"Your play, compared to what I expected, was as basic as a beginner's."
"In this regard..."
"Roughly speaking…"
"You and Aomine are on the same level."
Watching Akihito Shigure slam down the alley-oop he'd just assisted, Aomine couldn't help but recall that moment under the pedestrian bridge court, when Captain Nijimura sneered at Haizaki and, unintentionally, drew Aomine into the conversation.
Back then...
Aomine had thought Haizaki's decision to directly attack him with the final possession was decent. But Tomoya Inoue, who had eavesdropped on the game alongside him, had offered a different take:
"Maybe passing to those other two high school teammates would've been better."
To be honest,
Aomine struggled to understand it.
After all...
Those two guys from Shōei High had been personally labeled as "useless" by Captain Nijimura himself during the match. Why would anyone pass the ball to players like that?
If Inoue was right, then didn't that mean Captain Nijimura's words were contradictory?
But Nijimura...
He had to be right.
The problem had to lie in Inoue's interpretation.
Putting aside all the things he didn't particularly care about, there was at least one thing Aomine was now certain of.
"That final pass, "
"Was it just a fluke?"
"Or was it your pride…"
"...that wouldn't allow you to keep performing so sloppily?"
Even though Nijimura's words, as always, carried an intimidating weight, their implication seemed to acknowledge that Haizaki's last-minute pass to Aomine had been the correct choice.
And so,
Aomine Daiki's mind completed a closed circuit.
In certain high-pressure scenarios on the court, maybe, just maybe, instead of forcing a reckless shot, passing could lead to a better outcome.
Even one that Nijimura himself might approve of.
But pass to someone weaker than himself, like those two from Shōei?
No way.
Weaker than him?
Then why not just go himself?
Aomine didn't really understand what Nijimura meant by Haizaki's "pride."
But his own pride had always seemed to whisper this exact point to him.
So, when the double-team came, and even the triple-team closed in, although he had enough confidence to force the shot,
The subconscious lessons now ingrained within him triggered something new.
He made a choice he wouldn't have in the past.
At least not at that moment in the attack.
A completely different choice.
Akihito Shigure was strong.
So,
In an attack that risked falling apart...
Passing to him?
Was valid.
Simple logic.
So very Aomine.
A perfectly self-centered closed loop.
When Akihito Shigure finished the dunk, Aomine turned to glance at Tomoya Inoue.
The look of surprise and growing tension on Inoue's face, along with the gasps erupting from the crowd, finally swept away the awkward hesitation Aomine had been feeling: that maybe, because he passed instead of scoring himself, others might not understand.
"That was insane! 1v3, seriously!?"
"He did all those mid-air moves and still passed it? That play created a completely open shot!"
"What's going on with Teiko's first-years? Unreal…"
"Kamizaki, who hasn't lost a game this qualifying season, just got wrecked by their offense."
"Then again…"
"It's Teiko."
On court,
Clang!
Shigure dropped from the rim, and for once, after scoring, the person drawing all eyes wasn't himself… nor was it Nijimura.
It was,
Aomine Daiki.
Undeniably.
"That was a sweet pass…"
"Aomine."
Clap!
Jogging back on defense, Aomine exchanged a quick palm slap with Shigure, only to find himself suddenly deep in thought.
He had always watched the backs of Nijimura and Shigure, their leadership, their gravity.
But just now… in that brief instant…
He had stood in Nijimura's place.
Through a pass,
Strange.
Strangely satisfying.
"Haha!"
"Right? Senpai"
"Told you I could draw a double like Nijimura and pass out of it! That Midorima guy laughed at me back then"
Shigure Akihito: "?"
This kid...
He remembered that?
That time he said he could "pass like Nijimura"…
Shigure recalled it vividly.
It was during their game against Heishi Middle School. Aomine, unaware, was triple-teamed. Nijimura, reading the play like a maestro, called out and demanded the ball.
Honestly, Shigure had assumed that was due to Nijimura's usual authority on court. Aomine probably passed more out of instinct, or intimidation, than anything else.
At least, that's what Shigure used to think.
But after today's pass?
Now, he wasn't so sure anymore.
Because Aomine Daiki's trajectory seemed like it might be… deviating.
Just a little.
But definitely shifting.
On the sidelines,
After witnessing Aomine's stunning 1v3 attack and assist, Kamizaki's coach clenched his tactical clipboard and shot up from the bench.
At the same time,
Back on Teiko's bench, the players, including Fukaya Reiji and Kurokami Shinji, sat wide-eyed in shock.
Only Nijimura Shuzo and Coach Shirogane reacted differently.
Nijimura frowned ever so slightly.
Shirogane smiled.
The match pressed on.
The game was still being controlled by Tomoya Inoue and Aomine Daiki.
Kamizaki now had possession.
At the top of the arc, Inoue dribbled slightly turned to the side, scanning the court.
Then Kamizaki's center, drawing Shigure away from the paint, set a screen.
No, wait.
It was actually a sneak attack, a cross-screen involving a second Kamizaki player. And oddly, the target wasn't Aomine (who was defending Inoue), but rather Shigure, who had been pulled out of the paint!
The plan was clear: use a screen to prevent Akihito Shigure from easily rotating back into the interior, where his defense was lethal.
The timing and precision of the screen were perfect, hitting him right in his blind spot, just as he tried to track his man!
But,
Faced with the unexpected screener, Shigure's reaction was absurdly fast.
In the instant he almost collided with the pick, he spun smoothly, avoiding it like it was nothing!
Kamizaki Center: "!?"
What the hell?
Did this guy have the reflexes of a beast?
Otherwise, how could he possibly react that fast?
The center was stunned. He knew Inoue had intentionally manipulated Shigure's blind side, using another teammate to set up the perfect screen.
And with his back turned,
Shigure had received no warning, no heads-up from his teammates.
Yet the moment contact was imminent, he instinctively dodged, pure animal reflex.
To react like that...
What kind of reflexes and agility was he working with?
The Kamizaki center couldn't even process it when,
BOOM.
A crushing aura surged over the court, snapping the center's thoughts in half.
He turned,
And found Akihito Shigure's burning eyes locked onto him,
And behind him...
A towering beast, a phantom presence as clear as day.
"Even though my 'wildness' leans more toward raw power…"
"It's still wildness, after all."
At that instant,
With arms outstretched, Akihito Shigure radiated the presence of a wild beast, engulfing everyone in his presence, Inoue, Aomine, enemy and ally alike.
The contrast between his white uniform and that illusory black aura...
Like a knight...
Possessed by the Demon King.
Not exactly...
A hero.
End of chapter...
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