Chapter XVI

* POV: Kojima -

I tightened my grip on the basketball as I stepped onto the hardwood court.

The familiar squeak of my sneakers sending a jolt of adrenaline through me.

The empty gym echoed with the rhythmic thud of the ball hitting the floor as Sugahara and I went for a little shoot around in the gym before school.

"By the way, has Aisawa’s friend talked to you every since she bumped into you?" Sugahara said between dribbles, his voice carrying across the vacant space.

“Nope,” I replied as my focus zeroed in on the net as I lined up my shot.

With a flick of my wrist, the ball arced through the air and swished cleanly through the hoop.

Sugahara retrieved the ball and spun it on his finger.

“Maybe you gotta make the first move,” Sugahara said to me.

I shrugged, snatching the ball from his hand and dribbling towards the free-throw line.

Sugahara's words drifted in one ear and out the other, my mind too focused on shooting the basketball.

"Aw, come on, don't act all nonchalant," he teased.

"You gotta at least be a little flattered, right?" he added.

I squared my shoulders, eyes locked on the backboard as I rose into my shooting stance.

The ball left my fingertips with a satisfying snap, sailing in a perfect arc before dropping cleanly through the net.

Without missing a beat, I turned and caught Sugahara's appraising look.

"What? I’m not very good at talking about that stuff," I put it simply.

Sugahara chuckled, tossing me the ball with a shake of his head.

"Fair enough, man. Fair enough,” he said.

The squeaking of sneakers and the rhythmic thudding of the ball against the hardwood was the only melody I needed this morning.

"It was a pretty sucessful month am I right?" I asked Sugahara.

Sugahara's eyes lit up at that.

“What a run we had, huh?" he said.

I nodded, recalling our wins against Kurokawa Tech, Aoba High, Shizuka Prep, and Earnest Hill following the month of May.

It was now June and we have played 5 out of 20 regular season games.

"That Shizuka game was way too close for comfort though," I said, dribbling in place.

"We only won by seven points."

"Hey, a win's a win!" Sugahara grinned, stealing the ball from me with a quick hand.

"Doesn't matter if it's by one or twenty-one.

We gutted it out."

"True, but we can't get complacent out there." I added.

Sugahara drove hard, but I stayed glued to him, our sneakers squeaking furiously against the hardwood.

At the last second, I poked the ball free, snatching it from the air.

"That's my point," I said, pivoting to take the open lay-up.

"We get sloppy and any team can catch us slipping."

The ball snapped cleanly through the net as Sugahara jogged back to meet me at half-court, nodding approvingly.

Over the last two months, my basketball skills have been improving tremendously, as I adapted to high school hoops.

"Then let's just keep taking it one game at a time," he said, holding out his fist.

“Just us versus whoever's next."

Following the game against Harukaze, we played on average a game once a week.

* Flashback POV: Kojima -

First, it was Kurokawa Tech.

The roar of the crowd faded into a dull buzz as I dribbled up court, zoning in on Kurokawa Tech's towering center.

Their big man may have had the height advantage, but I knew Sugahara and I could burn him from the perimeter.

As the play unfolded, I dished a slick pass to Sugahara in the corner.

His feet danced behind the arc before rising up and drilling the triple over the outstretched arms of the center.

The home crowd at Sakura High erupted as Kurokawa called a frustrated timeout.

Coach Miyamura's game plan was simple: spread the floor and make their sluggish bigs chase us around on the perimeter.

By the final buzzer, Sugahara had torched them for 27 points in our 82-67 win.

Our very next game was a road game against Aoba High and their gritty, and determined squad.

No fancy plays or three-point barrages, just a physical, grind-it-out battle.

Kinoshita’s cheers could barely be heard over the deafening Aoba crowd as they cheered for their school’s team.

With two minutes left and the score tied at 60, I grabbed a huge offensive board and quickly fired it out to Arisu for an open three.

