JSWGAS Chapter 64

64.

Yamotoki thought: He’s like he wants to keep going, keep going forward.

Without looking back.

–

Changbei Junior High showed amazing stamina.

The #4 player said to his teammates during a timeout, “Number 12…that guy, no one can stop him right now.” He looked at the #7 small forward, who had been marking Kokonoe Taka. The latter, clutching his water bottle, shuddered. “That guy gives me the same terrifying feeling as the coach’s hellish training…”

Hokkaido’s harsh environment meant they often trained in the snow with heavy loads, enduring pressure unlike ordinary people, so they didn’t lose their fighting spirit easily. The #9 player glanced at the team beside them. “Do you think I should ask for an autograph after the match? What if he goes pro later? I can brag about having played against him…”

#5: “…Why would you say that out loud?” Kokonoe Taka had just blocked his shot, and he was looking annoyed.

#4 chuckled wryly, interrupting. “Okay, let’s focus on the game first–” He paused for a moment. “Although #12 doesn’t show any signs of fatigue, that level…it’s not just us. His teammates are also using a lot of stamina to keep up with him.”

#5 raised his hand. “Haisaki too. He’s used rhythm changes to cover the teammates several times, he’s probably at the limit now.”

#6 added immediately, “That purple-haired kid is only putting in effort under the basket, but his skills are still a bit green, not that easy to grab rebounds.”

“And then there’s that super-fast pass.” #4 squinted his eyes and said, “The player who uses that move should be focused on assists, he and Akashi must be the most tired, right?”

On the other side.

“Kuroko, get ready to come off.” Coach Kiyota gestured for Midorima to warm up.

“No, I can still…” But the words didn’t sound convincing at all. Kuroko Tetsuya was covered in sweat, looking exhausted.

His stamina was the weakest in the team, and he could only play a small portion of the match when coordinating with others. His passes required concentrated focus and sharp observation to find the right moment. But now, as the pace of the match gradually quickened, the others were barely keeping up, while Kuroko was unable to maintain his condition.

He had already made mistakes on the last few balls—just like the mistakes he made when he first joined the first string and couldn’t coordinate.

Thinking of this, he stopped insisting and took the towel handed to him by Momoi.

Burying his face in the soft texture that smelled faintly of fruity detergent, his eyes quietly looked towards the others. The hidden gaze circled around, finally landing on Akashi Seijuro.

–

“That guy has rarely given support to his teammates since the second quarter.”

Shiroiwa said, arms crossed.

“Eh? You’re talking about Kokonoe?” Maki was stunned. “But didn’t he just coordinate a beautiful defensive counterattack with Haisaki?”

“That was Haisaki unconsciously coordinating with him.” Shiroiwa said, “Those two probably play basketball together more often than anyone else, right? Haisaki has learned a lot of Kokonoe’s playing style and habits, so he was able to coordinate with him and appear in that position. Because he thought Kokonoe would choose to cut in from that side to defend.”

“He no longer supports his teammates like before—” He continued, “Maki, do you remember how it felt when you played a match with Kokonoe last year?”

“I thought you didn’t want to mention that, after all, you and Kokonoe had a very stiff relationship back then.”

Shiroiwa: “…” Nonsense, who wouldn’t be annoyed at being forced back into the basketball club and forced to play with someone he hated?

Maki didn’t continue to dance on his wildly jumping nerves, “I only remember that at that time, I felt like I could play however I wanted, and there would be no problems.”

Shiroiwa clicked his tongue impatiently, “That’s pretty much what I mean—I really shouldn’t have overestimated your descriptive abilities.”

Maki spread his hands, “Then what’s your feeling?”

Feelings—subjective, objective, one-sided, broad. Shiroiwa was a person who cared a lot about his feelings, knowing full well his own bad temper. Even so, he had to admit the fact that he resisted.

That he was needed by the team—that kind of feeling.

The heavy weight of trust.

Of course, he wouldn’t admit that he also trusted his teammates.

