The night air was cool and still.
Practice had ended hours ago, but the weight of Coach Hikari's words still echoed in everyone's minds.
Bonding.
That word hung heavier than the drills themselves.
One by one, the team drifted home sneakers slung over shoulders, sweat drying on their skin, silence filling the spaces where exhaustion lingered.
Yuuto walked beside Marcus beneath the dim streetlights. The world around them was soft, washed in the orange glow of lamps and the rhythmic hum of cicadas. Neither spoke at first. They didn't need to.
The feeling they'd shared earlier in practice the silent connection that made their movements flow like instinct still lingered in the air, subtle, almost electric.
Marcus kicked a pebble down the street, his bag slung lazily over one shoulder. Yuuto glanced at him and smiled faintly.
"You're quiet," Marcus said finally.
"Just thinking," Yuuto replied.
"About what?"
"That feeling today… it was weird. Didn't even feel like basketball."
