Jewel-KnB-Kise Ryouta or Kasamatsu Yukio

ღStay strongღ

How many days have passed?

How many weeks have passed since Airi's still sleeping in the hospital?

Airi's mom and dad were visiting their daughter again. They were told that her condition remained unchanged and that it will take time for her to wake up all on her own.

"Honey, it's time to go now." Airi's dad said.

"I know... You know? I think she said something about this day being important... Something about the Interhigh?" 

"Yeah. The boys in blue jerseys all came to see her this morning. They said they will play for her sake." 

"Those boys are such good friends to her... I am glad our daughter have wonderful friends in her life." Her mother wiped her tears with a hankerchief. "I just wished she could have woke up to see their determined faces..." Her mother wondered what Airi will think once she wakes up to realize that the Interhigh had already passed. She wondered how to comfort her daughter when the time comes.

In Tokyo, the match between Kaijou and Touou had just ended.

The score: 98 - 110

The score was a huge blow to both the ace and the captain of Kaijou; Kise had never once won against Aomine Daiki, the ace of the Generation of Miracles; Kasamatsu was not able to prove his worth as a captain because he couldn't lead the team to win the Interhigh.

Kise tried to stand but, because of copying Aomine's style, he had hurt his leg. He couldn't stand properly. Kise couldn't help but feel frustrations all over his body and he punched the court's floor. He had lost. He had lost against Aomine Daiki, ace of the Generation of Miracles. He promised that he would win this match and let Airi know of the good news; what was he and Kasamatsu going to tell her now? 

"..." He looked up to see Kasamatsu's hand reaching out to him. 

"Can you stand? Hang in there a little longer."

"Senpai, I..." After hearing about how Kasamatsu wanted to win the Interhigh no matter what, Kise dedicated the match, not only to Airi, to Kasamatsu as well. He wanted to see his captain win too. 

"..." Kasamatsu said nothing and supported Kise up so they can line up and leave. 

"...!" Kise couldn't help but cry. He was crying because he felt he had failed the entire team, he felt he had failed his captain, he felt he had failed Airi... Most of all, he had failed himself-

"You did well."

Kise cried even more when Kasamatsu pat his head as he walked him over to the others. 

"Besides, it's not all over yet. You can pay him back this Winter."

The other Kaijou members never blamed Kise. They all believed that they have tried their very best and they silently thanked Kise for bringing them this far. 

"98 - 110, Touou Academy wins! Bow!"

"Thank you very much!"

Walking to the exist, Kasamatsu can tell everyone behind him was devastated by the loss. He was too but he stayed strong just for them.