132. Hiromi Kiryuu and Makoto Uehara

“Don’t lose heart, Aki. Leave the rest to us now.”

Fuji flashed a warm smile at Seiji Aki, and Mei Matsubara stepped forward, tiptoeing to pat his shoulder lightly with a gentle laugh. “This kind of situation isn’t something we can simply avoid by wishing it away.”

At that moment, the loudspeaker on the sports field crackled to life with a female voice: “The first doubles match is about to begin. All participants, please gather promptly at the court.”

“I’m not sure if Fuji and Akutsu can manage. They’ve never played doubles together before.”

Kumakiri Shibayama said with concern.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

The sound of two pairs of footsteps echoed as they stepped onto the court.

“Well then, I look forward to working with you, Akutsu,” Fuji said with a slight smile, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Akutsu, who stood with his arms crossed, holding his racket.

“I understand,” Akutsu replied calmly, then turned his gaze to their opponents, Hiromi Kiryu and Makoto Uehara.

“Isn’t that Honda Toshiaki the one who’s missing from the lineup?” Ryō Shishido muttered to himself as he glanced at a masked Honda Toshiaki.

“The trio from Ebizuka—the pairing of Kiryu Hiromi and Uehara Makoto is the most compatible. In some ways, Kiryu and Honda share quite a few similarities. I suppose that’s why they arranged the lineup this way. But I didn’t expect Kiryu to play doubles,” Seiji Aki flipped open his notebook, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he analyzed the situation.

“Huh? Kiryu Hiromi is best at singles?”

Yoshiro Akazawa asked.

“Kiryu is nicknamed the ‘Mad Dog’ because of his aggressive style that sometimes targets the opponent’s body. I’ve calculated a 93% chance he’ll play as the second singles player. This violent style can sometimes hurt his teammates if he loses his composure. But generally speaking, his personality is calm and intelligent,” Aki explained with a composed tone.

“Those two… the height difference is really striking.”

Akutsu glanced coolly at the towering Uehara, then looked over at the slender Kiryu.

“Keep it up, Evergreen!”

Fuji’s entrance was always accompanied by excited screams and cheers from many girls. Several of Evergreen’s female students had naturally formed a cheer squad to support the team.

“Tezuka-kun, I didn’t expect the first doubles match to conclude so quickly. That really caught me off guard.”

Aoi Hanamura crossed her arms and gave a smug chuckle.

Seeing Tezuka’s expression remain as calm as a still pond while staring at a spot on the court, her lips curled slightly. “Your Evergreen team is strong, but you lack a good coach…”

“Who could have changed anything after such a sudden accident? If it were you, Hanamura-sensei, what would you do?”

Tezuka, arms folded, replied without turning his head.

“Heh, then I hope you all persevere, Tezuka-kun.”

Hanamura deliberately avoided the topic, laughing softly.

“I really want you to rely on us and win by default, but I don’t know if my players will agree with that.”

Tezuka also sidestepped Hanamura’s remarks, speaking calmly.

Those words made Hanamura inwardly uneasy. She stopped talking to Tezuka and looked back toward the court.

Noticing Makoto Uehara approaching, Akutsu’s gaze suddenly shifted, and even Fuji’s expression changed subtly. They both looked at Uehara’s overwhelming frame that seemed to blot out the sky. Fuji thought to herself, “From afar, you wouldn’t notice, but up close, he’s really tall—and he still looks like he’s still growing.”

“Hey, Matsubara, is that guy really a middle schooler…?”

Although Ryō Shishido had seen Uehara when he got off the bus, he couldn’t help but blurt out after noticing the stark height difference between Uehara and the trio of Fuji and Akutsu.

“Yeah, with that height, people might even believe he’s a high schooler.”

A third-year non-regular player interjected. He was about 180 cm tall, but this Uehara appeared even taller!

“That guy… is a lot better-looking than Kabachi, but I wonder what his eyes look like under those sunglasses.”

Matsubara ignored Shishido’s comment and thought silently.

“Could he be a repeat student from Shonan…?”

Some students from Evergreen simply could not believe that Uehara’s physique matched that of a first-year student.

“I think so too… but how many years has he repeated?”

Someone supported the opinion.

“So tall… why not play basketball? Why does he have to come to tennis to make a name for himself…”

“Just looking at him makes me want to go home…”

…

“Makoto Uehara, second-year student at Shonan Castle, height 190 cm.”

Mamoru Inoue flipped through some data collected during an earlier interview with Shonan Castle and read aloud.

“1… 190 cm?”

Fuyuka Oda and Yuna Iwamura exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s like the referee’s chair suddenly looks smaller…”

Saori Shiba withdrew her gaze from the camera and looked at Uehara.

“Hey, hey, where’s the other player? You can’t play doubles alone.”

The referee glanced at Uehara and hurriedly said.

“Right here.”

Uehara took a step forward, while Kiryu Hiromi stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at the referee.

“That boy with the spiky hair is completely blocked by the giant.”

Fuyuka Oda murmured.

“Hee hee hee…”

“What are you laughing at, Shishido? He’s only blocking him, right?”

Matsubara noticed Shishido giggling and thought there was nothing funny about it. Besides, Kiryu Hiromi’s height was about the same as Ryūren Shishido’s.

“I’m not laughing at Kiryu; I’m laughing that someone’s actually shorter than Matsubara. It’s really eye-opening.”

Shishido covered his mouth with both hands, his face flushed red as he struggled to suppress his laughter, his shoulders shaking continuously.

“What do you mean, Shishido…”

Matsubara looked displeased, her eyebrows rising.

“I’m just stating the truth.”

Seeing the boy was a little upset, Shishido awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“That guy only looks short because Uehara is standing right next to him.”

Pouting slightly, Matsubara defended Kiryu without any malice toward Shishido’s teasing.

“Next, you’ll have to forfeit for not being able to play. Prepare yourself.”

Uehara spoke calmly. Though his volume was not raised much, Fuji felt his voice was rich and deep, with an echo like a loudspeaker.

“Huh? What did you say?”

Akutsu was visibly annoyed by the commanding tone and glared at Uehara.

“Alright, Akutsu.”

Fuji placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling softly and looking up. “Please be sure to do so.”

“…”

Uehara was at a loss for words at Fuji’s request. Kiryu, hands in his pockets, turned and left. “Let’s go.”

“I’m really curious how such a height difference will affect their play.”

Fuji watched Uehara, who even squatted slightly to discuss tactics, her smile growing wider.

Taking off his long-sleeved jacket at the side of the court, Uehara revealed a body sculpted with sinewy muscles—not just on his chest and arms but even on his thighs were defined lines. Shishido’s mouth dropped open. “That kind of physique… can it really be trained?”

“‘Enhanced human’ training is definitely not to be underestimated.”

Seiji Aki opened his notebook and quickly jotted something down.

“Did this guy come to the wrong event? I feel like he’s here for a bodybuilding contest…”

Matsubara was somewhat speechless.

Purple Pen Literature