Swish

After that, we build momentum and went on a 10 - 0 run.

We had beaten Aoba at their homecourt by 73-60.

The toughest test so far was Shizuka Prep and their highly-touted forward Sasaki.

The dude was built like a truck with crazy footwork in the post.

I'll never forget the possession where he spun baseline, cocked the ball back for a monster dunk...only for Yamato to meet him at the summit for an explosive rejection at the rim.

Shizuka roared with every Sasaki bucket, but we stayed poised and made just enough winning plays down the stretch.

Nakamura hit some free throws that sealed the 68-61 victory as the loud Shizuka crowd could only watch in stunned silence.

Earnest Hill was supposed to be a cake walk, but they came out fired up and ready to fight.

We sleepwalked through the first half and quickly found ourselves down 18 points after the break.

Coach Miyamura's face was beet red as he lit into us during the huddle.

Whatever he said must have struck a nerve, because we came blitzing out of that timeout with a full-court press that Earnest Hill couldn't handle.

We climbed all the way back to steal the W, 72-64.

❀✾❀

* Flashback Over -

I wiped a bead of sweat from my brow as our lunch group settled into homeroom.

The stifling heat had us all drained, even with the windows were flung wide open.

"This AC is useless," Haruno grumbled, fanning herself.

"How are we supposed to learn like this?"

Sugahara didn't seem fazed, happily slurping on a bright blue popsicle.

A few drips escaped the corner of his mouth as he savored the icy treat.

Kinoshita eyed him as she watched drips of sugar stain fall into his uniform.

"You're getting that sticky mess all over your uniform." Kinoshita said, handing him some paper towels.

He shrugged, unbothered.

"Worth it for this flavor.

You want a—"

Just then, the popsicle tumbled from Sugahara's grasp and splattering onto the tiled floor in a puddle of melted blue syrup.

We all recoiled, but he simply bent down and scooped it right back into his mouth.

"Dude, gross!" Asari laughed.

"That's been on the nasty floor!"

Sugahara wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Five second rule, bro." he explained.

Haruno and Kinoshita exchanged a look of revulsion.

"That rule doesn't apply to Sakura High's floors," Kinoshita said jokingly.

I had to admit, seeing Sugahara slurp up the floor popsicle didn't exactly spark my appetite.

Though I guess when it's that hot out, you take what you can get.

"So, any fun plans for summer break?" Kinoshita had asked cheerfully, clearly eager to discuss the upcoming vacation.

"Summer break is still like a month away isn’t it?" Haruno questioned Kinoshita.

I watched as Kinoshita's eyes lit up.

"It's only a few weeks away! Plus, with all the studying we've been doing, I need something fun to look forward to." Kinoshita explained.

She punctuated her point with an exaggerated pout.

"I guess that's fair. I wish it was closer to winter because it’s so hot,” Haruno added.

The classroom door slid open, revealing Aisawa Mei's bright smile.

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"Hey guys!" She bounced inside with another girl trailing behind her.

"Hey Aisawa!” Kinoshita greeted.

Who's your friend?" she added.

The newcomer gave a shy wave.

Aisawa looped an arm around her shoulders.

"This is Ohara Emi! She's a first year in the sewing club with me," Aisawa explained.

“Oh, uh nice to meet yall. You guys can just call me Emi,” she said.

Aisawa caught Sugahara's eye and shot him an exaggerated wink.

He returned it with a subtle nod, some unspoken communication passing between them.

"So!" Aisawa clapped her hands together.

"Who's up for some ice cream and karaoke after school? Aisawa told everyone.

A chorus of enthusiastic agreements followed.

Even Haruno seemed on board, I guess the heat really does change people.

Aisawa was friends with everybody and there’s a good reason for it.

"Ice cream sounds amazing!" Kinoshita gushed.

"I could go for a big strawberry sundae right about now!" Asari exclaimed.

As the group chattered excitedly about potential flavors and song choices.

