After team training, Kawamoto Kazuki found Hanamichi Sakuragi.
Sakuragi.
What happened to Brother Kawamoto?
"Mom was very happy to hear that you like her cooking."
She said that from now on, you must come to our house for dinner every weekend if you're free. She wants to hear your praise in person.
Sakuragi's eyes lit up, and he immediately patted his chest. "Really?"
"Brother Kawamoto's mom's cooking is absolutely amazing! A hundred times better than the bento boxes from convenience stores. No, a thousand times better! I'm definitely going to try it. I'll even tell her in person that she's the best chef in the world!"
Seeing Sakuragi's genuine excitement, Kawamoto nodded and continued, "Also, I hope you can set aside one day on your rest days to train with me alone."
Sakuragi was overjoyed; this was exactly the kind of good thing he had been hoping for.
Training one-on-one with a master like Kawamoto will definitely lead to faster progress.
"Of course, no problem. This genius is always ready to oblige."
"Then I'll come to your house tomorrow morning after I get off work at the convenience store."
"Good."
The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten.
After finishing his night shift at the convenience store, Kawamoto quickly took a shower, changed into clean athletic shorts and a short-sleeved T-shirt, grabbed a basketball, and headed straight for Sakuragi's house.
The rising sun is slowly ascending from the sea, turning the sky and sea into a golden hue.
Occasionally, seabirds skim across the shimmering sea, emitting clear calls.
The coastal path was clean and tidy, with low pine trees and tenacious, unnamed wildflowers planted along its sides.
As we approached the seaside stadium, a chubby figure wearing a loose vest was strolling leisurely along the roadside.
She was still holding a half-eaten taiyaki in her hand.
Sakuragi spotted the person immediately.
" Takamiya! What are you doing here? And why are you up so early?"
In his memory, his best friend Nozomi Takamiya, was definitely the type who could sleep until noon.
Nozomi Takamiya startled and looked up to see Sakuragi and Kawamoto.
He waved the taiyaki in his hand. "I get up this early every day, okay? You simple-minded guy like Hanamichi can't understand how serious I am about breakfast, even though I can't resist delicious food."
He counted on his fingers. "I've already eaten Yamada-ya's signature seafood porridge, Yoshida Cottage's special taiyaki, and Sato Bakery's first batch of curry bread straight from the oven."
"I'm about to head to Sea House to try their limited-edition seafood fried noodles for breakfast... How about we go together? It's on me!"
Sakuragi rolled his eyes, speechless. " Takamiya, you're so fat, eat less. Kawamoto and I are going to play basketball at that court over there, why don't you come along?"
What am I supposed to do there?
Takamiya looked at him with disdain.
"Do you want to see yourself get beaten to a pulp in front of Kawamoto? I don't want to."
"Stop nagging! You're in charge of retrieving the balls. It'll help you digest a bit."
Without saying a word, Sakuragi grabbed Takamiya by the neck and half-dragged, half-pulled him toward the basketball court.
"You bastard, let me go! I'm going to the Sea House! If I don't go, the seafood fried noodles will be sad!"
Just as the two were playfully bickering and approaching the entrance to the stadium, a familiar figure came running from another path.
It's Haruko Akagi.
She was wearing a yellow short-sleeved shirt and red athletic shorts, and her not-so-long hair was tied up with a green hair tie and hung down on her shoulders.
Her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and her face was flushed from exercise.
Haruko saw them too, a surprised smile on her face, and jogged over to them.
"Good morning, Kawamoto, Sakuragi- Takamiya, Takamiya-san!"
"You guys are out training so early, you're really hardworking."
Her gaze fell on the basketball in Kawamoto's hands, then she looked at Kawamoto, her tone tinged with admiration. " Kawamoto, you said before that you couldn't play basketball. My brother told me when he got home that he'd never seen a player as good as you. Honestly, you're too modest."
"I'm sorry, Haruko. I really didn't intend to continue playing basketball at that time, so I kept it a secret. Please forgive me." "It's okay."
Haruko quickly waved her hand. "I should be thanking you. My brother said that with you joining him, his dream of dominating the whole country doesn't feel so far away anymore."
She then looked at Hanamichi Sakuragi beside her. "And Sakuragi- kun, your brother has been praising you a lot at home. He says you're the fastest improving person he's ever seen, so you should keep up the good work!"
"Okay... okay... oh... I, I'll try my best."
The moment Hanamichi Sakuragi saw Haruko, he stiffened up, his hands nervously pressed against the pockets of his shorts.
