Don't Let Me Scare You

Boom...

When the tennis ball hit the ground, the entire court trembled. Dust billowed up, spreading across half the court.

"That was..."

"It's here—Kannagi Shinichi's Two-Handed Thunderclap Eight Trigrams..."

The spectators outside the court gasped at the sight of that shot.

"15–0, Kannagi Shinichi leads."

In this match, Kannagi Shinichi had used his Two-Handed Thunderclap Eight Trigrams for the first time.

Yukimura Seiichi could do nothing about the shot. He let it fly through his side of the court, because its power had already exceeded his limits.

"Whew. You really are a terrifying opponent."

Yukimura Seiichi stared blankly at Kannagi Shinichi on the other side and couldn't help taking a deep breath. He had managed to return Dragon's Roar, but he couldn't return Kannagi Shinichi's Two-Handed Thunderclap Eight Trigrams.

On the other side of the court, ignoring the spectators' chatter, Kannagi Shinichi tossed the ball high into the air again. He leaped up and swung his arm with all his strength.

"Dragon's Roar..."

The shot was just as powerful as before, cutting through Yukimura Seiichi's side of the court amid a rush of wind and a thunderous boom.

Thwack...

Yukimura Seiichi stood rooted to the spot, letting the ball fly past him.

He didn't try to return the shot. He knew that even if he sent it back, Kannagi Shinichi would simply knock it away with his Two-Handed Thunderclap Eight Trigrams.

At that moment, the match seemed to have returned to how it had started. Yukimura Seiichi returning Dragon's Roar in the middle of it all had been little more than an interlude.

"30–0, Kannagi Shinichi scores."

"Dragon's Roar..."

"40–0, Kannagi Shinichi scores."

"Dragon's Roar..."

"Game. The score is 6–6. The players are tied, and the match goes to a tiebreak."

After holding his serve once again, Kannagi Shinichi smiled—a rare sight—but couldn't help sighing inwardly. This was too hard. Playing against Yukimura Seiichi was incredibly difficult. If he let his guard down for even a moment, Yukimura could rob him of his sight and sense of touch.

With his poor technique, losing his sight and sense of touch would leave him entirely at Yukimura's mercy.

Fortunately, his mental strength was strong enough. He'd sensed something was wrong right away and decisively conceded six games.

Now they'd finally reached the tiebreak. He could let loose completely and unleash the full power of his Thunderclap Eight Trigrams.

Kannagi Shinichi thought the match was in the bag.

Although Yukimura Seiichi had taken six games from him, his image as an unbeatable player would ultimately remain intact. After all, only the victor would be remembered. No matter how fiercely a loser fought back, he was still a loser.

The many tennis players watching from outside the court looked at the two of them with complicated expressions. They were both unbelievably strong, far beyond their peers. In the world of junior high tennis, the two of them would become mountains everyone else had to overcome.

But those two mountains looked so tall now that they seemed impossible to scale, even in a lifetime.

"Is it finally time for the decisive moment?" Even Mouri Jusaburou, usually so laid-back, had perked up. He watched the two players closely, thinking, These two kids might be even stronger than me.

After that thought, Mouri Jusaburou glanced at Shiraishi Kuranosuke beside him and teased, "Being in the same year as these two, you've got a lot of catching up to do, little Shiraishi."

"I know, Mori-senpai." Shiraishi Kuranosuke could only smile ruefully at Mouri Jusaburou's words. Looking at the two players on the court, he silently resolved that once he returned to Shitenhoji, he'd ask Coach Shuu to intensify his training. At the very least, he wanted to keep from falling too far behind the two monsters on the court.

In the players' area, Tachibana Kippei stood with his arms crossed, watching the two players. His expression remained unchanged, but his eyes held an unmistakable sadness. "The winner of this match may well be the strongest player of the new era."

Chitose Senri smiled wryly at that, then rallied and said to Tachibana Kippei, "Kippei, let's work hard and get stronger together when we get back!"

"Yeah." Tachibana Kippei nodded with a smile. Watching the two players, he made up his mind: One day, I'll catch up to you.

