That was Arae-san's story that I heard from Nitori-san and Houjou-san.
Of course I wouldn't assume that she quit basketball because of that incident. There was a rumor that she originally intended to continue playing basketball in high school, but something probably happened and made her become like this. That said, we didn't know why she would antagonize Amami-san so much.
I wonder whether her ex-teammates' words were impactful enough to completely change her nature?
I sent the summary of her circumstances to Nitta-san and she replied to me not long after.
[Nina: Ah, so that's why she never talked much about her middle school days.]
[Nina: Come to think of it, none of her cronies are from the same middle school as her.]
[Maehara: Is that so? Well, whatever. Her sad past doesn't justify all her actions up until now.]
[Nina: Oh, Rep, are you angry? It's unusual for you to act like this.]
[Maehara: Well, she said something inexcusable…]
I told her what happened and honestly, anyone would get angry if they were in my position.
[Nina: …Wait, are you telling me they're going to play in that kind of situation? Will they be okay?]
[Maehara: Don't worry about them, let's just believe in them.]
[Nina: I guess~ They're dependable after all, huh?~ You too though, Rep~]
[Maehara: Me?]
[Nina: Of course.]
[Nina: I mean, they could persist because of you, don't you know that?]
[Maehara: Wait, what do you mean?]
[Nina: Ah, my homeroom is over, so I'm going ahead~ My match is coming up after this one.]
[Maehara: Don't run away! …Whatever, do your best, Nitta-san.]
[Nina: Mhm! Well, I don't wanna push myself too hard though~]
After that, Nitta-san went to the gym to prepare for her match.
She said something that bothered me, but I couldn't do anything about it right now. I'll make sure to follow up about it later.
Besides, there was a more pressing matter than that. I had to go to where Umi and the others were.
After homeroom, I quickly made my way to the gym. Other than the basketball match, class 10 had a soccer match scheduled at the same time, so most of the people went to the field to cheer for the soccer team.
That left a few people watching the basketball match, a few boys who were really infatuated with Amami-san and girls who were close to Arae-san. Everyone else probably felt reluctant to watch them because of the conflict between them.
Well, the fewer people the better, I guess. Now, I could cheer for both Amami-san and Umi without much hesitation. I still felt embarrassed about cheering loudly though, so I'll do it in moderation.
I sat down in an inconspicuous place on the side of the court so I wouldn't get in other people's way. I could see Nitta-san from here, mingling with the other students of class 7.
The teacher who acted as a referee blew the whistle and the students who were assigned to take the jump ball went to the middle of the court.
They were Amami-san and Nakamura-san.
"Good luck, Amami-chan~ Let's do our best~"
"Mm, likewise."
After they shook each other's hands lightly, the match officially began.
Like the practice match, Nakamura-san would probably win the tip off because of her height advantage.
"What power!"
"Ugh… Haa!"
The ball was thrown directly above the center of the court and as expected, Nakamura-san was the one who touched the ball first. However, a moment later, Amami-san's finger also touched the ball and she forcefully took it away from Nakamura-san.
'Woah, seriously?'
'Holy… I thought she was flying for a second there.'
I could hear some comments from the other students who were watching the game. Amami-san's ability didn't surprise me though, I've seen her practice many times after all. I knew she was able to do this much.
Like Umi, she was coached by both Nitori-san and Houjou-san. Amami-san specifically, was taught how to win the tip off and had been practicing it for a while.
There was no way that Nakamura-san could beat her if she didn't put in at least as much effort as her.
In any case, class 10 now had the advantage and Arae-san was holding the ball.
If things were to proceed like the practice match, Arae-san would break through class 11's defense and score the first points.
"…Here."
But it seemed like Arae-san would do exactly what she said this morning. She immediately threw the ball back at Amami-san.
The ball that bounced toward Amami-san's feet was weak.
If Umi wanted to, she would be able to steal the ball with ease.
"…C'mon, go and attack already. The shot clock is ticking."
"…"
In response to Arae-san's stubbornness, Amami-san dribbled her way toward class 11's half of the court.
She immediately faced Umi, who had a puzzled look on her face.
"I'll say this now, Yuu. I won't go easy on you, okay?"
"Mm, it wouldn't be fair if you do."
"Alright, let's do this."
"Mm."
It seemed like Amami-san decided to put aside the drama and continue playing normally for now.
Meanwhile, Arae-san wasn't moving much. She was only moving around lazily near half court. However, she would occasionally disturb class 11's movements and force them to make mistakes in their plays.
"M-My bad, Asanagi-chan!"
"Go, Yuu-chan!"
Nakamura-san had some difficulty marking Amami-san, who was faster than her. The latter easily slipped past her with the ball.
The ball was in the possession of class 10 and the shot clock was winding down, so this was the only chance she had to shoot.
However, instead of shooting the ball, she turned around.
And passed the ball to Arae-san.
"W-Wha?!"
Arae-san reacted quickly and tried to catch the ball, but the pass had quite a bit of speed behind it and it bounced off her hands.
Right after that, the referee blew the whistle.
'Eh? What happened?'
'Why did she pass the ball like that instead of shooting it?'
Some people were confused at this development, but the people who knew about their issues just let out a sigh of resignation.
"Amami, you!"
"You thought I was joking, Arae-san? Not in the slightest. Now, let's embarrass ourselves."
Amami-san was just as stubborn as Arae-san.