"Shishido Ryo, huh~"
Shishido was still incredibly arrogant. It wasn't that he lacked perspective; the problem was that the environment at Hyotei Elementary School was too limited. There were only a few players he could face.
Even against Akutagawa, who was his age, Shishido could use his net-play specialty to win two or three points. Without experiencing real tennis and understanding the gap between himself and the truly skilled players, he would never become a top-level player.
"I hope he can give me a satisfying match."
Kamikawa glanced at Shishido and secretly shook his head.
"That look..."
For some reason, Shishido felt a sudden tightening in his chest. He looked up, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. His opponent looked like a perfectly average player.
I'm overthinking it. I'll finish this quickly and still have time to watch Mukahi's match.
Shishido's thoughts had already drifted to another court.
He had been playing tennis since he was little. Along the way, he'd faced plenty of strong opponents. Even the second-string middle schoolers at Hyotei couldn't beat him.
Kamikawa Mutsu...
He'd never even heard the name. How good could he possibly be?!
"Which?"
As they considered their options, the two players arrived at the net.
They decided to determine the side. The JR Tournament was an official competition, after all, so the right to serve was decided by a coin toss or by spinning a racket and checking which side it landed on. The winner got first choice of court side and serve; after the winner made his choice, the loser chose from what remained.
"I'll let you serve."
"I'm in a hurry."
Shishido balanced his racket on his fingertips, then turned and walked toward the baseline behind him.
"What an arrogant kid."
"Isn't that Shishido Ryo from Hyotei Elementary School?"
"Shishido Ryo? Who's that?!"
"Don't you read tennis magazines? He was featured just yesterday. They say he's one of the top three players at Hyotei Elementary School. With his skill, he'd be good enough to make the regular team even as a first-year middle schooler."
"Seriously? An elementary schooler can beat a middle schooler? Their builds, strength, and everything else are on completely different levels."
The biggest difference between elementary and middle schoolers was physical strength. Children from elementary school through their first year of middle school were still growing. Too much training during this stage could stunt their development and build up fatigue, reducing the secretion of growth hormones and greatly affecting their height.
That was also why Nanjirou hadn't had Echizen do too much training when he was so young. Only gradual growth could take him to a higher stage.
Kamikawa stood at the baseline, the audience's murmuring reaching his ears. Holding the ball in his left hand, he regulated his breathing and fixed his gaze ahead.
"The match begins. One set, winner takes all."
Once both players were ready, the referee raised his hand and called out loudly, "Kamikawa Mutsu serves. One game!"
Whoosh!
At the call,—
Bang!
Kamikawa tossed the ball, raised his arm, and swung in one fluid motion.
The tennis ball shot away with a faint yellow trail streaking through the air.
Thwack!
The ball landed on the edge of the inverted triangle in Shishido's service box.
It skimmed along the service line and shot outward.
Shishido's eyes widened. He gripped his racket tightly, but though he heard the ball land, his body couldn't react in time.
"15–0! Ace!"
Shishido turned to look at the landing point some distance ahead. His pupils contracted slightly.
For that split second, he hadn't been able to react at all. Was this guy's serve really that fast?!
He hadn't even been given a chance to return it.
"Would you like me to slow the ball down a little?"
Holding a tennis ball, Kamikawa walked toward the opposite half of the court.
The service court was divided into two halves, the left and the right. Each service game began with a serve from the right half. After each point, whether won or lost, the server switched halves, alternating until the service game ended.
"This guy!" Shishido clenched his racket and looked at Kamikawa again.
Around 1.6 meters tall, he looked to be about the same age as Shishido. His face was still childish, and he had none of the aura of a "strong player." Yet he could produce such an unusual serve.
As a Hyotei Elementary School tennis player, Shishido had naturally seen Ochi Gekko, the tennis club captain who'd led Hyotei through the Metropolitan Tournament and all the way to the National Tournament semifinals.
But...
Kamikawa clearly didn't have that kind of aura. Even the middle schoolers at Hyotei had seemed more imposing than him.
"I let my guard down for a moment. I won't do that again."
As he spoke, Shishido held his racket in both hands, spread his legs, and lowered his center of gravity. Like a lion poised to pounce, his eyes were focused, and he no longer looked careless.
The spectators noticed Shishido's stance too.
"An ace right off the bat! Is that kid really an elementary schooler?!"
"Whoa... that elementary schooler Shishido looks serious now."
"In the previous match, he beat his opponent 6–3, didn't he? He's unusually strong too."
"Probably just let his guard down and didn't react in time. After all, he's one of the top three at Hyotei Elementary."
"Yeah..."
"..."
Bang!
Toss, raise, swing—all in one fluid motion.
Like the previous serve, this one aimed for the edge of the service line. It was a fast serve with a highly threatening trajectory.
Thwack!
Shishido dashed toward the sideline and swung his racket quickly.
As he returned the ball, he leaned forward, gripping his racket with both hands and moving in toward the net.
Bang!
The moment he'd taken a step forward, Kamikawa swung. Shishido froze, then hurriedly retreated.
"Damn it!"
Shishido cursed under his breath. His approach to the net had been instantly disrupted, forcing him back to the baseline.
For serve-and-volley players, the most troublesome shots were diagonal cross-court shots in the opposite direction, along with shots aimed at their feet.
This was a cross-court shot aimed at his feet.
The return's angle and speed were both incredibly tricky.
Shishido retreated in time and swung at the ball as it bounced.
The ball struck the center strap. It spun violently, then slowly dropped down.
"Net! 30–0, Kamikawa leads!"
"That spin was incredible."
He'd managed to react to that shot, but the astonishing spin on the return had caught him completely off guard.
If the first ball had been luck—if Shishido had underestimated his opponent and let his guard down—
then this return had made the gap between them unmistakable.
The speed, reflexes, and technique displayed in that return were undoubtedly at an elite level.
Shishido was arrogant, not stupid. If he still couldn't see the difference between them now, then the years he'd spent playing tennis had been wasted.
Among players his age, aside from those two monsters in Kanagawa, was there really someone else who could do this?!
Bang!
Bang!
Having been caught out twice, Shishido soon found his rhythm.
But he couldn't find a good opening to attack. Nearly every shot Kamikawa hit landed somewhere Shishido could barely reach. Shishido's stubborn refusal to lose drove him to race all over the court, but he still couldn't win a single point against Kamikawa.
"Another diagonal cross-court shot!"
"It landed right on the line. Is this really the kind of ball control you'd expect from an elementary schooler?!"
"Holy crap! Another reverse cross-court shot. This guy's technique is way too insane!"
"..."
Off the court,
the spectators watched the two players trade attacks and defenses, erupting in waves of amazement. They'd seen a similar scene in the JR Tournament elementary division once before.
That had been three years ago. The player was an elementary schooler from Hyotei Elementary, a boy with white hair.
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