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

Xiangyang lowered his head and stroked the textbook, then slowly stood up and began packing his schoolbag.

As the team captain, it would be outrageous for him to be late for training. Although, given Takeuchi's personality, he probably wouldn't even come. Maybe he would come to give a speech the day before the national tournament qualifiers begin.

Thinking of this, Xiangyang couldn't help but smile. Undeniably, being burdened with heavy responsibilities wasn't a pleasant feeling, but the feeling of being needed was wonderful.

With a creak.

Xiangyang pushed open the classroom door and looked back. The classroom was empty except for him. For the first time ever, he was the last person to leave the classroom today.

"What am I doing? I still have to come to class tomorrow. What's with this feeling of sadness that I can't come back after I leave?"

Xiang Yang muttered something under his breath, closed the classroom door, and walked towards the Haichang Basketball Gymnasium.

He hasn't told anyone yet that he's going to China next Monday, but he has to take the day off anyway.

……

……

boom!boom!

Just as Xiangyang reached the entrance of the stadium, he heard the sound of a ball bouncing. Even without Takeuchi and Xiangyang watching over them, Kaijo's training would continue as usual. As a long-established powerhouse, the team's atmosphere and culture had long been ingrained in the hearts of every player.

As Xiangyang pushed open the door and walked in, the sharp-eyed Kise was the first to spot him. He stopped his warm-up exercises and called out with a grin, "Little Xiangyang, you're late! According to the rules, you have to do a hundred push-ups!"

"That was a rule set by Kasamatsu-senpai, I'm sorry, but I'm the captain of the Kaijo now."

Xiang Yang shrugged, said nothing more, and walked straight toward Takeuchi's office.

"Ah?"

Kise scratched his head. His sixth sense told him that something seemed off about Xiangyang today. However, before he could think about it, Yuki, who had finished warming up, ran over and challenged Kise to a one-on-one match.

Kise, of course, wouldn't refuse, from the very first day he entered Kaijo.

He had already become the undisputed No. 1 in the team. Apart from Xiang Yang being able to exchange a few moves with him on the offensive end, no one else could make him break a sweat.

Now that his family finally has a rival, and a junior at that, he can unleash his senior status without restraint during one-on-one battles. Kise couldn't be happier.

"Come on, Yuuki, I won't hold back!"

"Of course! I'll also ask Ryota-senpai to do his best!"

As Xiangyang walked with his back to the crowd, he couldn't help but smile knowingly when he heard the voices behind him.

What? These guys are fine even without me.

Thinking this, Xiangyang pushed open the door to Wu Nei's office.

"coach."

Xiang Yang called out softly. Come to think of it, he had only been to Takeuchi's office twice in all this time.

Hearing the noise, Takeuchi looked up and saw it was Hikari. He asked, "What's wrong?"

"fine!"

Xiangyang, no longer gloomy, walked up to Wu Nei in a carefree manner, pulled up a chair, sat down, and rubbed his hands together, saying, "I just need to ask for a leave of absence."

"Ask for leave?"

Takeuchi frowned slightly. If Hikaru wasn't around, the training arrangements would have to be left to Kise and Hori...

Well, let him do it himself.

Takeuchi stretched his limbs and asked nonchalantly, "How long will it take?"

It's been a long time since I've watched his players train. It's nice to reminisce about the past while Xiangyang is away.

Ok…

Xiang Yang hesitated for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "About... half a month?"

"Oh okay, half... what???"

Takeuchi nodded subconsciously in response, then immediately realized what was wrong. He turned to Xiangyang and asked, "What happened to you? You need to take more than half a month off?"

Based on Xiangyang's personality, although he seems quite unreliable on the surface, he is actually a very dependable person. Wuwei believes that Xiangyang wouldn't ask for such a long leave unless there was something truly important.

"They said it would be more than half a month, but I'm not sure."

Xiang Yang touched his nose, somewhat helplessly. According to what Lingzi had told him, a regular national youth team trial should not take too long, at most two or three days. However, considering Xiang Yang's special situation, the Basketball Association might also need to assess the compatibility between the local players and Xiang Yang, so the observation period would be extended indefinitely.

It's said that a foreign player who transferred from abroad had excellent skills and physical talent, but his emotional intelligence was practically nonexistent. Just two days after securing a spot on the national youth team, he clashed with his teammates, leading to a fight! The root cause was that his Chinese roommate kindly replaced the water in his cup with hot water, but the guy wasn't careful and poured the scalding water directly into his mouth, burning himself badly. Afterwards, the enraged foreigner threw the hot water from the cup at his teammate's face…

(P.S.: Most foreigners cannot understand the Chinese people's habit of drinking hot water.)

"Although I don't know what's wrong with you, the national competition is starting in two weeks."

Takeuchi picked up a pen, tapped it on the calendar on the wall, and looked at Hikaru, saying, "Is it important? Is it worth it?"

"Abandon your teammates to do it?"

Is it worth it for me to abandon my teammates to do this...?

