Prince of Tennis: Shocking! Hyotei's Demon King is a Yukimura fangirl!

The atmosphere in the Seigaku rest area was extremely somber.

Everyone stood in a semi-circle around the railing, looking in the direction the stretcher had disappeared, but no one spoke first.

Kikumaru rested his forehead on the railing bar, sniffed, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, and said in a muffled voice, as if his mouth was stuffed with cotton: "Aron's hand...it really will get better, right? He said he'd help the family make sushi and slice fish in the future..."

His question seemed abrupt and he didn't look at anyone. After speaking, he lowered his head.

Oishi stood next to him, his lips moved, and he reached out to pat his shoulder, but then lowered his hand halfway up.

He began, his voice growing drier with each word: "...The coach just sent word that Aaron has had an MRI and is waiting for the results. He'll be alright, Eiji, don't worry too much..."

"How could I not be worried!" Kikumaru suddenly raised his head, his voice several decibels louder than before, his eyes reddening. "When he fell down just now, his hand was crooked, he couldn't even hold the racket, and he was still laughing, saying 'I won.' How could he... how could he not feel pain?"

He stopped mid-sentence, his voice faltering into a muffled murmur. This time, Daishi finally placed his hand on his shoulder, gently patting it without applying any pressure.

Ryoma Echizen stood outside the crowd, staring at a blood-stained tennis ball in his palm for a long time. He looked up, gazing in the direction Kawamura had disappeared, his lips moving slightly beneath his hat brim, his voice soft: "But he won."

"Yeah, Echizen's right. Senpai won."

Seeing everyone with their heads down, Momoshiro suddenly stood up, clenched his fists at his sides, and raised his voice: "Don't be so dejected! Kawamura-senpai fought so hard to get this point, not so we could be sad here! We can't let him down."

As if he had suddenly realized something, he turned around abruptly and looked at each of his teammates: "If we can get just one more point in the next singles match, we'll advance! We have to capitalize on the advantage that Kawamura-senpai has so skillfully gained!"

"Atao is right, we have to catch up!" Oishi's gaze swept over Tezuka and Fuji, and he nodded in agreement, his voice growing louder and louder, as if he was encouraging himself and everyone else. "Aron has fought so hard just to help Seigaku win this point! Now we're leading 2-1, we should cheer up! Winning the next game will be the best way to honor him."

Kikumaru wiped his eyes, the light in them slowly gathering, and nodded vigorously. "Yes! We have to win for Aaron! Let him know that those two points he fought so hard for weren't for nothing!"

Arai waved his support flag excitedly and shouted, "Kawamura-senpai is lying on that bed right now, thinking, 'Did we win?' Let's win and show him! Let's give it our all!!!"

The three first-graders nodded and joined in, raising the support flag again.

Satoshi Horio's voice trembled slightly, but he shouted with all his might: "Arai-senpai is right! Kawamura-senpai is working so hard, if we can't even cheer him on, we'll be letting him down! Besides... what's Hyotei! We at Seigaku still have Fuji-senpai and Tezuka-captain, we're sure to advance!"

Katsuro Kato nodded, gripping the support flag tighter, the flagpole swaying in his hand: "I...I'm going to shout really loud later. No matter the score, I'll keep shouting until the end."

Katsuo Mizuno stood silently to the side, but he raised his support bandana higher than before, saying, "After we win the match, we'll go to the hospital and tell Kawamura-senpai!"

"Go Fuji-senpai! Go Tezuka-kei!"

"Go Seigaku! Victory is assured in singles match 2!"

In this small area of ​​the Seigaku stands, the previously subdued morale seemed to be reignited. Although everyone still had a hint of inexplicable frustration in their eyes, their backs straightened, their hands gripped the support flags tighter, and their team chants became more powerful.

Fuji stood at the edge of the crowd, watching everyone regain their spirits. His eyes narrowed again, and the smile returned to his face, but it was three parts less intense than usual.

"Aaron has done what he was supposed to do," he said softly, his tone gentle yet silencing everyone around him. "Now he's in the medical building waiting for the test results. No matter how many times we say 'we can't let him down,' it won't take away his pain."

He paused, looked up, and his brown pupils reflected the bright afternoon sunlight.

"The rest is up to us. We need to play every ball and every point well."

As he spoke, he stroked the handle of Kawamura's bloodstained racket with his fingers, then glanced up at the Hyotei stands. Mochizuki Ryo was talking to Yukimura with his head down, his profile soft, but his eyes gentle.

Ryoma Echizen heard his words but didn't look up; he just clicked his tongue softly.

The sound was so soft it seemed to have been blown away by the wind.

Sadaharu Inui flipped through his notebook past the injury assessment of Kawamura to a new page, his pen moving rapidly. He was calculating Hyotei's upcoming lineup, the odds of winning the next two singles matches, and all sorts of possible variables.

