Shishido: Why Do They Call You the Kansai Wolf? Your Playing Style Isn't Even That Fierce!

"Phew..."

Most of the tennis club members were sprawled across the court.

Everyone had long since reached their physical limits. The second- and third-years had at least trained for a year or two. Though the intensity was far greater than anything they'd experienced under Ochi, they still had some stamina to fall back on and could just barely keep going.

The first-years had it much worse. Most of them hadn't fully developed yet, and the intensity of this training far exceeded what they could handle.

But there were always exceptions. Tezuka and Atobe, for instance, had only broken a slight sweat and still looked to be in excellent shape. Their breathing hadn't even grown ragged.

Even Shishido and Mukahi were in much better condition than most of the second- and third-year students.

"Th-these people are all monsters, aren't they?"

"Huff, huff... Don't they ever get tired?"

They'd just finished an intense endurance run, and many still hadn't recovered. Yet some of the first-years were already heading toward the courts with their rackets in hand.

Judging by the looks of it, they were moving on to the next stage of training.

"The gap... can it really be this huge?"

Mitsuya Genko gritted his teeth and forced himself to try to stand.

But his legs wouldn't obey him, no matter how hard he tried. His body hadn't adjusted to the intense training yet, and his legs were giving out.

Only a handful of people managed to get back to their feet.

"You're Kamikawa Mutsu, right?"

Atobe walked over with his racket in hand and pointed it at Kamikawa, who was sitting on the ground taking a break. "Come on! Play a match with me."

"We just finished training, Atobe."

Kamikawa shook his head and turned him down without hesitation. He was a little tired, but still within his limits. Even so, he didn't want to get up and keep training.

He'd already played the match he needed to play yesterday. There was no point in playing this one.

Seeing Kamikawa refuse, Atobe raised an eyebrow and taunted him again. "Are you afraid to play me, or do you just not want to?"

"Maybe both. It depends on how you want to interpret it, Atobe."

Kamikawa stood up, brushed the bits of grass off his backside, and bent down to pick up his racket. He had more important things to do today and no time to fool around with Atobe.

He'd seen Atobe's skills yesterday.

Honestly, he was about on par with Sanada. Even if Kamikawa had a sudden flash of insight today, he couldn't improve all that much in just one day. Rather than play a pointless match, he'd rather do something worthwhile.

"You..."

Atobe was stunned. He hadn't expected the guy to be so stubborn.

"Atobe, if you really want to play me, you can wait until Match Training Day."

"Match Training Day? What's that supposed to be?"

"Hm? It's on the training schedule. Let me think..."

Kamikawa thought over the schedule, then continued, "I think it's Wednesday, so two days from now. You can challenge me then."

"But I'd still recommend challenging Tezuka. After all, you're the vice-captain right now."

Kamikawa patted Atobe on the shoulder, suggesting he go challenge Tezuka.

Beating Kamikawa wouldn't earn Atobe a higher position. But if he beat Tezuka, he'd go from vice-captain to captain, and then the tennis club would be his to run.

Whether he could actually pull it off...

Kamikawa wasn't sure. Atobe's growth was unbelievably fast, after all. He was the captain-level player with the fastest rate of improvement in U17.

"Him..."

Atobe thought it over and felt Kamikawa had a point. He was about to speak when he realized Kamikawa had already left and moved on to the next training exercise.

"That guy's already started another round of training! Is he really a first-year like us?"

Mukahi had just been about to rest when he noticed Kamikawa return to the wall where he'd been training earlier and start another round.

He'd been full of determination to surpass Tezuka and Kamikawa before long, but seeing how much Kamikawa trained every day left him dumbfounded.

There was no way he could keep up with that much training, even if he gritted his teeth and forced himself.

Besides, Mukahi had never had much stamina. That five-kilometer endurance run had nearly killed him.

Shishido, Mukahi's best friend, was just as shocked.

No wonder Kamikawa could maintain so much energy during matches. His routine endurance training went far beyond what an ordinary person could handle.

"Is... that guy really a first-year?"

Oshitari was just as astonished. He'd only recently joined Shishido and Mukahi's little group, and since he'd lost to Kamikawa earlier, he paid even more attention to him.

So when Atobe went up to provoke Kamikawa and challenge him to a match, Oshitari had stood nearby, eager for a chance to play him too.

Oshitari wasn't particularly competitive. He had outstanding talent, but he mostly played for fun. Even so... he'd never been bageled before.

That 6–0 score haunted him, driving him to get stronger and stronger.

Hearing Oshitari say that, Shishido turned to him and said, "That guy beat Tezuka a few months ago."

That immediately caught Oshitari's attention.

"Seriously?"

Oshitari knew that even he wouldn't have had much chance of beating Atobe in the form he'd been in back then, while Tezuka had been able to crush him with ease. And someone like that had lost to Kamikawa?!

Shishido could tell Oshitari was doubtful. He pursed his lips and said, "Of course. He won the JR Tournament, and Tezuka came second."

"The other two semifinalists were unbelievably strong too. I'd say they were even stronger than Atobe."

That completely stunned Oshitari.

He could accept Kamikawa and Tezuka being stronger than Atobe.

But now there were two more? Oshitari couldn't believe it. Atobe was no ordinary player—at any school, he'd be good enough to captain the tennis club.

Players that skilled didn't grow on trees. How could they keep popping up one after another?

Even among the prodigies Oshitari had heard about in Kansai, hardly any could match Atobe in raw ability.

"Don't look so skeptical... Mukahi and I saw it with our own..." Shishido could tell Oshitari didn't believe him and hurried to explain.

Before he could finish, a familiar voice rang in their ears:

"Are you done training?"

They instinctively looked up. Tezuka stood watching the three of them, his racket in hand.

"Heh... Not yet..."

Tezuka looked at them calmly. "Shishido, Mukahi, Oshitari. Run twenty laps around the track."

"What?!"

Mukahi's eyes widened. Another twenty laps?

"Mukahi, thirty laps," Tezuka said, furrowing his brow.

"I..."

Mukahi was about to argue, but Shishido grabbed him, covered his mouth, and dragged him off running.

As they ran, Shishido said, "If you say one more word, do you think you'll end up running forty laps?"

Mukahi fell silent. Thinking of Tezuka's attitude, he quietly nodded.

"Honestly."

Oshitari followed behind Shishido and Mukahi with a helpless look. "Why am I running with you two? I should've known better than to come over."

"Heh... Oshitari, just keep running with us."

"Oshitari, I heard your nickname in Kansai is the 'Kansai Wolf,' but your playing style doesn't seem wolfish at all..."

"That's because..."

Oshitari was about to argue, but quickly swallowed the words that had been on the tip of his tongue.

He couldn't very well say it was because his personality was as sly as a wolf, could he?

He preferred "fox" to "Kansai Wolf," even though they basically meant the same thing.