Kuroko's Basketball: I'm not the boss?

"I'm home."

Kise looked at the familiar house number in front of him, then turned and raised his fist towards Xiangyang again.

Xiangyang understood immediately and extended his right hand to exchange fists with Kise.

This time, neither of them spoke, but simply smiled at each other.

(Just so you know, starting tomorrow I'll only be updating one chapter at a time! It will be a combined two-chapter chapter, because my editor told me that this will make it easier to get the premium badge... So from now on, it will be one combined two-chapter chapter every day at noon! I hope you all understand.)

Chapter 135 Freshman Cup (Two Chapters Combined)

Kaijo High School Takeuchi Office

Xiangyang told Takeuchi what had happened at the second Miracle Gathering. After all, he was the coach, and although Xiangyang currently had a lot of influence within Kaijo, it was better to tell Takeuchi about many things.

"That's roughly how it is. As for the practice match, it's scheduled for this weekend evening."

"The day after tomorrow?"

Takeuchi stroked his chin and nodded in agreement with Xiangyang's decision. He looked up and instructed, "I won't say more. You should know what I mean."

Upon hearing this, Xiangyang's lips curled up slightly.

"Of course, I will arrange everything."

……

"Okay, training is over for today. Everyone, you may leave now."

Xiangyang stood on the sidelines and loudly announced the end of today's training. He then looked up at Yuki and Hiroshi Ohara and said, "Yuki, Hiroshi Ohara, stay behind for a bit."

The two newcomers who were called out exchanged a glance and found that the other person had the same doubt in their eyes.

Kise, sitting to the side, crossed his legs and watched the scene with a leisurely expression. Although he already knew the inside story, he did not tell Yuki, but left it all to Xiangyang.

Are you guys free this weekend evening? There's a practice match.

Xiang Yang got straight to the point, observing the two men's reactions as he spoke. If they were unwilling or had something to do, he wouldn't force them to go just for the sake of information.

Hiroshi Ohara paused for a moment, then asked, "What kind of training match? An intra-team training match? Are the opponents the upperclassmen?"

Xiang Yang shook his finger, then turned to Da Yuanhao with a smile: "External training match!"

"Outside the team??"

Both of them looked bewildered. Hiroshi Ohara glanced at Yuki and, noticing that his reserved colleague seemed to have no intention of asking questions, had no choice but to continue, "Who is the opponent? Senior Hikari?"

"Hmm... Could their words mean they're your future rivals?"

Xiangyang touched his nose, looked at the two confused expressions, and grinned as he explained, "Never mind, I won't tease you anymore."

"They are freshmen from other teams this year, and they are all the best players from their respective teams!"

To be selected by a team of miraculous caliber and be noticed by several of them simultaneously, it would be impossible to achieve this without the potential to win more than five titles.

"Huh? Senior Xiangyang, is it just me and Ohara-kun?"

This time, Yuki, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, and for some reason, Xiangyang seemed to see excitement in his eyes.

What's wrong with this guy? Does he even have this kind of attribute?

Xiangyang felt a little strange, but it was definitely a good thing that his juniors were so motivated.

"That's right, it's the two of you. I carefully selected you two, so keep up the good work!"

As he spoke, Xiangyang made a gesture of encouragement to the two of them, and when he walked past Da Yuanhao, he subconsciously patted him on the shoulder to show his encouragement.

"Genius's gone, let's go get some ramen? Masako's got something to do tonight, so she told me to just grab something to eat outside."

"Hey? I had ramen yesterday too! How about we go get eel rice? There's a place on the east side that I saw has pretty high ratings!"

"Eel rice... I'll get scolded by Masako again if I eat that... Never mind, I won't tell her."

That's it!

As Hikaru and Kise walked further and further away, the air in the Kaijo Gymnasium gradually quieted down, leaving only Hiroshi Ohara and Yuki standing silently facing each other.

"Did you hear that, Yuuki?"

Hiroshi Ohara spoke slowly, reaching out his right hand to touch his left shoulder, the spot where Xiang Yang had just slapped him.

"Ah, Ohara-kun, I heard you."

Yuki lowered her head slightly, a joyful smile involuntarily appearing on her face. If Hiroshi Ohara hadn't been there, she probably would have already collapsed to the ground and started rolling around on the spot!

A practice match! A chance to play with Ryota-senpai! I can pass the ball to Ryota-senpai now...

Yuki became more and more excited, wishing time could jump to the night after tomorrow, he wanted to pass the ball to Ryota-senpai right now!

Hiroshi Ohara, standing to the side, tilted his head, staring intently at his left shoulder, a smile of excitement that bordered on the perverted!

Senior Xiangyang... just touched my shoulder! And... this weekend, I'll be playing alongside Senior Xiangyang! I might even get to receive a pass from him?! Oh my god! Is this really something I can have?

At this moment, the two of them miraculously thought the same thing: "At this rate, we definitely won't be able to sleep tonight!"

Of course, they didn't know that this freshman training match was only for first-year students. Kise and Xiangyang would just sit on the sidelines as spectators. The "fighting side by side" they imagined would have to wait until the summer tournament.

Just then, Hiroshi Ohara's phone rang in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was an unknown number calling.

