Chapter 006
With Nijimura joining the offense, Ryuka's brief hope of closing the gap evaporated instantly. What had been a competitive game suddenly became a complete blowout as Teiko established overwhelming dominance.
The final buzzer sounded with the scoreboard reading 137-78.
"Thanks for the game," both teams called out, bowing respectfully despite the lopsided result.
"That was incredible—you got us again this year, but we won't lose next time," Kensuke Fukui said with a bitter smile as he shook Nijimura's hand after the game.
"Haha, sounds good! But I hate losing too, so let's have another great battle next time!" Nijimura replied with genuine sportsmanship.
After the game ended, Aomine, Murasakibara, Midorima, and Momoi walked home together. Akashi had been picked up by his family's private driver—his wealthy background setting him apart from his teammates in yet another way.
"Man, our captain really is something special!" Aomine reflected on the day's performance. "To be completely honest, I don't think I could beat him one-on-one right now. That ball-handling and those shots in the second half were just incredible."
Murasakibara nodded lazily. "Yeah, I guess so. Otherwise, how could Captain Nijimura be the captain? Right, Midorima-chin?"
"Speaking of which, we won today's game—want to go to a restaurant and celebrate?" Momoi suggested brightly.
For Murasakibara, whose world revolved around food, this was an easy decision. "Sure! We should definitely celebrate properly."
"Hmph, how pointless." Midorima adjusted his glasses with characteristic disdain. "I don't think we saw the real strength of Teiko's basketball program today. We only got a glimpse of Captain Nijimura's abilities. This was just a practice match anyway—forget about celebrating practice games! We can celebrate when we win the middle school league championship."
Aomine had been looking forward to celebrating, but Midorima's words deflated his enthusiasm completely. He shot his teammate a resentful look. "You really know how to kill the mood, don't you?"
"Hmph." Midorima pushed up his glasses with obvious pride. "Anyway, this is my stop. I'll see you all at school tomorrow."
Aomine watched Midorima walk away and made a face. "Seriously, what a party pooper. Whatever, Murasakibara, I guess we should head home too. See you later."
"Mm, bye-bye." Murasakibara waved sleepily and ambled toward his house at his usual leisurely pace.
"Welcome home, Atsushi!" His sister Murasakibara Yue greeted him the moment he walked through the door.
"Yeah, I'm back." Atsushi replied flatly, then looked at her with mild confusion. "Wait, Sister, aren't you supposed to be living in the dorms? Why are you here?"
Yue smiled warmly. "Well, I heard that you were representing the school in a game today. Even though I couldn't come watch, I knew you'd definitely win, right?"
"Yeah, we won. The other team was pretty strong, but I'll never lose to anyone." When basketball came up, despite his general lack of enthusiasm for the sport, Atsushi's natural confidence shone through. Thanks to his height advantage, he'd never lost a basketball game against his peers.
Yue's face lit up with pride. "I knew it! So I came home and made all your favorite dishes. This was your first basketball victory in middle school—we should celebrate properly."
Atsushi looked slightly annoyed. "Momoi-chin wanted to celebrate too, but Midorima-chin said it was just a practice match. What an antisocial guy."
"Is that so?" Yue chuckled at her brother's complaint. "Well, come on then, let's eat! Atsushi."
The next day at Teiko Middle School's basketball club.
Captain Nijimura stood before the dozen members of the first-string team. While Teiko's basketball program included over a hundred students across all levels, the first-string represented the absolute elite—naturally making it much smaller than the second and third-string squads.
"Before we start today's training, I have an important announcement," Nijimura addressed the gathered players with a serious expression. "Seijuro Akashi, Shintaro Midorima, Daiki Aomine, and Atsushi Murasakibara—from this moment forward, the four of you are officially first-string regulars. Coach Shirogane has decided that you'll all be in the starting lineup for next month's middle school league tournament."
The announcement hit the surrounding first-string members like a thunderbolt. Starters? And not just any starters, but regulars? Most of the upperclassmen were still fighting for bench spots, and here were four first-years being handed starting positions in the national middle school league. The second and third-year players' faces showed their obvious displeasure.
One of the third-year veterans spoke up hesitantly: "Um, Captain Nijimura, while those four are definitely rare talents with impressive skills, they've only been in the basketball club for less than a month. Making them regulars and deciding they'll start in next month's league tournament seems... maybe a bit rushed?"
Nijimura's expression hardened slightly. "This decision was made jointly by Coach Shirogane and myself. These four have demonstrated exceptional basketball talent, so we should give them every opportunity to develop. The starting lineup for next month's tournament has already been finalized. Do you have any objections to that?"
With Nijimura speaking so definitively, what could they say? While they were all skilled players in their own right, Nijimura was widely recognized as one of the premier power forwards in middle school basketball. His strength was simply on another level, and this was also the coach's decision. Even if they felt bitter about first-years taking starting spots, they had no choice but to accept it.
Aomine's face practically glowed with excitement. "This is amazing! Thank you so much, Captain Nijimura and Coach Shirogane! I never imagined I'd get the chance to play in this year's middle school league!"
"Work hard, all of you. Don't let the coach's expectations go to waste," Nijimura said seriously. After all, he'd gone out on a limb making this recommendation, but the four rookies' performance against Ryuka had been genuinely shocking.
Akashi responded with calm dignity: "Please don't worry, Coach. We absolutely will not disappoint you."
***
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