Rie, who was printing more newspapers, sneezed.
"Looks like someone is talking about you," said Yuri.
"You think so?" asked Rie.
"Yes, I do, but I bet..."
"Are you hoping that it's Katsuragi?" asked Yuri.
"W-w-w-what?! No, I'm not!" said Rie, blushing uncontrollably, causing the newspapers to fly all about the club room.
"You printed his picture on the front page despite him not doing so great in that match, so it's obvious that you like him. It's a cool and creative way to try and make your feelings reach him. That's so cute," said Yuri teasingly.
"Please stop teasing me, I can't take anymore of this. The only reason I put him on the front page is because he looked way better than the other people on the team," said Rie.
"So you admit that you find him attractive, then?" said Yuri, giving Rie a cheerful look.
"No, that's not what I meant, Yuri!!"
"I'm just joking. Calm down, jeez."
"Oh, I almost forgot. There's something I'd like to show you."
"And what might that be?" asked Rie.
Yuri then took out a photo of Shino and showed it to Rie.
"W-what!! How did you get this?" asked Rie as she stared at the photo.
"I took these during the match. I took about fifty pictures of him doing any pose I asked him to. Isn't he adorable?" asked Yuri.
"Here are the best ones of the set," said Yuri as she showed Rie pictures of Shino smiling.
"These are so cute, I want them," Rie said to herself.
"They're yours if you just admit that you have a thing for him."
"Why would I want pictures of him? It's not like I like him or anything," said Rie, looking at the picture and looking away every second that passed.
"Okay, your loss. I bet these could sell for a pretty good price around the school."
"Wait, I want them!" blurted Rie as she covered her mouth.
"Awww, finally being true to our feelings, aren't we?" asked Yuri.
"Please stop teasing me," said Rie, her ears turning red.
"Since you're so cute, I'll give you them for free. Here, take them," said Yuri as she handed Rie the pictures of Shino.
Rie then immediately placed all of them in her bag.
"The basketball team is quite the scoop this year. I look forward to reviewing them in the tournament. Try your best to impress me, Nanaho, and put on a show," said Kanae to herself.
In Toshigawa Academy's basketball team locker room, the boys were changing to prepare for training.
"I can't believe we did so well against Yokonan," said Takahiro as he put on his shirt.
"You can say that again," said Hayato as he tied his headband.
"For some reason, I feel energized today, and I'm ready for whatever Nanaho is going to throw at us," said Takahiro.
"That makes one of us. Something tells me Nanaho has something bad planned for me. I don't know why, but I think she hates me," said Noboru.
Both Hayato and Takahiro, who heard him, started laughing.
"I'm being serious, man! She's evil!" said Noboru.
"Tetsuo, you were great out there yesterday. If we didn't have you on our team, we would've been crushed for sure. Thanks for joining the basketball team," said Hayato.
"Yes, I can't thank you enough," said Takahiro.
"I'll ensure that we make it to the inter-high preliminaries and beat Yokonan," said Tetsuo.
"Yeah, let's do our best."
"I didn't do much in that match, but I had fun playing with everyone, and that's enough for me. I'll improve as much as I can before our matches start," said Shino to himself as he tied his shoelace.
"Great, everyone is here already. Nanaho will be here in a couple of minutes. She was held up in class," said Yukio.
"Thank god, I've been spared for a couple more minutes," said Noboru, relieved.
"Okay, so what should we do until she gets here?" asked Shino.
"It's been on my mind for a while now. When are we going to get another person to join our team? The minimum requirement for us to play is at least seven players," said Takahiro.
"I asked Kurai to join the team recently, but he told me that he quit basketball for good," said Shino.
"Our team would have been set if we got someone like Makoto to play for us," said Yukio.
"Wait, Hayato, what about that tall foreigner named Liam Ainsworth? He's in your class, isn't he? Why don't you ask him to join us?" asked Takahiro.
"Yeah, that's a pretty good idea. Getting someone as tall and athletic as him to join our team would be a big relief," said Yukio.
"Believe me, I did try to recruit him. In fact, I asked him this morning. However, he refused to join because he's devoted to track and field," said Hayato.
"Maybe if we talked with the track coach, we could make him join?" asked Yukio.
"I don't think you'd convince him to join through his coach. At the end of the day, it's his decision, and we have to respect that," said Hayato.
"You're right, but we have to get serious about this because I want to play this year," said Yukio.
"I wonder what we're going to do," said Takahiro.
"Let's not dwell on not having enough players, because that won't change a thing. All we can do now is work with what we have and make the best of it," said Yukio.
"Yeah, you're right," said Hayato as everyone started stretching.
"Okay, so before Nanaho gets here, we'll play a friendly three-on-three?" asked Yukio.
"You're speaking my language, Yukio," said Noboru.
"So, how should we organize the teams?" asked Shino.
"I would say seniors vs. freshmen, but that would be a bit unfair," said the captain.
"I don't mind taking on the three of you," said Tetsuo boldly.
"Yeah, I can beat all of you easily," said Noboru.
"Be careful what you wish for, Noboru," said Hayato with a straight face.
"Bring it on, we'll win easily."
"I'll shoot for it," said Tetsuo as he shot a three-pointer that swished.
"I don't know how this guy does it," Hayato said to himself.
"Okay, let's get started."