Chapter 4
On weekends, the regular players of the tennis club gather at the gate of Rikkai University.
Sanada calculated the time and set off early, arriving at the meeting place first.
"We have to get up early on the weekend, Hiroshi. What program are you going to vote on for the class Kaihara Festival? How about we canvass for votes for the haunted house together?" Niou Masaharu and his partner are in the same class this year, and the haunted house is especially suitable for playing pranks on people. Niou Masaharu tried hard to persuade his partner. In the class, Yagyu Hiroshi is still better at motivating his classmates.
Yagyu Hiroshi calmly avoided the topic. A haunted house was definitely out of the question. "It's better to brainstorm class activities for the Kaihara Festival. The cafe is quite popular."
"The coffee shop is so boring, and there are always so many of them every year. Bunta, what is your class preparing?" Niou Masaharu asked curiously.
Marui Bunta, still holding his breakfast in his mouth, mumbled, "We've signed up for the school's evening performance for a group chorus. It saves time and effort, and we can have fun all day."
"Only Yukimura is left. During the physical examination later, Kuwahara will be in charge of Bunta. Niou, Yagyu and I will help Yukimura line up first. Are you okay on your own, Sanada?" The day that Yanagi Renji had an appointment with the hospital happened to be a student activity, so there weren't many people that day, and they were all students from different schools.
Sanada nodded. Except for Yukimura, no one in the team was uncomfortable with the hospital.
After Yukimura arrived, the regular players of the tennis club set off from the station next to the school to Kanagawa Prefecture First Hospital.
Kanagawa Daiichi Hospital Physical Examination Department.
Yanagi Renji walked at the back of the group, notebook in hand, more like recording his teammates' data than checking them. "I'll just go last."
"Bunta, come here first, there are fewer people." Jackal Sangyuan found a team with fewer people with his sharp eyes.
Yukimura covered his lips for no apparent reason. The atmosphere in the hospital was truly unpleasant. "I'll go out for some fresh air first. I'll wait in line when there are fewer people."
"Let's go, Hiroshi. Let's go and take a seat first. There's no rush anyway." Niou Masaharu made a gesture to the military advisor Yanagi Renji, and acted separately from Yagyu Hiroshi.
Yagyu Hiroshi found a nearby team and lined up. Yukimura didn't like the hospital, so the military advisor had discussed it in advance when they gathered, and they decided to arrange a place for Yukimura to be examined first, and then the others could line up slowly.
Sanada lined up in order according to the checklist, starting with the first general item on height and weight.
Yukimura had other teammates to help him take a position, so it didn't take him long to complete a project. He would finish early and go to the hospital garden to rest.
The second person to complete the task was Bunta Marui.
Kuwabara held up Bunta's medical report. "Did you hear that, Bunta? The doctor told you to rest well and not lift anything heavy for a week."
"It's just a sprain, it's okay, okay~ Remember that." Marui Bunta turned his head away, he really couldn't do anything about Kuwabara.
Rikkai University's regular candidates have completed the inspection items on the inspection list one after another.
Yanagi Renji checked the results one by one. In fact, this physical examination was more for Sanada and Marui Bunta, and Yukimura was just a by-product.
After scanning the physical examination items that most people had no problems with, Yanagi Renji looked at the remaining three.
During a practice match, Bunta Marui's left wrist was hit by a red-eye ball and he didn't dodge it completely. He suffered a bruise and subsequent swelling. As there was no bone damage, he should be able to recover quickly.
Sanada's examination revealed poor blood circulation in his knee, not wear and tear. His regular training wasn't sufficient, and he rarely trained his lower limbs, whether in kendo or tennis. Furthermore, the tennis club's training schedule was halved at the time, so even if Sanada increased his training, it wouldn't have reached the level of injury. Corporal punishment was not tolerated in the Sanada family, and Sanada was the pride of the family in kendo. Perhaps he had touched a family heirloom, and it wasn't serious. Like Marui Bunta, he just needed to rest for a while.
Yukimura thought it was just a minor cold, but the test data was not very friendly. It is recommended that he undergo more professional examinations. This is not something that can be cured by taking some cold medicine and waiting for a while.
"Yukimura, the hospital recommends that you undergo a further examination." Yanagi Renji handed the examination form to Yukimura.
Yukimura glanced at it, not taking it seriously. When he looked up, his eyes unconsciously darted around.
Sanada kept a straight face, trying to make Yukimura realize that the results of this examination were crucial. "Yukimura, just follow the doctor's advice."
"That's right, Minister Yukimura. Since you're here~" Marui Fumita was thinking that everyone had agreed to get checked together, and besides, a detailed checkup didn't mean there would be any problems.
Yukimura, escorted by the Rikkai University regulars, registered and underwent a re-examination according to the recommendations on the checklist.
No one left, and the regular players from Rikkai University accompanied Yukimura to complete the examination.
Yukimura breathed a sigh of relief as he left the hospital. "It's finally done. Just wait for the report. Just so you know, you have to double up on the work you missed this afternoon."
The sun was already setting in the sky, and Yukimura's inspections had taken up most of the afternoon, so all the staff skipped their scheduled training time.
"No problem." Sanada responded straightforwardly. Yukimura's collapse was too sudden. Since his illness was serious, there should be signs now.
