Chapter 44: Shura Field vs. The Future's Ties to the Past Are Growing Less and Less...
Task 1 posted by Tianyan Huali: Find the match schedule of Shitenbao Temple.
This is easy to accomplish.
After figuring that everyone at Rikkai University should have gone to participate in the first round of the competition, Yuihara Kaoru sneaked in front of the bulletin board, took a photo, and clicked send.
Task 2: Find the current competition venue of Shitenboji Temple, lock onto the most handsome one at a glance, and take a straight picture of his heroic appearance.
This was easy to handle. Xiangcheng studied the map and luckily the competition venue at Shitenhoji was quite some distance away from Rikkai University, so she could go there without any worries.
Not many people trust her photography skills these days! She will definitely cherish this opportunity and fulfill Tianyan's request.
Arriving outside the tennis court where Shitenboji Temple is located, Xiangcheng was immediately attracted by the laughter coming from the court.
Through the barbed wire, she could only vaguely see two doubles players in turquoise sportswear on the left side showing off on the court.
"Ah, Xiaochun, I want to follow you——"
"No! The brother across from you is so handsome!"
"Damn Xiaochun, having an affair again——"
Xiangcheng was puzzled when he heard this, but seeing that the tennis skills of these two players were very good, they kept making people laugh with their mouths, while their bodies were still using various techniques to fight back.
Interesting two people! From their Osaka accents, I knew they were probably members of Shitenhoji.
While watching the game, Xiangcheng was searching among the turquoise uniforms, wondering who that handsome guy was.
It wasn't until a boy with a bandage on his left hand moved his hand away from his face that Xiangcheng was certain.
Definitely this one!
Tianyan has been attracted to handsome men with respectable, model-like faces since she was a child. She believes only this level of appearance can cure her face blindness.
Xiangcheng gradually magnified the camera with both hands, focusing on Shiraishi's face, and took a series of photos. Then he picked out two or three photos that were acceptable and sent them to Tianyan.
Tianyan Huali: Very good, that’s it, more.
Xiangcheng puffed out his chest after receiving the praise, and did not forget to take a few more photos after Shiraishi stood up to warm up, not to mention after Shiraishi came on the court. Short videos and photos took turns to be posted, which greatly satisfied Tianyan who could not come to watch the game in person.
Finally, the players from both teams shook hands, and Xiangcheng continued to film the scene.
"It's not nice to take pictures like this, Yuihara-san!"
Xiangcheng was so scared that his hands shook, and the photo turned out to be blurry as expected.
She turned her head and said with a wry smile: "Fuji-kun! Haha..."
Even with narrowed eyes, Fuji-kun still had a smile that was as warm as a spring breeze: "What a coincidence, Yuihara-san. Why didn't you go to watch the Rikkai University game?"
Xiangcheng replied, "Well... I was asked to come and see Shitenhoji Temple..."
"Is that so?" Fuji asked again, "Do you want to get closer and take a picture? I can help you!"
"No, thanks--" Xiangcheng waved her hands repeatedly.
Fuji tilted his head and said, "You're welcome, Yuhara-san—Shiraishi, could you come over here for a moment?"
Shiraishi, who had just walked out of the player's tunnel, came over to say hello without thinking: "Hello, Fuji, what's going on?"
"Can I...take a picture with this lady?"
Xiang Cheng, who was about to refuse, watched Shiraishi come over and stand beside her: "No problem!"
Fuji immediately raised his cell phone.
"Do you need to change pose, Fuji?"
"OK!"
Xiangcheng silently moved out little by little until she shuddered when she heard a familiar voice.
"Puri~ What are you doing?"
It's over.
Xiangcheng closed her eyes in pain, wishing she were not here.
She opened her eyes and strained her neck to look to the left. A group of people from the Rikkai University Tennis Club were standing a few steps away from them.
She didn't even dare to look at Yukimura's expression and jumped away in a hurry: "Nothing!"
"What a coincidence, everyone at Rikkai University! I'm taking pictures for Yuihara-san~"
Fuji-kun - If you can't speak, then you don't have to speak.
Xiangcheng cried out in despair in her heart.
