───● The Basketball Club Middle Schooler Makes Her Resolve ●○●

“<Masato>” ‘It’s fine, but I really don’t think I can wake up in the morning…’

“<Yuka>” ‘Ah, um… if you’d like, should I call you in the morning?’

“<Masato>” ‘Okay! Please do! I’m so sorry if I don’t wake up! I’ll try my best!’

“<Yuka>” ‘Then I’ll call you around 6 tomorrow! Good night.’

“<Masato>” ‘Kay! Night.’

Looking at our chat log from yesterday, I took a deep breath.

It was exactly 6 AM.

I was used to waking up around this time, but Masato-nii-san apparently wasn’t.

Even when we usually messaged each other, his replies would come super late at night or not until the afternoon, so I just figured that was how he was.

I felt guilty for forcing Masato-nii-san awake, but this was something he asked me to do… Telling myself that, I put my finger on the call button.

First ring, no answer. Second ring, no answer.

My heart started to pound.

And then, on the third ring.

The call connected.

“Ah, hello, Masato-nii-san, good morning.”

“…”

For a while, the only sound was the rustling of his futon.

“Um… Masato-nii-san?”

Was this a bad idea after all?

The moment guilt washed over my chest.

“…yuka?”

“…!!”

A bomb of incredible magnitude had just been dropped on me.

His voice, thick with sleep, his words slurring just a little.

My heart was beating like a drum. It wasn’t anything like that at all, but I felt like I was doing something forbidden.

“G-Good morning. This is Yuka.”

“Ngh…”

…T-Too lewd…

D-Don’t make such a sexy sound!!!

I stayed on the phone until Masato-nii-san was fully conscious…

And then I hung up.

“What is this… my head is going to break…”

The destructive power of a freshly-woken Masato-nii-san was off the charts.

Honestly, that was pretty dangerous. In all sorts of ways.

I took a deep breath.

And for the time being, I just rolled around in my futon for a minute straight.

After having Masato-nii-san help me with morning practice, I headed to the tournament venue with my teammates.

We all warmed up together, and now it was time for the first game.

It’s a tournament, so if we lose, we’re done.

I don’t think I’m nervous. But if we lose, the third-years will have to retire, and I don’t want that.

Thinking that my opponent couldn’t possibly be stronger than Masato-nii-san made me feel a little more at ease.

“Yuka, we’re gonna keep feeding you the ball, so be ready!”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

The captain who called out to me was a kind person. She was always so encouraging, even when I was suddenly made a starter.

She has a ponytail that just screams “basketball club,” and she’s so cool.

I stood up from my folding chair and regulated my breathing.

I gripped the black wristband on my left arm tightly.

The wristband Masato-nii-san gave me.

When I looked at the back, I saw the letters ‘MK’ in cursive roman letters.

…This makes me so happy. It feels like Masato-nii-san is fighting right alongside me, giving me strength.

“Alright, line up!”

At the referee’s instruction, I stepped onto the court with my senpais.

Okay. I’m gonna do my best…!

The coach told me I was free to go on a rampage, so whenever I got the ball, I attacked aggressively.

The defense wasn’t scary at all, and at this level, I could score points left and right.

Mixing in both shots and passes, I kept getting involved in the scoring plays.

The other team started putting two defenders on me, but that didn’t bother me either.

It’s a hundred times harder to score on just Masato-nii-san alone!

“Nice shot, Yuka! Feel free to take even more!”

“Yes!!”

I gave the captain a light high-five as I got back on defense.

Playing in a match is so much fun!

My performance didn’t drop even in the second half.

I was in really good shape today.

The opponent was on offense, but their dribbling was generally high. I saw an opening in the dribble and immediately went for the steal.

“Nice! Yuka, over here!”

I passed the ball to my senpai and went on offense myself.

After confirming that the opponents were back on defense, I received the pass again.

There were two defenders on me, but it didn’t matter.

