The Power of the Sea

"You've really gone to a lot of trouble, otherwise this girl would have been in danger."

After Horio brought the girl back to shore, everyone immediately comforted the frightened girl.

"Since everything's alright, I'll be going now. Remember to warm up before exercising next time."

After saying that, Horio turned to leave, but the girl, who had just recovered from her shock, called out to Horio.

"Um, thank you so much. May I ask your name?"

"Uh, it's okay, it's what I should do."

Without telling the girl his name, Horio left.

Watching Horio's departing figure, the girl seemed to be lost in thought.

"Everyone, take a break first, and then we'll do more intensive practice."

"First graders, is the water ready?"

While Horio was rescuing people, Oishi and the others had finished their training.

"You've worked hard, please have some water."

The four support staff members, each with their own duties, immediately brought water to everyone, and the exhausted Seigaku members drank it down like crazy.

"Give me some water, I'm dying of thirst."

Horio, upon returning, immediately asked for water, having not drunk any water in the first place.

They rescued another person who was extremely thirsty.

"Honestly, you come back and immediately start ordering people around. I might as well just drink you to death."

When Osakada Tomoka was the only one who still had water in her hand, heard Horio's words, she immediately started muttering to herself.

"Don't say that, Tomoka. Horio was training with everyone just now too."

"Hmph, everyone's exhausted but he's acting like nothing's wrong, why is he even drinking water?"

He kept saying he shouldn't drink water, but he still brought it to Horio.

Horio was somewhat surprised to see that it was Tomoka who brought him water, and he prepared to take the water.

"Hello..."

Just as Horio got his water and was about to drink it, he heard that familiar voice again.

Turning his head, he saw the girl he had just rescued following him.

"You still haven't told me your name..."

Horio was also a little troubled by the girl's obsession with her name.

"Hey, who are you? Why are you asking for someone's name right away?"

Before Horio could speak, Tomoka, who was standing to the side, reacted as if a thorn had been struck.

"He just saved me, so I want to know his name."

"Horio, so that's why you suddenly ran so fast. Turns out there was a girl waiting for you to save her."

"Wow, kid, you're amazing! Girls are even asking you your name."

"Not bad, Horio. I didn't know you were this good."

The group of people drinking water saw a girl approach Horio, and their gossipy hearts were ignited as they all looked at Horio with curiosity.

"Honestly, why are all the Senpai like this? Who knows if she did it on purpose, even asking other people's names."

When Tomoka heard Oishi and the others teasing Horio, she suddenly felt irritated.

"I'm telling you, his name is Horio. Okay, now that you know his name, you can leave."

Tomoka glared at the girl with an unfriendly expression, her tone unyielding.

"So your name is Horio. My Haruna Momo. Thank you for saving me."

But are you guys exercising?

After learning Horio's name, the girl also revealed her own.

"Oh~ What a lovely name, Horio. People thank you."

Momoshiro, perhaps having been teased by Horio so much before, now seized the opportunity to tease him mercilessly.

"Senpai Momoshiro, you're here for special training, not for these trivial matters."

Tomoka could no longer be irritable; she stared at Momoshiro with a stern face.

Seeing that Tomoka's expression had changed, Momoshiro stopped talking.

She simply turned and whispered to others, which gave Horio a headache.

"We came from Tokyo for special training, in preparation for the upcoming competition."

Horio, who just wanted to get out of the current situation as soon as possible, explained to Haruna Momo.

"If that's alright, could I invite you to my home after you finish practicing? My home is in Chiba."

"No need, we're here to train, not to play. Please leave."

Before anyone else could react, Tomoka refused Haruna's offer.

"Why is Tomoka suddenly so irritable? Could it be that she likes Horio?"

"I think so. She was acting very strangely just now."

"That kid's really something, two girls are actually arguing over him."

"Horio is really hiding his true abilities. I thought he was only good at tennis."

"If you ask me, Horio..."

Just as Gan was about to say something, everyone suddenly felt a chill down their spines.

Although they were speaking softly, Tomoka heard them.

Then his face instantly turned red, and he stared at everyone with murderous intent in his eyes.

Horio also overheard the discussion and sensed that something was off with Tomoka, so Horio turned to look.

When Horio noticed that Tomoka's face was flushed, he also felt a little strange.

"Could she really like me? Isn't this blatant puppy love... No... I can't let this happen."

Horio, who hadn't yet developed any interest in romance, immediately made a decision.

"Hey Senpai, what are you guys whispering about? If you don't finish your training, I'm going to have a practice match with you."

Desiring to end this awkward farce quickly, Horio threatened to stop everyone's discussion and then fled the scene.

Watching Horio leave in a somewhat flustered manner, Tomoka pouted, looking rather unhappy.

"Tomoka, you were acting a bit strange just now. Is it really like what the Senpai said?"

At this moment, her good friend Sakuno also stepped forward to ask what was wrong, Tomoka's face, which had just recovered, turned red again.

"Sakuno, what are you talking about? I don't like that rude guy at all. You're the one who likes Ryoma, aren't you? You're always staring at Ryoma."

When Tomoka heard Sakuno ask her the same question, she immediately steered the conversation toward Ryoma.

Sakuno was naive; upon hearing about Ryoma, she had completely forgotten to ask Tomoka about it.

"The ocean's power is always hidden beneath its surface."

Because of the apparent calm, one feels indifferent, but once truly submerged in the sea, there is no escape...

Standing on the beach, Horio looked at the sea in front of him, and the scene of saving Haruna Momo just appeared in his mind.

Thinking about the vast difference between what lies beneath the sea and what lies on its surface, Horio gained a new insight.

"It seems this trip to Chiba won't be boring after all; perhaps we'll have some unexpected gains."

Having made up his mind, Horio temporarily left the beach.

"Everyone worked hard today. We will definitely persevere for the national championship."

Let's get some rest tonight, now let's eat.

After a day of training, the students of Seigaku gathered around a long table.

Looking at the team members who were somewhat tired from training, Oishi didn't say anything more and told everyone to start eating.

However, while everyone was eating, their eyes would unconsciously drift towards Horio's position.