What's good everyone? How's everybody doing? Hopefully well.
This past few weeks were really hectic for me. Family friends came over to the new house my family and I just moved into and we had to go to Canada with them. Unfortunately, I was cooked since I was one of the designated drivers and had to drive around Canada for hours. My back hurt a bit but thankfully I've been feeling better lately.
Throughout that break, I worked on this story little by little while also playing the Oregairu Zoku VN. It's been fun, NGL.
I appreciate all the love and support you guys showed in the last chapter! Really helps me pushing forward with this fic!
Reviews from Chapter 8:
- I don't think I've run into any trolls or haters in this story so far but thanks for the sentiment! Really appreciate it!
- I'm glad you are liking the HachiEbiSaki trio. And yeah if the whole team was chill with 8Man right from the start it seems a little too unrealistic for me so that's why I added that Kiyoshi bit. And I tried to give Sagami some light since she is barely seen in this FanFiction section. And who knows? Maybe Sagami comes up clutch in the future :)
- Yes. Hachiman helped Sagami out since he knows how it feels to be in her shoes. And the two fics you are talking about, maybe I've read the Kuroko No Basuke x-over but I am not sure yet. The port outlet one, however, I am afraid I haven't read that yet. And yet again, thanks for keeping up with my story. Really appreciate the support you've showed this whole time :)
- Luka was complaining too much in the finals if I am being honest since Kyrie was a fraud except for like one game. However, he was kind of the only guy who showed up for his team. Hopefully, the new guy that Dallas picked up doesn't go 0-10 when they need him the most...
- I'm glad you like the way the plot is going. Last time on the original version of the story, I wasn't able to create a full team where it felt like the teammates connected as a team so I am here to fix that in this new version.
- Gracias por leer este capítulo. Y está bien que no hayas comentado sobre el último capítulo ya que todo el tiempo fue solo un partido de baloncesto jajaja. Y sí, estoy tratando de mostrar el desarrollo de Hachiman a medida que se abre más a otros como Ebina y su senpai. Saki ya estaba estresada en ese momento y casi se desquita con Hachiman jajaja. Pido disculpas si hay algún error aquí y una vez más, gracias por tomarse su tiempo y leer mi historia :)
That's it for my yapping now. Without further ado, please enjoy the 9th chapter!
I do not own My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected. It is the property of Wataru Watari. I only own my OCs and the plot.
It was a Thursday evening in the town of Chiba as the sky darkened slowly. Hachiman Hikigaya rode his bicycle back to the Hikigaya household after his second practice session with Sobu High's basketball team. Kiyoshi, the twin that had tried to insult him last time after practice, properly apologized to him and Hachiman wordlessly accepted it. His teammates still acted as they had before but seemed a little wary of him compared to last time. The only exceptions to the former was Tobe and the team captain, Sato. However, the off court misunderstanding fortunately did not affect their on court performance during the practice.
During their last practice and Hachiman's first as a member of the team, they went over the basics of hitting free throws, keeping a hold of the ball in the fastbreak, finishing around the rim, and simple two on two drills. Contrary to their drills last time, the practice today was different. The team did go over some basics of basketball again like last time. However, in the latter half of the practice, they focused more on strategies and running plays. This was done by running scrimmages among the players. After the official team practice was over, he made sure to stick around for a bit longer to get some extra shots up by himself.
Hachiman and his teammates ran scrimmages with all of the players present during practice. Since there were only 8 players on the team in total, coach Miyashita and Nakamura had to sub in as players to make it a proper five on five scrimmage. Hachiman played as a forward on his team in all of the scrimmages except for one, where he played as the center. Yamada and Nishimiya took on the role of playing at guard with Nakamura sensei as the other forward on his team and Kiba playing the center. On the other team, the twins played the guards while Sato and the coach played at forwards. As expected, Tobe played at center. The scrimmage teams were divided into starters and bench players but with little changes. Yamada, who began starting at forward after the Third Year students left the team, was playing at guard with the bench.
The team was able to run four scrimmages with each one running for 10 minutes. Each team split the wins with two to the starters and the other two to Hachiman and the bench unit. While playing through these scrimmages, Hachiman was able to learn a lot more about his teammates' playstyle and his team. Hachiman didn't handle the ball much in the perimeter as he was playing forward. So whenever he got the ball in the post, he used his footwork and post fadeaways to score for his team. Otherwise, he either set screens, slashed to the rim, or moved around the court to get an open shot. The coaches didn't look to shoot the ball and were passive unless they were wide open.
Kiyoshi seemed like a reliable ball handler that could pass and defend but he turned the ball over too much from what Hachiman saw. Both of the centers, Tobe and Kiba, were similar in lacking offensive skills but were great at hustling. Tobe was the better rebounder while Kiba looked to be better at protecting the rim and finishing at the rim after catching a pass. Koji, like he mentioned in the last practice, was someone that could shoot the ball and move around the court for spacing. However, unlike his brother, he was a poor defender. Sato, the team captain, was also a good three point and mid range shooter. Along with his solid defense and finishing, he seemed to possess some post scoring abilities and that was about it in terms of the skillset he held on the court.
Hachiman noted that Nishimiya, like Tobe, was someone that put in great effort and a hustle guy that played great defense on the perimeter. On the offensive side, he finished well around the rim as well. But just like Tobe and Kiba, he couldn't shoot the ball. Yamada was able to dribble a little bit and shoot a few mid ranges along with making some layups and playing ok defense. All in all, Yamada seemed like an average player that will at least fill the role in for a player. From what Hachiman observed from his teammates and their skillsets, he realized that he was probably the only one on his team that could create opportunities off of dribbles and score in isolation when needed. However, their defense seemed good and they hustled for loose balls and rebound, which is a great sight for any basketball team. Hachiman hoped that the coach would run him at guard instead of forward or center like he did today since that's where he believed that he could be at his best.