“Although Kokonoe is the main scoring small forward, he can do more than just score.” Shiroiwa didn’t mind Maki’s teasing gaze, “Coordinating with teammates’ feints, mobilizing multiple defenders, assisting in offense—integrating into the team, becoming a solid support.”

“That’s why I had that feeling.” Maki understood, he turned his head to look at the court.

“Hachihongi likes playing with him for this reason too.” Shiroiwa snorted coldly, he still hated the other party, “He’s originally the kind of person who advocates cooperation, his playing style is also inclined to connecting teammates together. Especially with Kokonoe, they had a tacit understanding from the first time they played together, the two of them are consciously coordinating with each other.”

“…You mean…he’s not coordinating with his teammates anymore?”

Shiroiwa looked up, no longer looking at the center of the stadium, “You can’t say that either.” His voice only sounded slowly after the whistle blew, “He’s disconnected from the team.”

Of course, one of the reasons was that Changbei was deliberately speeding up the pace of the offense, but the question was, how would Teiko Junior High deal with the problem of their ace player disconnecting from the team?

“…However, they should turn a blind eye to it, right.” He said in a low voice, “After all, that guy can score.”

–

Coach Kiyota was also thinking about a problem: the players’ stamina consumption was not normal.

Kuroko aside for the moment, Akashi was the leader of most of the passes and also had to pay attention to the movements of the entire court, he had already reached his limit after the end of the second quarter; Haisaki had assisted his teammates in the zone defense many times, his condition was also declining; after Midorima joined, the scoring ability on the outside was also liberated, while Murasakibara was biting on lemon slices irritably, looking very annoyed.

And Kokonoe Taka…

He turned his gaze to the somewhat indifferent ace player. His expression didn’t show a trace of slackness, a sharpness that could wound people floated between his eyebrows and eyes, that usually calm face presented a kind of aggressive sense of danger.

Even the others instinctively fell silent around him.

The atmosphere was also heavier than usual.

This amazingly talented youth, who was jokingly called a ‘monster’ by Coach Shirogane, finally proved his terror to everyone, his strength. They had to coordinate with his offense and defense, so they spent even more energy. It was only because his teammates were originally strong that they weren’t immediately left behind by him.

So, should he take him off the court?

Coach Kiyota cautiously evaluated: he disrupted the original rhythm of the team, to coordinate with him, the others had to try even harder to catch up…but, he himself was in good condition, no one in Changbei could stop him, he could continue to score.

The current advantage was still on Teiko’s side.

As for the problem of stamina consumption…

He asked, “Kokonoe, can your stamina still hold up?”

Kokonoe Taka calmly replied, “I can play the whole game.”

“Then you continue to play in the second half.” Coach Kiyota continued, “As for the others…Hachihongi, you replace Akashi; Nijimura and Haisaki rotate—”

He swept over the crowd: “–Take the victory, can you do it?”

–

During the ten-minute halftime break, Hachihongi met Akashi Seijuro in the corner of the corridor.

“You seem to know I would come looking for you.” Hachihongi stared at the junior who played the same position as him, feeling somewhat complicated.

Akashi Seijuro acquiesced, slightly raising his eyes to look at the other party: “So, what does Hachihongi-senpai want to say?”

“To save time, I’ll cut to the chase.” Hachihongi took a deep breath, “Akashi, why did you deliberately speed up Kokonoe’s pace?”

–This was what Hachihongi finally determined after observing two quarters of the match.

Whether it was giving the ball directly to Kokonoe Taka on the first play, or perfectly transferring possession while brushing past the two defenders, or constantly passing the ball to him through Kuroko, or deliberately letting go of #4 so he could steal the attack…

Looking at his choices macroscopically, there was nothing wrong with them, he even coordinated with Kokonoe Taka to score a lot of points; but beyond that, he was intentionally indulging or even promoting the already intense pace of the attack.

Hachihongi couldn’t understand, he didn’t believe Akashi Seijuro didn’t know that doing so would disconnect Kokonoe Taka from the team. No, he was even deliberately condoning all of this.

Why?

His confusion was undisguised as he laid it out in front of Akashi Seijuro.

