“Game won, Yukimira Seiichi, 5-2. Change court!”
I watch as the championship match is underway. Why am I was I not playing? Simple. I forfeited my match. Uncharacteristically, Kunimitsu forgot to register himself as the winner in his qualifiers the day before and automatically forfeited the quarterfinals match. Truth be told, I was a bit disgruntled until I saw the two kids who made it to the championship match.
During the match, I was able to sift through the memories of this world, and it is safe to say that the average human is about 1.5x stronger than the average human from my old world. This means an increase in strength, stamina, resilience, speed, jumping power, etc. Additionally, there is some form of cosmic energy in this world, I sensed it while watching the two players. It’s not to the extent of a certain franchise, where characters can fire beams that can destroy universes, but it’s nonetheless present, specifically in athletes.
Honestly, it explains the basis of the superhuman feats shown in the anime. Being a fan of the show, and a more than capable player, I attempted, on numerous occasions, techniques that could be implemented in real life and with little success. Now, I can finally use and create my techniques.
I am still confused about my situation. My old life and this new one. Whether the memories were simply sealed for some time or if I took over the original Kunimitsu’s body, I am not certain, but it goes against my personality to dwell on questions I currently cannot answer. Plus, I have been able to realize a few things from the new memories.
The first is that the original Kunimitsu Tezuka is a genius. It’s known that he was an unknown player until his 6th year in elementary school. In my experience, I know that the kids that enter local youth tennis tournaments are almost always the same group. Meaning, once you attend a few events, you will recognize most of the people there. Taken at face value, this means that Kunimitsu had never entered a tournament before this one, which leads to the question, ‘how was he so strong at his supposed first tournament?’
The answer is simple yet mildly disturbing. Kunimitsu started playing tennis less than 2 years ago. The sport captured his young heart, and he spent countless hours practicing and playing against others, especially adults. Add his transcendent talent and you have a bonafide genius. He has already developed his signature shot, his name-branded technique, unlocked the first door and reached two of the three pinnacles all before going to middle school. As long as I can change that one event, I should be able to-
“Game and match, Yukimira Seiichi, 6-3, 6-2!”
That’s my cue.
With my bag slung over my shoulders I walk towards the champion and runner-up of the tournament. As I approach the first one to notice me is a boy with black hair, a slightly tan complexion, and is wearing a white-rimmed black cap flipped backward. His hair is bluntly cut and he has small brown eyes. He’s wearing a light blue shirt with a horizontal stripe, light tan shorts, white socks, and black tennis shoes. Despite being 12, his stern expression makes him look much older.
The other boy has chin-length navy blue wavy hair and violet eyes with a fair complexion and is sporting a white headband. He is wearing a heather purple polo shirt with stripes on the collar, white shorts, white socks, and blue tennis shoes. He has a feminine face, and could easily be mistaken for a girl.
Sanada Genichirō and Yukimura Seiichi. The Emperor and the Child of God.
Their future titles do not scare me, rather it makes my desire to play burn hotter, but I make sure to keep my calm and stoic expression.
“I want to play a match against you,” I say to Yukimura, the champion. Interestingly, Sanada’s face crumples up from my request.
“Why would he play you? You didn’t even make it to quarter-finals.”
While Sanada is glaring at me, Yukimura is staring back at me with an inquisitive face. What a pretty face. It's not like I can honestly complain considering my current appearance.
After a minute or so Yukimura finally answers, “Sure I’ll play you, but only if you agree to my conditions.”
To which I nod my head.
“If you can beat Sandaa, then you can play against me. Fair?”
“I accept.”
“Oh, how rude of me, my name is Yukimura Seiichi and this is my dear friend, Sanada Genichirō.”
“Tezuka, Kunimitsu Tezuka.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Tezuka-san,” Yukimura says with a kind smile.
“Likewise. I’ll give you a few minutes to rest, then we can play,” I tell Sanada after we're settled at an empty court. Yukimura had to coax an official, but they allowed us to use a spare court.
“I don’t need to rest to beat you. Let’s go right now!”
But before Sanada can take another step, Yukimura pulls him back and whispers something into his ears. With a slightly shocked face, Genichirō looks at me before properly sitting down and resting. Seems like Yukimura can tell that I am decently strong. I guess he can tell that I am also releasing the strange cosmic energy? While thinking about the strange forces that govern this world, I stretch and prepare myself for the match. Roughly 30 minutes later, Sanada stands up and looks ready to play. Yukimura offers to serve as the referee, too which we both agree.
“Let’s make this a 3 set match. Winning 6 games wins the match, and the winner has to win by 2 games. If a set goes 6-6 we will play a standard tiebreaker, until the winner is determined.”
I nod in agreement.
“Smooth or rough?”
“You can serve first,” I say dismissively before turning around and heading to the baseline.
Genichirō is visibly annoyed, while Yukimura has a wry smile. I’m not trying to belittle the guy, it’s just that he’s currently too weak to provide a proper challenge.
After taking a few deep breaths, Sanada heads towards his baseline before preparing to serve.
My first match in this new world. I feel like I was just playing a few hours ago, but these sensations are completely different. I can feel how stable this body is. A sturdy vessel capable of wielding enormous amounts of talent, very much the opposite of my former body. My case was more like a powerful jet engine strapped onto a paper mache plane.
Clearing my mind, I take a comfortable stance as I wait for Sanada to serve.
"Come."
Thanks for the chapter!
Looking forward for their match!