🏀 Scene 1: The Secret Scrimmage
The mountains were supposed to be peaceful.
But when you have Kyogaku's elite squad show up uninvited?
Forget peace. Think war drums.
Late that night, Akashi—their captain—sent a message.
Literally. A crumpled note under my door:
Midnight. Back court. One-on-one. Unless you're scared.
Was this a test?
My head said "ignore it."
But my pride… and maybe a piece of my old life… said:
"Let's see how deep this rabbit hole goes."
I showed up in my practice jersey. No lights, no coach.
Just the rustle of trees and the moon above.
Akashi was already there, stretching like a predator.
He nodded without a word.
We didn't need a ref.
"One-on-one to five. No timeouts," he said.
He checked the ball to me.
I exhaled—and triggered Thread Vision.
And instantly... regretted it.
The lines weren't clean. They jittered, overlapped, twitched.
Like watching three chessboards move at once.
But I pushed through.
I drove left. Faked right. Step-back.
Swish.
"1–0."
Akashi smiled. "Interesting."
Next possession, he moved like water. Efficient. Cold.
"1–1."
Back and forth.
Speed. Precision. Mind games.
Until—
Throb.
A sharp pulse split my temple like a lightning bolt.
The threads went fuzzy.
My vision blurred. My legs wobbled.
"What's wrong, genius?" Akashi said, sinking the game-winner.
"That's 5–4. Thanks for the warm-up."
He walked away without waiting for a reply.
I sat there, dripping in sweat and shame.
Was my gift starting to betray me?
🎠Scene 2: Pranks and Payback
Next morning, I walked into the gym to find my shoes hanging from the ceiling beam.
"Sakuragi," I growled.
"KUDO! I had NOTHING to do with this!"
"You wrote 'Pass Goblin' on the soles."
"...Coincidence!"
It was payback for last night's team prank:
We'd saran-wrapped Sakuragi's bed.
"That was Mito's idea!" he yelled.
"True," Mito grinned. "But you snored like a dying giraffe. You deserved it."
Everyone laughed—even Rukawa, who chuckled under his breath.
Kogure had made cards for "Team MVP" and secretly handed me one with a little doodle of me holding Sakuragi by the collar.
"You've become the glue here," he said quietly.
It felt… nice.
For a while, I forgot about the throbbing in my head.
🧠Scene 3: Vision on the Edge
But by that afternoon's scrimmage?
My luck cracked.
Thread Vision activated itself mid-play—without me wanting to.
The whole court lit up with tangled lines and trajectories like a broken web.
"Kudo! Behind you!" Mitsui shouted.
I turned too slow.
The ball slammed my chest and I dropped to my knees.
"Kudo?!" Haruko rushed over.
"I'm fine," I lied. "Just a cramp."
But inside?
I felt like my skull was cracking open from the inside.
What was this ability doing to me?
🥶 Scene 4: Rukawa vs. Kudo
That night, I was icing my knees near the fire pit when Rukawa showed up.
Silent as usual. Arms crossed.
"You're hiding something," he said finally.
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
"During drills. Your eyes… they flicker. Like you're somewhere else."
He wasn't wrong.
But I didn't know how much to admit.
"I just see plays a little earlier than most," I offered.
"Don't lie."
He leaned forward.
"You're pushing yourself too far. That last fall? It wasn't normal."
"And you care now?" I snapped. "Since when do you talk to anyone?"
The silence between us turned sharp.
Then he said:
"I don't care about you. But you're my teammate. And you're going to get someone hurt."
That hit.
Harder than the ball had earlier.
"I didn't ask for this ability," I muttered. "It came with… baggage."
He looked at me like he finally saw something real.
"Then drop the baggage. Or control it."
He walked off without waiting for a reply.
But his words stayed.
🧩 Scene 5: Thread Lock
That night, unable to sleep, I focused on a candle flame.
I needed to understand this thing inside me.
Slowly, I breathed. Slowed my pulse.
I tried to summon Thread Vision... gently.
And something changed.
The threads appeared—but this time, they were soft. Stable. Not frantic.
"Thread Lock," I whispered.
Instead of raw data, I saw patterns like a choreographed dance.
If I could hold this state… I could read the future without losing my mind.
"Alright, Kudo," I told myself. "No more breakdowns."
🏀 Scene 6: Next Game Looms
The final night of training camp, we had a mini intrasquad tournament.
Coach Anzai smiled and said, "Losers cook breakfast tomorrow."
"LET'S GOOOOO!" Sakuragi screamed. "I'LL CARRY US TO VICTORY!"
"You're carrying the dishes if we lose," Mito said.
We split into teams:
Me, Rukawa, and Kogure
Sakuragi, Mitsui, and Mito
Haruko refereed with a whistle twice her size.
"No fouls or I'll make you run laps!" she declared.
We played like kids in the park.
Trash talk. Trick passes.
Mitsui tried to fake a cramp. Rukawa dunked on Sakuragi and got chased with a broom.
And I?
I used Thread Lock. Not to dominate, but to guide. Gently.
And it worked.
We won by two points.
But the real victory?
I didn't collapse.
🤝 Final Scene: The Squad is Born
As we packed our things, I saw the team differently.
Not just Sakuragi's chaotic energy or Rukawa's silence…
But a real bond.
"Next stop—playoffs," Kogure said, slapping my back.
"Next stop—revenge!" Sakuragi yelled. "Akashi is going DOWN!"
"You mean the guy who dunked on Kudo last week?" Mito snorted.
"I was tired!" I protested.
"He was destroyed," Mitsui added helpfully.
I threw my towel at him. Missed.
We were a mess.
But we were our mess.
And somehow, that was enough.