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Yuzuru found himself blinking away the exhaustion that clouded his mind. "Shige is a demon," he muttered. Rubbing his tired eyes, he reluctantly dragged himself out of bed, feeling every muscle in his body ache from the grueling training session the night before.
"He is a demon!" Yuzuru whined out loud. "Who makes someone do all this training in just two days when winter cup is in three days!" His voice echoed in the quiet room, only to be met with a sharp rebuke from his sister, "Shut up, Yuzuru! It's only 2 a.m!"
Ignoring his sister's scolding, Yuzuru grabbed a towel and began to get ready. Shinki, had ordered them to gather at the school by 3 a.m., and Ogiwara had pushed Yuzuru to his limits, training him until 12.30 a.m. With just a few hours of sleep ahead of him, Yuzuru couldn't help but grumble, "He's a demon!"
As the team prepared to leave for an early morning training session, Yuzuru tried to avoid Ogiwara. However, he soon found himself in a headlock. "If you have a problem with me, say it to my face. I'm not a mind reader," Ogiwara chided. Yuzuru begrudgingly patted Ogiwara's arm.
As the team loaded their gear onto the bus, Shinki gathered them for a pep talk. "When we arrive, remember not to wander off. We'll have a friendly match as soon as we get there. And for the next three days, we have a packed schedule of training matches lined up in Tokyo," Shinki announced. They nodded in agreement before boarding the bus.
Yuzuru couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I take back what I said. The real demon is Shinki-sensei." With a mix of exhaustion and resignation, he settled into his seat.
↪˚꩜ .ᐟ˙
"Oh, Shige. Your three-point shot has improved. I still remember how you struggled to shoot from far, but now I'm sure you can shoot at any angle, right?" Benjiro said, patting Ogiwara's head.
Ogiwara shrugged. "It got better because of you teaching me," he replied.
Benjiro smiled. "Keep training hard but remember tomorrow is our big day." Ogiwara nodded and refocused on the basket.
"Well, I hope he still plays," he muttered as he walked out of the gym, while playing the well-worn basketball with his left hand.
Iirina skipped to the kitchen. "Morning!" she chimed, before gasping at Hanzo crawling over. "Food~" he mumbled.
Iirina blinked, watching the others dig into the food. She smiled, recalling the hard times during the training camp and how she didn't know how to cook.
Since she didn't want to burden Izumi and Ogiwara, knowing training could be tough and tiring. She learn.
It was challenging at first, she now felt satisfied knowing she could cook for them. Just then, Shinki entered the kitchen.
"Get ready! We have two hours before the ceremony, and our first opponent is Joshibi High. Remember, every team at the Winter Cup is strong. That's all, get ready!" he announced.
The team nodded in unison, and Yuzuru sheepishly interjected, "Let me finish eating first!"
─.★..─
Noyuki stood tall, holding the high school board proudly as the opening ceremony began. Once the ceremony came to an end, Ogiwara, Izumi, and Haruki - decided to stick around while Yuzuru Android Chris went off to meet an old friend.
"Shouldn't you also greet them?" Izumi asked Haruki, noticing his hesitation. Haruki's gaze lingered on Chris, who was engrossed in conversation with their former teammate.
"I'm not really close with them," Haruki admitted. Izumi nodded in understanding. "What about you, Shige? Have you found anyone you know here?"
Ogiwara shook his head. "After taking a temporary break from basketball, I haven't really kept in touch with my old friends or teammates, except for Mochi, of course. I've been out of the loop."
"Shige!! Meet Otsubo-san! He was my senior at Minami Daisan. He transferred here after his third year of middle school. He's the one who taught me the basics of rebounding and other basketball skills," Yuzuru introduced proudly.
The group respectfully bowed. "Nice to meet you," they chorused. Otsubo smiled warmly at them.
Ogiwara took the opportunity to inquire, "Otsubo-san, you mentioned you were from Minami Daisan, right? Do you happen to know a guy named Kyotani Kentaro? He's a volleyball player. I tried asking him, but all he could talk about was basketball." Ogiwara explained, pointing at Yuzuru, who was now shouting at him and being held back by Izumi.
Otsubo paused, recalling the name. "I believe I do. He was the volleyball ace at Minami Daisan, but I heard from a friend that he struggled with teamwork, which caused some issues for the team at that time." Ogiwara absorbed the information with a nod.
"Thank you for sharing, Senpai," Ogiwara expressed his gratitude. Before they could delve further into the conversation, someone called for Otsubo, "Coach is looking for you!"
Otsubo nodded and turned to Yuzuru, "It's nice to see you again, Yuzuru. I hope you've made a lot progress. I wish you all the best."
"As expected of a king," Izumi muttered, noticing the tension disappear. Haruki agreed silently. "Let's go," Ogiwara said, and Haruki swiftly ushered Chris back towards them, urging, "Come on, let's keep moving."
