"Show me your shot."
"Alright. Watch this."
It was a simple request. Easy to carry out. There should be no surprises. And there weren't, really. Naruto did take the shot easily enough. It was nothing but a jump shot from the three point line. Nothing special, right?
The result, though…..was far more complicated.
Midorima couldn't help but watch on in dismay as Naruto's shot missed the basket entirely. It even went out of the court in fact.
It didn't help that Takao was already on the ground, holding his sides as he openly laughed without a care in the world.
"Oh god! He's just as bad as you said, Kise! I can't believe it!"
Said model was laughing right with him. "Right? Right!? You wouldn't expect that from this guy, but he totally sucks at normal shots!"
Naruto looked ready to commit murder right then and there, consequences be damned.
"Alright, you bastards-!"
"Now, now." It was only thanks to Yuki's presence that no bodily harmed was committed in that moment. "There is no need to get violent. Takao-san and Kise-san are only here for support…...right?"
The two boys felt chills run down their spines as Yuki's icy stare settled over them. Their amusement faded real quick. Those blue eyes of hers could get really cold when she wanted them to.
Takao quickly hid behind Kise. "Y-Yeah! Totally! That's why I volunteered to come! No other reason!"
"A-Ah, me too!" Kise waved his arms around, trying to placate her. "It wasn't to make fun of Uzumakicchi or anything! We just want to see him improve!"
Yuki didn't believe them, but she still let them off the hook with a huff.
Anyone in the country who was into basketball would most certainly have a heart attack if they stumbled onto this scene. It wasn't everyday that a group like this came together, after all.
Yuki still wasn't sure that she believed it herself, and she was part of this whole thing. But who could blame her? Naruto asking Midorima for help? Had she accidentally awoken in a new reality or something?
But don't misunderstand. Yuki was pleased, very much so. To her, it was just another step forward for her favorite knucklehead. It was just sort of a lot to take in. And it just wasn't about Naruto either. Midorima's acceptance was also a shock to her. She didn't know the boy well, or at all, but from what she had seen of him during the Inter-High, he didn't strike her as the charitable type.
So why had he decided to help Naruto?
Had something changed in him as well?
Yuki couldn't answer that, and Kise wouldn't give her any straight answers. She was only left to wonder.
So here they all were, taking in this new development for all that it was worth.
And it was worth a lot.
"I can't believe this." Midorima was muttering something under his breath as Takao went to retrieve the ball. "After all your talk earlier, this is what you have to show me? Are you stupid?"
No, wait. Midorima already knew the answer to that.
Naruto looked ticked off. "I told you I needed help, didn't I? What did you expect anyway!?"
Probably anything but that.
"Ehehe, I think it's alright." Surprisingly, it was Takao who stopped the shouting match that was probably about to begin. The Shūtoku point guard was grinning as he threw the ball back to Naruto, who caught it but looked a bit confused.
"Honestly, after seeing you and Akashi face head-on, it's a bit comforting to know that even you're not perfect at everything, Uzumaki-senpai. Makes you less scary. That's probably what Shin-chan is thinking too."
"Stop spouting nonsense, Takao!" Midorima shouted, looking put-off by what Takao was suggesting. "Whether he can shoot or not does not matter. I'm still better."
"Oh yeah?" There was a sudden gleam in Naruto's eyes. "You wanna put that to the test?"
Midorima faced him. "And if I do?"
"Oh no." Yuki's shoulders sagged in disappointment. She could already see where this was going, and it wasn't the direction that it was supposed to. "We're supposed to be here for practice! Not for you two to face off!"
She had expected better of Midorima at least! Wasn't he supposed to be the serious one of this lot?
"It's okay, Sugawaracchi." Kise wasn't troubled by this development at all. In fact, he expected it. "I think you should know better than anyone else that Uzumakicchi is better at explaining himself with his actions than with words."
Of course Yuki understood that. She felt like she understood it now better than before! How could she not? After seeing everything that had happened up to this point, all the matches, one thing was quite clear to her: all these idiots were able to express themselves on the court better than they could do in a normal setting.
She could try to criticize it all day, but there was still something poetic about the whole thing. But maybe she was just biased, as it was this form of expression that had allowed Naruto to move on from the shackles that had kept him suppressed for so long.
Still….
"How is this going to help Naruto-kun master a new move?"
That's what they were here for, right?
