Chapter 147 – The Beginning
My voice echoed through the court, startling the people around me.
What were they even surprised about? Wasn’t it normal to cheer for my class? Maybe they were startled because I had been quiet all this time?
Even Umi, Nitta-san and the girls from class 11 were surprised.
“M-Maki-kun…”
“Amami-san, don’t you remember what Nitori-san and Houjou-san taught you? You have to keep your head high even when you’re losing! The game isn’t over yet, so don’t give up!”
“!”
That was the last piece of advice they gave to both Amami-san and Umi on the last day of their special training.
The two of them had poured all their efforts into learning every technique they could for today, but in the end, the most important thing was their mentality.
If they kept their gazes down, they wouldn’t be able to look at their teammates who were fighting together with them. If they kept their gazes down, their vision would be tunneled, they’ll feel all alone and feel that they lost because of themselves.
Because of her actions, Amami-san forgot about that advice.
Normally, Umi or Nitta-san would be there to remind her about this, but today, Umi was on the opposing side, she wasn’t in the position to cheer her up, while Nitta-san didn’t tag along for the special training, so she wouldn’t know.
So, it was up to me to remind her. As her friend and someone who was on her side.
“C’mon Yuuchin, hang in there! The first half isn’t over yet! There’s still the second half too, you can turn it around! Get ten three-pointers in a row, you’ll catch up to them in a flash!”
“Ninacchi…”
Nitta-san followed up with her own cheering for Amami-san in her usual tone.
When I looked at her, she was also looking back. She held up her index finger and showed me an indescribable smile. ‘You owe me another one’, was probably the meaning behind her smile. Hopefully I could repay her for everything one day.
Following Nitta-san, her teammates began to cheer on Amami-san’s side as well.
‘C’mon class 10, do your best!’
‘We’re up next, so warm the field properly for us, okay?~’
‘We won’t forgive you if you keep this boring play going!’
There weren’t many spectators, but gradually, more and more people started to raise their voices.
The cheering voices became the push Amami-san needed to move forward.
“Everyone! …Jeez! I’ve been so stubborn all this time! I lost sight of the most important thing!”
Slowly, she regained some of her composure.
She picked the ball that rolled off the court and approached Arae-san.
“Arae-san.”
“…What?”
“I’m sorry!”
She bowed deeply toward Arae-san.
“I told you that I don’t want to bring my personal matters into this, but because of my beef with you, I caused trouble for everyone on the team, our opponent’s and even the audience… I’m so stupid, aren’t I?”
“…”
Arae-san’s response was lackluster, but she didn’t ridicule or ignore Amami-san like she had done in the past. She stared at Amami-san’s figure intently.
“I tried my best to get along with you, but in the end, I still hate you. I mean, I haven’t done anything, yet you did all that to me, my friends and even now, you keep being a pain in my side.”
Unlike before, the confusion and anger she previously had, disappeared from her face.
“I’m sorry for snooping around about your past without your permission, but thanks to that, I know about your cool past. You were really amazing back then, you know? I don’t know much about basketball, but I can see how great your plays were. Not only that, even in a losing game, you led your team properly and refused to give up until the last second. I hate you, but after seeing all that, I can’t help but admire you a little…”
“S-So what? I hate you too.”
“Mm, I don’t really care about that, you’re free to do whatever you like, but…”
Amami-san held the ball firmly with her hands and offered it to Arae-san.
“For now, please cooperate with me. Everyone needs you, Arae-san. If we want to do something about this match, everyone, including you, needs to cooperate. So I beg you, please…”
“…”
Arae-san seemed befuddled after hearing Amami-san’s straightforward words. This was an actual match, so she couldn’t make excuses to leave the court like back in the practice match. She had to face Amami-san properly now.
“…I get where you’re coming from, but why are you trying so hard? Like I said, it’s just the class match, no need to take everything seriously. Besides, you don’t really need me, if we keep going with my plan, we’ll catch up to them in no time.”
“But that won’t guarantee us a win.”
Arae-san reacted to the word ‘win’.
“Do you still think that we can win this? Our class still has zero points and the first half is almost over. The second half only lasts for ten minutes. Do you still think we can win?”
“I mean~ It isn’t impossible, is it?”
“…Are you implying that we should make three ten pointers in a row?”
“Can’t we?~”
“…You’re such an idiot.”
“Hehe, my friends called me that a lot.”
“Tch… I hate you. Seriously, who do you think you are, a hero?”
Arae-san clicked her tongue before walking toward class 11’s defensive line, completely ignoring the ball in Amami-san’s hands.
The moment I thought that all Amami-san’s words were unable to convince her, Arae-san readied her stance.
“…What are you doing, Amami? Pass the ball to me.”
“Arae-san—”
“If you have the time to talk, then get into position. We still have time before the first half ends. Let’s score a three before it does, or else we’ll call the deal off.”
“L-Leave it to me! Sorry I’ve been selfish, everyone! C’mon, let’s do this!”
Finally, class 10 managed to settle things at the end of the first half and commenced their first real offensive.
The point difference was still large and they were in for an uphill battle, but I knew that they could put up a decent fight.
I looked at Umi and the rest of the members of class 11. Would they resent me because I did something completely unnecessary? After all, if I kept my mouth shut, they would be able to win the match easily.
‘Idiot.’
My eyes met with Umi’s and she mouthed that while pouting at me. I told her that I wanted her to win, but I cheered for her opponent instead. It was natural that she would be mad at me.
I’ll get an earful from her again, won’t I?
“Alright everyone, this is the real deal now! We’ll show them that they won’t be able to walk all over us that easily! We’ll silence them once and for all, let’s go!”
“““Roger!”””
But Umi’s face looked more cheerful than before.
Finally it was the start of the proper showdown between Amami-san and Umi.
