Hey guys! How's everyone doing today? We're back with another chapter for a fic I guess not a lot of people really care about but I'll still keep writing anyways because of that sentiment where if you want to read something but it doesn't exist than you might as well write it yourself. Anyways, to the people who are reading this fic, thank you for continuing to do so and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter where we are finally, formally, officially, introduced to the OG Captain of the Generation of Miracles himself, Nijimura Shuzo!
Like always, I enjoy any comments, except for those that are just full of negativity and not constructive at all. Just give me something to work with instead of just "It's bad." I also appreciate any positive constructive criticism since I'm always looking to improve my writing and storytelling capabilities. Thanks for reading this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by any medium, and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the anime or manga.
Warning: No beta, we die like Kaori.
Chapter 2: Seeing Color
XXXXXX
Junpei grumbled to himself as he walked down the street towards the local park, not needing to pay attention to where he was going since he knew the route like the back of his hand. This particular park was the same one he went to when he was young, the only one in the area with multiple, decently well kept basketball courts.
As he walked, he grumpily thought back to how he got here in the first place.
Shun clapped his hands together and bowed. "Please! Just join me and the others at the courts this Saturday. If you do, I promise we'll stop bothering you about joining the basketball club."
Junpei squinted at him in suspicion, wondering if this was a trap. But he ended up reluctantly agreeing since the end result was too good to pass up.
Now a couple days later, there he was, aimlessly wandering down the path leading towards the courts on the east end of the park.
'No matter what, this little trip isn't going to change my mind,' he resolutely thought, 'It won't make any difference whatsoever.'
He finally reached the designated meeting spot and began waiting for Shun and his annoying companions to show up. However, minutes passed and no one showed up. He checked his phone, making sure he was in the right place at the right time and sure enough, he was.
So where the hell was everybody else?
Junpei grew more and more impatient with each minute that ticked by without any sign of Shun and his classmates. He was just about ready to go home and go back to sleep if no one showed up in the next five minutes. His internal fuming was then interrupted by the sound of children gleefully playing basketball on one of the courts nearby.
He looked around for Shun, or anyone really, to appear, but when no one did, he decided to go check the court out. 'Might as well take a look. It's not like I'm actually going to play,' he thought.
He walked past the sakura trees blooming on a beautiful spring day and over to the court containing the source of the joyful sounds he heard. When he arrived, he was greeted with a sight that made his breath catch in his throat.
In that instant, he was reminded of something he read in a book Shun gave him not to long after the incident, after he told Riko and Shun that he wasn't going to play basketball anymore because of how painful it'd become, how the world no longer held color and everything in life seemed so dull.
'The moment I met him, my life changed,' the depressed protagonist had said when describing the moment that had changed her life for the better, 'Everything I see, everything I hear, everything I feel, the scenery, all around me…became doused in a colorful light. My world finally sparkled.'
Junpei saw a small group of children running around gleefully while playing a game of keep away with a tall, lean teenage boy with black hair that was parted to the left and sharp grey eyes that glinted in the sun like polished steel.
Everyone looked like they were having the time of their lives and the sight of it all was beautiful.
A breeze rustled the nearby trees and falling sakura petals added an ethereal quality to the scene before him.
He felt an involuntary smile creep across his face and thought, 'This makes a nice picture.'
Without a second thought, he took his phone out and focused his camera on the teen grinning brilliantly at the kids around him. Then the loud click from his phone unfortunately caught the attention of the teen who turned to look Junpei's way.
The teen stared at Junpei in surprise. It almost seemed like there were tears in his eyes as he tried to process what just happened. Then he blinked and the tears disappeared, probably a product of Junpei's imagination, and the teen adopted a 'hell hath no fury' expression on his face. He held the basketball in his right hand, cocked it back, and launched it straight at Junpei, nailing him dead on in the gut.
Junpei hugged his stomach and groaned in pain.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" The teen angrily yelled.
Junpei looked up to see the teen storming over and before he could do anything to defend himself, the teen grabbed him harshly by the shoulders, fingers digging in like claws.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't beat your ass for stalking innocent children, you pervert!"
Junpei sputtered and tried to pry the vengeful teen off of him. "What the hell? I'm not a pervert! This was all just a miraculous coincidence!"
That seemed like the wrong thing to say as a fire lit in the teen's eyes. "Miraculous coincidence my ass!"
