Episode 4 Hahh… There are just too many people in my class who like to stir things up… Or to be exact, it’s mainly just Tomomi.

“A-a-alright. Don’t get all worked up just because you’re a little good at basketball!”

“Fu~fu~ Say that after you win!”

Tomomi was also stirring things up, even though she should have stopped. I could see the color of Sajima-kun’s face was changing.

“Ah Tomomi, stop already. Fujita, Sajima-kun. Let’s get started.”

Since no one was in charge, I had no choice but to take charge of the situation. To be honest, I don’t want to do anything too conspicuous, but I must get the troublesome things done quickly.

(this was repeated btw)

“A-Ahhh. Let’s get started.”

With that said, three players spread out on one half of the court, and four more on the other half. The jump ball was played by Sajima and Tanaka. Sajima, as expected, won the jump ball, and the ball was passed to the fourth player. (T/N: Jump ball is basically how any game of basketball starts. Referee is gonna throw up the ball from the middle of the court and the two in the middle try to pass it to one of their teammates)

“Sokko!”

Sashima-kun receives a pass while yelling “Sokko”.. Even if they lost in the first round, the basketball team is still a basketball team.

He dribbles past us, and makes a layup shot with ease. (T/N: I have roughly explained this at the end of the chap)

“How’s that!”

He turned to Fujita and made a gutsy pose for all to see. Fujita’s face contorted in frustration at the sight of it.

“Damn it!”

“Calm down, calm down. If we can pass the ball to Tomomi, we can still win, alright?”

“R-right! Okay, let’s pass the ball to Suzuki!” 

Fujita is energized by my words. He’s as self interested as ever. I glance at Tomomi and see that Sajima-kun knows what he’s doing…

He was sticking to Tomomi.

“Grrr, Hiroyuki! He’s got Suzuki right on his mark!”

“Don’t panic. Just dribble it to the other side of the court.”

Fujita nodded at my words, and then he dutifully followed the ball with anxious steps (or was it hands?).  A dum-dum sound is followed by the ball. 

“Kora~ Hiro! Don’t slack off, do something!”

Tomomi, while being marked perfectly, looks at me and complains.

“Leave me alone! You shake off your mark! You play basketball, don’t you?”

“What are you saying?!”

“Come on. Don’t fight amongst yourselves!”

Fujita sounds like he is about to cry when he hears us arguing. This is a crucial moment for him. I personally don’t think love is first come, first served, but I can understand the feeling of wanting to be the first.

“Fujita. Pass me the ball.”

Fujita passes the ball to me. I look around for Tomomi as I dribble, but Sajima is right on her heels, and I can’t seem to pass the ball to her

“There’s no other choice”

Feet aligned on the three-point line, eyes on the goal. Imagining the ball falling vertically into the net and shaking it. Then jumping off my feet and shooting the ball.

With a “spoof” sound, the ball is sucked into the hoop. 

“..”

“..”

Both sides were stunned. No wonder. I was surprised too when I hit it. Though It’s pretty nice, hitting a three pointer. 

“OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

A roar of excitement. It seems that it came from both sides.  Seeing their excitement made me a bit embarrassed though.

“Attaboy Hiro!”

Tomomi happily slaps me on the back. That hurts…

“I was just lucky.”’

“Look at Sajima’s frustrated face. Suck on that!”

“Do you hate him? Sajima-kun?”

“I don’t hate him. I don’t, but you have to be serious when you’re competing! It’s more fun this way!”

“Haha”

I casually ignore Tomomi’s words, and I go under the goal.  I can’t let him make too many quick attacks. 

Because he was surrounded by a group of amateurs, Sajima ended up shooting the ball all by himself. Of course, that is true for us as well. We tend to rely on Tomomi, and it’s no different from the other side.

“Twenty one to twenty two”

The game was in its final stages. The gym teacher, who had somehow taken on the role of referee, shouted, “Last minute!” which  echoed through the gymnasium.

“Hiro”

“What?”

“I’m trying to win here”

“Really? I’m not though.”

“So, I’ll leave the rest to you. I won’t forgive you if we lose.”

“Wait. What?! Listen to me!”

She wasn’t listening to me…

I ran towards Sajima-kun who had the ball, man to man.

“Sajima!”

“What?”

“Can you pass me the ball?”

“H**l no!”

“Ahh”

“What now?!”

“It’s unzipped”

“What?!”

“Was kidding.”

