Chapter 107

Two plastic bottles sat side by side, sweating condensation. I stared at our reflections, distorted within them. I tried to hold on to the moment, praying it would stay this way forever, but the sky seemed to be moving on, drifting farther and farther away. Instead of thunderclouds, swift puffy white cotton floated by. The bottles of Pocari Sweat from the freezer stayed frozen for longer and longer these days. The squeaking of rubber shoes on the gym floor sounded sharper in the dry air, and I realized that the floor I’d been lying on felt cooler against my hot skin. …Bit by bit, this year, as every year… True summer was coming to an end, and I felt a little sad about it. Maybe, somewhere in my heart, I thought it belonged to both of us. The season he and I had arrived at together…was like that. If fall was catching up fast, then I’d have to pass the baton. Then I’d just stand there and watch as someone else ran off in my place. Like a deflated basketball, lying forgotten in the corner of the clubroom. Things had certainly changed over the course of the summer. For me, him, and everyone else. I’ve got a sense that I can’t stay this naive, unworldly girl much longer. But I still feel out of step. It’s like I’ve lost track of where I’m going, like I’m stuck in a state of limbo. All I have is a heat deep inside my chest, urging me to do the next thing faster and faster. I know that if I delay, I’ll soon be left behind. And I realize that I haven’t accomplished anything yet. Still, I wish we could stay like this for a little while longer. …Him and me. I wished summer never had to end. One afternoon, with less than a week left in August. After morning club practice and lunch, I was on my way back to the clubroom. “Umi, do you have a moment?” Miss Misaki, our adviser, stopped me. “Uh, sure…?” I looked at her curiously. Miss Misaki often goes to the staff room immediately after the post-practice meeting, so it’s unusual for her to hang around until after we’ve all finished packing up. Usually when she wants to speak to me or Nana personally, it’s to consult on a club member who’s not feeling well or to give us little pep talks on days when we don’t practice as hard. But I had the feeling this time was different somehow. The team’s motivation had clearly increased since the game against Ashi High in July. Next time, we were gonna win. I mean it. I think everyone is working together toward that goal. The only person who’s not giving it their all is… Mind swirling with these thoughts, I walked over to Miss Misaki, who was sitting on a plastic chair with a frown on her face. When she spoke, her voice was quiet but emphatic. “There’s something I just want to check.” She sounded serious. I stood up a little straighter. …Maybe she’d seen right through me. Biting my lip, eyes down, I waited for the lecture to begin. But Miss Misaki just sighed. “Umi, uh, the thing is…” Miss Misaki was always so precise with her instructions. It was rare to hear her stumble over her words. Wow, I really must have been dropping the ball lately. Miss Misaki continued carefully. “I guess you won’t be finishing your summer homework assignment anytime soon, will you? I mean, uh, forget I said that.” “Wait… Er, what?” That was seriously the last thing I expected her to say. Miss Misaki looked away and continued apologetically. “I just thought I’d check, but… I have this friend, and every time we meet up she says, ‘Looks like you won’t be getting married anytime soon, right?’ and it really gets on my nerves.” “Miss Misaki… I’m really not sure what you’re asking me here?” “She flashes her wedding ring and then pretends to be all apologetic…” “…” “Hey, say something, Umi.” “Um, I think this is a conversation to have with a therapist, not— Yeek!!!” I got a solid slap on the butt, and I screamed out loud. Miss Misaki acts like a cool beauty and a strict teacher at school, but she doesn’t let you mess around like Kura does. And she’s really harsh on rule-breakers. But once you get used to her, she does have a surprisingly playful side. Everyone on the team adores her. It’s why we call her Miss Misaki instead of using her last name. It’s normal to show weakness sometimes, but Miss Misaki looked like she was genuinely upset about something. Kind of lost. I let my shoulders relax and decided to just go with it. “I’ve finished my homework and everything, you know?” “…don’t…be… silly…!” “What’s with the weird facial gymnastics?!” “I see, Umi. Are you going to avoid the issue, too?” “Can you stop acting like homework is the same as getting married?” We looked at each other for a moment, then both started laughing. Still, I can understand how Miss Misaki feels. Honestly, on the last day of summer vacation last year, I went sobbing to Yuzuki and begged her for help with the homework. It was the same in junior high. But this year, we had the summer study trip, and I got a lot done then. After that, I had some free time on my hands, too…so I filled it with homework and stuff. Like a form of meditation. So actually, my homework was all done and dusted. “Jokes aside, though,” Miss Misaki said. “You’ll be free tomorrow, right?” “Er, but we don’t have club practice scheduled for tomorrow…?” The schedule was set ages ago. A lot of club members won’t have finished their summer homework, so the break was meant to give them time to catch up. “Yes. As announced, no club tomorrow.” I nodded, waiting to find out what she was getting at. Miss Misaki got up from her plastic chair and continued with some delight. “Kei’s going to stop by.” “What?! She is?!” Kei was my predecessor. She was captain until we lost to Ashi High in the Inter-High qualifying round in June, and she played power forward. She was a team senior we could all rely on, with a gutsy playing style that capitalized on her height of five foot seven. Even after she quit the club and I became captain, she’d still give me advice every now and then. Buuut… “But why during summer vacation, when there isn’t even any club practice? She still hasn’t graduated. She could come by anytime after school…?” Miss Misaki waved a dismissive hand and smiled. “Ah, I misspoke. Kei is coming, but she’s not actually one of the main guests of honor.” “Okay…?” “Two of our old club alumni—they were third-years when Kei was a first-year—they also want to stop by, like old times.” “What?!” I couldn’t help but raise my voice and take a step forward. “So you mean they graduated right before we entered Fuji High?!” Miss Misaki grinned, like she’d been waiting for that reaction from me. “Yep. An ex-captain and an ex–star player.” “…” I remembered, even now. I watched the Inter-High preliminaries when I was in my last year of junior high and was totally unsure of what