My Youth in Grand Blue!

Kudo smiled at the slightly weak-looking Iori and Kohei.

Without Tokita and Kotobuki, there was no way they could compete with his team. He'd make sure they lost as miserably as possible.

WHAM!

As Kudo was thinking, a tennis ball landed behind him.

He stared blankly at Iori, still in a serving stance. Clearly, he hadn't processed what just happened.

What the hell?

Did something just fly past?

"15–0!"

Only after Shiro called the score did Kudo realize—they'd already lost a point!

That crossdresser guy wasn't as weak as they thought!

His posture and power… This guy was clearly on his level!

What the hell?! If he's this good, why isn't he in the tennis club instead of the diving club?!

Kudo couldn't stop mentally ranting. This diving club was shady as hell.

"Next serve coming!"

Iori ignored Kudo's shock and served again. His handsome side profile even made Kamishiro Shiro feel like he was looking at a completely different person.

"30–0!"

Kudo hadn't adjusted his mindset and lost another point!

Iori's sudden burst of skill shocked not only his opponents but also the audience. No one had expected Iori to be that good at tennis.

Even if Kudo was a loser, he was still the tennis club captain. He had skills.

"Now that you mention it, that guy had pretty good control back then too."

"Oh—you mean when he flipped skirts at the beauty pageant?"

The two senpais remembered: Iori's control was terrifying during that event. His tennis skills must've been honed that way.

Scary. Just how many skirts—boy or girl—did he flip like that?

Shiro rested his chin in his hand.

He wasn't surprised, knew his playmate's athletic abilities. If Iori wanted to, he could easily be a professional athlete… on land, anyway.

The Land God of War!

"Keep the momentum going!"

Iori and Kohei wore devilish grins. This tennis club wasn't so scary after all.

Once a person loses fear, they become arrogant.

Shiro felt like he was watching a young version of Tokita in Iori's movements and expressions…

Scary. Is Kitahara going to turn into that kind of monster someday?

"Kohei!"

Iori shouted. A ball landed on Kohei's side—it was his moment to shine!

"Here I come! ORA!"

Kohei swung his racket with full force, determined to hit a perfect shot!

Whiff.

The racket barely brushed the ball.

Under everyone's silent gaze, the ball floated gently to Kudo's side, who smashed it for the point.

"Kitahara! Those two are monsters!"

Kohei shouted in panic. He had underestimated the opponents!

"You dumbass! You're just weak! Didn't you say you could play tennis?!"

"I watched Chisa and the others play! I already learned!"

"You learned by watching?! And why would a magical girl know how to play tennis?!"

"..."

The match went on.

Kudo and his team found the secret to victory: just keep aiming at Kohei. Soon, the score was 4–0.

Shiro looked at Kohei constantly falling and didn't say a word. He knew it wouldn't go smoothly. Thankfully, he had Plan B.

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. We're recording this whole match for training purposes. Hope you don't mind?"

Kudo grinned menacingly. With victory in sight, he revealed his plan.

Hearing that, Iori and Kohei flipped out—they were going to be publicly executed!

"You bastards want to—"

"—show everyone how badly we lost and laugh at us!"

"..."

Kudo stared at them—one half-naked, one in a cartoon costume—and thought: do they really need to lose to be the laughingstock?

He looked at Shiro, who sat calmly at the referee's seat. His real goal was always that squinty-eyed guy, but unfortunately, the guy never played.

Shiro gave him a smile and telepathically messaged the two idiots:

'Don't worry! I've called in reinforcements!'

'Reinforcements? But this is our club's match. Isn't that not allowed?'

'Just keep playing. Trust me—I've got this.'

Seeing Shiro's confident smirk, both of them felt a twinge of unease…

The match continued. Kohei remained the weak link. Was it just Shiro's imagination, or were Kohei's falls getting more theatrical?

"Hey! Watch out for the football!"

Suddenly, someone shouted from the stands.

Iori and Kohei instinctively turned to look—just in time to see two rugby balls smash into them!

BOOM! BOOM!

They were flattened by the powerful impact, followed by five or six more balls, each landing with pinpoint accuracy.

Iori and Kohei fell into a deep sleep…

Kudo was stunned. What the hell? Was this divine punishment in rugby form?

He looked up and saw some rugby guys giving Shiro a thumbs-up.

This… was clearly planned.

Σ(?д?|||)!!

We're done for!

Kudo stared at Shiro in horror. He knew Shiro would interfere—but like this?!

What was the point of this? Or did those muscleheads hit the wrong target? Were the rugby balls meant for him?

Kudo and his teammate instinctively shielded their heads, fearing a surprise attack.

Shiro smiled apologetically.

"Welp, unfortunate accident. Can't be helped. Time to sub in!"

Before they could react, he dragged Iori and Kohei off the court.

Now it's the senpais' turn!

"Oh, is it my turn?"

"I can play too?"

The two senpais stepped onto the court with grins. They hadn't had much chance to warm up yet. Tennis was kind of fun.

Σ(?д?|||)!!

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

…

Match over!

PaB narrowly defeats TB with a score of 2–1!

"By the way, how is Iori so good at tennis?" the others asked, looking at Iori, now slung over Tokita's shoulder.

"Ah, after graduating high school, he joined a tennis training camp. His goal was… to attract girls? Such a shame. That idiot has no hope," Shiro replied.

He'd overheard that bit of trivia once. Apparently, Iori had a buzz cut back then. He kind of wanted to see it.

"I see. But is it really okay for him to train so hard and not join the tennis club?"

"No big deal. That idiot doesn't get to make choices anymore."

Shiro shrugged. That fool had no options left ever since he walked into the dive shop.

The worst part? He dragged him in too!

Remembering how he got roped in on his first day, Shiro wanted to hit Iori with a few more rugby balls.

What kind of person drags others into being chased by two naked guys?

That idiot didn't learn a single thing about not causing trouble for others!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Shiro flicked Iori on the head a few times, then looked at his now-swollen face and smiled.

"Don't worry—this guy has already received a love letter from the sea. He has a better choice now."

Everyone smiled. After all, who could refuse the love letter from the sea?