Looking forward to it was one thing, but getting him to come visit you of his own accord? Not a chance!
"I didn't come here because of anyone else. I'm just here for myself, to see how you're recovering."
Miyagi raised his eyebrows curiously, completely baffled by what he meant.
"We didn't know each other before, right? Your name's... Shirasawa, isn't it?"
Suddenly, Miyagi's gaze sharpened!
"Shirasawa! You're that Shirasawa from Yokota Junior High School?"
As a delinquent, Miyagi had naturally heard that name! It simply hadn't clicked at first.
So he had come to Shohoku too, and even joined the basketball team.
Miyagi sat up straight, his eyes full of suspicion.
"Someone like you probably didn't come just to check on me, did you, Shirasawa? Besides, we barely know each other."
He stared at Shirasawa. "Just tell me. What do you want?"
Shirasawa's tone was level. "There is something, but I brought you a gift too. Take a look first."
With that, he spoke coldly toward the door. "Come in."
Miyagi looked toward the door in confusion.
The next moment, an all-too-familiar figure appeared before him...
"Tetsuo Hotta?!"
Miyagi cried out the name in shock.
Tetsuo Hotta's face was swollen like a pig's head... There wasn't a trace of his usual swagger left.
Of course Miyagi knew him!
Even swollen up like that, Miyagi would never mistake him.
After all, Tetsuo Hotta had been among the group that had ganged up on him over a month ago.
And after Mitsui went down, this guy had been the first to rush in and throw more punches.
Aside from Hisashi Mitsui, Tetsuo Hotta had left the strongest impression on Miyagi.
Besides, they were delinquents at the same school and had already clashed before.
But Miyagi couldn't for the life of him understand why Tetsuo Hotta was here.
And in such a sorry state...
Before Miyagi could figure it out, Tetsuo Hotta spoke first.
His swollen mouth made his words muffled.
"Miyagi, I... I came specifically to apologize. I'm sorry!"
"Look, I've taken a beating too. Could you... forgive me?"
Miyagi heard every word clearly, but doubts kept running through his mind.
This bastard... actually came to apologize?
After speaking, Tetsuo Hotta cast a timid glance at Shirasawa.
Two hours earlier.
As soon as the final bell rang, Tetsuo Hotta swaggered out of the school gates as usual, taking Shōwa Ōno and several lackeys with him.
But they hadn't gone far from school when they saw Shirasawa blocking the road alone.
With strength in numbers on his side, and Sho Ono and the others already itching for revenge, Tetsuo Hotta suddenly felt a lot more confident.
He walked forward with a grin.
"I haven't even come looking for you, and here you are, delivering yourself to me."
"Shirasawa, it's time we settled the score from last time."
Shirasawa merely gave an odd smile and said nothing.
That smile made Tetsuo Hotta's heart skip a beat, leaving him inexplicably unnerved.
He looked back and counted. Including himself, there were seven of them.
That should be enough...
Shōwa Ōno was itching to get started too. Last time, they had lost a four-on-two fight, but this time it was seven against one!
Surely you can't take on seven by yourself?
Before long, they led Shirasawa into a secluded corner.
They cracked their knuckles, smug smiles on their faces.
But before they could even get into position and start making threats, Shirasawa suddenly moved!
As fast as a shadow, he drove a fist into the stomach of the blond-haired boy in front of him.
The blond's eyes bulged with pain, and he crumpled to the ground on the spot.
It all happened too quickly. Before Shōwa Ōno beside him could react, a large hand blocked his vision.
Shirasawa hooked a hand behind his neck and forced him down, driving his knee up hard!
Shōwa Ōno let out a muffled grunt and instantly doubled over like a shrimp.
In just two seconds, two were already down.
Tetsuo Hotta gritted his teeth and charged with everyone left.
Bang! Bang!
"Aaagh..."
After a flurry of punches and kicks, Shirasawa grabbed Tetsuo Hotta by the hair and hammered three straight punches into his face.
Tetsuo Hotta slumped limply to the ground.
Apart from Shirasawa, not a single person could still stand.
Of course, Shirasawa hadn't come out unscathed either, but compared with the guys on the ground, it was practically a complete victory.
He crouched down, his voice cold.
"Hotta, you were the one who came after me last time. This makes us even."
Tetsuo Hotta's eyes brimmed with tears, and he was already cursing inwardly. We're the ones taking all the beatings! Have some decency!
But he didn't dare say it aloud.
What he expected even less was for Shirasawa to haul him up and drag him all the way to this hospital.
Naturally, he explained why along the way.
Although Tetsuo Hotta didn't understand why Shirasawa was doing this, he had no choice under the circumstances...
An apology wouldn't cost him a piece of flesh. Getting beaten up really hurt.
Back in the hospital room.
After Tetsuo Hotta apologized and saw Shirasawa nod, he immediately beat a hasty retreat.
By now, Miyagi more or less understood that Shirasawa had arranged the whole thing.
Although he wasn't sure of the exact purpose, there didn't seem to be any ill intent. It seemed more like he was offering Tetsuo Hotta as a greeting gift.