Kise winked at her. "Oh, don't worry about that. I got a plan." He then ran toward the trio on the court, leaving a confused Yuki behind. "If you're going to have a match, then let us join in too!"
"Wait, us!?" Takao didn't like the sound of that too much.
"What do you say, Midorimacchi?" Kise nudged the green haired boy as he approached him. "It'll keep things interesting, right?"
A two-on-two, basically.
Naruto was all for it. "I'll make it better. I'll only shoot normal threes. Nothing else."
What a rule! But it was better this way. Naruto was certain that he would be able to get a better grasp at shooting threes if he was in a real match setting…..or as close to it as he could get without actually being in a match.
Takao was interested now. "Is this your idea of practice?"
Cause he was all for it!
"H'mph." Midorima pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Very well. I don't mind accepting such a challenge, in fact. The outcome will be the same regardless."
Kise almost sweatdropped. "I'm starting to wonder who might be worse here….."
For as competitive as Naruto was, Midorima matched it and then some.
Wait, what was Kise even saying? It wasn't like he was any different!
"You guys are idiots."
That's all a smiling Yuki had to say as the ball was tossed to her. She would be acting as the referee here it seemed.
Oh well. It wasn't like she could stop them even if she wanted to.
It was time for the tip-off!
"Mhmm, practice~ I can't wait for practice~"
Momoi was happily humming to herself as she made her way over to the gym after class.
Summer vacation had officially ended, and it was now a new term. This meant that practice had now officially begun as well. They needed to get ready for what was coming up next, which was none other than the Winter Cup.
Of course, that wasn't what had Momoi in a good mood. It's what she expected to see today that had her smiling.
It was something the boy next to her couldn't help but comment on with a small smile of his own.
"You sound very happy today, Momoi-san."
He was part of the first string, but still only on the bench. Which he was fine with, really. He accepted the skills of every starter on the team and was well-aware that he couldn't match them. For the sake of the team, he was willing to just sit on the bench.
Momoi hummed in contentment. "Of course I am~ It's a new term! A new adventure is waiting for us!"
The boy knew that wasn't all there was to it. "Is this about Aomine? I heard that he was coming to practice today."
"Oh, is he~ I didn't know that~"
Was she trying to be sly?
The boy just had to sweatdrop at her response.
It didn't take long for him to get his confirmation anyhow, as the pair arrived at the gym in a couple of minutes. There, they were treated to the rare sight. It was Aomine, who was actually practicing with the rest of the team.
No, really he was.
And what a sight it was.
Aomine didn't see them arrive, of course, as everyone else was crowding by the entrance in order to see what was happening.
The powerful ace was able to dribble right past the double team that was trying to keep him in check, before dunking right through two other defenders.
And he made it look so easy.
Momoi was ecstatic. "He arrived before I did….."
Heck, it looked like she was one of the last ones to show up! Usually, she was one of the first ones in here. Was everyone else this excited to start practicing again?
"Ah, Momoi." Imayoshi noticed her first. The captain was standing on the sidelines with Wakamatsu and Susa. "I see you finally made it."
Momoi approached them as a cheer rang out in the gym. It looked like Sakurai was trying to face off against Aomine right now, and Aomine seemed to be grinning…..wait, was she looking at that right?
Aomine was grinning?
"Imayoshi-san…..I guess everyone got started already, huh?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"That bastard." Wakamatsu was looking at Aomine who managed to block Sakurai's shot. "He showed up before even I did."
What?
Momoi started to look confused, so Imayoshi happily filled her in.
"Aomine was already in the gym before anyone else. He must have headed here right after class."
This…..was more than Momoi had been expecting. Sure, she had been looking forward to seeing her childhood friend start to practice again. Like how he used to back in middle school. But she didn't think he would show such enthusiasm.
"That guy only has a one track mind sometimes," Wakamatsu muttered under his breath.
Susa still heard him and looked amused. "I think it makes sense, doesn't it? He lost to Uzumaki because of stamina. Trying to work on that is probably his main goal for the winter."
Imayoshi had to hide a small smirk at this. Susa didn't know how right he was about that. Well, Aomine wanted to keep it a secret for now, so he wouldn't say anything about the secret training their ace was doing even before summer vacation had ended. Only he and the coach knew for now, and that was good enough.
There was definitely a different air in the Tōō gym that day. And it all started from the unlikeliest of sources: Aomine.
Momoi found herself enjoying practice more than usual that day, and that was probably true for everyone else as well.