I created an opening and broke through just like always… then faked out the defender who came to help with a pass fake.

I was practically wide open for a jump shot.

Yes. It’s in──.

And in that instant.

My gaze was drawn past the hoop.

A man, sitting in the spectator seats.

It was Masato-nii-san.

“Hey, wait, wasn’t there a super hot guy in the stands?”

“Right? I know, I saw him too!”

“Who was that? Somebody’s Onii-santher?”

“Introduce me~!!”

H-How did it come to this…

We safely played two matches and won both of them.

That part was great.

But after the game, in the locker room, the only topic of conversation was Masato-nii-san.

“My dad told me he was your Onii-santher, Yuka.”

“What! Is that true, Yuka!?”

The only people here are the ones who played in the game. Which means none of my friends from my grade are here…

As a first-year, I feel really out of place…

“Ah~ um…”

“Hey Yuka, introduce me to your Onii-santher! He’s super hot!”

“What’s his name!? What’s his name!?”

Masato-nii-san is my nii-san, but he’s not my Onii-santher… Why am I getting so confused?

And there’s absolutely no way I’m introducing him to anyone!

I somehow managed to escape the locker room and returned to where everyone else was.

My mother, who had come to cheer me on, was there.

Thank goodness, if my mom is here, then she should have cleared up the misunderstanding with the other parents…!

“Yuka, I don’t recall having such a handsome son…”

“Mom, what are you saying!?”

“But, if I did, I would be so happy…”

“No! That’s not okay!”

This is no time to be talking about this.

I promised Masato-nii-san I’d walk home with him, so I have to go…

It was the final meeting before we were dismissed.

The captain talked about what we needed to reflect on from the game, and hyped us up for the next one.

Starting tomorrow, it’s back to club activities.

And then, just as I thought we were about to be dismissed.

The captain clapped her hands once with a serious expression.

“Alright. We will now select the one who gets to be introduced to Yuka’s Onii-santher.”

“Ehh!?”

Captain, what are you saying!?

“Ooh! Yes, yes, I nominate myself~!”

“Me too~!!”

“I want to flirt with a hot guy too!!”

My senpais started volunteering one after another. No, no, you can’t!?

“Just… kidding. We’re not doing that.”

Phew… The other senpais were booing, but I was relieved from the bottom of my heart.

The captain cleared her throat once, then…

“Only I will be getting an introduction.”

Eh…?

“You’re a trash captain!”

“You scum!”

“You have a boyfriend already!!”

This time, a huge wave of boos was directed at the captain…

But she ignored it with a cool expression and turned her gaze to me.

“Yuka, introduce me?”

Even if you stick your tongue out all cute like that…

I-I have to say it. That he’s not my Onii-santher…

Besides, he’s… he’s my──!

I took a deep breath.

“He’s the one who’s going to be my boyfriend, so you can’t!!!”

Embarrassed, I took off running as if to escape.

“Invite us to the wedding, Yuka~!”

“Go for it, Yuka-chan~!”

“Ah, the bloom of youth~!”

The noisy chatter behind me was incredibly embarrassing.

I could see Masato-nii-san waiting in front of the school gate.

“Let’s go, Masato-nii-san!”

“Wh-Whoa…?”

Holding back my embarrassment, I gave Masato-nii-san’s big back a hard push.

I was riding on the back of Masato-nii-san’s bicycle.

Hugging his broad back, I was having the time of my life.

I’m glad I was selfish and asked for this.

I might have been able to show him my cool side today, and now I get to be this close to him. This is the best day ever.

My heart couldn’t help but dance.

“I love… you.”

The wind was blowing, so he couldn’t hear my voice from behind him.

This feeling I just whispered won’t reach him.

I remembered what I had declared in front of everyone earlier.

I really do want to date Masato-nii-san.

I want to make him my boyfriend.

But… Masato-nii-san probably thinks of me as a little sister.

