"Alright, let's head out first." Shirasawa turned to Michael Okita and said, "Come find me sometime. I have something that's much more interesting than your mercenary team."
Upon hearing this, Michael Okita became interested. "Oh? That's great, perfect timing for another match."
Ichiro Katsumi timidly raised his hand beside him. "Um... what interesting thing happened? Anyway, I heard it all, so maybe..."
Shirasawa smiled helplessly, "Alright, you can come along too."
"Yay!" Excitedly, Ichiro Katsumi flung his hand, and the umbrella flew out...
Shirasawa's family.
I don't know whether this torrential rain was meant to cause trouble or to help.
Anyway, after a good drenching, they were chased back inside.
Shirasawa wasn't lying; his home is indeed quite close to that sports field.
This has now become a ready-made rain shelter.
However, the Shirasawa family was completely unexpected by Ayako.
She had assumed that a guy living alone would be a complete mess, but the room was surprisingly tidy.
There was even a faint, pleasant fragrance in the air.
It's this scent... I feel like I've smelled it somewhere before...
Ayako didn't stand on ceremony and readily found a stool to sit down.
Shirasawa thoughtfully poured her a cup of hot water, but his eyes were glued to her.
Because Ayako's clothes were soaked through by the rain, her figure was so captivating that it made one's gaze wander.
"Have you seen enough?" Ayako's face flushed slightly as she scolded him playfully, but a hint of smugness lurked in her eyes.
This sound brought Shirasawa back to his senses.
"Cough... I haven't seen enough. No!" He quickly corrected himself, "Let me find you some clothes to change into, so you don't catch a cold."
Ayako nodded, glanced down at her wet clothes, and asked in a low voice, "Um... does your place... have a shower?"
As Shirasawa rummaged through the wardrobe, he subconsciously pointed to the bathroom. "Of course, it's over there."
He had barely finished speaking when his mind went blank.
Take a bath?
He immediately shoved the tank top back into his hand.
He then pulled out a Shohoku team uniform and handed it to her seriously. "I suddenly realized I don't have any other clothes, so this team uniform will have to do for now."
Ayako was too shy to think much about it, and blushing, she took the team uniform and slipped into the bathroom.
If anyone's to blame, it's that the rain came at the worst possible time...
The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom, mingling with the sound of rain outside the window.
Shirasawa held the hot water cup, his mind a little confused, and his heart beating a little fast.
After a while, the bathroom door opened gently.
Ayako came out a little embarrassed, gently covering her arms with her hands.
Her hair was wet and hanging down, and the neckline of her team uniform was a bit low, revealing two distinct collarbones.
"Have you seen enough?" she muttered softly, her gaze drifting elsewhere.
Shirasawa looked at the scene before him and slowly stood up.
"Not enough."
As he spoke, he walked over without thinking and put his arm around Ayako's waist.
" Ayako," he whispered, "I want to play basketball."
Ayako chuckled softly, leaned close to his ear, and breathed warmly.
"Didn't you... want to play soccer yesterday?"
The next morning.
A lazy hum.
Ayako snuggled closer to Shirasawa, tightening her grip on his arm.
Shirasawa responded without even opening his eyes.
Ayako blinked her long eyelashes. "What's up?"
"Pre-match warm-up."
"I'm convinced, I'm withdrawing from the competition!"
"Rejected. Once you step onto the field, you must fight!"
"I'm on defense!"
"Haha, watch me dribble with both hands and break through the defense!"
Just as Shirasawa was taking control of the entire game...
Outside, news about the match between Shohoku and Shoyo is everywhere.
The newspapers were full of eye-catching headlines.
The praise and expectations for Shohoku, especially for Shirasawa, have reached a new high.
Shirasawa's influence is soaring.
Not just in Kanagawa.
The news spread even to other counties.
Osaka.
Toyotama High School Basketball Gymnasium.
"Breaking news! Big news!!"
The newcomer, Aki, rushed in, holding a newspaper.
" Shoyo was eliminated in the Kanagawa quarterfinals!!"
Last year's Shoyo was Toyotama's opponent in the round of 16.
This year is even worse; they didn't even get a ticket to the national tournament, and they didn't even make it to the Kanagawa semifinals!
This is absolutely explosive news.
Minori Kishimoto was also taken aback when she heard this, and snatched the newspaper away.
The front-page headline was a direct slap in the face. " Shoyo Falls, a New Power is Born in Kanagawa!"
Just by looking at the title, you don't even need to read the content carefully.
"Oh... Shoyo really messed up." Kishimoto tossed the newspaper back dismissively. " Fujima's nothing special, easily defeated. Right, Tsuyoshi Minami?"
Tsuyoshi Minami stood to the side, merely offering a faint smile.
"What does this have to do with us?" Tsuyoshi Minami slammed the basketball to the ground, caught it as it bounced up, and said, "Who cares if it's Shoyo or whoever it is, if they run into us, that's their last game."
He is the captain of Toyotama, and also the sharpest blade in the team.
His teammates all believe in him. Although there's a lot of gossip about his underhanded tactics, winning is the only thing that matters. Last year in the round of 16, wasn't it he who took the onslaught of Fujima off the field, securing the victory for Toyotama?
