[ she's seen it twice-- enough to go on, to commit to memory, and to know that, for all intents and purposes, she's forced to dance to whatever bizarre and intricately coordinated tune he's fashioning. He could use that Laser of his at any time, and she's constantly aware of his movements, braced for a failed attempt to counter when he retreated to the baseline.
But Yagyuu is finding other ways to chip away at her, things she could have worked on, balls she could have hit if she'd been a little faster, a little more poised to react, instead of falling victim to a rallying pattern. Each missed ball is added to a growing list of things she'll have to practice later-- it's no different from making a mistake during rehearsal or a shoot, making note of it and striving to correct it so it didn't happen again. Not that it makes her any less frustrated, but she doggedly continues, hitting back any balls she can reach, and maybe she's beginning to feel like she's running an uphill marathon, and maybe she's wondering how long they've been at this, and maybe she realizes what he's doing, some part of her, that the differences mean he's gracefully drawing it to a close, and maybe she looks a little pained - no, not good enough, it's embarrassing to miss these, and trying just isn't good enough against someone of his caliber - but Rise plays on. Sometimes suspicious, sometimes second-guessing herself, always stubborn.
And when it does end, she won't allow for collapse. ]
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But Yagyuu is finding other ways to chip away at her, things she could have worked on, balls she could have hit if she'd been a little faster, a little more poised to react, instead of falling victim to a rallying pattern. Each missed ball is added to a growing list of things she'll have to practice later-- it's no different from making a mistake during rehearsal or a shoot, making note of it and striving to correct it so it didn't happen again. Not that it makes her any less frustrated, but she doggedly continues, hitting back any balls she can reach, and maybe she's beginning to feel like she's running an uphill marathon, and maybe she's wondering how long they've been at this, and maybe she realizes what he's doing, some part of her, that the differences mean he's gracefully drawing it to a close, and maybe she looks a little pained - no, not good enough, it's embarrassing to miss these, and trying just isn't good enough against someone of his caliber - but Rise plays on. Sometimes suspicious, sometimes second-guessing herself, always stubborn.
And when it does end, she won't allow for collapse. ]