「Hey, is it okay to play beach volleyball in flip flops?」
「Well, you can wear it anywhere so I guess it’s okay.」
「Even so, I don’t think it’s a good idea to play in those flip flops, Kazuya-kun.」
As Wakamiya-san said, Shinozaki is the only one wearing flip flops. Perhaps if you play beach volleyball in them, you’ll probably have a problem in the area between the thumb and forefinger of your feet.
「I guess it will be hard to walk later if the sand pokes holes in the flip flops.」
I’m not sure why but, I suddenly feel tacky upon hearing “flip flops with holes”. If you arrange them properly, they might become more stylish.
「Then, how about we just play one set on barefoot?」
「If we do it many times, we’ll burn our soles and it will get in the way of our daily lives even if this place is wet.」
「So, how do we pair up?」
「Shinozaki-kun and Souta should be on separate team considering physical strength.」
Eh? Seriously? I’m not as physically fit as Shinozaki, you know? If we only think about the balance of physical strength, it should be Shinozaki vs the three of us.
「Then, I’ll stick with Kazuya-kun. That would be better to balance power.」
「The loser would buy lunch for the winner.」
「Hey, wait, I demand a handicap. There’s no way the ace of the track team has the same physical strength with someone from the go home club.」
If there’s no bet, I would want a handicap or two and since there’s a bet, I would demand something higher.
「Then, you server first.」
「Is that it? I need more.」
「Then, how many initial points do you want?」
「Kazuya-kun.」
「I’m sorry, that’s all.」
No luck. Well, I guess it’s good since we’ll be serving. Shinozaki also said that he would preserve his physical strength. I hope he will hold back.
「Mei, are you good at volleyball?」
「I’ve only done it in PE classes so I’m pretty average.」
「Then, I guess we’ll have to go for Wakamiya-san.」
「I’m sorry for Nana-chan but I think that’s a good plan.」
After finishing our strategy meeting at the end of the court, we returned to the court. The other side seems to be fully prepared and is already in position.
Mei throws the ball high in the air and jumps after it. She hit the ball in the air. The ball went to the opponent’s court with a speed that is hard to believe that it’s a beach ball.
「Eh?」
「What is it, Souta?」
「How can you call yourself average?」
She’s at the level where we could with just her serve. If this is average, then I’m sure the women’s volleyball in PE is an epic battle.
After Mei scored another five points with her serve, the ball she served was blown away by a strong gust of wind and lost power. It was blown to where Shinozaki is. Of course, Shinozaki returned the ball without hesitation.
I thought Mei would be able to take care of it since the ball flew in her direction. It flew to a place where Mei could easily hit it. However, Mei’s attack was not as powerful as her serve and Shinozaki hit it back with all his might after Wakamiya-san barely got it.
「I’m sorry, Souta.」
「I’m fine but it looked like you panic.」
「That’s because I find it hard to aim for Nana-chan.」
「So it’s because of my order. Maa, I only thought so earlier since I thought we couldn’t win if we didn’t.」
「Is that so?」
Shinozaki threw the ball high, deciding on a jumping serve.
Is jumping serve the norm in high school volleyball? It shouldn’t be but as far as I know, Shinozaki had never played volleyball before and even more so when it comes to beach volleyball. Perhaps the ace of the track club finds it easy to do. I mean, why is it that there’s only one rally?
Shinozaki’s serve came in one after another and the point gap that Mei had built up was about to disappear.
「We can’t hit it back.」
「Our only chance is when wind suddenly blows.」
「He’s really strong so it can’t be helped.」
Once again, Shinozaki threw the ball high for his serve and he jumped high as well. I tried reading the ball’s movement hoping to get it somehow but then, I noticed that he smashed it towards Mei. Mei, who was so focused on watching Shinozaki’s serve, was completely oblivious to it.
「Mei!」
「Eh?」
Mei seems to have noticed when I raised my voice but she can’t seem to react against Shinozaki’s server at all. If this goes on, it will directly hit Mei’s face.
I managed to move my body, push Mei, and get in between the ball and her. I was hit in the back and lost my balance.
「S-So-Souta」
When I opened my eyes after the impact, I saw Mei’s face, which had turned bright red and it was very close to mine. Our faces are only a few centimeters away. I collapsed on top of her. This isn’t a romcom manga so please spare me with this kind of development. No, if it was a romcom manga, wouldn’t it be a lucky pervert fall?
「Are you okay?」
「Ah, yeah, I’m fine.」
I rubbed my back, which was badly damaged, and returned the ball.
「Amane-kun, are you okay?」
「Sorry Amane, are you okay?」
「Barely, I think I’ll be fine if I take a break.」
「But you were great. Instead of Mei-chan, you sacrificed your body and got penetrated by Kazuya-kun’s serve.」
「It didn’t penetrate me. If I had, my guts would have been all over the place.」
「It couldn’t penetrate you but your back has a ball shape red mark.」
You did this to me. I mean, it really hurts. You said you were going to save your strength but you didn’t hold back. Or is a shot at that level not holding back for you?