Shiraishi Kuranosuke's eyes darted around among everyone, and then he seemed to understand the situation: "Haha, it's just a group photo."
No......
This is simply not what I wanted...
Marui Bunta's bubble gum popped, and Xiangcheng took another step back: "Hahahahaha, thank you Fuji-kun and Shiraishi-kun, hahahaha, then I'll be leaving first--"
"Xiangcheng, come here."
"Oh." Xiangcheng took heavy steps sullenly, and walked to the Rikkai University team under everyone's gazes waiting for the show, and stood next to Yagyu.
Yagyu, who wanted to move aside, stopped in his tracks after meeting Xiangcheng's gaze that said, "If you do this, I won't let Rika out." He withstood the pressure.
The gazes of his teammates looking for their own good fortune were really burning, so Yagyu pushed his glasses and pretended not to see.
Yukimura greeted Fuji and Shiraishi with a normal expression: "Nice to meet you again, everyone."
"Yes."
"We are so sorry that our people have caused you trouble."
Fujikyo coughed and said, "It has nothing to do with Jieyuan-san. Actually, it's me..."
"It's okay, I can cooperate if necessary!" Shiraishi Kuranosuke said cheerfully.
Yukimura's smile didn't reach his eyes: "I have something to do right now... so I'll take my leave now."
"Okay!" Fuji then looked at Xiangcheng and said, "See you later, Jieyuan...-san."
"Huh? Oh! See you later, Fuji-kun."
This is too funny. Fuji's smile deepened and he pulled the confused Shiraishi away.
Yagyu gave Xiangcheng a helpless look and immediately left the place with the others.
Orange QAQ I want to run away too!
Yukimura stood in front of her without leaving any trace, feeling very upset.
"You didn't come to watch Rikkai University's game, but you met a Shiraishi-kun?"
Xiangcheng raised her head and glanced at him secretly, then wanted to lower her head.
"Are you feeling guilty?"
Xiangcheng retorted, "That's not the case!"
"What's the reason?"
Xiangcheng briefly explained the situation and then didn't know what to say.
This meeting came too suddenly, and her prepared remarks were completely messed up.
Yukimura looked at the person who had been running for a week, and he became angry again when he thought that the first thing she did was not to come to see him.
However, her escape and cowardice can only mean that she has realized something.
He asked tentatively, "Why did you come back to Tokyo?"
"Something happened." Xiangcheng answered subconsciously.
Yukimura asked, "What's the matter?"
"It's...it's about family matters." Xiangcheng's voice became lower and lower.
Yukimura changed direction and asked, "Is it resolved?"
"Almost, almost."
Xiangcheng's voice was too quiet, so he took a step closer. "So when are we going back to Kanagawa? Is today okay?"
"Okay, I don't know..." Xiangcheng wanted to step back, but was blocked by Yukimura again.
"After watching our game today, can you come back to Kanagawa with us?"
Xiangcheng nodded randomly. This distance wasn't safe at all! If she looked up, she'd meet Yukimura's gaze; if she looked down, she'd stare at his chest.
The boy's panicked and rapid heartbeat that day seemed to beat again in her sight.
If you look straight ahead, you can see his lips and Adam's apple.
She had no choice but to turn her head slightly and stare at the empty court.
It took her a while to realize what Yukimura had said, and she replied, "I haven't packed my things yet..."
"I'll go with you."
"No." Xiangcheng shook his head: "You should just focus on the game."
Yukimura thought for a moment and said, "Or, the national competition lasts three days. You can pack up and come find us on the last day?"
Three days, then there shouldn't be any problem.
Xiangcheng breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay."
There was another game later. Yukimura looked at the time and saw that he still had time to buy a bottle of drink.
"Let's go." He adjusted the strap of his tennis bag with one hand, and the cute tennis pendant swayed with his movement.
Xiangcheng looked at the small tennis ball and wished that their relationship could return to the time when they bought the pendant.
They are both focused on their own "careers" and have become good friends because of their similar pursuits.
Keep it simple. You don’t have to think about too many details about how to get along, and you don’t have to make her feel guilty when she thinks about it.
