"What?"
"Crawl back?"
Takao Kazunari and Kagami Taiga shouted in unison, their voices full of disbelief.
Haizaki Shogo looked at them with a provocative grin.
"You scared?"
"No way!"
"Who said we're scared?!"
Seeing no objections, Haizaki raised his voice and called out to the two girls walking ahead—Shimizu Rena and Satsuki Momoi—bringing them back.
The two girls, curious and excited, agreed to act as referees.
Momoi grabbed one of Aomine Daiki's slippers and hurled it toward the sea.
That was the signal.
The moment the slipper hit the water—SPLASH!—the game began.
Six boys dashed forward, plunging into the ocean and swimming hard toward the open sea.
At the front was Kagami, followed closely by Aomine and Haizaki Shogo. Behind them came Midorima Shintaro, with Takao and Kuroko Tetsuya trailing.
As the one-minute mark approached, a wave surged forward.
Haizaki, Aomine, and Midorima reacted instantly—diving underwater to reduce the impact.
But Kagami, charging straight ahead—
BOOM!
—was smashed by the wave and sent tumbling back onto the sand.
He coughed, spat out seawater, and struggled to his feet, ready to charge again.
"Kagami-kun, one minute is up," Kuroko said calmly.
"Ah…"
Kagami collapsed onto the sand with a miserable expression.
One by one, the others returned. Takao came back first, equally miserable.
Moments earlier, he had tried to copy Kuroko and dive under the wave—but he was too late and got swept away anyway.
Standing nearby, Kuroko lightly teased Kagami.
"Kagami-kun, didn't you know how to avoid waves?"
"Shouldn't you face them head-on?" Kagami replied stubbornly.
Everyone fell silent.
Of course… he'd say something like that.
Still, Haizaki found himself oddly agreeing. If you say something like that… you'd better have the strength to back it up.
And so, the result was decided.
Kagami and Takao… had to crawl back.
Aomine grinned mischievously.
"Hey, hey! You two—start crawling!"
"Ahhh—!"
"Can't we just walk back? I'll grill extra food for everyone!" Takao pleaded.
Midorima adjusted his glasses and rejected him immediately.
"Takao, you're not trying to back out, are you?"
"Ah! Shin-chan, you're serious?!"
"You think I'm joking? We even have two witnesses."
And so, the group split.
Ahead walked Haizaki with Shimizu, Aomine with Momoi, and Midorima with Kuroko nearby.
Behind them…
Kagami and Takao crawled along the sand like defeated puppies.
After some distance, they lagged far behind.
"I'll go make sure they don't slack off," Midorima said, turning back.
"…I'll go too," Kuroko added, following.
Haizaki and Aomine exchanged a glance but said nothing, continuing forward.
Meanwhile, Momoi and Shimizu walked arm in arm under the sun—one wearing a hat, the other holding a parasol—completely ignoring the boys.
After a while, Haizaki glanced at Aomine and said casually:
"Feels familiar, doesn't it?"
"…Huh? What does?"
"You guys. Like before—you and Kuroko. Light and shadow."¹
Aomine didn't answer immediately. He glanced back at the four figures in the distance before speaking seriously.
"Even if it's similar… it doesn't matter."
"Why?"
"Because light and shadow will separate eventually. And light without a shadow… is the strongest light."
Haizaki paused, surprised—then smiled faintly.
"Yeah… makes sense. The strongest light doesn't need a shadow."
That kind of resolve… isn't easy.
You have to let go of a lot to reach that point.
Behind them, Midorima reached Takao—and suddenly dropped down, crawling beside him.
Takao's eyes widened in shock.
"Shin-chan… you—"
"Don't misunderstand," Midorima said stiffly. "I'm just conserving energy now so I don't have to drag you later."
Takao broke into a grin.
He's so bad at lying…
Moments later, Kuroko arrived beside Kagami.
Kagami looked at him expectantly—
—and then Kuroko casually sat on his back.
"Get off me, Kuroko!"
"No."
"Kuroko—get down!"
"Kagami-kun, don't you want to get stronger? Don't you want your light to shine brighter?"
"…What do you mean?"
"Crawling improves circulation, strengthens the body, enhances coordination, and builds balance."
"…Really?"
"Really."
"Then why aren't you crawling?!"
"I'm supervising you."
"…Then why are you sitting on me?!"
"It increases your load, helping you grow faster."
"Kuroko… you—!"
Under the bright sunlight, the absurd scene somehow felt… oddly meaningful.
There's a saying: a thousand people, a thousand faces.
Everyone has their own way.
Their own thoughts.
Their own choices.
And once you choose—
—even if it's wrong—
—you make it right.
Up ahead, Haizaki watched the two girls laughing and asked the question that had been nagging him.
"Aomine… what's going on with you and Momoi?"
"…What do you mean?"
"You and Momoi. What's your deal?"
"What deal?"
"…Are you two dating or not?"
"Dating? You're overthinking it."
"Am I? She followed you to Tōō Academy, you know. And you're just leaving things like that?"
"None of your business."
That shut Haizaki up.
Fair enough… it really isn't my business.
But the curiosity…..yeah, that's not going away anytime soon.