Teikō Basketball Club was like a gigantic precision instrument, operating coldly and efficiently under Akashi Seijūrō's icy commands. Aomine Daiki's wildness burned along his solitary path, Kuroko Tetsuya remained silent in the shadows where light and darkness fractured, Bai Ze You's confusion wandered through the haze where enjoyment had been extinguished, Kise Ryōta's imitation transformed in the flames of fusion and evolution, and Murasaki-bara Atsushi's strength slept within a fortress of lazy confidence. Yet amid this distorted spectrum, Midōrima Shintarō, like a constant coordinate that never deviated, built his own Absolute Territory with nearly obsessive rigor and precision—100% Parabola.
On the training court, the atmosphere was still shrouded in the gloom of "Absolute Efficiency." But in Midōrima Shintarō, that efficiency took on an almost sacred sense of ritual.
He stood beyond the three-point line, far from the commotion around the basket. Every catch, every bend of the knees and drop of the shoulders, every raise of the elbow and flick of the wrist was as if it had undergone the most precise calculations and the strictest calibration. His movements were meticulous, his rhythm never off by the slightest fraction, as though he were not shooting but carrying out some sacred geometric ritual in pursuit of absolute perfection.
The basketball flew from his fingertips with heavy backspin, slicing through the air with an almost inaudible whistle. Its trajectory was perfectly replicated every time, carrying a heart-stopping, perfect parabola!
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
The endless sound of clean shots dropping through the net was crisp and cold, like the ticking of the most precise clock, announcing the achievement of an "Absolute Hit." Within Midōrima's three-point domain, the basket seemed fixed in place by an invisible force, able only to passively accept one perfect baptism after another.
Momoi Satsuki recorded it on her clipboard with an almost reverent touch:
"Observation Record: Absolute Parabola Domain"
"Core Creed: Precision is power. Data is truth."
"Behavioral Patterns:"
* Training Ritual: Morning Oracle (fixed procedure), Warm-up Action Sequence (millisecond precision), Pre-shot Adjustment (breathing, fingertip sensation, compensation for environmental variables).
* Shot Execution: Action Templating (textbook level), Absolute Parabola Control (angular error < 0.5 degrees), pursuit of 100% clean shots (Rejection of Rim Grazing).
* Tactical Positioning: Fixed Turret. Movement Limited to Preset High-Efficiency Three-Point Spots (Rejection of Unnecessary Movement). Catch and Shoot (release completed within 0.5 seconds).
* Defensive Stance: Textbook Man-to-Man Defense (standardized movements, Prediction Based on Data Models). Willingness to Double Team: Extremely Low (regarded as an efficiency loss).
"Akashi Compatibility: SSS"
* Ideological Alignment: Midōrima's "Absolute Precision" was the perfect embodiment of Akashi's "Absolute Efficiency" in the field of shooting.
* Tactical Value: Provided stable, efficient, quantifiable long-range firepower (a strategic-level deterrent).
* Controllability: His behavioral patterns were highly predictable, perfectly suited to Akashi's tactical command system (with no "Aomine-style" risk of losing control).
"Mental Core:"
1. Defender of Order: Basketball was a precision science. Chaos—such as Aomine's wildness and Kise's imitation—was "error" that needed to be eliminated.
2. Data Faith: He trusted calculation, probability, and repeatability, while scorning uncontrollable factors such as "intuition" and "luck."
3. Absolute Desire for Control: Absolute control over his own shooting was the only fortress against the loss of control brought by the outside world—his teammates' transformation and his opponents' unpredictability.
However, the increasingly twisted atmosphere within Teikō was like an invisible interference wave, constantly battering the "absolute order" Midōrima was trying to maintain.
During an intra-team scrimmage, Midōrima Shintarō found himself completely unguarded in the corner—one of the spots with the highest shooting percentage according to his calculations. Akashi's pass arrived in his hands like precision guidance, without the slightest deviation.
Midōrima bent his knees, dropped his shoulders, raised his elbow, and flicked his wrist—the movement was flawless! The basketball flew toward the basket with its familiar spin and perfect parabola!
At that moment, a black figure charged into the paint from the other side like an out-of-control locomotive, carrying a violent, wild presence! It was Aomine Daiki! Trying to fight for an almost impossible offensive rebound, he completely ignored his offensive position and his teammates, roughly shoving aside Murasaki-bara Atsushi, who stood in his way. He failed to move Murasaki-bara, but disrupted his position, and his massive body and violent movements stirred up a burst of air and visual interference!
The basketball's trajectory through the air seemed to be affected ever so slightly by this sudden, chaotic field of interference! By that tiny, nearly negligible disturbance in the air!
"Clang!"
The basketball struck ever so slightly against the inner side of the back rim. Although it still bounced into the net, it was not the absolutely perfect clean shot Midōrima pursued. Instead, it carried a trace of imperfection and an earsplitting metallic scrape!
The basket counted! But... it wasn't 100% clean!
Midōrima Shintarō held his follow-through, the pupils behind his lenses contracting sharply! He pushed up his glasses, his movement a fraction faster than usual, and his fingertips even trembled almost imperceptibly. That flawless parabola had been sullied! Sullied by Aomine's irrational, order-destroying barbarity!
"Tch! As long as it went in, what's the big deal? Why be so picky?" Aomine landed without even looking at Midōrima, grumbling unhappily as though the interference had been perfectly natural.
