#ch: himuro tatsuya

[midorichan10]

Last Game Novel English Translation (Ch 1 Part 1-Invasion)

As requested I began translating the Last Game novel! Things to keep in mind are this follows the movie storyline (not the manga, it is indeed a bit different), and there are INDEED SPOILERS. So only proceed if you want to be spoiled.  I’m planning to split each chapter into two parts (8 chapters=16 parts total)

Prologue Translation

The five unparalleled geniuses, the “Generation of Miracles.” And the one the five of them acknowledged, the “Phantom Sixth Man.” And then he appeared before them, as if it was fate that they were all gathered in the same generation. Kagami Taiga. The one that was the same as the Generation of Miracles, but didn’t become one of the Generation of Miracles. He held the same gift as the geniuses and the last one to awaken-“The Miracle that didn’t become a Miracle.” He met his fated Shadow, and became a true light. The Light fought his rivals and increased his brightness, and finally led his team to win the Winter Cup and become the number one team in Japan.

And now,

The Light and Shadow arrive at a new stage.

Click the ‘read more’ to continue to the first half of Chapter 1!

* I revised some of the sentences a bit to give a better visual to match the scenes in the movie. 

Ch 1-Invasion

Kagami Taiga returned to Japan during summer of his second year in middle school.

“I’m Kagami Taiga. I came from America. I played basketball over there! My dream in the future is to be an NBA player! Nice to meet you everyone!” Kagami greeted loudly to his classmates on his first day of his transfer.

“When you make friends, appeal is important. Such as what you like and what you’re good at. You gotta let people know you’re this kind of person.”

That was the inviolable rule his first friend in America, Himuro Tatsuya, taught him.  Kagami looked up to him like a brother, and thanks to his advice he became completely absorbed in basketball, and at the same time he made more friends.  That’s why even if he’s in a new environment, he said his introduction that way hoping that he can make friends in the same way.

However, his classmates’ reactions were not what he was expecting.

His self-introduction only caused a stir among his classmates, and he didn’t feel the distance between them grow closer at all. Instead, for some reason he could feel them giving him strange looks. In his head Kagami was trying to figure out why, but he thought that the beginning was something like this so he let it go.

But soon after, Kagami would understand the meaning behind those strange looks.

After transferring, Kagami of course joined the basketball club, and participated in practice.During the mini-game, Kagami showed off his amazing skills.  He easily got past the defense standing in his way and finished it with a one-handed dunk.

“Who is that?! He did a dunk!”

“He’s the guy who came back from America.”

The play that was beyond middle school level had caused a commotion among his clubmates as Kagami let go of the hoop ring and landed on the floor letting out a light huff.

“Sorry, you okay?” He extended his hand to a student who had fallen on his butt. When Kagami dunked, the student who was defending him lost and got knocked down with his momentum.

The student looked at Kagami’s extended hand, and gave him a sharp glare in return.

Kagami thought to himself that it wasn’t the first time he saw that look given to him. Faintly recalling his memories, he finally remembered the guy as “one of the students in my class.”

“Ahh….this is really demotivating,” said the student.

“Eh…..?” Kagami’s eyes widened.  He couldn’t comprehend what the guy was saying so suddenly.  Ignoring the shocked Kagami, the student stood up on his own and was indeed scowling at him.

“ Your face just now totally looked like you were thinking ‘Compared to American basketball, basketball here is super boring…’ right?” Kagami hastily shook his head, “N-no I wasn’t thinking that…”

The student interrupted him. “It’s fine. There’s no way you wouldn’t be thinking that,” he coldly replied.

As if rejecting Kagami, the student ran off ahead.  Looking at the student’s back as he left, Kagami finally understood.  He also understood the meaning behind the “strange” looks in class.  The reason why he recognized his clubmate’s glare at him, was because it was the same glare given to him in class.  Actually now that he thought about it, the looks he received were all cold and rejecting, as if he was an annoyance.  Even if he made a play with someone with a different opinion, it wasn’t fun. That much was clear.

