The Summer Day When I Met You - Chapter 3 - The Day We Played Together

Chapter 3 – The Day We Played Together

On Sunday, I invited a group of people I usually hang out with at school. There are three girls and two boys. They’re all friendly, so I’m sure Kokoa will get along with them easily.

“It’s so rare for Hinata to ask us out, isn’t it?”

Rino Aida, with her trademark ponytail, slapped me on the back.

“Ouch! Rino, I told you not to hit me the other day, didn’t I?”

I warned Rino, but she ignored me.

“Hinata, are you okay?”

My friend, Sayo Hiromachi, a kind girl who was worried about me, rubbed my back.

“Thanks, Sayo. You’re so different from Rino.”

“S-Sorry, Hinata. I’m sorry for not being as nice as Sayo.”

“It’s tough, isn’t it, Hinata?”

The man who appeared with a basketball in his hand was my best friend, Kensuke Hasegawa.

“Oh, Kensuke, thanks for bringing the ball.”

“I was surprised when you contacted me yesterday. Because you suddenly said we’re going to play basketball… By the way, that girl named Kokoa that Hinata was talking about, she hasn’t arrived yet?”

“It looks like she’s not here yet…”

There’s still time before the meeting. She’s not perhaps lost in front of the station, is she…?

“Hello everyone~”

Nagano Karin, who came dressed to play basketball in a long skirt that looked hard to move in, appeared with her hand waving in the air.

“Oioi, why are you dressed like that…”

Kensuke was quick to tsukkomi.

“It’s fine, is it not…? Besides, there was a little girl who was lost, and I asked her name, and I thought maybe we could help, so I brought her here.”

Karin then beckoned to the person behind her.

A little girl who was lost…

When I met the eyes of the girl behind Karin, she waved at me.

Yes, it was Kokoa who was behind Karin.

“Sorry, Hinata… I got lost.”

I thought it was strange to get lost living here, but I didn’t say anything because I thought maybe she just didn’t know anything about the area.

“Don’t be sorry. You’re on time for the meeting. Thanks for the directions, Karin.”

I thank Karin.

“No, not at all. Thanks to that, I’ve become good friends with Kokoa before I came here.”

Karin then looked at Kokoa and smiled at her.

“How nice~ I want to be friends with her too!” Rino said with a pouty look on her face.

“Hinata, I should introduce myself, right?”

I nodded as Kokoa asked me.

“Erm… I’m Yamaguchi Kokoa. N-Nice to meet you!”

Kokoa’s voice was a little shaky, perhaps because she was nervous.

“Nice to meet you, Kokoa-chan. I’m Sayo Hiromachi. Please feel free to call me Sayo.”

Sayo spoke gently to the nervous Kokoa.

“Yes, yes! I’m Rino Aida. I want you to call me Rino.”

“Rino, don’t be so intense on your first meeting. I’m Kensuke Hasegawa. Feel free to call me by my first name.”

“It’s very nice to meet everyone!”

Kokoa bowed her head lightly.

“You’re too formal, so just use casual speech. Kokoa.”

Rino then patted Kokoa on the shoulder.

“I underst—-Yeah, alright. I’ll do that.”

“Okay, now that we’ve introduced ourselves, let’s get on with basketball.”

＊＊＊

From the station we moved to a place where there was a basketball court that we sometimes used.

We were divided into teams. Me, Kokoa, and Sayo were on the team, and Kensuke, Rino, and Karin were on the other team.

“I’m new to basketball…”

Kokoa said so and Sayo came next to her and talked to her.

“Really? Then I’ll teach you. I think the best thing to do at first is to have fun and not try to win the game.”

“Thank you, Sayo,” Kokoa happily thanked Sayo.

“Oi, are the kids over there ready?”

Kensuke and his team were already on court and ready to start.

“Yeah, we’re ready!”

“Well, then, the team up first is Hinata’s team.”

The ball was handed to me, and I handed the ball to Sayo.

“M-Me!?”

Sayo was in trouble when she received the ball from me.

“If you’re in trouble, immediately pass it to me or to Kokoa.”

I said that to Sayo, who was holding the ball, and she nodded her head.

“Okay! Kokoa-chan, can you stay near the ring so I can pass it to you?”

“Yes! Okay,” Saying that, Kokoa moved to the goal position.

“Kensuke, take it easy today.”

“I know, I know, we have beginners.”

“I’m coming!”

Sayo dribbled to where Kokoa was. On the way, the ball was almost taken by Rino, but she managed to get away.

“Kokoa-chan! Shoot it!”

Sayo handed the ball to Kokoa.

“Leave it to me!”

Kokoa shot, even though it should have been her first time.

“That’s amazing, Kokoa! You’re so good at it, I can’t believe you’re a beginner.”

“You did it! Kokoa-chan.”

Sayo and Kokoa high-fived in delight.

“You’re doing well, Kokoa.”

Karin said this and sat down on a bench nearby. She probably doesn’t want to play basketball anymore since it’s hard to move around in that skirt.

“It’s hard to believe that this was her first time.”

Even Kensuke, who is good at sports, was surprised by Kokoa’s movements.

“That was a nice shot.”

I told her and she laughed happily.

“It just happened to come in.”

“But it was amazing. Let’s do it again! Come on, Karin! Stand up!”

Rino pulled on Karin’s hand as she sat on the bench.

“I’m not going to do it.”

Karin then crossed her legs.

“It’s hard to play because you’re wearing something that’s hard to move in, isn’t it?”

When Kensuke said this, Karin took a sip of bottled water.

“Yeah, that’s right. So, you five do it.”

“Oh, okay. Alright! Let’s split into three and two and play again.”

Kensuke then took the ball.

“Alright! Let’s go!!!”

Rino held out her fist in front of her eyes, full of motivation.

＊＊＊

“Hah~ I’m tired.”

After that, we played about five games without a break. It was lunchtime before I knew it.

“Let’s go eat lunch together!”

While everyone nodded at Kensuke’s suggestion, Sayo asked Kokoa.

“Do you want to go too, Kokoa-chan?”

“Yes, I’m coming!”

Kokoa responded immediately.

“I’m going with you guys too. You’re going too, right, Hinata?”

Karin asked me.

“Of course. Let’s go to the usual family restaurant.”

When I said so, everyone nodded their heads. Among them, only Kokoa was tilting her head.