To Kawamoto Kazuki, what happened to Sakuragi did not matter.
It was not just Sakuragi. The same went for the entire Shohoku team.
Basketball was the only thing he loved!
Ayako paused, then walked over.
Sakuragi looked at Ayako, his expression serious.
"Ayako, when exactly can I practice playing with them?"
"I want to learn how to dunk sooner!"
Ayako patiently explained, "It's too early for you to learn to dunk."
"What will help you right now is basic training."
"After all, you're only a beginner."
"Beginner! Beginner!"
"All day long, it's beginner this, beginner that! Kawamoto Kazuki joined the basketball team even later than I did, so why does he get to practice on the court?"
"Kawamoto... he's different from you. Although he's only just started playing basketball, his fundamentals seem pretty solid."
"You're just playing favorites! I'm going on the court!"
With that, Sakuragi walked toward the basketball court.
Takenori Akagi immediately stepped into his path.
"What do you think you're doing? Get back to your basic training!"
Those words seemed to set Hanamichi Sakuragi off completely.
His expression changed dramatically. Pointing at Takenori Akagi, he snapped, "Shut up, Gorilla! You're obviously holding a grudge because you lost to me!"
"That's why you're deliberately giving me a hard time!"
"Deliberately giving you a hard time?" Akagi's brows drew together.
"That's right! You're deliberately giving me a hard time!"
"From now on, I'm not listening to another word of your crap!"
"Watch this! I'm going to dunk!"
Sakuragi picked up a nearby basketball and started toward the hoop.
Unable to take any more, Akagi kicked him to the floor.
"You idiot! Do you even understand what playing basketball means?"
"You don't even know the basic moves, and you want to dunk?"
"You even want to play in games?"
The kick did not injure Sakuragi.
Combined with Gorilla's incessant scolding, it only stoked the anger in Sakuragi's heart.
He stood up, grabbed Gorilla's head, and slammed his own into it.
"Damn it, I just want to dunk!"
"Is even that not allowed?"
"Why won't you let me dunk?"
"Why?!"
Gorilla crouched on the floor, clutching his head, but his tone had grown somewhat calmer.
"You've still got plenty to learn!"
"You don't even understand the basic rules!"
Hanamichi Sakuragi's outburst did not earn him the chance to play on the court as he had hoped.
Instead, it brought an even harsher scolding from Takenori Akagi.
The volcano of hurt and anger in Sakuragi's heart erupted completely.
His face flushed red, and he roared.
"This genius doesn't need to stay on a basketball team like this!"
Then he turned and headed out of the gym.
"Sakuragi!"
"Sakuragi!"
Kogure and Ayako hurriedly called out, trying to make him stay.
"Leave him alone!"
Akagi's voice carried unquestionable authority.
"Someone who can't even stick with this little bit of basic training, who throws a tantrum and quits at the drop of a hat, isn't suited to basketball in the first place!"
"He's just a guy with no perseverance!"
He looked around at the stunned team members, as though addressing all of them.
Sakuragi abruptly stopped, then raised his head.
His gaze happened to meet Haruko's as she arrived to watch practice.
Their eyes met...
Haruko's face was filled with surprise and concern. "Sakuragi, you..."
The moment Sakuragi saw Haruko, all the anger inside him drained away.
Nothing remained in his heart but endless embarrassment.
He kept his head firmly lowered, not daring to look into Haruko's clear eyes again.
He mumbled a response deep in his throat, then brushed past her.
In its place came an immense emptiness and dejection.
Hanamichi Sakuragi wandered aimlessly around the school grounds.
His usually straight back was now hunched.
Even his brilliant red hair seemed to have lost its luster.
He looked as though his soul had been sucked out of him, utterly lost.
After Sakuragi's outburst, the basketball team's practice briefly stalled.
Then it resumed.
Once team practice was over.
Wiping away his sweat with a towel, Takenori Akagi approached Kawamoto Kazuki, who was quietly putting away basketballs in a corner.
"Kawamoto..."
Akagi's voice was gentler than it had been during practice. "You're in the same class as Sakuragi, right?"
Kawamoto stopped what he was doing and nodded. "Yes, Captain."
Akagi sighed, a hint of complexity appearing on his resolute face.
"That kid... he's reckless and his fundamentals are poor, but honestly, his athletic talent, especially his jumping ability and explosive power, is among the best I've ever seen."
"It would be such a waste for him to quit out of spite."
He looked at Kawamoto, his tone asking a favor. "If possible... when you run into him, try talking him around."
Kawamoto Kazuki was silent for a moment.
He was not the sort to meddle in other people's business.
Especially when it came to mediating conflicts like this.
But he saw the appreciation for talent in his captain's eyes and thought of Sakuragi, clumsy yet full of enthusiasm.
In the end, he nodded slightly. "I understand. I'll give it a try."
After classes let out at noon, Kawamoto did not sleep in the classroom.
He quietly followed Sakuragi and the others.
Sakuragi, Yohei Mito, and the others went to a restaurant called DANNY'S.
Kawamoto Kazuki did not go straight inside.
Through the glass, he spotted Sakuragi in a corner of the warmly lit restaurant.
Hanamichi Sakuragi and the four members of the Sakuragi Gang occupied a curved booth.
On the table sat a pizza that looked barely touched, a plate of tomato pasta, and a serving of curry rice.
Sakuragi mechanically drank ice water, crunching loudly on the ice cubes in his glass.
His vacant gaze rested on the tabletop, his mind clearly elsewhere.
Chewing on a pizza crust, Chuichiro Noma spoke with the air of someone who had been there before. "Man, I always knew Sakuragi's enthusiasm wouldn't last."
"But seriously, sticking with it for over a week already exceeded my expectations."
Nozomi Takamiya stuffed food into his mouth and mumbled in agreement. "Exactly. I don't think he ever really wanted to be an athlete. He just wanted to use basketball to get close to Miss Haruko."
Yohei Mito was a little more attentive. He nudged Sakuragi's arm. "Sakuragi, your pasta's going to clump together if you don't eat it."
Only then did Sakuragi snap out of his daze. He picked up his fork and began absentmindedly stirring the plate of bright red spaghetti.
But Akagi's roar kept echoing through his mind:
"A guy with no perseverance!"
"No perseverance... no perseverance... no perseverance... no perseverance..."
Then he remembered when he had rushed out of the gym.
The upset expression on Haruko's face...
Miss Haruko looked so sad at that moment.
Just then, a tall shadow fell across their table.
Yohei Mito was the first to look up alertly, spotting Kawamoto Kazuki standing beside the table with an expressionless face.
"Huh?"
He paused, then instinctively nudged Noma beside him with his elbow.
Nozomi Takamiya noticed Kawamoto too.
Sakuragi had just been mistreated at the basketball club, so he immediately grew wary, his plump body stiffening. "Hey, Kawamoto! What are you doing here?"
He stared at Kawamoto and spoke in a hostile tone. "What's with that look? Are you trying to pick a fight?"
Yuji Okusu and Chuichiro Noma immediately stood up as well, and the atmosphere instantly grew somewhat tense.
Hanamichi Sakuragi, who had been immersed in his own world, was also pulled back to reality by the sudden tension.
He raised his head and looked blankly at Kawamoto Kazuki standing before him.
Kawamoto Kazuki's calm gaze swept over the Sakuragi Gang, who looked as though they were facing a formidable enemy.
Finally, it settled on Hanamichi Sakuragi, who was still sitting there with his fork in his hand.