Kirihara, Akaya

Class: 2-D #6 · Birthday: September 25 · Height: 168 cm · Weight: 61 kg · Blood type: O · Dominant Hand: Right · Play Style: Aggressive Baseliner · Shoes: DT PRINCE (DYNOSPHERE Technology) · Racket: PRO STAFF 5.5 PRINCE STRETCH · Special Move: Knuckle Serve, Speed Play, Phantom Ball, Red-eye Mode, Devil Mode, Angel Mode

Favorite food: roasted meat, sushi

He is the youngest and only second year student in the Rikkai Dai line-up, thus earning him the title "Second Year Ace" (sometimes known as "Junior Ace"). He joined Rikkai because he heard the school had a very strong tennis team and wanted to be Japan's number one, but his hopes were quickly crushed by Rikkai's Three Monsters (Yukimura, Sanada, and Renji.)

When Kirihara is under hard pressure or his pride is being injured, he becomes extremely furious and 'devilish', as depicted with blood red eyes. He then unleashes a brutal assault on the opponent's body. He uses this technique on Tachibana and later on Fuji Shūsuke. However, this technique is completely ineffective against Kirihara's vice-captain, Sanada Genichirō, because of Sanada's incredible reflexes; Sanada himself says that if Kirihara trained for ten more years, perhaps he would have a chance against him.

Three years ago, he heard that Rikkai Dai had won the last year's national championship and had an incredibly strong team, so he entered the school with the ambition to be the best. But as he says himself, My ambition was quickly crushed by the "Sannin Bakemono" (three monsters)! After that, Kirihara's new ambition became to defeat the "monsters" (Rikkai Dai's captain, Yukimura Seiichi, Sanada Genichirō and Yanagi Renji), and he became a regular on Rikkai Dai's tennis team following these events.