Chapter 179 Tennis 67

"Ha ha……"

In a large flat in a high-rise building in downtown Tokyo, a young girl collapsed on the cold marble floor of the living room. Her face and lips were as pale as paper, and her usually smooth long black hair was soaked with cold sweat and stuck to her cheeks. She was breathing heavily.

My heart... hurts so much.

Kurikawa Sana's finger joints were so pale from being pinched, but she could clearly see her painful face and expression on the reflective floor.

The familiar feeling came back, my heart seemed to have broken a hole in it, and every second of breathing felt like torture.

Without the normal functioning of the heart, the blood in the body seemed to be solidified and no longer flowed.

Today was the last day of the national tournament, the final match between Seigaku and Rikkai University, and she wanted to go. She had changed her clothes early in the morning and was ready to go out, but she collapsed on the way from her room to the door, unable to even make it out of the living room.

——He was completely ill.

Although she had been feeling a premonition for the past few days, and her condition had deteriorated significantly since she was released from the hospital after the earthquake, she could at least still move around. But when the full onset of the disease arrived, and she experienced the same pain in the real world again... it was still terrifying.

In comparison, the discomfort and discomfort I felt in the past few days can only be considered "mild".

Her heart was breaking and roaring. She pressed her elbows against the cold ground and tried to stand up, but found it was all in vain.

Kurikawa Sana couldn't help but smile bitterly.

I don’t know whether it was lucky or unlucky that I fell ill before I even went out.

Unfortunately, she couldn't see the match. Echizen, Yukimura, Tezuka, and Fuji had all invited her to watch today's match, but she couldn't even touch the doorknob and couldn't reach the match venue.

Fortunately, she will not collapse in front of everyone in the audience during this game that means so much to them, and will not affect their performance.

She didn't want them to recall the most important finals of their junior high school days, not the scene of her and her teammates fighting passionately, not the joy of winning or giving their all without regrets, but the scene of her collapsing in front of them.

No matter when, she hopes that they are well and not affected by her.

As for her now...

Kurikawa Sana struggled to stand up and reach the phone on the table to call an ambulance, but every movement she made brought her excruciating pain.

"hiss……"

The system was so anxious that it quickly said: [Sanae, don't force it. This will only make it more painful!]

[Leave, Sana, that's enough. Once you leave, everyone's favorability will be full. There's no need for you to endure the pain and continue to persevere—]

"As long as you make the decision with one order, we can immediately leave this world like before—"

Just like before...

Kurikawa Sana closed her eyes.

It is precisely because she doesn't want to leave any regrets like before that she has persisted until now.

She didn't know what would happen to everyone in the basketball world, but she was afraid of everyone in the volleyball world... She was afraid that her willful departure would cast a shadow on them, and even affect their future direction and decisions, such as... waiting for her.

At least this time, we need to make it clear to everyone in the tennis world so that they don’t feel sad and don’t wait.

"This time, I don't want to be a coward and leave without saying goodbye..."

Kurikawa Sana's eyes were a little dazed, and she murmured, "It's just the last bit of time, System, let's hold on for this period, and then we can leave..."

The system's always mechanical electronic voice revealed a deep sense of pity and incomprehension: [But you will suffer...]

"It's okay. I'm very familiar with this kind of pain." The girl said weakly, "In the real world, I'm accompanied by this kind of pain every day... It's just that I haven't experienced it in too long, so I can't recover all of a sudden..."

"Don't worry, system, I'll be able to adapt quickly..."

System: […Okay.]

In the huge space, the only sound in the air was the girl's labored breathing.

The system watched silently as she slowly closed her eyes due to intense sleepiness and pain.

The girl's heartbeat was extremely weak, but it was still beating strongly. However, soon the time of this body in this world would also stop.

But before that, before leaving...

He would accompany her for the last part of the journey.

…

*

At the same time, at the Tokyo Gymnasium, the national competition was taking place.

Two "click" sounds were the sound of the yellow ball being cut in half by the "Samurai Shot" falling to the ground, marking the end of the game.

Yukimura Seiichi gripped his racket tightly, looked up at the sky, and sweat slid down his jawline and neck.

"GAME AND THE MATCH!"

The referee sitting high up loudly announced the result of the game -

"The score is 6 to 4, Qingxue wins!"

Yukimura Seiichi breathed lightly and closed his eyes, asking himself in his mind.

Frustrated? Sad?

Yes, the invincible "Son of God" suffered its first rare defeat today, and the three consecutive championships of the king Rikkai University came to an end.

