Chapter 326: The Feuding Siblings, Suzuki Sonoko and Atobe Keigo
At that moment, Atobe Keigo's gaze was fixed on the ground, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks as a tremor shot through his entire being. That voice… to him, it was like the insidious whisper of a demon.
Coach Sakaki Tarou glanced at the group of girls who had just arrived, each one a perfect ten in bearing, figure, and appearance. He then turned his inquisitive gaze to his star player. "Atobe, are these family members of yours?"
"As if!" Sonoko scoffed, her tone dripping with annoyance. "I'm telling you, Coach Sakaki, don't just throw insults around. We are definitely not related to this arrogant brat, though I suppose we are here to watch his match."
Atobe Keigo's knuckles whitened around the grip of his tennis racket, his face darkening as he snarled, "Sonoko! You old hag! What are you doing here?! Are your hormones acting up again?!"
"H-Hormones?! You little punk! Say that again, I dare you!"
"Old hag! What of it?!"
Watching Atobe Keigo and Suzuki Sonoko immediately erupt into a shouting match, Coach Sakaki pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a weary sigh. He understood now. They certainly weren't family in the traditional sense, but this girl and Atobe were clearly siblings of the soul, locked in a perpetual feud.
Ichihara Yuuko and Courage, however, looked absolutely thrilled. They had never witnessed this particular brand of spirited argument before. It was a novel experience, and they were both connoisseurs of high-quality drama.
The other members of the Hyotei team were much the same, especially Oshitari Yushi. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the faintest smirk playing on his lips as if he had just discovered a fascinating new specimen for observation.
"Atobe, you have ten minutes to resolve this," Coach Sakaki stated, his voice cutting through the argument. "Oshitari, lead the team inside."
Although the coach himself was tempted to stay and watch the spectacle unfold, the schedule was unforgiving. He left them with that single command and began to herd the rest of the players toward the stadium entrance.
Atobe Keigo, however, shouted after him in protest, "Hey! Wait for me! I refuse to spend another second with this old hag!"
"You little brat! Are you looking for a fight?!"
"You old hag! You'd better watch that temper, or you'll never get married!"
"I have Brother Ren! It's you, this conceited little punk, who's going to end up all alone!"
Atobe Keigo's blood pressure nearly skyrocketed. He shot one last venomous glare at Sonoko before turning on his heel and stalking onto the court, racket in hand.
Suzuki Sonoko's expression was a mask of displeasure as she called after him, "You brat! If you lose, don't you dare tell anyone you know me!"
Atobe Keigo paused for a fraction of a second but didn't look back. He simply kept walking, his voice carrying back over his shoulder, laced with his signature arrogance. "Hmph. Just watch, you old hag! This is Atobe Keigo you're talking to! I'll deliver nothing less than a glorious victory!"
As Atobe's figure disappeared onto the court, Lucifer chuckled softly. "Sonoko, I never knew you could be so fierce. But why is it you're no match for Kirari at all?"
Sonoko's mouth twitched. "Sister Lucifer, you should try playing one of Kirari's 'coffee games' sometime. Then you'll understand... It's nearly impossible to resist that schemer."
"Oh? That does sound rather interesting..."
Ichihara Yuuko smiled knowingly. "Sonoko, you and that boy, Atobe, are surprisingly alike. You're like siblings, aren't you? That last thing you said was your way of cheering him on."
Sonoko froze for a moment before waving her hand dismissively. "How could I possibly cheer for that brat? I'm just worried that if he loses after running his mouth, I'll be too embarrassed to show my face in public for knowing him."
"Ooooh," the others chorused in a teasing tone.
"It's true!"
Of course, Sonoko was cheering for him. Despite their constant bickering, their dynamic was exactly as Ichihara Yuuko had described: that of feuding siblings. Their relationship just had a habit of appearing quite hostile on the surface.
When Sonoko saw who Atobe Keigo's opponent was, she sighed. "Well, this match has zero suspense. We might as well just wait for Seigaku's game later. Fudomine is supposed to be pretty strong this year."
Ichihara Yuuko, however, remained curious. So far, she hadn't encountered any of the bizarre, physics-defying tennis styles she had been told about. Everything was disappointingly normal, which left her feeling a bit puzzled. If this was all there was, what was so special about it? 'Well then,'she thought with a hint of boredom,'let's watch this spectacular dud play out.'
The match was a swift, merciless execution. A six-zero sweep with no room for error, giving the opponent no chance to even breathe. Atobe Keigo delivered a complete massacre, yet almost no one cheered.
The reason was simple: the stands were nearly empty to begin with, and the few spectators present were all surreptitiously staring at Ichihara Yuuko and her companions. The group's ability to draw attention was off the charts. Courage and Cerberus alone were enough to turn heads, to say nothing of Lucifer and Ichihara Yuuko, whose captivating presences were practically in a league of their own.
Lucifer sighed softly. "I'm suddenly beginning to understand why Sora chose to attend an all-girls school. This is not a pleasant experience."
Courage and the others nodded in solemn agreement.
Ichihara Yuuko also let out a small sigh. "They really are a bunch of uninteresting and immature adolescent boys. When does that Seigaku match begin? The quality of the players should be much higher than this."
Sonoko nodded. "Yes, much, much higher. At the very least, Fuji and Tezuka are quite a sight to behold. I'm not sure about the others yet, we'll have to see. Oh, Sister Yuuko, there's something I need to tell you about later."
"Oh? Alright..."
While they were chatting, Atobe Keigo dismissed his teammates, allowing them to move about freely, before walking over to their group. "So, how were my skills?" he asked, a smug look on his face.
Sonoko rolled her eyes. "You're showing off this much after beating a school that just formed its team this year? You really are an arrogant brat."
"Tch. They were too weak," Atobe scoffed. "Hyotei's goal is the Nationals! I'm going to crush Tezuka! And I'll be the one to end Rikkai Dai's streak of three consecutive championships!"
"You?" Sonoko shot back, unimpressed. "You think you can beat Seiichi? For some reason, I highly doubt it. Can you even beat Tezuka?"
Atobe Keigo was long accustomed to Suzuki Sonoko's talent for pouring cold water on his ambitions at the most crucial moments. He didn't rise to the bait, merely stating calmly, "Seigaku will be taking the court in half an hour. By all accounts, it's expected to be the most exciting match of the entire tournament."
On the other side of the venue, the Seigaku team had fully assembled. Tezuka Kunimitsu surveyed his players, his brow furrowing slightly. "Oishi, where is Echizen?"
Oishi Shuichiro started, his eyes darting around the group before a look of confusion spread across his face. "Eh?! Where did Echizen go?!"
Shusuke Fuji smiled serenely. "Echizen... I saw him just a moment ago. He's probably in the restroom."
"Hiss... That first-year... He never makes things easy..." came a low hiss from Kaidoh.
Oishi turned to their coach. "Coach Ryuzaki, everyone except Echizen is here. Should we wait for him, or head in now?"
Ryuzaki Sumire considered for a moment, then asked in her deep, steady voice, "Fuji, are you certain you just saw that kid?"
"Yes."
"Then let's go!" she declared decisively. "He won't get lost. We'll just pick him up when he comes out!"
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]