Stars Align (星合の空)

"Congrats!" "Misaki Academy Middle School" "Congrats" "National Middle School Soft Tennis Tournament"

"Congrats!" "Misaki Academy Middle School" "Congrats" "National Middle School Soft Tennis Tournament" Go, go, Misaki! Fight, fight, Misaki!

Go, go, Misaki! Fight, fight, Misaki!

Win, win, Misaki!

Go, go, Misaki! Fight, fight, Misaki! Win, win, Misaki...

"Misaki Academy" Go, go, Misaki! Fight, fight, Misaki! Win, win, Misaki...

"Misaki Academy" What the hell? Could they be any louder?

"Misaki Academy" They've got over 60 members on the boys' team,

"Shijo Minami" "Boys' Soft Tennis Club" so their first years act as the cheer squad.

"Shijo Minami" so their first years act as the cheer squad.

"Shijo Minami" That's disgusting.

Mitsue, you might want to tone down the voice in your head.

Mind your own business.

Like I said yesterday, we're starting the matches with Taiyo and Nao.

Will we be okay?

What if they complain that we didn't even put up a fight?

And what if we can't score a single point?

Keep thinking that way and you'll lose a match you can win.

A match they can win?

Yuta's been coming here for a week to scout and gather data for us.

Yuta, tell Taiyo and Nao about the players they're up against.

I don't know if it'll be helpful though.

Have confidence.

Um, you've got back player Kazumi Miwa and front player Ayumu Ooi.

Miwa has an excellent first serve. He has a quick stroke and can aim his shots well.

Ooi can defend a huge area of the net.

Their combination is a classic example of a front and back pair.

Basically, count on Miwa to set the pace of the game.

Thanks, Yuta.

Point being, it's all about being able to return the shots from Miwa.

There's no way I can keep up against him.

Yeah, exactly.

Don't say it like that, Katsuragi.

That's why.

Huh?

You're a pair. There's two of you.

You know what you've gotta do.

Oh, yeah. They can always do that.

That's right. We can win.

For sure.

That's right!

We're strong as hell!

Me and my little sister came up with a victory dance!

A victory dance?

Yeah, raise your right hand and... Hey, everyone do it!

Join us, Yuta!

Believe in our victory! Fight!

Now you try it!

All right! Fight!

Whoa! Fight!

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Whoa!

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah...

Is that a pre-match tradition?

Seems that way.

It's a dance to bring grasshopper victory... I guess?

"Stars Align"

"Episode 6" --Go, go, Misaki! Fight, fight, Misaki! Win, win, Misaki!

"Episode 6" --Go, go, Misaki! Fight, fight, Misaki! Win, win, Misaki! --Argh, damn stiff neck.

"Episode 6" --Go, go, Misaki! Fight, fight, Misaki! Win, win, Misaki! --Hey, you guys understand?

--Go, go, Misaki... --Hey, you guys understand?

Don't you worry, Arashi. We won't give up a single point.

Playing those guys isn't even a warm-up. It's more like a stretch.

Shoot!

Face-up. It's our pick.

You can serve. We want this side.

I feel loose thanks to that dance.

I don't feel so nervous anymore.

You've got this, Nao! Taiyo!

Serving side: Shijo Minami's Ishigami/Tsukinose pair.

Receiving side: Misaki Academy's Miwa/Ooi pair.

It's a five-game match. Play ball!

Come on, bring it.

Hmm? Not a bad serve...

Shit!

There!

Huh? They're both playing back?

Shoot!

Th-They got a point.

Unbelievable.

Awesome!

Tsk!

I-It was just a fluke.

Uh, 1-0!

Not again! Shit!

Their front fell back for a rally battle.

And they're surprisingly good at it, too.

--Another point! --Hell yeah! --Yeah! --Woohoo!

Hey! It's bad manners to cause a scene!

Your kids are sure giving it their best today.

Yeah they are.

--Bravery! --Lively!

Victory!

Dammit!

2-0!

Damn lefties!

These Shijo Minami clowns!

Out!

What an idiot.

Hey, hit the ball!

I can't volley when they lob like that!

You could if you moved for once!

I am moving!

What are they doing?

This isn't the time to fight.

Bravery! Lively! Victory!

There!

Out! Change sides!

They're both idiots.

We did it! We won a game versus Misaki!

Hell yeah!

Yay!

Even if it's a fluke, that's amazing.

We won?! We really won?!

Yeah, yeah!

So it's over? We won the match?

Not quite. It means we won one game.

Really? Didn't they say it's a five-game match? How do you win?

If you score four points, it means you win a game.

In a five-game match, the team that wins three games first wins the match.

So we've gotta win three then.

Yeah. You have to win the majority. If it's a three-game match, you win with two.

Oh? That's a weird way to score.

That's how it works in soft tennis.

They'll come back in force.

Huh?

They'll get serious.

Sorry.

It's okay. Let's reset.

All right.

We're the better players for sure.

I know. I'll play the game right this time.

Good. Let's do it.

Pull it together.

Game score: 0-1!

Huh?!

Out!

What was that?

A serve with a slice on it.

Play like that from the start.

1-0!

He slices it from the get-go with his first serve?

He can pull that off?

2-0!

Again?!

Will he slice this next serve?

They caught up?

They have now.

Game score: 1 all!

"Ishigami/Tsukinose 1 - 0 Miwa/Ooi"

"Ishigami/Tsukinose 1 - 1 Miwa/Ooi"

"Ishigami/Tsukinose 1 - 2 Miwa/Ooi"

"Ishigami/Tsukinose 1 - 3 Miwa/Ooi"

"Ishigami/Tsukinose 1 - 4 Miwa/Ooi" Game score: 2-1!

"Miwa/Ooi 1 - 0 Ishigami/Tsukinose"

"Miwa/Ooi 2 - 0 Ishigami/Tsukinose"

"Miwa/Ooi 3 - 0 Ishigami/Tsukinose" Out!

"Miwa/Ooi 3 - 0 Ishigami/Tsukinose"

They're controlling the game pace.

That's a champion school for you.

Game, set!

With a game score of 3-1, Misaki Academy's Miwa/Ooi pair wins!

Sorry. We tried our best, but--

They're just too good.

You did great.

You had 'em in a total panic at first.

Yeah, that formation will be handy. We can work on perfecting it. Also...

Improve our endurance and stamina, right?

We'll have to run more often.

You guys were amazing! It was evenly matched in the first half!

What are they so happy about? They lost.

It was worthwhile. A loss you can learn and grow from isn't simply a loss.

A loss is a loss.

Yanagishita, the opponent back player, serves even faster than Miwa.

There's more power in his strokes.

The front player, Ikeda, can serve well, too.

He positions himself to bring out Yanagishita's best.

They have no weaknesses.

In other words, they're just plain good.

Serving side: Misaki Academy's Yanagishita/Ikeda pair.

Receiving side: Shijo Minami's Futsu/Ameno pair.

It's a five-game match. Play ball!

It's fast!

"Yanagishita/Ikeda 1 - 0 Futsu/Ameno"

"Yanagishita/Ikeda 2 - 0 Futsu/Ameno"

"Yanagishita/Ikeda 3 - 0 Futsu/Ameno"

Out! Game! Change sides!

"Game Score" "Futsu/Ameno 0 - 1 Yanagishita/Ikeda" Out! Game! Change sides!

We can come back now that we serve.

Yeah. We're used to the speed of their hits now.

That's right.

Compared to the serves we've seen from Takada,

these guys are nothing.

Game score: 0-1!