"Miyamoto?"
Daiki Aomine stepped onto the basketball court, his face full of confusion as he called out.
Why was Miyamoto Tokima playing here so late at night?
Miyamoto Tokima heard someone calling his name from behind. He quickly released a shot, and only after the ball swished through the net did he turn around in confusion.
When he saw who it was, his expression shifted to surprise.
"Aomine? What are you doing here?"
A delighted smile spread across Daiki Aomine's face. He hadn't expected that coming out to play some late-night basketball would lead to running into someone he knew.
Daiki Aomine jogged straight onto the court.
"I was about to ask you the same thing! Miyamoto, why are you out here shooting so late instead of sleeping?"
Miyamoto Tokima smiled helplessly. He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should tell Aomine about what happened between him and Satsuki Momoi.
Even if he did, it probably wouldn't matter much—after all, Daiki Aomine only cared about Mai.
Still, Miyamoto Tokima decided to ask first. There was no way Aomine had come out this late because of Mai, right?
"You tell me first. Why are you here?"
Daiki Aomine scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Haha… today's game just wasn't enough for me. I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd come out and play some basketball."
"Don't tell me that's why you're here too, Miyamoto?"
Miyamoto Tokima shook his head.
There was no way he'd come out because of something like that.
So he told Daiki Aomine about what had happened between him and Satsuki Momoi.
Daiki Aomine stared at him in shock, clearly struggling to believe it.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
After hearing the confirmation, Daiki Aomine jumped in place.
"Holy crap, Miyamoto, that's insane! No—wait! You two can't be together!!"
Daiki Aomine's expression turned grave, as if he were firmly opposed to this relationship.
Miyamoto Tokima looked puzzled. In the original story, Daiki Aomine never reacted like this. Why was he making such a big deal out of it now?
The next second, Daiki Aomine's words left him completely speechless.
"If you're with Momoi, you won't bring me Mai's magazines anymore! And if Momoi finds them, she'll definitely destroy them! No way! You two absolutely can't be together!"
Daiki Aomine declared this righteously, as if Miyamoto Tokima dating Satsuki Momoi meant his beloved Maki would disappear from his life forever.
Miyamoto Tokima rubbed his forehead helplessly.
He really should have seen this coming—this was exactly the kind of person Daiki Aomine was.
Looking at Aomine, who was still panicking over the thought of never seeing Maki again, Miyamoto Tokima said,
"It won't happen. When new photo books come out, I'll buy them for you."
Daiki Aomine's eyes lit up instantly. He grabbed Miyamoto Tokima's hands excitedly.
"Really, Miyamoto? You're the best!!"
Miyamoto Tokima's forehead twitched. He pulled his hands free in silence, turned around, and went back to shooting by himself.
After being excited on his own for a bit, Daiki Aomine suddenly spoke up again.
"Miyamoto, let's play a one-on-one! Shooting around isn't nearly as fun."
Miyamoto Tokima paused slightly in the middle of his shooting motion. Remembering Coach Shirogane's instructions, he replied,
"No. I'm just getting some shots up before heading back to sleep."
Daiki Aomine immediately became dissatisfied. He ran over and started pestering Miyamoto Tokima nonstop, clearly prepared to keep talking until Miyamoto agreed.
Miyamoto Tokima remained completely calm. He pulled out his phone and turned on the voice recorder.
Daiki Aomine's panicked reaction echoed across the silent court. Hearing the recording, he finally fell silent.
Just when Miyamoto Tokima thought that would be the end of it, Daiki Aomine spoke again.
"We're doing a one-on-one tonight, no matter what!"
Ignoring the recording entirely, Daiki Aomine kept talking right next to Miyamoto Tokima's ear.
Miyamoto Tokima hadn't expected Aomine's desire for a one-on-one to be this intense. Even the recording didn't matter anymore—he was willing to risk it just to play.
Eventually, Miyamoto Tokima gave in.
Seeing Daiki Aomine's excited expression and movements, Miyamoto Tokima silently apologized to Kōzō Shirogane in his heart.
Sorry, Coach Shirogane. Tonight, I'm going to make Aomine understand who's really in charge.
Originally, possession was supposed to be decided with a three-point shot, but Miyamoto Tokima felt that was unnecessary. He simply handed the ball to Daiki Aomine.
Daiki Aomine didn't refuse. He took the ball and faced Miyamoto Tokima head-on.
The playful expression on Daiki Aomine's face vanished the moment they squared off. He became unusually serious.
He carefully observed Miyamoto Tokima's defense, thinking about which side to break through.
Suddenly, two iron walls appeared on either side of him.
Daiki Aomine's eyes widened in shock.
Iron walls—two of them?!
In the past, he had only ever faced one iron wall. Tonight, there were two.
The iron walls slowly closed in, compressing Daiki Aomine's space until there was nowhere left to move.
A suffocating pressure crashed down on him.
The next instant—
Snap!
The sharp sound of the ball being stolen rang out. Miyamoto Tokima had taken the ball cleanly from Daiki Aomine.
As the ball was stolen, the two iron walls vanished.
"Huff… huff… huff…"
Daiki Aomine gasped for air, cold sweat pouring down his forehead as he replayed the moment in his mind.
That suffocating feeling just now… what was that?
Miyamoto Tokima stood beyond the three-point line, holding the ball in one hand as he waited for Daiki Aomine to recover.
He knew Aomine was overthinking it again.
Earlier, he had been defending from about one body length away. When Daiki Aomine hesitated and didn't attack, Miyamoto Tokima stepped in to apply tight pressure.
But the moment he closed the distance, Daiki Aomine froze completely.
Seeing Aomine standing there without making a move, the ball fully exposed, Miyamoto Tokima didn't hesitate and stole it.
"Feeling better now?"
Miyamoto Tokima asked.
Daiki Aomine's breathing gradually steadied. He turned around and nodded solemnly.
"Yeah."
Daiki Aomine spread his arms wide, bent his knees slightly, and tensed his entire body, fully focused on Miyamoto Tokima's offense.
Miyamoto Tokima remained calm. He made a probing step to the right.
Already tense, Daiki Aomine took the feint seriously. He immediately retreated several steps, preparing to stop the drive.
But after retreating, he realized—
Miyamoto Tokima hadn't moved at all.
Crap!
Daiki Aomine's heart skipped a beat. From this distance, there was no way he could recover in time to contest the shot.
Miyamoto Tokima's release was simply too fast. Give him even a sliver of space, and he would fire off a shot with almost inhuman speed.
…Huh?
Why did Aomine suddenly go flying?
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser