Teiko's basketball III: Three's a charm

The challenge

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" said Akashi doubtfully.

"Yup. Do you still doubt me?" said Sora.

"As the captain of the boys' team it is my duty to arrange matches..." began Akashi.

"But?" said Sora.

"As someone who is concerned, I'm not sure it'll work out the way you want."

"We'll be fine, oka," assured Sora.

"I sincerely hope so. I'll watch the match," said Akashi hesitantly.

"Thank you. But your concern is quite misplaced. Rather, why don't you worry about whether the guys will recover or not?"

"As long as you've thought this through. Sometimes I can never understand you...." said Akashi.

"Evening, Sora-chan," said Akira coming out of the gym. "You're unusually late today. And where's coach?"

"She's making arrangements," said Sora.

"Arrangements?"

"I'll explain," said Sora entering the court.

"Your friend is mad," said Akashi shaking his head.

"And you've realized that just now?" said Akira skeptically. She joined Sora within the court.

"Everyone listen up! There's something you should know..." began Sora.

"I don't like that tone," whispered Akira to Yukiji.

"The second string of the boys team accepted our challenge. They just agreed to play a match with us today."

"Challenge? Us? When did we challenge the guys?" said Akira.

"Just twenty minutes ago," said Sora sweetly. "Coach was kind enough to arrange it, even on short notice."

"Your definition of kind seems to be somewhat inaccurate," said Yukiji.

"Why the second string? Why not the first?" said Aoba.

"Because we would have been annihilated even without the additional conditions."

"Additional conditions?" said Yukiji.

"More importantly did you finally admit that the g.o.m are way better than us?" said Akira.

"Excellent question, Yukiji-san," said Sora ignoring Akira. "Well, the story goes like this. We'll be playing four quarters totally. The starting line up is myself, Akira-san, Yukiji-san, Mayu-san and Hitomi-san. Only one of us is allowed to shoot in a quarter."

"Meaning?" said Akira and Yukiji together.

"Yukiji-san you're taking the first quarter. The order then goes to Mayu-san, Akira-san and finally Hitomi-san. For instance, if Akira-san gets the ball in the first quarter and is near the hoop, she still can't shoot because it's your quarter, Yukiji-san. The rules are same for all quarters."

"How are we supposed to score then?" demanded Aoba.

"That depends on your teamwork," said Sora dreamily. "I have to warn you though; the boys are under no such obligation. They'll go all out. I've made sure they will."

"We're playing with handicaps? Against the second string? Seriously Sora-san, they're strong! You've underestimated them a lot!" said Akira.

"Oh no. I haven't underestimated them. They're the ones that can possibly make us run for our lives," said Sora.

"So you've just signed us up for an impossible match," concluded Akira.

"Wrong again. If I wanted to do that, I would have asked the g.o.m to play. But they didn't quite suit the purpose."

"Purpose?"

"Akira-san, everyone...." began Sora. "Do you know what will happen if we lose this match?" said Sora.

"Why do I feel like I don't want to know?" said Akira.

"Well, if the first string of the girls loses to the second string of the boys can you imagine how embarrassing it would be? We wouldn't be able to hold our heads up for weeks. We're already the second wheel or something when compared to the guys...."

"And, why did we sign up for this?" said Mayu.

Sora paused. "I want you all to learn what it is to lose. To be thought inferior to someone and to regret a single match for a long, long time. And that memory will back you all for quite some time. If we win, it means at the end of the day we'll know how to work together. If we lose, we'll understand what will happen if we don't. And that fear will bring you together. This I'd rather you learn from our comrades in the second string rather than a third person in a tournament. That is all."

"So all in all, you signed us up for a suicide match...." said Akira.

"You just killed a good speech you know," said Yukiji.

"Thank you for understanding, Yukiji-san," said Sora. "And don't kill other's moves, Akira-san."

"Well, whatever. Let's go. It's getting late," said Aoba. "They might back out."

"If this is a suicide match... Let's go die!" quipped Mayu.

------------------------

"Hello, captain," said Sora addressing a guy with a number 4 practice jersey.

"Huh? Captain? You know very well that your friend is the captain," he said.

"Yes, but you head the second string, no?" said Sora.

"I lead the second string only," he corrected.

"Roger, kouhai," said Sora with a grin.

"How do you know him?" said Akira.

"Only vaguely. He's in the drama club. I worked with them on a trivial matter a few days ago."

"Plus, you don't forget someone who corners you into a practice match," muttered number 4.

"Take that as an essential life lesson, kouhai. You'll see a lot more before you even finish middle school," said Sora trying to feign a solemn tone.

"So we were not the only ones caught off guard," whispered Yukiji.

"Looks like it," replied Akira.

"So, shall we start? We don't want to keep the audience waiting do we?" said Sora.

"Sure, senpai," said number 4 shifting on his foot. "Just so you know, we're not that bad. We're not going to go easy and.... senpai might lose. So if you picked us because you doubt our ability to face you...."

"It's nothing like that, kouhai!" said Sora sharply. After that she softened her tone. "The only reason I picked you guys was because I trust you."

"Thank you..." said number 4 who was still not sure whether he was being complemented or not.

"With all that said and done, let the show begin!" said Sora.