"Yuki… are you seriously doing a gym play scenario here?"
"Huh?" Yuki froze, clearly not understanding what Kota meant.
At that moment, the girl sitting in the corner realized that Kota and Yuki were talking about her. She stepped forward, bowed politely, and said, "Nice to meet you, Kota-senpai. I'm Yuki's friend, Hamano Rie."
Facing such a well-mannered junior, Kota smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you too. So you're Yuki's friend, huh?" When he said the word "friend," Kota deliberately put extra emphasis on it, then gave Yuki a long, meaningful look.
Unfortunately, this dense kid completely missed the implication and just stood there blankly. Rie, on the other hand, blushed lightly and lowered her head, fiddling with her collar.
"So… how long have you two known each other?" Kota casually bounced the basketball in his hand and asked.
Yuki rubbed his chin and hesitated. "About… two years, I think?"
"Two years and four months, to be precise," Rie suddenly spoke up, smoothly adding on. "We met on the very first day of our freshman year."
"Oh, two years of friendship already. That's pretty nice," Kota nodded. He thought to himself that two years ago, Yuki hadn't played in the national tournament yet and wasn't famous. So she didn't approach him for status or clout?
Based on his judgment so far, Kota tentatively classified Rie as a decent relationship candidate for Yuki. As the person who guided Yuki to Kaijo and a senior figure in the team, Kota felt it was his responsibility to keep an eye on his teammates' well-being. He didn't want to see Yuki emotionally distracted or underperforming. Setting Rie's matter aside for now, Kota subtly indicated that he was going to train with Yuki. Rie took the hint and stepped back to the sideline, watching them practice from a respectful distance.
"Yuki, the match is tomorrow. You're still staying late to train today?" Kota asked while casually sinking a one-handed shot.
"Yeah… technically we should conserve energy, but everyone's really fired up," Yuki replied. "It's not just me. Takumi, Fukuhara, and the others all stayed for extra practice too!"
That answer made Kota pause. He glanced around the gym and asked, "Then where are they now?"
"They already went back, about five minutes ago." Yuki glanced at Kota, hesitated, then said, "Senpai… after you led everyone out earlier, we actually played another scrimmage on our own. It only just ended."
Kota's brain automatically filtered out the first half of that sentence, and realization dawned on him. No wonder Yuki was sweating like crazy when he walked in. He wasn't doing some weird gym-date thing; he'd just finished another scrimmage. Watching Yuki drive for a layup, Kota noticed that although his movements were slightly deformed from exhaustion, he still kept his ball-protection fundamentals tight.
For a moment, Kota thought he saw Kise's shadow on Yuki. No, more accurately, it was the shadow of Kaijo's future ace.
"Yuki," Kota said with a smile in his eyes. "You're going to become an excellent basketball player."
Yuki turned back in confusion, scratched his cheek, and then laughed along with him. "Kota-senpai… am I a qualified junior?"
...
Beep, buzz!
A bus came to a stop in front of the Tokyo Gym. As the doors opened, Araki led the Yosen players into the arena. While many official matches were exciting enough to draw crowds, only on finals day would the organizers rent out the Tokyo Gym.
Spectators gathered near the entrance. When they saw Yosen arrive, quite a few fans offered cheers.
"Murasakibara! Do your best!"
"Himuro! Himuro! Himuro!"
After brief acknowledgments, Araki led them into the players' tunnel. Here, there were no spectators, and the enclosed space made the lighting noticeably dimmer. Araki walked at the very front. She stared at the bright light at the end of the tunnel, faintly hearing the thunderous cheers of the crowd from the arena.
"Looks like our opponents arrived early," she said calmly.
Himuro brushed aside his bangs, a fierce fighting spirit igniting in his eyes. Araki glanced back at her players and instructed, "Atsushi, you're the key today."
"Yeah, Coach. I'll crush them," Murasakibara replied indifferently. Today, he was slightly different from usual; the most obvious change was that his long hair had been tied up before the game. Sensing her ace's resolve, Araki led them out of the tunnel.
The sudden change in lighting made the Yosen players squint instinctively, but after quickly adjusting, they spotted Kaijo on the opposite side of the court. The moment Yosen stepped out, the cheers inside the arena exploded. Kota rested his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow at Araki. She responded coldly with a throat-slitting gesture, her eyes full of provocation. Kota didn't mind at all; instead, he blew her a flying kiss in response.
"Then… let's begin the final battle."
...
As usual, Kota put Tanaka in as the starting center. He didn't expect Tanaka to win the tip against Murasakibara; the goal was simply to let the team ease into the game rhythm. A high-tempo tactic like the bombardment offense carried real injury risk if used before everyone was properly warmed up.
As expected, Murasakibara easily secured the first possession. Watching that massive frame close in, Tanaka swallowed hard, his calves trembling uncontrollably.
"Tanaka, drop back into the paint. Don't be scared! We've got your back," Kota said. He observed Murasakibara, noting that he had tied his hair into a samurai-style topknot. "So today's not slacking Murasakibara, huh?"
Kota chuckled softly and strolled toward Yosen's point guard. But the instant he passed Murasakibara, he suddenly lunged forward, cutting straight at the ball. Fortunately, Murasakibara was in a completely different class. He pulled the ball back at the last second, narrowly avoiding the steal, then handed it off to Himuro.
Kota clicked his tongue, ignored the fury in Murasakibara's eyes, and casually leaned over next to Yosen's point guard, Cho, with an innocent expression. Meanwhile, Yuki actively picked up Himuro on defense. After a few probing moves, Himuro was shocked by Yuki's defensive ability. Just as he was about to force his way past, he saw Murasakibara in the paint with his arms wide, calling for the ball.
Himuro didn't hesitate and passed the ball inside. Murasakibara caught it in the post and dribbled once into a backdown, shoving Tanaka back a full three steps. Sensing danger, Takumi rotated instantly from the weak side to help.
But today, the purple-haired beast seemed to have endless energy. Murasakibara's eyes sharpened. He bent his knees and exploded straight up, dunking the ball violently through the hoop over Takumi's body!
BOOM!
The rim screamed with a metallic groan. Kota commented, "This guy was literally built for basketball. His physical specs are just ridiculous." Still, Murasakibara didn't intimidate Kota. He had played too many games while getting crushed inside to be scared now.
Clap, clap, clap.
Kota clapped his hands, snapping his teammates out of it, and grinned. "Alright! Let's get one back!"
Taking the inbound, Kota raised his hand and flashed a "6" sign. All five Kaijo players started moving. Tanaka stood no chance against Murasakibara one-on-one, but Kaijo's offense was no joke. The Horns Set, a play Kota had refined to perfection, shone once more. After a dizzying sequence of cuts and screens, Kota found himself wide open at the top of the arc. He rose smoothly, elbow high.
Swish!
As the crowd erupted, Kota smiled and held up three fingers, waving them right in front of Murasakibara. The message was clear: "Sorry, three points are still worth one more than two."