His Dream, Her Reality

Her concern was valid. I rushed here on instinct. I had no job being here or in school this late.

"Hello, are you gonna answer me?"

Leaning in, she made contact with my eyes as she proceeded to interrogate me. Her emerald eyes met mine, calm and unwavering. There was this calm but intense feel about her, one I wasn't able to gauge at all in that moment.

"I heard some noise, so I came rushing."

A quiet happiness flickered across her face.

"Ahh... you don't have to worry about that. It was nothing—practice just got a little too intense."

She looked way too satisfied with herself. Her demeanor didn't change. She wasn't very self-conscious. Dancing around the court with the ball spinning in her right hand, if I hadn't seen her with the ball, it was highly likely I would've assumed her a ballerina.

The controlled chaos vibe she gave off was oozing more brightly than the sun. She was taller than your average girl. Her body was drenched in sweat from head to toe. Even her jersey clinging to her was drowning in sweat.

"Are you sure you aren't hurt?" A wave of worry washed over me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for worrying about me."

Her calm look washed relief over me. I was about to leave; I had no right to meddle in her business. If she insisted she was fine, that's my cue to silently exit. Staying behind would only bring trouble. Explaining that broken hoop and the unnecessary scolding I would face later would only hinder me instead of helping me.

A voice carried by the wind called out to me.

"Are you not gonna inquire about the broken hoop?" A curious glint flickered in her shining emerald eyes.

"If you don't wanna talk about it, I won't force you, nor will I share it with anyone else."

My neutral but reassuring expression made her shoulders relax.

"You're somewhat similar to me." She stared into the distance with a vacant look.

"What do you mean by similar? We are nowhere near similar. I don't even know you." I scratched my head.

"I'm Mitsuba—Mitsuba Hanekawa. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand towards me, a faint smile on her lips.

Her faint smile made my chest feel lighter. She wasn't a teaser like Hana or forceful like Haruto. I was able to loosen my shoulders around her.

"Haruki—Haruki Masato. Nice to meet you too. So, are you telling me what happened here?"

"It's a rather interesting story. Have you ever played basketball before?"

"Not much. I played with my big brother. Calling it playing would be wrong though. It was more of him flexing his skills in front of his little brother."

Before I realized it, she had already busted into laughter, laughing her heart out. Yeah, she was definitely different. My dream was her reality.

"Umm... your brother sounds like someone fun to hang around with."

"Yeah! Whenever he visits, I have so much fun spending time with him. He buys me stuff even while managing his expenses."

Before I knew it, I had started confidently babbling about him, my gaze towards the blue sky as I continued talking proudly about him. It was not long before I realized I was yapping in front of someone I had just met. Embarrassment took over me. My face turned redder seeing her listening to me with such attention and intrigue.

"Sorry, I started saying random stuff."

"No! No, continue. You were looking cute."

Her untimely compliment caught me off guard. The redness in my face spread to my ears. I lowered my head, breaking eye contact with her. Her lips tilted upwards in amusement.

"Why not just get back to the main topic?" I shifted the conversation back.

"Like I was saying, while practicing my slam dunks, I got a little too aggressive." She made a little pinching gesture. "I slam-dunked so hard that the hoop came out. I was able to maintain my balance and avoided any injuries." She showed a thumbs-up gesture while smirking.

She was really a piece of art, something that belonged in a museum rather than a school. The more time you spent with her, the more you would be immersed in her world.

"Practicing till this late? The school ended a while ago."

What could have kept her going for so long, and that too alone?

"Yeah, once you get playing, you don't really notice what's going on around you."

"You're really passionate about it, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I played it in middle school. We made the regional finals as well." She looked proud while bragging about her winnings.

"You know what—let's play a friendly 1v1. You and me. The loser buys the other something from the convenience store."

She excitedly gestured at me, practically begging me to say yes.

"Wait! You just want to leech off me. At least give me a head start. I'm playing against a person who basically breaks hoops for a living."

I grumbled, sulking like a child.

"Okay! Okay! The score is 6-0. First to 10 wins."

"Okay, the head start is a little low, but I'll try to manage."

I tried to hide my nervousness behind exaggerated enthusiasm.

"That's the spirit, Masato. Let's play till our hearts are content."

"Just try not to break another one of them."

She gave off a small laugh before throwing the ball towards the sky. We both jumped for it simultaneously. Having the height advantage, I got to it first, capturing the ball. The first thing my dumbass brain thought was to dribble past her. As you might guess, she easily took the ball and then played with me before scoring a three-pointer.

The play continued. Each time she would deliberately let me take the ball and then steal it back. She was applying a psychological tactic, giving her opponents hope of victory and then stealing it back. It was like she planted a seed but stomped on it before it could grow any further. This was such a messed-up move to break someone's spirit.

The calm aura she had earlier now carried a chilling edge. The score was 6-8; one more 2-pointer and the game would be over. Before I even got a chance to score, I dribbled with everything I had, but to no avail. She got the ball. I had to stop her no matter what it took. I stood in front of her, my body offered as a sacrifice. Her lips hovered near my ear as she dribbled past, whispering her words.

"The moment you stopped moving forward, you lost."

I was briefly taken aback by her words. Before I could even process it, she soared into the air and slam-dunked over me. Her radiance burned brighter than ever, almost blinding. Her lips twitched in amusement as she spoke.

"Yay! I won... I won."

Throwing her hands in the air, she celebrated as if she'd just won the finals. I could do nothing but applaud her triumph.

"Don't you dare try to run away now! Masatooo. You remember the bet, right?"

A sly sparkle lit up in her eyes. Just great—that's what I needed. Yet another blow to my already struggling wallet.

"Yeah—I do. Just go easy on me, because you certainly didn't during the match."

"Wahhh—I did go easy. You're just bad."

She covered it with a faint laugh. We left together, heading to the nearest store.

"Buy me ice cream for now, and maybe a bento as well."

Listening to her demands, I clicked my tongue in exasperation. I bought her what she wanted.

"Thanks for the food."

I could do nothing but see her chomp it down.

"You want some?"

"No—no, I'm fine. You continue on."

"Come on, don't act like that. You bought it for me, didn't you?"

"Say 'Aaa.'"

Her hand moved towards my mouth. My heart skipped a beat at the gesture.

"You don't have to do this. You won it for yourself."

"Don't be so shy."

She got me around her finger easily. Taking a bite from her hand was embarrassing.

Honestly, I had lost track of time. So much had happened in the last few days—meeting so many different types of people. Ahhh, it’s a little annoying to deal with people, but it's not that bad of an experience once you start understanding them a little.

"Do you plan on continuing basketball here? I believe our school doesn't have that good of a team."

The air shifted around us. The playful mood had vanished, replaced by a sharp tension.

"I did plan to continue, but if the same situation stands, I might just quit..."