"Which flavor do you want?"
"Grape." Just as he finished speaking, a bottle of grape-flavored soda water was stuffed into his hand.
Xiangcheng whispered a thank you, earning a helpless sigh from Yukimura.
I always feel that things are becoming more and more complicated and out of control.
This was not the best time to speak, Yukimura thought, so he had to change the topic to Xiangcheng's friend Tianyan, who was somewhat unfamiliar to him.
Xiangcheng was obviously much more relaxed when talking about her friends. She smiled and talked about many interesting things that happened in junior high school.
Yukimura noticed that all the interesting things that happened in her junior high school revolved around Mizunoe and Amahiko.
He suddenly realized that Xiangcheng had been too relaxed recently and had forgotten a very important fact.
Xiangcheng is not good at socializing and dealing with interpersonal relationships.
So, he was anxious, right?
In the past two months, the atmosphere had always been so good that he had the illusion that as long as he got along well with Xiangcheng, she would step by step walk into the web he had woven.
But as soon as he got anxious, she would prick up her frightened ears and run away without hesitation.
Then, wait two more days.
Yuihara Kaoru returned to the Rikkai University cheering team and looked around, but she didn't see Rika. Since the day of the fireworks festival, Rika had been in a state of confusion and wanted to calm down.
It seems that I still haven't thought it through.
Xiangcheng sat down next to the class monitor, Hayakawa, and took the cheering baton she offered him. The previous few matches had been too easy for Rikkai University, winning one after another without much ups and downs.
It wasn't until the final on the morning of the third day that Xiangcheng was finally able to help Tianyan take pictures of Shiraishi-kun again - this match happened to be between Shitenhoji and Rikkai University.
After the first four games, the most eye-catching one is of course the "Son of God" vs. the "Bible".
Shiraishi Kuranosuke is also a person who will do one thing to the extreme, which can be seen from his batting action which is more than standard.
The seemingly simple and unpretentious actions will not easily lead you into Yukimura Seiichi's world of "destroying the five senses".
Xiangcheng was filming and posting until she received a dissatisfied call from Tianyan: "Excuse me, Miss Xiangcheng, do you know anyone else who is Shiraishi?"
"I know him..."
"Then take a good look at what you took!"
After hanging up the phone, Xiangcheng clicked on the previous video. At the beginning of the one-minute video, it was indeed aimed at Shiraishi. After a few seconds, the camera captured Yukimura and never moved away.
While Xiangcheng was stunned, a call came from an unfamiliar number.
"Is this Yuihara Kaoru? We are the leaders of the National Women's Youth Volleyball Team and would like to invite you to participate in the national youth team training this summer..."
Xiangcheng picked up her phone and took a picture of the Rikkai University Tennis Club holding the national tournament trophy.
After everything was settled, Yukimura finally came to her with a happy smile on his face: "Come celebrate with us, okay?"
She lowered her head with increasing guilt: "I'm sorry Yukimura, I may not be able to go."
"The National Youth Team just received a notice that they must report to the base tonight for fifteen days of closed training."
Yukimura's smile faded little by little, but he forced himself to raise the corners of his mouth again: "Then do your best, Xiangcheng... See you in fifteen days."
Xiangcheng took a long drive to reach the national training base in the suburbs.
The security guard at the door asked her to wait in the duty room for a while, and within a few minutes someone arrived in the base's sightseeing bus.
Xiangcheng stood up and looked at the person who came: "Hello, my name is Jieyuan Xiangcheng, I am..."
The other party continued her words: "I know you, the main attacker of Rikkai University, originally played in Santa Maria."
"Yes." Xiangcheng looked at the man, who was probably around forty or fifty years old, with curiosity. He had an easy-going temperament, even a little inconspicuous.
The man noticed her gaze and said, "My name is Kitayama Yoshitomo, the head of the women's national youth team."
"Hello, Coach Kitayama." Xiangcheng saluted hurriedly.
The man laughed and said, "Let's go!"
Sitting in the base's car, Kitayama drove while introducing the base's buildings and facilities to Xiangcheng.