I wanted to do in my future. Ashi High has dominated Fukui girls’ basketball for years, always competing with Yuai Girls High and Hokuriku Technical High. Fuji High wasn’t a weak team by any means, but it still fell short of the real big-hitter schools. I think that’s how most people saw it, too. But that year, Fuji High defeated Yuai in the semifinals and made it to the finals. When I heard about it, I remember thinking that anything can happen in the world of sports. A team that’s inferior in terms of strength can still pull off a surprise victory. But basketball isn’t like baseball or soccer, where you play to defend every point. In basketball, it’s more of a free-for-all, with everyone trying to get as many points as possible. So there aren’t so many teams that completely dominate games. It’s simply a matter of mechanics. Sometimes it doesn’t pay off. Anyway, I’m not here to analyze it. But, for example, in baseball, if Chitose hits a home run and pitcher Uemura gets through the game without giving up any runs, theoretically that victory belongs to the two of them. If your pitcher is the star batter, too, then the game is basically won by a single person. In soccer, you could theoretically just grab the first goal—it doesn’t matter whether it’s an opponent’s mistake or the outstanding performance of an ace striker—and then just tighten up your defense and pass the ball around until the clock runs out. That’s not how it usually shakes out, but it is technically possible. But basketball has many detailed time limits, including rules that require you to take a shot within a set number of seconds, so no matter what you do, the game keeps moving fast. The only way to win is to attack as a team and accumulate as many points as possible. In other words, the overall strength of the team is directly linked to the results. In the world of basketball, it’s possible enough to win in the preliminaries, but the prestigious schools that are always aiming for the top spots in the country aren’t easy opponents. You can’t rely on luck or momentum. So when my teammates and I talked about going to watch the finals, I was absolutely expecting an Ashi High victory… But at the end of a pitched battle, it was Fuji High who snatched that coveted ticket to the Inter-High tournament. Even thinking about it now makes my chest burn with excitement. Ninety percent of the audience was convinced of Ashi High’s impending victory, but each member of the Fuji High team ran, jumped, and shot with all their might, competing equally with athletes from prestigious schools from all over the country. I think it was definitely luck and momentum. But more than that, they showed confidence. Their steadfast practicing paid off. Leading Fuji High was a point guard who made passes so accurate, you’d think she had GPS in her head for the ball. And a small forward who took those passes and drove like a rabid wolf toward the basket, scoring point after point. …I was like, huh. So even in public college prep schools, there are students who take basketball seriously enough to aim for the top. I’d been torn between going to Fuji High like my parents wanted, for the sake of my future, and my own desire to attend Ashi High and compete on the national stage. But that was the moment I knew which way I had to go. Since then, those two senior girls have been legends to me. I worshipped them. It’s the Cinderella story every sports player dreams of. An ordinary team from a public school beats the big shots and goes on to win the championship. Miss Misaki was still talking even as I was getting lost in the amazing memories. “Both of them are attending a university in the Kanto region with a very strong team, and they’re competing in the intercollegiate tournament for the championship. Apparently, they got in touch with Kei because they’re home on break from summer practice, and they all decided to drop by and say hello.” “Um, Miss Misaki…!” But before I could finish my sentence, Miss Misaki grinned. “You’re interested, huh?” I nodded immediately. “And do you think we could use the gym?” Miss Misaki covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking. “I thought you’d ask. I already checked. The other clubs are on break tomorrow as well.” “Do you think the older girls will, like…come in sportswear?” “Well, they’re not the kind of people who’d show up at the gym without their basketball shoes.” My heart was thudding in my ears. I was excited to meet the senior girls, yes, but it was more than that… Recently I’ve been plagued by that weird limbo feeling. I thought I might be able to shake it off and live my life again. I’d finish up the summer properly and get moving toward next year. For some reason, I had a feeling this would help. “Oh, right… Nana…” I was just turning, thinking I should go to the clubroom and tell my partner, when Miss Misaki clapped me on the shoulder. “I already told her. But it seems she has plans she can’t miss out on. She would have liked to come, she said. Seemed disappointed.” “Oh… Okay.” A point guard and small forward. Their play style would be similar to ours, so I thought it might serve as a good source of inspiration. At that moment, suddenly… Before I knew it, his familiar face popped into my head. “Um, there’s someone I’d like to bring with me… Is that okay?” You could tell by the way I said it that I wasn’t talking about a teammate. But Miss Misaki didn’t ask questions. She just sighed a little. “Don’t get too excited.” She raised her eyebrows meaningfully. It’s okay. I won’t, I thought. The basketball I loved, some amazing older players, someone I wanted to get on an equal footing with, someday… All these aspects of my life could use a little extra fire. …Let’s hope the fire in me is up to the task. Then the following day. The meeting with Kei and the others was scheduled for four PM. I got to school a little after three, planning to get the court ready and do my warm-ups. I double-checked to make sure I still had the key I’d brought home (with Miss Misaki’s permission), then headed to the gym. Skreek. Thud. Thud. A pleasant sound reached my ears. I’m pretty sure I can tell a person’s skill with the ball just from the sound of their dribbling. I once said that to Nana, and she was like, “Yeah right!” It’s true, though. The sharpness of their footwork, the confidence of their dribbling, the accuracy of their shots… The better players all have a unique rhythm to their playing style. I reckon I could pick Nana out of a lineup just by listening. I sighed heavily. Seriously? Whoever was practicing right now was really good. So good, it made me scowl. Still frowning, I stepped into the gym to see a tall girl, about five foot nine, flying across the gym like she weighed