Chapter 80: The Second Tennis War (2)
On the tennis court, the bang, bang, bang rhythm suddenly sped up.
Although Totsuka Saika had made up his mind, his frail body could not adapt to the rapidly increasing pace.
Under Luke's shots, Totsuka ran back and forth across his half of the court. He looked exactly like the paddle in Breakout, constantly moving left and right to bounce the ball back, his feet never stopping for even a moment.
In this kind of competitive game, it was very easy for the strong to toy with the weak in the palm of their hand.
Although Luke had only received simple guidance from the teacher during P.E. class, even basic tennis movements were enough for him. With strength, agility, and spirit all surpassing ordinary people, he could still overwhelm the physically weak Totsuka.
Totsuka's body was simply too weak.
Seeing Totsuka's speed grow slower and slower, Luke gradually reduced some of his strength.
Totsuka Saika used the last of his energy to hit the tennis ball back.
Luke looked at the ball that had barely crossed the net, bouncing clumsily across the ground toward him. He reached out and caught it in his hand.
"Let's take a break…"
Totsuka could no longer answer. The rapid side-to-side running and swinging had sent his heart rate soaring so high that he could not even speak.
"…I-I'll… huff… rest… a bit."
It took him a while before he finally managed to speak.
It seemed what he should be training was that equally weak body, not focusing entirely on improving technique.
So Luke called out to Hikigaya.
"Swap in! Hikigaya."
"Oh."
Totsuka walked weakly to the shade of a tree and began resting.
Neither Luke nor Hikigaya were members of the tennis club, so they did not need to polish tennis technique. They also did not obsess too much over scoring points.
After exchanging a few rallies like that, the silent exercise started to feel a little boring, so Luke spoke up.
"What do you usually do after lunch to pass the time, Hikigaya?"
Hikigaya thought for a moment before replying, "Novels or manga, I guess."
"Manga… Then have you read Horror Manga Special: Scream?"
"Horror manga?"
"Yeah."
"I rarely read horror manga, but I did watch horror movies with my family when I was little."
"Then I'm giving Scream a five-star recommendation!"
"Oh."
The two chatted casually. Thanks to both of them having decent technique, the tennis ball never stopped moving.
At that moment, Luke, feeling slightly tired, watched the tennis ball fly high into the air. The tips of both his feet touched the ground, and he quickly stepped backward, eyes locked on the ball above and in front of his right shoulder.
Aim.
Jump.
Smash.
"Cyclone Smash."
Hikigaya decisively gave up on the ball, letting it crash into the ground and bounce backward.
Tennis was all about smashes, after all!
"Did you learn that move from Echizen Ryoma?"
"Hah. I still have a long way to go before reaching that level."
Luke smiled and shrugged, resting the racket on his shoulder while watching the girl on the other side of the court pick up the ball.
"Do you have any special moves, Hikigaya?"
"I only started playing tennis in high school…"
Hikigaya also lowered his playing stance.
"But I do know one move that's been passed down in the martial world."
"Passed down? What move?"
"Rocket Racket."
Luke hesitated.
"…Literally?"
"Literally."
Luke fell silent for a moment.
"…That might be illegal."
Hikigaya thought about it, then refined the technique.
"If you don't get caught…"
"That move is kind of dirty… but I'll remember it."
If you did not get caught, it did not count as illegal.
Mm. There was some logic to that.
During the break, Luke walked over to Yuigahama, who was holding the tennis ball.
"Your tennis ball got lost…"
Yuigahama handed him the dusty tennis ball.
"You're the one who got lost, right?"
Luke took the ball speechlessly. What sudden whim brought this girl here? Her stamina might even be worse than Totsuka's.
"Why did you come to the tennis court at lunch?"
Yuigahama looked at the two people under the shade of the tree and asked him.
Luke swallowed the same question he had been about to ask.
"Totsuka-kun and Hikigaya-kun are training tennis at lunch, so I came over to play along."
"Umm—so that's it."
Yuigahama lowered her head and tapped the ground with her toes, but she did not know what else to say.
Seeing her like that, Luke asked, "What did you come here for?"
"Good question!"
Yuigahama hurriedly raised her head and nodded heavily, then explained.
"Actually, when Yukinon and I were eating lunch, I lost at rock-paper-scissors, so I had to do a penalty game."
"The penalty is making you come to the tennis court as a cheerleader?"
Luke glanced at her outfit.
"The skirt does fit the standard."
"No way!"
Yuigahama panicked and pressed down on her skirt, which truly could not be called very long, covering it against her knees.
"It's obviously longer than a tennis skirt!"
Looking at the skirt, which was indeed longer than the one she had worn when she came to the Service Club for the cookie request, he nodded in agreement.
"Ugh—!"
Yuigahama still puffed out her cheeks unhappily and angrily punched his shoulder.
"You're so rude, idiot!"
A light thump came from his shoulder.
The feeling was…
Hm?
He vaguely felt something was off and furrowed his brows.
"You… hit a little harder."
Yuigahama froze, then blankly used a bit more strength and hit the same spot.
"Like this?"
"A little harder."
"This?"
"About there. Keep going."
"Oh."
Yuigahama's small fists struck his shoulder again and again. Luke also cooperated by lowering his shoulder, making it easier for her to hit.
Exercise was a very satisfying and stress-relieving thing. However, after releasing one's strength, the body would feel tired and sore.
Sometimes, muscles would even get strained, making every movement cautious out of fear of touching the sore spot.
Even if you kept exercising for a long time, one period of slacking off could slowly return your body to its original state.
Who could guarantee they would keep working hard, day after day, without ever stopping?
So exercise itself had never been the difficult part.
Persistence was.
Yuigahama's steady, well-paced punches continued landing on his back. Her small fists comfortably relaxed his body, allowing him to think about these principles with ease.
At the same time, the confused Yuigahama was also thinking.
Where did I come from?
Where am I going?
What am I… doing?
"Wait, no!"
Yuigahama widened her eyes and quickly pulled both fists back, holding them in front of her chest.
"Why am I giving you a back massage?"
"Huh? Wasn't I letting you vent your emotions for free?"
"Liar!"
With the free back massage over, Luke regretfully rolled his shoulders a couple of times.
After being baptized by Yukinoshita's math, Yuigahama had actually evolved all of a sudden? He thought this massage could last for about a minute.
Damn it!
It was all Yukinoshita's fault!
Luke returned to the shade of the tree.
The two people there were fanning themselves with their hands.
Yuigahama followed closely behind him, her "fierce" gaze biting into him. She was one step away from saying something like, "Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
"Hellooo~ Sai-chan~"
She still did not forget to greet Totsuka Saika.
"Hi."
Totsuka Saika, who was hugging his knees, gently waved his hand. At the same time, Hikigaya's figure was revealed beside him.
"Umm—so the loner guy is here too…"
Luke quickly knocked Yuigahama on the head.
"You're too rude, idiot."
…
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