A/N: Me: It won't be another year until I update this.

Also me: *allows another full year to pass before I publish another chapter*

I'm so sorry, you guys.

unedited

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CHAPTER NINETEEN - WE'RE THE SEIRIN HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM!

"ARE WE REALLY DOING THIS?"

"Yeah. Anyway, are you guys ready? Once we do this, there's no turning back." Kiyoshi informed. "All right."

"We swear an oath!" Kiyoshi shouted, getting the students attention from below. "We, the basketball team, will participate in this year's national tournament to become the best team in Japan! Class 1-E, No. 7, Kiyoshi Teppei!"

"Huh? What'd he say?"

"What are they doing?"

"We have a basketball team?"

"Sheesh." Izuki muttered. "If this doesn't work, we'll be a joke."

"Who cares? It seems fun." Koganei stated as him and Izuki rushed to stand next to Kiyoshi.

"Class 1-C, No. 3, Izuki Shun!"

"Class 1-B, No. 8, Koganei Shinji!" Koganei shouted after him. "Class 1-B, No. 17, Mitobe Rinnosuke!"

"We've done it now." Izuki claimed.

"I feel like we've made a breakthrough, though." Koganei said as Mitobe nodded.

"Hyuga's not..." Izuki started to say.

"Wait!"

"It looks like you got through to him, Kiyoshi." Izuki stated.

"Huh? What are you talking about, you moron? You don't have my sympathy at all. Going on about your pretty little sentiments. So you've lost hope before... but so what? You still have a lot left!" Hyuga claimed. "An ordinary man like myself and a prodigy like you are nothing alike. Let me tell you one thing. I hate you. That's why I don't want to lose to you at the sport I love."

Hyuga's hair was short and was dyed black.

"That's all."

"Yeah... I won't lose either." Kiyoshi said.

Hyuga stepped forward to the railing. "For the basketball team, same as above! Class 1-C, No. 28, Hyuga Junpei!" He called out.

"Hyuga-kun..." Riko mumbled.

A teacher soon opened the doors. "Hey, what are you kids doing?! It's time for the morning announcements!"

"You think kids who can't follow the rules can become the best in Japan?"

"What'd you say?" Hyuga asked in irritation, throwing his shoes somewhere. "Don't underestimate us! We'll do it! If we don't, I'll confess my feelings buck naked!"

Hyuga's claim shocks Kiyoshi, Izuki, Koganei, and Mitobe.

"Yeah, do it!"

"You'd better keep that promise!"

Riko soon begins to laugh. "What an idiot. I don't believe this." She said. "I'm in. Let's see you guys do it."

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"Thanks for waiting. Here's the training menu you asked for." Riko unfolds a large paper on the whiteboard.

"Come on, now... This menu will kill us."

"Seriously?"

"What? It will?"

"It's well thought out, though. I can tell she's the daughter of a personal trainer." Kiyoshi thinks to himself.

"Get us started, Captain." Izuki told Kiyoshi.

"What? Why me?" Kiyoshi asked.

"You're the one who formed the basketball team!" Hyuga responded.

"But I thought Hyuga was the captain." Kiyoshi said.

"Huh? Wait, what?" Hyuga questioned. "You're the best one here!"

"It's not about who's good. You have something I don't. You're best suited to being a leader." Kiyoshi claimed.

Riko thinks about it. "Why not?"

Izuki nodded. "Yeah, he's right."

"I agree." Koganei said.

"H-Hey!" Hyuga began to protest.

"Come on. Let's do this, Captain."

"W-Wait..."

"Captain, we need a cheer."

"Hey..."

"Captain, buy me some juice."

"What'd you just say?!" Hyuga exclaimed.

"Kiyoshi's a mysterious guy. He seems like he's joking around, but before you know it, you're doing things his way." Riko thought.

"Fine, I get it!" Hyuga finally agrees. "Let's practice!"

"Yeah!" 

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Seirin was going against Kyoritsu as the score was 66-52 and Kiyoshi made the dunk.

"All right!" Riko cheered.

"He made the dunk!" Tsuchida exclaimed.

"Did he seriously dunk?!"

"Amazing! That guy..."

"It's Kiyoshi! Kiyoshi Teppei, the Iron Heart!"

