Chapter 9: Atobe's Curiosity

  Bang!Bang!

  On the court farthest from the entrance to the tennis club, another match was taking pce.

  One of the pyers was none other than Ryo Shishido—the Hyotei regur who had previously defeated Otori Chotarou.

  However…

  Unlike the confidence and dominance he had dispyed earlier, Shishido was now in the same situation as Shinohara. His opponent had him running all over the court in a desperate struggle.

  And for someone to push a Hyotei regur like this, there was only one possible identity for his opponent.

  Bang!

  With a sharp, clean cross-court shot, the tennis ball skimmed the baseline before flying out of reach.

  From the referee’s stand, Mukahi Gakuto’s voice rang out:

  “Match over! Atobe wins, 6-0!”

  "Shishido."

  On the other side of the court, the silver-haired, sharp-eyed Keigo Atobe looked at the brown-haired boy who was bent over, panting heavily with his hands on his knees.

  "You’ve been scking off tely. You couldn’t even st fifteen minutes? I’m truly disappointed."

  "Atobe…"

  Shishido lifted his head, sweat pouring down his face, stinging his eyes.

  Normally, with his fiery temper, he would have snapped back with a retort. But his opponent was Atobe—the undisputed Emperor of Hyotei who had dominated him throughout the entire match!

  Fifteen minutes. Not a single point. And Shishido was certain—Atobe hadn’t even gone all out.

  Standing before this man, who commanded respect from all 200 members of the Hyotei tennis club, Shishido found himself completely unable to argue.

  If it were just a friendly argument or a casual banter session, sure. But now? After being utterly crushed? He had no confidence left to speak.

  "Heh."

  From the referee’s stand, Mukahi Gakuto couldn’t help but chuckle.

  "Just a little while ago, this guy was giving Chotarou a lecture, and now the karma’s come back to smack him in the face."

  "Shishido-senpai…"

  Chotarou, who had been watching from the sidelines, let out a sigh. But he wasn’t surprised. He didn’t doubt Shishido’s abilities at all. Because his opponent was Atobe Keigo—the strongest pyer in Hyotei.

  Even on a national level, Atobe was considered among the top elite pyers. The number of middle schoolers who could match his strength could be counted on one hand.

  "Disperse."

  Atobe’s victory was swift and absolute. With a mere wave of his hand, the Hyotei pyers gathered around the court immediately scattered—like royal guards dismissed by their king.

  Shortly after, a tall, broad-shouldered boy with a buzz cut and an earnest expression walked over, holding out Atobe’s jacket.

  "Hmm? You didn’t enjoy the match?"

  Oshitari Yuushi finally approached, chuckling as he observed Atobe’s expression.

  There were very few people in Hyotei who could speak so casually with Atobe. Aside from Coach Sakaki, only Oshitari had that kind of privilege.

  "Not really."

  Atobe nodded, sparing a gnce at Shishido—who was still lying on the ground trying to recover.

  "He’s gotten sloppy. I’d say he hasn’t been training seriously for about a month now."

  "Yeah, I noticed."

  Oshitari smirked, recalling how cocky Shishido had been when he was lecturing Chotarou earlier.

  "He probably cked a sense of pressure… or a goal to work toward. Without something pushing him forward, he lost his motivation."

  "Maybe."

  Atobe chuckled coldly, not confirming nor denying the observation. Then, as if something had just crossed his mind, he asked:

  "How’s the new recruit selection going this year?"

  "Eh, pretty average."

  Oshitari shrugged.

  "Nothing unexpected. Thanks to your reputation, a ton of people signed up, but so far, we haven’t found any truly promising pyers."

  "I see."

  Atobe nodded. However, his face darkened slightly. He had been hoping for at least one promising rookie this year.

  But then, Oshitari suddenly added:

  "Well… actually…"

  "Hmm?" Atobe’s eyes narrowed.

  Oshitari smirked knowingly, clearly enjoying the suspense.

  "If you have something to say, say it. Don’t waste my time."

  "Okay, okay."

  Oshitari’s smirk widened.

  "I just finished watching a very unusual practice match over at Court #3."

  "Practice match?"

  Atobe frowned. He never paid attention to non-regur matches. To him, they were a complete waste of time.

  But…

  This was Oshitari. One of the only pyers in Hyotei whom Atobe truly respected. Atobe knew Oshitari wouldn’t bring up something like this without a reason.

  "Alright, fine."

  Atobe’s cold expression shifted slightly into one of amusement.

  "Tell me—what kind of match was so special that the ‘Genius of Hyotei’ actually watched it for ten whole minutes?"

  "It was a very interesting match."

  Oshitari’s voice was filled with intrigue.

  "One of the pyers was a third-year—Saburo Shinohara."

  "Shinohara?"

  Atobe raised an eyebrow.

  He had never even heard of that name before. Which made sense—Hyotei had 200 pyers. Even as the club captain, Atobe didn’t bother remembering every single one.

  Especially not someone who wasn’t even in the second-string team. But that fact alone made Atobe even more curious.

  From Oshitari’s tone, this sounded like it should have been an ordinary practice match.

  Unless…

  "Wait."

  A thought suddenly struck Atobe.

  "Shinohara’s opponent… was a first-year, wasn’t he?"

  "Bingo."

  Oshitari’s smirk deepened.

  "You got it. It was a match between a first-year and a third-year."

  "Interesting."

  Atobe’s eyes lit up. He suddenly recalled himself two years ago—when he had transferred to Japan from Engnd.

  Upon joining Hyotei, he had immediately challenged every single regur. He had defeated every single one.

  He had even wiped out the previous club captain, crushing Hyotei’s old generation of pyers.

  At the time, only three people had dared to challenge him: Oshitari, Mukahi, and Shishido. And the only pyer who had managed to score points against him had been Oshitari.

  But then…

  Atobe suddenly frowned.

  "Wait. Didn’t you just say that none of the new first-years were particurly talented? That means… this first-year lost?"

  If that was the case, then it wasn’t interesting at all. Atobe respected courage, but courage alone meant nothing without strength.

  "No."

  Oshitari’s smirk grew wider.

  "He won."

  Atobe’s eyes widened slightly.

  This was no ordinary rookie. If a first-year could already defeat a third-year, then at the very least, he had the potential to reach Chotarou’s level in the future.

  "I was the referee for that match."

  Oshitari paused dramatically.

  "That kid didn’t just win—he won 6-0. He completely shut him out."

  Atobe’s eyes snapped open in shock. Even with his usually composed nature, he couldn’t suppress his reaction this time.

  A complete shutout.

  As the captain of Hyotei, as one of the strongest middle school tennis pyers in Japan, Atobe knew exactly what that meant.

  Even second-string pyers struggled to shut out a third-year.

  And yet… a first-year did it?

  For the first time in a long while, Atobe felt genuine curiosity. He suddenly wanted to meet this rookie.

  (End of Chapter 9)