I Died on the Court, Now I'm Back to Rule It-Chapter 80: Between Games, Between Hearts

Thirty Minutes Later The Horizon team had gathered in the hall, just as instructed. Everyone was present—freshly showered, rehydrated, and now clustered together in loose groups, chatting quietly. Sayaka stood near Coach Tsugawa, clipboard in hand, ready for the next phase.

Suddenly, a loud, overly familiar voice echoed from the far end of the corridor.

"Hey everyone!"

It was Takeshi, their advisor—and Dirga’s uncle—waving one arm frantically while holding an iced coffee in the other.

"I came right as the second quarter was ending! What a game—what a game! Seriously, you all were incredible, just...! Ugh! And Rakuzan? Terrible! Playing like that? No shame at all. Like, do they even know what sportsmanship means? Just disgraceful, honestly—"

"Ojisan..." Dirga sighed, trying not to wince as Takeshi continued his rapid-fire commentary. "You can tone it down a bit."

Takeshi blinked, grinned, and held up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay, my bad. Just proud of you guys. Great work, everyone."

Then he turned toward Dirga again, this time with a more curious expression.

"Hey—did you see your cousin? Aoi?"

Dirga blinked.

"No, but she’s probably with Toyonaka. She’s their manager now, remember?"

"Ah, right. That makes sense."

Then Takeshi clapped his hands once.

"So—why don’t we watch the next match together? Bonding moment! Big scouting day!"

Dirga gave a small, patient smile.

"We’re here to scout our potential next opponent. I’m sure Toyonaka is doing the same. But... it’s not the same match."

As if on cue, a familiar, high-pitched voice rang out from behind.

"Diiirggaaaa! Otou-saaannn!"

Dirga turned, and there she was—Aoi, full of energy, racing toward them. Behind her followed the Toyonaka team, their own coach Reina walking calmly at the rear.

"How are you guys doing?" Coach Reina smiled politely, addressing Coach Tsugawa and the Horizon team.

Tsugawa nodded in return. "Holding strong. One step at a time."

As everyone began mingling—at least, as much as rival teams could—Dirga’s eyes were drawn to something odd.

Masaki, Toyonaka’s Their ace , stood slightly apart from his teammates. His expression was distant, tense. Something felt...off.

That wasn’t how Dirga remembered him during training camp. Back then, Masaki had been at the center of the team, relaxed and connected.

Now?

He seemed like an outsider.

Dirga moved closer to Yuto, Toyonaka’s Point guard, and asked quietly:

"Hey, did something happen?"

Yuto didn’t look at him, just muttered in a sharp, cutting tone:

"Nothing. Just dealing with a certain stubborn guy."

The comment was clearly aimed at Masaki.

Masaki, who had been listening, rolled his eyes and answered without even turning:

"We won. That’s all that matters."

There was a brief, tense silence. You could feel it crackling in the air between them.

Dirga frowned slightly. There was tension here—real tension.

Maybe it wasn’t about basketball.

Maybe it was something deeper.

Coach Reina caught the shift immediately.

"Let’s keep it down, boys."

Just like that, the silence dropped over them again like a blanket.

A moment later, Takeshi chimed in again, completely oblivious to the charged atmosphere.

"Oh! Dirga—I almost forgot. Ayaka’s looking for you. She’s at the booth over there—selling Horizon basketball merchandise, believe it or not!"

He pointed across the hall, toward the far side of the building where a small crowd had gathered near a merchandise table decked out in Horizon’s colors.

Dirga’s heart skipped.

Ayaka.

In the chaos of the post-game celebration, he’d forgotten she was even here. But now his thoughts slammed back into focus. His brain spun. His heart thumped harder than it had all game.

"Ah—uh, right. Thanks."

He casually ran a hand through his hair, subtly sniffed his shirt to check for any leftover sweat, and straightened his jacket. He tried to play it cool. Calm. Unbothered.

But the moment his eyes found her—

Standing at the booth across the hall, organizing neatly folded shirts under the soft arena lights—

He was gone.

"Ayaka-senpai!"

He called out, keeping his voice respectful—half because they were surrounded by people, half because she really was a year above him.

She looked up, eyes lighting up as if she’d been waiting for this exact moment.

"Dirga? Senpai?" she teased, walking around the table toward him. "You never call me that."

Dirga scratched his head, slightly embarrassed.

"Well... there’s a lot of people around."

"Ah, so you’re being formal now, huh?"

She laughed. The sound hit him like a perfectly swished three-pointer.

"Wait, I thought you said you’d come tomorrow. How are you already here?" he asked, genuinely surprised—but clearly thrilled.

"Change of plans!" Ayaka said proudly. "I’m crashing at Sayaka’s tonight. And this—" she reached under the table and handed him a navy-blue shirt with the Horizon logo stitched across the chest in gold, "—is the secret project that’s been keeping me busy."

Dirga’s eyes widened.

"Wait, you made this?"

"Designed and organized the whole thing," Ayaka said, puffing her chest a little with pride.

"It’s really good," Dirga said, admiring the stitching. "Professional-level, actually." freewebnøvel.coɱ

She smiled. "You think so?"

They stood there, just the two of them, their little corner of the world somehow quiet in the middle of the busy hall. Their voices softened. Their gazes lingered longer than necessary. To everyone else, they looked like two students at a merchandise booth.

But to anyone who paid attention—

It was something else.

Something warmer.

Something real.

Some would call it love, or something dangerously close to it.

Before anything more could be said, chaos returned like an earthquake.

"We need food!" Taiga shouted from the distance, clearly approaching fast.

"Yeah, we’re gonna die if we don’t eat soon!" Aizawa added, clutching his stomach for dramatic effect.

"Otou-san, pleeeease buy us something," Aoi joined in, pulling out her best puppy eyes and aiming them directly at Takeshi.

Takeshi sighed in defeat.

"Alright, alright! You kids win. Come on, let’s find a konbini or something."

The crowd began moving toward the exit, leaving behind only Dirga and Ayaka at the booth. Dirga looked back for a second, but no one questioned why he stayed behind.

Of course they didn’t.

Taiga winked. Aizawa elbowed Hiroki and whispered something that made them both grin.

They weren’t subtle at all.

Dirga just shook his head.

"Traitors."

Meanwhile, he turned back to Ayaka and started helping her arrange the merchandise table—folding shirts, restocking keychains, and arranging pins in neat little rows.

It was oddly peaceful.

They moved in sync, quietly, with occasional glances and shy smiles. It felt almost like a date, even though it wasn’t one.

Toyonaka’s team had already moved on to scout their next opponent.

And now, it was Horizon’s turn.

"Dirga!" Kaito called from across the hall. "Ten more minutes! We’re heading to the game."

Dirga turned, caught the group’s eyes. Aizawa raised his eyebrows like he was definitely going to say something later. Taiga held up two thumbs and mouthed "Do your thing, lover boy!"

"You coming?" Kaito asked, giving him the out.

Before Dirga could answer, Ayaka stepped in.

"This is my responsibility. But I’ll come join you all once I’m done."

Dirga nodded.

"Alright."

He turned back to his team.

"Sorry, guys. I’ll catch up soon."

Taiga and Aizawa were already snickering.

"No rush, Romeo," Aizawa muttered.

"Just don’t miss the whole game," Rei added, smirking.

Dirga ignored them, though his ears burned a little red.

As the rest of the Horizon squad walked off toward the scouting area, Dirga stayed behind—still folding shirts, still pretending this was just part of the job.

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