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Upon seeing Akutsu's sudden arrival, the group of delinquent girls were all stunned for a moment, while Momoi Satsuki relaxed her clenched fists and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who...who are you?"

Upon seeing Akutsu, a high-ranking delinquent, the woman in the thick mask felt somewhat uneasy, but as the leader of the small group, she still mustered the courage to step forward and inquire about his purpose.

Akutsu simply ignored her, her gaze passing right past her to Momoi Satsuki, who was surrounded.

"What are you doing in a place like this?"

What do you say?

Momoi Satsuki narrowed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and asked irritably, her voice carrying a hint of anger, like a cat with its fur standing on end, "Yuki has received several calls from the school this week."

"Tch! Mind your own business."

The group of delinquent girls nearby exchanged bewildered glances.

It looks like...

Do these two people know each other?

Thick-masked man glanced at Akutsu's muscular arms and large hands exposed outside his vest, then at the five oddly shaped people around him. His brain, which he didn't usually use much, was working at a rapid pace at this moment.

Want to fight?

If they fight, they feel like the five of them aren't even worth a single slap from him, but if they don't fight, how will they ever get along in this area again?

"Hey, aren't you guys going to get out of here?"

The woman wearing the thick mask was still struggling internally when she suddenly heard this obviously impatient voice. She looked up and met Akutsu's cold eyes, which were filled with a violent aura.

"I...let's go!"

Like a teddy bear seeing a Tibetan mastiff that has broken free of its leash, the girl with the thick mask suddenly cleared her eyes, turned her head and shouted something to the other delinquent girls, and then quickly slipped away.

Unlike the previous sluggish manner when surrounding Momoi Satsuki.

As they fled, the thick-soled shoes on their feet made a loud clattering sound, and they didn't dare to stop for even a second.

Only after running to the other end of the alley did the woman in the thick mask dare to turn around and, as if trying to save face, utter a harsh remark.

"You got lucky this time, just don't let us run into you next time!"

After saying that, he turned and ran away.

Akutsu grinned, revealing a mocking smile. He tilted his head to one side and saw a bare tennis ball on the ground, devoid of any fuzz.

He picked it up, twisted his waist, stretched his arms back, and made a baseball throwing motion.

And then the next second.

call out--!

A sharp whistling sound filled the air, and the tennis ball flew like a bullet out of a chamber to the other end of the alley in an instant.

Immediately following was a bloodcurdling scream, followed by the screams of several delinquent girls.

"Ah!~"... "Big Sister, are you alright?!"...

"A bunch of idiots..."

A hint of disdain flashed in Akutsu's eyes, then she turned to Momoi Satsuki and said, "Let's go, I'll take you home."

After saying that, he put his hands in his pockets and strode forward on his own.

Seeing that the person hadn't followed, he stopped again, turned around, frowned, and urged, "Hurry up!"

Momoi Satsuki jogged to catch up, her shadow flickering and changing length under the streetlights until she finally caught up with Akutsu's pace.

The two of them barely spoke the rest of the way.

Momoi Satsuki suddenly stopped when she could vaguely see the outline of her own house.

"Shall we chat?" she asked first.

Akutsu narrowed his eyes slightly, stopped and turned around.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Looking at Akutsu's pale, expressionless face, Momoi Satsuki sighed inwardly, ignoring the impatient tone in her voice.

She knew that Akutsu wasn't actually a bad person, nor was he as fierce as he appeared.

However, he grew up without a father, and Yuki, as his mother, was not mature enough, which led to him growing up in an insecure environment.

Therefore, they are always wary of everything around them, instinctively viewing "dependence on others" as "exposing weakness." To appear invincible, they deliberately suppress their emotions—joy, sadness, tenderness...

Even their feelings for their family members are difficult to express normally; they always convey their concern in an impatient, rude, and awkward way.

Like a hedgehog, it is delicate and soft inside, but always exposes its sharp quills to prevent anyone from getting close.

"Have you... thought about your future path?"

"From childhood to adulthood, I've tried karate, basketball, soccer, tennis... but I only stick with whatever I do for a few days. Even now, I still don't know what I want to do."

