On the competition grounds, Suzuki Yuu stood at the designated Student Council area, his gaze fixed intently on a certain spot in the Myou no Hikari Girls’ Academy’s spectator section.
He was constantly on guard against whatever those girls might try to pull.
At that moment, Shiraishi Ayaha was standing right beside him, methodically warming up her body.
From not far away came the synchronized cheers of the Myou no Hikari Girls’ Academy.
After completing one round of warm-up, Shiraishi Ayaha took a deep breath, then turned her gaze toward Shiina Chisa on the opposite side.
The other girl’s reaction was rather calm, not the least bit nervous—as if she were facing nothing more than a perfectly ordinary match.
Suzuki Yuu checked his watch. He wouldn’t let down his guard until the match officially began.
He handed a bottle of sports drink to Ayaha, gesturing for her to hydrate before going onto the court.
Shiraishi Ayaha obediently took it, drank a large gulp, and then placed it in her own rest area.
Soon after, the referee’s whistle sounded, and she walked onto the court.
At the same time, in another section of the audience, Ikeda Midori was glaring at Shiraishi Ayaha on the court, grinding her teeth.
At the same time, her eyes darted to Suzuki Yuu, who was watching them closely.
“Tch, there’s no opening at all. Did that guy figure us out already?” Ikeda Midori muttered in a low voice.
“No way, logically he shouldn’t know. Don’t tell me someone among us ratted us out?”
Someone voiced this suspicion, and the girls looked at each other, all wearing looks of confusion.
“Forget it, just stick to the plan! He can’t keep watch on us forever! There’s so many of us—sooner or later, we’ll get a chance!”
“The match begins! First game, Myou no Hikari Academy, Player Shiraishi to serve!”
The referee’s voice rang out, and all eyes in the venue focused on the two players.
Suzuki Yuu confirmed that nothing unexpected had happened so far, so he relaxed slightly and began to watch the match.
But, unexpectedly, the one-sided crushing defeat he’d pictured for Shiraishi Ayaha did not occur. She fought with everything she had, looking utterly determined to win.
The match was fiercely contested. Shiraishi Ayaha darted around like an indefatigable fawn, her feet flying as she returned shot after shot over the net.
Still, the difference in ability was clear. Shiina Chisa remained at ease, always managing to send the ball deep into the far corners with almost effortless precision.
Even so, she dared not get careless in this contest.
“Bang!” On the fifteenth shot of a rally, Ayaha seized on a mistake from Shiina Chisa and immediately counterattacked. Caught off guard, the ojou-sama scrambled to recover, but it was too late.
“40–30! Point for Player Shiraishi.”
The crowd erupted in cheers. Suzuki Yuu clapped as well, though he dared not react too strongly—after all, Chisa was still over there.
Clearly, Shiina Chisa hadn’t quite recovered from her surprise, and soon enough, she lost the point.
“GAME! Player Shiraishi wins! Score 1–0, please change sides.”
At this moment, Shiraishi Ayaha was panting with exhaustion, but her face broke into a smile as she ran toward the rest area, excitedly glancing at Suzuki Yuu.
On the other side of the court, Shiina Chisa walked silently back to her rest area.
She didn’t seem discouraged by her loss in the first game, but her grip on her racket tightened slightly.
“Huff… huff…” Shiraishi Ayaha grabbed the water bottle Suzuki Yuu had given her, tipped her head back, and gulped down the rest in one go, draining it completely.
“Ah, it’s empty.” She shook the bottle in annoyance.
“It’s fine, I’ll go get you another one.”
“Mm! Please do, Suzuki.” Shiraishi Ayaha flashed a tired but still dazzling smile.
Suzuki turned and headed for the vending machine, while Shiraishi Ayaha watched his departing figure.
But just then, a voice sounded by her ear:
“Shiraishi-san! That was amazing!” Ikeda Midori approached Ayaha, who was wiping her sweat with a towel in the rest area, with excessive enthusiasm.
“Eh, Ikeda-san?” Shiraishi Ayaha was clearly exhausted, but seeing a schoolmate, she smiled politely. “Thank you, I just got lucky.”
“I saw you were out of water, so here—this is for you!” Ikeda Midori immediately handed her a drink. “We got it especially for you. Do your best in the next game too!”
“Uh…” Shiraishi Ayaha hesitated, recalling Suzuki Yuu’s warnings in her mind.
But before she could refuse, a pale, slender hand reached out from the side and pressed down firmly on the bottle Ikeda Midori was handing over, stopping it from going any farther.
“Eh?” Shiraishi Ayaha froze in surprise.
Ikeda Midori was also startled; she jerked her head up and found herself facing a pair of icy, piercing eyes.
Shiina Chisa had, at some point, crossed over from her rest area, walked around the net, and was now standing calmly beside Shiraishi Ayaha.
“You…” Ikeda Midori was intimidated by the girl’s overpowering presence, and reflexively tried to pull her hand back.
Shiina Chisa ignored her panic. Her gaze swept over Ikeda, and then over at the obviously tense companions in the audience.
“Is that so? Specially prepared?” With no expression, she took the bottle from Ikeda Midori’s hand.
