After that, we immediately contacted Nitori-san and Houjou-san.
[We can help you after we're done with our club activities], they replied.
And so it was decided that the training would start at 7pm.
Considering that we would do a quite intense exercise, we only had a light meal at Umi's house before we went to the park where we planned to meet. We had to pay 300 yen to use the park, but in exchange, we could use all the facilities they offered, including and not limited to the basketball ring, futsal field and tennis court. Various sports clubs and even the adults often went to this park to use those facilities.
In fact, there were a lot of people working out here.
"Maki, if it gets too hard on you, take a break, okay? Don't mind me."
"Mm. I'll still do my best though."
According to Umi, the practice will last for two hours. We could use the facilities until midnight, but both Nitori-san and Houjou-san had a curfew to follow.
"Ah, over here, you two."
"Evening, Umi-chan, Maehara-kun."
When we arrived at the park, both Nitori-san and Houjou-san were already there. They greeted us both while waving at us.
Instead of their school uniform, they were wearing jerseys with their names embroidered on their backs. It seemed like they really came here immediately after their clubs ended.
"Sorry for troubling you two like this, Sanae, Manaka."
"Don't mind it. We're just happy that you finally invited us to hang out together again."
"Also, did you expect us to do nothing after hearing that story? That girl might be a little skilled, but she has no rights whatsoever to criticize anyone's playstyle."
It seemed like those two already knew what was going on. Those two seemed motivated, probably because they were mad that their friends were being ridiculed for no reason.
We only had ten days to practice before the class match started, but if Umi was able to complete this course, she would be able to have a good match against Arae-san.
After we did some light stretching, we immediately started our practice.
"We're short on time, so let's start with shooting. Manaka and I will pass the ball to you, Umi-chan, and you have to shoot the ball as soon as you receive it. You can do lay-ups, three pointers or whatever, but you can't dribble. If you miss your shot, you'll have to do ten-push ups on the spot."
In other words she had to choose between doing something like lay-ups, which will drain her stamina since she had to position herself near the ring every time or something like three pointers that had a higher chance to miss. If she failed her shot, she had to do push-ups and added more unnecessary burdens to her arms.
Just imagining it made me feel like vomitting.
"Alright, got it. What about Maki? He'll be with me for practice."
"Alright, let's do this. If you fail the shot, he will do the shot instead of you while you're doing the push-ups. You'll have to do another set of push-ups each time he fails."
In other words, if I keep failing, Umi will have to do push-ups non-stop.
The pressure felt real now.
"This is the Tachibana High's basketball club's special shooting course. Any questions, you two?"
"…What do you think, Maki?"
"…No questions, I'll just do my best…"
"Okay, me too."
Before we started, they told us that we could tell them if we got too tired and they would let us rest for a while. After that, the special training officially began.
"Alright, let's start~"
With those words as a cue, Nitori-san passed the ball toward the free throw line.
"I have to shoot as soon as I get the ball, right?"
"Yes. This one is a warm-up, but it'll get nastier later, so don't let your guard down, okay?"
"Got it."
The ball bounced slowly, letting Umi catched it without much effort before doing a lay-up with it. Her form was so beautiful that it was hard to see her as an amateur. This was probably Nitori-san and Houjou-san's influence.
"Nice~ Keep it up~"
"Bring it on!"
After that, Umi kept nailing the shots in rapid succession.
This shooting practice was planned to last for ten minutes, so if things continue to go this well, I would end up just watching from the sideline. But of course, those two wouldn't let that happen.
"Okay, we'll start giving you sloppy passes now. If the ball goes off court, you'll have to do push-ups, okay? Manaka, here."
"'Kay."
"Eh? Ah…"
The ball changed hands from Nitori-san to Houjou-san and the latter immediately threw the ball away from Umi so she had to chase after it.
Umi was a little bit slow to react because of the sudden change of pace, but she still managed to catch the ball and shoot it, but since the ball went past the three-points line, it was pretty much impossible for her to nail that shot in that situation.
"Ugh… I missed…"
"Yes, ten push-ups for you. You need to get the form perfectly or else I won't count it."
"You two are just bullying me at this point…"
"Don't talk back to me, young lady. C'mon, do it properly."
The sound of whistle reverberated through the air along with Nitori-san's counting.
They really didn't show any mercy toward us, huh?
"You too, Maehara-kun, don't slack off like that. Do the shot and don't fail! You don't want Umi-chan to do push-ups forever, do you?"
"Mm… Please take care of me, you two."
Our rigorous training had just begun.