"Senpai, long time no see."
Behind Shigure Akihito—wearing loose beach shorts and holding a bikini-clad Momoi Satsuki in his arms—came Nijimura Shuzo, also shirtless and wearing sunglasses, followed by Kurokami Shinji and Fukasaya Reiji, each carrying a makeshift wooden basketball hoop on their shoulders.
Seeing this mix of Teiko's seniors and juniors all together again, Aida Riko froze. The suitcase in her hand slipped and hit the ground with a thud.
After several confused explanations from the Seirin team, she finally nodded blankly—then, as if something occurred to her, a faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
On the other side…
Aida Kagetora, also wearing sunglasses, leaned against his car window. When he noticed Nijimura—the same "monster" from Teiko—glancing his way, his instincts screamed run.
"Uh…"
"Riko."
"I'll unload your gear at the gym, you guys handle the rest. I'm outta here."
Riko nodded quickly. "Ah, okay."
The car hadn't driven far before it suddenly stopped. Aida Kagetora stuck his head out the window, glaring fiercely at the Seirin boys—especially Hyūga Junpei.
"You brats, train hard. And if any of you dare have funny thoughts about my daughter…"
He pushed his sunglasses down just enough for them to see his terrifying eyes.
"…You'd better think real hard about your next few breaths."
"Wouldn't be surprised if I killed you, you know~"
Seirin team: "!?"
"Y-Yes, sir!!"
"Understood!!"
"You can count on us!"
Once Aida Kagetora's car finally left, Riko turned to see that the Teiko squad had already moved out in perfect formation. She clapped her hands sharply.
"Alright! Move out, everyone!"
"Head to the gym and bring back all the equipment we'll need today!"
"Equipment…?"
"That's right. Our first training—beach basketball."
…
A few moments later, Seirin arrived at the beach carrying their own makeshift hoops, only to find that Teiko—minus Akihito—had already finished setting up theirs in the sand.
Standing before his former teammates like it was the Teiko days all over again, Nijimura Shuzo held up a clipboard and spoke crisply:
"For the next two weeks, we'll begin every morning at eight. Basic ability training runs until noon."
"From two to five—physical conditioning."
"Evenings are for brainstorming new abilities."
Gulp.
Wait—that's… eight hours a day?!
The Generation of Miracles and the others, Kurokami and Fukasaya, seemed unbothered. But over at Seirin, all enthusiasm drained from their faces, replaced by pure dread.
Sure enough…
They turned just in time to see Riko's brows furrow. She reached into her side bag, whipped out her little notebook, and began flipping through it furiously.
Hyūga Junpei: "…"
Oh no.
Riko's competitive spirit just got triggered.
On the beach, Nijimura finished outlining the schedule with his usual Teiko-level seriousness. "That's the basic plan. Adjustments will come as needed. Now…"
"Ability enhancement training—begins now."
Meanwhile, at Seirin's end…
After assembling their hoops, Aida Riko tugged at the whistle hanging from her neck and addressed the team.
"As I've said before, Seirin's fundamental abilities still lag far behind. If we want to make a real showing at the Winter Cup, improving those basics is our top priority."
Then, with all the flair of a drill sergeant, she shrugged off her jacket.
Every male Seirin player held his breath—perhaps expecting something like Teiko's stunning manager, Momoi.
Instead, beneath the jacket was…
A fully-covered, pitch-black one-piece swimsuit.
Team Seirin: "…"
Tch.
What were we even expecting?
"Even though Seirin isn't a team built on individual strength, if our fundamentals fall behind, our teamwork won't matter. To win, we must polish every shot, pass, and dribble—and that all starts from the core and legs. That's why we're training on sand."
The players still had no idea the kind of hell they were about to enter. They were busy laughing about how much harder it felt to move on sand when
Fweeet!
Riko blew her whistle.
Her eyes gleamed. "Today's training—triple the usual amount! Boot camp starts now!"
"Run laps around the court! Anyone who finishes last—gets extra punishment!"
Seirin team: "…"
Extra… punishment?!
The moment she said it, Riko glanced smugly at Nijimura's side. Seirin's players shuddered and bolted into action like their lives depended on it.
Shff—Shff—Shff!
But within moments, they realized how impossible it was to run properly in sand. Even simple steps burned their legs, every movement slower than it should be.
…
A while later, Shigure Akihito returned from surfing with Momoi. Carrying a huge parasol, along with fruit and drinks, they set up right between Teiko's and Seirin's "training zones"—completely out of place.
Momoi peeked toward Seirin's side. "Senpai, that girl coach from Seirin is really impressive~"
Akihito accepted a slice of fruit from her, giving Riko a brief glance—his gaze pausing a few seconds longer than necessary near her chest, then shifting back to Momoi.
"Hmm?"
"Pretty average, I'd say~"
Momoi rolled her eyes at him.
"I mean," Akihito continued calmly, "for a girl to coach a team like that, with a solid training plan and leadership like Nijimura's—it's actually pretty impressive."
Pfft!
Over on Seirin's side, Koganei's bounce pass hit the sand with a dull thud, failing to bounce at all.
Akihito nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm… the players are a little rough around the edges."
"But…"
"Next year… they might just surprise us."
With Kiyoshi Teppei, Kagami Taiga, Haizaki Shōgo, Hyūga Junpei, Izuki Shun, and the sixth man Kuroko Tetsuya…
That lineup could actually hold its own.
Even by Generation of Miracles standards.
END OF CHAPTER
CROWN BEFORE THE MIRACLES
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