After the match between Fudomine and Rikkai ended, this year's National Tournament final lineup was officially set. But before the semifinals, almost no one had expected that Hyōtei would be the ones challenging Fudomine for the national crown.
Most of the audience still thought the final would come down to Fudomine versus Rikkai again. But fate had other plans—no one predicted Fudomine and Rikkai would clash in the semifinals.
Some more suspicious spectators even wondered if Atobe had used his family's influence to manipulate the bracket. Of course, they only thought it—no one dared say it out loud. After all, the Atobe family wasn't someone they could afford to offend.
Atobe himself obviously didn't know about these little schemes from the crowd. But even if he had, he wouldn't have cared. The final was set for a week later, so he had already led the Hyōtei team back to their school. That was the benefit of having the tournament right in their hometown.
Fudomine and Seigaku weren't quite as close, but they were still Tokyo-area schools. So after the match, the Seigaku team also returned to their campus. Meanwhile, Akashi and the Rikkai players headed straight for the nearest hospital. Before leaving, Akashi even arranged hotel rooms for Shitenhōji and Higa's teams so they could watch the finals in a week.
You could say Shitenhōji and Higa were a bit unlucky. Their schools didn't give them any travel budget—just a round-trip ticket, and even that was the cheapest discounted economy class. So if they wanted to see the final, staying put was their only option.
At the hospital, Akashi asked the head doctor about Tezuka and Yukimura's condition. Fortunately, neither injury was serious. With a few days of rest, both would be fine. Still, the doctor warned them not to let anything like this happen again. Otherwise, there could be lasting effects.
Akashi thanked the doctor, then led everyone to visit Tezuka and Yukimura. When they entered the room and saw Tezuka with an ice pack on his left hand and Yukimura with a fever patch on his forehead, Akashi didn't even know what to say.
Luckily, Rikkai and Fudomine had two social butterflies. Kintarō and Kirihara rushed straight to the beds. Kirihara started fussing over Yukimura, while Kintarō clung to Tezuka, begging him to play tennis together once he recovered.
That same night, Tezuka and Yukimura were discharged and went home. Since it was summer break, most students weren't in school anyway. Over the next few days, both Fudomine and Hyōtei trained hard on their own campuses.
The week passed quickly. Tomorrow was the day of the national final. Many spectators had been counting down with excitement. The organizers were also working overtime to reinforce the stadium walls and flooring, raising the structural durability. Naturally, both the Akashi and Atobe families had a hand in this.
That night at Hyōtei Academy, Atobe stood alone on the tennis court. Surrounded by darkness, he felt a twinge of melancholy. Even though they had made it to the national final this year, Atobe knew better than anyone that the gap between Hyōtei and Fudomine couldn't be closed with strategy alone.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed behind him, and Sakaki Tarō's voice followed.
"It's late. Still out here on the court? Worried about tomorrow's final, Atobe?"
"Hmph! Ore-sama will one day reign over the entire tennis world!" Atobe declared with his usual flair.
"Is that so? Still, I expect there's a high chance Akashi Seijurō will play Singles Three tomorrow. Should we avoid pairing you against him?" Sakaki ignored the bravado and brought up tomorrow's lineup strategy.
"Why would ore-sama need to avoid Akashi? This is the perfect chance to face that guy head-on! Just like this surrounding darkness—if ore-sama wants to, he can turn it into daylight anytime!" With that, Atobe snapped his fingers, and all the court lights lit up at once, flooding the court in brilliant white.
"This is the Atobe Keigo I know! Don't you dare lose the final, bastard!" Shishido Ryō's voice came from the side.
"Victory belongs to Hyōtei!" That was Kabaji's voice.
"You really had the guts to say that, Atobe~" said Mukahi Gakuto.
"If you've got that kind of confidence, then I'll risk my life to follow you!" Oshitari Yūshi's relaxed voice rang out.
"Rising up from below—that's exactly what a true emperor leading Hyōtei Academy should do!" Hiyoshi Wakashi said firmly.
"Good luck, Atobe-senpai! You're the best!" Ōtori Chōtarō cheered.
"Zzzzz..." Jirō had fallen asleep again.
Atobe looked around—every one of Hyōtei's regulars was on the court, and all their eyes were on him. Even he couldn't help but feel a little soft inside. But soon, his proud expression returned, and he shouted boldly:
"Hah? Who do you think ore-sama is? This year's National Tournament champion can only be us—Hyōtei!"
The next day, outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, a huge crowd of tennis fans had already gathered—along with many media outlets covering tennis and sports. They were all here to witness this year's National Middle School Tennis Tournament final. Ever since Byoudouin's year four years ago, middle school tennis had been drawing more and more attention, especially after the game two years ago that practically toyed with the audience.
This year was no different. Many spectators even noticed that Akashi's generation far surpassed Byoudouin's in terms of skill. It had become routine for the courts to be destroyed. Massive dents in the walls and shattered glass all over the floor were warnings to every fan: watching this match wasn't without risk!
Naturally, the organizers were aware of this. Over the past week, they'd reinforced the court's structure like crazy—especially around the spectator seating—with added protection to minimize any potential danger.
Just then, four large buses slowly pulled into the gymnasium's parking lot. The sides of the buses were marked with the names Fudomine and Hyōtei. No one knew if this was arranged or just coincidence, but the two schools had arrived at the same time once again.
As the doors opened, Akashi and Atobe stepped out with their teams. Neither side looked surprised—it was a scene they were already used to.
"Meeting you guys again? What a coincidence~" Atobe said to Akashi, his tone playful.
"So, are you ready to lose, Atobe?" Akashi replied calmly.
"Hah? Don't get it twisted. Are you ready to be pulled off your throne by ore-sama?" Atobe's expression soured, but he quickly responded with disdain.
"Hope you've got what it takes, Atobe. But you should know—I don't recognize the concept of losing." Akashi's tone stayed cold.
"Hmph! You'll see ore-sama's true strength soon enough!" Atobe snorted, then turned to lead his team toward Hyōtei's locker room.
"Alright, let's go too," Akashi said, glancing at Atobe's back. He didn't say anything else, just signaled for everyone to follow him toward Fudomine's locker room.
Inside the stadium, the stands were nearly packed. Most front-row seats were taken by regulars from various schools—including Rikkai, Seigaku, Shitenhōji, Higa, and Yamabuki. There were also other school members, like Mizuki Hajime from St. Rudolph.
Elsewhere in the venue, a few standout figures drew attention. The most eye-catching was Ochi Tsukimitsu, whose freakish height made him stand out even while seated.
After learning Hyōtei had made it to the finals, Ochi had taken special leave to come watch. Even though he knew Hyōtei's chances of winning were basically zero—as a member of U-17's First String, he understood all too well how terrifying Akashi's team was.
As for why Ochi wasn't participating in the overseas expedition—it was simply the result of Akashi's butterfly effect. To hide their strength, Mifune hadn't sent the full First String squad on this round of the expedition.
Also tagging along with Ochi were some familiar faces: Mitsuya Akuto and Irie Kanata. Even Tanegashima Shūji had come to join the crowd. Unfortunately, Oni was still busy at the training camp mentoring Tokugawa, so he couldn't attend the final.