"Finally, I can leave this damn place for a while. I can't waste any time. Time to go."
Kira Ryosuke messaged Aida Reiko to tell her that he had already left Blue Lock. Then he stretched and hailed a taxi by the roadside to Seirin High School.
Chapter Forty-Four: Heading to Seirin, the Troubles of Being a Star!
Kira Ryosuke quickly found a taxi nearby and headed for Seirin High School. The two places were not very far apart, so the trip did not take long.
While in the car, Kira Ryosuke opened his System Interface.
He currently had 160 Combat Points, which was just enough to upgrade another skill.
Combat. Thunder Breathing: Third Form. Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder (Locked, Unlock: 150 Combat Points and Rice Spirit unlocked)
Kira Ryosuke immediately chose to upgrade the skill, and a new set of memories surged into his mind.
Combat. Thunder Breathing: Third Form. Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder Lv1 Proficiency 0%
He had 10 Combat Points left, which happened to be enough to enter the Combat Space once.
By practicing there, Kira Ryosuke was not restricted by time or location.
The surrounding scenery shifted. In one moment, Kira Ryosuke was sitting in the taxi; in the next, he had arrived on a soccer field.
Without the slightest hesitation, Kira Ryosuke used Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder on the soccer ball beneath his feet. Time was precious.
The ball shot forward—
But unlike Thunderclap and Flash, the ball did not fly in a straight line. Instead, it drew a distinct curve through the air.
A curved shot!
This technique involved kicking different parts of the ball to make it spin in the direction the player wanted. The ball's high-speed rotation also affected its trajectory in midair, often creating miraculous shots and passes, especially on free kicks.
However, using a curved shot effectively during a match was extremely difficult. It required the player to possess highly refined skills.
Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder allowed Kira Ryosuke to use curved shots with exceptional proficiency.
"This skill is incredibly useful. It can produce some great results in a match. It's just that its speed and power aren't quite enough—perhaps Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder can be combined with Thunderclap and Flash to create a special effect."
Kira Ryosuke thought this over, then tried combining Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder with his previous skill.
Before long, an hour had passed. Kira Ryosuke's consciousness returned to reality, and he was back in the car.
As far as the real world was concerned, Kira Ryosuke had never left at all.
Nearly an hour later, Kira Ryosuke finally arrived at his destination: Seirin High School.
As a high school that had only been established that year, its educational facilities were quite good.
Kira Ryosuke took out his phone and told Aida Reiko that he had arrived. She replied that she still had some things to deal with in the basketball club and would need him to wait a little.
Kira Ryosuke had nothing else to do, so he stood at the school gate and idly played with his phone.
The eyes of the students passing nearby kept falling on him.
"That boy... He's so tall and handsome!"
"Wait, I know him! He seems to be the soccer star from the school next door! His name is Kira Ryosuke!"
"So he's Kira Ryosuke? I've heard of him!"
While playing with his phone, Kira Ryosuke realized that he had somehow been surrounded by a crowd of girls.
"Are you Kira?"
"Kira, I'm your fan! Let's take a photo together!"
"Kira, what are you doing at Seirin? Could I have your contact information?"
In just a few minutes, Kira Ryosuke had been surrounded so tightly by the girls that he could barely move. All he could do was maintain an awkward yet polite smile.
On the other side of the school, Aida Reiko had just finished assigning her players their training tasks. She then hurried toward the school gate, afraid that she would keep Kira Ryosuke waiting too long.
But as soon as she reached the gate, she was stunned by the scene before her.
"What's going on?"
For a moment, Aida Reiko thought something had happened at the school gate to attract so many people.
A few seconds later, she saw Kira Ryosuke surrounded by the crowd and suddenly understood.
Kira Ryosuke had become the center of everyone's attention.
Without a word, Aida Reiko plunged straight into the crowd.
"Excuse me, coming through!"
Aida Reiko struggled her way out of the crowd and grabbed Kira Ryosuke's hand.
"Reiko?"
Only then did Kira Ryosuke notice Aida Reiko's presence. She pulled him away from the crowd at top speed and ran toward the basketball club's gym.
"Who's that person?"
"I've seen her before. I think she's a first-year, right?"
"The one from the basketball club?"
Everyone's eyes turned toward the two of them. Aida Reiko could only keep her head lowered the entire time, afraid of making eye contact with anyone else.
At last, a few minutes later, the two of them arrived outside the basketball gym.
"Thank goodness. They didn't follow us."
Aida Reiko warily glanced behind her, then focused her gaze on Kira Ryosuke.
"Thanks, Reiko. You really saved me."
Kira Ryosuke smiled at Aida Reiko. If she had not appeared in time, he probably would have been trapped at the school gate for a long while.
