Seirin High School.
Class 1–C.
Hyūga Junpei clenched a straw between his teeth, a vein bulging on his forehead as his whole face twisted in irritation. When Izuki Shun brought up that matter again, Hyūga shot him a glare, then jabbed a finger toward the guy beside them—someone who wasn't even from Class C, yet always tagged along during breaks to sit in with them.
Kiyoshi Teppei.
With a helpless sigh, Hyūga snapped,
"Do I even need to explain?! Try having some huge guy tailing you around all day—then you'll understand just how damn annoying it is!"
Beside him, Kiyoshi only smiled warmly. When he heard Hyūga's complaint, he leaned in proudly.
"In that case, why don't we just start a basketball club together?"
"Damn it!"
"How many times do I have to say it before you get it?! I'm not joining!"
Hyūga was seething, but Izuki, who had intended to join the basketball club from the start, perked up with interest.
"I don't mind. I'd be fine with joining…"
"Really!?"
"That's great! Then we only need two more people to get it started!"
"You bastard…"
"It's three more, don't count me in!"
Fuming, Hyūga shot to his feet and stormed off, leaving Izuki and Kiyoshi staring at each other. Izuki sighed, sneaking a glance at the so-called Iron Heart Teppei sitting beside him, practically glowing with enthusiasm for basketball.
"Uh… Kiyoshi-kun?"
"Just call me Teppei."
"…Alright."
Izuki frowned slightly. "I don't get it. Why work so hard? You're that Iron Heart Kiyoshi, right? If you wanted to play basketball, I bet every powerhouse school out there would fight to recruit you. Why come to a place like this?"
"Well…" Teppei tilted his head. "For starters, I don't really like that nickname. It doesn't suit a student at all. As for basketball, I don't have some grand reason. If I had to say… it's just because this school is close."
"Huh?!"
"I grew up with my grandparents, and they're getting on in years. Going to some school far from Tokyo didn't feel right. Staying closer makes it easier. And basketball—sure, I like it, but it's just an extracurricular for me. As long as I'm having fun, that's enough."
Izuki: "…"
That's it?
He had thought a well-known player like Kiyoshi would have lofty ambitions.
But this guy was surprisingly carefree.
Maybe Hyūga's irritation was starting to make more sense.
"So you're saying you don't care about winning or losing, as long as everyone's just having fun together? But that's impossible, isn't it? What if people slack off?"
"Eh?" Teppei blinked.
"I think you misunderstood me."
"When it's something you love, you throw yourself into it completely—train for every bit of progress until the very end, and only then can you call it passion. That's the way I see it. And besides, we're still students. Even if we give everything, it might still not be enough."
"…!"
Izuki's thoughts shifted.
I take that back.
There really are guys like him out there.
Compared to this… Hyūga's fake-delinquent act was starting to look dumber by the second.
"Ah! Hey, hey!"
"Are you the one trying to start a basketball club, Kiyoshi-kun?"
"Mind if we join too?"
The cheerful voice came from a first-year with his hands on his hips, his bright smile practically radiating sunshine. His personality was obvious at a glance. And he wasn't alone—behind him stood a nervous-looking boy with thick eyebrows.
The sudden surprise made Kiyoshi and Izuki exchange a quick glance.
"Ah! Of course, no problem at all!"
"Alright!"
"Just like that?"
"Awesome, huh, Mitobe! I'm Koganei Shinji, nice to meet you!"
Kiyoshi's face lit up with joy, while Izuki, always the calmer one, picked up on a subtle hint in Koganei's words. He asked carefully:
"By the way, do you guys have experience?"
"Of course we do!" Koganei grinned confidently, giving a big thumbs-up.
And then
"Mitobe here does!"
"…What about you?"
Koganei puffed up his chest, eyes shining with the ignorance only a beginner could have. "I know that after three steps, you have to pass or shoot!"
"…So you're a complete beginner, then."
"Yeah! I played tennis in middle school, but after seeing Mitobe play basketball, I thought it looked fun too."
"Well, at least that means you've got good athletic sense," Izuki muttered.
But Kiyoshi didn't care in the slightest. He was already calculating headcount. "Perfect! With this, we've got five people already!"
Izuki, however, kept his cool. "You're still counting Hyūga in, huh? Better not. Let's find one or two more. With only five, practice and matches will be impossible."
Compared to this overly excitable bunch, Izuki stood out as the calm realist.
And then there was Koganei—the beginner.
"Hey, we need a manager too! A cute one!"
Izuki rubbed his forehead. "I get what you want, but let's wait. And more importantly—are you even listening to the conversation?"
"…."
Still…
A manager, huh?
Izuki's mind flashed with the image of someone.
"She's not a guy, but there's someone. She lives near Hyūga's place. Works at a gym—knows all about muscle training, daily drills, everything."
Kiyoshi's eyes sparkled instantly. "Sounds interesting! I'll ask her!"
"…."
Izuki hesitated. "Interesting isn't the word. More like… strange. Honestly, she might be tough to deal with."
"Guess we'll find out when we meet her! What's her name?"
"Riko Aida."
…
"Riko…"
"Hey, someone's looking for you. Said it's about the basketball club."
"Eh…?"
"Basketball club?"
"Does this school even have one?"
"…And of all things, it's about the one sport I can't stand."
Uh-oh.
Yeah, this was going to be tough.
And it was tough—right from the start. When Kiyoshi stepped forward with his usual grin and invited her, Riko Aida didn't even move from her seat. Chin propped on her hand, she shot him down flat.
"I'm not interested."
But Kiyoshi didn't waver.
"Don't say that. Please, join the basketball club."
"Hey. Did you not hear me? Basketball is the sport I hate the most!"
Wow, this guy's tall. My neck hurts just looking up at him.
"But you don't hate exercise, do you?"
"Not really. But no means no. To be precise, I can't stand the current state of things—especially the middle school basketball scene."
"Right now, Teiko dominates everything. No one else can even compare. Of course, they'll keep tearing up the high school scene too."
"But that's not the real problem."
"In high school, you've still got schools like Rakuzan and Yōsen. And in high school basketball, there are always people willing to fight back against monsters like them."
"But middle school? Almost everyone just gave up on winning from the start. That's what I hated most."
"Plenty of other clubs have tried recruiting me. But if they're not serious about their goals—about the thing most important to them—I'm not joining any of them."
END OF CHAPTER
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