" Kawamoto, what I mean is, could you... help Tetsuo?"
Mitsui finally revealed his true intentions, his tone pleading.
Upon hearing Kawamoto Kazuki frowned slightly, his gaze towards Mitsui filled with confusion.
Why should I help him?
Mitsui was stunned.
He hadn't expected Kawamoto to be so direct.
Yes, Tetsuo had caused trouble for Kawamoto before.
But isn't that all in the past?
Besides, Kawamoto isn't the kind of person who would just watch his teammates take risks and then leave them be.
Wasn't he good to Sakuragi and Kogure?
Did he never really consider me a teammate?
Looking at Kawamoto's face, which seemed to say "it has nothing to do with me," Mitsui felt a surge of anger.
He gritted his teeth, said no more, and turned to run wildly toward the alley where the motorcycle had disappeared.
Damn it Kawamoto!
I'll go by myself.
At worst, I'll get beaten up.
But Tetsuo can't be allowed to get hurt!
Kawamoto Kazuki watched Mitsui's resolute figure rush out with a somewhat unfocused gaze.
Mitsui's guess is correct.
It's true that he's cold on the outside but warm on the inside, but that warmth is selective about who he's with.
His care for Sakuragi stemmed from Sakuragi's innocence and hard work.
The respect shown to Kogure and the others stems from their equal respect for themselves.
As for Tetsuo?
Why should he waste his time and energy trying to save a social outcast who had previously attempted to bully him?
Kawamoto's refusal to help also stemmed from his desire for Mitsui to stay away from people like Tetsuo.
But he didn't expect that Mitsui would choose to save Tetsuo regardless of everything.
This kind of brotherhood is something he cannot understand.
Throughout his life, he was always alone; how could he possibly understand the profound weight of those two words?
But at this moment, all he could see in his mind was Hisashi Mitsui's eyes, which had rekindled his passion for basketball.
It was the image of him desperately practicing three-pointers and Shammgod.
It was his struggle to swallow his pride and return to the basketball team.
For him, senior year of high school was his last year.
If this impulsive act results in a serious injury, causing you to miss the county tournament, or even prevents you from ever playing basketball again...
That might become a lifelong regret for Hisashi Mitsui.
Kawamoto himself has experienced too many missed opportunities and regrets, and knows that feeling all too well.
He can disregard Tetsuo.
But he couldn't stand by and watch a basketball player who had just found his way ruin his final season because of this pointless street brawl.
There was a two-second silence.
Kawamoto opened his backpack and quickly stuffed the bento box his mother had carefully prepared into the innermost compartment.
Then he started walking in the direction where Mitsui had disappeared.
The alleyway was now a scene of utter devastation.
Several motorcycles lay overturned against the wall, and Tetsuo, covered in blood, collapsed unconscious in the corner.
Hisashi Mitsui was pinned to the ground, unable to move, by two flashy-looking men.
A man wearing a black coat over a white and green striped shirt was gesturing with a steel pipe in front of Mitsui.
A cruel, sinister grin spread across his face.
" Hisashi Mitsui, didn't you go play basketball? Why are you back here trying to be a hero?"
The man lightly patted Mitsui's cheek with a steel pipe. "Go back to Shohoku and play your crappy basketball, I can't be bothered with you."
"But Tetsuo suddenly wanted to leave the gang, and told me he wanted to find a proper job, and even wanted to drag us all off the gang?"
He crouched down and leaned closer to Mitsui: "Isn't this partly thanks to you, the prodigal son who turned over a new leaf?"
Mitsui was pinned down, unable to move. He gritted his teeth and glared at the person in front of him. " Ryu... it wasn't me... it was..."
He wanted to say that Tetsuo might have been moved by Kawamoto's words, but he swallowed the words back.
This has nothing to do with Kawamoto; we shouldn't involve him.
"What is it? Tell me!"
Ryu raised the steel pipe, threatening to smash it down. "If you don't tell me, I'll cripple your hands today and see if you can still go back to being your MVP."
"No... don't..."
Fear instantly gripped Mitsui's heart.
Just as the steel pipe was about to fall—
Bang!