His eyes wanted to look at Haruko but dared not look for too long; his face flushed red at a visible speed, even the tips of his ears turned red.
" Shohoku's next match is against Tsukubu. They're sure to win, right?"
Haruko asked, her tone full of anticipation.
Although Sakuragi was watching Haruko, when asked about the game, Sakuragi's passion surged and temporarily overcame his nervousness.
He puffed out his chest and said in a louder voice than usual, "Of course! With a genius like me on the field, we're guaranteed to win."
"That's wonderful!"
Haruko clapped her hands happily. "If you beat Tsukubu, Shohoku will play against Shoyo, which happens to be on Saturday. I'll definitely be there to watch your game and cheer you on!"
"Really?!"
Sakuragi's eyes instantly brightened compared to the rising sun; he was so excited he almost jumped up.
"Miss Haruko, you're coming to watch the game! And you're going to cheer me on!"
He felt like he was bursting with inexhaustible energy and wanted to rush onto the court right now to practice shooting 10,000 times.
"Okay! It's a deal! I won't disturb your training anymore. I need to go to the convenience store up ahead to buy some white radishes for my mom. You guys have to work hard!"
Haruko waved to them with a bright smile on her face.
Even after Haruko's figure disappeared from sight, Sakuragi remained standing in that direction, a silly grin on his face.
Kawamoto Kazuki, who had been observing from the sidelines, noticed Sakuragi's completely different demeanor Peace.
He remembered the first time he saw Sakuragi on the basketball court, when the guy had shouted that he would "win Haruko's heart with the coolest dunk."
Kawamoto wasn't a gossipy person, but he felt it necessary to check on Sakuragi's condition.
He asked a direct question, " Sakuragi, do you have a crush on Haruko?"
"Ah?"
Sakuragi's face, which had just regained its composure, instantly turned bright red, almost bleeding. He frantically waved his arms, stammering, "Wh-what?! Kawamoto, why are you suddenly saying such strange things? Hahahaha, this genius... I, I, I... that..."
Nozomi Takamiya looked at Kawamoto with an "Oh, you just realized that?" expression and interjected, " Kawamoto, you're right, Hanamichi does have a crush on Haruko, but based on my analysis, the chances of him confessing successfully are slim."
"You Takamiya! What nonsense are you spouting!"
Enraged, Sakuragi made a move to pounce on him.
Takamiya, being relatively agile for his size, hid behind Kawamoto, only showing half of his head.
Don't you know in your heart whether I'm lying or not?
Kawamoto became even more certain after seeing Sakuragi's embarrassed expression.
He thought for a moment, then said in his characteristically direct way, "If you like her, just confess!"
His tone was very natural, as if he were saying...
If you're going to shoot, just shoot the ball.
But those words silenced Sakuragi instantly.
Unrequited love is bittersweet in the early years of budding romance.
At this particular age, facing that particular person, some words always seem incredibly heavy, stuck in your throat, impossible to utter.
I'm afraid of rejection, afraid of losing even a friendship, afraid that my beautiful fantasy will shatter in an instant.
And so they missed each other time and time again, burying that flutter in their hearts each time.
Ultimately, it became a slightly regretful mark in my youthful memories.
In the long years to come, perhaps on some sleepless night, I will suddenly remember this.
The girl who, back then, made the whole world seem to light up whenever she saw me.
What happened to her afterwards?
How are you doing?
She will probably never know.
Her every smile, every gesture, accompanied that boy who dared not speak throughout his youthful years.
Those unspoken words became secrets belonging only to the boy.
Takamiya added fuel to the fire, " Kawamoto, you don't know, but Hanamichi had a glorious record of fifty failed confessions back in middle school. He was known as the Wako's Baron of Heartbreak '."
Fifty times?!
Even someone as composed as Kawamoto showed surprise on his face.
He carefully examined Sakuragi.
To be fair, Sakuragi is quite handsome.
With striking eyebrows and bright eyes, and a tall stature, he has a somewhat eccentric personality, but he is sincere, warm-hearted, and very charismatic.
Even if you might be rejected a few times because you're not their type...
But he lost all fifty times...
This probability is highly unusual.
Takamiya shrugged. "Who can argue with that? Someone as influential as me had a successful dating experience back in kindergarten."
Kawamoto looked at Sakuragi and asked the crucial question, "Since you have such extensive... experience, you should theoretically be quite resilient to rejection. Why are you hesitant to speak up this time in front of Haruko?"
This is also something that Takamiya is curious about.
The two of them looked at Sakuragi together.