"Hey, Onii-chan—whether Seiya's improved drastically or has just been hiding his strength this whole time… either way, with him on our team, we should be able to win the regional tournament this year, right?"
As the younger sister of Tachibana Kippei, Tachibana An knew better than anyone how much effort her brother had poured into Fudomine's tennis club over the past two years.
She had also witnessed firsthand how hard the club members worked, which was why she was always so invested in everything that concerned the team.
"Mm. Shindō and Kamio have been growing fast, and if Seiya really has that kind of strength, we might even stand a chance of making it to the Kantō tournament this year," said Kippei thoughtfully.
"But winning the regionals won't be easy. We'll have to face Seigaku—they're the top-seeded team this year."
Compared to Fudomine Middle, Seishun Gakuen's tennis club was famous in the area.
In this year's regional tournament, Seigaku was the first seed, while Fudomine wasn't even seeded at all.
Still, Seiya's shocking performance had been a pleasant surprise for Kippei.
If he planned the lineup carefully, Fudomine just might stun everyone this year and claim the regional championship!
To better gauge Seiya's limits and plan strategies, Kippei personally played several practice matches against him over the next few days.
And the results were beyond everyone's expectations.
Kamio getting demolished by Seiya wasn't too surprising—after all, Seiya had always been slightly stronger than him.
But in the eyes of the club members, Captain Tachibana Kippei was a near-mythical figure.
He was the man who revived their dead club and inspired everyone to chase victory again—and his own skill level was the stuff of legend.
Yet after several days of practice matches, the shocking result was this: Seiya won more than he lost.
In other words—Seiya was now even stronger than their captain!
"Seiya," Kippei said one evening after practice, "you haven't been going all out these past few days, have you?"
Because the regional tournament was starting the next day, training ended earlier than usual. Seiya had just changed and was ready to head home when Kippei appeared behind him, asking quietly.
"That's something I could say to you as well, Captain," Seiya replied. "I don't know what kind of past you've had, but someday, I hope we can face each other seriously—with both of us giving our all."
After several matches, Seiya's use of his "Sword-Style Tennis" had become increasingly refined.
And just as Kippei could tell Seiya was holding back, Seiya had also sensed that Kippei wasn't showing his full strength either.
It wasn't that Kippei was deliberately hiding it—rather, he was restraining himself. Because deep down, he feared that if he truly unleashed his power, he might accidentally hurt Seiya.
After all, Kippei had once been one of the "Twin Dragons of Kyushu", a player whose strength was on par with the national level.
But because of a painful past experience, he had since learned to suppress his full might. When sparring with Seiya, he never went beyond Kantō tournament-level intensity.
Hearing Seiya's words, Kippei smiled faintly without answering. He simply turned and walked away.
He was no longer the ace of Lion's Music Middle School—he was now the captain of Fudomine.
His dream now was to lead his team to victory. And now that he had gauged Seiya's true level, he finally felt confident about their chances.
Thanks to his "shared power," Seiya himself was certain that he could now be counted among those capable of playing "murderous tennis."
With strength comparable to a national-level player, he might not be considered amazing later on—but in a regional or metropolitan tournament, that was practically the same as going full-on "Unstoppable Mode."
Even though Kippei had dismissed everyone early to rest, Shindō and Kamio were still training diligently, clearly taking the upcoming tournament very seriously.
Seiya, however, had already slung his racket bag over his shoulder and was ready to slip away.
"I knew it," a voice called as he exited the school gate. "I just knew you wouldn't stick around like Kamio and the others to train seriously."
It was Tachibana An—waiting for him with her arms crossed and a mischievous grin.
"Since you're not busy anyway, how about coming with me to a fun place? You could think of it as… a date!"
"Not interested," Seiya said flatly. "I have no time for dates. Women only slow down my sword—uh, I mean, racket speed."
Facing the cute and playful An, Seiya's expression was one of pure disdain—a man's declaration of Sigma-male stoicism.
An, who had been waiting by the gate full of hope, immediately switched expressions. She placed her hands on her hips, puffed her cheeks, and huffed, "Don't lie! Don't think I don't know you've already made plans to hang out with Hashimoto from class tonight!"
"Seriously, you'd turn down a date with a cute girl like me just to play video games with some chubby guy? Seiya, you're hopeless!
Or… don't tell me—you're actually into guys? If that's the case, I'll have to tell your mom and Ayaka-nee all about it!"
Yes—in this world, Seiya had a family. A rather well-off one, in fact.
His mother was a successful career woman, and his older sister was a popular idol.
An had been to Seiya's house before, and both his mom and sister adored her.
That was why she always had leverage over him—because she could tattle.
Whenever she snitched, Seiya's terrifyingly strict mother (a literal "corporate boss") and his idol sister would immediately cut his allowance as punishment.
And so, as always, under the threat of "female tyranny," Seiya reluctantly let An drag him away.
"So this is what you call a date?" he deadpanned later. "Standing here with milk tea in hand, watching random people play tennis?"
To be honest, Seiya hadn't expected much from An's so-called date. But even then, he hadn't imagined she'd bring him to a street tennis court to watch other people play.
"What's wrong with that?" An replied cheerfully. "Normal dates are just boring stuff like movies or dinner.
This is way more fun! We can enjoy the date and gather intel on other players at the same time. I heard lots of competitors for the regional tournament come here to practice!"
She took a sip of her milk tea, frowned slightly at the taste, and casually shoved it into Seiya's hand. Then, without hesitation, she snatched the half-eaten ice cream from his other hand and took a bite.
(End of Chapter)
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