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Chapter 157 ~ After the Match

“132 vs 71 in favor of Bonyari! Bonyari wins!”

The gym burst into a cheer of joy when Bonyari, in a shocking turn of events, triumphs over the famous Kaijo High School basketball team in their first spar match of the year. 

Both teams gathered at the center of the field, lining up just like they did in the beginning, and bowed deeply to each other. 

““Thank you very much for the game!””

They then began breaking away and returned to their respective bench. 

But just as Yuuji was about to walk away, he saw the golden-haired player, who he had the pleasure of learning from and gained plenty of interesting basketball skills, approaching him with a bright, friendly smile.

“U-Uhmm! Hey, sorry for bothering you. Do you have a minute?”

“Hm? Ah, sure.”

“Thanks. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kise Ryota, a first year.”

“Likewise. I’m Tsubakihara Yuuji, a first year as well.”

Yuuji took the hand Kise offered and shook it. 

“You were really amazing back there! Like, seriously! I come from a pretty powerful basketball team back in middle school, and I can assure you, you’re one of the most powerful players I’ve played against!”

Yuuji smiled softly.

“Thanks. I had a lot of fun as well playing against you. I’ve learned a lot.”

“Hehe. That makes the two of us! But I won’t lose again next time!”

“Likewise. Though, that is if we get a chance to play together again.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry! After this, I’m sure our coach would invite your school over for a match again! Next time, maybe we can do it in our school! I’ll show you around!”

Yuuji blinked a few times in silence… wondering how he should break the news to the bright and cheerful guy he was talking to.

Kise seemed like a nice guy… So he didn’t really want to disappoint him. But perhaps, it’d be better to tell him upfront so he wouldn’t get his hopes up…”

“Uhm… Actually, I’m… not a member of the club.”

“...Huh?”

The bright smile on his face froze as Kise’s eyes widened in shock.

“...What did you say?’

“... I’m not an actual member of the basketball club. I’m just a stand in for someone?

“Huh…? Are you… Serious?”

“Yes… I actually only started playing about a week ago. And the captain asked me if I could be a stand in for this match after seeing me play. So…”

Kise’s jaws dropped to the ground as he stared at Yuuji in frozen shock. 

What… in the world did he just said…? Is this real life…? No… This must be a dream, right…?

That kind of play… In just one week… A stand in… Not an official member… Destroyed him and his team… 

Hah… Hahaha… Ahahaha…

“Y-You’re… joking, right?”

“No, I’m not…”

“...”

Yuuji looked at the frozen Kise with slight guilt… 

He thought telling him the truth early would’ve been better than getting his hopes up. But… perhaps even if he told him now, the shock would still be too great.

“Uhmm… Then, I’ll be going now…”

Not wanting to traumatize him even more, Yuuji decided to walk away and leave him alone for a bit.

“W-Wait!!!”

But before he could walk away, Kise stopped him once again in a hurry.

“Can I at least get your contact? I swear I won’t give it to anyone without your permission!”

“Hm? What do you need it for…?”

“W-Well, I thought that if we can’t play in a spar between our schools, then maybe we can play basketball outside of school… And I’d actually like to introduce you to my friends!!! They’re super great at basketball and I’m sure it’d be fun if we all played together!”

“Hm…”

Yuuji thought for a moment.

His first impression of Kise was quite good… And he did have fun in this match thanks to him. Playing basketball with him once in a while in the future might be fun too. 

He’s also not against meeting his friends. Actually, he’s quite curious how amazing they were at basketball if Kise himself regarded them as being “super great”. 

Meanwhile, interpreting his silence as rejection, Kise quickly coughed up some offers that might sweeten the deal.

“I-I can give you the contacts of my female modeling friends in exchange!! They’re all super cute and really famous in the modeling scene!! Or if you want the sexy ones, I also have plenty that would love to meet someone like yo-”

“I don’t need it…”

“Ah…”

Seeing his weirded out face, Kise paused in his rambling… 

Right… All the girls surrounding him were on an even higher level than all his acquaintances combined. Moreover, given how many girls he already has to deal with, he doubted Yuuji would want to get even more girls in his tail. Why would he want their contacts…?

“T-Then…”

“...Alright.”

Kise’s eyes light up upon hearing his response.

“I’ll give you my contacts. But don’t you dare share it with anyone without my permission. If you do…”

As if a cold, night wind had suddenly manifested within the gym building and blew at him, Kise immediately felt goosebumps on his skin and a child going down his spine upon hearing his words. 

He quickly nodded his head, like a chicken pecking on its feed.

“I-I understand!!! T-Thank you…”

Yuuji nodded and continued.

“Good. Now, just tell me your contacts. I’ll contact you later.”

“A-Ah, sure… Do you need a paper or something…?”

“No. Just say it.”

Kise tilted his head slightly. But he acquiesced to Yuuji’s words and began reciting his phone number and email address.

“Alright. I’ll contact you soon.”

“S-Sure.”

“Then, see you.”

“Y-Yes… See you…”

After giving a slight bow of the head, Yuuji walked away, leaving the Kise standing there, still processing their… lesser than normal interaction, as he watched a group of beauties immediately surrounding him from all sides. 

And seeing his scene… Kise couldn’t help but feel like an idiot.

‘What was I thinking… Meeting new girls is the least of his concerns with so many around him…’

He let out a sigh and shook his head, and began making his way back to his team, hoping he’d get a message from Yuuji soon. 

