Chapter 12: The tennis practice match was like two crowned emperors, each step...

Mizunoe Haruko explained the rules of tennis game to Yuihara Kaoru in detail, acting as an excellent commentator. While Yuihara Kaoru seemed to understand, the score was already tied at 2:2, and Nio served in the new game.

His serving posture... Mizunoe held back her exclamation and watched without blinking as Niou scored directly with a Zero serve.

Strong emotions surged, as if countless suppressed emotions were washed away by this moment.

"Haru, what's wrong?" Yuihara Kaoru touched her back and patted it gently, looking worriedly at Mizunoe whose expression suddenly changed.

"Nothing, it's just that Niou's serve is a bit like another person..."

"Another..." Yuhara Kaoru scratched his head: "Who is it?"

Mizunoe didn't say anything.

——I met Kunimitsu Tezuka at the tennis court under the overpass.

Back then, their daily training was exhausting, both physically and mentally. Yuihara Kaoru was the kind of person who could heal herself, forgetting the unpleasantness of the previous day as often as the next. Being near her seemed to alleviate a lot of the pressure within.

But there are still many emotions that need to be digested slowly by oneself.

Many times when I passed by this tennis court, I would see a young man training alone with the help of a tennis machine.

It's just that his left arm looked injured.

She watched him for a long time, and finally one day, when he stopped to rest during an air raid, she loudly warned him, "Classmate, you will aggravate your injuries by doing this."

He raised his brown eyes, saying it was okay, and then asked her to play tennis with him. She smiled and waved her hand, saying that she was not good at this sport and was good at volleyball.

They talked for a long time that day. She talked about everything on the volleyball court, her coach, and her teammates. He spoke very little, but the corners of his mouth would curl slightly when he mentioned his teammates.

None of them left contact information, but they tacitly agreed to gather at the stadium most of the time after school.

She had also witnessed his nearly self-destructive match with his teammates—he was probably someone similar to Xiangcheng, chasing the feeling he wanted almost madly during the match. But Xiangcheng was fighting for herself, while he seemed to be entrusting everything to her.

Sure enough, one day not long after that game, he took the initiative to say for the first time that he was going to Germany.

He wants to become a professional player.

That was the first time a friend named "Tezuka Kunimitsu" appeared in her Line list, but she never thought of opening a chat.

Asking about the weather, about injuries, about the future, all seem unnecessary.

The moment Xiangcheng resigned from the organization, she suddenly felt a connection. Both Xiangcheng and he had ambitious dreams: Xiangcheng sought freedom without constraints, while he pursued the limits of his passion.

But her dream is realistic and monotonous, full of the expectations of her mother and family - to be admitted to the University of Tokyo, join a company, and develop her own career.

Sometimes she would make fun of herself, saying that no matter if they were friends or..., she was always easily attracted to "single-threaded" people.

Niou's imitation was very similar to his. With her memory detached, Mizunoe leaned on Jieyuan's shoulder and continued to enjoy the game, occasionally answering some of the things Jieyuan Xiangcheng didn't understand.

Nioh Yagyu won the game 6:4.

Next is the third singles match, Yanagi Renji versus Akutagawa Jiro.

Well, even Yuihara Kaoru, who had never paid attention to tennis matches, could tell that this was a one-sided data presentation by Liu, which made the silly-looking Sheep-Head classmate stunned.

Yuihara Xiangcheng whispered softly, "I'm really curious about what's written in Liu's notebook. He writes it down every time he has free time. He even writes down whether my left hand or right hand comes out first when I play games."

Mizunoe Haruko burst out laughing, and the look in her eyes when she looked at Liu became strange.

Yanagi Renji glanced past this and thought to himself: There is a 100% chance that Yuihara Kaoru is talking bad about me.

Next up was the Marui Bunta and Jackal Kuwahara duo versus Shishido Ryo and Taki Oginosuke. Yuihara Kaoru couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!" at Taki's shoulder-length, pale blond hair.

Even Mizunoe Haruko couldn't help but glance sideways at the idiotic expression he was staring at Takitenosuke. Yukimura, who was sitting opposite them in the coaching booth, slowly lowered his arms from his chest.

"Yuzu," Mizunoe Haruko asked with difficulty, "Do you like someone like Taki?" - But he already has a girlfriend.

Yuihara Kaoru let out a long "Hmm?" "No, I was thinking about suggesting she get a hairstyle like this next time. It'll look just as good!"

Mizunoe covered her eyes, she was overthinking.

Marui worked particularly hard today. Although he was forced into the seventh game by Shishido Ryo and Taki Oginosuke, he finally won the game 7:5.

In the second singles match, Hyotei sent out a high school senior named Yueguang Kochi, who is nearly 2.3 meters tall, to face Genichirō Sanada.

"With that height, she can easily block the ball without even jumping!" Yuihara Kaoru lamented, "Why play tennis? She should have played volleyball. She's a natural blocker."

Mizunoe Haruko was helpless: "Excuse me, are you the Volleyball Association's publicity officer?"