as much as a feather. Her hair was short but flowing, while her form was straight and firm. At the apex of her jump, the ball spun forth from her nimble fingertips. Phwoosh. It dropped right through the basket, barely even ruffling the net. Thump, thump, thump—the ball came my way, and I grabbed it. She noticed me and gave me a big grin. “Huh? Am I late?” She looked like she was completely warmed-up already, her neck covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Returning the ball one-handed, I answered. “Nope. We’re meeting at four. But why are you here before me, Mai? You don’t even go here.” Mai shrugged, unbothered. “The place wasn’t even locked. And during summer vacation, no one batted an eye at a girl in her practice clothes. Plus, I’ve been here before, so I know your campus. I just strolled right on in through the school gates. Oh, and this is my own personal ball.” “I’m not asking how you got in. I’m asking what you’re doing here in the first place.” Holding the ball in both hands, she gave me a response that surprised me. “You said you’d be here early today.” “I don’t remember inviting you to join me.” “Oh, but it sounded like you were asking me out.” “Tsk…” I scratched my head, annoyed, but I couldn’t help grinning. No, I didn’t ask her to join me. But I did tell her I’d be training on my own for a while before. And I figured maybe she’d show up like this. It’s more like leaving an itinerary on someone’s desk as opposed to sticking a love letter in their locker. …Mai Todo. The ace of the Ashi High team. She’s been a shooting guard since her freshman year. I’ve been winning games since I was playing in the kid leagues, but I’ve never won against any team with Mai Todo on it. The practice game back in July was a tough battle, but in the end, she bested me. But since then, even though I’ve only seen her as my rival and archnemesis, she seems to have taken a liking to me. These days, we chat pretty often. So after my talk with Miss Misaki yesterday, I figured, if Nana can’t come, I’ll ask Mai… So I sent her a message on LINE. Sure enough, within seconds, she called me back like, “Are you asking me out on a date?” Apparently, Mai was there the day Fuji High defeated Ashi High. She’d been dead set on Ashi High up until then, but after that game, she’d started to seriously consider Fuji High as well. Kinda like me. “Still, I couldn’t hack it grades-wise, so I changed my mind about Fuji.” “Yeah, I get it.” “It’s actually kinda amazing how you even got in, isn’t it, Haru?” “…Yeah, I get it.” That was what we’d said during our phone chat. And she was right; sometimes I have no idea how I actually managed to pass the entrance exams for Fuji. At that time, all I was thinking about was getting into Fuji High and defeating Ashi High, and so I was devoting as much energy to my studies as I did to basketball. I was pretty pleased with what I could do when I put my mind to studying, but the moment I was accepted into Fuji, I started burning out, and I quickly fell to the bottom half of the class. I’d like to blame it on how hard basketball training is, but Yuzuki and others are keeping their grades at the top, so I can’t make excuses. Come to think of it, Mai also said something like this: “Isn’t your partner and point guard that girl Yuzuki? When I won in the quarterfinals last year, I was a little envious. It was like you two were a real unit.” “You say that after totally blowing our whole team away.” “Well, I got mad.” “Hmm, would you consider yourself a jealous person, then?” “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be so passionate about my boyfriend, basketball here.” “Well, yeah.” I thought she was the cool type on the surface, like Nana, but sometimes she doesn’t know when to let things drop, and it’s annoying. Still, when we talk like this, it’s kinda nice. We have a connection. I mean, there’s someone so close to me who’s just as serious as me, just as stupid as me, and so much better than me that it makes me laugh. Of course, I feel the same thing when I play with my partner Nana, but right now, it’s this girl who kinda gets to me more than anyone else. Maybe I invited Mai here today because I unconsciously wanted someone around who’d match my level of energy for basketball. When I got back from changing in the clubroom, I found that Mai had started getting stuff ready, since I’d given her the key to the gym. She had the ball and scoreboard out, even though no one had given her permission. Maybe she was just shameless, or maybe she just felt at home anywhere there was a basketball court. “Hey, Haru. Wanna warm up?” “Yeah, in this weather, a light jog and stretching should do it.” “Okay, I’ll do it with you.” In the winter, I’m more careful about warm-ups and stretches, but even though it’s the end of summer, it’s still mild, so my body’s not stiff at all. I spoke to Mai as we started running together. “By the way, how long do you usually practice at Ashi?” “Hmm, usually, we practice for about an hour in the morning, and then we practice for about three hours after school, I’d say? On Saturdays, Sundays, and long holidays, I do a lot of independent practice on my own.” “What, seriously?!” “Ah-ha! You thought we had a ton more practice time than you do, didn’t you?” “…” She was right, and I wasn’t sure what to say. If you think about it, Ashi High School is a public school no different from ours, but because of their school’s powerful reputation, I somehow assumed the school allowed them to practice longer than us. Our school’s primary focus is getting us ready to go to college, so we’re forced to do what we can with our study-free time. It is true that there are some private high schools in the world that have lots of dedicated time for practice. But when I heard that Ashi was basically the same as Fuji… I didn’t know what to think. Now I had no room for excuses. “So, what kind of practice do you do?” I looked down at my feet. Mai’s stride was narrow, and even though she was jogging, she seemed a little cramped. When I looked up, she was about a head taller than me. Her legs were also a lot longer than mine. Mai replied with a chuckle as she casually sped up. “It’s pretty simple. Tommy really puts a lot of emphasis on basic training, doing hard circuits every morning. We do weighted squats.” “Gah…” Tommy was short for Tominaga, their coach. Apparently, our two coaches go way back, and you can often see them chatting together during games. Circuit training is a combination of muscle training and aerobic exercise. To put it simply, it’s like a super tough obstacle course. We set up a number of training spots around the gymnasium, such as hurdles and heavy medicine balls, and run around them. In the summer, it’s a tough