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“Koide! I haven’t seen you in a while!”
Sakyou turned to see Sekiguchi-san waving at him, as he walked towards him, followed by the emo-looking Kubota-san. He smiled. His two former senpai still looked the same as always. Sekiguchi-san seemed way too intense for a fun streetball match, while Kubota-san’s bangs still covered his eyes.
“It’s nice to see you, Sekiguchi-san, Kubota-san.” He smiled. “It’s so cool to see you in Tokyo! Didn’t you both move out of the prefecture?”
Sekiguchi-san nodded. “Yeah. It was extremely difficult to get here. Shizuoka’s too goddamn far! Kubota lives in Kyoto. Neither of our teams made it to the Winter Cup, so we didn’t have an excuse to go to Tokyo.”
“So… why are you here now?”
“The Winter Cup finals, obviously.” Sakyou jerked backwards. After all this time, he was still surprised by how much emotion Kubota-san could put into his words. The guy looked dead inside, but in reality, his blood was pumping, and he was always prepared to shout at people. Sakyou almost smiled as he remembered the times Kubota-san screamed at him to take a fucking break and to relax a little.
“I mean, why are you in this exact place? This is a streetball game!” Suddenly, his eyes lit up. “Oh! You two are going to play, aren’t you? Well, come on! I just finished playing, but I’m willing to play again!”
“Actually, we came to watch you, but it looks like we were too late.” Sekiguchi-san smiled sheepishly. “We were on our way to the arena, then some guy mentioned that Koide Sakyou was playing here, and that he was totally going to bet money on you.”
Kubota-san grinned and slapped him on the back. “See? Look how much you’ve grown! Back then, you were some timid kid, who was scared shitless of Murasakibara. Now, people are betting on you! Damn, your team must be lucky to have you.”
“Well, actually—“
“Yeah!” Sekiguchi-san chimed in. “I heard they call you the Breakdancer because your moves look like some badass kind of dance, apparently. Whoever thought some lame-looking kid could be so good at basketball, huh?”
“I didn’t join the basketball team!” He blurted out. His former teammates blinked at him, as if confused.
“Why not?” Kubota-san asked, tilting his head. “You’re a great player—“
Sakyou cackled. “Are you kidding me? I’m nothing next to those Generation of Douchebags. What’s the point of playing if I don’t have a chance of winning? They’re the only ones with a fighting chance against each other. No one else can face them! I bet all the top teams are ones with those rainbow heads! And, ouch! Why did you punch me?”
Sekiguchi-san sighed. “To knock some sense into you. Plus, that was always the only way to get you to shut up when you start talking. Are you aware of which two teams are facing each other in the finals?”
Sakyou scowled. “Of course not. Why should I care? I’m done trying to catch up to those so-called Miracles… They’re just monsters—“
“Seirin and Rakuzan.”
“Rakuzan is always in the finals. Am I supposed to be surprised? Plus, they have the captain, and—wait, Seirin?” Sakyou had never heard of such a team. “Who the fuck are they?”
“I don’t really know either! That’s why I’m so excited!” Despite not being able to see his eyes, Sakyou could tell from the tone of his voice that Kubota-san was, indeed, excited. “They beat all the teams of the Generation of Miracles except Akashi’s.”
“I’ve also heard they have some sort of magic passes, so Kuroko’s probably part of that team,” Sekiguchi-san added.
“Oh, and that makes it so much better.” Each word Sakyou said was dripping in sarcasm. “Thanks for the info. Gotta go—”
“Are you still jealous Kuroko got to play in official matches, while you never had the chance?” Sekiguchi-san’s words were scathing, his tone was harsh, and it felt like he was shooting daggers at him using his eyes. “That’s just pathetic. Of course, you'll never get the chance to play in an official match if you don’t even join your team. You have so much talent! Why did you give up so easily?”
Sakyou sighed. “You don’t understand. You were absent during their third year. The five of them… they were bad enough for opposing teams, but they, including Kuroko-kun, were the worst nightmares of their teammates. They crushed everyone and everything that was in their way including the rest of the first string, and Kuroko-kun… he was just like them! He didn’t give a fuck about how anyone else felt!” He took a deep breath. He was a little surprised by his own outburst, but he needed to get everything off his chest.
