Prepping for Summer (夏に向けて Natsu ni Mukete) is the 132nd chapter of manga, Baby Steps.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Aki Shimizu
- Eiichiro Maruo
- Aki Shimizu's Mother
- Hiromi Iwasa
- Takuya Miyagawa
- Hiroshi Araya
- Natsu Takasaki
- Rei Sakurai
- Yukichi Fukazawa
- Masumi Makihara
- Ryuhei Aoi
- Norihiko Mogami
- Akiko Kosaka
Summary[]
Eiichiro and the others prepare for the Kanto Junior Tournament Tennis Competition.
Synopsis[]
Aki explains to Eiichiro the reason behind her question. She herself does not know if she indeed loves tennis as tennis basically is her life. Upon learning it, Eiichiro feels that it is such an envious environment for him but he feels that she is similar to him before he started tennis.
Match practices continue after the break. In the middle of the match, Shimizu wonders behind her question earlier. While she feels fortunate as her mother guides her to the right path, there are times when she dislikes being different from everyone else. As she looks at Eiichiro, she feels that there is something different and takes second thoughts on the current "happiness" she receives. On the other side of the court, Eiichiro continues to study Iwasa's "change-of-pace".
After practice, Shimizu calls out Eiichiro but is called out by her mother. Shimizu thanks Eiichiro but Eiichiro feels that Shimizu wants to say something to him. Inside the bus, Eiichiro is surprised when he learns that Natsu was able to defeat Shimizu. Natsu feels that Shimizu was not in the top condition and she wants to defeat Shimizu on a official match. Eiichiro, then, asks Shimizu's question to Natsu and others. Natsu, Miyagawa and Araya share their thoughts regarding to this question.
The preparation continues for the upcoming competition. July comes and the pairing box for the Kantou Junior Tennis Tournament has arrived.