Chapter 22

As preparations for the Kanagawa Prefecture tournament were underway, all schools entered a feverish stage of preparation. However, the Rikkai University tennis club displayed a uniquely relaxed atmosphere.

Yanagi Renji placed his preparation schedule in the tennis club's meeting room. "If there are no suggestions, we'll use this lineup before the Kanto tournament: Niou Yagyu and Marui Jackal in doubles, Sankirihara in singles, me in second singles, and Sanada in first singles."

"Bunta, do you want to play one or two?" Niou's slender fingers pointed at the competition list on the table. The singles positions were all filled in, and only the doubles order remained.

Marui Bunta held up two fingers. "If you agree, we'll play doubles."

"Pfft~ No problem." Niou agreed. Although the strength difference between the first and second doubles in the district qualifiers would not be too big, it would be better to save some energy.

Sanada handed in the completed competition form and waited for the competition to begin.

Qualifying for the Kanto tournament was determined by the top-place finisher in each district, with a few regions offering first and second place. Kanagawa Prefecture had only one spot, and in recent years, the winner had always been the Rikkai University Tennis Club.

At the Kanagawa Prefectural Park competition venue - the finals, Sanada led the team to register on time.

The Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School cheerleading club was already seated in the audience seats.

"Always victorious, Rikkai University! Let's go, let's go, Rikkai University!"

The results were as one-sided as before, with three wins in all.

"Amazing! Another 6-0. Rikkai University's combat power will decline after Yukimura gets sick."

"That second-year new face broke the competition record."

"There's also a reporter from Shonen Homura. I guess he wants to ask Yukimura more questions."

Outside the court, there was a lot of discussion about the Rikkai University tennis club, and at the same time, there was news that Rikkai University had qualified for the Kanto Tournament and refreshed the time for the district preliminaries.

"Did you see that? Niou-senpai, Bunta-senpai. I broke the record~" Kirihara Akaya was standing by, pointing at the updated game record.

Marui Bunta looked at Kirihara's shining eyes and praised, "Well done, Akaya."

"So simple~ Phew." Niou Masaharu gave Yagyu Hiroshi a look. The record could be maintained until now only because the game could be ended in three games, and Rikkai University always ended the battle in the third game, so it was not Sanada and Yukimura's turn to play.

Yagyu Hiroshi handed Niou Masaharu a bottle of water to stop him from making trouble.

Yanagi Renji stood quietly by and recorded and changed a lot of data.

As the representative of the Rikkai University Tennis Club, Sanada first thanked the cheerleaders from the same school who came to cheer for the tennis club, then confirmed the draw time with the tournament organizers, and dealt with reporters and intelligence officers from various schools who were curious about Yukimura and Rikkai University's fighting strength.

"Excuse me?"

Yanagi Renji politely stopped the questioner and said, "If you have any questions, the vice president of the tennis club will answer them."

No matter how much Niou Masaharu and the others played and joked, they still protected Kirihara Akaya in the innermost circle to prevent Kirihara's casual words from being misinterpreted in eight hundred ways.

"We don't answer questions or accept interviews here. If you have any questions, please contact Deputy Minister Sanada." Yagyu Hiroshi politely refused without saying a word.

The jackal Kuwabara firmly held his position beside Bunta, not letting anyone get close.

Marui Bunta talked about a popular game nearby and had a heated conversation with Kirihara Akaya, attracting Kirihara's attention.

"Our goal is to win the national championship for the third time in a row. We don't have any special tactical arrangements. I can't tell you about Yukimura's condition. He will naturally return to the tennis club after he recovers..." After answering a few questions, Sanada led the team out of the way.

When Sanada glanced at them, many people who were watching the fun could not hold back and moved away.

On the Rikkai University bus, the tennis club members leisurely discussed the interview.

Niou Masaharu and the person trying to extract information from the interview team spoke in a coherent manner, but none of their words were true. "At this time, Sanada was the real deal. He forged his way through the crowd."

"Some reports later said that there might be some kind of conspiracy by Sanada to usurp the throne." Marui Bunta looked at Kirihara, while not forgetting to pay attention to his surroundings.

As for Yukimura, ever since he fell ill, there have been rumors about Sanada, but no one dared to tell him.

Yagyu Hiroshi packed up his tennis bag and said rationally, "There must be a lot of articles about Rikkai University's decline, both true and false."

"Don't worry about those things, just focus on the game." Sanada remained calm. Even if he hadn't experienced it more than once, let alone once, the words of outsiders could not shake his mentality.

Yanagi Renji closed his data notebook. "Sanada will check on the recent training. During this time, I will collect information on other schools participating in the Kanto Tournament. And Kirihara, pay attention to the test scores. Too many failures will limit your eligibility."

"Eh!? Are we going to take the exam? There are still three months left." As soon as the exam questions came out, Kirihara Aka, who still wanted to play video games, became as wilted as dehydrated kelp.

"You're talking about the final exam after the national competition, and there are also midterm exams to record the results. Could it be that you forgot about the exam, Akaya?" Marui Bunta asked while chewing bubble gum.

Kirihara Akaya stumbled in his reply, "I completely forgot. What should I do?! Yanagi-senpai, Niou-senpai! I want to participate in the competition!"

"Try to highlight the key points. The test won't be difficult." Yagyu Hiroshi suggested.

