Okay, let's get started with training. We'll warm up first, then you'll be playing four on four with the same team members as last time, said Nanaho.
"Okay, you heard our coach, let's get started with training," said Yukio.
"Toshigawa!! Fight!!! Fight!! Fight!!" shouted the whole team as they jogged around the court.
After finishing their light jog, they stretched and then started to warm up. They lined up into two lines to work on a layup drill led by Yukio. Yukio passed the basketball to Takahiro, and Takahiro shot a layup that swished. Next up in the line, Shino passed the ball to Noboru, and he caught the ball and scored a layup.
Hayato passed the ball to Liam, who slammed dunked the basketball. Then, Tetsuo passed the ball to Makoto, who scored a layup. After repeatedly practicing layups, the team moved on to shooting around. After stretching once more, the four-on-four practice kicked off with Hayato's team in possession.
Makoto stepped up to guard him, and Hayato immediately called for a screen. He quickly utilized it and drove to the rim. As he was about to shoot a layup, Yukio jumped into the air to block him. Hayato then threw a lob in midair to Liam, who caught it and dunked the basketball.
"That's a great way to start training, way to go, Liam!!" shouted Nanaho.
Makoto dribbled the ball upcourt and was guarded by Makoto. He carefully looked around, weighing his options. He then passed the ball to Shino, who took a triple-threat position. Noboru stepped to guard Shino, but the ball was quickly passed to Yukio in the post, where he was guarded by Liam.
Yukio then dribbled the ball out of the paint in an attempt to draw Liam further away from the rim. However, Liam, not wanting to give up his position, stayed in the paint. Yukio shot a two-pointer that swished.
Upon coming down once more, Hayato signaled for a screen from Takahiro, then drove to the rim, where he was cut off by Tetsuo. He spun around and passed the ball to Takahiro, who shot a two-pointer over Makoto that swished.
On the next possession, the ball was passed to Tetsuo, who crossed between his legs and got by Takahiro. He then attempted a layup over Liam but passed the ball to Yukio, who dunked it with one hand. Hayato signaled a screen from Takahiro and pulled up for a three-pointer that bounced out of the rim. However, Liam caught the ball in midair and slammed it into the rim.
"Wow, the practice they go through is so intense," said a girl, impressed.
"Yes, they'll definitely reach far in the interhigh, and I'll be there to cheer them on," said Harumi.
"They're not half bad, but it will take more than what I've seen from them to compete at the interhigh level," said Tomoe to herself with no interest in the game.
After Yukio set a screen for Tetsuo, Makoto made a precise pass to Tetsuo, who assumed a triple-threat position while being guarded by Takahiro. Tetsuo dribbled between his legs and then faked a drive, which caught Takahiro off guard. He stepped back and attempted to shoot a three-pointer. Simultaneously, Takahiro recovered and jumped into the air to block the shot. However, due to the separation between the two of them, the ball swished.
"Nice shot, Tetsuo," said Yukio, preparing a high-five.
Tetsuo replied, "Yes, Captain."
"What? The way he shot the ball just now, he looked just like Hiroki," Tomoe said to herself, shocked as she reminisced about the past. In her memories from junior high, her older brother Hiroki Yukimura played small forward, and on every possession, the image burned into her mind was of Hiroki stepping back, with a special hand placement on the ball, making it impossible for anyone to block him. He would always score his shot.
Interested in the similarities between Tetsuo and her older brother, Tomoe put down her book and started to observe the match. After receiving a pass from Hayato, Liam dunked the basketball. Before the defense was set, Makoto made a long pass to Yukio, who took two steps and dunked the basketball. On the next possession, Takahiro scored a floater.
For the remainder of training, every three-point shot that Tetsuo took caused Tomoe to be hit with nostalgia. She stared blankly at Tetsuo with a slight blush of amazement.
After training had ended, the boys made their way to the changing room while Tomoe and Nanaho sat in silence waiting for them.
"Hey, Tomoe, how are you holding up since that incident?" asked Nanaho in a low tone, concerned.
"I wish that I could have sugar-coated how I felt over these couple of months, but I can't. I was getting really tired of these rumors that are falsely accusing me of what happened with Jirou, and it had really affected me to the point where I felt like dying or quitting school altogether. But then, I met Tetsuo, who's my junior. I tried to push him away at first, but then I started realizing that he was not like everyone else, and he's really trying to help me get over my past trauma. I may have only known him for a couple of days, but when I'm with him, it's the happiest I've ever been since my brother was sent to jail," said Tomoe.
"Is that a confession that she likes Tetsuo, or am I looking too much into it?" Nanaho asked herself with an awkward laugh.
"Hey, Hayato, I get that you're the point guard for our team and all, but cut me some slack, man. You barely passed me the ball today, and that's why I scored zero points," said Noboru, frustrated.
"On every possession that I gave you the ball, you either passed it, got blocked, or got the ball stolen by Makoto," said Hayato.
"That's bullcrap, and you know it. All the balls were getting passed to Liam," said Noboru.
"Sometimes I really wonder what goes through that brain of yours. Obviously, Liam is the leading scorer, so ninety percent of the time, he'll get the ball. Are you an idiot or something?" asked Makoto.
"What? Who are you calling an idiot?" asked Noboru, pissed.
"Today was really great, Liam. You're improving at a quick rate, and that's what we need for the interhigh," said Yukio with a smile.
"Thank you. I'll do my best when that time comes," said Liam.
After everyone changed back into their uniforms, the team made their way to the train station.