Yamabuki Middle School.
A prestigious school, established over sixty or seventy years ago, well-known in Tokyo. It's a private school in the heart of the city.
Unlike other middle schools, Yamabuki doesn't have an elementary division. It's solely a middle school, offering direct advancement all the way to university and graduate studies. It truly lives up to its reputation as a renowned institution.
Yamabuki's tennis club is also famous far and wide, especially for its doubles teams.
Yamabuki almost always makes it to the National Tournament every year, but almost every year, they get eliminated in the first round. If they're lucky, they might scrape into the second round.
Even so, Yamabuki's standing in the middle school tennis world isn't weak.
The winds of reform, it seems, haven't quite swept through all of Yamabuki. Or rather, the only schools truly capable of such radical change are Hyotei, and perhaps Rikkai Dai Fuzoku in Kanagawa Prefecture!
At this moment,
A smiling, seemingly benevolent old man watched the young boy in front of him with a mischievous grin.
This was Motoya Bantada, the tennis advisor (coach) for Yamabuki Middle School's tennis club for over twenty years.
A mushroom haircut, a pale face, a hint of brutality in his brows, and those wild, untamed eyes.
No matter how you looked at it, this scene felt out of place.
"Old man, stop looking at me like that, it's disgusting!"
At that, a cold voice spat out from the young boy.
"Akutsu... you possess unique reflexes, extraordinary speed, destructive power, flexibility, and balance. Are you sure you don't want to join the tennis club?"
Coach Ban chuckled as he looked at the boy, then walked behind him and squeezed Akutsu's shoulder. "Your physical abilities are such that you'd be a top athlete in any sport you chose."
"Are you truly not considering tennis?"
Akutsu, by now, was clearly annoyed. He grabbed Coach Ban's collar, his untamed eyes fixed on the old man. "I've already told you, I have absolutely no interest in tennis."
With that, Akutsu shoved Coach Ban aside, then glanced at the racket on the ground, a look of disdain on his face.
Tennis... what a boring thing.
"Akutsu... this year is different, you know~"
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Coach Ban patted the dust off his collar, a smile on his face. "This year, many geniuses have appeared. Geniuses even stronger than you."
"Tell me... if someone were to defeat you in a field you don't even like, would you...?"
Before Coach Ban could finish, Akutsu turned his head, his wolf-like eyes fiercely fixated on the coach.
"Old man, are you looking for a fight?!"
"Just give it a try, Akutsu." Coach Ban clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked past Akutsu, occasionally glancing at the court not far away. "You're welcome to try out the tennis club... see if tennis is as boring as you imagine."
Akutsu stood rooted to the spot, his gaze fixed on Coach Ban. Then, he glanced at the racket on the ground, bent down to pick it up, and, holding the racket horizontally at his waist, followed Coach Ban towards the tennis club.
Coach Ban heard the footsteps behind him and a subtle smile spread across his lips.
Jin Akutsu. He never expected such a maverick to appear at Yamabuki Middle School.
Kiyosumi Sengoku's talent in singles was already considered outstanding, but compared to Akutsu, he wasn't even in the same league. Akutsu was a natural-born singles player, possessing astonishing talent that defied normal understanding.
In the past decade, Coach Ban had seen many geniuses, but in his eyes, none matched the talent Akutsu displayed.
"I need to provoke him to get him interested in tennis..."
Coach Ban had only temporarily managed to control Akutsu and ignite his competitive spirit. Once Akutsu believed Yamabuki's tennis level was nothing special, he would immediately drop his racket and return to his aimless life.
Akutsu was just such a contradictory individual.
And precisely because of that, his appearance would make the Yamabuki Tennis Club even stronger.
"Hyotei..."
"This year's Hyotei has indeed produced some exceptionally talented freshmen. Perhaps they'll become Akutsu's stepping stones."
Coach Ban had discovered Akutsu by chance. As for Hyotei, the news came from Yamabuki's regulars who had gone there for a practice match yesterday.
After all, more than half of the players they competed against were freshmen who had just enrolled at Hyotei this year, and they had all been defeated in singles matches.
The winds of reform, it seemed, had also reached Yamabuki.
At this moment, Kamikawa, having arrived at Yamabuki's entrance by subway, took a deep breath of fresh air.
Completely unaware that the storyline had already shifted, he walked towards the Yamabuki Tennis Club, tennis bag on his back, intending to have an early encounter with that tennis maverick.
From the bushes, three figures suddenly emerged, all staring straight ahead.
One of them, a boy with long brown hair, couldn't help but ask, "Is it really okay for us to follow like this?"
"Ryo~ Don't you want to know the secret to Kamikawa's strength?!" The boy with wine-red hair tempted him.
"Yamabuki Middle School?! They made it to Nationals last year too. They're supposedly an old prestigious tennis school in Tokyo. What's he doing here?"
A boy with black-rimmed glasses and short dark blue hair nearby had a flash of confusion in his eyes.
They had ended training early, thinking they were going for some secret training, but then Kamikawa's final destination turned out to be another famous tennis school. What exactly was Kamikawa trying to do?
"I bet that guy's here to challenge them."
At that moment, a voice suddenly came from behind them.
It startled them, making them all turn around.
Standing behind them was none other than the conceited young master Atobe. Besides him, Tezuka had also followed, though neither of them had spoken much on the way.
"Buchō, vice-buchō, why... why did you two follow us?" Shishido awkwardly scratched his head.
Atobe looked at Shishido as if he were an idiot, saying, "Four of you left early at once. Do you take this *ore-sama* for a fool?!"
"We just wanted to see the secret to Kamikawa's strength, but who knew Kamikawa's final destination would be Yamabuki Middle School?" Mukahi frankly stated his thoughts.
"Yeah."
Oshitari silently nodded. "I thought that guy lived here."
"You guys, what if that guy is a spy sent by Yamabuki to get information on our Hyotei Tennis Club's growth?!" Shishido suddenly thought of something and blurted it out to the others.
He was met with eyes that looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Joining the Hyotei Tennis Club just to gather information?
Isn't that something only an idiot would do?!
"Hehehe... I was just trying to lighten the mood~"
Shishido also realized how idiotic his words had just been. He was just trying to relieve the awkwardness a bit.
"What do we do now?"
"Do we go in? If we go in, will Yamabuki kick us out?"
"Speaking of which, what exactly is Kamikawa doing in there? He's not really going to challenge them, is he?"
---
Everyone spoke, one after another, but no one had an answer.
Finally, their gazes fell on Atobe, who then looked at Tezuka beside him.
Tezuka remained silent for a while, then slowly said, "Let's go in and see."
Receiving the affirmative reply, Shishido and the others also nodded and walked towards the Yamabuki Middle School Tennis Club.