workout that often makes several first-years collapse. We do it on weekends and long vacations when we don’t have any games, but to do it every morning… Mai seemed to love my reaction. Swelling with pride, she continued. “And we run a lot. We’re a mountain school, so they make us run sprints over and over at a nearby hilly area called Jigokuzaka, or Hell Slope.” Maybe that’s why she never looks even slightly winded in the second half, I thought, frowning. “Honestly, I’m a little surprised,” I said. “I thought Ashi High put more emphasis on technical training and actual play.” “Of course, we do things like that, too. According to Tommy, ‘Technique is like a sword. You need to be strong enough to wield it while you’re running, or it’ll be useless to you.’” “I guess that’s one very specific way of looking at it…” “By the way, Tommy’s favorite phrase is: ‘You are not women; you are warriors.’” “Seriously?” Wow. I really, really underestimated Mai’s team. I had the mistaken impression that prestigious players like those from Ashi High just practiced smarter and in a more sophisticated manner. Maybe I could use this info to our advantage… We may not be doing as well in terms of individual ability or tactical proficiency, but if we kept practicing the basics and worked on our stamina, we might have a chance. I mean, Mai and her team were the same. Talented players from all over the country were working hard, but never taking a single win for granted. That’s why they’re so formidable. Theirs is a wall that can’t be knocked down without considerable effort. While I was chewing over what I’d learned, Mai tossed her head casually. “By the way, is that boy coming?” “That boy…?” “You know, Saku.” “Hey, don’t call him by his first name.” Even I still called him Chitose. I kinda wanted to call him Saku… But I’d been calling him Chitose since first year. It would be weird to switch now, especially when there was no obvious reason to change it. Now, if we started dating or something… “Chitose, then. Why are you so prickly about him anyway?” When Mai and I started messaging back and forth, the first thing she asked was, “Is that guy who came to watch the practice game your boyfriend?” I immediately said no way, but she wouldn’t back down at all. And I got a bit carried away and ended up saying all this stuff I kinda regret now. Mai continued, super casually. “I mean, on our team, romance is forbidden.” “What…?” “I told you, right? We’re warriors, not women. At least for the three years we play basketball at Ashi.” I’d heard rumors of this sort of thing… Some prestigious sports schools, where the kids stay in dorms, have rules about relationships, too. At that time, I’d just casually said, “Well, if you really want to concentrate on the competition, it’s only natural.” Because for me, romance was a completely different matter, and it had so little value that I could easily throw it away for the sake of basketball. But now…I understood why such a draconian rule might be necessary. Boy, did I understand. I felt lost…confused…hurt…in limbo. If you asked me now if basketball was all I think about in life, I wouldn’t be able to lie to you. Mai continued calmly, like it was no big deal to her. “Everyone has to have their hair cut short. We’re supposed to eat two bowls of rice before coming to morning training. Phones are banned at school. Some of us even cancel our cell phone contracts completely. I keep mine because I like to watch NBA games and rewatch videos of myself playing, to check my form. Anyway, I rarely have time to think about anything except basketball.” “You have to go that far…?” Wow, those girls really dedicated everything to this. Their time. Living their lives. Enjoying entertainment. The precious fleeting youth every high school girl takes for granted. This is what it means to seriously aim for the top. This is what it means to not want to lose to anyone. And even for Ashi High, the national pinnacle was still so far out of reach. I bit my lip hard so Mai wouldn’t notice. If this continues, I will never be able to catch up. The truth is, I’ve already figured it out—the true source of the anxieties I feel. Until that day and that moment, I lived only for basketball. I wasn’t bound by strict rules like the Ashi High girls, but I think that I was giving my all to my sport, too. …But then I learned about romance. Suddenly, I found myself thinking about Chitose more and more often. I began to spend some time learning about beauty and fashion, trying to figure out what to do to make someone fall in love with me. These days, if he invited me to dinner or something, I’d probably be fine with skipping solo practice. …There’s no doubt about it. I’m weaker than I used to be. After that heated practice match with Ashi High, I confessed my feelings. Ever since then, I’ve felt burned-out, just an empty shell of myself. I may have gone the wrong way, but it doesn’t mean I don’t care about basketball anymore. I’m still grappling with how I felt during that battle with Mai… It’s like there’s two boys I want to give my heart to, and I can’t choose, so I’m cheating on both. I wish I could say that basketball is basketball and romance is romance, but I just don’t think I can. For example, up until now, all I could think about was defeating Ashi High and winning the Inter-High championship. But now I’m thinking much more long-term. Will I continue playing serious basketball in college? What about when I start working? If I continue on this path, one day I’ll have to say good-bye to him. But if I get it all out of my system in high school and decide to leave basketball behind, then there’s a possibility that we could go to university together. …I already have this huge handicap, with my height. As it stands now, I may not have a chance of ever defeating Ashi High, let alone posing a serious threat to Mai… I guess I have to choose. Who do I love more? Him or basketball? I guess you have to give up on the second most important thing in order to get the most important thing. Mai continued casually—or was it fake-casually…? “That’s why I want to ask you. I was just wondering what it’s like to have someone you like, to be in love.” It sounded to me like she was criticizing me for not being more serious about basketball. I picked up the pace and stayed silent, head hanging. After finishing the warm-ups, we were doing some light shooting practice, playing one-on-one, when I heard a voice call out to me from the doorway. “Uuumiii!!!” I turned to see Kei, our old captain, waving at me. Beside her stood Miss Misaki and those two seniors I’d never been able to forget. They all wore training gear. “Kei!” I ran over to her, and she flung her arms open to give me a big hug. “Hey, it’s been