*Beep**Beep*
After swiftly turning off the insufferable alarm, I take a moment to look at the unfamiliar hands that reaffirm that I truly am Tezuka Kunimitsu.
.
.
.
*Chirp**Chirp*
*Sigh*
I should get up since I have school today. While rubbing my eyes and grabbing my glasses from the nightstand, I open the curtains only to be struck by the warm beams of the Sun. Yawning, I drag my feet to the bathroom attached to my bedroom.
Upon finishing my morning routine, I find myself putting on a school uniform. It’s composed of grey slacks, a white dress shirt, and a navy sports coat, a simple yet appealing outfit. After making sure that all my homework, books, and supplies are in my leather school bag, I walk down the stairs.
Greeting me were my new parents.
“Ohayōgozaimasu, otōsan, okāsan,” I say with a tinge of laziness in my voice, unintentionally revealing another part of my true personality.
““Ohayō, Kunimitsu.””
“You’re usually up a bit earlier, did something happen?” My mother asks.
“I just wanted to take a quick shower before heading out. Anyway, thanks for the food okāsan, I’ll be going. See you later otōsan,” I answer while grabbing the wrapped bento.
“Be a safe dear.”
“Watch out for cars Kunimitsu.”
“Thanks, bye,” I respond after slipping on my brown penny loafers.
Heading to the side of the house and into the shed, I see a well-maintained white road bike, with black handles, and a black seat. Wasting only a few seconds to admire the craftsmanship, I exit the shed with the bike before locking it and eventually the entry gate.
It’s a leisure 10-minute bike ride to Seiharudai Daiichi (Seishun First) a private mid-sized primary school here in Tokyo, Japan. Along the way I see fellow students chatting, salarymen walking to the train station, and housewives going to buy groceries. After locking my bike, I head to my class, 6-1, on the third floor of the building.
As I saunter inside, I barely notice the gazes of my classmates both male and female. Sitting at my window seat, I pull out a book about anatomy while waiting for class to start. As Fujimoto Hako, the English homeroom teacher comes, I put away my book, yawn, then perform my duties as class representative.
Honestly, while the old Kunimitsu and I are pretty similar, he has few inclinations that are quite exhausting. The problem is his upright and exemplary attitude. Not only is he the class representative, but he is also part of the school beautification committee. I had similar leadership positions in school, but I was more like a certain black-haired character known for his high intellect and lazy attitude. Thankfully, there are only a few weeks before school ends. Afterward, I can expose a bit more of my true personality in public. *Sigh*
Classes were, infinitesimally boring. Repeating something that I found mundane on the first run-through of my life was painful. Luckily, it’s lunchtime and I can be alone. I leave the room, and head towards the roof, before opening my bento to eat. Rice, vegetables, tonkatsu, and some other side dishes. It’s honestly quite delicious. Hmm, even in this life my mother is quite a good cook.
About 5 minutes before lunch ends, I head back and organize the cleaning of our class. Following lunch, were more meaningless classes. Once the last class of the day, social studies, ended our homeroom teacher, came back.
“Tezuka-san, please come up and pass these out to your classmates.”
“Hai.”
As I grab the papers, I see that they are middle school selection forms. This unlike the rest of the day, excites me.
Which middle school I go to will more than likely determine my teammates and rivals.
After I pass out the last form and sit down sensei Fujimoto addresses the class, “As you can all see, these forms are for the middle school selection. This is a very important decision for all of you. Naturally, I would like to see you all go to our affiliated secondary school, Seishun Gakuen (Seishun Academy), but what is most important is that the school you choose meets your needs.”
Make sure to talk to your parents, and return the form by the end of the week. This is especially important for those who choose middle schools that need recommendation letters or exams.”
*Ring**Ring*
“With that, have a good afternoon, and see you all tomorrow.”
“Arigato Sensei!” The class says in unison.
Leaving my seat, and remembering that I don’t have any obligations, I stroll towards the bike rack before unlocking my own bike and heading home.
Upon my arrival, I greet my mother before heading upstairs. It takes only a few minutes before I change into a light-blue t-shirt and grey shorts. I head back down the stairs, this time with my tennis bag in tow. My homework? I did it during class, to save time.
“Okāsan, I’m heading out to the court. I’ll be back.”
“Be safe.”
“Hai.”
