Yo Aoki scratched the back of his head, his tone a little guilty. "After all, we were the ones who started it by talking nonsense. We'll have to apologize when we run into her."
Shirota pursed his lips, it was unclear whether he acknowledged it or not, and he didn't reply.
Originally, she went up to the rooftop to express her gratitude, but who would have thought that as soon as she reached the stairwell, she overheard Aoki and Shirota talking about her desire to join the basketball team, and then she remembered how Coach Akai had kicked her out, and Oriyuki Iwasaki's temper flared up.
She stormed down the school building, her anger simmering. "You just wait Yo Aoki! I'm determined to make it onto the basketball team, and I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!"
Just as Yo Aoki was regretting his loose tongue, he had no idea that he had already been targeted by a little troublemaker.
In the basketball gym that afternoon, all the players of the Takezato Team squatted on the ground, listening to Coach Akai review yesterday's game against the Shoyo team.
Coach Akai slapped his thigh, his voice booming enough to lift the roof off. "Their performance yesterday was tough! We managed to tie with Shoyo, the second-best team in the prefecture, which proves we have the potential to compete in the national tournament!"
Yo Aoki scratched the back of his head, looking helpless. " Coach Akai, you're getting too cocky."
Coach Akai waved his hand and continued, "Everyone played well in the first half, with smooth offense and defense. Although we encountered some difficulties in the second half, we overcame them!"
Coach Akai pointed at Yo Aoki and raised his voice high. " Aoki! Especially your performance, I knew I hadn't misjudged you, you are Takezato's ace!"
Yo Aoki's face flushed red instantly, so embarrassed he wanted to disappear into the ground, forcing a smile to deal with the stares from his teammates.
But Coach Akai didn't stop there; he immediately changed the subject and started yelling, "But you guys also have a ton of problems! The most crucial one is your morale!"
Yo Aoki stumbled and almost lost his balance.
Coach Akai, hands on his hips, said fiercely, "You're one of the top four in the prefecture, Shoyo was second last year, but you're not pushovers! In Kanagawa Prefecture, you can beat anyone except Kainan!"
Yo Aoki covered his face with both hands, wishing he could bury his face in them.
Coach Akai then turned his attention to him. " Aoki, and you too! You need to act like an ace, understand?"
Yo Aoki nodded blankly, not daring to speak.
Coach Akai, exasperated, said, "When the team hits a bottleneck, all you do is pass the ball? You need to take the initiative and score!"
Yo Aoki felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he were being roasted over a fire. He muttered to himself, "Even if you're an ace, you don't have to put me in this position. It's so embarrassing."
After giving a long lecture, Coach Akai was quite pleased with himself and signaled Mizuki to begin training.
Mizuki waved her arms and shouted, "Everyone, give it your all! This year we're going to compete in the national tournament!"
"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.
After training, Yo Aoki and Imamura stayed behind for extra practice, and Hojo joined them today as well.
Yesterday's crucial steal against Shoyo changed Hojo quite a bit. He used to be a bit insecure, keeping a distance from everyone, but today he took the initiative to approach Aoki and Imamura, wanting to practice together—something that would have been impossible before.
Exhausted and sprawled on the ground, Hojo gasped for breath, too weak to even move a finger. His voice hoarse as he asked, " Aoki, Imamura, do you train this hard every day?"
Imamura chuckled, reached out and pulled Hojo up. "If you want to compete in the national tournament, you can't do it without training, can you?"
Hojo clenched his fist, his tone resolute. "I want to compete in the national tournament too! I want to make my parents proud!"
Yo Aoki patted him on the shoulder. " Hojo- senpai, qualifying for the national competition isn't easy. You have to train like crazy."
Hojo stared at Yo Aoki, his eyes welling up with tears. " Aoki, yesterday when we played against Shoyo, I almost dragged the team down with my cowardly performance. Thank you for stepping up and saving the day."
Hojo wiped his eyes, his tone solemn. "But this time I don't want to run away. I want to fight alongside you and make it to the national tournament!"
