifteen-love!"

"That ball... had no spin at all..."

Shishido was the first to speak.

"A spinless return right off the bat?"

Matsubara Manei looked at Itsuki and thought to himself.

"His spinless shot is a little slower than Matsubara's, and the angle deviated by 32.8 degrees from the calculation."

Inui said flatly.

"As expected of Tree. The other side's mindset has probably been shaken a little. Tree's control is excellent. He can bring out the maximum power of a flat drive, and he can even control the landing point. With a fast spinless shot and such a nasty placement, even with data to support it, a perfect prediction is impossible."

Kurobane was overjoyed to see Itsuki take the point so easily.

"How is it, Inui? Can you return it?"

Yanagi asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. Right now they must think we've been rattled. I'll use that mentality and begin our counterattack."

The lenses over Inui's eyes flashed as he spoke.

"Is that so? I'll guard the back court for you."

With that, Yanagi moved into position behind him.

"A change in formation? Even so, I still won't let you touch the ball!"

Noticing that Inui and Yanagi had shifted from side by side to front and back, Itsuki quietly tightened his grip on the racket.

Thud.

The tennis ball became a blur of light as it shot toward Itsuki. White smoke burst from his nostrils. After his racket struck that violently spinning ultra-high-speed serve, the ball strangely came to a halt in just a few breaths. The muscles in Itsuki's arm stood out sharply, and then the ball surged toward the doubles court beside Inui at an even greater speed.

Snap.

As if foreseeing the future, Inui had already moved to the doubles sideline before Itsuki even made contact. After returning the ball, he sent it straight back to the doubles sideline beside the other side as well. A beautiful point.

"Fifteen-all!"

"How can this be..."

The first to be incredulous was Itsuki. He had never imagined that Inui could return that shot, so he had made no defense at all. Standing beside Itsuki, Kurobane looked at Inui and murmured, "It's like he predicted it in advance. Data tennis really is troublesome..."

"Great! Inui and the others finally scored!"

Shishido clenched his fist and laughed.

"Their doubles pair isn't just for show. To think they could win a match with brute force and cheap tricks alone would be far too naive."

Akutsu regarded the point as only natural and added his own comment.

"But did you notice? In the first game, that boy called Itsuki never made a move. Since the second game began, Kurobane Harukaze hasn't made a move either."

Fuji slowly opened his eyes and spoke softly.

"You mean...?"

Akazawa Kichirou seemed to understand something and asked cautiously.

"What do you mean by that, Fuji-senpai?"

Yanagisawa Shinya looked completely bewildered.

"What Fuji means is that Kurobane and Tree have never shown the level of cooperation a doubles pair should have. Up to now, they've turned this doubles match into singles."

Matsubara instantly laid bare Fuji's meaning.

"Yes. Whether it's intentional or because their individual strength is so overwhelming that they don't need a partner to share the burden, in any case... we cannot afford to be careless."

Fuji gave a slight nod.