With Shiraishi's win, Shitenhōji had taken the advantage. If they could win this upcoming Doubles One match, they would eliminate Hyōtei and move on to the semifinals to fight Seigaku for a spot in the finals.
But at this moment, Watanabe Osamu wasn't too worried. He knew well how powerful Synchronization could be in doubles, but the chemistry between Koharu and Yūji was already nearly perfect. Even against the pairing of Oshitari and Mukahi, Koharu and Yūji still had a solid chance.
Just then, Yukimura arrived with the Rikkai team outside the court—clearly, they had won their match and knocked Yamabuki out.
Once Yukimura entered the venue, his eyes quickly found Akashi in the crowd, and his expression turned grave. Tomorrow was their match against Fudomine. Ever since they started middle school, Rikkai hadn't once beaten Fudomine.
Meeting Fudomine in the semifinals this year meant they might not even make it to the finals, which left Yukimura with a faint sense of powerlessness. Still, Rikkai would give it everything they had tomorrow.
"Up next is Doubles One: Hyōtei's pairing of Oshitari Yūshi and Mukahi Gakuto versus Shitenhōji's Konjiki Koharu and Hitōji Yūji! Players, please enter the court!"
As Oshitari and Mukahi stepped onto the court and saw their opponents from Shitenhōji, both of their faces darkened. Mukahi, already hot-tempered, had veins popping on his forehead.
Even the spectators looked speechless. Koharu had a big afro wig on his head, while Yūji wore a red eye mask. They looked completely bizarre.
Konjiki Koharu and Hitōji Yūji
The two strutted onto the court like they were dancing, swaying their hips in sync. A thick wave of flamboyance filled the air, and even Atobe on the sidelines couldn't help shivering.
Comedy gay tennis.
Oshitari and Mukahi held back their disgust and walked to the net, but neither extended a hand. Any normal guy would naturally resist this kind of flamboyant behavior. Even though they had seen it during training camp, it was still impossible to get used to.
Just then, Koharu let go of Yūji's hand at the net, struck a seductive pose, and locked eyes with the pair across the net. A blush rose on his face as he spoke coyly:
"Oh my~ both of you on the other side are such cuties~ You're making my heart race!"
"You bastard, trying to cheat on me again?! I'll kill you!" Yūji snapped as soon as he saw Koharu's expression.
"You bastards! Are you messing with us?! I swear I'll teach you a lesson—especially you, with that ugly afro!" Mukahi couldn't take it anymore and roared in rage.
"Calm down, Gakuto! Don't let them mess with your emotions!" Oshitari said, still trying to keep a level head.
"Ara~ saying such mean things about us… that's so heartbreaking~ But want to join us, cuties?" Koharu kept up his mental assault on the Hyōtei pair.
Just as Mukahi was about to explode again, the umpire called for both sides to begin the coin toss. Mukahi had no choice but to suppress his anger. In the end, Oshitari won the serve.
Oshitari stepped to the baseline and sighed at the furious Mukahi standing ahead of him. He knew perfectly well the opponents' goal had been to disgust or enrage them—and it was working.
They had met these two during training camp, but because of Koharu and Yūji's unnerving behavior, few players had ever interacted with them voluntarily—let alone practiced matches. As a result, most schools had almost no intel on the pair.
Only the Shitenhōji team and Akashi knew the truth: these two weren't actually gay. Watanabe Osamu had forced them into being a doubles pair, and they even lived together off court. Playing the part was just part of Shitenhōji's tradition of comedy tennis.
But you had to admit—this tactic worked. Against normal players, their opponents' performance almost always dropped. After all, everyone had a limit to what they could mentally take.
Oshitari shook off the thought, focused his mind, and tossed the ball high. His right hand swung powerfully, striking the ball with heavy spin. The ball shot straight toward the opposing front court.
"The so-called Tannhauser Serve uses powerful wrist action to give the ball intense spin, keeping the bounce height around 3.587 cm. The optimal swing time to return it is 0.8326 seconds after it lands~" Koharu explained as he swung his racket, scooping up the ball just as it bounced.
Spectators outside the court instinctively turned their eyes toward Inui Sadaharu and Yanagi Renji. That explanation sounded exactly like Data Tennis.
"It does resemble Data Tennis, but more accurately, it should be called Information Tennis. They collect data and then use exceptional calculation ability to instantly analyze the nature of the technique and how to counter it!" Yanagi said calmly.
"According to the data, Konjiki Koharu has an IQ of 200, a genius. His calculation ability even surpasses Renji's and mine. The probability of him using Information Tennis during a match is 99%!" Inui added.
Just then, Koharu's return flew straight into midair on the opponent's side. Mukahi, already burning with rage, didn't even think—he leapt with full power at the net, his jump height far beyond normal.
Midair, Mukahi twisted into a 180-degree spin and smashed the ball upside down, launching it straight toward Koharu at high speed.
"Moon Return!"
Moon Return
Seeing the incoming shot, Koharu looked stunned. The ball struck his afro wig head-on, blasted through it, then landed on the baseline and rolled out of bounds.
"15-0!"
After the umpire announced the score, Koharu's afro wig slowly fell from his head. Just as Mukahi was celebrating finally knocking off that obnoxious wig, a scene that nearly made him cough blood unfolded—Koharu had a traditional Edo-period topknot underneath!
Double Wig
"You've gotta be kidding me! This guy was wearing two wigs?!" Mukahi was now on the verge of murder. He realized the lob earlier had been deliberate, baiting him into knocking off the afro.
"He calculated everything… using Gakuto as a comedy prop without him realizing it. We'll need to be really careful from here on." Oshitari muttered in a serious tone, eyes fixed on Koharu's bizarre look.
Fueled by the antics from Shitenhōji's bench, many spectators around the court burst into laughter. This only further agitated Mukahi, who had completely forgotten Oshitari's earlier warning.
Oshitari took a deep breath, extended his left hand holding the ball, and released it with reverse spin. The ball dropped slowly, spinning as it fell.
When the timing was just right, Oshitari struck the ball from low to high, sending it across the net with complex spin.
"Disappearing Serve!"
Koharu didn't run toward the landing spot. Instead, he shifted sideways to his left several steps and stuck his tongue out with a mischievous grin.
"With that pre-serve spin, the ball bounces and darts sharply to the left—it looks like it disappeared, but actually it'll reappear at a 45-degree angle behind the bounce point!"
As he finished explaining, he swung his racket at empty space. A second later, the ball appeared right where he'd aimed, and he hit a clean down-the-line winner.
Konjiki Koharu
Mukahi leapt to intercept, but suddenly heard Oshitari's voice behind him:
"Gakuto! Let me take this one!"
He froze mid-air, knowing it was best to conserve stamina early in the match. But the next second, Oshitari shouted again from behind:
"That wasn't me! Damn it!"
Mukahi spun around to see Oshitari sprinting toward the ball—but he was too late. The shot landed on the baseline and shot out of bounds.
"15-15!"
Oshitari locked eyes on Hitōji across the court. He'd just noticed Yūji speaking, and somehow the voice that came out was identical to his own.
"Mimicry? Voice imitation? Or some kind of special talent? These two really can't be underestimated…" Oshitari's expression turned serious.
He walked up behind the seething Mukahi and firmly pressed a hand on his shoulder. Mukahi looked back and saw Oshitari slowly shaking his head. With a reluctant click of his tongue, Mukahi backed off.