About half an hour later.
"Now, we'll begin the first singles match, featuring Hyotei Academy's Yuushi Oshitari against Seigaku's Saburo Kamata!"
For the opening match, Hyotei sent out Oshitari. Oshitari had been waiting for a chance to play singles for a while now. On Seigaku's side, they put forward a third-year student with a rather mature appearance.
There was a noticeable height difference between them. Oshitari, who had just entered middle school, was only around 165 cm tall. Even so, he was still one of the taller first-years. But Seigaku's third-year, Saburo Kamata, stood at a towering 178 cm, with his skeletal structure pretty much fully developed. Just looking at their height, the disparity in this match was far greater than anyone imagined.
"Oshitari," Atobe, standing court-side, slowly began, "Fifteen minutes. Finish the match within fifteen minutes. Don't waste time from today's training."
Oshitari, holding his racket, turned to face Kamata and replied calmly, "Fifteen minutes is too long. Ten minutes will be more than enough for a guy like him."
"That first-year is pretty arrogant!" On Seigaku's side, a sturdy third-year with a white bandana slammed his fist on the stone bench, glaring at Oshitari on the court.
"Tch~ that first-year brat. I think Hyotei has lost their minds, actually making a first-year a regular," another player, Takei, spoke without reservation, completely dismissing Oshitari. Kamata was their second-best singles player after Yamato; taking care of a first-year kid would be like taking candy from a baby, an easy win.
"Kamata, since you're at Hyotei, at least show the kid some respect," Takei playfully called out to Kamata from off-court.
"Hmph!" Kamata, holding the tennis ball in his left hand, his face cold, said flatly, "Sorry, Takei, but I'm not one for giving people respect!" "Since he's so cocky, I'll show him what a real difference is."
Kamata tossed the ball up, swinging his racket forward with power.
Slam!!
The tennis ball and racket connected with a swift impact.
Whoosh!!
The ball flew, arcing and striking Oshitari's left half of the court.
Everyone's hearts leaped with joy; this was Kamata's fast serve, his secret weapon for winning.
Thump!!
Before anyone could even react, the tennis ball whizzed past Kamata's feet.
Kamata didn't even have time to react.
"0-15, Oshitari!" the umpire shouted loudly.
"Hey~ Senior on the other side of the net, could you possibly hurry up?" Oshitari said with a touch of impatience. "Don't try to stall the match like that."
Kamata gritted his teeth, cursing under his breath: Damn brat!!
Thump!
Thump!!
Intense hitting sounds echoed on the court. Seigaku's players' faces grew increasingly grim as time passed. Jiro, sitting in the spectator stands, yawned. If Mukahi hadn't been constantly calling out to him, he would have been asleep in his chair already. Jiro just couldn't get interested in a match of this caliber.
"Shishido, how much time has passed?" Atobe, arms crossed, asked calmly from his seat in the stands.
"Exactly eight minutes," Shishido said softly, holding a stopwatch.
Atobe nodded and said, "Ending the match within ten minutes... I suppose it's passable."
Thump!!!
With Oshitari's swing, another ace ball. Kamata sank to his knees, powerless. The mental pressure was far more exhausting than the physical exertion. Throughout the entire match, aside from his own serves where he could touch the ball, he couldn't even touch the ball on Oshitari's service games. Every time Oshitari tossed the ball up and swung, it was an ace!
"Game, Oshitari, 6-0."
The umpire announced loudly, glancing at Kamata on the ground. A third-year, acting like a complete waste. He really didn't know what Coach Sakaki was thinking, wanting to play against a school like this.
"Alright, it's my turn," Mukahi said, rubbing his hands together. This practice match would be a good test of his growth moving forward.
Meanwhile, on Seigaku's side, everyone collectively hung their heads, their previous arrogance completely gone.
"Takei! You're up!" Coach Ryuzaki's eyes flickered uncertainly.
Takei, whose name was called, glanced at Coach Ryuzaki but showed no intention of stepping onto the court.
"You guys..." Coach Ryuzaki took a deep breath and called out a few other third-year regulars. However, none of them wanted to play, each with their heads bowed.
"Enough!!" Seeing this, Yamato couldn't take it anymore. He glared discontentedly at the regulars around him, then removed his black sunglasses, staring intently at everyone. "None of you deserve to be regulars on the Seigaku tennis club!"
The others heard him but didn't retort. The only one in the entire tennis club with the right to speak to them like that was Yamato. Yamato was Seigaku's ostensible captain, and also the only presentable tennis player Seigaku had.
"Yamato, I'm counting on you." Coach Ryuzaki looked at Yamato with an apologetic expression, sighing inwardly.
"Coach Ryuzaki..." Yamato looked at Coach Ryuzaki with a serious expression, a cold glint in his eyes. "I hope that after this practice match, those inactive regulars will be removed from their regular spots."
"Yamato..." The regulars heard this and suddenly looked up at Yamato. Even Coach Ryuzaki looked at Yamato in disbelief.
"Otherwise, I'll quit the tennis club." Yamato's attitude was firm. He had had enough of the current state of the tennis club. If it weren't for what the former captain of the tennis club had said years ago, he wouldn't have stuck with the club all these years.
'Yamato, you must become Seigaku's pillar!!'
"Yamato, don't be impulsive!" Coach Ryuzaki was completely flustered now. Yamato was currently Seigaku's only decent player. If even Yamato decided to quit, Seigaku would completely fall into being a third-rate tennis school.
"Coach Ryuzaki, I'm serious," Yamato said without hesitation. He had originally thought that as long as he became strong enough, he could change the state of the tennis club. Even if those third-years had personality issues, they were still helpful to the team. But now he realized he was wrong... terribly wrong!
Hyotei!! A prestigious school that was a national top four last year. They dared to bear the heavy pressure and use those first-years, while they themselves were still bickering, bullying the weak, and fearing strong opponents. Was this really the tennis club he had worked so hard to build?!
However, now wasn't the time to dwell on that. Now he needed to step up and silence those Hyotei regulars.
Yamato slowly walked onto the court, took a deep breath, and said with a cold gaze, "Let's begin, Hyotei regular!"
"Oh... isn't that Seigaku's captain?" Mukahi, standing on the court, was a bit surprised, but he didn't take it to heart. He then said, "Alright, let's see what kind of level the captain of this trash tennis club has!"
"Wait!" At that moment, a commanding voice came from behind Mukahi.
"I'll play this match." Tezuka, holding his racket, slowly walked onto the court, calmly looking at Yamato across the net.
In an instant, a strong sense of danger rose in Yamato's heart. His intuition told him that this person in front of him would be even stronger than he anticipated!!
Support me by leaving a comment, voting, and visiting myPatr-eon at belamy20
Check out another story in my profile original works