Chapter 1

The Old and the New

He could still hear the ball going through the net almost three months ago. And although Hanamichi Sakuragi wanted to play basketball again, he couldn't.

"Sir, you have to stay still! You can't play yet!"

There he was, the great self-proclaimed "tensai," genius, bed-ridden in a hospital miles away from his hometown district of Kanagawa. He hated being cooped up in a room while all of his teammates in the Shohoku High School Basketball Club were busy playing the sport that he loved almost as much as life itself: basketball. Over the course of less than a year, he was turned from a greenhorn to what he alls himself as the "Basketball Man." And in his thought, he constantly improved his skills, strengthening his hold on both the Power Forward and the Center positions. This, of course, he needs to back up once the annual Prefectural Games begin.

"Nooo! Let me out! I want to play!" Sakuragi wailed as he nailed one of the male nurses with his patented head butt. In a loud thud, the nurse crashed into a heap. The moment he saw another coming towards him, he shouted, saying, "The next person who touches me gets a head butt!" He felt a hand on his shoulder, and, true to his word, he hit him with that vicious shot to the head the moment he pulled the person in front of him.

"Now that's too much!"

It was a voice he was all too familiar with. It was one of his Guntai, Yohei Mito. And when he looked at the floor, it was another member of his army, Takamiya.

"Hanamichi, you lug head!" Takamiya groaned from the floor.

"Yeah, if it was Haruko who held you, she'd be decapitated by now," Mito joked.

"Hey, I'm stuck here in this hospital and this place is driving me insane," Sakuragi replied.

"Heck, you don't need this place for you to be insane," Takamiya sniggered.

Another head butt.

Mito shook his head. "Want us to boost you from this place, Hanamichi?"

"You'd do that for me?"

"In your dreams, Hanamichi." Mito rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you're that thick."

Laughter.

"By the way, how's the back?"

"It's getting better by the day…I think."

Mito suddenly turned serious. "What was the doctor's diagnosis?"

"Just overstretched back muscles."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah…that's a good thing since I can get back earlier than most people might expect."

"Are you sure?"

"They were just overstretched, got it?" Sakuragi shouted. It was a long time since he shouted at his Guntai, much more Yohei Mito.

"Fine, be that way," Mito replied with a sigh.

Meanwhile, back in Kanagawa, the Shohoku team resumed their practice already. The new team captain, Ryota Miyagi, was already implementing his rule on the team. And of course, there were the freshmen, who were actually outnumbering the seniors this year, the first time it happened in a long time.

"Now, I'm assuming you're all here since you're trying to ride the success of last year's team," Miyagi began. "If all you want is a quick ride to fame, get out."

Strangely, one of the participants went out the door.

"Err…that was easy," Ayako, the team manager said.

"Idiot."

The voice came from Kaede Rukawa, the ace of Shohoku. He walked towards Miyagi and, after a slight nod to acknowledge each other's presence, stood behind his Captain. As soon as he faced the first years, there was a great deal of murmuring that began.

"What are you all murmuring about?" Miyagi shouted.

Silence.

"Ten laps around the court, NOW!"

As the freshmen grumbled about, a familiar female voice spoke behind Ayako. "Miyagi's got it into gear this year, hasn't he?" It was Haruko, the younger sister of former Shohoku player and team captain, Takenori Akagi.

"Haruko!" Ayako hugged the new co-team manager. "How's Senior Akagi?"

"He's fine. He's concentrating on his studies since he was cut from the university's first team but he's still constantly refining his skills, playing in the minor leagues in team B."

"That's good to hear, Haruko-san," a soft mellow voice spoke behind them. When everyone turned to see who it was, they saw a white haired man who wore round glasses and has a big grin on his face. It was Mitsuyoshi Anzai, Shohoku's coach. As he spoke, he walked towards Miyagi while surveying the running freshmen. "Aaah…we have a lot of freshmen this year. They look like a lively bunch," Coach chuckled.

"Yes, sir," Miyagi smiled.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! I'll leave everything to you today, Miyagi-san."

"Everybody! Line up in front."

The first years ran to the front of the upperclassmen in the gym. Each of them looked spunky in their own way. The students started giving their names. Although most of them were pretty normal students, it started to get interesting when they got to one of the taller students in the line. He was a bit comparable in height with one of the former players, Hisashi Mitsui. And since this kid was only a freshman, Miyagi and the other seniors knew that this kid could grow taller in the upcoming years.

"Hideaki Mitsuoka, 185cm, I can play both guard and forward positions, and I am from Jan-Jiei Junior High."

Miyagi spoke first. "Since when have you been playing basketball?"

"For the better part of ten years or so," Mitsuoka replied. "But you probably wouldn't have known me since I have been riding the bench in junior high. But I'm hoping that it will change in this team."

Miyagi looked impressed. Looks we got our replacement for Mitsui, he thought.

After three more students, another noteworthy freshman stood out. He was a bit shorter than Miyagi but the upperclassmen sensed the strong fighting spirit within him. "You're a bit small, aren't you?" one of the other freshmen spoke from the end of the line.

The freshman stepped in front. "My name is Kai Yoshihiko, 164cm, and I can play both guard positions."

"We could use another point guard to back you up," Ayako whispered.

"Back-up…but he isn't taking my spot," Miyagi chuckled softly.

Suddenly, the door of the gym slid open with a bang. A student rushed to the end of the line, wiping his brow as he breathed deeply. He was tall, probably as tall as Sakuragi or Rukawa. But there was something familiar with this student, and it was striking both Miyagi and Rukawa as both shocking and odd.

"You, the one who just arrived, introduced yourself," Miyagi said. In the back of his mind, Miyagi already knew who this was. He just needed confirmation.

"Umm…Shinji Maki…"

The entire gym went silent.

"Maki? As in…" Rukawa said in disbelief.

"Yes," Shinji said. "I am Shin-ichi Maki's brother."