“What the heck is that….” Kagami felt the gloominess inside him grew.

This “gloominess” continued to grow with each passing day.The exclusion from the basketball club spread to the classroom until he was completely isolated, and the swelling inside him grew even more.

With no one to talk to, let alone anyone to play basketball with, Kagami’s heart hardened. Alone in his middle school life. His  mumblings to himself was bitter as always.

“It’s super boring…..someone do something about it please…”

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 Three years has passed since then.

Kagami was now a second year in high school, walking and swaying in the heat waves on his way to school.

“Haaaaaaaa, it’s soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hot. What’s with this heat.....” he groans annoyingly. “………also……why are you walking behind me?!” Kagami swiftly turned around and standing right behind him was Kuroko Tetsuya who as always nonchalantly replied.

“Good morning, Kagami-kun. More importantly…”

“?”

“It’s hot so please stand up properly.”

“Don’t use people as shade!!”

As if responding to Kagami’s pressing complaints, a pair of pointed black ears popped out of the bag slung on Kuroko’s shoulder.

“Arf!”

“Wah!! Nigou was here too?!”

Kagami quickly backed up. In front of him with its face sticking out of the bag was a puppy with round and cute eyes.  It was Seirin High School Basketball Club’s dog mascot, Tetsuya Nigou.

“It’s my turn to look after him this week,” Kuroko explained immediately to Kagami who looked like he was about to ask, “Why is he here?!”   Then he gave Nigou a rub on the head who let out a cute whine.Kagami pouted back at him. Even now he still doesn’t see Nigou as “cute.”  

At that moment, Kagmai’s smartphone suddenly rang.

“Oh?” Kagami took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen with his eyebrows raised. The caller displayed was his basketball mentor who was currently in America.

“It’s Alex…… Hello?” Kagami switched to talk on the phone, but before long, his face color changed. “Eh?.....America?”

Kagami stopped and stood on the sidewalk anxiously, as Kuroko stared and watched next to him.

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The one named Alex, whose full name is Alexandra Garcia, hung up her phone and smiled at the man sitting in front of her.

“I told him your request, but I’m not sure what he’ll say.” “I see…..” the man sighed, mixed with anticipation and dejection.  Then he stood up and walked around the room.  The meeting room was usually used for briefings or scouting and filled with people, but right now it was just Alex and the man.

“Before I saw the video, I was half in doubt….But I was surprised, that a player like that was in Japan,” the man said with excitement in his voice as he still remembered the video Alex showed him of the matches in Japan.  

Alex let out a small smile, but it wasn’t because she was happy at his response.  His reaction was just as she had expected.  Even for her old self, she once thought that Japanese matches were mere child’s play.

However, the moment she saw her favorite pupil’s match in person, her mentality made a 180 degree turn. That ability alone is what made young players in Japan so fascinating. Even a scout man who’s seen players win the all-American tournament couldn’t ignore it. There was no way.  Alex had confidence in that.

Finally the man stopped and turned to look at her.  “Can I look forward to a positive response?” he asked her.

Alex only lightly shrugged her shoulders.  Even she herself wasn’t sure.  The one to decide was him after all. However, there was one thing she did know.  She says with a kind face resembling that of a mother’s, “I can assure you that he loves basketball more than anything.”

(T/N The translation for the conversation between Alex and the scout is pretty much what they said in English during the movie. Though for the scout his Engrish was a bit hard to understand but this is what he was pretty much saying.)

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 After school, Kagami and Kuroko finally arrive at the audiovisual room where the Seirin basketball members were already sitting and lined up.

“You’re late Kagami!” Izuki Shun frowned and scolded him much like a vice-captain should.

“You’re the one who said you wanted to watch this!....” Koganei Shinji also looked like he was sick of waiting and urged him to hurry.

“I’m sorry…..deeply!” Kagami quickly bowed his head. (T/N Apparently they didn’t notice Kuroko was with him…or they just only scolded Kagami. Also Kagami was using his awkward polite-talk here)

“It’s okay just hurry up and sit down,” said Tsuchida Satoshi in a kind voice.