The ultimate in perfection, the deepest of the three gates in the realm of selflessness, is indeed powerful.

According to legend, only those who are completely focused, have no distractions, and truly love tennis itself can enter the state of selflessness. The last person to reach the ultimate state of perfection was the "samurai" Nanjiro Echizen twenty years ago.

Now, twenty years later, his son Echizen Ryoma has also realized the true meaning and become a new generation of samurai.

After awakening to this realm, Ryoma Echizen's strength increased to an astonishing level. The speed of his serve was so fast that the referee could not catch it with the naked eye, and thus he quickly reversed the situation.

But compared to the perfect awakening, Yukimura Seiichi admired more the qualities that Ryoma Echizen displayed in desperate situations.

Originally, he was far ahead. He completely suppressed Echizen Ryoma at the beginning. However, under his special move "Destroying the Five Senses", Echizen lost all his hearing, vision and touch. Not only could he not even serve a ball, he also fell to the ground and couldn't stand up. The scene was very embarrassing for a while, and even the players of Echizen Seigaku turned their faces away, unable to bear to watch it anymore.

But even in the face of such an embarrassing situation, Echizen never gave up his love for tennis.

Echizen struggled to stand up again, awakening a new attitude, and asked him - "Are you happy playing tennis?"

Yukimura Seiichi was stunned for a long time.

For a moment, he was unable to immediately answer the other party's question.

If you ask him whether he loves tennis, Yukimura Seiichi's answer is undoubtedly yes. Even when his Guillain-Barré syndrome was at its worst and he needed surgery, he never gave up his love for tennis.

But if you ask him if he is happy playing... The rule of King Rikkai is victory first. He really hasn't felt happy in a game for a long time. The only thing that matters is victory or failure.

Whether it's playing tennis or anything else - the most important thing is to be happy.

To think that a first-year junior could make him realize this all over again... Yukimura Seiichi curled his lips and looked towards the audience seats behind him.

…Sana was nowhere to be found.

What would she feel if she knew the result of today's game?

Yukimura Seiichi could roughly imagine that she would first be surprised by Echizen's progress, and then use her keen intuition to realize that what he had gained was far more precious than winning or losing the game.

——He rediscovered his true love for tennis.

After today's battle, Yukimura Seiichi will become even stronger and more perfect from now on.

Although Rikkai University's three-peat had been interrupted, it could start a new three-peat, a four-peat, or even a ten-year reign starting next year. As this term's president, he had done his best and had no regrets. From now on, it would be the world of the new Rikkai University led by Akaya.

Yukimura Seiichi looked across the net and saw a dark green-haired boy walking towards him, his amber eyes filled with undisguised admiration and praise.

"You are really strong." Echizen Ryoma said to him.

Yukimura Seiichi shook the other person's extended hand and smiled faintly, "Thank you."

As the two shook hands, the whole audience cheered loudly - there was no denying that this was a very exciting game, a showdown of the highest level in junior high school tennis.

After a friendly handshake as a sign of respect, the two returned to their respective seats, under the gaze of the audience and reporters. Echizen Ryoma raised his head and scanned the entire audience, but couldn't find the person he was looking for. A look of disappointment flashed across the boy's amber eyes.

"Congratulations, Echizen! You actually won!!"

"You are so awesome, kid—"

"As expected of a pillar of Seigaku, personally chosen and trained by Minister Tezuka!!"

Amidst the cheers, Echizen Ryoma first smiled heartily, accepting the caresses and rubbings of his shoulders from his seniors. But after the whole process, he finally couldn't help but ask, "By the way..."

"Is Sana-senpai here today?"

When these words were spoken, everyone in Qingxue was stunned for a moment and subconsciously looked back, but they also failed to find Kurikawa Sana.

"I didn't see it..." Kawamura Takashi touched the back of his head in a simple manner.

Kikumaru Eiji spread his hands and said, "I've been looking for her since the beginning of the competition, but she really hasn't appeared from beginning to end."

Kaidou Xun hissed, "Could it be that she was here before, but we didn't see her?"

Taocheng Wu immediately shook his head and retorted, "Impossible! As soon as she appears in the crowd, she is the most dazzling one. She will definitely be noticed at a glance!"

Kaidou Xun: "...That's true."

"Kurikawa-san didn't get to see Tezuka's match this time..." Oishi Shuichiro's eyes lost focus.

Kikumaru Eiji wiped his sweat, thinking that besides being the BBQ promoter, Oishi was also Tsukosa's CP leader! Oishi was surprisingly persistent in some things!

