So this last chapter is really short and I'm sorry. But I always intended it to be short, so... yeah. Onwards!

Note: I made a few changes to chapters 8 and 9, specifically adding a sentence in the former and changing a word in the latter. They're not that important, but I feel they make the fic a bit better.

Part X. The Beginning

"Good luck, dear."
"Good luck, Nobu."

Kiyota nods before hurriedly turning away and walking out of his house. He doesn't want to make eye contact, afraid that his nervousness will show.

His last session with Ayako-sempai had been three days ago, and it hadn't been enough. He'd called yesterday night in a panic to go over some things with her and thankfully, she had been gracious enough to help him. For the whole night. Kiyota doesn't feel like he understands signal transduction any better, but now's not the time to dwell on it anymore. Just like in basketball. On the day of the game, you don't think about how you should have practised more last session. It's a pointless train of thought.

Mitsui texted him last night. The bastard didn't have class in the morning, and, as he'd succinctly informed Kiyota, wouldn't be bothered to wake up "at that damn time" to text him. He's "lucky" that Mitsui even bothered, actually. Yeah, whatever. What a dick, Kiyota thinks with a smirk.

Miyagi-sempai had cornered him after their last training. It had been very awkward as Miyagi had been earnest and serious, but all Kiyota could think about was his dopey Ayako face. Still, he appreciated the concern.

Anzai-sensei had merely nodded at him as he waddled slowly out of the gym.

As for the Redhead Monkey and the Fox, he's been avoiding them. As far as he's concerned, any interaction with them so close to the exam will only jeopardise his scores. Their stupidity could pass over to him like a disease, or something like that. Some part of Kiyota's mind knows that his fear is obviously untrue, but he isn't taking any chances. Not when it's such an important exam.

Finally arriving at the test room, he meets Yoshitsuno-sensei's eyes brashly.

"You ready, Kiyota-kun?" the older man says kindly, holding the door open for him.

Kiyota enters and walks confidently to the desk at the front of the classroom, giving the blackboard only a brief glance. He shrugs his bag to the ground and thumps his pencil case onto the table, before looking back at the teacher.

"Yeah. I am."

THE END

It's over!

First, I want to thank all my reviewers. It's been way too long for a fic of this length since I started it. I mean, 3 years for a 13k word fic? (That's pushing it, since it contains my author's notes.) That's like 4k words a year. That sucks. But yeah. My inadequacy aside, thank you for all your observations and support and even if you just spazzed about the story, I'm glad my fic was spazzable.

I feel I should tell you guys that this fic was actually a convoluted excuse to get Kiyota into Shohoku so I could write another fanfic based on that premise. However, unfortunately, I've lost the urge for it. I just felt like I should let you know since this entire 13k story was basically intended to be a prequel.