Singles 2 featured Kawasaki facing off against a literal 5-star player—a true "weakling" by competitive standards.
Judging by his talents, the guy might've been better off pursuing a career in cooking.
Neither Kawasaki nor his opponent expected their match to become the decisive factor in the finals.
Under the weight of the crowd's gaze, both players grew visibly nervous, leading to a bizarrely sloppy game.
Kawasaki seized an early advantage, using his Rune-Enhanced Serve to secure his service game.
But then the mistakes piled up.
Yoru and the rest of Seigaku's team couldn't even bear to watch, covering their eyes in secondhand embarrassment.
Too used to having his messes cleaned up by others, Kawasaki—who should've closed out the match easily—let his own errors drag the score into a back-and-forth mess.
Luckily, his opponent was just as bad.
After a grueling exchange of unforced errors, Kawasaki somehow scraped out a 7-5 win.
"Game and match! Seigaku wins, 3-0!"
As the umpire's whistle blew, the crowd fell into stunned silence, staring blankly at the scoreboard.
No one was impressed—just baffled by how terrible the match had been.
A full 30 seconds passed before the stadium finally erupted in cheers.
"WE WON! WE'RE CHAMPIONS!!"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT—WE ACTUALLY DID IT!!"
"QP, Yamato, and Kirihara carried hard… Kawasaki? Uh… well, a win's a win."
"To think we've come this far…"
"Back at the start of the season, I didn't even dream of making it past regionals—AND NOW WE'RE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS?!"
The Seigaku squad roared, tears in their eyes.
Ryūzaki Sumire, overwhelmed, grabbed the nearest player and planted a loud kiss on his cheek.
With a 3-0 lead, Seigaku had eliminated Shitenhōji outright—even if they forfeited the remaining two matches, the title was theirs.
Kawasaki, Yamato, and the others collapsed into a teary, screaming group hug.
Yoru watched with a faint smile before turning to a hesitant Kaidō and Imishi.
"Don't celebrate yet—we've still got two matches left." His voice was calm but firm. "Doubles 1 is yours. This is your last middle school match… play for yourselves."
"YES, CAPTAIN!"
The pressure of the championship now lifted, Kaidō and Imishi exchanged excited grins.
Every point from here on out was a farewell to their youth.
---
Seeing neither team concede, the umpire signaled:
"Doubles 1, begin preparations!"
---
On Shitenhōji's side, Byōdōin stood silently as his players bowed their heads in apology.
What could he even say?
The guy in front of him was the only one who'd scored more than five points across all three matches—he'd overperformed.
"…It's fine." Byōdōin sighed. "We lost. No shame in that."
The 0-3 scoreline was final.
With nothing left to lose, Shitenhōji's pride was now on the line.
Byōdōin turned to Date Danji and Ban Rikiya.
"At least don't let them shut us out. Take one match."
The two powerhouses nodded sharply. "We won't lose, Captain."
---
After warm-ups, the teams stepped onto the court.
"This match is ours." Date Danji declared loudly, his voice carrying across both teams' benches.
"Talk big for a team that's already lost," Kirihara muttered.
Yoru, however, wasn't surprised.
Date and Ban had every right to be confident.
In the original U-17, only three "true" doubles pairs existed:
- #1: The Rokkaku Brothers
- #2: Date Danji & Ban Rikiya
- #3: Hirakoba & Shiraishi (a tier below)
If not for specialized duos, Date/Ban were arguably the second-best traditional doubles pair in the nation.
"Kaidō! Imishi! DO THIS!!" Yamato's voice rang out.
A faint +0.7 BUFF flickered above Kaidō and Imishi's heads—their stats now even with Date/Ban's.
---
"Game start! Seigaku to serve!"
BAM!
Imishi's serve was sharp, firing toward the far corner.
"How does Seigaku train their players? Everyone's got insane speed." Sasabe from Hyōtei muttered.
"Their training regimen is brutal," Mitsuya Akuto interjected. "We at Rikkai tried replicating it—half the team got injured."
Meanwhile, on the court, Date/Ban countered with a textbook cross-court winner.
"Shitenhōji scores, 15-0!"
"Just like QP predicted." Kaidō patted Imishi's shoulder.
QP's data labeled Date/Ban as power types—strong but slow, with mediocre technique.
This lost point was a test, and the result was clear:
No adaptability. Pure brute force.
No panic. No rush.
Against power players, patience was key.
Watching Kaidō and Imishi methodically dismantle their opponents, Yoru smiled.
"They've grown… into a true national-tier doubles pair."
---