The real person, Tezuka Kunimitsu, who was admired by Oishi Shuichiro, was standing straight with his arms folded, his eyes sharp. The same was true for Fuji Shusuke, who reacted when Kurikawa Sana's name was mentioned.

On the other side, at the Rikkai University seating area.

"It's okay, Minister Yukimura, we'll restart our three-peat next year!"

"Yes, Minister, you have done a great job! At least I have no regrets-"

"In my heart, Minister Yukimura will always be the strongest!!"

Facing the respectful looks and sincere blessings from his clubmates, Yukimura Seiichi felt a surge of warmth flow through his heart and responded with a sincere smile, "Thank you everyone."

But soon, when he picked up the mobile phone that had been placed on the sidelines because of the game, Yukimura Seiichi's smile froze on his face and came to an abrupt end.

Not only did the smile on his face suddenly stop, but his hands were also shaking slightly, and the muscles in his arms were bulging, a state that had never appeared before at the end of the game.

Seeing him in this rare state, everyone in Rikkai was stunned and puzzled.

Only Niou Masaharu and Yanagi Renji, who knew the inside story, realized something. Their faces turned ugly and they had roughly guessed what had happened.

Yukimura's phone is connected to a watch that can monitor Sana Kurikawa's heartbeat data. He had such an abnormal reaction after looking at the phone, and it is very likely that there was something wrong with Sana's heart rate.

"Minister, what's wrong with you?"

"Yukimura, what happened?" Genichirō Sanada asked with a frown.

“…I have to leave for something urgent.”

Yukimura Seiichi didn't say a single meaningless word. He just took a step and rushed out. His speed was so fast that the coat on his shoulders, which never fell off, fell onto the seat.

"Sana is in danger—her heartbeat is so weak it's almost gone!"

The words were concise and to the point, and just one sentence directly pointed out the seriousness of the situation.

“……!”

Everyone's expression changed.

"…What did Yukimura just say?"

The members of Rikkai University turned around and saw that the person who came was actually Seigaku's captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu. His face, which was as calm as an iceberg, suddenly showed cracks.

Following behind Tezuka Kunimitsu were all the members of Seigaku. It seemed that before they were about to leave, the whole team came over to greet Rikkai and happened to hear what Yukimura Seiichi said.

"Sana-senpai's heartbeat is almost gone...what does that mean?"

For the first time, a look of vulnerability appeared on Ryoma Echizen's face. Even when Yukimura Seiichi had deprived him of his five senses in the previous match, he had never been as confused as he was now.

But the confused expression only lasted for a second, and then he took a step forward and chased in the direction where Yukimura Seiichi disappeared.

Like Ryoma Echizen, Kunimitsu Tezuka and Shusuke Fuji also chased after him without any hesitation.

Echizen Ryoma ran at the fastest speed to catch up with Yukimura Seiichi.

What does it mean? What else could it mean?

It means literally... Sana-senpai is in danger, her heart is almost stopping, and she is in imminent danger.

He had asked that question almost to himself just now. It was not so much that he wanted to get some useful information from the Rikkai University team members, but rather that he wanted to get some comfort, praying that he would get a reply like "Ah, Yukimura was just joking."

But Echizen Ryoma knew clearly that this was impossible.

Yukimura wasn't one to joke around, and his recent performance and nervousness weren't fake at all... Plus, there was one thing that had always been on Echizen Ryoma's mind: the words the doctor had mentioned when they were at the door of the operating room at Nagano Prefectural Hospital.

Senior Sana has a very serious heart problem that cannot be cured by ordinary hospitals.

All the details became so clear at this moment. The more I thought about it, the more scared I became.

Ryoma Echizen felt as if his heart was being gripped by an invisible hand, making it impossible to breathe.

The extreme speed of running caused the air in his lungs to be constantly drained. In the pain of being unable to breathe, Echizen Ryoma could feel that the two seniors beside him were in the same mood as him.

Tezuka-senpai and Fuji-senpai...

It was also the first time he saw that expression on the faces of these two people.

…

*

At the entrance of a high-rise building in a large apartment building in downtown Tokyo, a group of teenagers gathered in front of the anti-theft code lock door, each of them with a nervous and ugly expression.

"Will Sana really be in there?"

"Where else could she be but at home?"

"But we knocked on the door for so long, and she didn't open it!"

"I should have thought of that earlier! She clearly promised to come to today's game... She's not the type to suddenly cancel an appointment. Something must have happened to cause her not to show up!"

One anxious analysis after another came one after another, and Atobe Keigo's forehead vein jumped and interrupted, "Shh - be quiet for a moment!"

