ROADSIDE FLOWERS ( t. kageyama )

xiv. streaked clouds

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roadside flowers.
chapter 14: streaked clouds

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fourth quarter: the once neck and neck point discrepancy begins to widen in our favor.

taiyou-senpai succeeds with his three pointers earning shrieks from the spectators. even yukari-senpai who is normally unimpressed by the male specimen in our club shows pallid excitement at every shot.

the gap is thirteen. number seven from aoba johsai steals the ball from rintaro and does a dunk. the gap is eleven. watanabe-senpai steals it back, passes to nijimura-senpai who goes past his opponent's defenses and passes to aichiro who shoots the ball for a three. it fails to go inside the hoop, but watanabe-senpai slams it down earning another yell from our side of the court. the gap is back to thirteen. number seven from aoba johsai has the ball, but he's blocked by nijimura-senpai.

"get that ball, nijimura!"

just like granting a wish, nijimura-senpai swipes the ball and dribbles it all the way to the free throw line and shoots. the gap widens to fifteen. the ball is in the clutches of the captain of aoba johsai when the referee blows his whistle and the captain of aoba johsai is given one free throw.

i glance at the timer showed in bright red lights and see that only a minute was left. the captain of aoba johsai manages to shoot the ball. the gap decreases to fourteen. number seven from aoba johsai gets the ball again and passes it to the player rintaro is guarding. number twelve readies for a three pointer and it's too late before rintaro jumps, the ball sails in the air and gives aoba johsai three points.

the gap is back to eleven. aoba johsai manages another point with rintaro failing to catch up to the three point shots. thirty-five seconds remain and the gap is in a measly eight— five now since number seven earns two points from a dunk. nijimura-senpai takes the ball away from them, but two guards face them and one of them get the ball and pass it to their player with the incredible three point shots. his form is perfect as he soars in the air ready to shoot the ball into the basket, but rintaro finally manages to catch up and slam the ball back into the floor.

twenty-two seconds remain and aichirou has the ball. in a quick move, he sidesteps past his guard and passes the ball to nijimura-senpai who, with ease, dribbles the ball and feints. when he lands on the ground, he throws the ball to rintaro who dunks over two guards.

it's taiyou-senpai's time to shine. when the captain of aoba johsai skitters back to their ring, he steals it with ease, jumps and gets another three points for the team.

fifteen seconds left and the most ordinary and logical course of action would be to just dribble the ball around and wait for time to end, but rintaro gets it, and ends the game with a slamdunk.

72-60 is the final score in our favor. the karasuno boys' basketball club wins their first game and the tears won't stop flowing from my face.

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the second game begins with a rockier start with dateko snatching away the lead in the first quarter. nijimura-senpai gets hit square in the face with a basketball one third of the way through and has to be shooed off of the court despite all of his protests that he's "totally not bleeding!" even as a trail of crimson trickles down the side of his face.

however, true to the fighting spirit that karasuno's slowly becoming known for, the victory is once again within our grasps. the tears are still there as rintaro leaps for an embrace which i accept with wide arms, and the morning matches end in ringing laughter.

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"tobio-kun!" the sun shines splendidly above and i fidget awkwardly with my fingers at the back of my shirt, carrying the heavy, box-shaped object. "will you have lunch with me?"