Delinquents had their own rules, and Shirasawa's approach actually raised him in Miyagi's estimation.
It also gave him a new understanding of Shirasawa's fighting ability.
Miyagi smiled knowingly.
"This gift's a lot more useful than a fruit basket. I'll take it. Thanks."
Shirasawa stood up.
"Then I'll get straight to the point too. Since you're physically fine, get discharged and come back to the team. Play basketball with me."
Miyagi froze for a moment and blinked.
All that fuss, just for this?
He found this guy more and more interesting.
The gift had already been delivered, and the request was something he had planned to do anyway. What reason did he have to refuse?
His earring glinted as the corners of his mouth lifted.
"Deal."
"I'll be back tomorrow."
The two exchanged a brisk high five.
Shirasawa left, satisfied.
Miyagi's condition was indeed just as he had expected. He had long since recovered physically.
Now there was no need to worry about the practice game against Ryonan.
Although Miyagi would have to adapt to a new style of play, that probably wouldn't be difficult for him.
As for offending Tetsuo Hotta... that wasn't an issue at all.
They were bound to clash sooner or later anyway.
Elsewhere.
Inside Shohoku High School's basketball gym, Hanamichi Sakuragi and Takenori Akagi were locked in a staring contest.
Hanamichi Sakuragi tilted his head, looking baffled. "Gorilla, what did you keep me behind alone for? You're not still hung up on losing to me, are you?"
His eyes suddenly widened, and he shrank back a little. "Don't tell me... you're going to silence me for good?"
Takenori Akagi felt his temples throbbing. This assignment from Coach Anzai was more torturous than grabbing twenty rebounds in a row.
He had actually approached Shirasawa earlier, since Sakuragi had been training with him. But that brat Shirasawa had slipped away faster than anyone, saying he had already taught everything he should and that the captain would have to teach the inside game himself. Then he had vanished.
Akagi took a deep breath and suppressed his anger. Not wanting to waste words on this red-haired monkey, he got straight to the point.
"There's a saying in basketball: control the paint, and you control the game."
He folded his arms, his tone serious. "The more rebounds you grab, the more chances your teammates have to score. In other words, rebounds are what secure a win."
Sakuragi was completely lost, unable to understand what this gorilla was going on about.
Seeing that clueless look, Akagi sighed helplessly.
"Although I'm not particularly happy about it either," he said sternly, "starting today, I'll teach you how to rebound. Understood?"
Inside Shohoku's basketball gym, sneakers squeaked against the floor one after another.
Since the last physical assessment, Coach Anzai had analyzed every player. Akagi now held a stack of sheets, each showing a player's hexagonal ability chart. Everyone trained in the directions indicated on them, working on their weaknesses.
For someone like Hanamichi Sakuragi, who needed special attention, Akagi had to give him extra coaching after practice every day.
The most relaxed person on the entire court was Shirasawa.
Because Coach Anzai hadn't included him in those analyses at all.
Even Shirasawa couldn't figure out what sort of management strategy Anzai was using. Was he afraid too much pressure would backfire, or was he trying to apply some invisible pressure indirectly?
Still, Shirasawa was happy to take it easy, wandering around and playing casually on his own, only joining in when team practice began.
Shirasawa's offensive ability had actually always been a mystery.
From that junior high final until now, whether during training or intrasquad games, he hadn't attempted to score himself even once.
But strangely, everyone trusted him all the same, for no clear reason.
Perhaps it was precisely the unknown that gave them more room to imagine. With such incredible passing and physical ability, how bad could his offense be?
He simply didn't need to shoot.
Whenever Shirasawa stepped onto the court, the whole team seemed to come alive. Calling their offense unstoppable would have been an exaggeration, but at the very least, it flowed smoothly. He gave everyone else all the opportunities, quietly paving the way behind them...
That spirit alone was enough to earn their admiration.
In response, Shirasawa usually just smiled without explaining much.
For one thing, he really did enjoy passing. The feeling of controlling the whole game was hard to describe. For another, his shooting and ball handling were still fairly average. Compared with his passing, they really weren't much to show off.
But Shirasawa wasn't in a hurry.
He believed that after another game or two, he would definitely make a qualitative leap.
Tweet-
Takenori Akagi blew his whistle.
All the players immediately gathered around, ready to begin team practice.
Just as Akagi was explaining the drills, a sudden noise came from the gym doors. A shaft of light shone through the gap, and then the doors were abruptly pulled open!
Everyone's attention was instantly drawn over.
Looking at the figure in the doorway, Shirasawa's lips curved upward.
It was Ryota Miyagi, back with the team after recovering from his injury.
He had already changed into his number 7 jersey, still sporting his signature mushroom haircut. His earring glinted under the lights.
After entering, Miyagi gave a cool smile. "I'm back."
The upperclassmen were instantly overjoyed.
"Miyagi!!"
Yasuda, Tetsushi Shiozaki, and several others rushed over excitedly.
"You're completely healed?!"
"That's great! We were worried you wouldn't make it back for the prefectural tournament!"
"Why didn't you tell us beforehand!"