After his brief chat with Kise, Yuuji returned to his team and received their heartfelt gratitude for joining them and helping them win. 

Although they didn’t truly “win” against Kaijo since Yuuji was the one who mostly scored for them, they’re still grateful for the experience of playing at such a high level. 

After changing back into their uniforms and splitting up, Yuuji met up with his sisters, and saw all of his friends there with them as well.

“Yuu-kun~!!!”

“Yuuji!”

The twins immediately ran up the moment they saw him and leapt into his embrace.

“You were so cool, Yuu-kun~!!! You were so fast and so quick that I had a hard time following you!!!”

“You were amazing, Yuuji. Congratulations on winning.”

“Thank you.”

Yuuji smiled softly and hugged his beloved sisters in his arms tightly.

“Yuuji-kun~!!!”

“Yuuji~!”

Following his sisters, Haruka, Yotsuba, and the rest of his friends such as the quintuplets, Ai, Chitoge, Raku and Shuu, all approached him in cheers and congratulated him for the amazing game. 

“Yuuji-kun~! You were so amazing in that game!!! It makes me want to try and play basketball too! Hey hey, can you teach me~?”

Haruka’s eyes glittered in excitement as she leaned forward and looked up at Yuuji. Their faces were only inches away from each other, but Haruka, in her excitement, forgot all about her embarrassment. 

All she could think of at this moment was how cool Yuuji was in the game and how much she wanted Yuuji to teach her.

Yuuji’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.  

Haruka had always been straightforward with her desires, especially when something caught her interest. 

This time might not be different. But… for some reason, Yuuji could see something else in the midst of her shining and bright personality that tugged his heartstrings. 

“Sure. We can practice a bit of shooting next time.”

His lips curled into a smile. A smile that genuinely came from his heart in response to her genuine excitement. 

He had no reason to refuse her invitation. And perhaps… teaching her basketball and spending a bit of time together with her would be… fun. 

Hearing his response, Haruka’s eyes narrowed into crescent moons as her lips curled into a wide, beautiful smile. Her cheeks blushing redly.

“That’s a promise~!!!”

Her heart burst into happiness and she happily winked at him before beaming him with another bright smile. 

It wouldn’t be until she returned home that she burst into embarrassment from recalling how forward and aggressive she was with Yuuji this afternoon. 

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

On his way home with Yuna and Nina, Yuuji messaged Kise through the contact he gave him. 

And in just a few seconds, a stream of overjoyed messages flooded the chatroom to the point that Yuuji contemplated blocking it. 

But… In the end, he held himself back and responded patiently by telling him to stop spamming or be blocked.

Right after that, Kise began messaging him like a normal person.

The annoy- high spirited, golden-haired guy said he’d like to arrange a meet up to introduce Yuuji to his friends. 

Since he needed to contact his friends first, Kise couldn’t give Yuuji a palace and time yet. But, he promised he’ll get to him once he had set the schedule. 

Essentially, he had no plans as of yet. But Yuuji expected as much from someone as spontaneous as Kise, so he simply agreed. 

Soon, the three arrived home and the beautiful, smooth, alluring voice of their mother welcomed them back.

“Ara~ Welcome home~”

“We’re back~! Mom, come and look at this video I took of Yuuji~!!! He was super amazing in the game~! Look!”

“Oh~”

“Hm? Ah, you guys are back.”

Just then, Aika came down from the second floor with a towel still on her head, drying her hair after a shower. Her t-shirt and hot-pants sticking to her wet, flushed skin, accentuating and lining her busty figure from top to bottom. 

“Aunt, you should see this too. It’s a video of Yuuji playing basketball. He was amazing.”

“Oh???”

Nina’s words immediately piqued her interest, as would anything that would have to do with Yuuji. She quickly joined in with her sister and nephews and began watching the video on Yunaʼs phone. 

“Oh my~ He’s so cool~ Ufufufu~ Yuuji, I didn’t know you were so amazing~”

“Wow… I don’t know much about basketball, but even I know he’s amazing… The other players look like children in front of him.”

“Thank you. I did my best.”

Yuuji smiled softly, scratching the back of his head, as his family kept their eyes on the screen. 

Their eyes shined and glimmered in amaze and awe… But one pair shined in a different light.

‘Ufufufu~ I’m sure “she” would love to meet Yuuji-kun after seeing this~’

The glint in Mira’s eyes shined mischievously as the figure of a beautiful, former WNBA player she knew in the states appeared in her mind. 

The two were born on opposite sides of the worlds, and met only through sheer coincidence. They’ve lived vastly different lives; different worlds. But perhaps, that was the exact reason why they could get along so well. 

Even from that brief meeting, they kept in contact and became close friends. 

And now… perhaps she had found a trigger that would bring them even closer.

“Yuna, can you send me this~?”

“I-I want it too…!”

“Sure~!”

Yuna happily sent the video to her mother and aunt. And while Aika seemed to be holding back an excited grin, Yuuji noticed the mischievous glint on Mira’s beautiful eyes. 

And having been watching her closely from when he was young, he knew it was her habit when she thought of doing something mischievous. And Yuuji couldn’t help but wonder, what plan did she have in mind…

“Ufufufu~ Now then, you three should hurry up and get change before we have dinner~ And after dinner, prepare your luggages for the overnight trip tomorrow, okay~?”

““Yes~/Yes.””