Akashi Seijuro stood in the shaded shadows of the corridor, the shadows cut by the window lattices fell on his hair and profile, like twisted flowers blooming in scarlet. He met the silent gaze of the senior who was pursing his lips and wearing a cold face, suddenly, he smiled quietly.

“What do you think?” This usually polite son of a wealthy family asked in return, easily exchanging the initiative, “Why do you think I’m doing this?”

Why was Akashi Seijuro doing this?

Hachihongi confronted him in silence, while Akashi himself repeated the question in his heart. The angle of the smile on his lips didn’t change in the slightest, as if he wasn’t facing a question from a senior, but a friendly exchange.

He was always good at these things.

An inexplicable flame burned in Hachihongi’s eyes, the light made him inappropriately think of the bright light shining through the doors of the echoing gymnasium. He pushed open the door and went inside, seeing that figure not looking back, calling out a certain name with a smile. He blinked, and his left eye was also stained with a trace of the golden-orange light from that time.

So, Hachihongi immediately realized that he wouldn’t get an answer from his junior here. He didn’t linger, taking a deep look at the other party before simply turning around and leaving—the key to the problem was still on Kokonoe Taka, whose condition had been completely ignited by Akashi, he had to find a way to hold onto his friend’s out-of-control reins.

–But. Akashi lowered his eyes and raised his palm: As long as you see the current Kokonoe-senpai…as long as you pass him the ball once, you’ll understand that your attempts to dissuade him are useless.

Kokonoe Taka.

Akashi Seijuro waited a few more minutes before slowly walking back, his lips and teeth colliding, silently reciting the name. No one wouldn’t like a teammate like him, that was a drunkenly intoxicating tacit understanding, even able to be mawkishly described as telepathy. Every ball would be caught, every attack would be responded to, it was that kind of subtle gentleness.

For Akashi Seijuro, it also represented pure power.

And he could be even more perfect.

Akashi Seijuro gently squeezed his fingertips.

“I also really like playing matches with you, Kokonoe-senpai.”

……

…………

Hachihongi saw the light in Kokonoe Taka’s eyes.

That was when he was planning to tell Kokonoe to calm down and adjust the pace, “Kokonoe, wait a minute…” Kokonoe turned his head, and Hachihongi suddenly collided with Kokonoe Taka’s beautiful grey eyes.

Those eyes were shimmering faintly, with tiny, fragmented spots of light, making it impossible to tell whether they were stars falling into his pupils, or the scattered rays of the spotlights, clearly illuminating the straight path he was stepping on.

Gentle enough, dazzling enough, lonely enough.

Hachihongi liked basketball, and he also liked the times when he played basketball with his friends. And in the latter, what he liked the most was playing with Kokonoe. The joy of every ball being caught, the bonds connecting teammates forming in an orderly manner, he knew there was someone who would always be by his side, this feeling of moving forward together, no longer being lonely, was satisfying.

–At this moment, it silently disappeared.

Afterwards, Hachihongi saw clearly what was hidden deep in those bright pupils, what had filled Kokonoe that he had never shown before. It had appeared when he held up his first basketball, it had appeared in his first shot, it had appeared in his first successful team coordination…it had appeared when he and Kokonoe used an alley-oop, it had appeared after they won a match, it had appeared when they took a group photo of their teammates.

Kokonoe was always reserved. Hachihongi thought blankly, now, that thing had appeared inside Kokonoe’s body.

That was the first time such a clear and intense ‘love’ had appeared.

Hachihongi’s throat felt like it was blocked by a foreign object. He made a few slight, meaningless syllables before closing his mouth in dismay. Kokonoe Taka was looking down at him, a few strands of his black hair blocking them, subtle yet noticeable.

Kokonoe Taka asked in confusion, “–Hachihongi?”

His grey eyes reflected his friend’s shadow, a thin and long strand of a shadow.

His friend’s face was a little pale, maybe it was because of the lights. Hachihongi took a deep breath and smiled slightly, “It’s nothing.” He replied. Kokonoe nodded, just as he was about to walk into the court, the jersey on his back was suddenly grabbed by a finger.

