Chapter Forty-Three: Inter-High Preliminaries Begin
"So—ra—to—!"
The moment Yagami opened his front door, a throw pillow came flying at his face.
"This is the special souvenir you brought me from Akita?!"
His childhood friend Chika Yuuki stood with hands on hips in the center of the living room, fuming. She pointed toward the coffee table where a rather ordinary-looking puppy keychain lay alone—quite possibly a "souvenir" from some Akita roadside convenience store.
Yagami agilely caught the pillow, setting it aside with an unchanged expression. While bending to change shoes, he said calmly: "Isn't it cute?"
"Huh?" Chika was stunned by his brazen attitude. "Sorato! I asked for a 'gift'! A 'special souvenir'! How is this keychain you can find anywhere remotely 'special'?!"
"I sent you so many messages telling you to—"
"Look at it carefully." Yagami interrupted, now changed into house shoes.
Walking to the coffee table, he hooked a finger through the puppy keychain, holding it before her eyes.
Could there... actually be something special about it?
Chika leaned closer skeptically, staring intently at the keychain and examining it repeatedly, even wondering if hidden text was engraved somewhere.
"See," Yagami's tone remained flat as if stating an obvious fact, "it's an 'Akita dog.'"
"???"
Chika struggled to shift her gaze from the keychain to Yagami's completely placid face, her voice filled with disbelief: "Are you... serious?"
"Um..." From Chika's eyes, Yagami clearly saw the approaching storm. The excuse—no, explanation—he'd prepared reached his lips before he swallowed it back.
"Fine, forget that one. What about the sweets I asked for!" Chika immediately launched her second offensive. "Do you know how long I've been looking forward to them! I even saved your strawberry milk specifically without drinking it, all to celebrate your practice game victory!"
"But that was my portion to begin with..."
The words barely left his mouth before Yagami immediately felt the surrounding air temperature plummet, danger levels skyrocketing. He very wisely closed his mouth again.
The atmosphere inside grew somewhat tense.
"Sorry. I really did have time originally, but I went with senpai to another school last minute." Yagami said honestly.
Chika puffed out her cheeks, staring at his profile for several seconds. When did she not notice how handsome—
No, what she meant was, since his attitude seemed sincere enough, forgiveness wasn't impossible.
"Okay, okay, I get it—you're playing the basketball youth persona now." Chika waved her hand magnanimously, suddenly having a brainstorm, her eyes turning crafty. "Then as compensation, you can at least help me with something, right?"
Yagami said nothing, giving her a look that conveyed "don't push it too far."
Chika immediately produced two flyers from behind her back like magic: "Ta-da! Community summer festival! There's goldfish scooping, candy apples, and shooting games! You're coming with me!"
May 20th?
Yagami thought for a moment. Ryonan had no games those two days.
But it was during the Inter-High preliminaries...
Yagami looked at Chika's face written with expectation, probing: "Festivals get too crowded. I'm kind of..."
"I don't care! You forgot my gift!" This time Chika showed no compromise.
Yagami sighed lightly. "Fine, alright."
"Hmph, then it's settled!" Chika's mood instantly brightened, her smile radiant.
She stood up contentedly, her slippers flip-flopping across the wooden floor. Just as she prepared to turn and head upstairs, she suddenly stopped, grasping the stair railing as she looked back.
"Oh right!" Her eyes sparkled as they looked over. "Do your best in the prefecture preliminaries!"
"Hmm? How do you know about them?"
"Hey, don't underestimate me!" Chika waved her small fist threateningly. "I participated in sports clubs before too! I at least know that much!"
"If you make it to the finals, Mom and I will come cheer you on at the venue!"
"Got it." Yagami responded briefly.
Listening as her footsteps faded, Yagami picked up the remote control and raised the volume. The TV screen was playing game footage borrowed from Aida—last year's match between Ryonan and Shoyo.
Perhaps going to the festival with her wouldn't be bad. After all, balancing work and rest was important too.
Watching the game footage, the corner of Yagami's mouth curved up almost imperceptibly.
The week-plus of training time passed quickly.
May 19th. Morning sunlight filtered through curtain gaps, falling on Yagami Sorato's face. He opened his eyes, unusually not immediately getting up, instead blinking at the now-familiar ceiling.
"How rare," he muttered quietly. "I'm actually excited enough about a game that I couldn't sleep well."
Still, it had finally arrived.
The Inter-High prefecture preliminaries!
When Yagami arrived at Ryonan's gymnasium, the Inter-High tournament atmosphere had already permeated everything.
Uozumi Jun looked energized, his voice urging teammates noticeably louder than usual. His massive body seemed to contain inexhaustible strength.
Ikegami Ryoji had obviously groomed himself carefully. Not only was his hairstyle meticulous, but his jersey was perfectly pressed without a single wrinkle, radiating unusual composure.
"This guy always picks key moments to look cool." Koshino Hiroaki pouted. He'd showered first thing this morning, originally feeling refreshed, not expecting someone to be even more dramatic.
"Ikegami-senpai looks especially reliable today." Uekusa Tomoyuki smiled. His own change wasn't major—just cutting his already short hair into an even shorter buzz cut.
Fukuda Kicchou stood alone quietly against the wall. Though his expression wasn't visible, one could feel excitement surging throughout his body.
Aida Hikoichi sported exaggerated dark circles, clutching his notebook while pacing back and forth, muttering to himself, looking unbearably nervous.
As for Sendoh Akira—
"That guy's late again!"
Coach Taoka stood with folded arms at the gymnasium entrance, his face already black as the bottom of a pot, clearly on the verge of erupting.
"Sorry, I'm running late."
Finally, just as Coach Taoka's fury was about to reach its peak, Sendoh arrived fashionably late, slipping into the group with his trademark carefree smile, naturally receiving a furious scolding from the coach.
"Sorato, you seem really happy?" Aida couldn't help asking.
Though Yagami usually wore a faint smile, today the corners of his mouth curved up several degrees more than normal!
"Of course. I've been looking forward to this so much I can barely stand it." Yagami didn't hide his excitement at all. "I wish I could be standing on the court right this second!"
Coach Taoka stood at the front of the group. "Then, get your spirits up, Ryonan Basketball Team—"
"Move out!"
"Goal—"
"DOMINATE NATIONALS!!!"
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