92. First Round, Rokkaku Middle School

"Chiba Prefecture, Red Sun First Middle School!"

At the lottery venue, a male teacher from the Kanto Tournament committee read aloud the names on his list. A tall boy with short blond hair stood up.

"Yes!"

"Ah, that's Goro Takahashi from Red Sun. They say the doubles pair he forms with his older brother, Juro Takahashi, is unbeatable in all of Chiba Prefecture," someone in the audience whispered upon recognizing the blond boy walking up to the stage.

"Number twenty-three!"

The male teacher called out after looking at the slip in Goro Takahashi's hand.

"Next, Saitama Prefecture, Knight Kid Middle School!"

"Yes!"

A black-haired man with a center part stood up from his seat.

"This Akiyama Takeshi is no easy opponent either. Rumor has it he's the one-on-one king among all third-years in the Knight Kid Middle School tennis club!"

Murmurs of admiration spread through the crowd.

"Number nineteen!"

"As long as we don't draw number nine, we're fine."

A student from some school muttered quietly to the person beside him.

"Yeah, exactly. Number eight is Evergreen Academy, the champion of this year's regional tournament!"

Another student nodded in agreement.

"Next, Kanagawa Prefecture, Shiihi Middle School!"

"Next, Ibaraki Prefecture, Budo Middle School!"

"Next, Tochigi Prefecture, Ho-en Grand Affiliated Middle School!"

As the teams from each prefecture in the Kanto region went up to draw lots, the white tactical board was gradually filled with black-marker writing.

"Chiba Prefecture, Hexagon Middle School, number nine!"

"Hey, Hexagon from Chiba? Have you heard of them?"

Hearing that Hexagon belonged to Chiba Prefecture, a student from one school broke into a mocking grin.

"Not at all. They must be some weak team that squeaked in somehow. The strongest school in Chiba is clearly Red Sun First Middle School."

"Exactly. A school like that drawing the champion Evergreen Academy? They might as well withdraw now."

"Those two guys..."

Kuroba Harukaze, who was naturally lively by nature, could not help but mutter after hearing such talk.

"Let them say whatever they want."

Saeki Kojirou, with his short silver-white hair, gave him a consoling look, then walked back to his seat. As he sat down, he noticed someone behind him seemed to be watching, and he slowly looked up.

"Fuji..."

Recognizing the chestnut-haired boy waving and smiling at him, Saeki Kojirou looked faintly surprised. Kuroba Harukaze also followed his gaze and quickly recognized Fuji and Tezuka.

"Do you know them, Saeki?"

Kuroba asked.

"Yes. I've known Fuji since we were very little, so you could say we grew up together. I never thought that, as seeded players, they would come to the lottery in person."

Saeki replied with a smile.

"Do you have confidence if you end up facing them, Captain?"

Kuroba Harukaze rested his chin on his hand, looking at Tezuka and Fuji, one cold-faced and the other smiling with a harmless air.

"Who can say? Evergreen Academy is terrifyingly strong, both in doubles and singles."

Saeki smiled faintly.

"Huh? You and Fuji grew up together, and you've never played against each other?"

Kuroba seemed genuinely surprised.

"No. As far as I remember, Fuji wasn't very interested in tennis. I don't know why he suddenly joined the tennis club."

Saeki tilted his head slightly, glancing at the smiling Fuji with his eyes half-closed.

"Tokyo Metropolitan, Imperial Academy, number forty-seven!"

With one hand in his pocket, Keigo Atobe lifted the slip between two fingers.

"Looks like we won't be meeting Imperial Academy any time soon," Fuji said softly.

Just then, Mamoru Inoue and Saori Shiba happened to walk in from outside. Looking at Atobe Keigo, the former murmured, "Number forty-seven? Imperial Academy's opponent seems to have drawn an easy one."

"Inoue-senpai, Evergreen Academy is also facing a school that looks very weak. It's called Hexagon Middle School," Shiba said, taking her eyes off the board.

"Hexagon Middle School..."

Inoue Mamoru said in surprise.

"Inoue-senpai knows about Hexagon Middle School?"

"Only that their philosophy is to enjoy tennis as if it were a game. By doing that, and by simply loving tennis from the heart, the players improve their skill in the sport."

Inoue Mamoru shook his head as he recalled it.

"As if it were a game?"

Shiba Saori was somewhat baffled. "Playing tennis like it's a game... wouldn't that make it hard to win matches?"

"That's where you're mistaken, Saori. Only by returning to your original love of the sport, and by savoring the joy tennis brings with the very feelings you had when you first met it, unburdened by the so-called rankings, honors, scores, and all the rest of reality, can you truly experience joyful tennis. And it is precisely by competing in that carefree state that victory comes easily. I have to say, Hexagon Middle School's coaching philosophy is wonderful!"

Inoue Mamoru's words only left Shiba Saori even more bewildered. She muttered, "I have no idea where Inoue-senpai keeps hearing these things. It all sounds kind of eerie and mystical."

"Haha, those words weren't mine. They're from the sayings of the former world professional player Nanjiro Echizen. On the surface they sound like irresponsible nonsense, as if someone were just joking around, but only when you truly reach Nanjiro Echizen's level can you speak such famous lines that contain such profound wisdom!"

Inoue Mamoru laughed.

"Nanjiro Echizen again..."

Shiba Saori felt that Inoue Mamoru was practically brainwashed by this Nanjiro Echizen. Still, if she ever had the chance, she really did want to see what sort of man this former professional player was, to be spoken of by Inoue Mamoru every day and treated almost like a religion.

After returning to Evergreen Academy, Tezuka and Fuji shared the information from the lottery venue with the others, including Mei Matsubara.

"The first round is against Hexagon Middle School? Then it looks like we can win pretty easily, right?"

Yanagisawa Shinya said with a somewhat bored smile.

"The enemy is ourselves. No matter where the opponent comes from, we must not show the slightest carelessness!"

Tezuka said sternly.

"The captain of Hexagon Middle School is Saeki Kojirou. They say that in daily life he's gentle and modest, but once he steps onto the court he becomes steadfast and cold. He has excellent dynamic vision and sharp insight, and he is especially skilled at man-marking tactics. It seems he's Fuji's childhood friend?"

Kachiro Inui opened Hexagon Middle School's dossier and said this.

"Yes, but I haven't played against Saeki before, so I don't know him very well."

Fuji said with a smile.

"Compared with Saeki, their vice captain Kuroba Harukaze is also someone we need to watch. He's very strong and specializes in an explosive style of tennis. Among our team, there isn't a power player who can truly stand up to someone of his type."

Renji Yanagi stepped forward.

"Besides those two, we also need to pay attention to the twins Jun Kisarazu and Ryo Kisarazu. They're twins like the Mikami brothers, though they don't have that absurd telepathy. They may appear in doubles."

Mei Matsubara added.

"I don't have much information on Kisarazu Ryo, but apparently his younger brother, Kisarazu Jun, is quite strong," Inui said.

"There is one more person Matsubara should watch out for, and that's Kihiko Jukoku of Hexagon. He can hit a no-spin ball just like you can."

Yanagi looked at the boy and reminded him.

"Mm, I know. I'll be careful."

Hearing that, Mei Matsubara nodded.