While these thoughts danced around within his head, Hachiman looked up to realize that he had already reached his home. Since it still wasn't fully dark outside, the gates of his house were still left open. Hachiman got out of the seat of his bicycle and pulled it alongside him as he walked through the opened gate. He made a left turn after entering through the gate and approached the small parking space that was attached to the left side of his home's structure. The parking space was shielded with a rooftop above it and within the parking space sat a vehicle that his dad had bought not too long ago. Seeing it being there, Hachiman was able to conclude that one of his parents must have returned home early. He left his bicycle leaning on the side inside the parking space and began heading towards the entrance door of his home. As he faced the front of his door, it suddenly opened and Hachiman was greeted with the grinning face of Komachi.
"Onii-chan! Welcome home!" she shouted with glee. Hachiman gave her a tired nod as he walked up the steps and stepped inside the house.
"Komachi…is mom or dad home already?" he asked but didn't need the answer as he saw the footwear of both of his parents, which was a rare occurrence nowadays.
"Yup! They both came back home early!" his sister replied happily. Hachiman felt happy for his sister. Although his parents coming home early didn't matter as much to him, it meant a lot to Komachi and lifted her mood, which was good enough for him.
"Home already, Hachiman?" a gruff voice asked as Hachiman untied his shoes. He looked up to see the figure of his father, his eyes slightly drooping with exhaustion. Hachiman couldn't remember the last time he saw his father not looking tired or exasperated.
"Father…" Hachiman said without adding anything else. The atmosphere became a little awkward for the two to continue before the patriarch of the Hikigaya family cleared his throat.
"Well…clean and freshen up quickly. We'll wait for you before starting dinner," instructed his father stoically before walking away. Hachiman let out a sigh as he put his shoes into the rack and made his way to the stairs that eventually led to his room. Before he could continue going up the stairs, he was interrupted once more.
"Hachiman! When did you get home?" asked a feminine voice, which belonged to Hachiman's mother. He turned around to look at the woman and noticed her without her glasses. Just like his father, her face also showed her immense exhaustion.
"Just right now, mom," he replied quickly.
"Oh? Ok then come downstairs quickly after you clean up and get changed. Your dad and I brought take out today!" his mother informed him with a smile. Hachiman's face had no changes from the new information as he stared at his mom for a few seconds. He finally gave her a nod in agreement.
"I'll come down quickly," he replied before walking up the stairs, not turning back to look at his mother.
As asked by his parents, Hachiman made his way down the stairs fairly quickly. Looking at how the table was set up, he noticed the different assortments of food his parents bought on their way home. It was obvious to him that they had spent some money on all of this food. It almost seemed as if they did this for some type of celebration, the idea of which seemed impossible to Hachiman. The only time where his parents did something like this was whenever Komachi's birthday passed by, which was still a couple of months away.
Without voicing anything, Hachiman silently sat down on his chair. Komachi and his father were making small talk while his mother was eyeing the food, just like him.
"Hachiman, check this out! A shop opened up near my office and I heard from my coworkers that they make some great ikayaki!" his mother pointed towards the grilled squid among the different foods as she spoke.
"I'll be sure to try it," replied Hachiman stoically as he grabbed a pair of chopsticks. Seeing his actions, his family copied him and everyone had some rice in their bowls respectively.
"Itadakimasu!" everyone said before digging into the food.
Hachiman remained quiet as Komachi was conversing heavily with their parents. He enjoyed the take out his parents had gotten for the household. While eating without making any comments, he was able to learn about why his parents brought food from outside through hearing them and Komachi conversing. Since it was a rare occurrence for the Hikigaya family to have a meal together with all of the family members present, especially on a week day, his parents decided to celebrate by bringing this little surprise to their children. Hachiman didn't expect such a thing from his parents nowadays but definitely appreciated the amount of food that was present on the table.
"So…I heard from your sister that you joined your school's sports team?" the patriarch of the Hikigaya household directed the question at the reserved teen without looking up from his food. Hachiman however brought his head up to look at his father since the question was clearly addressed to him. He was confused at his father's question since he didn't hear Komachi mention anything about that during their dinner so far. However, he remembered that his sister did stay up longer than him last night. His father must've returned home while Komachi was up and that's how the man knew about him joining the team.
"Yeah," Hachiman kept his reply short while keeping his focus on the takoyaki between his chopsticks.
"Hachiman joined a club? That's unexpected," Hachiman's mother added but she smiled nonetheless. She was about to say something else but a small shake of head from his father stopped her. Hachiman only raised his eyebrow at the weird behaviors from his parents. He now wondered about what his mother wanted to say.
"So…what sports team did you join?" she asked after letting out a sigh.
"The Basketball team," his mother didn't seem surprised at the answer Hachiman gave her.
"Oh! Did I tell you guys about how good onii-chan is at basketball now? He can do all of those twisty and fancy moves with the ball and make the shot from far away!" Komachi jumped in with her enthusiastic tone. The two grown ups at the table turned their attention to Hachiman after Komachi's claims.
"Is that so? That's good to know, Hachiman," his mother smiled at him once more. Hachiman still remained silent while glancing at his parents.
"Onii-chan, your first official game is tomorrow, right?" Komachi asked her older brother. This also intrigued his parents and his father seemed relieved for some reason. The small detail was noticed by the First Year High School student, who seemed more weirded out at the unusual behavior his dad was showing during this family dinner.
"Against Wakamatsu High," informed Hachiman.
"Right! Komachi will be there with her friends to show love and support, onii-chan!" the younger teen promised. Hachiman gave her a small smile in return while his parents gazed at the girl with fondness in their eyes. The mother stripped her gaze away from her daughter and looked at her son once more.
"Hachiman, Komachi told me before you got home that lately, you've been cooking a lot of curry. And that you only do it early in the morning before going to school. Do you want me to make a lot of it on Sunday night? That way, the curry will be stored in the fridge and you can take a portion of it for lunch to school for a couple of days," suggested Hachiman's mother, to which he shook his head in negative.
"That's not it. I'll cook it or anything else before heading to school if I want to," replied the young male.
"Okay…just let your mother or sister know if you change your mind, alright?" responded the woman.
"Got it," Hachiman confirmed while continuing eating his food.
To the teen's relief, he didn't have to speak at all after answering Komachi's question and declining his mother's offer. No words were addressed to him after that and it made his discomfort slowly vanish into thin air. This allowed him to focus on the remaining portion of his food and finish it quickly. After finishing with his food, Hachiman was the first to get up from his chair. As he tried to make his way to the kitchen with his dishes, he was stopped by a voice.
