The opening ceremony for the national junior high preliminaries began with a simple introduction and a drawing of lots, followed by the athletes' oath.
Because Nijimura was notoriously bad with public speaking, the duty fell to Teiko's vice-captain, Shigure Akihito, who smoothly delivered the speech using last year's captain Ōkura Masaaki's address as a model.
And then…
The organizers gave their usual speech.
In the blink of an eye, an hour passed.
The opening ceremony finally concluded. Up next, the preliminaries would officially begin.
As the most dominant team in the Tokyo district, Teiko Middle School was naturally listed among the opening round's featured matches. Their match would be held on the central court of the main gymnasium, the stage reserved for giants.
And their opponent...
Heishi Middle School.
To be honest, Shigure vaguely remembered them, maybe they had faced each other in a training match last year? It was too long ago; he couldn't recall clearly.
Once both teams had finished gearing up, the sideline staff came by to notify them: The match preparations were complete. Time to begin warmups.
Under Teiko's overwhelming presence—and Heishi's anxious tension, warmups wrapped up quickly.
"Up next, we have Teiko Middle School versus Heishi Middle School!"
The announcer's voice echoed throughout the stadium.
"The strongest Teiko... has arrived!"
"Heishi isn't a bad team in Tokyo by any means, but they've never even reached the nationals. Facing Teiko right out of the gate…"
"Yeah. Let's be real — even if Teiko takes it easy on them, there's no way they'll lose."
From the stands, players from other schools began to murmur among themselves. Without exception, everyone expected a Teiko victory.
But within the Teiko team…
"Let me say one thing."
Standing at the edge of the court, Coach Shirogane swept his eyes across the players, face as stern as ever.
"We are lions."
"No matter who the opponent is"
"Give it your all."
"Tear them apart."
"That—is the etiquette of the strong."
On the bench, Haizaki Shōgo lit up momentarily… before inwardly groaning:
As expected… this devil of an old man…
He's exactly like that maniac Nijimura!
"Get out there."
Coach Shirogane Kōzō, unexpectedly stepping in as head coach from the preliminaries onward this year, clapped each starting player on the shoulder.
One by one, Nijimura, Shigure, and the others stepped onto the court.
#4: Captain, Power Forward — Nijimura Shuzo
#5: Vice-Captain, Shooting Guard — Shigure Akihito
#6: Center — Kurokami Shinji
#7: Small Forward — Fukaya Reiji
#8: Point Guard — Akashi Seijūrō
"What's our goal?"
"National champions!"
"National champions!"
"Yeah!!"
Among the starting five, Akashi was slightly out of sync. The other four, including Fukaya, responded to Nijimura with absolute conviction.
Smack
Nijimura Shuzo patted Akashi Seijūrō on the shoulder.
"Your first official match. No need to be nervous."
"Just follow my and Shigure's lead."
Akashi gave a warm smile.
"I've never been nervous, Captain. Still… relying on you two to kick things off sounds like the smartest move."
Heishi's center — 185 centimeters tall — glanced at Teiko's #6 standing across from him. 192 cm. The sheer physical presence made him swallow dryly.
And then he looked to Teiko's bench… where another 190 cm player was calmly sitting.
"..."
Seriously…? What a luxury.
When Ōkura Masaaki left the team last year, everyone thought Teiko's height advantage might crumble. But in a flash, they had replaced him with two towering players.
And beyond height…
The biggest issue remained: Shigure Akihito.
At least 185 cm, and he played shooting guard.
At that height, possessing guard-level agility? They had nothing to match that. Not even close.
"Whoa, Teiko's center is still massive!"
"They've even got another one on the bench!"
"Middle schoolers nowadays… they could play center in high school at this rate!"
But just as everyone's eyes were fixed on Teiko's impressive big men
Heishi's power forward had thoughts of his own.
Height? Height?
What good is height!?
He was up against #4 — Teiko's captain.
The one known as "The Lion."
