Ace of the Bench

The gym was loud one second and dead quiet the next.

Marcus whispered, eyes widening,

"...no way."

Yuuto's head snapped up.

Daichi dropped his water bottle.

Even the stray basketball bounced once, then rolled to a slow, eerie stop.

Because someone else had stepped inside.

A shadow rose behind Coach Takeda.

A familiar silhouette… strict posture, glasses perched neatly on her nose, clipboard tucked under her arm.

Coach Hikari.

She stood in the doorway, blinking at the chaos.

"…I leave for ten minutes and you all lose your minds?"

The boys practically jumped out of their shoes.

"COACH HIKARI?!"

"She's back too?!"

"No way—BOTH coaches?!"

Marcus let out a relieved breath.

Yuuto felt his chest loosen, like a weight had been quietly lifted.

Takeda raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell them?"

Hikari shot him a glare. "You were supposed to."

"Oh."

Takeda shrugged. "My bad."

Daichi stuttered, "S-So… Coach Hikari isn't leaving?"

Hikari chuckled softly.

"Leaving? I'm the assistant coach now. I'm not going anywhere."

Kento froze.

Then—

"…So we got TWO coaches now?"

Takeda threw an arm around her shoulder with a cocky smirk.

"Until we win this whole damn tournament."

Hikari immediately shoved his arm off.

"Don't get weird. But yes. I'll stay until you boys win."

The team erupted like someone dropped a bomb.

"YOOO!"

"WE GOT DOUBLE POWER?!"

"THIS IS CHEAT CODES!"

"WE CAN BEAT ANYONE NOW!"

Even Yuuto, normally composed, was smiling.

Two coaches.

Two philosophies.

One mission.

Dominate the nation.

Takeda clapped once.

A single, sharp sound that cut the noise clean.

Instant silence.

His tone shifted—calm but dangerous.

"You saw the match reports. The news. The footage."

He didn't say the name.

He didn't need to.

Everyone felt it.

Everyone thought it.

Everyone feared it.

Ryu Kazen.

Takeda's voice dropped.

"Hakuro Academy."

A chill passed through the gym.

Even Shunjin—Mr. "I'm the Ace"—stopped posing.

Coach Hikari stepped forward and tapped her tablet onto the table.

With a precise motion, she hit a button.

The projector behind her flickered to life, washing the dim gym wall with a harsh flood of light.

"Everyone," she said, voice slicing through the room, "sit."

No one dared argue.

The boys sat in two uneven rows on the hardwood, legs out, backs straight, eyes glued to the glowing screen.

Takeda stood beside her, relaxed posture, razor-sharp gaze.

"Film session," he said quietly.

"Hakuro Academy."

Air tightened like a fist around their lungs.

Yuuto felt something coil in his stomach—not fear.

Anticipation.

A whisper inside him murmured:

This is the chapter where everything changes.

Coach Hikari tapped the tablet again.

The screen shifted—

HAKURO ACADEMY vs. RAIJIN HIGH

FINAL SCORE: 200 – 0

Silence.

Not shocked silence.

Crushed silence.

The boys stared like they were reading a bad dream.

Not even Shunjin had a joke.

Marcus inhaled slowly.

Yuuto felt a cold tide crawl up his spine.

Then—

The first clip.

Ryu Kazen on screen.

Not sprinting.

Not warming up.

Just walking.

But even in a still frame… his presence hit like a drop in temperature.

Daichi leaned forward. "That's him… the monster."

Ryu lifted his head.

His eyes opened.

Blue.

But not normal.

Blue with a grid pattern—like a digital HUD laid over reality.

Yuuto froze.

"What… is that?" he whispered.

Takeda answered calmly:

"His reading mode. He tracks all ten players at once."

Yuuto's heart thudded.

On screen, tiny squares blinked around every moving body.

Ryu's eyes shifted micro-seconds—micro—before anyone moved.

Then—

He stripped the point guard in a blur, so clean the boy didn't even react until the ball was already gone.

Coach Hikari paused the clip.

"Prediction-based defense. Reaction time nearly eliminated. He doesn't respond—he anticipates."

Yuuto's breath shook.

He sees the future.

The next clip rolled.

Ryu dribbled across half-court.

Eyes closed.

Opened again.

This time—

Red.

Not glowing.

Not flashy.

Just… final.

Like a verdict.

He exploded with a single step—

blurring between two defenders,

rising in one motion,

slamming the ball so hard the backboard trembled.

Marcus whispered, "…this guy isn't real."

Kento swallowed. "He looked lazy… until the eyes changed."

Coach Hikari nodded.

"Red mode amplifies aggression, scoring efficiency, explosiveness."

Takeda added:

"Blue is for reading. Red is for killing."

Even Shunjin sat still, shaken.

"Bro he's ten aces in one body."

More clips.

Passes between four defenders.

Logo-range threes.

Blow-by footwork.

Blocks on players twice his size.

Cuts with surgical precision.

Yuuto felt his chest tighten.

"That's a point guard?" he whispered.

Marcus exhaled. "That's a weapon."

But then—

The rest of Hakuro appeared.

Daichi pointed.

"BRO—6'9 moving like a guard?!"

Riku trembled.

"That guy hit NINE threes in one quarter…"

Kento choked.

"The center CAUGHT A LOB from the free-throw line—what—"

Even Shunjin…

Silent.

Hikari crossed her arms, expression stern.

"You all made the same mistake."

She tapped the screen—player stats spanned across the wall.

"You focused on ONE player."

She pointed across the roster.

"But Hakuro is not Ryu Kazen. Hakuro is a system. A machine. Every player on that court is elite."

Takeda stepped in, growling:

"And you will NOT beat them by trying to outscore Ryu."

The temperature dropped.

Shunjin finally found his voice, shaky.

"S-So… what do we do?"

Takeda smirked.

"You evolve."

Hikari nodded.

"And that means every one of you must understand your role—and push far past it."

Marcus whispered, "A plan…"

Shunjin cracked his knuckles.

"Good. Let's destroy them."

But Yuuto…

Yuuto stared at the frozen image of Ryu Kazen.

Those machine-like eyes.

That unshakeable calm.

That presence.

His own pulse hammered.

This is the level I have to reach.

This is the throne I'm challenging.

This is the monster I must surpass.

Yuuto stepped forward.

His voice shook—but not from fear.

"Coach… I want more responsibility. I want to contribute. I want to be someone they fear. Not… someone just on the team."

Takeda's mouth curved.

"There you go."

Hikari blew her whistle.

"LINE UP!"

The boys scrambled into formation.

"Today is light fundamentals," she said.

"But mentally?"

Takeda stepped beside her.

"We are going to war."

The next hour wasn't physically intense.

No suicides.

No heavy drills.

But mentally?

Takeda broke them.

Hikari rebuilt them.

Film rewound.

Paused.

Zoomed.

Analyzed.

They studied:

defensive rotations

ball-denial

press-break counters

switching defense

timing traps

Ryu's tendencies

Hakuro spacing

their rare weaknesses

Daichi wiped sweat though he hadn't moved an inch.

"My brain hurts…"

Riku muttered, "This is worse than sprints…"

Kento whispered, "I didn't sign up for homework…"

Shunjin grumbled, "Ace shouldn't have to think this much…"

Yuuto didn't complain.

He absorbed everything.

Every detail.

Every pattern.

Every flaw.

Marcus nudged him. "Yuuto… you good?"

Yuuto's eyes stayed locked on the screen.

"…I'm not losing to him."

Sunset leaked through the gym windows.

Takeda shut off the projector.

Darkness returned.

He looked at the team—quiet, serious, changed.

"You want to beat Hakuro?" he said softly.

They nodded.

"No," he corrected.

"You THINK you want it."

His gaze sharpened.

"You'll know you want it when you wake up hungry. When you fall asleep replaying mistakes. When fear becomes fuel."

He stepped closer.

"When standing next to Ryu Kazen doesn't scare you…

but EXCITES you."

Yuuto's chest burned.

Takeda smirked.

"Tomorrow, we start hell."

Hikari added:

"And if you survive it—

maybe, just maybe—

you'll have a chance."

The boys exchanged glances.

Not fear.

Resolve.

Hakuro Academy had no idea what was coming.

---

Coach Hikari tapped her tablet.

The projector flicked back on—this time with diagrams.

Arrows.

Spacing grids.

Movement patterns.

Takeda crossed his arms.

"This is the system we'll use to beat them."

A hybrid.

Fast offense.

Aggressive defense.

Read-and-react precision.

Hikari pointed.

"Yuuto. You're starting point guard."

Yuuto's heart detonated.

Takeda continued:

"Marcus—scoring leader."

"Shunjin—tempo control."

"Daniel—defensive anchor."

"Daichi and the sixth man—dual rim protectors."

"This system," Hikari said, "is built to score fast… and block even faster."

The boys inhaled as one.

A shift in the atmosphere.

A team reborn.

Yuuto stepped forward, trembling but firm.

"...I'm not losing to Ryu Kazen."

His teammates looked at him—and for the first time…

They believed him.

Takeda smirked.

Hikari smiled.

"Good," Takeda said.

"Because this… is where the real story begins."

Yuuto clenched his fists.

Fire burning in his veins.

Resolve crystallizing in his heart.

"I'm going to surpass him."

And for the first time—

the gym felt like a battlefield.

And the war had officially begun.