Watching Daiki Aomine clutch his butt and howl in pain, Miyamoto Tokima asked,
"Can you still play?"
Daiki Aomine rubbed his butt.
"Ow—damn, that hurts…"
He waved his hand repeatedly.
"Nope, nope. I'm done. My butt hurts too much."
Miyamoto Tokima had already checked earlier—this was just normal pain from a fall. A good night's sleep would be enough.
Not lingering any longer, Miyamoto Tokima took Daiki Aomine out for a late-night snack, then headed home to rest.
But that knew it—someone was doomed to a sleepless night.
"Ow… my butt…"
Daiki Aomine lay face-down on his bed, on the verge of tears. The pain made it impossible to lie on his back, but sleeping on his stomach wasn't comfortable either. As a result, he spent the entire night tossing and turning, wide awake.
...
The next morning.
Satsuki Momoi was already waiting downstairs early, faint dark circles visible around her eyes.
Not wanting to keep her waiting, Miyamoto Tokima quickly tidied up and rushed downstairs.
Satsuki Momoi smiled when she noticed the obvious dark circles under his eyes.
"Miyamoto, you couldn't sleep either last night, huh? Hehe."
The two walked together to Daiki Aomine's building.
Satsuki Momoi covered her mouth in surprise.
"Daiki… don't tell me you couldn't sleep either?"
Daiki Aomine looked miserable. Heavy dark circles surrounded his eyes, his complexion dull and drained, as if all his energy had been sucked out. He replied weakly,
"Yeah…"
The three headed toward school together and ran into Tetsuya Kuroko along the way. Kuroko greeted them politely.
"Good morning, Miyamoto-kun. Momoi-san."
"And… hmm? What's wrong with Aomine-kun? Why do you look so—"
Noticing Daiki Aomine's condition, Kuroko couldn't help but ask.
Daiki Aomine replied listlessly,
"Oh, it's you, Tetsuya. I just… couldn't sleep very well last night…"
Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi quietly snickered to the side, while Tetsuya Kuroko maintained a polite, neutral smile.
The four of them then continued to school together.
...
Because of the match the day before, Teikō had no training that day.
However, with Fukuda Middle School as their opponent in three days, Coach Shirogane ordered after-school practice to keep everyone from getting complacent.
Thanks to Satsuki Momoi's reminder, Miyamoto Tokima didn't arrive late this time.
Daiki Aomine slept through most of the day and finally regained his energy.
Everyone gathered in the gym.
Coach Kōzō Shirogane and Shuzo Nijimura stepped forward. Coach Shirogane spoke first.
"In three days, we'll be facing Fukuda Middle School. Their ace is Kotaro Hayama, known as the Lightning Beast. He plays small forward. Miyamoto Tokima, you'll be responsible for guarding him."
Miyamoto Tokima nodded.
No one on Teikō objected. After all, his defensive ability was something they had all witnessed firsthand.
If someone asked who the best defender on Teikō was, no one would say Atsushi Murasakibara—they would say Miyamoto Tokima.
That iron-wall defense left far too deep an impression.
Only one person felt dissatisfied: Daiki Aomine.
Fukuda had an ace? Then naturally, he wanted to go head-to-head with that ace himself.
But faced with Coach Shirogane's authority, he didn't dare voice his objection.
After giving his instructions, Coach Shirogane sent everyone off to train in groups.
During practice, Daiki Aomine's loose mouth did its job, and soon Akashi Seijuro and the others all knew that Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi were officially together.
This left Satsuki Momoi, who was busy recording data, blushing furiously.
Watching from above, Coach Shirogane smiled, sighing inwardly at his long-gone youth.
Ah, youth… how nostalgic.
When Shuzo Nijimura heard the news, he enthusiastically volunteered to host a celebratory banquet for the couple.
However, after Satsuki Momoi shyly rejected the idea, it was promptly canceled.
Since Fukuda was indeed a strong team, Satsuki Momoi asked Miyamoto Tokima if he could go with her the next day to gather scouting data.
Miyamoto Tokima naturally didn't refuse his girlfriend's request and agreed immediately.
It was also worth mentioning that Shogo Haizaki participated in training as well. Having just entered the official reserve lineup, skipping practice would have reflected badly on him.
...
Three days passed quickly.
Miyamoto Tokima spent his time going to class, slacking off during training, and going on dates with Satsuki Momoi.
Life was going quite smoothly.
Match day arrived in the blink of an eye.
The Teikō team assembled and headed to the venue.
After changing into their uniforms, they prepared to enter the court.
"They're here, they're here! Fukuda versus Teikō—I've been waiting for this!"
"Yeah! Fukuda really gave Teikō a hard time last year!"
"Look, look! Fukuda's players are coming out!"
"Whoa, it's Fukuda's Lightning Beast—Kotaro Hayama!"
"Fukuda's got some serious presence!"
Fukuda's players entered one by one. Kotaro Hayama flashed his tiger-like fangs as he slowly walked onto the court.
The entire team radiated momentum, determined to win this match.
"Look! It's Teikō! Teikō's coming out!"
A spectator shouted, and the crowd's attention immediately shifted to Teikō.
"Look at that—Miyamoto Tokima! He's been amazing these past few games."
"As expected, Teikō's first-years this year are completely ridiculous."
"That's Nijimura. Think he'll play today? He hasn't been on the court the last few games."
"Of course he will. The opponent is Fukuda, after all."
The Teikō players walked onto the court one after another. Seijuro Akashi led the way with a gentle smile.
Atsushi Murasakibara followed behind, absentmindedly munching on potato chips.
Shintaro Midorima held a rabbit plushie, Daiki Aomine wore an excited grin, and Miyamoto Tokima walked shoulder to shoulder with Satsuki Momoi, chatting and laughing.
Finally, Kōzō Shirogane and Shuzo Nijimura entered the court together.
After both sides finished warming up, they lined up facing each other at center court.
"Please take care of us!"
After the polite exchange, the match began.
The referee stepped to the center circle and tossed the ball into the air.
Fukuda's center didn't even attempt the jump ball. Instead, he turned and sprinted straight back toward his own basket.
The Fukuda players quickly fell into their defensive formation.
This was their coach's plan. After reviewing Teikō's data, he knew their center had no chance of outjumping Atsushi Murasakibara, so he chose this approach instead.
With no pressure at all, Atsushi Murasakibara tipped the ball to Seijuro Akashi, who advanced it past half court.
Facing Fukuda's point guard, Akashi used a series of feints, forcing the defender to slide left and right.
Finally, Akashi seized an opening and broke through. He stopped near the free-throw line, preparing to shoot, drawing Fukuda's center over to help.
Akashi's eyes flickered as his shooting motion suddenly turned into a high lob, sending the ball arcing into the air.
Not good.
Seeing Akashi's move, Fukuda's center's heart skipped. He hurriedly turned to recover.
Atsushi Murasakibara caught Akashi's pass and slammed the ball straight through the hoop.
BANG!!!
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser