Youthful Days (Book 1)

26. Enemy Hyotei

The match against Hyotei was held on an especially humid Sunday morning. Though the air was heavy, the sky was an exquisite pale blue with only a few clouds streaked near the horizon.

To kick off the regional tournaments, Seigaku and Hyotei received the honor of playing in the Ariake Tennis Park coliseum—a venue typically reserved for Japan Open tournaments. Ayuna was one of the first to arrive. She wore a white blouse, light blue trousers and a cloth headband inked with the slogan "Seigaku to victory". Normally, this get-up would've been excessive and flashy. Today, however, she was on a mission to cheer in place of her absent friends, Momoko and Rei. More importantly, she dressed this way in hopes of bringing good luck to her school and the captain.

Eiji, Fuji and Tezuka were the first to show up. When she spotted the three seniors amidst a sea of people, she waved.

Fuji grinned ear-to-ear at the sight of Ayuna. Approaching her, he said, "With your punctuality, Ayuna, you bring the rest of the team to shame."

She bowed to the seniors with a bashful smile. "There are still twenty minutes left. I just wanted to be here early so I have a chance to wish everyone good luck."

"Gah! This warms my heart!" gushed Eiji. Appraising Ayuna from head-to-toe, he said, "Not to mention you're looking ultra-cute today!"

"Thank you."

He then spotted the white strips of cloth peeking out of her bag. "And what are those?"

"These are headbands to cheer for our school," answered Ayuna, taking one out to show Eiji. They were replicas of the headband she wore. "In the spirit of this season's first regional game."

"Wow, these look amazing!" He motioned to the one in her hand, "Mind if I take it? I'm gonna wear it like you!"

"I'm going to take one, too," Fuji chimed in enthusiastically. "The spirit's contagious."

Ayuna nodded and handed out the headbands to the older boys. "I made enough for the entire team, so feel free to take them."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Hanamachi-san." Tezuka, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, suddenly spoke up. "I would like one too, if that's alright with you?"

Ayuna smiled and pulled an extra one out for the captain. "Of course."

"Thank you," he said with genuine appreciation. Turning to Eiji, he asked, "Can you come with me to the bleachers to set up? Oishi seems to be running late."

To this, Eiji nodded and saluted once before leaving with the captain.

Ayuna and Fuji watched them leave. As soon as they were at a distance, Fuji turned to her with a mischievous smile. "Looks like you and our captain will get along just fine."

"What do you mean?"

"I was under the impression you were hesitant to come to today's game. Was it because you were afraid of Tezuka?"

Ayuna smiled sheepishly. "You caught that?"

"Tezuka can be intimidating sometimes."

"Maybe a little."

Gently placing a hand on her shoulder, Fuji reassured her, "He may be strict, but certainly not intolerant. Besides, he seems to like you and is willing to welcome you to the team."

To that, Ayuna didn't dare to comment. She knew this apparent cordiality stemmed from sworn secrecy, a clandestine pact. Out loud, she simply said, "That's comforting to hear. For a while, I thought I was being a distraction and was uncertain about coming today."