Chapter 79 - Cheering
(1)
Class match.
The gymnasium, basketball court.
"Toya, go!"
Right.
The opposing player comes at me dribbling.
I lower my posture and take a defensive stance.
Dribbling with your hips that high...
"Nice steal!! ...Eh?"
See?
I snatched the ball from the opposing player and passed it straight to a teammate.
Right. First, I should explain why I'm playing basketball.
First, complaints came in.
"Putting Katagiri in soccer is like deploying a pro; it's cheating!" and so on...
So, I was moved to a sport other than soccer.
"Katagiri, is there anything other than soccer you want to try?" Mizuta-sensei asked.
And I said, "Mizuta-sensei... I want to play basketball..."
You're wondering if I just wanted to say that line?
Airi told me that too.
"That's why I told you to stop quoting lines from manga and anime!" she complained incessantly.
You're wondering if I've even played basketball before?
How rude. It wasn't just for the line! Absolutely not!!
Just a little bit in middle school, in PE class.
Well, there were options like softball or volleyball.
I'm just bad at softballs and baseball. First of all, I can't catch fly balls. I can't swing a bat.
Volleyball is impossible given my height.
Eh? You're thinking basketball is also impossible if you aren't tall?
I'll prove that from here on.
The downside of basketball is that you have to run around as much as you do in soccer, but...
(2)
We had chosen volleyball.
If it was a volleyball match, we could see the basketball game Toya-kun was participating in right on the next court.
After finishing our own match, we watched the basketball.
I got angry, telling him he probably chose basketball just because he wanted to say a manga line, but Toya-kun insisted, "That's not it."
Well then, let's see what you've got!
As soon as the game started, I realized it.
He really wanted to play basketball.
Toya-kun would shoot without thinking the moment he received a pass from his teammates.
Just when I wondered how haphazard he was being, he was scoring with nearly a 100% probability.
Moreover, he used a quick motion to shoot before the opposing team's defense could get in for a block.
His defense was perfect too.
He completely stopped the opposing offense he was marking.
He completely shut down the passing lanes, and if the opponent, judging that a pass was impossible, tried to dribble, he would steal it and pass it straight to a teammate.
The crowning touch was when he took a position directly in front of the goal.
When he put in a slight shooting fake, the opponent would be lured into jumping.
It couldn't be helped.
Because he fired 3-pointers with such fast motion and high precision.
He would dodge the jumping opponent with a dribble and jump from the free-throw line.
Who would have imagined that Toya-kun, who doesn't even reach 170cm as a high schooler, could pull off an Air Walk?
Before I knew it, a large crowd had gathered to watch Toya-kun's captivating play.
We were also captivated by Toya-kun's play, which was excellent both on offense and defense.
"That Toya guy can play basketball too!"
"It looks like it! This is my first time seeing it too!"
Kanna and I squealed together.
But unlike when he played soccer, Toya-kun had a look of enjoyment on his face.
He really wanted to play basketball.
"Otonashi-san, Tosaka-san, it's your next match~"
We headed toward the volleyball court.
(3)
The next day.
"Good morning, Toya-kun... Huh? What's wrong?"
Airi looked puzzled as she saw me writhing in muscle pain after getting out of bed.
"As you can see, I have muscle pain... I overdid it yesterday."
"You looked like you were having fun. You were more lively than when you play soccer."
"Don't tell me to aim to be a basketball player..."
"Mm! You should just do what you want to do, Toya-kun."
"Thanks. For now, I want to change."
"Shall I help you?"
Stop treating me like an elderly person in nursing care.
"I'm fine... go downstairs."
"Oka~y."
Don't trip because you're too excited...
Anyway, I changed and went downstairs.
Kanna looked at me in surprise.
"The gap between when you're doing sports and when you're not is way too extreme."
"I've really been like this since a long time ago. I don't usually exercise..."
"Was sealing away club activities a mistake...?"
And so, my father and mother say.
I silently ate breakfast and got ready.
Waiting for us at school was an enthusiastic recruitment from the Basketball Club.
I know about it. In the Inter-High for basketball, there are matches every day, right?
What do you plan to do when my muscles all over my body are screaming after a short match?
Speaking of recruitment, it seems the U-18 recruitment is continuing as usual.
Mikimoto-sensei tells me persistently almost every day.
Occasionally, Sakoshita-san comes.
Shaking off those recruitments, we head home.
The end of July.
We were at a baseball stadium.
This was because our high school had advanced to the finals of the Koshien qualifiers.
The entire student body had come to cheer.
The opponent was Ida High.
...The timing is truly unfortunate.
"Oh, Makoto!!"
Kanna waves her hand.
Then, Makoto, wearing an Ida High uniform, notices us.
"Oh, it's Kanna and Toya! And Tosaka-san too."
It's been a while.
Since the finals of the prefectural tournament.
Makoto puts me in a sleeper hold.
"I-It's tight! Stop it!"
