Hesitation Means Defeat

"If you can't get past this hurdle, you're dead meat." Kagetora Aida's voice drifted into Reiko Aida's ear, making her heart clench for some reason. She looked worriedly toward Shibuya First Junior High's bench.

"What do we do... What should I do..." Keisuke Kobayashi had called a timeout, but as he looked at the situation before him, his mind went blank. "Our strongest player, Kotaro, is being shut down, and Daisuke can barely look after himself..."

"Hey, hey, what's with everyone? Why do you all look like the world's about to end?" Daisuke Narumi looked at their ashen faces, stood up, and shouted, "The game isn't over yet. We haven't lost! Play hard, and we still have a chance to win!"

"Daisuke's right!" Kotaro Hayama took a long swig of water. "We still have a chance! Didn't we just make a comeback? We have to win, even if it's for the Captain!"

"Yeah!" Encouraged by the two of them, a flush of color returned to the faces of Shibuya First Junior High's players, and their panic gradually subsided.

"Phew..." Keisuke Kobayashi slapped his cheeks, forcing himself to calm down. After taking a deep breath, he said, "Since things have come to this, we have no choice but to fight with our backs to the wall! Spread out for me. I'll take a few shots first. If we can get things going from the perimeter, Kotaro, keep an eye out for chances to cut inside. I'll pass to you. If we can't get the perimeter game going, Daisuke, that purple-haired big guy isn't much taller than you. You handle the rebounds and putbacks!"

"Got it!" Kotaro Hayama and Daisuke Narumi nodded firmly.

"Captain..." Keisuke Kobayashi turned toward Kazuhiko Yamanaka, but the words caught in his throat, as if he was trying to figure out how to put them more tactfully.

"Just say it. It's fine, Keisuke." Kazuhiko Yamanaka smiled and punched him lightly in the chest. "After I leave, you'll be the Captain. You can't keep being so fussy."

"Captain, then I'll be straight with you." Keisuke Kobayashi readily took him at his word. "I know defending Shuzo Nijimura is a huge challenge for you, but even if you can't stop him, you have to at least limit his shooting. Let him drive past you if you have to. We'll help cover you."

"Okay. I'll do my best." Keisuke Kobayashi felt Kazuhiko Yamanaka's hand on his shoulder press down a little harder, as if it were both an answer to him and an encouragement to himself.

"Liu," Keisuke Kobayashi said tersely, turning to Wei Liu. "Focus on defense and rebounds. Take the shot if you're open."

"Got it!" Wei Liu replied gravely.

"Not bad at all!" Kagetora Aida watched Keisuke Kobayashi calling the shots with little interest. "If they hadn't run into Ken Kaneki's team, they might actually have had a shot this year."

Reiko Aida didn't say anything. She couldn't see the game clearly, but she could sense that Teiko Junior High's players were not only far superior to Shibuya First Junior High in their physical stats, but were also in far better shape than Kotaro Hayama.

"Come on... Even if you can't win... Don't give up..." Reiko Aida murmured, so softly that even Kagetora Aida, sitting beside her, didn't hear.

"Bzzzt!" The buzzer rang, signaling the end of the timeout, and the players returned to the court.

"Keisuke, take it!" Daisuke Narumi passed the ball in from the sideline to Keisuke Kobayashi, then followed the original plan and went inside to battle Atsushi Murasakibara.

"Taking over ball-handling duties, are you?" Shintaro Midorima walked up to Keisuke Kobayashi with an expressionless face. "Good. That's more like you."

"You make it sound like you know me pretty well..." Keisuke Kobayashi rolled his eyes in exasperation, dribbling as he carefully studied Shintaro Midorima's defensive positioning. It was classic Midorima: balanced and airtight.

"Kaneki did a good job preparing beforehand, that's all," Shintaro Midorima said solemnly. "Honestly, I admire how thoroughly he did his homework. It'd be even better if he read the morning horoscope like I do."

"Then you're out of luck today." Unable to get past him, Keisuke Kobayashi decided to shoot. "Because I've got a great shooting touch today."

