"In other words, you guys came over right after your training camp ended?"
"Yeah, because we didn't want to miss the match between you and Kise."
"I see. Then I wish you happy viewing."
Having settled Sora, Yuuto and the Seirin group walked out of the subway station and exited the gate.
"Then we'll part ways here for now. The match is in the afternoon. If you want to eat something, that Takoyaki stand near the gym is pretty good; you can try it."
Yuuto pulled Sora along and started to leave.
"Hey, Yuuto."
"What is it?"
Yuuto stopped and looked at Taiga Kagami.
"Kise is very strong."
What was this? Cheering for him?
"I know. Goodbye, everyone from Seirin, and Number 2."
"Woof~"
Number 2 seemed to like him quite a bit; its tail wagged non-stop.
Waving his hand, he led Sora towards the hotel.
She came alone; Haruka Kasugano, that central air conditioner, was still playing his four-cornered relationship game and couldn't get away.
"Seems raising a dog is also not bad?"
"Sure, then let's raise a Teddy (Poodle)."
"Then forget it."
"Why? You have a prejudice against Teddies?"
"Can't call it prejudice. Just seeing that creature, I inexplicably have an urge to kick it flying."
Isn't that prejudice?
Sora tried to argue. Originally she didn't have that idea, but after seeing Number 2, she suddenly really wanted to raise one.
Preferably one that looked somewhat similar to Yuuto.
Why does this woman curse so dirty now?
Yuuto rolled his eyes and went back.
...
Afternoon.
The grand finale of the Round of 16.
The match between Kaijo and Seiho was about to begin.
At this moment, the arena was already packed with spectators.
Seirin's people arrived relatively early, but barely found seats that weren't particularly good.
"So many people."
"After all, it's the Nationals."
"Not just that simple. Even the Nationals wouldn't reach this level. More importantly, it's the two sides playing today."
Riko Aida and the others sat down and quietly waited for the match to start.
Every duel between those few geniuses would spark intense confrontations.
Seiho vs. Shutoku, Seiho vs. Tōō...
Constantly bringing varying degrees of shock to fans and spectators.
They believed this time would be no exception.
Meanwhile.
Kaijo's locker room.
"Bad, all kinds of excited now, bad..."
Hayakawa Mitsuhiro was shouting and yelling before the match even started.
This person gave the feeling of being the overly hot-blooded type.
"I want to work hard I want to work hard now is the time to witness the results of training I want to do my best really want to do my best..."
The locker room was full of his shouting; teammates only felt this guy was truly annoying.
"Idiot, how long are you going to shout!" Yukio Kasamatsu delivered another flying kick.
This broken team was truly hard to lead; besides himself, there wasn't a normal person.
"Hey, Moriyama, quickly make this annoying guy quiet down."
Hearing this, Yoshitaka Moriyama, who was doing stretches with his back to everyone, suddenly spoke seriously, "Speaking of which, Kasamatsu, that one on the far end of the third row on the left, did you see her? She's here!"
What is this guy talking about?
Yukio Kasamatsu was baffled.
However, Moriyama continued with a lovestruck face, "Super cute girl! Today I will fight for her!"
"You should fight for our team, idiot!"
Crazy!
Yukio Kasamatsu felt like he was going to explode; of these idiots, not one had a normal brain.
Even his own coach dressed up carefully today.
"What handsome contest are you trying to have with Tōō's coach? Look at your belly!!!"
Kasamatsu's roars were incessant.
Finally, he really couldn't stand his teammates and walked out of the locker room alone.
His back looked a bit... heavy.
"What's wrong? Senior looks very nervous."
Kise muttered, turning back to find that as soon as Kasamatsu left, the locker room immediately returned to normal.
"Eh? What happened to everyone suddenly?"
"He's not here anymore, so naturally we don't need to distract him."
Hah?
"Moriyama-senpai, were you guys distracting Senior just now?"
"Of course."
Yoshitaka Moriyama was truly serious this time, not pretending.
"Why?"
"Because our Kaijo also fell in the Round of 16 last year." Genta Takeuchi told him last year's story. "Last year's Kaijo was hailed as the strongest generation in history. Many people thought we had championship strength."
"But in the Round of 16 match, we lost. Because of Kasamatsu's fatal passing error."
What?!
Kise shook all over, not expecting such a thing to have happened last year.
That competitive senior, personally burying the team's hope because of his own mistake.
For such a thing to happen to a competitive senior...
Kise couldn't imagine how heartbroken and collapsed Yukio Kasamatsu was at that moment.
"So, just now everyone was..."
"Give him a few minutes. When it's about time, you go call Kasamatsu back."
Genta Takeuchi took out the tactical board to make final preparations.
And Kise waited for five minutes, then walked out with heavy steps to find Yukio Kasamatsu, who was trying hard to adjust his state not far away.
"Senior."
"Why that expression? Did they tell you something?"
"Yeah, told me everything."
"Is that so."
Kasamatsu moved the joints of his hands irregularly, proving his mood wasn't calm.
"It was all my fault. At the critical moment when the gap was only one point. My passing error allowed the opponent to complete the reversal."
"Seniors' tears, accusations from alumni... they once made me want to give up playing basketball."
His tone was very calm, as if talking about a trivial matter, but Kise felt heavy hearing it.
Because he knew how competitive the man in front of him was.
"But the coach didn't blame me and appointed me as the captain of the basketball club." Kasamatsu's thoughts seemed to return to last year.
That day he guiltily applied to quit the team, but Genta Takeuchi just stared at him coldly, verifying his identity as a team member.
He said to him at the time, "I let you be captain, so you be captain."
There is never a lack of failure on the court; there is only one winner.
Many people will experience setbacks, but only players who can stubbornly get up from setbacks can stand on their own.
"I agreed. This isn't atonement, and I don't pray for redemption. I just want to win that championship. This is my duty as Kaijo's captain."
"Is that so? That's just right. I also have someone I definitely want to defeat."
Kise turned around. The senior's story made him unable to smile easily as usual, but he didn't want to be discovered.
"Coach asked me to call you back. The match is about to start."
"Okay."
...
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