Episode 22

THE UNDERGROUND TENNIS TOURNAMENT: THE CAMPBELLDON (MISSION: 22　地下テニス大会 キャンベルトン) is the twenty-second episode of the SPY x FAMILY TV anime series and the tenth episode of the second cour.

Synopsis
The secret files called the Zacharis Dossier may cause a war between the East and the West. In order to obtain a painting that is supposed to be the hiding spot for these files, Loid and Fiona enter an underground tennis tournament run by the owner of the painting, Campbell. If they win, the art piece they're after will be presented. Loid and Fiona enter as a married couple and play various skilled players including pro players!

Summary
At Berlint General Hospital, Fiona reflects on how Loid being with his family has led him to develop inappropriate emotions and become a worse spy. Seeing Twilight become like a knife with a chipped blade aches her heart. Still, she finds this new version of him adorable and endearing and still yearns for him. Because of this, she is determined to usurp the wife position from Yor.

Fiona details their new mission to Loid. She tells him of a man by the name of Cavi Campbell who, after earning a fortune in the energy sector, became a world-renowned art collector. For the mission, they seek to acquire the painting Lady In The Sun, worth roughly one million Dalc. The painting's previous owner was the late Colonel Erik Zacharis, who worked in the East's military intelligence division during the war and played a major part in ending it. They believe he was in possession of secrets that could reignite the flames of war in documents known as the "Zacharis Dossier." It is rumored to contain information about human experimentation by the East on prisoners of war and massacres committed by the West. It is believed that the painting they are hoping to get holds the key to finding this dossier. They hope to retrieve the dossier before the Eastern government learns of its existence and gets it for themselves. The painting is kept beneath Campbell's mansion with tight security. Loid asks if Fiona has a plan, and she confirms this.

In an underground tennis court, a doubles match is finishing up, with many in the crowd complaining about losing the money they wagered. Loid and Fiona show up in disguises with tennis rackets in hand. Loid asks Fiona if this was the best option, and Fiona says she believes it to be the most promising one. While the competitors are usually very skilled, the winner of the tournament gets to take an item of their choice from Campbell's collection. It also removes any risks of trying to steal the painting directly.

Loid and Fiona are announced as "Twain and Nafalia Foney," a married couple that Fiona registered them under. Their opponents are Walson and Bobble, a famous duo that dominated the Grand Slam Circuit a decade ago. Loid tells Fiona that he has not played much tennis, but had practiced with his family beforehand, so Fiona tells him to stay in the corner and out of her way. She believes by showing off her tennis skills she can prove how much of a better asset she would be to Operation Strix. They announce the betting odds at 40 to 1.3, with Walson and Bobble being the clear favorite to win. Walson and Bobble declare that they will win this match with years of training behind them. Loid wishes them a good game, to which they respond that it will be a slaughter.

The game begins with Loid serving, who immediately slams the ball down onto the far edge of their opponent's court, leaving a burn mark on the ground and slamming into the fence. They earn their first set of points, and Loid continues to earn more points without letting the other team get any until they win the game. Walson and Bobble are shocked at their loss but decide in the next game to aim for Fiona since they have not seen her play yet. Like Loid, she shocks them with a powerful backhand slice. After Loid compliments her, Fiona decides to keep showing off how amazing she is as they beat their competition and retrieve the painting, imagining Loid picking her up into his arms and asking her to be his doubles partner for life. Fiona then proceeds to win the rest of the match by herself, bringing Walson and Bobble to their knees in defeat.

Watching from their balcony seats, Campbell and his associates discuss how Loid and Fiona have shaken things up. One of them says that, unlike ordinary opponents, the pair will have trouble against his Bolic Brothers. Another associate dismisses them, saying they are just drug addicts, but the man tells them their new drug, "Oso-R," is being given a trial run in the next match. This drug leads the Bolic Brothers to transform from skinny, non-muscular men to hulking men with lots of muscle. Loid, after seeing them, questions whether this was really risk-free, and Fiona simply responds by telling him they just need to do their best.

Elsewhere, Anya and Bond play tennis at the park with Yor. Anya calls out to her mother to get the tennis ball as it bounces toward her. Yor, lost in thought, takes a second to react before grabbing the ball. Anya questions whether Yor was daydreaming or not, which she denies. As she stares at the tennis ball, Yor thinks about the tennis competition Loid is at and wonders if Fiona is with him in the competition. While Yor contemplates their relationship and what it might mean for her, she considers getting rid of Fiona, and her grip tightens on the ball. Yor shakes these thoughts off and tells herself that something horrible could happen. Anya, reading her mind, tells her she does not have anything to worry about. Yor asks what Anya meant by that and wonders if she knew what she was thinking. Anya, realizing her mistake, quickly covers it up by telling her not to worry because Loid will win and "bring home the trophy." Yor smiles and agrees that Loid can accomplish anything and will give any opponent a beatdown, cheering him on.

At the tennis tournament, the announcer says the next match will be between Team Foney and the Bolic Brothers. Loid points out the drastic difference in their appearance since the first round. Fiona informs Loid that anything goes in the tournament, from modified rackets to drugs. She tells Loid that she believes steroids are involved, which he says is an understatement. A member of the crowd yells at the brothers, telling them he bet his life savings on them, and threatens to kill them if they lose. In response, Catan Bolic grabs the wire fence between them and rips open a hole. Anan Bolic tells the man to shut up and watch as the announcer relays in disbelief at the brothers’ strength. Seeing this, many audience members scramble to place bets on the brothers believing no one could beat them, while the announcer announces that the time for placing bets is almost up.

