Jesse tilted her head back, and shifted her shoulders, feeling the bones in her back pop to release tension. She hadn't left the gym even during halftime, since she was afraid to miss anything. Even when Ayako invited them to go to the locker room, Jesse declined, the invite – even if it DID mean getting to see Rukawa shirtless. She smirked at the thought. The perfect way to get back at him for seeing me soaking wet from before.
In the meantime, Jesse busied herself by chatting with Fuji and Matsui, Haruko's best friends, and Haruko herself, along with Mito Yohei, one of Sakuragi's friends. While waiting for the game to start again, Jesse let Yohei rattle off about Sakuragi's travails, especially in his love life.
Jesse snickered when Yohei told her about how Sakuragi was dumped fifty times. "Hah, that's nothing. My friend Melina has dumped 58 guys in the span of three years."
Yohei's jaw dropped. "Nani?!?!? 58 guys?!?! 58?!?!?!"
"Yep. That's why we call her a 'Black Widow'; she's never had a boyfriend before, and the longest time a guy courted her was two weeks."
Yohei blinked a couple of times as he tried to digest the information. "Wow, that's amazing. She must be very picky."
"That's very strange," Haruko remarked. "I wonder why she doesn't have a boyfriend. If I were her, I'd have a boyfriend already."
Jesse shrugged as she watched Shoyo and Shohoku go to the center of the court. "She's a smart girl, that Melina. She really looks for one guy out of many who will make her happy, and she'll stay with him for a long time."
Fuji grinned at her teasingly. "And what about you, Jesse-chan? Do YOU have a boyfriend?"
Jesse gave a half-smile, and looked to the court, her eye almost automatically falling on Rukawa. "No, not now, at least. But someday, maybe I will."
* * *
Ciel's eyes widened as Shohoku started to get on a winning streak. From her seat beside Fujima, she could see every single dunk, three point shot and rebound made by the opposing teams.
But Shohoku was gaining. Mitsui had revealed his talent at three-pointers, and Hanamichi was making one rebound after another. In just a few minutes, they had not only caught up to Shoyo, they were LEADING by one point.
Ciel glanced at Fujima, and noticed him tense slightly as he gazed at the scoreboard. She watched as he stood up, and took off his jacket, laying it on the bench. He walked up to the officials, and spoke to one of them in low tones.
The bell on the officials' table rang out. One of them flashed a placard with the number six printed on it. The corners of Ciel's mouth turned down just so. Substitution…Fujima's going to play.
Number six – Ito – walked off the court, while Fujima walked onto the court. His face was deadly serious, but his blue eyes were determined. As he wandered by Hanagata, he did a VERY odd thing. He reached out, and smacked his teammate on his…ah…DERRIERE.
Ciel sweatdropped as she looked on. That was weird. She turned to Ito, and asked, "Does he always do this?"
Ito grinned slightly as he wiped off his sweat with a towel. "No, not really. When he does that it's sort of like he's trying to wake them up and focus on the game."
"Ah, I see." Ciel returned her focus to the game, and kept silent, her gaze jumping between Hanagata and Fujima. She wondered to herself who would turn out to be the biggest asset to the team during this game.
The game continued. The ball was passed back and forth, back and forth. Ciel watched, her awe of Hanagata and Fujima growing with every shot. They're brilliant, she thought.
A loud cheer rose up from behind. Hanagata had scored a dunk. Ciel grinned, and clapped her hands as Hanagata ran by. "Bravo, Hanagata!"
* * *
Hanagata grinned at Ciel, and waved as he ran past her, acknowledging her compliment. Arigatou, Ciel-san.
A raucous cheer rose from their side, making Hanagata pause in mid-step. Nani? He turned to look behind, and saw that Fujima had managed to steal the ball from Shohoku, and was running over to the other side of the court. None of Shohoku was there to defend, so Fujima did the lay-up with ease and no trouble.
Though his other teammates felt happy about it, Hanagata was confused. Fujima isn't always this impulsive, he thought. What could have gotten into him?
* * *
Fujima smiled satisfactorily as he ran back to their team's side to play defense. He slid a sideways glance to Ciel, and realized that she had an amazed look on her face.
He smiled. Mission accomplished! He had taken a gamble on that stealing bit, but it had given him the results he needed. Not only had he made a score, he had managed to impress the girl whom he now considered his new crush. If he played his cards correctly, he'd not only win the game, but get Ciel's attention as well.
His gaze drifted over to Hanagata, and noticed the tall center looking at him with a gaze of mingled concern and curiosity. He shook his head slightly, and returned his focus to the game at hand. This is idiotic. My best friend and I are getting all jittery over a girl… This isn't right.
The game moved on, and Shoyo was in the lead. Fujima grinned. We might have a chance to win this yet!
* * *
Jin sighed as he leaned back slightly. Shohoku had called for a timeout a few moments ago, and that allowed him a break from scrutinizing the game for flaws and other points. He glanced at the girl named Aleine, and noticed a small smirk on her face.
"The do'aho's tired already," she murmured as if to herself. "If he isn't careful, he won't be able to shoot properly."
Jin raised his eyebrow. Who is she talking about? He glanced at the Shoyo side. Their players were winded, but didn't seem exhausted. He looked at the players of Shohoku, and noticed that the player in jersey number 14 – Mitsui Hisashi – was leaning forward slightly, sweat dripping off his body, his shoulders heaving from weariness. Was she referring to Mitsui?
It was obvious. After a while, Aleine spoke again. "Anzai should pull him out. Any longer on the court and he'll collapse."
