Tactics of the South and the East

Choosing not to continue arguing with Akutsu, Ryo Shishido took the tennis ball from his pocket at the referee’s signal. He tossed the ball, swung his racket, and sent it flying straight ahead!

“Impressive momentum!” Naru Matsubara’s eyes sparkled as she watched Ryo Shishido’s powerful serve.

“But doubles isn’t just about strength!” Miyabi Higashino, surprised by the force as she received the ball, quickly sent it toward Akutsu.

“What’s going on?!” For a brief moment, Ryo Shishido sensed something was off. Miyabi Higashino could have returned the ball directly, but she chose not to.

“Ha!” Akutsu, leveraging his reach, returned the shot. But then, Kentaro Minami, with his wild hair, stood at the net and sent the ball to the opposite side from where Akutsu had just received it!

Ryo Shishido, about to intercept, stopped abruptly as Akutsu, like a prowling leopard, dashed toward the other side and returned the ball again, his brows tightly furrowed.

Bang! The tennis ball cut a straight line through the air, but this time, Miyabi Higashino’s return found Akutsu unable to counter with his usual athletic prowess. The ball struck the ground and sped out of bounds!

“15-0!”

Her ponytail bounced energetically as Ryo Shishido watched Akutsu, usually skilled at net play, fail to reach the ball. A sudden thought crossed his mind. “Could it be…”

Akutsu’s already cold expression grew even colder as he stared at the ball he failed to catch.

“What a pity. If he’d caught it, the opponents wouldn’t have scored,” Saori Shiba said, lowering her camera, feeling sorry for Akutsu.

“Hey, Akutsu, we’re playing doubles, not singles. Can’t you show some team spirit? That approach might work if you caught the ball, but your performance now looks really pathetic,” Ryo Shishido said, clearly dissatisfied. He felt he was better suited for net play than Akutsu, and wondered why the referee had chosen him to serve.

“You’re so annoying. Didn’t I tell you not to order me around?” Akutsu glared at Ryo Shishido, ready to fight.

“I’m only saying this for your own good. Why can’t you be like Kaido and Yanagi, working together? Why show off alone?” Ryo Shishido pressed his face close to Akutsu’s, angry.

“Hey Kaido, Yanagi, are you sure it’s okay to pair them up like this…” Naru Matsubara asked helplessly.

“Renji and I hoped Shishido and Akutsu would replicate the teamwork they showed in the qualifiers. But it seems that whenever they try to cooperate, inevitable conflict arises, and the frequency of those conflicts is increasing exponentially,” Sadaharu Kaido analyzed calmly.

“Still, if they manage to develop mutual understanding through their arguments, we can ignore this issue,” Renji Yanagi spoke evenly.

“Ha… You two… It’s like you’re raising lab mice again,” Naru Matsubara said, watching Kaido and Yanagi’s calm demeanor with a twitch at the corner of her mouth.

“Hey, Evergreen, you’re in a match. Stop arguing!” The referee scolded Ryo Shishido and Akutsu for their impulsiveness.

“Tch, anyway, let’s just finish this match,”

Akutsu, disgruntled, met the referee’s gaze, then glared coldly at Ryo Shishido.

“Ah, as for the rest, I’ll settle accounts with you later,” Ryo Shishido replied, clearly not intending to let Akutsu off.

“Oh? Are they finally joining forces?” Mamoru Inoue exclaimed with delight upon seeing the two seemingly reconciled.

“Is it really okay for them to act like this?” Saori Shiba worried even more.

“Let me defeat you both first!” Ryo Shishido and Akutsu, for once, looked directly at Kentaro Minami and Miyabi Higashino across the net, speaking in unison.

“This is promising—united against an external threat, they’re starting to develop chemistry and mutual understanding,” Naru Matsubara said happily.

“Right. With no teammates to vent their frustrations on, they can only take it out on their opponents,” Fuji, still squinting with a smile, rubbed his chin with two fingers while propping his elbow with the back of his hand.

“Hey, Vice Captain Fuji, stirring things up isn’t good…” Naru Matsubara’s mouth twitched again, smiling bitterly.

