Stealing Spree

Fifteen minutes. No matter how I twisted it to my convenience, it was too short of a time to spend with Satsuki. Nonetheless, we gotta savor what we have, right?

Bringing her to the nearest vending machine located indoors, I got her lemonade. Even though she just used it as her way to escape from my teasing, she couldn’t deny her thirst for it.

And perhaps to make it better for us, we just shared that one can while talking about things related to their upcoming match. There’s no need to tell her my deeds today like beating up Taku and celebrating Saki’s birthday. She might get worried again and it won’t be good for her mental state.

Well, she did see my bandaged fist. There’s no way she wouldn’t. But after months of being together, she already could guess my intention and why I wasn’t telling her the reason for it yet.

In return, she pressed her thumb on it and checked on my expression. Well, it’s not enough to make me wince from pain anymore and I doubt that’s what she’s trying to do. She’s ascertaining how bad it was. Upon understanding that it was not that serious, her thumb started caressing it next while her head gradually rested on my shoulder.

And just like that, we continued our idle conversation while taking turns sipping on the can of lemonade.

“I haven’t heard it yet but who’s your opponent this time? Are they strong?”

Earlier, they beat a school that was supposed to be at the same skill level as them last year. But given that only the strong wins and it’s a single elimination tournament, their next opponent could be a seeded team if they’re unlucky.

I might not be that clear here but from what I heard from both Satsuki and Eguchi-sensei, it goes like this.

There are fifteen high schools located in our city including both private and public. One of the fifteen didn’t field a team to compete which resulted in only fourteen teams for this year’s Interhigh Competition for Girls Basketball Clubs.

After the first round, seven winning teams advanced to the second round.

Among those seven, two are seeded teams. They were the champion and runner-up last year and advanced to the prefectural level.

There’s not really that much advantage for the seeded teams other than not having the two of them meet in the first and second rounds.

However, since the number of teams became an odd number, one of five unseeded teams won’t play for the second round. Regrettably, it’s not our school that got picked for that. Nonetheless, it’s fine either way. It’s not equivalent to getting a bye straight to the semi-finals, after all.

Tomorrow, they’ll be the first one to play against a seeded team. As for who among the two they’ll be playing, it’s still undetermined.

It’s like a bonus match to determine who will take the fourth spot. If by some chance, those two seeded teams lost their match today, that’s equivalent to having a second chance. Otherwise, it’s just another game for them.

If that lucky team loses to an already qualified seeded team tomorrow, they won’t be eliminated and will still advance to that fourth spot. The catch is... they won’t have that much time to rest. Their match will be the first semi-finals match, giving their opponent the advantage to play against an exhausted team.

It sucks, yeah? I don’t know if they can still be called lucky or not.

Anyway, that’s that. It’s a little confusing but in hindsight, Satsuki’s team needed two wins to qualify for the prefectural level.

“Maybe? It's Kitarai High School. They’re second place but lost in their first match in the prefecture-level last year.”

And there we go. They’re also unlucky, huh? Two out of five and they got one. The only saving grace here was that they’re not the first seed. From what I heard, they’re still strong this time. Maybe not as strong as the Seven Stars Girls’ Academy from the next city over but definitely a contender at the prefectural level.

“Oh. Since you’re not sure, I bet you’re confident to beat them.” I teasingly remarked.

The girl was clearly unfazed even after knowing that it was the second seed. Her confidence was that high. But thinking about it, it also explained why Kawakami-senpai and the others were that tense.

“Of course, we will! We trained hard for it! Watch me properly.”

“I will. I told you, right? I’ll be cheering for you from the audience stands.”

Seeing the fighting spirit burning in her eyes, I also adopted it and matched her energy. Following that, I hugged the girl tightly to give her the comfort that she needed before their match.

“Geez. How can you do that when you come here with the other girls? Don’t you think my seniors will be suspicious of you?”

That’s true. If they looked up at the audience and saw me in the middle of a garden of beauty, they might even get distracted.

Ugh. I should prepare beforehand not to be overly conspicuous.

“Well, I’ll handle that. You just have to listen closely to my voice. And if need be, I can run and be your waterboy.”

“There you go again. Don’t try to take the other club members’ jobs. Uhm. Maybe next year, you can be one.”

Satsuki contemplated and perhaps already thought about the possibility of her taking the helm of their club next year.

It might really come true though. She was seen as more valuable even amongst the second years in their club. She’s the successor for the center position. And they know how dedicated she can be.

“Alright then. I’ll be your exclusive waterboy next year.”

“This idiot.” Satsuki shook her head but a second later, her subdued laughter resounded.

Ten minutes later, I walked her back to their waiting room.

Eguchi-sensei, Kawakami-senpai, and the others welcomed us back with a smile. The effect of what happened earlier was still apparent. The tension on their faces was gone and they all looked like they were ready to charge into the battlefield, whether it was the players or not.

I guess that’s what’s great about their club. Even those who weren’t chosen in the lineup were not feeling left out. They all supported each other.

Unlike that Baseball Club that was rife with politics with some of them scheming to boot out their bald captain. No wonder they lost the first round.

“Mhm. See you all in the court. I’ll be cheering for all of you.”

“Thank you, Onoda-kun.” Kawakami-senpai replied with a smile which was followed by similar words from the others.

With that, I exited their room and walked out of that area.

Before going back to my girls, I made my way to the outdoor parts of this sports complex. After passing through the tennis court, soccer field, oval track, and baseball field, I arrived at the small area for the softball field.

It’s not as crowded as the other courts but there’s still a sizable amount of audience cheering for the teams. Since most people don’t see softball as a sport on par with baseball, most of the audience were also girls apart from friends and families of the players.

At the very least, no creeps were standing around ogling the players and audiences alike.

When I showed, I naturally got some attention but ignoring all those, I searched among the standees for the figure of Sumire.

Sure enough, she might not be the most eye-catching girl out there but her back was very recognizable to me. I often see it when she’s walking out of the train, after all.

Making my way to where she was, I intentionally lightened my footsteps to not startle the girl. Or maybe, it’s the other way around, it’s to surprise her with my sudden appearance.

At the same time as the current batter hit the pitch, Sumire who was pretty much focused on the match reacted to that clean hit.

“Yes! Go. Run to the second base!” She shouted enthusiastically. The other audience were doing the same so she’s not out of place there.

And because of that, the girl failed to notice me behind her.

Copying her, I shouted the same thing while extending my arm on top of her shoulder, pointing to the second base.

“E-eh? What...?”

Almost instantly, the girl flinched before jumping to the side and as soon as she recognized me, Sumire underwent several changes in her expression.

“Hmm? What’s wrong? You saw a ghost or something?” I said dubiously unbothered by her reaction.

Sumire caught on that, of course, making her cheeks immediately puffed up. It’s adorable but she’s definitely not that amused at my sudden appearance.

Then, as she cautiously returned to her position to not make a scene and gather attention, she grabbed the hem of my uniform and asked, “S-senpai. What are you doing here?”