Stealing Spree

Chapter 2067: Akane vs Fuyu (1)

Fuyu didn’t hold back at all. The wind whistled as she served the tennis ball at great speed into Akane’s side of the court.

Even me who was observing from the side had to focus my gaze to follow its trajectory.

Akane’s shoes squeaked as she immediately reacted. However, despite her quick reflex, she remained a split-second too late.

The tennis ball loudly landed just a little bit beyond the middle line before bouncing upwards, streaking past and grazing the tip of Akane’s racket. If not for the wall fences locking the potential breaking out of balls, it would’ve flown out and rolled to the road.

Before Akane’s eyes widened in surprise at what happened, I already called in the judgment.

“Service Ace. 15-0.”

Haa… As expected of the tennis club superstar. She didn’t even try to hold back against her best friend.

A satisfied smile flashed on Fuyu’s face as Akane picked up the ball and threw it back to her side.

“How cruel! Last time, you went easy on me, Fuyu!” Akane stomped her feet as she picked up the ball which rolled back to her after bouncing off the wall.

“That was practice. This is not.”

Dismissing Akane’s complaint, Fuyu caught the ball back and started preparing for her next

serve.

Judging from the glint in her eyes, she already decided to finish their match right away.

But will Akane just let it end here? Knowing my wife and how competitive she is even though she’s not openly showing it, she won’t take this lightly.

“Oh. Is that so? Then I have to show husband that I’m still the best among his girls.”

“Sorry, Akane. But that title is mine when it’s about tennis.” Fuyu confidently declared.

I glanced at Akane and saw her grin turning serious. She was challenged.

Sparks flew from their eyes and the air around them became heated.

If I try to mediate at this point, they’ll hit the ball at me and then use that as an excuse to rush over.

That’s a rather interesting scenario but that won’t decide the next match, right?

In any case, a single point is not enough to decide a match right away.

With Akane answering Fuyu’s challenge, it suddenly felt like I was officiating an official match.

Fuyu’s serves immediately lost their effectiveness as Akane stepped up to prevent it from happening again.

She moved as soon as she predicted where the ball would land, sending the terrifying serve back to Fuyu’s court.

However, Fuyu’s skill was put on display as she immediately followed up, earning her another point.

“30-0, Fuyu leads.”

Akane curled her lips as she once again prepared for Fuyu’s next serve.

Once again, she upped her game and finally scored. Moreover, it was a Return Ace, shocking the confident Fuyu.

“30-15, Fuyu still leads.”

I intentionally added that last commentary, pushing Akane to strive more.

Was it effective though?

Maybe.

Because at the next serve of Fuyu, the rally lasted for more than a minute before Akane made a misjudgment on the type of spin Fuyu applied.

She did a backhand slice, making the ball bounce lower than Akane was expecting. She

could’ve saved it if she dived but well… I was glad she didn’t do so.

It would hurt even if the court could mitigate the fall.

“40-15. Game point, Fuyu.”

This time, I didn’t end any commentary.

Fuyu was pleased while Akane was starting to get frustrated.

“I’ll break your service game and complete my own, Fuyu.” She said, provoking her best friend.

But Fuyu remained unmoved.

“Our scores say otherwise. Maybe you can do that if you diligently practice by my side. You should prepare to face Ruki-kun next and save your energy, Akane.”

As though declaring herself as a winner already, Fuyu soon did her fourth serve.

Once again, the ball made the air whistle from how fast it was.

But Akane received it with a two-handed grip, sending the ball deep into the other court.

Fuyu arrived on time and applied a backspin, causing Akane to come up close to the net.

With no other alternative, Akane could only lob the ball, causing it to fly higher than the height of my seat.

Having set that up, Fuyu was ready to receive it. With her powerful stance to perform a smash, a victorious smile flashed on her face.

“I told you. I’ll take this game.”

PAA!

A loud sound echoed as the ball hit the middle of her racket before being smashed back into Akane’s court.

Even though she could predict its strength and where it would bounce, having been pulled up close to the net prevented her from chasing after it.

“Game, Fuyu 1-0.”

As soon as I called that in, Fuyu immediately relaxed. However, she didn’t glance at me like I expected. She just looked at Akane whose shoulders were already trembling.

They’re now both too into the game. And Akane would definitely not let this end in her own service game.

In any case, since there should be a short break before the next game, I called out to the two of

them.

“Both of you, come here and drink first. Akane, you have to cool down. And Fuyu… good job.”

Upon hearing my voice, the two girls let out a relieved sigh as they returned to my side.

Well, the bench was nearby so they could get the water bottle even if I didn’t go down the

umpire’s seat.

Before returning to their court, the two of them approached me. Akane grabbed my hand and

put it on her face while Fuyu settled on having me pat her.

That’s great. At least, the previous heat dissipated a little.

Or so I thought.

When I called in for the start of Akane’s service game, my usually silly wife powerfully served

the ball to Fuyu’s court.

“… Service Ace. 15-0.”

My call came a second late but the two girls didn’t let that stop the momentum.

Akane served for the second time and Fuyu managed to react. However, after two returns from each of them, Akane hit the ball close to the outside line, causing Fuyu to deliberate whether to chase after it in case it was ‘in’ or let it drop and pray for an ‘out’. Unluckily for her, she chose the latter. And with her own judgment, she called it in.

30-0. Akane was slowly gaining back her loss and she was not done yet.

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The third serve ended quickly with another service ace, bringing her quickly to a game point.

Even Fuyu had to stop and look at the trace of the ball left behind, wondering how much power Akane put into her serves.

“I guess working out with me every day has been paying off.” I couldn’t help but blurt that out. Fuyu blinked and then relaxed her expression, understanding that it might really be the

cause.

As for Akane, her proud grin was shining so brightly. I thought she would gloat at Fuyu but maybe she’s reserving it for when she could get a love game against her best friend. Seconds later, Akane started dribbling the tennis ball as she prepared for her fourth serve.

Judging from the look on her face, she’s planning another Service Ace. But will Fuyu let her

get her way?

I doubt it.

As a tennis enthusiast, she won’t just let herself lose to someone who’s not even a regular tennis player. And a love game at that.

Maybe she’s rebuking herself for being conceited earlier, I saw Fuyu narrowing her eyes as she

waited for Akane’s serve.

PAA! WOOSH!

“Fault.” I called.

Too bad. It landed on the other side of the line. Fuyu also accurately judged that. She didn’t

move from her spot.

Soon, Akane, who had just made an error, took a deep breath before performing another serve.

As soon as the ball was served, Fuyu waited for it. Also using a two-handed grip, she sent the

ball back to Akane’s court with force.

Akane didn’t let up and managed to catch it.

From there, it became a long rally again. They started sweating after half a minute. Both of

their faces were so serious, you wouldn’t think this was just a match between them to decide

who would play against me last.

Fuyu clearly didn’t want to lose to a love game while Akane was keen on avenging herself.

After another minute, the winner of that rally was decided.

“Game. Akane, 1-1.”

Akane managed to pull it off!