Chapter 24: Zora vs Cob

                                    

                                          
"NOW WE'RE DONE WITH OUR SHORT BREAK. IT'S TIME FOR THE TIE-BREAKER. BOTH SCHOOLS ARE AT A RATIO OF 4:4. ONE MORE POINT FOR EITHER SCHOOL AND THEY WIN THE WHOLE TOURNAMENT. WE REMOVED THE SETBACK FROM THE LAST ROUND SO THERE SHOULD BE NOTHING TO GET IN YOUR WAY. NEXT CHALLENGE IS AGAINST ZORA IDEALE AND COB PORTAPORT!"
                          
Zora stepped up. He was surprisingly calm-- Well... not that surprising. He's always that way. Zora's opponent, Cob, looked happy, but Asta couldn't tell if he was nervous or not. If he was, then he's definitely good at hiding it. Maybe he would be because of Zora's intimidating look. Asta just didn't have enough information to be able to tell.
                          
Zora looked ready, with his racket in his hand. Asta only just met the guy, so he honestly doesn't know how well his skills are. What if he's really a bad player? Even though Asta wasn't competing for this game, he felt a rush of anxiety.
                          
"BEGIN!" Said the announcer.
                          
Zora served. It was surprisingly a good one. It didn't take long before Cob earned a point. Don't tell me Zora's a bad player! He looked at Magna, who was sitting on one of the bleachers with Luck beside him. "That son of a..." That was all Asta could hear from his mumbling but he probably just finished the rest of the sentence to himself.
                          
After that, Cob served. This time, it got interesting. The two of them kept hitting the shuttlecock back and fourth. Asta kept watching, and the loop seemed endless... Until Zora earned a point. We all cheered. Maybe there is hope for us!
                          
The next time, Cob earned a point. Leaving the scoreboard at 2:1. C'mon, Zora! We know you can do better!
                          
Then Zora recieved another point by confusing his opponent a little with random hits. Now it's at 2:2! Zora... all you need it one more point!
                          
The third one seemed as if both of them weren't holding back. They were hitting the shuttlecock back and fourth constantly. Asta watched as the suspense grew.
                          
"C'mon... You need just one more point!" Magna said between gritted teeth.
                          
"Go Zora!" Luck cheered.
                          
The suspense appeared to be killing Asta. If Zora loses this... then our public reputation gets worse. He needs to win!
                          
It's been minutes and none of them got a point yet. They were still hitting it back and fourth. Asta tightened his chest, but then let out a big breath when he realized that he was holding in his breath in the whole time. Breathe, Asta... Breathe. He assured himself.
                          
Then Asta decided to take action. "GO ZORA!" He cheered.
                          
Magna and Luck then followed after him. "GO ZORA! GO ZORA!"
                          
Then the entirety of BBH started chanting after them. Will it help? Please make it help! Asta cheered and stared at the competition hopefully.
                          
It was moments before the shuttlecock finally hit the ground. The round was over... and it fell on Cob's side.
                          
"ZORA IDEALE OF BLACK BULLS HIGH WINS!!!" The announcer declared. To Asta's surprise, everyone in BBH was cheering happily.
                          
"NO. FREAKING. WAY--" Magna commented. "WE WON! WE REALLY WON!"
                          
"YAY! WHY DON'T WE CELEBRATE WITH A RACE AFTER YOUR ANKLE HEALS, MAGNA?!" Luck told him.
                          
"Ehh... No thanks." Magna gave out a little laugh.
                          
Asta looked in the crowd who were watching. He saw his mom and she looked super prideful. She was happy that he and his school won. Really happy. Asta never felt so proud of himself and his friends before. This. Is. Amazing...!
                          
"THE COMPETITION IS OVER! BLACK BULLS HIGH WINS THE TROPHY! YOU CAN NOW CELEBRATE!" The announcer said through the mic.
                          
Asta looked at the GDH members and he noticed that Yuno was staring at him. Asta gulped, expecting for Yuno to blame him or at least give him a mad glance. But instead, surprisingly, Yuno gave him a smile. A smile that said "good game".
                          
Asta never felt so happy in his life, and he only just moved into the school this year.