Tennis no Ouji-sama © Konomi Takeshi, Shuheisha, Inc.


- Act XXXIII -
[ The Fateful Match]


That night was so perfect that it was hard for him to leave her. The moment was serene; she was so beautiful that all he wanted was just to spend the rest of the day with her cuddling onto him. However, he wanted her to be in her prime condition for the audition so he left roughly two hours later, not without the kiss they shared on the window. "I love you, my queen. You're my one and only," was what he told her before he climbed the tree down.

"I love you too, my prince …" Their eyes were locked onto each other until he left her house.

That day wasn't important only for her, but also for him …

As it was the day when he was going to settle things down with none other than her brother, Tezuka Kunimitsu.

Ever since the lower secondary, Hyotei's rivalry towards Seigaku had been known in their prefectures as they always managed to break each other's consecutive winning. It was Hyotei's win last year but he had promised that in his final year, he would bring Hyotei to seize the throne to the National Championship as the best team in the entire country.

Donning his regular jersey, he took Hikari's handkerchief and put it in the inside pocket of his jersey on his left chest, patting it twice with a smile. He couldn't help but chuckle upon reminiscing how similar she was with her mother—especially in the matter of personality and wild imaginations. He felt guilty to her mother that he left without saying anything after the warm invitation but he didn't have any second to think about what to do when Hikari was coming.

Opening the love letter she gave him in his disguise, Keigo read it for the thousandth time. Though he had memorised every single word, he just had to look again. Keigo caressed the paper with a smile, then placed it on his chest as if doing so would absorb every love she poured into the letter.

"Excuse me, Bocchama. Here's your morning tea." A butler Keigo never saw before pushed the cart in after he swayed his finger in the air.

"Did Michael ask you to do this task?" Usually, Michael would be the one who delivered his snacks and beverages because Michael was the one who did the tasting before anything was delivered to his table.

"Uh, no actually. I just did it on my own accord because Michael-san seems to be very busy at the moment. P-pardon my intrusion, Bocchama!"

"It's okay. Just leave me be when you're done." Keigo furrowed his brows as he shoved the letter back into the envelope, tucking it back into the Shakespeare book he always brought. The new face bowed at him once before leaving the study room.

Keigo sauntered towards the cart to pour himself the tea. But when he was about to take a sip, he recalled Michael's message again, for him to never touch anything that wasn't delivered by Michael himself. The head butler never told him the exact reason no matter how many times Keigo asked but in the end, he chose to believe Michael and put down the cup.

Before he left the room, he glanced at the Shakespeare book again, smiling as he touched the cover. He promised her that he would disclose every single thing about him that day, wondering what he would tell her when she told him her name.

"Hikari … What a fitting name for the queen of my life …" Was it ordinary for one to practice how to introduce himself properly to their girlfriend?

Even if Kunimitsu was going to be in the way, he wouldn't hold himself anymore…

"I'm going to do whatever it takes to be with you, Hikari… Whatever it takes…"

And with that, he wore the Hyotei regular jacket he was always proud of and went towards his battleground…

All his teammates were so agitated about facing Seigaku. He could see it from the way they were shaking their legs, how Yūshi didn't stop cleaning his glasses, how Chōtaro kept fiddling with his cross necklace, except for Jirō who was sleeping no matter what.

Submitting the players' lineup to the register counter, Keigo turned his head at the glimpse of white and blue in the corner of his eyes. Seigaku seemed to be restless but one thing he realised was that their members weren't complete. It seemed that Momoshiro Takeshi had lost in his Intraschool Ranking because he didn't wear his regular jacket.

It was the moment when his eyes met Kunimitsu. The captain always had that stoic expression but Keigo could sense the coldness radiating from his eyes upon seeing him. Kunimitsu didn't even give a greeting nod to him.

Walking towards his teammates, Keigo snapped his fingers together. "Who's going to lose today, rabble?"

"Seigaku!"

"And who's going to be the winner?"

"Hyotei! Hyotei! Hyotei!" They started their chant.

He snapped his fingers together again and they stopped automatically like well-trained dogs. Smirking he told them, "Follow me to the top, rabble." And they cheered for him.

When lining up for the team salute, Keigo's eyes met Kunimitsu. He placed his fingers between his widely opened eyes as he scrutinised Kunimitsu's condition that day.

"Prepare yourself to be awed by my prowess, Tezuka."

"Let's play without falter, Atobe …" Kunimitsu's tone when saying Keigo's name was colder than usual and even Yūshi glanced at him in bewilderment.

A commotion had occurred on Seigaku's side in the first round. Ōishi Shūichirō failed to make it to the match and was replaced by Takeshi, who became a makeshift partner for Kikumaru Eiji. Even though the match was in favour of his team at the beginning, Eiji eventually managed to sync with Takeshi and conquered the match against Yūshi and Gakuto with 4-6.

To his surprise, Inui Sadaharu and Kaido Kaoru were up in Doubles 1. However, a newly formed double wouldn't mean anything to Ryō and Chōtaro, who had been known as the Silver Pair ever since they were paired a month ago. He had to commend Kaoru for making a comeback with the Boomerang Snake, but the Silver Pair still won by 6-3.

The power battle between Kawamura Takashi and Munehiro occurred in Singles 3. Munehiro copied Takashi's Hadokyū and it became a duel on whose arm would last the longest. He was glad that he put Munehiro for the match because no one but Munehiro would be able to stand Takashi's power. Keigo wished the battle would end in their favour. However, the match ended in a no-game since they could no longer hit the ball at the same time.

