Rie, seated at the printer in the newspaper clubroom, carefully aligned the latest issue into the output tray. The machine hummed steadily until a sudden sneeze escaped her, jerking her forward. A few printed pages slipped from the tray and scattered to the floor.
"Looks like someone is talking about you," said Yuri, sitting cross-legged at a desk nearby, sorting photo sheets.
"You think so?" asked Rie, rubbing her nose and sniffing lightly.
"Yes, I do, but I bet—"
"Are you hoping that it's Katsuragi?" asked Yuri with a mischievous grin as she flipped through the stack of printed photos.
"W-w-w-what?! No, I'm not!" Rie stammered, her face flushing rapidly as she tried to gather the scattered newspapers. Her hands fumbled against the slick paper, crumpling a few in her rush.
Yuri tilted her head, clearly enjoying Rie's reaction. "You printed his picture on the front page despite him not doing so great in that match, so it's obvious that you like him. It's a cool and creative way to try and make your feelings reach him. That's so cute."
"Please stop teasing me, I can't take anymore of this." Rie stood up, the paper still wrinkled in her hands. Her voice cracked slightly under the pressure. "The only reason I put him on the front page is because he looked way better than the other people on the team."
"So you admit that you find him attractive, then?" said Yuri, giving her a cheerful look that only made Rie more flustered.
"No, that's not what I meant, Yuri!!"
"I'm just joking. Calm down, jeez." Yuri leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms above her head, the sleeves of her cardigan bunching around her elbows.
Rie pressed her lips together and looked away, cheeks still visibly red.
"Oh, I almost forgot. There's something I'd like to show you," said Yuri, her tone shifting to something more playful as she reached into her bag.
"And what might that be?" asked Rie, arms crossed now, though her voice had calmed a bit.
Yuri then took out a photo from a small transparent pouch and turned it around to face Rie.
"W-what!! How did you get this?" Rie's eyes widened as she took a sharp step forward, staring at the image of Shino mid-laugh, his eyes slightly squinted in a rare expression of ease.
"I took these during the match. I took about fifty pictures of him doing any pose I asked him to. Isn't he adorable?" asked Yuri, holding back a giggle.
"Here are the best ones of the set," Yuri continued, spreading them across the table like trading cards. Rie leaned in slightly, unable to pull her gaze away from the clear, well-framed photos—especially the ones of Shino smiling in that understated, soft way of his.
"These are so cute, I want them," Rie said to herself, voice almost inaudible.
"They're yours if you just admit that you have a thing for him."
"Why would I want pictures of him? It's not like I like him or anything," Rie said, her voice tight. She kept glancing at the pictures but quickly turned her eyes away each time as if looking too long would betray her thoughts.
"Okay, your loss. I bet these could sell for a pretty good price around the school," said Yuri, casually starting to collect them back into her pouch.
"Wait, I want them!" Rie blurted and instantly slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide in horror.
"Awww, finally being true to our feelings, aren't we?" Yuri teased with a satisfied smirk.
"Please stop teasing me," Rie muttered, taking the photos from Yuri with shaking hands. Her ears were red, and she clutched the pictures protectively.
"Since you're so cute, I'll give you them for free. Here, take them," said Yuri warmly.
Rie immediately slipped the photos into her school bag, not meeting Yuri's gaze.
From across the room, Kanae, sitting by the window and skimming the club's bulletin board, watched them with mild amusement. She tucked a pen behind her ear and leaned back in her seat.
"The basketball team is quite the scoop this year," Kanae murmured to herself. "I look forward to reviewing them in the tournament. Try your best to impress me, Nanaho, and put on a show."
In the boys' locker room of Toshigawa Academy's gymnasium, the clatter of lockers opening and the shuffling of sneakers echoed against the tiled walls. The air was thick with the scent of sweat, detergent, and the faint tang of metal.
"I can't believe we did so well against Yokonan," said Takahiro, sliding his shirt over his head and adjusting the hem.
"You can say that again," said Hayato as he sat on the bench and tightened his headband, brushing stray strands of hair out of his face.