His tone was full of pride. This is where many outstanding volleyball players set out to pursue their dreams, and a large number of talents are sent to the national team or clubs every year.
"A spiker like you, Yuihara, still needs two years of training. As long as you remain in good shape, you'll definitely be selected."
Xiangcheng smiled and didn't say "I just want to experience it."
Coach Beishan took her to the dormitory building first, booked a room for her, and asked her to change into the training clothes prepared in the room before coming down.
It took half an hour to reach the training area at the base. Xiangcheng was surprised to find that they didn't recruit the players together.
Before her, two teams should have been fully assembled without substitutes. But now, the team wearing the same purple jersey as her happened to be missing a main attacker.
"Suzuki!" Coach Kitayama shouted.
Masako Suzuki, who was in the middle of a defensive training session, quickly ran over and said, "Yes! Coach!"
Her eyes turned to Xiangcheng: "Ha, it's you!" Her memory was instantly pulled back to the national competition - she had thought it would be an easy victory, but in the end she had to fight hard to win, only to be eliminated in the next round and stopped in the top eight.
Coach Kitayama obviously knew about the grudge between the two. He said to Suzuki: "Once you join the national youth team, you will be teammates."
"Yes, coach." Masako Suzuki put her thoughts aside.
"Alright," Coach Kitayama said, "Since you haven't forgotten each other, Yuihara should go warm up quickly. You'll play Team A in fifteen minutes."
"Yes." The two looked at each other, and Yuihara Kaoru walked to the edge of the field and began stretching.
The training mode here is to practice through competition. Together with the official team members who are currently competing, there are a total of four full-strength teams. What they have to do is to cooperate in a very short time to buy more time for themselves and their teammates.
In the loser group, the one with the worst performance will be directly "sent back". Yuihara Kaoru is already the fourth main attacker in this group of three captained by Suzuki Masako.
After a brief warm-up, a few minutes before the match, Suzuki Masako took the time to instruct Xiangcheng: "Pay attention to your hand gestures and coordination, and be clear when you ask for the ball."
Xiangcheng made an OK gesture and began to observe his teammates and opponents.
Unfortunately, apart from Suzuki Masako, she barely knew anyone else. This meant she was basically a stranger to both her teammates and opponents.
If you don't perform well, you will be eliminated on the spot. You can imagine the psychological pressure. Everyone is trying their best. The competitors are not only opponents, but also teammates.
The tragic atmosphere made Xiangcheng breathless. She raised her head out of habit and tried to reduce her nervousness by observing the patterns on the ceiling.
Her mental strength is not that strong. Whenever someone calls her "big-hearted", she always retorts in her heart, "No, I have just prepared for the worst and then let my feelings become dull."
After the players were positioned, the game began. Having been placed at the fourth position for observation, Yuihara Kaoru's demeanor suddenly changed, and she entered a state of ecstasy, focusing solely on the ball's path.
The opponent's number one server was obviously very confident in her jump ball. She jumped into the air, hit the ball with her palm and stopped steadily. The volleyball seemed to have its own thoughts, moving left and right, causing her own libero to swing his body constantly.
Fortunately, the ball was received smoothly. Suzuki Masako made a back pass gesture and deceived the two blockers on the opposite side. The volleyball rushed towards the fourth position gateway at an extremely fast speed. Without time to adjust, Yuihara Kaoru jumped on the spot and pressed down on the net, scoring a point.
She looked back at Suzuki Masako and said nothing.
This is the captain's test for the new team members.
During the attack and defense transition, Xiangcheng kept a close eye on the opponent's operation. His own serve was easily received, and the setter started to prepare to pass the ball - no, Xiangcheng did not jump like the secondary attacker, but squatted down the moment the setter's hand shape changed, and saved the second ball under the net.
What a joke! She had defended against so many grinding secondary balls, but this little trick couldn't fool her.
Suzuki Masako's pass came again at a rapid speed. Xiangcheng felt that he had not yet reached the highest point of his jump, so he could only use the momentum to hit it out. Sure enough, the ball was intercepted by the opponent's block, but it was not blocked. It bounced back and gave his team a chance to adjust again.