"Alright, stop standing there!" Tsuyoshi Minami tossed the ball to Kishimoto, "Shout out your goals for this year!"
The stadium erupted in deafening roars. "National Champions!"
Aichi Prefecture, Aiwa Academy.
"Captain, did Shoyo really lose?" A teammate sidled up to Dai Moroboshi. " Shohoku? Never heard of them before."
"Not only have I never heard of them," another interjected, "They haven't even made it into the top sixteen in Kanagawa Prefecture..."
"This year is really strange. I heard that Shohoku is incredibly popular in Kanagawa right now."
Dai Moroboshi put down his newspaper, smiled, and said, "It's quite popular; I've glanced at it a few times before."
He paused, then continued, "For the media to exaggerate like this, there must be some real substance. It's not too surprising that they could beat Shoyo, considering Shoyo isn't even the top team in Kanagawa."
As he said this, his eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of amusement flashing within them.
"I'm actually a little curious... what kind of expression Maki has right now."
"This Shirasawa in the newspapers doesn't seem like someone to be trifled with."
Dai Moroboshi, Aichi's star, led his team to the national semifinals last year. In his eyes, Shoyo itself wasn't anything special; it was mainly Fujima was somewhat famous. But the newspaper's praise for Shirasawa —such as scoring 51 points and 13 assists, and racking up 24 points at the start of the game—made it impossible for him to ignore the data.
"Their next match is against Kainan, right?" He pointed to the newspaper.
"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've seen Maki..."
He closed the newspaper, a smile unconsciously spreading across his face.
Similar discussions are currently taking place in many teams across the country.
Some were surprised, while others scoffed.
However, this inadvertently garnered Shirasawa a lot of "attention." After all, the news articles were full of flowery language, piling all the good words onto him. If Shohoku really makes it to the national tournament, the line of people waiting to teach this "rising star" a lesson would probably be incredibly long.
The name Shirasawa quietly drifted out of Kanagawa.
But the national champion Sannoh Industrial High School, hasn't made a single move.
Sannoh's domineering presence far surpasses Kainan's. While Kainan has dominated Kanagawa for sixteen years, their best run in the national tournament has only been the semifinals. Sannoh, on the other hand, has a solid three-peat. Last year in the semifinals, they beat Kainan by a mere thirty-plus points.
News from Kanagawa? In their eyes, that's not even news.
Looking across the country, they felt that their only real rival was themselves.
In any case, the name Shohoku has made its way into the national basketball scene.
Although they themselves had no idea.
Let's turn our attention back to Kanagawa.
The entire Shohoku team was still enjoying a rare holiday, but Takenori Akagi had already arrived at the arena alone.
That match against Shoyo was a revelation for him, making him realize the gap between himself and the outside world. He was among the top three centers in Kanagawa, and over the past three years, even when his team lost more than it won, no opponent could truly contain him, including Uozumi.
But Hanagata taught him a thorough lesson, making him realize that he was still far from being a match for the national stage. There were all sorts of formidable opponents there.
Putting that far ahead aside, the upcoming semifinals against Takasago and Uozumi are enough to give him a run for his money. To defend Shohoku's basket, he has to train like crazy.
Holidays? That's none of his business.
But to his utter surprise, there were other people in the stadium.
It's not Kogure.
It's Hanamichi Sakuragi.
When Akagi pushed open the gym door, he saw a whole rack of basketballs in front of Sakuragi, who was shooting them one after another.
Clang... Clang...
His accuracy remains appalling, and his form is still as stiff as ever.
But he threw with utmost seriousness, again and again, without complaint or discouragement, stubbornly repeating the same motion.
Takenori Akagi stood silently at the door, not daring to go in, afraid of disturbing him.
Then Kogure also came over with his bag on his back.
" Akagi! I knew you'd come... Why don't you go in?"
That shout made Sakuragi stop what he was doing.
He turned around and saw Akagi standing in the doorway, looking at him.
Sakuragi grinned and said that right off the bat.
" Gorilla, you're late!"
Akagi was visibly taken aback for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his serious face. "Yeah, I didn't expect you, you bastard, to beat me to it."
Kogure followed him into the gym and, upon seeing Sakuragi, nearly dropped his glasses. " Sakuragi! You're here to practice too?"
"I was wondering why Akagi was standing there..." Before he could finish speaking, Akagi's large hand covered his mouth tightly.
"Enough with the nonsense," Akagi released his grip, his tone curt. "Since you're here, you'd all better train properly."
Kogure knew perfectly well that Akagi was just embarrassed; he must have been standing there awkwardly at the door for fear of disturbing Sakuragi. Looking at Sakuragi, he felt a warm glow in his heart.
"Alright, alright, let's start practicing." Kogure ran to the basket with a grin. " Sakuragi, you keep shooting, I'll retrieve the balls!"
"Alright! Watch this genius sink another hundred!"
Akagi rolled up his sleeves and stood next to Sakuragi to give him instructions. But after less than two minutes, he couldn't control his voice.