After a brief warm-up, the day's practice officially began.
Tennis.
The P.E. teacher had everyone pair up for practice matches.
Tanaka Masao's class had twenty-six students, which should have made thirteen pairs.
Unfortunately—
No one wanted to pair up with him.
The other odd one out was Kawasaki Saki.
Meanwhile, in Class 1–J next door, they were also playing tennis that day.
There were twenty-five students in that class, and the one left without a partner didn't even need guessing—
It was Yukinoshita Yukino.
Holding his tennis racket, Tanaka stood there, glancing between Kawasaki Saki and Yukinoshita Yukino, feeling oddly conflicted.
[Man… two beautiful girls.
Who should I play tennis with? What a dilemma.
Well, I am a kind-hearted guy—guess I'll reluctantly keep both of them company.]
In reality, there was no need for him to agonize.
Under normal circumstances, if he invited either of them, both Yukinoshita Yukino and Kawasaki Saki would refuse without hesitation.
If he tried inviting Yukinoshita under the excuse of "weight-loss training,"
She'd hesitate briefly—then make him practice swings alone until class ended.
Tanaka looked back and forth between the two.
Though Yukinoshita was clearly prettier—
Tanaka decisively walked toward Kawasaki Saki.
No helping it.
Her particular "advantage" was simply more appealing to him.
Tanaka approached a corner where Kawasaki was lazily swinging her racket against the wall.
"Kawasaki-san, how about we team up for tennis?"
Kawasaki glanced at him sideways and replied flatly,
"I'm fine on my own."
After that, she ignored him completely.
Seeing her cold reaction, Tanaka didn't push further.
[Alright then… I'll go ask Yukinoshita.]
Tanaka walked toward the other corner, where Yukinoshita Yukino was standing.
"Yukinoshita-san, want to play tennis together?"
Yukinoshita let out a cold laugh.
As one of the few people she could tolerate talking to, she'd been observing Tanaka's every move.
Naturally, she'd seen him approach Kawasaki first—and get rejected—before coming to her.
For some reason, that annoyed her.
Her tone sharpened.
"What, got rejected?"
Yukinoshita crossed her arms. Though she was slightly shorter than Tanaka, she somehow made him feel like he was being looked down on.
"I suppose I could agree to play with you," she continued coolly,
"But your skill level is far too low to interest me. How about this—practice swinging your racket ten thousand times first. Then I'll consider your invitation."
"Ten thousand times?!"
Tanaka sucked in a sharp breath.
Forget whether he could do it—even if he did, his arms would be ruined.
He could clearly tell Yukinoshita was rejecting him outright, so he didn't bother with pointless resistance.
[Hmph. Rejected by both of them.
Honestly… this is exactly how I imagined it.]
He'd been mentally prepared for this outcome anyway.
If anything, rejection was the normal result.
[Still… it kinda ticks me off.]
Behind his glasses, Tanaka's eyes darted as he thought rapidly—
And soon, a brilliant idea formed.
He walked back over to Kawasaki Saki.
Seeing him return, she spoke first.
"I already told you—I'm not interested in playing tennis with you."
Tanaka ignored the rejection and said casually,
"It's not me. The girl from the class next door—Yukinoshita-san—said your skills look good and wants you to play against her."
Kawasaki frowned.
She had seen Tanaka talking to Yukinoshita earlier, but she hadn't expected this.
Still, the command-like phrasing rubbed her the wrong way.
She knew Yukinoshita Yukino by reputation—someone famous in their year—
But Kawasaki Saki wasn't the type to be pushed around.
She replied coldly,
"Tell her I accept her challenge."
Seeing the way Kawasaki tightened her grip on the racket, Tanaka smiled.
"Got it. I'll pass it on."
He hurried over to Yukinoshita.
"Yukinoshita-san, my classmate Kawasaki Saki wants to challenge you to a tennis match. She's over there—the one playing alone."
Worried Yukinoshita might not recognize her, Tanaka even pointed her out helpfully.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Yukinoshita raised an eyebrow and glanced at Tanaka.
"Why do I feel like this isn't that simple?"
Caught—but fully prepared—Tanaka remained calm.
"How could it be? If you don't want to accept, I'll go tell Kawasaki-san right away."
"Trying to provoke me?" Yukinoshita said coolly. "But…"
She looked toward Kawasaki Saki.
At the same moment, Kawasaki looked back.
Their gazes collided in midair, sparks flying—both seemingly thinking the same thing.
[You're barely qualified to be my opponent.]
"I accept the challenge."
Yukinoshita stepped forward confidently, her presence sharp and overwhelming.
Kawasaki didn't back down—her own aura just as strong.
Neither said another word as they headed for the nearest tennis court.
Watching them, Tanaka's lips curled into a victorious, scheming grin.
[If neither of you wants to play with me, then you can just play each other.
I even helped you both find a partner—you should be thanking me.]
As for whether his scheme would be exposed—
Tanaka wasn't worried in the slightest.
In his mind, both Yukinoshita Yukino and Kawasaki Saki were the quiet type.
There was no way they'd bother discussing such trivial details.
Yukinoshita and Kawasaki took their positions on opposite sides of the court.
Tanaka, very naturally, stepped into the middle to act as referee.
"You serve first," Yukinoshita said.
Kawasaki nodded.
She bounced the ball once against the ground and gave a brief warning.
"Try to keep up."
The serve flew out like a missile.
Yukinoshita returned it effortlessly.
Back and forth they went—over a dozen exchanges—until the rally finally ended due to Kawasaki's mistake.
Since this was just practice, there were no formal games or sets—
Only simple point counting for comparison.
Yukinoshita didn't relax after scoring first; her expression remained serious.
Kawasaki didn't look discouraged either—her focus sharpened instead.
Soon, the match drew attention from others nearby.
After all—
It was a tennis match between the two prettiest girls from different classes.
And it was very easy on the eyes.