Another high-speed ball.
This time Xiangcheng finally figured out the pattern of Suzuki's passing. He waited at the highest point, found the loopholes in the opponent's block, and scored points from it.
As soon as the game started, Xiangcheng was able to put all the mess aside.
This high-level, high-speed game lasted until the third game. With the score at 1:1, Xiangcheng was forced to use the mid-air turn.
Kitayama Yoshitomo silently wrote down this action in his notebook. After the Suzuki team won in the end, he announced that the opponent's player who could make a good jump ball would withdraw from this training camp.
After a long silence, the girl's sob broke the silence. She choked with sobs, thanked and said goodbye to everyone, and slowly left the training hall alone.
Yuihara Kaoru frowned.
It was an atmosphere she didn't like.
However, she had no room to refuse for the time being, nor could she just admit defeat and quit.
If you want to leave, you must do it in a generous and open manner.
After this match, today's training came to an end. The coaching staff would not interfere with any individual training plans, and if they wished, they could even sleep in until tomorrow morning.
However, the setting of having one person withdraw from every game was like a heavy shackle. Team 3 captain Masako Suzuki naturally did not want to lose her teammates who had worked well together, so she asked everyone to rest for half an hour after dinner before continuing with basic training.
No one objected.
The food at the base was rich, but Xiangcheng couldn't eat much. The impact in the afternoon was really great, and he felt the cruelty of some semi-professional competitive sports in advance.
This is completely different from her spontaneous training.
The evening special training basically revolved around the cooperation of six people. With Suzuki's reminder, Xiangcheng managed to remember the names of several teammates.
But as Suzuki said, it doesn’t really matter whether you remember it or not, because you might be gone tomorrow.
Tomorrow...there are still three games to play.
Xiangcheng picked up the towel and covered her face with it, greedily absorbing oxygen from the gaps.
Yukimura and the others must be celebrating right now. I wonder what delicious food they are eating.
At a barbecue restaurant in Kanagawa, Nioh asked the question, "Why do we have to eat barbecue when we win?"
But this obviously did not affect the barbecue party headed by Sanada and Marui. They stared at the two baking trays on the table with eager eyes, waiting for the delicious slices of meat to gather oil and then fall on the charcoal fire below with a "sizzle". Then they grabbed the meat as quickly as hungry wolves, and the next second the slices of meat fell into the clear sauce, rushing into everyone's nostrils with a deadly aroma.
Everyone started to move.
Yukimura and Yagyu were left alone, and while everyone was fighting with their chopsticks, they ate very politely.
Seeing that Yanagi Renji had already joined the battle, Yagyu finally spoke up: "Yukimura, did you say anything to Jieyuan? Why do you look so unnatural today?"
He even stood beside him and threatened him not to leave.
Yukimura's hand holding the piece of meat dropped it suddenly: "Maybe I was too anxious."
Yagyu adjusted his glasses. Most of his impression of Yuihara Kaoru was still based on Rika's description.
"Honestly, Yukimura, it's really strange that you would have such an idea."
"What?"
"It's love. The person who once swore that tennis was the only thing in his life is now stepping down from the altar and worrying about gains and losses here. This feeling..." Yagyu lowered his eyes and smiled. A year ago, probably no one would have believed it.
Yukimura also remembered what he had said before: "There's nothing strange about it. It's just that now I want one more thing. As for me, I think I can handle it."
While his partner wasn't paying attention, Yagyu stole a few slices of meat from Niou's bowl and slowly replied, "Then Jieyuan should be the kind of person who can't be dealt with."
So from Rika's description, Jieyuan had never considered this issue.
"Yeah," Yukimura shrugged noncommittally: "I've always been willing to accept challenging people and things, not to mention--" From the day that Yuihara Kaoru appeared at Rikkai University, he had thought of many futures.
He then changed the subject and thought of something else: "The U17 training camp will be held in a few days, right?"
Yagyu obviously hadn't caught up with his jump, but he also understood that Yukimura probably didn't want to reveal more.
"Yes, until school starts."
The two looked at each other and thought of more serious problems.
Especially Yukimura, the next time he meets Xiangcheng, the next semester will start.