Yukimura looked at Sanada and gave him a dangerous smile. "Sanada, since you agreed so readily, why don't you do me a favor at the Kaihara Festival?"
Niou Masaharu leaned sideways against Yagyu Hiroshi, unable to suppress the smile on his face. He remembered that during the first Kaihara Festival, Yukimura's class had an art exhibition, and Sanada was the model. Niou also remembered that after the Kaihara Festival, he was in a good mood all day after the class activities. Even the fact that a lot of the prank props were confiscated didn't dampen Niou's spirits. "It was just a little sad the day after~ haha."
"Okay." Sanada nodded stiffly, a cold sweat breaking out. In fact, Sanada had experienced all of this before. He even drew lots for a drama performance. If Kirihara Akari hadn't been there, there was a good chance that Sanada would have won the role of the princess.
Yukimura knew many of Sanada's embarrassing stories as they were childhood sweethearts. When he met Yukimura at the age of four at a tennis club, Sanada mistook Yukimura's gender. Then he was invited by Yukimura to form a doubles team and won. This was Sanada's first doubles victory in his tennis experience.
As the light of victory faded, Yukimura, who was in the doubles team, proposed a one-on-one match. This was the first time Sanada lost, and he never beat Yukimura again since then.
When did it all start? He passively accepted the arrangements. Sanada had forgotten a bit, remembering only that he hadn't challenged Yukimura since entering junior high. On the same team, Sanada and Yukimura had only faced each other once in three years, shortly after Yukimura's return from the hospital and just before the national tournament.
Seeing how readily Sanada agreed, Yukimura thought he had changed, but then he saw Sanada standing there in a daze. "Sanada, let's go. What are you thinking? I won't make it too difficult for you. I'm sure you can do it."
Yanagi Renji closed his notes. He could indeed do it, but it would be difficult for Sanada to break the promise and die in the company.
Against the backdrop of Sanada's serious expression, the regular students of Rikkai University dispersed at the school gate, chatting and laughing, and went back to their homes.
At three o'clock in the morning at the Sanada family's house, Sanada suddenly opened his eyes in bed.
I get up at four o'clock every day. I have been doing this for many years, even on the day I came back.
Sanada wasn't sure if it was out of worry about the outcome or fear that things would go from bad to worse. He'd clearly thought everything would work out for the better before he took action, but now he felt uneasy. "Sometimes things don't always go smoothly, and even the smallest change can trigger a butterfly effect."
"Genichirō, if your mind is not calm, don't meditate. Try another method." Sanada Gen'emon was a little surprised by his grandson's reaction. When the heirloom sword had problems, Genichirō should practice. Even though his legs were affected, he completed all the exercises every day.
Usually this dojo is reserved for his grandchildren. Because Genichirō was punished, Sanada Gen'emon came to this dojo specially these days. Sanada Gen'emon knew his grandson's problems well. He was quite stubborn. Punishing him meant that the mistake was over. He kept an eye on the situation because he was afraid that his grandson would get injured if he forced himself to do it.
Sanada took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. If Yukimura had succeeded last time, he would surely succeed this time. "Yes, Grandfather."
Picking up the wooden sword, Sanada continued to practice from the most basic sword swings, calming himself down from the sword.
A master of kendo always carries his sword with him. This was the case with Sanada's grandfather, Gen'emon Sanada. However, the current Sanada does not have this habit yet, as he has not yet received the first sword given by his grandfather.
Sanada dared to use the knife so boldly in front of his grandfather because what he showed were the basics, as well as the strength and speed he had adapted to.
Gen'emon Sanada nodded in satisfaction and poured a cup of tea. It looked like Gen'ichirō had made significant progress, his swordplay more steady. He had to check on Shin'ichirō someday. As an older brother, he couldn't be lazy.
The eldest brother Shinichiro had no idea that his grandfather's expectations of his good brother Genichiro had increased due to his invisible progress, and he was even thinking of giving his brother a new racket as a New Year's gift.
When the enemy comes, we will fight him; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. Sanada slowly calmed down. When Yukimura got into trouble, Sanada was thinking about getting Yukimura back on the court. Yukimura was invincible on the court. Sanada believed so from the bottom of his heart and always put himself in the position of a challenger.
So when Yukimura was discouraged, Sanada was able to make Yukimura confident and seriously believed that Yukimura could do it.
The timeline was getting longer and longer, and Sanada saw news of Yukimura receiving medical treatment from outside the big screen many times. However, he couldn't easily say to Yukimura, "Go ahead, you will definitely succeed."
During the time when he was ill, the people Yukimura saw the most, besides his family, were Sanada and Yanagi Renji.
Once, faced with the terrifyingly low success rate of the operation, Sanada dared to let Yukimura choose tennis before anyone else, because Sanada knew the importance of tennis to Yukimura. Now, knowing the final result, Sanada is still clear about the position of tennis in Yukimura's heart, but finds it difficult to speak up.
Sanada only managed to catch up with the initial pain of Yukimura's repeated treatments.
During the subsequent relapses and treatments, all Sanada witnessed was Yukimura collapsing or being rushed to the emergency room.
The more I experience, the less I can say "you can" as simply as before, because it's not Sanada who's facing the disease, it's Yukimura.
Sanada's thoughts remained the same as before, Yukimura and tennis were inseparable, but his actions became much more conservative.
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