127. We’re Not a Group—Call Us “Unit”!

"There is no need to respond so urgently. You can give me your answer after the Kanto Tournament concludes. Do think about it."

Aoi Hanamura did not seem surprised by the boy's refusal, her voice flat and composed.

"No, I must still decline."

Matsubara Narumi's second public rejection of Aoi Hanamura made the woman's expression sour. He then smiled and explained, "I am already a pillar of Seishun. I cannot become a project of Shonan."

Hearing the word "pillar," Tezuka, who had maintained a steady countenance, was slightly taken aback. As Matsubara Narumi returned to the team, he gave Aoi Hanamura a slight bow. "My apologies, Coach Hanamura. The order in which one appears in life is of great importance."

"Excuse us."

Tezuka stepped forward, bowed to Aoi Hanamura, and led his team into the sports arena.

"What a snobbish guy..." Takahisa Kajimoto muttered, clearly annoyed that Matsubara Narumi hadn't taken the bait.

"He will regret his decision, won't he, brother?" Kohei Tanaka frowned and asked.

"Of course," Yohei Tanaka nodded.

"What a stubborn personality. I like it."

Just as the Shonan regulars were feeling dissatisfied with Matsubara Narumi's performance, Aoi Hanamura’s stern face suddenly softened. A charming, subtle smile played on the corners of her lips, painted in Barbie pink, as she thought to herself.

"We have finally reached the second round."

Yuna Iwamura and Fuyuka Oda, who had arrived at the venue earlier, stood outside the tennis court. There was an undisguised excitement in the latter's voice.

"You two... you don't train properly, yet you're so attentive to the men's tennis club," remarked Kaede Kitajima, a regular of the women's tennis club with exceptional dynamic vision, who had also come to watch the men's team compete in the Kanto Tournament quarterfinals. Seeing Fuyuka Oda's adorable expression, she couldn't help but shake her head.

"But it's no wonder they're so happy. Whether it's the men's or women's club, Seishun hasn't experienced what it's like to advance in the Kanto Tournament before. It's fortunate we're all third-years now; if we were a grade higher, I fear we wouldn't see such a grand occasion," said Sara, who often appeared with Kaede.

"That's true... Oh? They're here!" Kaede nodded, but as her peripheral vision caught something, she suddenly pointed.

"Matsubara-kun!"

After exchanging glances with Tezuka and the others, Fuyuka Oda spotted Matsubara Narumi at the back and waved her hand.

"You arrived quite early," the boy said, stopping to look at the colorfully dressed Yuna Iwamura and Fuyuka Oda. He raised an eyebrow, rubbed his nose, and smiled.

"Yes, it's the quarterfinals today! If we beat Josei Shonan, we'll advance to the semifinals!" Fuyuka Oda nodded lightly.

"And you are..." Matsubara Narumi smiled in response, but his voice faltered when he saw Kaede Kitajima and Sara.

"I'm Kaede Kitajima, a third-year regular on the women's tennis team. Although I'm not wearing my sports uniform today... oh, I saw you when you dealt with those troublemakers from another school," Kaede introduced herself enthusiastically.

"Troublemakers from another school..." Matsubara Narumi murmured, immediately recalling the group that had come to avenge a boy named Shiratama. He had indeed defeated them on the women's tennis court.

"I see. In that case, let me introduce myself again. Matsubara Narumi, a first-year regular on the men's tennis team," the boy said with a light chuckle.

"I am Sara Kitajima, a third-year regular on the women's tennis team. Even though we share the same surname as Kaede, we aren't related by blood," said Sara, who was wearing a hair clip, covering her mouth as she giggled.

"But Kaede-senpai and Sara-senpai both have long, straight hair. If it weren't for the different hair colors, it would be easy to confuse you," Yuna Iwamura said blankly.

"I'll be going now," Matsubara Narumi nodded slightly to the four girls and followed his team into the court.

"Good luck, Matsubara-kun!" The boy waved his hand without looking back in response to Fuyuka Oda's sweet voice.

"He looks like a first-year, but he's surprisingly mature," Sara Kitajima’s gaze softened quietly.

"He's quite handsome when you see him up close," Kaede Kitajima added.

"Kaede-senpai, Sara-senpai, you don't happen to have a crush on Matsubara-kun, do you? You know, he's Fuyuka's type," the naturally airheaded Yuna Iwamura whispered, leaning into their ears.

"Yuna-nee-san!" Although the former had whispered as quietly as possible, Fuyuka Oda still heard her and responded with a bashful, reproachful tone.

