"Arae-san, here!"
"…I got it, so pipe down, would you?!"
For the first time, Arae-san received the ball from Amami-san properly.
There were only ten seconds left for the first half, yet Arae-san looked calm. She watched her opponent's movement closely. It seemed like she intended to make way for Amami-san to get the first points for the team.
But of course, Umi wouldn't let her do that without a fight.
"Hello there."
"You're so persistent."
"I mean, we haven't settled jack between us. Anyway, sorry. With us here, you guys won't be scoring."
"Is that so?"
After exchanging a few words, the battle between the two began. During the practice match, Arae-san completely overwhelmed Umi and they had to triple-team her to stop her. I wonder if Umi could handle defending her one-on-one?
"Nakamura-san, please watch over Yuu's movements. She'll try for a three-pointer, so be on guard."
Nakamura-san moved to mark Amami-san. Amami-san was clearly the better player here, so she would definitely be able to shake Nakamura-san off, but Nakamura-san could at least hinder her shot due to her height.
The other girls from class 11 also moved to mark the rest of class 10 while also keeping their guard up to cut off a pass or two if the ball came toward them.
Everyone was ready for the last showdown.
Time passed, there were five seconds left and Arae-san finally made her move.
"Amami, now!"
"Roger!"
Right as Arae-san slipped under Umi's guard, Amami-san made a feint and shook off Nakamura-san and ran toward the three-point line.
Nakamura-san followed her, but Amami-san's teammate stopped her dead in her tracks.
"Wha–"
"Go, Yuu-chan!"
"Got it! …Arae-san, look at me!"
"Phew… Show me what you got, okay?"
Time's running short and Amami-san finally had a perfect chance to shoot.
There wasn't enough time to aim properly, but her path was clear, so she could score if she shot the ball properly.
After all, this was Amami Yuu we were talking about. She could do anything if she put her mind to it.
"Try to obstruct her pass, everyo–"
Arae-san made a gesture to pass toward Amami-san, but…
"Never mind."
"W-What?!"
She twisted her body and fired a shot.
The girl surprised everyone by not passing the ball to Amami-san like everyone thought she would.
Because of this, class 11 could only stare at her blankly while looking at the ball moving slowly toward the basket. The arc on the shot looked as beautiful as the shots she made back in middle school.
Woosh!
The ball went through the hoop.
"What are you guys doing? Are you really taking this much seriously? My shot isn't an exhibit, you know? No need to react like that."
"…You bitch."
The whistle sounded, signaling the end of the first half as Umi sent a terrifying glare at Arae-san who taunted her.
The current score was 2-30. The last shot wasn't a three-pointer, but they finally scored their first points.
'Nice, class 10!'
'Great shot!'
'28 points left to go, c'mon, go get them!'
The audience was also riled up by the play class 10 made.
When Arae-san returned to her team's side, Amami-san approached her and congratulated her.
"Nice, Arae-san! That was a beautiful shot! Honestly, I didn't expect that move you made."
"Thank you. Well, that was a spur of the moment thing, but it was good enough to beat those guys."
"Hehe… So, will you cooperate with us? I mean, we failed to get a three-pointer and all…"
Amami-san's question was reasonable. Arae-san said that they would need to get a three-pointer, but it was her actions that made them unable to do that. Now, what would her response be?
"Huh? Did I say something like that? Well, y'see, I'm a dumb bitch, I don't remember everything that I said."
"Arae-san!"
…So she said. If I didn't dig into her past, I would probably be more surprised at her current behavior. The past Arae-san felt like she would do something like that after all.
Her face looked grumpy as usual, but her atmosphere was softer than usual.
"Don't get me wrong, Amami. I only did this because that Asanagi girl pissed me off. I still hate you."
"…Arae-san, are you a tsundere?"
"No?? Why would I-… Seriously, you…"
Suuureee you weren't one. The other girls seemed to agree with my thoughts as they were watching Amami-san and Arae-san's exchanges with a warm gaze.
"A-Anyway, forget about that and do your best in the second half. If we fail to get the three-pointers, I won't forgive you, okay?"
"Okay, Nagisa-chan! I'll be in your care~"
"N-Nagi– Don't act so familiar with me! It's unpleasant! Understand? Your brain is still working right?"
"Eh what did you say just now? Sorry, I'm a dumb bitch, I can't remember everything that you said to me."
"Y-You…"
Once you opened your heart to Amami-san, that was it. Everything would be over for you. She would do everything to quickly close the distance between you and before you knew it, you'd be treating her as a close friend.
According to Umi, there had been a lot of people who disliked Amami-san, but all of them eventually let their guard down and became her friends.
That was the charm of Amami Yuu.
"Nice shot, Arae-san. Good going, Amami-san."
"Mm! Thank you for cheering for us back there, Maki-kun! Nagisa-chan, c'mon, say something to him!"
"Huh? Why should I? Even without his cheers, I was about to play properly. I was just holding back so I could make them know their places in the second half."
"…Tsundere."
"Huh?? You, what did you just say?"
"Nothing."
She showed her usual sass when she heard my mutterings.
Well, who knew what would happen to me if I were to say that out loud to her, so I just shut my mouth.
"Just so you know, I'm still holding a grudge against you."
After saying that, she walked out of the court along with the rest of the team.
This didn't solve every one of our problems, but at least the match would be more manageable.
Well, that should be enough. Now I only needed to cheer for them quietly.