"Smack!"
A forceful push from behind sent Hoshimi stumbling as he bent down to pick up the ball.
He steadied himself and turned around, looking at Yukinoshita in astonishment.
He had anticipated that Yukinoshita might assign excessively demanding tasks to exhaust him during her 'guidance.'
Or perhaps she would spar with him, wearing him out until he was utterly spent.
But he never expected Yukinoshita to directly strike him with a tennis racket.
This was truly unexpected, yet somehow still made sense.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Yukinoshita asked playfully, looking at Hoshimi. "Haven't you heard the saying, 'A good student comes from strict discipline'?"
"..." Hoshimi turned back around, squinting at Yukinoshita.
Was it his imagination?
For a moment, he seemed to see his own reflection in Yukinoshita.
"Ha~"
Seeing Hoshimi unable to maintain his fake smile, Yukinoshita felt a wave of satisfaction.
She chuckled lightly, twirling the racket as she continued, "Hoshimi, I learned this from you: establish rules and then enforce them strictly."
"..." Hoshimi silently met Yukinoshita's gaze for a moment before saying quietly, "Yukinoshita, when I set rules, I made them clear to you, but you didn't do the same for me."
"Oh? Did I not explain the rules to you?" Yukinoshita raised an eyebrow, showing an apologetic smile identical to Hoshimi's. "Well, I'm sorry about that."
Then, Yukinoshita's tone shifted, "But now you should understand the rules, right? Experiencing them firsthand makes them stick, doesn't it?"
Hoshimi laughed, his smile unusually bright. "Indeed, I understand them very clearly now."
"..." Watching Hoshimi's warm smile, Yukinoshita felt a growing unease.
She realized that in tonight's dream, Hoshimi would likely be fully fired up.
But so what?
Thanks to Hoshimi, she had almost overcome her fear of heights. What more could he do to her?
With that thought, Yukinoshita's unease dissipated completely. She raised her pale neck and said playfully, "Since you understand, why not start training?"
"Okay." Hoshimi smiled, picked up the tennis ball, and continued his volley practice.
The tennis ball bounced up and down on the racket, quickly surpassing ten bounces and heading toward twenty.
Twenty...thirty...forty...
With his full attention on the ball, Hoshimi's focus was intense. All his energy was concentrated on the ball, no longer caring how awkward his movements might look.
Forty-one...forty-two...
"Smack--"
The ball fell, marking another failure for Hoshimi.
"Ha~" Yukinoshita smiled, mercilessly giving Hoshimi another 'disciplinary strike.'
"Smack!"
Hearing the somewhat dull sound, Yukinoshita felt immense satisfaction.
Finally, the frustration of the past few days was released, and she felt a lightness throughout her body.
Suddenly, Yukinoshita wondered if the satisfaction from this revenge might be even more enjoyable than surpassing her sister.
"..." Picking up the ball again, Hoshimi glanced at Yukinoshita from the corner of his eye.
Suddenly, he noticed that Yukinoshita's pleased expression resembled a cat overdosed on catnip.
A strange light flashed in his eyes as he played with the tennis ball, lost in thought.
"Hoshimi, what's wrong? Are you afraid to continue? Are you scared?"
Seeing Hoshimi stop, Yukinoshita smirked and taunted him.
"Afraid?" Hoshimi laughed, fearlessly continuing his volley practice.
Afraid? Why should he be afraid? The real show was just beginning.
...
A little earlier.
Outside the Service Club's activity room at Sobu High, Yui Yuigahama and Hachiman Hikigaya were waiting at the clubroom door.
"Why isn't Yukinon here yet...?"
Holding her phone, Yui Yuigahama mumbled softly, "She hasn't even responded to my messages. Does Yukinon have something important to do today?"
"..." Beside her, Hikigaya glanced at Yui Yuigahama before continuing to quietly read his light novel.
The key to the Service Club's activity room was only held by club president Yukinoshita. Usually, she was the first to arrive at the clubroom.