"You're wrong." Shintaro Midorima replied, "A shooter can only do everything in his power and leave the rest to fate. I've done all I can, and as for fate... Cancer is the luckiest sign today!"

As he spoke, Shintaro Midorima lunged forward and swatted the ball out of Keisuke Kobayashi's hands before he could shoot.

"As a shooter, you hesitated just now." Shintaro Midorima picked up the loose ball and immediately launched a fast break. "And hesitation means defeat!"

As he finished speaking, Shintaro Midorima leaped into the air just past half court and sent the ball toward the basket.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Keisuke Kobayashi, sprinting back on defense, hadn't expected Shintaro Midorima to shoot from so far away. "He actually went for a logo shot on a fast break?! That's insane!"

To Keisuke Kobayashi's shock, the ball traced a perfect, towering arc, then fell toward the hoop like a meteor. Swish! It dropped straight through the net.

Seeing the logo shot he'd been practicing so hard these past few days work on its very first attempt, Shintaro Midorima gently pushed up his glasses with his left hand. He turned away without looking at Keisuke Kobayashi. "I told you. I've done all I can."

Beneath his glasses, the golden glint in Shintaro Midorima's eyes shone like lightning in the night sky, while the faint green glow that had been barely perceptible began to flicker in and out of view.

"Are you okay, Keisuke?" Kazuhiko Yamanaka came over and asked with concern.

"I'm fine, Captain. It just caught me a little off guard." Keisuke Kobayashi shook his head, pushing down his unease and forcing himself to appear calm.

"That's terrifying..." At the hospital, Shoichi Imagawa watched the game on TV and marveled. "He's that confident from that distance?"

"Of course. A lion doesn't consort with stray dogs." Makoto Hanamiya, whose bandages had just been changed, stared at the screen and scoffed. "If it weren't for that Chinese exchange student's screen, Keisuke Kobayashi wouldn't have scored on that green-haired kid... Look, he got blocked again, didn't he?"

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Having been blocked again, Keisuke Kobayashi was furious. To save face, he stuck tightly to Shintaro Midorima as soon as he got the ball, giving him no room to shoot.

"Oh? You're only guarding my shot? Interesting." Shintaro Midorima's lips curled slightly. He used a shot fake to create space, then caught Keisuke Kobayashi off guard with a simple step-through and drove past him.

Keisuke Kobayashi quickly shifted his weight to keep up with Shintaro Midorima, but Midorima seemed to know what he was about to do. With a simple between-the-legs dribble and step-back, he moved beyond the three-point line.

With Keisuke Kobayashi completely faked out, Shintaro Midorima confidently released the ball. The three-pointer sailed cleanly through the hoop.

"I don't agree with your thinking." Shintaro Midorima looked down at Keisuke Kobayashi. "I only shoot threes, but that doesn't mean I can only shoot threes. You underestimated me."

"Nice work." Ken Kaneki came over, patted Shintaro Midorima on the butt, and praised him. "Honestly, you surprised me too."

"Hmph." Shintaro Midorima snorted. "Naturally. I'm Teiko Junior High's best shooter."

"Midori-shin's being tsundere, isn't he?" Atsushi Murasakibara blurted out. "I saw you sneak into the gym to watch Ken-chan's midday practice a while ago."

"You're making that up. I didn't!" Shintaro Midorima looked a little flustered. "How can you just slander my good name?"

"Huh? Your good name?" Atsushi Murasakibara retorted. "That day I went to buy chips, I saw you peeking at Ken-chan's practice outside the gym. Then the security guard thought you were a thief and chased you around, trying to beat you up."

Everyone burst out laughing. Seeing them all laughing made Shintaro Midorima even more flustered. He muttered something about having "just been passing by" and "being curious because he'd heard the noise from the gym." For a moment, the court was filled with cheerful laughter.

"Focus on your own game, Murasakibara!" Shintaro Midorima snapped, unusually embarrassed.

"Of course." Atsushi Murasakibara rolled his shoulders, looking excited. "I can hardly wait!"