“Did you know that Akashi said that the five of them didn’t need to go to practice because they were too good for everyone? No matter how diligent the other members of the team were, they would never get a chance to play! Murasakibara-kun was always harsh, but he got even worse after that. At least, at the start, he had to practice! But… And Aomine-kun…” His vision started to blur, and he closed his eyes.
“What the fuck? You let me waltz pass you every damn time! Even if you can’t stop me, backup won’t do shit unless you do something!” The blue-haired boy’s rage made him take a step backwards.
“But I’m trying!” He cried. He really had been. He had been practicing harder than anyone. He arrived early to practice in the morning, he practiced during lunch and he gave his all during the afternoon practice. Then, he would practice as much as he could until the school closed. He would jog home to work on his stamina instead of taking the bus like he did in his first year of junior high. It wasn’t enough… Aomine-kun and the rest of them… It’s just that they…
“It’s just that you’re too strong, Aomine-kun!” He shuddered and took a deep breath. “There’s no one who can stop you.” The atmosphere darkened after he said this, and he tried to make it a little better by letting out a nervous chuckle.
“Fuck it!” Aomine-kun yelled. “I’m not dealing with this!” He stormed out of the gym, leaving him to stand there in shame.
“I’ll never be able to stop him!” He cried out. A few people looked in his direction, and he hung his head low in shame. He was too angry, too sad and it was all too painful. All was silent. Then…
“What a hypocrite.”
“What?” He croaked, as he looked up at Kubota-san. “Why would say that? How am I—”
“You’re complaining about how they said your efforts meant nothing, but you’re the one saying that you can’t beat them and that you can’t stop them.” Kubota-san huffed. “You’re also saying that your efforts mean nothing.” Suddenly, Kubota-san grabbed him by his jersey.
“Don’t you dare say that!” He yelled. “It’s like you’re saying my efforts to practice in my third year of junior high were useless! You give up way too fucking easily! Stop being such a pathetic baby and chin up!”
“Kubota…” Sekiguchi-san gently tugged on Kubota-san’s arm, and the dark-haired teenager let Sakyou go.
After what felt like years of silence, Sekiguchi-san spoke up. “Why don’t you come and watch the game with us?”
Sakyou almost laughed. “Did you hear anything I said? What’s the point? Even if Seirin beat all the other teams, Akashi’s still gonna beat them. A team without any members from the Generation of Miracles is never gonna be number one. The finals will just give me more proof that I’m correct, and that I can’t defeat them.”
“Actually, I think Seirin will prove your wrong.” Sekiguchi-san grinned. “C’mon! You’re done with your game already! Might as well watch with us.”
“No way—"
“Plus, I have a feeling this match will convince you to join your school’s team.”
The two of them were surprised that Kubota-san was speaking so calmly after the rage he had released just a while ago.
“Please watch with us! Who are you to say ‘no’ to your senpai?” Sekiguchi-san asked. It seemed as if he was trying to lighten the mood.
“You two aren’t my senpai anymore…” However, Sakyou still felt like they were. He still feels that invisible force that bonded them as they sat together on the bench. He still believes in them, like when they told him that he would become a great player soon. And maybe, it is true, after all, he is the Breakdancer now.
“…But I guess I still have to follow you.”
And that was how Koide Sakyou ended up getting on a bus going to the location of the Winter Cup finals.
Sakyou could hardly believe that he had made it to the first string.
After practicing so hard, here he was! He might finally get to participate in a real match if he continued to practice as hard as he could.
He had dedicated many weeks to perfecting his form and technique. If there were a Basketball Bible of Rules, it could be said that he followed each rule down to the letter. Everything had to be exact. After all, this was Teikou, and nothing less than perfect could be expected.
Thanks to his height and strength, he was made a power forward, although he was more used to being a shooting guard, despite not being that fast. In practice matches, he had to try his hardest so that he wouldn’t slip into his SG habits. Unlike before, his job was mostly in the inside. He would get rebound after rebound, and he would do it by the book.
Until he saw Aomine-kun.
Now, he always knew that Aomine-kun was stunning, but what was amazing to Sakyou was that the blue-haired boy defied all kinds of logic. He never did anything by the book. His form never made any sense. He was a PF, but he played more like an SG.
And that’s when Sakyou decided he didn’t want to play with the same perfect form.
He would’ve liked to ask Aomine-kun for help, but he was always busy in the third gym, so he decided to go and ask for help from his older brother, who lived a few blocks away. His brother went to Teikou for junior high and played basketball back then. Once in a while, he would play in a few streetball matches.
