Mitsui stared at the stack of invitations in his hands and felt a headache coming on.
"I didn't expect so many teams to want practice matches with us…"
Kogure, sitting across from him, laughed.
"In the past, we were the ones sending invitations and getting rejected. The team really has changed."
Normally, these matters would be handled by the coach, but Coach Anzai was recuperating at home, so everything had been handed over to the captains Mitsui and Miyagi.
Lacking experience, Mitsui had no choice but to seek help from Akagi and Kogure.
Akagi put down his pen, picked up one of the invitations, and examined it before saying,
"If we rank by value, a practice match with Shoyo would benefit us the most."
"Yes, I agree," Mitsui said, frowning. "But with so many invitations, wouldn't refusing them all be bad?"
Akagi and Kogure fell silent this was also their first time facing such a situation.
After thinking for a moment, Akagi said,
"We can't accept all of them. We'll choose the stronger teams. As for the rest… I'll try to decline politely."
Mitsui sighed.
"Hey… Akagi, why don't you just come back and handle this? I can't deal with this stuff."
Already overwhelmed so soon after becoming captain, Mitsui was seriously considering quitting.
Akagi ignored him and continued writing.
Kogure patted Mitsui's shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't worry. We'll help as much as we can. How's the team lately? Any problems?"
Mitsui waved the invitations.
"Other than this mess, everything's fine."
"That's good. I'll visit practice when I have time. Haven't touched a ball in a while my body feels stiff."
He mimed a jump shot toward the ceiling.
Mitsui brightened immediately.
"You're welcome anytime! How about today? And… could you reply to these letters for me while you're at it?"
"Huh?" Kogure froze awkwardly.
Akagi gently shook his head, wondering if handing the captaincy to Mitsui had been a mistake.
"Miss Haruko! Let me help you!"
Seeing Haruko heading to pick up the dumbbells, Sakuragi immediately dropped the ball and ran over.
Haruko instinctively tried to refuse, but Sakuragi grabbed the dumbbell first.
"Th-thank you, Sakuragi…"
Her face instantly turned red.
Holding the dumbbell in one hand and scratching his head with the other, Sakuragi laughed foolishly. Then he suddenly turned and shouted,
"Hey! Put the equipment back properly when you're done! Got it?!"
Miyagi immediately roared,
"Idiot! We're still practicing! Get back here right now!"
Nango spun the ball on his finger.
"So… has Haruko finally realized it?"
Kano smiled knowingly.
"Definitely. She's been secretly watching him lately. Every time they make eye contact, she turns bright red."
Nango whistled.
"Then the wedding isn't far away."
"Oh right," Kano said, pointing at Miyagi, who was scolding Sakuragi.
"Senpai seems unhappy lately."
Nango glanced over.
"He's vice-captain now more responsibility. And Ayako hasn't been around much recently, so he's acting more serious."
"So do you think they'll get together?"
"They're basically 'almost lovers.' Ayako probably understood his feelings long ago unlike Haruko before."
Kano sighed.
"Poor Miyagi-senpai."
Nango thought differently. Miyagi was the type to flirt widely only he knew how serious he really was about Ayako.
"Even Haruko is waking up… when will this blockhead ever fall in love?"
He looked toward the far end of the court.
Rukawa Kaede occupied half the court alone, silently practicing mid-range shots.
Kano tilted her head.
"For him, basketball is probably enough."
After mentally preparing himself, Mitsui picked up the phone and dialed.
Beep… beep…
"Moshi moshi?"
After a moment, someone answered.
"Hello! This is Mitsui Hisashi, captain of the Shohoku High School basketball team. I'm calling about the practice match we discussed."
Coach Urano was slightly surprised.
"Oh hello. I'm Urano, coach of Shoyo High School."
Without thinking much, Mitsui continued,
"This Saturday works for us. If nothing changes, shall we schedule it for 3 PM?"
"Very well. We'll trouble you then."
"You're too polite. We'll be waiting."
After hanging up, Mitsui exhaled deeply.
"Finally settled…"
Then he paused.
"…Wait. Since when did Shoyo have a coach?"
On the other end of the line, Coach Urano slowly closed the receiver and fell into thought.
He opened his notebook and checked Shohoku's roster.
"…I see."
He wasn't deeply familiar with Shohoku, but in his memory, their captain had been someone named Akagi not Mitsui Hisashi.
And the person calling wasn't Coach Anzai either.
Coach Urano narrowed his eyes.
"It seems Shohoku has undergone quite a few changes as well."