At that moment, a coordinated cheer rang out across the court. Dressed in matching sports uniforms, the supporters shouted at the top of their lungs:

"Hyotei will win! Our captain is invincible!"

"Hyotei will win! Our captain is invincible!"

Kannagi Shinichi turned to look at the Hyotei members cheering him on, and a rare smile appeared on his usually cold face.

Good. They were finally starting to look like the Hyotei tennis club of the future. All they needed now was for Atobe Keigo to take over, and then they could expand the club properly.

When the Hyotei members saw their future captain smile at them, their cheers grew even more fervent.

For some reason, though, Kannagi Shinichi also heard quite a few women screaming among the cheers.

Whatever. Women only slowed down your swing. As the saying went, A heart free of women makes for a godlike swing.

Kannagi Shinichi served the first point of the tiebreak, after which the serves alternated. Yukimura Seiichi would serve the second and third points; Kannagi Shinichi would serve the fourth and fifth; then Yukimura Seiichi would serve the sixth and seventh.

There wouldn't be an eighth or ninth point. Kannagi Shinichi was going to shut Yukimura Seiichi out completely in this tiebreak.

"The tiebreak begins, with Kannagi Shinichi serving."

Kannagi Shinichi bounced the ball against the ground with his racket, his eyes fixed on Yukimura Seiichi across the court. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He caught the ball as it bounced back up, tossed it into the air, leaped high, and swung his racket hard with his right hand.

"Dragon's Roar..."

Thwack!

The ball shot across the court. Yukimura Seiichi didn't take a step to reach it.

"Tiebreak, 1–0. Kannagi Shinichi leads."

After that point, Yukimura Seiichi would serve the next two.

As he took his place at the baseline to serve, Kannagi Shinichi once again raised the corner of his mouth and called out to him, "Yukimura Seiichi, make sure you don't get scared by what comes next!"

Kannagi Shinichi's raised smile looked impossibly arrogant and defiant.

Hearing his words, the spectators outside the court immediately began talking excitedly.

"Does Kannagi Shinichi mean he's going to return Yukimura Seiichi's serve this time...?"

"What's about to happen? Could it be that Kannagi Shinichi still hasn't been giving it his all...?"

"Kannagi Shinichi must have been holding something back. Looks like he's about to show it in the tiebreak..."

Two people at the court had already guessed what Kannagi Shinichi meant: Sakaki Taro, the Hyotei tennis club's advisor, and Inoue Mamoru, a reporter for Tennis Weekly.

They had both seen Kannagi Shinichi's one-point showdown with Ochi Moonlight.

"Is it that move?" Inoue Mamoru murmured to himself.

His voice was quiet, but the three Hyotei middle schoolers still heard him. Mukahi Gakuto asked eagerly, "Mister, do you know what Captain Kannagi was talking about?"

"Watch, and you'll understand." Inoue Mamoru didn't answer. He simply raised his camera and aimed it at Kannagi Shinichi.

Shishido Ryo, who had been trying to eavesdrop nearby, shot Inoue Mamoru an extremely displeased look and muttered, "Tch!"

Turning around to look at the long-haired boy with a ponytail, Inoue Mamoru couldn't help thinking, What kind of kid is that? Not cute at all.

Sakaki Taro heard Kannagi Shinichi's words from the sidelines. He coolly raised his left hand, fingers pressed together, and said calmly, "Kannagi, go bring back the championship and prove you're the strongest in this era."

On the other side of the court, Sanada Genichiro called out to Kannagi Shinichi in displeasure. "Stop putting on an act. Don't bother with those empty threats."

Yukimura Seiichi stood on the court, watching Kannagi Shinichi across from him. Seeing that slight smile on his face, he suddenly felt a sense of unease.

No. I, Yukimura Seiichi, will be the one to win this match.

Forcing down the unease welling within him, Yukimura Seiichi tossed the ball into the air and swung hard.

As the ball flew off Yukimura Seiichi's racket, Tachibana Kippei, Chitose Senri, Sengoku Kiyosumi, the three Hyotei middle schoolers, Ryuzaki Sumire, Bandou Mikiya, and nearly every spectator in the court turned their attention to the white-haired boy on the court.

"I told you—don't let me scare you!"