Please Recover Your Arm First

"I really can't believe you, kid. You look so small, but you're surprisingly strong."

Kikumaru, having lost the match, showed no signs of dejection. This was, of course, in line with his cheerful and carefree personality.

In the original story, Kikumaru was someone who would quickly change his mood after reflecting and face the next, stronger challenge with a more positive attitude.

"Senpai, your net play is really full of variety. If it were someone else, they might really have trouble predicting your shots."

"Hmph, kid, are you bragging by saying that? If there's another chance next time, I'll definitely surprise you."

Hearing Kikumaru's confident words, Horio chuckled wryly.

Although Kikumaru in the original story constantly worked hard to compensate for his lack of stamina, his performance was truly unremarkable except when partnering with Oishi in doubles.

Therefore, Horio believed that no matter how much Kikumaru improved or how astonishingly he played, he couldn't possibly defeat Horio, whose strength was only the tip of the iceberg.

The match between Horio and Kikumaru ended. The subsequent few matches against ordinary second and third-year students were basically formalities. Horio finished all the matches on the school ranking tournament schedule in one afternoon.

As the match point of Horio's final game concluded, the referee announced Horio's victory, and Katsuro, Katsuo, and several other first-year freshmen cheered loudly from the sidelines.

Horio's victory in this match meant that he had become a regular team member.

After putting his racket back into his bag, Horio left the court with his bag on his back.

Since Katsuro and Katsuo had to clean the court, Horio told them and left directly.

Horio, who originally intended to wait for them, now just wanted to leave. There was no other reason than hunger.

While changing in the locker room alone, Horio suddenly heard the locker room door open.

He turned his head and saw Tezuka Kunimitsu, wearing the team uniform.

"Captain Tezuka, you're still here at the club this late."

Seeing Tezuka enter, Horio politely spoke first.

"I believe Momoshiro and Kikumaru wanted to thank you for your help. They also congratulated you on becoming a regular team member."

Tezuka's face was still rigid, but he spoke words that surprised Horio.

He had originally thought Tezuka wouldn't pay much attention to internal school tournaments like the ranking matches, but he didn't expect that his actions had been noticed and his intentions guessed.

"This is what I should do as a member of the tennis club. Captain Tezuka doesn't need to specially thank me."

Although Horio hadn't done those things seeking anyone's gratitude, it felt good to know that someone understood the purpose behind his actions.

"Thank you is still necessary. From now on, we are comrades fighting together. Let's give it our all."

Hearing this familiar, somewhat chuunibyou catchphrase, Horio instantly felt a sense of nostalgia, and his passion was ignited.

"Okay, this year Seigaku will definitely win the national championship."

"Let's work towards that goal. By the way, Horio, give me your size. We need to order uniforms for you and Echizen."

After getting Horio's size, Tezuka turned and walked towards the locker room exit. As he stepped outside, Tezuka suddenly stopped.

"Horio, if there's a chance, let's have a match."

Hearing Tezuka Kunimitsu suddenly say that, Horio was taken aback, then smiled with understanding.

"I'd also like to have a real match with you, Captain Tezuka, but only after your arm has fully recovered. The current Captain isn't even at half his peak strength."

Upon hearing Horio's words, Tezuka's usually calm eyes widened in surprise as he turned to look at Horio.

"You really can see details that others can't. Could it be that you..."

"You're thinking too much, Captain. I haven't opened those three gates yet. However, this Eye of Shattering Delusions of mine has the ability to perceive everything, which is far more advanced than the Limit of Talent."

"I hope that day comes soon. Let's work hard together, Horio."

Tezuka, lost in thought, turned to leave, but Horio called out to him.

"Wait a moment, Captain. I want to ask you for a favor. I want to ask you not to participate in any matches until your arm is completely healed. I'm confident that I can win every match I play.

Until then, please focus on recovering your arm."

Seeing Horio's determined gaze, Tezuka didn't speak and turned to leave the locker room.

Watching Tezuka leave without looking back, Horio smiled.

"It seems he'll agree."

Arriving at a hamburger shop, Horio saw the long queue and joined the end, enduring his hunger.

As the line shortened, strangely, no one joined the queue behind Horio.

Finally, when only one person was left before Horio's turn, someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw Momoshiro and Ryoma.

"What a coincidence, you two. Meeting you here."

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you saying, kid? It sounds like you don't want to see us."

"I didn't say that. What were you two doing so late?"

"Ah... I was frustrated today after losing to you and then to Eiji-senpai. So I wanted to find a place to play and blow off some steam. I ran into Echizen on the way, and since we were both hungry, we decided to grab something to eat first."

"Then Momoshiro-senpai, you weren't... selected for the school team."

"Oh, you guessed it and you're still going to expose me? But I'll definitely be back next time, don't worry. I'll still be there to cheer you guys on in the sectional preliminaries this weekend."

Seeing that Momoshiro wasn't the least bit dejected about not making the school team, Horio knew he must have been very unwilling to accept it.

However, Horio didn't pay too much attention. Momoshiro would definitely be stronger in the future.

After the three of them filled their stomachs, they prepared to head home. Suddenly, they heard the sound of a ball being hit from not too far away.

Hearing the sound of the ball being hit, Momoshiro seemed to get a shot of adrenaline and pulled the other two along to the wild court. When they arrived, they found that everyone was playing doubles.

Horio, being understanding, gave the opportunity to Momoshiro, who wanted to vent, and Ryoma, who always wanted to play, and found a seat on the side to rest.

After all, it was just a wild court. As Horio sat and rested, he looked around and didn't see any decent pairs, so Momoshiro and Ryoma's half-baked doubles could be considered experts among these people.

However, in Horio's eyes, the two of them were truly full of flaws.

It was like two people fighting over the ball on one half of the court; any doubles pair with a little more chemistry could have gone a few rounds with them.

At this moment, after defeating another pair, Momoshiro and Ryoma suddenly faced a pair with chestnut hedgehog hair and long blue hair.

Their strength seemed average, but their unconventional style was quite striking among these people.

Seeing these two enter the court, the others off the court also lamented that the strongest pair on this wild court had finally appeared.

Hearing their praise, Horio also focused his attention on their match.