"Clear the board, Kaihō Academy, Kazuha Toyama wins!"
"Izumi Heart Academy, Ooka Momiji advances to the quarterfinals!"
With the referee's announcement, the karuta tournament, which had lasted all day, was coming to an end. Many contestants were eliminated one after another, dragging their tired bodies and walking out of the arena dejectedly.
The top eight are: Kazuha, Momiji, and six veteran players from all over Japan.
The entire Satsuki Cup must be completed within one day.
This is undoubtedly a huge test of the players' physical strength, which is why both Shizuka Ikenami and Miraiko, the president of Kazuha's karuta club, believe that Kazuha is very suitable for competitive karuta.
The girl from Aikido is nothing special, except for her incredible strength.
She may not be the most technically skilled among all the contestants, but she is definitely the one with the best stamina. Given this disparity, Kazuha will have an advantage as the competition progresses.
Halftime break.
Ooka Momiji stood in the shadows of the corridor, watching the boy in the audience through the glass window, her fingers lightly touching the cuffs of her kimono.
“Miss.” Iori Muga appeared silently behind her and bowed respectfully, “It has been confirmed that Kaieda is inside the venue. President Achiba gave him a special pass.”
Momiji's gaze never left the boy: "Where is President Achiba?"
“He’s still on the referee’s bench and looks very nervous,” Iori Muga replied. “He seems to have realized we’re investigating him.”
"Keep a close eye on them. If they dare to interrupt my match in front of my husband..." The girl elegantly adjusted her kimono sleeves, "then we'll deal with them according to the rules of the Ooka family..."
Her voice trailed off, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
"Yes, miss."
Iori nodded knowingly and then quietly withdrew.
The girl looked at the boy again, the coldness in her eyes fading, leaving only endless tenderness.
"My husband is watching..."
On the other side, Kazuha also took a break from the match to get some fresh air.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead; her white aikido uniform was soaked with sweat and clung to her back.
After a day of competition, the other competitors were all showing signs of fatigue, but the abundant stamina she had gained from years of practicing Aikido was now proving to be an advantage.
"Not bad~" Yuzuru's voice rang in my ears.
Kazuha's face flushed slightly: "Nan, Nan! There are so many people here..."
"What are you afraid of?" Yu Sheng Nan chuckled, deliberately blowing a breath into her ear. "What's wrong with me hugging my wife? We've met each other's parents, is Kazuha going to renege on our promise?"
"No way!!!"
Kazuha hurriedly turned around to deny it, but met Yuzuru Nanami's mischievous smile. She immediately puffed out her cheeks, looking like an adorable pufferfish: "Nanami, you're teasing me again..."
"Haha, who can blame us for making our little Kazuha so cute~" Yuzuru couldn't help but laugh and leaned in to kiss her on the corner of her mouth.
The girl's lips were soft and sweet, with a faint strawberry lipstick scent that was refreshing and delightful.
The sudden kiss left Kazuha dizzy and her heart pounding. The stares from all around made her so ashamed she wanted to disappear into the ground. Just as she was about to back away, the door was pried open and the man strode in.
Her body went limp, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around Yuzuru's waist. The imposing aura she had displayed when facing her opponent on the field vanished in the blink of an eye.
All that's left is to awkwardly stick out her tongue, guided by her lover.
After a long while, Yuzuru Nan finally released her.
Kazuha's fair and bouncy face was as red as a ripe apple, and she could only bury her head in Yuusuke's arms like an ostrich, unable to lift her head.
"In public..." she muttered softly, blushing, but couldn't help licking her lips, as if savoring the kiss from earlier.
Yuzuru Nan gave her high ponytail a mischievous grin, strands of hair slipping through his fingers: "What's wrong with being in public? I'm cheering you on!"
"W-Wait, is that how you cheer someone on..." Kazuha's head was spinning. Being watched and being affectionate by so many people made her feel like a bad girl, which was really awful.
Her voice grew softer and softer, and she lowered her head even further.
The two were talking sweetly when a soft, melodious voice suddenly interrupted: "My husband~"
Ooka Momiji appeared not far away, a half-smile playing on her lips: "Momiji also wants her husband to cheer her on~"
The girl bit her lip, her expression full of affection.
Upon hearing this, Kazuha immediately stiffened up like a cat with its fur standing on end, jumping out of Hanyu Kusunoki's arms: "Ooka Momiji!"
Hongye gracefully bowed: "Little Yezi, if you don't want your husband's encouragement, how about you give it to me?"
"You wish!"
Kazuha grinned, then suddenly tiptoed and kissed Yuzuru, even licking her lips in a show of defiance.
She can kiss her man whenever she wants, wherever she wants.
Hanyu Nan was about to speak when Kazuha interrupted him, saying, "Nan, let me handle this myself!"
She glared at Hongye, her eyes burning with fighting spirit.
As someone who also came later, Kazuha never thought there was anything wrong with Ooka Momiji liking Nanami—after all, Nanami was so outstanding, what girl wouldn't like him?
Not to mention that Nan had even saved the other party's life.
But Ooka Momiji's mistake was being too arrogant. If her arrogance isn't curbed, she'll really have to become a subordinate in the future.
The struggles between women should be resolved by women.
Kazuha and Ran had already discussed it; they didn't need Nan to interfere, they wanted to teach this domineering noble lady a lesson themselves.
However, the little girl was pessimistic about their alliance.
"Please return to the inner area, the top eight players. The next round of the competition is about to begin." The announcement came over the loudspeaker at the right time, interrupting the conflict that was about to escalate.
Kazuha took a deep breath and clenched her fist: "I'm going!"
Hongye nodded slightly: "Husband, please look forward to my performance."
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Yuzuru touched his still-warm lips and smiled helplessly.
He seems to have been excluded from this "war"?
He didn't need to get involved at all; Kazuha and Ooka Momiji handled it themselves. He just needed to wait until the end to award the prize to the winner and then offer some consolation to the loser.
That sounds amazing.
The problem is, this makes him feel very uninvolved!
………
The competition has restarted, and the intensity of the quarterfinals is far greater than before. Kazuha's opponent is a veteran player from Nara.
"Go for it! Kazuha! Kazuha! Go for it!"
Sonoko and Ran acted as cheerleaders for their best friend outside.
Yuzuru looked at the high-definition footage of the girls' competition being transmitted back in real time by a drone on his phone. After a while, he swiped the screen, and the scene changed to other parts of the venue.
Conan and his fellow detectives and police officers are lying in wait at the security checkpoint.
Several men in black were searching for something inside the clubhouse.
Not far away, a burly staff member walked toward the monitoring room with his head down.
"It's so lively..."
Yuzuru tapped his fingers lightly and muttered to himself.
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