As the second half of the match began, the nearby gallery of onlookers grew. Thanks to Takada-san constantly trying to start shit, this match had become a must-see for the first-years at Ashigaya High. Loads of people came to watch, including those from other classes. Well, even without Takada-san’s shit stirring, Kaho-chan and Satsuki-san playing basketball was a sight for sore eyes. So I got it. If I still had literally zero tolerance for public attention, like I used to, I wouldn’t have even been able to dribble right with so many eyes on me. Thanks a bunch, Rina Bun.
Our strategy required Hirano-san and Hasegawa-san to hang around the hoops and defend it to the last while the other three of us wasted as little attention on defense as possible. Instead, we poured all our energy into offense. Naturally, we made little headway in stopping them from scoring, but we’d expected that to happen. Instead, we effectively countered them, and this was reflected in the scores. 16–17. 16–19. 18–19. 18–21. 20–21. We weren’t exactly catching up completely, but neither were they expanding their lead. We were making it work somehow.
“They’re persistent,” Takada-san said.
“Uh-huh…” said Haga-san. “Not even our helper’s stopping them.”
They were both showing signs of fatigue now that they couldn’t make their lead as strong as they would have liked.
“I expected nothing less from the Quintet,” said Takada-san. “Where would the fun be if they weren’t this strong?”
Regardless of how she felt deep down, Takada-san was still the picture of bravado. That’s just what you had to do when you were at the head of the pack.
But we were also just as exhausted as our opponents.
“E-excuse me, Koyanagi-san,” said Hirano-san.
“Yeah, what’s poppin’?” panted Kaho-chan.
“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just…are you all right?”
“Eh, yeah, I’ll make it work. I trained a bunch, y’know?”
Kaho-chan used every bit of her nonexistent strength to flash a worried Hirano-san a peace sign. Actually, though, Kaho-chan was the most fatigued of us all. She’d been guarding and been guarded by Takada-san, the keystone of offense and defense, for ages now, and that was way too big a responsibility. Even though it was only a twenty-minute game, she’d basically been running full tilt the entire time. But with that being said, we’d lose our rebounds if she and Satsuki-san switched places.
So I suggested, “Hey, Kaho-chan, want to swap places with me?”
“Nuh-uh,” she said. “Not when we’re finally doing well.”
“But—”
“Look, I may not be athletic, but I’ve got a heck of a lot more enthusiasm in me than meets the eye.” She wrinkled her brow at me. Urgh. “Even if I crash and burn later, I still think it’s worth it to make good memories. I’ve never had a whole class come together like this, all hyped, y’know? So even if it’s tough, it’s fun. And I’m a-okay.”
I paused to think for a moment. “Okay, fine.”
Kaho-chan threw me a thumbs-up. And I got how she felt. I mean, I’d been so set on working my butt off that I contracted a fever.
“Just tell us if it gets to be too much, okay?” I said.
“Nuh-uh, I won’t.”
“Oh, come on!”
As we quibbled, Satsuki-san’s calm voice cut in. “They’re coming.”
Satsuki-san was the only one whose performance hadn’t suffered since the beginning of the match. It was baffling, since I’d never seen her exercise all that much prior to this. Did she have unlimited stamina or what?
Our scores were neck and neck, but it was so close I felt like I was balancing on a tightrope of spider silk. Yet that delicate balance had to snap sooner or later. If that happened while Class B was as tired as we were, then maybe we’d get our second wind. If we could turn the tides, maybe things would go in Class A’s favor.
However, the Goddess of Victory undeniably smiled on Class B.
Two of the players smacked together in midair and hit the ground with a dull thud. The spectators lost their minds, and I dashed over to the collision, just as flustered.
“Satsuki-san!” I cried.
Ace-san had been getting our rebounds for ages now, probably because we’d hurt the basketball club’s pride, and for the latter half of this game, she’d been ticked off and challenging Satsuki-san to a fierce dogfight. Nevertheless, Satsuki-san moved like a butterfly, won the ball, and kept up the offensive onslaught. It had been one of those kinds of things.
“I-I’m sorry!” Ace-san said. She hurried to offer Satsuki-san a hand up.
Satsuki-san seemed totally unfazed and made to accept her hand when her face warped. “Ow…”
“Satsuki-san?!” I cried.
Satsuki-san frowned. “Quiet down. There’s no need to make such a fuss.”