A surge of icy anger swept over Midōrima Shintarō. He felt that his sacred domain had been trampled by savagery, that the absolute precision he pursued had been brutally belittled! He whipped around, his cold gaze stabbing toward Aomine like a scalpel, his voice carrying unprecedented chill:
"Aomine! Your reckless interference caused the shooting trajectory to deviate by 0.17 degrees! It increased the risk of hitting the rim by 0.8%! This is blasphemy against 'Absolute Efficiency'! Leave my shooting area immediately!"
Aomine Daiki stopped and turned around. His wild eyes met Midōrima's icy gaze without retreating, and the corner of his mouth curled into a vicious smile. "Huh? Your area? The whole court is my scoring territory! Quit pestering me with that girly data of yours! If it goes in, that's all that matters!"
Their gazes collided fiercely in midair! On one side was the fury of coldness, order, and absolute precision; on the other was the viciousness of wildness, chaos, and absolute self-regard! The clash of their ideals erupted in the most direct and cutting manner possible! The air seemed to freeze!
"That's enough!" Akashi Seijūrō's icy voice fell like a judge's hammer, instantly suppressing the conflict that was about to escalate. His red eyes swept over Midōrima and Aomine.
"Midōrima, the shot counted. The efficiency result met the standard. The interference from the uncontrollable variable, Aomine, has been incorporated into the model. Next time, adjust your shooting angle or choose a better position to avoid it."
"Aomine, fighting for the offensive rebound meets tactical requirements, but your movements were too large, creating a 3% risk of a foul and a 5% risk of losing your own balance. Next time, control the force of your charge."
Akashi's verdict was still a cold calculation of efficiency. He acknowledged Midōrima's result—the basket—and Aomine's intent—the fight for the rebound—but lightly reduced their conflict to an optimization problem involving "controllable risk." He ignored the pain of Midōrima's devotion to "Absolute Precision" being trampled, and he ignored Aomine's instinctive resistance to the constraints of order.
Midōrima Shintarō pressed his lips tightly together, his eyes behind his lenses growing even colder. Akashi's "efficiency above all" logic was flawless, but the fury in his heart over the desecration of his faith in "Absolute Precision" could not be calmed by such cold calculations. He felt a profound loneliness—as though in this cold machine that pursued "Absolute Victory," he alone still clung to his obsession with "Absolute Correctness."
After practice ended, Midōrima did not leave immediately. He remained alone on the empty court, standing at his favorite three-point spot. Again and again, he repeated the motions of shooting—bending his knees, dropping his shoulders, raising his elbow, flicking his wrist... Every shot strove for perfection, every one pursuing that crisp sound of a clean shot dropping through the net. It was as though only through this nearly masochistic repetition could he reaffirm the stability of the "Absolute Parabola Domain" he had built, and withstand the increasingly out-of-control, chaotic environment of the team.
Bai Ze You had not gone far. He leaned against the gymnasium entrance, silently watching Midōrima's solitary, obsessive figure. He could sense the icy anger and deeper anxiety radiating from Midōrima—the fear of order collapsing, the fear that his absolute control was under threat. Within Akashi's framework of "Absolute Victory," Midōrima was the most efficient component, but he was also a lonely guardian imprisoned by his own perfectionism.
At the bottom of her clipboard, Momoi Satsuki wrote in solemn strokes:
"Core Diagnosis: Prisoner of Precision Order"
"Points of Conflict:"
1. Internal: His personal faith in "Absolute Precision" versus interference from uncontrollable team variables (Aomine/Murasaki-bara) → anxiety over order.
2. External: An instinctive rejection and contempt for "chaotic basketball" (wildness, imitation, unpredictability).
3. Relationship with Akashi: Highly compatible on the surface, but different at the core (Midōrima pursued the "Absolute Correctness" of the process, while Akashi recognized only the "Absolute Victory" of the result).
"Current State:" Order barrier shaken (Aomine incident), heightened anxiety, reinforced ritual behavior (shooting practice) to rebuild his psychological defenses.
"Potential Crisis:"
* When faced with "Absolute Defense" (such as Akashi's future Eyes of the Heavenly Emperor) or a "Higher Parabola" (such as future opponents), his faith may collapse.
* Increasing team fragmentation, with conflicts with uncontrollable teammates (Aomine) becoming normalized.
* Under Akashi's results-oriented philosophy, the value of his "process perfectionism" may be further weakened (the spread of the "as long as it goes in" logic).
"Rating: Teikō system's most stable output point, and also the system's most fragile 'precision instrument' (extremely low tolerance for error)."
Midōrima Shintarō launched his final shot. The basketball traced a perfect arc, "Swish!" It dropped cleanly through the net. The crisp sound echoed through the empty gymnasium.
He pushed up his glasses, the cold lights reflecting off the lenses. He bent down and meticulously packed away his belongings, folding his towel into a perfect square and setting his water bottle straight. Then he straightened his back and left the court in precise, rigid steps, like a robot running a preset program. His silhouette stretched into a lonely, stubborn shadow in the afterglow of the setting sun, guarding his inviolable, precision kingdom built from 100% Parabola.
100% Parabola was faith, weapon, and cage.
At the altar of absolute precision, Midōrima sacrificed passion and adaptability in exchange for a cold, efficient killing blow.
Teikō's long-range blade had been forged, but the obsession and fragility at its core would eventually face the ultimate trial—one that surpassed calculation.
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