Echizen Nanako was confused. Seigaku was nothing like she had imagined. A school that had produced a tennis player like her uncle should have been much stronger, she thought. And it certainly shouldn't have players who used tennis to hurt others.
Kannagi Shinichi, who had heard the girl muttering nearby, recalled her name: Echizen Nanako.
Perhaps he noticed the confusion in Nanako's eyes. On impulse, Kannagi Shinichi spoke up. "Seigaku's coach bears undeniable responsibility for how things have turned out."
"Is this connected to Seigaku's coach? How?"
Nanako turned her gaze toward Kannagi Shinichi. Looking at the stern face of the boy before her, she blushed slightly. But in the end, her curiosity won out, and she asked him.
Kannagi Shinichi turned to look at Nanako, then gave a small nod. "The world of tennis is always changing, but she doesn't know how to keep up with the times. She still clings to her old rules, insisting that the first-years focus on basic training;
"That can certainly strengthen a player's fundamentals, but apart from picking up balls and doing basic drills, she's never let those first-years take their rackets onto the court.
"And that's made the older regulars arrogant. They've gotten used to bullying and ordering the first-years around. After all, no matter how skilled a first-year might be, they can only put up with it when dealing with them."
"How could things have turned out this way? Is there really no way to change it?" Nanako struggled to accept all that Kannagi Shinichi had told her.
"If Seigaku doesn't change its rule that first-years can only pick up balls, it may never make it to the National Tournament."
Everything Kannagi Shinichi said was true. Without Echizen Ryoma joining the team, Tezuka and the others might not have made it