Just as the teen was about to give Junpei the beating of a lifetime, an unexpected savior appeared.
"Hey Nijimura!"
The teen, now dubbed Nijimura, turned to look over his shoulder and Junpei peeked out to see Shun and the others of the still forming Seirin Basketball Club coming over.
"Oh! Junpei!" Shun exclaimed in surprise when he saw his best friend, "I see you've met Nijimura here."
And like a switch was flipped, Nijimura immediately let go of Junpei and swung an arm around his shoulders, acting like they were both buddy-buddy.
"Oh yeah!" He said with the most impressive 'I'm innocent' face Junpei's ever seen, "We just ran into each other coincidentally."
"Coincidentally my ass," Junpei muttered petulantly.
"Though I didn't know this was the guy you were telling me about what with his hair and all," Nijimura continued with a grin, "I thought he was some kind of delinquent or something."
Shun slapped a hand over his mouth as he tried not to laugh. Whether it was because of the fact that Nijimura mistook Junpei for a delinquent or at the thought of Junpei being a delinquent was unclear. "I can see why you think that but trust me, despite the interesting choice in hairstyle, Junpei's as far from a delinquent as you can get."
"Shun! What the hell!" Junpei yelled, angry at his friend's betrayal.
Shun shrugged, nonplussed. "I just say it like I see it, man. Not my fault you decided to try and 'go off the rails' after middle school. I thought you'd be skipping school and doing drugs or something, not changing your hairstyle to that."
"That hairdo really surprised me too and I've seen a lot of strange hairstyles before," Teppei nodded sagely.
Koganei laughed. "Yeah, it doesn't match your face at all!"
Mitobe nodded impassively and Koganei pointed at him like the silent teen proved some point. "See! Even Mitobe agrees."
Junpei pushed Nijimura's arm off of him with a grunt. "Alright, can you all stop making fun of my hair and tell me why we're all here?"
"Oh right!" Shun perked up at the reminder, "Before that though, Nijimura, let me introduce you to the members of Seirin's first ever basketball team!"
"Koganei Shinji."
"Hiya!" Koganei gleefully waved.
"Mitobe Rinnosuke."
The silent teen nodded in greeting.
"Kiyoshi Teppei."
"Yo!" Teppei playfully saluted.
"And Hyuga Junpei."
"I'm not a part of your stupid team!" Junpei shouted in protest.
Nijimura bowed to them all in greeting. "It's nice to meet you all. My name is Nijimura Shuzo. As for why you guys are all here, there are two reasons. One, I would like to also join the basketball team if possible."
"Absolutely!" Teppei jumped in, bringing Shuzo in for a hug, "Welcome to the team, Nijimura!"
Shuzo patted Teppei on the back until the giant let him go. "And two, what do you guys say to some street ball?"
"Yes!" Koganei enthusiastically raised his hand up in the air. Then paused and sheepishly dropped his hand down. "Uh, what's street ball exactly?"
Mitobe shuffled over and engaged in a strange one-sided conversation with Koganei who was somehow able to translate the silent signals that Mitobe was sending into words.
"Oh! Okay, so street ball's like an informal basketball game that lets people show their skills then?"
Shuzo nodded, completely unbothered by the process in which Koganei managed to get the answer. "That's a good way to put it. It's also a great place to let loose and have fun playing basketball."
"I'd be down for it," Teppei said with a smile, "It's been a while since I've been involved in street ball."
"Actually, I just need one of you guys to join me for a game," Shuzo clarified, "I've already got a team. We're just missing one more to make us a full set."
"Oh! Oh! Can I join then?" Koganei eagerly volunteered.
"Wait Koganei, you don't have any experience with basketball right?" Shun interjected.
Koganei wilted at the reminder. "Oh yeah…"
"It's fine, you can join us," Shuzo said, waving off Shun's well intentioned concern, "It's not like we're playing a professional game. We're just here to have fun and play some basketball!"
"Hurray!" Koganei cheered, "Thank you Nijimura!"
"Awww, no fair. I wanted to play a game," Teppei jokingly whined and pouted.
Shuzo patted him on the back. "Maybe next time."
While Koganei celebrated being to play and Teppei playfully sulked, Junpei stood rigid with his fists clenched. He was unable to understand how Shuzo was able to talk so casually about basketball with a grin on his face, how he was able to make basketball sound 'fun.'
Shun noticed and nudged him in concern. "You good?"
