Prince of Tennis: The Emperor's Eye

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Hanamura Aoi’s Invitation

At the entrance of Midorimori Tennis Park, many tennis fans had gathered today, along with reporters and editors from various tennis magazines, because today was the opening day of the Kanto Regional Tournament for middle school tennis.

Schools from across the Kanto region had fought through district and Tokyo tournaments to decide the top 16 teams eligible to compete in the Kanto Regional. The final winning school would become the champion of the entire Kanto area.

Just like the Tokyo tournament, the Kanto Regional would also take two weekends to complete, with one match played each day. Today’s matches were for the round of 16, deciding who would advance to the quarterfinals.

At this moment, Fudomine’s bus slowly drove into Midorimori Tennis Park. But this time, only the regulars had come to the venue. Because of the training camp, the other team members’ grades had slipped, and Akashi planned to teach them a lesson.

For both weekends of the Kanto tournament, they would have to attend make-up classes. Only after their grades improved would they be allowed to cheer the team on at the national tournament.

Akashi had no choice; most of those players had average tennis talent. In three years, they’d probably never beat Tezuka or the others to secure a regular spot. Even if a second team formed in the future, they probably wouldn’t make it. If they let their studies fall behind, they’d lose on all fronts.

As Akashi and the others stepped off the bus, voices of discussion rose around them. Fudomine’s name was already well known—after all, they’d beaten both Hyōtei and Yamabuki to win the Tokyo tournament. Some still called them a dark horse, but no one dared underestimate them anymore.

After finishing registration, Fudomine headed to their match court. Their first-round opponent was Aihara First Middle School, a background school with almost no role in the original story.

As Fudomine entered the players’ area to prepare, they could hear Hyōtei’s unique cheering from far away, even through several courts. Their opponents were probably having a tough time right now.

Since it was the first round, all five matches had to be played. But Aihara’s team didn’t have anyone foolish enough to mock Fudomine for having all first-years. They accepted defeat calmly.

In all five matches, Aihara didn’t win a single point. Even though they’d mentally prepared themselves beforehand, the result still left them a bit depressed. But there was nothing to be done—in competitive sports, weakness is the original sin!

Fudomine’s players were already used to this kind of result. The only team in the Kanto tournament that might give them real trouble was Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku. Soon, tomorrow’s opponent was also confirmed: Josei Shonan, reportedly the runner-up in the Kanagawa region this year.

On the way back to school, Akashi thought about tomorrow’s lineup. The match should end in three games at most. Akashi was no longer sticking to fixed combinations or orders—he was experimenting with more possibilities. But if they faced Rikkai, he’d still play it safe.

In the end, Akashi didn’t change tomorrow’s lineup. It was only Josei Shonan, not worth overthinking. If nothing went wrong, they’d meet Seigaku in the semifinals; he could plan then.

The next day, many spectators arrived early at Midorimori Tennis Park. Yesterday’s matches hadn’t been that exciting because the skill gaps were too big. But today promised better matches.

Today, three matches were especially worth watching: Rikkai vs. Yamabuki, Seigaku vs. Rokkaku, and Fudomine vs. Josei Shonan. Hyōtei was playing Nashikari Academy, an unknown school, so fewer people went to watch that one.

As with yesterday, Fudomine completed registration under Akashi’s lead and headed to their court. But this time, Josei Shonan’s players were already there. Akashi immediately noticed Hanamura Aoi sitting at the coach’s seat, but didn’t pay her much mind, instead motioning for Krauser and Kite to start warming up.

What Akashi didn’t expect was that just as he sat down at the bench, Hanamura Aoi got up and walked over. With the mature charm unique to adult women, she spoke:

”You must be Akashi Seijurō-kun, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Hanamura Aoi, coach of Josei Shonan~”

”Hello, Hanamura-sensei! I hope our schools can have an enjoyable match today,” Akashi replied with a polite smile.

”Of course~ But I heard Fudomine is coached by Akashi-kun himself. I’ve only seen something like that happen at Rikkai~” Hanamura said with a subtle tone.

”I’m well aware of Yukimura-kun’s strength—he’s fully capable of coaching Rikkai. And I’m the same!” Akashi couldn’t guess what Hanamura’s real reason for chatting him up was. She couldn’t seriously be trying to recruit him to Josei Shonan, could she? He chuckled at the thought.

”Forgive me for being blunt, but without the most scientific training methods, your growth could easily be held back. With your talent, Akashi-kun, if you let me guide you, I’m sure you’d become a flawless masterpiece!” Hanamura said in a voice tinged with seduction.

Before Akashi could reply, Akutsu, who’d been listening, couldn’t hold back any longer. He glared viciously at Hanamura and barked:

”Get lost! Stop getting in the way, you old hag!”

Akutsu’s words struck Hanamura’s heart like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky. She couldn’t believe a young boy would speak so rudely to her. This went way beyond just being blunt—he was downright heartless!

”Pfft~” Akashi couldn’t help laughing. Akutsu was too much; even for someone his age, calling a mature woman like Hanamura an old hag was outrageous. Looked like he was destined to be single forever.

