Chapter 49

A few more weeks had passed after the practice game between Seirin High and Kaijo High, and Ichigo had returned to his daily routine of school, club, home, and repeat. This time, we see Ichigo packing his things as he prepares to go to the basketball club. Coach Nakatani will be announcing the results of the draw for the preliminaries today.

Ichigo is filled with anticipation for this because he doesn't know if the format of the preliminaries will be different from the anime. Will they still be in the same block as Seirin High, or will it be different because of his butterfly effect?

While Ichigo expects to be in the same block as Seirin, he secretly wishes to be in a different block this time. He knows that if Seirin plays against them now, his team will easily destroy Ogiwara's team. He doesn't want that to happen so early in the tournament.

Ichigo wants Ogiwara and his team to at least have a chance to make it to the Interhigh main tournament. He prays that they will be placed in a different block, as Ogiwara is still his friend. He doesn't want to experience the guilt of eliminating his close friend from the tournament. He wouldn't mind if it's another team that eliminates them, but he doesn't want it to be him and his team.

As Ichigo finishes packing his things, he heads to the basketball club with a heavy heart. Seeing Ichigo go, Takao rushes to follow, but not before signaling to Midorima. Midorima also follows closely after they leave the classroom.

Takao starts a conversation with Ichigo, but he senses that Ichigo is not in the mood today. "What's wrong, man? Aren't you excited about the upcoming preliminaries?" he asks Ichigo.

"I'm definitely excited for the upcoming preliminaries. I can't wait for the tournament to start. I'm just feeling down right now because we have the chance to face my old teammate's team in the preliminaries," Ichigo says dejectedly.

"Why don't you want to face your old teammate's team right now? Are you afraid that we won't win against them? Not to boast, but I know for myself that we are the strongest team in high school right now. With you and Midorima on the team, it's almost impossible for us to lose," Takao confidently says. He is perplexed as to why Ichigo is worried about his old teammate's team. From what he can see, they are the strongest team on paper. The only team that comes close to them in terms of strength is the last year's Interhigh Champions, Rakuzan High, with their four 'uncrowned kings.'

"No, I'm not worrying about us. I am quite confident about our chances of winning it all this year. What I'm dreading is if we face them right now, it won't even be a close game for them. We will dominate and destroy them if they face us right now. And that's what I don't want to happen. I don't want to be the one to eliminate my friend in the tournament. My conscience won't take it," he says with a sigh.

Takao pats him on the shoulder as he tries to console Ichigo, "Ichigo, my man, don't let it get to you. It's part of the game to lose, and besides, it's not like we're sure if we're going to be in the same block as them. You never know, there's still a great chance that we won't be in the same block as them."

"It's not the end for them if we eliminate them early in the tournament. They still have a chance to be in the winter tournament. Besides, your friend is the same year as us, so he still has two more years even if they get eliminated right now. So it's not like this is going to be the last time we'll be eliminating him and his team from a tournament," Midorima suddenly butted into their conversation.

Hearing him talk, Ichigo and Takao are at first surprised that he's trying to console Ichigo. But upon hearing the last part of what he said, Ichigo and Takao's faces twitch uncontrollably. Ichigo sighs, "Thank you for your consolation, Shitaro," he said sarcastically to Midorima.

"Don't mention it," Midorima replied with a proud face. He really thinks that Ichigo's mood was lifted up after what he said.

Seeing Midorima's proud face, Ichigo can only sigh in resignation as he continues to walk to the basketball gym. They arrive shortly after. As they get to the lockers and change into their practice gear, since Coach Nakatani is still not in the gym, Ichigo, Takao, and Midorima opt to go through their warm-up routine. After that, they just go for a shoot-out, waiting for Coach Nakatani to arrive. After a few moments, the one they're waiting for finally arrives.

As Coach Nakatani arrives, he immediately calls for his players to gather around him. Ichigo and co immediately arrive in front of Coach Nakatani as he stands there with a whiteboard behind him covered by a curtain. Seeing the curtain-covered board, Ichigo assumes that it's going to be their schedule for the preliminaries.

Seeing that all the players were present, Coach Nakatani began his announcement. "As most of you probably know, today is the day they announce the blocks for the Kanto Preliminaries. This will be our schedule for the preliminaries," Coach Nakatani said, pointing to the board.

Ichigo, filled with anticipation, couldn't wait for Coach Nakatani to reveal their block. He almost leapt towards the board to unveil the curtain, but he stopped himself just in time. He didn't want to be subjected to one of Miyaji Kiyoshi's teaching lessons.

Ichigo still vividly remembered the day the senpais saw them arrive at school after attending Seirin's game. They were waiting for them at the school gate and bombarded them with words as soon as they saw them in their rickshaw. As the most mature among the three, Ichigo immediately confessed, throwing Takao under the bus without hesitation.

Takao didn't even have a chance to defend himself as Miyaji Kiyoshi dragged him to the side. Ichigo recalled that day as if it happened yesterday. Just the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.

Returning to Coach Nakatani's announcement, after building enough suspense, he finally revealed their schedule for the upcoming Kanto Preliminaries.

Ichigo sighed with contentment as he looked at the contents of the board. He didn't see any familiar teams in their block. And above the board, he noticed the words 'Block C'. This meant that his team was in Block C this time, unlike in the anime where they were part of Block A.

Ichigo couldn't recall which team won Block C in the anime, but that didn't matter now. He was simply happy that they would only meet Ogiwara and Seirin in the preliminaries if they reached the final league. Even if they faced them in the final league, it wouldn't bother him much if he won against them, as the final league followed a round robin format. This meant that even if Seirin lost to them, they still had a chance to qualify for the Interhigh. They just needed to win their other games to secure a spot in the Interhigh Tournament.

Seeing his players getting rowdy after discovering their scheduled opponents for Block C, Coach Nakatani immediately clapped his hands hard to get their attention. Seeing them all become quiet, he proceeded to address the team.

"As you can see, we are in Block C. Fortunately, we won't be facing Too Academy and Senshinkan High in our block. However, I don't want any of you to become complacent just because we won't be up against the top teams from last year. It's better to lose a game that we prepared for than to lose one because we didn't prepare. So, I don't want any of you to take it easy simply because our opponents are not a powerhouse teams. I want to see all of you perform your best, regardless of who we face. Especially since if we lose a game before the final league, it will be over for our team. We will be eliminated before even reaching our goal, the Interhigh. Therefore, I don't want to see any slacking off, both on and off the court. Is that understood?" Coach Nakatani said with a serious tone.

"Understood, Coach!" all the players replied with conviction. They shared the same sentiment and did not want to get eliminated early in the tournament, particularly the seniors who knew this was their last opportunity to succeed in the Interhigh.

Moreover, the team had freshmen superstars like Ichigo and Midorima, which increased their chances of winning the championship. It would be a shame if they were to be eliminated before even reaching the final league.

After Coach Nakatani's announcement and speech, the entire team returned to practice. This time, there was an intense aura surrounding them, as excitement and anticipation permeated the entire gymnasium.

Coach Nakatani was pleased to see the conviction and intensity in the eyes of all his players. He intensified their practice sessions as they awaited the start of the Interhigh Preliminaries. Everyone was filled with anticipation, whether they were players or Coach Nakatani himself. They couldn't wait for the tournament to begin.