“Where’d she hit you?” I asked.
“Nowhere.” She held her ankle. “I just twisted my ankle a little.”
We stopped the match for a moment, and both classes gathered around her. I looked at the crowd of people.
“I-is anyone here on the nursing committee?” I asked.
“I tell you, I’m fine,” Satsuki-san insisted.
“No way, you’re not. Your poor ankle! You look like you’re in a ton of pain.”
“Not especially,” she said. “It’s fine. I’m just not very good at handling pain. I even cry when I get my vaccine shots.”
Kaho-chan swooped in to rebut, “Saa-chan, you wouldn’t react even if you got chomped by a crocodile.”
Oh, for heaven’s sake—now wasn’t the time to be joking around!
But Satsuki-san said peevishly, “If I duck out now, will you still be able to beat Class B?”
“No, but…”
We didn’t have any players to swap in, so the rules said we could find someone else—or, failing that, someone on Class B could drop out as well, and we’d continue with four versus four. There wasn’t even a full four minutes left on the clock. But they were still three points ahead, as ever, and with Satsuki-san out of the running, we stood zero chance of pulling ahead. But at the same time, there was no freaking way she could play like this. Yet…
Kaho-chan said what we were all thinking. “Not like things’ll go any better if you try and ignore the pain, Saa-chan.”
I was a little surprised. Kaho-chan was plenty outspoken, but I hadn’t expected her to be so straightforward even with Satsuki-san.
Satsuki-san looked away, like Kaho-chan had hit a nerve.
Takada-san came up to us. “Well, I suppose this is as far as you can go.”
“Not exactly,” Satsuki-san said. “I can keep playing.”
“Kindly don’t lie to me. Your ankle will only swell up worse.”
The basketball ace girl, the one who’d hurt Satsuki-san, blanched.
Satsuki-san addressed her, trying her hardest not to let emotion cloud her words. “Don’t worry. It wasn’t your fault. I have no plans to take revenge on you later.”
“O-okay.”
She probably meant it as a joke, but the fact that she hadn’t meant it didn’t make it any less scary…
As everyone looked on, Satsuki-san wobbled to her feet. “Honestly…” she sighed. “What an undignified exit.”
“Satsuki-san…”
I offered her a hand, and she looked at me. “And with this, we’ve now set the stage.”
Wait a sec. She wasn’t looking at me. Satsuki-san was staring past me at something else.
“I see you’re in quite the bad situation,” a voice behind me said. I turned to see a beautiful girl standing in the open doorway to the gym. “Perhaps I should lend my assistance.”
Golden hair aflutter, it was Oduka Mai.
Takada-san spat the name with vitriol. “Oduka Mai!”
“I was hoping to finish up in time to cheer you on, but are you by any chance in need of a substitute player?” Mai asked as she walked over from the gallery.
All the onlookers oohed and aahed, like “Are we about to see a showdown between the queens of Class A and Class B?”
Haga-san shouted above the hubbub, “H-hold on a sec! You can’t switch in a new person over fifteen minutes into the match. It’s not fair to bring in someone who’s all fresh and ready to go!”
She did make a good point.
“I agree, this is a task that requires the ability to stay on one’s feet for hours, and I do still have the energy for it. But with that being said, I have only just finished pitching an entire game of softball. Will that satisfy you?”
“Geh.” When Haga-san faltered, Mai’s attention turned to Takada-san.
“Takada Himiko-san,” she said. “I find it difficult to believe that you could boast about your victory over my class without vanquishing me as well. So, how about it?”
In front of so many people, and faced with such a provocation, Takada-san’s answer was obvious. “Why not?” she said. “In fact, this is excellent. All I want is complete and total victory over you. Now, let us be off to the courts, Oduka Mai!”
Mai chuckled. “Let’s.”
Satsuki-san, now being supported by a girl on the nursing committee, sighed in exasperation. “Mai,” she said. “You know what I’m going to say, right?”
“But of course. I’ll win for you too. It would never sit right with you if I didn’t, would it?”
“It wouldn’t make much difference to me either way,” she said. “I’m not that invested, personally. But make sure you win for her.”
Satsuki-san nodded to one more girl who’d run over after her own game was finished, the girl now nervously watching everything go down: Ajisai-san.
“S-Satsuki-chan!” she cried.
Satsuki-san raised a hand nonchalantly.