After all, it had been a long time since their side had made it to the finals.
"Go, Kirisaki Daiichi! We're proud of you!"
"Yeah, go... Wait, bro, didn't you say that wrong?"
"Nope, you heard it wrong."
"…Did I?"
On the court.
Both teams slowly made their entrance.
On Shūtoku's side, every player looked grim, like warriors about to walk onto a battlefield.
Kazunari Takao glanced at Shintaro Midorima and asked,
"Shin-chan, you didn't bring your lucky item today?"
The others noticed it too, and Shinsuke Kimura asked,
"Yeah, Midorima, didn't you bring your lucky item today?"
Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses and said,
"I did."
The others froze.
"Where?"
At that moment, Shintaro Midorima pulled a small basketball keychain out of his pocket.
"This is it. Today's lucky item is a basketball!"
The little charm was only a stand-in. The real lucky item was on the court!
The others nodded and said nothing more.
They stepped onto the court, put down their belongings, and began warming up.
As usual, Shintaro Midorima started checking everything he had with him.
He did not like anything going wrong during a game, so before every match, he thoroughly checked his condition from top to bottom.
'Tokima... Aries...'
"Hah..."
Shintaro Midorima let out a deep breath, and his eyes grew firm.
'Since fate cannot be defied, then I will do everything I can!'
"Do all that I can, and submit to fate!"
Shintaro Midorima slowly spoke those words, then walked onto the court and began warming up.
At that moment, a sudden commotion broke out in the stands.
"They're here! Kirisaki Daiichi!"
"Go, Kirisaki Daiichi! Go!"
The spectators immediately began cheering.
The Shūtoku players also stopped warming up and turned toward Kirisaki Daiichi's player tunnel.
Then the entire Kirisaki Daiichi team slowly walked out.
Their momentum was overwhelming, and every one of them radiated a powerful sense of pressure.
Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi stood at the very front as they slowly entered.
This time, Shuzo Nijimura also wore a serious expression. His cold look only made him seem even more handsome.
Makoto Hanamiya had both hands in his pockets, his face dark and gloomy.
Tatsuya Himuro wore a gentle smile, but there was excitement in his heart. After all... this was the finals.
Atsushi Murasakibara held a bag of chips in his left hand, stuffing them into his mouth one piece at a time.
Shogo Haizaki looked indifferent, still blowing bubble gum.
Dicky Anthony wore sunglasses, and the lip stud on his lip made him look even fiercer.
As for the ones behind them, they were just following along... [too lazy to introduce them]
Taisuke Otsubo's expression turned serious.
"What a terrifying presence."
Watching a game from the stands and actually playing on the court were two completely different experiences.
From the stands, the pressure might not feel that obvious.
But on the court, the pressure Kirisaki Daiichi gave off was absolutely real.
Shintaro Midorima stared straight at Miyamoto Tokima.
Miyamoto Tokima met his gaze as well.
Then he smiled and nodded at him.
Shintaro Midorima paused for a moment, then turned his head away.
Shuzo Nijimura naturally noticed and cursed inwardly,
'That damn tsundere.'
After putting their things away, Kirisaki Daiichi also began warming up.
Although the Shūtoku players were warming up too, their eyes kept drifting toward Kirisaki Daiichi, intentionally or not.
And the more they looked, the heavier their hearts became.
It was terrifying.
Miyamoto Tokima's shooting speed, Dicky Anthony's jumping ability.
Shuzo Nijimura's versatility, Shogo Haizaki's unpredictability.
And Atsushi Murasakibara's airheadedness, along with Makoto Hanamiya's explosiveness.
Every last one of them showed just how terrifying Kirisaki Daiichi was.
The warm-up ended quickly.
The game was about to begin.
The referee called everyone over, had them exchange a friendly greeting face-to-face, and then prepared for the jump ball.
On Shūtoku's side, naturally, captain Taisuke Otsubo would take the jump.
Just as he stepped into position, he froze.
Because Atsushi Murasakibara and Dicky Anthony had started playing rock-paper-scissors.
Dicky Anthony's Japanese had gotten pretty decent by now.
He asked,
"What are you throwing?"
Atsushi Murasakibara answered honestly,
"Rock."
Dicky Anthony smiled and nodded.
Rock?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
He could throw anything, but there was no way he would really throw rock!
For this round, rock would have been the safest choice for Dicky Anthony.
But.
I.
Predicted your prediction!
He definitely thinks I'm going to throw rock, so.
He'll throw paper!
So in the end, Dicky Anthony made his choice.
Scissors!
And then...
"What? You really threw rock?"
Dicky Anthony stared blankly at Atsushi Murasakibara's rock, completely unable to believe it.
Atsushi Murasakibara, meanwhile, looked a little dazed.
What was wrong with this guy? Didn't I already say I was throwing rock? Why did he still throw scissors?
Was it on purpose?
Yeah, that had to be it!
After all, I, Atsushi Murasakibara, am the team bully!
He must be scared of me!
In the end, one stood there proud, the other disappointed, each returning to his own position.
Taisuke Otsubo had no idea the two of them had just fought an entire mental battle.
He only felt like he was being looked down on.
Taisuke Otsubo gritted his teeth, his face full of unwillingness.
A man had to fight for his pride!
Not being able to win the jump was not the scary part. The scary part was not even having the courage to fight for it!
Show your attitude!
The referee stepped between them and, with a wave of his hand, tossed the basketball into the air.
Atsushi Murasakibara and Taisuke Otsubo jumped at the same time.
In the end... Atsushi Murasakibara got the tip.
Miyamoto Tokima caught the ball and had just been about to slow things down when he saw that Shogo Haizaki and Shuzo Nijimura had already rushed into the frontcourt.
So what else was there to do?
Attack!
Miyamoto Tokima swung his arm, and the basketball shot forward like a streak of light, threading through the gaps between the players and landing in Shogo Haizaki's hands.
Shogo Haizaki also saw Shuzo Nijimura's movement.
So he tossed the ball into the air.
Shuzo Nijimura was a little surprised.
That Haizaki kid actually set me up for an alley-oop??
Well, that's almost embarrassing. Hah.
Boom!!!
Shuzo Nijimura showed no mercy. He rose up and hammered in a two-handed dunk, scoring the first basket of the game.
A dunk right from the opening instantly ignited the entire arena.
The Kirisaki Daiichi bench jumped to their feet, waving towels and shouting at the top of their lungs.
The crowd also roared and burst into applause.
On the court.
Shuzo Nijimura reached out and high-fived Shogo Haizaki.
"Nice one, Haizaki. So you can throw me an alley-oop now."
Shogo Haizaki looked annoyed.
"It's not like I only know how to play solo!"
Over the past few days, Shogo Haizaki had figured something out.
If he wanted to follow in Miyamoto Tokima's footsteps,
then he had to change.
And he had already found the answer to that change.
It was what Miyamoto Tokima and Shuzo Nijimura had once said...
[Basketball is a five-man sport]
...
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