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A group of first-year students quietly picked up balls along the edge of the court.
The second- and third-year students around them occasionally snickered at them.
Watching this scene, Tezuka Kunimitsu's expression remained calm. Ever since he'd joined Seigaku's tennis club, this had happened almost every day.
Picking up balls, being mocked and bullied by the club's upperclassmen—this was Tezuka Kunimitsu's life in middle school.
"Tezuka, did you read yesterday's issue of Tennis Weekly?"
A boy with slightly narrowed eyes moved closer to Tezuka. His name was Fuji Syusuke. Before middle school, he'd been a fairly well-known tennis player in the Tokyo area.
Tezuka Kunimitsu didn't answer. He merely nodded calmly.
"I never expected seven of Hyotei's regulars to be first-years."
Fuji Syusuke sounded a little surprised, but he wasn't disheartened by the comparison. At that point, he still didn't understand just how much he truly loved tennis.
"Meow... I really envy Hyotei. Their first-years are already regulars. Compared to them, all we can do is pick up balls here."
The speaker was Kikumaru Eiji. He and several other first-year Seigaku members had come over to join Tezuka and Fuji.
"There's nothing we can do. The upperclassmen are all pretty strong. Besides, Seigaku has a rule that first-years can only pick up balls. We're not allowed on the courts, let alone to try out for the regulars."
Oishi Syuichiro, who had come over with Kikumaru Eiji, spoke with resignation.
"How do we know the upperclassmen are stronger if we haven't played them? Even if they really are stronger than us, what about Tezuka? He's definitely better than those upperclassmen..."
Hearing Oishi Syuichiro explain Seigaku's rules, Kikumaru Eiji's usually cheerful, playful face grew gloomy. His tone, however, was still full of indignation.
"Tezuka has a hundred percent win rate against the upperclassmen, and he hasn't lost a single point."
Inui Sadaharu, who'd been quietly picking up balls without saying anything, spoke up as well.
As Kikumaru Eiji and Inui Sadaharu discussed him, Tezuka Kunimitsu's icy expression remained unchanged.
But something stirred in his heart. He'd chosen Seigaku because of his idol, the "Samurai," Nanjiro. After all, Seigaku's current coach, Ryuzaki Sumire, had been Nanjiro's mentor.
But after coming to Seigaku, he'd discovered that its approach to tennis was nothing like what he'd imagined.
At Seigaku, becoming a regular depended not on skill, but on seniority.
Tezuka Kunimitsu glanced up at the Seigaku regulars running and swinging their rackets on the court. He put away the stir of emotion and returned to his usual calm.
"Hey, you first-years over there! What are you doing huddled together?"
A sudden voice from the court reached the first-years.
"Oh no... It's Takerei Senpai..."
Many of the first-years looked afraid when they heard the voice.
The speaker was none other than Seigaku regular Takei Kenshi.
The first-years feared him because he and several other Seigaku regulars enjoyed bullying newcomers to the tennis club. They even extorted money from first-years.
Coach Ryuzaki Sumire knew about Takei Kenshi's behavior, of course. She simply turned a blind eye.
Deep down, Ryuzaki Sumire looked down on first-years, believing they were still physically underdeveloped and couldn't play tennis well.
That was why, intimidated by Takei Kenshi's status as both an upperclassman and a regular, the first-years dared not speak up.
But there were always exceptions. A few of them refused to give in to Takei Kenshi and the others' extortion. In particular, the first-years gathered around Tezuka Kunimitsu never paid a bit of attention to the regulars' demands.
So Takei Kenshi had always resented those first-years, especially Tezuka Kunimitsu. After all, the first-years who ignored his extortion were always gathered around him.
Tezuka Kunimitsu had never imagined that the natural air of leadership he carried would land him in serious trouble that day.
Takei Kenshi walked up to Tezuka Kunimitsu, anger showing on his face, and demanded, "First-year, what are you doing?"
Tezuka Kunimitsu looked at Takei Kenshi with a slight furrow in his brow, then turned and continued picking up balls.
Seeing Tezuka Kunimitsu act that way, the other regulars who'd failed to extort money from the first-years began stirring things up.
"Tezuka Kunimitsu is acting like Takei doesn't matter at all. Takei's his upperclassman, after all..."
"I've been sick of him for ages. Look at him, acting like he's so great. He still has to pick up balls like everyone else and can't even touch a racket..."
"Takei, you should teach him a lesson and show him what it means to respect his upperclassmen..."
Hearing the other regulars' comments and seeing Tezuka Kunimitsu disregard him, Takei Kenshi grew even angrier.
"Bastard!"
Takei Kenshi suddenly cursed and kicked over the basket in front of Tezuka Kunimitsu. The tennis balls they'd already picked up scattered across the ground.
At the sight, Fuji Syusuke's narrowed eyes opened slightly. A dangerous glint appeared in his blue eyes.
Oishi Syuichiro stepped forward and bowed to Takei Kenshi. "Takerei Senpai, Tezuka was just picking up balls. It doesn't seem like he did anything wrong, does it?"
"Get lost, you brat."
Takei Kenshi shoved Oishi Syuichiro aside and went up to Tezuka Kunimitsu. "You've always thought you were something special, haven't you? Well, today I'll give you a chance to learn what it means to respect your upperclassmen!"
Then Takei Kenshi grabbed his racket and went onto the tennis court. He shouted at Tezuka Kunimitsu, "Get your ass onto the court!"
Tezuka silently stood up, took a racket from someone, and glanced at Fuji Syusuke and the others before walking onto the court.
He'd already decided that after the match, he would leave Seigaku. He was playing Takei this time to show the tennis club's coach that there were first-years who weren't inferior to the regulars.
"Tezuka..."
Fuji tried to stop Tezuka, but Tezuka refused. He strode onto the court, determined. This match was for himself, but also for Fuji Syusuke, Inui Sadaharu, and the other first-years still picking up balls.
Meanwhile, in Seigaku coach Ryuzaki Sumire's office, she paid no attention to what was happening on the court.
"Coach, shouldn't we go stop them?" Seigaku's new captain, Yamato Yudai, asked from nearby.
"Let them be." Ryuzaki Sumire shook her head, then looked at Yamato. "What brings you here?"
"I came because of the first-years. A few of them are just as good as the regulars, especially Tezuka Kunimitsu and Fuji Syusuke. I want them to be allowed to take part in Seigaku's upcoming tryouts for the regulars."
Yamato Yudai had seen Tezuka and Fuji play. He wanted to help them get a chance.
But Ryuzaki Sumire didn't care about the first-years. She replied calmly, "First-years should be building their foundations. There's no need to put them into matches."
"Coach, you've seen it yourself. Most of Hyotei's regulars are first-years. That proves there are first-years who are even better than the regulars. Seigaku should find the talented first-years among us, too. Only then can we keep up with the other schools."
Hearing Ryuzaki Sumire, Yamato Yudai sighed inwardly. If Seigaku continued to cling to old ways, it would only keep falling behind. As captain, he still wanted to fight for the first-years.
But Ryuzaki Sumire ignored him. After all, she'd made the rule herself, and Seigaku had followed it for over a decade. If she changed it now, wouldn't she be going back on her own word?
So Ryuzaki Sumire merely replied, "Yamato, do you really think those first-years at Hyotei can lead the team to the National Tournament?"
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