Tokyo.
Lawson Tennis Center.
At the JR Tournament, in the B2 area, a figure raced back and forth across the court.
Sweat ran down his forehead, soaking his brown hair. More and more spectators gathered around the court. Not only that, but cries of astonishment also rang out from several other courts.
They had never seen an elementary-division match at the JR Tournament played so brilliantly.
Boom!!
Thwack!!
The mechanical sound of the ball being struck rang out.
Two minutes!
Five minutes!
Ten minutes!!
The score on the sheet beside the umpire's left hand stood out clearly.
0–5
The players' names were written below the score, in order.
In just ten minutes, Shishido had lost five games in a row.
Even his most prized serve-and-volley game had been easily dismantled by Kamikawa. Forget winning—Shishido hadn't even managed to take a single point off him.
"Haah... haah..."
Shishido sat in the resting area, gasping for breath. He felt as if his lungs were about to burst.
It was the changeover, but his legs were trembling uncontrollably. His stamina had already reached its limit.
Just now, during Kamikawa's service game, Shishido hadn't even had time to react. He felt that Kamikawa's serves had gotten faster—or, perhaps, his own movements had slowed down.
"I'll take at least one point off him!"
"Less than fifteen minutes... I'm probably not losing as fast as Mukahi is."
Shishido gave a bitter laugh, picked up the racket beside him, and got to his feet. He walked back onto the court. His earlier confidence was gone; all he had now was the resolve to hold on until the very end.
It was his service game, but he didn't think he had the courage to charge the net after serving anymore. It felt as though this guy had mercilessly crushed his path in tennis.
"You're planning to join Hyotei Academy, right?"
Kamikawa smiled as he stood on the baseline.
"What are you getting at?"
Shishido looked up at Kamikawa, seeming to guess what he meant.
"With skills like these, I wouldn't recommend becoming a player on Hyotei's tennis team. You... are too weak."
If they wanted to win three consecutive National Tournaments, Shishido's current level would barely be good enough for the Metropolitan Tournament. Even reaching the Kanto Tournament would be difficult, let alone winning the National Tournament.
Among middle schoolers, Shishido wasn't weak.
But he certainly wasn't strong, either!
Perhaps, after the top players in the current third-year middle school class graduated and left the tennis club, Shishido could become a regular under Atobe's leadership. But as he stood now, he couldn't be called strong.
The gap between them was like a chasm. Shishido hadn't even managed to win a single point off Kamikawa.
That alone showed just how enormous the difference between them was.
"This top-three tennis player from Hyotei Elementary is already a genius."
"But he's up against another genius, one even more exceptional than he is."
The umpire seated high above the court had seen countless geniuses. Without exception, each had been beaten by another, even more exceptional genius.
In the world of tennis, only skill mattered. No matter how much a player bragged before a match, nothing could change the rules of the game. That was the law of the court!
Boom!!
0–15
Boom!!
0–30
Boom!!
Break point. Kamikawa, 40–0.
Three consecutive points, all clean winners off Shishido's serves.
Shishido's mind went completely blank. He didn't even have time to think.
At break point, Kamikawa needed just one more point to break Shishido's serve and end the match.
More than the exhaustion in his body, what affected him most was the glaring 0–5 on the scoreboard.
For a tennis player, a shaken mindset was far more fatal than physical exhaustion.
And Shishido clearly couldn't pull himself together now.
Kamikawa had mercilessly shattered his confidence.
Compared to Shishido, who was drenched in sweat, Kamikawa was only slightly perspiring. A smile played on his lips, but his eyes were calm as still water. He seemed to be enjoying the match.
"Shishido."
The umpire couldn't bear to watch any longer. He called out, "This is the final point. Can you keep going?!"
"Haah..."
"I-I can!"
Shishido's legs kept trembling. Now he was staying on the court by sheer force of will. He took the tennis ball from the ball boy, and thought he could make out a look of contempt and mockery on the boy's face.
For a moment, he seemed to feel the strange gazes of everyone around him. They pricked at the pride he had always held dear, like needles.
The final point!
Once he played this last point, the match would be over.
With that in mind, Shishido tossed the ball into the air without thinking. In that instant, he felt light on his feet. There was only one thought in his mind: take a point off his opponent.
Boom!!
He raised his arm and swung his racket with all his might.
Clack—zzzzzz~
The ball struck the center line, spinning violently as it slowly skidded to a stop.
"Fault!" the umpire called with a shake of his head.
Shishido had reached the limits of his stamina. His body was simply holding itself up, acting on instinct. A serve like that couldn't threaten Kamikawa; Shishido could barely even get it into the opposite service box.
The ball boy hurried onto the court, picked up the ball, and handed it back to Shishido.
Shishido tossed the ball into the air once more.
Only when people were pushed to the brink could they surpass their own limits.
As the ball hung high overhead, Shishido planted one foot and sprang upward. His body arched as he brought his racket down.
Boom!!
A sharp crack rang out.
The ball plunged into Kamikawa's court like a cannonball.
The moment the ball shot forward, Shishido landed and pushed off, racing toward the net. His movements grew faster and faster. Before the ball even hit the ground, his figure appeared at the net with uncanny speed.
That bizarre speed drew everyone's attention.
He was far too fast. They had only seen Shishido start sprinting, and in the blink of an eye, he was at the net.
Thwack~
Before anyone could react, they heard the sound of a racket striking the ball.
Everyone immediately turned to look at Kamikawa.
Kamikawa slowly lowered his racket, glanced at Shishido, and said, "You managed to grasp the basics in the face of adversity. Not bad, I suppose."
As soon as he finished speaking, the ball dropped into Shishido's court. The moment it struck the ground, it shot backward at tremendous speed, hit the fence, and spun wildly, twisting the metal mesh into a tangled lump.
A faint black mark remained on the ground.
Shishido stood frozen in place. By then, he had completely lost consciousness, yet his hand rose instinctively.
That return.
It was even faster than it had looked before.
Perhaps sensing that the match was over, Shishido collapsed onto the ground like a man drained of water, gasping for breath. The blinding sunlight shone into his eyes. He raised a hand to block it, hiding the face of a loser as well.
"Match over."
"Number 26, Kamikawa Mutsu from Tokyo Metropolis, wins!"
"Score: 6–0!"
The spectators broke into an uproar.
"What an astonishing elementary schooler."
Inoue, who had been snapping one photo after another, took a deep breath. His expression turned serious. "This year's JR Tournament is exceptionally competitive."
"And his next opponent is Yukimura Seiichi from Kanagawa, who hasn't lost a single point in his previous matches!"
Inoue adjusted his camera and brought up a photo of Yukimura Seiichi.
He had originally been photographing Yukimura on court B1. Compared to Kamikawa, Yukimura was already somewhat famous in Kanagawa. He had won the elementary-division championships at various tournaments and was one of the favorites to win the JR Tournament.
The other favorite was also from Kanagawa Prefecture: Sanada Genichiro.
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