"Oh... although Sara and I had our suspicions, I didn't expect little Fuyuka to really like Matsubara," Kaede said with a gossipy expression.

"Senpai..." Fuyuka Oda sighed helplessly as Kaede began to tease her.

"Haha, not only does Matsubara need to do his best, but you do too, little Fuyuka," Sara added, seizing the moment to tease her as well.

On the tennis court.

"You're finally here, Matsubara. You're slow," said Ryo Shishido as the boy walked in.

"Ah, I was held up for a moment," Matsubara Narumi rubbed his nose.

"Everyone, even though we have reached the quarterfinals, do not let your guard down. Our opponents are just as tense as we are," Tezuka said sternly, looking at the team standing in a neat line.

"I won't say anything more. Don't get careless, let's go!"

"Yes!"

"We cannot just stand by and watch either. Seishun! Fight!" Ryo Shishido, fired up by Tezuka's inspiring words, raised his arms and shouted to the non-regular players behind him.

"Seishun! Victory!" the non-regulars shouted, raising their arms in unison.

"Even for a regular school, they have quite the cheering squad," Hiroshi Wakato remarked, finding it amusing to be surrounded by the girls from other schools.

"Is that their captain? He looks quite serious," Kohei Tanaka said, watching Tezuka with his arms crossed.

"Yes, and the regulars' appearances are quite eclectic..." Yohei Tanaka looked at the gently smiling Fuji, then at the cold and indifferent Akutsu. Finally, looking at Matsubara Narumi, he murmured to himself, "Although I don't really like that guy who loves to act cool, he is indeed quite good-looking."

"Eh... brother, you don't have a thing for that Matsubara..." Kohei Tanaka, possessing hearing far beyond the average person, heard something and looked stunned. Before he could finish, Yohei Tanaka interrupted, "If you're going to be mischievous again, I'll rip your ears off."

Rubbing his burning red ears, Kohei Tanaka felt aggrieved. "I was just joking. Besides, you make it so easy to misunderstand..."

"But you know, aside from you, Kohei, there is no one else I care about," Yohei Tanaka said quite seriously.

"Brother..." A warmth surged through Kohei Tanaka's heart, and he couldn't help but call out.

"Coach Hanamura thinks highly of Seishun," Toshimi Honda said, pulling his gaze away from the Seishun regulars.

"Looking at their physiques, not one of them looks like they can fight," Makoto Uehara said dismissively.

"Well, let's see. After all, they did make it to the Kanto Tournament; they won't be pushovers," Hiromi Kiryu said, hands in his pockets, a smirk playing on his lips.

...

"What is that..." Hearing the excited shrieks of girls nearby, Fuyuka Oda frowned slightly. She looked at a group of pretty girls in unknown school uniforms taking pictures of an orange-haired boy surrounded by them, and said with evident distaste, "Look at that boy in the light blue tracksuit. He must be a Josei Shonan regular. He's certainly popular."

"He's handsome and knows how to pose; that's bound to attract girls' attention," Kaede Kitajima noted.

"But I heard that Josei Shonan has recently become a school skilled at creating 'tennis machines,' all thanks to that teacher named Aoi Hanamura. These regulars won't be any weaker than the Rokkaku team we played earlier," Kaede said, watching Aoi Hanamura mobilizing her players.

"Oh? Kaede-senpai seems quite well-informed," Fuyuka Oda remarked.

"I read it in the promotional brochure. It's said that this teacher, Aoi Hanamura, is particularly good at 'enhanced human' training and hopes to promote her theories and concepts nationwide," Kaede said, laughing as she scratched the back of her head.

"Oh? Everyone is warming up for the match!" At that moment, Mamoru Inoue and Shibaki Saori appeared from somewhere and stood beside the four girls.

"Inoue-san!" Yuna Iwamura and Fuyuka Oda said in unison.

"Hello there," Mamoru Inoue waved in a friendly manner. When he saw Kaede and Sara Kitajima, he asked, "And these two are..."

"We are third-year regulars from the Seishun women's tennis team. I'm Kaede Kitajima."

"I'm Sara Kitajima."

"Although we share a surname, we aren't sisters," Kaede clarified.

"I see," Mamoru Inoue smiled with understanding. Shibaki Saori took out her camera, pointed it at the court, and looked at the two distinct teams, anticipating, "I wonder what kind of lineup Seishun will use."

