When Ichin returned the fast–flying tennis ball, he felt the impact surge through his arm and couldn't help but marvel.
He had almost forgotten—both of the Yukinoshita sisters were geniuses.
Whether it was Yukino or Haruno, both learned things astonishingly fast. In fact, Haruno's athleticism even surpassed her sister's; she had no physical shortcomings at all. When it came to sports like tennis, Haruno's overall skill was clearly higher than Yukino's.
And just like Yukino, Haruno had also practiced Aikido, so the power behind her swings was nothing to take lightly.
Ichin had never played tennis with Haruno before, and that first serve of hers nearly caught him off guard. Thankfully, he hadn't underestimated her and managed to return the ball with all his strength.
Seeing Ichin react so quickly, Haruno's lips curved into a bright smile. She dashed across the court to intercept the return, and soon the two were rallying back and forth in full rhythm.
They didn't bother keeping score—whoever's side the ball landed on would just serve next.
Before long, everyone else had finished their warm-ups and learned some basic swings, and each pair started playing in their own courts.
Yukino, Utaha, and Hajime took seats on the benches beside Ichin and Haruno's court, watching their match.
"I expected Ichin to be good," Hajime said in surprise, "Utaha did say he works out regularly and has some tennis experience—but I didn't think Haruno-san would be this good!"
Yukino nodded slightly. "My sister and I both pick things up quickly. Athletics have always been her strength—especially tennis. She used to play often, but ever since she started taking over part of the family company, it's rare to see her out on a court anymore."
As they spoke, Ichin failed to return a sharp cross-court shot. He waved his hand and said with a chuckle, "Alright, alright, let's take a break."
Haruno stopped as well, stretching her shoulders a bit. "Not bad, Ichin. We rallied twenty-six balls, and you scored ten points off me."
Ichin fetched a few stray balls from the corner, then took the sports drink Utaha handed him and took a sip. "That was my limit already. You're clearly better than me, Haruno-nee—I was relying purely on stamina and reflexes."
"That's still impressive," Haruno praised without hesitation, setting her racket aside. "If you practiced seriously for a few months, you'd get really good."
"Months of practice, huh? I'll pass. I don't have that kind of time for tennis. But playing once in a while for fun? That I can do."
Sitting down beside Utaha, Ichin turned toward Yukino. "Yukino, this court's all yours now. If I remember right, Hajime plays tennis too, right? You two should have a match."
"I'm up for it!" Hajime said excitedly, picking up her racket. "Anyone's fine with me!"
Yukino nodded and stood up. "That's why we came today, after all—to train."
With that, she and Hajime stepped onto the court and began their rally.
Meanwhile, on the other three courts, everyone else played more casually. Aside from Hazuki and Kō Yagami, no one really had much tennis experience.
Well… watching Prince of Tennis didn't count.
And since most of them were girls, a sport like tennis—which demanded a bit of strength—wasn't easy to pick up right away. It was better to start slow; if they overexerted themselves, their wrists would be sore for days.
On Yukino's court, Hajime's technical skill wasn't on par with Yukino's, but her stamina was far superior. The first few rounds were mostly testing each other's rhythm, so they seemed evenly matched.
After resting for a while, Ichin walked over to where Kō and the others were playing.
At that moment, Ruri Gokou was teamed up with Sakura Nene, while their opponents were Aoba and Kirino Kousaka.
Unfortunately, aside from Kirino, the other three were hopeless at sports—complete beginners when it came to tennis.
Kirino might have been new to the game, but she'd been in the track-and-field club since middle school. With her sharp athletic reflexes, she picked up the basics in no time. Even though Aoba wasn't much help, Kirino was practically holding the court by herself, dominating the match.
When Ruri's return came flying toward her, Kirino smacked it right back with ease. "Hmph, what's wrong, Black Cat? Sitting in an office too long has made you weak? That ball had no power at all! Boxer shorts! Boxer shorts!"
"…"
Ruri took two deep breaths, forcing herself to stay calm despite Kirino's smug expression, and served again.
But against someone as physically gifted as Kirino, her shots had no real speed or pressure. Kirino easily countered it again—this time sending it toward Nene.
"Hey!"
Nene rushed after it on her short legs, but sadly missed the ball.
"Uuu… tennis is so hard…"
She pouted, looking back toward Ichin who was watching from the sidelines. "Ichin-kun! Switch with me!"
"Me?" Ichin pointed at himself and laughed. "Is that really okay? You've already got your teams set. It'd feel weird for a guy to join in."
But before he could finish, Kirino immediately shouted, "It's fine, it's fine! Switch anytime! I don't mind at all!"
Judging by her wagging "tail," Kirino was clearly in high spirits after beating Ruri so easily.
Who could blame her? When they played games, she was usually the one getting crushed by Kuroneko. Now that she could finally turn the tables in tennis, she was going to enjoy it to the fullest.
And since Ichin had just had an intense rally with Haruno, Kirino figured he must be tired—she could probably handle him. That made her all the more eager to agree to the switch.
Seeing no reason to refuse, Ichin happily took Nene's place.
Standing at the baseline, racket in hand, he turned to Ruri. "Ruri, I'll take care of the back court. You focus on anything near the net, alright?"
"Got it," she replied with a firm nod.
After bouncing the ball twice, Ichin looked across the net at Kirino and said, "Ready? I'm serving."
He tossed the ball high and unleashed a clean, textbook serve—straight down the line, hitting the baseline perfectly for an instant score.
"Eh?"
Kirino froze, watching the ball hit the back wall and bounce back before she could react. Her big eyes blinked in confusion. "Ah… what?"
Seeing Ichin score straight from a serve, Ruri finally allowed herself a triumphant smile. She looked at Kirino smugly and said, "Looks like tennis isn't that hard after all—you just need the right teammate."
"D-Don't get cocky! One more round!" Kirino shouted, gripping her racket tightly.
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