"Hey... Mm, today? Okay, I'll ask Senpai Oishi for the day off, then head over."
The sun had just woken the new day when Horio, still bleary-eyed, got a phone call.
It was from Tachibana Kippei. The two had exchanged phone numbers after the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament ended yesterday so they could arrange a match.
Horio hadn't expected Tachibana to call and invite him to Fudomine just one day after they'd talked about it.
As Tachibana had put it, the match would give him a chance to play Horio properly, while also letting his teammates broaden their horizons and grow faster.
Horio was happy to oblige. After all, Seigaku was stronger now than it had been before.
He hoped the other schools would grow stronger too. Competition was what drove improvement.
After hanging up, Horio no longer felt like going back to sleep. He dragged himself lazily out of bed.
"No problem. Go take care of what you need to. Just don't be late tomorrow."
"Okay, thanks, Senpai."
During break, Horio went to the third-years' classroom to ask Oishi for the day off.
Watching Horio leave after getting permission, Oishi and Fuji couldn't help but sigh.
"We all train about the same amount. How did he get so much stronger than us...?"
"Not necessarily, Oishi. Maybe his daily training is terrifying in ways we can't even imagine."
"That's true. We only see the brilliance of his strength. The effort behind it must be something most people couldn't endure."
"But Oishi, we've settled on the new training plan, right...?"
"Yeah, that. Agan and Coach have already worked it out. They'll make a training plan that pushes us close to our limits, based on our actual abilities."
"Come to think of it, we're really lucky. Both of this year's first-years are strong, especially Horio. He noticed Tezuka's arm injury and convinced him to get treatment, and he's shown all of us how much more we're capable of."
"Yeah. We can't let down Tezuka, who's getting his arm treated, or Horio, who put so much thought into it. The national championship will belong to Seigaku."
"Your training at Fudomine looks pretty good. Everyone's working hard."
"We all share the same goal, so we've kept training hard."
"Is that so? Looks like you've become a pretty good leader. Who would've thought the hot-tempered lion from back then would change like this?"
"Come on, don't tease me."
Before Horio could tease him any further, Tachibana didn't give him a chance to speak.
"Everyone, stop training and gather here."
When they heard Tachibana call them together, the Fudomine players quickly stopped their individual drills and assembled.
"You've all seen him. I invited Horio, one of Seigaku's new regulars this year. You met him during the district preliminaries."
"He's the one who scared Ishida during Second Doubles and said that everyone but the captain was useless."
"Yeah, him! Captain, he's strong, but he insulted us during the district preliminaries. Why did you invite him here?"
"Right, Captain. Is he here to put us down again?"
Seeing how much his players disliked Horio, Tachibana could only feel helpless.
What Horio had said during the district preliminaries had indeed been rude. Even Tachibana had thought he'd gone too far.
But when he remembered how much harder his players had trained since then, Tachibana didn't think it had been a bad thing.
Knowing that explaining it probably wouldn't do much good, Tachibana simply looked at Horio.
Seeing the helplessness in Tachibana's eyes, Horio realized it was his turn to speak.
"There's no special reason I came. I just made a promise to your captain to play a match. As for why we're playing at your school... maybe your captain wants you to understand what real tennis looks like."
"Don't look so resentful. Let the facts speak for themselves. Watch the match carefully."
Facing the Fudomine regulars' murderous glares, Horio wasn't the least bit intimidated. Tachibana smoothly picked up where he left off.
"I'll play a match against Horio. Watch closely. It'll be useful. Dismissed."
After speaking, he gave Horio a glance. Horio understood and turned to get his tennis bag.
After picking up his racket, Horio went straight to a court. He didn't even take off his jacket.
Tachibana was interesting to him, but Horio didn't think he'd be especially difficult to handle.
"Ready? I'll serve if you are."
"No need to go easy on me. Bring it on. I'll show you how I beat you."
Seeing that the host, Tachibana, had let him serve first, Horio didn't waste any more words.
Horio tossed the ball into the air and served with textbook form. The ball shot straight toward the corner of Tachibana's baseline.
Tachibana reacted at once, quickly moving behind the corner and returning it with a flat shot.
As Tachibana finished his swing, he turned and saw Horio already at the net. Smiling, Horio sliced a short ball with his backhand.
Tachibana didn't hesitate for a second. He raced after the ball with all his strength and finally reached it just before it hit the ground.
Seeing the tennis ball fly behind him, Horio didn't panic.
He moved his right foot back a step and extended the arm holding his racket, which scraped along the ground.
From the front of the net, he swung counterclockwise through 270 degrees, sending the ball curving through the air in a semicircle before it dropped into Tachibana's backcourt.
"Keep your focus. Don't let up."
"Hmph. That's exactly what I intend to do. Now it's my turn to attack."
A deep crimson aura rose around Tachibana, and his expression grew even more ferocious.
"That's more like it. Let's see what makes Beast's Aura so impressive."
After that, Horio stopped serving normally and hit an Outer Spin Serve.
The ball bounced toward Tachibana's face, but with Beast's Aura activated, he didn't flinch.
He stepped left and returned the ball. The shot seemed to grow even more ferocious under the influence of Beast's Aura.
"Your reactions are faster, and your strength has increased a little too."
Horio immediately put a little more strength into his next shot. The ball, hit with sixty percent of his power, flew toward Tachibana again.
Tachibana furrowed his brow as he received it, but he maintained his relentless forward momentum. With a roar like a lion's, he slammed the ball back once more.
"I see. A pure attacking mindset makes him fearless, but it doesn't really improve his five stats. It's still a long way from Heavenly Clothes Seamless."
"Let's add a little more power. Let's see if you can return this one."
Horio put even more power into his next shot—more than sixty percent, but not quite seventy.
This time, Tachibana struggled. Beast's Aura remained unchanged, but his tightly furrowed brows gave him away.
Pfft...
Tachibana stared at the ball that had hit the net, his brow still furrowed and his hand trembling slightly.
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