She didn’t look at Ayaha, only at Ikeda Midori, and then—right in front of everyone—unscrewed the cap.
“If it’s given with good intentions,” Shiina Chisa’s tone was flat, but her words sent chills down Ikeda Midori’s spine, “then drink it right here, in front of me.”
“What?!” Ikeda Midori’s face went instantly pale. She recoiled in fear. “W-why should I? I’m not thirsty!”
“Are you afraid?” Shiina Chisa stepped closer, pressing the bottle to Ikeda Midori’s lips, so cold the liquid nearly touched her mouth. “Or is there something in here you don’t want others to know about?”
“I—I didn’t! Don’t say things like that!” Ikeda Midori flailed, trying to bat Shiina Chisa’s hand away.
“What’s going on?” Suzuki Yuu returned just then with a fresh bottle of water, only to witness this tense standoff.
Seeing the drink in Shiina Chisa’s hand, the shell-shocked Ayaha, and the ashen-faced Ikeda Midori, he instantly understood.
“Referee!” Suzuki Yuu’s heart clenched. He shouted at once, holding up his Student Council auditor’s badge.
Their commotion drew the attention of many spectators. Realizing things were going south, Ikeda Midori didn’t hesitate—she fled immediately.
The referee’s whistle shrilled, and members of the Student Council’s disciplinary committee rushed after Ikeda Midori and her group.
“Ayaha, are you alright?” Once the scene calmed down, Suzuki Yuu hurried to check on her.
Shiraishi Ayaha was still shaken. She stared at the bottle in Shiina Chisa’s hand, her expression bewildered.
She hadn’t done anything—why would they do this to her?
“I’m… I’m fine.” She clung tightly to Suzuki Yuu’s arm, her voice still trembling.
Hearing this, Suzuki Yuu breathed a sigh of relief and looked toward Shiina Chisa.
The other girl acted as though nothing unusual had happened, simply returning to her rest area to prepare for the next game.
It was as if nothing had happened at all.
Of course, Suzuki Yuu knew all too well—whenever she entered this state, she was most likely upset.
“I’ll have to talk to her after the match,” he thought.
After a while, once everything was cleaned up, the referee’s whistle sounded again.
“Match resumes! Second game, Aoyama Sei Academy, Player Shiina to serve!”
Shiraishi Ayaha took a deep breath, trying to erase the earlier scare from her mind.
She gripped her racket tightly and looked gratefully at Shiina Chisa, who had already returned to the baseline across the court.
She didn’t know why the other girl had helped her, but she silently took the favor to heart.
But in the very next moment, her opponent’s serve left her stunned.
“Bang!”
A crisp sound rang out as the tennis ball shot across the court like a flash of white light, landing perfectly in the corner of the service box, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“Eh?”
Shiraishi Ayaha couldn’t even react.
“ACE! 15–0!”
The referee’s voice snapped Ayaha back to her senses. She stared in astonishment at the girl across from her, but already the second serve was coming.
Shiraishi Ayaha barely touched the ball, but the force behind it wrenched the racket out of her grip instantly.
“GAME! Player Shiina wins! Score 1–1.”
From that point on, the match became completely one-sided.
Shiina Chisa gave Shiraishi Ayaha almost no chance to breathe; every return was sharp and unyielding.
Perhaps stung by losing the first game, the ojou-sama now dashed across the court relentlessly, clearly regarding Shiraishi Ayaha as a worthy opponent.
Suzuki Yuu closed his eyes slightly, unable to bear the brutal spectacle.
But when the score reached 4–1, he realized he was wrong—the match wasn’t ending as simply as he’d imagined.
Just like in the first game, Shiraishi Ayaha, through sheer determination, forced the match into a grueling battle of endurance.
She no longer aimed for clever angles—she just put everything she had into returning each shot over the net.
This kind of “muddy” playstyle quickly drained both girls’ stamina.
“Bang!”
Another long rally ended, and sweat beaded on Shiina Chisa’s forehead as her breathing turned ragged.
Still, the difference in skill meant she took the game.
“GAME! Player Shiina wins! Score 5–1.”
The referee’s voice rang out. This was Shiina Chisa’s match point.
Shiraishi Ayaha was so exhausted she could barely stand, but Shiina Chisa had also expended far more energy than she’d expected.
The ojou-sama looked at the girl before her with a hint of confusion—she couldn’t understand why Ayaha fought so desperately.
Was it because of Suzuki Yuu?
At that thought, Shiina Chisa felt her motivation return. She tossed the ball high, preparing to end the match with a powerful serve.
But the moment she landed, she made a mistake.
Perhaps it was eagerness to win, or maybe simply fatigue—her left foot landed unsteadily.
“Ouch…”
A suppressed cry of pain pierced the din of the court.
Shiina Chisa’s body suddenly twisted. Her left ankle bent inward at a sickening angle!
A wave of agony shot through her entire body. She could no longer support herself and collapsed hard to the ground.
All the cheers stopped abruptly. The whole stadium fell silent in an instant.
Seeing this, Suzuki Yuu didn’t hesitate—he immediately called for the medical team, then vaulted over the Student Council work area and rushed onto the court.
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