Prince of Tennis: The Emperor's Eye

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Mizuki Hajime’s Confidence

Inside Fudomine’s tennis club meeting room, all the regulars led by Akashi were seated at the table, each holding the detailed information on all the Tokyo Tournament schools provided by a specialist. They carefully read each page. The Tokyo Tournament was tomorrow, and the schedule had already been announced by the organizers.

”For this Tokyo Tournament, there are only two schools we need to watch out for. One is Hyōtei, and the other is Yamabuki. As for Seishun Academy, from what I’ve heard, their regulars have gone through big changes, but according to the bracket, unless we both reach the final, we won’t face them,” Akashi calmly analyzed the current situation.

”Until the semifinals, we’ll stick to the same lineup as the district tournament. Once we reach the semifinals and final, I’ll make adjustments based on the opponents. For now, that’s the plan. Anyone have anything to add?” Akashi asked coolly.

”Good. The goal is still the championship, and that’s not going to change in any future tournaments either. But keep in mind, our opponents are at a different level from the district tournament, so if we lose a point, that’s understandable. Just don’t make the same mistake twice!” Akashi was very confident in Tezuka and the others’ abilities, but even so, it wasn’t realistic to expect a perfect sweep, so he didn’t set any strict requirements.

Seeing all the regulars nodding seriously, Akashi was satisfied and continued, ”Since we won the district tournament, a lot of new members have joined lately. Most of them barely have any tennis experience. When you have some free time after practice, go help out on courts 11 and 12. Think of it as mixing up work and rest.”

”We’re fine with that, but if Akutsu goes, Captain, are you sure the new kids won’t end up crying?” Tachibana Kippei joked.

”Tch, I don’t want to waste my time teaching those annoying kids. After the tournament, just you wait, I’m taking your ranking!” Akutsu glared at Tachibana, clearly annoyed.

”Haha! I’m always up for it. But don’t think you’re the only one getting stronger!” Tachibana laughed without a care.

”That’s enough. When you get home tonight, memorize all this info, especially the data on Hyōtei and Yamabuki. That’s all!” Akashi stopped them before Akutsu could blow up any more.

Soon Tezuka and the others left the meeting room, leaving Akashi alone in the huge space, his eyes flashing with excitement.

”Mitsuya Akuto! Finally, an opponent I’m interested in. Hope you surprise me—future U-17 head strategist!”

The next day, at the entrance of the Tokyo Tournament venue, two luxury buses slowly pulled up. With Fudomine’s popularity at school rising daily, their club membership had grown a lot. Still, Akashi brought the whole club with him.

When the Fudomine group got off the bus, most of the bystanders already knew who they were. Thanks to the recent flurry of coverage in all the tennis magazines, Fudomine’s reputation had shot up, and everyone envied their flashiness.

Akashi quickly completed registration. Fudomine’s first-round opponent was Kamata Middle School—a background school that barely had any screen time in the original. Like the district prelims, since this was the first round, all 5 matches had to be played.

Before the match even started, the courts were packed with people. Aside from Fudomine’s own members, there were tons of tennis fans who’d come to cheer them on after reading about them, and even some scouts from other schools—like a certain first-year in the corner twirling his hair with his right index finger.

Fudomine’s club now had over 80 members, and it looked like they’d hit three digits soon. Not only that, but a bunch of Fudomine’s own students came to cheer, mostly girls, all with starstruck faces, yelling Akashi’s name.

Honestly, Akashi felt a bit speechless. If this kept up, he might turn into another Atobe. Just thinking about Atobe’s narcissistic face gave him chills. Total social death. But there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t just stop people from cheering, so he chose to ignore it.

The match began quickly. Up against a forgettable background school, Fudomine’s regulars didn’t even break a sweat—easy win.

”GAME! Fudomine! 6-0!”

With Akutsu coming off the court looking annoyed, Fudomine had already won 3-0, but since all 5 matches had to be played, things weren’t over yet. The Kamata team wished they could leave already—the gap was just too much, but the rules were the rules.

With Tezuka easily serving up another 6-0, Akashi finally took to the court for the first time in ages. Being a singles ace in such a strong club was lonely—there was never a chance to play.

As Akashi walked onto the court with his cross racket, the crowd erupted with cheers—especially the girls, all screaming at the top of their lungs like their voices weren’t even their own.

As for the match result, it was obvious. After it ended, Kamata Middle School left in defeat with five 6-0 losses, while Fudomine’s members packed up their things and got ready for the afternoon matches.

