At that moment, in his teammates' hearts, Shirasawa was no longer Boss Bai, the guy who only knew how to fight and made people steer clear.
He had become the hero who controlled the game and led them to the championship.
Shirasawa reveled in the joy, but it came from more than being tossed into the air and caught.
A system panel popped up before his eyes.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing an assist!] [Received 1 ability point and 20,000 yuan.] [First assist achievement unlocked!] [Bonus reward: 10 ability points and 50,000 yuan.]
Ability points and cash-he got both.
When life goes your way, enjoy it to the fullest...
By contrast, things were much quieter on Tomigaoka's side.
Some players lowered their heads and secretly wiped away tears.
Others stared hard at Kaede Rukawa, thinking that if only he had not been late...
Tomigaoka's coach said nothing, simply calling his players off the court.
Kaede Rukawa panted, Shirasawa's final play still replaying in his mind.
A jab step, a pass, and the victory was his.
Why didn't he attack himself?
With that question in mind, Kaede Rukawa walked up to Shirasawa.
The two met each other's eyes, like the aces of the two teams coming face-to-face.
One had turned the tide over half a game; the other had entered at the very end and decided the outcome.
And no one knew just how strong Shirasawa really was.
Expressionless, Kaede Rukawa asked, "Why didn't you attack yourself at the end?"
Shirasawa looked up at the scoreboard and said casually, "Maybe I didn't need to."
Those words made Kaede Rukawa clench his fists.
The meaning was clear: he had won without attacking, so was it because Rukawa was too weak?
Effortless flexing hurt the most...
It stung the boy.
In the stands, people began leaving one after another.
The awards ceremony was next, but aside from the students, few cared. Junior high awards did not carry much weight, after all.
Coach Anzai and Kiminobu Kogure also rose to leave.
Kogure adjusted his glasses and glanced at Shirasawa.
"Coach, you found the right candidate, didn't you?"
Coach Anzai chuckled, "Ho ho ho," and walked away with his hands behind his back.
With that, this year's junior high basketball league officially came to an end.
Under Coach Takizawa's leadership, Yokota Middle School claimed the first championship in its team history.
The MVP award went to the center, who had scored the most points and made the game-winning shot.
He picked up the trophy and shakily glanced at Shirasawa, reluctant to hand it over but a little scared to make no gesture at all.
Shirasawa paid him no attention and turned toward the stands.
He lifted his chin at Sanae Nakagawa.
Sanae smiled sweetly, brought a hand to her lips, and gently blew him a kiss.
This woman really knew how to flirt...
Afterward, the team returned to school to celebrate, but Shirasawa did not join them.
Coach Takizawa did not stop him. He knew Shirasawa was not interested, and seeing him take today's step was gratifying enough.
He would find time for a proper talk later, especially about choosing a school. That required care.
He couldn't let that talent go to waste!
Shirasawa rode in Sanae's car to the shopping district for a meal.
The same delicate fragrance lingered in the car. Sanae changed out of her high heels into flats.
"Xiao Bai, you can't fool a basketball reporter like me."
Sanae turned her head and asked with a smile, "When did you start practicing basketball?"
As far as she remembered, Shirasawa had never touched any sport besides fighting and working out.
Yet his performance today went completely beyond anything she knew of him.
Shirasawa stretched and leaned lazily back into the passenger seat.
"Would you believe me if I said today?"
Sanae chuckled. Seeing that he did not want to say, she asked no further.
She leaned over, meeting Shirasawa's eyes, and slowly reached out...
To fasten his seat belt.
Shirasawa swallowed involuntarily.
Older women were wonderful, older women were great...
She was a mature little wildcat.
Three days later.
Yokota Junior High School.
The championship fever gradually faded, and the campus returned to its usual peace.
In Class 2 of the third year, the last desk by the window was still empty.
The teacher at the podium was long used to it. Things were much better when that mighty figure stayed away.
After being closed for three days, the basketball gym had its doors wide open today and was especially lively.
Because today was the day the third-years said goodbye to the team.
From this point on, they were no longer members of Yokota's basketball team. When they met again on a high school court, they would most likely be opponents.
The basketball team had six third-years in total, all key players in this championship run.
The center who had won MVP was reportedly going to high school in Osaka.
The other older players had mostly settled on their destinations too.
But for most of them, basketball was only a hobby. They knew their own level. They were key players at Yokota, but might not even get a look-in on a high school team.
Yet what they were discussing most enthusiastically right now was not their parting.
It was the newly released issue of Basketball Weekly.
A junior high league final could not get particularly good placement in the magazine.
Getting a dedicated page was already pretty good.
There was not actually much match coverage on that page.
Kaede Rukawa alone took up a good chunk of it.
Tomigaoka might have lost, but they had a player people wanted to talk about.
The Yokota players' attention was on another small section.
"Yokota's game changer."
The accompanying picture was of Shirasawa!
It detailed Shirasawa's performance over those final fifty seconds: drawing the defense, forcing Kaede Rukawa into an offensive foul, and that final assist threaded straight through.
The piece was not long, but it was enough to make people remember that crucial number 9.
Yet Shirasawa himself never showed up at the gym, even by the end of the farewell gathering.
Because he was entertaining several guests at home.
Well, they could also be called "heavyweight" guests...
Shirasawa's home.
Two people sat on the sofa, which was clearly nearing its limit, creaking under the strain.