The reason why he appeared here was because just now at the entrance of the competition venue, he was about to talk to Yukimura Seiichi who rushed out to discuss the game just now, but before he could say anything, he was shocked by Yukimura Seiichi's expression.

Atobe Keigo's insight was astonishing. Without even needing to exchange words, he deduced the reason behind Yukimura Seiichi's unusual expression in just a fraction of a second. The two of them even tacitly understood each other without needing to speak. Atobe Keigo had the driver, who happened to be at the door, take them directly to Sana's apartment building.

Also getting on the car with them were Echizen, Tezuka and Fuji, who were following in Yukimura Seiichi's footsteps.

In the car, they watched Yukimura Seiichi's phone show that Sana's heartbeat was getting weaker and weaker. They arrived at Sana's house with their hearts in their throats, but they couldn't be sure whether she was inside.

Atobe Keigo gritted his teeth and dialed her number over and over again, "I have to listen carefully - is her phone ringing in there?!"

All the noisy sounds stopped, and the young people all held their breath, listening carefully to every sound flowing through the air.

About ten seconds later.

“…I heard it!” Echizen Ryoma’s amber eyes lit up instantly.

Fuji Shusuke: "Yes! I heard her cell phone ringing too - she's in there!"

"But how do we open the door?" Yukimura Seiichi frowned. "She must have collapsed, that's why she's unresponsive...!"

Atobe Keigo made another call, "Before coming here, I already called a locksmith... but they're still on their way!"

"We can only try the password first. The sooner we find her, the better." Tezuka Kunimitsu bent down and observed the digital door lock. "It's the type that will lock after a certain number of inputs. You can try it before locking it."

"Is there a number that's particularly meaningful to her?" Echizen Ryoma asked, "Like a birthday or something?"

Kunimitsu Tezuka immediately entered her birthday, but the door lock sounded an alarm indicating a wrong password.

"It's unlikely that the average resident would use their birthday as a password; the security factor is too low." Yukimura Seiichi frowned even deeper. "There's no pattern to the number combinations. Trying this without any clue is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Atobe Keigo paused and tried to enter his birthday, but it was also wrong.

Echizen Ryoma: “…”

Is the Monkey King a bit narcissistic? Because Sana-senpai once confessed to him, does he think that Sana-senpai might use his birthday as the door lock code?

Soon, he saw that Fuji, Tezuka and Yukimura took turns trying their own birthdays, and all of them were wrong.

Echizen Ryoma fell into deeper silence.

…Is this a waste of trial and error opportunities for door locks?

Fuji Shusuke suddenly remembered something, took out his cell phone and made a call.

The other party quickly answered: "Fuji-kun from Seigaku? What a surprise! What can I do for you?"

Fuji Shusuke got straight to the point and asked, "Shiraishi-kun, when is your birthday?"

Shiraishi Kuranosuke on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, but quickly replied: "April 14th, what's wrong?"

"Thank you, Shiraishi-kun. I'll explain it to you later." Fuji Shusuke hung up the phone and quickly entered Shiraishi Kuranosuke's birthday.

Still wrong.

“Drip, drip, drip…”

The door lock issued an increasingly rapid and sharp alarm sound, which meant that there was only one last chance for trial and error.

"Is the only way to do this is to wait for the locksmith to come?" Yukimura Seiichi's knuckles turned pale as he gripped his phone. The screen showed Sana's heartbeat, which was still there but had become increasingly weak. "I'm really worried about her..."

Atobe Keigo's expression was equally grim. After a moment of silence, a scene suddenly emerged in his mind -

The day when the girl smiled and reappeared at Hyotei campus.

Her personality suddenly changed, and she seemed like a completely different person, and that was the day that attracted them.

The young master's innate insight and amazing intuition came into play again at this moment.

Atobe Keigo entered a string of numbers.

0608

The day she truly reappeared.

With a "click", the door lock opened.

“……!”

Everyone was stunned. They looked at Keigo Atobe in disbelief. Not only did they fail to immediately understand the meaning of the string of numbers, but they were also shocked at how well Atobe knew Sana.

But the surprise and astonishment only lasted for a second. What was more important than that was her condition.

Their bodies moved faster than their thoughts. They pushed open the door, and what came into view was a scene that almost made them hold their breath.

The black-haired girl fell on the cold marble floor, her face as pale as paper, her breathing so weak that it seemed non-existent, without any movement.

There was a buzzing sound in their minds, as if a bolt of lightning had exploded, and their pupils suddenly dilated.

“… Sana!!!”