Except for Kirihara Akaya, Rikkai University's regular students never worried about their test scores. They always had no problem passing even the most difficult subjects.

Kirihara Aka didn't dare tell his seniors about his academic performance. He had basically no chance to play last year, and it wouldn't affect anything if he just took his time through the exams.

Sanada completely forgot about Kirihara Akaya's achievements. After all, the time span was quite long, and Kirihara Akaya was also an international tennis player.

Yanagi Renji's focus shifted to Hyotei. Ever since Atobe Keigo became captain a year ago, Hyotei had become a frequent challenger for the Kanto Championship. "This time, Hyotei almost didn't make it to the Kanto Championship. After the second team lost, they replaced all their players with regular players and made it to the Kanto Championship thanks to the loser's revival match."

"Senior Yanagi, I remember that even if the second team of Hyotei plays, there will be a regular member in charge." Kirihara Akaya remembered the Hyotei member Hiyoshi Wakaba whom he met during the training camp.

Niou Masaharu guessed the answer right off the bat. "Maybe it's a hidden boss, huh~"

"It's Tachibana Kippei, one of the two heroes of Kyushu. They're not with their partners anymore, and their hair color has changed. It matches the information we got before. It is said that the two heroes of Kyushu had a conflict during a practice match when they were in Shizile Middle School. Unexpectedly, one of them transferred to Kanto... We just need to pay attention to Tachibana Kippei, they put all their strength into the first three rounds." Yanagi Renji followed Fudomine's games later, and apart from Tachibana Kippei, there were no other players who needed special attention.

"All that's left is to wait for the draw for the Kanto Tournament. I hope Sanada can draw a good lot. After all, Captain Yukimura always has good luck with the draw." Marui Bunta made a wish.

Although they are not afraid of those weaker teams, they should still preserve their strength as much as possible, after all, Rikkai University's main battlefield is the national competition.

Sanada looked at Marui Bunta. "You're too lax. Double the training."

Marui Bunta took a step back and changed positions so that Jackal Kuwahara was in front, out of Sanada's sight.

Jackal Sangyuan stood in the middle with cold sweat on his forehead, feeling torn.

"Get off the bus, Marui too. This time, the champions of Kanagawa, Chiba, and Tokyo will be selected as seeded teams. There is no need to draw lots." Yagyu Hiroshi interrupted the confrontation on the school bus.

Yanagi Renji confirmed, "That's right. Although the Rikkai University representatives don't have to draw lots, the drawing ceremony is in the Rikkai University auditorium, just waiting to begin. Also, the day of the drawing is the OB practice match, so Akagi shouldn't miss his stop like last time. The teachers have already found the tennis club."

"I, I remember." Kirihara Akaya was also shocked. He was discovered because of the trouble he caused when he got lost in Seigaku last time.

The champions and runners-up of each Tokyo regional competition were announced, and the draw for the Kanto competition was held on the Rikkai University campus.

In the Rikkai University tennis club, Kirihara Akaya was having a fierce match with his senior, and the result was one-sided, with Kirihara Akaya winning completely.

Sanada stood on the sidelines, watching the game and asking the seniors for information. "Senior Jin, how is the high school tennis club?"

"High school? There's a lot of freedom. There are no inter-school competitions. It's all individual. If you want to compete, just sign up. They just use the venue at school." Jin had just joined the high school tennis club. There was basically no such thing as a regular second team. It was purely an interest club, but the coach said there would be a training camp at the end of the year.

Seeing that none of the seniors reacted strangely to what Senior Jin said, it seemed that they really didn't understand the U-17 situation.

Kirihara Akaya had already defeated the ninth senior, and was only one away from defeating all the OB seniors. "Next, next senior."

Leaving the unsuspecting Nishiki-senpai to practice with Kirihara Akaya, Sanada watched the departing reporters, lost in thought. "It's almost here..."

Before the club activity ended, all the regular members of Rikkai University gathered in the conference room.

"Yanagi, how is it?" asked Marui Bunta.

Yanagi Renji spread out his handwritten match list on the table. "Rikkai University doesn't have any noteworthy opponents in the early stages. We might face Yamabuki, the other seeded player, in the semifinals. Barring any surprises, it'll be Hyotei in the finals."

"Hey! Hyotei vs. Seigaku." Kirihara Akaya still remembered the seniors' comments on Seigaku president Tezuka Kunimitsu, otherwise he wouldn't have rushed straight to Seigaku tennis club to challenge Tezuka after getting on the wrong bus.

Niou Masaharu shook his finger. "Pfft! Forget about Hyotei and Seigaku for now. No matter which school it is, they'll face off in the finals, on the other side of Rikkai University. Compared to that, your English grades are the most important, Akaya. If you fail the make-up exam, your place in the competition will be revoked."

"I'm reciting it, I'm reciting it." Kirihara Akaya's voice was getting weaker and weaker.

Yanagi Renji took out the test paper. "Try it again."

"Too lax!" Sanada didn't expect that the biggest difficulty in the Rikkai University Kanto Tournament would be Kirihara Akasaya's English test.

The regular players took turns to receive tutoring, and finally received good news on the eve of the Kanto Tournament.

Outside the make-up exam room with three or five people, six regular players from the Rikkai University tennis club were standing there waiting for news.

Kirihara Akaya showed the test paper that the teacher had graded on the spot. 40 points were just right. "Passed!"