Chapter 23 Basketball 22
Time still flows quietly.
During the following days at Teiko, Kurikawa Sana continued to attend classes, go home from get out of class, participate in club activities, and watch games with the team day after day. Everyone's favorability towards each other improved in an orderly manner as they got along with each other.
Aomine and Murasakibara's favorability levels have soared the most, and the two have reached favorability levels of 81 and 83 respectively.
Thanks to the plenty of time they had alone together while practicing piano and ballet at the Teiko Festival, Akashi's favorability level reached 75, which surprised Kurikawa Sana.
After all, Akashi was the most difficult person in her eyes. She didn't expect the progress to be so smooth...but she always felt that there was a big pit waiting for her at the back.
As for Midorima, Kise, and Kuroko, I had less time to spend alone with them, and their favorability remained at around 65. But Kurikawa Sana was not in a hurry for the time being. She would only stay in the basketball world for no more than a school year, and at this rate of development, she should be able to accumulate enough points.
What's more, according to the system, there are a lot of people in the volleyball world and tennis world, so she feels more at ease.
*
Inside the gymnasium, the clatter of sneakers scraping against the floor intertwined with the sharp whistles of the basketball court. As sweat poured down, goals were scored one after another. In today's game between Teiko Junior High School and Harada Junior High School, the score between the two teams reached 132 to 48.
This score is not uncommon for the Teiko basketball team, but the key point is that nearly half of these 132 points were scored by Aomine Daiki alone.
With his amazing strength and invincible dominance on the field, Aomine Daiki shocked everyone present.
"Sana... do you feel like something's wrong?" Momoi Satsuki's voice was filled with obvious nervousness.
"What's wrong? Aomine-kun is in a particularly good mood today?"
"No, that's not the case." Tao Jing Wuyue shook her head. "I can't really explain it. It's obviously a good thing that Ah Da has become stronger, but I still feel... a little bit choked up and uneasy."
Coach Shirokane Kozo coughed forcefully, covering his mouth. His voice was weak but carried a hint of heaviness: "Aomine... has blossomed."
Kurikawa Sana was stunned for a moment.
She didn't complain about the coach's immature description at first, but instead began to observe the atmosphere on the court seriously.
Just as May and the coach said, with the passage of time and the growth of his physical ability, Qingfeng's powerful talent that crushed everyone has borne fruit. Now he can easily beat everyone, and it is easy for him to score 50 points alone in a game.
But a problem that she and May had been extremely concerned about before became more and more prominent - Qingfeng was becoming less and less happy when playing basketball.
During Aomine's final dunk, the players from the opposing team, Harada Junior High School, all lowered their heads, their expressions unclear, their feet frozen in place as if glued. The disparity in skill was so staggering that the opponent's mentality collapsed.
The game wasn't over yet, but they had no intention of returning to defense.
The message conveyed to the outside world is that they have completely given up struggling.
Aomine Daikito had already run to the basket, but found that none of his opponents caught up with him.
He turned around in surprise, and the smile on his face that was originally brought by the satisfying slam dunk just now disappeared in an instant.
Kurikawa Sana was shocked.
For some reason, she had a very bad feeling.
…
*
"Aomine-kun, shall we continue to practice together at the Third Gymnasium tonight?"
Hearing Kurikawa Sana's voice, Aomine Daiki turned his head in surprise, and the sweet and beautiful smile of the black-haired girl came into his sight.
"...Don't you have to rehearse the Teiko Festival program with Akashi today?"
Kurikawa Sana shook her head, "Not today."
In fact, it’s not that I don’t need to rehearse with Akashi, but if I leave Aomine alone now, I always feel that something bad will happen.
"...Ah, that, Kurikawa." Aomine Daiki looked away awkwardly, trying not to see her smile. "Sorry, I don't want to play tonight."
!!!
Sure enough! My bad premonition came true.
Who would have thought that Qingfeng's favorability towards her was 81 points, but he still rejected her invitation, and the one he refused was his favorite game, basketball! How much does he resist playing basketball now?
"You and Zhe should go train. I'm really not in the mood lately. And I've noticed lately that the harder I work on basketball, the more boring the game becomes, and it only further breaks my opponent's mentality... I don't know what the point is in doing this."
"Sorry, Kurikawa, I have to go back first."
Looking at the back of the indigo-colored crew cut boy leaving, Kurikawa Sana was stunned for a long time.