❀✾❀

* POV: Sugahara -

After school ended, the lunch group met up with Aisawa and Emi and we made our way to the ice cream shop.

It was the same place we had gone to celebrate when Kojima made the team.

A nice, cozy little icecream parlor with a good selection of flavors.

As we walked, we had some small talk together.

"Oh, hey! Didn’t you guys meet Emi before at the sewing club?" Aisawa said.

After realizing, Asari spoke up.

“Oh yeah, sorry about that one time Emi!” he stated.

Asari was referring to when she ran into him.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Emi replied.

“Yeah, afterall Kojima was such a gentleman when he caught Emi as she was falling,” Aisawa explained.

“Oh wow, nice going Kojima!” Kinoshita chimed in.

"Mei, you didn't have to bring that up..." Emi said in a whisper.

Emi looked embarrassed while Kojima was just as calm and reserved as ever.

Aisawa giggled.

The conversation meandered from there, drifting between topics like our next game, weekend plans, and what flavors everyone was going to order etc.

It was just a chill hangout with friends after school, the kind of simple good time that everyone loves.

At the ice cream shop, we all placed our orders and found a booth to squeeze into.

Aisawa made sure to get Emi to sit in the spot right next to Kojima.

I caught her eye and grinned, giving her a little wink.

"What was that for?" Haruno asked, catching my conspiratorial look.

"Oh, nothing," I said innocently, sliding into the booth beside Kinoshita.

Emi was sandwiched between Aisawa and Kojima.

Kinoshita raised an eyebrow at the seating arrangement but didn't comment.

Kojima, ever the oblivious one, didn't seem to notice at all.

Our ice cream arrived and we all dug in, chatting and laughing between bites.

At one point, Emi went to take a lick of her cone and a bit of ice cream smeared on her nose.

"Oh, hang on, you've got some on your nose,” Kojima pointed out.

Kojima looked like he was about to wipe it off for her, but instead just handed Emi the napkin.

“Oh, thanks,” Emi replied embarrassed.

I couldn't help myself.

Teasing Emi, I whispered over to her, "He was going to wipe it off for you, you know,"

No one else heard that but her.

Her blush deepened as she quickly wiped the ice cream from her nose off.

Beside her, Kojima frowned in confusion.

This was almost too easy.

Aisawa caught my eye again and we both snickered.

"What's so funny?" Haruno asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, nothing," I assured her, trying to look innocent again.

The rest of the hangout passed in a similar fashion, with Aisawa and I taking any opportunity to tease our friends closer together.

Kojima may have been hopelessly dense, but Emi was an open book with her crush written all over her face.

As we headed out the shop, Aisawa gave me a high-five.

"Operation Get Emi a Date is underway!" we cheered.

After the ice cream shop, we all headed over to the karaoke place nearby.

It was a classic way to cap off an afternoon of hanging out with friends.

As soon as we arrived, Kinoshita and Haruno pulled me aside, matching looks of curiosity on their faces.

"Alright Sugahra, spill it," Haruno said with hands on her hips.

"What was up with you and Aisawa ganging up on poor Emi at the ice cream place?"

Kinoshita asked,

I grinned sheepishly.

"You guys caught onto that, huh?"

"It was pretty obvious," Haruno chimed in, raising an eyebrow.

"What's the deal?"

I glanced around cautiously before leaning in.

"Aisawa told me Emi has had a crush on Kojima ever since that time he caught her in the hallway," I explained.

Kinoshita's eyes went wide and she clapped her hands together delightedly.

"Oh my gosh, that's so cute!” she exclaimed.

"Right?" I chuckled.

"So Aisawa and I were just trying to, you know...help get the ball rolling a bit.

Give Emi some openings to get closer to Koji." I explained.

Kinoshita looked like she was about to squeal with excitement.

"I love this! We have to make an operation out of it." she added.

“That’s what we’ve been up to,” I replied.