Seeing Naruto struggle was a new sight for Yuki. She felt like she had already made her point on this clear already, but she still had to marvel at it. For as long as she had known him, Naruto had either never shown enough interest or was able to pick things up quickly, namely in sports.
Technology fell on the former. Sure, he sucked at using his laptop or even his phone. But he didn't really care either way. Like it was normal for him to not even have those things. School was a similar issue. He was a terrible student, but he also never really tried to improve beyond just a passing level.
His aptitude for sports had been his saving grace. It was kind of unnatural just how athletic he was. Everyone else had come to realize the same thing during the Inter-High. He had only started to play basketball several months ago, but he was already competing with the best. He just had that "wow factor," as they called it.
But that could only carry him so far. His match with Akashi proved that. But as she had hoped, he was meeting the challenge head on. She always knew he had that conviction deep within him. It's what she really loved about him. It was only a matter of finding a way to motivate him.
In order to improve, he had to get out of his comfort zone. Not many people would do something like that as eagerly as he. He continuously challenged Midorima in the realm of three pointers, and as expected he lost miserably.
But that wasn't the full story.
More on that later.
For them, the remainder of summer break had been spent like this, with Naruto, Kise, Midorima, and Takao meeting up regularly. Sometimes the four boys would spend the entire day on the street court, only eating because Yuki prepared food for them in advance. There was much arguing and butting heads, but there were also many smiles and laughs. She even caught Midorima smiling a couple of times. She would have taken a picture if she had the chance.
Nothing really changed when classes started again, only now there was less opportunity for Naruto and Midorima to meet. Not that either quit training. Far from it. Things only got rougher for them now that they also had to practice with their respective teams, but that only seemed to motivate them further.
Kise started practicing by himself around this time too. Apparently there was something he was working on, and he wanted to surprise Naruto with it.
Of course, the question remained: would Naruto be able to master a new move before the start of the Winter Cup? Would his practice with Midorima lead to a breakthrough? Or would it accomplish nothing?
Yuki wasn't going to spoil the answer. She just knew that both sides came out stronger from the experience.
But that should be obvious.
As the autumn leaves started to fall, the anticipation rose.
Winter would soon be upon them.
"It's almost time, isn't it?"
"When does it start?"
"I heard that the preliminaries are supposed to start soon!"
"Yeah, but Tokyo is still having theirs last."
"You know who's playing there this year, right?"
"You don't mean-!"
"Yeah, they're totally going to be ones going to the Final League!"
"Oh man, I can't wait to see that!"
These were the comments floating around in the gymnasium. They were full of excitement and anticipation. The reporter for Basketball Monthly took a few glances at the people's faces as they walked past him.
"They can't wait any longer, can they?"
"What do you expect?" Next to him, his superior looked as composed as ever. "That time of the year is almost upon us. You can almost say the Inter-High was the opening act this year."
Thinking like that…this year was bizarre, wasn't it? But that's what made it all the more exciting.
"The results are already out, remember? The finals…..they were something else."
The reporter hadn't been there for the game itself, but he'd seen the videos. And the final score.
" Kaijō High and Rakuzan High…..they're the strongest teams, aren't they?"
"You could say that…but I don't think it'll be that simple."
"What do you mean, sir?"
"There was that other game too, remember? Between Kaijō and Tōō. It was just as fierce. You could call those two matches the highlights of the Inter-High."
Ah, there was that, wasn't there. But that made the reporter think.
"If I remember, Tōō has that one player…..Aomine Daiki, was it?"
"That's the one. But he's not the only one to look out for. He's part of that group. The Generation of Miracles."
Yes. How could the reporter forget?
"Shūtoku High's Midorima Shintarō. Yōsen High's Murasakibara Atsushi. And of course, there's Akashi Seijūrō at Rakuzan."
Big names right there.
"Oh, but sir. Kaijō also has….."
"Yeah. Kise Ryōta. He's also from the Generation of Miracles. But that's not all. There's that new player too, who's gone toe-to-toe with the Generation of Miracles. You know him, right? Uzumaki Naruto."
Yes, the reporter had heard that name pop up a lot in recent months. "I heard those two have the beast teamwork in the whole country."
"Maybe. Not even Akashi Seijūrō was able to stop them when they were working together."
The Inter-High finals had confirmed that.
"So then. It's gotta be one of those five teams. One of them has to win the Winter Cup."
He was sure of it.
"I would say you're right….but there is one more team you should keep your eye out for."