"For some reason, I feel energized today, and I'm ready for whatever Nanaho is going to throw at us," said Takahiro, flexing his arms briefly before grabbing his basketball shoes from under the bench.
"That makes one of us. Something tells me Nanaho has something bad planned for me. I don't know why, but I think she hates me," said Noboru, sitting slumped against the locker, legs stretched out in front of him.
Both Hayato and Takahiro burst out laughing, exchanging a knowing look.
"I'm being serious, man! She's evil!" Noboru insisted, sitting upright and adjusting his wristbands.
"Tetsuo, you were great out there yesterday. If we didn't have you on our team, we would've been crushed for sure. Thanks for joining the basketball team," said Hayato, slapping him on the back as Tetsuo tied his sneakers calmly.
"Yes, I can't thank you enough," said Takahiro, offering a firm nod.
"I'll ensure that we make it to the inter-high preliminaries and beat Yokonan," said Tetsuo, his voice low but confident.
"Yeah, let's do our best."
A few feet away, Shino crouched by his open locker, tugging the laces of his left shoe tight. The soft scrape of rubber against the locker room floor echoed faintly.
"I didn't do much in that match, but I had fun playing with everyone, and that's enough for me. I'll improve as much as I can before our matches start," Shino muttered to himself.
"Great, everyone is here already. Nanaho will be here in a couple of minutes. She was held up in class," said Yukio as he stepped into the room, clipboard in hand.
"Thank god, I've been spared for a couple more minutes," said Noboru, exhaling with relief.
"Okay, so what should we do until she gets here?" asked Shino, zipping up his warm-up jacket.
"It's been on my mind for a while now. When are we going to get another person to join our team? The minimum requirement for us to play is at least seven players," said Takahiro, frowning slightly as he sat down on the bench beside Hayato.
"I asked Kurai to join the team recently, but he told me that he quit basketball for good," said Shino.
"Our team would have been set if we got someone like Makoto to play for us," said Yukio, scratching the back of his neck.
"Wait, Hayato, what about that tall foreigner named Liam Ainsworth? He's in your class, isn't he? Why don't you ask him to join us?" asked Takahiro, looking up with curiosity.
"Yeah, that's a pretty good idea. Getting someone as tall and athletic as him to join our team would be a big relief," said Yukio.
"Believe me, I did try to recruit him. In fact, I asked him this morning. However, he refused to join because he's devoted to track and field," said Hayato, arms crossed.
"Maybe if we talked with the track coach, we could make him join?" asked Yukio, only half-joking.
"I don't think you'd convince him to join through his coach. At the end of the day, it's his decision, and we have to respect that," said Hayato firmly.
"You're right, but we have to get serious about this because I want to play this year," said Yukio, his grip tightening around the clipboard.
"I wonder what we're going to do," said Takahiro, voice low.
"Let's not dwell on not having enough players, because that won't change a thing. All we can do now is work with what we have and make the best of it," said Yukio.
"Yeah, you're right," said Hayato.
The team gradually spread out across the court as they left the locker room, the faint sound of their sneakers squeaking against the polished floor echoing through the empty gym.
"Okay, so before Nanaho gets here, we'll play a friendly three-on-three?" asked Yukio, stretching his arms above his head.
"You're speaking my language, Yukio," said Noboru, already jogging in place.
"So, how should we organize the teams?" asked Shino, dribbling a loose ball slowly between his hands.
"I would say seniors vs. freshmen, but that would be a bit unfair," said the captain.
"I don't mind taking on the three of you," said Tetsuo boldly, walking to the center court line.
"Yeah, I can beat all of you easily," said Noboru, grinning confidently.
"Be careful what you wish for, Noboru," said Hayato with a straight face, already moving into position.
"Bring it on, we'll win easily."
"I'll shoot for it," said Tetsuo. He took the ball, planted his feet, and released a smooth shot. It arced cleanly and landed with a swish.
"I don't know how this guy does it," Hayato said to himself, shaking his head.
"Okay, let's get started."