The dazzling sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, landing on Kano's delicate face. Within moments, she stirred awake.
Sleepy-eyed, she glanced at the time on the watch beside her pillow—then closed her eyes again.
Two seconds later, she sprang up, eyes wide.
"Ah! I'm going to be late!"
Kano shot out of bed and rushed to wash up. From the other bed, Eri turned over, grumbling,
"What's all the noise about?"
A short while later, Kano was done—her youthful face glowing without the need for makeup. She hurried over and pushed at Eri's shoulder.
Eri groaned and tried to burrow deeper under the covers, but Kano refused to give up, sitting at the edge of the bed and shaking her more insistently.
Eri finally opened her eyes, glaring.
"What do you want?"
Kano's face lit up.
"Let's go to the stadium together to find Nango!"
"...What?"
Eri's messy hair puffed up as she sat up, roaring,
"No way! Why do I have to go just because you want to find Nango?!"
Kano stuck out her tongue playfully and tugged at Eri's sleeve.
"I'm afraid I'll get lost. Please come with me…"
Eri was speechless.
As a single woman, it was bad enough having to witness someone else's romance—now she had to escort them too?
She wanted to refuse, but she couldn't bring herself to abandon Kano. This girl really would get lost.
The only reason Eri was even in Hiroshima was because Kano's parents wouldn't let her travel alone. Kano didn't dare sneak out, so she'd begged Eri to come along—and somehow, her family had agreed.
Meanwhile, inside the main stadium, all participating teams had completed the opening ceremony. Under the guidance of their coaches, they exited in an orderly fashion. The elimination matches would begin tomorrow—59 teams in total, with 27 to be eliminated in the first round.
Sakuragi stretched lazily.
"Finally done. What a waste of time."
Nango grinned.
"Tomorrow won't be boring."
"That's right," another familiar voice cut in. "You'll get to watch us beat our opponents black and blue."
The Shohoku players immediately recognized it. Miyagi frowned, muttering,
"Not these guys again…"
Nango turned his head to see Kishimoto swaggering toward them, followed by the Toyotama High players.
But the closer Kishimoto got, the slower he walked.
Damn, he's that tall?
He squinted suspiciously.
"You're Nango?"
Nango nodded calmly, looking down at him—an angle that made Kishimoto visibly uncomfortable.
No way this guy's a point guard…
Kishimoto had come to provoke him, but now that he was face-to-face, his confidence wavered. Still, before he could speak, Nango asked with a straight face,
"Do you want an autograph?"
"You—!"
Kishimoto froze, his anger flaring. Did this guy just offer me an autograph?! How full of himself could he be?
Watching Kishimoto's expression twist between rage and hesitation, Nango hid a laugh.
He already knew from Miyagi's earlier comments that Toyotama had a past run-in with Shohoku. So if Kishimoto wanted to pick a fight, Nango was more than happy to return the favor.
Seeing Kishimoto flustered, Miyagi sneered,
"Hmph. So that's the loudmouth who caused trouble before? Looks like he's gone soft."
Mitsui added mockingly,
"He's pathetic. Can't even provoke properly."
The Toyotama players behind Kishimoto stepped forward, ready to back him up. In response, Sakuragi, Mitsui, and Miyagi also stepped up beside Nango.
For a moment, tension crackled in the air. One more word and fists might've flown.
"What are you looking at?"
"Wanna go?!"
"Hey, what's happening? Are they fighting already?"
"The games haven't even started yet!"
With both teams blocking the aisle, the confrontation quickly drew attention from nearby players and coaches.
Akagi's booming voice cut through the noise.
"Stop it! Don't waste your energy on nonsense like this!"
"Yeah," a calm voice followed.
Toyotama's Ace Killer Minami emerged from the crowd, gently patting Kishimoto's shoulder.
"Forget it, Kishimoto. If there's a problem, settle it on the court."
Then he turned to Akagi and Nango, smiling faintly.
"See you the day after tomorrow."
With that, he led Toyotama's players away.
Watching Minami's seemingly mild smile, Nango narrowed his left eye slightly, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips.
So that's the Ace Killer, huh?
As they passed, Toyotama's Itakura deliberately bumped into Miyagi, then said mockingly,
"Oh? My bad, didn't see you there."
He clearly wasn't sorry.
Miyagi's tone was icy.
"Better go buy your train tickets now."
Itakura blinked. "What?"
"Because the day after tomorrow," Miyagi said evenly, "you'll all be going home."
Itakura shot him a glare before turning away.
"Nango!"
A familiar voice called out. Before he could react, Kano dashed up and threw herself into his arms.
Despite Kanagawa and Kyoto not being far apart, Nittaidai's training had kept Nango busy from morning to night. The two had barely seen each other during the summer.
Laughing, Nango spun her around once before setting her down and hugging her tightly.
Eri rolled her eyes.
"Hmph. Couples in love are disgusting."
Hearing that, the two quickly let go, smiling awkwardly.
Kano beamed.
"Eri, you can go back now!"
"Go—?!" Eri's jaw dropped.
I brought you here, and you're kicking me out?! Unbelievable!
Her glare could have burned holes through them.
Nango quickly stepped in, laughing,
"Come on, Kano, don't be like that. It's probably Eri's first time in Hiroshima too, right? Let's all hang out together."
"Right!" Eri said quickly. "I'm not going anywhere. I don't know anyone here, and it's boring at the hotel anyway. Might as well join you two."
Kano sighed helplessly.
"Alright then, what should we do first?"
Eri groaned inwardly.
Ugh, I've really done it this time. I'm definitely the third wheel today.
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