Seeing Hojo's expression, Yo Aoki smiled and raised his hand, "My goal isn't just to reach the national tournament, it's to dominate the nation!"
Imamura walked over, put his hands on their shoulders, and said with a hint of excitement, "It's so great to play ball with you guys!"
Yo Aoki smiled and smoothed things over, "Alright, enough with the sentimentality. Let's talk about the training schedule."
Imamura and Hojo were a little embarrassed by what he said, and they scratched their heads and laughed.
Hojo scratched his head. " Aoki, the advice you gave Imamura was excellent. I'd like to ask you for your advice as well."
Yo Aoki waved his hand. "Don't be shy, let's study it together."
Yo Aoki pondered for a moment, " Hojo- senpai, you don't have any obvious weaknesses in any of your skills, but precisely because of that, you lack a memorable characteristic."
Hojo nodded vigorously. He was a point guard, and he could pass, dribble, and shoot a bit, but he wasn't particularly good at any of them.
Yo Aoki explained the intricacies of point guarding to Hojo, emphasizing that an excellent point guard must spot an open teammate immediately and pass the ball accurately.
Hojo nodded in agreement, just like Shoyo from Fujima, who could easily slip the ball into an open player's hands with a mere glance; he understood that principle.
Moreover, the key to developing this skill is playing more games, but when it comes to passing feel, playing games alone is not enough; you have to practice it separately.
Yo Aoki smiled and said, "So Hojo- senpai, you'd better practice passing like crazy from now on."
Hojo wrung his hands anxiously, "Alright, shall we start training tomorrow?"
No problem. Yo Aoki picked up the ball and passed it to Hojo. Actually, you're more comfortable with pick-and-rolls with Imamura -senpai than with me.
Tomorrow we'll start practicing pick-and-rolls between the two of you.
After greeting Imamura and Hojo, Yo Aoki turned and headed home.
But he wasn't paying attention; a figure was watching him from behind, and quietly followed him after he left the school gate.
He wandered to the entrance of an alley and saw two boys in high school uniforms squatting against the wall, smoking cigarettes. He instinctively tensed up.
But as soon as he turned his attention to what was in front of him, he heard two more footsteps behind him, clearly coming towards him.
Sure enough, when the two smokers saw him coming, they immediately stubbed out their cigarettes and swaggered over to him.
Once he was completely blocked off, he was able to make out the group of people by the light of the streetlamp at the alley entrance.
One of them was Matsumoto, whom he had beaten up before, and the rest of them looked very familiar.
Two more figures emerged from the darkness, one with long hair and the other with short hair. He almost shouted out loud—it was Mitsui and Ryu!
His first encounter with Mitsui happened in this kind of messy place.
At this time, Mitsui still had long hair and was wearing a mask. I heard that he and Miyagi had a fight before, and they were both hospitalized because of it. I guess he had just been discharged from the hospital a few days ago.
His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly glanced at the number of people. There were six in total: Mitsui, Ryu, Matsumoto, and three henchmen.
Thankfully, Tetsuo didn't come. If he had, he might not have been able to handle it.
Matsumoto spoke first, "Brother Mitsui, that's him, Yo Aoki from the Takezato basketball team."
Mitsui snorted, his voice muffled as if it were coming from a jar, hidden behind his mask: Matsumoto is right, you little brat are pretty arrogant.
Yo Aoki nodded. "That's right, I am pretty arrogant."
Just as a clueless kid next to him was about to curse, Mitsui glared at Mitsui and said in a deep voice, "I heard you're a basketball prospect? If you dare to get involved in a fight with us, you might get kicked out of the basketball team."
Yo Aoki scoffed, "You're wrong. I'm not a promising talent; I'm a legitimate star now."
What? Mitsui almost exploded when he heard this. You idiot, I'm going to make sure you get kicked off the team.
Yo Aoki shrugged. "My family is rich. Even if I get involved in a fight, I can handle it. This little thing is nothing."
These words completely ignited Mitsui's anger, and he roared, "Beat him up!"