Today, for some reason, even though Hikigaya and Yuigahama had waited a long time, Yukinoshita had not shown up.
Maybe, as Yuigahama suggested, Yukinoshita had something important to attend to today, which is why she didn't come to the Service Club.
But considering Yukinoshita's serious nature, if she couldn't attend the club activities, she should have informed him and Yuigahama in advance.
Could it be that the matter was so urgent she didn't have time to notify them?
Even so, Yukinoshita would typically send an email to Yuigahama to inform them that today's club activities were canceled.
Now, not only was there no email notification, but she hadn't even responded to emails.
Could something have happened to Yukinoshita?
At this thought, Hikigaya's grip on his book spine tightened unconsciously.
That couldn't be possible, right? It's Yukinoshita, after all. What could go wrong? But you never know; accidents happen.
"..." Feeling increasingly uneasy, Hikigaya closed his book and said to Yuigahama, "Yuigahama, let's go to Yukinoshita's class and ask around. Her classmates might know something."
"Okay, let's go now." Yui Yuigahama, who had been growing impatient, quickly headed to Class 2J.
Hikigaya silently followed behind her.
After a short while, they arrived near Class 2J's classroom. They exchanged glances, and Hikigaya stepped back, indicating that he was leaving the questioning to Yuigahama.
"Ugh~" Yui Yuigahama pouted slightly, feeling a bit resentful.
But Yukinoshita's whereabouts were clearly more important. She dispelled her minor grievances and quickly approached the back door of Class 2J to peek inside.
Only two students were cleaning the classroom, and there was no one else.
Seeing this, Yuigahama softly said, "...Excuse me...do you know where Yukinoshita-san went after school?"
""Huh?"" The two girls cleaning turned to look at Yuigahama.
"Uh..." Flustered by their attention, Yuigahama hastily explained, "I'm Yui Yuigahama from Class 2F and a member of the Service Club. Yukinoshita-san hasn't shown up to the club, and I'm a bit worried about her, so I came to ask..."
"Are you talking about Yukinoshita-san?" One of the girls interrupted Yuigahama's rambling explanation.
Then, with a smile and a knowing look, she said, "Yukinoshita-san went to the tennis court with Hoshimi-kun to teach him tennis right after school. You should check there; she's definitely there."
"Uh..." Hearing the name 'Hoshimi,' Yuigahama was momentarily stunned before reacting.
"Thank you very much." She first bowed to express her gratitude, then hurriedly headed to the tennis courts with Hikigaya.
On the way, Yuigahama couldn't understand why Yukinoshita would teach Hoshimi tennis, even forgetting about the club activities.
Weren't they supposed to be rivals?
Could something have changed that she didn't know about?
Feeling conflicted, Yuigahama bit her lower lip, planning to ask Yukinoshita at the tennis courts.
Before long, Yuigahama and Hikigaya arrived at the tennis courts.
As soon as they reached the edge of the court, they saw Hoshimi and Yukinoshita not far away.
Hoshimi was intensely focused on his volley practice.
Yukinoshita, standing beside him with a cheerful expression, was watching Hoshimi with a smile.
"Swoosh--swoosh--"
A cool sea breeze rustled through, making the green leaves rustle.
By the edge of the tennis court's wire fence, Yukinoshita's hair fluttered, and Hoshimi's clothes swayed under the emerging tree branches, creating a harmonious and complementary scene.
Yuigahama stood frozen, staring dumbly at Yukinoshita's profile.
Whether it was the look of joy on her face or the spring-like smile that seemed to melt the ice, these were things she had never seen in the Service Club.
"Hikki, do you think we should still go over there?" Yuigahama asked quietly, her eyes dim.
"Yuigahama, what do you think?" Hikigaya tossed the question back to Yuigahama.
"...Let's not disturb Yukinon," she said after a moment's hesitation.
"Alright, then let's go."
They had come in a rush and left just as quickly. No one noticed their departure.
Just like the door to the Service Club, at that moment, it didn't matter whether it was open or closed.
===
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