The afternoon sun, with a hint of laziness, filtered through sparse clouds, casting its light on an empty lot near the Shonan coastline.
This was once the site of a small factory, now only a few mottled low walls and a pitted concrete ground remained, yet it had become the Sakuragi Legion's most frequent 'secret base'.
However, today, the atmosphere at the base was unusually heavy, as if shrouded by low pressure.
Sakuragi Hanamichi stood with his back to everyone, facing a dilapidated wall covered in graffiti, his tall figure slightly hunched.
His iconic red hair also seemed to have lost its usual luster, drooping listlessly.
His shoulders occasionally twitched, emitting suppressed, almost whimpering sounds.
Takamiya Nozomi, Noma Chuichiro, and Okusu Yuji sat or leaned a little further away, their faces showing a familiar helplessness mixed with a hint of imperceptible worry.
They exchanged glances, communicating silently with their mouths.
"How many is it now?" Takamiya gestured with his chubby fingers.
Noma pouted, silently mouthing two words: "Fifty."
Ōkusu made an exaggerated fainting expression.
This was the scene Yohei saw when he arrived.
He carried several cans of drinks he had just bought from the convenience store, paused for a moment, then resumed his natural stride and walked over.
"Here." He handed a can of iced cola to Sakuragi, who was facing the wall, and distributed the other cans to Takamiya and the others.
Sakuragi didn't turn around, only mumbled, "...I don't want it."
His voice was hoarse, with a heavy nasal tone.
Yohei didn't press him; he opened a can for himself, found a relatively clean concrete block next to Takamiya, sat down, and took several gulps.
The cold liquid slid down his throat, washing away some of the summer heat, and also making him more clearly aware of this young body's perception of its surroundings.
He looked at Sakuragi's back, a complex mix of emotions swirling within him.
There was genuine concern for his friend, a Feeling for the 'plot' unfolding as expected, and even a 'future' soul's detached observation, transcending the current situation.
Fifty rejections... In the original work, this was a highly comedic number, the beginning of Sakuragi Hanamichi's legend.
But truly being in the moment, watching this fifteen-year-old suffer for it, Yohei more deeply understood that behind this 'comedy' was a young man's purest and most clumsy emotional investment, and the cruelty of repeated rejections.
"This time... which class was the girl from?" Yohei asked, his voice calm, betraying no particular emotion.
Takamiya lowered his voice, a hint of schadenfreude in it: "It was Shimamura Yoko from Class 1-3, quite cute, but I didn't expect her to be so direct in rejecting him."
Noma added: "Hanamichi was so confident this time, he even specifically borrowed a new shirt, but she just said, 'I'm sorry, I already have someone I like, it's Oda-kun.'"
"Oda?" Yohei's eyebrow twitched slightly.
The basketball star from Takezono High School? So the timeline had already advanced to this point.
This meant that Sakuragi meeting Akagi Haruko and stepping into the basketball gym was very close.
"That's right, it's that Oda from Takezono!" Sakuragi suddenly turned around, his eyes red and swollen, tear stains still on his face, his expression somewhat distorted by anger and grievance.
"That damned self-proclaimed basketball player! Why! Why do all girls like basketball players!? What's so good about basketball!?"
He waved his fists, as if protesting against an unfair fate.
Yohei watched him calmly, not immediately echoing or comforting him like Takamiya and the others.
He waited for Sakuragi's agitated emotions to subside a little before slowly opening his mouth and asking a seemingly unrelated question:
"Hanamichi, do you think that Oda, besides playing basketball, has anything else special about him?"
Sakuragi was startled, clearly not having considered this question.
He tried to recall, then stiffened his neck and said, "He... he's not as handsome as this genius! His height is just so-so! And he's pretentious!"
"So, in your opinion, his biggest advantage, or what attracts Shimamura Yoko the most, is that he's good at basketball, right?" Yohei guided him.
"...I guess so." Sakuragi admitted grudgingly.
"Then, Hanamichi," Yohei's voice remained steady, yet carried a power that pierced the heart, "have you ever thought about what would happen if you also played basketball, and played better than that Oda?"
The air instantly quieted.
Even Takamiya and the others stopped whispering, looking at Yohei in surprise.
This suggestion... didn't sound like something Yohei would usually say.
They usually mocked those 'brawny' jocks together, or helped Hanamichi vent his anger, not encouraged him to join in.
Sakuragi also widened his eyes, as if he had heard something outlandish: "Me? Play basketball? Are you kidding! this genius doesn't want to play that boring..."
"Boring?" Yohei interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over Sakuragi's tall body, which was trembling slightly from excitement.
"But it's this 'boring' sport that has caused you to fail fifty times, you know."
These words were like a needle, accurately piercing Sakuragi's sore spot.
His face instantly flushed, more vivid than his hair.
"Yohei! You..."
"I'm not mocking you, Hanamichi." Yohei stood up and walked in front of Sakuragi.
He was slightly shorter than Sakuragi, but the aura he exuded at this moment was by no means weaker.
He looked up at his friend's eyes, red with anger and sadness, and his tone became serious.