Junpei quickly shook himself out of it and gave Shun a strained smile. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Can I go home now?"
Shuzo happened to overhear him and shouted, "Absolutely not!"
Junpei was taken aback by the other's shout. "Wha-why the hell not?! You already got what you needed, what do you need me to stay for?"
"Because I said so!" Shuzo firmly stated.
Junpei scowled. "That's not even a good reason. In fact," he turned to Shun, "Why did you even call me out here anyways? It's not like I'm actually on the team or anything."
Shun shrugged. "I just thought you'd like a break from all that delinquenting you've been doing since school started."
Junpei bristled like a wet cat. "That's not even a word!" He threw his hands up in the air and turned away. "Forget it. I'm going home."
"Oh no you're not!" Shuzo said, grabbing Junpei by the collar of his shirt to stop him.
"Hey! Let me go, you crazy barbarian!" Junpei shouted in protest.
Shuzo turned him around and pulled him in close with the 'hell hath no fury' expression back on his face. "At least I'm not a child stalker," he quietly hissed.
"I told you that was just a miraculous coincidence," Junpei hissed back.
"So it was a coincidence you had your phone out to take a picture of a bunch of kids while standing by yourself like a creeper?"
Junpei had absolutely no response to that.
"Thought so," Shuzo said as he let Junpei go. "Now come on! I'm gonna be late!"
Teppei was startled by the sudden declaration. "What? Late? Why?"
"I gotta get to the courts on the west side of the park. The game's gonna start at 10," Shuzo explained.
"That's in five minutes!" Shun said in disbelief, "And it takes ten just to walk to the other side!"
"Then we better get a move on!" Koganei shouted.
He, Mitobe, and Teppei started booking it across the park with Junpei hanging back and Shun torn between following them and staying for his friend.
"Wait a minute, I can't-" Junpei tried to say when someone grabbed him by the wrist. He looked up to see Shuzo grinning brilliantly at him.
"Yes you can. Now let's go!"
Then he was dragging a stumbling Junpei across the park with Shun following along, smiling when he saw Junpei eventually catch himself and follow dutifully.
It was the spring of Junpei's 15th year and he was finally starting to run on his own two legs again.
XXXXXX
The sprinting group of high school freshmen managed to reach the basketball courts just on time…barely. They were really cutting it close.
"We made it!" Teppei cheered, arms up in the air and tears in his eyes as if he'd just won the gold medal for track and field.
Shun sighed as he looked at the time. "Just barely. Look, the first match is about to start. When are you supposed to be up, Nijimura?"
"I think we're the third game," Shuzo said.
"Then we have time to rest," Shun said in relief before he slumped over and joined the others in catching their breaths.
Koganei lay on his back on the ground, panting heavily and already sweating buckets. "Let's never do that again."
Mitobe gave him a look that made him sit up in shock. "What do you mean that I'll have to do this all the time in basketball?!"
Teppei laughed at his reaction. "Well you do need to build up your stamina and endurance if you want to be able to last one game."
Koganei groaned and dropped back down to the ground where Mitobe patted him comfortingly on the head.
Meanwhile, Shun looked around the court that was full of players and people interested in watching and cheering the players on. "Wow. It almost feels like some kind of tournament instead of a bunch of street ball games."
"The local community center organized this so anyone who wanted to play could get the chance to do so in an environment meant to mimic an actual tournament," Shuzo explained.
The others nodded along, listening attentively while Junpei looked away with a quiet scoff that Shuzo noticed but decided not to say anything about.
"Anyways, there's my team over there."
He pointed over to a team consisting of both boys and girls of different ages ranging from elementary to high school. Everyone was surprised but also amazed by how mismatched the team was. Junpei was just shocked.
"Wow!" Koganei gasped in awe, "Look at all those different people! They must really like playing basketball!"
Shuzo laughed and looked at his team with pride. "Hell yeah they do!"
"Then we look forward to cheering you guys on!" Teppei cheerfully stated.
"Thank you!" Shuzo said. Then he noticed Junpei still looking shell-shocked. "What's up? You got something to say?"
Junpei jolted at the sudden attention and Shun looked at him in concern.
"H-How," he cleared his throat before continuing, "How do you expect to win with such a ragtag team?"
"Ragtag? That's rude!" Koganei cried out indignantly.
Shuzo shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. We are a ragtag bunch of people, aren't we?"
