Acknowledgement (承認 Shōnin) is the 181st chapter of manga, Baby Steps.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Yu Nabae
- Eiichiro Maruo
- Kisya Miyamoto
- Ryuhei Aoi
- Hiroshi Araya (flashback)
- Eiichiro Maruo's Mother (flashback)
- Natsu Takasaki
- Takayuki Okada
- Hiroshi Araya
- Yusaku Miura
- Kazuma Ono (flashback)
- Yoshiaki Ide (flashback)
- Tadanori Yakabe (flashback)
- Sakuya Takagi (flashback)
Summary[]
Not only Nabae but a lot of spectators talk about Eiichiro's performance even though he lost in the match.
Synopsis[]
While Nabae advances to the finals, his thoughts focuses on how Eiichiro's performance improved much in just 9 months and he might be in danger in All-Japan Junior Tournament if he does not do anything with it. Not only Nabae but even the spectators talk about Eiichiro's performance in the match - to have a close match against number 1 player in Japan.
Coach Aoi approaches Eiichiro to congratulate him for being part of top 4 of Kanto Junior Tennis Tournament. Eiichiro learns a lot on his match against Nabae - doing unexpected attacks and having a clear vision for the All-Japan Junior Tennis Tournament. Coach Aoi then introduces an employee from the company that makes the racket Eiichiro uses. The employee gives Eiichiro a new racket as testing product based on Eiichiro's abilities. Eiichiro wants to accept it but he suddenly remembers his promise with his mother - he has to win All-Japan Junior in order to become a pro. He tells the employee that he will accept the racket if the company will not mind for Eiichiro to use the racket even though he might not become a pro. Upon the approval of the employee, Eiichiro accepts the racket and promises to do his best in All-Japan Junior in order to become worthy for such racket.
Eiichiro and Natsu meets after the conversation and while they are talking about their match, they hear a big roar on a nearby court. Turns out, Araya wins his match against Okada. While Eiichiro wants to stay in order to watch the match between Nabae and Araya, Coach Aoi tells Eiichiro that he has to prepare for the All-Japan Junior and they will provide a video of the match of Nabae and Araya. Natsu tells Eiichiro that Eiichiro has to make plans for their date after the Kanto Junior Tennis Tournament. Later on, Eiichiro learns that Nabae lost the match against Araya as Nabae committed several mistakes and Araya played extremely well and wonders the reason behind. Later, Eiichiro sends a text to Natsu regarding their first date and the next day, they meet in front of the station.