The Yokonan players ran up and down the court that same day to compensate for their captain's disappointment.
"Yes, keep it up, everyone! Only two more suicides left to go!" said the captain as he and his team continued their sprints.
"Alright, break! You guys can go home for the day," said Keichiro.
Everyone on the team breathed heavily from exhaustion. This was punishment for our poor performance in the game against Toshigawa, so why did he do it with us? Eiji thought to himself. He's truly a man of discipline and a team-oriented person.
It seems like these suicides barely phased Kogure or Kayano. Well, that is to be expected since these guys are the key to our victory this year, Keichiro thought.
"Great work, everyone! Whoever wants water can line up right here and take a cup or two. I just got this igloo filled," said a girl.
"Rinka, you're the best! Thanks," said Kayano as he filled a cup.
"Rinka, did you get the whole statistics for that practice match?" asked Keichiro.
"Yeah, I did. That team was quite the shocker."
"Let me see it."
On the stats sheet for Toshigawa, the data was shown as follows:
Name: Yukio Hamaguchi
Number worn: 7
Points scored in the game: 25
Blocks: 3
Rebounds: 12
Steals: 2
Assists: 2
Fouls: 2
Name: Takahiro Morikawa
Number worn: 8
Points scored in the game: 14
Blocks: 2
Rebounds: 4
Steals: 0
Assists: 4
Fouls: 2
Name: Noboru Takemoto
Number worn: 10
Points scored in the game: 8
Blocks: 0
Rebounds: 0
Steals: 0
Assists: 1
Fouls: 4
"This one's name is Tetsuo Kawaguchi. He wears number eleven. He scored twenty-seven points in the game and blocked the ball five times. He collected two rebounds and made three steals and four assists, yet he only fouled once."
"Next is Hayato Nakajima, who wore number four and scored thirteen points. He blocked the ball zero times and collected one rebound. He made two steals and fifteen assists, which is impressive, as well as not receiving a single foul."
"And lastly, Shino Katsuragi, wearing number six, only scored two points. He stole the ball once and assisted once."
"I see. They have a well-balanced team despite their lack of experience," Keichiro said to himself.
"Yes. What surprised me the most is Tetsuo. He scored twenty-seven points while Kogure scored thirty-four. However, if Kogure had come on from the start, I don't think the match would have been this close," said Rinka.
"You're right, but they still hung on until the last second," said Keichiro. "Yukio found himself a second and a great point guard. That's good. However, their team and ours are on totally different levels. If they somehow manage to make it to the inter-high preliminaries, we won't have any problem beating them."
As the train made its way back to their destination, everyone on the team remained quiet throughout the journey.
This is awkward. First, they lost the match, and then Tetsuo had a run-in with that girl. I wonder how he knows her, Haruko thought to herself curiously.
"Listen up, everyone. You guys did well against Yokonan, so there is no need to beat yourselves up. The game could have gone either way," said Nanaho as she sighed.
"Nanaho is right. We went out there, did our best, and almost won. The only thing we can do from here is keep on growing and improving before the start of the tournament. Think of that match as a minor setback or a test to assess where you are now and how much work you need to put in for us to go to the inter-high," said Yukio.
"On that note, I gained a lot of information on how I should prepare your individual training regimens. We also learned some key information, like who our main scorer is and where most of our points come from. We are on the right track, so don't let that loss break your spirit! You got that?!" shouted Nanaho.
"Yes!" everyone responded.
I know they are trying to cheer us up, but let's be real—we were never a match for Yokonan. We're lucky we didn't get humiliated, Hayato thought to himself.
After exiting the train and bidding everyone farewell, Haruko and Tetsuo walked through the streets together in the afternoon.
"You truly are amazing, Kawaguchi, and so is everyone on your team. Despite having six members, Yokonan still felt your presence. I got to see you in action today—you are truly an amazing shooter," said Haruko.
"Did you learn anything from that match?" asked Tetsuo.
"Yes, I did. No matter how small or limited a team is, as long as you focus on your strong points in a match, it will bring great results," said Haruko.
"That's right, but don't forget—we are all human, so there is no such thing as impossible. There is always a way to win."
"I won't ever forget," said Haruko as she smiled at Tetsuo.
"I wonder what's taking Haruko so long. She took the day off from school today to watch a practice match at Yokonan. Do you think she forgot about us?" asked Sayaka.
"It's possible. You know Haruko—that girl's obsessed with basketball. She's probably playing right now as we speak," said Kotone.
Haruko and Tetsuo walked past the windows of the café where her friends were sitting.
"Um, guys… there she is," said Suzume as she pointed to them.
Sayaka jumped out of her seat and ran outside. "Haruko!!"
"Huh? Sayaka, what are you doing here?" asked Haruko.
"Where have you been? We've been waiting for an hour now!" said Sayaka.
"Oh crap, I almost forgot about our meeting! I'm so sorry. You can go ahead without me, Kawaguchi. Today was fun—see you later," said Haruko, waving goodbye.
"Yeah, see you," said Tetsuo as he walked off.
"So that's what you've been doing, huh? You were on a date with your boyfriend," said Kotone teasingly.
"It's not like that! We are not—" Haruko stuttered, flustered and blushing from embarrassment.
"He's so tall and handsome! Where did you meet him?" asked Kotone.
"He's a basketball player from Toshigawa Academy. I was just at his match watching his team play. That's all there is to it."
"So the reason you went to that practice match today was to watch him?" asked Suzume.
"Who wouldn't want to cheer him on? I mean, he's a total hottie," said Kotone.
"Again, it's not like that!!" shouted Haruko.
Upon reaching home, Takahiro put his bag down and was immediately greeted by his brother.
"Big bro, how'd the match go?" asked Chihiro.
"We lost 89-90, but we almost won," said Takahiro.
"I see. I didn't expect you to win anyway, so you don't need to explain—you suck, big bro."
"Mom!! Takahiro lost the match today!!" shouted Chihiro.
"What, really? Oh dear, I hope he's doing alright," said their mother.
"I might have lost today, but next time, I'll definitely…" said Takahiro, clenching his fists.
Tetsuo arrived home.
"I'm home, Usagi," he said.
"Welcome back. So, how did the practice match go?" asked Usagi.
"We lost by a single point."
"I see. It was a close game, then."
"Yeah, something like that."
"I prepared the bath for you. Go ahead and relax."
"Thank you. You're really a big help, Usagi."
"You're truly changing, Tetsuo, but it's slowly showing through your recent actions," Usagi said with a smile.
After ensuring that Nanaho got home, Yukio walked up to his front door, only to hear a familiar voice.
"That's all I'm carrying to the apartment today, Mom. I'll come back for the rest of my things when I get time off from work and college," said the voice of a man.
"Okay. Be sure to take care of yourself, Seiji. Ensure that you're eating right and that your clothes are washed properly," his mother replied.
"I'm not a child anymore, Mom. I'll be alright. See you later," said Seiji as he smiled and left the house.
As he stepped outside, he found himself face-to-face with Yukio. Seiji glanced at him for a moment before walking past, deliberately bumping him out of the way.
"Seiji… so that's all you're going to do? Walk away without saying a word?" Yukio asked.
"I thought I made myself clear when I said I was done with you and Dad for good. I shouldn't even be calling him that," Seiji said coldly.
"I heard you. However, it wasn't my decision, and I didn't ask for the inheritance, so why are you acting so coldly toward me?" asked Yukio.
"Don't worry about it. Just keep away from me. I'm done with all of you except Mom. Don't consider me your brother anymore," Seiji said as he walked off.
Yukio stood there in silence, watching his brother disappear into the night.