Chapter 70
This was the very first time Eriri had ever sat through a full basketball game.
The gymnasium was alive with energy. Sneakers screeched against the wooden floor, sweat flew under the bright lights, and voices thundered from the stands.
"Toyosaki! Ganbare! Ganbare, Toyosaki!"
At first, she only clapped politely, but as the game grew fiercer and her friends shouted with passion, even Eriri found herself on her feet, cupping her hands and yelling encouragement until her throat hurt.
But the excitement soon turned into worry.
Kitatoshima High was strong. Far stronger than Toyosaki had expected.
By halftime, Toyosaki trailed by more than twenty points. Every basket from Kitatoshima felt like a nail hammered into their coffin.
"Ahh, this is bad…" Satomi Azusa groaned beside her.
Sakamaki Motoyu gripped her arm nervously. "Look, Makishima-senpai is already exhausted… what if he can't keep going?"
Azusa clapped her hands together desperately. "Makishima-senpai, fight! Don't lose!"
"W-we're really going to be eliminated here? No way!" Motoyu whimpered.
Eriri tightened her fists, forcing a determined smile. "Don't worry. It's not over yet… we still have a chance."
"Eh? Really?"
"You'll see."
And just as if her words had summoned it, the chance appeared.
With only five minutes left in the game, Kitatoshima's star player landed awkwardly and collapsed, clutching his ankle. The referee's whistle blew—he was out.
The tide turned instantly.
Without their ace, Kitatoshima faltered. Toyosaki seized the momentum, closing the gap basket by basket. The gym roared as the impossible began to feel possible.
With fifteen seconds left, the score was still in Kitatoshima's favor—Toyosaki trailed by two. Worse, the ball was in their opponent's hands.
It looked hopeless.
"Unless a miracle happens…" someone whispered behind them.
And then the miracle came.
Makishima Shoma's eyes sharpened like a predator. He lunged at the dribbler, committing a tactical foul to stop the clock. The opposing player stepped to the free throw line.
"Miss it! Miss it!" the Toyosaki fans prayed.
Clang. The ball rimmed out.
The second shot went up—clank! Another miss!
Makishima, already positioned, snatched the rebound like a beast and hurled it across court.
His teammate caught it, sprinting like lightning, dodging one defender, then another. The clock bled away.
"Five!"
"Four!"
"Three!"
From just outside the arc, the ball left his fingertips. Time slowed. The entire stadium froze.
The orange ball cut a perfect arc through the air, spinning, gliding—
Swish!
Nothing but net.
The whistle followed immediately.
Game over.
Toyosaki 86 – Kitatoshima 85.
They had done it.
For a heartbeat the world was silent. Then the gymnasium erupted.
"Toyosaki wins!!!"
Eriri screamed along with everyone else, leaping into her friends' arms. She felt tears sting her eyes.
Déjà vu struck her—it was just like that famous scene from Slam Dunk when Sendoh tied the score in the last seconds. But this wasn't manga. This was real.
On the court, the Toyosaki players hoisted Makishima high on their shoulders, chanting his name. He smiled breathlessly, overwhelmed, knowing it had been nothing but instinct and desperation. Yet to everyone else, he looked like a master strategist who had orchestrated the perfect finale.
---
Later, in the hospital ward.
Eriri played the video for Lucien D. Blackthorn, gesturing excitedly as she narrated like a sports announcer.
"Look, look! That last rebound! Senior Makishima was incredible! Without him, Toyosaki would've lost for sure!"
Lucien chuckled, watching her eyes sparkle with excitement.
"And after the game, he just stood there stunned, like he couldn't believe it himself. He looked so… human." She paused, then grinned. "Doesn't he remind you of Akagi Takenori from Slam Dunk? Not in looks—definitely not!—but in that never-give-up spirit."
Lucien nodded, smiling. "You're right. He's the pillar of their team, just like Akagi."
"Except…" Eriri puffed out her cheeks, "Makishima-senpai is way more handsome than Gorilla Akagi." She laughed. "No wonder so many girls at Toyosaki are crazy about him now. But too bad for them—he only has eyes for Kasumigaoka-senpai."
Lucien raised an eyebrow slyly. "And you? Do you like him too?"
"No way!" Eriri blurted, sticking out her tongue. "He's not my type. I like cool types, like Rukawa Kaede!"
Lucien chuckled and leaned back against his pillow, still watching the video.
After a moment, he asked, "So that win puts Toyosaki in the top 16, right?"
"Yep."
"Then three more wins, and they reach nationals…" His voice carried a tinge of hope.
But Eriri sighed. "If only it were that easy. Their next opponent is Seiryō High School."
Lucien's expression stiffened. Seiryō—one of last year's Tokyo top three, a team with height, experience, and firepower far above Toyosaki.
"They're monsters," Eriri muttered. "Even the coach told Makishima-senpai it might be wiser to just conserve their strength instead of breaking themselves against a wall."
Lucien said nothing. He couldn't deny the truth—Toyosaki's chances were slim. Passion alone couldn't close the gap.
---
"By the way," Eriri said suddenly, her tone perking up, "have you finished Volume 8 of Slam Dunk yet? Readers are going crazy online."
Lucien smiled, reaching to his bedside table. He handed her three thick sketchbooks. "All done. Chapters 63 through 71. The complete eighth volume."
Eriri's eyes lit up. She snatched them eagerly. "Finally! I've been dying to know how Sakuragi and his gang deal with Mitsui and those delinquents!"
Lucien leaned back, watching as she flipped through the pages with a mixture of impatience and awe.
Minutes later, her gasp filled the room.
"What?! Mitsui was a basketball player?! He was talented?!"
Page after page revealed Mitsui's tragic backstory—his injury, his downfall, his bitterness. Eriri read faster, her breath catching until she reached the final, unforgettable scene.
Mitsui, broken and kneeling, tears streaming down his face.
"Coach… I want to play basketball."
Eriri stared at that panel, unmoving. Her hands trembled. Her eyes glistened.
When she finally looked up at Lucien, her voice cracked with emotion.
"Now I get it. That's why you wanted me to read it all at once. The impact… it's overwhelming."
Lucien's smile was gentle. "So? Was it worth the wait?"
Eriri nodded hard. "Excellent!"
"Only one word?" He feigned disappointment.
She shot him a teasing glare. "What, you want me to kneel and praise you? You'll float away if I feed your ego too much."
Lucien grinned. "Then maybe I'll take a month off from drawing Volume 9."
"Don't you dare!"
"Praise me, then."
"Hmph! Be careful, or I'll bite you!"
He laughed. "What are you, a golden retriever?"
"You're the golden retriever!" she shot back, puffing her cheeks again.
Their bickering filled the ward with warmth.
When she calmed down, Eriri's expression softened. "I used to hate Mitsui. But now… he feels so real. Pitiful, even. Like someone who lost his way but finally came home."
Eriri blinked, her admiration deepening. "…You really are amazing,Lucien."
That night, she uploaded the entire Volume 8 online, refreshing the comments again and again, eager to see readers share the same shock, the same tears, the same admiration for the prodigal son who wanted nothing more than to play basketball again.
END of the chapter
250ps=1 extra chapter and so on
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