But Hanamura’s mental strength was impressive. She quickly composed herself, her expression returning from shock and anger to graceful calm, ignoring Akutsu and opening her mouth again to Akashi:

”Akashi-kun, won’t you reconsider? This concerns your future growth!”

”Thank you for the invitation, Hanamura-sensei, but I have no intention of becoming someone’s masterpiece. Besides, I’m very confident in my ability to develop my own potential,” Akashi replied with his usual smile, but his tone carried a coldness that kept people at a distance.

”Alright then! But I believe that after today’s match, you’ll change your mind. You can always contact onee-san~” Hanamura emphasized the word ”onee-san” heavily, shooting a sidelong glance at Akutsu before she gracefully returned to Josei Shonan’s bench.

Akutsu clicked his tongue disdainfully and ignored Akashi’s amused smile, turning instead to organize his gear. He was playing singles three today, so it was still too early to warm up.

The doubles two match was about to start. Krauser and Kite had finished warming up and stepped onto the court. Akashi recognized Josei Shonan’s doubles two pair from the original story: Tanaka Yōhei and Tanaka Kōhei, twin brothers.

Akashi looked at the two across the net, feeling speechless. He could accept identical twins having different hairstyles, but different hair colors too? If he didn’t know they dyed it, he’d think it was some genetic mutation.

Speaking of twins, what impressed Akashi most were the Mutsu brothers, Mutsu Yūma and Mutsu Yūho—monsters who used Twin Synchronization as their basic move, instantly crushing Shishugaku’s ace doubles team Suzuki Shun and Washio Issa. Rumor said they graduated from Seigaku, but Akashi found that hard to believe; if they had, Seigaku’s results in recent years wouldn’t have been so bad. He’d have to ask Yamato sometime.

”Now starting the match between Fudomine Middle School and Josei Shonan’s doubles two! Players, please come onto the court!”

As the referee announced the start, the players met at the net for a brief bow. Suddenly, Yōhei spoke up to Krauser:

”I heard you’re a foreigner. You really do look different from us, but don’t get your hopes up—you have no chance of winning this match!”

”That’s right! We’ve undergone the most scientific training. Our level is worlds apart from a school like yours without a coach!” Kōhei added smugly.

Krauser ignored them completely, but Kite adjusted his glasses and said in a chilling voice:

”I hope you can still sound so confident later.”

Fudomine won the toss and chose to serve. Kite stood on the baseline. He hadn’t planned to go all out, but their comments about Akashi’s coaching crossed the line. Taking a deep breath, he tossed the ball high, and with a thunderous crack, the ball landed on the opposite court, then flew out, embedding itself deep into the chain-link fence.

”Big Bang Serve!”

”ACE! 15-0!”

”GAME! Fudomine! 1-0!”

The Tanaka twins had no way to react. They couldn’t even track the ball’s trajectory. The massive sound of the strike also rendered their specialty—tracking by sound—completely useless.

Akashi shook his head from the bench. He remembered these twins being completely average outside of their coordination. Their so-called sound-tracking and double interception were nothing special.

It was Josei Shonan’s turn to serve. After Yōhei’s serve, he and Kōhei began chatting to each other, trying to disrupt their opponents’ focus with constant talk.

Unfortunately for them, the gap in skill was far too big. Krauser and Kite were completely unfazed, while Yōhei and Kōhei became increasingly agitated as they failed to reach any returns. The match quickly turned one-sided.

”Big Bang Serve!”

”GAME! Fudomine! 2-0!”

”GAME! Fudomine! 3-0!”

”GAME! Fudomine! 4-0!”

”GAME! Fudomine! 5-0!”

Without any suspense, Krauser and Kite easily took five straight games. By the third game, Kite had calmed down, stopped using techniques, and simply relied on basic tennis to score effortlessly.

Yōhei and Kōhei’s faces turned from tense to blank. Even Hanamura on the bench looked shocked. She had placed high hopes on these twins, confident in her scientific training methods. She never expected them to lose this badly—at least during the district tournament against Rikkai, they managed to score a few points.

Seeing Akashi looking relaxed on the other side, Hanamura felt doubt in her training methods for the first time. But she quickly regained her confidence; Yōhei and Kōhei were only first-years, and with more time, she believed they’d surpass today’s opponents.

In the final game, after Yōhei’s serve, his face looked blank, mirroring Kōhei’s. They couldn’t understand it—coach told them they were excellent players with great doubles talent, so why were they losing so horribly?

But no one could answer them. Krauser and Kite had no intention of showing mercy, racking up point after point without hesitation.

”0-15!”

”0-30!”

”0-40!”

At match point, Yōhei and Kōhei had given up hope of winning. Ironically, they had become exactly what they claimed their opponents would be—completely without a chance. But they still wanted to fight for at least a single point.

Unfortunately, Krauser crushed their last shred of hope. With a big backswing, he returned the ball with intense spin straight to the baseline.

”Wirbel Taufe!”

Yōhei and Kōhei threw themselves desperately to the baseline, stacking their rackets together for a double interception. But the instant the ball hit Kōhei’s racket, a powerful vertical spin surged through his arm.

Both rackets flew high into the air as the ball rocketed past them, slamming into the chain-link fence and leaving a swirling mark on the ground.

”GAME! 6-0! Winner: Fudomine Middle School!”