nyslfriends Chapter 84 Kirihara's New Ultimate Move
Chapter 84 Kirihara's New Ultimate Move
Wang Yueling raised his chin towards the butler of the wilderness not far away.
The farmhand pushed the familiar prize cart over. On the cart were several large peaches, their golden-red skins glistening like they were coated with honey in the sunlight.
Although it's not as big as that super peach king.
But it was enough to make the eyes of several other members around him light up at the same time.
"Liu-kun, Koizumi-kun, here are the winning prizes." Mochizuki Ryou picked up two peaches, handing one to Koizumi and the other to Liu Renji. "While they may not be as good as the Peach King, they are still top-quality."
Liu took the peach, nodded slightly, placed it next to his tennis bag, took out his notebook from the bag, and turned to walk towards Kirihara and Marui's singles court.
His steps were unhurried, and the notebook in his hand had already turned to a new page.
"Participation prize." Wang Yueling took another plump peach from the cart and handed it to Qingshan.
When Qingshan took it, his hands were trembling. He looked down at the peach in his arms for a long time, then looked up at him, grinned, and whispered his thanks.
He ran back to Rikkai University's team with the peach in his arms. He slipped on the grass and almost fell, but Urayama Shiita grabbed his arm.
The butler handed the last participation prize to Wangyue Ling.
Ryou Mochizuki carried the peach to the edge of the fence. Sanada was leaning against the fence, his hat pulled low, obscuring his expression. His breathing had calmed, and his clenched fists had relaxed, but the muscles in his shoulders and back were still tense.
He looked up when he heard footsteps.
"Genichiro." Mochizuki Ryo handed over the peach, her tone returning to its usual lightheartedness, a playful smile playing on her lips. "You can scold me all you want, but you still have to eat the peach."
The tone was as if it were a completely different person from the one who had publicly berated Sanada until he was utterly ashamed.
Sanada silently accepted the peach. The peel felt heavier than he had expected as it touched his palm. He looked down at the peach, its sweet aroma filling his nostrils, and said nothing.
"This peach grew on a tree I planted when I was a child."
Wang Yueling put her hands back in her pockets and spoke very softly, so that only the two of them could hear, "Every peach is sweet. When I was little, my grandfather always said that the peaches we had every year were a promise between us."
He turned his head to look at Sanada, the sharpness in the smile that had been there before gone, replaced by a gentle smile. "Only by recognizing your shortcomings can you make up for them. You have plenty of time, take your time."
The criticism was harsh, but it also offered ample dignity and comfort.
Sanada looked up and met Mochizuki Ryo's azure eyes. There was no mockery, no contempt, only calm expectation.
A complex mix of emotions surged within him.
Shame, anger, resentment, and a barely perceptible hint of emotion.
He knew that Mochizuki Ryo's criticism was not malicious; it was forcing him to confront the flaws ingrained in his very being.
Sanada nodded slightly, holding Momo in his arms as if it were a heavy warning.
Thank you.
"I will face it squarely."
Mochizuki Ryo's lips curved slightly as she turned and walked towards Kirihara and the others' singles court. After taking a couple of steps, she stopped, turned slightly to the side, and waved the scoreboard in her hand at Sanada.
"Oh, right, there's another chance on the last day of the training camp. Don't make me say 'wonderful' again then."
Sanada's hat brim shifted slightly, and he coughed softly, his fist pressed against his mouth. His rugged face remained stern and serious, but the curve of his lips seemed to have loosened a little more than before.
No, it won't.
Wang Yueling waved her hand and walked towards the singles court.
Sanada stood there, holding the peach. He tightened his grip slightly, pressing the fuzz on the peel gently into his palm.
He looked at the peach's golden-red skin, through which the soft flesh inside was faintly visible, like words that had just been peeled and hadn't yet been fully digested.
He put the peach into his ball bag.
I placed it very gently on the side of the racket, and cushioned it slightly with a towel to make sure it wouldn't roll off.
Koizumi returned to the Hyotei team with her peach in her arms, and several classmates immediately surrounded her.
A peach was touched in turn, and the chirping sounds were like a flock of sparrows that had just left their nest.
