It was a perfect Friday afternoon, the golden sunlight filtering through the fence around the tennis court, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Okabara Kyogumichi had just finished his club activities when Kawasaki Saki stopped him at the entrance of the school building.
The girl was holding a tennis racket, and there was still a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, clearly having just returned from the court.
"Okabara-san, you should go check it out, something happened at the tennis court. I've already used up a lot of energy, so I can't go help," Kawasaki Saki said with a hint of urgency. "Yukinoshita-san is being challenged by Miura and her friends because she occupied the court to practice tennis with Yuigahama."
Kyogumichi was stunned for a moment: "Challenged?"
"Miura said that Yukinoshita-san was wasting resources by occupying the court without knowing how to play," Kawasaki Saki frowned. "Now Yukinoshita-san has agreed to a one-on-one match with Miura, with Hayama and Yuigahama as referees."
Kyogumichi followed Kawasaki Saki quickly towards the tennis court, and from a distance, he could hear the crisp sound of tennis balls hitting the ground and rackets. As they got closer to the court, they found that many students had already gathered around to watch the excitement; the duel between two beautiful girls always attracted most people to stop and watch.
In the middle of the court, Yukino Yukinoshita and Miura Yumiko stood opposite each other across the net, both holding tennis rackets, their expressions focused. Yukinoshita was dressed in clean white sportswear, her long hair tied into a neat ponytail, and fine beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, yet it did not affect her movements in the slightest. Her posture was standard and elegant, each swing of the racket precise and powerful, her eyes as sharp as knives, closely tracking her opponent's movements.
Miura Yumiko, on the other hand, wore a fashionable pink tracksuit, her face showing an unyielding stubbornness. Her movements were broad, her shots full of power, but slightly impatient, and the sweat on her forehead had already soaked her bangs.
Yuigahama Yui stood on the sidelines, nervously clutching the corner of her clothes, softly cheering for Yukinoshita: "Yukinon, you can do it!"
Hayama Hayato stood at the net, his gaze moving back and forth between the two, his expression a little helpless.
"This is already the third game, Yukinoshita is really beyond my expectations," Miura panted, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "I didn't expect the ice queen to be quite good at tennis."
Yukinoshita ignored her provocation, simply adjusting her breathing, her eyes calmly looking at her opponent: "Want to continue? Or are you already tired?"
"Who's tired!" Miura was enraged, she tossed the tennis ball fiercely, flicked her wrist with force, and the tennis ball, whistling through the air, flew straight towards Yukinoshita's blind spot.
The surrounding crowd let out a gasp, clearly not expecting her serve to be so powerful.
Yukinoshita, however, reacted extremely quickly, moving her feet swiftly, tilting her body slightly, and her racket precisely struck the center of the ball. The tennis ball changed direction, flying with a strong spin towards Miura's backhand.
Miura rushed to save it, but due to an unstable center of gravity, her shot was slightly off angle. Yukinoshita seized the opportunity, quickly stepped forward, flicked her wrist, and the racket, as if it had eyes, hit the ball into an open space on the opponent's court.
"Good shot!" Yuigahama couldn't help but shout.
Miura watched the tennis ball land, stomping her foot in annoyance. This game, Yukinoshita won.
Kyogumichi on the sidelines raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. He had originally thought that Yukinoshita was only good at theory, but he didn't expect her to be so talented in sports. Her technique was not only standard, but her tactical awareness was also very strong, always able to accurately judge her opponent's weaknesses.
"It was just luck," Miura said stubbornly, serving again. This time she chose a drop shot, trying to catch Yukinoshita off guard. Yukinoshita, however, was already prepared, her feet moved slightly, a seemingly slow movement but precisely reaching the landing spot, her racket gently flicked, and the tennis ball drew a beautiful arc, landing perfectly on the opponent's service line.
Miura rushed forward but failed to return this tricky angled shot.
"Another good shot!" Kawasaki Saki whispered beside Kyogumichi, praising her. "Yukinoshita-san rarely participates in sports, I didn't expect her to be so good at tennis."
Kyogumichi nodded, his gaze fixed on the court. Yukinoshita's playing style was calm and restrained, with no wasted movements; every shot was well thought out. She did not rely on power and speed like Miura, but rather used precise placement and clever spin to control the rhythm of the game. Although this style of play did not look flashy, it was very effective.
In the subsequent matches, Yukinoshita completely dominated. She could always anticipate Miura's shot direction in advance, using the least amount of movement to exhaust her opponent's physical strength. Miura's movements became more and more agitated, and her errors increased, veins bulging on her forehead, yet she could not break through Yukinoshita's defense.
When Yukinoshita hit a perfect volley, the tennis ball grazed the net and landed in an area where Miura had no time to react, Hayama Hayato announced the result of the match: "This game goes to Yukinoshita, total score 2:1, Yukinoshita wins."
There was a brief silence, followed by a low murmur of discussion. No one had expected that this seemingly one-sided match would ultimately end in Yukinoshita's victory.
Miura held her racket, her shoulders heaving violently, clearly unable to accept such a result. She looked at Yukinoshita, her eyes filled with unwillingness and surprise: "You... you actually hid your strength."
Yukinoshita put away her racket, wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel, her voice calm and unwavering: "I just do what's necessary when it's necessary." She paused, then added, "We still need to continue using this court."
Miura gritted her teeth, then suddenly turned her gaze to Hayama, her tone firm and unquestioning: "Hayama, you go! I refuse to believe they can keep winning!"
Hayama was stunned for a moment, a little hesitant: "Yumiko, that's not really fair, the match is already over..."
"What's over!" Miura interrupted him, pointing at Yukinoshita, "She must have just won against me by luck, you go play a match with her and let her know what real strength is!"
Yukinoshita's face paled slightly upon hearing this. The continuous matches had already exhausted her greatly; the last game was entirely supported by willpower, and now her arms were trembling slightly, she had no strength left for another high-intensity match. She tightened her grip on the racket, her fingertips turning white from the effort.
Yuigahama also noticed Yukinoshita's exhaustion, and was so anxious she was almost in tears: "Miura-san, that's not fair, Yukinon is already very tired..."
"Fair? Why didn't you say it was fair when she won against me just now?" Miura sneered, pressing closer, "Are you scared now? Where did all that arrogance go?"
Just at this tense moment, a calm voice suddenly rang out: "If you don't mind, I'll play a match with Hayama."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Kyogumichi emerge from the crowd, a tennis racket in his hand, he walked up to Yukinoshita and whispered: "You've done very well, leave the rest to me."
Yukinoshita looked at him in surprise, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment. Kyogumichi said no more, he just turned around and looked at Hayama, a composed smile playing on his lips: "Hayama, interested in a game?"
Hayama looked at the suddenly appearing Kyogumichi, then at the expectant Miura and the tired-looking Yukinoshita, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally nodded: "Alright, then one game to decide the winner."
The sunlight filtered through the fence, casting shifting light spots on the court. Kyogumichi and Hayama stood on opposite sides of the net, their posture holding the rackets exuding a professional aura. The atmosphere instantly grew tense, everyone's gaze focused on the center of the court, anticipating this sudden showdown.
And who would win this match was still an unknown at this moment.