Wait, what?
"Another team?"
"They got more impressive over the summer too. You know the one. Seirin High."
Oh, that school. The reporter remembered reading through the roster of names. They already had a pretty decent lineup, but then one of the Uncrowned Kings returned to play for them after missing the Inter-High. Not just that, but there was also their first-year. Kagami Taiga. Much like with Naruto, he had sort of appeared out of nowhere and posed a challenge to the Generation of Miracles.
"You could almost call them the dark horse of the Winter High. Remember that."
The reporter nodded. He had learned to trust his superior's words. More often than not, he was right about these things.
"Yes, sir."
It was finally November, and the Winter Cup preliminaries were about to start.
"Is just me or are you on your phone more often?"
"What are you talking about, Naruto-kun? This is pretty normal. Not everyone uses their phone as a glorified alarm clock, you know."
"Who the heck would I even text?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe Moriyama-senpai? Or Kobori-senpai. I think they've invited you out a couple of times."
Yeah, to karaoke. It was mostly Kise's idea, since the model seemed to have a real love for it. Just another weird fact about his best friend. Heck, they even went to a karaoke bar to celebrate Naruto's birthday too, but that was a different story for another time.
The couple found themselves in one of the halls on the second floor of Kaijō High during one of their breaks. Naruto was lazily staring out the window as he watched the clouds pass by, while Yuki focused on her phone next to him.
"Did you know they published the results of the Inter-High?"
Yuki's question didn't surprise him.
"Yeah, the coach was going off about it. Almost cried too."
That had been embarrassing.
Yuki giggled. "We did get second place. I think he was just happy."
That's one way to interpret it.
"But you do know what they called you in there, right?"
Oh, so that's what she was getting at.
At the reminder, Naruto gained a big grin.
"The Orange Spark."
It was based around his move that he had used against Akashi after finally reaching to the deepest level of the Zone.
Naruto had no complaints about the nickname. In fact, he loved it. He had almost kissed his copy of the magazine when he read it. They were showing some real love to the color orange, and he approved very much.
Yuki figured he would. "Honestly, even now, I don't get why you like orange so much."
Naruto didn't either. He just knew that he did.
"It's a cool nickname. I'm sure Aomine must be jealous."
Oh yeah?
Yuki almost rolled her eyes at this as she lowered her phone a little. "Momoi-san said that he just laughed about it."
"What did you say!?" Naruto almost went for her phone. "That's who you're talking to, isn't it!? It's Momoi! Ah! Is that how she got my number too!?"
Naruto didn't know how the Tōō manager had pulled it off, but she somehow got her hands on his number. He only figured that out after she called him out of the blue one day, asking him if he wanted to go out for some ice cream with her and Aomine.
He had hung up on her in an instant.
Yuki didn't look ashamed in the slightest. "What? Making new friends is a never a bad thing."
"Don't give out my number without permission!"
She started to pout. "I'm only trying to help….you're not going to get mad at me, are you?"
Oh god, she was doing that thing again! With her lip! All pouty, like a puppy that had just been kicked!
Naruto hated to admit it, but he could never fight against that look.
With his shoulders sagging, he turned back to his cloud watching. "Whatever."
Looking smug, Yuki placed a quick peck on his lips before going back to her phone.
Naruto wasn't surprised. At first, the girl had been real shy about public signs of affection. She was getting better at it now, though. It sort of helped that everyone basically knew that they were dating now.
Moriyama would still occasionally make snarky remarks about it.
Funny guy, that one.
"I think I like your other nickname better, though," Yuki said as she pocketed her phone before giving him a teasing grin. "What was it again?"
Naruto's eyebrow started to twitch a little. She just had to go there, didn't she?
"I don't remember."
She poked him on the side. "I think you do. C'mon, don't be shy. Kise-san isn't here right now."
"I'm not shy. I really don't remember."
"Coooooome on~"
Sheesh, she was persistent.
Grumbling in his head, Naruto turned away from her and mumbled, "-in something."
"What was that~"
"I said it was Twin Suns! Alright, happy!"
Yuki giggled. "See, you did remember~"
Whatever!
"Isn't that such a cool title?"
Naruto didn't think so. "It makes no sense, and it's cheap! Just because we're blonds! We're not even the same age!"
"Yeah, but it demonstrates your teamwork. It's like everyone is acknowledging it."
