CHAPTER 43: MOUNTAIN TRIAL : INCOMING CHALLENGER

After another day of brutal training up and down the mountain, just like yesterday, we returned to the lodge the only way we could—dumped into the back of Takeshi-sensei’s off-road car like sacks of potatoes. If yesterday we were tired, today we were ruined. Muscles sore, legs wobbling, minds empty.

Even the usually fiery Aizawa-Taiga duo was silent. That was the true measure of our exhaustion.

But on the Toyonaka side? Their expressions sparkled like the seven colors of the rainbow. You’d think they’d won the entire Kansai Regional. And maybe, in their minds, they had—because tonight, they were finally going to eat real food again.

We repeated our new tradition: hot spring soak in total silence, followed by collective collapse into our futons.

For a while, I wondered if I could just... stay in bed. Maybe tell Kaito to go eat my portion too. But that thought evaporated when my stomach let out a growl that shook my soul.

"Dirgaaaa," Kaito groaned, nudging me. "Come on. We’ve gotta eat..."

Eat. Right. But eat what?

The thought made my stomach turn, but not in a good way. I remembered what happened yesterday. Losing the match meant eating that food. That cursed, nutritionally optimized abomination.

I wanted to crawl back under the futon and hide.

Still, I dragged myself up and limped alongside the rest of Horizon. No one had the strength to talk. We moved like ghosts. On the other hand, the Toyonaka team practically skipped toward the dining hall.

Yuto was practically bouncing on his heels, and even Shunpei—usually stoic—was glowing with joy. Haruto looked like he was walking into a five-star buffet. Daichi grinned from ear to ear. The whole Toyonaka team had the aura of men on a mission.

Misaki? He walked with the swagger of someone who knew exactly how good that steak was going to taste.

The moment we stepped into the dining room, it felt like divine judgment.

Two tables.

Left side: The Victorious. Plates overflowing with freshly grilled fish, steaming rice, miso soup, sweet egg rolls, and even parfaits.

Right side: The Defeated. The same dull, grey nightmare from last night—boiled veggies, plain porridge, and nutrient bars that crumbled like chalk.

And then it happened.

As we made our way to the loser’s section, Rikuya—our calm, unshakable Buddha—stopped.

"I’ll use my exemption voucher."

The betrayal was swift and clean.

We all turned in unison. "You WHAT?"

Rikuya didn’t look back. He walked to the winner’s table and sat down among the Toyonaka players like he belonged there. And when Misaki passed him a bowl of rice, he nodded in quiet thanks and dug in.

hmmmm, Rikuya?

Meanwhile, Toyonaka dived into their feast with joy only the starving could understand.

"This is divine," Yuto sighed.

"Better than my mom’s cooking," Haruto muttered.

"Food of the gods," Misaki whispered, tears in his eyes.

We stared.

And then... Coach Tsugawa brought our food.

It looked... worse.

Like it had been intentionally made with less seasoning, if that were even possible.

Nobody moved.

"...Maybe it’s not that bad," Kaito tried to say, lifting his spoon with forced confidence.

We watched him take a bite.

He froze.

"Senpai?"

Kaito slowly placed the spoon down. "I’ve seen things, guys. I’ve seen... the abyss."

We all groaned and started eating in silence, chewing cardboard and pain.

Then—

Click.

The dining room door creaked open.

A voice echoed from the entrance. "Excuse us!"

We turned.

Five guys stepped into the room.

They weren’t high schoolers.

They were college players.

In front was a guy with a buzzcut—and a lightning mural shaved into the side of his head. His smile radiated confidence. His aura screamed main character energy.

"Coach!!" he shouted.

Coach Tsugawa stood, arms open wide. "Buzz!"

The two hugged like old friends.

Everyone—even Aoi, Sayaka, and Coach Reina—blinked in shock.

"Let me introduce him," Coach Tsugawa grinned. "Shingo Kawada. You probably know him as Buzz."

No introduction needed. He was a star of Japanese college basketball. Already signed to a JBL team. And somehow... he was here.

Buzz beamed. "Yo! Shingo Kawada. You can call me Buzz. I’m here to eat food and break ankles."

Behind him were four more players.

"Sota Enami," said the clean-cut one in glasses, neat hair, and a clipboard tucked under one arm. He looked like he majored in tactics.

"Masaru Hibiki," rumbled the biggest dude I’d ever seen. 200 cm of raw muscle and babyface energy.

"Renjiro Nakano," the emo kid muttered. He wore all black and had wireless headphones around his neck.

"Yu Tamura," said the last one, who looked like the most normal

guy ever. So normal it was suspicious.

Buzz chuckled. "We smelled good food and thought we’d crush some high school kids while we’re here."

Sota sighed. "Please ignore him. He doesn’t mean anything he says."

Coach Tsugawa gestured to the winning table. "Eat first. We’ll talk after."

They sat and immediately started demolishing the food like wolves. Their chopsticks were a blur. Buzz even fist-bumped Masaki mid-bite.

Coach Tsugawa finally turned back to us.

"Now then. With three teams in this lodge, starting tomorrow, only one team eats on the winner’s side."

The air dropped five degrees.

"Excuse me?" Rei said, voice cracking.

"You heard me," Coach Tsugawa said, arms folded. "Also, each of the college players has been assigned a hidden rule—one limitation they must follow during games. That’s your only advantage. Figure them out. Exploit them."

We just stared.

"You may be dismissed."

—

Outside the hall, we didn’t even return to our rooms right away.

Instead, we—Horizon and Toyonaka—stood outside under the porch light, staring at each other.

Yuto spoke first.

"...We’re forming an alliance, right?"

"Temporary," Masaki clarified. "But yeah."

"You in, Dirga?" Yuto asked.

I nodded. "Definitely."

We all shook hands like some underground sports treaty was being signed.

"Alliance for food," Aizawa added.

"Until the college team goes down," Taiga said.

"For the glory of rice and miso!" Rei said dramatically.

We all laughed.

And that’s when we realized it.

We weren’t rivals tonight.

We were brothers in arms.