Bang!
Two muffled thuds were followed by a short cry of pain.
The two thugs holding Mitsui didn't even see what was happening.
I felt an irresistible force coming from my side.
The two were sent flying, crashing violently into the wall and losing consciousness.
Mitsui suddenly looked up.
He saw that Kawamoto Kazuki had already positioned himself between him and Ryu.
Mitsui was overjoyed and almost burst into tears.
He wanted nothing more than to rush up to Kawamoto and punch him in the chest.
She playfully scolded, "You jerk, Kawamoto, why are you so late?!"
Any later and their hands and basketball dreams would be gone...
Ryu was also startled by this sudden turn of events and instinctively took two steps back.
He looked at the high school student in front of him, dressed in the Shohoku high school uniform, with surprise and doubt.
"Who... who are you?"
Kawamoto Kazuki did not answer.
His gaze fell on the steel pipe in Ryu's hand.
He took a step forward, his movements as swift as lightning.
Ryu only felt a blur before his eyes, and his hand felt light; the steel pipe was already in the other person's hand.
Then, under Ryu's horrified gaze, Kawamoto Kazuki grabbed the steel pipe with both hands and snapped it in two.
With a creaking sound of metal twisting, he managed to bend the steel pipe into an exaggerated U-shape.
Clang!
Kawamoto tossed the twisted steel pipe at Ryu's feet.
Ryu was so frightened that he took a step back, and cold sweat poured down his back.
What the hell is this kind of superhuman strength?
Just then, another person wearing a full-face motorcycle helmet seemed to recover from the shock.
He roared and charged at Kawamoto.
Kawamoto didn't even look at him directly.
The moment the man rushed to his side, his right fist struck the hard side of the full-face motorcycle helmet like a cannonball.
A deafeningly loud bang!
The motorcycle helmet was smashed to pieces by Kawamoto's punch.
The person under the helmet didn't even utter a sound before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
Ryu's legs began to weaken, and his bladder tightened.
He stared at the shattered helmet, then at Kawamoto's bleeding, bruised fist, and was terrified.
Is... is this really a human?
Kawamoto stepped forward, grabbed Ryu by the collar with his right hand, and lifted Ryu off the ground with one hand.
Ryu struggled in vain, his face turning bright red.
"Damn it, let me go! You... you're also on the Shohoku basketball team?"
"I... I'm telling you, if you dare lay a hand on me, I'll report you to your school and say... say you're involved in a violent incident, so you can never play basketball again, and you might even be expelled."
He attempted to use the school's sensitivity to violence and the students' emphasis on club activities to threaten Kawamoto.
However, he threatened the wrong person.
Kawamoto Kazuki, upon hearing this, was not afraid at all; on the contrary, he seemed to have heard something extremely ridiculous.
He lowered his head slightly to look at Ryu, and asked calmly, "Do you have some misunderstanding about playing basketball?"
Ryu was taken aback.
Kawamoto continued, "So what if I get kicked out of the basketball club?"
"All I need is a basketball, a public gymnasium, a street court, a park, or even this vacant lot..."
I can play either.
"Basketball has never been a sport for me within the framework of clubs."
"As for expulsion from school? That's perfect, it'll give me even more time."
He pulled Ryu a little closer to him, and the pressure from those eyes almost suffocated Ryu.
"But you--"
He scrutinized Ryu's terrified face, as if trying to imprint every feature of him into his mind.
I'll remember your face.
These words sent chills down Ryu's spine.
"After I was expelled from school, I did nothing but search for you in Hiratsuka City every day."
"Daytime, nighttime, train station, arcade, pachinko parlor, your favorite restaurant, even the place downstairs from your house."
" Tetsuo should know where you live, right?"
"After I find you, I'll only do one thing: beat you up, in a way that you'll never forget."
He continued to narrate the most terrifying outcome in that flat, emotionless tone.
"Keep hitting."
"I'll beat you until you can't take it anymore."
"I'll beat you until you can't take care of yourself."
I'll beat you until you question the meaning of life.
"I'll beat you until you get out of Hiratsuka."
"Or..."