"It's my fault. I should have come sooner!"
Aida Reiko said this as she looked at Kira Ryosuke. It had been nearly half a month since they had last met, but she felt as if even more time had passed.
For some reason, she also felt a little happy after reuniting with Kira Ryosuke.
Yet when she had just seen him surrounded by a crowd of girls, she had felt a little unhappy.
Aida Reiko did not think too deeply about it. She simply looked at Kira Ryosuke as if she wanted to say something, but after thinking for a long time, she could only ask:
"How have things been over there?"
After asking the question, Aida Reiko wanted to smack herself on the head. Ever since Kira Ryosuke had gotten his phone back and could contact her, she had asked him this almost every day.
But asking through a phone and asking face-to-face were still very different.
"Mm, pretty good."
Kira Ryosuke smiled and nodded.
"Th-then let's go inside first. Everyone else is training, so you can go over and watch!"
Aida Reiko said,
"After training, we can go home and have dinner together..."
After saying that, Aida Reiko seemed to realize that her wording was a little off and immediately explained,
"I mean, go back to the gym! I already told my dad to prepare plenty of ingredients! I heard the food you ate every day at Blue Lock was very monotonous, so I specially prepared lots of delicious and nutritious ingredients yesterday!"
"Sounds good!"
"Th-then let's go inside first. You can rest on the side, or watch their training if you want! I don't know whether it'll be helpful to you!"
Chapter Forty-Five: Coach, I Want to Play Basketball
After speaking, Aida Reiko realized that her cheeks seemed to be burning. She felt as if she were bringing a newly acquired boyfriend to meet her friends.
If I really got together with Ryosuke... But Ryosuke is too outstanding, and I... Ah, what am I even thinking about?!
Aida Reiko immediately banished the strange thoughts that had just appeared in her mind, then quickly led Kira Ryosuke into the gymnasium.
As soon as she pushed open the door, the neatly lined-up members of the basketball club came into view.
"Good day, Coach Reiko!"
"Welcome to the Seirin basketball club, Kira!"
"Welcome, welcome!"
After speaking, the players bowed deeply in unison to Aida Reiko and Kira Ryosuke.
They believed that Kira Ryosuke was a very important guest to Aida Reiko, so they had to treat him well.
"..."
Kira Ryosuke had never seen such a scene before and did not know where to begin complaining.
Still, he smiled and politely introduced himself, then got acquainted with the others.
During the introductions, Kiyoshi Teppei carefully observed Kira Ryosuke as well.
The other boy had a sturdy build, clearly the result of extremely strict and arduous training.
He had heard that the training Aida Reiko had arranged for Kira Ryosuke was merciless. Even the basketball club members could hardly endure it; they would break down after just a few days.
But Kiyoshi Teppei had heard that Kira Ryosuke had persevered.
This was enough to prove that Kira Ryosuke possessed unparalleled willpower. It was no wonder he had become a star.
By then, veins were already bulging on Aida Reiko's forehead. At that moment, she almost wanted to beat all these idiots senseless on the spot.
But with Kira Ryosuke beside her, she could only forcibly suppress her anger and say in an extremely gentle tone:
"Has everyone finished the training I assigned earlier?"
"Mm, we've finished it all!"
"Why has Coach Reiko suddenly become so gentle?"
"I'm not used to this..."
"Then let's do some extra training!"
Aida Reiko smiled as she spoke, but her gentle tone seemed to carry a hint of murderous intent.
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
"I told you, this wouldn't work!"
"Somebody save me!"
Before long, an hour had passed.
Aida Reiko first led the players through some basic physical training, followed by ball-handling and tactical training.
Kira Ryosuke sat to the side and carefully watched what they were practicing. Quite a few parts could be applied to his daily training.
"Next, let's do some actual game practice. But we only have nine people today. How about three teams playing 3v3 on half a court?"
After a period of training, Aida Reiko prepared to lead the players into the next stage.
"Only nine people?"
Kiyoshi Teppei thought for a moment, then noticed Kira Ryosuke sitting nearby.
"Kira, do you know how to play basketball? Why don't you join us for a while?"
"Me? I haven't really played basketball before. I only know some of the most basic rules."
Kira Ryosuke smiled as he prepared to refuse. He knew a little about basketball and understood the basic rules, but most of that knowledge had come from anime. He had hardly ever played himself.
But at that moment, a certain thought arose in Kira Ryosuke's mind.
The Thunder Breathing skills he had obtained from the system had been specially adapted for competitive sports. Could they also be effective in basketball?
If so, perhaps these abilities could be used in far more ways than Kira Ryosuke had previously expected.
Moreover, although basketball and soccer were two completely different sports, their core principles were not all that different.
Before you continue