"So then why-"
"Simple," Shuzo said as if it were obvious, "We don't expect to win."
That only made Junpei even more shocked. "What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly that. We're just a bunch of people here to play basketball and have fun doing it," Shuzo explained nonchalantly, "Who cares who wins or loses? As long as you have fun doing it, that's all that matters. After all," he shrugged, "It's just basketball." Then he grinned ferally. "Besides, who said we wouldn't win?"
Junpei looked at him in bewilderment at the casual attitude Shuzo held towards winning and losing, as if the other hadn't just flipped Junpei's entire worldview on its head. For the first time in a while, Shun looked at his friend with hope. Koganei seemed star struck while Mitobe nodded along with the words of wisdom and Teppei looked at Shuzo with renewed interest.
"Anyways, I'm off," Shuzo said as he grinned, "And I hope you enjoy the show!" He looked to Koganei and helped him up from the ground. "Come on. Lemme introduce you to everyone."
Shuzo ran off to go join his teammates, with Koganei in tow, who greeted the newcomer with smiles and laughter like he had always been a part of their group from the beginning. Junpei frowned at the sight and his hands began to shake.
Teppei tapped him on the shoulder, breaking him out of his thoughts. "C'mon Hyuga. We can go watch over there."
Junpei jerked his head in a poor imitation of a nod. "Y-Yeah…"
But his mind continued to show him flashes of memories - an ominous face shadowed by the blinding lights of an arena and a sneer that made his blood run cold.
Shun noticed his hands were shaking and frowned in concern but didn't say anything. Mitobe also noticed and kept silent, filing the odd behavior away for later analysis. Teppei remained oblivious.
The four of them walked over to join the crowd that had already gathered at the bleachers to view the upcoming games. As they looked around to find good seats, whispers could be heard as the crowd recognized them, especially Teppei.
"Hey, isn't that the Iron Heart? One of the Uncrowned Kings?"
"It is! Uwah! He looks so cool in person! Do you think he'd give me an autograph or a picture?"
"Ugh. Stop fangirling. You're embarrassing me."
"Who are the other three guys with him?"
"Hmmm…I don't know who that droopy eyed guy is and the blonde dude looks like trouble but I do recognize the cute guy with black hair."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He was on that one team who managed to get a close match with the Generation of Miracles or as close as you can get."
"What was the score?"
"I think it was only 66 to 125."
"Whoa! That is pretty close."
"Right? But that's not why I remember it. There was another guy on the team that lost."
"What was so special about him?"
"That guy…he's a clutch shooter and whenever he took a shot…it was like I was witnessing the second coming of Ray Allen!"
"Whoa! Now I wish I went with you to watch that match."
"You definitely missed out but I wonder what happened to that guy? The one who threw like Ray Allen…"
"What do you mean?"
"I heard that after the match, he quit. Something about a really bad car accident that happened at a nearby intersection made it so that he couldn't hold a basketball anymore."
"Oh no! Did he get hurt that badly? Is he okay now?"
"I don't know. No one ever said he was in the accident but you'd assume he was since he quit cause he can't hold a ball anymore right?"
"Oh yeah. Totally. It'd be super lame if he wasn't even hurt."
Junpei gritted his teeth and clenched his hands as he moved as far away from the gossipers as he possibly could.
"You okay, Junpei?" Shun asked in concern.
He glared at Shun in accusation. "You! You tricked me! You said we would only be meeting someone, not getting involved in," he waved his hand out aggressively, "Whatever this is!"
"Would you have come? If you knew?" Shun asked.
Junpei only continued to glare at him in response.
Shun smiled sadly at his best friend. "Does basketball really only give you nothing but bad feelings?"
Junpei flinched and looked away guiltily. Mitobe and Teppei then joined them just as the crowd suddenly grew quiet with the tapping of a microphone.
"Thank you everyone for coming today in support of our first ever mock basketball tournament!" The announcer excitedly said, "Now I'm sure you already know but this tournament is more of a series of free for all street ball games meant to help promote and nurture the community youths' love for basketball. We hope you will enjoy watching each game and support everyone who plays today! Without further ado, let's begin the first match!"
The crowd cheered as two teams walked onto the court, both filled with a mishmash of people - one team was full of male teenagers and the other full of female teenagers. Both designated captains shook hands with bright smiles.
As the match began, Junpei watched it all with nostalgia. 'It's been awhile since I've seen a basketball match but…I wonder why I feel so restless,' he thought with a small frown.
