Temporary Doubles Two

"Hyotei! Hyotei! Hyotei! Hyotei!"

Outside the court, most of the stands were filled with Hyotei students, all there to cheer for their school.

"I have to say, there are quite a lot of people from Hyotei. With so many people cheering from the sidelines, I'm already sick of hearing it."

In the stands, Horio heard the cheers for Hyotei all around him and felt a discomfort in his ears.

"Katsuro, Katsuo, you guys get the others to shout too. We can't let our atmosphere drop."

Horio turned to look at Katsuro and the others, urging them to shout as well, but the effect wasn't ideal.

Seigaku had too few people. Before they could even start shouting, their voices were drowned out by Hyotei's.

Seeing this, Horio was a bit speechless. Meanwhile, Momoshiro and Kikumaru on the court were also bothered by the annoying noise.

"Seriously, this kind of noise is really uncomfortable."

"Yeah, they have too many people."

The two of them grumbled to each other. At this moment, Hyotei's doubles pair, Oshitari Yushi and Mukahi Gakuto, took advantage of their school's cheerleaders' shouts to taunt them.

"Hyotei will win!"

"Seigaku will lose!"

Looking at the Hyotei duo provoking them, Momoshiro and Kikumaru showed no strong reaction on their faces. The outcome would be clear after the match.

"The match begins, Momoshiro of Seigaku to serve."

At the baseline of the backcourt, Momoshiro looked at the ball in his hand.

After adjusting his state, he tossed the ball and hit a Bullet Serve.

"The serve is not bad, but the placement is terrible."

Oshitari on the Hyotei side watched the incoming ball and quickly moved, reaching the landing spot and returning it with a forehand.

Just as Oshitari returned the ball, he saw Kikumaru at the net had anticipated the return path and had already moved to the best position. He then hit the ball with a backhand to the opposite direction.

Everyone thought this point would be an easy score, but they only saw a figure doing a backflip stop in mid-air.

"Look quickly, it's Senpai Mukahi's Moon Surface Flip!"

Mukahi, suspended in the air, returned the ball with an incredibly light movement. Confident, Mukahi landed after returning the shot.

"Hmph, they really look down on people. Even the previous Kikumaru could have returned a shot like that."

Looking at the ball that landed in Kikumaru's opposite direction, Horio showed a look of disdain.

Just as Horio had said, Kikumaru on the court leaned back slightly and swung his right arm backward.

Mukahi clearly hadn't expected this outcome and couldn't catch up to the ball, leaving Oshitari at the baseline to cover.

Oshitari, having positioned himself well, aimed for the open baseline on the Seigaku side, preparing to hit the ball there. Suddenly, he saw Momoshiro quickly run towards that area.

He had to change his swing direction at the last moment, hitting a Lob Shot towards Momoshiro's other side.

Thump...

"Hyotei scores, 15:0!"

"I didn't expect him to make that judgment in that instant and hit the ball into Kikumaru Senpai's blind spot. They're really not bad, Hyotei."

"Sorry, sorry, Momo, I couldn't get it."

"It's okay, Kikumaru Senpai. Let them be smug for a while. We're just warming up."

"That's exactly what I was thinking. After training for so long, let them be smug for a bit, then we'll test our training results."

With that, the two returned to their positions, and Momoshiro hit another Bullet Serve.

After that, Momoshiro and Kikumaru maintained their level from the prefectural tournament and played against the Hyotei duo.

The score was pulled further and further away by the Hyotei pair, but Momoshiro and Kikumaru were clearly not in a hurry.

The frequent loss of points by the Seigaku duo only fueled Hyotei's arrogance.

The cheers from the Hyotei spectators grew louder, and Mukahi and Oshitari on the court became increasingly impatient.

"What's wrong with them from Seigaku? Is this all they've got?"

Mukahi, slightly out of breath, sounded proud, clearly not realizing his stamina was already running low.

"Even so, I feel like something's not right. Gakuto, there are still two points left. Plan your stamina carefully."

Oshitari felt something was off and also noticed that Mukahi was starting to get tired.

"It's fine, Yushi. They have no chance of coming back."

Bang...

"Hyotei scores, the score is 5:0. Players switch sides."

"Seriously, I didn't expect it to be this easy. We didn't even need to play our best."

Mukahi complained as he walked towards the opposite court with Oshitari. As they passed Momoshiro and Kikumaru, Mukahi called out to Kikumaru.

"Hey Kikumaru, why don't you keep jumping?"

His tone was filled with disdain, his eyes full of provocation.

Kikumaru and Momoshiro looked at Mukahi's arrogant display, neither of them affected by his words.

They merely glanced at Mukahi before turning and walking away.

"Damn it... it's already 5-0, and they're still acting so relaxed. Let's see how I beat you."

Mukahi, unsuccessful in provoking them, was somewhat enraged. Oshitari, meanwhile, finally noticed the problem.

Although the score had been in his favor throughout his match with Mukahi, his stamina had been draining more and more as time went on.

In contrast, Momoshiro and Kikumaru had maintained the same level of performance since the beginning of the match, and their current condition was completely unaffected.

"Gakuto, I feel something's wrong. We have to go all out in this last game."

"I think so too. I'm not going to let them score a single point."

Horio, watching from the stands, had the look of someone about to enjoy a good show. A five-point deficit turning into a seven-point lead, who could stand that?

"Senpai Kikumaru, it's starting now."

"No problem, Tōru. The real match starts now."

On Hyotei's side of the court, Oshitari frowned, observing Momoshiro and Kikumaru's perfect mental state.

With a hint of unease in his heart, he tossed the ball and swung his racket.

"Heh, your serve is too slow."

Seeing Oshitari's serve, Momoshiro finally stopped holding back.

He gripped his racket with both hands and returned the ball using the Center of Gravity Vertical Jump Style.

The tennis ball flew towards Oshitari as if it were on fire. Mukahi, at the net, suddenly jumped to intercept it.

With another Moon Surface Flip, as his racket made contact with the ball.

He suddenly felt the immense power of the tennis ball. Mukahi, whose style relied on agility, had his racket knocked away, and he lost his balance, falling to the ground.

"You're quite confident, daring to return my Jack Knife."

Seeing his racket knocked away and Mukahi fall, Momoshiro finally stood his ground.

"How did his strength suddenly increase so much? Were they not using their full power in those previous games?"

Atobe, watching from outside the court, was somewhat surprised. The Hyotei Coach, Sakaki Taro, had a hint of astonishment mixed with his calm gaze.

"Are they only starting to show their true strength now? To not even be able to see the opponent's true strength, how pathetic."

"Gakuto, are you alright? From now on, I'll take all of Momoshiro's shots. You just focus on Kikumaru."

"Damn it, those two were hiding their strength. We were played by them."

"I only just realized it. Perhaps we truly miscalculated."