Admiration, Respect, Tennis...And Love?

Chapter 2

I clench my hands on the wire fence, I knew Kaidoh was good, I knew it and yet...

I clench my teeth, breath deeply and let the wire go, I let an aggravated sigh, trying to keep my cool at what, for much that it pains me to admit, is the only logical result.

The last points goes to Kaidoh, the ball kept rolling towards me as my eyes follow the motion in detachment.

Why did this have to happen? why wouldn't Inui-sempai win this time too?

I turn around and walk away, feeling numb.

why- no, that's not right.

'How' is it that I keep my spot as regular?

How is it that the strongest and more dedicated person I know of was defeated, the person I look up was defeated when I barely break a sweat against my opponents?

How I am supposed to act, how I am supposed to react at the confirmation that, no matter what, talented people are bound to win over hardworking ones, specially if they are geeks like Sempai and myself?

I sigh, covering my eyes in frustration, I knew Kaidoh was talented, and it was only a matter of time until Inui-sempai was bested but I thought....

Sempai is like me, smart, cunning, not naturally talented at sports, but willing to work hours on end, using his brain to compensate his lack of natural talent, our methods are different, our styles are different but the fact stays.

it does not matter, I won't give up, I need to work harder, I won't let myself loss because I did not work hard enough on my physical condition.

when did I get so attached to tennis? when this become more than extra credit on ED?

I chuckle to myself and shake my own head, it does not matter either, I did get attached, and I won't loss to anyone if I can help it.

I am fortunate, I supose:

Inui-sempai has his data tennis that relies more on his brain than his tall limb body, he is a serve and volley player but he has been focusing more on his brain than his physical condition, that's why he loss, he knew what Ryoma was going to do, he was almost certain of what Kaidoh was going to do and yet he was unable to make his body react how he wanted to.

My tennis on the other hand is more muscle memory, I train my body to react to different and increasingly difficult shots, I am a counterattack player, I am able to recognize almost any serve or shot after seeing it once, after that is only a matter to train my body to unconsciously react to that threat without hurting myself, which take hours, days, weeks, months even, once done I can potentially predict where that shot is going to land, and return it in a way that is not only difficult to return, but also devastating to the moral of my opponent, who wouldn't be affected after all? If the ace on your sleeve was returned like it was mere children play, like it was nothing, there is no way you wouldn't feel devastated.

Anyway, I need to upgrade my training, I can't keep focusing on my muscle memory, I need to train my strong points, my speed and reaction time, a genetic trait I got from my father's side, and my flexibility that, as female, have in spades, I should train my stamina too, and it wouldn't hurt to train my weak spots like my strength either...

Right, enough mopping, knowing Inui-sempai he is already working on how to fix his weaknesses, all the while organizing the data he collected from his matches.

I should start my training too, I'll work on my muscle memory now, and I should figure out a way to improve my physical condition while doing other things, it needs to be something that works even when I'm experimenting on my personal lab or tending my garden.