It was just a few hours before the graduation ceremony.
Graduation Ceremony.
The two simple words seemed so overwhelming, so scary.
Aida Riko's heart skipped a fraction of a second faster.
I'm graduating, she thought.
She stood in the middle of the big, deserted gym, and she swept her eyes all over her surroundings. She walked around, and looked at its contents. She stared at the basketball hoops; she went to the storage room; she even tried to shoot a ball from one of the carts.
She took the scoreboard out, and she looked at the two pairs of zeroes side-by-side, and she remembered all the trainings, the practices, the matches, the basketball club.
I'm graduating, she thought.
And Aida Riko tried not to cry.
She turned away from the scoreboard, and she returned to her original position, which was in the middle of the court. She raised her head and shielded her eyes from the blinding lights overhead. She closed her eyes for a moment, and suddenly, she was a freshman again; a passionate and determined demon coach who was out to whip some boys into shape.
Will you please be the coach of the Basketball Club? Kiyoshi had asked.
It seemed so long ago; so far away.
It's the Seirin High Basketball Club!
WE'LL BE NO.1 IN JAPAN!
We'll be training harder than ever for the Winter Cup!
Seirin advances to the Winter Cup finals...
The crushing defeats and the glorious victories; the tears of frustration and the tears of happiness; the pouring sweat and the pounding adrenaline...
Izuki's lame puns, Hyuuga's clutch time episodes, Kiyoshi's utter weirdness, Kagami's reckless passion, Kuroko's heart-stopping misdirection, Koganei's useless skills, Mitobe's comforting silence, Tsuchida's carefree smiles, the freshmen trio's sincere and enthusiastic support...
Her eyes opened abruptly.
"Ah..."
One tear fell.
And another.
And another.
Then she just let go.
The coach sobbed and screamed and cried, and she made vain attempts to stop the tears by wiping her eyes. She sniffed, and practically acted like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, yet she did not feel shame in the least.
I'm
graduating.
Her legs started to tremble, and she opted to just sit down on the polished floor of the court. There'll be no more training menus to think of...
No more hellish drills...
No more training camps...
No more matches...
No more strategies...
No more Seirin High Basketball Club!
"No more... No more Seirin!" She sobbed.
She cried harder.
Those guys are ridiculous!
Guess I'll have to take you on!
Why don't you try jumping?
Let's take the first strike!
Listen, here's our formation...
Teppei, don't play anymore! You'll get hurt!
BAKAGAMI! DIDN'T I SAY THAT YOU SHOULD REST?!
It's your time to shine!
Why don't you break one of your figurines every time you miss a shot?
If we fail to be no. 1, you'll all confess your love butt-naked!
I'm Aida Riko, Seirin High Basketball Club's coach.
"Seirin's... coach, huh?"
She tried to smile, but she could not. She sighed wearily, then she decided to stand up, and she dusted herself off. Ah, I'll just wash my face...
Sniff. Sniff. Whimper. Sob.
Riko's eyes went wide open at the sounds, and she quickly turned around to see...
"COACH! WAAAAHHH!"
...the members of aforementioned basketball club wailing like babies.
Riko's eyes widened in shock, and upon realizing that her face was obviously streaked with tears; she tried to cover her face. "What are you guys doing here?!"
Kiyoshi wiped the snot off his nose and exclaimed, "Riko! Let's repeat the year!"
"Dumbass! That's... That's already been decided from the start!" Hyuuga retorted.
"I WANT TO KEEP PLAYING BASKETBALL WITH ALL THE SENPAI!"
"Kagami-kun... Just..."
"Why does it have to be like this?!"
Riko looked at each of her players, and she felt like crying all over again. The sophomores were positively bawling, and even Kuroko had tears coming out of his eyes.
As for the seniors...
A bigger lump than before grew in her throat, and her heart broke into pieces when she saw their expressions.
Hyuuga had taken his glasses off, and he was shamelessly crying like a little boy. Koganei was trying to grin, but when he failed, he would laugh awkwardly and continue tearing up. Izuki wore a solemn expression, and he cried in silence. Mitobe did his best to comfort Koganei despite his own tears, and Tsuchida sobbed softly. As for Kiyoshi...
Kiyoshi had snot dripping from his nose, and he looked like a large, silly infant.
Riko giggled, and she composed herself by roughly slapping her cheeks. She grabbed her (precious) pink whistle, and she blew it to catch the attention of her players.
Her players.
"LISTEN UP! EVERYBODY, RUN 10 LAPS AROUND THE SCHOOL!"
"WHAT?! BUT- "
"NO BUTS! RUN UNTIL YOU ERASE THIS MEMORY FROM YOUR HEADS! GO!"
"Ah... What the hell!"
"Let's have fun~!"
"Your voice is cracking, i-idiot!"
"Haha, Hyuuga is still crying!"
"Cry... Ah! Crying Cr-ah-y-fish!"
"Shut up, Izuki!"
Riko smiled warmly at their backs as they ran off obediently.
It's the Seirin High Basketball Club!
.
.
.
.
.
Riko closed her eyes for a moment.
"Ah... I want to play basketball with everyone..."
Then she ran after them.