HANEBADO! (はねバド！)

What have I...

Mom...

Don't go...

...been playing badminton for?

What am I playing badminton for?

The prodigy raised by the queen finally takes her crown

You both have such healthy appetites.

#11 "Because I Love Badminton"

But then, you're so active, and you're in your growth spurt.

Oh, no. My growth has stopped!

You'll always be a child to me, Uchika-shan.

I'm done.

Oh, there's cake in the fridge!

You two aren't speaking at all, are you?

No, but...

Well, she does have a match coming up.

Thank you for the meal!

Can I come in?

Before, you wanted my acknowledgment.

You wanted to be with me.

That's why you played badminton.

But now you can play badminton without me.

That's why I came back.

She seems pretty on edge.

Well, it's only three days to the finals.

That's true.

After all, she's playing...

Ayanon's been spacing out a lot these days...

Yeah. I've seen her like that several times.

What's she thinking about?

'Sup!

Hayama-senpai?!

H-Hey...

And Gaku-senpai!

Don't you need to study for entrance exams?

Well... Izumi would need to study, too!

Well, that's true.

I was just hoping I could help out

as a practice partner or something.

I guess that's sorta why we're here, too.

Right?

Well, Isehara's smart enough to be in the class top ten anyway, so...

What about Hayama-senpai?

R-Right...

Is he that bad?

W-Well...

You wouldn't be in the bottom ten, right?

Of course not!

Then, would you be in the bottom twenty?

Shut up!

I do it because I love it, okay?

Hey!

Would you play me?

Me?

Hayama-senpai seems more in-the-groove than he was during his match.

He does.

But even more than that, Ayanon's defense...

She was trained by Shindo Uchika,

the ten-time-straight national champion, after all.

21-5.

Huh?

You don't want to play the second set?

You've done enough, Hanesaki.

Aw, but he said he came here to play badminton.

Well, do you wanna play me instead, Nagisa-chan?

Let's save it for the finals.

You sound more relaxed about it.

Two days to the finals!

Sora-chan! You always put yours backward, huh?

It's tomorrow already, huh?

Both of you, get a lot of rest today, okay?

'Kay!

Though I doubt we're gonna get to three sets, anyway...

See you.

Hey!

I told you to rest!

Riko?

Boobs!

So big!

I want a piggy-back ride!

Stop it, Masako! Takako! Kitaro!

I want to ride!

A grasshopper!

It went that way!

Catch it!

Wait for me, guys!

Almost time for the finals, huh?

I'm rooting for you. Do your best.

Yeah.

Big Sis! Hurry!

Listen, Riko...

I...

Never mind.

I'm off!

Big Sis!

Mako fell asleep!

Let's go home.

What have I...

...been playing badminton for?

We sure played a lot together, didn't we?

The rule was that when it lands, it's over.

But you'd shout, "One more time!" and start crying.

Takes you back, doesn't it?

What have you been playing badminton for?

Me?

I play badminton because I love it.

Ah.

VS Konan High School

On my right, Hanesaki Ayano.

On my left, Serigaya Kaoruko.

Serigaya to serve.

Love-all. Play!

2018 All Japan High School Athletics Tournament Kanagawa Prefecture Preliminaries Finals Badminton Girls Singles Venue

There are more people here than I expected.

The finals are the only thing left.

Riko.

Yuka!

You came!

They wouldn't stop nagging me to come cheer her on.

Hey! That's not fair!

Yeah! All we did was mention the day and time!

By the way, I heard Nagisa's opponent is a new student at our school.

Heya!

Um...

I'm Hanesaki Ayano, and I'll be playing Nagisa-chan.

Nice to meet you!

I don't know about calling your club senpai "-chan."

Where is she, anyway?

I really messed up!

I should've gotten iced coffee instead.

It's almost August, after all.

Did you ever imagine a finals pairing like this?

No. I genuinely didn't expect Aragaki to come this far so easily.

I really am glad I asked you to coach, Kentaro-kun!

Well, it's not about me.

She's really worked hard.

In these three months,

she's gotten so much stronger than I could have imagined.

You mean, her game's gotten better?

That's part of it, but...

I mainly mean her mental state.

Lately, I feel how high her capacity is.

What about Ayano-chan?