Haruno pursed her lips skeptically.

"I don't know, isn’t it better that we just leave them be and let things happen naturally?" Haruno questioned.

"Oh come on, Haruno!" Kinoshita protested.

"Where's the fun in that?

Sometimes you gotta give love a little nudge," Kinoshita explained.

Haruno's expression softened slightly.

"I guess...but Kojima can be pretty dense,” Haruno stated.

After we got a private room we ran towards the machine and looked over all the songs.

We all sung some songs and ordered some drinks.

It was a pretty fun time.

Eventually though, we had to turn up the heat.

"Alright, time for a duet!" Aisawa announced brightly, scrolling through the song selections.

I couldn't help but chuckle as Aisawa and Kinoshita herded Kojima and Emi towards the karaoke machine together.

Those two were really going all out with their matchmaking efforts.

"W-What?

A duet?"

Emi shot out a panicked look.

Emi looked like a deer caught in headlights, clutching the microphone with white knuckles.

Kojima just seemed mildly confused.

The opening notes of some old pop song started playing and Aisawa thrust the second mic at Kojima.

"You're up, so Emi what you can do!

What are you talking about?" Kojima asked confusingly.

Sometimes that guy's obliviousness was painful.

Emi was frozen, staring at the screen with a terrified expression.

Kojima seemed to pick up on her nervousness and told her to relax.

"Don't worry, just follow my lead," he said simply.

And with that, he launched into the lyrics, his voice surprisingly decent.

He usually talked all low and calm like a zombie, but his singing has a tad bit more emotion I guess you could say.

Emi stayed rooted in place for the first few lines before seeming to find her courage.

She took a deep breath and joined in.

It was...not great, to put it mildly.

But there was just something so endearing about the two of them up there, Emi bright red and Kojima completely unfazed, just focused on getting through the song.

Aisawa kept shooting me excited looks, clearly thrilled.

Kinoshita had her phone out, no doubt recording the whole adorably awkward scene to tease them with later.

As the song went on, Emi started to relax a little.

She was still a beat behind and off-key, but she had a smile playing at her lips now.

By the time the final chorus rolled around, Emi was really going for it, any self-consciousness gone as she belted out the words.

Kojima realized that she was giving her wholehearted effort.

When the song finally ended, we all burst into cheers and applause.

Emi was still flushed but beaming, looking happier than I'd ever seen her.

“That was pretty fun,” Kojima told Emi, reverting back to his monotone self.

“Y—Yeah!” Emi replied.

After Kojima and Emi's adorably awkward duet, I shared a look with Aisawa and we both grinned mischievously.

Time to show these amateurs how it's really done.

"Alright, alright, make way for the real stars!" I announced, hopping up and grabbing the mic from Kojima.

"Prepare to be amazed, folks." I said confidently.

Aisawa joined me, snatching the other mic..

"That's right, Sugahara and I are about to blow your minds with our vocal talents!” Aisawa said encourangingly.

Kinoshita and Haruno exchanged weird looks, like they couldn't wait to see what ridiculous display we had planned.

Emi seemed relieved to pass the baton, while Kojima just watched us.

Scrolling through the song list, I found the perfect one - a cheesy 90s love ballad with overly romantic lyrics.

I shot Aisawa a wink and she grinned back, immediately catching my meaning.

As the opening piano notes started playing, I turned to Emi with an exaggerated lovestruck expression.

"This one is for all you lovers out there!” I shouted out.

“L—lovers?” Kinoshita said.

Emi's eyes went wide and her face flushed crimson.

Beside her, Kojima tilted his head in confusion.

Aisawa draped herself dramatically next to me as we we’re about to perform the cheesiest love song every.

It was a song that encourages love so hopefully the message can get through Kojima’s thick skull.

“Every heart deserves to feel,”

“A love that's pure, a love that's real,”

“Oh man, this is too good,” Haruno said with laughter.