Who could it be? It couldn't be Senior Xiangyang, could it? Hahaha, impossible! Why would he bother remembering the phone number of someone as insignificant as me?

Hiroshi Ohara chuckled self-deprecatingly, amused by his own inner monologue.

"Moshi Moshi, who are you?"

"Ah, Ohara, it's me, Xiangyang."

"Oh, it's Senior Xiangyang... Ah!!"

Hiroshi Ohara's face lit up with a look of sudden realization. Then his whole body stiffened, and he held his phone up to his face with an expression of disbelief.

Did God hear what I was thinking?

"Hello? Hello? Ohara, are you still there?"

Hearing Xiangyang's voice calling from the other end of the phone, Da Yuanhao quickly snapped out of his daze, put the phone back to his ear, and replied earnestly, "Hi! Please go ahead!"

"Remember not to take the practice match too seriously, hold back a little, understand? Is Yuuki with you? Please pass this message on to him as well."

"Hi!"

Hiroshi Ohara exhaled hot breath from his nostrils as he listened intently to Xiangyang finish speaking. Even when the phone finally hung up, his posture remained unchanged, still holding the phone tightly to his ear with his right hand.

Yuki, who was standing to the side, naturally took in the whole scene. He looked at Hiroshi Ohara with an envious expression on his face.

That's great... I wish Ryota-senpai would call me too...

……

"Xiao Xiangyang, how did you get Dayuan's phone number?"

Kise, carrying his bag in one hand, asked Xiangyang with a curious expression.

This question earned him a big eye roll from Xiang Yang, who said irritably, "What are you talking about? Remembering every teammate's phone number is a captain's basic responsibility, okay?"

"For example, if there's a game tomorrow and someone suddenly becomes unreachable, we'll definitely have to call them."

"Oh, you're asking? Kasamatsu-senpai used to do this kind of work."

"Si Guoyi! (Amazing!) As expected of Xiao Xiangyang! You've done a great job as captain!"

Kise's eyes lit up as he looked at Xiangyang with admiration. If Xiangyang weren't there, he really couldn't imagine who else in Kaijo could take on the role of captain!

P.S.: In the original work, the captain of the Kaijo after Kasamatsu's graduation is Mitsuhiro Hayakawa, who is actually Hiroshi Kohori, the one I am playing the opposite role!

While receiving Kise's admiring gaze, Xiang Yang smugly rubbed his nose. He wasn't exaggerating; he had memorized the phone numbers of every single member of the Kaijo basketball team, although he had written down the rest in a notebook, except for a few important people.

At the same time, not only Haichang, but other teams also notified their promising rookie players.

This "freshman training match" jointly planned by Xiangyang and Akashi has unknowingly brought together almost all of the second batch of players who shone brightly in high school competitions after the "Generation of Miracles". Many of them have gone on to pursue professional basketball and will meet Xiangyang again on the international stage in the future!

Of course, that's all in the future.

……

Sunday evening, inside Tokyo's largest basketball arena.

"Now, the training match between the first-year students of this year's championship contenders is about to begin! Players from both sides, please give each other a salute!"

Xiang Yang stood in the middle of the field with a grin on his face, holding a whistle in his hand.

Although the Akashi family had booked the entire basketball court, surprisingly, they had forgotten to hire a referee! With no other option, in order for the "freshman training match" to proceed smoothly, Xiangyang volunteered to take on the role of referee!

"Hey, is this guy really okay? Can he even officiate properly?"

In the audience, Qingfeng looked at Xiangyang speechlessly, doubting Xiangyang's professional level.

beep—

Since Akashi had booked the entire stadium, only a few members of Miracle were in the huge stands, and they were all sitting in the front row. Xiangyang easily heard Aomine's words. He blew his whistle without any politeness and said to Aomine seriously, "This spectator, please watch your words, or I'll have to blow your whistle and ask you to leave."

Qingfeng: ...

"Alright, Fengzi, don't worry. Xiao Xiangyang should be fine. After all, he's the kind of person who can confuse the referee in the finals. His interpretation of the rules is perfect."

Kise remained confident in Xiangyang as always, but his words caused the two people in the next seat, Kuroka and Kuroka, to turn pale as unpleasant memories flooded back into their minds.

On the other side, Akashi propped his head up with one hand, his gaze constantly wandering among the people on the field, but his attention was still focused on the new group from Kaijo.

Is it Hashimoto... Yuki?

For some reason, Akashi had a feeling that this kid would be a lot of trouble in the future.

"Come on, everyone, come over here! The players are saying hello! Even if you haven't played in the game, you must have watched it, right? Before the game, you should at least say 'Please give me your guidance' to each other face to face, okay?"

Xiangyang blew his whistle again with great enthusiasm, thinking to himself: No wonder Coach Takeuchi always wants to act as a referee. It feels really good to be in control of the game.

"please

Please give me your guidance!

Urged on by Xiang Yang, the group of "rookies" finally did as he wished, gathering together and bowing to each other to complete the formal pre-match ceremony.

Yuki looked at his teammates around him; the game hadn't even started yet, and he was already sweating with nervousness.

Oh no... I don't know anyone here. If I don't play well and get yelled at, won't that be embarrassing?