The highly anticipated battle of powerhouses ended.
Final result.
Tokyo's No. 1 seed Seiho defeated Kanagawa's No. 1 seed Kaijo, advancing to the final Top 8 of the Nationals (Original was Top 8 vs Tōō, here arranged as Round of 16).
And.
After crossing Kaijo, Seiho's path ahead would be smooth sailing.
Before the finals, they wouldn't encounter teams of the Generation of Miracles level.
Kaijo locker room.
They had packed their things, ready to leave.
Kise didn't move, sitting on the chair the whole time, eyes red; anyone could tell he had cried.
"Lift your head, don't be dejected."
"You've done very well."
Kise slowly raised his head and saw Kasamatsu's strong face.
"And this doesn't mean everything; we haven't finished yet."
"This debt, pay it back in winter! Now, you can be sad for a while, but tomorrow, you must pull yourself together for me!"
"..."
Kise didn't speak, but tears fell from his eyes unacceptably again.
"I just... wanted to win once with you seniors..."
This true expression of feelings made everyone in the locker room feel sour.
Didn't they also want to win with this group of guys around them?
"Just have a clear conscience. We all did our best; the rest, go back and double the effort."
This wasn't just said to Kise, but also to the other members of Kaijo.
Finally.
Everyone left; Kasamatsu found an excuse to stay in the locker room.
After everyone left, the locker room lights were turned off, leaving only darkness around.
At this time, Kasamatsu finally took off all disguises, curling up on the floor and sobbing uncontrollably.
No atonement, only another failure.
He suppressed his voice, hissing like an injured beast.
He wasn't strong at all; he just needed to remain strong in front of teammates and fans!
At this time.
Yuuto happened to pass by with two women.
"This is Kaijo's locker room."
"What's that noise? Could it be..."
Yuuto put a finger on Sora's lips, then shook his head.
Instantly, there was no sound in the corridor, only suppressed, heartbreaking sobbing.
...
"No time to daze; go back and train immediately."
Match ended.
Walking out of the arena, everyone in Seirin felt heavy-hearted.
If the goal was the Winter Cup championship, then... they must face those monsters directly.
Generation of Miracles, and Lion King Yuuto!
With their current strength, it wasn't enough to challenge the opponents; they must become stronger.
"Eh? Going back? Not watching until the end?" Kagami still wanted to continue watching.
Because tomorrow was the lower bracket matches, especially after entering the Top 8.
Rakuzan, Tōō, Yosen... bound to have full-scale engagements!
"I want to watch until the end too." Riko Aida said somewhat helplessly.
"Then let's find a hotel to stay?"
"Hotel?" Junpei Hyuga sneered, taking over the conversation. Then he pinched Kagami's face and shouted, "Do you think we Seirin are those rich schools? Where do we get so much money to stay in hotels!"
Finished.
He turned to everyone and said, "Winter is not far away; go back and train to death for me!"
"Oh!"
...
Similar things were happening on Shutoku's side.
"Truly a wonderful match, right, Shin-chan?"
"Yuuto and Kise... truly monsters."
Kazunari Takao lamented the terror of those geniuses from the bottom of his heart.
"Known facts need no repetition." Midorima stood up and said, "And there's a monster standing in front of you too!"
"True." Takao chuckled, but seeing Midorima walk out of the room, he asked, "Where are you going now?"
"Practice." Midorima's response was only one word. Hearing this, Takao followed immediately.
Seeing this, Taisuke Otsubo also stood up. "Can't let first-years look down on us. Let's go, Shutoku; our goal is the Winter Cup!"
...
"Is that so? I understand."
Next day.
Kyoto, in one of the Akashi family's large villas, Akashi hung up the phone.
He was eating breakfast, with reports about yesterday's match on the table.
It was all praise for Yuuto.
But his attention wasn't on that; he fell into thought.
"How is Ryota?" The secondary personality Akashi asked.
"Not seriously injured, but needs at least a month to recover. Then look at the recovery situation."
That's good.
The secondary personality Akashi breathed a sigh of relief, then threw out another question.
"You should have seen it."
"Mm, the six of us physically aren't ready yet; can't bear such talent."
Kise's injury was an accident, but also an inevitability.
They, the Generation of Miracles and Yuuto, evolved too fast, surpassing their age.
"What to do?"
"I plan to discuss with them, letting everyone give up this Nationals and leave the victory and defeat to the Winter Cup."
Akashi stated his plan.
As long as they met, the battle would definitely be incomparable fierce.
Just like in Yuuto and Kise's match yesterday, they would constantly burn their talents, making their state completely exceed the limit acceptable for this age.
In this way, the risk of injury would greatly increase.
"Yuuto won't agree."
"I know, but still have to try."
They all knew what kind of person Yuuto was.
Now that Seiho had no obstacles to entering the finals, asking Yuuto to give up the championship close at hand was impossible.
Unless they, Rakuzan, Tōō, and Yosen, directly handed over the championship.
But still had to try.
Thinking of this, he asked the butler to prepare the car.
"Prepare the car for me, go to XXX."
"But Young Master, don't you have a match to play later?"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
...
A moment later.
Seiho's hotel, inside Yuuto's room, the phone ringing woke up the soundly sleeping Sora.
"Who is it?" She answered the phone groggily. Akashi paused for a moment on the other end, but roughly guessed who it was. He said, "Is this Kasugano Sora-san? Hello, I am Akashi Seijuro. I have something to discuss with Yuuto."
Akashi?
That rich young master?
Sora asked him to wait, then walked into the room and handed the phone to Yuuto.
"Akashi? What's up?" Yuuto asked knowingly.
"I'm downstairs at your hotel. Is it convenient to meet?"
"Okay."
Yuuto said only one word, then said a few words to Sora who fell back asleep, and went out.
Unknown time passed.
The two came to a nearby park, sitting on swings swinging back and forth.
"You really are childlike, swinging on a swing at this age."
"Didn't have the chance when I was little; now that I'm grown up, I occasionally feel it, treating it as redeeming childhood regrets."
Akashi smiled lightly, always so appropriate.
"Kyoto is not bad, right?"
"Mm, I quite like some old buildings."
"Because it imitates the Tang Dynasty style, you like it, right?"
Akashi didn't forget that Yuuto wasn't a native Japanese.
"Small talk ends here. Akashi, you have a match to play in the morning, right?"
"Speak, what exactly do you want with me?"
...
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