The system asked: [Why are you so obsessed with him playing basketball? Sana, you can ask him to do something else, it doesn't have to be playing basketball.]
Kurikawa Sana lowered her eyes. "But if everyone is like this, the basketball club won't be able to survive... I promised May that we can stay together forever."
On the night of the Hakone hot spring trip, the fireworks were brilliant. May smiled and made a wish that they could be together forever. The scene of the boys holding up fireworks sticks to light up her wish once again came to Kurikawa Sana's mind.
The system said in an extremely rational manner: "That's even more nonsense. Let's not talk about whether they will always be together. Just take you, Sana, for example. You will soon be leaving here and heading to the next volleyball world."
“………………”
[System, you really are good at pouring cold water on me. Return the feeling of being touched to me just now!]
[I'm just stating the facts, Sana.]
While walking and complaining fiercely to the system, Kurikawa Sana suddenly smelled a strong and pungent smell of plastic, and she couldn't help but frowned.
It turned out that I had passed by and walked to the small incinerator that processed garbage next to the school playground.
Standing in front of the incinerator was a tall, gray-haired boy who looked quite familiar.
"...Haizaki?" She called out the other person's name.
"Hey, isn't this the manager?" Haizaki Shogo turned and walked towards her with his hands in his trouser pockets, still looking casual and unrestrained.
The collar buttons and tie of his Teiko school uniform were worn loosely by him, and his handsome face always had an evil smile on it.
After approaching and seeing Kurikawa Sana's appearance, Haizaki Shogo was stunned for a moment, "...Hey, what's wrong with you?"
The black-haired girl frowned tightly, her azure eyes filled with water, as clear and beautiful as lake water, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.
...Why are you crying?
"Haizaki, why are you burning your sneakers again? Didn't Kuroko say you already burned them once on the day you quit the club?"
The girl sniffed uncomfortably. "Burning plastic is toxic. It produces harmful gases like benzene, xylene, and styrene. Breathing them can cause dizziness, headaches, and nausea. If you have any conscience, don't do this next time, Haizaki-kun."
Haizaki Shogo: "…………"
Not only did she complain about his lack of conscience, but she also emphasized the point of his "resignation from the ministry". This woman really knows how to hurt people's hearts.
He immediately counterattacked: "Ha, so the manager was crying because of the smell of burning plastic. I thought he was crying because he was rejected by Dahui just now."
Kurikawa Sana: "???"
She was so surprised that the tears that were supposed to come out of her eyes stopped. "Huh? How did you know?"
Haizaki Shogo: "..."
It's impossible to say that he happened to hear her and Aomine Daiki together, as if he was paying attention to this woman all day long.
"Heh, I don't know why you're so aggressive against those guys in the First Army all day long." Haizaki Shogo ignored her question and went straight to the offensive: "Is it because they're good at playing basketball?"
Haizaki Shogo thought back to the conversation she had just overheard. She wondered why Aomine Daiki had rejected her invitation to practice. Wasn't that guy usually a huge basketball fan? He had a day when he just didn't want to play.
And she too, when she joined the basketball team she said that the reason was "Coach, I want to play basketball." At that time he sneered at her reason as being too high-sounding, but he didn't expect that she seemed to really like playing basketball.
So she favors those guys in the basketball team, is it because they are good at playing basketball?
So why couldn't he? He was clearly much stronger than Kise Ryota, yet Akashi Seijuro asserted that Kise Ryota would eventually steal his starting spot. Haizaki Shogo, with his immense pride, couldn't stand this humiliation and immediately quit the basketball club.
Haizaki Shogo's expression was unpredictable, and even the muscles on his face were twitching violently.
Seeing him so obviously emotional, Kurikawa Sana was stunned for a moment, "Haizaki-kun, what's wrong with you?"
"Are you feeling dizzy and uncomfortable? I told you that burning plastic sneakers will produce toxic gases. So you're feeling dizzy, right?"
Haizaki Shogo: "…………"
He twitched his lips in intolerance. This woman cleverly avoided answering his previous question. Sometimes he really suspected that she did it on purpose, obviously knowing it better than anyone else.
"Forget it, if you don't want to answer, forget it. I don't care much about the answer to that question." Haizaki Shogo sneered, "Instead of pitying me for quitting the basketball club, it's better to say that you who are still in the basketball club are the most pitiful... That guy Akashi is clearly a monster."
