Chapter 8
A month had passed since I started playing basketball with him.
Lately, I couldn't get enough of playing basketball with him.
Today was Friday. Once this fifth-period class was over, I could see him.
By sheer good luck, the basketball club I'd joined had Fridays off, so I was really happy I could go see him without a second thought.
Maybe because it was a Japanese class after lunch, there were a few people dozing off around the classroom.
I was looking forward to what came next so much that I wasn't sleepy at all.
As I sat there excitedly, the bell rang to signal the end of class.
Yes! I can go to the park!
"All right, student on duty, lead the dismissal!"
The student on duty called out the dismissal, and the teacher left.
Now I just had to wait for our homeroom teacher to come by, then I could hurry home!
As I stuffed my textbooks and everything else into my bag and got ready to leave ahead of everyone else, Rika-chan, a girl from the basketball club, called out to me.
"Yuka! Yusuke-kun said he wants to practice today, so a few of us are going to the community center gym. You should come too!"
"Oh... Um..."
Yusuke-kun was one of the boys on the basketball team.
He wasn't very good at basketball, but he talked to girls a lot and was popular with them, both in class and in the club.
I didn't dislike him or anything, but we weren't close enough to go out of our way to talk...
More importantly, I'd already decided to play basketball with him today.
"Sorry! I have something to do today!"
"What? You said the same thing last week and went home! What do you have to do?"
"That's... um..."
Oh no, what should I say?
If I said, "I'm going to play basketball one-on-one with this super handsome guy who's amazing at basketball," they'd either say I was making it up or demand I introduce him to them. Those were probably the only two options...
"Um... I'm going to play basketball..."
"Huh? Then why not just play with all of us?"
"Um, I have plans with someone! So, sorry!"
I put my hands together and apologized.
I knew I wasn't very good at turning people down. But I absolutely couldn't give up the time I spent playing basketball with him...!
"Hmm, okay. But if someone else gets together with Yusuke-kun, it'll be too late to do anything about it later!"
"Oh, that's fine."
I thought he was a nice guy, but he wasn't my type...
I managed to break free of my classmates' attempts to stop me and left school.
Ever since I met him—or, to be exact, ever since I fell in love with him—every day seemed more colorful.
I'm sure he doesn't see me as a romantic prospect at all right now.
But that's okay.
If I keep showing him how I feel, maybe he'll start to notice me when I'm in high school... That would make me happy.
"Hasn't Yuka been acting kind of strange lately?"
"I know! She's been humming to herself during breaks, and she rushes home as soon as class ends..."
"Hey, I was thinking... Could Yuka be meeting up with some guy from another school...?"
"What?! No way!"
"It might be possible, though... Lately, she seems even more giddy when she reads books in class."
"What does that have to do with anything...?"
"Hey, let's question Yuka next time. Find out what she's doing when she rushes home!"
Oh no, oh no! I took too long checking myself in the mirror at home to make sure I didn't look weird!
If he was there at his usual time, he was probably already at the park.
I hurriedly ran all the way there.
After running this much, my hair's a mess anyway. There was no point in checking it...
Spring was in full swing, and the sunlight was getting stronger.
As I ran, I could feel sweat trickling down my forehead.
It'd be awful if he thought I smelled sweaty... I did bring deodorant, just in case...!
As I ran, I heard the familiar sound of a ball bouncing against the ground.
No doubt about it. He was already there!
I stopped beneath the shade of a tree, took deodorant spray out of my backpack, and sprayed some on my clothes.
Then I pulled a small hand mirror out of my pouch and checked my hair, too.
I don't look weird, do I? Good.
I took a deep breath to steady my ragged breathing, then headed for the court.
He was dribbling.
His ball handling was as beautiful as ever.
Oh, he looks cool in today's outfit, too...
It was a relaxed style that boys my age could never pull off.
Maybe because he was going to exercise, he was wearing loose, three-quarter-length pants. His short-sleeved T-shirt made his outfit look simple, but I bet he'd been wearing the vest on the bench until just now. He really looked so cool...
Wait, no, that's not right! I could watch him forever, but I came here to play basketball with him...!
I have to say something.
"H-hey!"
"Huh?"
He'd been getting into his shooting form, but turned toward me when he heard my voice.
His profile had been cool, but he looked even cooler facing me.
...No, that's not it. Um, I have to say, "Let's play basketball together"...
Even though we'd met so many times, whenever I was actually with him, I could never say what I wanted to...
Ugh, I'd practiced over and over at home...
I drew in a slow breath.
"T-today, I'm going to win! And I'm taking this court back from you!"
Aaaah, why does it always come out like that?!
I want to be more honest!
"There you are, little kid."
"I'm not a little kid! I'm in middle school now!"
Lately, he liked teasing me by calling me a little kid.
He treated me more casually, and I felt like we'd gotten closer.
But I had to get him to stop calling me a little kid...! Especially if I ever wanted him to notice me.
"T-today, I'm taking this court back from you...!"
I had no intention of taking it back.
If anything, I wanted this time with him to go on forever.
"Hahaha! Have you ever beaten me even once, young lady?"
Oh, I'd leveled up from "little kid" to "young lady." That made me kind of happy.
"T-today, I have a secret plan!"
