Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Kanagawa Kitamura General Hospital.

The members of the Shohoku basketball team crowded at the entrance of the ward, filling the narrow corridor with more than a dozen people.

The ward door opened, and a doctor wearing glasses walked out, removing his mask. Everyone held their breath simultaneously.

"After examination, there is no major problem. Fortunately, we arrived in time, but the patient still needs to stay in the hospital for observation for a few more days before being discharged."

The dozen or so members of the Shohoku basketball team breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, and Akagi Takenori and Mitsui's tense shoulders relaxed.

Sakuragi Hanamichi stood closest to the door of the ward. He looked through the crack in the door at Coach Anzai sleeping peacefully inside. His round body was covered by a white sheet, the soft flesh of his chin was piled up next to the pillow, and his breathing was steady.

Just a few hours earlier, the final whistle had blown in the game between Ryonan and Hainan. The Shohoku players had just walked off the court together, discussing Ryonan's victory over Hainan and tomorrow's championship game against Ryonan.

Then we saw Coach Anzai lying on the ground at the exit of the players' tunnel.

Rukawa and Sakuragi were the two closest to each other, and they almost simultaneously rushed forward to catch Coach Anzai. Sakuragi turned around and yelled at Miyagi, "Call an ambulance!"

As the Xiangbei team walked out of the hospital, the early summer breeze, carrying the scent of earth and grass, swept through the parking lot, and the setting sun cast long and short shadows on them.

Mitsui suddenly stopped in his tracks: "Tomorrow is the match against Ryonan, and Coach Anzai isn't here. What are we going to do?"

Akagi paused for a moment upon hearing this. "Even without the coach, we must play our best. Give it our all and win the championship. That's what the coach wants to see most."

Kogure reassured everyone, "The good news is that Ryonan just defeated Hainan, and we've secured our place in the national tournament. Relax and play well tomorrow, and try to bring the championship back with us."

These words are for everyone.

But no one noticed that the red-haired man at the very back of the line hadn't spoken a word since they walked out of the hospital.

After parting ways with everyone, Sakuragi walked home along the riverbank.

Yuri Yanai linked arms with Sakuragi. She didn't say anything, but she could sense that Sakuragi had become unusually quiet since leaving the hospital.

He turns his face to one side when he walks.

Yanai saw it, and Sakuragi quickly wiped his eye with his sleeve. The movement was swift, clearly indicating he was deliberately trying not to be seen.

"Flower arrangement." She stopped in her tracks.

Sakuragi stopped too, but he didn't turn his head.

Yanai looked up at him, holding his arm tightly, without asking any questions.

There was a few seconds of silence.

Then Sakuragi's voice slowly flowed from deep within his throat: "Back in middle school."

He said five words and then stopped.

The sound of the river flowing through the bridge arch echoed softly in the setting sun.

"My dad... had a heart attack. For some reason, I couldn't call an ambulance in time, and then he..."

He took a deep breath, but the air he inhaled was trembling. "When I saw Dad collapse in the basketball court just now, I thought..."

He didn't finish speaking. But Yanai had already fully understood.

She finally understood why this boy, who was always laughing and joking, easily angered, and used the phrase "this genius" to cover up all his emotions, showed an expression she had never seen before the moment Coach Anzai collapsed.

Yanai didn't say "It's okay" or "It's all in the past".

She simply hugged Sakuragi's arm even tighter, so tight that he could feel her body heat.

Her tall, 172cm figure leaned against his shoulder, her long black hair hanging down and brushing against his arm.

"I'll be with you from now on." Her voice was soft and calm, as if stating a given fact that required no discussion. "No matter what happens, I'll be there."

Sakuragi remained silent for a long time. The river flowed under the bridge, and the warm breeze of early summer rustled the leaves.

"Meeting Yanai is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me."

Sakuragi paused, turned his face away slightly, and the tips of his ears gleamed red under the streetlights. "Hmm...more important than basketball."

Yanai looked at his profile, and the way his eyes curved upwards was the gentlest look Sakuragi had ever seen on his face.

Then she tightened her grip on his arm, her voice suddenly switching from gentle to its usual tone: "What do you want for dinner? I'll come to your house and cook for you tonight."

Sakuragi's face underwent a dramatic color change within three seconds. "You...you're coming to my house to cook?"

"What? You don't trust my cooking skills?" Yanai narrowed his eyes.

Sakuragi remembered how delicious the lunch boxes Yanai always brought him were. The reason he was excited was because Yanai cooked for him at home, the home where he lived alone.

"I want to eat fried pork cutlet!" he declared decisively.

Yanai smiled and tightened his grip on his arm. The setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them as they slowly walked away along the riverbank.

The next morning, the entrance to the Kanagawa Prefectural Gymnasium was packed with people. Today was the last day of the semi-final round-robin tournament, and also the championship game between Shohoku and Ryonan.

Yohei Mito rode his little scooter into the parking lot, and when the four of them jumped off the scooter, they saw the spectacular scene of a sea of ​​people at the entrance of the stadium.

Horita Tokuo, carrying the banner of "Man of Flame," swaggered through the crowd.

Rukawa Kaede's fan club, dressed in matching white cheerleading outfits, marched into the main entrance of the gymnasium. The girl in the lead held up a newly made banner that read "Rukawa Kaede's Love".

"As expected of the championship match." Da Nan looked around and whistled. "There are even more people today than yesterday."

Takamiya tucked the bag of potato chips under his arm, unusually refraining from stuffing them into his mouth, his expression incredibly serious: "Today is the first champion of flower arrangement. We must give it our all and cheer him on."

"Is your way of giving your all just eating potato chips?" Noma calmly retorted.

Inside the stadium, the first match was Hainan vs. Buri.

Having already been eliminated from the national competition, Hainan University Affiliated High School vented all its anger on Wu Li.

Shinichi Maki played for the entire thirty minutes, and every breakthrough he made seemed to be smashing the losses from last week and yesterday out of his body.

Kiyota Nobunaga dunked on Takezato's center twice, and the referee called a technical foul when he dunked on the second time.

Ah Shen made eight three-pointers, and after each one, he didn't celebrate; he just gritted his teeth and ran back to his defensive position.

The final score was 130-45.

When Buri's players left the field, their steps were unsteady. They realized that they were just there to make up the numbers for this year's top four teams.

After Hainan's exit, the cheers in the stadium actually grew louder. Because next up was the game everyone was waiting for.

Shohoku vs. Ryonan, the championship game.