Tokiwadai vs. Aiwa, Part 1

Aiwa Middle School, based in Saitama prefecture of Japan, was a powerhouse school of the prefecture. They regularly attended the Nationals and every year trained a stable team.

The coach had been in the Middle School basketball scene for many years and had built connections with the schools in the Tokyo prefecture and the nearby prefectures.

When the coach was searching for schools to schedule a practice game against, he had a few schools in mind.

At first, he thought of their finals opponent Teiko Middle School, but then he remembered how Shun had to pull the team all by himself and that a game against Teiko would restrict the team as a whole, and that wouldn't be much of practice for the whole team.

Next in line was their preliminaries finals opponent, Shoei Middle School, they had an extremely talented third-year center, Kiyoshi Teppei in their team and their coach had built a solid team around Kiyoshi Teppei.

He had almost decided on them, but then his eyes caught the sight of Aiwa Middle School.

A team from another prefecture. Tokiwadai had no idea how they played, and they were being led by another extremely talented player, Hanamiya Makato.

The coach did hear that they were extremely good at team play and had many unusual plays and strategies that they deployed during games, making them a difficult opponent to play.

The coach didn't have any contact with Aiwa Middle School, but this is where Tokiwadai's reputation came in handy as, after only one phone call to Aiwa Middle School, they now had a practice game with them.

Because Tokiwadai was the one who asked for the practice game, they were going to Aiwa Middle School for the game. The game was scheduled on a Saturday so, they left early in the morning.

All of the team was excited about going to another prefecture for a practice game.

But, Shun was a little worried about his team playing against Aiwa Middle School.

Shun: 'I don't know if Hanamiya played rough and dirty in Middle School. If he is playing dirty, then he would have all the control over his team he needs as the captain.'

He was worried that if his fears were true, there were chances that his teammates would get injured.

His eyes turned cold for a second.

Shun: 'Let's hope he doesn't pull something stupid, or else.'

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

Tokiwadai was greeted by a faculty member of the school who was in charge of the basketball club at Aiwa Middle School.

The coach asked why the coach of the basketball wasn't here to guide them.

Teacher: "The coach quit last year after the Nationals, and we haven't been able to find a person to find to fill his position."

Shun's eyes narrowed to the extreme when he heard that Aiwa didn't have a coach since the Nationals.

Shun: 'Kirisaki Daiichi too didn't have a coach, and Hanamiya was coaching the team himself.'

The faculty member guided them to the gym, where the game was going to be held.

When Shun entered, he saw that a group of people was isolated from the rest of the members.

Shun was getting more and more sure that this was going to be a similar team to Kirisaki Daiichi when he saw that Hanamiya was part of that isolated group.

The group turned out to be the regulars of the Aiwa team, and from the looks of it, the rest of the members were avoiding interacting with them.

Shun: 'This just might turn out to be an ugly game.'

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

Shun and the rest of the team were getting ready to play.

Shun looked at the coach and the Aiwa's teacher talking to a hired referee. Aiwa had hired a referee for the practice game.

Shun: 'Now it's final, they are planning something.'

Shun clicked his tongue and decided to warn his teammates.

Shun: "Everybody, I have something to tell, so please gather around."

Listening to Shun's call, the regular members gathered in a huddle.

Shun: "It's only a rumor, but I have heard that Aiwa Middle School has changed their playing style since the last Nationals. Last year they worked with excellent coordination play to get around the defense, but from what I have heard, now they play rough and might use dirty methods to win the game."

He looked at his teammates seriously and warned them.

Shun: "So please, be careful while playing against them, they might just straight out hit you when the referee is not looking."

Mibuchi looked at Shun and asked seriously.

Mibuchi: "Are you sure that they might employ dirty tactics?"

Shun nodded and told him somethings he noticed.

Shun: "Aiwa doesn't have a coach since after the Nationals, which means there is no one to stop them from playing dirty.

Next, when we entered this gym, I saw the regular members being ignored by the rest of the members. That might be because of the internal discord among the members about their play style.

And last, Aiwa hired a referee for the game, which points out to them not wanting to use our coach as a referee.

With this many signs, I am pretty sure that they might just be planning something."

Mibuchi and the rest of the team took the information in and saw the point Shun was making.

Mibuchi: "This sounds like a conspiracy theory, but since you insist, there is no harm in being careful."

The rest of the team agreed to be careful and got ready for the game.

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

Both teams gathered on the court for the start of the game. The referee looked at both teams and announced.

Referee: "The practice game between Aiwa Middle School and Tokiwadai Middle School will begin now. Bow."

Both teams bowed to each other and shouted.

Players: "Let's have a good game."

As the players were taking their position for the tip-off, Hanamiya came near, and Shun said.

Hanamiya: "So you are the super rookie, Kageyama Shun. I have heard a lot about you; your performance at the Nationals was spectacular. My name is Hanamiya Makoto."

Hanamiya smiled and said.

Hanamiya: "Let's have a great game, shall we?"

Shum looked at Hanamiya from the corner of his eyes and replied.

Shun: "Hanamiya-san, was it? Yes, let's have a great game. Please make sure the game remains great by you and your team not pulling some shady crap during the game."

Hanamiya's smile widened, and he responded.

Hanamiya: "What? So you know about it, huh. Well, in that case, be careful on the court, you just might get a little hurt out there."

Shun's eyes turned cold, and he warned Hanamiya.

Shun: "If even one of my teammates gets hurt, I swear I will make sure that Aiwa comes out of the game with one of the greatest defeat they have ever experienced."

Hanamiya laughed and moved on to his spot, but not before saying.

Hanamiya: "Sure sure, come at us with full force."