Wave Ball? Why Was It So Weak?

Everyone from Seigaku and Fudomine had taken their places on the court. The district preliminaries final was about to begin.

The players for Second Doubles were getting ready to take the court. Fudomine's Sakurai Masaya and Ishida Tetsu were already warming up on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, on Seigaku's side, Horio was sitting leisurely in a chair, not taking Fudomine's Second Doubles seriously. Kawamura Takashi, seated beside him, seemed a little nervous.

"Kawamura-senpai, there's no need to be nervous. I hope we can play a great match."

"Ah... oh, okay. Let's have a good match."

Horio looked at the rather absentminded Kawamura Takashi and wondered whether people who were born strong all seemed a little slow.

"The Second Doubles match is about to begin. Both teams, please take the court."

"The match begins with Fudomine serving."

Ishida Tetsu, wearing a white headband, tensed the muscles in his arm and sent the ball toward Kawamura's baseline. A match with a seemingly certain outcome began.

Both Kawamura Takashi and Ishida Tetsu were power players, so Horio did his best to let Kawamura take most of the shots.

Power players got excited when they faced off against other power players. So Horio decided to let Kawamura enjoy himself. Maybe it would even help him develop some new skills.

As Kawamura and Ishida continued trading powerful shots, the score reached 2–3, with Fudomine temporarily in the lead.

After five games of power-player slugging, both of them seemed rather tired, so Horio took over.

"Kawamura-senpai, take a break. I'll help share the load. It's time for us to catch up."

Then Horio walked to the baseline, switching places with Kawamura.

Everyone on the sidelines...

When the Seigaku team saw Horio head to the baseline, they all smiled.

His personal cheering squad knew Horio was getting serious, too, and their cheers grew louder.

As for Fudomine, they saw the first-year Horio switch places with the powerful Kawamura, sending him up to the net.

They couldn't help wondering if Seigaku had given up.

Only Tachibana Kippei, their captain, furrowed his brows.

"Who is that guy? I've never felt someone so dangerous. Ishida and Sakurai are in trouble."

Horio looked at the two players across the net.

"Heh, I don't need to use the Wave Ball yet. Looks like I'll have to push you a little."

Then Horio tossed the ball up and smashed a powerful serve toward them.

Thwack...

"Ah! What... what kind of serve was that? Did any of you see the ball?!"

"I couldn't see it at all... That first-year... can serve that fast? That's unbelievable."

"What? I thought that first-year was just there to fill out the team. Is he actually the strongest one?"

Horio's serve left the Fudomine players utterly astonished. To the Seigaku team, though, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"That kid sure isn't holding back. That serve was probably even more powerful than the ones he hit during the intrasquad rankings."

"Looks like Horio wants to finish this quickly. That's fine by me. The sooner it's over, the sooner we can rest."

Thwack...

"Kawamura and Horio score. 30–0."

Another powerful serve. Ishida and Sakurai couldn't react at all.

Thwack...

"Kawamura and Horio score. 40–0."

Thwack...

"Kawamura and Horio score. The score is 3–3."

Horio took the game with ease. Fudomine was up next to serve, but Horio stayed at the baseline.

Seeing Horio remain at the baseline, Ishida Tetsu tightened his grip on the ball, then swung hard.

He tossed the ball into the air and hit it. Just after serving, Ishida and Sakurai heard another "thwack."

"Kawamura and Horio score. 15–0."

Ishida was still in his serving stance when he saw his serve returned at a speed he could barely detect. His expression changed at once.

"I can't see it... That return was so fast. Is his serve not the only thing that's fast?"

"Hey, Ishida, don't let it get to you. Try again."

Only after Sakurai's reminder did Ishida snap out of it and steady himself. He sent over a more powerful serve.

Thwack...

"Kawamura and Horio score. 30–0."

As expected, just like the previous ball, Horio returned the serve with overwhelming speed.

With Horio completely dominating the court, Seigaku took another game. The score reached 4–3, and Seigaku had come back to win two games in a row, taking the lead.

Then, during Seigaku's service game, Horio scored another point with a powerful serve. The score reached 5–3. If Seigaku won one more game, they would take the match.

"That Seigaku first-year really can't be underestimated. He's won three points in a row all by himself..."

Seeing that his mistakes had cost them three straight points, Ishida suddenly looked toward Tachibana Kippei on the sideline, as if he had made up his mind. He took a special stance.

When Tachibana Kippei saw Ishida's look, he immediately understood what he meant. Horio understood, too.

"Go ahead, go ahead. No need to ask your captain's permission. Use it."

Tachibana Kippei seemed to understand what Ishida intended as well, and he held up one finger.

At Tachibana Kippei's signal, Ishida seemed to take it as permission.

"Kawamura-senpai, let's switch places. I think something I've been looking forward to is about to happen."

"Oh, okay. You must be tired, too. Take a good rest."

The somewhat dim-witted Kawamura Takashi returned to the baseline once again. When Ishida saw him back there, he smiled.

"I was just given permission to use that move, and you switched back. It's like even fate doesn't want you to win."

Then Ishida served. Kawamura returned the ball, and it flew right in front of Ishida.

The veins on Ishida's right hand suddenly bulged. He gripped his racket tightly and swung with all his strength.

The already heavy ball became even heavier. It was exactly the Wave Ball Horio had been waiting for.

"Kawamura-senpai, I'll take that one. I've been waiting for this for ages."

Horio immediately ran to intercept the Wave Ball's trajectory. When they saw him going after Ishida's Wave Ball, everyone from Fudomine, including Tachibana Kippei, turned pale.

They all knew the power of Ishida's Wave Ball. It wasn't something an ordinary person could return. Ishida couldn't worry about that now, though, and smashed the Wave Ball with all his strength.

"Heh. Fudomine, try not to drop your jaws."

Horio smiled and swung his racket in an utterly ordinary manner.

When they saw Horio preparing to return the Wave Ball with a normal swing, even the Seigaku team grew nervous.

They could feel how unusual that shot was, even from the sidelines. They knew Horio was strong enough to handle it, but his casual swing still made them worry.

The Fudomine players imagined the racket being knocked away. As they watched the ball draw closer, at the moment it struck the racket, what they expected did not happen.

Even more astonishingly, Horio returned the mighty Wave Ball with a simple, ordinary swing. Even Ishida, who had been brimming with confidence, failed to react.

After returning the shot, Horio felt the force of the Wave Ball travel through his racket and frowned.

"So this is the Wave Ball? Why does it feel... so weak..."