Chapter 62: Punishment Game?
The captain of the girls' tennis club, Yokoshima Rin, was the only third-year in the entire club. third year was a major turning point in life. Most people quit their clubs at this stage to focus entirely on studies—even those who weren't aiming for university usually did the same.
"Nao, I already told you—no boys during practice time. Their leering stares throw off the members' concentration and ruin training effectiveness."
"Captain, Takumi's my boyfriend. He actually knows tennis too. He's just here to watch and keep me company… please make an exception this once?"
Nao hurriedly explained.
Takumi quietly sized up the female captain. No unusual hair or eye color—just long, jet-black hair and a striking beauty. Wheat-toned skin, a solidly built frame that felt powerful rather than petite, but certainly not unattractive. Her figure was excellent, especially that astonishingly ample chest. If Takumi weren't somewhat resistant to older-woman attractions, he might've been seriously interested in this tall, impressive captain. Even so, his tolerance for beautiful women was sky-high. He simply watched in silence without saying a word.
"No way, Nao. I'm honestly shocked you suddenly got a boyfriend, but as the next captain you have to set an example. If even you get distracted, how can the rest of the club focus on training?"
Nao knew the captain was nicknamed the "Iron Queen." She'd been specially recruited into high school because of her tennis prowess, and now in her third year she'd already been scouted by a prestigious university. She had no need to grind like ordinary students just to change her fate. The "Iron Queen" moniker came from her unbreakable will, strict discipline, grueling training regimen, and extreme aversion to romance. She treated men like they were coated in steel armor. Ten guys had confessed to her over the years—she'd shot every single one down without hesitation. The boys secretly called her the Iron Virgin.
"Excuse me, Captain. I think your training method is just closed-door busywork. A complete waste of everyone's precious summer break."
Takumi finally spoke up.
His words made Yokoshima Rin's beautiful eyes widen in outrage. A rare, fierce tiger-like aura flared from the man—yet Takumi just sneered coldly.
"Am I wrong? This kind of practice can't possibly raise your level. I heard from Nao on the way here—you've never once won the city-wide high-school tournament. Your ranking's been stuck at 5.5 forever. You can't even reach 6.0, right? It's because while you're individually strong, your actual match performance is lacking."
"I…"
Rin trembled with fury but couldn't refute him.
Nao quickly grabbed Takumi's hand and shook her head, silently begging him to stop. Their argument had already drawn the entire club crowding around to watch.
"You lock yourselves away like this and wonder why there's no progress? Without real opponents, practicing against each other becomes too familiar. Only facing overwhelming opponents forces real technical growth."
"I already know that! I regularly arrange practice matches with friendly schools' tennis clubs. How is that 'closed-door'?"
"Hmph. You call those practice matches? You only invite other girls, don't you? You don't even have the guts to play against boys? How pathetic!"
"What did you just say?!"
"I only came here because of Nao—I was planning to give you some pointers. But you're all so arrogant. Fine, stay frogs at the bottom of your well. Nao and I are going to enjoy our couple time now."
"Damn you! How dare a guy like you look down on the girls' tennis club I built with my own hands?!"
Rin finally exploded.
Nao stood frozen, helplessly watching her captain and her beloved glaring daggers at each other.
Takumi spoke calmly. "Let's settle it with a match then. Whether I look down on you or not isn't about words—it's about results."
"Ohhh, interesting. You want to challenge me to a match? Fine—I accept!"
Rin shouted, then had a petite club member fetch a racket and some balls. She was about to step onto the court when Takumi raised a hand.
"Wait."
"What, scared already?"
"Of course not. A match needs stakes to be fun. If I win, I'll reluctantly become your sparring coach. If I lose, I'll kneel in front of you and apologize."
"A punishment game, huh? Fine, I accept. If you win, I'll do whatever you want."
Yokoshima looked utterly confident.
Takumi gave a light chuckle. "Now you're making me look forward to it. Sigh… if I didn't already have Nao, that condition would actually be pretty tempting."
He took the racket and stepped onto the court. Nao hurried after him.
The other club members immediately swarmed around.
"Nao, what's going on? Who is this guy? Challenging the captain? Doesn't he know she crushed the boys' tennis club so badly they disbanded in shame, leaving the girls' club as the sole rulers of the courts?"
"I think I heard he's Nao-senpai's boyfriend. Is that true?"
"Wow, Nao-senpai got a boyfriend? Is he really that amazing to win you over?"
"Nao, is your boyfriend actually good at tennis? How's his skill?"
"I don't know… I've never played against Kouichi."
Nao shook her head, looking at her boyfriend and the captain with a complicated expression. Then her face grew serious.
"But I do know Kouichi is absolutely confident. Let's just watch."
Her tone brimmed with limitless trust in her boyfriend's abilities.