"The Iron Heart? No one told us we'd be playing him!"

The Kyoritsu player tossed the ball to his teammate, but Koganei easily intercepted it and passed it to Izuki, who passed it to Hyuga.

"Shut up about the Iron Heart already!" Hyuga said as he made the shot. The final score was 71-52 and Seirin had won.

"Time's up!"

"We won!"

"We won't lose next time, Shorin High!"

"It's not Shorin..." Hyuga muttered.

"We're the Seirin High School basketball team!"

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Next, Seirin went against Shimamura, the score being 89-90. Izuki was dribbling the ball. "There's no time. Hyuga!" Izuki called out, passing the ball over to Hyuga.

"I know!" Hyuga said, tossing the ball to the basket as it hit the rim. However, Kiyoshi slammed the ball in, making the score 91-90.

"We did it!"

"We're in the finals of the preliminaries!"

Kiyoshi raised his arm as Hyuga did the same. Hyuga placed his hand down and walked away.

Up in the stands, a middle school Daigo was watching the game dressed in his basketball jacket. "Seirin High, huh? They seem like a pretty good team." He thinks to himself.

"Perhaps I'll join their ranks next year."

He turns around just as Riko looks up at the stands. Her eyes widened upon seeing a familiar white and blue basketball jacket with the name 'Teiko' written on the back.

"Teiko? What's one of their players doing here?" Riko wondered.

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Hyuga and Kiyoshi were walking together. "If we win one more, we're in the championship league." Kiyoshi said.

"Yeah." Hyuga agreed before he suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Well, uh... It's just..."

Kiyoshi stopped and turned to face him. "I hate you, but..." Hyuga trailed off.

"I know."

"But since joining the basketball team and playing with everyone, I realized basketball's actually fun when you win." Hyuga scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I'm not ungrateful..."

"Sorry, I don't understand." Kiyoshi said.

"I'm not!" Hyuga exclaimed in irritation.

"Can I tell you something, too?" Kiyoshi asked, getting Hyuga's attention. "When we first went to recruit Riko, her reason for turning us down was..."

"Everyone around them has given up on winning. That's what I hate most."

"I was actually startled when she said that. My old school Shoei was just like that. We were self-assured in our strength, and we didn't slack off in practice, but no one really believed we could overthrow Teiko." Kiyoshi continued. "But everyone at Seirin really believes we can be the best in Japan. After what we did on the roof, we have to do it. I'm glad I met you guys."

"Huh? Wha—" Hyuga was lost for words. "You... You don't have any trouble saying embarrassing things, do you?"

"What? I just said what I felt." Kiyoshi claimed.

"That's even more embarrassing." Hyuga said. 

Kiyoshi smiled a little as him and Hyuga continued on walking.

"Let's win our next game, too."

"Yeah."

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"This place is huge."

"We're playing here today?"

"No. We're playing in the first gym." Izuki replied as they all looked at a separate building.

"Really?"

"That place is huge, too!" Koganei exclaimed.

"Looks like they're playing middle school games in here today." Hyuga noticed.

Second Match
Teiko

"What?" Hyuga widened his eyes as some Teiko members were waiting outside.

"I don't believe it. I only scored 42 points today."

"Don't be ridiculous. If anything, you held the ball too much. Because of you, I only made 10 shots."

"I wish you'd pass me the ball more more, too."

"It doesn't matter. We won."

"Enough talk. We're having a meeting as soon as we get back."

"Teiko."

"The strongest middle school team." Izuki commented. "This is my first time seeing them in person."

"They've got more presence than we do. Aren't they in middle school?" Koganei questioned.

Daigo suddenly stops in front of Seirin as he looks at them, making some of them flinch back. "Seirin High..." He muttered, making Hyuga gulp.

"I watched your game the other day. Not too bad for a newbie high school team." Daigo claimed. "Just wanted to let you know you're on my list of possible high schools to attend next year."

This shocks the Seirin players, Kiyoshi especially.

"Hey, Daigo! Hurry up or you'll get left behind!"

"I'm coming! Don't get your panties in a twist, Daiki!" Daigo shouted at his brother.

"Do you think he was being serious?" Izuki questioned.