As soon as Mitsui finished speaking, Yo Aoki felt a kick in his lower back. He quickly raised his arm to block it, only to find it was a side kick from Ryu, who had somehow gotten behind him.
Yo Aoki he cursed, "He really is a rat in the gutter!"
Ryu was one of the people in the basketball circle he disliked the most, so he got angry whenever he saw him.
I'll avenge Kaede Rukawa for you first!
After blocking Ryu's sneak attack, Yo Aoki suddenly turned around and kicked Ryu in the stomach, sending him staggering back several steps until he squatted on the ground, clutching his stomach and retching.
He rushed over in two strides, raised his foot and kicked Ryu in the head. Ryu fell down without even uttering a sound.
He wanted to kick them a couple more times, but the remaining three henchmen pounced on him, so he had to give up and wrestle with them.
At this point, Mitsui and Matsumoto had not yet made a move.
Mitsui was stunned and incredulous when he saw Ryu collapse so quickly.
Matsumoto was trembling with fear. He was still reeling from the beating he received last time, and seeing that even someone as strong Ryu had been defeated so easily made him even more panicked.
Ryu, who had been kicked to the ground, slowly sat up, cursing, "Damn it! I'm going to kill you!"
He scrambled to his feet, pulled a dagger from his clothes, and walked step by step toward Yo Aoki. He circled around behind him, raised the dagger, and slashed at his head.
Yo Aoki was beating three henchmen and was about to wipe them out.
"Watch out!" It was Hisashi Mitsui who shouted this. Yo Aoki's ears perked up, and he instantly sensed something moving behind him.
He instinctively raised his arm to block, and the dagger sliced directly across his forearm, blood gushing out instantly. The remaining two henchmen, seeing Ryu pull out a knife, knew someone was going to die and ran away as fast as they could.
Only Mitsui and Ryu were left in the arena. Yo Aoki clutched his forearm wound, both shocked and furious.
But if Alon had slashed at him instead of poking him, Aoki Yang would definitely be done for. Although he always talks about competing for the national championship and facing Hainan and Shohoku, if he really lost this time, all his basketball dreams would be ruined.
Yo Aoki glared at Ryu, his voice fierce. "You almost ruined everything for me!" He spat out the words through gritted teeth, his voice spitting fire.
Ryu was so frightened by his fierce appearance that he took several steps back. Mitsui's expression changed, and his heart skipped a beat. " Ryu is in trouble."
Suddenly, the sound of sirens came from afar. Mitsui immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, " Ryu, run!" Yo Aoki wasn't about to let Ryu get away. He rushed over, grabbed Ryu by the back of his collar with his uninjured left hand, and yanked him back sharply.
He slammed the man against the alley wall and then slammed his knee into Ryu's chest. With a crisp "crack," Ryu's ribs broke.
"Ah--!!" Ryu howled in pain. Yo Aoki didn't intend to stop, and clenched his fist to smash Ryu's face.
With a loud "thud," a fist slammed into Ryu's mouth, sending several teeth flying. Seeing Ryu's horrific state, Mitsui jumped up and down in a panic. "Stop! You're going to kill him!"
Hearing Mitsui shout, Yo Aoki calmed down a bit. He glanced at Ryu, who was slumped on the ground, and his anger subsided.
As the sirens grew closer, Yo Aoki hesitated for a moment, then said to Mitsui, "You'd better get out of here quickly, or the police will catch you." Mitsui gave Yo Aoki a deep look, then went over, grabbed Ryu, and they disappeared in a flash.
Yo Aoki watched Mitsui run away, feeling a pang of sadness. Hisashi Mitsui was Yo Aoki's favorite character besides Hanamichi Sakuragi, and seeing Mitsui still a delinquent, Yo Aoki felt quite sorry for him.
"If only he could keep playing." The pain in his forearm brought him back to his senses. He gave a bitter smile; he was already in this state himself, yet he was still worrying about others.
After the police notified the Aoki family, Mamoru Aoki and Ryoko Aoki panicked and rushed to the hospital. Upon entering the ward, Ryoko Aoki rushed to the bedside and stared at Yo Aoki.