That's why Yuki found it so beautiful. To her, Naruto and Kise were the strongest when they were working together. Even if Naruto was too shy to admit it, she knew that deep down he felt the same way.
"You're reading way too much into it, Yuki. It's just a stupid title from a magazine."
Maybe….but maybe not.
Well, there was no reason to grill him about this. Yuki could let him off the hook for now. Besides, she had more important news for him.
"The preliminaries for the Winter Cup have already started."
Had they? Naruto hadn't kept track of the schedule. There was no reason to, and as to why that was…..well, just thinking about it was enough to make him depressed.
Seeing this, Yuki almost had to roll her eyes.
"Are you still moping about that?"
Of course he was! How couldn't he!? After knowing that he would have to wait another month before they could play, what sort of reaction was he supposed to have!?
"It's just not fair. Why do we automatically move up to the Winter Cup?"
They and Rakuzan were immediately admitted to the Winter Cup apparently, as the two finalists for the Inter-High. Something about being in a special bracket as part of some celebration for this year. Naruto didn't remember all the details. He just cared about the first part.
That they weren't going to be able to play!
It just wasn't fair dammit!
"If I knew this was going to be happen, I wouldn't have tried so hard….."
"Really? Even if it meant losing to Aomine-san?" Yuki saw Naruto's eye twitch a little at that. So she pressed him a little harder. "Even if it meant that you wouldn't have been able to play against Akashi-san?"
Naruto really didn't like the sound of that.
"Alright, alright. I get your point. I gotta learn to be a little patient sometimes."
Yuki beamed. As long as he did, she was happy.
"Anyway, you were saying something about the preliminaries?"
Oh yeah!
Yuki placed a finger under her lips as she gained a pensive look.
"Momoi-san was just telling me that today was the start of the Final League. She wanted us to come and cheer for them."
Oh shit, it was at that stage already?
"Who are they playing?"
"Some school named Kirisaki Daiichi High. I didn't think they were going to be impressive, but apparently they have an Uncrowned King on their team."
And they both knew how troublesome those guys could be.
But an Uncrowned King, huh. Seirin also had one, if Naruto's memory served him right.
Wait, that reminded him.
"Who are the two other teams competing?"
Yuki's eyes sparkled at this. "Oh, no one special. Just Shūtoku and Seirin."
So if Tōō was facing that Kirisaki-something or another, that must mean that-!
Naruto's eyes widened as his brain connected the dots. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner!"
He needed to watch that game dammit, and there was no time to lose!
Yuki just shook her head.
She could already guess what her boyfriend was going to be doing after school today.
"I texted you because I thought you might be interested in this."
"What are you talking about, Uzumakicchi? I already knew about the Final League before you did!"
That wasn't the point!
"The others blew me off because they said they wanted to sleep in since it's our first day off since the term started."
"That wasn't very nice of them, I know."
"Yuki said she had something to do for my mother, so she couldn't come either."
"Tragic. We lost the eye candy."
"I got all that right, didn't I?"
"Hmm…..I would say so, yes."
"Alright then." Naruto took in a deep breath before exploding. "Then what the hell is he doing here!?"
The whiskered blond was aggressively pointing to the calm and smiling Akashi who was more than happy to wait for Naruto and Kise to finish their back-and-forth.
"Why?" Kise looked confused. "I invited him. Is that a problem?"
Something like that, yeah! They lost to him in the finals!
"I hope I'm not intruding." Akashi was still smiling as he bowed a little. "I heard about all the excitement happening in Tokyo, so I figured it was worth making the trip."
Naruto's eyebrow twitched a little. "You came all the way from Kyoto just for this?"
That was some dedication. And based on the fact that Akashi was still wearing his school uniform, he must have left early.
"Yes, I could not resist the opportunity." Akashi sounded sincere. "It's been a while since I last saw Kuroko. I'm interested in seeing how much he has improved."
"Right!" Kise felt the same way. "He and Midorimacchi are facing off today. How can you not be excited?"
Well, Naruto could understand that much at least.
"Whatever. Let's just stop and get some ramen before going to the game."
That was the original plan anyway.
"Ramen?" Akashi looked a bit troubled.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"
Was he allergic to ramen or something? If so, Naruto would take back every last bad thought he had had about the boy for the past ten minutes.
No one deserved such a fate.
"Not wrong, per se. It's just that….well, I've never had ramen before," Akashi admitted, looking guilty.
Naruto was in front of him an instant. "You've never had ramen before…?."