Aisawa spun around and danced with me.

We probably looked super cringey but hey, it was pretty fun just goofing around.

"I’m holding you close to the stars!"

“I can’t stand being a part!”

Aisawa wasn't holding back - at one point she grabbed Kojima and pulled him up, draping his arm around Emi as she leaned back dramatically while I sang about eternal love.

The whole thing was so delightfully stupid and over-the-top.

Haruno was doubled over with laughter, tears in her eyes, as she had started to record this on her phone.

But the real prize was Emi's reaction - she looked absolutely mortified, like she wanted to just melt into the floor as Aisawa and I directed our exaggerated romantic gestures and lyrics at her and Kojima relentlessly.

For the first time, Kojima seemed to finally be catching on that we were definitely up to something.

image [https://i.imgur.com/En3FPSk.jpg]

He kept shooting Emi sidelong glances, looking almost apologetic for whatever torment we were putting them through.

As the final chorus started, Aisawa and I pulled out all the stops - dropping to our knees, reaching our arms skyward, just absolutely milking every single cringe-worthy note and gesture.

By the time the song finally ended, we were both breathing hard from the effort of containing our laughter.

The room exploded into a mixture of cheers, applause, and hysterics.

"Bravo, bravo!" Asari seemed genuinely impressed.

We didn’t clue Asari on what we’ve been doing.

As far as I know he could have been just as clueless as Kojima.

Aisawa and I took our bows, grinning from ear to ear at having achieved peak levels of secondhand embarrassment for our friends.

Mission accomplished.

Afterall the was the real plan that we had been discussing over the DMs.

It actually worked because now Emi and Kojima were over there sharing some laughs about how cringy we were.

After our over-the-top karaoke shenanigans, the group slowly started to disperse.

Emi said her goodbyes, still looking a bit flustered as she left with Aisawa.

Haruno mentioned needing to get home in a hurry since we wasted a lot of time. She asked Kojima to take her to the subway fast with his bike.

Kojima nodded in agreeance.

Before I knew it, it was just me and Kinoshita left.

The others had all headed off, leaving us standing there as the sunset started to paint the sky in brilliant shades of orange and pink.

A warm breeze ruffled Kinoshita's hair as she tucked a stray strand behind her ear.

Kinoshita and I strolled leisurely down the street as we walked home together.

The warm evening air felt good against my skin after being cooped up in the karaoke room.

"Today was a lot of fun," Kinoshita said.

“Yeah, it was pretty hilarious,” I replied.

Kinoshita laughed.

"You two really went all out with the embarrassment factor." She said, giving me a sly look.

"I almost wondered if maybe you had an ulterior motive besides just teasing Kojima and Emi," Kinoshita stated.

"What, me? I was simply putting on a show, that's all." I replied.

Kinoshita shoved my shoulder lightly in a playful way.

“You guys really put on a circus show huh?” she said with a feint chuckle.

“Sure did,” I replied.

Then she spoke up again, her tone a bit more hesitant this time.

"That song you did with Aisawa though...it was pretty over-the-top romantic, huh?"

I glanced over at her, catching a faint crease between her brows.

Was she mad at something?

"Yeah, I guess it was pretty cheesy. Just playing it up for laughs, you know?" I explained.

Kinoshita nodded slowly, but she seemed...I don't know, almost distracted for some reason.

I studied her face, but she just gave me a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Before I could dwell on it too much, we reached the corner where we usually parted ways.

Kinoshita stopped and turned to face me.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," she said, the same slight distance in her voice.

"Get home safe, okay?" she added.

"Yeah, you too. Sleep well," I said.

She lifted her hand in a little wave before turning and heading off down her street.

It seemed like Kinoshita was bothered by something.

But what?

Whatever had Kinoshita acting a bit off, I'm sure it would just blow over.

Shes the most easygoing person I’ve ever met.

As I walked home I hummed a few bars from the cheesy love song under my breath.