Author's notes:
I made an important discovery while writing this chapter: I hate trying to come up with rallies.
I have done so much moaning and wailing while pushing myself to continue the story and trying to come up with exciting rallies during the matches.
Rallies can be so cool when watching a match, but trying to come up with new rallies over and over again is hell.
That's why from now on, I'm just going to try and copy rallies from matches I watch on youtube.
Which... logically is what I should have done from the start, since I have never played competitive badminton in my life.
I hope my self-pity hasn't resulted in a boring chapter, but I think the developments in the relationships of Ushika, Ayano, and Connie as well as some of my original characters will please you.
Incidentally, I intended this chapter and the next to be one chapter. Describing the matches has been stretching out this chapter, however.
As a result, you will be able to enjoy the fallout of the match between Ayano and her mother and sister in chapter six while Mariyana continues to make a fool of herself, Mashiro continues to try and kid herself, and Oichi's confusion continues to grow.
Ushika slowly descended the flight of stairs towards the concrete platform at the foot of them.
The daughter she had barely talked to in over a year sat in a plastic chair on the platform next to a large white table.
To Ayano's left, the practice court the JBA had erected in the sports hall was spread out.
"Hello Ayano," Ushika gently and cautiously greeted her daughter while Connie still stood at the head of the stairs behind her. "Have you been enjoying the tournament so far?"
Connie observed how Ayano glared up at her mother who now stood before her.
"The tournament has been wonderful," Ayano stated. "But I'd like to have a good practice match before I take on Shiwahime-san."
"That's a great idea!" Ushika smiled while moving her right arm toward the practice court in a sweeping motion. "Why don't you join Connie and me?
We were about to go over the best ways to deal with Shinoda-san's playing style.
I really shouldn't do this, but I advised Yuika about how to handle you. It's only fair to do you the same favor."
The woman looked behind her at her other daughter.
"Connie won't tell anyone, will you? The three of us are a family after all," She said with an arch wink at the hesitant blonde.
"I prefer to play an actual match against you and Connie," Ayano reacted in a sudden harsh tone.
Her mother regarded her carefully for a moment.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Ayano," She finally said "You have a tough match coming up tomorrow. Neither you nor Connie can afford to tire themselves out."
To Ushika's surprise, her daughter burst out in derisive laughter.
"Hahahahaha! The match I had today was hardly a warm-up. How about you, Connie? Are you tired?"
The cautious Danish girl watched how her future adoptive sister grabbed her racket, slid it from the table to her right, and held it by her side as if she was holding a gun at the ready.
Connie didn't know what Ayano was planning, but she could see in the smiling eyes of the short girl with the black ponytail that she was challenging her.
"I'm not tired," She simply smiled.
"Rather than being careful to tire ourselves out, we need to keep our minds and bodies sharp for tomorrow's matches," Ayano appealed to her mother in a deceptively cheerful voice. "I haven't had a single challenging match since I got here! If I want to win against Shiwahime-san only you and Connie can get me primed for tomorrow."
While Connie slowly descended the stairs, Ushika pondered the matter.
Her daughter - who upon sensing that she was starting to convince her mother had walked onto the court to warm up by performing a series of lunges - made a convincing case for having a short match amongst themselves.
Ushika had wondered whether Connie was mentally and physically in the right state to face the tougher challenges that lay ahead after the relatively easy wins she enjoyed so far.
"What do you think, Connie?" She asked the girl with a smile. "Should we take on your sister together?"
Connie turned to face the court and saw how Ayano was grinning at her.
She knew that her future sister was insidiously manipulating her, but she didn't care. If Ayano wanted a revenge match for the first time they faced each other on the court that was fine with her.
"I think Nee-san's idea is wonderful!" She sang as she pulled her racket out of its protective sleeve and pointed it at the court.
"Do you have a preference?" The tall blonde asked her sister.
"No."
"Then we'll take the court near the stairs," Connie said while taking walking onto that side of the net.
Ushika watched their enthusiasm. Her happiness about her daughters actually agreeing on something got the best of her judgment.
"Alright then!" The woman contentedly exclaimed. "Let's get to it."
Ayano saw her mother swing her blue racket bag from over her shoulder and take the racket out while leaving the bag on the table next to those of her girls.
She grinned subtly, satisfied that the first half of her plan went as hoped.
"I think we should have some extra motivation to really get into this match," The short black-haired girl smiled while critically observing the positions her mother and sister took relative to one another on the court. Both were dressed in the FreGirls badminton uniform.
Ushika raised an eyebrow at the remark.
"And what kind of motivation were you thinking of?" She smilingly asked her daughter.
Connie, however, was starting to feel increasingly uncomfortable about the situation.
Having agreed to the match initially despite her misgivings, Ayano's remark now had the blonde thinking that she and her mother had walked into a trap her sister was about to ensnare them in.
"How about we make it a punishment game?" Her sister cheerfully proposed. If you beat me, I'll have to treat both of you to crepes after the tournament."
"Sounds like just my kind of punishment game," Ushika grinned.
Connie nervously observed how her sister quickly glanced her way before looking at her mother with a deadly serious expression.
"But if I win, you and Connie can't move in with grandma, grandpa, and me."
Without looking at each other, Ushika and Connie stared at their opponent across the net.
Connie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She realized that in her desperation to push her own mother away Ayano was counting on the person she probably considered her worst enemy not only to support her proposition but even to throw the game in order to achieve what had formerly been their mutual goal.
Ayano had crafted this ridiculous and cunning plan with the intention of using her adoptive sister as a hostile ally in the enemy camp, and it stung Connie to know that she would have succeeded in her plot had she carried it out only a few days earlier.
The blonde had gradually come to realize that there was something terribly wrong with the way Ayano refused her mother.