"Wait, Hachiman," the teen stopped his movement and shifted his body around so his eyes met his fathers'. His hum of acknowledgement was heard by the older man. The man got up from the table as well, seemingly finishing his food right after his son.
"Come back here after leaving those in the kitchen," Hachiman, who planned to go up to his room right after leaving his dishes at the kitchen, gave his father an odd stare but nodded nonetheless. He turned around and continued his way to the kitchen. After finishing his task, he returned back to the dining room as he was asked by his father to do so. It didn't take his dad too long until he joined him back in the dining room from the kitchen.
"Alright, wait here for a second," his father instructed him once more before he walked off towards the room that was used by his parents. Hachiman's curiosity grew second by second at the peculiar way his father was acting.
The wonders of curiosity that ran through his head regarding his father were soon answered as he came back to Hachiman while holding a shopping bag in his hands. The man walked up to Hachiman and held the bag out for Hachiman, who slowly took it from his father. Hachiman opened the bag to see a box in there along with a pack of something else. He took the pack out of the bag first, which was revealed to be two pairs of compression pants for basketball, one white and the other black. He then took out the box and opened it to see a pair of basketball shoes. He closed the box for a second to see what shoes they were, which turned out to be a pair of pink New Balance shoes with the back of the shoes being partially black.
He didn't need any basketball shoes since he already had two pairs from before. One of them was a pair of white and purple Kobe's that Makoto gifted him and the other was a pair of black and red Adidas basketball shoes that he had bought himself. So with confusion in his eyes, Hachiman looked at his dad, who still remained stoic.
"Why?" He asked with a quiet voice. To his surprise, his dad sighed and his eyes grew a little softer while looking at Hachiman, which he never expected to see in his life again.
"After Komachi told me you'll be playing basketball from now on, I figured you should have an extra pair of shoes. And those leggings are apparently supposed to help increase your blood flow and keep your legs protected while playing. At least that's what the store clerk told me. So I got a pack for the right-legged ones since you hurt your right leg pretty badly in that accident," Hachiman's father explained while looking at him. Hachiman didn't want to admit it, but he was touched and extremely moved by the actions of his father.
"Thanks. It…means a lot," Hachiman worded while fighting the tears that wanted to gather in his eyes. His dad only put his hand on his shoulder.
"I know I haven't been the best dad to you but I want you to be happy, Hachiman. If playing basketball is what makes you happy, then as your father, I will make sure you don't have a hard time enjoying that," and for the first time in a while, his father smiled at him. Although it was a small smile that only existed for a few seconds, it was enough for Hachiman. The man didn't stay in front of his son for too long as he turned around and left, leaving Hachiman in the dining room. As Hachiman pondered through what just happened, he never noticed the smiles that were sent in his direction from the two other occupants of the Hikigaya household, who happened to be just behind him during the entire moment between him and his father.
It was Friday afternoon in the town of Chiba, right after the school day ended at Sobu High School. Hachiman had gotten up quickly as he had some place to be within an hour. It was the day he was making his debut in an official basketball game. Compared to the last time he had prepared himself for a new beginning, he was much more vigilant and careful this time. He decided to watch his steps as he made his way out due to his internal paranoia.
He also chose to leave early so he could have enough time to ride his bicycle to where Wakamatsu High School's campus was located. The place was far enough where a car ride or bus/train trip would be more practical compared to riding a bike. However, he didn't have a ride from anyone and if he were to use public transportation, he would have to leave his bicycle at home before making it back, which would take too much time. So he decided that he would simply ride his bike there while leaving pretty early.
He planned on making sure his ride there was slow and careful there so he figured leaving early would be the best choice. This would also increase his chances of not getting hurt while he is on his way to Wakamatsu High. He heavily focused on making sure to not make a wrong step and injure himself in any way right before the game. He was behaving this way due to how things went wrong the last time he mentally prepared himself for a big event. He was so deep into his paranoia that he wasn't able to notice the presence waiting for him right outside of his classroom.
"Hikigaya-kun!" Hachiman jumped out at the sudden call out and looked to his right to see the smiling face of Shiromeguri.
"Senpai…" Hachiman worded out after letting out a big sigh.
"Are you composing yourself before your first game? Ufufu…" giggled the older girl as Hachiman looked away from her in slight embarrassment. Nearby students sent odd glances towards the two students but didn't stare at them for too long and minded their own business. Hachiman took a breath and looked at his senior again, waiting for an explanation.
"Oh! I apologize but I'm here to give you something," she smiled while holding a bag out to Hachiman. The teen slowly took the bag and looked inside to see a brand new pack of sports leg sleeves with one pair being white and the other one black.
"I remember you telling me that you hurt your leg after an accident. Although I hope everything will be fine, it is best to be prepared. So I thought these leg sleeves can help protect your legs while you are playing out there!" the Second Year student explained with a huge smile on her face.
"Senpai, you didn't need to…" Hachiman wasn't able to finish as the Student Council President interrupted him.
"But I want to! Think of this as your senpai's good luck charm to you!" The young woman pumped her fist after her words. Hachiman had an expression of gratitude as he looked back at her, being touched by her efforts.
"Thank you very much for the gift, Shiromeguri-senpai," he bowed. Shiromeguri only smiled before speaking again.
"I should let you go so you have enough time to make yourself ready for your game. Are you taking the bus or is someone driving you there?" the senior questioned the First Year student.
"I am riding my bicycle there," Shiromeguri's eyes went wide and she looked at him as her eyes were filled with concern.
"Wouldn't that be a long bike ride? And even if you do leave early and get there, won't your legs be too tired for the game?" asked the worried senior. Hachiman sighed as he knew she was bringing up good points but he had no choice. He was in no mood to get back here after the game to get his bicycle back so he was adamant on not getting on a train or a bus from his school right from the start.
"I know but I have no other way to get there in time," Hachiman answered, to which Shiromeguri looked down on the floor in disappointment.
"I am sorry, but my parents don't have a car so even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to get you a car ride," Shiromeguri guiltily stated.
