"The rest of the matches aren't very interesting. I'm going to take a walk."
Kamikawa patted his backside and stood up from the grass.
There was no need to keep watching the matches, and there was no reason to send him onto the court either. Since he had nothing else to do, he might as well take a walk and see if he ran into any potential "opponents."
At the Six Central Wards, nearly every court in sight was hosting a match. Kamikawa had never even heard of most of these schools. They were obscure junior high tennis clubs.
After wandering around for a while, Kamikawa reached a vending machine. He put in two coins, took out two cans of soda, and headed back toward Hyotei.
By his estimate, the Regional Tournament was nearly over.
Since there weren't many teams in the Regional Tournament, and it was meant to select suitable teams for the upcoming Metropolitan Tournament, Hyotei, last year's champions, only had to play three matches.
The whole Hyotei team had turned up for the first match. The second match had sent them straight to the finals, and the third would naturally decide the winner. By now, the other schools should have finished their second-round matches.
Hyotei's opponent in the second match had forfeited. If they hadn't been waiting for their opponent in the finals, they would probably have gone back to the tennis club to train by now.
"Hm?"
Kamikawa had barely gone a few steps when he spotted Akutagawa Jiro, sprawled beneath a tree and snoring away.
"Honestly, that guy never puts in any effort."
Kamikawa sighed. Jiro was certainly talented, but he loved sleeping. Even during training, he would sneak off somewhere to nap. Not even Tezuka could do anything about him.
Jiro had little desire to win, and his natural talent only made him lazier and more lax over time. In that way, he was a little like that senior who had just transferred to Rikkai Dai.
Kamikawa glanced at the cans of chilled soda in his hands, raised an eyebrow, and walked over to Jiro. He pressed both cans against Jiro's face. Jiro's eyes flew open, and he sprang to his feet almost instantly.
"What is it... What happened? Is something terrible going on?!"
Jiro looked around in a panic, one hand awkwardly touching his face. He felt the chill against his skin, then noticed the person standing in front of him.
"Oh~ It's Kamikawa~ What's up? Is the match over?"
Jiro rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"I'm not sure, but I remember you're supposed to play at number three singles in the finals."
Kamikawa raised an eyebrow. He remembered Sakaki Taro putting Jiro in the number three singles spot specifically to fire him up.
At that, Jiro rubbed his hair and grinned. "Really? I forgot."
"Get over there and play. Honestly, everyone's probably looking for you. You're always so unreliable. If you keep this up, you won't be playing next time we face Marui Bunta."
Jiro's antics made Kamikawa laugh in exasperation.
At the mention of Marui, Jiro perked up at once. His eyes widened, and he blinked at Kamikawa. "Kamikawa, I'm going to play right now."
"Next time we play Rikkai Dai, make sure you put me in. You have to!!"
Jiro and Marui's connection went back to before Jiro moved up to Hyotei Academy. Back when he was at Hyotei Elementary School, he had faced Marui in the finals of a tournament.
They were both net players, and Marui's bold techniques had made a deep impression on Jiro. He had vowed to watch every match Marui ever played.
"That depends on how you do."
Kamikawa raised an eyebrow and looked at Jiro.
Jiro clenched his fists, brimming with fighting spirit, and started off in one direction.
"Wait!"
Kamikawa grabbed Jiro by the back of his shirt, then pointed the other way. "Are you still half asleep? The finals court is over there!"
"Oh, right!!"
Jiro nodded emphatically.
He picked up his tennis bag and ran off in the direction of the finals.
Kamikawa sighed, took the chilled sodas, and followed Jiro toward the finals court.
"Excuse me, are you on the Hyotei tennis team?"
A stranger's voice reached Kamikawa's ears. He turned toward it and, seeing who it was, looked a little surprised.
The boy wore black-framed glasses and had spiky hair. He carried a notebook and looked about Kamikawa's age.
"With this uniform, you'd think anyone could tell."
Kamikawa pointed to the word "Hyotei" on his chest. With the gray-and-white tennis uniform, there was no mistaking which team he belonged to.
"Are you a first-year junior high student too?"
The spiky-haired boy with glasses asked in reply.
Kamikawa nodded. "I just started junior high at Hyotei this year."
"I'm a first-year too."
A glint flashed across the glasses of the boy holding the notebook. "I'm from Seigaku. My name is Inui Sadaharu. Nice to meet you."
Inui Sadaharu was Seigaku's future strategist. Thanks to him, Seigaku would be able to improve rapidly in a short time. He had detailed training plans for nearly every member of the team.
He had even prepared a detailed file for Haitang, Tezuka's eventual successor, helping him develop his extraordinary stamina.
"Hyotei tennis club. I'm Kamikawa Mutsu. Nice to meet you."
Kamikawa had recognized him as soon as he introduced himself.
That classic spiky hair, those black-framed glasses, that slightly formal way of speaking—it could only be Inui Sadaharu.
"From what I've heard, Hyotei is playing in the Regional Tournament finals. Aren't you going to watch?"
Inui was curious. He had already found out that Hyotei would be competing here in the Regional Tournament.
As last year's Metropolitan Tournament champions, Kanto Tournament runners-up, and one of the top four teams at last year's National Tournament, Hyotei was a powerhouse. Inui had taken the train all the way from the south of the city to the Six Central Wards to gather firsthand information on them.
The information he had collected suggested that this year's Hyotei was quite different from previous years. Almost none of the second- and third-years had made the starting lineup. Every starter was a first-year.
"Watch?"
Kamikawa lifted the chilled sodas in his hands and smiled faintly. "I think it'll be over soon."
Inui's pupils contracted. Was this guy really that confident in his team?
Before Inui could ask anything else, Kamikawa waved and headed toward the finals court, murmuring, "Seigaku! I hope we meet at the Metropolitan Tournament!"
"Don't lose as badly as you did last year."
Inui didn't reply. What Kamikawa said was true. They had faced Hyotei in the quarterfinals of the Metropolitan Tournament last year, and Seigaku had lost miserably.
They had been shut out in both doubles matches.
The number three singles player at the time had been none other than Yamato Yudai, Seigaku's current captain.
Even after giving it everything he had—even at the cost of one of his arms—he hadn't managed to score a single point. His opponent had been Hyotei's captain at the time.
Gekko Ochi!!
Before you continue