Of the two, one was dark-skinned and one fair, one tall and one short.
One wore a stern expression and had an imposing presence, while the other smiled amiably.
They were none other than Shohoku High School basketball coach Mitsuyoshi Anzai and team captain Takenori Akagi!
The day after Yokota won the championship, Coach Anzai had contacted one of his former pupils, Yokota's Coach Takizawa.
Over the phone, Anzai directly expressed his admiration for Shirasawa.
Takizawa was overjoyed to hear it.
Nothing could be better than having Coach Anzai coach Shirasawa.
He had not been called the "White-Haired Devil" back then for nothing. What kind of prospect had he not seen?
Shirasawa's potential would surely be brought out to the fullest!
Takizawa then explained in detail how Shirasawa had come into contact with basketball.
With a chuckle, Coach Anzai summed it up in four words.
"A complete, utter mess."
Learning that Shirasawa had not yet chosen a school, Coach Anzai decided to bring Captain Akagi along for a visit.
And that led to the scene now.
Of course, Coach Takizawa was in the room too.
He sat a little stiffly on a stool beside Coach Anzai.
In fact, Shirasawa had understood what was happening from the moment they entered.
Although he had not known that Coach Anzai and the others had attended the final, he had read the Basketball Weekly report about his fifty-second performance.
Because Sanae Nakagawa had written that section.
By the time Sanae told him about it, it had already been printed.
She really had a mind of her own...
With that report out there, the reason for Coach Anzai's sudden visit was obvious.
Besides, Coach Takizawa was here too.
As for his choice of high school, Shirasawa had long since made up his mind.
Shohoku.
Sentiment was one reason.
The other was his passing ability.
Paired with King Kong Takenori Akagi and the high-flying Hanamichi Sakuragi, Shohoku was bound to become Lob City.
And Hisashi Mitsui would be waiting out on the perimeter.
The assists would come pouring in!
He simply had not told anyone yet that he wanted to go to Shohoku.
After Coach Takizawa introduced both sides, Takenori Akagi spoke first.
"Shirasawa, our Shohoku basketball team's goal has always been to conquer the nationals."
Akagi kept his gorilla face stern, his tone stiff. Combined with his build, he gave off an overwhelming presence.
"I haven't seen you play, but Coach Anzai thinks highly of you. We mainly came today to hear your thoughts."
Shirasawa was not intimidated in the slightest.
His expression remained just as relaxed.
Coach Takizawa marveled inwardly from the side.
A genius. This was the composure of a genius!
Completely unaffected by anything around him.
Xiao Bai, you have to say yes...
Before Shirasawa could respond, Coach Anzai chuckled.
"Xiao Bai, I was there for that game. I saw your entire performance."
"I've also learned a bit about your situation from Coach Takizawa."
"We'd like to invite you to give Shohoku a try."
"I think you have the ability to take the team up a level."
When Coach Anzai finished, Akagi was startled.
That was high praise indeed.
Since Hisashi Mitsui, Akagi had never seen Coach Anzai think so highly of anyone.
Did this somewhat laid-back-looking guy really have that kind of ability?
The room was quiet now.
Everyone was waiting for Shirasawa's answer.
Especially Coach Takizawa, whose heart was practically breaking the speed limit...
A few seconds later, Shirasawa sat up straight and finally spoke.
"Thank you for your confidence in me, Coach Anzai."
"I'd like to join Shohoku's basketball team."
Coach Takizawa immediately pumped his fist in excitement. "Great!"
He was far more excited than Shirasawa himself.
Coach Anzai also smiled in satisfaction.
It seemed he had once again found hope after Ryuji Yazawa.
And this boy was much more mature than Yazawa had been back then.
One day later, visitors also arrived at Kaede Rukawa's home.
The visitors were Ryonan's coach, Moichi Taoka, and its captain, Jun Uozumi.
Coach Taoka enthusiastically laid out his vision for Ryonan's future, but after hearing him out, Kaede Rukawa shook his head without hesitation.
The reason was simple: Shohoku was closer to home.
That reason left Coach Taoka momentarily speechless, but he had clearly come prepared.
"I heard," he said, changing tack, "that number nine from Yokota Middle School, Shirasawa, already agreed to go to Shohoku yesterday."
Rukawa's previously impassive eyes widened a little.
"Hmm?"
Moichi Taoka had certainly put a great deal of thought into strengthening his team.
He had studied practically every player with potential.
Take Akira Sendoh, for example. He was a prized recruit Taoka had made a special trip to Tokyo to secure.
Last year, Ryonan had not yet ranked among the prefecture's top teams, while Sendoh had already made a name for himself in middle school. The difficulty of recruiting him was easy to imagine.
But Coach Taoka had managed it in the end.
After Sendoh joined, Ryonan surged into the final four of this year's prefectural tournament, showing Taoka even greater possibilities for the team.
He thought that if he could bring Rukawa in too, Ryonan would definitely soar next year.
Then there was Jun Uozumi, a player he had personally nurtured.
Uozumi would be a third-year next year, and since his family ran a restaurant, he would very likely go straight back to help out after graduation.
So next year might well be his last year playing basketball.
Coach Taoka also wanted his prized pupil's basketball career to end on a satisfying note.
That was why he was determined to recruit Rukawa.
Taoka had long since figured out Rukawa's temperament.
Simply making grand promises and talking about the future would probably have limited effect, so naturally, he had prepared other things to say.