a while, kiddo. You’re still so small.” “And you’re as huggy as ever, Kei.” “Hmm, but have you become a bit more feminine…?” “Don’t touch my boobs! I’ll drop-kick you, I mean it!” After we finished greeting each other again, I beckoned Mai over. “Erm, this is…” “Mai Todo?!!!” Kei took a step back and let out a cry of surprise. Maybe she remembered the thrashing we got in the Inter-High qualifying round. Mai looked tickled. “Are you the power forward? You were amazing during that game.” “Wow, even the girls from Ashi High are so nice!” Kei responded with her usual enthusiasm. Surprisingly, Mai seemed to remember players from other teams as much as they remembered her. When we first met up at this gym, I’d imagined other players in the prefecture were like ants to her… “But each one’s playing style is baked in to her mind.” In the end, Chitose was right. And here I was, thinking about him again. I scratched my head, looking at Miss Misaki. I’d told her I practiced with Mai from time to time, so she didn’t seem too surprised to see her. “Is this cool, Miss Misaki?” “Sure, the more the merrier.” Mai piped up again. “Tommy said to go and get a good hard practice in with you guys.” “Oh yeah?” Smiling wryly, Miss Misaki turned to the seniors and said, “Well, let me introduce you. The shorter one is Aki, the captain and point guard on our old team. The taller one is Suzu, the small forward who was our ace. Aki, Suzu, this is Umi, the girl I was telling you about. And this is Mai Todo, the current ace at Ashi High School. Let’s all have a good practice today.” ““For sure!”” We all bowed to one another. Mai is generally frank with everyone, but perhaps because she’s an athlete, she greets people in a polite manner. Aki was the one with a short permed bob dyed a light brown, which she had pulled back with a slim headband. She took a step forward, her round eyes fixed on me with interest. “Nice to meet you both. Umi, I heard from Miss Misaki that you’re really small. At university, I get told I’m small a lot.” Aki was around five foot two, a little shorter than Nana. Not particularly tall for a serious basketball player, but still tall enough to make me envious. I was starstruck, so I got a bit tongue-tied. “I went to see your final game against Ashi High! I admired both of you so much, that was actually what made me decide to go to Fuji.” “Oh really? Yeah, that was really our golden era. Unfortunately, Kei had nothing to do with it.” “Hold on, Aki!” Kei yelped as the conversation suddenly turned to her. Yeah, she’d been in the game at the time, as a first-year regular, and I remember thinking she had real spirit. I piped up, grinning ironically. “Ah, but with Aki and Suzu dominating the game, it kinda doesn’t even matter what the rest of the team did…” “Wow, thanks, Haru!” As we all laughed together, I started thinking. Aki seemed very different from how she’d come across on the court. No matter what was happening in the game, she was cool as a cucumber, and her passes were sharp as icicles in midwinter. But off-court, she seemed so nice and personable. As I was slowly processing this small surprise, Aki tapped the floor with the toe of her shoe, a thoughtful look on her face. “But can you really hang out with the ace of Ashi High? Back then, we really wanted to win, so we thought of them as our rivals.” “…” It was a deep cut. She was saying I was too soft, befriending someone I was supposed to want to destroy on the court. Like, “Wow, you’re not so serious about the game, are you?” While I stood there tongue-tied, Mai responded instead. “Oh, interesting. So you’re the type who can’t play their best without making enemies, hmm?” “Hold on, Mai!” I panicked at Mai’s confrontational tone, but Aki just smiled with half her mouth, like she was enjoying it. “Aha! Just the attitude I’d expect from the ace of Ashi High. I remember how smug you girls all were back then. I wanted to make you choke on your words!” That was when Suzu, who’d been quietly watching the exchange, stepped forward. She was probably around five foot five, and her whole body was lean and toned. The bridge of her nose could have been sculpted from marble, and her short hair—shorter even than Mai’s—looked really good on her. I couldn’t help but admire her. Like, she was so cool. Without changing her expression, Suzu spoke. “This is a waste of time.” “Huh…?” There was a coldness to her voice, which surprised me. For a moment, I thought I’d misheard. On the court, Suzu played with an intense fighting spirit, so somehow, I’d imagined her to be a passionate sort of person. Maybe she was just scolding her partner Aki in a friendly way, I thought, but her cold gaze was undoubtedly directed toward me and Mai. “We came here to take advantage of our limited time on break and receive some instruction for the first time in a while. I’m sorry, but we didn’t come here to hang out with high schoolers.” “Um, er…” I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak properly. I could see why she’d say that. Maybe that’s why they deliberately chose a day when there were no club activities. Maybe I was the one who’d intruded, and I should have thought more about how my actions would affect them. She was truly dedicated to basketball, and that was why she was taking this so seriously. Maybe this was selfish of me, but after dreaming of meeting these girls for so long, I felt… Mai piped up, one eye on me as I wilted. “You certainly wouldn’t want to lose against me when I only came here today to have fun, right?” Suzu narrowed her eyes. “I know that Ashi High has a strong team, as does the current Fuji team. But students from a private university are on a whole other level.” Mai took it casually but showed no sign of backing down. “Actually, we usually win against boys’ teams and university teams, too.” “Well, mediocre university teams are one thing, but we compete for the championship in the intercollegiate tournament. And we beat Ashi High and went to the Inter-High tournament, now, didn’t we?” “You beat an Ashi High that didn’t have me.” The atmosphere was crackling with tension. I sneaked a peek at Miss Misaki and Kei. But neither seemed to want to interfere. They were just watching all this unfold. Aki clapped her hands noisily. “Oh, back off, Suzu. Let’s just hang out with some cute juniors today and have fun with it. Umi’s aiming for Inter-High, too, you know. Instead of standing here arguing, why don’t you let the basketball do the talking?” As Suzu sighed and gave up, Mai immediately spoke. “Kei, Miss Misaki, can you play?” Kei answered with a little smile. “I still train sometimes, although I’m a long way from my peak back when I still played.” Miss Misaki grinned confidently, arms folded. “I won’t be