"Koizumi! This peach is huge!" A first-year student stood on tiptoe and reached out to touch it.
"Don't grab it, don't grab it, let me see!" A slightly taller member squeezed in, his head almost hitting Koizumi's chin.
Surrounded by seven or eight hands, Koizumi maintained his serious expression, but a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. He held the peach high above his head, dodging the outstretched hands that tried to touch it: "Coach Ling just praised me, hehe..."
"Wow..." The first-graders exclaimed in unison.
"Could we cut that peach in half?" someone asked, raising their hand.
"What are you thinking about!" Koizumi covered the peach with both hands, her eyes wide open.
……
Wang Yueling walked back to the coach's bench on the sidelines, where the singles match had become extremely intense.
At this point, the match between Kirihara and Marui had reached the fifth game, with the score close and the grass slightly ruffled by their footsteps.
Kirihara stood at the baseline, sweat trickling down his face and landing on the grass.
He took a deep breath, a resolute glint in his eyes.
Marui tossed the ball up with his knuckles, the unpredictable sidespin tracing a tricky trajectory in the air. Marui calmly volleyed it back with a short drop shot.
In this game, Kirihara stopped blindly using powerful shots and rushed forward, and began to try to force Marui to run with him.
This was a strategy he devised himself. If he couldn't compete with Marui's skills, he would compete with his physical strength.
Marui-senpai's stamina is his weakest point. If you can tire him out to the point where he can't run anymore, he won't be able to hit those tricky shots.
This trick is indeed effective.
Marui was forced to run left and right, his stamina clearly waning. But Marui wasn't stupid; he used his volleying technique to constantly increase the pace of his returns, forcing Jihara to make mistakes while running.
The confrontation between the two changed from a simple contest of skills to a war of attrition involving physical strength and willpower.
Kirihara had just won the ball, his panting revealing an undisguised sense of triumph. His shots while running were becoming increasingly smooth, and he had secretly practiced his new technique countless times.
This is his serve. He must use that move to catch Marui-senpai off guard.
He was waiting for the perfect moment.
The final serve was hit. The ball landed on the outer edge of the service court, and after bouncing, it spun outwards at a more difficult angle than the previous serves.
Marui moved two steps laterally, blocked the ball with his backhand, and the ball landed near the mid-court.
Right now.
Kirihara's pupils contracted slightly, and he took a big step forward, lowering his center of gravity to a very low position, with his arm and racket forming a very small angle.
He let out a roar.
"Riot Smash!"
With a sudden flick of the wrist, the moment the racket strikes the ball is not a conventional forehand smash, but an extremely fast, powerful stroke with strong sidespin.
The tennis ball, spinning erratically, hurtled towards Marui's half of the court like an out-of-control meteor. It bounced on the grass, its trajectory unpredictable and impossible to anticipate.
Marui reacted quickly, moving towards the ball's landing point to make a desperate save.
The moment the ball hit the racket face, my wrist was jolted.
The strong sidespin caused the ball to bounce off his racket face and fly out of bounds.
"Game, Kirihara, 5-5."
Wang Yueling sat up straight on the coach's bench.
His pen paused on the paper, and he looked up at the stadium. His bright blue eyes lit up with surprise.
He clearly saw the way Kirihara generated the force and the trajectory of the ball's spin, and the mechanical structure of the knuckle serve was extended to the smash.
It's not a simple copy, it's a derivative.
From serving to smashing, the point of force extends from the fingers to the entire wrist and forearm, making the ball spin more intense and its bounce more unpredictable.
Two weeks...just two weeks.
Despite being restricted from using demonization, he didn't complain or stagnate; instead, he found a new direction and charged forward.
Seaweed always manages to surprise us.
He picked up his pen again and wrote a line on the coach's board. Then he paused, added a small asterisk next to it, marking the special moves that deserved special attention.
But this move isn't perfect.
Mochizuki Ryo tilted her head slightly, her gaze following Kirihara's movements. That last shot had strong spin, but the landing point control was a bit off.
In the finished version, the ball should bounce closer to the ground after landing, instead of bouncing so high outwards. At that height, a player with quick reflexes would still have a chance to save it.
