"Three-pointer confird."
"Ga over."
"Seiho versus Shutoku, Seiho wins."
"Final score: 69–71."
============
"Wooohhh!!"
"Nice one, Asuka!"
"We did it! We won!"
The final reversal seed to last an eternity, but in reality, it had happened in the blink of an eye.
In just a few seconds, before either team had even managed to reposition for defense, the battle between Akashi Asuka and Midorima Shintaro had already decided the match's fate.
Seiho roared in triumph, while the players of Shutoku could only bow their heads in frustration.
"We… actually lost…"
Midorima stared blankly at the scoreboard.
A pain and bitterness he hadn't felt in years welled up inside him, numbing his entire being.
It wasn't until Otsubo Taisuke smacked him firmly on the back that he snapped out of it.
"Alright, stop zoning out. Ti to regroup."
Otsubo's face remained expressionless as he said coldly, "We'll settle this in the Nationals. Count on it."
============
"Match over. Both teams, bow!"
"Thank you for the match!"
"Thank you for the match!"
Though the loss stung deeply, Shutoku could at least find comfort in the fact that this had been just a practice ga. There would be another chance to rise again.
"Pack up quickly. We still have ti left, once we're back, everyone's doing extra training!" Otsubo barked in the locker room.
"Huh? Are you serious? We just finished a match, and you still want us to train!?"
"By the way, has anyone seen Midorima?"
"I saw him just now, he headed toward the restroom."
"The restroom? Didn't he already go during halfti? Don't tell he's… crying in there?"
"Uh…"
"No way, seriously!?"
Whether or not Midorima was really crying in the restroom, no one could say.
But when Akashi Asuka ca by, he happened to see Midorima washing his face. The cold tap water mixed with sweat as it trickled down his cheeks, but whether those drops hid sothing more, no one could tell.
"What a miserable start to high school… Two mbers of the Generation of Miracles have already lost."
Midorima thought back to Kise Ryouta in Kanagawa. Just two days ago, he had gone to mock that guy for losing. Who would've thought that, only forty-eight hours later, he'd end up in the exact sa situation?
"Huh? So soone from the Generation of Miracles besides you has lost too?"
A sudden voice ca from behind him, making Midorima's heart nearly stop.
After a brief jolt of shock ca fury. "You bastard! What are you doing here!?"
Asuka blinked innocently. "Huh? What else would I be doing in a restroom? Using it, obviously. What, you think I ca here to cry or sothing?"
"Hmph! I didn't expect you to have such a vile habit of eavesdropping!"
Asuka sighed helplessly. "You were talking so loud it'd be harder not to hear you. And co on, it's just a practice match. No need to take it so personally. Don't tell … you've never lost before?"
This guy's words are so damn irritating! Every line hit him right where it hurt.
Asuka, seeing Midorima go silent, couldn't help but smirk slightly.
Running into him here and overhearing his muttering had been coincidence,
But everything after that? Not so much.
Of course Asuka knew that the other Generation of Miracles mber who had lost was Kise Ryouta.
Of course he knew that Midorima was here to hide his tears.
He knew perfectly well. And those words earlier? They were intentional.
As for why,
Well, no real reason. He just wanted to ss with this tsundere genius a little.
"This is kind of fun," Asuka thought, amused. "Now I understand why that jerk Oikawa acts the way he does. Teasing people really is satisfying!"
He chuckled inwardly. He was definitely becoming a worse person. After all, the old him would've never been this sharp-tongued.
Monts later, Midorima pushed his glasses up, regaining his composure. "In that match just now… you didn't go all out, did you?"
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
"Because that last three-pointer…"
"Oh, that? Pure luck." Asuka waved it off with a modest smile.
There was no way he'd ever admit to holding back. The Generation of Miracles mbers were all close, after all, and if Midorima accidentally let sothing slip to the others soday, that'd ruin all his fun.
Because truth be told,
As a "normal" high school student with nothing special besides height, Akashi Asuka couldn't afford even a hint of carelessness if he wanted to defeat true geniuses like them.
This guy really is kind of… petty.
"Forget it," Midorima said coldly. "Whether it was luck or not doesn't matter. We lost today, but I'll reclaim this debt at Nationals. Just you wait, Asuka!"
With a huff, he turned and strode out of the restroom.
===========
Seiho's players escorted Shutoku's team to the parking lot. Although Asuka and Midorima didn't get along particularly well, the senior players of both teams shared deep camaraderie.
Especially Tsutomu Iwamura and Otsubo Taisuke, their mutual respect was almost brotherly.
After all, both were top-tier national centers, both represented the Tokyo region, and both played for powerhouse schools known as the "Three Kings of Tokyo."
You could call it… fate.
In fact, last year's Basketball Monthly had even published an interview where Otsubo publicly stated that the player he most looked up to in high school was Seiho's center, Tsutomu Iwamura.
And in that sa issue, Iwamura had said his most-watched player was Kiyoshi Teppei.
Three days ago, when Asuka found that old article in the locker room, he imdiately went out and bought Iwamura a copy of Human Relationships Gone Wrong as a "birthday present" for next year.
What a guy.
Even though he hadn't joined Seiho yet back then, Asuka could already imagine Iwamura's embarrassnt when that interview ca out.
=============
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