"Shut up! I heard the story from Kanna! After defeating us on a whim, you even kicked away the recruitment from Primavera!?"
S-Stop talking about that!
Look, the eyes of the people around us are gathering here.
"Hey, isn't that person..."
"He was on TV before. He was the opponent of our high school..."
This is bad... the surroundings are starting to notice.
"Shall we go back to our seats... the match is starting."
"Eh? Since we're here, let's talk a bit more."
"That's right, it's the same whether we watch or not anyway."
No, no, what do you think we came here for, Kanna.
Airi is saying something cruel quite nonchalantly.
Neither of them shows any interest at all in a match I'm not in.
Ah, this isn't the time to be saying that.
"I remembered!? He's the boy who was on TV, the soccer one, definitely Fantasy Star."
She's getting it wrong quite nonchalantly; that's a certain online game.
"It's Katagiri-kun! He kicked away recruitments from the U-18 and local J-League teams."
They're unusually well-informed. Is everyone a soccer fan?
More importantly, this is bad, Airi. It's like the calm before the storm...
"Isn't it that boy? The one who is the reason Katagiri-kun kicked soccer."
"Eh—which one?"
"Look, the one who isn't the one talking to our Tada-kun..."
"Ah, right."
The attention seems to have shifted to Airi as well.
Of course, in this case, they seem to hold rather unfavorable emotions.
Airi, perhaps noticing the eyes of the people around her looking at her, clings to me.
"Toya-kun, isn't this kind of dangerous?"
You're only noticing now, Airi.
"Kanna, I'll leave you two alone here."
"Huh? We're always together, so there's no need to be considerate."
Be considerate of us.
Anyway, we're going back to our seats!
Saying that, I take Airi's hand and start running.
The female students of Ida High chase us as if a floodgate had opened.
"Katagiri-kun, please give me an autograph!"
I'm not even a celebrity, so why do I have to write autographs?
I mean, I've never even written an autograph before.
Just as we are almost at the spectator seats of the stadium, a huge crowd of girls blocks the way.
There are gaps.
I can manage somehow.
"Airi, hold on tight!"
"Eh... okay."
Considering Airi's legs, I run with moderate speed.
While using feints, I slip through, weaving through the gaps.
If the opponents were DFs, it would be different, but they're just high school girls.
Even though I'm bringing Airi along, I was able to break through easily.
As expected, they don't chase us all the way to the cheering section.
I take a breath once I'm in my seat.
"Are your legs okay?"
"Yeah! I'm okay~. This is the first time Toya-kun has linked arms with me~"
No, I don't think it's the first time.
What were those four years for...
"Still, Toya-kun is amazing, slipping through a crowd of people like that so smoothly."
"It's no big deal."
"Ah, our high school is winning!"
I look at the scoreboard.
We have a one-point lead at 3-2.
We are the second batting team.
It is currently the top of the 9th.
"One more! One more!"
The spectators are excited too.
The last batter hit a fly ball.
The right fielder caught it, and the game ended.
"Oh, we did it! We're the champions!!"
The excitement reached its peak.
Everyone simultaneously threw the bamboo sticks distributed for cheering into the ground.
The people on the bench picked them up.
The cheering continued for a while.
Suddenly looking next to me, Airi is also crying.
"What's wrong?"
Airi answered with a small giggle.
"It's no good, girls are weak to these kinds of emotionally overwhelming scenes, or something like that."
Ah. She's moved.
"Shall we go see how Makoto and the others are?"
"Yeah."
Saying that, we went down.
"Oh, Toya."
Makoto called out when he found us.
"What happened to your high school this year!"
Saying that, Makoto laughed.
"You were just lucky, right?"
"Saying something like that is rude to the people in the baseball club."
I was scolded by Airi.
"I don't understand baseball well, but I guess it's the fruit of daily practice. Luck probably plays a part too. You know how they often say 'there's a demon'?"
I somewhat understand Makoto's talk.
It's a story often told in soccer too.
Getting an incomprehensible offside call. Being hated by the goalpost.
"Well, when it comes to soccer, you were the demon, though."
How rude... Well, I do think I did a bad thing to Makoto and the others who practice daily.
But advancing to the finals was the skill of the Soccer Club.
"I only played in the second half of the finals... The fact that Makoto and the others couldn't score until then was also a lack of skill, right?"
"The fact that you came out in the second half was the luck element. On top of that, you played FW, which you hated so much. Two goals conceded in those 5 minutes. Who can put up with that!"
"Makoto, I told you earlier we wouldn't talk about that anymore."
Kanna supported me.
"Ah, that's right. But I was really frustrated. If I'd known, I would have put you in Ida High no matter what."
Makoto pretended to cry.
"Well, do your best in this year's national tournament. I won't be in it."
"We're fine with that, but for the seniors, it ends this summer, you know? Have you ever thought about people like that?"
I feel like I'm being told something very unreasonable.