Loid looks at the brothers wondering how they can beat them, while Anan crushes a tennis ball with his bare hands. The announcer yells about Anan’s actions and asks him to show some respect for the gear. The brothers then approach Loid and start throwing insults at him. While Loid is indifferent, Fiona snaps at their insults, leading her to completely dominate the match and not allow them to score any points. The Bolic Brothers lie on the ground with tennis ball marks all over their body as the announcer announces their victory. Loid questions if hitting them with every smash hit was necessary, and Fiona claims that her hand slipped. The manager of the brothers cries about his secret weapons being ruined, and Cavi tells him he might need to send the drug back to R&D. The others comment that even Cavi must be sweating after seeing how good Loid and Fiona were, which he denies.

Afterward, they continue to make their way through the tournament and to the finals, with Fiona making lots of flashy plays to try and impress Loid. A butler takes them to a waiting room, informing them that the finals will begin in 20 minutes and to wait there. The agents discuss their next opponents, Cavi's son and daughter. Despite being high schoolers, they have been training with the best since early childhood, but they will need to watch out for any sabotage attempts from them since their father runs the tournament. Fiona is confident after making it this far and believes it will be easy to beat them. Loid grabs Fiona's wrist, making her heart flutter as she wonders if he is making his move on her. However, he tells her to stop pushing herself, noting how her hand is covered in bruises. Loid tells her that even if she thinks it will be easy, she needs to keep herself under control.

Fiona jerks her arm free and says it will be easy, and they do not have time to waste. Loid replies that he has heard the same thing from many dead comrades, saying that losing your cool can mean losing your life. Fiona gives in and thinks how great it is to have Loid fret over her. Once again declaring her love for him in her thoughts, Fiona stares at Loid with an intense glare, which he interprets as her doubting his methods. She then looks at the arm she jerked free and thinks about his lingering warmth and the tingling in her fingers. She then questions the tingling and then looks to the vent. Having also noticed this, Loid tells Fiona to hold her breath and close her eyes since a colorless and odorless gas is filling the room. Loid realizes this must be why Campbell sibling's past opponents appeared to be off their game. He tries to open the door but finds it locked. He contemplates picking the lock but thinks there may be a guard outside, and it would look suspicious for ordinary people to be able to do that. Continuing their discussion in Morse code, they pretend they got caught in the trap and try to prevent themselves from taking in as much gas as possible.

The announcer announces the final match between the Foney couple and the Campbell siblings and questions whether the Foneys can stop the Campbells from getting their third consecutive win. The crowd cheers in favor of the Foneys, which Cavi is pleased about since he will get more money if they lose. The other managers, except Cavi, place their bets on the Foneys, Cavi betting ten million on his children. He laughs to himself about Loid and Fiona having to suck up gas for ten minutes and is confident that his children will beat them. Loid asks Fiona how she is feeling, and she says her heart rate and breathing are a little off. Carrol Campbell tells Kim Campbell that he got word from their father that they do not need to make the game look close this time, which pleases Kim. She is eager to get the match over and get the new yacht that Cavi promised them. Carrol pulls out his jet-powered tennis racket, and Kim pulls out her whip racket. Loid serves the ball to them, which Carrol returns with tons of force from the rockets. Fiona attempts to return it but ends up hitting it out of bounds. Carrol tells them not to think of it as cheating as he had to practice a lot to learn how to use it.

In the next game, Loid hits the ball toward them, and it appears to the announcer that neither of the siblings could hit it. However, Kim releases a latch on her racket, allowing it to extend far enough to hit the ball, and drives it down onto the other side of the court, scoring them a point. Using these special rackets, the siblings continue to win the first two games and the first set of the match. The crowd yells at Loid and Fiona to get their act together. One of the men sitting next to Cavi curses the loss as Cavi laughs and apologizes. Loid clenches his fist as his strength returns to him and looks at Fiona, who also acknowledges this.

The second set begins with a powerful serve from Carrol, followed by a return from Loid. Kim tries to hit it back with some spin, but Fiona is ready and returns it, scoring a point. Carrol chalks up the win to luck, believing they will continue to beat the couple. As they continue playing, Loid and Fiona win three more games. Carrol wears a nasty look as a man in a suit on the sidelines gives him a nod before fiddling with a control panel. In the next game, the siblings serve, and Fiona attempts to return it. However, before she can hit it, the floor tile under her foot sinks into the ground, causing her to hit it out of bounds, and Carrol looks at them with a smug grin and laughs. Loid comments on how he noticed the court separated into 36 panels, and now they know why. Fiona responds that they will have to watch for more tricks like this. He tells her it will not be a problem since he will not lose to some dumb gimmicks. Fiona stares in admiration as she thinks about how this is the Twilight she fell in love with. Fiona walks to Loid's side and tells him that the two of them will crush their opponents together.

Anime Notes

 * The first tennis match shown features an anime-original scene with the Bolic Brothers, who win the game.
 * The flashback scene of the Forgers practicing tennis together is expanded in the anime.
 * Like in the manga, Daybreak appears briefly being beaten by Nightfall. In the anime, he appears being hit with a ball.