Talking to Yuika and Erena helped her realize that Ayano must be feeling quite miserable due to her mother's abandonment.
But it was the devious plot she was now confronted with which instantly decided for the blonde that she would become an unwelcome ally to her sister who seemed to have suffered as she had once suffered.
"Ayano…" Ushika muttered in a hurt tone. "I know I caused you pain… but I had only your future in mind when I…"
"Because Connie chose what side of the court you'll play on I'll take the first serve, alright?" Ayano cheerfully spoke while assuming the appropriate stance her left foot over the line that ran through the middle of her court.
"It's no use, Mother," Connie stated while covering the back of their court and carefully monitoring her adoptive sister's movements.
"Let's make Nee-san listen to reason over some crepes!"
The blonde hurried to her left after Ayano deceived her into thinking she would drop the shuttle to the right of their affected mother.
She successfully returned the service to the left side of her sister's court with a long straight shot before Ayano returned it.
Having to navigate her mother - who was unsure as to how she should handle the situation - Connie arrived too late to return the birdie so that it landed on the right side of their court.
"Ayano. Please stop this and talk to me," Ushika begged her daughter who was getting ready to serve from the left side of her court.
Ayano hit the shuttle with a nimble movement of her wrist, dropping it just in front of her mother who made an unsuccessful half-hearted attempt to return the service.
"Mother!" Connie appealed to the blackette in alarm. "Nee-san won't listen at all if we won't play by her rules. Please focus. We need to win this match!"
Ushika stared her daughter in the eyes with an uncharacteristically uncertain heart.
"Trust me," Connie asked her with an earnest look. "Remember what I said before we descended the stairs to the practice court."
"Alright!" Ushika nodded firmly while standing ready to play properly. "Let's play Ayano for the right to her love."
A steadily pulsating heart. Lungs that greedily fill with air only to contract at regular intervals. Eyes focused like a bird of prey.
Tamika Hirano felt like she was on fire.
The short brawny redhead was drinking from her bottle of water after congratulations from her coach and a reminder to remain vigilant.
Tamika knew she shouldn't think the match was played, but she couldn't help feeling good about herself.
She had an 11 - 5 lead against fucking Shiwahime Yuika!
Her brother must be so proud right now.
She had looked up at him before the interval and he had shown her a thumbs up and a big smile.
Their friend Hyousuke was sitting next to Ryóta and showed Tamika a thumbs-up too.
There was a time when that thumbs-up could have made her heart thump, but Tamika had long come to terms with the fact that Hyousuke's heart was the permanent property of Chizuko Yamamoto. He was still a very sweet friend to her.
Tamika heard a ruckus to her right and saw Yuika already walking onto her side of the court under cheers from her fans.
The black-bobbed girl confidently waved back to the crowd.
Tamika got up and followed suit. She didn't get how Yuika could be so energetic. Shouldn't she be a little worried?
The two athletes took positions on the left side of their courts.
Left-handed Tamika tried to land the shuttle just over the net with her serve. A strategy that served her well so far. But Yuika dove forward, leaning her weight on her outstretched left leg, and whipped the birdie back towards her opponent in a high arc.
The Fukui City Senior High student with the short red hair on the other side of the net retreated a few steps and raised her racket high. With a sharp movement of her wrist, Tamika hit the shuttle in a straight line towards the back of Yuika's court.
This bought the girl in the orange-and-white one-piece suit time to return to her position in the middle of her court.
Somehow, however, Yuika was already standing at the back of her court by the time the birdie reached her position.
She hit her target with a downward slicing motion of her racket, dropping it about a meter to Tamika's right.
Caught by surprise, Tamika saw her opponent fist pump and immediately take position on the right side of her court.
The short brawny girl hurried to follow suit.
Yuika served at once. The shuttle shot over the net in a slowly climbing arc.
Tamika saw her chance and hit the birdie with a slicing motion, sending the shuttle in a steep drop over the net with a treacherous spin while it seemed she would hit it towards the back of her opponent's court.
Yuika swerved over to the left side of her court and at the moment Tamika hit the birdie, the black-haired athlete spun her body to the left.
Then she dove forward with her outstretched right arm moving to her right. She scooped the shuttle up as she swung her body to the right and sent it towards the back and left side of Tamika's court.
Tamika reached to her left and hit the shuttle over the net to the back and right side of Yuika's court, where her opponent jumped up to hit the shuttle hard towards the edge of the right side of Tamika's court.
The shuttle landed over the line outside the court just before Tamika could reach it.
She had won the point, but Yuika had successfully used the redhead's deception against her.
And just like before, Yuika already took position on the right side of her court. Tamika saw her opponent pressure her to begin her service with a motion of her left hand.
Ryōta - who was watching the match from the upper-balcony - saw his little sister take position on the right side of her court.
He was confident in Tamika's chances and her lead, but something in the way the game had been progressing made him nervous.
"What do you think, Ryōta?" His friend, Hyousuke, asked earnestly to the right of the tall redheaded young man.
"Huh? What's that?" A confused Ryōta inquired with a blank face.
"I think I'll ask Chizuko to repeat our friendly encounter of last year at the end of the tournament. You know? I told you about my plan earlier."
Ryōta Hirano wasn't a very eloquent person. That is why in a situation like this he let his eyes do the talking.
His eyes said:" Are you really bothering me during the match of my sister's lifetime to discuss your fucked up love life?"
"I thought it through and I think it's best to ask her in advance if she's okay with it," His friend continued while resting his chin on his hands.
"I risk her flat-out refusing, but if I announce my proposal before the entire tournament hall without her consent she'll only hate me more."
"And why do you want to repeat last year's fiasco again?" Ryōta asked while watching his sister.
Tamika had just returned an attack from Yuika towards her far-left, after which she returned to the center of her court.
