"That streetball garbage of yours can't win."
"You bastard, Yuuto."
The moment Aomine heard that voice, he whipped around. Sure enough, there stood the person he least wanted to see right now.
"What do you want? To laugh at me?"
"Not so dumb after all."
He actually admitted it straight up. This guy...
Aomine's face went dark, merging with the night sky.
But soon, he gave up the fight and sat back down.
"I'm not going to stop playing streetball."
He knew the flaws, of course. Professional leagues didn't have streetball players.
But this was his love—something he'd played since childhood, never abandoned, and never would.
If he couldn't win, it meant he wasn't strong enough. Simple as that.
He continued, "But watch out for Tetsu and them. Compared to the Inter-High, Seirin is a whole different team."
"I know."
Yuuto tapped near his eye.
"Their physical data proves they worked hard over summer. With Kiyoshi back, they don't have any weak spots. Current Seirin is on par with the powerhouses."
Aomine felt a little better hearing this. But then Yuuto added:
"But being up 10 points and still getting reverse-swept? That's pretty sad."
This son of a—
His fist clenched. He wanted to swing.
"Just be careful." Aomine held himself back, still concerned about Seirin's chances.
If he couldn't win, might as well leave.
He really didn't want to chat with Yuuto right now.
"The ones who should be careful are Seirin. You've got it backward, Aomine."
Aomine paused but didn't turn around or respond. He just kept walking.
Fair point—worrying about Yuuto and Akashi was pointless.
"Finished?"
"Yeah."
"Yuuto, didn't you used to say you shouldn't approach people after they lose? That it's like salt in their wounds?"
Sora remembered his old stance. He never sought out opponents after beating them.
"He's different."
"Different how?"
"His misery is my happiness."
Sora rolled her eyes dramatically.
He beat you once and you're still holding a grudge?
"Let's go. I'm hungry."
"Mm."
...
The next day.
The Winter Cup entered its final round-robin stage. Soon, the tournament would determine which teams qualified from Tokyo.
But Yuuto didn't go to the arena.
The only matchup that interested him was Seirin versus Tōō.
The remaining round-robin games would produce no surprises—Shūtoku and Seirin would claim the two available spots.
As for Seirin, after beating Tōō, they couldn't resist celebrating.
Even without the official qualification, they were elated.
They gathered at Kagami's apartment—it was close to the arena.
And there—
They found a stunning blonde woman waiting for them.
Alexandra Garcia!
A former WNBA player whose career was cut short by deteriorating eyesight from an injury. Now she coached at a small club back home.
"Why are you in Japan?"
The entire Seirin team seemed somewhat intimidated.
Sure, she was only a women's professional player, but professional was professional—and she'd won a state championship in college.
Alex's achievements were impressive. More importantly, she'd trained both Kagami Taiga and Himuro Tatsuya from childhood.
To them, she was practically a legendary figure.
"Me? I came to watch my two favorite students play!"
Her major in college had been Japanese, so communication was no problem.
"But that matchup hasn't been set yet."
"What?"
"Plus, we haven't even qualified yet."
"Nani?"
"The bracket for the Winter Cup knockout rounds will be determined by a draw. We might not even face each other until the very end."
"..."
Alex froze. She had traveled all this way just to watch her two students face off in person.
And now they were telling her they might not even play each other?
No, wait.
Based on what she knew of her students' abilities, even if the bracket split them up, they'd meet eventually.
"It's fine. I'll just stay in Japan a bit longer. No matter how the draw goes, Taiga and Tatsuya will eventually face each other."
She was confident.
This was Asia—a basketball backwater. What kind of talent could it possibly produce?
Himuro Tatsuya and Kagami Taiga were her students, trained by her own hands since they were kids.
And yet—
When she said that, the entire Seirin team's expressions turned grave—including her beloved student.
"What's wrong, Taiga?"
"..."
Kagami kept his head down. After a long pause, he spoke.
"Alex... at the Inter-High this summer, I already lost once. I couldn't even fight back."
"...Huh?"
Alex was stunned. She must be jet-lagged and hearing things.
"And Tatsuya..." Kagami wanted to tell her that Himuro had also been crushed in a streetball game, but the words caught in his throat. "...Anyway, if you want to know what happened, come watch tomorrow's game."
Something was off.
Alex knew the Kagami she'd trained. He wasn't this subdued. He was supposed to be a hot-blooded idiot.
What had happened to him since returning to Japan? What kind of opponent had he faced to be shaken this deeply?
"...If that's the case, then tomorrow's game—I absolutely have to see it."
...
Back to the present.
Alex had accompanied the Seirin team to the arena.
"Oh, wow. Not bad!"
"Honestly, I used to look down on Japanese basketball, but I have to take that back."
Japanese basketball was indeed subpar—their world ranking made that clear.
This year, Japan's men's basketball ranked only 34th in the FIBA world standings.
Never mind the world stage—at this point, Japan couldn't even dominate Asia.
Because right now, China's men's basketball was in its golden era.
Led by the towering Yao Ming, along with players like Yi Jianlian, China had swept through Asia without a single loss.
"Sure, they might be smaller and have less stamina, but their speed and strategy are impressive." Alex was intrigued.
Experiencing foreign basketball culture was quite a refreshing experience.
"Plus, every player's skills are well-rounded—especially that #7 who just came in."
"That's Kobayashi Keisuke from Ōbayashi High—they made the Final Four last year." Izuki Shun filled her in. "He's one of the rare 188cm point guards in Japan, capable of both organizing and scoring."
"That guy's got game. Pretty impressive." Alex didn't hold back her praise.
Her professional experience had given her an eye similar to Coach Aida's.
She could more or less gauge a player's strength through their presence and aura.
"But his opponent today is Shūtoku with Midorima." Kagami watched as Shūtoku took the floor.
The next second—
Alex's expression changed completely. Her eyes went wide, and everything seemed to shift into slow motion.
From Midorima's first full-court three-pointer to the final buzzer, she couldn't utter a single word.
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"