Unlike the district tournament, the Tokyo Tournament takes much longer—two rounds are played on the first day, the final four are decided on the second day, and a week later the semifinals and finals are held, covering a total of two weekends.

After the lunch break, Fudomine’s second-round opponent was announced: Akiyama Third Middle, another background school, but the audience’s passion didn’t cool down at all, and the stands were packed as always.

With cheers and shouts all around, Fudomine once again won easily, sweeping the match with a total score of 3-0 and swiftly knocking out their opponents. That ended all their matches for the day, and the team boarded the bus back to school.

On the bus, Akashi glanced at the list for tomorrow’s opponent, and a slight curve lifted his lips. Tomorrow’s school actually had some presence in the original story—St. Rudolph Private Academy, apparently a Christian school.

Yeah, the one that ended up tricking the rebellious Fuji Yūta over to their side. Of course, right now Fuji Yūta was still in elementary school, so he definitely wouldn’t be playing tomorrow, but Mizuki Hajime might show up, and there was a good chance he was already a regular on the team—he was always pretty sharp, after all.

”Mizuki Hajime, I wonder how much info you’ve gathered on us so far? First-year Mizuki, can you still direct your little script?” Akashi muttered playfully to himself.

The next day, the remaining eight schools would compete to decide the final four, and Akashi’s team arrived at their court early. As soon as Akashi entered, he spotted a boy in the corner twirling his hair—a dead giveaway for Mizuki Hajime. He still had a bit of childishness in his face, but those confident, arrogant eyes hadn’t changed at all.

When Mizuki noticed Akashi and the others, he quickly walked over with a smile and held out his right hand. ”You’re Fudomine’s tennis club captain, Akashi Seijurō, right? Hello! I’m Mizuki Hajime, regular and advisor for St. Rudolph’s tennis team. Nice to meet you!”

”Hello, Mizuki-san. Hope we have a great match today,” Akashi replied with a polite smile.

”Of course! I guarantee today’s match will surprise you, Fudomine,” Mizuki said, his tone full of meaning.

”Oh? I’ll look forward to it, then. The match is about to start, so we’ll take our leave for now,” Akashi replied, leading his team to the player’s bench.

As Akashi prepared for the match, he glanced at St. Rudolph’s player bench. He recognized a few faces—looked like even St. Rudolph had several first-year regulars this year. No surprise, really, considering it was the original’s golden generation.

Soon, the doubles two match was about to start. Fudomine sent out the same duo: Krauser and Kite, who’d grown more coordinated through recent doubles training.

St. Rudolph’s side also sent out two first-year regulars, the same ones who lost to Momoshiro Takeshi and Kaidō Kaoru in the original: Kisarazu Atsushi and Yanagisawa Shinya.

Akashi watched as the pair listened intently to Mizuki’s instructions and couldn’t help but smile and shake his head. He murmured, ”So these two were already playing matches as first-years, and Mizuki was already writing his little scripts? I really wonder what face he’ll make when all his plans fall apart.”

”You both know how to play this match, right? Remember—target that bespectacled guy, Kite. Except for his serve, he’s pretty average. Just keep making him run left and right and drain his stamina. If you follow my advice, your odds of winning will definitely go up.”

”And whatever you do, don’t provoke that foreigner, Krauser. From what I’ve seen, as long as things are normal, he usually holds back. So if his partner gets targeted the usual way, he probably won’t step in,” Mizuki explained confidently.

Kisarazu Atsushi and Yanagisawa Shinya both nodded seriously—they totally trusted Mizuki’s judgment. Even the upperclassmen often praised his intelligence-gathering skills.

”The match between Fudomine and St. Rudolph, doubles two, is about to begin. Will both pairs please enter the court!” the umpire announced. The four players grabbed their rackets, walked to the center of the court, and bowed for the pre-match greeting.

”I heard all your regulars are first-years and haven’t lost a single match yet. That’s not something to take lightly!” Yanagisawa said during the bow, still with that weird catchphrase.

Krauser and Kite heard this but didn’t respond—just gave a cold nod and turned toward their positions.

”Haha, Yanagisawa, told you that big mouth of yours would get you ignored,” Kisarazu teased beside him.

”Hmph! So rude! But you’ll realize your mistake soon enough!” Yanagisawa’s face was red, his voice slightly upset.

”First game, St. Rudolph to serve!” the umpire called out once everyone was set, and the match began.