The brawny redhead in the orange one-piece T-shirt and shorts saw Yuika pull her right arm close to her body and swing it outward, hitting the shuttle high over the net towards the left behind Tamika again.
Tamika moved quickly to the left and jumped up to smash the shuttle just over the net onto Yuika's side of the court.
Her opponent quickly dove forward and whipped the shuttle over the net in the middle of Tamika's side.
The redhead pulled her left arm close to her body and swung it outward again. Her racket sent the shuttle in a wide arc towards the far right of Yuika's court.
The speed with which she had to react robbed Tamika of accuracy, however, and the birdie landed just outside her opponent's side of the court.
Ryōta saw his little sister hurry to the left of her court as Yuika in an instant took the corresponding position to serve.
"She's starting to let Shiwahime-san dictate the rhythm," He heard his handsome friend with the short dark-brown hair say. "She needs to snap out of it or it'll be bad."
"I wish I could tell her to slow the match down," Ryōta muttered. "She still has a 12 - 7 lead. If she doesn't let Shiwahime-san press her into taking risks she should win the first game easily."
Yuika sent the birdie over the net in a straight line towards her opponent's right.
Tamika pulled her left arm close to her body and whipped the shuttle back over the net, where Yuika pulled her right arm close to her body and swung it outward to send the shuttle in a high arc towards Tamika's far left.
"She can't use her smash if they are playing so fast and low," Hyousuke muttered.
"Why are you still so obsessed over Yamamoto-san anyway, bro," Ryōta asked him with a sideways glance.
"Sure she's got a killer body and she's cute and all, but that woman made you the most hated man in Japanese badminton."
Hyousuke took the usual damage at the much-repeated question.
He stared at his joined hands and his legs in the white-and-black training pants he was wearing.
"I know she rejected me countless times and she did cause me a lot of distress…" He started with a heavy heart.
"You dated for what? Three months?" Ryōta asked while watching how his sister brought the score to 13 - 8. "That was a year ago.
I'm sorry, but I don't think Yamamoto-san likes you anymore, Hyousuke. I think you'll be happier if you give up on her."
"I am quite angry over the way she's been treating me. But I can't help loving her," Hyousuke groaned. "Being with Chizuko was… She made me so happy.
The Chizuko everyone knows…
People think it's an act because she's so bright. She seems like an idol. Too wonderful and beautiful and radiant to be real. But she really is like that, Ryota.
Chizuko is so kind and generous. She's so full of life and so sincere. But she also has things she feels insecure about. We…"
Ryota looked aside at his friend and wondered why the heck he was blushing and looking like he got caught masturbating by his mother.
"We…" Hyousuke continued in a tremulous voice. "We really suit each other, you know?
That's why I know it can't be over. Because we both found something in each other we can't find with other people.
That's why I can't give up."
With a wallop, the shuttlecock landed on the right side of Ushika and Connie's court before the latter could reach it.
All three athletes were bathing in sweat from the breathtakingly fast back-and-forth battle they had been engaged in for the past twenty-two minutes.
"17 - 15," Ayano called the score while wiping the sweat from her forehead.
She watched Connie take position on the right side of her and their mother's court behind Ushika who guarded the far left of their court.
The match had been toughest on Ayano naturally. She needed to win the first set at all cost or she would be in serious trouble.
The short girl with the black ponytail was thoroughly aware by now that Connie wasn't going to take this chance to achieve their mutual goal.
The blonde was fighting her with a determination equal to their mother. Ayano had no idea why.
Perhaps Connie thought that she could use the match to tire her rival out before their matches in the quarter-finals.
The Kitakomachi student wasn't about to let that happen.
Ayano's mother stood facing her on the left side of her court, guarding the net. Connie stood diagonally from the short blackette, guarding the back of their court.
Their opponent held the shuttle in her right hand and hit it with the racket in her left hand.
The birdie went over the net towards the space to Ushika's left.
Ayano's mother pulled her racket close to her body and quickly whipped the shuttle over the net.
Her daughter dove forward immediately and whipped the birdie back over the net about thirty centimeters to Ushika's right.
Ushika closed in on her and returned the shuttle with equal swiftness.
A breathtaking back-and-forth ensued, with either athlete returning the shuttle too fast to do much more than move the battlefield a few centimeters to Ayano's left.
Meanwhile, Connie cautiously moved to the center of her court, suspicious that her sister wanted to lure their mother away from the left side of their court.
Sure enough, when Ayano was about a meter from the left edge of her court the short girl with the black ponytail pulled her right arm close to her body.
She exchanged her racket to her right hand and hit the shuttle hard towards the far left of her mother's court.
Ushika immediately saw through her daughter's plan and dove to the left whilst pulling her right arm in the same direction.
She hit the shuttle over the net towards the back end of the right side of Ayano's court.
At the same time, she signaled Connie with the fingers of her left hand.
Connie returned to the right of their court, but Ayano managed to jump backward just in time to reach Ushika's shot.
She raised her racket over her head and slammed the birdie down onto the right side of her opponent's court.
"18 - 15," Ayano sighed.
Connie wiped the sweat from her forehead and took her position again. Ushika did the same, while her daughter went to the left side of her court to serve.
To their puzzlement, Ayano's opponents saw that she kept her racket in her right hand.
Ayano hit the shuttle over the net toward the middle of the opposite court.
Ushika dove to the right and hit the birdie in a straight line towards the back of her daughter's court where a fast Ayano returned the projectile straight towards her mother.
Ushika pulled her right arm to the left and whipped the shuttle just over the net, where Ayano hit it from below.
Connie rushed forward, and, pulling her right arm to the left, she hit the shuttle over the net to the left of Ayano.
Her Sister pulled her right arm to her left and hit the birdie to the back of her opponent's court.