"Senpai, it's not your fault. I don't have a way to get there quickly. Don't worry about it," tried to reassure the First Year student as he noticed Shiromeguri looking dejected at his current dilemma.
"Oi! Who said you don't have a ride?" A new voice called out to the Second Year and First Year student duo. They both looked at the smiling face of Shizuka as she appeared next to Hachiman and Shiromeguri.
"Wait for me in the parking lot. I'll be there in like 10 minutes and take you there," Shizuka offered with a grin.
"But don't you have after school paperwork?" the Japanese Literature teacher waved off the male student's concerns.
"Bah! I can do it tomorrow. Plus, I wanna see my protege kick Wakamatsu High's ass!" grinned the instructor. Hachiman sighed at her word choice while Shiromeguri chuckled.
Hachiman was present in the Wakamatsu High School building around a little after half an hour after Hiratsuka sensei offered him that ride. He wasn't the first one at the location as he had noticed two of his teammates already being here. The two students that reached the site earlier than him grinned in his direction after noticing his appearance.
"Hikigaya/Hikitani!" Yamada and Tobe shouted simultaneously while jogging up to him. The two students then had surprise in their eyes as they noticed the person who drove Hachiman up to the school,
"Hiratsuka-sensei?" Tobe asked confusedly while Yamada was staring at the vehicle Hachiman was just in moments ago.
"Wow! I didn't expect Hiratsuka-sensei to drive something nice like that!" Yamada voiced with surprise in his tone.
"You got a point there, Yamada! Never thought someone in Sensei's age group would have such a nice ride while working as a teacher!" Added Tobe. The two teen's in their surprise failed to notice the growing agitation on Shizuka's face as they continued their blabber.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The woman finally replied to the two while her eyes twitched in annoyance. She glared at both Tobe and Yamada, leading them to cease continuing the conversation any further. The group remained silent until Tobe looked at a Hachiman with a glint in his eyes.
"Sooo…Hikitani bro…wouldn't the Prez be upset with you for being alone and getting all chummy with Hiratsuka-sensei? And I had no idea Hiratsuka-sensei was into younger dudes," The excited teen had a teasing smile on his face as he wiggled his eyes. Yamada shot Tobe a shocked look due to the words he spoke out and who he was speaking to. Shizuka had a menacing look on her face and Hachiman narrowed his eyes at Tobe after hearing the implications made by the teen.
"Tobe, you wanna spend the rest of the school year's lunch periods in detention?" threatened the literature teacher. Hachiman kept his unamused stare at the teen before finally breaking his silence.
"Sensei, do you know of any spots where I could hide a dead body?" Hachiman never removed his eyes from Tobe as he uttered those words in a serious tone. This time, Shizuka had a glint in her eyes as she smirked at the cowering Tobe. Yamada's face paled at the words from the new team member, causing him to scoot away from his teammate.
"Of course. I'll even help you in cutting it up," Tobe had an unsettled look at the last part of Shizuka's answer.
"C-Cutting it up?! Mercy! I was just kidding!" begged Tobe. Hachiman never answered him and only looked away. Shizuka did the same as her student and they remained in silence for a few minutes. The silence reached its end only when the door they were waiting by started to open up.
Everyone turned their heads around as the sound of a door opening made its way to their ears. The group of three students and the lone teacher had their eyes landing on the smiling face of a middle aged man. He looked at all of them with a smile before he began talking.
"You all must be from Sobu High School, correct?" the teens wordlessly nodded at the man's question.
"Yes, you are right. I am Shizuka Hiratsuka, a Literature instructor at Sobu High School. I brought one of my students, a player for Sobu's team, here before meeting the other two players," informed the woman. The unknown man understandably nodded at her explanation.
"Welcome to Wakamatsu High School. Please come in. Players, the locker room for the away team is located on the right side at the end of the basketball court. You will find the court if you head straight down through the hallway that connects to this exit. Sensei, if you are a spectator, please have a seat along with the rest of the attendants in the gym. If you are a coach, you may wait near the locker room," instructed the man. Tobe, Hachiman, and Yamada didn't waste another second before heading in and going towards the locker room.
"Please excuse my intrusion," said Shizuka before following the teenagers from behind them and making a detour towards the bleachers.
It had been about 5-10 minutes since the three Sobu High students were allowed to enter the locker room of Wakamatsu High. From what Hachiman learned, if there was only one locker room at a venue, the visiting team gets to use the locker room and change first. They are given around 15-20 minutes until the home team gets to use it. In today's case, there was only one locker room at Wakamatsu High's gymnasium. When the three Sobu High players made it to the door of the locker room, they ran into another staff member of Wakamatsu High in front of the locker room's door, who informed them about there being only one locker room. Learning this, Hachiman made sure to equip his jersey and his other accessories quickly.
Sobu High School had elected their players to show up in their black uniforms for the game against Wakamatsu High. The word 'Vultures', which was the name of their team, was printed in a slanted font and purple color in the front of the jersey. Both the right side and left side of the jersey and the shorts had a purple accented line going down straight. The back of the jersey had the name and the number of the player wearing the jersey. Hachiman took note of the number 13 jersey being worn by Yamada and the number 10 jersey being worn by Tobe. After looking at his two present teammates, the First Year student got to work on being ready for the upcoming game.
Hachiman was surprised at how quick his own jersey was prepared. He slowly guided his left hand along the purple colored '8' that was printed at the back of his jersey. He wanted to wear the number 22 to honor Makoto at first. However, he also remembered his friend urging him to wear 8 if he could since it just fit him so well. With those thoughts, the dark-haired teen eventually decided to respect Makoto's wishes and chose the number 8 for his jersey. Plus, the team captain Sato was already wearing number 22 for his jersey. However, Hachiman believed that Sato would be thrilled about giving up the number to him if he had asked.
After admiring his kit, he didn't take too long to put it on. Along with the team gear, Hachiman had put on the compression pants his father had given him and the leg sleeve from Shiromeguri under his black shorts. The white compression pants had the right leg extend to the middle of his right shin while the left one reached up to right above his left knee. The leg sleeve enveloped some portion of the compression pants as it reached up to just above his right knee. At first, it felt a little weird to the teen but after stretching out and moving around for a bit, he felt fine.