"They keep playing it safe and by the books," Shun complained, "No one's taking any risks."
Teppei nodded in agreement and Junpei looked at them flatly. "You guys are the ones who brought me here."
Teppei laughed. "Fair enough. The game is a little boring but I'm more surprised by how many people came to watch."
"The basketball scene has been growing more popular lately so I guess the community just wanted to come out and support the people who like playing it," Shun speculated.
Mitobe nodded empathetically and seemed to say something with his eyes and the minute movements of his facial features but no one knew what since they didn't have Koganei there to translate.
Just then someone on the all female team made a mistake, tripping on catching the ball and passing it in reaction, which allowed someone on the all male team to steal the ball and shoot a three pointer, thus giving them the lead.
Teppei cringed in reaction. "Yikes."
Shun sighed and shook his head. "What a rookie mistake."
The girl's teammates tried to compensate for her mistake but they soon fell behind as the guys scored basket after basket with the breaking of the girl team's formations.
"I feel kinda bad for them," Shun said in sympathy.
Teppei nodded in agreement. "Yeah. They gotta figure out a way to recover fast before the lead gets too big."
Mitobe hummed, seemingly in agreement, but no one could really tell.
However, their words fell on deaf ears as Junpei watched the match with laser focus. His mind ran a mile a minute with all sorts of strategies and plays that the girls could do to close the gap. His hands twitch restlessly, no longer shaking with nerves but the desire to run around and hold a basketball again.
Shun caught sight of his hands and smiled. All hope was not yet lost for his friend.
In the end, the girls barely managed to recover and close the gap to a respectable 20 points considering the widest the gap had grown was 60. The audience politely applauded for the teams as they respectfully shook hands.
The next match carried on the same way to the point where, if one were to look around, one would see that many people in the audience were quickly losing interest and the desire to stay awake as nothing interesting happened for the rest of the hour.
"Oh! Nijimura and Koganei are up next!" Shun exclaimed, startling Junpei awake just as he began to doze off.
Junpei grunted and Mitobe hummed but Teppei released a snore that made everyone turn and deadpan.
"Oi! Wake up!" Junpei shouted, ticked off, and jabbed him in the side.
Teppei woke up with a yelp and a jerk. He grabbed his side and looked pitifully at Junpei. "What did you do that for?"
Junpei glared at him and gritted his teeth. He was about to shout something insulting when Teppei's attention turned to the court.
"Oh! Nijimura and Koganei are coming out now!"
Junpei looked like he was a second away from hitting him but was stopped by Mitobe who managed to slip in between them. He grumbled petulantly instead as they all turned their attention to the court and saw Shuzo, Koganei, and their tem of misfits prepare for a match against a team of bored, arrogant yet tough looking teens.
Shuzo turned to look at the audience and spotted the others who gave him a wave and thumbs up though Junpei crossed his arms with a scoff. Shuzo merely smiled and shook his head at the discount delinquent's reaction.
He then turned to his team and gathered them together for a huddle. "Alright then, win or lose, the most important thing about today is to have fun out there, alright?"
"Yeah!" Everyone on his team enthusiastically shouted.
The two teams turned to face each other and the match began.
Immediately everyone's attention was drawn in with the first movement of those on Shuzo's team. Everyone ran around seemingly as they should - passing, dribbling, and trying to score like any other basketball team. However, unlike the other teams who played competitive basketball as a whole, everyone on Shuzo's team seemed to move differently.
There was always something off about the movements of the team in its individuals. A pass that seemed to go a little too far, a dribble that seemed too go on too long even though there was a teammate to pass to right there or too short so that a teammate wasn't prepared before the ball was stolen, an attempt to shoot that came out of nowhere and with said shooter surrounded on all sides by the opponent.
There was no rhyme or reason to the team as a whole. They all acted like cogs that were just too small or too big or too misshapen for the system they were shoved into.
And yet…
That mismatch, that disharmony, seemed to come together into a symphony that was uniquely theirs.
Even Koganei, who those from Seirin knew had almost no experience with basketball, seemed to get sucked into and become part of the chaos. A brand of cheeky trickery uniquely his own could be seen despite his inexperience.
And the one who was in the center of it all, the one who was conducting this utter contradiction of what a team should move like, should act like, should be like, was Shuzo himself.