Ushika moved back and hit the shuttle to the back of Ayano's court.
Her daughter jumped backward and raised her racket over her head, sending the birdie back towards her mother while taking center court position in a fluid motion.
But at that moment, Connie unexpectedly dove to the left and pulled her right arm to the left.
The blonde quickly hit the birdie to the far left of Ayano's court, where it landed just inside the line.
"18 - 16," Connie breathed while walking back to her former position.
Ayano took position on the right side of her court to intercept Connie's service.
The blonde whipped the shuttle over the net in a straight line towards her sister, who hit the birdie towards the left of her mother.
Ushika pulled her right arm to the left and hit the shuttle towards the left of Ayano's court.
While her daughter swiftly moved to the left of her court and hit the shuttle just over the net for Connie to dive forward and return it, Ushika noticed a faint smile on Ayano's lips. A chilling suspicion crept up the spine of the woman with the long black ponytail.
"What the heck is going on here?!"
The three athletes were startled by the male voice disturbing their concentration but forced themselves to keep their focus on the match.
Tachibana came down the stairs to the practice court in a hurry and halted on the concrete platform with Erena and Nagisa descending in his tracks and standing still on either side of him.
They saw Ayano take advantage of the situation to score another point by forcing an error onto Connie, who tried to return a shot that landed just over the net but whipped the shuttle up against the net on her own side.
"Shindou-san? These girls have important matches tomorrow!" An angry Tachibana appealed to his colleague. "They shouldn't be engaged in the kind of taxing match you are playing now. Moreover, you shouldn't be involved with my student during the duration of this tournament!"
"Kentarou-san!" Ushika exclaimed while keeping her eyes on her daughter who was preparing to serve. "I know this situation might damage my daughters' chances in the tournament, but the future of our family is at stake!
Ayano's serve went straight towards Connie. The blonde returned the shuttle to her sister's former position, forcing the Kitakomachi student to swerve to the right again.
Ayano - having taken her racket in her left hand again - pulled her left arm to the right and hit the shuttle against the side, making it spin over the net towards Connie again.
But Ushika with breathtaking action took advantage of the shuttle's erroneous path. Swinging her racket a little to the left she hit the birdie hard towards the far left of her daughter's court just over the net.
Amazingly, Ayano almost reached the projectile with the top of her racket before it landed.
"18 - 17," Ushika said while looking her blankly staring daughter in the eyes.
"Ayano! Let's end the match after this game," Nagisa appealed to her underclassman. "You have a match against Yuika tomorrow, remember. It won't do to tire yourself out before you step onto the court against her."
"Remember how I taught you that shot, Ayano?" Ushika smiled hopefully at the girl while she took position on the right side of her court.
"You thought it was the coolest thing in the world. You kept trying to create opportunities to use it for maximum effect."
Ayano wondered why Connie look at their mother with such a gentle smile.
She took her young sister's example while standing ready for Ushika's serve on the right side of her court.
"Yes. I remember how we play together. I remember all that you taught me, Mother," She smiled. "But I learned so much more since then."
Something squeezed Ushika's heart, forcing a tear from her left eye as Ayano's bright voice made her smile warmly.
"I know," The woman said. "I knew you would find your way to great teachers. I knew you would become much stronger than if I left you in the constricting safety of my care. I want to see everything you learned, my dear Ayano. Let me see all that you can do now."
Erena saw Connie look at her over her shoulder and nod. The black-haired gyaru understood her new friend's meaning and nodded back.
"I think perhaps we should let them take this match where it goes," She suggested to Nagisa and her coach. "This match might be more important than any other either Ayano or Connie will play at this tournament."
"I will…" Ayano smiled at her mother. "Oh, I will show you everything I learned while you left me. All that I learn from others… and all that I learned from you.
But first, let continue the match okay?"
With a nod, Ushika leaned back and shot the shuttle towards her daughter.
Ayano immediately hit the shuttle to the far left of her opponent's court, where Connie swung her arm to the left and hit the projectile back.
Sliding nimbly to the far left of her own court Ayano saw Connie and Ushika take the opportunity to switch positions in order to confuse her, as she hoped they would.
While Connie stood awaiting her return on the right side of her court, Ayano hit the shuttle towards the space between her sister a mother.
Ushika leaned to the right and raised her racket over her head to return the high straight shot.
She smashed the shuttle just over the net, where Ayano whipped it up in a high arc.
Ushika quickly stepped back and hit the shuttle hard towards the back of Ayano's court, hoping to set the girl up for a steep smash over the net.
But Ayano jumped up and hit the shuttle hard towards a spot near Ushika's feet.
Her mother swung her arm to the left but she missed the birdie as it fell on the court near her left foot.
Ushika slowly looked up as she picked up the shuttle and found her daughter's eyes on her.
Looking into that cold stare, she realized her daughter had spent a lot of the match searching for the right way to use that attack. Her inability to return it was no coincidence.
"Mother?" Connie asked in a worried tone.
"Are you alright? We have to take the next three rallies."
"I'm alright," Ushika replied while Ayano positioned herself on the left side of her court. "Let's keep fighting to win Ayano."
Her other daughter took position on the left side of their court again while the ten-times All-japan Badminton Championship winner stood ready on the right, anticipating Ayano's attack.
"I don't really understand what's going on," Tachibana told Nagisa and Erena while his student hit the shuttle over the net. "But I can see that Shindou-san is trying hard to pull Ayano back into her embrace. Let's see how this turns out."
Connie dove forwards to return Ayano's serve and send it back in a long straight line, pushing the Kitakomachi student to the back of her court.
As soon as she was in range Ayano raised her racket over her head and hit the birdie towards her mother.
Connie intercepted the projectile and bumped it just over the net.
Ayano miraculously slid forward and hit the shuttle with her arm extended forward in a high arc towards the far left of her sister.
