Chapter 55: Preparing for the tournament
The faint squeak of sneakers echoed off the polished wood floors, mingling with the rhythmic thump of basketballs hitting the ground. Horizon High’s gym, with its tall, dust-flecked windows and aging scoreboard humming faintly above, was once again alive.
Outside, dusk crept in. The sky over Osaka was a pale orange canvas, clouds drifting lazily, as if the world outside the gym didn’t know that something important was brewing within.
Dirga leaned back against the cool gym wall, arms folded across his chest. Sweat clung to the back of his neck. Practice had ended, but the tension hadn’t left the air. Across the court, Aizawa lazily spun a ball on one finger while humming the latest EXILE track. Taiga, sitting cross-legged on the bench, chomped down on a protein bar and flipped through a stack of dog-eared basketball magazines—Slam Dunk, Basketball Monthly Japan, maybe even an old Shonen Jump tucked inside.
No one said it aloud, but everyone felt it: something big was coming.
At the front of the gym, standing beside a whiteboard stained from years of dry-erase battles, was Sayaka—the team’s manager and their quiet commander. Clipboard in hand, dressed in her Horizon PE jacket, she looked every bit like someone ready to go to war.
"Alright, everyone, listen up," she called out, her tone crisp and practiced. "The tournament bracket’s been released."
A few heads lifted. The room quieted instantly.
Sayaka uncapped a blue marker and began sketching the bracket. With quick, confident lines, the board transformed into a tournament tree.
"This is the Kansai Regional," she began. "Same rules as our prefectural tourney—single elimination. Sixteen teams."
She pointed to the columns forming a rough pyramid.
"From Shiga—two teams.