"Toya-kun, let's just stay quiet today and listen to Makoto-kun's complaints, okay?"
Even Airi...
"Yeah, let's go to a nearby family restaurant. I'll let you hear it in detail."
Is it still continuing?
Then at least...
"There's an okonomiyaki shop near here..."
Thwack.
I was hit by Airi.
"What kind of nerves do you have, suggesting okonomiyaki after catching two high school girls! It's already 3 o'clock!"
Okonomiyaki for a 3 o'clock snack is fine!
High school girls in Kansai do it, I'm sure they do it!
"Toya is as clueless as ever about girls, or rather, dense..."
Makoto said with an exasperated look.
When we arrived at the family restaurant, I tried to order my usual menu...
Thwack!
"A large order of french fries and four free drinks will be fine."
"At least add the soup bar..."
"Then, one of those too."
The ordering was managed by Airi.
It's unreasonable.
We each went to get our favorite juice, and the conversation continued.
I feel like high school girls returning from baseball are looking this way.
Surely that won't happen in a family restaurant.
...It happened.
"Um, are you Katagiri-san? If it's okay, an autograph..."
A girl wearing an Ida High uniform came over.
Starting with that one, they came one after another.
That said, I don't have anything to write with?
While I was troubled, Airi handed me a ballpoint pen from her bag.
"Why don't you just write it for them for now?"
I wrote my name for them for now with the ballpoint pen.
"Thank you very much."
I don't think such an autograph results in a single sen of profit.
"You've become popular too."
Makoto said thoughtfully.
"Has Makoto never felt this way at Ida High?"
When I asked Makoto, he answered nonchalantly, "I have."
"Ah, but there's no cheating or anything like that. I properly call Kanna every night."
It seems he also rejected confessions simply.
It's an act that's forgiven because he's handsome.
"What about Toya? You're not two-timing, are you?"
Makoto said something outrageous, but Airi denied it flatly.
"It's okay, because the gap with Toya-kun's daily life is extreme. Usually, he's just a glutton."
She's smiling, but Airi is saying something relatively cruel.
I won't deny it, though.
"I see, well, that makes sense."
"More importantly, Makoto. Toya is good at basketball too."
Kanna started talking about the recent class match.
"Yeah, I know. He was unusually into it during middle school PE. Though it was the influence of manga."
Makoto answered nonchalantly.
By the way, the manga wasn't the one called "I Want to Play Basketball." It was a different manga.
"In Toya's case, his physical ability is high, so I remember when I said 'Try dunking for a test?' and he actually pulled it off."
"That's it. I saw it for the first time too, and it really felt like he was dancing in the air. Above all, he looked happier than when he was playing soccer."
Airi agreed.
"Toya could probably handle anything if he felt like it, so why doesn't he do it?"
A question was thrown by Kanna.
"Because he studies, he didn't have time for club activities, right? Besides..."
"Besides?"
Airi asked back.
"Liking something and having the motivation to do it are separate issues, right? I can say the same for soccer."
"That's the question. Is it not fun even though you can do it that well! If you put in the motivation, there's another path..."
"Don't say it, because we promised not to."
Airi interrupted Kanna's words.
"Toya-kun told me. That rather than pouring passion into something else now, he wants to pour affection into me..."
Airi said embarrassedly.
"Whew. You said something like that, Toya? In a sense, you're bold."
"That's something to be envious of, Airi."
Makoto and Kanna said respectively.
Even I started to feel embarrassed.
Feeling out of place, I went to pour soup and juice.
Even during that time, they seemed to be in high spirits.
That night, studying alone with Airi.
Summer vacation had already begun.
Kanna had a solid part-time job at night.
At night, it was just me and Airi.
"Hey?"
Airi asked me while spinning her pen.
"What?"
"How is it really? Soccer aside, basketball is fun, right? If it's Toya-kun, you'd be a regular in no time..."
"Didn't you say yourself today that we wouldn't talk about that?"
"That's true... but is that really okay? I mean... ah, sorry. I'm pushing my views on you again."
It's okay.
I've devised a secret plan just in case something like this happened.
"Airi, close your eyes."
"Eh?"
"Hurry."
Airi closed her eyes, though she was bewildered.
I sat next to Airi, placed my hand on her face, and layered kisses.
"Wait, Toya-kun!?"
We haven't done this lately, right?
"This is the answer. The thing that's most fun right now, the thing I want to do, is to spend my school life with Airi. Still can't believe it?"
Airi smiled and gave an unexpected answer.
"What will you do if I say 'I don't believe it'?"
You shouldn't make light of a youth's sexual desire.
"...I'll push you down on the bed."
"Then, I don't believe it~!"
Instead, I was the one pushed down.
"That's why I love you, Toya-kun."
"Thanks, I love you too."
The feelings of the two overlapped.
Embracing the joy.
Next year, and the year after that, forever.
Because I can believe that I'll be here.