"128–106. Kaijō High wins!"
After a brief moment of silence, the gymnasium erupted into thunderous cheers. The spectators poured their hearts into applauding a truly spectacular match.
"As expected of the Generation of Miracles. Ever since last year's Interhigh, the National Sports Festival, and the Winter Cup—among all the high school teams, Yōsen pushed them the closest."
"Well done, Yōsen!"
"They're Teiko alumni… that's absurd."
"And besides"
"Within the Generation of Miracles, Midorima and Murasakibara were never considered the strongest."
Kaijō celebrated freely on one side of the court.
The only ones swallowed by silence were Yōsen—and the Yōsen supporters who had traveled all this way to watch from the stands.
Yōsen Bench
Coach Araki Masako finally loosened her furrowed brow.
The reason for defeat was clear: an overwhelming gap in raw strength. That truth became painfully obvious when those two monsters only entered the Zone near the very end of the match.
Beyond that, Nijimura Shuzo was practically Midorima's natural predator—a hard counter in every sense. Even after Midorima entered the Zone, Nijimura steadily drove him into a corner.
And as for Shigure Akihito… no one could even tell how much of his real strength he had actually used.
On the Court
Murasakibara panted heavily.
For the first time since he started playing basketball, he looked at a teammate with worry.
Midorima Shintarō sat on the floor, drenched in sweat, staring blankly ahead.
Murasakibara walked over and lowered his voice.
"Alright, Midorimacchi, I'll pull you u—"
Before he could finish
Midorima suddenly lifted his gaze and reached out his hand.
"Murasakibara… in your opinion, did I truly do everything I could this match?"
The unexpected question stunned him.
Murasakibara didn't understand Midorima's superstitions at all—but when he noticed the concerned looks from their upperclassmen, and the Yōsen cheering section slowly breaking their silence with applause, his thoughts suddenly cleared.
"Of course…"
"Midorimacchi…"
Watching Midorima hang his head in silence, Murasakibara's voice softened. He slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again—and reached out his hand.
"You were amazing."
At that moment
It hurt.
When the final whistle blew, it felt like the blood in his entire body had frozen.
And now, seeing Midorima shoulder the blame alone
His heart stopped.
If only he were stronger.
If he could enter the Zone earlier, more consistently.
If his coordination with Midorima matched the chemistry Shigure and Nijimura had
The outcome would have been better.
Do everything humanly possible and leave the rest to fate…
As Murasakibara looked at Midorima's unwilling expression, a thought suddenly surfaced.
The one who hadn't done enough…
Was him.
"Next time—"
"I—"
"We will definitely win!"
Midorima froze.
We…?
Then
He caught the strange quiver in Murasakibara's voice instantly. His scattered thoughts vanished as he looked up
Sure enough.
Under the harsh white lights of the arena, Murasakibara's eyes shimmered.
Then
Drip.
Drip.
Tears mixed with sweat slid down from his jaw.
"Midorima Shintarō: …?"
The tactician who commanded the court without hesitation was completely flustered now.
"Hey, Murasakib—"
He stopped himself midway.
"Are you a kid? We'll just win next time, Murasakibara."
"This season's only just begun. The Winter Cup is still waiting for us."
"You—"
Smack!
Coach Araki strode over and smacked Murasakibara hard on the back.
"Murasakibara! We haven't left the court yet—don't embarrass us!"
Pat.
Team captain Okamura Kenichi rested his hand on Murasakibara's head and rubbed it reassuringly—only to have it slapped away in panic.
Watching the scene, Coach Araki couldn't help but smile.
Compared to when Midorima and Murasakibara first joined the team…
Now, they finally felt like they truly belonged.
"Salute!"
"Thank you for the match!"
"Thank you for the match!"
At center court, the players exchanged formal bows.
Nijimura Shuzo and Okamura Kenichi shook hands.
"That was a fantastic game."
"Thank you."
Okamura gripped Nijimura's hand firmly, his gaze drifting toward Shigure Akihito, who stood before Midorima.
"The gap is big. But at the Winter Cup—we'll come back prepared."
Elsewhere
Shigure Akihito lightly shook Midorima's hand.
Looking at the boy who was nearly as tall as himself now, and at the stiff, overly proper handshake that matched his personality, Shigure smiled faintly.
"Let's do this again at the Winter Cup, Shintarō."
"Yes…"
"Senpai."
Midorima didn't release his hand.
Compared to Shigure's composed calm, Midorima's jersey was soaked through, his expression tight and unyielding.
"Next time…"
"We will win."
He used Murasakibara's words to issue a challenge to the future.
Shigure met his gaze—straight posture, unbroken spirit, a man who had stumbled but refused to fall.
"I'm looking forward to it. Just like today—I believe you'll do even better next time."