With an extremely easy exchange, Tomomi steals the ball from Sajima-kun. Besides that, Sajima-kun, you’re so mentally weak. There’s no zipper in your jersey! Is there some kind of trauma you’ve been through?! 

“Hiro!”

The ball was passed to me from Tomomi. From what Tomomi said earlier, if we lose, I won’t be forgiven. I guess it can’t be helped.

The first guy stares at me while I dribble… It’s probably Gariben-kun cuz of the glasses. He clears the way with a lurch.

“Thanks”

I passed the second, saying thank you to him as I passed by. The third was a defender on the soccer team. Basketball and soccer are completely different, but they have a lot in common in terms of basic physical strength and reflexes, and more importantly, they are both competitive. In fact, he wasn’t even looking at me, but at the ball.

“I got it”

Shouting loudly, the soccer guy extends his hand directly towards the ball.

The last boss, Sajima-kun, appeared just as I approached the hoop. It wasn’t going to be easy to feint like the previous ones.

“Come on! Hiro! Throw it off!”

Mmm. I can hear Tomomi’s voice from behind, so I guess she isn’t gonna come this way. She’s going to leave it all to me until the very end, isn’t she?

“I guess I have no choice.”

I strode across while dribbling.   He didn’t fall for it, but he did look surprised. If someone you thought was an amateur suddenly did something like this to you, you’d be scared out of your wits.

It’s an opening I’ve created. I guess let’s make the most of it. I lunged to the right at once, and he followed me in a panic. Then I stopped. Sajima-kun unintentionally steps on the tatara. 

The change of pace throws him off course. Then I went to shoot the layup.

“I won’t let you!” 

I hear Sajima’s voice from behind me. He seems to be coming from behind to stop me, ready to foul me. Sashima’s hand is reaching for the ball in my right hand. I’d be happy to get a foul and make a free throw, but I was getting excited myself.. I’m not going to let him foul me.

The moment Sajima-kun’s hand touches my ball, I switch the ball from my right hand to my left and shoot a layup. It was a double clutch. The ball flew through the air and was sucked in by the ring. 

“..”

“…”

Both sides were stunned again. I glance over at Tomomi, who nods in satisfaction.

“…Sensei?’

I asked  the teacher, who had a look of absentmindedness on his face. 

Then the teacher, who was frozen, with the whistle in his mouth, probably to declare a foul, returned his gaze to me as if he heard my voice and suddenly realized what was happening.

“W-what?”

“Time is up, isn’t it? The group of three  won, is that right?”

He looked at his watch as if in a panic and let out a loud whistle. 23 to 22, an upset victory for the team of three, and at the same time, Fujita’s first-come, first-served confession rights were confirmed. 

Congratulations, I hope it goes well.

“Hiroyuki! You’re awesome!”

Fujita, the man in question, rushes toward me with a smiling face. Is he happy that he won the game, or that he can confess his feelings to her first, or both? I’m in the same class with him, yet this is the widest grin I have ever seen from him.  

“Haha, I just did something I read in a manga”

“I see! Well, whatever it is, thanks! You’re the MVP of the day!”

“What about Tomomi?”

“Don’t worry! It’s a pair of tickets! You could go with Suzuki!”

Saying that, he turned to Sajima-kun, laughing in a jeering manner. Are you going to make fun of him and leave? Why don’t you just stop? You’re stirring things up. What’s with this class? Aren’t they too aggressive?

“Yo~, good job”

I was tapped on the shoulder and turned around to see Tomomi’s smiling face.

Tomomi’s face, which has a well-defined features, was a little upturned, which was erotic for some reason. 

“You.. skimped at the end, didn’t you”

“Well running around the court all by myself is tiring. Besides, Hiro, you looked so cool at the end! Ryoko will probably be sad that she missed it. Let’s brag to her about it!” 

“Now don’t stir her up. I just got lucky. Anyway, I heard I got the MVP. He told me to watch the  movie with you.”

“Really! Then let’s go today! I don’t have after school club activities.”

“Alright then”

[Well, that’s why you should leave your schedule open after school. I’ll pick you up in class. Just so you know, you don’t have veto power.] ( T/N: He’s reminicizing what Kiryu told )

“Ah.., I can’t today”

“You can’t? Why? “

“Why, you ask..”

Unfortunately, I have a date with the “Villainess” today. What is with my luck, this is the worst.

Big T/N

2- It’s when you run towards a side of the hoop and typically bounce the ball off the backboard into the hoop with one hand. 

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