"Pity? Haizaki-kun thinks I'm pitying you?" Kurikawa Sana blinked. "So Haizaki-kun really loves basketball, right? That's why you feel sad."
"Ha! Stop kidding! Which eye of yours saw me sad?!"
"I saw it with both eyes. Haizaki-kun is a tsundere, oh no, I should say a violent tsundere."
Haizaki Shogo made a "tsk" sound, looked up at the sky and stopped looking at her.
Every time he looked at her dazzling and annoying face, Haizaki Shogo felt that his verbal offensive power had decreased a lot.
But when he looked up and saw the sky, his body stiffened and he subconsciously clenched his fists.
It had just rained lightly this morning, and at that moment, a clear rainbow appeared in the sky above the Teiko playground. Red, yellow, green, cyan, and purple... Tsk, aren't these the representative colors of Akashi, Kise, Midorima, Aomine, and Murasakibara?!
Even the background color of the sky that embraces the rainbow is the same sky blue as Kuroko Tetsuya's hair and eye color.
It seemed as if even the colors of the sky and the rainbow were hinting that only Shogo Haizaki's gray did not belong to the Teiko basketball team - he was the only unwelcome, excluded outsider.
“……?”
What happened to him? He kept looking up at the sky
Kurikawa Sana followed his gaze to the sky. After seeing the color of the rainbow, she remembered the passers-by who complained about the hair color of Akashi and the others that night at Hakone Hot Springs, "So you can see rainbows at night?" She immediately understood what Haizaki was thinking.
Ah, it definitely reminds me of something like "I don't have a place for myself".
"Haizaki-kun, are you thinking that you can become stronger by dyeing your hair a colorful color?"
“………!”
A vein popped out on Haizaki Shogo's forehead, "How is that possible?!"
"If that's not the case, then there's no need to envy the rainbow and the sky."
The girl's voice was sweet and gentle, and she stated the facts she had seen gently and calmly.
"Before the rainbow appears, that is, when it rains, the whole sky is gray... It's Haizaki-kun's color."
"Haizaki-kun, you can have a wider world."
The wind in the playground blew her long black hair, bringing with it the unique fragrance of a young girl, mixed with the scent of grass after the rain, so fresh that it seemed to be able to wash away and purify her anxious mood.
Haizaki Shogo stood there in a daze.
Just a moment ago, he heard the sound of his heart beating violently.
What the hell, is this guy trying to enlighten him?
"...Hey, why are you suddenly so kind as to talk to me so much today?" He heard himself asking in a low, hoarse voice.
But the next second, her calm complaints, which had returned to an infuriating state, instantly destroyed the charming atmosphere.
Kurikawa Sana: "It is everyone's responsibility to guide misguided youth."
"Huh?! What's wrong with that? I haven't committed any crime yet!"
"Without Nijimura-san to supervise you, Haizaki-kun's fights outside of school have increased in frequency. You're only one step away from becoming a delinquent."
Kurikawa Sana observed him quietly and found that although his words were still radical, his expression had become much calmer.
I think you listened, Haizaki-kun.
I wish Qingfeng could be so easy to talk to, oh.
…
*
In the evening, in the piano room of Teiko Junior High School.
After failing to invite Aomine to practice basketball, Kurikawa Sana had to fall back on plan B and returned to the piano room to rehearse the Teiko Festival program with Akashi.
After the song ended, Akashi Seijuro asked, "Kurikawa, what's wrong with you today? You seem absent-minded."
Kurikawa Sana stopped dancing and couldn't help but sigh: "Akashi-kun, don't you think everyone is a little weird lately? Especially Aomine and Murasakibara..."
During today's basketball training, Murasakibara Atsuya burst out with unprecedented amazing strength and performed a helicopter-style slam dunk - to use Coach Platinum's words, Murasakibara's talent and ability are beginning to "bloom" like Aomine.
At that time, Murasakibara's powerful slam dunk shocked Kurikawa Sana. Was he going to take off in a spiral? There was a whirlwind airflow effect blowing around!
Before Murasakibara's body even touched his opponent, the person who wanted to defend him was blown away by the air current! For a moment, Kurikawa Sana thought she had arrived at the set of some supernatural anime.
After his power surged, Murasakibara began to get tired of basketball training and games like Aomine, and gradually became unsociable. There was no cooperation between the team members anymore.