Xiangcheng was in the team, watching without any expression as Masako Suzuki took off the armband of the third team, and then took the armband of the second team from Coach Kitayama.
After a week of high-intensity competition, all the members of Group 2, which originally had a very high winning rate, were replaced. When their team leader was unable to stay, Group 3 successfully took over.
The team members who had been promoted to Group 2 sat in silence, with little to celebrate. Of the team members Xiangcheng had known since the beginning, only three remained, some having quit due to failure, others due to injuries.
Xiangcheng, who had been using the "Double Blade" technique too much, began to feel a slight pull in her back muscles, a sign of her body's protest. However, she had no other options, and in many matches, she was forced to resort to this technique.
The sports rehabilitation therapist at the training base didn't pay much attention to these young girls. He simply gave her some pain-relieving patches and sent her away.
This makes Xiangcheng miss the atmosphere of Haida University even more.
Although her teammates' level is not top-notch, and they don't even have such strong and error-free cooperation, they are always so happy when they play together.
Now when she laughs, she feels that those two muscles have degenerated.
Fortunately, she finally met an acquaintance, Shonan's captain, Ms. "Heavy Artillery" Fujino Yu.
Fujino was assigned to Team 4. He was completely confused at first, but gradually adapted to the situation.
During the break, Fujino found Xiangcheng and asked, "How many days have you been here?"
Xiangcheng made a "7" gesture and didn't want to talk at all.
Fujino curled his lips in understanding: "Seeing you, I feel a little safe. Here are all opponents of the national competition." Shonan reached the semi-finals in IH this year, and has met most of the strong teams.
She's not very skilled, which is why Kitayama Yoshitomo didn't recruit her initially. He seems to prefer players with more tactical skills.
Xiangcheng sighed, "I don't know when it will end!"
Fujino looked at Xiangcheng's body and said, "With such extensive training, you didn't gain any muscle?"
"I'm so worried, how can I be in any mood?"
She swore never to come to such a place again. Even though she was a volleyball fanatic, she couldn't stand the volleyballs hitting her with her eyes open or closed!
Fujino nodded in understanding: "Maybe it's because the national youth team's performance last year wasn't very good. This year they changed a lot of coaches just to train some players."
Xiangcheng touched the pain-relieving patch on her back. "But this is too exhausting."
"They don't care, as long as the results are in the end, right?"
Yes, Xiangcheng and Fujino stood up one by one, the break time was over and the complaining time was over.
Another week passed like this. On the afternoon of the last match, Coach Kitayama suddenly announced the end of training camp—Suzuki Masako had successfully made the starting roster for the national youth team. When his eyes fell on Yuhara Kaoru, she quickly shook her head.
Beishan Liangyou withdrew his gaze with regret.
The moment he stepped out of the training base, Xiangcheng suddenly felt a sense of freedom as if he had been released from prison.
She walked towards the station with Fujino Yu, her steps now so light.
"Going back to Kanagawa?"
Xiangcheng shook her head: "I'll go to Tokyo first and come back tomorrow."
"Alright," Fujino Yuu said as he prepared to board the bus, turning back to say, "I'm sure you won't be spared from the Autumn Tournament selections, so get ready!"
Xiangcheng's good mood was instantly extinguished.
She never wants to participate in this kind of training again!
This is not a training camp at all, it's clearly a Shura field!
When Xiangcheng returned home to Tokyo, her distressed grandmother immediately held her face in her hands and said, "Oh, how did you become so thin?"
Grandpa also came over to take a closer look: "Exactly, the conditions at the base are not good?"
Xiangcheng cried bitterly about the "torture" she had endured over the past two weeks. Grandpa sniffed and seemed to smell the scent of ice chips from the pain-relieving patch.
"Are you hurt?"
Xiangcheng shook his head: "No, it's just too intense and my back muscles hurt a little."
Grandpa pressed several places on her back and finally found the location of the lower left trapezius muscle.
"Do you spike the ball with both hands often?"
"Yes, the right-hand route is blocked very badly."
Grandpa pondered for a moment and said, "It shouldn't be a big problem, but if you don't have any competitions recently, don't use it."
