Chapter 1684 Joining them
The match raged on and, slowly but surely, the same result as yesterday could already be seen on the horizon at every trickle of the remaining game time. The loud cheering from our side gradually drowned out the other. And if someone could observe from above, there’s this contrast between a lively atmosphere and a gloomy one wherein some of them had started walking out of the venue.
Well, their frustration was understandable. If the situation was reversed, the same thing could happen on our side.
In any case, even with their lead, Satsuki and her team never let up their offense or defense, keeping up the intensity of their plays at a higher level. For them, there’s no reason for them to relax when their opponent still can make a comeback.
Their opponents weren’t slacking off, of course. However, there was a clear difference in their skill levels and teamwork. Those scouts and other experts watching the match would surely conclude that their team outmatched the other in all areas. Only a miracle could save their opponent from clawing their way back to win this game.
While Kawakami-senpai and the others handled the responsibility of dropping those baskets, Satsuki would always have their backs whenever she caught a rebound. If it’s a defensive one, they’d quickly run back to the other side of the court to convert it into another score. And if it’s an offensive one, they’d be assisting her to score as much as possible..
Furthermore, each time they’d be successful, Kawakami-senpai and the other seniors would always give the girl a pat on the back, praising and encouraging her to strive for better performance. With that, her confidence in herself continued to swell up no one could really mistake her for a rookie anymore.
Occasionally, Satsuki would also search for me from the audience. And as always, I would give her a thumbs up and maybe a comical cheering that always cracks a beautiful smile from her tense expression. She’d probably get more admirers because of that but that’s fine. I’m all for it for the girl to be more recognized not just because of her basketball skills but also her beauty.
I could tease her a lot more using it. Imagine how grumpy she would become for failing to refute it.
Anyway, back to the present, there are only five minutes left on the game clock. Next to me, Juri never let go of my arm and hand, savoring each second that we were together.
As for our worry about being caught by Setsuna-nee, it was solved by Sakuma who helped secure the seats for us.
Instead of having them sit next to each other, the two of us separated them by sitting in the middle. Juri is at the edge of the row of seats while Setsuna-nee is in the middle. On her other side, there’s also Hana who was keeping her occupied as well.
And because of that, Sakuma, unfortunately, got little chance to make a move on Setsuna-nee. Not to mention, the woman was more focused on the game than his presence.
That sucks for him but hey, at least he’s still the one closest to her. Right? He just has to work harder from now on to woo her.
“Ruki, I realized one thing upon coming here,” Juri said after we exhausted the miscellaneous topics to talk about.
Although her voice was kind of drowned out by the noisy atmosphere, I caught it loud and clear. I took my eyes off the game for a moment to look at her. And sure enough, there was a meaningful look on her face that supported what she just uttered.
“Can I hear it? That sounded important.”
“Important, huh? I don’t know. You can consider this as just my own ramblings or simply my inexperience but… I think I’m more competitive than I thought I would be when it comes to my affection for you.” Juri paused for a moment to wet her dried lips. Then, after looking behind her or specifically, the girls behind us who were keeping an eye on us, she lifted her head and reached for my lips.
As soon as our lips touched, Juri also brought up her bag, covering us from the front. Due to that, this view became exclusive for my other girls to see.
So, this was what she meant by being ‘more competitive’, huh? Intentionally clinging to me in front of them wasn’t enough, she had to complete it by kissing me to announce her status to all of them.
In any case, I never rejected the bold move she made and instead, answered it in kind, making sure that she’ll be satisfied.
Of course, we couldn’t prolong it or we’d really be caught by others.
Once our lips separated, she continued, “Un. That’s sweet. I’m already addicted to this, Ruki. But I must admit, you’re not kidding at all when you tell me how complicated this will be.”
As her hand slid down to my face, fondling my cheek and memorizing its build, she looked behind us again. Most likely, to check how the others reacted to what she showed them.
A moment later, Juri gasped lightly as she started shaking her head, “How interesting…I thought I’d sense some hostility from them but no, they’re more amused than annoyed. Ruki, are they not threatened by me?”
Of course, they aren’t. They know that they can also do that whenever they want. Besides, even without doing the same, they’ll write that down in their heads and have me pay for it later. I mean, I can already imagine myself ganged up by them to ask for the same treatment.
They wouldn’t openly show how jealous they are but they will always convey it to me when they get the chance, one way or another.
“Let’s see. Did you kiss me to gauge their opinion of you? Or was it done because you want them to be wary of you? I’m fine either way but you see, they’re way past getting openly mad at someone I already told them about. If I have to list someone they could get jealous of, there’s only one girl who dared to declare war on them when she lauded how she wanted to steal me from them.”
Right. There’s only Hana. While a lot of them didn’t really care about whether she was going to succeed or not, some couldn’t help but be jealous of how lenient I was to the girl. Nonetheless, it’s still not so serious that they’d throw their fist at her.
In a way, Hana’s threat was already so negligible that all they wanted to see was her downfall and eventual succumbing to me.
“Oh. I may have underestimated how much they love to be with you. How embarrassing… I’ll talk to them and apologize, Ruki.”
Ah. So, she’s really gauging them, huh? It’s understandable. Our relationship was unbelievable, after all. But now that she witnessed it, she had no other choice but to believe what was shown in front of her eyes.
Then again, I like how she’s tackling this.
“It’s up to you but rather than an apology… Won’t it be better to get to know them? You might not want to hear my past yet but… I assure you, they can tell you a lot about me. Even things that I have no knowledge of. Or my embarrassing stories.”
“Oh. As expected of you, Ruki. That works too. Maybe I can tease you with them in the future.”
“Girl… Is teasing me a priority?”
“Of course, it is. I heard from Satsuki-chan how you often tease her. And you haven’t teased me yet. I’ll do the reverse and tease you first.” The girl mischievously smiled.
She then poked my chest and began tracing a letter. Bit by bit, she completed spelling our names and her short message to me.
Once she was done, Juri giggled in satisfaction.
“Heh. Now that you mention it… I’ve been neglecting that part. Here, let me tease you before you can get a material you can use to tease me.
After saying that, I pushed my head close to her ear and whispered something.
Almost instantly, Juri became flustered as she pushed back on my chest.
“Eh? Wait. That’s inappropriate, Ruki.”
“Is it? I don’t care. Seeing my Juri embarrassed is what I live for today.” I replied before repeating what I just did and this time, I added a nibble on her ear before retreating.
In an almost inaudible voice, Juri who was already covering her blushing face silently muttered, “This… How shameless… This isn't enough though. I'm mentally prepared for you, Ruki.”
This girl, so she could also act like it's not affecting her, huh?
Well, that’s just the start anyway. There will be more chances later.
In any case, after a while, I asked her if she still wanted to talk to them and she readily nodded.
With that, the two of us stood up and joined the other girls behind us, leaving Setsuna-nee for Sakuma and Hana to handle.
Akane, Nami, and the other girls who already sensed this coming smilingly welcomed her in their midst.
I naturally got set aside for a bit but with all of my girls here, it didn't take long before they occupied my empty sides again. On my left, Aya happily leaned on me, and on my right, Rae did the same. The two of them quietly and eagerly watched the game alongside me up to its expected conclusion.
To no surprise, it ended with another spectacular lead, bringing more fame for our school and themselves.
It’s probably a historical feat considering we’re never a school specialized in sports and everyone who participated in it would be immortalized for the new generation that would join it in later years. They still have one match for the trophy but well, there’s no reason not to celebrate the fulfillment of the goal they set for themselves.
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