"However…"
"The ones who'll win… will still be us."
Midorima raised his head and didn't argue.
Not only because Shigure was his senior
But because as the loser, accepting those words was only natural.
After the Match
"Form up in front of the stands!"
Facing the banners and neatly dressed Yōsen supporters, the team lined up.
"Salute!"
"Thank you very much"
"For your support!!"
Midorima looked up at the scene.
A sight he'd only ever seen as a victor
Now, he faced it as the defeated.
The emotions he had briefly suppressed surged violently from his chest.
From Kaijō's side, Fukaya Reiji could clearly see the moisture welling at the edge of Midorima's eyes.
At that moment, Kurokami Shinji sighed softly.
"Midorima's potential is enormous. If he had more time to refine tactics with his teammates—and better control over the Zone—he could've at least forced Shigure to show more."
Fukaya glanced at Midorima and Murasakibara.
"They still have a long road ahead."
"The Zone… the ones who can enter and exit it freely right now are Shigure, Nijimura, and Hagioka-senpai."
"Maybe Akashi, too."
"As for everyone else—they still need to find their key."
Soon after, Yōsen exited quickly, yielding the stage to Kaijō and the roaring applause.
"I'm sorry…"
"I'm going to step away for a moment."
In the player tunnel, Midorima's tone was calm as ever—but everyone knew it was just his tsundere façade.
"Don't take too long, Midorima."
"Yeah~"
"Don't cry like Murasakibara~"
Murasakibara: "..."
Midorima: "..."
Restroom
Midorima removed his glasses and splashed cold water over his face.
The match replayed endlessly in his mind.
He lowered his head, letting the water pound down—until suddenly, a hand reached over and shut off the faucet.
The abrupt loss of that cooling calm dragged him forcefully back to reality.
Aomine Daiki looked at the water splashing across Midorima's soaked uniform and smirked.
"Lost pretty badly, huh, Midorima?"
"Did you sneak in here to cry?"
Midorima's face darkened.
"That isn't funny, Aomine."
Aomine laughed, deliberately avoiding what he'd seen earlier.
"Yeah, true. If anyone would do that, it'd probably be Kise~"
Leaning against the sink, Aomine glanced outside—where Kise Ryōta was surrounded by female fans, frantically waving at them.
Midorima: "..."
After drying off and putting his glasses back on, Midorima followed Aomine's gaze.
Then
The moment Kise broke free and rushed into the restroom, his crystal-clear stupidity—and perfectly matching chatter—completely shattered Midorima's composure.
"Midoriimacchi~ losing a match for once—how does it feel? What's your mood right now? First loss in years, right? Must hurt~?"
"And"
Kise buzzed around him like a bee, firing off questions nonstop.
"Tch!"
"That kind of question—you should ask Haizaki. You already beat them in the Tokyo qualifiers, didn't you?"
"Huh?!"
"What did you say, bastard Midorima?!"
Seeing Haizaki Shōgo suddenly appear, Midorima was speechless.
Is this restroom a player lounge or something?
Aomine.
Kise.
Now Haizaki too.
As he passed Haizaki, Midorima hesitated—then spoke plainly.
"Give everything you've got against Rakuzan this afternoon."
"Hmm?"
"No way…"
Haizaki's confidence was as blatant as ever.
"You think I'd lose before even facing those two monsters?"
"Even Akashi"
"I'll beat him."
Midorima raised an eyebrow.
"If anyone among us can defeat Kaijō, Rakuzan—where Akashi is—has the highest probability."
"As for you…"
"Haizaki."
"Let me remind you—you've already lost to Tōō once."
Haizaki snorted.
"You've got it wrong, Midorima. I know exactly how strong Akashi is."
"But even so"
"I will win!"
Aomine scoffed.
"You're still a long way off~"
"Obviously"
"The one who'll beat Kaijō in the end… is me!"
Haizaki: "?!"
"Hah?!"
"You lucky bastard who got a good draw—step aside! I'll take out Kaijō before they even reach the finals, then crush you, idiot!"
Midorima clicked his tongue.
After everything
They really haven't changed at all.
"I hope you can still talk like that after experiencing Akashi's strength firsthand."
Then
As he stepped out of the restroom
Kuroko Tetsuya suddenly appeared before him.
Midorima had no idea if Kuroko heard his earlier comments, but his words felt cruelly precise—like salt rubbed into a wound.
"Midorima-kun, I'm sorry to see you at such a time… but please don't lose heart. Even though you lost at the Interhigh, the Winter Cup is still ahead. Please keep going."
Beside him
Haizaki smirked.
"Yeah~"
"It's just the Interhigh, after all."
"Good luck!"
Midorima Shintarō: "..."
You bastards.
Next time… I'll beat all of you.
I swear I will.
END OF CHAPTER
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