"Yeah," Xiangcheng nodded obediently, thinking of the sports therapist at the base: "Their attitude is so unprofessional."
Grandpa laughed: "There's often no solution. If they say you can't play, you'll be eliminated. If they say you're fine, they'll say you're unprofessional. It's all about the training system."
Xiangcheng agreed.
Soon grandma's feast was served, and Xiangcheng ate until he was completely full - he was completely alive again.
After rubbing his belly and going upstairs, Xiangcheng took out his mobile phone from the drawer, which he hadn't seen for half a month. He charged it first and waited for a long time before the phone turned on successfully.
It seemed like there were countless messages, and the phone even froze for a minute before it could operate normally again.
But half a month ago, she didn't have time to inform her friends one by one that she would be gone for a while, even though she had clearly posted a status to inform them.
With a puzzled mood, Xiangcheng opened the Line list and found only a few messages from other friends.
Yukimura alone pinned himself to the top of the list just by receiving so many messages.
Xiangcheng wanted to start from the first one, so she flipped up and up...time finally came to the first day of her training camp.
[Image] We're having a barbecue at the celebration party today! Remember when you were practicing against Hyotei and Mizunotsuki-san didn't let you grill? I'm really curious about what you were like in junior high, Yui.
[Picture] Fuji sent me a photo of you and Shiraishi ^-^
The next day's message was:
[Picture] Endless Summer has grown new branches again. Should we try to adjust it to a different color this time?
…On the tenth day of her training, Yukimura sent her the last message: We are going to training too, and this time it’s your turn not to be able to find me!
Xiangcheng first saved the photo with Shiraishi, then considerately cut herself out of it and sent it to Tianyan.
I clicked on the large picture of Endless Summer again, and tried to see the new branches clearly in the blue ocean.
Finally, he thought about it very seriously, opened the keyboard several times, and then stood there for a long time as if he didn't know what to say.
Training camp is truly exhausting, and becoming a professional athlete is even more exhausting. There's an invisible pressure hanging in the air, often suffocating. Lately, I've often wondered if you've ever felt this kind of pressure before, and still been willing to give it your all.
Xiangcheng thought for a moment, then lost for words. She stared at the unread message with a gloomy expression, feeling as though she were sounding like the dean.
The moment she opened and closed the keyboard, she saw that the message had become read.
Yukimura's reply came extremely quickly: Yes, I am willing to give everything.
Oh? Didn't you go to training camp?
While he was stunned, Yukimura's voice call came in and Xiangcheng pressed the answer button.
"Is the training over?" the two asked each other, and were amused by the simultaneous question.
Xiangcheng replied first: "Yes, it just ended this afternoon."
"I guess so... So I'm going to ask to use your phone for a while this afternoon to see if you have any messages."
Ah, Xiangcheng could imagine how complacent Yukimura's expression was on the other end of the phone, and his tone was also full of lightness and joy.
She also breathed a sigh of relief: "How long will you train?"
"Well, probably before school starts. If we're participating in international competitions, then it will be after school starts."
"Ah? Will there be international competitions?" Xiangcheng asked in surprise. Are tennis tournaments so international?
Yukimura leaned against the balcony wall, fiddling with the two pots of flowers he brought with him. "Yeah...it'll take a long time."
I will miss you very much.
Xiangcheng: "Then take good care of yourself. Don't get hurt... and don't get too tired."
Yukimura heard the pause when she mentioned being injured and asked, "Why? Are you hurt?"
Xiangcheng shook his head: "No, I just strained it a little bit because I was too tired. Grandpa said that after a few days of rest, the pain will subside and it will be fine."
Yukimura felt relieved: "I will take my body seriously."
Fuji coughed lightly behind him, and Yukimura didn't wait for Xiangcheng to answer, and hurriedly said: "Break time is coming... Xiangcheng, see you at the beginning of school."
Before Xiangcheng could even finish the words "see you at the beginning of school", Yukimura quickly hung up the phone.
"Yukimura, this is your first violation." Coach Saito held out his hand: "Here."
