Sunday. Game day.
Haizaki Shogo drove toward the basket, lifted the ball, and finished with an easy layup before loosening his shoulders and stretching his body. Ten minutes remained before Fukuda Sogo's second match began.
Their opponent today was Muranodai High. Defeat Muranodai, and Fukuda Sogo would officially secure a place in the Top Eight. Then, next Sunday, they would face either Yosen High or Kawazu Academy.
There wasn't even a need to think about it. Haizaki already knew who it would be.
Yosen High.
No question.
On that same afternoon, another quarterfinal would also take place: Tōō Academy versus Seirin High. Just imagining the upcoming bracket made Haizaki's eyes gleam with anticipation.
This year, however, the quarterfinals had changed. Winning one game was no longer enough to reach the Final Four. There was now a crossover round decided through a forced draw.
Only by defeating that additional opponent could a team truly enter the semifinals. In other words, even losing a game in the quarterfinal stage still left a chance to advance.
The Winter Cup system had changed. Even the rewards had changed.
Is this the butterfly effect?
Haizaki shook his head and pushed the random thoughts away. Grabbing another basketball, he resumed warming up until the final ten minutes slipped by and the game was ready to begin.
The stands were packed with spectators, yet after scanning the audience, Haizaki couldn't find any familiar faces. Apparently, no one considered Muranodai a team worth watching.
The whistle blew.
Haizaki was already moving.
Suzuran Karasu won the jump ball and slapped it toward his teammates. Okawa Sawano caught it and immediately launched a powerful long pass.
Haizaki leaped, caught the ball, twisted in midair, and completed a full one-hundred-eighty-degree rotation before slamming it down.
BOOM!!
The dunk exploded through the hoop.
An alley-oop. A spinning slam. A brutal opening statement.
Just like that, Fukuda Sogo's scoring rhythm began.
What followed was a relentless full-court press. Fast. Precise. Merciless.
Coach Ichiro Kudo had spent the entire semester polishing their systems. Full-court man-to-man defense. The 3-1-1 formation. Everything existed to make Fukuda Sogo more versatile and adaptable.
Against a team like Muranodai, whose overall level simply couldn't compare, the pressure of full-court defense became overwhelming. And overwhelming pressure led to points.
Lots of points.
No. 12, Kimura Tosho, ripped the basketball directly out of an opponent's hands and accelerated down the court. Close behind him ran point guard Harano Shinichi.
A defender stepped up, forcing Kimura to pass instantly. Harano caught it.
Kimura never slowed down.
Then:
BOOM!!
Kimura soared into the air, caught Harano's return pass in midair, and hammered down a powerful dunk.
"Tosho can do that now?!"
"Tosho's amazing!"
"Nice dunk!"
Fukuda Sogo's momentum slowly devoured Muranodai, possession after possession, bit by bit. What surprised everyone, however, was Muranodai itself.
They weren't nearly as fragile as expected. For the entire game, they fought relentlessly and desperately, enduring all the way to the final quarter.
That determination caught everyone's attention. Even Fukuda Sogo's players felt moved because, in them, they saw something simple.
The resilience of ordinary people.
And that was something worth respecting.
When the final whistle sounded, the scoreboard displayed:
Fukuda Sogo 124 : Muranodai High 22
Complete domination.
The game ended, and both teams lined up for the postgame handshake.
Haizaki shook hands with Muranodai's captain, a third-year player with a crew cut. The senior smiled bitterly. "The champions really are champions. You're incredible."
Haizaki laughed. "You guys weren't bad either. Not many teams can keep fighting until the end like that. You've got real grit."
The captain blinked before laughing as well. "Thanks. I think we were pretty good too."
Haizaki shrugged. "I'm just telling the truth."
The senior looked at him for a moment before speaking quietly. "Do your best. Take the hope you won from us and keep carrying it until you're holding the championship trophy."
Haizaki's expression softened slightly. "Definitely."
One by one, they shook hands. Muranodai had earned Haizaki's respect, and he turned and led his exhausted teammates off the court.
At that moment:
Flash!
Camera lights burst from the audience, freezing the image in countless photographs. A group of boys wearing blood-red uniforms walked off the court with fierce, confident strides.
Quarterfinals.
Fukuda Sogo had arrived.
=========
The next few days passed in a blur. The Round of 32. The Round of 16.
Match after match unfolded endlessly as teams fought through obstacles, advanced, fell, rose again, and continued chasing victory. The courts and stands burned with excitement throughout the tournament.
======
The next morning, Haizaki yawned and stepped off the train, a shoulder bag hanging lazily at his side. Students streamed endlessly toward the school gates.
Then a familiar voice called out. "Good morning, Shogo-kun!"
Haizaki turned. "Morning, Shimizu-chan."
Under the envious gazes of boys and the admiring eyes of girls, Haizaki walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Shimizu Rena through the school gate. As they walked, Shimizu pulled a folded sheet of paper from her bag.
"Shogo-kun, look. After last week's matches, all sixteen teams have been decided. The first two quarterfinal teams too."
Haizaki accepted the paper and looked down.
Already qualified:
Fukuda Sogo.
Seirin High, after defeating Kirisaki Daiichi and Egashira High.
The remaining Round of 16 matches were listed below:
Yosen High vs Kawazu Academy. Winner advances.
Seiho High vs Ropponmatsu High. Winner advances.
Egashira High vs Rakuzan High. Winner advances.
Shutoku High vs Onita High. Winner advances.
Tōō Academy vs Kachiyama High. Winner advances.
Kaijo High vs Shigemitsu. Winner advances.
Haizaki narrowed his eyes. Kirisaki Daiichi, whom he had expected so much from, had crashed out immediately against Seirin. Unexpectedly, Seiho High, led by Tsugawa Tomoki, still looked likely to make another deep run.
Quietly, Haizaki evaluated each team and formed his prediction.
Yosen. Seiho. Rakuzan.
Shutoku. Tōō. Kaijo.
Alongside Fukuda Sogo and Seirin.
This season, the strongest monsters had all gathered together. It was a true battle among kings.
Then Haizaki glanced toward the crossover rules again and quickly deduced Fukuda Sogo's next path.
Fukuda Sogo vs Yosen High.
The winner would then face one of the losing teams from another quarterfinal bracket. Meaning their second opponent wasn't fixed.
It would be decided by luck.
Just imagining facing Murasakibara Atsushi and Himuro Tatsuya next week made Haizaki grin.
Don't disappoint me, Atsushi. I'm looking forward to this.
Without noticing, he had already entered the classroom with Shimizu. Returning the schedule sheet, Haizaki suddenly asked, "Shimizu-chan. Who do you think our second opponent might be?"
Shimizu tilted her head. "Who do you want it to be?"
Haizaki thought for a moment before smiling. "Me? Hmm... I'm actually looking forward to Rakuzan."
Silence followed because everyone knew exactly what that meant.
Akashi Seijuro.