"What's wrong?" Kamikawa, having snapped out of his daze, turned around to find a group of people staring at him with strange looks. There was complexity, astonishment, and mostly disbelief.
"N-nothing." Shishido's expression changed the most; his eyes were wide, completely unable to believe what he was seeing. In the past half hour, Kamikawa had hit almost every ball according to the numbered marks drawn on the court. At first, no one paid much attention. As Kamikawa's movements steadily sped up and the duration lengthened, they truly realized how big the gap was between him and everyone else. Whether he could do it or not was beside the point; just the control he displayed earlier already overwhelmed most of the second and third-year seniors present. These were "veterans" who had been through the baptism of the National Tournament, yet they were not as good as a freshman.
"What are you still looking at?"
"Are you all just standing around doing nothing?!" Just as they were stunned, a cold reprimand echoed in their ears.
Everyone followed the sound and saw Atobe, who had just been training, now walking over, looking displeased at everyone. Although it was free activity time, gathering together and doing nothing bothered Atobe; after all, he was the vice-captain.
"Come on, let's go." Seeing this, Gen Kouen and the others, without further ado, immersed themselves in their respective training. The remaining first-year students, looking at Kamikawa's back, also took out their rackets and began today's training. The previously crowded court instantly became spacious.
Atobe raised an eyebrow, walked over with his racket, a hint of interest in his eyes. "Your ball control is very strong. How about we practice sometime?"
"Sure!" Kamikawa nodded, not particularly bothered.
"Interesting." Seeing Kamikawa agree so readily, Atobe couldn't help but take another look at him. He then looked at the circles drawn on the court, with the hitting order marked on them. Kamikawa had been training his ball control here earlier. This level of training, even this great Atobe can do it. With that thought, Atobe took a glowing yellow tennis ball from his pocket, stood at the position Kamikawa had been hitting from, and tried to experience Kamikawa's training method.
"This guy, he's quite diligent." Seeing Atobe like this, Kamikawa didn't say much. Atobe might appear arrogant and self-important, but deep down, he yearned to become stronger. Especially on the tennis court. Otherwise, he wouldn't have carved out a path in the English elementary school tennis world when speed, power, and technique weren't his strengths, developing an extraordinary insight. If one were to talk about Atobe's talent, he certainly wouldn't lose to Sanada. He was just too comfortable; as long as enough pressure was applied to him, he could transform that pressure into motivation for progress, thus becoming stronger.
"Tch~" All of this was observed by Ino Nagakawa, a second-year student and former official Hyotei tennis club member, who stood nearby, curling his lips in disdain. They're just a bunch of freshmen. In Hyotei Academy, and even in other schools, there was an unwritten rule that first-year students were not eligible to become regulars. He believed Coach Sakaki would surely get justice for them.
"What's the point of working hard?" A hint of coldness flashed in Nagakawa's eyes. He had been picking up balls for a whole year. "Freshmen, no matter how amazing their skill, they'll have to pick up tennis balls for a year, dutifully acting as 'ball boys'!"
Some time later:
Tezuka, walking out of the piano classroom, immediately headed towards the tennis courts. In his hand was the report he had previously submitted to Coach Sakaki for review, which had also received Sakaki's approval.
Upon Tezuka's arrival, everyone stopped their actions and stood nervously on an empty court, not daring to be careless in the slightest. This was Kunimitsu Tezuka, the one who had defeated Atobe yesterday, whose strength surpassed theirs, and who was subtly hailed as the new leader of Hyotei.
"Good afternoon, everyone."
"Good afternoon!!" Everyone bowed their heads and shouted, not daring to look Tezuka in the eye.
Kamikawa, on the other hand, watched Tezuka with a wide grin. Not far away, Atobe stood with one hand in his pocket, turning to face Tezuka. Even the usually mischievous Oshitari was now hiding in the crowd, posing like an old fox.
Tezuka nodded slightly and calmly said to everyone, "I just met with Coach Sakaki. Coach Sakaki has appointed me as the captain of the Hyotei tennis club. Furthermore, Keigo Atobe will serve as vice-captain."
As his words fell, the bodies of the second and third-year regulars in the crowd trembled. They looked up, their faces filled with disbelief. Were the captain and vice-captain positions decided so casually?! And by two first-year students!!
"Why?! That's not fair! I'm going to confront Coach Sakaki!"
In the crowd, Nagakawa raised his hand in protest. Why should the captain and vice-captain roles be held by first-year students?! What was the point of him picking up tennis balls for an entire year at Hyotei?!
"Go ahead!" Tezuka's gaze swept over Nagakawa. He had already anticipated that these second and third-year seniors wouldn't be cooperative. Perfect; he needed someone to step forward and establish his authority.
"Hmph~" Nagakawa snorted lightly and directly walked out of the crowd. Just as he was about to take a step, he was stopped by a hand from within the crowd. Nagakawa looked along the arm and saw it was none other than Gen Kouen, the former vice-captain of the Hyotei tennis club.
Gen Kouen's face was serious as he subtly shook his head at Nagakawa, signaling him not to be impulsive. But Nagakawa paid no mind to any of this, directly breaking free and saying, "I'd like to see if Coach Sakaki stands with him or with us veterans who have bled for the Hyotei tennis club!"
Nagakawa reached out, about to push open the court's iron gate, when he heard a cold voice in his ear: "Senpai, if you leave the court now, then starting today, you will no longer be a part of the tennis club."
Tezuka stood with one hand in his pocket, his voice surprisingly cold.
Nagakawa swallowed hard, and Coach Sakaki's image flashed through his mind again. He refused to believe that the coach would unconditionally side with this freshman; he was a Hyotei regular!
"Nagakawa, he's too impulsive."
"Can't anything be discussed privately?"
"He just had to do something so idiotic, I swear..."
In the crowd, the second and third-year regulars whispered amongst themselves, all thinking Nagakawa was brainless. Even if this issue was brought to the coach, it wouldn't end well. Hadn't they just heard Tezuka say he had already discussed it with the coach? He was now the captain of the Hyotei tennis club, no doubt about it.
"Silence!" Tezuka's gaze swept over everyone, the sternness in his eyes undiminished. "Starting tomorrow, we will implement a 'survival of the fittest' operation model. Students of any age group are eligible to become regulars. As long as you prove that your skill surpasses others, you are qualified to be a regular."
"Remember, I said students of any age group!"
Everyone's faces instantly changed upon hearing this. Especially the group of second and third-year regulars led by Gen Kouen. The implementation of this rule meant that they were highly likely to lose their regular positions, as many of this batch of freshmen had skills superior to theirs.
Even though this rule was extremely unfavorable to them, no one dared to voice an objection. Since this rule was stated, it meant Coach Sakaki had nodded in agreement.
Besides... if freshmen could become captain and vice-captain, what else could they not accept?
Support me by leaving a comment, voting, and visiting my Patreon at belamy20