"Let me announce the order of play," Sadaharu Inui said, walking over with his notebook. "Third singles, Matsubara."

"Second singles, Tezuka."

"First singles, Akazawa."

"Second doubles, myself and Renji."

"First doubles, Fuji and Akutsu."

Having finished, Inui closed his notebook.

"Oh? They took Fuji out of singles?" Mamoru Inoue asked, looking surprised.

"And this time, Tezuka is in the earlier singles slot. Usually, he appears as the first singles player..." Shibaki Saori added.

"Yes, but you have to realize that Josei Shonan is different from Yamabuki. From the time the students are freshmen, this school focuses on their overall athletic development, so they don't have the weakness of unbalanced doubles and singles. With three powerful singles players as a foundation, even if the doubles matches run into trouble, they have a chance to recover," Mamoru Inoue analyzed.

"The match between Seishun Academy and Josei Shonan Academy is about to begin. The first match is second doubles," a female voice echoed through the loudspeakers. Renji Yanagi and Sadaharu Inui remained on the court, while the Tanaka brothers from Josei Shonan walked in together.

"So they are indeed paired for doubles," Inui said calmly, looking at the two.

"But I didn't expect that with their strength, they would appear in second doubles. Could the first doubles pair be even stronger?" Renji Yanagi scanned them.

As for Aoi Hanamura and Tezuka, they greeted each other face to face, and the former gave a charming smile. "Tezuka-kun, please don't hold back."

"Of course," Tezuka replied indifferently.

"Another set of twins as a pair..." Shibaki Saori captured the Tanaka brothers on her camera. Immediately after, the brothers, turning their backs to the reporters, synchronized a move, turning away from each other and leaning back-to-back. Each pointed a thumb at themselves. "We are not a pair, please call us a 'unit'!"

"Could they hear that from so far away?!" Shibaki Saori was startled, wondering if the Tanaka brothers were speaking directly to her.

"I heard that Coach Aoi Hanamura subjected them to so-called 'enhanced human' training. Long hours of practice gave them hearing comparable to someone with 'wind-carried ears.' It must be that," Mamoru Inoue said. He was clearly shocked as well, suddenly recalling how he had gone to interview the Josei Shonan tennis club but was refused by Aoi Hanamura due to her being "busy," though the principal had received him. While the principal didn't elaborate on the tennis club, Inoue felt that these first-year regulars were not simple.

Shibaki Saori blinked and lowered her voice. "But Inoue-senpai, does the Josei Shonan men's tennis club allow girls to participate?"

"Why would you suddenly say that?" Mamoru Inoue, not quite following her train of thought, looked puzzled.

"But have you listened to their voices? The red-haired one's voice is delicate and clear, the blue-haired one's is youthful and soft—they are just like girls..." Shibaki recalled.

"I think it's just because they are still in their growth phase. When I interviewed Josei Shonan, the principal did say that members of the women's tennis club were not currently accepting enhanced training and were focusing solely on the men's club. However, now that you mention it, they do look a bit like girls..." Mamoru Inoue nodded, having had the same illusion.

"It's not just their voices; the one on the left with that long red hair is even wearing a choker... what boy would dress like that..." Shibaki said, distressed.

"And their figures—they are indeed very slender, like girls..." Kaede Kitajima whispered.

"Who is the older brother and who is the younger?" Yuna Iwamura asked blankly.

"I think the red-haired one is the older brother. Look, he's helping the blue-haired one fix his ponytail," Kaede pointed out.

"Does Kaede-kun know something?" Mamoru Inoue asked, seeing how quickly she identified them.

"Ah, no... it's just a woman's intuition. Generally, the older brother or sister is the one who would tidy up the younger sibling's clothing, like parents do for their children," Kaede said, scratching her head with a forced laugh.

"This pair of twins looks so flamboyant... are they from an idol tennis club?" Kumakiri Shibayama watched, feeling as if they were walking down a red carpet.

"I have the same feeling, like two idols back-to-back, preparing to pick up microphones and sing..." another second-year non-regular agreed.

"Flamboyant? I think it looks so embarrassing..."

"Is it the 'sissy' duo..."

"They should just go ahead and debut."

"I actually think they're quite cute..."

"Hey, Sakamoto... you don't have some weird ideas, do you?"

"Get lost, I'm just saying what I really think!"

"Really think... that's just..."

"I told you to get lost, you jerk!"

...

"One set, winner takes all! Seishun, Yanagi to serve!"

The match officially began as the umpire looked toward the Inui/Yanagi side and called out.