At thirteen years of age, Tetsuya loves basketball. The love he feels colors his life in shade of pink where, before, it had only been gray.
Tetsuya knows he isn't very good-
("you should quit")
-but, in spite of that, he practices harder than anyone else.
At fourteen years of age, Tetsuya is one of the victors. He meets a boy who loves basketball as much as he does, a boy who shines brighter than the sun. Then he meets another, a boy who points out his potential to be something more than he is and suddenly, Tetsuya is part of a team of extraordinary people. They play not to win but to dominate, their opponents crushed under foot like it's nothing.
Tetsuya learns that he is selfish. He knows he doesn't belong in a team like this-
(a shadow should stay in the shadows, not surround itself with light)
-but he enjoys the thrill of victory to much to leave. And he hopes, naively, that it will be this way forever.
At fifteen years of age, Tetsuya hates basketball. The joy he once felt while playing it has shattered like so much glass and now the pieces lie scattered at his feet.
Tetsuya knows that the end has been a long time in coming-
(it started with the fading smile of his other half)
-but he likes to pretend there is nothing he could have done to stop it.
At sixteen years of age, Tetsuya is terrified. He meets a boy who loves basketball with all his heart, a boy who burns like an inferno. The possibility of repeating all the same old mistakes looms like a storm at the horizon. This boy, new but so familiar, is a storm waiting to happen.
Tetsuya learns that he is reckless. He knows he shouldn't-
(he might destroy everything)
-but he becomes part of a new team, a new combination of light and shadow. And he hopes, desperately, that he'll be able to fix what he's broken.