One half of Teiko's infamous Twin Stars — Nijimura Shuzo!
And elsewhere...
Heishi's shooting guard had his own opinions.
So what if he's the captain?
At 180 cm, Nijimura's height was normal for a power forward.
But the other Twin Star...
Shigure Akihito.
A center-sized shooting guard!?
What kind of sick joke is that!?
As the Heishi players struggled with nerves, the referee stepped to the center circle and motioned for both centers.
The Heishi center moved instinctively, but then blinked—because Teiko's #6 didn't move.
Instead, Shigure Akihito stepped forward.
The entire Heishi team froze.
Teiko? Not even slightly surprised.
Heishi Center: "…"
No big deal.
Actually, maybe this is better.
Shigure might have great hops, but jump balls aren't just about leaping high!
Just as he thought that
The referee tossed the ball up.
"!?"
"Huh…?"
No surprise at all.
Shigure Akihito reached the ball first.
True, jump balls weren't just about height.
Unless the other guy was literally flying.
Shigure's leap resembled a giant bird spreading its wings, soaring so high that the Heishi center forgot to jump entirely.
It was meaningless.
Suspended mid-air, Shigure even had time to glance at Akashi, before slapping the ball perfectly into his hands.
With possession secured, Akashi wasted no time — unleashing an almost invisible dribble, slicing past the opposing point guard with surgical calm, eyes scanning for openings.
The first attack… it has to go to Shigure-senpai.
With a lightning-quick pass — no prep motion, no wind-up — the ball sailed into Shigure's hands.
The silky reception caught Shigure slightly off guard.
Not bad... Akashi's already thinking like this in his first year?
The pass was timed just right, a brief delay matching his cut, syncing with his momentum so that whether he stopped short or took another step, the ball flowed perfectly into rhythm.
He's got potential.
Shigure had always wanted to personally experience the kind of pass that could guide a player straight into the zone, even if just a false one, based purely on timing, rhythm, and court feel.
With the ball in hand, Shigure executed a smooth drive into the paint. A quick behind-the-back switch
"Defense!"
"Sto"
Back-spin. Battle-axe dunk!
BOOM!
A violent slam exploded off the rim — a thunderous finish hung with the Heishi forward still draped on him.
He spun like a top, body coiled from the drive, then rose up with pure power, his one-handed tomahawk jam leaving everyone speechless.
Utter shock.
They couldn't even form words.
Just moments ago, Shigure Akihito had sliced through their defense like wind.
His explosiveness and body control rendered their reactions completely meaningless.
Before the words "Stop him!" even left their mouths, Shigure had already crushed the rim, one hand on the ball, the other flinging the defender aside.
Compared to last year, Shigure was taller, heavier, stronger — and the basket's "claaang-claaang" echoed louder than ever.
And then
Like misery loves company
[Tweet!]
"White #5 — basket counts!"
"Gray #6 — defensive foul!"
"One free throw awarded!"
Heishi's #6, face beet red, had tried to rotate over and defend—only to foul and give up an extra point.
But his pain was nothing compared to their center, who had gotten posterized so badly he might as well have been a traffic cone — not even touching Shigure, just getting blown away.
"Who's that #5?"
"You don't know!?"
"That's Shigure Akihito — one of Teiko's Twin Stars. He averaged 40+ points even at Nationals last year!"
"Totally. I saw him live in the finals against Okayama… 176 cm vs 193 cm. The guy's a monster."
With just one play, Shigure's first score of this year's preliminaries reignited old memories.
Whispers rose from the crowd — remembering his duel last year with Hagioka in the national finals.
But to the Heishi players…
That growing roar of the crowd only made the weight on their shoulders heavier.
"Guys!"
"Don't get discouraged!"
"We all know how strong Teiko is — but we've trained all year for this!"
"Let's show them our spirit!"
#4, Heishi's captain, clapped his hands.
"It's just one play — the game's just begun!"
End of chapter...
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