Late Bloomer! Mito Yohei! (Part 2)

Mito Yohei, once a core member of the Sakuragi Gang, was now a key player for the Sendai Wanderers.

How had Yohei gone from a part-timer to a professional player? Part of it was fate, but the rest was entirely due to Yohei's own efforts.

By his second year of high school, Yohei had practically dropped out. He drifted between restaurants every day, earning barely enough pocket money to support himself.

Just as Yohei felt lost about his future, a call from Takamiya reminded him of a postcard he had received at the restaurant—a postcard about basketball. After thinking it over again and again, Yohei decided to give it a try.

Early the next morning, Yohei followed the address on the postcard a customer had given him and found the basketball school.

"Kanagawa Prefectural Basketball School. That guy really wasn't lying to me. I've lived in Kanagawa for so many years, yet I never knew a place like this existed!"

Yohei gave a bitter smile as he looked at the sign by the entrance.

After asking around for a while, Yohei found the man who had given him the card: basketball coach Nagai Kazuki.

"Hello, do you remember me?!"

"I'm terribly sorry, but you are...?"

Coach Nagai seemed to have forgotten Yohei.

"At the sushi restaurant... we..." Yohei offered a few key words to jog Coach Nagai's memory.

"Oh, oh, oh! I remember now! You changed into casual clothes, so I didn't recognize you at first! Sorry, sorry." It seemed Nagai had remembered.

"It's fine, it's fine."

"Haha, I'm getting old. I keep forgetting things!"

"Haha..."

Yohei and Nagai chatted and laughed together. It was as if a talent scout had found a thoroughbred; they got along wonderfully.

As they talked, the two arrived at the basketball court.

"Yohei, from the moment you leaped up and caught that balloon, I thought you had great potential as a basketball player. It wasn't about how high you jumped, but your body's coordination. You have to understand, the string of a balloon floating in the air moves unpredictably. Reaching that height isn't difficult, but grabbing that string accurately in one go—that's the hard part."

"Actually... I didn't think that much about it..." Yohei had never imagined such a simple move could involve so much. Perhaps it also had something to do with how often he got into fights.

Before Yohei could stay happy for long, Nagai's next words calmed him down again.

"But, Yohei! To be honest, I can't say for sure whether you can still make it when you're only starting basketball at this age. So you need to prepare yourself mentally."

"No problem, Coach. I had already prepared for the worst before coming here!"

"That's good. Starting today, you're my student. You're the oldest student I've ever taught! Haha!"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Nagai!!!"

Yohei was overwhelmed with excitement when he heard Nagai say that.

"Don't call me mister. Just call me Coach!"

"Okay! Coach Nagai!! Haha!"

And just like that, Yohei had a coach and began receiving formal basketball training.

Just as Coach Nagai had said, Yohei had an exceptional feel for basketball. In less than a week, he had fully grasped the rules and the essentials of several basic skills. He improved every day.

Sakuragi, when you come back, you'll definitely be shocked. I can play basketball too! Someday, I'll definitely compete on the same court as you!

Yohei set a goal for himself. He had watched Sakuragi go from knowing nothing about basketball to gradually becoming a key player on the school team, so Yohei believed that with enough effort, he could do the same.

"Ahhhhhh!!!!! Yohei, you're really practicing basketball!!"

Inside the gym, Yohei, who was training under Coach Nagai, was startled by three men who suddenly burst in.

"You three..."

When he walked closer, he saw that it was Takamiya and the others.

"I heard from Okusu that you were practicing basketball. I didn't think it was actually true..."

Takamiya still couldn't believe it.

"Okusu... you're really unreliable. You blabbermouth."

"No, Yohei, it wasn't like that! We were afraid you were using basketball practice as an excuse to do something else. We were worried about you!!"

Okusu explained.

"Fine... Oh, right, you haven't told Sakuragi about me playing basketball, have you?!" Yohei asked.

"Not yet!" the three answered in unison.

"That's good. You three remember this! Don't tell him, no matter what. Absolutely don't!!!" Yohei clearly cared deeply about this.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm afraid it'll distract him. With Sakuragi's personality, if he found out, he'd definitely be clamoring to come back right away." Yohei had thought it through carefully.

"Perfect timing, since your friends are here. Today, I'll teach you a signature skill that belongs to you."

