On a day as hot as this, she wanted nothing more than to remain indoors. But when she saw the huge crowd, she decided to help out.
In the end, they ended up going against the disciplinary president and vice president. Really what is with this situation? She knew that the disciplinary club president Katsuragi had this sort of weird relationship with Yuhi. Still, the two always seemed to get so worked up when they see each other.
"We look forward to playing you."
"I haven't played in so long," Sumire admitted. "There are a lot of people too." Though she said this casually, she felt nervous seeing the huge crowd. There are too many people here.
I don't want to stand out any more than this.
But isn't it too late already?
"Hmm, I hope you don't make a mistake and slow me down."
"Wait; what? You want me to start? I don't even know if I can hit the ball or not. It's been so long; you would do a better job than me." Sumire insisted.
"Yeah. But I never played basketball before so.."
For a moment, she did not register the words he just said. How is it possible?
Wait, what the? What on earth was going on here? "Eh wait just now, weren't you talking all big about how we would win? You made it sound like our victory was guaranteed."
She couldn't believe that he didn't even play basketball that much, what on earth were they supposed to do now?
"Ah, is that so? Then you can count on me. I will win for sure." Yuhi said with a huge grin on his face. Her sweatdropped, where on earth did all that confidence come from.
"What what? The match hasn't even started yet, and you guys are arguing already? If that's the case, then I don't think you guys have what it takes to play against us junior level nationalists. Right, Miss ?" Katsuragi said, wrapping his arm around the vice president, who seemed shocked.
Sumire rolled her eyes at that. It is so obvious she likes that man. But forget about shooting. These two are on a completely different level. She thought this was all messed up from the beginning and all.
Now the conditions for this scenario are getting even worse. It does not matter for her if she were to lose.
But her gaze fell towards the crowd of people. Despite the large crowd, it was easy to spot the reporters. She does not want Yuhi-sans reputation to get ruined because of her.
Since they cant catch her out, they will surely direct their frustration towards Yuhi instead.
"It will be fine, don't worry about it."
"If you guys are in, you better make it worth our while," Katsuragi said.
It seems as though they will just have to finish them off.
It is strange, though; she has never fought alongside Yuhi like this before. No, whenever they worked together in the past, it was something to do with the delinquent world. Working as a pair like this for something other than fighting and painting makes her feel strange.
What is this odd feeling?
The crowd grew more excited.
"Yama-senpai good luck."
"Got it," Katsuragi said, smiling.
So fake, he acts like a completely different person when he is around Yuhi.
"Miss Nako looks gorgeous."
"Yuhi is so hot."
"Go, Yuhi."
"Which team did you bet on?"
"Yama-senpais, of course."
"Eh but Yuhi-sama wont lose."
"True, but he paired with some unknown person, so I think he will lose this time."
"Your right, I have never seen her before."
"Can she even play? She looks so fragile."
"It's irritating enough that Yuhi-sama paired up with her."
The brunette heard boos from the crowd, and she knew they increased more. However, her focus wasn't on that; she had to focus on the game right now. That's all she had to think about right now, nothing else.
Take a deep breath. She closed her eyes; it is okay. Quite some time has passed since she last played, but how could she forget the skills engraved into her growing up? As a child, she often played basketball with her cousins.
So this is not hard for her.
Feel the movement of the ball, blank my mind, and clear my thoughts. I could do this.
Her eyes went wide when she managed to shoot it inside the goal. Wow, she..
"I managed it. Quite some time has passed, but I guess my body still remembers it." Sumire said happily. The thought that she could still play one of her favourite sports excited her.
When she debuted as an idol, the company instructed her not to play anymore. So it has been quite a while. When she grew older, playing basketball was one way for her to release some stress.
"She is good."
"What's with that girl? She's actually like super good."
Her lips curved to a smile when she heard those comments. The reporters from earlier who looked eager suddenly wore distressed expressions on their faces. It seems like she can turn this situation around.
...
Quite sometime later
Neither side had yet to yield.
Just when one thought the game was over, it extended. Both teams were in the same situation, panting heavily and entirely out of breath.
Sumire deeply sighed; she knew that participating in this would exhaust her. But she was way too naive about things as usual. Yuhi said it was okay, and that he didn't mind getting dragged into it. However, she really was worried.
She found it hard to believe that he was okay with this. It seemed like when they started playing, Yuhi did better than she thought. But it was because of this she noticed. Ever since the game began, he did not play seriously.
Something special, huh? Something like that happened. In a way, was this a stroke of luck? Or really just bad luck. The brunette was no longer sure.
"What done already?" Katsuragi mocked. "Entertain us some more before you lose."
"As you wish."
The brunette glanced over at Yuhi, who seemed rather irritated. Her sweat fell. It seems like she ought to end this match quickly before Yuhi-san blows. "Actually. I don't get why your talking so big when we're tied right now."
"That's because it's obvious were the superior team. Beauty and intelligence wise." Katsuragi responded.
Yumi's sweatdropped. She should have known it was for a reason like that. "Playing sports like this reminds me of anime and manga."
"Ah, I know what you mean. I just want to try those killer moves even once. Just once is good enough for me."
Sumire blinked. It seems like she may have a few things in common with this person. She did not bother with him before since Yuhi-san seemed to— her thoughts broke off when somebody snatched her ball. It was Yuhi.
"Err Yuhi-san? What is wrong?"
He did not say a word, but she noticed how cold his gaze was. Did she do something wrong? Before she could even react, Yuhi scored a three-pointer from this distance. With the remaining time being a few seconds, that three-pointer ended the game.