Connie swerved to the left and swung her arm to the left before swinging it to the right again.
The shuttle went over the net in an incredibly sharp arc where Ayano reached it and shot it to her mother at whose left foot it fell on the court in spite of the woman's agile attempt to return the projectile.
Ushika watched her daughter who had just taken the first game.
Nobody she ever faced - not even Fuyumi - had succeeded in what her daughter just did.
Ayano walked over to the table where her friends were still standing. Ushika followed her daughter's movements and watched the girl drink from her water bottle.
The woman dreaded the outcome of the match, but she was now sure that the decision she made when she left Japan absolutely had the desired effect on her daughter.
She excitedly prophesied that the girl who was stretching her legs on the opposite court would become one of the most celebrated athletes in history.
The girl who in the duration of a single game figured out how to exploit the blind spot in Ushika's defense which she herself had only discovered a few months ago.
Standing before the railing around the balcony over the tournament hall near the double doors behind which the JPA people sat at their table, Akemi, Izumi, Yõkuro, and Mariyana were watching the final struggle in the match between Yuika Shiwahime and Tamika Hirano.
Akemi saw how Tamika jumped up and hit the shuttle hard, smashing it sharply downward just over the net after having sent Yuika to the back of her court.
Yuika quickly dove forward and stretched out her right arm to whip the birdie over the net in a steep arc.
The girl with the long fluffy black hair heard her girlfriend sigh in awe.
"Amazing!" Izumi exclaimed while Tamika attempted to return the shuttle but touched the net with her racket. "You managed a similar save in your match earlier, didn't you Corrales-san?"
"As I said: You can call me Mari or Mariyana. But yes, I had to pull out all the stops to return that smash at the beginning of the second game.
Your sister is very agile, Shiwahime-san."
"Hahaha. Thank you. Everyone inevitably learns how great Nee-san is."
Mariyana sweatdropped as she turned to the right and saw the black-bobbed girl in the grey uniform with the dark-blue vest stand behind her with her arms folded before her chest and a smug grin on her face.
Akemi and Izumi watched how Tamika swung her racket over her head and hit the shuttle towards the back of Yuika's court in an attempt to slow down the rally they were in.
Yuika jumped up and intercepted the shot, hitting it over the net at a sharp angle.
Her opponent with the short red hair pulled her left arm close to her body and swung it to the left, hitting the shuttlecock towards the right of Yuika's court in a long arc.
Yuika quickly moved in position, however.
The handsome black-bobbed girl hit the shuttle with a downward slicing motion of her racket.
Tamika had moved to the left of her court but dove to the right in surprise when she realized the direction of Yuika's deceptive shot.
Pulling her left arm close to her body, Ryōta's sister barely managed to whip the birdie over the net where Yuika arrived to return it.
Frederica Girls' Captain moved her right arm to the left and whipped the shuttle up while diving forward, but the projectile hit the net on her side of the court and fell down.
"14 - 10," Akemi said. "Shiwahime-san may have won that first game against all odds and she seems to be closing the gap she once again allowed to grow between her and Hirano-san's scores at the start of the second set, but she is still making a lot of errors."
"And Hirano-san is quite strong. That powerful smash seems to be her most potent weapon against Shiwahime-san," Izumi added.
"Don't worry, you two," Yõkuro smiled as she watched how her sister targeted the right side of her opponent's court with a wide shot.
"It'll be fine. Nee-san is a genius after all."
Izumi turned around to face the girl.
"You weren't even worried during the first game, Shiwahime-san?" She asked.
A shout to their right made them both turn their heads. A little farther away in the upper-balcony seats on their side, Saki and the other FreGirls motioned for Yuika's sister to come and sit with them.
"Of course not," Yokuro grinned at the taller girl with the short white hair. "Nee-san was tenderizing Hirano-san. I told you she'd take the first game and properly deal with her in the second.
Nee-san is taking advantage of her luck in getting a left-handed player to train with before she and Hanesaki-san face each other on opposite sides of the net tomorrow."
Izumi and Akemi saw the black-bobbed girl wave them a greeting before she turned around and walked up to her sister's club mates.
"This is a practice match for Shiwahime-san?" Akemi wondered out loud. "That's fearsome."
"What do you think, Co… Mariyana?" Izumi asked the tall Bulgarian with the long black wavy hair. "Shiwahime-san is our friend's opponent, but she earned my respect for being able to catch up to Hirano-san as she did."
"Respect isn't earned. Respect is a moral duty," Her new friend commented while keeping her eyes on the match. "Honestly… I think Shiwahime-san and Hirano-san are having a great match. I hope my next match will be…"
Akemi thought she heard the words choke in Mariyana's throat when her friend suddenly looked to her right. Turning her attention in the same direction the cute athletic girl saw Mashiro Nakamura standing there.
"Hello Nakamura-san," Mariyana greeted her next opponent with a pleased smile. "Are you going to the dressing room to prepare for your match?"
The King of female badminton suspiciously regarded the taller girl for a second and glanced at Mariyana's two companions who stood to her left.
"Yes. My match is almost starting, so I'm going to meet my coach," The aloof blonde tomboy replied
"Oh! Allow me to introduce my friends," Mariyana cheerfully spoke while stepping aside to present the couple that was scrutinizing Mashiro. "This is Ono Akemi. And her inseparable friend's name is Takagi Izumi."
"Takagi-san…?" Mashiro repeated. "I knew I recognized you from somewhere. Is your mother here too?"
"N… No," Izumi replied. I'm here with Akemi to watch the tournament together."
Mashiro noticed how the two girls instinctively closed the distance between them, standing side-by-side.
" I see… " She stated. "I expected Takagi-san to take a special interest in this year's tournament."