Even though there was nothing uniform or by the book or even cool looking about the nonconforming way in which basketball was being played by his team, it was safe to say that no one could look away. The audience couldn't help but be drawn into the chaos happening before them. Even the opposing team was getting drawn into the storm that was Shuzo's team.
Junpei stared at Shuzo in slack jawed shock. 'This is basketball but…it doesn't look like it belongs to anyone in this world. Heck, it doesn't even look like it belongs in the world!' He thought.
Shuzo passed the ball to a young girl by faking left, right, and down before throwing it up single handedly over his opponent's head while running past with a smirk.
'It belongs to him. This style of basketball is…all his…'
Shuzo's plays grew more erratic, more reckless with each passing moment. Koganei and the rest of his teammates somehow managed to keep up, grinning brilliantly with fire burning passionately in their eyes as they gleefully played and scored against the opposing team who was now struggling to even control the ball let alone score.
The game that was being played before them was complete and utter chaos but also complete and utter fun.
'He's extremely violent and has a bad personality. I gave a terrible first impression and he gave me the worst one in return but…without a doubt…'
The game ended with a three pointer from Shuzo. He managed to draw the one marking him in only to be accidentally blocked and knocked over by his own teammate which allowed Shuzo to slip away to the three-point line and shoot what could only be described as a perfect shot.
Shuzo's team cheered with excitement while the opposing team groaned in defeat. Shuzo was covered in sweat as he smiled brilliantly at the few young children on his team, giving them high fives as they celebrated their victory.
'...he's beautiful.'
XXXXXX
Though the game was long over and despite the many that came after, the audience couldn't stop talking about Shuzo and his team. The brilliant performance that they showed gave the onlookers a new view into basketball, allowing them to see it in a whole new light.
Even the opposing team was smiling at their defeat despite how arrogantly they acted in the beginning to the point that many thought a fight would break out because they were sore losers. Instead they high fived and congratulated Shuzo's team on a job well done.
"That grey eyed teen was awesome right?"
"You mean Nijimura Shuzo? I've memorized his name!"
"I'm definitely a fan of his now."
"How has he not been known this entire time? He could easily get a title like the Uncrowned Kings or even the Generation of Miracles!"
"I know right?"
Shun looked at the departing crowd in wonder. "Wow. Everyone's talking about Nijimura. He was really awesome, wasn't he?"
Teppei grinned excitedly and nodded. "It felt like I was at Nationals. It was the only match I stayed awake for."
"Well that's rude," Shun deadpanned.
Mitobe nodded, eyeing the sheepishly chuckling Teppei in disappointment.
Koganei came running over towards them and jumped at Mitobe who managed to catch the energetic teen like he was expecting something like this to happen. "Mitobe! I was awesome out there wasn't I?"
Mitobe nodded empathetically and Koganei preened under the silent teen's silent praise.
"You really did give it as good as you got," Shun complimented, "It almost made me forget you were a complete newbie at basketball."
Koganei removed himself from Mitobe and puffed his chest out in pride. "That's cause I'm an awesome genius!"
"Oh! Really?" Teppei asked with his eyes sparkling in awe.
Koganei immediately laughed and waved off the other's awe. "No, no. Nijimura gave me some tips and his teammates showed me some moves before we started. I was really nervous because it was my first time playing but everyone was super nice and then once we got playing, it was easy to just jump into the game because of Nijimura. He's the amazing one! He even managed to make me forget I was a total noob too!"
Mitobe gave him a look that made Koganei recoil in shock. "What do you mean that's surprisingly humble of me? Are you saying I'm never humble?!"
Mitobe gave him another look that made Koganei wave his arms about in outrage. "Hey! I'm always humble!"
Shun and Teppei watched the strange one-sided argument in equal parts amusement and confusion. Junpei looked away and caught sight of Shuzo talking to a trio of young girls - Ichigo, Nina, and Sana.
"We got really excited by your match!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves," Shuzo said with a grin.
Nina nodded eagerly. "Yeah! You made basketball look so fun that we wanna play too!"
Sana shuffled shyly. "But we don't know where we can."
"Well you heard the announcer, the local community center has a program for people of all ages to come and play basketball," he gently explained.
"But what if we're really bad at it? We don't know how to play," Sana anxiously said.
Nine deflated at the reminder. "Oh yeah. What if the other people playing get mad at us?"
"And we didn't even know about basketball until today," Ichigo added dejectedly.