Yukimura tilted his head innocently: "Ah, that's really embarrassing."
Saito turned off his phone and handed it over gently. He turned around and put it in his pocket and walked away.
Fuji propped up his chin and said, "Wow~ Yukimura rarely breaks the rules."
Yukimura came out of the state of being caught doing something bad: "That's... there's nothing we can do about it."
"Really?" Bu Er said with interest. He was most interested in gossip about his companions.
"Let's go," it was obvious that Yukimura had no obligation to share. Fuji thought with a sense of humor that maybe Yukimura hadn't caught up with Yuhara-san yet.
Oh yeah~ that would be even more fun.
During the U17 training camp, it would be too boring if it was just the same old training.
As the school was about to start, the specific schedule for this year's U17 Challenge was finally arranged.
They are about to travel to the United States to continue challenging strong teams from all over the world.
In two of these matches, Yukimura Seiichi faced his former rival Ryoma Echizen in the semi-final against the United States team.
He felt the pressure from the entire audience, and such pressure only made his blood boil.
His hands holding the racket were trembling slightly, and every cell in his body was clamoring for victory.
——Yes, I am willing to give everything.
Having climbed out of the abyss, I will definitely prove my existence with victory.
Yukimura got the ball and prepared to serve.
Echizen Ryoma bent down, waiting for this fateful encounter.
The game begins.
Yukimura aimed at the landing point, and with a "ha" sound, the racket broke through the air, allowing the tennis ball to fly out from the center with extreme precision and fall rapidly towards the predetermined landing point.
Echizen Ryoma dodged the ball that was hitting his feet, turned the racket slightly, and used a slice to break the force.
After the tennis ball passed the net, it wanted to slide towards the side of the net along the ground, but under the strong pressure of Yukimura, it suddenly bounced up and flew back to Echizen Ryoma's court with an elusive spinning posture.
Echizen tried to neutralize the spin by hitting the ball, but the moment the racket touched, the tennis ball bounced off the racket face with uncontrolled spin and eventually disappeared from the court.
After hearing the referee's score, Yue Qian pressed his hat down, and his big cat eyes were full of excitement of meeting a worthy opponent.
He and Yukimura looked at each other deeply, and then returned to the receiving area.
Yukimura's second ball was equally powerful, and Echizen returned it with a curve ball. In the process of returning the ball, Yukimura once again released his mental power, gradually enveloping the entire court.
This time, Echizen's counterattack seemed very slow and weak. Yukimura blocked all of Echizen's tactics in a very targeted manner and used his own spin ball to control the situation.
Echizen Ryoma was not in a hurry. This was not the first time he had experienced Yukimura's mental suppression, so he just calmed his mind and used different striking methods to drag out the game.
Gradually, Ryoma Echizen seemed to be flashing with the ultimate light of perfection, and he was engaged in an evenly matched confrontation with Yukimura's mental power.
This was no longer a simple contest of strength and skill. All the familiar players were watching the two players' exchanges in fascination.
Yukimura's extreme rationality and persistence in winning made him focus all his perception on tennis, and he was completely unaffected by Echizen's extreme brilliance.
Echizen Ryoma seemed to have returned to the battle in his first year of junior high school.
At that time, he broke through his limits and rediscovered his original passion for tennis. However, Yukimura Seiichi, with a heart full of reluctance, regrettably lost in his own dark world.
But this time, Echizen persevered with difficulty. He could only feel that Yukimura Seiichi's world no longer had the shadow of his previous failure, but had instead become his own ultimate pursuit of tennis.
Now he no longer has any advantage over Yukimura.
Like two people at the same starting line, they are gradually rushing towards a bright future as they chase each other.
"6:4, Yukimura Seiichi wins."
The two men fell in front of the net exhausted.
The buzzing sound in my ears announced how extreme the brain had been.
but,
Yukimura raised the corners of his lips.
While his brain cells were clamoring to rush out, he had only one thought in his mind.
The fewer ties he has to the past, the closer he is to his own future.
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The author has something to say: Complete the task successfully before ddl!
Treasure of the collection! Treasure of the subscription! [Rainbow fart][Rainbow fart]
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