Once he felt a bit comfortable in his jersey and accessories, he put on the pair of pink New Balance basketball shoes that his father had also bought over a white pair of long socks. Finishing with that, Hachiman grabbed a black headband and looked into it for a moment. This used to be Makoto's and was given to him by his late best friend's mother after he passed. Remembering his friend for a bit more, Hachiman sighed before tying the band onto his head. He then took a look at his nails, which were painted dark blue. He was using Makoto's headband and Ebina's nail polish as a good luck charm for the upcoming game. As ridiculous as it might sound to some people, the teen didn't care. Due to his bad luck, his paranoia was so intense about superstitions that he believed it couldn't hurt to be prepared for it even if what he was doing seemed very absurd.
"Looking neat, Hikitani-kun!" Tobe grinned while walking his way over to the new team member. Hachiman noticed that the taller teen was only wearing a headband and an arm sleeve on his right arm, the latter of which he couldn't understand.
"Tobe-kun is right, Hikigaya-kun," the team captain, Sato, appeared near Hachiman and Tobe with a gentle smile on his face. He also seemed ready to go with a pair of compression pants and a right arm sleeve on his body. Hachiman saw that the captain's jersey number was 22 while observing his gear.
Turning his head around to take a look at the entire locker room, Hachiman noticed that the twins already arrived and had their jerseys on as well. Along with the two brothers, Nishimiya had also come through in the meantime and was busy putting his shoes in at the moment. The only missing player from the team right now was Kiba, the only other Second Year student on the Sobu High Boys Basketball Team. As Hachiman pondered through those thoughts, the team coach entered the locker room. All of the conversations slowly died down at the appearance of the man.
"Kiba is already here with his jersey on and only needs to put his shoes on," Miyashita informed the group, inciting a sigh of relief from the team captain.
"So, let's talk about today's lineup and strategies…" the man continued as the students, including Hachiman, were focused on hearing his words.
Hachiman was currently taking a knee at the sideline, waiting for the next dead ball so he could sub in. He wasn't the only one as Kiba was doing the same as him to his left and Nishimiya to his right. Around six minutes had passed since the tip off and as he expected earlier, he was coming off of the bench in his first game. While he sat on the bench earlier, he was able to locate his younger sister and the bug known as Taishi among the crowd. Both of them were sitting on the lower half of the bleachers towards the left side, where the hallway to exit the gymnasium was closer. On the opposite side of Komachi and the bug, Hachiman noticed Shizuka sitting and intently watching the game. Unlike the two younger teens mentioned earlier, the Japanese Literature teacher made eye contact with him while he was on the bench and sent him a smile, which he replied to with a nod.
Ceasing the thoughts in his head and looking back at the scoreboard, Hachiman saw that there was about six minutes left until the end of the first quarter. Sobu High held the lead so far with 9 points vs Wakamatsu High's 5. The opposing team had two players, one of them being their center, score two layups and another one of their players make one out of two free throws. For Sobu High, the starting five still remained on the court and only three of them had scored in the game as of now. The team captain had scored an open three to start the game and then two free throws later on. Tobe got fouled twice at the rim and converted half of his four free throw attempts into points. Koji was able to fake out one of the defenders at the three point line and then dribbled inside to take an open mid range shot and cash it in. The other two starters, Kiyoshi and Yamada, still remained scoreless.
The sound of a whistle made its way into Hachiman's ears out of nowhere. He and his teammates looked far right to see that a foul was called on Tobe, which was surprisingly his first one in the game. The three waiting teenagers didn't waste any more time to stand up after the whistle. In a few seconds, they walked into the court as their coach came up to them and started ushering them in once the opposing player missed the first free throw. Kiba went to replace Tobe at Center while Nishimiya took Koji's spot at the guard. Hachiman was told he'd be playing at forward and at the coach's signal, Yamada began walking towards the bench. The teen nodded at the new player once they made eye contact as they passed by each other.
Hachiman noticed Komachi and Taishi's grins as he finally made eye contact with the two teens. He quickly looked away and calmed his nerves with a deep breath. He made sure to stand at the left side of the paint and towards the right side of an opposing team's player. Sato-senpai was standing at the left side of the player and across from Hachiman, stood Kiba and another kid from Wakamatsu High. Hachiman narrowed his eyes and focused once the referee bounced the ball to the free throw shooter for his second shot. As soon as he let the ball go, Hachiman boxed out the player to his left but it was to no avail as the ball went through the net and cut Sobu High's lead by one point.
Seeing that Kiba was already holding the ball to inbound it to the team's point guard, Kiyoshi, Hachiman chose to jog up on the right side of the court. Noticing that his defender was giving him a tiny bit of space, the teen stopped at the mid-range area between the paint and the right wing. Watching the smaller guard bringing the ball up the court and throwing a sign with his off hand, Hachiman knew what play the team was going to run. Once Kiyoshi got inside the half court line and began dribbling up ahead, Hachiman ran to the perimeter and set a screen for him on his right side. Kiyoshi used the screen but no switches happened after it. Hachiman didn't mind this and continued with his task by seemingly running away from the ball handler for a split second but turned to his right to get inside the three point arc again. This time, Hachiman ran across the paint and then set a screen for the team captain, who faked setting a screen for the cutting Nishimiya first and then moved towards the left corner using the screen from the new team member. Despite all of the players on defense calling out the screens, they were too slow to keep up and were late to switch as Kiyoshi made the pass to the open Sato at the corner. Sato had already set his feet behind the line and after catching the pass, he smoothly released the ball. The ball went in gracefully and the three point shot increased Sobu High's score to 12.
Hachiman fist bumped the older teen as the two tracked back on defense together. The opposing team didn't waste any time inbounding the ball and getting back on offense. Hachiman eyed the player he was guarding, who was a few inches shorter than him. As Wakamatsu High brought the ball up, Hachiman suddenly heard his teammate's voice.
"Pick to your right," Kiyoshi called out, alerting Hachiman and causing him to look over. He then instantly realized that the message was addressed to him when he saw one of the smaller players on Wakamatsu High setting a screen to his right. He was able to go over the screen and dodge it pretty easily while keeping up with his man.