beaten by a bunch of high school and college students who are still wet behind the ears.” “All right,” Mai replied. “Then let’s play three-on-three, full court. Actually, when we do this exercise at Ashi, we do it with no dribbling allowed. But this time, let’s just play normally. Rules are the same as in a true game. No knockouts. Two quarters with a ten-minute break in between. What say you all?” A true scrap. That was basically what Mai was proposing. According to the international 3v3 rules, the game is half court and is equivalent to one quarter. The game uses a knockout system in which either team wins when they score twenty-one points or more. Mai was proposing that we get rid of all those constraints and simply play three-on-three basketball. As the number of players decreases, the amount of work each person needs to put in increases. Mai mentioned it super casually, but if Ashi High does this with no dribbling allowed, it must make for a super intense practice. Aki clapped her hands again. “Let’s do it. Miss Misaki, you’ll play on our side.” “Hey, Aki! Don’t treat me like a handicap! You should play like the old team you once were. Kei on your side, and I’ll play for Umi’s side.” “…Sure you can still run at your age, Teach?” “Hmm? You seem to have gotten cocky in college. Perhaps I’ll give you a cold dose of reality.” Suzu rolled her eyes, looking bored. “We’ll play for half an hour. But if you feel like you’re going to collapse, feel free to call it early.” I felt like I was being left behind, watching them, and it made me anxious. After waiting for the seniors to finish their warm-ups, we gathered in the center circle. My team consisted of me, Mai, and Miss Misaki. The other team was Aki, Suzu, and Kei. Despite finally being able to play against players I admired so much…I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic. After what Mai said earlier, I was starting to wonder if maybe I really didn’t care enough about basketball after all. Aki was holding the ball and called out to me in a casual way. “Both Umi and Mai shoot one-handed? Cocky, huh?!” I guess she’d been watching us practice shooting. Japanese girls, especially in high school, are generally two-handed players, but Nana, Mai, and I are one-handed players, just like the boys. All of the seniors, including Kei, shoot two-handed. “Well, the coach I had for mini basketball taught us to shoot one-handed, so…” I trailed off, but Mai stepped in. “Yeah, I’ve always shot one-handed. Actually, on our team, it’s policy. It’s easier to miss when you shoot two-handed.” Oh yeah, come to think of it, that was how the Ashi High girls shot. The main reason why two-handed shooting is the norm for women is that we lack strength compared to men. It’s just easier to use both hands. Your shot becomes sturdier as a result. On the other hand (heh), as Mai said, it’s difficult to get as much control when you shoot two-handed. If you don’t have enough force or you’re not accurate enough, you can blow it. A one-handed shot, though, you can get it in even if you’re not ideally positioned. Two-handed shots tend to be unreliable unless you’ve got a nice clean line to the basket. It’s harder to pull off in a scrappy game. So the current consensus among female basketball players is that if you can pull it off, one-handed is better. In fact, in Japan there are still many two-handed players, but more and more teams like Ashi High have a one-handed policy. And female players in other countries almost always shoot one-handed. Aki pouted jokingly. “Hmm. I feel like I’m being told I’m out of touch here.” Mai was still as combative as ever. “Times have changed. So has Ashi High. You’ll see.” Before I could try to leap in and smooth things over, Aki shrugged and said, “All right.” “Let’s do it. Miss Misaki, can you do the tip-off? Kei, start the timer. Set it for thirty minutes. I’ve set up scoreboards by both baskets, so whoever gets a basket, go and record the score. We’ll referee ourselves, but Miss Misaki will have final say if we need it.” We all nodded. The other team’s jumper was tall Suzu. On our team, of course, it was Mai. As we faced off across the center line, Aki grinned. “All right. Let’s get some real fire in our hearts.” There was a brief moment of silence. Up until then, Aki had been smiling and joking, but now the emotion was gone from her face. Her lovely eyes grew sharp and brittle, like thin ice. Meanwhile, expressionless Suzu lowered her brows and gritted her teeth. Her whole body was brimming with power. A chill ran down my spine. I got a flashback of the two of them in that finals match. Right… Nothing’s changed. That’s the truth. Mai seemed to sense something as well. Relaxing her arms and legs, she dropped into a power stance. The atmosphere grew thick with tension. Aki, Suzu, Mai… They were all so different, but all focused on the battle ahead. And what about me? I’m on form with my pacing, my shooting, my dribbling. The problem is my mind. I’ve lost track of where I’m going. I can’t keep up. Dammit! I wanted to mentally punch myself. Why did I come here today, again? Didn’t I get into Fuji High because I wanted to be just like these girls? Didn’t I want to crush Mai and grab that coveted Inter-High spot? Come on! Why isn’t my heart burning?! Is this all I’ve got? While I stood there desperately trying to motivate myself, Miss Misaki lifted the ball. For now, I figured I’d see what I could do against these older girls. It would be fine. Once the game started, my sporting instinct would kick in. I lowered my center of gravity as the ball spun upward. Suzu and Mai jumped at the same time. SLAM! Two hands slapped the ball simultaneously as it reached the apex of its spin, both trying desperately to send it to the other side. They jump so high, I thought with a small gasp. I knew Mai could fly, but Suzu was still taller and not far behind. The ball came spinning toward me. All right. Let’s go. As I took a step… …Skreeek. A nimble form leaped in front of me, shoes squealing. “Too slow, kiddo.” Aki stole the ball and started running. “Darn it!” I chased after her right away. Now, speed is one of my strengths. If the other person’s dribbling, I can catch up to them easily… “Huh?” But when I drew level with Aki, she no longer had the ball. She passed it? But when? “Mai!” I yelled out reflexively. Kei had left the court to start the timer, and Miss Misaki seemed to be waiting for her to return. So there were only four active players at that moment. There was only one person Aki could pass to, and, of course, Mai should be marking her. “Hyah!” Suzu yelled, sounding excited. She grabbed the ball and drove forward to the basket. Her dribbling was so powerful, totally at odds with her usual cool