“Okay!”  Kagami answered obediently, and he and Kuroko sat in two open chairs.

As if it was waiting for Kagami and Kuroko to sit down, cheers started playing on the TV installed on the teacher’s desk.

“Oh, it’s starting,” said Izuki.  All of the team members shifted their focus to the TV.

In order to watch THIS today, they stopped practice and gathered in the audiovisual room instead.  What was on the TV was an outdoor street basketball court.  A female announcer smiled and started talking with the court seen behind her filled to the brim with spectators.

“It’ll finally begin now. The street basketball super exhibition match! Please take a look. The audience is overflowing with excitement! It’s no wonder because team playing today is that super team! America’s…no, the world’s most overwhelming street basketball team, Jabberwocks!

The screen switched to show the recording of them arriving at the airport.  Tons of reporters surrounded the robust men as they came out of the arrival gates.  Jabberwock’s five members, including their leader, were not only young around the age of 18, but also possessed superb strength that could bewitch the audience and on par with NBA players.  They walked through the aisle of continuous camera flashes, showing off their overpowering presence.  

Displaying their ferocious and muscular bodies and their stares looking down at the reporters, their absolute confidence was enough to reach those watching on the television screen.

Finally, the cameras showed the last man to come out of the gate.  A complete change from the other four who walked in front of him, he had somewhat of a vibe of a gentleman.  He was Jabberwock’s leader.

After showing his slight mysterious face, the screen reverted back to the current livestream of the street basketball court.  The cheering still continued as they waited impatiently for the arrival of Jabberwocks.

“Everyone! Sorry to keep you waiting!” yelled the MC into the microphone he held in one hand as if he was waiting for his moment to come. “The amazing basketball team Jabberwocks exhibition match will soon start!”

The venue excitement reached its climax that it even reached to Kuroko and the others watching on television.

“Being able to watch authentic street basketball is pretty exciting isn’t it?” Kuroko commented to Kagami next to him.

“Yeah!” Kagami responded excitedly without tearing his eyes away from the TV.

Also looking at the TV screen, Izuki let out a chuckle.  “I wonder if things are going well for those two….”

“I wonder,” smiled Tsuchida.

“Those two” was referring to Aida Riko and Hyuuga Junpei. Riko’s father, Aida Kagetora, who was Jabberwocks’ interpreter and guide, managed to get two viewing tickets which were supposedly hard to obtain.  It was thanks to him that those two were at the venue right now.  When Riko got the tickets, she asked the team who wanted to go with her. But, everyone decided to help a certain fellow out (they already couldn’t stand his incompetence anyway) and as a result it was decided that Hyuuga and Riko would go.

“Go for it, Hyuuga….Clutch Shoot her heart!” Koganei enthusiastically sent his thoughts towards the TV even though Hyuuga wasn’t on it.

“ACHOO!!”

Whether or not Koganei’s message reached him, Hyuuga let out a huge sneeze.

“Woah are you okay?” Riko asked Hyuuga as he rubbed his nose.

“Y-yeah…”

At that moment the MC’s voice resounded throughout the venue.

“To start us off, introducing Japan’s special team! Team STRKY!!”

Joined along with loud cheers, 5 young men appeared at the edge of the court.

“Oh, here they come. But to really think that those guys would form up together….”  Hyuuga remarked. The players that Hyuuga and Riko looked down upon, were faces they knew too well.

Number 4, Imayoshi Shouichi (from Touou Gakuen High School)

Number 5, Higuchi Shouta (from Rakuzan High School)

Number 6, Miyaji Kiyoshi (from Shuutoku High School)

Number 7, Kasamatsu Yukio (from Kaijo  High School)

Number 8, Okamura Kenichi (from Yosen High School)

They were all players from the power house schools they once fought against.

 To be continued…

#kuroko no basuke #kuroko no basket #last game #last game spoilers #vorpal swords #midori translations #aww poor kagami #love how seirin is behind team hyuuriko lol