"Who knows..." Koganei muttered as the Seirin basketball team continued onwards.

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"Our opponent today is Kirisaki Dai Ichi. We only formed recently, and we've used our limited time to practice our offense. We came this far with our run-and-gun style, but that won't work here. They're that strong." Riko informed. "We'll start strong and take control of the game! Got it?"

"Yeah!"

"About that... There's something I want to try. I haven't practiced it before, though." Kiyoshi said, making Riko blink.

"Well, let's have some fun."

The game soon began as Izuki was dribbling the ball before passing it over to Kiyoshi. A Kirisaki player soon guarded him.

Kiyoshi dribbled the ball between his legs before he was guarded by another player. "It's no use. They're still on him." Izuki thinks to himself.

Having no choice, Kiyoshi passes the ball over to Hyuga who makes the shot and scores a point for Seirin.

"He made it!"

"Nice pass!" Tsuchida praised from the bench.

"Amazing. I had no idea he was so discerning and had such passing sense. On top of that..." Izuki's thoughts trailed off.

Hyuga scored another point for Seirin.

"That's the fourth three-pointer in a row! Why haven't we known about this guy before now?"

Kiyoshi slammed the ball into the basket.

"He went for it himself! The Iron Heart's so strong!"

Hyuga blinked as Kiyoshi rushed by him. "Kiyoshi... Nice." He praised, looking away.

"Hyuga and Kiyoshi are so strong together. It's not a dream. We really can make it to nationals!" Izuki thought.

Kiyoshi suddenly winced as his knee trembled.

Seirin.
81.

Kirisaki Dai Ichi.
71.

"This is ridiculous. We've already lost. I told them to put me in sooner." Hanamiya complained, looking at Hyuga and Kiyoshi. "I'd hate to let them advance to the championship league for free. I guess I'll make them pay."

A buzzer suddenly went off.

"A member change?" Tsuchida spoke in confusion.

Hanamiya soon entered the court. "Him..." Izuki muttered.

Hyuga turned to look at him. "You know him?" He questioned.

"He's an Uncrowned King. He's as strong as Kiyoshi." Izuki responded.

"Why is he coming in now?" Hyuga asked.

"I don't know, but... I haven't heard good things about him." Izuki replied.

Hanamiya narrowed his eyes as he dribbled the ball with Izuki guarding him. "There isn't much time left. What's he going to do?" Izuki wondered.

Hanamiya passes the ball to one of his teammates who scores a point, bringing Kirisaki's point count up to 73.

"A regular play... Was I too worried?" Izuki asked himself.

Kiyoshi was talking with Hyuga as Hanamiya stared down at his knee. He then clapped, getting the rest of his team's attention.

"Come on, defense! Let's stop a shot!" He encouraged. "As long as we don't give up, we'll have our chance! Let's show them what we can do!"

Hyuga stared at him as the game resumed. Kiyoshi passed the ball over to Izuki.

"It's Seirin's run-and-gun!"

Izuki passed the ball over to Mitobe, who passed it to Kiyoshi.

"They're so fast!"

Kiyoshi passed the ball over to Kogenei, who threw it up in the air as Kiyoshi was guarding a Kirisaki player. Hanamiya suddenly grinned as the ball hits the rim of the basket. Kiyoshi leaped into the air along with the Kirisaki player.

"Oh, no..." Hanamiya said, grabbing Hyuga's attention as Kiyoshi had grabbed the ball.

"My condolences."

Hanamiya snapped his fingers as Kiyoshi suddenly felt pain within his knee.

"All right, Kiyoshi." Izuki said, holding his arms up for Kiyoshi to pass to him when Kiyoshi suddenly collapsed on the court in pain, grabbing onto his knee as he screamed in agony.

TWEEEEET!

"Kiyoshi!" Koganei shouted.

"Teppei!" Riko called out.

"Huh? What's wrong with him? Is he okay?" Hanamiya questioned.

Hyuga grabbed onto Hanamiya's jersey. "What are you talking about? You were obviously late on the rebound! Besides, I saw you giving some kind of signal!" He accused.

"Hyuga?" Izuki questioned.

"Hey, now. Are you saying we did that on purpose? If you're so sure, you must have proof, right?" Hanamiya challenged.