"Maybe she does," Izumi said, trying hard not to make any statement.
Mashiro curiously observed the dull lanky girl with the white bow cut.
"Well then. It's been nice meeting you both," She smiled. "Let's meet up later."
Akemi and Izumi saw the handsome blonde walk past them with her blue-and-yellow racket bag over her shoulder towards the double doors ahead.
Determined not to let the girl pass her by just like that, Mariyana took a few steps forward.
"I heard this will be a match with some emotional importance," The Bulgarian said.
Mashiro stopped in her tracks and turned around. She saw the imposing figure of the black-haired athlete eclipse her two friends who stood behind and to the left of her.
"You suffered a painful defeat at the hands of Ogatsu-san before you became one of the two unavoidable champions of Japanese youth badminton," Mariyana smiled.
"What's it to you?" Mashiro sighed with some attitude. "Are you a sports journalist now?"
"Ah… I'm just excited to watch your grudge match. That's all."
'Grudge match…?' Mashiro thought to herself. 'What the heck is up with this girl?'
"That happened a long time ago," She lazily returned with a dismissive wave of her hand. "There's no grudge match. We're just playing to get into the quarter-finals."
Mariyana saw the blonde turn ahead with the left side of her unzipped white-and-green training vest billowing aside to reveal the girl's shapely left breast and her firm upper body wrapped in a somehow very sexy loosely fitting bright green T-shirt.
"Make sure to win, so I can ravage you afterward," Came from her smirking lips in the voice of an S-class villainess.
Akemi and Izumi's jaws dropped and their eyes popped out of their sockets behind the joyfully grinning blackette who stood before them with folded arms.
"You better be as good as you are confident," Mashiro bit back while she threw a foul look over her shoulder.
The still grinning Mariyana saw the blonde tomboy disappear through the double doors before she turned to face her friends.
"So…" She smiled wryly at the sweat-dropping couple. "After what just happened I hope both of you can see why I really need your help."
Ayano stood with her right foot just over the line that ran through the middle of her court, her eyes focussed on Connie who was getting ready to serve on the left side of her court. Sweat dripped from her nose. She quickly caught the drop with a movement of her right arm.
The blackette observed that her two opponents looked as tired as her.
They needed to win the current game and after that, they had another game to struggle through.
But she only needed to win the current game and she could go to the hotel room with Erena and Coach Tachibana and rest.
'It's coming towards my right!' She thought to herself. 'Connie seems like she'll move center court again to protect Mother's right flank.'
Ayano swung her body and left arm to the right and hit the shuttle over the net towards her mother.
'Mother wants to make me run and pit me against Connie. She'll drop the shuttle over the net." The Kitakomachi student reflected while standing in the center of her court.
As she predicted, Ushika hit the shuttle with an overhead swing which sent it just over the net to her daughter's left.
Ayano dove forward and whipped the birdie up over the net to the back and left of her younger sister.
She stepped back to her earlier position while Connie raised her racket over her head and hit the shuttle towards the right side of her sister's court.
'You want to set me up for Mother to score, do you?' Ayano thought to herself while staring at her opponents with her cold glare.
The short black-haired athlete quickly moved to the right and raised her racket high, hitting the shuttle with a slicing motion which sent it right back to her sister.
Taking a deep breath, Ayano rushed back to the middle of her court. Then, in one movement, she dove forward to return Connie's over-the-net shot and whipped it up towards her mother's blind spot.
With a slight grin on her face, Ayano saw Connie hurry to the right and return the shuttle.
The Kitakomachi student moved back and to the right in anticipation, but was forced to hurry forward when she realized her opponent shot the birdie just over the net again.
Ayano whipped the birdie over the net, intending for Connie to pick it up.
To her surprise, however, Ushika dove forward and hit the shuttle towards the back of her daughter's court.
Ayano danced backward and raised her racket over her head but slipped on a few drops of sweat on the floor while hitting the shuttle towards Connie.
Everyone exclaimed in horror as they saw Ayano fall and roll over the floor.
Erena and Ushika rushed towards the girl but saw her deftly get onto her feet again and exhale in a shudder.
"Ayano!" Erena cried out as she took her friend by the shoulders. "Are you alright?"
Ayano just chuckled slightly and looked the taller girl in the eyes.
"Ayano!" Ushika breathed as she arrived by her daughter's side. "Did you hurt yourself?"
"I'm fine, Erena," Her daughter smiled at her friend. "Let's just continue the game. Did I score the point?"
A shocked Connie saw her sister look her way with a tilt of her head.
"Why are you doing this?!" The Danish girl exclaimed in bewilderment. "You could have gotten really hurt back there!
Why will you go so far to push your mother away from you while you didn't even try to fight me for her love?!"
The distressed cry from her sister left Ayano stunned and puzzled.
"Ayano. Connie. Nobody needs to fight for my love!" Ushika emphatically spoke while looking at each girl in turn.
"My wish has always been for the three of us to become a family, so I could watch both of you girls who I love so much reach your full potential."
Ayano gritted her teeth and raised her eyes towards her mother's with a scowl.
"Ayano, please… We don't have to finish this match. I can see how much you've grown. It's spectacular.
Both of my girls have become so strong. I know you will take this tournament together. Let's train together afterward so you can push each other to new heights."
"I'm sorry for scaring everyone. Thank you for your concern," Ayano smiled at Nagisa and Tachibana who had been sitting on a bench along the side of the practice court with Erena during the second game.
"Connie, did I score the point?"
Connie regarded the cold smile of her sister with a mix of pity, sadness, incomprehension, and frustration.
The blonde looked down at the shuttlecock that was lying on her court just inside the line.
"You can see so for yourself from there, can't you?" She bitterly replied in a soft voice while picking the shuttle up.
"Great!" Ayano cheered. "Then let's continue the match!"