"I'm helping you analyze the problem.
You've been rejected fifty times; have you never summarized the reasons?"
"Reasons? Of course, those girls have no taste!" Sakuragi blurted out; this was his usual way of thinking.
"Once or twice, you can say they have no taste." Yohei shook his head, his gaze sharp.
"Fifty times, Hanamichi, that can't be explained by 'no taste'.
This means you might have... used the wrong method."
"Method?" Sakuragi was bewildered.
"Chasing girls is like... like completing a challenge." Yohei chose his words carefully, trying to explain in a way Sakuragi could understand.
"You need to show your charm, your value.
And you, Hanamichi, you possess unparalleled physical talent; you are tall, strong, and have excellent athletic ability.
This should be your greatest charm.
But you've never used it in the 'right' place."
He pointed to Sakuragi's strong arms and broad shoulders: "Your advantages might impress us in a street fight, but for most girls who yearn for sunshine, health, and positivity, a boy who sweats on the sports field, winning cheers and respect, is far more attractive than a boy who fights in alleys."
Sakuragi opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but found that what Yohei said seemed... to make some sense?
He recalled Shimamura Yoko's shining eyes when she mentioned Oda, filled with admiration and longing.
He had never seen that kind of look in the eyes of any girl who watched him fight.
"But... basketball..." Sakuragi's tone was no longer so firm; it carried a hint of hesitation.
His impression of basketball was still at the level of "something that insidious Oda plays" and "a bunch of people fighting over a ball is silly."
"Basketball is just one way." Yohei saw his wavering and continued to press.
"But it might be the best way for you.
Think about it, Hanamichi, with your height and strength, who can stop you on the basketball court?
Sakuragi, do you know what a slam dunk is?
Oda can do it, and you can too, jumping high, slamming the ball into the hoop, just like... just like conquering the world.
Everyone in the arena will cheer for you, including... the girl you like."
Yohei's description carried a subtle Inflammatory.
The scene he depicted was simple, direct, yet it perfectly hit Sakuragi's inner desire to be recognized and to be the center of attention.
Sakuragi's eyes flickered, and a scene he had seen seemed to truly appear in his mind: like Oda, he leaped high, completing an earth-shattering so-called slam dunk, the whole court silent, then erupting in thunderous applause and screams, Yoko... no, all the girls, looking at him with admiring eyes... But the next second, he shook his head, shaking off that unrealistic fantasy: "No, no! Basketball has so many rules, it's a hassle!
And I heard you have to practice the basics, it's very boring!"
"Rules are to make the game more interesting.
Basic skills are the path all strong people must take." Yohei's tone carried an unquestionable certainty.
"Do you think that Oda, they were born knowing how to play basketball?
They also started from the most basic dribbling and shooting, putting in countless sweat and time, to have their current abilities."
He paused, observing Sakuragi's expression, and threw out the last, and most tempting, bargaining chip:
"Hanamichi, you always call yourself a genius.
Would a true genius be afraid of challenges and boredom?
Shouldn't he be someone who can quickly reach the peak in any field?
Is a mere basketball court more difficult than pursuing fifty girls?"
"Of course not!" Sakuragi almost reflexively roared, his genius pride not allowing provocation.
"What's a basketball court!
If this genius plays basketball, he'll definitely be a hundred times better than that stinky Oda!"
"Really?" Yohei smiled, a gentle smile belonging to Mito Yohei, filled with encouragement and expectation.
"Then prove it to us."
He didn't say anything more.
The seed had been planted; it needed time to sprout slowly.
Excessive pressure would only backfire.
He sat back down on the concrete block, picked up the unopened can of cola, and handed it to Sakuragi again: "Drink it, rehydrate.
Even if you're going to conquer the basketball court, you need a good body first."
Sakuragi didn't refuse this time.
He took the cola, pulled the tab open with force, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp.
The cold soda stimulated his throat, seemingly also extinguishing some of the gloom and irritation in his heart.
He looked at the cola can in his hand, then at Takamiya and the others who had started teasing each other again, and finally, his gaze fell on Yohei, who was quietly drinking his beverage, his eyes fixed on the distant sky.
"Basketball... can it really work?" A faint voice deep within him asked.
Yohei didn't look at him, yet he seemed to hear the question in his heart.
He gazed at the clouds slowly drifting across the blue sky, silently thinking:
"Of course it can, Hanamichi.
That will be your true shining stage.
And I will be by your side, ensuring you walk the most correct path."
The seed of change had, on this day, this afternoon filled with the pain of rejection, quietly fallen into Sakuragi Hanamichi's heart.
It only awaited that ray of sunshine named "Akagi Haruko" and the ensuing basketball storm to fully awaken it.
The setting sun cast their long shadows, and the atmosphere in the secret base seemed less heavy.
Takamiya and the others started joking about Sakuragi's fifty rejections again, and this time, besides retorting, Sakuragi's eyes held something new—a complex glint mixed with confusion, unwillingness, and a faint curiosity.
Yohei knew the first step had been successful.