Final's Opponent & The Phone Call

Tokiwadai's mood was high as they packed as they changed and packed up their things in their locker room.

But everybody knew that underneath the surface, there was an undercurrent of nervousness.

It didn't matter if the semi-finals were a wild-fest in Tokyo.

It didn't matter if a team won all their games with monstrous leads.

It didn't matter if people's opinions about the team were high.

You could perform exceedingly great throughout the preliminaries, but all of that would go down the drain if you don't win the finals.

When everybody packed their bags, the coach stood up and addressed them.

Coach: "I think we all are thinking about the same thing."

Mibuchi exhaled and spoke.

Mibuchi: "Well, it is the elephant in the room."

Coach nodded and continued.

Coach: "The question in our mind is, who will be our finals opponent? Who would we have to play and win against, to get that ticket to the Nationals."

Shun combed his hand through his hair and said.

Shun: "Is that even a question? We all know who we will be facing. There is no other outcome. I knew the moment I saw the tournament bracket and the teams they would be facing against."

Everybody in the room agreed with Shun. They knew who was going to be their finals opponent, none of them had an iota of doubt about the team they would be going to face.

Coach looked at the serious faces of his students and spoke.

Coach: "If you say it like that, then yeah, we all knew who would be our finals opponents."

Shun stood up from his seat in the locker room and said.

Shun: "We will be facing against Teiko Middle School and the Generation Of Miracles in the finals of Block-B."

The previous joyous mood had changed into the seriousness that you could swear, condense into something material.

Coach announced the news that all of them were waiting to hear.

Coach: "The second semi-finals for Block-B are now over, and Teiko Middle School, won by an eighty-five point lead."

Kaitani whistled an impressed tune at that.

Kaitani: "Eighty-five points, huh. That is mighty impressive."

Shun clicked his tongue with an unpleasant expression on his face.

Shun: "Tch, we could do it too. Nothing impressive."

The coach addressed the team and announced it.

Coach: "I know all of you are tired. So, we will call it a day today, but tomorrow we will have a meeting, so gather at the gym at the usual time after school.

Now, let's go home. Make sure to rest and eat a proper meal."

All of the players picked up their bags and replied.

All: "Yes, Sir!"

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

While they were exiting the stadium, the coach got a phone call.

He looked at his students and said.

Coach: "You guys stay here. I will be back in a minute."

He also warned them.

Coach: "Don't wander around. Mibuchi and Aone look after them, make them stay together."

Mibuchi and Aone nodded in agreement.

The coach walked away and picked up his phone.

Coach: "Hello."

The caller replied from the other side of the phone.

Caller: "Hey, did you talk to your student about the thing we talked about?"

Coach sighed as he rubbed his chin.

Coach: "No, not yet. The team had two games, and I needed the whole to be focused."

The caller asked.

Caller: "When will you ask him? I need an answer by the end of this week to start the procedure."

Coach gave his assurance to the caller.

Coach: "Don't worry, I will talk to him tomorrow, communicate with his parents, and in a week's worth of time, you will have your confirmation."

The caller hummed and said.

Caller: "Alright. From the videos that you sent me, we here are really eager for him to join us for our current venture."

Both sides said their goodbyes, and they ended the call.

Coach looked at his students, who were talking and laughing in the distance, and for some reason, cheering.

Coach: "It will be a good opportunity for him."

He smiled and walked back to his team.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

While the coach was talking on the phone, the team members were chatting.

Kaitani was tapping his feet. He was bored standing around.

Kaitani: 'I am so bored.'

He looked at Hyakuzawa, who was staring at a stone on the ground.

Kaitani smiled as he found an idea for a game.

He called out to everyone and said.

Kaitani: "Let's play the staring contest."

The staring contest was simple, two people would stare at each other, and the first one to blink lost.

No one had anything else to do, so they agreed.

Kaitani raised his hand and said.

Kaitani: "I will play against Sora!"

But, his plans didn't pan out as Yuki grabbed him from the back of his collar and bought him next to Aone.

Yuki: "You can go play against Aone-san, first."

Kaitani clicked his tongue and acted tough.

Kaitani: "Yeah-yeah, I am not going to lose."

Aone and Kaitani stood in front of each other and began their stare-off.

Aone: *Stare*

Kaitani: *Gulp*

Aone: *Stare* *Ba-bumm*

Kaitani: *Sweats*

Aone: *STARE* *BA-BUMM*

Kaitani couldn't take it anymore and blinked and took deep breaths.

Kaitani: "That was scary."

Shun did his thing and held hands of both Aone and Kaitani, and then raised Aone's hands.

Shun: "We have the winner. Aone Takanobu!"

The rest of them cheered for Aone, who raised his free hand to show his victory.

Kaitani reddened and pulled Sora to play against Aone.

Kaitani: "Let's see how you do."

Shun was now in full-on commentator mood. He stepped between the towering Aone and the shorty Sora.

Shun: "On our left is the man with the glare of death, the reigning champion, Aone Takanobu!

On our right is the boy with a silly smile, the little challenger, Kurumatami Sora!

Let's see who will win the biggest competition ever held outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Let the stare-off BEGIN!"

Shun retreated, and Aone and Sora stared at each other.

Aone: *Stare*

Sora: *Shine*

Aone: *Stare* *Ba-bumm*

Sora: *Shine* *Sparkle*

Aone: *STARE* *BA-BUMM*

Sora: *Shine* *Sparkle Intensifies* *Star barrage*

Sora kept smiling, and his eyes began to shine intensely.

Everybody had to cover their eyes to protect them from the Sora's pure, innocent gaze.

Yuki: "He is the ONE."

Even Aone, the man with the death glare, couldn't hold out and had to avert his eyes.

Aone: "Urgh" *Blinks*

Shun, the hype man, came forward, raised Sora's hand, and announced.

Shun: "In the biggest underdog win in the history of the world, Kurumatani Sora defeated Aone Takanubo in front of the whole Tokiwadai team. The legendary sparkle shorty has cemented his place in the stare-off Hall of Fame.

From this day to the end of time, his name will be remembered by all those who witnessed.

Now give me a loud cheer for Kurumatani Sora, hip-hip-hurray!"

All: "Hip-hip-hurray! Hip-hip-hurray! Hip-hip-hurray!"

The coach arrived and rebuked them.

Coach: "What are you guys doing? Don't make noise in public.

Now come on, let's go home."

The whole team smiled and said.

All: "Sir. Yes, Sir!"

Coach sighed and smiled at the same time as the whole team followed him as they departed from the gymnasium.