Prologue
In the dense forest of Hokkaido, a figure dressed in camouflage collapsed to the side of a nearby rock and slumped over in exhaustion. Breathing heavily through his mouth, a satisfied smile plastered his face as he drink in the news broadcasted by the announcer. In a distance, he can hear the faint cheering of the crowd. That only confirms what he felt of the match that has just ended.
His team of sixty students have lost the match. But the cheering he can faintly hear was not for his opponents, the winning team. It was for his team. It was for the ferocious fight they put up even though more than half the team was eliminated just fifteen minutes into the match. That much he was sure of.
The look on the approaching opponent's captain says it all. Shock, amazement, fascination and respect. He wouldn't blame his opponent. His diminished team took on his opponent who has a four to one superiority in numbers and nearly won a match that many people would have written off as a loss in the first fifteen minutes.
As his temperature reached a feverish degree, he hears the match announcer again.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have confirmation that the one who led his team in the final moments to be Shinamura Keiji, a first year student of Sparta High School! You heard me right! A first year student has led his team into such an amazing comeback! For those of you watching at home, the cheering you hear are from the supporters of Sparta High School! That's right! The side that lost is cheering louder than the side that won! Even though they lost the match, there is no doubt that what we've just seen was an incredible gameplay by the Spartan boys! Never in my career as an announcer have ever I seen such a jaw dropping...
As the announcer continued on, the slumped figure closed his eyes for some well deserved rest for the fever he is having.