The PA system soon announced that the tournament was suspended.
"Yuuto!"
Sora immediately jogged over from the sidelines, raising her hands to shield her head.
But the rain was relentless, even defeating her bangs, which drooped limply.
"We'll settle this match another time."
There was nothing to be done. Yuuto grabbed Sora's hand and ran for shelter.
It was a shame, but at least he hadn't come away empty-handed.
"Let's head back too, Atsushi."
"Mm."
Murasakibara nodded immediately.
If not for Himuro, he really hadn't wanted to play this match.
Finally, Himuro took one long look at his younger brother. "Taiga. We'll settle our score at the Winter Cup."
"Tatsuya..." Kagami's expression was conflicted. He mustered his courage: "I don't want to fight y—"
Woof!
Before he could finish, Nigou—in Kuroko's arms—slapped a paw over his mouth, cutting him off.
"What are you doing, you bastard Kuroko!" Kagami exploded.
Kuroko ignored him, instead addressing Himuro and Murasakibara.
"The next time we meet, it'll be an official match with both of us in uniform."
"I'm sorry, Murasakibara-kun, but we absolutely must defeat Seihō and overcome Yuuto!"
"Suit yourself."
Murasakibara waved dismissively, then left with Himuro.
...
"Heaven isn't cooperating, huh."
Yuuto took shelter with Sora and the others.
He even crouched down to remove Sora's shoes, pouring out the water before setting them aside.
"Are you disappointed?" Sora enjoyed the attention, playfully kicking her bare feet back and forth.
"A little. But saving it for the main tournament isn't bad either." Yuuto finished with Sora's shoes before taking off his own jacket to wring it out. "Should we head back? Haruka should have dinner ready by now, right?"
"Mm, let's go."
Sora pulled an umbrella from her bag, and the two headed off together.
"See you tomorrow, Tsugawa. And you too, Seirin folks."
"Oh, sure— wait, why do you have an umbrella?!"
Kasuga Ryuhei yelled.
"Because the weather forecast said there'd be scattered showers today."
"Showers? If you knew, why didn't you tell us?"
"I assumed you senpai would be smart enough. Turns out you're only at Seirin's level."
Yuuto spoke with an exaggeratedly pitying expression, utterly punchable, making everyone grind their teeth involuntarily.
This time, it wasn't just Kasuga and the others—even Seirin had been dragged into it.
"Our level? You bastard—" Kagami was about to charge forward but was caught by Kiyoshi Teppei.
"Calm down, Kagami. He's not wrong."
"Not wrong? How is he not wrong? I just realized how annoying this guy really is."
Kagami was still struggling. Setting aside strength, this guy was just insufferable.
"Do you have confidence you could beat Himuro and Murasakibara from just now?"
"..."
That stopped Kagami cold. He calmed down a little.
After watching that match, he had to admit—he really didn't have that confidence.
Not just against the Generation of Miracles' Murasakibara, but even his own brother Himuro.
"So, Yuuto's not wrong."
Fair enough, but why lump us together with Seirin?
It wasn't just Seirin who'd been provoked.
Seihō's players glared at their departing captain's back.
...
The next day.
When Himuro and Murasakibara returned to their Akita basketball club, they were met with their head coach's thunderous fury.
"You two idiots!"
"Didn't I tell you not to participate in unofficial matches?! And especially not to play against that Yuuto?!"
Coach Araki Masako's roar echoed through the entire gym.
She didn't hold back, raising her bamboo sword and bringing it down.
These two idiots were already idiots enough—hitting them couldn't make things worse.
"Ow!"
"Sorry, Coach..."
The two accepted their punishment obediently. They understood their coach's concerns.
"So? How far did you get?" After a while, Araki's temper cooled slightly.
"It started raining, so the match was cut short. We didn't even finish one quarter."
"Good. That's some good news at least. What else?"
"Also... it seems Yuuto has already finished calibrating against me."
"Go commit seppuku!"
Araki was absolutely furious now.
She'd warned them a thousand times not to play Yuuto privately, precisely to prevent this from happening.
Everyone in high school basketball knew by now:
The best chance to beat Seihō's King was the first time you faced him.
His evolution ability was completely unreasonable.
"But through that match, I realized something. Alone, I'm not Yuuto's opponent."
A night had been enough for Himuro to calm down.
True, he wasn't Yuuto's match. But his younger brother wouldn't necessarily perform any better.
More importantly, he'd figured out how to defeat Seihō.
"Although Yuuto is incredibly strong, I can handle everyone else on Seihō."
Now that was good news.
Himuro Tatsuya was indeed Araki's greatest discovery this year.
As for Murasakibara—she'd personally recruited that one. She knew exactly what he was capable of.
With these two as the inside-outside dual aces, she could hold her head high.
"Hmph! Get out there and train! Double the usual amount!"
Though she was still annoyed, at least it wasn't a total loss.
Recognizing the gap with Yuuto beforehand was better than getting crushed in an actual match and facing reality then.
Yes.
Araki had never believed Himuro could beat Yuuto. That monster was simply the strongest individual player. No question about it.
The key to defeating Seihō and its King lay in the team's two aces.
Only by combining inside and outside play did Yōsen have any hope of victory.
...
Meanwhile.
Seihō's basketball club.
Yuuto pulled Tsugawa Tomoki aside for special training.
"This is all the intel on Himuro Tatsuya. Your job is to memorize everything."
According to the original story, Seirin would face Yōsen.
But he had a feeling Seihō would encounter Yōsen early.
"You want me to guard Himuro?"
"Mm. Don't worry, I'll help you."
Action followed words. He dragged Tsugawa onto the court.
One-on-one.
Triple threat, one step forward, drive right—but halfway through, he snapped the ball back.
He was holding back, matching his tempo to Himuro's as closely as possible.
But even so, Tsugawa's defense crumbled in about three moves.
Swish!
Yuuto's pull-up jumper went in easily.
"What's going on? It feels like Captain got even stronger?"
Seihō's newer players sensed their captain had improved again.
...
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