Momoi Satsuki's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and she tried to pronounce each word clearly, "Ah-Rin, are you going to keep drifting along like this?"

"Why waste your talent when you could have—"

Akutsu's eyes instantly turned dangerous as she interrupted her, "I told you to mind your own business!"

"And... I'm already tired of karate and tennis."

He scoffed, "To me, everything you're saying is utterly boring nonsense!"

If it were anyone else standing in front of him, Akutsu would definitely have broken that guy's teeth.

However, seeing Momoi Satsuki's unusually serious eyes, he looked away, subconsciously avoiding that ardent gaze filled with concern.

Akutsu realized he was being evasive and said stiffly, "You can walk the rest of the way yourself. I'm going back."

Watching his departing figure, Momoi Satsuki called out.

What if you were defeated by someone one day?

Akutsu turned around: "Idiot, that kind of thing won't happen..."

Just then, a clear, cold voice rang out from around the corner of the alley.

"What a coincidence!"

Akutsu was annoyed that his conversation had been interrupted, but when he turned around, his expression froze.

Kitahara Akira was carrying a tennis bag, his clothes were dirty, and his face and neck were covered in sweat, looking like he had just finished a strenuous workout.

Although tomorrow is the start of the competition, he still insisted on completing today's training tasks.

Are you going home or heading out?

Kitahara Akira asked Momoi Satsuki, slowly walked up to her, shielded her behind him, and stared intently at the delinquent-looking guy in front of him.

Silver-gray hair, a pale face, and those eyes...

Akutsu!

A very dangerous character in anime, a rare genius who can even make the most arrogant person suffer.

Kitahara Akira originally planned to approach him after the rookie tournament and persuade him to join the tennis club.

Although he has a bad temper, Akutsu is an absolutely essential asset if Yamabuki wants to win the national tournament next year.

Little did they expect that their first meeting would be like this.

After all, they are my neighbors, and they often bring things over when they visit. I can't just ignore them.

Kitahara Akira put down his tennis bag and handed it to Momoi Satsuki, turning his head slightly to whisper, "Step back a bit. If a fight breaks out, you'll be the first to run."

Momoi Satsuki was taken aback.

Then, glancing at Akutsu's delinquent-like appearance, she grabbed Kitahara Akira's arm and quickly said, "Oh dear, you've misunderstood!"

"He is Akutsu, my cousin. Our mothers are sisters."

"what?"

Kitahara Akira turned his head, his eyes full of surprise. Did Riyakuzu ever have an older sister in the anime?

He remembered that there was only one young mother named Yuki, who was so young that the Seigaku students mistook her for Kawamura Takashi's girlfriend outside of school.

"Oh, I see. I misunderstood. Haha..."

Kitahara Akira rubbed his hands together and chuckled awkwardly, while a slight glint appeared in his eyes. Akutsu was Momoi Satsuki's younger brother, making it much easier to invite him to join the tennis club.

"You guys continue chatting, I'm going home now."

Seeing that the two seemed to have something to deal with, Kitahara Akira waved his hand shrewdly, showing that he was not in a hurry to recruit Akutsu.

"See you later!"

"See you later!"

Momoi Satsuki waved to Kitahara Akira, breathed a sigh of relief as she watched him leave, then turned back and glared at Akutsu.

It's all because of this kid!

However, upon seeing Akutsu, he actually dared to stand up for her, whereas all the boys in her class used to run away whenever they saw Akutsu.

She recalled how Kitahara Akira had stood in front of her just now, letting her run first.

Momoi Satsuki smiled inwardly.

Akutsu asked, "Is he also a student of Yamabuki?"

Before Momoi Satsuki could answer, she continued, "The people in the tennis club?"

"Ah...you're asking about Kitahara? He's in the Yamabuki tennis club, what's up?"

Hearing the answer he wanted, Akutsu looked in the direction Kitahara Akira had just left, his eyes gleaming as if he had found some kind of target.

He turned to Momoi Satsuki and said.

"You're right, we really should find something to do, so..."

"I'm going to play tennis!"