"Double screen!" Kiba then shouted. Unfortunately for Hachiman, he didn't need to look around to know that the older teen had called out to him as the center of the opposing team forced Hachiman to switch on to him. Once the switch took place, the center immediately posted up in the low post and held his hand up for the ball, which he received. Hachiman noted that the teen he was guarding now was only a few inches taller than him but a lot more bulkier. Comparing their builds, Wakamatsu High must've thought that he won't be able to resist the bigger player in the post if he were to be matched up against him.
Hachiman grunted as he tried to match the strength of the bigger player. The guard from Wakamatsu High tried to throw it up to the center as he was tightly being guarded by Nishimiya. Luckily for Hachiman, the pass ended up being too low and he was able to put his wingspan to use by reaching in for the ball. And that led to him successfully tipping the ball away from the big man. Nishimiya immediately dove for the loose ball and as soon as he grabbed it, the rest of the team prepared to run back on offense. Once Nishimiya threw the ball to the nearest player, which was Kiba, the rest of the team took off for fastbreak.
Kiba awkwardly dribbled the ball forward a few times before throwing it to Hachiman, who was already inside the half-court line on the other end towards the left side. After receiving the ball, Hachiman quickly threw the ball over to the left corner, where Sato was waiting. Sato already had someone guarding him so Hachiman still ran towards the rim without the ball, catching his defender off guard. The team captain threw it over to the cutting Hachiman after seeing what was going on. Once Hachiman got the ball again, he took two steps before throwing a no-look pass to the cutting Kiba, who had an open lane to the basket since his defender lost him. The referee blew a whistle as Kiba fell to the ground after getting fouled. Even then, he was able to somehow finish at the rim and add two more points for Sobu High. Right after the play, Wakamatsu High's coach called a timeout. Meanwhile, Hachiman watched Nishimiya and Sato rushing over to the team's big man and helping him get up from the floor. He turned his head and shrugged at seeing Wakamatsu High's coach yelling before walking over to the bench, where coach Miyashita was standing with a proud look.
The game was already halfway through the second quarter. Sobu High was sitting at a comfortable lead with their score being 32 to Wakamatsu HIgh's 17. Kiba made the free throw after the timeout from Wakamatsu High in the first quarter. After that, Nishimiya was fouled and he made one out of two free throws. After making the free throw, Nishimiya was able to finish a fast break layup. Hachiman then assisted Sato on a layup as the teen cut to the basket right before the end of the first quarter. After that, Hachiman had been ordered to stay on the bench by Miyashita.
The team captain then started the second quarter with another three pointer, which he followed up with a pair of made free throws. Koji had made a three pointer as well after Wakamatsu High went on a little run to try and come back in the game. However, Wakamatsu High's attempts were futile as Tobe made a low-post hook shot and Kiyoshi finished at the rim when he was given an open lane. Wakamatsu High responded to Sobu High's firepower by continuously drawing blocking fouls on Tobe and then Kiba after he was subbed in for Tobe. Hachiman watched as Kiba got called for his third foul when he tried to block the center of Wakamatsu High. Right after the foul, Miyashita didn't waste a single second to call a timeout, which turned out to be Sobu High's first one this game.
After the whistle, Sato was followed by Yamada, Nishimiya, Koji, and Kiba towards the bench. Once the players returned and everyone was together, the teens waited for the coach's game plan. The man let out a sigh before he started speaking.
"So far, we are doing great on offense. We are moving the ball and the off ball players are also moving, which is good. On defense, we are doing good too but we are being too physical. Tobe and Kiba, both of you already have three fouls each before the end of first half. Only two more and then you are fouled out," At the mention of their names, Tobe and Kiba both looked down at the floor in disappointment. Miyashita moved his attention from Tobe and Kiba to Hachiman, who suddenly groaned inwardly at what the man was going to ask him.
"Hikigaya, you are the tallest on the team after Tobe and Kiba. And you still don't have a foul yet. Can I trust you to play at center until the end of the first half?" Begrudgingly, Hachiman nodded at the man's request, who sent him a grateful look before turning over to Sato and Nishimiya, who were sitting next to each other.
"Sato, take a breather for now. Nishimiya, I know you've been in the game since midway through the first quarter but can you stay in until the end of halftime?" Nishimiya sent a determined nod while taking sips of water and wiping down his sweat.
"Alright. Just let me know if you want to be subbed out anytime. Koji and Yamada, both of you are staying in. Kiyoshi will sub in at the guard next to Koji and Nishimiya will be playing at forward now next to Yamada. Hikigaya will play at center," the coach informed the group before the timeout was over.
Walking over to the paint, Hachiman stood behind the first block on the left side of the free throw shooter. A Wakamatsu High student stood between Hachiman and Yamada while across from the two Sobu High students stood Nishimiya. Both of the twins were outside behind the three point line, next to the guards of Wakamatsu High. Behind the free throw line stood the center of Wakamatsu High. After the ref bounced the ball to him, the teen made his first free throw. Before the teen could shoot his second one, Hachiman prepared himself and instantly began boxing out when the ball left the shooter's hands. Unfortunately, Hachiman's successful box out turned out to be useless as the ball bounced around the rim before finally falling in.
With Sobu's lead going down from 15 to 13, the rest of the team besides Hachiman and Kiyoshi began jogging back on offense. Hachiman was standing outside of the out of bound line to inbound the ball and after passing it to Kiyoshi, he quickly began his journey back to the other end of the court. Hachiman only stopped once he reached right outside of the key in the paint. Seeing Kiyoshi approaching the three point line, he exited the paint and then set a screen for Nishimiya at the left wing, who used it to move to the right. After Nishimiya ran to the other side, Kiyoshi threw the ball over to Hachiman, who held it in a triple threat stance right outside of the three point line while his back faced the rim. Kiyoshi then ran to the right and set a screen for his brother, who began running towards Hachiman.
"Handoff!" someone from Wakamatsu High yelled out as Koji ran to Hachiman. As Koji neared Hachiman's position with both of his hands held out, Hachiman held the ball out at the same time. As soon as Koji got right in front of him, Hachiman faked out the defense by spinning to his left and had a wide open layup as a result, which he made by finishing with his right hand. After scoring his first official points at the game, Hachiman jogged back backwards while high fiving Yamada and Koji.
