After receiving the ball from Amami-san, Arae-san quickly cut into the enemy line by herself.
Amami-san and the other teammates were also moving to support her, but she pretended that they didn't exist, her eyes were only focused on the net.
Seeing this, class 11 took advantage of it and sent both Nakamura-san and Umi to mark her.
Umi could match her in terms of speed while Nakamura-san was taller than her. It took two of them to block her, but since she didn't want to cooperate with the rest of her team, the risks involved with double-teaming were negligible.
"Why are you trying to break through by yourself? You of all people should know that basketball is a team sport."
"…Hmm… So you guys practiced how to defend too… I'm impressed…"
Arae-san made a surprised expression for the first time as she was gradually driven back out to the arc.
Maybe she figured that things wouldn't go well for her if it were to continue like this, so she turned her gaze to a certain someone that was standing nearby.
"Just kidding…"
"?!"
She threw the ball between Umi's legs, ran past her, picked up the ball and shot it.
It was an awkward position to shoot from, but she managed to score flawlessly.
"You think you could impress your boyfriend with a performance like that? You're so lame."
"…You…"
Arae-san snickered at Umi while flipping her wavy brown hair.
She was caught off guard by the plays that Umi and the others made, but she managed to pierce through their defense easily. As expected of a club level player.
"It's okay, Asanagi-chan, she just caught us by surprise this time, we'll definitely get her next time."
"Yeah, it's fine~"
"We'll get her next time~"
"…Mm… Let's do this, everyone!"
After that, Umi and her teammates regained their composure and prepared to attack.
From there, the back-and-forth game continued for a while.
Class 11 would successfully score every time because of their amazing teamwork and class 10 would even the score by relying on Arae-san alone.
When the first half was over, the game was tied.
I went to visit class 11's break area, taking advantage of the break time. Along the way, my eyes met with Amami-san's, who was giving me a subtle look. She mouthed 'Go' at me and I did exactly what she told me to.
"Uh, good job, Umi."
"Mm! So, what do you think? Did we do good?"
"You guys are amazing. You guys practiced together before this?"
"Yeah. Honestly, the reason why we're doing so well is because everyone is amazing. They cooperate well with each other and they listen to my instructions well, right, everyone?"-
""""Yes!""""
The girls made a smug face after being complimented by Umi.
They were so in sync with each other, amazing.
"Still, I'm sorry, Asanagi-chan… I talked big, but in the end, I couldn't stop that wheat gyaru…"
"Don't worry about it, I talked big too… I'm pissed by it, but it's okay, we'll just need to stop her in the second half."
"Oh, do you have a plan?"
"Yes, kinda… Okay, let me explain the plan to you guys…"
Just before the break ended, Umi gathered everyone together and began whispering with each other.
Since I was practically an outsider, I figured that I shouldn't be hearing this, so I decided to go back to my class after giving Umi some words of encouragement–
'…So, how far have you gone with Maehara-kun?'
'You two have kissed already, right?'
'Have you said hello to his parents yet?'
'Wedding when?'
…What the hell were they doing? I answered a lot of their questions the other day, but it seemed like they still got more questions to ask.
I pretended to not notice their curious gazes and went to Amami-san's side.
"Welcome back, Maki-kun. Did you hear what they're planning to do for the second half?"
"I heard part of it, but I'm not your personal spy, Amami-san…"
"Hehe, kidding~ But Umi must have come up with something, right?"
"…Maybe…"
I didn't know the details of their plans, but I could guess what they were going to do.
Class 10 was divided between Amami-san's followers and Arae-san's followers. Umi had only been observing the situation for the entirety of the first half, but if things were to continue like this…
She would definitely be more aggressive in the next half.
Arae-san should know about this already though.
"Arae-san, they will definitely mark you on the second half, so you should start to pass the ball aroun–"
"I told you, right? Even if all five of them come at me together they won't be able to stop me."
"…Fine, but pass the ball around if you can't handle it…"
"Tch… You're so persistent…"
'Why would I even do that?', she muttered before returning to the court. She looked out of breath when the first half was over, but after taking a break, her breathing had returned to normal.
"Alright, I'm going, Maki-kun! Cheering for Umi is fine and all, but since we are in the same class, don't you think you should cheer for me as well?"
"Got it… Anyway, Amami-san, can I say that you're amazing? You're still trying to cooperate with Arae-san even though you know that she hates you."
"Ah, that's… Well, I have to treat her with a basic amount of politeness at least, right?…"
Amami-san continued.
"Also, even if she hates me, she should at least know what kind of person I am before deciding if she really hates me or not, right? We haven't even talked properly yet and somehow, she assumes things about me and hates me from that assumption of hers…"
"You paid a lot of attention to her, huh?"
"…Mhm… Well, it's the first time someone insulted me openly like this, I guess that's why I'm acting unnaturally stubborn this time…"
"Amami-san…"
"Hehehe, forget about it! I'll do my best in the second half!"
After that, she walked behind Arae-san while smiling like usual.
She rarely got angry, but I could sense her anger for a brief moment.