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Chapter 31: Final Matches Day 4: Captain vs Captain

The next day, was the day of the final matches. This time, there were more people (mainly teenage girls and their coaches) seated on the bleachers. The girls were clearly chatting very excitedly about the upcoming matches. The champions were walking towards the gym at a leisure pace. Pakura handed her bag to Ryoga. "I need the bathroom for a while. Could you take this bag to the gym, please?" Ryoga nodded, and she then started off to the elegant ladies room. She went into one stall. As she was doing her business, two girls came in.

"I can't wait to see Echizen being beaten by Teuzka-senpai! He deserved it after betraying us three years ago!" said the loud mouth one.

"I know, Tomo-chan." said the girl. "Let's hope he loses. I can't believe he dared to show his face after he betrayed us, according to the senpais. I can't believe I even liked him!" Just then, the toilet flushed, and another girl walked out. Tomoka and Sakuno were surprised someone actually overheard them. The worst part, judging by her uniform and stern look, they knew she was champion, and is possibly one of the strongest. They might have ruined their chances to meet her up-close later on. The girl didn't utter a word. Then she turned around, walked over to the sinks, rinsed her hands, dried, and tossed the paper towel accurately into the bin, and left the room.

All in complete and utter silence. Pakura returned to the gym in time to pick out the numbers in the box. She picked out a "3" this time. Coach Mabi memorized their numbers, and typed in the matches that are going to occur in order:

1st- Sanada Genichiro vs. Jude Harrison

2nd- Niou Masaharu vs. Derek Evans

3rd- Kamio Akira vs. Pakura Goldstein

4th- Oshitari Yuushi vs. Philip Robinson

5th- Chitose Senri vs. Tyler Clearwater

6th- Shinji Ibu vs. Christopher McKiddie

7th- Yagyuu Hiroshi vs. William Anderson

8th- Tezuka Kunimitsu vs. Ryoma Echizen

Jude stood up, holding his racquet. "Good luck, Jude!" Ryoma cried. Jude turned and smiled. "Thanks, captain."

Jude surprisingly won Sanada 7-6. Next it was Derek, and it was a trickster vs. trickster match (because Derek and Chris were one of the more playful ones and they are the ones who played the most pranks). In the end, Derek won 6-4. Next, it was Pakura. This time, she used her left hand, and wiped Kamio out 6-0 in 30 minutes flat. Everyone, especially the two girls she saw earlier in the bathroom were in awe by her techniques. (Well, except for Seigaku). Then it was Philip's turn. It was a long and hard battle, but he lost 7-6 in the end, which means Oshitari got the spot. However, they still need to play on. If there is one more player who won their match against a champion, that means the last two players who won would have to play against each other for the last spot. However, Oshitari needn't be worried, because Tyler won his match 6-3, Chris won his match 6-2 (Thanks to Ryoma's info), and William won Yagyuu 7-5. Finally, it was the match everyone was waiting for.

Ryoma took his racquet and walked out on the courts to face his former captain. "And finally, we got the 8th match! From Seigaku, we have Tezuka, captain! From Chess Pieces, we have Echizen, captain! One set match, Tezuka to serve!" Tezuka threw the ball in the air, and hit the ball. Ryoma, hearing the impact, managed to get to the path of the ball, and returned it with ease. Tezuka hit the ball so fast Ryoma could hardly read the path of the ball, but he managed to intercept the ball and hit it nonetheless. Ryoma knew Tezuka was using the Tezuka Zone, because all the shots seemed to be directed back to him. However, Ryoma changed to his right hand to break the Zone because he did not know where the ball will land when he uses his right hand, other than the fact that it would not land outside the courts. Ryoma used a smash Tezuka never saw before.