Maki spoke up then. "She's right. If Mitsui hangs around any longer, he'll push himself to the limit and the result will be severe exhaustion."
"But he is much too essential to the game," Aleine murmured. "Him and that baka redhead…they're the keys to Shohoku winning this game."
Jin stared at his sempai and at Aleine. They seem to be on the same wavelength. This is kind of creepy.
Thirty seconds were up, and the game got underway. However, he was only mildly surprised that Mitsui wasn't benched. That was a gamble on Mr. Anzai's part. But he'll probably make full use of Mitsui's skills until the last minute.
And it seemed that Mitsui wasn't going to go down that easily. He attempted to shoot, but apparently he was hasty, because the ball bounded off the edge of the ring.
A sarcastic laugh sounded from beside him, startling Jin and Maki. They both glanced at Aleine, just in time to hear her say, "Baka do'aho! You're straining yourself too much! Relax and take shooting slow!"
Jin and Maki looked at each other, their eyes showing their surprise. They both began to wonder just what sort of connection Aleine had to Mitsui. As their gazes jumped from the silver-haired girl between them and the three-point shooter of Shohoku, it suddenly dawned on them that Aleine was Mitsui's…
Jin blinked, and shook his head to clear his thoughts. I doubt it. She doesn't seem to show any signs of affection for him, and it looks like he doesn't know she exists. But still, there might be another meaning behind her harsh words…
* * *
Erin frowned as she continued to watch the game. This isn't too good… Shohoku was lagging behind, and Mitsui and Hanamichi were in trouble. Mitsui was much too tired to continue, and Hanamichi had garnered four fouls already.
"Shoyo's a very strong team. Shohoku will be hard-pressed at trying to topple them."
Erin turned, and saw Ciel walking up to her. She grinned slightly as her friend sat down beside her. "You're back. What're you doing here? I thought you and your date were happy on Shoyo's side?"
Ciel blushed slightly, and shook her head. "Fujima WAS NOT my date. He just wanted to talk with me a while, and I felt the same. But now that he's got his mind on other things, I felt pretty awkward sitting alone, so I decided to make my escape."
"How DID you get to sit there, by the way?" Jesse asked as she took her eyes off the game to ask Ciel the question. They all knew that only the players, coaches, managers and their assistants were allowed on the court. All others had to wait on the bleachers.
"He passed me off as an assistant manager," Ciel replied with a shrug. "And he made it so that I could leave anytime I wanted. I don't know what he said to the officials though. Either way, he's a pretty good fibber."
The supporters of Shohoku uttered a loud cry of dismay, causing the three girls to look back to the court. Mitsui was sitting on the floor, as though he had fallen. They watched as Kogure ran over to him, and helped him back up. Shohoku then called for a member change.
A smile flitted onto Erin's face as she watched Kogure remove his over-shirt and shorts to reveal him in Shohoku's uniform. He walked onto the court, his face hopeful, but not confident. He's always had such a low opinion of himself.
After more than a year of swapping email, Erin had somehow managed to find a dear friend in Kogure, who had initially described himself as "shy, kind of nerdy, and prefers to read books, surf the Internet and play basketball than hang out at the mall". He had provided good advice whenever she needed it, and had been the proverbial "shoulder to cry on" when her sisters and father died three months into their exchange of emails. During that particularly disconsolate time of her life, he and her other friends had been the rays of sunshine that kept her from falling into gloom.
Where would I be right now if it hadn't been for you, Kogure, she mused as she watched the bespectacled Shohoku player take his place with his teammates.
She adored his constantly cheerful demeanor and his peacemaker inclination. He had admitted to her that he hated conflict, and tried to avoid it as much as he could. He was simple, not wanting anything more than to achieve his goals and live in peace and quiet.
And it doesn't hurt at all that he's rather cute, Erin added to herself. All that basketball playing had given Kogure a fit, lithe build, which made him look like some hunk from a private school up in Oregon, or maybe even London. He looked great with glasses, but Erin knew he'd look better without them. She grinned. Maybe I ought to get him to try contacts. Let's se how many fan girls he ends up with after that.
Shohoku yelled suddenly, causing Erin to snap out of her thoughts. Her ears could hear them yelling a name, "Sakuragi! Sakuragi!"
Eh, what'd he do? Erin turned to Ciel, and asked, "What happened?"
Ciel's answer was quiet. "Sakuragi made a slam dunk. Unfortunately, he ended up knocking down the two Shoyo guards. He's been fouled, and since its his fifth foul, he's going to be benched from now on."
"But Shoyo's in deep trouble now," Jesse said with a grin. "Shohoku's managed to narrow the gap between their scores, and now they've got two fresh players. Strength's going to be pretty important now."
The game went on. Shohoku was working doubly hard, and their efforts were paying off. They had miraculously managed to catch up to Shoyo; their scores were tied at 60-60.
Erin unconsciously started to nibble on her thumbnail as the ball was passed to Rukawa, who ran towards the Shoyo side of the court. Hanagata was there, and so was Ito, the two of them guarding the ring.
Please make the shot, please make the shot… Erin prayed as Rukawa got closer, and then jumped. The two guards jumped with him. But Rukawa seemed confident with his shot, and he let the ball go. It flew towards the ring, and fell through without even touching the rim.
All around them the supporters of Shohoku were on their feet, cheering and yelling. Erin glanced at the scoreboard, and saw that the figures were now 60-62, in favor of Shohoku. The clock was running down to the last five seconds, and Erin knew that Shoyo didn't stand a chance now. The game's as good as won.
The buzzer rang, and Shohoku erupted into cheers. They had won.