"Nao-senpai! We're here!"
Nao turned—Ran and Sana had arrived.
She blinked in confusion. "You took the bus… how are you later than us?"
"Um… it's all Sana's fault. We overshot the stop."
"Huh? My fault? You were the one spacing out and missed it!"
"It's Sana-chan's fault! Suddenly saying such embarrassing things… Ran… uuu, hazukashii yo (so humiliating)…"
Ran covered her face, too mortified to look at Nao.
Nao was completely lost.
Sana burst out laughing, then suddenly asked, "Where's Kouichi?"
"On the court."
Sana quickly sensed the unusual atmosphere. She immediately switched on her camcorder. "What's happening here? My maiden instincts are screaming that something super interesting is going down."
"The captain's playing against Kouichi."
"Nani?! What happened?!"
Before the two girls could press for more details, the match began.
Takumi served first.
Even though he possessed 6.0-level tennis skill, it was his first time touching a racket in a while—he felt a bit rusty. The serve went straight into the net.
"First serve fault!"
The petite girl acting as referee announced loudly.
Rin looked visibly disappointed. This was the level of someone so arrogant?
In tennis, each player gets two serve attempts per point. A first serve into the net or called fault counts as "first serve fault."
Takumi gave a small apologetic nod, then quietly burned a bit of mana. Tennis skill could be enhanced with mana too—just boosting familiarity and feel. In an instant his gaze sharpened. He unleashed a forehand serve.
The ball spiraled like a cannon shot.
"Such a fast high-pressure topspin serve!"
An expert's move was instantly recognizable. Takumi's serve had reached pro level—something only Yokoshima and Nao in the entire girls' club could manage. Professional forehands could control direction, depth, and spin with pinpoint accuracy, using the shot to seize offensive advantage or drop soft shots when needed.
He'd struck the sweet spot dead-center, producing explosive speed.
Yokoshima let out a sharp breath, straightened her back, toes digging into the court. She bounced like skipping rope, taking long strides, and returned with a powerful forehand of her own.
"The captain's net approach was gorgeous!"
"Yeah, I can never get that right. It's so hard to learn."
"Nao-senpai's boyfriend's serve was pretty good… maybe he really is strong?"
The girls outside the court chattered excitedly.
Takumi and Yokoshima traded blows, unleashing advanced techniques one after another. The club members gasped in awe at every rally.
"Both of them are using open stances. I can only manage tiny shuffle steps—it drains stamina and I'm always slow to the ball."
"Right? Forget the captain—that guy's incredible. Look at his forehand: ferocious power. Backhand returns like lightning. The captain once said you generate power from the waist, whip the arm through, make the racket crack like a lash. I've never gotten it… but watching them, it looks as natural as breathing. So amazing."
"This guy's seriously strong! He wasn't bluffing."
Rin's anger gradually melted away with each exchange, replaced by the exhilarating thrill of facing a true equal—something she hadn't felt in ages. In the club, only Nao could last a few games against her, and even then Nao usually lost. But against Takumi? She had zero confidence in winning.
At first he'd seemed rusty, like someone who hadn't touched a racket in forever. But after just a few rallies, his technique had risen to the point where she had to go all-out just to keep up. And she could tell—he was only matching her in skill. He hadn't even begun to leverage a man's natural strength advantage.
She might have stamina and power that rivaled many boys, but his effortless control already surpassed that of a fully grown, muscular adult male. It was obvious this man was holding back an immense amount of raw power.
While she was momentarily distracted, Takumi whipped a vicious spinning backhand.
Yokoshima misjudged the force. The ball hit off-center, numbing her arm. It sailed wide.
"Man scores 1 point! Woman to serve."
Tennis awarded 1 point per win; first to 4 points took the game. Their match was decided in a single game.
Having lost the initiative, Yokoshima steadied her breathing and poured every ounce of focus into the rally.
...
"Man scores. Man to serve."
"Man 3 points. Woman to serve."
Everyone held their breath.
They all knew—the invincible captain was down to her last chance.
Even the non-club members Ran and Sana were tense. They too wanted to see whether the legendary Iron Queen would fall to Takumi.
"Man 4 points. Game over."
"I lost…"
Rin's strength drained away. She dropped to her knees on the court, racket clattering beside her.
The other girls fell deathly silent, emotions churning inside them.
Everyone remembered the earlier wager. All eyes turned to Takumi, waiting to see what he would demand.
Takumi walked forward, picked up his racket in one hand, and extended the other.
"Yokoshima-senpai, I was wrong. Your technique is genuinely excellent. I only won because of stamina. Please don't feel down… and forgive me for my earlier arrogance."
Rin looked up. Seeing the sincerity in Takumi's eyes, she slowly reached out and took his hand.
Sana hurriedly zoomed the camera in, immortalizing the moment forever.
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