"1 win, 3 losses, 2 draws!"
Oshitari let out a bitter laugh, announcing the practice match results for the day, breaking the silence on the bus.
"Both doubles matches lost, and only Kamikawa managed to win a singles match."
At this, everyone's gazes simultaneously fell on Kamikawa.
"What's wrong? Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?"
Kamikawa shrugged, acting as if it had nothing to do with him, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
These guys, after winning the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament, had grown overly conceited. Tennis is a very realistic sport; it's all about wins and losses. People will only ever remember the victors, not the failures.
No one spoke, silently lowering their heads, and the bus returned to its usual quiet.
"Alright, alright! It's just one practice match loss. There's still some time until the Kanto Tournament, and besides, as last year's runner-up team, we'll only face Rikkai Dai in the finals."
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"Let's use this time to improve ourselves."
Kamikawa said it easily, but he certainly had the right to.
After all, Kamikawa's match was a 6-0 sweep against Mori. They all knew deep down that it wasn't because Mori was too weak, but because Kamikawa was simply too strong.
"There's nothing to be dejected about. Our team, apart from Gen-senpai and Kawaya-senpai, are almost all newcomers. The future belongs to us."
"You understand, right? All glory is built upon victory. Only winners receive everyone's cheers. Work hard to become stronger, everyone."
Kamikawa wasn't very good at managing emotions. He could only use the simplest words to convey these ideas to everyone. Later, they would go to U-17, and then to the World Cup, and some might even step onto the professional stage.
Compared to what they faced now, the days ahead would only be more arduous. On the professional stage, they would encounter all sorts of people.
Some, out of jealousy, would do incredibly outrageous things. Some would constantly study your habits, analyze you thoroughly, and intentionally hit returns that are difficult for you.
Even top-tier professional players, like the original anime character Hannah, who was a professional female tennis player, didn't she experience such back-stabbing? Not to mention lower-ranked players, even some top professionals would often do things beyond common sense.
When Nanjiro traveled to America to pursue his tennis dream, wasn't he also subjected to discriminatory play? Yet, Nanjiro still fought his way through with his strength, becoming the revered Samurai Nanjiro.
"It's just one lost match; is there any need to be so down?" Atobe now also stood up. As vice-captain, he naturally knew the tennis club's shortcomings.
Just as Kamikawa said, this practice match loss wouldn't crush their desire to win; it would only make them stronger, even stronger!!
"Starting tomorrow, every regular, including Shishido, will double their original training load."
"There's still a week until the Kanto Tournament. I hope to see a brand new Hyotei on that day," Tezuka, recovering, said to everyone, enduring the pain in his arm.
"Yes!!"
Looking at Tezuka's arm and recalling Atobe's fearless demeanor earlier, everyone's low spirits were thoroughly re-energized. No matter what, they would get their revenge at the Kanto Tournament.
Absolutely!
Ten minutes later.
The Hyotei team stepped off the bus. The sky was getting dark, but Coach Shin Tarou, the tennis club's coach, was still sitting in his coach's chair in the center of the Hyotei tennis club.
"Tezuka, Atobe, and Kamikawa stay. The rest can go back and rest."
When the Hyotei regulars left Rikkai Dai, Atobe had already reported the results of the practice match in advance.
The results greatly exceeded Shin Tarou's expectations. Shin Tarou had guessed that both doubles pairs would lose and that Oshitari would lose his singles match, but he never expected Tezuka and Atobe to draw.
Kamikawa, Tezuka, and Atobe were definitely the most gifted tennis players Shin Tarou had ever seen. Their talent was no less than that of Ochi when he first entered school; in some ways, their talent even surpassed Ochi's.
"Coach Shin, I don't think I need to stay. I'm rushing home for dinner."
Kamikawa said helplessly to Shin Tarou.
He wasn't the captain or vice-captain; what was the meaning of constantly dragging him into these discussions?
"Tell me, how effective was today's practice match?"
Shin Tarou ignored Kamikawa's complaints, his gaze falling on Tezuka and Atobe, wanting to hear the specifics of the practice match.
"...Roughly speaking, Tezuka played against Rikkai Dai's captain, and Atobe played against Rikkai Dai's vice-captain. Both are first-years and had faced each other before at the JR Tournament."
Neither Tezuka nor Atobe wanted to bring up that match, so Kamikawa took the initiative to mention their previous encounter.
"Faced each other before? JR Tournament?" Shin Tarou was startled; he knew about it.
The JR Tournament, commonly known as the Junior Tennis Tournament, is divided into elementary, middle, and high school divisions.
"Faced each other before" meant that Kamikawa, Tezuka, and those two had played against each other in elementary school. As for Atobe, he was still studying abroad in England during his elementary school days.
"Yes, but I eliminated Yukimura back then, and Tezuka eliminated Sanada. These two learned from their past failures and have become stronger. They're at a national level." Kamikawa answered truthfully.
Even in elementary school, Yukimura already had national-level skill.
At that time, Sanada also had near-national-level skill.
"National level, no wonder—"
Hearing this, Shin Tarou also narrowed his eyes.
From the day Tezuka and Kamikawa joined the tennis club, Shin Tarou had already seen that both had national-level skill, while Atobe was still a bit shy of national level, at most near-national.
But after this practice match, Atobe's aura had solidified significantly, meaning Atobe had also officially stepped onto the threshold of national level.