“Hey, onii-san!” He called one day. “Can you teach me how to do that thing that you said was your signature move in high school?”
“How many times do I have to tell you, Sakyou, it wasn’t my signature move!” His big brother ruffled his hair affectionately. “It was just something I was good at. The three big D’s, dribbling, drives and dunks!”
“You know, onii-san, I think of something else when you say ‘big D’…”
His big brother gasped. “You’re making those crude boy jokes now?” He punched him lightly and laughed. “But sure, I’ll teach you how I did it… I have to practice if I want to beat my next opponent, anyway!”
Sakyou learned quickly. He combined his meticulous way of learning and his polished technique to become as good as his older brother in a few months.
With this, he thought, I’ll definitely get to play in a match once! With Aomine-kun and the others!
In a practice match against some of the second years, he was able to steal the ball from a dark-haired boy with bangs that covered his eyes, and a strange, round nose. Right after this, he ran past a boy with hair that looked like the soft white sand of the beaches in the tropics, before dunking. Although his team lost, those two people approached him after the match.
“That was pretty great, kid! What’s your name?” The boy with light-colored hair asked.
“Koide Sakyou at your service!” He grasped the boy’s hand and shook it firmly. The white-haired boy soon introduced himself as Sekiguchi Tohru, while the guy with Rockstar bangs said his name was Kubota Masaya.
“I think you’re a very talented SG, Kubota-san!” Sakyou said. He swore he could see Kubota-san smiling a little. “That three-pointer was all net! It was a really beautiful shot! Not only that, it was super hard for our SG to block!”
He praised Sekiguchi-san with the same enthusiasm. “And Sekiguchi-san! You were amazing at getting past our defense! Takada-kun is the second best at defense we have next to Murasakibara-kun, but you got past both him and Arashiro-kun!”
Kubota-san chuckled at this. “Thanks, Koide-kun. I must admit I’m not that great. Your steal was amazing. I really didn’t see it coming. Your dunk was lovely as well.”
Back then, Sakyou would’ve frowned at one of his moves being called “lovely”. The word “lovely” sounded kind of weak. But today, he was pretty proud. His senpai thought he was talented! “Thank you so much for your kind words, Kubota-san! But, really… I’m not that good!”
“Coach Sanada allows us to use the gym before we eat lunch. Would you like to join?”
Sakyou tried his best to keep himself from gaping. Did Sekiguchi-san really mean it? A senpai had taken interest in his skills! He would definitely thank his brother a billion times later. “Sure! That would be an honor!”
He was the happiest he could be.
Then Kuroko-kun got into the first string.
“What’s up with this guy? He can’t do anything well!” He mumbled to himself as he saw Kuroko panting after running. He didn’t know whether he was pissed the guy was able to become a regular without working hard or if he felt sorry.
In the end, he decided to be a kind person.
“Hey, Kuroko-kun!” He waved at the boy with a smile. It had taken him forever to find the boy. “There’s a streetball competition nearby. Would you like to join me as practice? You’ll be able to hone your skills and—” And become decent enough to be second string, maybe. “And get better! Ugh, that was redundant, sorry…”
Kuroko-kun seemed surprised that Koide had approached him. “Sorry. I’m practicing with Aomine-kun later.”
“It’s no problem.” He smiled, then walked away before processing what Kuroko-kun said. He… he practiced with Aomine-kun? That was totally unfair! How could a kid that weak practice with one of his idols?
Then, he watched the practice match where Kuroko played. Oh. The kid was amazing, although he was hard to notice. He was the exact opposite of the flashy Aomine-kun. Kuroko-kun seemed to disappear all the time. It truly was amazing.
After that, he wondered if he was useful to the team at all. He hadn’t played in an official match ever, yet. He understood that as a first year, he was lucky to just have made it to the first string, but the other first years got to play in matches! Haizaki-kun skipped practice all the time, but he still got to play!
“Sometimes, I wish I could be one of them,” he complained to Sekiguchi-san one day.
“Yeah, just don’t be Haizaki,” he joked.
“Huh? Why?”
“You don’t want Nijimura to beat you up. If possible, try to avoid having Nijimura looking at you. You should be thankful you don’t get to play in matches too often. The dude’s strict as fuck.”
“Sure…” Sakyou was glad that Sekiguchi-san was trying to comfort him, but he didn’t feel any better.
The next year, it got worse. Or, in other words: Kise Ryouta-kun arrived.