For example, Kirihara's current rival—Marui Bunta.
An uproar erupted at the sidelines of the stadium.
The ordinary members of Rikkai University on the sidelines were even more shocked than those from other schools.
"What was that just now?!"
"Hey, did you see that? That ball bounced at an angle after it landed!!"
"How could anyone possibly catch that? Who could fight back?"
A second-year Rikkai University member, mouth agape, nudged the person next to him with his elbow: "Wasn't he supposed to be at the hospital for treatment these past two weeks? How does he still have time to practice new moves?!"
"How should I know?" The person who was hit swallowed hard, his eyes never leaving the court. "But I've never seen Kirihara hit this shot before."
Liu stood on the sidelines, his pen flying across the paper, data flowing out of his mouth.
"Irregular spin shot, 70% landing point deviation rate, 90% adaptability to grass courts, the full version can suppress most predictive playing styles."
The regular members and regulars of Hyotei were also watching.
Oshitari pushed up his glasses and whispered to Atobe beside him, "Kirihara's 'Raging Smash' shot, if mastered, would be a real advantage on grass courts. The ball barely bounces, making it difficult for the opponent to land a volley at the net."
Atobe nodded, crossed his arms, and a hint of admiration flashed in his icy blue eyes: "Ah, Kirihara is certainly qualified as Rikkai's ace."
Mukahi stood next to Shinobu, his short red hair swaying slightly in the wind: "If that shot could produce the same effect on hard courts, the opponents in the National Tournament would be in for a world of trouble."
He pouted. "My head hurts right now."
On the field, Kirihara didn't have time to think about such things.
He was practically glowing after winning the game. His hair was styled in a spiky way, his chin held high, and his eyes were practically overflowing with excitement.
This new move was the first time he had used it in actual combat, and the effect was even better than he had expected.
"Marui-senpai! Did you see that?! My new move!" he shouted across the net, his voice as bright as a cicada's in the summer.
Marui stood opposite, looked down at his wrist that had just been jolted, and shook it.
Then he looked up and blew a bubble.
"Oh, not bad."
His tone was casual, but the slight smile at the corner of his mouth couldn't lie.
"Again!"
The ensuing battles were even more intense.
Kirihara used this new move as his trump card, employing it every time he found his rhythm. The third time he unleashed the Frenzied Smash, the angle was even more difficult, the sidespin even stronger, and the ball landed straight in the corner.
Marui didn't rush to swing his racket the moment the ball bounced. He waited a fraction of a second longer, until the direction of the ball's bounce was completely determined.
With a flick of the wrist, the racket cuts into the ball's side spin trajectory at a very small angle.
Kirihara adjusted his stance and blocked the ball back with his backhand, but the trajectory was too short.
Marui was waiting for this.
He took two steps forward, gently pushed the ball with his racket, and it grazed the net and landed in Kirihara's court. It bounced once and rolled outwards along the ground, completely out of reach.
"Tightrope walking".
Marui steadied himself, blew a large bubble, and said confidently and arrogantly, "How about that? A genius interception, impressive, right?"
"It's cracked!"
A few low gasps of surprise rang out from the sidelines.
Marui's shot still left many Hyotei team members wide-eyed. The ball rolled almost entirely along the net before reaching the other side, as precise as if it had been measured with a ruler.
"What an amazing stunt!" someone on the sidelines couldn't help but shout.
In Hyotei's team, Oshitari pushed up his glasses, his gaze following the trajectory of the ball behind the lenses, and muttered to himself, "That feel...it's really beautiful."
"Marui Hakirihara's return shot minimized the time he had to judge the sidespin."
"more than."
Atobe's voice came from the side, soft but firm, "He doesn't wait for the ball to bounce before judging; he predicts the direction before it bounces. Kirihara's technique isn't perfect; the angle of his wrist when he exerts force was seen through."
"Truly skilled interceptors rely on instantaneous reaction and intuitive feel, as Marui proved in last year's national tournament."
All their eyes were focused on Marui, and they couldn't help but sigh: Rikkai University's reign as the undisputed champion is truly well-deserved, with no weaknesses whatsoever.