Midorima Shintaro's shooting range is also increasing. He can now hit three-pointers from outside the half-court area, and he'll probably unlock the full-court three-pointer mentioned in his profile soon. Kurikawa Sana is powerless to complain about this. Their skills are becoming more and more incredible, to the point where they can no longer be scientifically calculated using Newtonian mechanics.
The current Teiko basketball team's starting lineup is so strong that it's hard to describe. Even professional basketball monthly magazines outside the school have dubbed them the "Generation of Miracles." However, the real atmosphere within the team... is getting worse and worse.
"..." Akashi Seijuro closed the piano lid and looked at her, "As everyone's physical abilities and skills grow, this is an inevitable result. Don't worry, I will guide Aomine and Murasakibara's behavior."
After hearing Akashi's answer, Kurikawa Sana breathed a sigh of relief and felt a lot more at ease.
Since Akashi said so, there must be no problem. Akashi always gives people the most calm and powerful sense of security.
"Kurikawa."
"Um?"
"During the fireworks display that day, you made a wish for good health." Akashi Seijuro stared at her intently. "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
Kurikawa Sana looked at him in surprise. She didn't expect that Akashi would be the first person to ask this question.
A warm feeling welled up in her heart again. She smiled and pretended to be relaxed. "It's nothing. It's just... because I'm afraid of pain, I made this wish. I hope to be free of illness and pain forever."
"Is that so..." Akashi Seijuro's eyes flickered slightly, "Then your wish, Kurikawa, will definitely come true."
"Want to practice a little longer, Kurikawa?"
"OK."
…
As the sun sets, the warm evening sun shines in from the piano room window. The black-haired girl dances like a ballet, casting a gentle reflection on the ground. Her elegant tiptoes, beautiful face, and melodious music...
The atmosphere at this moment is great.
Just like the song title she chose, Arrival of the Birds, it is full of uplifting vitality.
With another graceful leap and spin, the girl's long, raven-feather-like, jet-black hair slid across his wrist and fingertips, feeling as smooth and soft as silk, as if the hand of the owner of the hair was personally touching his wrist.
Akashi Seijuro was stunned for a moment.
The sound of the violin also shifted for a moment, but was quickly covered up by the performer's superb technique.
An inexplicable tingling sensation spread from the fingers holding the violin bow all the way up. He had to deliberately control it to suppress this strange feeling.
…
[Akagi Seijuro, Favorability +5. ]
At the same time, a "ding" sound rang in Kurikawa Sana's mind——
【Level up! 】
[Congratulations host, the progress of collecting Basketball World's favorability has reached 70%/100%. The system advanced mall has been unlocked for you.]
System Advanced Mall? Is there such a function after reaching a certain level of favorability?
Kurikawa Sana stopped dancing and quickly looked through the props sold in the system's advanced mall.
The Advanced Mall sells a wide variety of items, ranging from beautiful clothing and accessories that increase your personal charm, special potions and cooking dishes that increase your stamina, strength, and endurance, to the most useful advanced basketball, volleyball, and tennis skills...
In short, compared to the basic mall that only sold things like "a hard basketball" and "a set of high-quality jerseys", the advanced mall had countless props. It would probably take half an hour to browse them all. However, Kurikawa Sana had a sharp eye and noticed a particular prop that was quite eye-catching -
[Black Hole: Swing your racket to reduce the space in front of you, achieving complete stillness and engulfing the opponent's tennis balls and objects. → Redemption Required: 100 points.]
[Destroy the Five Senses: Deprive your opponent of their senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and pain through tennis. → Required Points: 100.]
[Destruction Light Ball: A single strike can penetrate reinforced concrete walls, with overwhelming explosive damage. Can be used for house demolition. → Redemption Required: 100 points.]
Ashura Shinto: The highest realm reached after countless hellish defeats. Upon mastering this, one can unlock their own unique dimensional skills, such as summoning powerful extra-dimensional forces like pirates, demons, destructive demons, devils, knights, and samurai. → Redemption Required: 100 points.
Kurikawa Sana: "…………???"
Huh? Huh? Huh?
Why is it that she knows every single word, but when they are put together she suddenly seems to not know the words??!!
Is this about playing tennis? Are you sure it's not Naruto-level combat power? And what about Ashura Shinto? Even the ability to summon a Stand has been revealed. Is playing tennis such a mysterious sport? It's almost blinding her eyes.
And how much does it cost to redeem the value? How much? 100 points!