Shuzo crouched down and smiled reassuringly at them. "Hey now. No one starts off knowing all there is to know about playing basketball."
"Really?" Sana asked skeptically.
"Yeah, in fact," he leaned forward as if to tell them a secret, "When I was a kid, I used to suck at playing basketball."
The girls all collectively gasped in disbelief.
"No way!" Nina exclaimed.
He nodded with playful seriousness. "Yes way. I would trip over my feet all the time and lose the ball whenever it was passed to me. After a while, the other kids stopped letting me play with them because I was so bad at it."
"But you're so good at playing it now! What happened?" Ichigo asked eagerly.
Shuzo smiled nostalgically at what must be a fond memory. "Well, there was a kid who saw how much I loved to play even though I sucked and they were also mad at how the other kids wouldn't let me play either. So they taught me a few tricks and would drag me into whatever games they could. Then once I got the hang of it, I practiced and practiced until I got to where I am today."
He gave them an encouraging smile. "So don't worry too much about whether or not you'll be good at basketball. Improving just takes time and practice but love for the sport is something that can't be taught or learned. It's something that you'll have to find which, it seems to me, the three of you already have."
The three girls looked at him with wide-eyed awe.
"So cool!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"Thank you mister!" Nina said.
Sana nodded her head vigorously in thanks.
Shuzo laughed and ruffled each girl's hair playfully, much to their laughing glee. "It's no problem." He pointed over to an elderly man standing nearby. "The manager of the basketball program is over there if you wanna go sign up."
"Alright!" Ichigo cheered, "Let's go then you two!"
"Yeah!" Nina cheered along with her.
Ichigo and Nina eagerly ran off the elderly man but Sana hung back and shuffled shyly under Shuzo's questioning gaze.
"What's up?"
"Mister, are you still friends with the kid who helped you?"
Shuzo smiled sadly. "Unfortunately not. My family moved away and we lost touch but," he looked over to the Seirin group chatting together, "I have a feeling I'll be friends with them again soon."
Sana smiled happily at that. "That's good! Thanks again mister!"
Then she ran off to join her friends over where they were asking the laughing manager question after question. Shuzo watched them with a smile, then it seemed as if he could feel the weight of Junpei's gaze and turned to make eye contact with him.
Junpei flushed and looked away guiltily as if he'd been caught looking at something he shouldn't have. Shuzo shook his head with an amused huff and ran over to them. Junpei looked back at him, not making eye contact this time, and was struck by the way the scene was framed before him.
After the match, the basketball player…he'll come running to be with the person waiting for him. Weaving through the crowds, ignoring the side characters…
Just like a scene in a shitty romcom…
Teppei raised his hand in greeting. "Yo! You were really awesome out there."
"Thank you!" Shuzo happily accepted the compliment. Then he turned to Junpei and looked at him expectantly. "So what did you think?"
"Huh?" Junpei brilliantly responded.
Shuzo rolled his eyes and asked again, "What did you think? I was amazing, right?"
Junpei was caught off guard and tried to come up with a proper response. "Eh? Ummm…" Then he caught sight of how Shuzo's hands were shaking from where they hung by his sides and his gaze softened. "You were alright, I guess."
Shuzo looked a bit disappointed but it was like a blink and you'll miss it moment. "That all you got for me?" He asked in amusement.
Junpei flushed in embarrassment. "I mean, it was my first time, seeing a bunch of kids clamoring for the attention of someone who's a complete stranger and excitedly asking for advice on how to start playing basketball…for those girls…today is a day they'll never forget…I mean…perhaps it's just that kind of basketball," he finished with an awkward smile.
Shuzo was surprised by the surprisingly deep response from someone who looked like a discount delinquent but smiled nonetheless. "I see…thanks."
Then he turned to talk to the others with a bit more attention focused on Teppei and Junpei was suddenly left alone in the background.
Just like a scene in a shitty romcom.
The side character who has no place in the relationships being formed before him. A has been who can only let the world pass him by.
And scene! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and it was probably pretty clear to all the basketball fans that I do not know what the hell I'm talking about when it comes to basketball. Like seriously, all my knowledge about basketball comes from middle school PE class and anime/manga. If there's anything I messed up, feel free to let me know otherwise, I will do my best to not make it look like I have no idea what I'm talking about during the basketball scenes.
Anyways, next chapter will focus on the creation of the Seirin Basketball team so I hope y'all will look forward to it. Until then!