Chapter 2070: Ruki vs Akane (2)
Chapter 2070: Ruki vs Akane (2)
After the shock subsided from Akane's face, her lips curved up helplessly as she understood what I meant when I apologized to her. Nevertheless, that's not enough to scare her into
facing my serves.
In preparation for my monstrous service, she took two steps back, waiting further behind the baseline.
Although I still only have a shallow knowledge of the sport, I could understand the logic behind that.
In the assumption that all my serves will go in her service box, her field of vision will widen, allowing her to see where the fast-as-a-bullet serve will land. As long as she sees that, it won't be like the first one wherein her eyes failed to catch where it bounced off.
"Bring it on, husband! Keep 'em coming!"
That's my girl.
And with that, I steeled my decision to never hold back with my serves. I wanted to win but so was Akane.
For Akane, staying at home to wait for me was already enough. She didn't want to divert attention to other things.
On the other hand, I just want her to occupy herself with something else even if she's waiting for me to come home. That's why I also encouraged my girls to pursue their dreams.
Yue was ready to step down from her career just to be with me.
Otoha didn't care about anything as long as she could also be with me.
Hana who returned to this country just for the chance to reconnect with me.
They all have bright futures ahead and I'm already satisfied to be the one who will spend that future alongside them. I really don't want them to be like me who have nothing to think about but how to serve all of them.
Granted, my situation is different because I can just divide my time to be with all of them. But that's really the reason why I am advocating for Akane to not lock herself up with me...
"Here I go, wife. I'll comfort you again if you lose to me!" I replied as I tossed the ball up high.
"In your dreams. Hehe."
At the same time as I felt the ball make contact in the middle of my racket, Akane's sweet giggling abruptly stopped as she already focused her eyes on following the ball.
Woosh!
The ball crisply landed on her service box, but thanks to her positioning, she reached it on its bounce. She frowned because of the force behind it but she held on and returned it to my court.
Luckily for me, it was a lob shot and her control towards it was minimal.
Seeing it floating downwards slowly, the avenues on how to score against her opened up in front of my eyes.
The most ideal one was to smash it down before she could run up and defend against it. But would she have the endurance to withstand that?
As I waited down on the ground, I began the motion.
And sure enough, Akane hurriedly ran up as soon as she stabilized herself.
Unfortunately for her, if I have something I hold an advantage against her and Fuyu, it will be my stamina, speed, and strength.
PAA!
The ball smashed down the opposite side of her service box and near the net, causing the ball to bounce outside. She was still halfway up the court when that happened, denying her any chance to retaliate.
"30-0. Ruki-kun leads."
Fuyu's voice fell down like cold water waking up Akane.
She gritted her teeth and picked up the ball that rolled away.
When she returned it to me, the fire within her eyes burned ever brightly.
"Kiss me, husband." She said,
What a demand.
But who am I to refuse that?
And so, under Fuyu's watch, I reached in to kiss my girl as she handed the ball back to me. It was short but intimate, conveying her will not to back down against me. Likewise, I expressed to her my intention to take this game away from her.
At this point, there's really no turning back. Whatever the outcome may be, we will accept it.
The game resumed but I heard Fuyu's voice shaking a little. Seeing us kiss like that shook her? I winked at her, conveying my intention to do the same with her if it came to our match.
Well, I had no idea if she understood my gesture, she just blushed and then faked a cough before shouting to continue the game.
Maybe I got too confident after getting two points against Akane, but my third serve ended with a double fault.
As for the fourth serve, Akane got back at me by luckily returning a smash. She sliced it in the middle, causing the ball to quickly bounce off and land behind me.
That's an impressive move that even Fuyu clapped her hand from the umpire's seat.
Really, I shouldn't celebrate too early. My girl really stepped up her game.
With our scores tied 30-30, I shook my head and cleared my thoughts.
The only way I could win against Akane was to leverage my advantages.
The faults were expected but that slice was a lucky shot from her.
For my fifth serve, I made it look like I was going at it in full force again, catching Akane off- guard.
As got used to the speed of my serves, the ball she was expecting bounced twice just right
before leaving her baseline.
I got another Service Ace.
"40-30. Ruki-kun game point."
I heard Fuyu sucked in a deep breath, she probably never expected a newbie like me to reach this point when I clearly showed inexperience with my movements.
As I intended to take this game on my next serve and prevent Akane from deucing, I started employing mind games with her.
Staring at her from my side of the court, I put on a mischievous smile that my silly wife would surely pick up.
Of course, distracting her was against the rule. But we were not in an official match. And Fuyu could only see me looking at my opponent.
And with that, with her mind shaken a little, Akane who still managed to return the ball back to me lost it when I managed to put in the pressure with her by erratically moving around the
court.
I relied on my speed on that. In a normal match, that wasn't endorsed since it could easily cause an injury on the ligament but well, I hadn't even sweated that much yet, much less used
my stamina.
Rumi's miraculous tea turned me into an inexhaustible bull while Akane not only tired herself out playing against Fuyu but there's also the lingering effect of our early morning exercise in
bed.
"Game. Ruki-kun!"
Fuyu confidently waved her hand as she called out the ruling.
Akane spent a few seconds standing in the court before returning to join us at the side.
And when she did, my silly wife jumped on my lap, causing Fuyu who was sitting next to me
and holding the water bottle to be startled.
"Hmph. I demand another kiss, husband."
"Will that boost your confidence?"
"Not only that. It's also my energizer. Husband, I have long discovered the existence of Ruki
Energy that Hiyori pioneered!"
What an adorable mess... I couldn't help but chuckle from hearing that. In any case, I didn't deny her of it. With my arms wrapping around her waist, I kissed Akane again.
Once that was done, I turned to the flabbergasted Fuyu and said, "I think I will also get a refill
of my Fuyu Energy. Will that be fine?"
"... You. What Fuyu Energy?"
With Akane left satisfied and now resting on my chest, Fuyu fumbled a bit but ultimately
closed her eyes.
Naturally, I made that up but upon hearing our conversation, she probably related it to that.
I extended my arm to Fuyu's slim waist and pulled her closer to me, "Thank you."
At the moment I finished whispering those words of gratitude, I kissed Fuyu the same way I
kissed Akane. Long and intimate...
What better way to prepare ourselves for the third game, right?