This is equivalent to having to complete a game to gain 100 points of favorability with a person and give up 100 points of health to redeem this skill! Previously, the Rukawa and O'Neal possessed items in the basic store only had 50 points of favorability, but now this tennis skill requires twice that amount!
Should we say it is worthy of being called the system's advanced mall? It's too advanced!
The system's electronic voice sounded at the right moment: [This is a very powerful item, very helpful in improving the favorability of the captureable target.]
Kurikawa Sana was so shocked that she couldn't even rant: [Okay, okay, you're right...]
…
Seeing that she stopped dancing for a long time, Akashi Seijuro also stopped playing the piano and asked, "Are you tired, Kurikawa?"
Kurikawa Sana nodded quickly: "Okay, let's stop here for today's practice." - She wanted to go back and study the system advanced mall carefully.
"Okay." As he put the violin into its case, Akashi Seijuro pressed down his wrist and fingertips that had just been brushed by the girl's hair, as if this could suppress the uncontrollable strange feeling.
He was not an impulsive person, but now he seemed to have a strong urge to express what was on his mind.
——I want to tell her.
But it doesn't seem appropriate now, neither the timing nor the scene is the best... Akashi Seijuro lowered his eyes.
However, even he could not have anticipated that he would not be able to wait for the right opportunity.
Because before that, his body was completely occupied by another personality.
He could only watch helplessly as his other "self" made mistakes towards her step by step, and then fell into the same trap -
In the end, it was irreversible.
…
*
A few days later, the National Junior High School Basketball League.
After the league's opening ceremony, the players from each school were in high spirits, the captains and star players were interviewed by TV stations and basketball monthly reporters, and the atmosphere in the stadium was very lively.
Kurikawa Sana noticed with her sharp eyes that when Aomine Daiki saw a flaxen-haired player, a long-lost smile appeared on his face. He even ignored the interview with the reporter from Basketball Monthly and rushed over to talk and laugh with the other party.
"May, that's Inoue-san from Kamisaki Junior High, right? I heard Aomine-kun mention this before. It seems like this Inoue-san is the player he's most looking forward to in this league?"
"Hmm? Sana, are you talking about the one with flaxen hair? Yes, that's Inoue-san who fought against A-Da."
"The game they played against each other last year was incredibly intense! Although Da scored the most points, Inoue-kun was much better at positioning and pick-and-rolls, and he handled the most interior defense and blocked shots. Da said he was the most challenging power forward he'd ever faced!"
Tao Jing's eyes lit up. "Lately, Da has been completely unmotivated towards training and competitions. With Inoue-san's abilities, he should be able to cheer Da up, right?"
Really... can Qingfeng cheer up?
The answer is - no.
As the game progressed, the anticipation and smile on Momoi Satsuki's face completely disappeared, and Kurikawa Sana became more and more frightened.
Oh no.
The score was 150 to 80, with Teiko scoring 150 points and Kamisaki Junior High School, another strong basketball school, scoring 80 points.
With nearly half of the fourth quarter left, Kamizaki Middle School had already given up resistance.
Like every previous game, the players of Kamizaki Junior High School no longer ran or defended. Everyone just stood there mechanically, watching numbly the talented players of Teiko Junior High School score goals one after another.
Including the opponent that Aomine Daiki was extremely looking forward to, Inoue-san—he also stopped struggling.
"Sana... this doesn't look good..."
Kurikawa Sana's face also turned pale. "Ah, Aomine-kun, he no longer fist-bumps with Kuroko-kun. He completely ignores it."
When all five opposing players are frozen in place, dribbling and scoring as if they are in no man's land becomes a joke.
With no one defending, Aomine made a stiff layup and scored the last goal. When he passed by Inoue, Inoue said something to him with a hint of mockery and despair -
"What did Inoue-san say to Da? Da's face changed after hearing that!" Momoi Satsuki's voice trembled. "Oh no! Da was so looking forward to this match with Inoue-san..."
The thing they were most worried about finally happened.
If we use the word "darkening" to describe Qingfeng's drastic change in personality and the process of losing interest in basketball training and games... then the previous game with a huge score difference only brought Qingfeng's darkening progress to 60%.
This time, the match with Inoue-san brought the progress to 90%.
His exceptional talent and ability meant that every game ended with his opponents losing their will to fight in despair.
Qingfeng, who loves basketball more than anyone else, can no longer find joy in the game.