That wasn't a lie.
I'd been practicing a certain skill at basketball club. Today, I was going to use it to score at least one point against him!
Of course, we'd made a deal that if I beat him, he wouldn't come back to the court. Honestly, beating him was going to be incredibly difficult. But that was exactly why I could challenge him with everything I had.
He smiled, looking amused. Ugh... Every little thing he did was so ridiculously picturesque...!
"W-what are you spacing out for? We're playing one-on-one, r-right?"
Was that a little too cheeky?
Partway through, I started wondering if I'd sounded too cheeky, and my voice trailed off.
"Sure, but make sure you warm up properly, okay? You'll get hurt otherwise."
He was worried about me... The thought seeped warmly into my heart.
"O-of course. I already finished warming up."
"Huh? You just got here, didn't you...?"
I'd run all the way here because I couldn't wait to see him, so that had pretty much finished my warm-up. And I'd already stretched quickly while I was checking my appearance earlier.
So I was ready!
I took the ball out of my backpack, bounced it to him, and got into a defensive stance.
He played using a basketball that was the same size as mine. He was such a kind person.
"This is sudden... Well, here I come."
Here he comes...! My mind instantly switched into basketball mode.
He was an all-around player. He could handle the ball, shoot, and even pull off moves under the hoop.
As the defender, it was really hard to guard someone when I had to account for all of that.
He threw in a light crossover, then cut sharply to the side.
Fast...! But I knew he was that fast, so...!
"I'm not letting you through...!"
I quickly moved around to block him.
I had to be able to do at least that much if I wanted to keep up with him.
"That's far enough!"
"Ah!"
He made his decision quickly.
The moment I caught up, he noticed my balance was still unsteady from moving and immediately went for a midrange jumper.
He was too quick getting into his shooting motion. I couldn't get there in time to block him...
"...!"
The instant he jumped...
He was wearing a loose T-shirt.
As he jumped, the shirt rode up.
His stomach was exposed.
He had toned, supple abs that showed he'd been working out regularly.
"All right, that's the first point for me... Hm? Yuka?"
My mind had been in basketball mode, but that one moment used up every bit of my brainpower.
Th-this is way too sexy...!
My heart kept pounding so loudly.
"...What's wrong?"
"Huh..."
Before I knew it, he was right in front of me.
(...!)
This is bad. If he found out I'd been staring at his stomach, he'd never play basketball with me again!
I-I had to calm down first.
B-but I couldn't get that image out of my head...
"Hey, your face is red. Do you have heatstroke? Want to rest on the bench?"
"Ah, aaaaah?! No, no, I'm fine! P-please hurry and give me the ball! I'll tie the score right away!"
Th-that was close!!
He really was a feast for the eyes... No, a danger to them...!
I was flustered by the thought that I was playing basketball with someone so wonderful.
Take a deep breath. Breathe in, then out.
I had to focus now. I was going to show him what I'd been practicing all week...!!
The sound of a basketball bouncing off the rim woke me up.
Huh... I was...
I was playing basketball with him, and then...
(...!)
I remembered. My feet had gotten tangled, and I'd fallen on top of him...
I'd passed out while I was practically being held in his arms...
H-how embarrassing!
He must think I'm a total weirdo now...!
I hurriedly sat up. A neatly folded towel was where my head had been.
He must have put it there when he laid me down.
Even in this situation, I couldn't help feeling happy.
I glanced back toward the court.
He was practicing his shots.
"Hup...!"
A shot from near the three-point line.
The ball spun cleanly as it traced an arc through the air... then swished right through the hoop.
(He looks so cool...)
Of course, part of why I loved him was who he was as a person, but he was especially cool when he was playing basketball.
He came back with the ball and noticed me.
"Oh, you're awake. Are you feeling okay, Yuka?"
My heart leaped.
H-he just called me by my first name, right? That was the first time he'd called me that...! I'm so happy...!
"I-I'm fine. I'm sorry for causing you trouble..."
"It's totally fine! It's getting late, and I'm heading home too. Let's go."
Huh...? I looked at the park clock, and its hands showed four thirty.
It looked like I'd been unconscious for quite a while...
This was the worst... I wanted to play basketball with him longer...
Apparently, my expression had given away how I felt.
"Come on, I'll be back next week. You can take this court back then, right?"
Maybe he noticed how disappointed I was, because he gave my shoulder a gentle pat.
I was so happy that he was encouraging me and promising to come back next week, but we were so close, my heart was racing...
"Oh, you can borrow that towel. I bet you're sweaty, so wipe yourself off before you head home, okay? I have another one!"
"Huh...?"
I looked at the towel neatly folded on the bench.
He was going to lend me this...?
"Well, see you! ...Oh, you messed up this time, but I think your roll was good! If you can do a roll that fast, one defender probably won't be able to stop you. So have confidence in yourself!"
With that, he walked away.
...He'd said everything I wanted to hear.
He was gone.
And I was left with his towel in my hands.
I held down my pounding heart... First, I picked it up.
It was an ordinary sports towel.
And yet...
"Haa... haa...!"
My breathing had grown ragged.
I'm sorry, but I think I'm a bad girl...
I buried my face in it.
Pretending to wipe my face.
His scent filled my senses.