Hexball Round 3: Both Tokei Hex and Owari Make It Three Straight Wins

Round 3 of the hexball league took place on the night of the 20th. At Bayside Arena, Tokei Hex beat Hokuto 7–4 (2 corners), extending its previously reported 2-0 start to a third straight win. The same night, at Owari's home arena near Horikawa, Owari beat Naniwa Six 6–3 (1 corner), preserving its own unbeaten start.

Tokei Hex ace Ritsu Kishiura, 24, a third-generation Drifter, followed his previously reported two-edge performances in the opener and Round 2 with an even better three edges this round — his third straight multi-edge match. Afterward he said, "I figured the city's attention would still be with wall racing right after the season just ended, but the crowd showed up for us too." He added with a short laugh, "Form is something you carry outside the wall as well, apparently." Asked about his tail, one of his nonhuman traits, he said only, "I'm careful, as always, that it doesn't get in the way of an edge call."

Hokuto, previously reported to have opened the season with two straight losses, briefly led 4–2 in the first half this round. Its captain reflected, "Our edge accuracy fell off in the second half. It's less that the opponent was too good and more that we're still not there yet."

Owari's player from Kan'yo, who has scored multiple edges in each of the club's previously reported first two matches, improved further with four edges this round. Speaking through an interpreter, he said, "The hexagonal court feels a bit tighter than what I played on in Kan'yo, but that's helped me get a quicker read on the distance to each edge." Owari's manager said, "We just finished the wall-racing season unbeaten at home in Horikawa — we don't intend to lose in hexball either."

Naniwa Six, coming off its previously reported 5–5 (2 corners) draw with Fukagawa Pelicans in Round 2, fell to Owari this round. Its captain said, "The draw felt like real progress, so losing stings. Still, the way we won our edges wasn't bad." Fukagawa Pelicans had no match scheduled this round and carry over to the next.

As previously reported, the "Bay Derby" rematch between Tokei Hex and Fukagawa Pelicans is set for early October. A league official said, "Both clubs look set to arrive at that match still in good form, which should make it a promising draw as well." On the ongoing rules debate over how to handle Kishiura's tail, previously reported, the league maintained its position: "So far this season, we've had no reports of it causing real trouble for officiating. The discussion itself continues."

This reporter noted: in the same weekend that wall racing basks in the afterglow of its title decider, hexball kept quietly stacking up its own numbers. It may lack the same spectacle, but it has its own way of settling both edges and outcomes. Kishiura's line about form existing outside the wall felt, in its own quiet way, like an answer for the whole sports page. The schedule for the next round is expected soon.