Kise-kun overtook him and everyone else in two weeks. Two weeks. Sakyou had been playing basketball since third grade, and this guy was better than him after playing for two weeks.
One day, while he was walking with Sekiguchi-san and Kubota-san, he brought it up. “It’s amazing. He’s only played for two weeks. How is that possible?” He sighed, before mumbling, “It’s unfair.”
“Koide,” Kubota-san said, all harsh and firm. “It’s not unfair. You’ll just have to work harder.”
“I’ve been working harder for years!” He cried. “But look! I’ve never played in an official match! The coach even gets my name wrong sometimes!”
“He remembers your awesome plays, man, just not your name,” Sekiguchi-san said in an attempt to comfort him. “Plus, I’m sure the head coach remembers your name.”
“That’s not the point.” He was getting increasingly frustrated. “I want to be useful to the team, but I just can’t be, no matter how hard I try! A player who’s played for two weeks is better than me! Better than you two, even! As senpai, how can you not be angry?”
“Because we know that with hard work—”
“Stop bullshitting me, Kubota-san!” He yelled. “You know that he’s above you. That those rainbow kids are all above you. How can you live like this? They’re going to take your positions as regulars! You’ll be scrapped! You’ll be useless to the team like me!”
“Koide—”
“Why do we still try, if—”
“KOIDE!”
Sakyou stopped, surprised to see that the normally calm Kubota-san was burning with rage.
“You think we don’t know? Yes, they’re better than us, but don’t say that this makes us useless to the team.” Sekiguchi-san was looking away from the two of them, as Kubota-san spoke. “We won’t stop doing our best because we love basketball. Plus, these teammates of ours… they present us a challenge. And isn’t it fun when you’re able to win a challenge?”
Any other day, Sakyou would have agreed. But not today. “Kubota-san. You’re lying.”
“Koide—“
“I know how you really feel. You’re scared. Soon enough, they won’t even let you play in matches anymore. People will look down on you because you’re not as good as Midorima-kun. They’ll roll your eyes at all your plays. You’ll be remembered as the boring substitute player. You’re only saying that you love a challenge as a way to comfort yourself, as your own position gets stolen from you.”
Sekiguchi-san’s mouth dropped open, and Kubota-san clenched his fists. The sadistic side of Sakyou almost felt glad that he had read Kubota-san so easily.
“Sekiguchi, let’s go home,” Kubota-san mumbled, shakily without the usual calm confidence in his voice.
“Weren’t we going to go to the convenience store for a snack?” Sekiguchi-san asked, making Kubota-san tremble even more.
“Fine. You can go with Koide, but I’m going home.” And his dark-haired senpai stormed off.
“Koide, you really shouldn’t have said that.” Sekiguchi-san sighed. “Don’t you know what sensitivity is?”
“Oh, yeah? Maybe you should ask Murasakibara-kun that, Sekiguchi-san.” Sakyou closed his eyes, then rubbed them, rather tired from the whole day. “He almost made another player quit again.”
Silence.
“I’m going home. You’re a big boy, I’m sure you can manage to go to the convenience store by yourself.” Sekiguchi-san walked away without looking back. Sakyou hated this. He hated being alone and he hated basketball and he hated how he just wasn’t skilled enough.
He made his way to the court near their home and played until his mom called him and screamed at him to get home.
He was just so tired.
But the worst was still to come.
“What high school are you in, Koide?” Sekiguchi-san asked. They had just arrived at the venue, and he had to scream just so that Sakyou could hear him.
“Senshinkan,” he replied instantly.
Sekiguchi-san chuckled. “Yet, you didn’t join the team! You went to one of Tokyo’s kings and didn’t join the team!” His expression darkened. “Are you an idiot?”
“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes. “Damn, this place is packed.”
“Koide-kun?”
He turned in the direction of the familiar voice. “Arai-san… and Kikuchi-san?”
Kikuchi-san sighed. “Have you forgotten us already? It’s only been a year! Oh, Sekiguchi-san! Kubota-san! Please sit beside us!”
“Thank you!” The three boys said in unison before taking their seats. Sakyou grinned. Evil intent gleamed in his eyes. “I remember when you two had a crush on Akashi-kun and Aomine-kun, though. One of you even mentioned the idea of stalking them…”
“I-I did no such thing!” Arai-san cried. “Though, Acchan did have a huge crush on Akashi-kun. I still remember that time when she nearly dropped the towels she was holding, then Akashi-kun appeared.”