Kise almost shivered at Naruto's tone. It was almost lifeless. It was the first time he was hearing his friend like this.
It was creepy.
Fortunately, Akashi didn't seem to pick up on it as he only smiled some more, this time apologetically.
"Yes. My father is not interested in the food, so it's never been served at my home. And I've never really gone out of my way to try it before."
"That so?" Naruto's tone changed as his face brightened. He placed one arm around Akashi's shoulder as he started to lead the redhead down the road. "Well, Akashi my friend. Do I have something amazing to share with you today. It's never too late to bask in the food of the gods."
"The food of the gods?" Akashi seemed interested. "Is it that delicious?"
"For damn sure!"
Kise could only follow after them while holding back the urge to facepalm. This Akashi was nicer and more laid-back, but he could also be very gullible sometimes.
He just hoped Naruto didn't eat him alive.
Extra:
~Naruto's Birthday~
"Alright, alright. It's your turn, Uzumakicchi!"
"No way. I can't sing."
"You'll do fine! We can even sing a duet if you want."
"That's even worse!"
There was much laughter in the booth as Kise tried to persuade Naruto to sing with him. The group wasn't big. It was only Naruto, Kise, Kasamatsu, Moriyama, Kobori, Hayakawa, and Nakamura. The seven were here together in order to celebrate Naruto's birthday among themselves before Naruto had his big party which his mother was undoubtedly going to throw for him.
Did Naruto enjoy karaoke? Not in the slightest.
He was still having the time of his life.
"Next time, I think I'll be the one to choose the place," Kasamatsu said.
Kise pouted. "That's not nice, senpai. What place is better than this?"
"You could have at least invited Sugawara-chan." Moriyama looked downtrodden. "Karaoke just isn't the same without her here."
This bastard.
Naruto almost threw his drink at him. "You know I'm right here, right?"
"Your point?"
Nakamura looked ready to bolt it out of there the moment Naruto and Moriyama started throwing things at one another.
"Real friendship we have right there."
Kobori just chuckled as he continued to enjoy his drink in peace. Better to just enjoy what he could as long as he could.
"P(l)ea(s)e try t(o) c(a)lm (d)ow(n), M(or)iyam(a)-san and Uz(uma)ki-san!"
Naruto and Moriyama were too busy butting heads to even yell at Hayakawa that they couldn't understand him.
Just what kind of accent was that again?
"Pfft, parties aren't fun without a little fight in them," Kise said as he raised his mic. "It almost makes your singing all that passionate."
Kasamatsu sweatdropped. "Why are you like this?"
Always to tacky.
That aside, Kasamatsu did have something to say.
"Well, I'm not sure how much this means now, but I do have to thank you, Uzumaki."
Naruto stopped strangling Moriyama to look at Kasamatsu.
"Thank me? For what?"
He didn't understand.
Rubbing the back of his head, Kasamatsu looked out of his element right now but still pressed on.
"I made a promise to myself last year. In order to correct a mistake I made, I vowed to get to the end of the Inter-High. And I did. No." He shook his head. "We did. And I have to thank you for that. Even if you didn't know it, you helped me fulfill that promise. To try and make up for my past mistake. And that means a lot to me. I just wanted you to know that."
Wow. This took a serious turn out of nowhere.
This was kind of like the last thing Naruto had been expecting from him. Hayakawa was bawling his eyes out, but that didn't take away from the moment.
It almost made Naruto blush in embarrassment.
"Y-Yeah. Don't mention it."
What else was he supposed to say to that?
"Alright, let's make that our toast!" Apparently Kise knew what to say as he raised his drink. "We got second place, but this time we will definitely reach the top spot!"
It was just like he had told Naruto before. He wanted to win with this team, no matter what. His feelings hadn't changed.
"You make it sound so easy." Nakamura didn't sound excited, but he still raised his drink.
That was enough for the model.
"We (d)efi(ne)tely c(an)!" Hayakawa shouted his approval.
Moriyama looked at Kobori. "We can't let the second and first years show us up, right?"
Kobori smiled. "No, we definitely can't."
Kasamatsu just raised his drink. "H'mph, idiots."
Naruto was the last one to join them.
It was nothing but a simple toast, but it still meant a lot to them. It was as if they were putting their hope into words, and that was worth more than gold.
And yes, Naruto did sing that duet with Kise at the end.
Good thing Yuki wasn't there, or he probably never would have lived it down.