The nurse is reluctant to give in, but does so when Daisuke promises to keep a watch on me. When we reach the gym, i head for the bathroom nearby. I fill the sink up with ice cold water, dunk my head in and sit there for a few seconds, holding my breath, clearing my head.

     God, i am such an idiot. Why the hell did i tell Daisuke all about my problems? They weren’t any of his business, but i just opened my mouth and told him all of it. Once i started, i couldn’t stop. Now he knows all about my dad. All i did was cry in front of him as i told him everything. Is it really okay to be a girl now in front of him? Will he really keep everything i said a secret. Or will he tell coach Etsuko all of it one day? I don’t even know.

     I lift my head up out of the water and take new gasps of air. I pat my face down a little with a paper towel and head into the gym, my fever feeling better now. Everyone’s practicing and getting ready for the game against Sakuraki High and the King.

     About two months have passed since i first joined this school and I’ve gotten to know some of my teammates a bit better. While I don’t necessarily remember everyone’s names just yet, I do remember maybe three or four.

     I spot Abe and Midori practicing together. Abe is the cool, aloof type of character while Midori is like his complete opposite. While Midori smiles with his cute round face, freckles, and round glasses, Abe’s eyes soften and he nods. I seriously have no idea why they’re so close or how they managed to get to that point. Whenever you see Midori, Abe’s lurking somewhere in the background, keeping a close eye on his friend who seems to have a penchant for getting bullied.

     It was Midori who first approached me and we became friends in an instant. We practiced together and he seemed almost awestruck at my skills and small stature, while i was happy that he was talking to me almost like a younger brother.

     Then there’s Kuma. He’s way too tall for his age and has a really heavy build. His back is usually hunched, making him seem almost bigger, but I have the feeling that it’s due to his personality more than anything else. He’s really shy. I guess hardly anyone’s talked to him thanks to his overwhelming size. He seems almost like a teddy bear.

     He’s waiting by the front doors of the gymnasium and sees me the instant i step inside. “A-Are you okay, Toujiro?” He asks, fiddling with his fingers as he looks down at me. “I heard that you were in the nurse’s office.”

     “I’m fine, Kuma.” I give a reassuring smile. Really, he’s such a worry-wort. He gives a nod and asks if I’m okay for practice. “I should be fine if I take it easy.” He smiles a little and runs off to tell Midori. Midori waves in my direction and I grab a stray basketball off the ground.

     “Are you really sure you’re all right?” Coach Etsuko asks. I reassure her and she tells Daisuke to practice with me since he’s hurt too. I guess she assumed he wouldn’t be doing too much strenuous activity any time soon which would be good since I still technically had a fever.

     “So then, let’s start.” Daisuke says. I agree and we start to practice together. A little bit of passing, a bit of dribbling, and before I knew it I was defending against him. During these past few practices, I’ve been getting better and better at reading his movements. He knows this, of course, and tries more and more to change it up. After a few minutes of struggling I eventually figure out what his game is and make it past him.

     Even with a fever, I still managed to make it past him thanks to mostly exploiting his injured arm. I felt bad about it. I consider Daisuke to be a friend especially now since he knows my secret and all. I hope he considers me a friend too.

     We break up our little practice together, both of us panting, and head over to get some water. I plop onto a bench. My head feels full and fuzzy. Having a fever really , but i heard that they get better the more you sweat. I’m pretty sure I cooled my head off now. I head back into the bathroom for another dunking session and by the time I’m out of there, I feel ten times better.

     The coach rounds everyone up, saying that they bus from Sakuraki High has just arrived. I’m nervous. I’m excited. I’m scared. I’m happy. I’m all of those things. I did my research on Sakuraki High a bit before today. Just enough to know that they’re from a pretty decent sized city with a pretty high budget for sports. Enough that they get brand new jerseys almost every other year. I did not, however, research anything about the King that’s on their team.

     From what Coach Etsuko has told us, he’s known as one of the weaker Kings in existence. While all of the other ones are practically unbeatable, this one has been beaten before maybe twice. But that’s all of the knowledge that I got about him. I even zoned out when Coach Etsuko said his name. I wanted everything about him to be kept secret. I didn’t want to spoil it one bit for when we finally go toe-to-toe.

     It’s already been talked amongst ourselves that at least a few of us would have to go one-on-one with him eventually so we all prepared for the inevitable. Not to mention the fact that the King is on a team, meaning there are other team members that we would have to look out for.

     We clean up the gym and then the doors swing open and in they come.