"No. I'm putting an end to this."
Tachibana Kentarou suddenly had his pupil's discontented demon-glare on him as Ayano turned her face to the right.
But he returned her gaze unwaveringly.
"As the person responsible to your parents and the school for your wellbeing I am taking you with me to the tournament's medical team and then the hotel after that fall," The man told his unruly student.
"I need to continue the match," Ayano stated in monotone.
"You need to be examined. You should count yourself lucky if you can win your match tomorrow after all this," Tachibana sternly warned her.
Erena walked over to his side while Nagisa approached her teacher from behind.
"Sensei is right, Ayano," The tomboy gently said. "I know this match is important to you, but we both have a responsibility as representatives of our school. We aren't here solely for our own glory."
"I know that!" Ayano protested. "It's not for my sake alone that I need to win this match."
Erena and Tachibana stared at their friend in wonder.
"If I know that Mother and Connie are going to move in with my grandparents and me after the tournament I won't be able to focus during my matches.
I can handle this," The blackette stated with a wave of her right hand towards the court. "If I can get enough sleep I'll be in top shape for my match tomorrow.
But if I can't set that knowledge aside, I won't be able to perform at my best and I'll fail everyone who supports me."
Tachibana looked aside at Nagisa. He couldn't say he didn't understand what his pupil was saying.
Connie saw Ushika stare at the floor with a defeated look.
"It's 20 - 20 in the second game now. Two more rallies and it'll be over," Ayano told her coach.
"No it won't," Connie adamantly stated.
Ayano turned her attention to the FreGirls student and curiously observed her sister's resolved expression.
"Let's continue the match, Mother!" Connie passionately appealed to Ushika. "We only need two more points to break the match open!"
"No."
Everyone watched Tachibana who looked at every one of the three women in turn.
"Both of you need to rest for tomorrow's matches," He told Ayano and Connie.
I get that this match is important for your family circumstances, but no matter the outcome I think the three of you can talk things through after the tournament."
Ushika returned the blonde man's earnest look. Feeling hopeful because of his words.
"Ayano's friend Erena will be glad to stand by her side while the three of you try to mend your relationship. I am available to help out if any of you want me to.
But I ask you to decide the match with this game. Who wins this game wins the match."
Ushika, and Connie exchanged a look. Then they regarded Ayano who was lost in thought.
The short girl with the black ponytail had worked hard to win the first game and catch up to her opponent's in the second game.
To decide the match with the next two straight wins would make them equal, but it wouldn't be fair to Ayano.
"I don't think…" Ushika started.
"I agree," Ayano interrupted to her mother's surprise.
"Connie and I should get our rest. If we can decide the match within the next few minutes it will be better for everyone."
The Kitakomachi student saw Nagisa smile and wink at her.
"Is that alright for you, Shindou-san?" Erena asked her friend's mother.
"Connie?" Ushika asked while looking aside at the blonde.
A pleased Tachibana saw the girl nod at her mother.
"Then let's go to your courts and continue the match," The tall young man stated. "Thank you everyone for being so cooperative."
Taking position on the right side of her court with her left foot over the line, Ayano saw Ushika and Connie huddle together to discuss their strategy.
When they took their former positions on their court, Connie fixed her sister with a stern look and nodded.
Ayano hit the shuttle just over the net, but her mother dove forward and returned the projectile to the right side of her court.
Ayano stepped back and raised her racket over her head.
Her mother moved back to the right side of her own court behind Connie while her daughter hit the shuttle hard towards the front of their court.
Connie stretched her arm out and whipped the shuttle just over the net, forcing her sister to come closer.
Ayano quickly whipped the shuttle up in a high arc towards the left corner behind Connie.
The blonde stepped back and watched the birdie fall down, leisurely judging whether it would be out.
Then suddenly she whipped the projectile up towards the left of Ayano's court.
Ayano shot the shuttle straight to her mother who just as quickly returned it in the same manner.
Ayano tried to shoot the fast attack towards her mother's blind spot, but Connie shot the birdie towards the line bordering her sister's court on the right.
Ayano swerved backward, knowing she would be too late. But when she reached her goal she saw that the shuttle was out.
Erena wrung her hands and hoped Connie and Ushika could take the next point.
Nagisa didn't know what to hope for, but she wanted the match to be over for the sake of her kouhai and her sister's chances in the quarter-finals.
"21 - 20," Ayano sighed while she observed the momentary look on Connie's face while the blonde returned to her position.
Ushika saw her daughter hold her racket in her right hand again while standing on the left side of her court.
Ayano looked to her right and returned her sister's unflinching stare for a few seconds. The blackette once again wondered why Connie was still so determined to beat her.
The FreGirl student seemed motivated by something more than pride, the possibility of gaining a psychological advantage in the tournament, or a perverse desire to thwart her plan.
Something… that seemed like the spark of affinity between the two of them.
Connie slowly nodded at her sister and Ayano launched her attack towards the girl.
Ushika was about to swing her arm to the left to intercept but decided to leave the defense to her adoptive daughter who slammed the shuttle towards the back of Ayano's court.
Ayano danced backward while raising her shuttle above her head.
With a beautiful flick of her wrist, she sent the shuttle in a high arc towards the back of Connie's court.
Anticipating Connie's smash, the Kitakomachi student returned to the center of her court and watched her sister aim her racket high.
To Ayano's surprise, Connie aimed the shuttle to her left instead of the front of her court.
The blackette quickly brought her racket to her left hand and lunged to the left so she could hastily return the projectile.
Connie followed up with a smash straight at her sister's body, taking advantage of Ayano's loss of control.
Ayano hastily hit the shuttle towards her mother, but Connie jumped up and with her racket raised above her head she hit the shuttle hard. Again returning it at high speed towards her sister.
