Maki comes to his first soft tennis practice and is teased by the other members, who doubt his skills at tennis. Tsubasa attempts to haze him by ordering him to run 20 laps, and Rintaro, the vice captain, instructs the whole club to run with him. The others fall behind, but Maki and Toma finish together, cementing their partnership. In school the next day, Maki notices Yuta Asuka watching him and Toma and confronts him. He confirms his suspicions that Yuta has a crush on Toma, and reassures him that he's free to like whoever he wants. He asks him if Yuta has any interest in soft tennis and convinces him to become the team manager.