A Ghoul In Tempest

Chapter 4: Rise to Glory

The crowd was electric, the tension in the air thick as Hikaru and his team huddled around their screens for the seventh and final map of the grand finals. Months of practice, countless late-night strategizing sessions, and every setback they'd endured had brought them to this single moment. Hikaru's pulse raced, his focus razor-sharp as he glanced at his teammates, each of them ready to give their all. The stakes had never been higher, but in that intense silence before the countdown, Hikaru felt an overwhelming calm—a feeling that this was exactly where he was meant to be.

The finals had been a rollercoaster from the start, with each team taking turns dominating the maps, the score inching closer as they traded hard-fought victories. The energy of the arena only intensified with each round, the audience erupting with cheers and gasps at every clutch play and daring comeback. Now, everything came down to the seventh and final map: Lijiang Tower. The team knew the map inside out, but so did their opponents, and each capture point promised to be a brutal fight. As the match began, Hikaru could feel the weight of every step, every callout echoing in his headset as they pushed, fell back, and regrouped in a relentless struggle for control.

As the enemy team captured the first point and were one point away from winning the championship, Hikaru's team began to drop their heads. Hikaru would notice this and give a quote he heard and would motivate his teammates, "Dream big, don't hold back." The team would feel as motivated as ever and dominate the second point, tying up the score 1 to 1. The final point was as close as it could possibly be, 99% to 99%. As the very last fight took place, the crowd kept quiet and each player remained as focused as ever. Hikaru, playing as Tracer, would get a massive 3 piece Pulse Bomb kill, which caused the entire venue to cheer. As the words "Team Kill" showed and and Victory was on the screen for Hikaru's team, they would come together, hug, and celebrate. The crowd was so loud, it almost shook the venue. Hikaru, celebrating with his teammates, was in tears, winning a championship for the first time.

As they shook hands and hugged the enemy players, they showed respect to them for the amazing match they put on. After that, they would lift the trophy, to the roar of the crowd. They would then bow to the crowd as a show of respect and appreciation for the support each of them had given. Hikaru was also named the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs and he would also receive a trophy for it. As the other players went to the back, Hikaru would find Aiko and Daichi and hug them tightly. They would do the same thing, tears of joy in their eyes. They were so proud of their son and excited for the future of the program that he started.

Coming off the high of winning the grand finals, Hikaru and the team prepared for a new season, welcoming three fresh faces to the roster. Among them was Akira, a hot prospect in DPS, noted for his quick reflexes and sharp aim. Akira brought huge energy to the team, and he and Hikaru clicked immediately, driven by a common drive for strategy and big dreams of going pro. The season took off as they found their groove; every player bring particular strengths into the lineup. While Hikaru's popularity continued to rise, tensions began to brew below the surface. Akira, once so eager to learn and assist, began to become annoyed in Hikaru's shadow. As the hint of a rivalry brewed, Hikaru remained aware of the situation.

As the season continued, the tension between Hikaru and Akira began to surface slowly. During scrims and games, Hikaru would make split-second decisions and calls, hoping all his teammates would follow. However, Akira would sometimes ignore the callouts, going out to do his own thing, which in turn would lose them fights, and in total lose them games. Akira would also mutter about "team favorites" as he continued to ignore Hikaru's callouts, which loses them games and missed them the chance to make the playoffs. Once a cold rivalry quickly became increasingly more noticeable by the coach, the players of the team, and the people watching the streams. Hikaru would reach out and suggest extra bonding lessons to strengthen the coordination between the two, but Akira simply brushed him off, his frustrations boiling to a point of sharp comments and tense silence. Because of this tension, the team felt the strain and struggled to have the same synergy as they did before.

The growing rift between Akira and Hikaru became impossible to ignore. Practices turned very tense, with Akira challenging Hikaru's decisions in the fight, undermining his leadership, and even questioning his skills. This would anger Hikaru as he felt extremely disrespected from him. To avoid further conflict altogether, the other players of the team began to take sides or withdraw from the team. Hikaru could feel the weight of the disappointment of the team and his own frustrations building up inside him, but he stayed determine to play and when. However, that just couldn't happen. Each match was just a reminder of just how far the team have fallen since their championship run. When the end of the next three seasons finished, their record couldn't reflect the championship winning team they once were. Hikaru, feeling almost hopeless, was left wondering if his dream of playing the Overwatch League would ever happen.

Just as Hikaru's last season wrapped up and he graduated high school, him, along with his senior teammates and parents, would celebrate graduating high school. A few days after graduation, Hikaru would finally receive the message and call he dreamed of. He received an offer to join the San Francisco Shock, who are just coming off winning a championship in the third season of the Overwatch League in Overwatch 2. In tears, he would talk to his parents about this. Both, now also in tears of joy, would hug and congratulate Hikaru before allowing him to accept the offer. Daichi and Aiko were extremely proud of their son for the amount of dedication he had for the game. Hikaru would call and accept the offer to become a San Francisco Shock player. A day after he got the offer, he would tell his teammates, who all were proud of him and congratulated him. Although for one person, this would be his breaking point.

Akira watched Hikaru talk to his former teammates with a darkened gaze, resentment, envy, and anger filling his body. He believed that he was the person to receive that offer from the San Francisco Shock, not Hikaru. Determined to not be left behind, Akira would begin to follow Hikaru's every move from a distance, making sure to not be caught or seen from him. Akira would watch previous games from Hikaru, further enraging him. He would create an anonymous account to stalk Hikaru's social media, mainly Twitter. What began as a small rivalry turned to something darker. Akira silently vowed to ruin Hikaru's life, by any means necessary, even if it meant killing someone.