As expected, Wakamatsu High chose to inbound the ball quickly and tried to push the pace on offense. The inbounder decided to throw a long pass to a Wakamatsu High player that was already at the other end of the court. To the dismay of Sobu High's opponent, Nishimiya jumped up high and stole the ball. While in midair, he was able to throw the ball towards one of the two Sobu Players still remaining past the half-court line. Kiyoshi grabbed the ball and immediately threw a fast chest pass to Hachiman, who grabbed it and tried to finish strong over the inbounder. The referee blew the whistle after he missed the layup, looking at him and pointing towards the free throw line. After the rest of the players returned to the free throw line, Hachiman calmly sinked the first free throw and his second one bounced around the rim before going in. After extending Sobu High's lead to 17 points, Hachiman and the rest of Sobu High's players comfortably marched back on defense.
For the next few minutes, Wakamatsu High was only able to score with one of their players making a mid range jump shot. For Sobu High, they suddenly had a size advantage in the paint since Wakamatsu High finally subbed out their starting center and put in a player much shorter than Hachiman at the five. This allowed the Vultures to get some offensive rebounds, specifically Hachiman and Nishimiya both with two, and get second chances in their possessions. From those four offensive boards, Hachiman made a putback layup and kicked the ball out to assist Koji on a three point jump shot. With Nishimiya, after he got one of those rebounds, he passed to Hachiman and that led to the teen drawing a foul, who made one out of two free throw attempts. Other than that, Kiyoshi was able to assist Yamada to a layup after he cut to the basket. With less than a minute remaining before the end of the first half, Sobu High held a huge 23 point lead.
Looking at the faces of Wakamatsu High's players, it was clear that they had already given up. Their gloomy mood also reflected onto the crowd as some people had already left. And whenever Wakamatsu High scored, which was rare in this game, barely anyone cheered except for one or two excited shouts here and there. With a little under 40 seconds remaining, Wakamatsu High inbounded the ball and ran a play for their shooter, who missed. However, Sobu High gave up an offensive rebound and eventually led to Hachiman fouling one of Wakamatsu High's forwards. At the free throw line, the opposing team's player made the first free throw and missed the second one, which led to Hachiman grabbing a rebound.
After getting the rebound, Hachiman pushed the pace himself on fastbreak while leaving most of the other players in the dust. Dribbling hard, he looked at the time and realized that he only had a few seconds to make a decision. Seeing that he only had one defender between him and the rim, Hachiman did a low left to right between the leg dribble move. Instantly afterwards, he followed it up with a right to left crossover and stunned his defender. Moving through the open lane he created with his moves, Hachiman took two long steps after getting inside the three point line and shot a floater with his left hand.
As the buzzer sounded off, the ball hit nothing but net and added two more points to Sobu High's total amount of points. Sobu High ended up scoring 46 points in the first half while Wakamatsu High had less than half the amount of points as Sobu with 22. While on his way back to the bench, Hachiman was receiving praise and high fives from his excited teammates after his halftime buzzer beater.
"Good shot, Hikigaya," Miyashita complimented while gently patting Hachiman in the back. Hachiman remained silent but responded to the man with a nod before making his way back to the bench and taking out his bottle of water, eagerly sipping on it.
At the start of the third quarter, Hachiman was inserted back into the lineup as a forward again. Miyashita decided to put Tobe in at the five along with him. Nishimiya was taken out and allowed a much deserved rest after playing for a quarter and a half straight. Koji also joined him on the bench after playing for quite a while. Hachiman was already moved over to the three as Nishimiya got taken out and Tobe replaced Hachiman as the center. For Koji, Sato was subbed in and moved to forward while Yamada moved over to the guard. Hachiman figured out that Yamada was now the only one remaining that had played for a while and actually deserved a break. However, with how short-handed Sobu High's Basketball Team roster was, someone had to sacrifice and play a lot longer than the others. At first, it was Nishimiya in this game but now that role would now fall into Yamada's hands.
After around four minutes had passed by since the start of the second half of the game, Sobu High was obviously still leading with the score being 50 to 32. The team started lazing around and gave up an open layup and an and-one play to Wakamatsu High on back-to-back possessions. Right after, Kiyoshi assisted Sato on a pick and pop mid range shot and the opposing team fired back with a three point shot afterwards. No team scored after the three pointer for a bit until Yamada found Tobe cutting to the basket while they ran a play to get the team captain open, which allowed Sobu to add two more points to the team's total score. Following this, Yamada was too slow to stick to his man after a missed shot from Wakamatsu High, which allowed them an offensive rebound and cut the lead down to 18. Seeing all of this, Sobu High's coach called a time out.
"Stay focused, kids! They are making a run out here while you all are lazily running back on defense!" yelled the middle aged man while the players who were just on the court right now looked down at the ground. Hachiman wanted to point out that their team was already short-staffed with only 8 team members and players were bound to get tired, but he remained silent.
"Alright. Yamada, take a breather. Kiba, you are in for Yamada at forward. Hikigaya, you are playing at guard now," Hachiman grunted in affirmation at the man's words while feeling glad internally. Now he could finally play at the backcourt like he wanted to through the whole game.
"So the game plan is to tighten our defense and grab offensive rebounds. Tobe and Kiba, box out! Sato, continue moving around to space the floor but don't be afraid to post up! Kiyoshi, let Hikigaya run the offense for now while you play off the ball. Just stay in there until the next timeout and then I will sub you out. Hikigaya, I trust you to be the primary ball handler for now," the panting Kiyoshi nodded while taking a sip of water. Hachiman also nodded at the man after the coach directed the last bit of words at him.
"Go! Remember the game plan and don't lose focus!" Miyashita shouted after the buzzer sounded off, signaling the end of the timeout.