Tezuka, sitting silently courtside, watched Akutsu and Ryo Shishido with an impassive expression.

“They’re completely united against their opponents—there’s not the slightest sense of discord,” Yuna Iwamura murmured, wide-eyed.

“Never mind, let’s beat the opponents first and fight each other later!” Fuyuka Oda rolled up her sleeves, clenching her fists.

“Looks like they're getting serious, Miyabi,” Kentaro Minami joked, hefting his racket.

“Maybe so, but no matter how serious they are, they won’t be a match for us,” Miyabi Higashino smiled slyly.

“They still haven’t noticed Minami and Higashino’s strategy,” Seishun Sengoku, standing outside the court, wore a mysterious smile.

“Go, Akutsu! Minami and Higashino, you too!” Taichi Tan cheered silently.

Smack! Ryo Shishido served again, but noticed that the two opponents seemed to have moved closer to the baseline than before. Puzzled, he observed them carefully.

“So it is…” Sensing something was off, Ryo Shishido prepared to receive. Miyabi Higashino sent the ball toward the area near Akutsu, who was at the front. The same feeling happened again. Only now did Ryo Shishido realize what he had overlooked at the start!

“They’re not sending the ball to the backcourt…” Ryo Shishido murmured, thoughts racing, as Akutsu lost another point.

“30-0!”

Like Shishido, Akutsu sensed something was wrong, but showed no reaction—he simply stared calmly at the two across the net.

“40-0!” Minami and Higashino once again targeted Akutsu, and after several rallies, Akutsu failed to return the ball and lost another point.

“1-0!”

“Hey, Akutsu, something’s not right,” Ryo Shishido whispered, watching Miyabi Higashino pull a tennis ball from her pocket.

“Yeah,” Akutsu nodded lightly, then exchanged positions with Shishido in a show of rare understanding.

“Oh? They’ve already figured it out, but that changes nothing,” Miyabi Higashino tapped her racket on the ground, pausing at the sight of Shishido and Akutsu’s movement, and then smiled.

At this moment, Kentaro Minami, positioned at the front, raised his left thumb, index, and middle fingers, then extended all five fingers, finally pressing down the middle and ring fingers, making a “love you” gesture.

“Oh? Are you planning to use that move already? Well, since they've noticed, let's change our strategy, Minami,” Miyabi Higashino understood Minami’s signal instantly.

“What’s with them? Even after becoming more in sync, they're still acting like solo players. Yamabuki’s side looks like they’re holding all the cards…” Saori Shiba said worriedly.

“I don’t think they’re intentionally playing individually, but rather forced to,”

“What do you mean?” Saori Shiba asked. Fuyuka Oda and Yuna Iwamura also turned their gaze to Mamoru Inoue.

“In the last game, it seemed Akutsu was struggling, but actually Minami and Higashino were. Akutsu’s volatile temperament makes him prone to losing control when provoked, just like when Kaneda Kaneya taunted him earlier. Shishido stayed calm, while Akutsu reacted intensely.”

“I think Minami and Higashino spent the last game focusing their attack on Akutsu, trying to provoke him into making mistakes, which would then cause irreconcilable conflict with Shishido. As they hoped, Akutsu and Shishido ended up arguing, and Yamabuki secured a point during their quarrel,” explained Mamoru Inoue.

“So that’s it…” The three girls’ minds cleared as if a light flashed behind their eyes.

“Minami and Higashino are ace doubles players, skilled at signal tactics. Who knows if Kaneda Kaneya passed them any signals during his provocations, but I bet they came up with something. That’s why they targeted Akutsu as their main focus,” Inoue continued.

“So if Shishido and Akutsu don’t quickly come up with a counter-strategy, even if they regain their rhythm, they still won’t be a match for Minami and Higashino?” Saori Shiba asked.

“That’s not necessarily true. They might have already realized something—these two argue a lot, but they’re no fools,” Naru Matsubara smiled suddenly, her gaze full of confidence for Akutsu and Shishido. The four glanced at the boy beside them, then looked back to the match.

Purple Pen Literature