demeanor. Of course, Mai was also on defense. Even though she’s tall, she’s dangerous because she knows how to move her body. But Suzu dashed through like she didn’t even care. Perhaps it was complacency or trust, but Aki seemed to have decided to just watch this one-on-one for now, and she didn’t move much after making her pass. Near the three-point line, Suzu paused for a moment. Mai immediately moved between the basket and Suzu and spread her arms. I was expecting Suzu to go straight for the basket, but perhaps she had the guts to switch up her approach. Checking Mai’s stance, she dipped low. “Hyah!” After making a slight feint to the left, Suzu immediately drove in from the right. Of course, Mai wasn’t so easy to get past, but… …Stamp. …Fwshh. “No…!” I couldn’t help but let out a cry as I watched an unbelievable scene unfold before my eyes. Mai wasn’t fooled by the feint, of course; she tried to block, but she was bested by Suzu right in front of the basket, and she ended up on her butt. Of course, Suzu was able to comfortably score a layup after that. I ran over and offered Mai my hand… “Tch.” She got up, scowling with anger. Well, yeah. I’ve landed on my butt in plenty of games, but I’ve never seen Mai Todo disgraced like that before. She’s impressive even if you’re just watching her in a game, but if you actually go up against her, you’ll see that her core is surprisingly strong, and she’s not the type of player you can easily overpower. It was easy enough to believe that she ate two bowls of rice every morning. Suzu had finished retrieving the ball. “Defense isn’t your strength, is it?” she said. “Your center of gravity is poor.” Maybe it was because her fire had been lit, but the way Suzu spoke seemed a little rougher. Mai’s mouth twitched before she drawled a response. “Thanks for the tip.” She grabbed the ball and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “…She’s good with her hands.” Ah, yeah. When Mai tried to restart the game, Suzu popped her thumb up. “Don’t flip the score. It’s my basket. I’ll do it.” “…Fine. All right.” Mai watched with annoyance as the score was updated; then she threw the ball right to me. The opposing team had all returned to their own territory. We’d allowed them to take the lead, but Kei and Miss Misaki were in the game now, and the real action was about to begin. In three-on-three, positions aren’t clear like when there are five players per team. As the number of people decreases, each person needs to take on a wider variety of roles. Once I passed the ball to Miss Misaki in the middle, I moved out to the right side, and Mai went to the left. Just as I crossed the half-court line, Aki started marking me. It looked like Suzu planned to mark Mai, and Kei would be marking Miss Misaki. With only three people per team, it’s hard to defend properly, so this is the only way to do it. All right. One goal at a time. For a split second, Aki paused to see where Mai was, and I took advantage of it to get away from her. At that instant, Miss Misaki sent me a pass that made me a target. “Hyah!” Aki may have bested me earlier, but my true strength is offense. I grabbed the pass at a run and used that momentum to dribble forward. I wanted to go straight for the basket, but I was being crowded out and knew I couldn’t break through so easily. I glanced at Miss Misaki and Mai to see what they were doing. I slowed down, then pressed forward again. Once I was sure Aki was still on me… Skreech. …I dug my heels in and skidded to a stop. My position wasn’t ideal, but so what? I jumped forward and got myself into shooting stance, even though my opponent could clearly block me. However… “…I know what you wanna do.” I heard Aki’s sarcastic voice, then a slamming sound. My pass was deflected by the hand of my opponent, completely blocking my shot. Shit, she knew exactly what I was trying to do. “You looked too much at the person you wanted to pass to,” Aki called. “It was obvious you weren’t gonna shoot.” Aki had already taken off down the court. “Dammit!” I couldn’t shake her. Right. Too late to be angry now. The ball had passed to Kei. From there, Suzu broke forward, away from Mai. In the blink of an eye, they’d secured a second basket. Aki adjusted her headband, grinning. “I can see you’re confident in your dribbling and speed. Those are your strengths, as a little shrimp. But you’re too fixated on it. Passing isn’t an escape route when you get stuck.” “…Right.” I responded with my head down. Aki’s words were a bit cold, perhaps because she was in competition mode, but she was definitely giving advice to me. And it was good advice, too. With the exception of the first one-on-one between Mai and Suzu, Aki and the others were unusually good at getting rid of the ball. I’d seen it during that decisive match, and just from this short bout so far. In other words, the time they spent handling the ball was brief. They kept it moving. A player who runs while dribbling will never be as fast as a player who passes quickly. Of course, it’s easier said than done to pull that off during actual play. This was probably a result of the trust that Aki and her team had cultivated and the time they’d spent working together. During Fuji games, I tend to leave control of the match to Nana. The passing between the other teammates, including myself, is pretty lax. I think some things are just innate. As Aki said, I believe that my strength lies in dribbling down court and scoring goals, and that’s why I’ve always focused on those things. Of course, I’m not so arrogant that I never pass, but in any situation, I always think first about whether I can make the right decision by myself. Dammit. There’s so many ways I come up short. The timer reached six minutes before we could gather any momentum for a comeback. The score was 13 to 7, and the others had never lost the lead they’d had since the start of the match. We’d gotten three baskets from Mai, including a three-pointer. Miss Misaki was actively playing a support role and not going in to score points herself. And as for me? I was totally letting us down. As I was thinking about this, Mai came toward me, holding up her right thumb and forefinger and swirling them around, just when the play was over. I guessed she wanted us to change up who we were marking. “Haru, let’s try this. I’ll go over here.” She headed toward Aki. I ran to Suzu, who was grabbing a pass from Kei. Suzu was a small forward, like me. Although we are completely different in height, we both aggressively aim for the basket. “I’m hoping to learn a lot from you today,” I said, but Suzu just snorted. “If you’re the ace, I feel sorry for your team.” “You mean my height?” “That barely factors in at this point.” Before I could finish