“We…” He turned his head, unable to see his friend’s expression, only hearing the same voice as usual.

“…Will we win?”

“We will.”

He said firmly, just like always.

–

The basketball seemed to have a life of its own, constantly responding to Kokonoe Taka.

Kokonoe Taka was also passionately chasing after it.

…Am I going to steal his love for the team?

Two completely different emotions tore at Hachihongi’s reason.

For some people, it takes a long time to fall in love with something; while for others, it only takes a moment to fall in love with something.

Kokonoe right now…is in that moment, right?

This was why he ultimately chose to remain silent.

But if he keeps playing like this, he might become weak and sluggish later on, his condition will decline; or he might eventually ‘separate’ himself from Teiko’s team. Although Hachihongi was the team’s point guard, in the end, the ace player was the one who determined the fundamentals of a team.

–But he’s playing so happily.

A sudden fatigue overwhelmed him. Hachihongi caught a glimpse of Akashi Seijuro sitting on the bench at the side of the court, the latter was also looking calm, as if he had already guessed how things would develop. Hachihongi couldn’t help but smile bitterly, he desperately shook off Changbei’s #4 and barely sent the ball to Kokonoe Taka’s hand.

He realized that he already had the answer. He had received too much from Kokonoe, at this moment he could only desperately try to coordinate with the increasingly fast Kokonoe Taka.

That increasingly distant figure didn’t disappoint him.

“Another beautiful attack! The passing route just now wasn’t perfect, but Kokonoe still broke through the defense established by Changbei and got those two points!”

That’s right. Hachihongi agreed with the commentator’s words, he was never a genius. Akashi could perfectly assist the exploding Kokonoe, but he couldn’t. What he was best at was mutual cooperation, two imperfect puzzle pieces becoming complete when joined together.

But Kokonoe didn’t need it. At least at this moment, he didn’t need anything to slow down his pursuit, he was like he wanted to keep going, keep going forward.

So far, Hachihongi was more silent than usual in the game. He played so-so, he even barely kept up with that person’s hurried pace.

But just that tiny bit of distance, as far away as a chasm.

The more balls he touched, the stronger the suffocating feeling that welled up from deep within his body. He longed to stand side by side with Kokonoe again, longed for Kokonoe to respond to him again.

If he was a little stronger.

Reason suddenly lost control at this moment, Hachihongi unthinkingly threw a ball with a slightly closer trajectory towards the opponent’s basket after a defensive steal. After he released the ball, he realized that the distance wasn’t enough, that position was difficult to produce a tacit coordination with. The score had already widened, the match was about to end, so in the end, even if this ball didn’t go in, it wouldn’t affect the result much.

But ah.

He and everyone else watched together, even feeling a pang of pain in his eyes, the scattered light able to blind his eyes, the dim and bright halos blocking his vision. But in reality, he was focused intently on the front, the buzzer signaling the end sounded in his ears, then was suddenly broken by the sound of friction as a finger touched the surface of the ball.

At the end of the field of vision he could reach, he appeared there, like a hawk spreading its wings, perched above the basket.

A buzzer beater.

The cheers of the entire stadium filled the upper and lower corners of the gymnasium in the blink of an eye, Hachihongi stood blankly on the spot, Changbei’s #4 in front of him helplessly grabbed his collar and wiped his face, the liquid mixed together and was absorbed by the fabric. This opponent from another school looked at him in confusion, then smiled helplessly.

“Great match.” He extended his hand.

Hachihongi almost instinctively shook hands with him, then an unexpected force from behind pulled him away from the ground.

“Hachihongi! We won!”

That was a happy enough hug, Kokonoe Taka hugged him up and spun him around a few times with a laugh, before reluctantly letting go.

The skin in contact was wet and hot, the ace was like he had just been pulled out of the water.

But he was so happy, before putting him down to accept everyone’s cheers, he lowered his head like he was saying a secret, satisfyingly curving his eyelashes.

“Hachihongi, we won!”