Stealing Spree

“Love-15. Return Ace!”

Surprisingly, the start of the match was as heated as yesterday. And Fuyu, carrying the weight of her team on her shoulder, managed to hit a strong return that her opponent served, wowing the audience and her opponent alike.

The girl, still as charismatic as I remembered her, flashed an excited grin when she received the tennis ball back.

Yep. That return ace wasn’t enough to discourage her. But then again, she’s probably aware of Fuyu’s prowess when it comes to tennis. She’s expecting that kind of response from her right from the start.

If I recall correctly, the trigger to how she became a potential target for me wasn’t because of tennis but a dodgeball game that was included in the school’s Sports Festival. As a senior, she was one of the leading figures in our Red Team back then. Not that surprising, she bagged the win for our team in that category.

I’ve seen her dashing over to her boyfriend who was just as proud of her. Their picture was that of a perfect couple. I know. But with how twisted my desire was back then, I couldn’t really care less whether they were happy or sad with their partners. As long as they entered my radar of interest, they’d be listed as potential.

Fortunately for her, when I found out that she was in the same club as Fuyu, I quickly switched to another potential target instead of continuing to pursue her.

I have no idea if she’s still with him. I tried searching for that guy’s silhouette in the crowd but to no avail. Either he’s not here or I couldn’t recognize him at all. I mean, I’m the type to forget a guy’s face no matter how recognizable they are...

So yeah. That’s that. As for her name... I probably wouldn’t remember if the umpire didn’t announce the players’ names before the start of their matches.

Katagiri Michiru.

Well, there’s no point remembering it anymore. Nonetheless, it’s better to fit a name to her face rather than address her as a ‘former potential target’. Right?

“You’ve improved once again, Yuuki. I have to give it my all against you. Forgive me, I’ll treat you later.” Michiru praised Fuyu upon recovering from the shock the girl brought her.

With her voice that loud, everyone in the audience started whispering with one another as they also got intrigued about the two tennis players seemingly on friendly terms.

Fuyu waved her hand in front of her, humbly rejecting the praise the other girl handed out to her, “Senpai is overpraising me. You’ve always been our team’s ace. I’m honored to fight you this time outside of our usual tennis practice. Please take care of me.”

“There you go, humble as always.” Michiru shook her head and laughed at Fuyu’s response, “Don’t hold back on me just because of my seniority.”

“You got it, senpai. I’m ready.”

The two smiled at each other, bringing down the tense atmosphere caused by the two consecutive dominant wins and losses. The hyped-up crowd mellowed down as they watched the friendly discourse between the two.

However, that was short-lived. A simple calm before the storm.

As soon as Michiru threw the ball up in the air, her next serve proved Fuyu’s claims.

She’s the ace of their team.

“15-all. Service Ace!”

Almost similar to the earlier announcement, the score was tied out easily by Michiru.

Fuyu who failed to react in time to that serve could only wryly smile on her side of the court while watching the mark left behind in her service box.

With that, claps and cheers resumed and the intensity of their match began to fill the area.

Fuyu’s eyes also started burning with fighting spirit as she prepared for the next serve, fully intending to steal the first game from the server. Likewise, Michiru was intent on ending the team competition by beating Fuyu.

Since they’re former teammates, this should be their first official match as opponents and so, neither of the two had any intention of falling behind.

For the next ten minutes or so, the two girls on the court started moving like fishes in a pond as they chased for the tennis ball, returning it to the other side.

It became a back-and-forth between them and at the five-minute mark, they both scored three points, resulting in a ‘deuce’. As for the remaining five minutes that passed, it also became a battle on who could score after getting an advantage first.

Not losing a game was surely important for the server, Michiru. But it’s also the same for the receiver, Fuyu. If she failed to break her opponent’s service game, it would be harder for her to win the set.

“Score! Advantage, receiver.”

As my head spun around that thought, the umpire’s voice soon rang out announcing Fuyu’s success in taking the advantage point. One more point and she would be taking the game.

Looking at her from my seat, the girl was in full concentration. Her face was already dotted by sweat but she seemed so focused that the embarrassed Fuyu from earlier was like a different person.

In any case, both look suits her. There’s no doubt, I have a knack for admiring the girls when they’re fulfilling their passion for something.

Since the result wasn’t in my hands here, all I could do was continue cheering and hope that Fuyu could win this match and save their team from losing.

An hour and a half later, I found myself walking towards the building where the tennis clubs’ waiting rooms were located.

Of course, it’s impossible for me to sneak in there but who’s to say it’s prohibited to wait for someone outside of it?

As I took a spot somewhere I could lean on, I pulled out my phone, opened our message box, and started typing away.

However, after filling up my screen with a long message, I hit the back button, erasing everything before pocketing my phone back.

Straightening my back, I switched to simply waiting for the door to open. Hoping that the next one to open it will be the one I am waiting for.

The first few instances were obviously a miss but I persevered and waited even when my legs had started hurting.

Thankfully, that wait didn’t become all for naught as the girl I was waiting for finally showed up.

Surprisingly, she also spotted me right away even if I was in an inconspicuous spot.

Her expression seemed to brighten as she tried to force a smile before calling out to me.

“... Onoda-kun.”

Yep. It’s forced and her expression betrayed her at the lost moment. With a gloomy frown replacing that bright countenance, Fuyu approached me.

Reflexively, I reached for her wrist, gripping them gently.

“Are you okay?”

It’s a simple question that I already know the answer. Still, it has to be mentioned.

Fuyu’s eyes landed on my hand first before matching my gaze. Once again, she tried forcing a smile but to no avail.

“No... I don’t think so...”

Her voice cracked as she delivered that answer. At the next moment, the girl seemingly lost her strength as she weakly fell forward, entering the space in front of me..

“Is it fine to borrow your shoulder, Onoda-kun?,” Before leaning completely on me, Fuyu whispered.

I answered with a succinct nod, giving her my tacit approval. Upon seeing that, a small smile of relief visited her lips. It’s not forced this time.

“Thank you...”

Well, there’s no need to mention it anymore. The obvious reason for me to come here and wait for her was related to the result of that match.

She clinched a hard-earned victory against Michiru. Unfortunately, the senior who played next also struggled and eventually, lost against her opponent. With that, it marked their defeat and exit from the competition.

The girl wasn’t going to blame them for that, of course. But losing was also a bitter feeling for everyone. And for sure, it’s the same for her clubmates.

Fuyu leaving alone instead of walking out with everyone was probably to prevent them from apologizing to her. They all did their best, after all. Their opponents were just too strong for the others. And Fuyu couldn’t also say that her win was clean.

Because of that, we’re now in this situation. I don’t know if I can comfort her by myself but if providing a shoulder to lean on is all she needs, then by all means, she can have it.

Soon, Fuyu’s head landed on my shoulder. Her bag slid down from her shoulder as she weakly gripped onto my clothes.

I tried saving that from landing on the ground but it’s impossible. All I could do was to remain standing and become a comfortable post for her. Comforting her with words was also not needed as it would be ineffective.

With that, before I knew it, my arms wrapped around the girl as I gently caressed her hair and back. In response to that, Fuyu’s grip gradually tightened as she started breathing in and out, expelling the negative emotions accumulating in her chest.

I don’t know how long we have to be in this position. A few minutes? An hour? Who knows? In any case, I guess it will be on me to cheer her up once she finishes airing out her bitterness from that loss.