Even though Hyotei dominated Tokyo last year, and even in Kanto, they defeated Chiba's Rokkaku to reach the finals, ultimately becoming Kanto Tournament runners-up after their match against Rikkai Dai, Shin Tarou was still not satisfied.
The only title he wanted was the championship, the Kanto Tournament championship, and even the National Tournament championship.
"There's still some time until the Kanto Tournament. During this period, I hope certain people can take the lead and motivate the entire tennis club." Shin Tarou's gaze fell on Kamikawa; the "certain people" he mentioned clearly referred to Kamikawa himself.
Kamikawa feigned deafness, acting as if he hadn't heard anything.
Are you kidding? His training time was already almost squeezed dry by Tezuka; and now he wants him to lead the entire tennis club? What is he thinking?
Kamikawa's training methods were different from others'. He had a cheat code; some training might be effective for him but not for others.
"Alright, go back and rest."
Shin Tarou waved his two fingers forward, pointing towards the tennis club gate.
He had learned everything he needed to know. Now, he would see to what extent these guys could transform during this period. Having experienced a defeat, in Shin Tarou's view, would only make this team stronger.
It was a pity that Ochi back then didn't have such talented teammates to move forward with.
Otherwise, Hyotei would have won the Kanto Tournament championship that year.
Kamikawa, in Shin Tarou's opinion, also possessed some talent for leadership. However, Tezuka and Atobe also had leadership talent, and coupled with Kamikawa's personality, letting him lead all of Hyotei...
He might not do as well as Tezuka and the others.
To this day, Shin Tarou still didn't know what to say about Kamikawa.
Whether it was talent or daily training diligence, even the Ochi of yesteryear was inferior to him. Such an outstanding genius appeared in his hands; the only thing he could do was point out Kamikawa's shortcomings.
Once Kamikawa steps beyond national level and sets one foot into world level, at that point—Shin Tarou wouldn't know how to guide him.
"It's just slight swelling, nothing serious. Don't train for a few days, and once the swelling goes down, you can play tennis again."
After leaving the tennis club, Kamikawa took Tezuka to a nearby hospital.
It was already very late, so they eventually called Atobe and, thanks to his connections, went to consult a famous orthopedic specialist in Tokyo.
Fortunately, the elbow issue wasn't major; it was just superficial swelling. With proper care and cold compresses, he could return to playing matches after a few days of rest.
"Seriously, if I hadn't called you, your elbow problem would only have gotten worse."
After leaving the orthopedic specialist's residence, Kamikawa, with his tennis bag slung over one shoulder, complained to Tezuka.
"The doctor said it's fine."
Tezuka said calmly.
Deep down, he still wanted to finish that match.
"It's fine, Tezuka. Don't forget the captain of Seigaku's tennis club."
"Are you going to sacrifice your tennis career for today's practice match, just like him?"
Tezuka's sense of responsibility was just too heavy. In the original story, it was like this at Seigaku, and now that he's at Hyotei as captain, is his damn sense of responsibility still flaring up?
Is it because of that match with Yamato?
Damn it, I should have known better than to let him meet Yamato.
"I want you to be the pillar." Yamato never even said these words to Tezuka, yet Tezuka still had this thought.
"Kamikawa, I..." Tezuka wanted to say more, but he met Kamikawa's unquestionable gaze.
"This is Hyotei. Besides me, there's Atobe, and there's everyone else. You have to trust everyone."
"The Kanto Tournament, and even the National Tournament, can't be achieved by one person's effort alone."
Kamikawa spoke to himself. Even if one person is incredibly strong, as strong as Ochi, he only led Hyotei to the Kanto Tournament runner-up and the National Tournament semifinals.
Didn't he want to go further?!
No!
That's not it!
It was the overall strength of the team that simply couldn't match the power displayed by Ochi Moonlight.
This is reality.
"I understand."
Seemingly guessing what Kamikawa wanted to say, Tezuka added, "All of this is to win the Kanto Tournament and the National Tournament championships!"
A word or two wouldn't change Tezuka's current thoughts. Kamikawa could feel Tezuka's desire to become stronger, and he said in a deep voice, "For now, hold off on swing training and focus on endurance and speed training."
"Anyway, your ball control won't be affected by resting for a day or two."
"Okay."
Tezuka nodded. He knew his childhood friend's temper.
He wouldn't be vague about this; a day or two of rest wouldn't have much impact.
"Cough cough~ Tezuka, I'm a little thirsty."
Kamikawa suddenly felt parched. In front of Shin Tarou, Kamikawa did most of the talking. Upon arriving at the orthopedic doctor Atobe connected them with, Kamikawa did all the questioning. And even now, when guiding Tezuka, it was still Kamikawa talking. He had no idea how much effort he had put into talking along the way.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Tezuka quickened his steps, pretending not to hear clearly.
"Yesterday I treated you, today it's your turn, Tezuka!"
Kamikawa hurriedly followed him. This guy was going to cheat again; he'd been freeloading for days, even though he had so much pocket money, yet he kept mooching off his own iced soda.
"If you don't buy it for me, I'm not going home."
Kamikawa simply stood in front of the vending machine, stubborn.
After a long while, Tezuka finally conceded, "Fine!"
After paying, Tezuka had a dark look on his face, watching Kamikawa grinning beside him, and couldn't help but smile slightly. This guy was still the same as before.
"Tezuka, tomorrow's iced soda is on you."
"I already paid today."
"Tomorrow, I'll bring you breakfast, and you bring me iced soda. We won't waste any time."
"—Alright!"