The game between the third years and second years at Hachioji Academy continued. This time, the second years had possession and dribbled the basketball up the court. As a girl on Kazue's team was about to pass the ball, Haruko intercepted it and stole the ball.
"What?! How did she get there?" the girl asked, shocked.
"A steal! Get back on defense!" shouted another girl as she rushed back to defend.
"Come at me, Haruko. You think you're so good just because of that stupid shot you made?" Kazue sneered as she stepped up to guard Haruko.
Haruko dribbled between her legs, faking a move that Kazue reacted to. Then, out of nowhere, she executed a behind-the-back pass to Sayaka, who stood at 157 centimeters. Sayaka caught the ball and scored a layup, putting the score at 4–0.
"Nice pass, Haruko!" said Sayaka as she and Haruko high-fived.
"Damn you… She's mocking me," Kazue muttered.
"Hey! Pass me the ball!" she demanded angrily.
Suzume, noticing the second years' disarray, took the opportunity to steal the ball.
"Crap! I messed up—she stole it!" a girl exclaimed.
Without hesitation, Suzume immediately passed the ball to Kotone, who scored a layup.
"I hate to admit it, but their defense is solid. And Haruko… she was always able to maneuver around our defense easily. If she's really able to score now, then that's a problem for us," Kazue said, growing worried.
"The girls are looking really good out there. Looks like Haruko lit a fire in them all," said Coach Maeda with a smile.
Kazue dribbled the ball up the court, but Haruko stepped up and applied pressure on defense, making Kazue fumble the ball. Seeing her chance, Haruko stole it and went on a fast break.
"I won't let you go any further!" said a girl as she stepped in to guard Haruko.
Haruko quickly crossed the ball between her legs, then did a behind-the-back move to get past her defender.
"Damn, she's good—I couldn't keep up with her!" the girl admitted.
Haruko took a two-point shot, and once again, the ball swished perfectly through the net.
"Inbound the ball—quickly!" Kazue shouted.
But as soon as the ball was inbounded, Haruko intercepted the pass.
"Crap! I didn't see her!" Kazue panicked, rushing to prevent Haruko from shooting.
Without realizing where she was standing, Haruko set up and took a shot—swish!
"Wait… did she just make a three-pointer?" Coach Maeda asked herself, surprised yet delighted.
"Wow, girl! You're really on fire today!" Sayaka cheered.
"When did she become this good at scoring? I don't understand… Was she pretending all this time?" Kazue thought, confused.
Point after point, the third years continued to score, keeping the second years at zero.
"Damn! Their defense is too tight—there's no opening!" a girl groaned as she struggled against Suzume's defense.
"Pass me the ball!" Kazue shouted.
Her teammates passed it to her, and she caught it while assessing the defense.
"I don't know whether she was pretending to be bad or not, but I know one thing for sure—I will not lose," Kazue thought as she went up for a shot.
"Not happening!" Suzume declared as she jumped to block.
"A fake?!" Suzume gasped, realizing too late that Kazue had tricked her.
Kazue drove to the rim and went for a layup—but Haruko blocked the shot!
"What?! But how?! She was all the way over there!"
"Okay, I got it!" Suzume said as she grabbed the ball.
"Pass it! I'm near the basket!" Sayaka called.
Suzume threw a long pass to Sayaka, who finished with a clean layup.
"The girls are looking great out there! It hasn't even been five minutes, and they're one shot away from reaching twenty-one points! They've also stopped Kazue and the second years from scoring at all. I'm so proud of them," Coach Maeda said, smiling.
On the final possession of the game, Suzume dribbled the ball up the court.
"Alright, everyone, let's score one more time!" Suzume called as she passed the ball to Sayaka.
Sayaka looked around and passed to Kotone in the paint. With Kazue guarding her aggressively and no clear opening, Kotone quickly passed the ball back out to Suzume.
Suzume then passed to Haruko, making Kazue rush out of the paint to guard her—leaving Kotone wide open.
"This isn't over! You will not score on me, Haruko!!" Kazue shouted bitterly.
Haruko dribbled, blowing past Kazue. Kazue managed to recover and cut her off with strong defense, but Haruko stepped back and shot a two-pointer.
Swish!
The game to twenty-one had finally come to an end.
"If only real games were this easy," Suzume sighed.
"You're right—it was honestly way easier than I expected," Kotone said as she and Suzume walked past Kazue, who hung her head in shame.
"Nice shooting out there, Haruko! You really surprised me. Where did you learn to shoot like that?" Sayaka asked curiously.
"Yeah, I've been wondering too," added Suzume.
"Come on, spill the beans, Haruko!" Kotone teased.
"Well… when I was out one morning practicing my shot, I met a high school boy who taught me," Haruko admitted.
"Oh really? So you mean to tell me you were out so late with a boy?" Kotone teased playfully.
"I bet it was love at first sight for her. Was it?" Suzume asked blankly.
"All he did was teach me how to shoot, jeez!" Haruko groaned.
"Haruko…" Kazue spoke hesitantly, avoiding eye contact as she held her elbow awkwardly.
"What is it, Kazue?" Haruko asked.
"I… I want to apologize for the way I treated you," Kazue admitted. "I was just jealous that you got to be captain even though you couldn't score a single point. I thought that making your role difficult would make you quit, but instead, it only motivated you to get better. You don't have to forgive me, but I'll keep my end of the deal and start respecting you from now on."
"Actually… we're good," Haruko said with a gentle smile. "I didn't play against you to rub it in or hold a grudge—I did it to show you that I'm doing my very best to lead this team. So, you're forgiven."
"Excellent work out there, girls! Those were some great plays and incredible defense. If we keep this up, we'll definitely go far this season. You all impressed me today, so I'll end training early. Go home and get some rest—our practice match is in a week," said Coach Maeda.
"Yes, Coach!" the team responded in unison.
"I'm beat… I really need a bath right now," Kotone groaned as she stretched.
"Me too! I'm sleeping in tomorrow—I'm so glad it's Sunday," said Sayaka.
"Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury. I have to help my mother at her shop," Kotone sighed.
"Haruko," Coach Maeda called.
"Yes, Coach?" Haruko asked.
"Come with me—I want to talk to you."