"Hey, Nioh," Atobe asked, as he wiped his forehead of sweat, "How long are you gonna be Kabaji?"
"Yeah ... Puri."
Nioh shut down "Kabaji," and the shadow faded away.
"If you turn into Tezuka, we can mess up their game," said Atobe, but in his mind, he realized the situation that they are currently in.
"The high schoolers have amazing stamina. A 3-set match, and we're losing the battle of attrition. I've gotta keep my next service game."
But then, he suddenly felt Tsukimitsu's cold glare at him, as if he were looking through his soul.
".... What ... was that?!"
"Atobe, serve!" Nioh commanded.
"Shut up!"
"0-15!"
He faulted.
Atobe laughed it off, "Sorry, simple mistake."
But then he looked up, and saw Tsukimitsu staring at him again.
"... !! Bastard, looking at me like that!"
"0-40!"
"A double-fault? ... From Atobe?!" alarmed the Hyotei Oshitari.
And so it went.
"Double fault! Game, 1st String, 6-6! First set tie-break, 1st String to serve!"
"Tie-break, already?!" said Jackal.
"Too bad," commented Duke.
"They suck," added Ohmagari.
"But, they did manage to perservere through that dangerous serve," chimed Ikuto.
"All they need to do is keep their serve. But, that pressure's going to weigh down on their backs heavy, heavy enough to make mistakes, like faults. He set everything up to be this way. The position they're in, it's no coincidence. This is how Tsukimitsu Ochi, the 'Mental Assassin,' assassinates," said Oni.
"Yo, you're friend, is he all right?" Jusaboro cheerfully asked Nioh. "He's making mistakes like it's his first time playing tennis."
" ... What did you do?" Nioh asked.
"Not me, my buddy. Tsukimitsu has a real talent of setting things up so that the pressure hits the opponents. Atobe's probably thinking, 'I've gotta do everything I can to keep my service,' and that's all courtesties of Tsukimitsu's. See, it's the perfect setup: once we have you scared of the Mach Serve, it's over." Jusaboro explained. "And as for you? I've got something to deal with your parlor tricks, but I'll save that for later."
"Shut up! You've said too much," said Tsukimitsu.
"Right, right, my bad."
The game continued.
"Mental Assassin? Assassin my ass!" Atobe shouted as he returned Tsukimitsu's Mach.
"Oh, he returned it! His mental strength is stronger than we thought!" said Jusaboro.
Atobe leaped in the air to smash, but ... it hit the net, and failed.
"But ... don't think that's gonna take the scare outta you just yet!"
"4-0, 1st String!"
"5-0, 1st String!"
"6-0, 1st String!"
At that moment, Ryoma and Tokugawa had made it to the audience.
"Echizen!" shouted Momoshiro, "Where've you been?"
But Ryoma was just focused on the match.
"Wha ... What's going on here?"
Nioh turned around to see Echizen had just arrived, and saw the struggle on Atobe's face.
"Why?! Why am I messing up?! Dammit, I am the King!! The audience will silently watch as I-!"
But the next ball he was about to hit curved away from him and went towards Nioh, who was now ..
"'Tezuka!' That's the ... 'Tezuka Phantom!!'"
"Atobe! You no longer have to hit the ball ... I'll force everything out from now on!"
"6-5, 1st String!"
"6-6!
"Nioh, you're ... For my sake, you're pushing your elbow to the limit using the Tezuka Phantom, a shot that requires six times the spin of the Tezuka Zone ... That, and the Zero-Degree ... Just how much did you improve since you've been here?"
"Nioh, you can't keep using the Phantom or else your tennis career will be finished. You'll waste everythi-"
"Atobe, who am I right now? If Kunimitsu Tezuka were here right now ... do you think he would give up?"
"48-48!"
"Nioh, stop hitting the Phantom! You'll .. !!" shouted Oishi.
"Nioh, he won't quit ..." mumbled Yagyu.
"49-48!"
"Not only did he copy Tezuka's skills, but his mental fortitude as well ..." said Sanada.
"To go this far for the Japan team ..." said Yukimura.
The truth is, although Nioh was always a decent player, his real strength came from copying those of others'. After all, if you can't beat them, join them. He was always able to mimic a player and their skills to an impressive degree, but never "perfectly." Even if one were to copy something through a Xerox machine, there will always be differences from the original, no matter what. It is purely speculation, but I, the author, will say that Nioh will never be able to perfectly copy anyone. However, through his time at the U-17 training camp and sharing the struggles with his fellow middle schoolers, Nioh learned to appreciate just more than the skills of players. He learned to appreciate and understand their 'atmosphere' and what makes them different. Right now, as he copies Tezuka, it can be said that not only does it appear to be Tezuka "physically," but Nioh has copied his "spirit and will" to carry the middle school team to victory.
"It's gone beyond an 'illusion ...' This is more like ... 'a shadow,'" said Renji.
"As long as I'm here, I'll keep hitting the Phantom!"
But Nioh's spirit was no way to hide his pain from Atobe's insight. Right as he was about to hit the Phantom once more, Nioh's arm twisted in pain.
"Ooooooowooooohhhh!!!!!"
"Nioh!!!!!!"
Atobe began returning the ball on his own, while Nioh collapsed, cringing his arm in agony.
"I've gotta keep fighting for this point, that Nioh gave his arm for!"
Atobe's last shot went in.
"The middle schoolers win the first set!"
"But ... Nioh's done for ... The cost of winning just one set has us this damaged."
And so, the second set went with Atobe putting up a good fight and holding his own.
"Now, the final shot!" Tsukimitsu used his Mach, which Atobe returned.
The rally seemed to last forever, but then ... Nioh, who was lying on the ground, became Atobe and used his World of Ice, while Atobe put on his Atobe Kingdom. With two of the same players on the court, an instant Synchro was established between the two.
"Atobe can use Synchro?!" Momo asked.
"Well, if there's two of him, of course they would have an automatic synchronization," said Inui.
"This is ... the last ... ball!" said Atobe.
However, as he looked at Jusaboro, his insight was incorrect.
"Tsukimitsu!!" shouted Jusaboro.
Jusaboro dislocated his own shoulder to return the ball.
"You aren't the only one ... who can make sacrifices!" Jusaboro directed at Nioh, who was now remembering what he told him earlier.
"You have your own tricks, huh .. So this is what you meant!"
The last ball was a cord ball, which went into Atobe-Nioh's court, but with his last remaining strength, Nioh volleyed the ball ... and won the match.
"Middle Schoolers, game, set, match!"
"They did it!"
Tsukimitsu and Jusaboro sighed as they took off their badges.
"Well, you guys did fight for them."
Suddenly, an fast spinning ball aimed straight for the 1st Stringers' heads came, only to be blocked by another tennis ball. It was none other than Tohno who shot the first one.
"Who now? Who dares stop my fun?" Tohno asked.
Kite stepped up, "Take your foolishness somewhere else. Unruly behavior isn't allowed on the court!"
"You'll be sleeping in your own blood later."
"Now, for the next game ... Duke, you're up."
Duke Watanabe, a big man, stepped onto the court.
"I shall handle this," said Gin Ishida.
"Duke Watanabe vs. Gin Ishida! The two power players!"
Originally Posted by Brandnewkid
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