Tying on white tennis shoes, I leave the house and ride my bike to the local tennis court. The match yesterday was insufficient. Even though his memories are integrated into mine, I still want to perform Kunimitsu’s techniques so I can see the full extent of their effects. Hopefully, there’s a decent opponent.
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.
.
And of course, there’s no one decent. *Tch*
Seven opponents, and five forfeited after the first game. I didn’t even get to use any of my techniques, at least I got some practice with my left arm.
“Aaahh. That’s surprisingly good,” I say while staring at the Ponta can in my hand. The protagonist was often seen enjoying the fabled Ponta and spotting a vending machine, I had to give it a try.
Speaking of the protagonist, he won’t be here for two years, and when he arrives he’ll certainly go to Seigaku (Seishun Gakuen). But what about me? I’m limited to the Kanto region, but I’m only considering the following schools.
Seishun Gakuen, Hyotei Gakuen, and Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku Chuu. As confident as I am in my abilities, I need capable teammates to win games and conquer nationals. When I weigh the pros and cons it goes like this.
Seigaku
Pros
- Destined to become the captain
- Fuji Shūsuske the Genius
- Echizen Ryoma the Protagonist
- Close to home
Cons
- Weak upperclassmen
- Excluding around 8 people, the rest of the club is severely lacking which makes me worried about the future of the club when I leave
Hyotei
Pros
- Strong upperclassmen
- Atobe Keigo the King
- Oshitari Yūshi the Man of 1000 Techniques
Cons
- Clashing with Atobe for who becomes captain
- Having to change the overly strict club rules
Rikkai Dai
Pros
- Yukimura Seiichi the Child of God
- Sanada Gen’ichirō the Emperor
- Renji Yangi the Master
Cons
- Will all but guarantee the outcome of the next three national tournaments
- Taming the Devil
More than anything perhaps I am the most intrigued by the growth of the protagonist of this story, Echizen Ryoma. At the start, he is at best a player that can lead a team to win a prefecture, but he grows within the span of a few months to be among the 10 best middle schoolers in Japan. Knowing the story, I know that my presence as a captain, rival, and mentor to the kid helped him develop.
You may be asking why I would care, and my reasoning is simple. Victory is hollow without challenging opponents. Besting a weak opponent is the same to me as picking cabbages at the market. While other characters are indeed stronger, Ryoma showed the ability to grow exponentially during every match, an incredibly rare talent.
It would also be exciting to play with Atobe Keigo, a player with good talent, but otherworldly determination. He’s genuinely an admirable person, but I have a feeling that one of us will have to concede to the other. Atobe must rule while I cannot be restrained.
Logically, Rikkai Dai should be my answer if I want to win championships. Yukimura, Sanada, and Renji are known as the Sannin Bakemono (Three Demons) and lead their team to victory twice before they were thwarted by the original Tezuka-led Seigaku. Joining them would be quite fun.
*Sigh*
Honestly, I need some time to decide. I can greatly affect the path the story takes with my decision, and while following the cannon timeline is appealing, I am under no obligation to do so. This is my reality and I will take the steps necessary to exceed the level I was at in my previous life.
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.
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After a few more minutes, I get up from the bench before grabbing my gear and riding back home for dinner.
Tezuka should be able to bring the level of Seigaku up. Him and Fuji totally focused and challenging each other from the beginning should be enough to get them to National level pretty quick, that should be enough to give a good showing on the first year, losing in the nationals with the two of them undefeated can light a fire in the rest of the team to do extra training and improve quicker plus he already knows all the problems and limitations of their styles and can guide them to the correct path.
Hopefully this is enough to go for the championship in the second year, plus it would be awesome for everyone to know that the strongest player is in Seigaku.
Truth be told, what you said is a bit of a spoiler, hehe. While reaching nationals is tempting, it should be noted that qualifying for the event in the Kanto is incredibly difficult as the region is extremely competitive. The Seigaku route is fun mainly because of truly unleashing Fuji's potential, and seeing the extent of Ryoma's growth. But I won't ruin the surprises.
Man. I wanted to choose Rikkai Dai, but I really want Isekai-Tezuka to make Segaku a better team, so I had to go for the original team from the show. Plus, I want Ryoma to be a more fleshed out character than how he was in the anime, and I’m hoping we’ll get some cool side stories of him.