Caught in the barrage of attacks, Ayano lacked the time to do little else but hastily return her sister's smash to the center of her court.
At the same moment, Ushika swung her racket to her left and sent the shuttle back at her daughter again. Keeping up the pace.
Ayano tried to hit the shuttle towards her mother's left leg, forcing Connie to intervene.
Having been strained to her limits by her sister's aggressive attacks Ayano decided to repay the blonde in kind.
While Connie jumped up and raised her racket high, Ushika and Tashibana noticed the strange stance Ayano took.
With her racket in her left hand, the short blackette moved both of her bent arms parallel to each other with her hands to the side of her head, her eyes fixed on Connie who struck the shuttle hard towards her.
In an instant, everyone saw Ayano swing her arms to the right and slam the shuttle against the floor of Connie's court to the left of the blonde.
Ushika exhaled tremulously while she watched her daughter inhale and exhale while relaxing in place with downcast eyes.
Nobody knew quite how to react.
Connie stood still next to her mother, also watching her sister.
Tachibana and Nagisa pondered the technique Ayano had just used and Erena tried to come up with a way to turn the end of the match into an opening for dialogue between her friend and the girl's mother.
When Ayano started to walk in the direction of her sister, Erena got up in a hurry.
"I'll quickly shower in the dressing room before we go to our hotel room, Sensei," Ayano said without looking their way.
"What the hell was that Karate Kid nonsense about?!" A frustrated Connie exclaimed while her sister walked past her to the table on the platform at the foot of the stairs.
Ayano turned around and saw the FreGirls student walk up to her while she zipped her racket into her sports bag.
The blonde ended up standing in front of the shorter girl and stared into her eyes with a fierce look without knowing what to say.
Not daring to have her words heard by their mother Ayano whispered: "In the end, since the people who make me happy playing badminton are the friends in my team, I don't need to acknowledge Mother."
Connie's eyes grew wide and trembled as her sister turned around and slowly ascended the stairs with her sports bag slung over her shoulder.
The blonde gritted her teeth and bowed her head in shame after hearing the words she uttered at her older sister months ago thrown back at her.
"Of course… I know I am to blame for this," She bitterly spoke while Ayano's words pierced her heart. "How fitting that we should become sisters since we are both such idiots…"
"We are not…" Ayano began when she reached the top of the stairs.
"But don't forget how Mother fought for you today," Connie passionately called out to her. "You may have won your independence, but she loves you and always will."
Ayano swallowed as the words hit her. Her eyes fixed on the door of the dressing room opposite the open doorway in which she stood.
Erena saw her childhood friend hesitate for a second. But at last, Ayano stepped through the doorway and turned to her left into the hallway. Stubbornly heading forward on her own.
"Frederica Girls' Shiwahime Yuika wins the match with 17 - 21, 21 - 19, and 14 - 21!" Tamika Hirano heard the umpire announce.
She still couldn't believe it.
Didn't she have Shiwahime-san right where she wanted her? Wasn't her opponent getting overwhelmed by her powerful smashes?
What had happened? How did everything change so fast?
Pushed forward by obligation the short redheaded tomboy stepped towards the net.
Yuika approached her from the other side of it.
"Thank you for the game," The suave Captain of the Frederica Girls badminton team bowed.
"Thank you for the game," Tamika mimicked.
She saw Yuika turn around and step towards her coach. But she couldn't let her go.
A bitter question played around in her mind. A tragic spell of self-doubt had taken place there since about half of the second game.
"You were just using me as practice for your match against Hanesaki-san, weren't you?"
The words arrested Yuika in her advance.
The black-bobbed athlete looked up at her younger sister, who was gushing about her to their friend Saki while seated among the other FreGirls athletes in the upper-balcony seats above.
Tamika saw Yuika turn around and look her in the eyes while she walked back towards her.
She seemed kind and friendly to the redhead. Like the confident hero of a shoujo manga.
"Hirano-san… You really had me with my back against the wall during the first and second games.
I admire your power. You have quite a similar style to my sister and that alone helped me to struggle my way forward.
I don't often need three games to overcome my opponents. Trust me, this was anything but a practice match to me."
Tamika felt all of her self-doubts melt away while looking at Yuika's beaming smile.
"You're right of course," She grinned while scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking.
Thank you for the great game, Shiwahime-san. I look forward to playing you again."
The redhead turned around while looking up at the upper-balcony seats above her.
She showed her brother an elated smile in spite of her defeat and pointed her thumb up at him and their friend.
'Shiwahime Yuika is a really nice person,' She thought to herself. 'And so cool.
Plus she's a really hard-working and talented athlete who takes care of everyone in her club. If anyone deserves to take the title it's her.'
Yuika herself glanced among the upper balcony seats around her with searching eyes.
Neither Ushika and Connie had been present during the match. Nor her next opponent, Ayano, or her entourage.
The black-bobbed athlete waved at Saki and her sister.
It was curious that Ayano's coach hadn't even been to watch her match.
But it could be that he thought it would help his pupil more to discuss and practice their strategy for the quarter-final more than observing their next opponent.
And Yuika knew that Connie and her mother had their own practice scheduled during her match.
Nevertheless, something told the FreGirls Captain that the absence of both groups during the entire match was related.
That absence only played in her favor, however.
It was pure luck that she fought left-handed Tamika Hirano before facing Ayano.
Their match allowed Yuika to test out her strategies at length against another strong left-handed player before she played Connie's sister.
With a pleased smile on her face, Yuika walked up to her coach and accepted the water bottle he offered her.
'I hope you are ready for disappointment, Shindou Ushika,' She thought to herself while drinking and staring in the direction of the practice court.
'Because tomorrow I will crush your daughter in the quarter-finals while I lead Frederica Girls Badminton Club to victory.'