After a simple warm-up, today's practice began.
Tennis.
The Physical Education Teacher had them practice in pairs.
Tanaka Masao's class had twenty-six people, which should have made exactly thirteen pairs.
But unfortunately, no one teamed up with him.
The other person left alone was Kawasaki Saki.
Meanwhile, Class 1-J, on the other side, also had tennis as their activity today.
The class had twenty-five people, and the one left alone, without a doubt, was Yukinoshita Yukino.
Tanaka Masao held his tennis racket, standing still, looking at Kawasaki Saki, then at Yukinoshita Yukino, feeling a bit troubled.
"Oh dear, two beautiful girls, who should I play tennis with? What a dilemma.
But since I'm such a kind person, I'll reluctantly play with both of them."
In reality, Tanaka Masao had no need to be troubled, because normally, even if he invited them, Yukinoshita Yukino and Kawasaki Saki would not agree.
If it were a request for a 'diet' and he invited Yukinoshita Yukino.
Yukinoshita Yukino would hesitate for a moment, then make Tanaka Masao swing his racket alone until class ended.
Tanaka Masao looked back and forth between Yukinoshita Yukino and Kawasaki Saki.
Although Yukinoshita Yukino was prettier, Tanaka Masao still decisively walked towards Kawasaki Saki.
There was no other way; Kawasaki Saki's advantages were clearly more appealing to him.
...
Tanaka Masao walked to a corner and, looking at Kawasaki Saki lazily swinging her racket against the wall, he spoke.
"Kawasaki-kun, how about we team up and play tennis together?"
Hearing this, Kawasaki Saki glanced at Tanaka Masao and simply replied.
"I can manage by myself."
After saying that, she ignored Tanaka Masao.
Seeing the aloof Kawasaki Saki, Tanaka Masao did not pester her further.
"Forget it, I'll go find Yukinoshita."
Tanaka Masao walked to the other side, to the corner where Yukinoshita Yukino was.
"Xuezhixia Classmate, would you like to play tennis together?"
Looking at Tanaka Masao who had come to invite her, Yukinoshita Yukino sneered.
As one of the few people who could speak a few words with her, she had actually been observing Tanaka Masao's every move.
She naturally knew that he had first gone to invite Kawasaki Saki, and it seemed he had been rejected, which was why he came to her.
For some reason, she always felt a bit displeased, and her tone was somewhat sharp.
"What, were you rejected?"
Yukinoshita Yukino crossed her arms; although she was a bit shorter than Tanaka Masao, she gave him a feeling of being looked down upon.
"It's not impossible for me to agree to play tennis with you, but your skills are too poor, and I'm not interested.
How about this, go practice swinging your racket ten thousand times first, and then I'll consider whether to accept your invitation."
"Ten thousand times!"
Tanaka Masao gasped.
Not to mention he couldn't do it at all, even if he did, his arm would be ruined.
Tanaka Masao could clearly sense Yukinoshita Yukino's refusal, so he naturally wouldn't make any meaningless attempts.
"Hmph, they both rejected me!
This is exactly as I imagined."
Well, he had actually been mentally prepared for this outcome.
Rather, being rejected was normal.
"But, I just feel a bit annoyed."
Tanaka Masao's eyes, hidden behind his glasses, pondered continuously, and soon he came up with a good idea.
He returned to Kawasaki Saki's side.
Seeing Tanaka Masao's arrival, Kawasaki Saki spoke first.
"I told you, I'm not interested in playing tennis with you."
Tanaka Masao didn't mind Kawasaki Saki's refusal and instead said.
"It's not me, it's Xuezhixia Classmate from the next class. She told me she thinks your skills are good and wants you to go play with her."
Hearing Tanaka Masao's words, Kawasaki Saki frowned.
She had indeed seen Tanaka Masao go and say something to Yukinoshita Yukino just now, but she didn't expect Yukinoshita Yukino wanted to play with her.
It was just this commanding tone that made her a bit displeased.
She naturally knew about this famous person in their grade, but Kawasaki Saki was not someone to be easily bullied either.
Kawasaki Saki replied coldly.
"You tell her I accept her challenge."
Tanaka Masao looked at Kawasaki Saki's tightly gripped racket and smiled, "Okay, I'll relay the message."
He immediately went to Yukinoshita Yukino's side and said.
"Xuezhixia Classmate, my classmate Kawasaki Saki wants to challenge you and play a game of tennis with you. She's the one playing tennis alone over there."
Saying this, Tanaka Masao, fearing Yukinoshita Yukino might not recognize her, thoughtfully pointed her out.
"Oh, really?"
Yukinoshita Yukino raised an eyebrow and glanced at Tanaka Masao, "How come I feel like things aren't that simple?"
Tanaka Masao, having been detected, remained calm because he had prepared himself mentally, and said quite steadily.
"How could that be? If Xuezhixia Classmate is unwilling to accept the challenge, I'll go tell Kawasaki-kun right away."
"Is that a provocation? But..."
Yukinoshita Yukino looked up in Kawasaki Saki's direction.
Kawasaki Saki happened to look back this way.
Their gazes collided in the air, instantly sparking, as if both were saying at the same time.
"As my opponent, you are barely qualified."
"I accept the challenge."
Yukinoshita Yukino walked with confident steps and a powerful aura towards Kawasaki Saki.
Kawasaki Saki was not to be outdone; her aura was equally strong.
Although neither said a word, they both spontaneously walked to the nearest tennis court.
Looking at the two, Tanaka Masao's mouth curved into a triumphant smile.
"Since you two don't want to play with me, then you play with each other.
I've found companions for them, so they should thank me."
As for whether his scheme would be discovered, Tanaka Masao wasn't worried at all.
In his opinion, Yukinoshita Yukino and Kawasaki Saki were both people who didn't like to talk much, so how could they communicate about such trivial matters?
...
Yukinoshita Yukino and Kawasaki Saki stood ready on opposite sides of the tennis court, and Tanaka Masao very consciously walked to the middle to act as the referee.
Yukinoshita Yukino spoke first, "You serve first."
Kawasaki Saki did not refuse, nodding.
She bounced the tennis ball on the ground a few times, then warned.
"Then you better be ready to receive it."
As soon as she finished speaking, a fierce serve shot straight towards Yukinoshita Yukino.
Facing the powerful and heavy strike, Yukinoshita Yukino easily hit it back.
They went back and forth more than a dozen times before this rally ended with Kawasaki Saki's error.
Since it was just practice, there were no formal sets, games, or matches.
There was only the simplest scoring, and they would compare at the end.
Yukinoshita Yukino did not relax after scoring the first point; her expression was very serious.
Kawasaki Saki also wasn't discouraged by losing the point; her focus became even more intense.
Soon, the commotion here attracted the attention of others.
After all, it was the two most beautiful girls from both classes playing against each other, which was quite a sight.