What will become of Qingfeng like this?
*
After saying "Don't bother me, I just want to be alone", Aomine Daiki left the Teiko locker room.
Before leaving, the low aura he exuded was so intense that no one dared to offend him.
Even Midorima Shintaro held up today's mascot lamp and said in a heavy tone, "Sure enough, this day has finally arrived."
Everyone understood what Midorima meant - no one could control Aomine now.
"Sana, let's split up and look for A-Da." Momoi Satsuki said nervously.
Murasakibara Atsushi, who had just opened the locker in the locker room, immediately frowned and grabbed Kurikawa Sana's hand to prevent her from leaving. "There's no need for that. Didn't he tell everyone not to bother him?"
"But we can't just leave Aomine-kun alone now." Kurikawa Sana let go of his hand.
Looking down at his released hand, Murasakibara Atsushi's narrow purple eyes were dark and unclear.
After the two girls left, the locker room was filled with silence and heavy breathing.
"..." The awkward silence made Midorima Shintaro adjust his glasses uncomfortably. "Kurikawa and Momoi are both managers. It's their duty to care about the mental state of each draft pick."
After saying this, Midorima Shintaro's hand froze in mid-air.
No, why did he subconsciously want to explain for Kurikawa Sana?
"Ah, I'm so angry." Murasakibara Atsushi ruffled his purple hair in frustration. "Kuri-chan, she's putting other people before me again...!"
"So that's why you're angry... Murasakibara-chan." Kise Ryota, who was watching from the sidelines, chuckled. "If you act like a child, Oguri River will run away, right?"
Murasakibara Atsushi glanced down at him. "You only think you can watch the fire from the other side for now, Huangzi."
"Haha, Murasakibara-chan's tone is so scary."
"Is Akashi still giving media interviews? He should be the one to persuade Aomine to come back at a time like this..."
Listening to their words, Kuroko Tetsuya, who had been silent all the time, sat on the lounge chair. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly, and blue veins appeared on his white arms.
…
Night falls.
Kurikawa Sana finally found Aomine Daiki by the gymnasium swimming pool.
The tall young man with an indigo crew cut sat on the edge of the swimming pool with one leg bent. The white towel covering his head concealed all his expressions, but he still gave off a terrifying aura that kept strangers away.
Judging from the appearance alone, the current Aomine Daiki is completely different from the boy who used to have a sunny and cheerful smile and was very approachable.
"Aomine-kun!" Kurikawa Sana ran to his side breathlessly, bent over with her hands on her knees, and said while panting: "It's getting late, Mayu is very worried about you!"
"...It's you." Hearing her voice, Qingfeng Daihui didn't even raise his head, and his voice was unprecedentedly cold: "Don't you understand what I say? No one should bother me."
"Even if it's you, don't bother me."
Kurikawa Sana was stunned for a moment.
Ah... Whether in the real world or after coming to this basketball world, she seemed to have never heard such a cold tone, and few people would speak harshly to her.
...Come to think of it, it does seem a bit annoying. When she is in a bad mood, she just wants to be alone and doesn't want to be disturbed by anyone.
Kurikawa Sana took a deep breath and said, "I just came here to tell you something, Aomine-kun."
"The recent matches, including today's, may have you feeling confused, but what I want to say is that it's not your fault that you're exceptionally talented. Strong opponents capable of competing with you...will definitely appear in the future."
"Please don't give up your love for basketball, and don't blame yourself, Aomine-kun."
The girl's sweet voice echoed in the empty swimming pool, seeming so ethereal yet extremely clear.
“…”
Aomine Daiki remained silent and did not respond.
After a long time, he slowly stood up from the shore. His tall, slender, dark-skinned body and powerful muscles were extremely oppressive.
He turned around, looked directly at the girl in front of him, and spoke word by word, "But the truth is, I just can't get any fun out of the competition anymore."
"Do you know what Inoue said to me during the game today?"
"He said to me - Qingfeng, do you know what kind of monster you have evolved into?"
"Do you want me to give my all in every match and crush all my opponents? Would that make you happy? Answer me, Kurikawa."
Aomine Daiki curled the corners of his mouth in mockery, and his already handsome and strong facial features seemed to be filled with evil.
"If you say that breaking your opponent's mentality will make you happy, then I can do as you say. After all, I have a good impression of you."