Hyuga only grits his teeth angrily in response.

"Hyuga, don't!" Kiyoshi warned as he was on a stretcher. "It's no big deal. I'm fine. I'll be back soon."

"Kiyoshi!" Hyuga rushed over to him.

"Come on. You heard him." Hanamiya said as Kiyoshi gave him a look, making him smirk.

"Damn it... We'll win no matter what!" Hyuga promised.

The buzzer finally went off.

Seirin.
84.

Kirisaki Dai Ichi.
83.

Seirin had won the game by one point at the end of the fourth quarter.

"We won." Hyuga thinks to himself. "But..."

"Damn. We couldn't do it." Hanamiya turned to look at Hyuga, having a dark shadow casted over his eyes. "You're lucky you didn't get hurt, four-eyes."

Hyuga widened his eyes before gritting his teeth. "Hyuga!" Izuki shouted, placing his hand on his shoulder and keeping him from advancing on Hanamiya. "Let's line up and go see Kiyoshi."

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Sasaki General Hospital . . .

"Kiyoshi..."

Kiyoshi turned around, seeing his team and Riko. "Guys." He greeted. "How'd the game go?"

"We won." Riko replied.

"That's great. Now we..." Kiyoshi started to say.

"That doesn't matter. How's your injury?" Hyuga asked.

Kiyoshi glanced down. "Well... Sorry. About that... It turns out it wasn't a big deal at all. It's just a sprain." He replied, making everyone get taken aback.

"What? You scared us." Izuki said.

"When they said you were going to the hospital, we thought..." Tsuchida trailed off.

"It's just for today. I'll be better by next week's championship league. Sorry for making a big deal over nothing." Kiyoshi said, making Izuki sigh in relief as the others did the same.

"Well, see you at school."

"Later."

"Yeah."

The team soon left as Kiyoshi stared out the window, looking at the sunset. A drink soon drops on his lap.

"Sheesh. That's some obvious bravado." Hyuga said, sitting down.

"Hyuga." Kiyoshi said.

"You'd never abandon a game over a sprain." Hyuga pointed out.

"No, I'm fine. It'll heal by next week." Kiyoshi reassured. "Besides, they say sickness and health starts with the mind."

"Don't make fun of me! You're even hiding things from your captain?" Hyuga questioned.

Kiyoshi sighed. "I've been feeling something is off for a while. After surgery and rehabilitation, they said I'll have fully recovered by the time I graduate from high school." He responded.

Outside, Riko widened her eyes. "What?" She thought.

"It's possible to skip the surgery and stick with just rehabilitation, but it'll still be a year before I can come back." Kiyoshi finished.

"Even if I try to stop you, you'll still do the latter, right?" Hyuga asked.

"Yeah." Kiyoshi replied, looking out of the window again. "But... I wish I could have played all three years with you. If I only do rehabilitation, I'll keep accumulating damage as long as I play basketball. Even if I come back, at most I'll only be able to play one year. We'll only be able to play next year."

"I see. Well, it can't be helped. We'll become the best team in Japan next year." Hyuga said.

"What?"

"What's that face for? Are you saying we can't do it?" Hyuga questioned.

"No, I didn't mean..."

"By the way, when we were on the roof... You didn't say we'd become the best in Japan. You were shocked by Riko's words because you felt the same way. You're still suffering from the trauma you experienced in middle school. Maybe you're the one who doesn't think we can be the best." Hyuga claimed.

"We only have one more year together. The team that plays the most games is the one that makes it to the top and becomes the best in Japan. If you don't believe we can be the best... Fine, then. I'll believe. Just follow me. So come back soon, idiot."

"Just so you know, I hate you."

"Sorry. Then... Wait for me. I'll be back soon." Kiyoshi promised as tears fell down his face.

"Don't apologize to me. We're teammates." Hyuga told him.

"After that, without Kiyoshi, we were crushed by the Three Kings in the championship league."

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A/N: I still want Daigo to get injured during the Kirisaki Dai Ichi game (he tears his ACL, but not bad to the point where he can't play). And given the fact that Daiki and the rest of Touou will be watching. I'll probably add it in "It's Trust", but I don't know how to add it in. So if you have any ideas, let me know.

Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2918 words.