Wang Yueling looked at the two on the court without saying a word, only slightly curving the corners of her mouth.
He lowered his head, picked up a pen, and wrote down the shortcomings of the two players on the court and directions for improvement on the coach's board. The pen tip made a soft scratching sound as it drew lines on the paper.
In the next few shots, Marui scored consecutive points using tightrope walking and hitting the iron post.
His net play was virtually flawless throughout the match, with every timing his shots executed with impeccable precision. Kirihara struggled to keep up, but he relentlessly pursued the ball, maintaining the quality of his returns.
"One ball left."
Marui twirled the racket between his fingers and blew a bubble.
On the final point, Kirihara's serve was countered by Marui, who hit it back, landing in Kirihara's backhand corner. He chased after it with all his might, his small, quick steps on one foot making a clattering sound on the grass.
The racket touched the ball, but the force wasn't controlled, and the return shot flew out of bounds.
The referee blew his whistle: "Game, Marui, 6-5."
Kirihara slumped his shoulders, his head hanging low, his spiky hair drooping, looking utterly dejected.
Wang Yueling wrote a few more lines on the notepad, and the smile on her lips never faded as she watched Kirihara's retreating figure.
Atobe glanced at him; the cup of black tea he was holding was already empty.
"Could you tone down that doting fatherly look you have when you look at your child?"
"No." Mochizuki Ryou replied without looking up.
Atobe silently placed the cup on the table and gave up.
On the sidelines, Marui slung his racket over his shoulder, walked to the net, and looked down at Kirihara, who was bent over and panting.
"Akaya, you didn't turn into a demon even once today."
Kirihara rested his hands on his knees, sweat dripping from his chin into the grass. His breathing was heavy and rapid, and clumps of black curly hair clung to his forehead, making him look like he had just been pulled out of the water.
Upon hearing Marui's words, he looked up, his face covered in sweat, but the redness in his eyes was just normal congestion after exercise.
"The minister said it can't be used."
His voice was still panting, but every word was incredibly earnest: "I promised."
Marui looked at him and remained silent for a while. Then he reached out and gently rubbed Kirihara's sweaty head.
"I'll share half of my big peach with you. It's so big, I can't finish it all by myself."
Kirihara paused for a moment, then got up from the ground, brushed the grass clippings off his body, and said in a muffled voice with his head down, "Marui-senpai, I'll definitely win next time."
"Okay, okay." Marui had already turned and left, waving his hand behind him. "Geniuses aren't so easy to defeat!"
Jiro, standing on the sidelines, was so excited he almost jumped over the net: "Bunta won!!! He won!!! As expected of my idol!!! Did you see Kuwabara? Did you see that?! Walking the tightrope! The last ball was another tightrope walk!!! Genius Bunta!!"
Kuwabara grabbed him by the back of the collar and pulled him down from the fence, his expression a mix of helplessness and amusement: "I saw it, I saw it with both eyes."
The strange combination of these two standing together was something that no one present had bothered to think about anymore.
Kirihara, clutching his racket, walked dejectedly to the sidelines.
The tip of the racket dragged on the grass, leaving a shallow mark.
Kirihara Akaya looks like a punctured balloon right now. Although he didn't lose too badly, a loss is a loss.
If you lose, you can't challenge Senior Mochizuki, you won't get to eat that giant peach, and you'll have to accept Senior Mochizuki's "caring" comments.
As he passed the coaches' bench, a pair of sneakers came into his view.
He was still hanging his head when a hand covered his head... The hand was bigger than Marui's, but the pressure was light, and the palm was warm as it rubbed his wet curly hair.
Kirihara raised his head and met Mochizuki Ryo's azure eyes, which held no reproach but rather a hint of pride.
"Akaya, you played very well today."
Wang Yueling withdrew his hand, his tone calm, and pointed to the empty chair next to him, indicating that he should sit down.
Kirihara sniffed, sat down in the chair, and placed his racket across his knees.
