Shohoku High School's bus slowly made its way back to school in the fading glow of dusk, filled with an almost crazed joy.
"We won! We actually beat Ryonan by 45 points!" Kiminobu Kogure's eyes were still red as he looked over and over at the copy of the scoresheet in his hands, as if it were not a game record, but an admission letter to the national tournament.
"Wahahaha! Did you see that long face Uozumi made? He was practically crying by the end!" Ryota Miyagi gestured wildly as he mimicked Jun Uozumi's dazed, defeated expression, drawing a burst of laughter from the bus.
Takenori Akagi was not as outwardly expressive as the others, but his tightly clenched fists and the uncontrollable upward curve of his lips had already betrayed the turmoil in his heart. He glanced toward the seat diagonally behind him.
There, Kaede Rukawa leaned against the window, his eyes sharp as blades as he repeatedly turned a wristband over in his hands. No one knew what he was thinking, but the blazing fighting spirit around him seemed enough to melt the window glass.
Across the aisle beside him, Hanamichi Sakuragi was animatedly boasting to Ayako and the first-year students about how exquisite and unexpected his "Century Assist" had been. Ayako could not help laughing, while the freshmen wore expressions of worship that plainly said, "I don't understand it, but it sounds amazing."
The entire bus was like a boiling kettle, everyone releasing the excitement and exhilaration brought by that overwhelming victory in their own way.
Except for one person.
Shirakawa sat in the corner of the last row with headphones on and his eyes closed, as though all the noise outside had nothing to do with him. There was not the slightest joy of victory on