His voice also changed dramatically, becoming deep, magnetic, hoarse, and extremely dangerous, without any trace of his previous cheerfulness.
“……!”
Kurikawa Sana opened her eyes wide in surprise.
Although he was speaking in ambiguous words, it was more like a mockery and venting of anger than a confession.
"I...that's not what I meant."
"So what's the point? Forget about running all this way to see me, breathless, just to say this."
"Will you come to the basketball club for training again in the future, Aomine-kun?"
“Is the answer to this question important?”
Kurikawa Sana frowned, "If you don't come, the wish that May made at the fireworks festival won't come true..."
I want everyone to be together forever.
“………”
"So, compared to May's wish, my personal feelings are insignificant, right?" Aomine Daiki said expressionlessly.
[Aomine Daiki, Favorability -10.]
Kurikawa Sana: "!!!"
The sudden sound of deducting favorability points made her freeze in place, and she didn't know how to react for a moment.
That wasn't just May's wish, it was hers too. It was just a casual remark, so why would it deduct so much favorability points?!
"After all, what can you understand from me? I'm just saying some nice, high-sounding, boring words."
[Aomine Daiki, Favorability -15.]
…? !!
Why? !
Why is it still decreasing?!
Kurikawa Sana covered her chest tightly and breathed heavily. She felt a throbbing pain in her heart, as if all the oxygen in her body was being sucked away.
The system's rare anxious voice came to her mind: [Sana, Aomine is now extremely tired of everything related to basketball, including you as the manager of the basketball club——]
[Leave this place quickly! Don't lose any more health before your favorability reaches the threshold! This is bad for your health!]
The sudden and severe lack of oxygen made it impossible for her to even stand, and the feeling of being unable to breathe deprived her of all her senses.
So, so uncomfortable...
This long-lost, yet familiar feeling of pain.
Standing at the edge of the swimming pool, Kurikawa Sana lost all her strength, closed her eyes and fell down helplessly.
Aomine Daiki's indigo pupils shrank for a moment, "...Kurikawa?!"
He reached out but failed to catch her, and could only watch Kurikawa Sana fall into the swimming pool, splashing huge water.
After a moment of surprise, Aomine Daiki's expression immediately changed. He jumped into the swimming pool without hesitation and picked her up in the water.
The black-haired girl closed her eyes tightly, and her delicate and beautiful face lost its usual rosy complexion and turned pale.
The bottom of the swimming pool was lit with cool lights, and the light was reflected from the shimmering water surface.
Her long hair and clothes were completely wet, and Teiko's extremely thin sky blue school uniform wrapped around the girl's blushing and heart-pounding curves.
But Aomine Daiki was in no mood to pay attention to those things. His face looked extremely ugly. He couldn't understand why the person who was talking just a second ago suddenly fainted with a pale face.
"Hey! Hey...Kurikawa!"
No matter how he shouted, she didn't open her eyes.
"Give her to me."
A familiar voice sounded above my head.
An incredibly tall, purple-haired boy walked out from the darkness and stood on the shore of the swimming pool, looking down from above. His dark purple eyes showed no emotion.
Aomine Daiki frowned and looked at the newcomer, "... Murasakibara?!"
Has he been listening to this all along? How long has he been listening?!
Murasakibara Atsushi extended his hand towards him. His usually lazy voice was quite firm at this moment: "You've upset Lizi. She should hate you."
Aomine Daiki's face turned cold, and he tightened his arms around the girl in his arms, "What does this have to do with you?"
"That's enough! How long are you going to let her stay in the water?" The green-haired boy rushed over, even putting aside the lucky charm of the lamp in his hand. "She's going to get sick if she keeps going like this!"
"Why are you here too, Midorima?!"
"Momoi asked me to come and help look for you... Why did you get her into the water?" Midorima Shintaro frowned tightly and held out his hand wrapped in white bandages. "Come up quickly!!"
Aomine Daiki made a "tsk" sound, ignored any of the hands they extended, and walked back to the shore in two steps, holding the still unconscious Kurikawa Sana.
After getting ashore, when he saw the girl's wet clothes and exposed curves up close, Midorima Shintaro's body froze for a second and his ears quickly turned red.
He immediately took off his white sports jacket that smelled of fresh fabric softener and covered the girl with it, blocking everything and preventing her from catching a cold.
Murasakibara Atsushi even stretched out his arms and hugged her directly.
Aomine Daiki: “?”
...These two guys!!
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