"The success rate of the 'Rio' smash is about 50%. It's good that you dared to use it in an official match before it was even fully developed. However, after being broken by Genta, you hit the ball at an angle of at least 15 degrees for two consecutive points."
"That's because the grass is too slippery..." Kirihara said sullenly.
Mochizuki Ryou raised one eyebrow and gently tapped Kirihara's head with her finger, producing a crisp, muffled sound.
"Still trying to deny it? The grass is too slippery? Bunta played on the same grass as you, how come he didn't find it slippery?"
Kirihara covered his head, pursed his lips, and remained silent.
Wang Yueling tapped her finger on the scoreboard and continued, "Also, your stamina management wasn't good. You played too aggressively in the first few rounds, and your accuracy with small, quick steps on one foot dropped sharply later on."
"Your current playing style relies too much on explosive power, and your shots are too straightforward, making it easy for experienced seniors to predict your moves."
"He still lacks experience; he'll get better after playing a few more games."
After he finished speaking, he closed the notepad and saw that Kirihara's head was almost buried in his knees. He couldn't help but smile.
"However, you managed to control your emotions four times today, which is more commendable than your violent smashes. You truly deserve to be Rikkai's ace."
Kirihara raised his eyes, his lips twitching as if he wanted to ask how the number was calculated.
"How did you know it was four times, senior...?"
"Every time you're about to lose your temper, you clench your left fist first, then your right fist, and then tug at your collar. I counted four times."
Kirihara's eyes lit up instantly, and he nodded vigorously. "I'll keep it up! I'll definitely beat Marui-senpai next time!"
"That's ambitious." Wang Yueling chuckled, lightly tapping his forehead with her fingertip. "Your power and center of gravity are off when you're throwing the ball around. I'll give you extra practice tonight. Remember, your strength has never come from losing control, but from yourself."
He stood up, waved to the butler beside him, and took a peach.
This peach was a size larger than the "participation prize" given to others earlier, and its skin was a very special deep gold color, which looked like it was plated with a light gold luster in the sunlight.
The peach skin still had a thin layer of moisture on it, and you could smell a strong, sweet aroma when you got close.
"This one's for you." Mochizuki Ryo handed the peach to Kirihara, leaned close to his ear, and said mysteriously, "I picked this especially for you. It's definitely sweeter than Bunta's. Don't tell him."
Kirihara held the golden peach, stunned for a moment.
Then his whole face lit up. It wasn't the kind of excitement that comes from "wanting to win," but the most genuine joy a child feels when receiving an unexpected gift.
He held the big peach, looked at Wang Yueling, then looked down at the peach, then back at Wang Yueling, unable to suppress the smile on his face.
"Thank you, Mochizuki-senpai!"
The people around them started making a fuss too.
"Kirihara Yuki, there's a prize even if you lose."
"The coach picked it out himself."
……
Kirihara's ears turned red from the praise, and he tightened his grip on the peach. Although he couldn't challenge his senior and couldn't eat the Peach King, his heart was still bleeding.
But when he looked at the golden peach in his arms and smelled its sweet fragrance, his mood inexplicably improved.
He hugged the peach, huddled in a corner, and began to devour it, turning his grief and anger into a gluttonous appetite, eating with a satisfied expression.
Marui leaned closer, proudly raising his chin. "Coach Ling, how did I play? Wasn't I a genius?"
Wang Yueling chuckled, nodded in agreement, and tapped his racket with his fingertip.
"Munta, your net play is still top-notch. Your control on the grass is very precise. However, your stamina is still a weakness, and you have too many defensive holes in singles."
"The techniques are too flashy, sometimes neglecting tactics, and the offensive penetration is insufficient, which will be a complete disadvantage in a prolonged battle. Remember to improve."
Marui immediately suppressed his smugness, stuck out his tongue, and said, "Okay, I'll work on my physical training!"
He took the giant peach from Mochizuki Ryou and held it in his arms. He saw Kirihara eating the peach in the distance, then looked at the one in his hand and felt that something was wrong.
"Ring, why does Akaya's peach look a little bigger than mine?"
"An illusion." Wang Yueling said without changing his expression.
"The colors seem even prettier too."
"Lighting issue."
"..."