Munehiro couldn't hide his disappointment for losing the match when he approached Keigo but his arm's matter was more worrying than anything else. He was about to call the medic to check him when Seigaku's coach, Ryūzaki Sumire offered to bring Munehiro along to the hospital. Keigo bowed at the coach to appreciate her kindness.

Fujii Shūsuke faced Jirō in Single 2. The genius player had evolved even further and easily won 1-6 over Jirō with his Disappearing Serve and his third counter, White Whale, which was using the wind that blew to his advantage.

The current score was 2-1 for Seigaku with a no game.

Hyotei would lose their ticket if he lost his Single 1 match. He had to at least give Wakashi, who was their reserved player, the chance for the next round match to advance to the next round. His eyes flitted to the Seigaku's side, seeing Kunimitsu take off his jacket. Keigo smirked. It was as what he had expected.

It was finally up to him…

Taking off his own regular jacket, Keigo took out Hikari's handkerchief and kissed it, pretending to wipe his face with it before putting it back into his jacket. The moment he took his racket, the Hyotei's chants were roaring around the court. His fangirls were squealing when he flicked his bangs, screaming his name like there was no tomorrow.

Keigo snapped his fingers, automatically silencing them. Basking in the sunlight, Keigo announced, "The winner will be… me."

Ah! How he loves this feeling…

Thus, the cheers were getting wilder.

"Are you satisfied?" Kunimitsu raised his fist without expression.

"Yeah. I'm satisfied," Keigo responded while bumping his fist against Kunimitsu's.

"You should. After what you've done."

Keigo raised brows at this. "Ahn? What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what am I talking about, Atobe."

He couldn't know, could he?

"Hn. What do you think I am, Tezuka? A mind reader?" Keigo leant closer to Kunimitsu's ear. "Say, how about having a bet? If you lose then you will do exactly what I want and the other way around if you win against me."

Though he was half-joking about it, he didn't expect Kunimitsu to say, "Interesting. Let's do that. You'll do exactly what I want if I win this match, Atobe." Kunimitsu didn't give him the chance to reply as he immediately headed to his position after the umpire announced that the first serve belonged to Keigo.

Keigo scoffed in response as he went behind the baseline, bouncing the ball several times until the umpire announced the beginning of their match.

"It seems this is our first meeting in the court."

"Ahn? Weren't you the one who avoided me?" Throwing the ball skywards he shouted, "Here it goes!"

How long had it been since he had such a thrilling match?

Tezuka Kunimitsu was definitely living up to the title as Seigaku's strongest man, even exceeding his expectation. What got him thinking was the fact that Kunimitsu had activated his Zone, despite the injury on his arm. But when Kunimitsu used his Zero Degree Drop Shot—the shot that went in reverse when it landed, Keigo immediately knew that he wasn't using it for no reason…

Kunimitsu wanted to end the match quickly.

So far, Kunimitsu was leading the match by 3-2. The supporters from Hyotei were gradually losing his spirit because they thought Keigo was going to lose.

But they didn't get it at all…

When it was his turn to serve, Keigo dropped the ball the moment he heard his name being called. Keigo looked around the court for the possible source. Everyone was calling his name but no one was supposed to know that one. No one but…

"Hyotei's Atobe. You have to serve your ball in ten seconds or you will lose your point to your opponent," the umpire said. Keigo then bounced his ball twice before delivering his service upon deciding that it might be his feeling.

"What's wrong, Atobe?"

He chuckled. "I should be the one to ask you that. Your elbow has completely healed right, Tezuka?" Kunimitsu narrowed his eyes on him.

According to his data, Kunimitsu always ended his matches below twenty-five minutes so he assumed it was the limit he could withstand with his injured elbow. He wouldn't be able to withstand a long match.

Tezuka, I want you to be my dance partner for at least two hours, he thought while heading towards the ball, along with the destruction of your shoulder!

"You shoulder can only last an hour, Tezuka," he continued as he hit the ball into the opponent's court, then immediately ran to the opposite corner to return the ball. "I have completely controlled this game."

However, Kunimitsu lasted longer than he initially thought. Kunimitsu could even see through the way to destroy his Rondo Towards Destruction—his deadly two-part smash. Kunimitsu deliberately lowered his racket on time to avoid the ball hitting his hand.

Keigo tried to compose himself even after losing two points so easily. Unfortunately for him, it was Kunimitsu's service game. Seigaku would only need one more point to advance to the next round. Keigo twitched just at the thought how Kunimitsu was already injured but still managed to survive the game that far.

Tightening his grip around his racket, Keigo maximised his focus on the ball.

He couldn't lose…

He was going to be the one to lead Hyotei to National Championship and he couldn't lose…

But luck was taking his side.

The sound of a racket cluttering on the court was the sign that Kunimitsu had reached his limit. Holding his shoulder, Kunimitsu was holding back his pain at first but eventually groaned.

Keigo let out a victorious smirk but it didn't last long…

"Onii-chan!"


AN: Dum, dum, dum, dum~ the moment you all have waited for long is finally here~

What a perfect way to end this chapter in a cliffhanger, ay? XD Now what will happen next? What does Hikari feel when she sees Atobe and her brother's match? Tell me what do you think by commenting on this line!

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Thank you for reading and have a nice day!