That’s obvious, since he must have said as much in the stands today.

It’s frustrating.

I want him to be conscious of me.

How can I make him see me that way?

I tightened my grip around him.

Tighter, tighter.

I don’t want to let go.

I want to stay like this forever.

What do I have to do for you to notice how I feel?

Masato-nii-san.

While Masato-nii-san went to park his bike, I went to secure the court.

The sun was already starting to set, so there was no one else here.

Good, good, I thought, as I went to step onto the court──.

“…?”

I noticed an unfamiliar sign posted at the entrance to the court.

I read what it said.

“Eh…”

It said that this court would be ‘unusable starting next week.’

…Why?

Just a moment ago, I was so happy, but now my mood had turned ice-cold, as if I’d been doused with freezing water.

This place… is going to be gone.

The place where we first met.

Where he was so cool.

Where I came day after day, hoping to see him again.

Where I first spoke to him.

‘U-Um, will you… have a match with me!’

‘Ehh!?’

It was so much fun playing basketball with Masato-nii-san…

I started to look forward to Fridays.

‘T-Today’s the day I’ll beat you! And then, this spot… will be mine!!’

‘So you’ve come, pipsqueak.’

There was even that time when we were caught in the rain, and my heart was pounding.

‘Here, wear this. It’s short-sleeved, so it might not do much. But it’s probably better than nothing.’

‘Eh…’

He saved me.

‘──That looks like some fun practice you’re having.’

‘…You worked hard, Yuka. You were cool.’

Countless memories spun through my head.

It was always, always here.

Everything between me and Masato-nii-san is here.

And yet.

It’s going to be gone…?

Does that mean… I won’t be able to see Masato-nii-san anymore…?

“What’s wrong?”

Masato-nii-san, who had finished parking his bike, had come up behind me before I noticed.

I somehow suppressed my painful feelings and turned around.

“…Masato-nii-san, this…”

Masato-nii-san also looked at the sign.

“…You’re kidding me.”

After reading it, Masato-nii-san seemed shocked too.

This is the worst.

This place, so full of memories, is going to disappear.

Starting next week, I won’t be able to see Masato-nii-san──.

“We’ll have to find a new place.”

“Eh…?”

“What do you mean, ‘eh’? If this place is closing, then we have to find a new place to play.”

It took me a few seconds to understand what Masato-nii-san was saying.

“S-So casually…”

“Well, it’s super sad that this place is closing… It’s where I met you, Yuka. But,”

A feeling, on my head.

Masato-nii-san’s big palm.

“It’s not like the memories are going to disappear, right? In fact, you and I are together now, even outside of this park. The memories will stay with us… and we can just find a new place to make new ones, can’t we?”

…Various facts churned up my emotions.

The fact that I can see Masato-nii-san again.

The fact that he called it a memory of meeting me, which makes me happy.

The fact that he’s going to help me look for a new place.

I know that he’s saying all of this, all of it, all of it, all of it, for my sake.

And that makes me happy again.

I threw my arms around Masato-nii-san.

“Whoa!? …What’s wrong, Yuka?”

“Masato-nii-san, thank you… so much…! For meeting me…!”

“You’re being so dramatic…”

He stroked my head.

It’s not an exaggeration at all.

I’m so glad I met this person.

I really do──love him so much.

I calmed down a little… and came back to my senses, realizing he was patting my head.

This is probably something he’s doing because he thinks of me as a little sister.

Slowly, I pulled away.

I was reluctant to let go.

But this is, surely, a necessary first step.

“Yuka…?”

I stepped onto the court.

The setting sun was really low now, and it was dazzling.

It would probably get dark soon.

I entered the court and turned back to Masato-nii-san.

He was standing there with his mouth agape.

Even that face is so handsome. I really do love everything about him.

That’s why.

──Hey, my beloved Masato-san.

“Let’s have a match. Masato-nii-san.”

I’ve made my resolve.