After getting back onto the court, Kiba inbounded the ball to Hachiman. Hachiman received the ball and calmly took the ball up to the court as Wakamatsu High's defense got ready. He knew that they had to make something on offense or else Wakamatsu High would continue riding on the momentum they had created in the first few minutes of the quarter. Signaling Tobe to set a screen, the taller teen approached Hachiman and his defender. After Tobe set a screen to his left, Hachiman went left and then instantly crossed over to the right to split the screen before attacking the rim. However, to the surprise of the defense, Hachiman continued past the rim and threw a bounce pass to the cutting Kiyoshi, who grabbed the pass and laid the ball up gently.
In the next few minutes, Wakamatsu High was only able to score on a single layup since Sobu suddenly started their elite defense once more, a lot more reminiscent of their defense from the first half. Hachiman meanwhile knocked down two free throws after selling an act while driving to the rim. Sato was also fouled on a three point shot and he missed one of the three free throws awarded to him. Kiba grabbed an offensive rebound after a miss from Hachiman at the three point line and then kicked it out to him again, who managed to make up for his previous miss. Following that, Hachiman assisted Sato on a fastbreak finish and finally triggered Wakamatsu High's coach to call a timeout. Slowly, Sobu High chipped away at their opponent's sudden hope of a comeback and answered back strongly. Sobu High had increased their lead back up to 29 with the score being 63 to 34 in Sobu High's favor.
While walking back towards the bench where his satisfied and grinning team members awaited, Hachiman was 90% confident that his team had it in the bag. Wakamatsu High's spirits seemed crushed when he looked at the downtrodden faces of their players and there was no way the team would be fired up enough to come back unless a miracle or something happened.
"That's what I like to see! Good job, guys! Keep doing what you've been doing!" Miyashita shouted with excitement as he patted each player on the shoulder.
After that timeout, Wakamatsu High seemed to give up in this challenge and Sobu High ended up winning. The Vultures had a huge win over their adversaries with the score being 90 to 51. Hachiman and Kiyoshi were subbed out by Miyashita during that timeout and the new player was subbed back in at the start of the 4th quarter. Hachiman played for the rest of the game and only ended up scoring a mid range jump shot after a screen from the team captain. However, he did have a few assists thanks to Koji heating up at the start of the last quarter. After the game ended and both teams shook hands, spirits were high among the teenagers of the winning team and eventually, they were changing out of their jerseys at the locker room.
"Guys! I got the stat sheet from that woman who kept the scores. Check it out!" Nishimiya grinned while holding out a piece of paper at the locker room, catching the attention of all of the players.
"Nicely done dude! Let me see!" Tobe replied while stepping over to Nishimiya with Yamada and Kiyoshi both following him.
Once Tobe was done with checking the stat sheet out, the paper was passed around among the players from Sobu High. Eventually, the paper reached Hachiman's hands once Sato took a quick look at it. Kiba, who was already done changing out of his kit, looked over the First Year student's shoulder as he too was curious about the stats.
#27 Hibiki Nishimiya: PTS: 8 REB: 7 AST: 3 STL: 2 BLK: 0 TO: 2 FG: 3/6 FT: 2/3 3P: 0/0 PF: 3
#34 Koji Koutarou: PTS: 14 REB: 0 AST: 1 STL: 0 BLK: 0 TO: 0 FG: 5/8 FT: 1/2 3P: 3/6 PF: 0
#33 Kiyoshi Koutarou: PTS: 6 REB: 4 AST: 9 STL: 2 BLK: 0 TO: 4 FG: 3/8 FT: 0/0 3P: 0/1 PF: 3
#22 Minato Sato: PTS: 26 REB: 5 AST: 1 STL: 1 BLK: 1 TO: 1 FG: 8/13 FT: 6/7 3P: 4/7 PF: 1
#25 Naoki Kiba: PTS: 7 REB: 10 AST: 0 STL: 0 BLK: 2 TO: 1 FG: 3/5 FT: 1/1 3P: 0/0 PF: 3
#13 Asahi Yamada: PTS: 2 REB: 5 AST: 2 STL: 3 BLK: 1 TO: 2 FG: 1/5 FT: 0/0 3P: 0/0 PF: 1
#10 Kakeru Tobe: PTS: 11 REB: 13 AST: 1 STL: 2 BLK: 1 TO: 0 FG: 4/8 FT: 3/6 3P: 0/0 PF: 4
# 8 Hachiman Hikigaya: PTS: 16 REB: 6 AST: 8 STL: 1 BLK: 0 TO: 3 FG: 5/9 FT: 5/6 3P: 1/3 PF: 2
"Nice job, Hikigaya. You did great in your debut," Kiba said while sending a small smile towards Hachiman. The First Year student never expected to see his stoic senior with such an expression but nodded nonetheless.
"Kiba-kun is right, Hikigaya-kun. You were passing really well today and scoring very efficiently," Sato came up around the two and gently smiled at him.
"Thank God this man is on our team! We definitely have a chance to make a run at the playoffs with him!" Yamada joined the three while patting Hachiman's shoulder.
"Told you bunch that Hikitani is exactly who we needed!" Tobe shouted as he grinned.
Despite Hachiman not liking crowds and people invading his personal space, he couldn't help but embrace the support and compliments he was receiving from his teammates. With that thought in his mind, a small smile appeared on Hachiman's face. This fact was only noticed by the two Second-Year students on the team and Tobe, who felt happy seeing Hachiman make such an expression.
Hope this chapter was enjoyable.
NGL this might just be the longes chapter that I've read.
For the statline thingy: PTS is for points, REB is for rebounds, AST is for assists, STL is for steals, and BLK is for blocks. TO stands for turnovers, FG stands for field goals made over field goals attempted, FT stands for Free throws made over free throws attempted, 3P stands for 3-point field goals made over 3-point field goals attempted, and PF is for Personal Fouls. And the number at the start is their jersey number. Just for those who don't know.
So unlike the OG version, 8Dad here is a bit more softer towards his son since he knows Hachiman has been through a lot in a short amount of time, especially mentally.
I've had the honor to play the Oregairu Zoku VN and I cannot tell you how many times I cleared the Totsuka route ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Hopefully I was able to explain what happen through the game so the readers can visualize it. If there is any confusion, feel free to point it out.
If there are any grammar errors or plot holes noticeable, please feel free to point that out as well.
That's it for now. Take care and have a good one!