“Micchan, please don’t talk about this—”
Arai-san ignored her best friend and lowered her voice as if to do an impression of someone. “Do be careful. Thank you for everything. I appreciate how you support our team daily. Then you said…”
“Please don’t—”
“Akashi-sami sure is fine, too,” Arai-san said in a high-pitched voice, then giggled. “Seriously, you’re too funny sometimes!”
“Micchan! You’re so cruel!”
(Meanwhile, Kubota-san was whispering, “The Generation of Miracles aren’t fair! They get skills and girls.” Then, Sekiguchi-san whispered back. “Of course, girls wouldn’t like you. You look like some hipster emo with a gigantic pimple for a nose.”
“At least I’m not boring-looking like Koide,” he whispered back.
Sakyou pretended that he didn’t hear any of it.)
“Who do you think will win?” Sakyou asked, ending the bickering of the girls.
“Hmm… Well, Seirin’s #10 Kagami Taiga-kun is pretty good,” Kikuchi-san said, propping her elbow. “I watched Aomine-kun’s game against them! Kagami-kun’s a pretty good power forward, but he could be a point forward too, if he tried!”
“Seirin also has Kuroko-kun,” Arai-san chimed in, pushing her straight, black hair away from her face. “I suspect that his intelligence was the reason Seirin was able to win against Kaijou.”
“Kaijou definitely would’ve won if Kise-kun wasn’t injured, though, so I guess Seirin was lucky,” Kikuchi-san continued. “Well, injuries, luck—those are all part of the game.”
“Midorima-kun would be the first to agree with that!” Arai-san said, chuckling. “Shuutoku won’t need to do much to win third place, with Kise-kun out of the game.”
Sakyou wondered why Kise-kun would get injured. Did he have an accident? Some sort of foul trouble? Or the most likely one…
He practiced too much.
Sakyou was pretty familiar with that. He hated to admit it, but Kise-kun worked hard too. Surprisingly, he felt kind of sorry for the blonde. Although the guy could be an asshole and looked down on everyone, he didn’t openly admit it, unlike certain people. Midorima-kun was a little conceited as well, but he always did his best, so he really didn’t have a good reason to hate on the palm tree boy. He turned his attention towards the court, where the players were gathering.
As Arai-san said, Shuutoku won easily. Of course, normal players could never beat a team with one of the Generation of Miracles. Then, the finals started.
Sakyou scoffed. How could his former teammates think that Seirin stood a chance? The game had only started, but Rakuzan already had the lead. Sure, Kagami-kun was impressive, but he was nothing Akashi-kun couldn’t handle. The match made him feel sick to the bones. He could tell that all the members of Seirin had spent all their time practicing, but they were nothing against the power of the emperor.
Yet, somehow, that changed.
They managed to stop Akashi-kun a few times. In his shock, he made more and more mistakes. Sakyou would’ve laughed at how miserably their “absolute” captain was doing, but he actually felt slightly sorry for him. He couldn’t believe how frail the redhead was. If that was the state he was in for making a few mistakes, he seriously deserved to be punched in the face. Everyone has to suck at some point, you idiot.
Then, Akashi-kun rose up again. His playstyle seemed... different. Rakuzan was on a roll, and Sakyou started to give up on Seirin again.
But Direct Drive Zone happened. Sakyou felt hollow inside. He felt as if something was missing.
Teamwork. That’s what he was missing. As a streetball dude, he sort of just joined whatever team needed him or played by himself. He had never really felt as if he were part of a team. Although it was normal for a team to be competitive with each other, when he was in Teikou, it felt as if everyone around him was his enemy.
“I never want this match to end,” he mumbled to himself. The teamwork of both teams was… gorgeous. He wondered what it felt like to be on the court like that. He touched his aching heart. Man, I want to play again.
The match ended. Seirin won.
Sekiguchi-san and Kubota-san grinned at him.
“Ah! I can’t wait to play Seirin!” Kubota-san sighed, leaning backwards on his seat.
“You won’t get to play them,” Sakyou declared. As everyone frowned at him, his hard expression softened, and his lips curved upwards into a smile. “Senshinkan will beat them before they get to the Interhigh.”
“Well, I guess that’s the next time we’ll be seeing you!” Sekiguchi-san smiled.
“Yes. See you next interhigh!"