Xiangyang seemed somewhat dazed. He did indeed want to pursue a professional basketball career, but right now, actively preparing for the national tournament qualifiers seemed to be his most important task…

"I'm sorry, Coach Takeuchi, but this is very important!"

Xiangyang grinned, got up and walked to the door. Meeting Wu's gaze, he made a face.

"I'll be back for training tomorrow, but I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. Please ask the coach to keep it a secret for me, I don't want those guys asking me all sorts of questions."

After saying that, Xiang Yang waved his hand casually, turned around and walked out of Wu Nei's office.

Although his movements were very graceful, Xiangyang felt somewhat heavy-hearted.

Haichang is the absolute hegemon in the Western Conference. No team can match Haichang in the qualifiers. Even if they field all their starters and only substitutes, their excellent team depth is enough to give any other team that faces Haichang a hard time.

By the time the official competition started, Xiangyang had naturally finished his trip to China, rejoined the team, and begun the real battle!

That's right... If we're being serious, Xiang Yang could come up with a million reasons to explain why he left the team at this time. Even if he directly confronted Takeuchi and said that he was going to try out for the national youth team in another country, Takeuchi would definitely not have any objections.

However... no matter how much Xiangyang tried to comfort himself, he ultimately chose a path that went against the team's goals.

As the captain of Kaijō, he voluntarily left the team to pursue his "dream" just before the competition.

"I don't know why, but I feel a little sorry for Kasamatsu-senpai."

Xiangyang sighed. If it were Kasamatsu Yukio's personality, unless it was a major event like the death of a loved one, he would definitely stand with the team through thick and thin at this critical moment, and would almost like to live in the stadium!

Sorry everyone... please let me be willful this time.

Walking slowly back to the basketball court, Xiang Yang took a deep breath as he watched the Haichang team still training enthusiastically.

"Let's have a practice match!"

Xiangyang's shouts were incredibly penetrating; although the volume wasn't very high, they clearly reached everyone's ears.

Kise, who was still dribbling and looking for Yuuki's weakness, couldn't help but turn his head to look and said suspiciously, "What's going on? I feel like Xiangyang is acting a little strange today."

Based on Xiangyang's past personality, he would have been very resistant to team practice matches. In his opinion, it would be better to spend that time doing more basic skills training.

However, today Xiangyang took the initiative to call on his teammates to have a practice match.

There must be something he doesn't know!

Kise had made up his mind and was about to walk over to Xiangyang to question him when he noticed that Yuki had already enthusiastically taken the ball to the sidelines and was preparing to serve.

At the same time, Xiang Yang's aura gradually stabilized. He slowly walked to Yuki's side, squatted down slightly, and took a defensive position.

Upon seeing this, Kise paused, a hint of hesitation flashing across his face.

Could it be that he's making a mountain out of a molehill? Maybe Xiangyang just had a sudden urge to play a practice match today, and his overreaction is really exaggerated.

"I'm probably overthinking it."

Let's go. ”

Kise stretched his wrists, stopped thinking about it, and walked towards the court to start the practice match.

As expected, after the tactical training in the first half, the second half turned into a rhythm battle between Yuuki and Hikaru. With Kise not putting in much effort, Hikaru, who was used to dealing with Yuuki's offensive, did not have an easy time. Fortunately, this time it was the senior's victory again.

57:56, Xiangyang family wins.

call--

In the center of the court, Xiang Yang was panting heavily, his hands supporting his knees. Behind him, Yuki lay directly on the ground, disregarding her image, her face full of resentment, but even more so, joy.

The gap has narrowed again! Next time, if Hikaru still doesn't enter the zone, Yuuki is confident that he will win!

"Seriously, are all the young people these days monsters?"

As Xiangyang strolled leisurely over to Kise, he muttered a complaint.

Yuki's thoughts were written all over her face; he could tell everything just by looking at her.

However, Xiangyang had to admit that if this trend continued and his strength stagnated, it was only a matter of time before he was surpassed by Yuki, and "Zone" would only be a slow death for him.

"Even Yuki is urging me to plant flowers, okay?"

Xiang Yang murmured something, speaking so softly that even Kise, who was closest to him, couldn't hear it clearly.

"Xiao Xiangyang, what did you say?"

Kise turned his head in confusion, as if he had vaguely heard Xiangyang say something.

Facing Kise's probing gaze, Xiangyang licked his lips and smiled, "I'll say..."

"Training over! Dismissed!"

Another powerful shout rang out, and many Haichang players raised their hands and cheered. Although they love basketball and are among the best high school basketball players, who would resist taking a break?

Xiangyang took the lead in packing up his things and was the first to rush out of the stadium. Behind him, Kise stood still, watching Xiangyang's departing figure, and that sense of unease welled up in his heart again.

Why...what's wrong with me?

Kise couldn't help but clutch his clothes at his chest, feeling a sense of absurdity: his heart was beating much faster for some reason.

"Kise, what are you standing there daydreaming about?"

"I'm off, Ryota-senpai!"

"Kise! Want to go get some ramen together?"

As Kise walked past, almost everyone from Kaijo greeted him.

However, Kise, who is usually outgoing and cheerful, seemed somewhat perfunctory this time.