Coach Nagai's words interrupted Yohei and the others.

"A signature skill?" Yohei was somewhat puzzled.

"That's right. You've now basically mastered the fundamentals of shooting, so I'm going to teach you—the three-pointer!"

"Th-three... pointer!"

Nagai's words surprised Yohei so much that he began stammering.

"When you first start practicing three-pointers, it's perfectly normal not to make them. So your friends can handle retrieving the balls. In a while, I'll teach you the technique for shooting threes, then you can start practicing. I need to go teach the children's class."

"Okay..."

Yohei wasn't sure whether he was suited to practicing three-pointers, but since the coach had said so, he began training anyway.

One, two, three—Yohei repeatedly practiced three-pointers according to the method Coach Nagai had taught him. After nearly every practice, his body was soaked as if he had taken a bath, but Yohei never, ever complained of being tired. Day after day, he practiced as though possessed.

At last, hard work paid off. When Yohei graduated from high school, he was admitted to university as a sports scholarship student. Yohei himself had never dared imagine that he could get into university.

"Congratulations, Yohei. There will be even more strong opponents waiting for you at university. Keep training hard, remember? You started late, so you have to work ten times harder than others just to catch up!"

Coach Nagai bid Yohei farewell.

"Coach..."

Yohei was reluctant to leave. This was where he had put down roots and grown, where he had learned basketball.

"A real man should set his sights on the world. I believe you'll carve out a world of your own!" Coach Nagai comforted the saddened Yohei.

As the sun set, the two men shared an emotional farewell. Yohei got into a sedan and slowly drove away. Like a migratory bird that had grown up, Yohei now needed a broader sky to soar freely.

And so, Yohei entered the university league.

"Yohei has been substituted out."

"Yohei has been substituted out."

"Yohei has been substituted out."

During his freshman year, that was the commentary Yohei heard about himself most often in games.

Indeed, once he reached university, high school talents from all over Japan gathered together, and strong players were everywhere. Yohei had started far later than everyone else and had little game experience, so poor performances were inevitable. But Yohei never gave up. Since he had started late, he decided to learn an already proven skill—defense.

During his freshman year, Yohei came to understand the importance of defense. If he couldn't contribute more on offense, then he would make up for it on defense. In Yohei's eyes, he had a role model: Kogure Kiminobu, who had built his game on three-pointers and defense. So whenever he rested, Yohei watched footage of Kogure. Sometimes, he even sought Kogure out specifically and humbly asked for guidance.

An academic year quickly passed. Though he still had the occasional poor performance, after studying under Kogure, Yohei had indeed improved greatly on defense. Believing he had reached that standard, he officially declared for the draft!

But unfortunately, when scouts heard that he had only started playing basketball in his first year of high school, they all backed away. Yohei went undrafted.

"Yohei, don't be sad. If it doesn't work out, we can stop playing basketball. We can still do other things, like..."

"Don't say 'like.' Other than basketball, nothing else holds any appeal for me. Not getting picked only means I'm not strong enough yet. I'm not talking to you guys anymore. I'm going to practice."

Takamiya and the others had wanted to comfort Yohei, but instead, every setback only made him more determined. He was full of drive.

Sure enough, during his sophomore season, Yohei was in incredible form. Not only did his three-pointers become more accurate, but his previously weakest area, ball handling, also improved tremendously. Every aspect of his game advanced by leaps and bounds.

"There are only eight seconds left in the game. Let's see whether a miracle can happen!"

This was a crucial game during Yohei's sophomore year. Eight seconds remained, and Yohei's team was trailing.

"The ball almost went out... He's still dribbling, still dribbling, there's almost no time left!!! It goes to Yohei. Yohei fires a three with no one guarding him!!!"

The commentator was beside himself with excitement.

"Go in, please!!"

"Yes! This feeling, this long-lost feeling! That's right!! Come on!!"

The same final possession, the same spot, the same shooting motion—an almost identical scene. Only this time, the passer was Xiandao! The instant Yohei landed, the point where past and present connected, he finally broke free from his memories.

"The ball~~~~ is~~~ in!!!! Sophomore Mito Yohei hits the game-winning three!!"

"The ball~~~~ is~~~ in!!!! The Wanderers take the lead again with a three! Yohei has left Lavender sixteen seconds!"