Youthful Days (Book 1)

6. Injury

High school sports competitions were held using a highly structured system. Tournaments progressed from the district, to prefectural and finally, to the regional level. The top three teams from the region would qualify to compete in the national championship and contend against other regional champions.

Based on Seigaku's records in badminton, the girls' team always triumphed in the district and prefectural tournaments. The real struggle happened at the regional level, where they'd meet their main roadblocks. True to the coach's and the captain's predictions, this year's performance didn't deviate from the previous years. The badminton team prevailed in the district tournaments and readily reached the last round.

For their district finals, Seigaku's badminton and tennis team were jointly paired against Fudomine High.

This day marked the start of a new game season.

***

After three hours, the girls' badminton team conquered their rivals and successfully claimed the district champion title. Before parting ways, players from both teams lined up along the nets and exchanged cordial handshakes.

"Good game," the captain of Fudomine nodded to captain Nishimura civilly. "You have a strong team, Nishimura-san. There are no regrets even though we lost. Still, do be prepared to see us next year—we'll only come back stronger."

"I'll look forward to it," replied Emi with a small smile.

"Now, I just hope our tennis team isn't also biting the dust."

"I suppose we'll find out soon enough."

Catching an earful of their exchange, Momoko tugged Ayuna aside as the two teams began to vacate the gymnasium. "Hey Ayuna, how about you and I beat the others to it and find out which school wins?"

"I thought the coach said we aren't waiting for the regulars because they're going to play late into the day."

"I remember—that's why we're staying behind and going home on our own."

"Won't that take long?"

"So what? It's a weekend!"

Ayuna appeared hesitant. "Even so..."

"You know, Momoko's right." Rei, who had been at the tail of the team, encouraged the younger girls to go on. "You two should watch tennis games whenever possible. I'm betting our team has a shot at making it into the national championship. Just from the handful of practices I've seen, the regulars play with a force and passion that's never been witnessed in the history of Seigaku."

"Why don't you come along with us?" suggested Momoko.

"I wish," she sighed ruefully. "You juniors should enjoy your time as much as you can. It's tough being a senior—there's tons of work and so much to worry about for the future!"

"That's too bad."

"Speaking of work..." said Ayuna, "I have a lot of homework to do for the weekend too—"

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, didn't you hear Rei-senpai?! Enjoy your time as a youngster while you can!" With that, Momoko seized Ayuna's wrist and hauled her in the direction of the tennis courts. "Now come—I don't want to miss out on a second!"

***

Momoko and Ayuna jostled through throngs of students on their way to the courts. In mid-afternoon, most district games had ended except for the last teams standing. With footpaths crammed with dizzying arrays of uniformed participants, it took them a decent amount of time to maneuver through the crowds.