District Preliminaries Begin, Tezuka Doesn't Play

As expected, the error-prone duo of Momoshiro was caught off guard by their opponents, leading them to blame each other.

Before they could even counterattack, they were defeated and left the court, packing their things in frustration.

Just as Horio stood up, preparing to leave with the two dejected players, the crowd that had gathered to flatter them said, "Amazing, truly worthy of being Fudomine's doubles players."

The three immediately reacted.

"Isn't Fudomine our first opponent tomorrow?"

"So they're Fudomine's doubles pair. Damn it, we lost face in front of them before the match even started."

Momoshiro said resentfully, when a sweet female voice appeared.

"It is indeed quite embarrassing. Two people who don't know how to play doubles at all, playing on the doubles court beyond their capabilities."

A girl with shoulder-length orange hair, wearing a purple outfit, walked towards the three. Momoshiro saw that she was a sweet-looking girl.

Momoshiro, who was a little angry, immediately calmed down and asked the girl.

"May I ask who you are? You seem to know a lot about tennis."

"Who I am is not important. Seeing your uniforms, are you from the Seigaku tennis club? For tomorrow's match, your singles one should be Captain Tezuka Kunimitsu, singles two should be Fuji Syusuke, and I don't know who will be singles three."

Hearing the orange-haired girl's words, Horio understood her meaning. Without giving Momoshiro and the others a chance to speak, he directly said to her.

"Barring any surprises, Captain Tezuka probably won't be playing tomorrow. Also, we will still be playing doubles tomorrow. Classmate, instead of worrying so much about other schools, why don't you worry about what Fudomine will do when they face us?"

He then left with the two who hadn't figured out what was going on. Horio, walking last, suddenly turned back and said.

"Although Fudomine has undergone a complete overhaul this year, it still won't change their fate of losing to Seigaku."

Looking at Horio calmly stating these words, the orange-haired girl, who was surprised, showed a thoughtful expression.

The three who left the baseball field also walked onto a pedestrian overpass. Ryoma, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly stopped and blurted out.

"What that girl said wasn't wrong. Singles one is Captain Tezuka, singles two is Senpai Fuji. Then who will be singles three?"

"Sigh, if I hadn't been eliminated, singles three would definitely be me."

"Hmph, Senpai Momoshiro, don't be so conceited. Singles three will definitely be me."

Momoshiro and Ryoma started arguing again, especially over the undecided singles three spot.

"The list hasn't been released yet, and we don't know what's going on. The Coach can only finalize the final lineup before the match starts, so there's no point in you arguing about this now."

Upon hearing Horio's words, the two immediately quieted down.

"Moreover, being defeated by Fudomine's third-rate doubles pair, aren't you even a little bit unwilling?"

Momoshiro and Ryoma's expressions froze. To be honest, they were definitely unwilling.

Being defeated by two third-rate players they couldn't even look at in a baseball field where they didn't even know their names, their pride as Seigaku regulars wouldn't allow them to be indifferent.

"It's a shame Senpai Momoshiro wasn't selected for the team and can't play, but what about you, Ryoma? Don't you want to defeat them in their strongest area?"

Hearing Horio's words, Ryoma lowered his head in thought, then suddenly looked up.

"That's right, defeating them in their strongest area is the most satisfying."

"A man! Should play doubles!"

Seeing Ryoma so excited, Momoshiro's inner unwillingness was instantly ignited. The two, filled with unwillingness, simultaneously uttered this famous line.

The next day...

At the venue for the district preliminaries, everyone had arrived. Horio arrived leisurely, his blue and white uniform attracting attention like a scenic view.

Because Seigaku's reputation was so great, as the first seed in the district preliminaries, and Horio being one of the only two first-year regulars for Seigaku this year, he naturally attracted even more curiosity.

Listening to the discussions around him, Horio felt a little smug.

In his previous life, he never received such treatment, never even being noticed by anyone.

Seeing Horio arrive, Katsuro and Katsuo quickly cheered for their good friend.

Looking at his two excited friends, Horio smiled.

He also thought to himself that if possible, he must teach them how to play tennis properly.

At this moment, Inui Sadaharu, who was the assistant coach, walked over with the submitted match list. The other regular members also gathered around.

"This is the lineup we just submitted. Singles one is Fuji, singles two is Kawamura, singles three is Kaitou. Doubles one remains Oishi and Kikumaru, and doubles two will be handled by Horio and Ryoma."

"Ah... Captain Tezuka isn't on the lineup? Has his hand injury not healed yet?"

"If Captain Tezuka doesn't play, Seigaku's strength will decrease significantly, won't it? Does Seigaku have other plans?"

"Does Seigaku have any changes in its plans this year... Heh, to dare to look down on us, damn it."

People from various schools around, hearing that Tezuka was not on the lineup, immediately erupted. Various speculations flew around.

Hearing that Tezuka was not on the lineup, Horio, standing at the back, smiled.

"As expected. Since you believe in me so much, I won't let you down either. I will definitely win a championship for you."

"Everyone gather, prepare to start the first match of the district preliminaries."

Tezuka then led the regular players towards the match court.

Since Seigaku's first match in the sectional preliminaries, this match would consist of five games regardless of the outcome, and the first game would be doubles two.

Looking at the unconventional duo standing on the opposite court, Ryoma's sharp eyes revealed a fiery fighting spirit, as if he couldn't wait to defeat them.

"Izumi, it's those guys from yesterday. I didn't expect them to go for doubles when they could have won in singles."

"Ayukawa, it's better to be careful. One of them didn't even play yesterday, so I don't know how strong he is."

"You're too cautious, Izumi. Didn't you see that guy is also a first-year? How strong can a first-year really be?"

"Tch, that's true. In that case, let's teach them a good lesson about what real doubles is and let them know that Gyokurin Middle School isn't to be trifled with."

The unconventional duo from Gyokurin Middle School saw that Ryoma, who had lost yesterday, was still playing doubles, and they declared the outcome of the match before it even began.

Meanwhile, on Seigaku's side, Horio didn't take it seriously at all, casually spinning his racket.

"Ryoma, play however you want. With me here, not a single ball will get past me."

After speaking, Horio turned and walked to the baseline to begin serving.