speaking, Aki passed the ball right over my head. I decided that there was nothing I could do about this, and followed after Suzu. She got the pass from Aki around the three-point line, then dribbled slowly, waiting for the right time to make her move. I blocked her path to the basket and settled in, ready to break left or right at a moment’s notice. Unexpectedly—or maybe by design—we were in the same kind of position as she’d been in earlier with Mai. Squeeeak. I tried a simple feint, just shifting my center of gravity, and Suzu tried to break to my left. With this height difference, the moment she got even a little distance, one jump shot would be all it took. With that in mind, I tried to stick close to her but… “…” I couldn’t let her get in shooting range. Suzu manipulated the ball with her right hand, while her left hand blocked every movement I made. She didn’t go as far as to cause an offensive foul or anything, but she wouldn’t let me get close, she kept knocking me back so I couldn’t steal the ball. I felt like a puppet she was manipulating. “Dammit…!” At that moment, when I took a half step back to regain my balance… Swoosh! Suzu took a big step forward. I tried to take back half a step of space, but her arm was in my way, and if I tried to shove, I’d be causing a defensive foul. Stamp. Swoosh. I lost my balance and stepped back heavily, and that’s when she made her basket. “…She’s good with her hands.” Recalling Mai’s words, I realized… Yeah. When a player on offense drives past an opponent, using the free hand becomes important. In other words, the non-dribbling hand, including the arm, can be used to block the movements of the defensive player. Mai and I use this technique, too, of course, but Suzu was a master at it. One popular example is to put your other arm between your dribbling hand and the defensive player, using it to protect the ball. It’s a pretty intuitive thing to do, and I like it because it’s an easy battle of power versus power. In addition, Suzu has a lot of flexibility with how she uses her off-hand. Some players will divert the attention of the referee and play rough, almost fouling, but that’s not what Suzu did. It felt instead like she was deflecting my power in a very natural way. Mai ended up on her butt earlier because she’d lost her balance. She’d wrongly assumed Suzu had the same style as her. It’s easy to be fooled by Suzu’s powerful playing style, but actually it was very nuanced and subtle. I added the points and grabbed the ball as Suzu sighed at me. “Are you seriously a team captain?” she said. “Huh…?” “I’m asking, are you really the one the girls of Fuji High look to for leadership?” “What do you mean?” I clenched my fists as Suzu responded in a bored sort of tone. “Whatever. At your current level, you’ll never catch up with that Mai girl. Look at her game face.” With that, Suzu sauntered off. Staring at the court from the end zone, I felt my chest ache. I’m all alone in this gym. Is it my body that’s weak, or my spirit? Or both? In any case, something hasn’t clicked, and I’ve been spinning idly ever since. Hey, Chitose… What would you do in a situation like this? I hugged the basketball to my chest, hating myself for looking to a man for help, even in the middle of a damn game. After thirteen minutes of our first half had elapsed, the score was 23 to 15. We were the losers. It was completely my fault. Except for the three baskets Miss Misaki made to keep her former students in their place, the rest of our score was all flukes. And none of those points were mine. We’d swapped marks several times to make sure to round out our practice, but both Aki and Suzu made easy work of me. On the other hand, Mai was doing what she always did. The other girls had been running circles around her at first, but as the game went on, she started to adapt more and more, until near the end, it looked like she was playing offense and defense on an even basis with them. I sat down, back against the wall of the gym, and stretched my legs. I pressed a half-frozen bottle of Pocari Sweat against my eyelids and sighed heavily. Condensation rolled down my cheeks like tears of frustration. Oh man, what happened to me? I may not be all there mentally, but this is the first time I’ve felt this useless. Whenever I stood on the court before an opponent, I would feel excited. Who am I fighting against now? What do I even want? It’s like I’m wandering through an endless dream at daybreak, not knowing who I am. Hey. If this is the way it’s going to be… Then I wish I never learned about love. I wish I’d never met you. … No, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean that! Oh man. God. Please tell me you didn’t hear that. Oh, get a grip! I hate this. I squeezed the plastic bottle. I really hate who I am now, bringing all my baggage onto the court. But, I mean… As I went back and forth in my mind… “This isn’t like you, you know?” Mai sat down beside me, a sports towel around her neck. I didn’t want her to see me like this, so I put my hand over my eyes and wiped the tears away. I got some foundation on my wrist sweatband—still not used to wearing makeup—and the sight of it made me feel even worse. “It’s that obvious, huh?” “Yeah. Today you’re playing really boring, Haru.” Mai looked amused, for some reason. “Oh. Well, sorry about that.” “Give me your phone.” “What?” “I know you’ve got it. Unlock it, too, if you don’t mind.” Admittedly, I was excited to have my photo taken with the seniors after practice, but… I took out my phone from my canvas tote bag that was nearby and handed it to her. I wasn’t sure what she wanted. Mai tapped away at the display for a minute, then… Ring ring. She’d set my phone to speaker, and she was calling someone. “Huh? Hey, Mai, who are you calling?!” I tried to grab it back, but Mai deflected me as easily as Suzu’s off-hand. “I thought I’d ask him to cast a lucky spell on you. I want the Haru back from that day.” That day…? Did she mean…? But before I could say anything, the call got picked up. “Hey. What’s up?” “…” From the phone’s speaker came the voice of the person I most wanted to hear from… And the last person I wanted to talk to. Mai pretended to be oblivious to my discomfort and started talking. “Is that Saku? This is Mai Todo.” “…What?!” “Ashi High School’s proud beauty, the super ace with the amazing bod.” “No, I mean, I remember you.” “Oh? So you think all those things about me?” “…Ahem. So, what’s up?” Hey, wait a minute, Chitose, what’s going on now? Yeah, I saw you admiring Nishino. She’s got short hair, too. Hmph. Sorry for my childlike ponytail, I guess. Mai continued, shoulders shaking with mirth. “I just wanted to chat.” “Why? What’s going on today? And this is Haru’s phone, right?”