President's Office, Tōdai High School
Looking at the slightly distressed Shinkawa Toshimi, the president of Tōdai High School took a drag from his cigarette and gave a helpless smile.
"Still haven't recruited anyone?"
Shinkawa sighed and shook his head, forcing a bitter smile. "No."
Seeing this, Murakami—the president of Tōdai High School —didn't press further. He remained silent for a moment before speaking again.
"If things really don't work out, I'll have to think of other options. Or you could transfer to another school and coach there. Your talent shouldn't be wasted."
As close friends for more than a decade, Murakami understood Shinkawa's ambition better than anyone.
Shinkawa wanted to personally build a championship team.
And in Murakami's eyes, he absolutely had the ability to do so.
The reason Shinkawa had come to Tōdai in the first place was largely Murakami's doing. He wanted the school to have something notable—something that could raise its reputation. So he'd pulled Shinkawa in to serve as the basketball coach.
Unfortunately, reality hadn't lived up to their expectations.
Setting everything else aside, recruitment alone had been a disaster. Shinkawa had traveled far and wide, yet only one student had truly caught his eye.
After a moment of thought, Shinkawa suddenly spoke again. "That student—Kurumatani Sora. His family situation is… a bit special. I hope you can help him."
Murakami nodded. "Mm. I'll keep that in mind."
After chatting a bit longer, Shinkawa checked the time and stood up. "It's getting late. I should go check on the players."
Murakami nodded at first, but as he thought about the rundown state of the basketball club, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Are you really not considering changing schools?"
Shinkawa paused at the door. After a moment of silence, he turned back and looked at Murakami.
"If I can't recruit anyone this year," he said firmly, "then I'll recruit again next year."
With that, he left.
Watching Shinkawa's retreating figure, Murakami felt a twinge of guilt. Shinkawa had turned down invitations from several prestigious high schools—yet when Murakami called, he'd come without hesitation.
Seeing his old friend struggle like this filled him with remorse.
What Murakami couldn't understand was why Tōdai didn't have a single standout attraction to its name.
**Tōdai Basketball Court**
As Ueno warmed up, he glanced at the energetic Kurumatani Sora. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Sora… who else is in your family?"
Kurumatani's expression shifted. He paused, then smiled again. "My mom and my dad. But my dad isn't in Tokyo."
With that, he ended his warm-up early and walked toward the hoop alone, a fully inflated basketball tucked under his arm.
Watching his back, Ueno frowned slightly.
After a moment, he let out a quiet, helpless sigh.
Some things couldn't be changed—even if he knew the plot.
He had already confirmed it: Kurumatani Sora was almost certainly the protagonist of *Ahiru no Sora*.
Another basketball anime from his previous life.
At the moment, only Ueno and Kurumatani had shown up to practice.
Aside from the two upperclassmen he'd seen before, none of the other club members had appeared.
Ueno turned to the hoop and took a few shots.
Nine out of ten went in.
A ninety-percent shooting rate.
His touch was still excellent.
During the holiday break, he hadn't played much basketball—barely touched a ball, really. Most of his time had gone into physical conditioning.
Off to the side, Kurumatani watched him. Thinking of something, he walked over, clutching the ball with curiosity written all over his face.
"Ueno… can you dunk?"
Ueno froze for a moment.
The question reminded him of his one and only dunk—during that match against the Generation of Miracles.
After a brief pause, he nodded. "I should be able to."
Kurumatani's eyes immediately lit up.
"Really? That's amazing! I want to dunk too, but… I know it's impossible."
As he spoke, a trace of loneliness flashed through his eyes.
Among basketball lovers, who didn't dream of dunking?
The explosive power.The passion.The exhilaration.
Seeing that lonely look, Ueno didn't know what to say.
At just over 1.6 meters tall, it wasn't like he could say, *Don't worry, you can do it too.*
Just as Ueno hesitated, Kurumatani suddenly looked up at him and smiled.
"Even if I can't dunk, I'll work hard to get the ball into your hands!"
Ueno blinked, then smiled back.
"In that case," he said, "I'll dunk your share too."
"Then it's a deal!"
"It's a deal."
As they spoke, several figures walked onto the court wearing basketball club uniforms.
"We actually recruited two people this year?"
"But aren't their heights a little…"
"One's ridiculously tall, and the other's ridiculously short!"
The group soon stopped in front of Ueno and Kurumatani.
A man who looked like the captain stepped forward.
"Welcome, newcomers. I'm Miyara Ichi, a third-year. I'm the basketball club president and team captain."
He gestured behind him. "These two are also third-years—Murasame Mae and Kimura Ri."
"Hello!"
"Hello!"
"Next, these two are second-years: Kamikyo Ichi and Yoshimori Shin."
"Hello."
"Hello, seniors! I'm first-year Kurumatani Sora!"
"Ueno Juri."
Miyara glanced at Ueno's height and instinctively stepped closer to compare. Ueno was several centimeters taller.
"Ueno, right?"
"Yes, Captain."
"How tall are you?"
Ueno thought for a moment. "One point eight five meters."
The court fell silent.
For a high school freshman, that height was exceptional.
A moment later, their gazes drifted to Kurumatani.
Seeing his small frame, Miyara frowned slightly but said nothing.
"All right," he said instead. "Let's start warming up. Coach will be here soon."
Off to the side, Kamikyo Ichi stretched his legs and whispered to the stern-faced Yoshimori Shin.
"Don't you think that Ueno guy looks familiar?"
Shin glanced at Ueno and nodded. "A little."
"Do you remember where we saw him?"
Shin thought for a moment, then answered calmly. "The preliminaries."
"What? When did he play against us?"
Kyoichi looked shocked.
"Not against us," Shin replied. "We didn't play any matches this year."
"Oh—right. Haha!"
Kyoichi scratched his head, then asked again, "Then which preliminaries?"
"The one against the Generation of Miracles," Shin said. "It was his school."
That triggered Kyoichi's memory.
"The match against those monsters?!"
"So that was him!"
He shouted without thinking.
Everyone turned to stare at him.
Kyoichi froze, then looked toward Shin for help.
"Huh? Where'd he go?"
Shin was already gone.
When Kyoichi turned back, he saw Shin had joined the warm-up drill, standing not far from Ueno and watching him silently.
"…Since when?!"
Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Kyoichi forced an awkward smile.
"Uh—sorry! Just got a little excited!"