Tezuka stood at the very front, with his back to the others.

His hand remained pressed against his elbow, his fingertips exerting a slight pressure. Hearing the shout behind him, he loosened his grip, turned around, and his gaze, behind his glasses, swept over the crowd. His voice remained calm and cold: "We can't be careless in the upcoming matches."

Echizen lifted the brim of his hat, a glint of light flashing in his amber eyes, and a slight smile curved his lips: "You're still a long way off."

Fuji's eyes crinkled into a smile, a faint yet genuine one: "Yes, the competition isn't over yet."

-

Just then, the referee's voice came through the loudspeaker, clearly resounding throughout the entire stadium.

"Pfft pfft pfft~"

"The next match is between Seishun Academy and Hyotei Academy's singles number 2. Both players, please prepare to enter the arena! The match will begin in ten minutes."

The noisy stands instantly fell silent.

All eyes turned to the rest areas on both sides. Even the groups that had been arguing heatedly just moments before temporarily ceased their fighting and craned their necks to see which side would field their lineups.

Hyotei Rest Area.

Shinobu stood up and slowly took off his team uniform jacket. His movements were unhurried, exuding a calm and composed aura.

After taking off his clothes, he had his usual lazy smile on his lips, and waved to the surroundings with a dashing air, his dark blue short hair swaying with his movements.

A chorus of screams erupted from the stands, and the golden sea of ​​fans from the Hyotei cheering squad surged forth, the shouts deafening.

"Ah!!! It's Oshitari! Our Hyotei's genius!"

"Good luck, Oshitari!"

"As expected, he's playing singles against second place. So, it must be Fuji Syusuke on Seigaku's side, right?"

"Of course, Tezuka is going one-on-one against Atobe."

"Shinobu's singles skills are quite strong, but I wonder how he compares to Fuji from Seigaku?"

"Who cares? We'll see when we get there. A clash of geniuses from two schools—that'll be interesting!"

……

Shishido glanced at Oshitari, who was still showing off not far away, and muttered to himself, "Atobe and this guy always do this every time they go on stage."

Feng smiled beside her: "It's good that Shinobu-senpai is like this; at least... the cheering squad's momentum has been established first."

"Can momentum feed you?" Shishido said, but the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

Jiro was getting sleepy again, yawning incessantly. He leaned against the railing and peered towards Seigaku, his eyes wide open: "Hey, who do you think Seigaku will send? It should be Fuji, right? Ryo has been looking forward to the battle of geniuses for a long time."

"Who else could it be? However, Ling seems to have some issues with that genius from Seigaku, so I'm just waiting to see the genius's Waterloo."

Shishido tied up her wind-blown long hair, her words revealing a sense of anticipation. "Yesterday at the tennis club, he excitedly gave an exclusive interview to the fan club, saying that he had spent a lot of money to create a crystal trophy called 'The Best of Geniuses' to be awarded after the match."

"Hey, Yuushi, you'd better consider the consequences of not winning in a way that will displease him."

"Oh dear, he really is the kind of person who would do something so childish." Shinobu stopped moving his wrist, glanced at Mochizuki Ryo who was still whispering to Yukimura at Rikkai University, then looked away and confidently replied to Shishido, "I'll make him happy. Fuji Syusuke..."

He didn't have time to finish his sentence.

The murmurs in the stands seemed to have been paused. Then, like pouring cold water into a frying pan, they erupted into a frenzy.

Some people in the front row even stood up abruptly, their chair legs scraping against the ground with a screeching sound.

"Wait... am I seeing things? It's him who's playing for Seigaku?"

"How could this be?!"

"Wait a minute, shouldn't Seigaku's second singles player be Fuji Syusuke?"

"My god, they actually used this kind of formation?"

"Looks like Hyotei is going to suffer another defeat today..."

Exclamations and murmurs mingled together, making the entire stands buzz. Many people stared wide-eyed in the direction of Seigaku, their faces filled with disbelief.

They didn't expect Seigaku to make such an arrangement for the second singles player.

Even Atobe, who was sitting on the coaching bench at Hyotei, raised his eyes and looked in the direction of Seigaku, raising an eyebrow, clearly a little surprised.

The Rikkai students also straightened up. Niou raised an eyebrow and whistled, "Seigaku's move to cut off the enemy's supply line is brilliant, puri~ Hyotei is in trouble now."

Sanada frowned and said in a deep voice, "Nonsense."

Yukimura's gaze fell on the figure, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes before returning to calm. He looked down at Luna, who had been startled awake in his arms. The kitten was also groggily tilting its head back to look in that direction, its tail wagging gently, as if it too was curious.

Wang Yueling stood by the railing, looking at the familiar figure on the field, her eyebrows slowly rising.

A hint of amusement flashed in his azure eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Oh, it really is him!