Hyotei Academy Grand Auditorium
This grand auditorium at Hyotei Academy was renovated by the Atobe Group during spring break. Besides the auditorium, some classrooms, the cafeteria, and tennis equipment also received significant upgrades. Even if those things had already been replaced two or three years ago...
This perfectly demonstrated their immense wealth.
Inside the grand auditorium, all the new students for this year sat neatly, awaiting the principal's speech.
"Is that Keigo Atobe?!"
Kamikawa watched a young man in a Hyotei Academy uniform. His purplish-grey hair was parted down the middle, swept to both sides, with slightly upturned ends. Despite his youthful appearance, he exuded a certain flamboyant aura as he slowly walked toward the main stage and grabbed the microphone from the center. (In the manga, he has blond hair, but the anime version is used here.)
Everyone in the audience fixed their gaze on him. Even the second and third-year students watched the young man on the stage, whose every word and action exemplified aristocratic grace.
"Listen up! My name is Keigo Atobe, and starting today, I am the king of this Hyotei Academy."
"Hyotei Academy boasts first-class teachers and a first-class environment. How you utilize and create within it is up to you. Grab hold of and enrich your school life with your own hands. Rest assured and enjoy every day at Hyotei Academy."
Such arrogant words, coming from any other new student representative, would have been immediately reprimanded. However, Atobe was not. The school administrators sitting in the front rows looked around, and even with grim expressions, they didn't interrupt Atobe's speech. They knew better than anyone the importance of Atobe to Hyotei Academy. As long as he didn't do anything too outrageous, they would let him get away with such antics.
Ultimately, a large part of why Hyotei Academy received that investment this year was because the Atobe family's eldest son wanted to attend Hyotei. With the Atobe Group's financial power, they could instantly transform any school into a true aristocratic institution. You should never doubt the Atobe family's wealth.
"Keigo Atobe, quite a charismatic figure, isn't he?" Kamikawa turned to Tezuka beside him. "What do you think, Tezuka?"
"Hmm." Tezuka seemed a bit startled. Clearly, he wasn't the type to enjoy being in the spotlight. However, he didn't dislike people like Atobe either. In a way, with someone like that around, his time at Hyotei would be more comfortable, wouldn't it?
The opening ceremony quickly concluded. The subsequent old, familiar speeches made Kamikawa almost fall asleep.
The next period was free time for the new students, and naturally, it was also time for the older students to hand out flyers and promote their clubs. Clubs were an indispensable part of any middle school in Japan, and the country certainly emphasizes them. Kamikawa was dazzled by the variety of clubs on display: photography club, anime club, badminton club, volleyball club, table tennis club, and more. Among them, Kamikawa even spotted the table tennis club and took Tezuka to the table tennis room.
The facilities here were quite complete, with no less than five basic tables. In addition, the older students who weren't handing out flyers were actively preparing for matches.
"You..." Tezuka looked at Kamikawa with a hint of surprise. "Since when did you like table tennis?"
"Table tennis is also called 'table tennis,' and I occasionally watch it," Kamikawa shrugged. In his previous life, he was interested in table tennis, but his lack of ball sense meant his talent for racket sports wasn't particularly high. Even after five years of dedicated practice, he couldn't compare to a kid next door who had only practiced for a month.
"Shouldn't we go report to the tennis club now?" Tezuka, apart from tennis, didn't have much interest in other clubs. Of course, he would linger for an extra two seconds at history-related clubs. Tezuka was quite mature and enjoyed reading world history books. In his free time, besides tennis, countless books were his only other distraction. Occasionally, his grandfather would call him out to go fishing, which was one of Tezuka's few hobbies.
This year, thanks to Tsukimitsu Ochi last year, the Hyotei tennis club was exceptionally lively. After all, it was one of the few renowned tennis schools that consistently made it to the National Tournament. During Tsukimitsu Ochi's two years as captain, he consistently led Hyotei to the National Tournament, reaching the quarterfinals one year and the semifinals the next. Last year, Tsukimitsu Ochi single-handedly propelled them to the National Tournament semifinals.
Other sports clubs at Hyotei, such as the soccer club, basketball club, track and field club, and volleyball club, also achieved good results, but compared to the tennis club, they were slightly inferior.
"Hyotei, there are so many people signing up for the tennis club~" Kamikawa did a quick scan and estimated there were one or two hundred people. Considering that only about a thousand students were admitted this year, this club alone accounted for a tenth or even a fifth of the total student body. Some clubs couldn't even attract a fraction of the students that the tennis club did.
"Yes," Tezuka nodded, also surprised by the number of sign-ups. Even at Seishun Daiichi Elementary, he hadn't seen so many tennis enthusiasts. The famous clubs in Seishun Daiichi didn't have this many people signing up each year. Even if Tezuka had gone to Seigaku, the number of sign-ups for their tennis club wouldn't have been higher than what he was seeing now.
"This scale, it can probably only be matched by Rikkaidai Junior High in Kanagawa Prefecture, Shishigaku Junior High in Kyushu, and Makino Tenn Academy in Kansai."
Rikkaidai, Shishigaku Junior High, and Makino Tenn were all renowned tennis schools that made it to the National Tournament semifinals last year. This year, they would naturally attract even more tennis enthusiasts. Even beginners would join the tennis club simply because of its reputation. This was the so-called "winner's effect."
"That's..." Tezuka suddenly noticed something. Kamikawa followed Tezuka's gaze.
He saw a group of second and third-year students, dressed in the official Hyotei tennis club uniforms, slowly walking over, their lips slightly curved in a proud, arrogant manner.
"They're the seniors who made it to the National Tournament semifinals last year!"
"They're so strong~ Just looking at their aura, they feel incredibly powerful~"
"Yeah, yeah, especially the one in the middle, could that be Ochi-senpai, who led Hyotei Academy to the National Tournament semifinals last year?!"
"...Idiot, Ochi-senpai went up to high school this year. That senior shouldn't be..."
"..."
The first-year students waiting in line outside the tennis club whispered amongst themselves. They signed up for the tennis club, naturally, with the dream of dominating the nation.
"Ochi-senpai~ I will definitely follow in your footsteps and lead Hyotei to the Nationals once again."
The leading young man's name was Gen Kōen. A "Vice-Captain" tag was prominently displayed on his chest. He was the vice-captain of the Hyotei Academy tennis club last year. Since Tsukimitsu Ochi advanced, he should have become the "captain," but he hadn't changed his captain's tag yet. Rather than not having changed it, it was more like he had never received Tsukimitsu Ochi's approval, nor the tennis club coach's approval, which was why he still wore the "Vice-Captain" tag.
His naturally black hair was dyed grey to emulate the former captain, and he even had a section of red hair at the tips, mimicking the style perfectly.