"Oh, you don't understand," Yuhara Kaoru said seriously as she watched the two people going back and forth on the court, "I'm just jealous."

Why is she only 173cm tall? If... she were 10cm taller, she would really consider playing professionally.

The talent is there, the technique is decent, but being a short attacker is inherently at a disadvantage. Volleyball is a sport that relies heavily on height. Blocking is impossible, and when targeted, you can only play from the back row or with a lob, which has already dashed many people's professional dreams.

Of course, most of the short attackers currently active in the game possess extremely fast reaction times and the ability to quickly save the ball and seize counterattack opportunities when they lose the advantage in blocking. However, on the world stage, the inability to block is definitely a weakness.

Therefore, she clearly realized that it would be difficult to make progress even if she played professionally, and the innate gap would only waste her love for volleyball.

As if to prove her words, the height advantage also manifested itself in this tennis match. Sanada's efforts to run were not as swift as Yuezhi Yueguang's long arms and legs. The tenacious samurai will was ultimately defeated.

"Thank you for your advice." Sanada Xuanyirou lowered his hat, and the sweat cooled by the wind flowed down his neck into his clothes, drowning out the resentment in his heart.

Yue Zhi Yue Guang shook hands with him, and there was not much joy of victory on his calm face.

As they passed each other, he seemed to remember something and said, "You've made progress, Sanada."

"Ah..." Sanada was stuck: "Thank you."

Yukimura Seiichi also stood up from the dugout. He wore a white sweatband and his yellow starting jersey. He patted Sanada on the shoulder, and Sanada instantly understood his comfort. He sighed in relief and returned to the dugout.

Yukimura Seiichi leaned over and unzipped the tennis bag at his feet. Even from a distance, Mizunoe Haruko caught sight of something and clucked her tongue.

"What are you doing?" Yuihara Kaoru looked at her strangely.

Mizunoe Haruko held her face, forcing Xiangcheng to look directly at her: "I was wondering why you bought a tennis ball that day."

Yuhara Kaoru didn't avoid her gaze, her dark blue eyes calmly questioning, "What?"

"That little fluffy blue-purple tennis ball with little wings."

"Um..." Yuhara Kaoru's eyes dodged for a moment: "It's just... a gift for a friend!"

Mizunoe Haruko let her go. Not far away, Yagyu Hiroshi sighed regretfully. It was so rare to see such a captivating scene like holding someone's face in a real-life version.

Niou Masaharu beside him was alert and said, "Don't knock!"

"Don't worry about it." This is the fun of two-dimensional men!

Hanging from the zipper of Yukimura Seiichi's black tennis bag was a furry tennis ball, the same color as Yukimura's hair. It also had a pair of cute, fluttering white wings with gold trim, and a small "Come on" embroidered on the ball.

Mizunoe seemed to have let Yuihara Kaoru go, but countless ideas were popping up in her mind. Yuihara Kaoru was still trying to make amends: "I injured my finger last week, and Yukimura gave me some spray."

"Really?" Mizunoe smiled.

"Yes, Yukimura is a very nice person," Yukihara Kaoru looked at Yukimura Seiichi who was warming up for the game. "He's very popular."

"Really?" Mizunoe continued to smile. She couldn't get over today's discovery.

Soon, the match between the two first-year captains began. Yukimura and Atobe were old rivals, and they were familiar with each other's methods.

"Game Start!" Atobe served the ball, and the two sides went back and forth, keeping the score close. While listening to Mizunoe introduce their skills, Yukimura and Atobe were carefully studying their movements.

Indeed, both of them fought very elegantly, and the naive Yukimura gradually figured out the trick. But Yukimura, just like the one playing games at Yukihara's house, had terrifying insight, loved to control the rhythm, and was obsessed with planning every move, as if he was weaving a giant net, trying again and again to trap Atobe.

Atobe is not the type to willingly let the ball go into the net - his gorgeous skills hide a tenacity that is difficult for ordinary people to achieve. No matter how Yukimura plans, he will eventually find an opportunity to fight back.

They were like two crowned emperors, guarding their territory without yielding an inch. Or like two sharp swords, always looking for an opportunity to cut off the other's blade.

The battle was full of sparks, but in the end Yukimura was more skilled and won the game 7:5.

At this moment, Yukimura seemed to be standing alone and proudly at the top among thousands of people, accepting the worship of all people.

Yuihara Kaoru and Mizunoe Haruko, like everyone else in the venue, gave warm applause to the two "kings".

Yukimura and Atobe shook hands in front of the net. Every match was tiring but also full of joy of rewarding, and both were in a good mood.

Atobe Keigo spoke first: "Yeah, how about going to eat barbecue, Yukimura?"

Yukimura Seiichi smiled and said, "Okay!"

The cheers in the stadium became more real. It seemed that Jieyuan could even see the flames bursting out of Sanada: "A barbecue competition? We at Rikkai University will not lose."

Yukimura sighed: "Ah, never mind, as long as you are happy, Sanada."